awston Hall is situated to the right of the long and straggling village of Sawston, on the high-road to Cambridge, from which it is distant about six miles. For many centuries it has been the residence of the Huddlestons, an ancient and honourable family, of the Roman Catholic faith. The mansion lies low, and is partially hidden by thickly-clustered cottages and gardens. It is a large quadrangular building, erected during the reign of Queen Mary, under circumstances which we shall presently explain. It retains much of its original character, both externally and internally; and, although it cannot boast of great architectural beauty, it may be considered as a good example of the gable-ended style of the sixteenth century. The principal entrance is by a low door-way, underneath a porch, leading into a spacious hall, paved with Kettering stone and black marble, and lighted by two windows, exhibited in the appended wood-cut, and a large bay-window
on the same side.[1] The wainscotting has been stained to imitate walnut-wood. The walls are adorned by several finely-painted portraits. Of the rooms on the upper floor there are none that demand especial notice: two of the bed-chambers are, however, hung with faded tapestry, concealing doors that lead to remote parts of the building. The antique damask bed-furniture and quilted coverlets are relics of ages long passed away. The Gallery, hung with old family portraits, extends nearly the whole depth of the mansion—being upwards of one hundred feet long by about eighteen wide, with oak panels to the ceiling. A door-way in the court-yard conducts to a neat chapel, containing a window of stained glass, and an altar of fine Egyptian marble, inlaid with lapis lazuli. The venerable edifice
derives its principal attraction from its associations with the olden time: it is impossible to wander through its now nearly deserted apartments, without reading a solemn and impressive passage from history. Its great characteristic is solitude. The present occupant—a bachelor of venerable years—is almost the last of a distinguished and honourable race, leading a secluded life in the house consecrated by a long line of noble ancestors. Though dwelling apart from the business and turmoil of life, secluded alike from the toils and anxieties of the world, where
“Silence pervades the halls of revelry;”
there are, nevertheless, many who can testify to the active benevolence of his nature, to his worthily representing the virtues of generations of great and good men; and that when he dies “his works will follow him.”
In supplying some details of the family history, we avail ourselves of the genealogical roll, which the courtesy of the venerable representative permitted us to inspect. We copy the superscription: the document itself is upwards of eighteen feet long, and contains a multitude of names
“Writ in the annals of their country’s fame.”