CLUMBER, the seat of his Grace the Duke of Newcastle, is charmingly situated within about four miles from Worksop, and on the borders of Sherwood Forest. The drive from Worksop, up Sparkin Hill, and so along the highway for the forest, is lovely in the extreme, the road being well wooded on either side, and presenting glimpses of forest scenery that are peculiarly grateful to the eye. Leaving the main road to the left, and entering the grounds by the Lodge, a carriage drive of a mile or more in length through the well-wooded park leads to the mansion, which is at once elegant, picturesque, and “homely.” To it, however, we are only able to devote very brief attention.

Clumber is of comparatively modern erection, having been first built in 1770, and received since then many important additions. It has, therefore, no history attached to it. The place was, till about that time, simply a wild tract of forest land, which the then noble duke who planned and carried out the works cleared and cultivated at an enormous outlay, forming the extensive lake at an expense of some £7,000, and erecting the mansion at a princely cost.

The main feature of the house is its west front, facing the lake: this we have engraved. Its centre is a colonnade, and this gives access to the entrance hall, the oldest portion of the house being a part of the shooting-box, to which magnificent additions have been made. Between the mansion and the lake are the Italian gardens, elegantly laid out in beds of the richest flowers, and well diversified with vases and statuary; in the centre is a fountain of large size (the bowl being nearly thirteen feet in diameter), of white marble and of Italian workmanship.

The family of Pelham, which, with that of Clinton, is represented by the Duke of Newcastle, is of considerable antiquity in the county of Hertford, deriving the name from the manor or lordship of Pelham, in that county, which, in the reign of Edward I., belonged to Walter de Pelham. He died in 1292, leaving two sons—William, who died without issue, and Walter, who was succeeded by his son, Thomas de Pelham. John de Pelham, the grandson of this latter, “was a person of great fame in the reign of King Edward III.; and in memory of his valiant acts, his figure, in armour, with the arms of the family on his breast, was painted on glass in the Chapter-house at Canterbury, being (’tis probable) a benefactor to the cathedral, or was buried there.” At the battle of Poictiers he shared the glory of taking the French king prisoner with “Lord la Warr, and in memory of so signal an action, and the king’s surrendering his sword to them, Sir Roger la Warr, Lord la Warr, had the crampet or chape of his sword for a badge of that honour, and John de Pelham (afterwards knighted) had the buckle of a belt as a mark of the same honour, which was sometimes used by his descendants as a seal manual, and at others the said buckle on each side a cage, being an emblem of the captivity of the said King of France, and was therefore borne as a crest, as in those times was customary.” The “Pelham buckle” is still the badge of the family. Sir John married Joan, daughter of Vincent Herbert, or Finch, ancestor of the Earls of Winchelsea and Nottingham, and was succeeded by his son, John de Pelham, who was no less famous than his father for many great achievements and honourable exploits. He was Constable of Pevensey Castle, Treasurer to the King, Ambassador to the French King, and held many other important offices, and was knighted. Dying in 1428, Sir John was succeeded by his son, Sir John de Pelham, who also held many offices. He married twice: first, Joan, co-heiress of Sir John d’Escures; and, secondly, Joan de Courcy, by whom he had issue, with others, his son and successor, Sir John de Pelham, who married Alice, daughter of Sir Thomas Lewknor, but died without male issue, when the estates passed to his brother, William de Pelham, who also died without issue, and was succeeded by his brother Thomas.

Thomas Pelham was consecutively succeeded by his sons, John and Sir William, the latter of whom married, first, Mary, daughter of Sir Richard Carew; and, secondly, Mary, daughter of William, Lord Sands of the Vine, Lord Chamberlain to Henry VIII. By his first wife he had issue, with others, a son Nicholas, of whom hereafter; and by his second, with others, a son William, who became famous: from him descended the Pelhams of Brocklesby. Sir Nicholas Pelham married Anne Sackville, and, at his death in 1559, was succeeded by his son, Sir John Pelham, who married Judith, daughter of Oliver, Lord St. John of Bletsoe, by whom he had a son, Oliver, who died young four years after his father. He was succeeded by Thomas, brother to Sir John, who was created a baronet in 1611. He married Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas Walsingham, and was succeeded by his son, Sir Thomas Pelham, as second baronet, who married three times, and left issue by his first and third wives. The eldest of these was his successor, Sir John Pelham, Bart., who married the Lady Lucy, daughter of the Earl of Leicester, by whom he had a family of three sons and three daughters. He died in 1702-3, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Thomas Pelham, Bart., who, in 1706, was raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Pelham of Laughton, in Sussex.

