UT INSIGNIA EJUS ERGA SCHOLAM ILLAM ANTIQUAM BENEFICIA MONUMENTO PERPETUO IN MEMORIAM REVOCARENTUR HOC ÆDIFICIUM AMICI ET DISCIPULI EJUS EXSTRUENDUM CURAVERUNT A.S. MDCCCLXXXVI. THE OLD HOMES OF THE COUNTY By J. A. Gotch, F.S.A. The old houses of Derbyshire are remarkable both for their number and for the variety of architectural periods which they illustrate. In them may be traced the development of domestic architecture, century by century, from the time of William Rufus down to the Georges. Not only are they interesting as a guide to the evolution of style, but also in their variety of size and importance. There is the small and ancient Peak Castle; the comparatively modern palace of Chatsworth; the great house of Haddon, with work of every century from the thirteenth to the seventeenth; the extensive ruins of Wingfield; the splendid remains of Bolsover; while among the dales and on the hill sides of the northern parts of the county are many diminutive manor houses, like Offerton and Highlow, or Snitterton and North Lees. Not only are there houses innumerable, but also many remains of the charming settings in which they were placed; ancient gardens like those at Melbourne; simple lay-outs, with terrace, steps, and paved walks like that at Eyam; quaint archways, like those at Tissington and Bradshaw. In the south of the county, near Sudbury, are several highly interesting half-timbered houses, of which the hall of Somersal Herbert, of three distinct dates, is the most striking instance. There is, indeed, hardly any point of interest connected with the amenities of by-gone house architecture which is not illustrated in this charming county.