The Wine Cellar in the Staunton Tower, with its vaulted ceiling and carved boss with crowned monogram of the Blessed Virgin, is one of the oldest parts of the castle. The Ale Cellar is said to contain thirty-one thousand gallons of liquor! The largest tun, which holds about thirteen hundred gallons of ale, is called after the founder of the castle, “Robert de Todeni,” while the next three largest are named respectively the “Marquis of Granby,” “Lord John,” and “Lord George.” The Housekeeper’s Rooms, with their fine assemblage of old Chelsea, Derby, Sèvres, and other china services; the Steward’s Room; the Plate Pantry, with the grand and invaluable services of plate; the kitchens and other offices, perhaps the most perfect of any in their arrangements and appliances, are all deserving more notice than the mere mention we can give them.
The Muniment-room, under the able guardianship of Mr. Green, is, in our eyes, one of the most important and interesting features of the castle, and one in which we would fain “live and move and have our being” for the rest of our lives. It is a perfect mine of historical wealth, and as a storehouse of genealogical and antiquarian lore is unsurpassed by any other mansion. It literally overflows with deeds and MSS. of one kind or other, and all in the most admirable order and condition. The deeds in this room are above four thousand in number, the greater part of which date back to the twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries.
The Duchess’s Garden.
Among the treasures are the cartularies and registers of Belvoir Priory and Croxton Abbey; rent-rolls of Croxton; household books of various early periods; a vast amount of original letters; personal accounts and bills relating to Haddon Hall; inventories of Riveaulx Abbey, Belvoir, Croxton, St. Dunstans-in-the-West, Haddon, &c.; plea-rolls, charters, and grants and confirmations of lands, pedigrees, agreements, &c.
One of the great glories of Belvoir, however, is its grounds and surroundings; but to these, which to do them justice would require a special article to themselves, we can only devote a few brief lines.
The Statue Garden.