general feeling of neglect which prevailed respecting wards vested in Gilbert Aton, (created Lord Vesci,) this splendid relic of antiquity. as next heir, who granted it (11 Edward II.) to Geoffry de Scrope, of Masham, who shortly after parted with it to Queen Isabel, after which it remained, with a few exceptions, in the hands of the crown. The manor of Eltham was granted, in 1663, to Sir John Shaw, knight,+ who had purchased a subsisting term during the time of the Commonwealth. He was created a baronet in 1665, for the great services he had rendered Charles II., during his exile at Brussels and Antwerp, and the manor is now vested in the same family. There is a yearly fee-farm rent Eltham derives its name from the two Saxon words, eald and ham, signifying the old town or habitation, which shews that it is a place of great antiquity. The manor was valued at £16. (according to the Domesday Book,) during the reign of Edward the Confessor, and was held of that prince by an individual named Alwolde. In William the Conqueror's time, it was granted, with other extensive possessions in this county, to Odo, Bishop of Baieux and Earl of Kent, half-brother to the sovereign, of whom it was held by Haimo, sheriff of Kent. On the disgrace of this pre-paid for the great park to the crown of £153. 3s. 4d., late, in the reign of William Rufus, all his estates were confiscated to the use of the crown; when a portion of the manor became vested in the Mandevil family, from whence it was called Eltham-Mandevil. Edward I. granted his portion of the manor, with certain other lands of the yearly value of £248. 4s. 8d., to John de Vesci, (son of William de Vesci, a powerful northern baron, of Norman extraction,) who had the year before (1280) married Isabel de Beaumont, a kinswoman of Queen Eleanor. Having obtained the residue of the manor, by exchange, from Walter de Mandevil, he then held it undivided, by knight's service. His brother, William de Vesci, who succeeded him, (17 Edward I.) " a person in great esteem with the king, and who held several offices of high trust," with the royal license enfeoffed Antony Beke, Bishop of Durham, in several estates, including the manor of Eltham, upon the special trust that he should retain them for the use of his natural son, William. On his death, in 1296," the bishop had livery of his lands accordingly, but violated the trust reposed in him, and retained possession of the property till his death, at Eltham, March 3rd, 1310, leaving the house with all its appurtenances to the crown. William de Vesci, the younger, fell at the battle of Bannockburn. The manor was after-wards, falling into the hands of the rebels, was imprisoned in Lon By Dergavile, a daughter of Dunwald, a petty prince of Ireland. + This Antony de Bec, or Beke, when archdeacon of Durham, was elected bishop of that see, July 5, 1283, anno 12 Edward I., and consecrated January 9, following. He was a man of great power and wealth, and had the patriarchate of Jerusalem conferred upon him by the Pope, and the principality of Man by Edward I. He had so great a command that there were commonly in his suit one hundred and forty knights; and in the battle of Fawkirk, (Falkirk,) fought by Edward I. against the Scots, there were no less than twenty-six of his banners in the army. He was most munificent in the reparation of his castles and other buildings, and in the religious foundations which he endowed. He was buried in his cathedral of Durham, behind the high altar, being the first bishop who was which, with the manor-house, is at present occupied by Lord Rivers. The manor extends over the parish of Eltham, the hamlet of Mottingham, (so called from the Saxon, modig, proud or lofty, and ham, a dwelling,) and the south side of Foots Cray, in the parish of Chiselhurst.-We now proceed to trace the history of the "faire house of Eltham." Hasted says, the palace was built, most probably, on part of those premises which were granted by King Edward I., in his ninth year, (1281) to John de Vesci, and perhaps on the very site of the house where Henry III., in his fifty-fifth year, (1270,) kept his Christmas publicly, according to the custom of the old time; being accompanied by the queen, and all the great men of the realm. Speaking of these festivities, Lambarde remarks," and this (belike) was the first warming of the house (as I may call it) after that Bishop Beke has finished his worke. For I do not hereby gather that hitherto the king had any property in it, foras * buried in that church. Vide Hasted. Willis' Cath. vol. i. p. don, and on his release, lived about Eltham, in much obscurity, He died, and was buried within the precincts of St. Paul's Wharf, November 25, 1645, having written several books, among which was "Villare Cantianum, or Kent Illustrated and Surveyed," of which his son, Thomas Phillipot, had the honesty to rob his father of the merit, publishing it under his own name, in folio, at London, 1659. Hasted. Thomas Phillipot founded the alms houses now at Eltham. The family of Shaw derive themselves from the county palatine of Chester. Hugo de Shaw, of that county, having distinguished himself, under the Earl of Chester, in an enterprise against Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, in