Lord Pelham married, first, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Jones, Attorney-General, and, secondly, the Lady Grace Holles, youngest daughter of Gilbert, Earl of Clare, and sister of John Holles, fourth Earl of Clare, created Duke of Newcastle (who had married the Lady Margaret Cavendish, daughter and co-heiress of Henry Cavendish, second Duke of Newcastle), by whom he had issue two sons—Thomas and Henry—and five daughters. He died in 1711-12, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Thomas, as second Baron Pelham.

This peer was born in 1693, and by the will of his uncle, John Holles, Duke of Newcastle, “was made his heir, and authorised to bear the name and arms of Holles.” Besides many other important offices, he was made Steward, Keeper, and Warden of the Forest of Sherwood and the Park of Folewood, in the county of Nottingham, and in 1714 was promoted to the dignity of Earl of Clare and Viscount Haughton, with remainder, in default of male issue, to his brother, the Hon. Henry Pelham and his heirs male. In the following year he was created Marquis of Clare and Duke of Newcastle, with the like remainder, and was made a K.G. He married, in 1717, Lady Harriet Godolphin, co-heiress of Lord Godolphin, and granddaughter of John, Duke of Marlborough, but died without issue in 1768. His brother, Henry Pelham, who had married Lady Catherine Manners, daughter of the Duke of Rutland, having also died without surviving male issue, the estates and the titles of Duke of Newcastle and Baron Pelham passed to Henry Clinton, ninth Earl of Lincoln, who had married Catherine, daughter of Henry Pelham, and whose mother was the Lady Lucy Pelham, the Earl assuming the name of Pelham in addition to that of Clinton. His grace had issue—Henry Pelham-Clinton, Earl of Lincoln, who died during his father’s lifetime without male issue, and Lord Thomas Pelham-Clinton, who succeeded to the titles and estates.

Thomas Pelham-Clinton, third Duke of Newcastle, was born in 1752, and married the Lady Anna Maria Stanhope, daughter of the second Earl of Harrington, and by her had issue two sons and two daughters. He died in 1795, and was succeeded by his eldest son—

Henry Pelham Pelham-Clinton, fourth Duke of Newcastle and eleventh Earl of Lincoln, who held many local appointments, and was a man of high attainments. He married, in 1807, Georgiana Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Miller Mundy, Esq., of Shipley Hall, Derbyshire, and by her had issue five daughters—viz. the Ladies Anna Maria, Georgiana, Charlotte, Caroline Augusta, and Henrietta—and six sons, viz. Henry Pelham, Earl of Lincoln (who succeeded him), and Lords Charles Pelham, Thomas Charles Pelham, William, Edward, and Robert Renebald. His grace died in 1864, and was succeeded by his eldest son—

Henry Fiennes Pelham-Clinton, as fifth duke. This nobleman was born in 1811, and, as Earl of Lincoln, represented South Nottinghamshire and the Falkirk burghs in Parliament. His grace, who was a man of the highest integrity, was the confidential friend of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales (who visited Clumber in 1861), was successively Lord Warden of the Stannaries, Chief Secretary for Ireland, Secretary of State for the Colonies, and Secretary of State for War. He married, in 1832, the Lady Susan Harriet Catherine, daughter of the tenth Duke of Hamilton (which marriage was dissolved in 1850, the Duchess in 1860 being married to M. Opdebeck, of Brussels), and by her had issue three sons and one daughter. These were—the present duke (of whom directly); Lord Edward William Pelham-Clinton, born in 1836, married to Matilda, daughter of Sir W. E. Cradock-Hartopp, Bart.; Lord Arthur Pelham-Clinton, M.P., born 1840, who died in 1870; Lord Albert Sydney Pelham-Clinton, born in 1845, and married to Frances Evelyn, widow of Captain E. Stotherd; and the late Lady Susan Charlotte Catherine Pelham-Clinton, born in 1839, married to Lord Adolphus Frederick Charles William Vane-Tempest, son of the third Marquis of Londonderry.

The present head of this illustrious house, Henry Pelham Alexander Pelham-Clinton, sixth Duke of Newcastle, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, and thirteenth Earl of Lincoln, was born in 1834, and educated at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford. He sat, when Earl of Lincoln, for Newark, and was attached to Lord Grenville’s mission to Russia in 1856. In 1861 his grace married Henrietta Adela, only daughter of the late Henry Thomas Hope, Esq., of Deepdene, Surrey, and Castle Blaney, county Monaghan (by his wife, the Hon. Gertrude Elphinstone, daughter of the fourteenth Lord Elphinstone), by whom he has issue living—Henry Pelham Archibald Douglas, Earl of Lincoln, born in 1864; Lord Henry Francis Hope Pelham-Clinton, born in 1866; the Lady Beatrice Adeline Pelham-Clinton, born in 1862; and the Lady Emily Augusta Mary Pelham-Clinton, born in 1863.

