The Duke’s House, at Bradford, in Wiltshire, is so called from the Duke of Kingston, to whom it formerly belonged. It subsequently descended to Earl Manvers. It is now a dilapidated farm-house; but even in its present condition of neglect, approaching ruin, it exhibits interesting indications of its early architectural character. In its pristine state, when the whole of its ornaments were perfect, it must have presented an appearance peculiarly imposing and grand; for it is seated on the side of a steep hill, with a lofty terrace in front, approached by a flight of steps, adorned with balustrades and vases: there were other terraces, walled gardens also, and orchards in the rear and on either side of the house, which is built of the fine white stone of the district.

The principal front—to the south—exhibited in the annexed view, is divided into two stories, with attics in the gables. The entire front is, as it were, one window: the three projecting bays are crowned with boldly sculptured open balustrades. The effect is remarkably striking and picturesque. The windows have all the mullions and transomes of stone like the rest of the building. The centre bay, on the ground-floor, serves as a porch, and has a fine large sculptured doorway, the upper part of which is seen in the print.

At the time John Aubrey visited Bradford, in 1686, he described this house as inhabited by John Hall, a wealthy clothier of the town, connected by marriage with the family of Sir John Thynne, of Longleat. Mr. J. Britten supposes that Bradford House was built by the architect who erected the grand mansion of Longleat, the foundation of which was laid in 1567; but the style of the building is that of a much later period; it was probably built by the Duke of Kingston. A shield of arms, with what appears to be a ducal coronet above it, is over the fireplace in the entrance-hall, and the same shield is repeated in the other apartments. This shield, no doubt, belongs to the nobleman who erected the mansion.

The palace at Longleat is a structure in style almost pure Italian, and the architect is well known to be John of Padua, a very celebrated man. It is the fashion with the antiquaries in Wilts, so proud they are of the name, to ascribe to him every building and every separate fragment of Elizabethan architecture in the county; but the Duke’s House is not by him: it is pure English architecture, of the latest and most polished period of the style of James I. Aubrey’s description of the house is curious; he calls it “the best house for the quality of a gentleman in Wiltshire.” The house has two wings; two, if not three, elevations or ascents to it, adorned with terraces, having either rails or stone balustrades.

The interior contains numerous fragments of the old building: the entrance-hall has a noble stone fireplace in two stories; one of the upper rooms had, till within the last few years, a very handsome oak and stone fireplace, elaborately carved. Some of the rooms contain oak panelling; and there are a few ornamented ceilings, in which are pomegranates, the fleur-de-lis, English rose, &c. The desertion of the house appears to have been caused by the increase of the town, which rendered it anything but a rural retreat.

Bradford is situated on the banks of the Avon, near the middle of the western boundary of Wiltshire, on the borders of Somersetshire, within a cove formed by the surrounding small hills, which screen the town from the cold northern winds. The Avon here is generally called the Lower Avon, and is considerably increased by the waters of the Were from Trowbridge. The name is supposed to be derived from the Saxon word Bradenford, signifying the broad ford. Over this ford there is now a handsome stone bridge. The Duke’s House is close to the town, which contains more than 10,000 inhabitants, of whom the greater part are employed in the cloth-manufactories. The church is a large and ancient building, in the chancel of which is an antique altar-piece, coarsely ornamented with a painting that was intended to represent the Last Supper. In the church are two windows of painted glass, said to exhibit the actions of Christ and His Apostles. These windows were a present from John Ferret, Esq., of London, a native of Bradford, who died in 1770. Near the church is a charity-school, for the education of sixty-five children, which was opened in January 1712. There is an almshouse at the west end of the town, founded by John Hall, Esq., the last of a family which had resided at Bradford ever since the reign of Edward I.