The Stranger in Shrewsbury: or, an historical and descriptive view of Shrewsbury and its environsHowell, Thomas J.
History
The Stranger in Shrewsbury: or, an historical and descriptive view of Shrewsbury and its environs
Howell, Thomas J.
Shrewsbury (England) -- Description and travel
Distant about four miles on the London road, is built of beautiful free
stone, and is situated in a very extensive lawn on the banks of the river
Tern, over which is a handsome bridge erected by the late lord Berwick.
The south front, which is upwards of 365 feet in length, has an extremely
grand appearance; being decorated with lofty Ionic pilasters and a
magnificent portico. The interior of the house has much to recommend it,
particularly its lofty and spacious hall, the entablature of which is
supported by Verd Antique Scaglioni columns, with statuary capitals and
bases. The picture gallery is a spacious room 78 feet 6 inches long, by
25 feet 6 inches wide, and 24 feet high. It contains many _chef
d’œuvres_ of the old masters, particularly some valuable ones by
Raffaello—Parmigiano—Paolo Veronese—Annibal
Caracci—Rubens—Vandyck—Poussin—Kuyp—the Ostade’s—Murillo—Salvator
Rosa—Berchem. The walls of this elegant room are of a deep lake colour;
the ceiling supported by porphyry columns of the Corinthian order, the
capitals and bases of which are beautifully gilded. Underneath the
cornice of this extensive room is a gold fringe of great depth. The
floor is inlaid with rich Mosaic work, and the grand staircase is
finished in a corresponding style of magnificence. The suite of drawing
rooms is superbly furnished with immense plate glasses and burnished gold
furniture, and the ceilings are richly gilt. The boudoir is a beautiful
small circular room, the pannels of which are decorated by the pencil of
one of our first artists. The library is in the west wing, and is a very
extensive and lofty room, the cornice is supported by rich Corinthian
pilasters; and besides a very valuable collection of books, it contains
several rare specimens of sculpture from the antique. Among those most
worthy notice is a font {115} from Hadrian’s Villa; on the basso relievo
on its exterior the story of Narcissus is beautifully told. A rich
candelabra from the antique, of exquisite workmanship, near ten feet
high—a fine colossal statue of Apollo Belvidere—a beautiful
Esculapius—with a splendid collection of Etruscan vases from Herculaneum,
busts, chimeras, &c. &c. The rooms on the first floor correspond in the
grandeur and magnificence of their furniture with those on the ground
floor.
The house was built originally from a design by Mr. Stewart, but it has
lately undergone a very extensive alteration, under the superintendance
of Mr. Nash; the rich and costly carvings and ornamental furniture, were
executed by Mr. Donaldson, of Shrewsbury, whose correct taste in that
fine art is too well appreciated to need any eulogium here.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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