Montacute. The village of Montacute is one of the most primitive and picturesque of the villages of England. It consists of a large Square, a Market-place, with its simple and beautiful School-house, an erection which dates so far back as the time of Henry the Seventh,—a very rare and fine example in a remarkably good state of preservation, which formerly stood against a quaint old Market-house, now destroyed. The principal street consists of stone hovels, built in a rude style, but still retaining proofs that the comforts of the inmates were duly weighed and considered. The village and its vicinity are flourishing, in consequence of the ample employment which the women obtain at glove-making, at which they are nearly all occupied in their own cottages. It is situated within four miles west of the town of Yeovil, and about the same distance south of Ilchester.

Montacute derives its name from a conical hill (mons acutus) which overlooks the

village, and on which is a round tower, commanding an extensive view of the Vale of Somerset, and the British Channel.[24] The prospect thence is, indeed, not only extensive but exceedingly magnificent; including “the hills below Minehead and Blackdown, Taunton, Quantock Hills, Bridgewater Bay, and the coast of Wales; Brent Knoll, the whole range of Mendip, with the city of Wells and Glastonbury Torr; Cheech and Knowl Hills, Alfred’s Tower, and the high lands about Shaftesbury; also the Dorsetshire Hills, and Lambert’s Castle near Lyme.” At the foot, is the site of a Priory of black Cluniac monks, suppressed in the time of Henry the Eighth, of which only the Gatehouse endures; it is here pictured from a drawing by Mr. Richardson. It is somewhat extensive, and contains one room, little injured by time, with a good oak ceiling of peculiarly bold character.

Montacute House, and the estates adjoining, have been for several centuries the property of the family of Phelips; who originally “came over” with the Conqueror, and in consideration of military services were requited with large grants of lands in Wales, where they were long settled. In the fourteenth century they “migrated” into Somersetshire, residing for many years at Barrington, not far from the present seat. The “spacious and noble building” was commenced in 1550, and finished in 1601, for Sir Edward Phelips, Knight, Queen’s Serjeant, the third son of Sir Thomas Phelips. Its cost is said to have exceeded the sum of £19,500. It has since continued in the family of the founder, in the following line of succession. Sir Edward Phelips, Master of the Rolls, Chancellor to Henry Prince of Wales, and Speaker of the House of Commons, in the reigns of Elizabeth and James the First; Sir Robert Phelips, his son, in the reigns of James the First and Charles the First; Colonel Edward Phelips, during the Commonwealth, and in the reign of Charles the Second;[25] Sir Edward Phelips, Knight, in the reigns of James the Second and William the Third; his nephew, Edward Phelips, Esq., in the reigns of Anne and George the First; Edward Phelips, Esq., in that of George the Second; William Phelips, Esq., in that of George the Third; and John Phelips, Esq., in that of George the Fourth; the present possessor is a minor. But, unhappily, the Mansion, so long the scene of comparatively uninterrupted hospitality, has been, of late years, deserted; stripped in a great degree of its internal decorations; and left to the mercy of time. It presents, however, one of the finest and most interesting examples of the architecture of the period, yet existing in the kingdom; “combining simplicity of design with richness of ornament,”—“a magnificent specimen of the style of Elizabeth’s reign.”

The form of the building is that of the Roman letter E; a form which the founder is said to have adopted in compliment to his Royal mistress. It is built entirely of brown stone, found on the Estate. “The length of the Eastern or principal front,” according to Mr. Shaw, (“Elizabethan Architecture,”) is one hundred and seventy feet; it is three stories in height, and is surmounted by gables and a parapet, crowned with pinnacles. Each story is marked by its entablature; the bays of its numerous windows are divided by stone mullions; and between each window of the uppermost story are recessed niches, containing a series of statues, the size of life, in Roman armour, resting on their shields.” The wings, twenty-eight feet in width, are crowned by ornamental gables; the space between them being occupied by a terrace ascended by a flight of seven steps. The Western Front—we learn from the same source—was greatly improved, in 1760, by the acquisition of an ancient screen, removed from Clifton House, near Yeovil; “it is placed between the wings in front of the original edifice; surmounted by finials, crowned with grotesque figures rising from turrets connected by a pierced parapet.” The Court, upon the Eastern front, is “a fine and appropriate accessory” to this stately Mansion. It contains two picturesque square Pavilions, or Lodges, at the angles facing the building. The sides are formed by an open balustrade, having a small circular temple in the centre of each; these latter are twenty-five feet in height, from the level of the Court. The whole composition exhibits great beauty.

Over the arched entrances in the centre compartment are the arms of the family—argent, a chevron between three roses, gules, seeded or, barbel vert, with lions rampant as supporters. Over the principal door of the building is the following couplet, indicative of the hospitality of its high-born owners:—

This, however, is not the only inscription to convey their sense of duty to their guests. Over the North Porch is the following:—

And on one of the lodges,

The interior is divided into suites of handsome and spacious apartments. The staircase is of the construction usual in the time of Elizabeth—stone steps round a

huge solid mass of stone. In the Hall, is a fine stone screen; and, at the end, a bas-relief, four feet six inches in height, representing the ancient custom of “skimmitting or stang-riding.”[26] The Hall contains also a curious old chest—the work, probably, of some Italian or French artist of the time of Henry the Eighth. The Rooms are generally panelled with oak; but the ceilings throughout, and the staircase, are quite plain; the walls of the principal apartments are, however, lined with finely-carved wainscotting to within a few feet of the ceiling—the intervening space being ornamented by rich plaster-work, which has a fine effect. The screen, which Mr. Richardson has pictured in the appended print, belonged originally

to the entrance to the Dining-room, and was removed to its present position by one of the later proprietors of the Mansion.[27]

Although the Mansion at Montacute supplies us with many subjects for illustration by the pencil, we have preferred to introduce a copy of the graceful and venerable School-house—one of the most striking and interesting remains of a remote period, and one with which no other than agreeable memories can be associated. The initial letter is part of the sculpture of the western front.

Unhappily, the Destroyer is busily at work about this fine old Mansion—one of the grandest, most original, and most auspiciously situated of the few unimpaired structures of the reign of Queen Elizabeth by which the kingdom is still enriched. Although its present possessor is the direct descendant of its founder, and “the line” has been unbroken for nearly three centuries, it is now deserted. All its glories are of ancient dates: the “wide opening gate” gives admission to no gay revellers; and the yet existing motto seems a solemn mockery—