The lawns and gardens are admirably laid out, somewhat trim and formal, but not out of character with the building of which they are adornments. The grounds are unsurpassed in beauty—that of which Nature has been lavish, and that which is derived from Art.
The Grand Fountain.
The ornamental grounds are of vast extent, and are beautifully diversified with the varied attractions of lake, lawn, and forest. The parterre “occupies several acres of a cheerful lawn, of which a considerable space on the south front of the mansion is laid out in the most tasteful and pleasing manner, and interspersed with flower-beds, clumps of evergreens and shrubs, and statuary.” The Raywood, approached by a gravel walk 687 yards in length, with its delightful walks and grand old trees, also abounds with statuary. Near the iron gates at which this walk commences is the Rosary, and close by is a pedestal erected by one earl, and inscribed with some chastely beautiful lines by his successor. The Green Terrace Walk, 576 yards in length, is adorned with statuary, and Lady Mary Howard’s Garden is one of the most lovely features on the south front.
The Temple of Diana, from which charming views of the mansion and its surroundings are obtained, is an Ionic erection, and bears in niches over its doors busts of Vespasian, Faustina, Trajan, and Sabina.
The Mausoleum, a circular domed structure, 35 feet in diameter in its interior, and 98 feet in height, contains in its basement sixty-four catacombs built under ground arches. Externally, it is surrounded by a colonnade of twenty-one Doric columns. In the vaults are interred many illustrious members of this truly noble family: among these are the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth Earls of Carlisle; Frances and Caroline, Countesses of Carlisle; and some of the sons and daughters of these “peerless peers and peeresses.” The Mausoleum is interesting as being the first, unconnected with a church, erected in England.
The Pyramid, on St. Ann’s Hill, 28 feet square at its base, and 50 feet in height, was raised in 1728 to the memory of William, Lord Howard, third son of Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, who died in 1639. It contains in its interior a bust, with the inscription—
“Gulielmus Dominus Howard, obiit x die Martis, ætatis suæ octogesimo primo, anno salutis MDCXXXIX;”
and on its north side, on the exterior, the following inscription in marble:—
“William, Lord Howard, third son to Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, who was beheaded by Queen Elizabeth, married Elizabeth, one of the co-heiresses of William, Lord Dacre; by which marriage, and the said William’s great industry and ability, are descended to me most of the estates that I now possess; in grateful remembrance therefore of that noble and beneficent parent, and of that pious and virtuous lady, this monument is erected by Charles, the third Earl of Carlisle of the family of the Howards, their great-great-great-grandson, Anno Domini, 1728.