Audley End, the most celebrated of the mansions in Essex, takes its name from Sir Thomas Audley, Chancellor to King Henry VIII., to whom the Abbey of Walden and most of the lands at the west end of the parish had been granted at the Dissolution by Henry VIII.; and who is believed to have fixed his residence there, although, as Lord Braybrooke remarks in his history of this house, “the fact cannot now be established. Horace Walpole, notwithstanding, and, after him, Mr. Gough, assumed that Audley Inn was the original designation; but for this assertion no authority whatever is adduced: not to mention that many of the neighbouring hamlets are still distinguished by the names of North End, Sewer’s End, Sparrow’s End, &c.; and that similar instances frequently occur in different parts of the County of Essex.”

The manor of Walden having been originally granted to the celebrated follower of William the Conqueror, Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, after many mutations, again reverted to the crown, and so remained till May 1538; when it was granted by Henry VIII., with the recently dissolved Abbey of Walden, and the greatest part of the advowsons and estates belonging to that foundation, to Sir Thomas Audley, from whom are descended the Earls of Suffolk, Berkshire, and Carlisle, the Earls and present Marquis of Bristol, and the Lords Howard de Walden; besides the Earls of Binden and Lords Howard of Escrick, whose titles are extinct.

Sir Thomas Audley, a clever and crafty man, was the principal instrument in the hands of the king in effecting the dissolution of the religious houses; by which he also greatly enriched himself, for the rapacity of Henry never exceeded that of Sir Thomas, who was all his life employed in asking for grants and emoluments, under the plea of ill-paid services or absolute poverty—an excuse as disgusting as it was untrue; and nothing can exceed the fawning perseverance of his begging-letters, as printed by Lord Braybrooke in his “History of Audley End,” or the meanness of soul that runs throughout them, and which his lordship, with right feeling, does not do otherwise than unequivocally condemn. The first step in the king’s favour made by Sir Thomas (after he was, at the recommendation of the Duke of Suffolk, to whom he was steward or chancellor, introduced to Henry) was occasioned by his conduct as Speaker of the Long, or Black Parliament, to which office the king had caused him to be elected, which first sat in November 1529, and continuing, by prorogation, six years, effected the dissolution of all the religious houses whose revenues did not annually exceed 200l.

Henry thus acquired ample funds for the remuneration of those ministers and favourites who had been the instruments of his tyranny, and who had ensured the consummation of his grand designs; amongst these Audley, as the principal actor, was not forgotten, and he revelled in the church spoliation he had ensured his master. The rich priory of Christ Church, Aldgate, with all the church plate and lands belonging to that house, was first granted him; and afterwards many portions of the estates previously belonging to the lesser religious houses of Essex, with licenses to alienate them, of which he duly availed himself. Thus St. Botolph’s priory at Colchester, with all its revenues, the priory of the Crouched Friars in the same town, and Tiltey Abbey, near Thaxted, were added to the list of his monastic spoils, after the gifts from the king in 1538, on Sir Thomas’s application, of the rich abbey of Walden, with all the estates, manors, and advowsons thereunto attached. He was also created Lord Audley of Walden, and installed a Knight of the Garter. “Yet,” says Lord Braybrooke, “instead of Audley’s being contented with these repeated marks of the royal favour, we are compelled to admit that every grant which he obtained encouraged him to importune the king for further recompense; and his letters, preserved in the Cottonian library, prove that, in making these applications, he was mean enough to plead poverty as an excuse, and even to assert that his character had suffered in consequence of the public services which he had been obliged to perform.” With a watchfulness for every advantage which might accrue to him, and a continued solicitation for gifts, he continued to enjoy the king’s confidence till his death, in 1544. He is buried in the church of Saffron Walden, where a plain altar-tomb of black marble perpetuates his memory.

