As you have already seen in a previous chapter, some of the timber houses of Cheshire belong to a period much earlier than the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Just as they reached their highest pitch of beauty and richness under the Tudors a new style of domestic architecture was coming in. Bricks, which had been very seldom used since the days of the Romans, were again employed. The bricks were much larger than those used by the Romans; in fact they were precisely similar to those of the present day. They were not, however, laid as they are now, but in the style called 'English bond', in which one 'course' or row shows all the long faces and the next one all the short ends. These brick mansions were larger and more spacious than the old wooden ones, and built for comfort rather than defence. They were set in the midst of broad parks, and surrounded by terraced lawns and gardens enclosed by walls of clipped yew-trees. Sometimes ornamental fish-ponds, such as you may see at Gawsworth, were laid out in front of the house; avenues of limes and Spanish chestnuts imported from abroad were planted along the roadway leading to the principal entrance. Their general shape, out of compliment to Queen Elizabeth, was that of the letter E. Brereton Hall is a good example of this 'Tudor' style. It was built in 1586, the first stone being laid, so it is said, by the queen herself. In the eastern parts of Cheshire, where stone is abundant, houses similar in design were built of this material instead of brick. Arden Hall, near Stockport, is now in ruins, but enough remains to show the chief characteristics of an Elizabethan mansion; the turret with circular stone staircase, the wings with gabled ends, and the bay windows carried up to the roof. Other Elizabethan houses are Marple Hall, Poole Hall, Carden Hall in the Broxton Hills, Dorfold Hall, and Burton Hall in Wirral. [Illustration: TUDOR MONUMENTS IN GAWSWORTH CHURCH The central figure is that of Mary Fitton] In Gawsworth Church are a number of monuments of members of the Fitton family, who lived at the Old Hall at Gawsworth. Mary Fitton was one of Elizabeth's maids-of-honour, and used to take part in plays for the amusement of the queen; and it is not at all unlikely that she was a friend of Shakespeare. It is indeed supposed that she is the 'dark lady' of whom the poet speaks in his sonnets. From an examination of these Fitton monuments you can learn what the costume at the end of the sixteenth century was like. Lady Alice Fitton is surrounded by the kneeling figures of her two sons and two daughters, the former in plate armour, the latter wearing the familiar head-dress and ruff which are such distinctive features in the dress of Tudor ladies. The figures are carved in alabaster, and have clearly at one time been painted in bright colours. The picture of Mary Fitton will help you to recognize the Tudor monuments which are to be seen in many Cheshire churches. CHAPTER XXII