The Diocesan School.
This institution was established, January 2, 1812, by public subscription, under the patronage of the Bishop of Chester. It is situated on the south side of the top of George-street, is 80 feet long by 33 wide, and is capable of accommodating 400 children. It is supported by benefactions and annual subscriptions, and the institution is in a most prosperous condition; its object is to promote a good education among the children of the poor. The present master is Mr. Beswick, who is efficiently fulfilling the duties of his office.
There are also the Blue Coat School, established by Bishop Stratford, in 1700; the Blue Girls’ School, established in 1721; Infant schools, established in 1825, under the patronage of Bishop Blomfield; Diocesan Training College, erected in 1742, of which the Principal is the Rev. Arthur Rigg, M.A.
Charitable Institutions.
The General Infirmary; Chester Humane Society; The Female Penitentiary; Female House of Refuge.
CHAPTER VI.
EATON HALL.
Before the visitor leaves Chester, we have no doubt he will be induced to visit Eaton Hall, the princely mansion of the Marquis of Westminster, which is situated in a beautiful park, about three miles to the south of Chester. The principal approach to the house is through the Chester gateway—a fine building, situated within a short distance of the city. The design is a spirited copy of St. Augustine’s Abbey Gate, Canterbury, by T. Jones, Esq., architect, of Chester, who has added appropriate wings and wing walls, after the style of architecture in the thirteenth century. The approach is from a noble esplanade, about 200 feet long by 100 feet broad, at the further end of which the lodge is entered through a pointed arch and groining, enriched with groups of very delicate foliage. Each side of the archway is defended by an octagonal tower, 50 feet high, rising about 12 feet above the centre of the edifice. The lower parts of the towers, with the wings, are comparatively plain; the centre of them is enriched with niches, surmounted by bunches of foliage exquisitely carved; the upper part is richly panelled and pierced, which, combined with the battlements, produces a light effect. The middle, above the archway and between the towers, is enriched with two windows, surrounded by elegant mouldings, with a central niche containing the Westminster arms, supported by the talbots in grand relief. Above the windows are a series of grotesque heads and fretwork, surrounded with an enriched battlement. The sides of the upper part are carried through in the same style, but not so highly enriched. The lodge or wing portions have a window in front, surmounted with a cornice and an appropriate battlement, having angular buttresses. The inner front on the Eaton side is ornamented in the same manner. To the sides are attached wing walls, extending 60 feet, pierced with loopholes and embattled, forming a grand tout ensemble.
The present magnificent edifice, the designs for which were furnished by Porden, was erected upon the site of the old hall (a stately brick mansion, built by Sir John Vanburgh, taken down in 1803), and is considered the most splendid modern specimen of the pointed Gothic in the kingdom. Although in the general design the florid Gothic order of the time of Edward the Third has been followed, the architect has, in parts, not only availed himself of the low Tudor arch, but has adopted the peculiar style of any period suitable to his purpose, and has made subservient to modern domestic convenience the rich and varied forms in which our ancient ecclesiastical architecture abounds. The walls, battlements, and pinnacles of the building are constructed of stone of a light and beautiful colour, brought from Delamere Forest; and round the turrets and in various parts of the parapets are shields, charged in relief with the heraldic achievements of the house of Grosvenor, and of other ancient families with whom they are allied. The building consists of a centre and two wings, the latter differing from each other somewhat in design; of these, that to the south, composed of two compartments, is the more beautiful; this wing is oblong and angular, with four octagonal turrets at the corners, buttresses at the sides, and having the embattled parapets surmounted with pinnacles; the decorations are rich to profusion, but every part accords with the original plan. The eastern and western fronts agree in their general form and proportions, but the former possesses the greater number of minute decorations. In the front a cloister extends along the entire length between the two spacious windows of the dining and drawing rooms, and conducts to the terrace: from the terrace, which is 350 feet long, the view is eminently beautiful. The groves and gardens, with the conservatory, form the foreground; beyond them is seen the noble inlet of the Dee, and a charming extensive landscape fills up the distance. The view from the gardens embraces the south or library wing, but the opposite extremity is partly hidden by the trees; beyond it, but apparently mingling with the turrets and pinnacles, is seen a lofty octagonal clock-tower, connected by flying buttresses with four slender shafts on a square basement; it is attached to part of the stable court, which recedes from the line of the east front, and which is of great extent.
The principal entrance is on the western front, under a lofty portico, the clustered pillars of which support a beautifully groined ceiling; from this a flight of steps leads to a pair of massive bronzed doors, admitting to the grand entrance hall, which is elegant and lofty, occupying the height of two stories; it is 41 feet long and 31 feet in breadth, and has a groined ceiling, embellished with the armorial bearings of the house of Grosvenor, and other devices in the bosses that cover the juncture of the ribs. The branching compartments terminate in a rich centre-piece, from which is suspended a beautiful lamp, which, when lighted, gives the pavement, composed of the choicest marbles, a gorgeous effect: the floor was laid down at a cost of 1,600 guineas. The screen at the end of the hall is decorated with shields of arms, and consists of five arches, which support a gallery connecting the sleeping apartments on the north and south sides of the house, which are separated by the elevation of the hall. In lofty canopied recesses at the sides of the hall, are four complete suits of ancient armour; and beneath the gallery two open arches, to the right and left, conduct to the grand staircase and the state bed-room. Through a pair of massive, richly carved, mahogany folding-doors, which cost 100 guineas each, the visitor is ushered into the saloon, which forms the centre of a suite of apartments of unequalled beauty and magnificence. The groined and fretted ceilings of these rooms, decorated with the endless ramifications of fanwork tracery and the most beautiful varieties of Gothic foliage, brilliant in colour, and rich with the herald’s skill, yet chastened by the direction of an exquisite taste, and subdued by the propriety of the arrangement—the walls beautified in the richest style of decoration, receiving and reflecting still more glowing hues as the sunbeams stream through the painted glass with which the windows are profusely ornamented—the paintings of the highest excellence—the chandeliers of elaborate workmanship—the gorgeous furniture corresponding with the house—the cabinets of Mosaic ivory and pearl—the golden vases sparkling in the niche—in short, the whole finishing and furnishing of these apartments constitute a combination of costliness and good taste which justly commands the admiration of every visitor.
The saloon is a splendid apartment; it is a square of 30 feet, formed into an octagon by arches across the angles, which give to the vaultings a beautiful form; there are three windows, enriched with tracery, and nearly filled with painted glass, through which a subdued light is admitted, giving to the Gothic character of the saloon a very rich and striking effect. The elegant fan tracery of the ceiling is supported by twelve slender columns in the angles and sides; the Roman circle, forming the centre, is composed of numerous mouldings, and ornamented with fruit and foliage. The stained glass windows represent the heraldic achievements of the noble house of Grosvenor, with those of the ancient families with whom they have formed alliances; and in the upper compartments are six full-length figures of William the Conqueror; Sir Gilbert le Grosvenor, his companion at the time of the Norman invasion, and the nephew of Hugh Lupus; the lady of Sir Gilbert; Sir Robert le Grosvenor, the Crusader; Joan Lady Grosvenor, heiress of Eaton; and Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, uncle of the Conqueror. The furniture of the room is chaste, both in colour and design. The chimney-piece is of statuary marble, and opposite to it is an organ, both highly adorned. This room has recently been richly decorated in the Alhambresque style, by Mr. John Morris of Chester; each panel being most beautifully embellished with landscapes.