Sir Thomas Audley left two daughters, and the youngest, dying in 1546, left the eldest (Margaret) sole heiress. She married Lord Henry Dudley at the early age of fourteen; he was arraigned for high treason in 1533, and, pleading guilty, was ordered for death; but Mary pardoned him, and restored his property. He was killed at the battle of St. Quintin’s, in Picardy, in 1557, and his widow, in the same year, married Thomas, the fourth Duke of Norfolk, dying herself at the early age of twenty-three.

The Howards thus became possessed of Audley End; but the duke’s ill-judged project of forming a matrimonial alliance with Mary Queen of Scots, under the impression that, if they both survived Elizabeth, he should eventually become king-consort of England, was a scheme which cost him his life; he was beheaded for high-treason on Tower Hill, June 2, 1572—a sentence which he bore with exemplary fortitude.

His son, Lord Thomas Howard, was the builder of Audley End. He was restored in blood by act of Parliament in 1583, and, when very young, embraced the military service, but abandoned it for success at court, where he sought every opportunity of ingratiating himself with the queen, and succeeded, in a great measure, in obtaining her countenance. During the next reign, almost the whole of his life was passed at court; and although the high and lucrative offices which he held afforded him more ample means of displaying his magnificence than those enjoyed by his ancestors, he contrived to eclipse them all in extravagance; and we are assured that in the building of Audley End alone he expended a no less sum than 190,000l. He was much honoured by King James I., and was advanced by him to the Earldom of Suffolk, and made Lord Chamberlain, and afterwards Lord High Treasurer of England. Lady Suffolk was, unfortunately, a woman of a covetous mind, and having too great an ascendancy over her husband, used it in making him a party to her extortions on persons who had business to transact at the Treasury, or places to obtain at court; and her husband was charged with embezzlement, deprived of his office, and fined 30,000l., but which was reduced by the king to 7000l. He was generally considered to have been chiefly guilty only in concealing the mal-practices of his wife, who eventually died in debt and difficulty.

From this period the history of the possessors of Audley End is a mere confused piece of family biography, of little interest to the general reader: they seem never to have recovered the charges entailed upon them by the building of Audley End, and constant curtailments of the house and park were made by each succeeding owner up to the partition of the estates in 1747. The cost of the original building appears to have involved Lord Suffolk greatly, for we learn from one of his letters, printed in the “Cabala,” that, at the period of his committal to the Tower, he was in debt nearly 40,000l., though he had then recently sold the Charter House to Mr. Sutton for 13,000l., and disposed of his property at Aynhoe in Northamptonshire; and he died possessed of Lulworth and Framlingham Castle, and Charlton in Wiltshire, with the estates belonging to them, as well as Suffolk House in the Strand, besides the large Essex property derived through his mother, Margaret Audley. At all events the cost of the building must have been very serious, nor did the charge of maintaining it prove less formidable; so much so, in fact, that none of the possessors of Audley End, after the death of the first Earl of Suffolk, were enabled to keep an establishment suitable to the size and magnificence of the house. Earl Theophilus and his son James, the third earl, seem, indeed, to have resided there; but the latter, of whom it is not recorded that he took any active part during the Commonwealth, lived in retirement, and, after the Restoration, gladly availed himself of the opportunity of alienating the house and park to Charles II., and thus dispose of a possession which, from his being unable to enjoy it, could only be considered as a source of mortification.

At this period the house was of regal magnificence, and consisted, besides the offices, of various ranges of building, surrounding two spacious quadrangular courts; that to the westward was the largest, and was approached over a bridge across the lake, through a double avenue of limes, terminating with a double-entrance gateway, flanked by four circular towers. The apartments on the north and south sides of the principal court were erected over an open cloister, and supported by pillars of alabaster; while, on the eastern side, a flight of steps led to the entrance-porches, placed on a terrace running parallel to the great hall, which formed the centre of the building, and which is now the principal front of the mansion, despoiled as it at present is of its grand entrance-court. Beyond the hall was the inner court, surrounded by an arcade, over which were the principal apartments, the three sides of which only remain, while the chapel beyond has been entirely demolished. It will thus be seen that the present house is but a wreck of the original building.[20]

