221 A DAY AT MELBOURNE, DERBYSHIRE. It was a bright morning in June, when the writer resolved to spend a day at Melbourne. The path chosen led through flowery meads and singing groves. At this season, especially, creation teems on all sides with pleasing wonders:— "Tongues in trees, books in the running stream, "The works of the Lord are great," says the psalmist, "sought out of all them that have pleasure therein." Waving crops, to supply the needs of man and beast, suggested also other words of David :-" The eyes of all wait upon Thee, and Thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest Thy hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing." Leaving a picturesque country lane, our footpath led through fields of verdant beauty, and close by the church of Weston-on-Trent. That ancient fabric stands at a considerable distance from the village, which must be an inconvenience to the aged and infirm. It stands perfectly isolated, and its tapering spire may be seen at some distance, just peeping above the trees by which it is surrounded. A few minutes suffice to reach Weston Cliff, where a beautiful landscape spreads itself before the eye. We must pause here, and contemplate the many features of interest with which the neighbourhood abounds. Just below is the noble Trent, flowing through rich and fertile meadows; its banks fringed with the choicest wild flowers, in full luxuriance. "Old Michael Drayton, when discoursing of the Trent, calls it the 'third in England;' and infers, that it took its name from thirty floods that waited upon it, thirty abbeys that were seated on its banks, or thirty kinds of fish that lived within its waters."'"* Not only have local melodists sung its praise, but Milton himself, the prince of our English poets, is not silent: "Trent! that, like some earth-born giant, spreads About a mile higher up, the river is spanned by the old Swarkestone Bridge. This is supposed to have been in existence as early as 1274; and, indeed, it is mentioned in & document of that time. "When Prince Charles Edward, otherwise called 'the Pretender,' in his endeavour to reinstate himself upon the throne of England, had marched at the head of the Scottish rebels as far as Derby, he remained undetermined whether to retreat or to march forward to the capital. A retreat was begun, although some movements were actually made for an advance southward, and part of the troops did arrive at Swarkestone Bridge."—On the left hand is the seat of the Hastings family. It has a cliff richly vestured with wood, hanging its foliage almost to the margin of the river, and covering about four hundred See History of Melbourne, by John Joseph Briggs, Esq. To this work we are indebted for several extracts and statistics given in the pages following. acres in extent. 66 Amongst the most picturesque objects in the park are the old oaks and thorns. The former are indeed wonderful objects, but approach each other so nearly in size, that they seem less than they actually measure; and almost any one of them, if standing alone, would be accounted an extraordinary curiosity. Most of them are hollow; their trunks are writhed into every picturesque shape; are short, thick, oftentimes distorted by excrescences so large and rude as entirely to alter the original shape of the tree. Several of them measure twelve yards in circumference; and one, on the west side of the hall, fifteen. They are supposed to have existed before the Norman Conquest, and cannot be less than a thousand years old." Donington-Park was for some time the favourite residence of the Earl of Huntingdon and his eminent Countess. The latter spent nearly the whole of the year 1742 at this retired seat, which became a sort of rallying-point for some of the best ministers and Christian people of the last century. "From this period," we read in the "Life and Times" of the Countess, "Mr. Charles Wesley and his brother, and those connected with them, became constant visiters at Donington-Park, where they were always received by her ladyship as the servants of that God to whom she had so solemnly dedicated herself, and treated with every mark of polite attention on the part of the noble Earl," although "he himself was not imbued with true devotion." Every minister of the Gospel, of whatever denomination, was welcome at Donington-Park. At this period Lady Huntingdon was the patroness not only of all the zealous clergy, but also of numerous lay-helpers, and indeed of all who, by proceedings which it was the fashion of the world to call "low," and "irregular," were exposing themselves to obloquy and persecution. Lord Huntingdon's sisters were women of extraordinary piety, especially Lady Betty and Lady Margaret, in whom were united high accomplishments with deep-toned heavenly-mindedness. They both died, as they had lived, happy in God. The