Tour in England, Ireland, and France, in the years 1826, 1827, 1828 and 1829.: with remarks on the manners and customs of the inhabitants, and anecdotes of distiguished public characters. In a series of letters by a German Prince.Pückler-Muskau, Hermann, Fürst von
History
Tour in England, Ireland, and France, in the years 1826, 1827, 1828 and 1829.: with remarks on the manners and customs of the inhabitants, and anecdotes of distiguished public characters. In a series of letters by a German Prince.
Pückler-Muskau, Hermann, Fürst von
Great Britain -- Description and travel; Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
Not far from Leamington, and a league from Warwick, is a beautiful
enchanting spot called Guy's Cliff; part of the house is as old as
Warwick Castle. Under it is a deep cavern, in the picturesque rocky
shore of the Avon, into which, as tradition says, Guy of Warwick, after
many high deeds at home and abroad, secretly retired to close his life
in pious meditation. After two years of incessant search, his
inconsolable wife found him lying dead in his cave, and in despair threw
herself down from the rocks into the Avon. In later times a chapel was
built in the rock to commemorate this tragic event, and adorned by Henry
the Third with a statue of Sir Guy. This has unhappily been so mutilated
by Cromwell's troops, that it is now but a shapeless block. Opposite to
the chapel are twelve monks' cells hewn in the rock, now used as
stables. The chapel itself, which has been entirely renovated in the
interior, is connected with the dwelling of the proprietor, part of
which is Gothic some centuries old, part in the old Italian style, and
part quite new, built exactly to correspond with the most ancient part.
The whole is extremely picturesque, and the interior is fitted up with
equal attention to taste and comfort. The drawing-room, with its two
deep window-recesses, struck me as uncommonly cheerful. One of these
windows stands above a rock which rises fifty feet perpendicularly from
the river, in whose bosom lies a lovely little island, and behind it a
wide prospect of luxuriant meadows, beautiful trees, and, quite in the
background, a village half buried in wood. At a short distance on the
side is an extremely ancient mill, said to have been in existence before
the Norman invasion. A little further off, the picture was terminated by
a woody hill, also within the enclosure of the park, on which a high
cross marks the spot where Gavestone, the infamous favourite of Edward
the Second, was executed by the rebellious lords Warwick and Arundel.
All these recollections, united with so many natural beauties, make a
strong impression on the mind.--The other window afforded a perfect
contrast with this. It overlooks a level plain laid out as a very pretty
French garden, in which gay porcelain ornaments and coloured sand
mingled their hues with the flowers, and terminates in a beautiful alley
overshadowed with ivy cut into a pointed arch. In the room itself
sparkled a cheerful fire; choice pictures adorned the walls, and several
sofas of various forms, tables covered with curiosities, and furniture
standing about in agreeable disorder, gave it the most inviting and
home-like air.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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