Of the original architect, Lord Braybrooke thus writes: “According to Horace Walpole, Bernard Jansen was the architect employed; but after hazarding this assertion he contrives to establish a stronger claim in behalf of John Thorpe, who built many of the houses of the nobility about that period, and whose partiality for what Walpole terms barbarous

ornaments and balustrades he especially notices; adding, that some of his vast bow-windows advanced outwards in a sharp angle, and thus actually describing a portion of the principal court at Audley End long since demolished,” but represented in our woodcut from Winstanley’s view of the original house, where one occurs at each side of the principal entrance.

Thorpe’s claim to the erection of Audley End has been further confirmed by the discovery of the ground-plan of the house, corresponding to that engraved by Winstanley, existing among the curious volume of original plans and drawings made by John Thorpe himself, formerly preserved at Warwick Castle, and afterwards in the possession of Sir John Soane. Upon this plan a variety of pencilled alterations might be traced. “And there appeared,” says Lord Braybrooke, “so strong a family likeness (if such an expression may be used) in the different elevations throughout the volume, that no doubt could be reasonably entertained as to their all being the work of the same individual. The house has always been supposed to have been commenced in 1603, and to have occupied thirteen years before it was entirely finished; and the date of 1616 still remains upon one of the gateways.”

In 1666 the house was sold to Charles II. (who liked it as well for its regal magnificence as for its convenience to Newmarket) for the sum of 50,000l. a portion being paid, and 20,000l. being left on mortgage. In 1670 the court was regularly established there, and the queen very frequently resided in the house. “Lord Suffolk and his successor, the fourth earl, seem to have resided at Chesterfield Park after the sale of Audley End, which was committed to the charge of one of the family, who held the office of housekeeper and keeper of the wardrobe, with a salary; and this arrangement continued till 1701, when the house and park were reconveyed to Henry the fifth Earl of Suffolk, upon condition of his relinquishing all claim to the 20,000l. which had remained on mortgage from the year 1668; nor is it clear that any interest had been ever paid upon it.”

The work of demolition commenced in 1721, when the three sides of the grand quadrangle, which formed so magnificent an entrance to the house, were demolished by the advice of Sir John Vanburgh, with the kitchen and offices, which occupied a considerable space behind the north wing of the building; and the chapel and cellars, which projected at each extremity of the gallery wing, were probably soon afterwards removed, leaving the inner court only untouched; the entire building being then in the form of an open square. In 1747, Lord Effingham, who succeeded the Earl of Suffolk, sold the house and park to Elizabeth countess of Portsmouth for 10,000l., which sum included the timber, 500 head of deer, a water-mill, and the right of presentation to the Mastership of Magdalen College, Cambridge. There was a debate at this time about pulling the house entirely down and selling the materials, and for which a valuation was actually made; or else, for converting the buildings into a silk-manufactory, for which the spacious premises and mill near the stables seemed well adapted. At this time the house was rapidly going to decay, the windows were without glass in many places, the furniture taken away, the cupola in the centre in danger of falling from every high wind, and the eastern wing with its noble gallery so unsafe that Lady Portsmouth levelled it to the ground in 1749. This splendid gallery occupied the whole of the first floor of the demolished wing, and measured 24 feet in height, 226 feet in length, and 32 feet in width, exclusive of the bow in the centre, which was sufficiently spacious to contain a full-sized billiard-table. The whole room was fitted up with wainscot, in which a profusion of ornamental carving was introduced. The Labours of Hercules were represented in oak upon the chimney-piece; and upon the stuccoed ceiling, the Loves of the Gods.

The Countess of Portsmouth at her death bequeathed her possessions, in default of issue, to John Griffin Whitwell, eldest son of her sister Anne, afterwards confirmed Lord Howard de Walden and Baron Braybrooke of Braybrooke, in the county of Northampton. This nobleman, at great expense, restored the dilapidated house at Audley End; and continued his repairs and renovations until he had succeeded in making this noble relic again habitable.

