Speke Hall is a most charming example of genuine Elizabethan work, affording, both inside and out, some of the best and most characteristic features of the better kind of domestic architecture which came into general use soon after the middle of the sixteenth century. To compare small things with great, it may be described as a miniature Bramhall. It stands only a few minutes' walk from the edge of the estuary, and in the olden time would often, no doubt, be approached from the water, to which an avenue or arcade of lofty trees at present shows the way. In front the ground is level, consisting of green fields which reach to the garden fence. The want of elevation, as at Scarisbrick, rather hinders full appreciation of the singular beauty of the building, at all events until we draw near enough to perceive that, like nearly all other mansions of the kind, it was originally protected by a moat. This has long since been superseded by turf, the bridge alone remaining to show the depth and width, and the grand old structure now rising up in all its nobleness of design. It is not the original Speke Hall. At the period of the Domesday survey the estate was held by a Saxon thane. After the Conquest, it fell to the share of that famous Norman, Roger de Poictou, who as a reward for his conduct at the battle of Hastings, received so large a portion of Lancashire. Roger, as we all remember, took part in sundry small acts of disloyalty, for which, in turn, he was punished by forfeiture. Subsequently changing hands yet again, at last--perhaps about 1350--the property came to be owned by a branch of the celebrated old family of Norreys (one of the descendants of which fought under Lord Stanley at Flodden, A.D. 1513), and by these the first hall of the name was erected, in what style is not known. Remaining in their possession, Speke, as we see it to-day, was the work of one Edward Norreys, who commemorates himself in an inscription in antique letters over the principal entrance:--"This worke 25 yards long was wolly built by Edw. N., Esq. Anno 1598." The ground-plan, as in similar halls, consisted of a spacious quadrangular courtyard, buildings occupying all four of the sides, so that by means of the corridors and galleries, any portion can be reached by an inmate without stepping into the open air. The richness of these corridors, the beauty of the wood-carving, and the general ornamentation, it is impossible to describe briefly; some of the carved oak was brought from Holyrood by the Sir Wm. Norreys of Flodden fame. There is a fine collection also of ancient weapons, miscellaneous curiosities, and paintings. A wonderful and probably unique spectacle, as regards our own country, is presented upon entering the quadrangle. A very considerable portion of its large area is occupied by a pair of yew trees, much older than the building itself, and to accommodate which the builder seems to have given his