The Mirror, 1828.07.05, issue No. 321 | Page 2

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 families that, by intermarriages, the Grosvenors are entitled to
quarter with their own. The windows, which are "richly dight" with
tracery, are of cast-iron, moulded on both sides, and grooved to receive

the glass. The walls, battlements, and pinnacles, are of stone, of a light
and beautiful colour, from the Manly quarry about ten miles distant.
The annexed engraving represents the west-front of the house, in the
centre of which is the entrance, by a vaulted porch, which admits a
carriage to the steps that lead to the Hall, a spacious and lofty room,
occupying the height of two stories, with a groined ceiling, embellished
with the Grosvenor arms, and other devices, in the bosses that cover the
junction of the ribs. The pavement is of variegated marble in
compartments. At the end of the Hall, a screen of five arches support a
gallery which connects the bed-chambers on the north side of the house
with those on the south, which are separated by the elevation of the
Hall. Under this gallery, two open arches to the right and left conduct
to the grand staircase, the state bed-room, and the second staircase; and
opposite to the door of the hall is the entrance to the saloon. The grand
staircase is elaborately ornamented with niches and canopies, and with
tracery under the landings; and in the principal ceiling, which is
surmounted with a double skylight of various coloured glass. The state
bed-room is lighted by two painted windows, with tracery and armorial
bearings. In the saloon are three lofty and splendidly painted windows,
which contain, in six divisions,--the portraits of the conqueror's nephew,
Gilbert le Grosvenor, the founder of the Grosvenor family, and his lady;
of William the Conqueror, with whom Gilbert came into England; the
Bishop of Bayeux, uncle to the conqueror; the heiress of the house of
Eaton; and Sir Robert le Grosvenor, who signalized himself in the wars
of Edward III.
The saloon is a square of thirty feet, formed into an octagon by arches
across the angles, which give to the vaultings a beautiful form.
Opposite to the chimney piece is an organ richly decorated. On the left
of the saloon is an ante-room leading to the dining-room; and on the
right, another leading to the drawing-room: the windows of these
rooms are glazed with a light Mosaic tracery, and exhibit the portraits
of the six Earls of Chester, who, after Hugh Lupus, governed Cheshire
as a County Palatine, till Henry III bestowed the title on his son Edward;
since which time the eldest sons of the kings of England have always
been Earls of Chester.

The dining-room, situated at the northern extremity of the east front, is
about 50 feet long and 30 feet wide, exclusive of a bay-window of five
arches, the opening of which is 30 feet. In the centre window is the
portrait of Hugh Lupus; which, with the portraits of the six Earls of
Chester, in the ante-room windows, were executed from cartoons, at
Longport, Staffordshire. The ceiling is of bold and rich tracery, with a
profuse emblazoning of heraldic honours, and a large ornamented
pendant for a chandelier.
The drawing room, which is at the southern extremity of the east front,
is of the same form and dimensions as the dining-room, with the
addition of a large window to the south, commanding the luxuriant
groves of meadows of Eaton, and the village and spire of Oldford
above them. All the windows of this room are adorned with heads and
figures of the ancestors of the family; also the portraits of the present
Earl and Countess, in a beautiful brown _chiaro-scuro_. The ceiling is
tracery of the nicest materials and workmanship emblazoned with the
arms of the Grosvenor family, and those of Egerton, Earl of Wilton, the
father of the present Countess Grosvenor.
Eaton became the property of the Grosvenor family through the
marriage of Ralph Grosvenor, in the reign of Henry VI with Joan,
daughter of John Eaton, then owner of this estate. The Grosvenor
family, as we have already intimated, came into England with William
the Conqueror; they derived their name from the office of chief
huntsmen, which they held in the Norman court; and, when "chivalry
was the fashion of the times," says Pennant, "few families shone in so
distinguished a manner: none shewed equal spirit in vindicating their
rights to their looms." He then mentions the celebrated legal contest
with Sir Richard le Scroope, for the family arms--_Azure, a bend or_.
This cause was tried before the High Constable and the Earl Marshal of
England, in the reign of Richard II. It lasted three