the castle of Ruthin, had several manors, and the daughter of the Earl given him in marriage. One of the titles of the Prince of Wales is Earl of Eltham. Hist. Kent, vol. i. folio ed. p. 50. much as the princes in those daies used commonly in 1482, kept a splendid Christmas here with great both to sojourn for their pleasures, and to pass their feastings, two thousand people being fed (at his exset solemnities in abbaies and in bishops' houses;"-he pense every day. His fourth daughter, the Princess adds, on the authority of Leland, that "Bishop Beke | Bridget Plantagenet, was born at this palace on the was either the very author, or the first beautifier of this house,"*—of which it is thus seen he was in possession long before William de Vesci granted him the manor in trust. Edward II. resided at Eltham Palace, where, in 1315, his queen (Isabel) was delivered of a son. At twelve of age, years this young prince was created Earl of Cornwall, (1 Edward III.) but was commonly called, says Speed, John of Eltham, from the place of his birth. He died in Scotland in the flower of his age, in 1337, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. 8th of November, 1480; she was next day baptised Henry VIII., in 1515, and 1527, kept his Whitsuntide and Christmas at Eltham; where in the former year, he created Sir Edward Stanley baronet, Lord Monteagle; for his services performed against the Scots at Flodden Field. Some contagious disorder raging at that time in London, none were per The Statutes of Eltham, containing precedents for the government of the king's house, were made at this palace. King Edward III., in the fourth year of his reign, held a parliament here, and thirty-four years afterwards, gave a princely reception to John, King of France, (who had formerly been his prisoner,) entertaining him with great magnificence. The same monarch held another parliament here in 1375; when the lords and commons attended with a petition, praying him amongst other matters, to create his grand-mitted to dine in the king's hall but the officers of son, Richard, of Bordeaux, (son of the Black Prince and heir-apparent to the realm,) Prince of Wales: and Lionel, his third son (guardian of the realm,) kept his Christmas here when the king was in France in 1347. Richard II., who "resided much at Eltham, and took great delight in the pleasantness of the place," entertained Leo, King of Armenia, a fugitive from the Turks, at Christmas, 1386. During the same reign Sir John Froissart, the Historian, was introduced to the king, and mentions a secret parliament, or rather council, which was held during his stay at the palace. It was whilst wasting his time at Eltham, that the parliament sent this monarch a bold message and remonstrance on his arbitrary conduct. Henry IV. kept his last Christmas here in 1412: two years afterwards Henry V. made great preparations for feasting at Christmas, but suddenly left the palace, in consequence of an idle report of a conspiracy to assassinate him, in which Sir John Oldham was said to be implicated. Henry VI. made it his principal residence, "keeping his Christmas with splendour and feasting in 1429." Edward IV. "to his great cost, repaired his house at Eltham," and arms, who at the serving in the king's second course of meat, according to custom, came and proclaimed the king's style and title, and also that of the new lord. His residence however, was only occasional, for "this house, by reason of the nearness to Greenwich, hath not been so greatly esteemed, the rather also for that the pleasures of the emparked groundes here, may be in manner as well enjoyed, the court lying at Greenwich, as if it were at this house itselfe." The bricks which had been provided for the reparation of Eltham Palace were taken from the kilns there, and used in the improvement and extension of the royal residence of Placentia, at Greenwich. Queen Elizabeth spent a few days at Eltham in 1559. Sir Christopher Hatton was keeper of the Palace in her reign, and after him Lord Cobham, who had a grant of that office in 1592. The palace had long been sinking into neglect, but it was not finally deserted by royalty until the seventeenth century, James I., having remained a short time at Eltham, in 1612, which is the last authentic record, says Mr. Lysons, that we can find of his having visited it.‡ In 1649, after the death of Charles I., the parliament ordered the demesnes of the crown to be sold * Hasted. + Lambarde. Lysons's "Environs of London," vol. iv. p. 399. for the benefit of the state: those at Eltham were on the 16th July, ensuing, consigned by ordinance to trustees; and a survey which was made thereupon, furnishes us with the following description of the property at that period. First, the capital mansion house, built with brick, stone, and timber, was called Eltham House, and consisted of one fair chapel, one great hall, thirty-six rooms and offices below stairs, with two large cellars; and above stairs, in lodgings called the king's side, seventeen lodging rooms, and on the queen's side twelve lodging rooms; and on the prince's side, nine lodging rooms; in all thirty-eight, with various other small and necessary rooms and closets; and thirty-five bayes of building round the court-yard, which contained about seventy-eight rooms, used as offices. The whole being much out of repair, was sold, and the materials valued at £2753, exclusive of the charge for taking them down. The site of the above, when cleared, was worth £11. per annum; and the outhouses, when divided into tenements, were computed at the yearly value of £25.