“This fortnight work begane one Munday beinge the xxjth of January, viz.:—
| George Hickete | xj days | vs. vjd. |
| his mane | xj days | iijs.. viijd. |
| and his boy | xj days | iijs. viijd. |
| Robert bucknail | vj days | ijs. |
| his mane | vj days | xviijd.” |
In the park are some remarkably fine old oak and other forest trees, round which almost countless herds of deer may be seen browsing. Some of these trees are of gigantic size, of considerable girth, and of great beauty. Our engraving on page 139 gives a distant view of the Hall, with some of these fine trees in the foreground.
Hault Hucknall Church.
Hault Hucknall (Haute Hucknall, as it is called in the early registers, and Ault Hucknall, as it is now not unfrequently spelt) is the parish in which Hardwick Hall stands; and it is therefore necessary, especially as the two places are intimately connected in more ways than one, to say a few words about its church and monuments. The church, which is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, formerly belonged to the Abbey of Beauchief, but was, with the impropriate rectory, granted in 1544 to Francis Leake, from whom it passed to the Cavendishes, and now belongs to the Marquis of Hartington. The church contains some interesting remains of Norman and of Early English work, among which are the aisle under the tower, the window in the west end of the north aisle, and the old plain font,—the font now in use having been brought here from Bamford Church in the same county. In the south wall of the chancel is a pretty little piscina, and there are aumbries in the north aisle and in the Hardwick Chapel. At these places it is supposed altars formerly stood, and one of the altar-stones, with the five crosses emblematic of the five wounds of our Saviour, may be seen forming one of the paving-stones of the floor near the altar-rails. The porch has a vaulted stone-roof, and in the nave are remains of wall-paintings.
Some portions of an elegant carved-oak screen which formerly separated the Hardwick Chapel from the south aisle are still preserved, as are also several of the original massive oak benches. In the east window of the Hardwick Chapel, as shown in our engraving, the stained glass represents our Saviour on the cross, with the figures of the Virgin Mary and of St. John, &c. There are also some kneeling figures, and the arms of Hardwick and of Savage.
Among the monuments in this interesting church are some deserving especial attention. In the floor of the chancel is a monumental brass, the figure belonging to which is unfortunately lost, commemorative of Richard Pawson, 1536, sometime vicar of the parish, bearing the following inscription in black letter:—
“Orate pro aia domini Ricardi Pawson Vicarii Istius qui obiit die qua Vocavit eū d̄ns post an̄m d̄ni millesimum quingentesimū tricesimū sextum cujus aiē ppicietur deus. A.”