religious associations of yonder favoured spot are rich and hallowed indeed! Situated on a gentle slope, just before us, is the quiet hamlet of King'sNewton, about a mile from Melbourne. The name of the village may probably be traced to the fact, that King Charles II., when on a visit to a northern part of his dominions, made a pause here, and was entertained at King's-Newton Hall, by Sir Robert Hardinge, Knight. "I remember," says a gentleman well acquainted with this hamlet, "having seen, on a pane of glass in Newton Hall, (in the window of the dressing-room over the dining-room,) the words, CRAS ERO LUX, which according to tradition were written by the hand of King Charles II. The meaning of them is, 'Tomorrow I shall shine;' and their peculiarity consists in this, that the letters, when transposed, make CAROLUS REX, King Charles." " This curious pane, observes Mr. Briggs, was removed, by an unknown hand, about twenty-six years ago. King's-Newton Hall was formerly the property of Lord Viscount Melbourne, but now of the present Prime Minister, having been brought to his lordship by Lady Palmerston. This beautiful mansion was destroyed by fire a few years ago, and is now a blackened rain. "Not far from the hall there is a spring, or well, of excellent water, over-arched with stone, called the 'Holiwell' (Holy-Well). Probably to this spot once repaired many a deluded votary, to drink the supposed sacred water, and, in return for benefits received, to leave his votive gift." The view from our present stand-point, south-west, seems to be bounded by Breedon-Hill, surmounted by its cradle-shaped church. This edifice has many associations highly interesting to Methodist readers.* A century ago Walter Sellon was curate of the parish of Breedon, and preached to crowded audiences in yonder pile. The very sight of it calls up much departed worth, and, indeed, some of the most distinguished religious celebrities of the eighteenth century. It is supposed that Whitefield and Romaine have preached in it; and Fletcher, of Madeley, not unfrequently. The latter visited his friend Sellon periodically, and occupied the pulpit on these occasions, when immense crowds were drawn together to hear that most saintly man. In Mr. Benson's Life of Fletcher we find the record of a remarkable incident:"About the year 1765 Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Sellon supplied each other's churches for a few Sabbaths. While Mr. Fletcher remained at Breedon, people of various descriptions flocked to hear him from all the parishes adjacent. The clerk, much offended to see such crowds attend, because it occasioned a little more labour in cleaning the church, determined that persons from other parishes should not be admitted without paying each one penny. For this purpose he placed himself at the churchdoor, and began to collect the money from them. A man who was grieved at the conduct of the clerk went to meet Mr. Fletcher, and informed him of it. Mr. Fletcher hastened up the hill, saying, 'I'll stop his proceedings.' The clerk, seeing Mr. Fletcher approach, quitted the post he had taken, and went to his desk. When the service was ended, Mr. Fletcher said to the congregation, I have not felt my spirit so moved these sixteen years last past, as I have done to-day. I have heard that the clerk of this parish has demanded, and has actually received, money from divers strangers, before he would suffer them to enter the church. I desire that all who have paid money in this way, for hearing the Gospel, will come to me; and I will return what they have paid. And as to this iniquitous clerk, his money perish with him!'" A fearful and withering rebuke, truly, from such a preacher ! Our day at Melbourne will be abridged, however, if we linger on the way. Having descended the cliff, and crossed the river in a ferry-boat, we went by a path which meandered through charming fields, waving with grass-crops, destined shortly to fall before the mower's scythe. We have now reached the Melbourne new cemetery. Although opened but a few years ago, it is rapidly becoming tenanted with the dead. "All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon * See an article entitled, “The Church on the Hill," in the Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine for 1856. it surely the people is grass."