* Then follows a description of the three parks attached to the Palace; viz., the great park, the little or middle park, which stretched towards Mottingham, and Horne, or Lee Park, (the latter enclosed by Edward IV.) The great park consisted of five hundred and ninetysix acres, three roods, and eleven perches, valued at £328. 4s. 10d. per annum; and Horne Park comprised three hundred and thirty-six acres, one rood. The three parks contained one thousand three hundred and fourteen acres; and, including the demesne lands, the whole extended over one thousand six hundred, and fifty-two acres, twenty-four perches. These parks numbered altogether, seven thousand seven hundred trees; of which four thousand were declared, in the survey, to be "old and decayed,” and the remaining three thousand seven hundred were marked out for the use of the navy.-A book called the "Mysteries of the Good Old Cause," published in 1660, says, "Sir Thomas Walsingham had the Honour of Eltham given him, which was the Earl of Dorset's, and the middle park which was Mr. White's. He has cut down £5000. worth of timber, and hath scarcely left a tree to make a gibbet."+ The deer had all been destroyed, and the lands disparked and disfigured by the soldiery and common people during the summer of 1648; and the manor and entire property returned Hasted's Kent, vol. 1. F, 52. At the commencement of the civil war, the palace was for some time in the occupation of Robert, Earl of Essex, the Parliamentary General, who died there September 13th, 1646, but was buried in Westminster Abbey.---Lysons. in the survey, were immediately sold to different persons, the whole of which reverted to the crown at the Restoration in 1660. Eltham Palace had now completely "fallen from its high estate," and was soon converted (with the exception of the hall) into a heap of ruins. We now proceed to describe the former structure and existing remains. The situation of the Palace was happily chosen. Standing on an eminence of greater elevation than any in the immediate district, except Shooters Hill, the ground sloped gently away towards the west, over a rich and interesting landscape, including Blackheath, Greenwich Park, and the Surrey Hills; between which stood London with the lofty spire of the old Cathedral of St. Paul in view, and the insulated pile of Westminster Abbey, then without towers; the distant heights of Highgate terminating the background. Eltham Palace was surrounded by a moat enclosing above an acre of ground within its limits. The moat was about sixty feet broad, except the portion towards the north entrance, where it was increased to one hundred and fifteen feet, which must have afforded considerable security against any sudden attack.* Mr. Buckler remarks, that the external wall (within the moat) was built with great care and strength, and that its basement is likely to remain long after all other traces of the Palace have disappeared. The bank of the moat was an extensive work, and of much greater magnitude on the west and south sides, than towards the north; composing a terrace to the south of one hundred feet broad. We have already described the northern entrance over the foss, but there was a drawbridge on the south side, where is now a bank of earth.† The design of the Palace was quadrangular. The hall, its principal feature, rose above the other edifices, standing in a direction nearly due east and west; and the common rule was observed of limiting the general elevation to two stories. Like other castellated mansions, the outline was irregular; towers and projecting masses breaking the line, at intervals, with picturesque effect. The area of the palace was an imperfect square, surrounded by buildings on the north and west, and partly enclosed on the other two sides, the centre being occupied by four quadrangles, of which two towards the west were of large dimensions, and The moat was filled with water at the date of Bucke's Views, a century ago. This passage was indisputably only used as a means of access to the terrace, gardens, and park.---Buckler. formed wide and spacious courts.