The Mirror, 1828.07.05, issue No. 321

The Mirror, 1828.07.05, issue No. 321

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Title: The Mirror, 1828.07.05, Issue No. 321 The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction
Author: Various
Release Date: August, 2005 [EBook #8640] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on July 29, 2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
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Produced by The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Jon Ingram, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team

THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.
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[NO. 321.] SATURDAY, JULY 5, 1828. [PRICE 2d.]
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EATON HALL, CHESHIRE,
_The Seat of the Rt. Hon. Earl Grosvenor_.
[Illustration]
This mansion is a princely specimen of Gothic architecture; and is in every respect calculated for the residence of its noble possessor, whose taste and munificence in patronizing the Fine Arts are well known to our readers. Nevertheless, it is worthy of special remark, that not only is the name of GROSVENOR conspicuous in this patronage, but his lordship has further evinced his love of art in the construction of one of the most splendid buildings in the whole empire,--the present mansion having been completed within a few years.[1] Here the noble founder seems to have realized all that the ingenious Sir Henry Wotton considered requisite for a man's "house and home--the theatre of his hospitality, the seat of self-fruition, a kind of PRIVATE PRINCEDOM; nay, to the possessors thereof, an epitome of the whole world."
[1] At this moment, Earl Grosvenor has in progress a splendid gallery for the reception of his superb collection of pictures, adjoining his town mansion, in Grosvenor-street. This is one of the few "Private Collections" to which, through the good taste and courtesy of the proprietor, the public are admitted, on specified days, and under certain restrictions. The nucleus of Earl Grosvenor's collection, was the purchase of Mr. Agar's pictures for ��30,000; since which it has been enlarged, till it has at length become one of the finest in England. In the drawing-room at Eaton are, Our Saviour on the Mount of Olives, by Claude Lorraine, which is the largest painting known to have been executed by him; and A Port in the Mediterranean, by Vernet. In the dining-room, _Rubens with his Second Wife_; by himself; and The Judgment of Paris, a copy, by Peters, after Rubens. In the dressing-room of the state bed-room, David and Abigail, also by Rubens. Over the ornamented chimney-pieces of the hall are, West's Dissolution of the Long Parliament, and The Landing of Charles the Second.
Eaton is situated about three miles to the south of Chester, on the verge of an extensive park, thickly studded with fine old timber. The present "Hall" occupies the site of the old mansion, which is described as a square and spacious brick building erected by Sir Thomas Grosvenor, in the reign of William III. The architect was Sir John Vanbrugh, who likewise laid out the gardens with straight walks and leaden statues, in the formal style of his age. In the reconstruction, the fine vaulted basement story of the old Hall was preserved, as were also the external foundations, and some subdivisions; but the superstructure was altered and entirely refitted, and additional apartments erected on the north and south sides, so as to make the area of the new house twice the dimensions of the old one.
The style of architecture adopted in the new Hall is that of the age of Edward III, as exhibited in that Parthenon of Gothic architecture, York Minster; although the architect, Mr. Porden, has occasionally availed himself of the low Tudor arch, and the forms of any other age that suited his purpose, so as to adapt the rich variety of our ancient ecclesiastical architecture to modern domestic convenience. Round the turrets, and in various parts of the parapets are shields, charged in relievo with the armorial bearings of the Grosvenor family, and of other ancient