Verst, [112].
W.
Waddington, —— Esq. [213]. (see [Cold Harbour])
Walcot, —— Esq. [94].
Wales, H. R. H. the Princess Charlotte of, and H. S. H. the Prince of Saxe-Cobourg, [25]. (see [Claremont Park])
Walker, —— Esq. [67]. (see [Muntham])
Walker, —— Esq. [217]. (see [Angmering Park])
Walsham, —— Esq. [62].
Ward, —— Esq. [61]. (see [Grove House])
Wardour Castle, [138], the beautiful seat of the noble family of Arundel. This magnificent mansion is situated on a gentle eminence, surrounded by a lawn and thick woods, about a mile from the site of the ancient castle, now only presenting a mass of ivy-crowned ruins, having been destroyed in two sieges which it sustained in the reign of Charles the First: the first, against a detachment of the parliament forces, 1300 strong, under Sir Edward Hungerford, with a garrison, consisting of only 25 men, under the command of the Lady Blanch, Countess of Arundel (daughter of the Earl of Worcester), who, bravely opposed every effort of the enemy to obtain possession of the fortress, during a vigorous bombardment of five days, and at length surrendered upon the most honourable terms. It was afterwards besieged by the royal army, under the command of the Earl of Arundel and Sir Francis Doddington. From the injuries sustained in these sieges, the castle became uninhabitable, and afterwards, being totally neglected, the all-defacing hand of time has completed its destruction, leaving not sufficient now remaining to ascertain even its extent and arrangement. The site of these ruins is beneath a hill covered with wood, the summit of which commands some beautiful and distant views. Approaching the new mansion by the principal entrance to the grounds, on the road between Salisbury and Shaftesbury, it is discovered in the bosom of a thick grove, and at length majestically bursts upon the view. The building is composed of free stone, consisting of a centre and two wings, projecting from the body on the north side, in a curvilinear form. The entrance towards the north is handsomely ornamented with pilasters and half columns, of the Corinthian order: this entrance opens into a spacious hall, which conducts to the rotunda stair-case, allowed to be the finest specimen of ornamental architecture in the kingdom. The apartments are numerous, spacious, and elegant, decorated in the most costly style, enriched with an extensive and valuable collection of paintings, and many curious specimens of carved work. In the west wing of the house is the Chapel, which is most superbly and appropriately embellished. The grounds are diversified by much inequality of surface, richly ornamented by numerous plantations, and interspersed with several spacious sheets of water, most tastefully and happily blended. To the south-east the ruins of the old castle are seen, over the venerable walls of which the mantling ivy most luxuriantly spreads its never varying foliage, presenting in the view from the house, an object strikingly beautiful in this most picturesque and delightful scene, which is terminated by a fine hanging wood.