In the grounds the most famous points for the attraction of visitors are “Thomson’s Seat;” the “Temple of Milton;” a recess called the “Amphitheatre;” a charming alcove, the “White Seat,” which commands a splendid prospect; “the Arch,” which overlooks the Sound; and the “zig-zag walks,” which lead down along the cliffs and through the woods, and are the favourite resorts of visitors.
The Mansion.
The gardens are three in number, and called respectively the “Italian,” the “French,” and the “English” gardens, in each of which the special characteristics of planting and arrangement of those countries are carried out—the conservatories, fountains, orangeries, terraces, etc., being, in each instance, built in accordance with the tastes of the three kingdoms.
Indeed, it is difficult to convey an idea of the grandeur, beauty, and interest of the views from every portion of the Park; they are perpetually varied as the eye turns from sea to shore, and from shore to sea; each one of them enhanced by ships at anchor or in full sail; while boats of all forms and sizes are continually passing to and fro. One of the most prominent objects from the park is Drake’s Island; an island in mid-channel between Plymouth and Mount Edgcumbe; it appears on the map, however, as St. Nicholas Island, its original name, but it has, in later times, been occasionally called Drake’s Island, after the great admiral, Sir Francis Drake—one of the many sea-heroes of whom Plymouth is justly proud. This island is connected with the shore at Mount Edgcumbe by a submarine ridge of rocks, called the “Bridge,” which renders the passage, on that side, dangerous to ships of even moderate burthen. On the island was formerly an ancient chapel, dedicated to St. Michael, which was converted in the fifteenth century into a bulwark. The island contains about three acres of land, and is strongly fortified.
We turn our backs on the Breakwater and distant Eddystone, to mark the steamer passing under the most remarkable effort of engineering skill in England—one of the legacies of Brunel—the “Albert Bridge” that crosses the Tamar from Devonshire into Cornwall; and long to visit (which we may easily do, for steam-boats run daily up it in summer) the beautiful river Tamar and its grand tributary, the Tavy. A drive of a mile, and before us is a continuation of the promontory, still charming; and a little farther on, but across the river Lynher—and adjacent to the ancient borough of St. Germans, with its venerable church, once the cathedral of the See of Cornwall—is Port Eliot, the residence of the noble family of Eliot, Earls of St. Germans. In a word, a hundred points of deep and exciting interest, picturesquely beautiful and historically interesting, may be seen and “taken note of,” from the several points to which a drive through the Park conducts.
We give an engraving of the mansion. Parts of it are as old as the reign of Henry VIII., but its outward signs of remote age are few; it seems built for comfort; it is thoroughly a domestic house; the rooms are neither large, lofty, nor stately; but all of them are made to live in—so many parts of a home. We may except the Great Hall, however; that is “grand.” There is a minstrels’ gallery, and it is often used for music. The house is square in general form, and originally had a circular tower at each angle; these, however, have been rebuilt of an octagonal form, and additions have been carried in different directions. The front faces down a grassy slope to the sea at Cremill, and thus a charming prospect is always before its windows; the rooms are full of family and historic portraits: some of them by the great old masters, many by Sir Joshua Reynolds, “dear Knight of Plympton,” while ten or twelve Vanderveldes grace the several apartments. Of these some are stated to have been painted by the artist, Vandervelde himself, at Mount Edgcumbe. Of one, which formed the subject of correspondence between Sir Richard Edgcumbe and the artist, the original and amended sketches hang beside the picture. The portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds are of individuals of three generations, and those by Lely are in his best style. Among the national pictures are full-length and other portraits of Charles I., Charles II., James II., Prince Rupert, William III., the Duke of Monmouth, and others.
It is needless to add that delicious views are obtained from the windows of all the leading chambers, not only on the upper but on the ground floors, as well as from the several terraces by which the dwelling is, on all sides, environed—occupying as it does an elevation on the side of one of the hill slopes.
Before we visit Cothele—the other mansion of the Mount-Edgcumbes—we give some account of the ancient and long-honoured family, who have been their lords for many hundred years.
The family of Edgcumbe, or Edgcomb, is one of the most ancient and venerable in the county of Devon, the name being derived from their original possession of Eggescomb, Egecomb, or Edgcombe (now called Lower Edgcumbe), in the parish of Milton Abbots, in that county. From this family and this place, the noble family of the Earls of Mount Edgcumbe is descended as a younger branch.