The library comprehends the whole of the south wing, and is the most spacious room in the mansion; it varies in breadth, but is 120 feet long. The bookcases are of rich carved oak, and the windows are ornamented with tracery and stained glass. When the door is thrown open, the view from the further end of the library is continued through the vaulted corridor at the opposite extremity of the house, a length of 480 feet. A very rare piece of antiquity is preserved in the library, it is a gold torque, an ornament of dignity worn by the ancient Britons; it is wreathed, the rods are linked together in a circle, and it measures 10 or 11 inches in diameter. The library contains many most valuable and rare books and MSS., among which may be mentioned—a copy of the chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon, in which is a curious drawing of the entry of King Stephen into Lincoln; an illuminated MS. on vellum, containing the proceedings of the celebrated suit of arms between Scroope and Grosvenor; and (among other Cheshire MSS.) one volume of collections, containing a transcript of a large portion of the celebrated and lost record, distinguished by the name of “The Cheshire Doomsday;” also the confirmation charter of Chester Cathedral, by the second Ranulf, surnamed De Gernon or Gernons, Earl of Chester, in which the grant of Hugh Lupus is recapitulated. The great staircase is very richly decorated: at the top of the first flight of stairs are three niches with statues. On the opposite side, at the foot of the stairs, is an arcade supporting the upper floor; and from these arches, which have open spandrils, the best view of this magnificent staircase is obtained. The state bed-room is an elegant apartment; the ceiling is vaulted, and the bed is of mahogany, and groined; its principal carved ornaments appear on clustered pillars, detached from the corners. The sofas are of blue satin, in richly carved and gilt frames, and the other seats are covered in finely-wrought needlework of various colours. Over the chimney-piece is a mirror, the frame of which is composed of handsomely-clustered pillars, pinnacles, and crocketed canopies, the whole being richly decorated with gilding, and minutely carved. The tenants’ hall is under the library, and corresponds with it in extent. The windows are enriched with tracery, and four massive clustered pillars sustain the arches and groins of the ceding, which is remarkably flat, when the breadth of its span is taken into consideration. The chapel is a small, beautifully-proportioned edifice. The windows are beautifully ornamented with stained glass, the work of Mr. Ballantine, of Edinburgh.