The arms of the Duke of Newcastle are—quarterly, first and fourth argent, six cross-crosslets, three, two, and one, sable, on a chief, azure, two mullets pierced, or, for Clinton; second and third, the two coats of Pelham, quarterly, viz. first and fourth azure, three pelicans vulning themselves, argent, second and third gules, two pieces of belts with buckles erect, in pale, the buckles upwards, argent (being an augmentation in commemoration of the part Sir William Pelham took in the capture of the French king at the battle of Poictiers). Crests—first, out of a ducal coronet, gules, a plume of five ostrich feathers, argent, banded azure, for Clinton; second, a peacock in pride, proper, for Pelham. Supporters—two greyhounds, argent, plain collared and lined, gules.

His grace is patron of ten livings—viz. Worksop, Shireoaks, Cromwell, Elksley, Bothansall, Brinsley, Markham Clinton, East Markham, Kirton, and Mapplebeck.

It will not be necessary to describe minutely any of the apartments of this “Home” of the Newcastles—Clumber. The house has been said, very absurdly, to be “a second Chatsworth,” and that “it embraces magnificence and comfort more than any other nobleman’s mansion in England;” but it is not so. It is a noble mansion, some of its rooms being characterized by great elegance and beauty, and by pureness of taste, while others are of a more mediocre character. To some of the apartments and their contents we proceed to direct attention.

The Entrance Hall, with an arcade supporting its ceiling, contains, among other works of Art, a semi-colossal statue of Napoleon, which has usually been ascribed to Canova, but has also, with reason, been stated to be Franzoni’s reproduction of Chaudet’s great work: it was purchased at Carrara, in 1823, by the then Duke of Newcastle. In the same hall, besides others, are Bailey’s statue of the poet Thomson, a fine figure of Paris, and busts of the Duke of Newcastle by Nollekens, Sir Robert Peel, Cromwell, Verschaffer’s Triton and Dolphins, &c.

The Library, perhaps the finest apartment in the mansion, is a noble room, of large size and lofty proportions, and fitted in a style of great magnificence. The geometric ceiling is richly decorated, and around the upper part of the room is a light and elegant gallery. Besides the choice collections of rare old books, and those of more modern times, which are arranged round the walls of the Library and the Reading-room (to which access is gained by a lofty arch springing from pilasters of the composite order), they contain Sir R. Westmacott’s noble statue of Euphrosyne, Bailey’s Thetis and Achilles, many good bronzes, and an assemblage of objects of virtu. From the windows of these rooms fine views of the Grounds, the Park, and the Lake are obtained.

The State Dining-room, an elegant apartment, has a richly decorated geometric ceiling and a recessed buffet, the recess being formed by well-proportioned Corinthian columns. The rich cornice, the gilt festoons that adorn the walls, the mirrors between the windows, the antique Venetian crystal-glass chandelier and side lights, and the silver-gilt service on the buffets give a sumptuous air to the room, while the four magnificent Snyders, and the other fine old paintings which adorn the walls, add materially to its beauty.

The principal Drawing-room, hung with satin damask, and the furniture of the most costly and elegant character, is a noble apartment, and contains, besides Lawrence’s portraits of the fourth Duke of Newcastle and his duchess, good examples of the Carracci, Vandyke, Castiglione, and others; while in the Crimson Drawing-room are pictures by Rembrandt, Rubens, Poussin, Guido Reni, and Canaletti.

The Grand Staircase, with its iron-work railing, originally described as being “curiously wrought and gilt in the shape of crowns, with tassels hanging down between them from cords twisted in knots and festoons,” has stained-glass windows, and is enriched with a number of portraits and other paintings. Among the portraits are Pitt, Thomson, Scott, Southey, Campbell, King George II., Queen Caroline, Prince Rupert, Dante, Cowley, and Hatton; and among the other paintings are examples of Snyders, Westall, Van Oss, Andrea Sacchi, Lely, Shackleton, Diepenbeck, and others.

The other apartments—the Breakfast-room, Billiard-room, Smoking-rooms, Ante-rooms, and what not—as well as the bed-room suites, are mostly elegant in their fittings, convenient in their appointments, and replete with choice works of Art. We, however, pass them over, simply remarking that among these Art treasures are striking examples of Gainsborough (the “Beggar Boys”), Gerard Douw, Poussin, Borgognone, Neefs, Van der Meulin, Carlo Dolce (the “Marriage of St. Catherine”), Vandyke, Titian, Rembrandt, Breughel, Ruysdael, Teniers, Lely, Rubens (his wife), Andrea del Sarto, Salvator Rosa, Claude Lorraine, Wouvermans, Hogarth (portraits of himself and wife), Reynolds, Jansen, Holbein, Van Loo, Creswick, Dahl, Domenichino, Dobson, Rigaud, Cranach, Kneller, and others. Many of these are gems of Art of a high order of excellence.