Charlton House, the seat of the Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire, stands in the centre of a spacious park, a short distance from the ancient town of Malmesbury. The manor in “old times” belonged to the abbey of Malmesbury, and subsequently passed to the family of Knevit. Thomas Howard, the first Earl of Suffolk,[71] having married Catherine, eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Knevit, the estates became the property of that noble house; and the Earl, soon after entering into possession, commenced building the mansion we here engrave. It is considered an excellent example of the style of architecture of the time of James I.; the house was, however, enlarged and modernised by Henry Earl of Suffolk and Berks., who was Secretary of State for the Northern Department, in the reign of George III. The principal front is ancient, with the exception of the attic over the centre portion between the two towers. A plan of the building preserved by the family shews the colonnade quite open, and forming one side of a large quadrangular court, sixty-five feet square, in the centre of the building: at the end of this court was the porch leading into the entrance-hall, which appears to have been in the style of Inigo Jones (the reputed architect of the building). This court-yard is now enclosed, and is formed into a saloon, which still remains unfinished, the works before their completion having been suddenly interrupted, probably by the death of the Earl in March 1799.

The only portion of the interior retaining its original character is the gallery; it runs through the whole front of the building immediately over the colonnade: the ceiling, which is ancient, is an extraordinary specimen of elaborate decoration; it is 115 feet in length, and between the edges of the cornice, 17 feet in width. An old fire-place, with the arms of the first Earl of Suffolk, brought from the Charter House, London, has been placed here. A collection of superb full-length portraits of this illustrious family adorn this fine apartment. It is said that the ceiling of this gallery once saved the building from destruction: previous to the alterations, the Earl, not liking the situation of the house, thought of having it pulled down, and rebuilt in another part of the park; the impossibility, however, of removing the ceiling determined the rejection of the idea. The additions externally (with the exception of one front) are closely copied from the older portions of the structure. The house abounds in furniture of antique character, in harmony with the character of the interesting building. One of these examples, consisting of a clock and cabinet, we here engrave.

The architect under whose directions the repairs and additions were made, is well known among the profession as an “Architectural Plagiarist,”—one who was accustomed to affix his name to the designs of other men. This person, thinking probably that the architecture of James I. would never be studied, put up the following inscription at Charlton; it is inscribed on an iron plate inserted in the wall above the roof of the saloon:—

The mansion, taken altogether, is of fine character and of very considerable interest: as the baronial residence of the noble representative of an illustrious family, it retains some of the most striking and important of its ancient features, conveying the (at all times pleasant) idea, that antiquity is reverenced for its actual worth.