* The great hall, | in the first volume of Hasted's Kent; but judging the chapel, and other stately edifices extended across from the existing remains, it must have been a very this area to the western front. The eastern range inaccurate delineation. The bridge and moat are not comprised the kitchen and other domestic offices, laid down; the outline is quite different from the which were very entensive, and connected with the area now within the walls, and the buildings in the hall by two passages at its eastern end. A ground centre are not shown; neither does it denote any plan, from a supposed survey made in 1509, appears buildings to the south of the hall. which contained many of the principal apartments, is recorded as "handsome ;" and extended three hundred and eighty feet, commanding from its windows the beautiful landscape we have briefly described. The design was irregular, and we find in the plan many towers and projecting shafts of chimneys at different spaces, but angular or circular bay windows, of large dimensions and differently clustered, formed its leading characteristics. The basement of a bay window, twelve feet and a half wide, and four feet and a half in bulk, with a triangular wall in front, and the remains of several towers, (which with one exception, were of a square form) may be traced amongst other ruins near the southern extremity. The materials of this front presented that mixture of brick, wood, and stone, so common in old English architecture; but a few scattered ruins, with immense masses of ivy peacefully clustering along the walls of the moat, are all that now exist to record its former importance. Some extensive vaults and drains exist under the western boundary; and the woman who shews the building, told us, that it is popularly believed they extend for a great distance under ground, and that one had been recently traced for a short way in the direction of Blackheath. They are all, with one exception, about three feet in width, and six high to the summit of the arch; and from the great durability of their construction, and excellence of the cement, seem calculated to last for centuries to come. lect, this princely monument of the past had fallen into a state of extreme dilapidation. Its entire demolition had even been spoken of: the south wall was in a tottering and insecure state, and the splendid roof was partially exposed to the weather, and fast hastening to decay. Indeed the Palace had long been abandoned to every species of degradation, the hall having been converted into a barn, for more than a century past; and it is probably from its applicability to this purpose, that it has alone been rescued from the destruction which has swept away almost every other vestige. At last, on the point of ruin, a survey was made in 1828, by order of government, when it was proposed to remove the roof to Windsor: but her Royal Highness the Princess Sophia, of Gloucester, a great admirer of the old palace, and who, we are informed, now frequently visits it, interfered with so good an effect that its partial restitution, under the able superintendence of Mr. Smirke, was proceeded in without delay. The walls and buttresses were strengthened, and the chesnut ceiling (which, except where exposed to the weather, remained perfectly sound) has been substantially repaired with foreign beech, and restored once more to a state of security. These repairs (we believe) were effected at a cost of only £700. The louver has been long removed, but with this exception, and the partial demolition of the parapets, and many of the enrichments, it still retains all its constituent features. The architecture of the north and south sides of the hall, which is built of brick, partly faced with stone, exactly corresponds; it appears, however, from Bucke's engraving that the northern parapet was embattled, and the cornice ornamented with sculptured corbels. The whole forms a design of a simple yet The "faire chapel" is supposed to have been built by Edward the Fourth; it occupied the upper or chief floor, and was probably situated in the line of structures which were united with the hall; but the ruthless hands of man have "left not a rack behind." At the eastern end of the hall a portion of the ancient buildings, connected with the "Kitchener's" depart-imposing character, and is perhaps the most perfect ment, still remain; which, with more modern additions, form the residence of a Mr. Saunders, who holds an under lease of four hundred acres of crown land here, at present. There are several other remains, and some small buildings of a later date within the enclosure. Having thus briefly described the plan of the ancient palace, we come to the Hall, always the most attractive feature, and which is now all that exists to attest the unrivalled skill of the architects of the olden time. From long-continued and shameful neg In the ground plan, published by Hasted, the principal buildings at the southern end of the west front are distinguished as "My Lord Chancellor, his lodgings." This portion protected considerably from the front, and a bay is laid down in the inner side, which is probably that mentioned above, model of an ancient banquetting room which has ever been constructed. It is lighted at both sides, thus differing from Westminster and Guildhall, which are destitute of bays, and, from particular causes, have their windows over the dais and screen. There are ten windows arranged in couples on either side, besides two bay windows of great beauty, on the north and south sides of the dais. The spaces between the windows are divided by buttresses of light proportion, which terminate under the cornice. At the foot of the windows, each buttress has twice the projection of the upper half, and while contributing to the strength of the building, materially adds to its beauty. Every window is divided by a vertical mullion, without a transom, with a depressed arch for its head. The bays form an oblong square of corresponding di |