The present aspect of the house, as seen from the main road to Newmarket and

Cambridge, is depicted in our plate. Upon crossing the modern bridge which leads to the town of Saffron Walden, a gate to the left leads up to the house. It is the gate already noticed as bearing the date of 1616, and is here engraved. The way in which the noble trees hang their branches in the richest profusion over it renders it a most picturesque object; it is surmounted by a lion standing on a cap of maintenance, beneath which is inscribed:—

A semicircular walk leads to the mansion. The doors, both back and front, of the principal entrance, are exceedingly fine specimens of wood-carving. They are extremely massive, and carved in a geometric pattern; the circular portion above being filled in the front door

with figures emblematic of the arts of Peace, that of the back leading into the garden, representing War in a chariot drawn by wolves. We have engraved this beautiful door. It originally led into the inner court; it now leads to the arcade facing the garden, which is believed to have been the site of the ancient monastery, as many stone coffins have been discovered there.

Entering a small vestibule the great hall lies to the right; it is ninety feet in length, twenty-seven feet wide, and twenty-nine feet high; it is too square to be considered in good proportion, a fault found by all since its first erection. Its principal feature is the magnificent oak screen, which occupies the entire north end. It is most elaborately carved and ornamented with a great variety of grotesque figures executed in bold relief, and is said to have been originally procured from Italy; but of this there may be entertained considerable doubt, as it is precisely similar in its details to many others which still exist and are of English workmanship. The fireplace is of similar design, and our initial letter exhibits one of its many beautiful compartments. The hall is wainscoted, and is lighted by five windows, that in the centre having a large projecting bow, extending from the cornice to the floor which is paved. It is hung with family pictures, among which those of the Cornwallis predominate—the ancestors of the present Lady Braybrooke. The ceiling is of plaster, divided into forty square compartments, formed by the massive oaken beams supported by richly-carved brackets. These compartments are filled with the crests and cognizances of the Howard family, worked in raised stucco and encircled by a border. A gay effect is produced by the many silken banners which hang from the walls.

Opposite the fine old wooden screen is an open one of stone, for which, says Lord Braybrooke, “we are indebted to the bad taste of Sir John Vanburgh, who removed the south wall to enlarge the hall, which had been censured by Evelyn and others as too small in proportion to the rest of the house, and being desirous at the same time to obtain sufficient space for a double flight of stairs leading to the saloon”—the subject of our second plate; it is in every sense a magnificent room, and is sixty feet in length, twenty-seven feet three inches wide, and twenty feet eight inches high. The description of the noble owner must be here quoted: “It was originally called the Fish-room, after the dolphins and sea monsters represented in bold relief upon the ceiling, which is of stucco, and divided into thirty-two compartments with raised borders. From each angle of these compartments hang pendants of considerable dimensions elaborately wrought, and producing a striking and singular effect. The fittings of the wall are of wood-work, painted in white and gold, and carved up twelve feet from the ground; the cornice and frieze, being supported by pilasters placed at equal distances, the spaces between which are allotted to portraits, in whole-length, of the different persons connected with the history of Audley End, let into arches serving as frames, and the spandrils of which are filled with rich foliage. Upon the wall above the cornice, which has a bold projection, are quatre-feuilles, worked in stucco, probably added after the room was finished, and not in character with the ceiling. The frieze is deep, and decorated with lions’ heads and a variety of other patterns, carved in wood. The pilasters are also surmounted by grotesque heads. The large western bow, to which we ascend by three steps, commands a

fine view of the grounds, the river Cam, and the ancient stables beyond, here engraved; they are of red brick and are exceedingly picturesque, embowered as they are in antique trees. The chimney-piece is completely in keeping with the rest of the apartment, and, though not dissimilar to those already described, greatly surpasses them in the beauty of the carved work and the brilliancy of the gilding. In the centre are emblazoned the arms of Thomas Earl of Suffolk, impaling Knivett and his quarterings, and encircled by the Garter. The female figures and ancient heads on each side, as well as the arms and crests of Lord Howard de Walden and his two wives, were painted by Rebecca.”

