J. I. Dodd, Delᵗ. on Stone by W. Walton. M. & N. Hanhart, Lithogʳˢ.
SPEKE, THE GREAT HALL, LANCASHIRE.
there are still to be seen many arms painted on the glass, which add greatly to the imposing effect of the room. A seat or bench, with a rest for the feet, is continued, not only in the recess of the bow and bay windows, but all round the apartment.
Crossing the hall, a passage leading from the projecting doorway brings us to the staircase on the right, opposite to which is the entrance to the great parlour or drawing-room, on the door frieze of which is the following inscription, in similar characters to those in the Great Hall:—
| The : Streghtest : | God : to : love : serve : | |
| ys : | ||
| waye : to : heaven : | above : all : thyng | |
While the Great Hall has been renovated and repaired with considerable taste and skill, the Drawing-room has been grievously neglected, until it has become a complete ruin. The floor has been entirely removed; every window is boarded up, mouldings from the oak wainscot are crumbling and falling down on every side, and it is not till we have remained in the room some time, and the eye is accustomed to the darkness, that we discern the elaborately enriched ceiling, which consists of fifteen square compartments, being divided by four beams horizontally, having the corners splayed off; they are of plaster, ornamented with a running stem of the hop-plant, skilfully continued throughout.