The suite of rooms in connexion with the saloon are fine and contain some good ceilings and fireplaces. In one of them is preserved the interesting relic here engraved. Its history is thus told on a brass plate inserted in the back:—“This chair, once the property of Alexander Pope, was given as a keepsake to the nurse who attended him in his illness; from her descendants it was obtained by the Rev. Thomas Ashley, curate of the parish of Binfield, and kindly presented by him to Lord Braybrooke in 1844, nearly a century after the poet’s decease.” It is apparently of Flemish workmanship, and of rather singular design; in the central medallion is a figure of Venus, holding a dart in her right hand, and a burning heart in her left. The narrow back and wide-circling arms give a peculiarly quaint appearance to this curious relic of one of our greatest poets.

The upper and lower floor of this wing are connected together by a fine oak staircase,

represented in the accompanying woodcut. It reaches from the ground to the upper story in such a manner that a person ascending the whole height goes two and a half times round the well which it includes. This well, a narrow oblong, is a frame-work of upright posts extending from top to bottom; and these posts, being divided into shorter lengths by the various traverse of the stairs and landing-places, are ornamented in a sort of pilaster fashion, and connected by arches at the top of each opening: the balustrade of the stairs being formed by a repetition of such an arcade on a smaller scale. A similar staircase of oak, of a plainer character, is in the opposite wing.

The chapel is in “Strawberry-Hill Gothic.” The library contains about seven thousand books of varied standard literature. The pictures throughout the house are not very remarkable. The park is extensive and contains some magnificent old trees, the views being relieved by sloping elevations.

Nearly opposite the dated gateway to the mansion, already engraved and described, is the entrance to the village of Audley End, which is approached through an avenue of trees,

which hide it from the road. The first view of its humble habitations, as delineated in our engraving, is very striking, and as simply antique as need be. Its old gables and deep-bowed windows, over which climb the honeysuckle and ivy, tell at once the age of their erection, and carry the spectator back to the days of Elizabeth. It is a compact little village, of about forty cottages, which form a narrow street of close tenements, all of which may be detected at a glance. The ground on which the village is built rises and falls in picturesque undulations; and at its farthest extremity, the gables seen in our next cut belong to the ancient brick tenements, picturesque in decay, of which a view is here given. They are thus described in the volume so

frequently quoted:—“The buildings surround two courts, one of which is appropriated to ten old women, permitted to reside there by Lord Braybrooke, to whom the premises belong. The other court is occupied as a farm-house, together with the old chapel, long since converted into a barn; but there are no traces of its former destination, excepting an iron cross on the eastern gable, and the lofty ceiling, supported by oak beams; and this part of the building is in a very ruinous state.”[21]

These premises were, doubtless, originally erected for purposes of charity, and perhaps placed under the control of the monastery, having no especial endowment. At a later period, Thomas first Earl of Suffolk made some allowance to the inmates, and the building is described in the parish register as “my lord’s almshouse;” but his widow discontinued the payments, nor is there any tradition of their having been since claimed as matter of right.

“It is recorded in one of the chronicles of Walden Abbey, that on the festival of St. Mark 1258, when Fulco Bishop of London, and Hugo de Balsham Bishop of Norwich, consecrated the church of Walden, Bishop Hugo performed the same ceremony for the chapel of the Infirmaria, and granted an indulgence to those who visited it on the feast of its dedication. It also appears from an inquisition, dated the forty-sixth of Edward III., that Humphrey Earl of Essex, Hereford, and Northampton, was seised, inter alia, of the advowson of the hospital of the Abbey of Walden; we may therefore suppose the almshouses, or the site which they occupy, to have been the place alluded to, and this conjecture is confirmed by the premises having been described in some old leases as the Hospital Farm.”[22]