-Melbourne, anciently written Mill-burn, is spread out before us. "It appears probable that" the place "was so denominated from the circumstance of its having at a very early period a mill turned by a stream, or from its being situate upon a stream that turned a mill." It was in all probability known to the Romans; many Roman coins having been found in the parish. One, of the reign of Constantine, is very legible, and has the head of the Emperor impressed upon it. "There can be no doubt of the existence of Melbourne," says its historian," in the time of the Saxon Heptarchy; and it would seem, that it had, after its foundation, risen rapidly into a place of considerable importance. It was situated only nine miles from Repton, which, historians have stated, was the capital of the Mercian kingdom, and the burial-place of many of its kings." The Cokes and Melbournes resided here at a very early period. Sir John Coke was Secretary of State in the reign of Charles I.; which office he held about twenty years; and he died in September, 1644. He was a man of brilliant abilities, and also of business tact. Several of Sir John's speeches may be read in the seventh and eighth volumes of the Parliamentary History. George Coke, younger brother of Sir John, be came Bishop of Hereford. In Burke's "Commoners of England," and in Walker's "Sufferings of the Clergy," much interesting information will be found respecting this gentleman. Sir John the younger was born in 1607, and died in 1650. He was an accomplished scholar, and his published correspondence cannot be read without admiration of his character. The Right Honourable Thomas Coke, Vice-Chamberlain to Queen Anne, was born at Melbourne. He was described as a "star of the first magnitude in the family horizon." He married Lady Mary Stanhope, daughter of the Earl of Chesterfield. His lordship, in writing to his daughter, com plains of his own son, and wishes that he were like his son-in-law; adding, "If in his place I had a son like your husband, I should have gone out of the world with the satisfaction of believing that I had left one behind me who would make one of the greatest men in England." He died suddenly, and was buried at Melbourne. Closely connected with this time-honoured spot were the ancient families of Melbourne and Hardinge.* It is certain, too, that King John visited Melbourne on several occasions. He was here in 1204. His last recorded visit bears date of April 1st, 1215, ten weeks before he signed Magna Charta. Melbourne had formerly a strong fortress, supposed to be built as early as the year 900, in the reign of Alfred. The castle, as it appeared in 1602, is represented in the History of the town; having a beautiful appearance, and all the characteristics of a well-defended pile; graced with numerous turrets, and singularly projecting balconies. No vestige, however, of this fortification now remains, excepting "about fifty yards of the outer or surrounding wall, by which the castle was protected. The labour bestowed * Interesting Memoirs of the different branches of these families may be found in Mr. Briggs's History. upon the erection must have been immense, as the ruins, although divested of the facing stones, now measure three yards in thickness. The castle, with its offices, outworks, orchards, pools, &c., could not have covered less than twenty acres ; but the space enclosed within the outer wall was about seven." Its destruction is attributed to Cromwell, or some of his followers. A palace of the Bishops of Carlisle formerly stood a short distance from the church at Melbourne. “Walter Malclerk, Bishop of Carlisle, or one of his immediate successors, erected this palace, which was his residence, and occasionally that of his successors for some centuries, during the frequent inroads and devastations of the Scots in the neighbourhood of Carlisle." King John having at one time held the bishopric of Carlisle, there is good ground for supposing that his residence, when he visited Melbourne, was at the palace. This ecclesiastical building was taken down as lately as 1821, and a modern residence built upon the site. Melbourne of the present has a venerable church, and from many points its grey tower adds beauty to the landscape. It is supposed to be of very early erection. The Rev. Joseph Deans, the present incumbent, observes, in his "History" of this ancient pile, that its date "has been the subject of much discussion; some writers having asserted it to be as early as the seventh century, while others have supposed it not to have been erected before the Conquest. There is a tradition, that, soon after Ethelred came to the throne of Mercia, his queen was murdered; and that he himself was in some way implicated in the crime, and, in order to quiet his conscience, began to build churches as an atonement: this church at Melbourne being the first which he erected." If the tradition is correct, it furnishes proof that this monarch was not "well instructed in righteousness," or he would have known that the labour of his hands, although including the erection of many churches, could not expiate his offences. The archeologist will find much to admire here. We shall not soon forget the impression made upon our own mind, as we sat in one of the galleries, looking down upon the rows of massive pillars, connected by arches of the horse-shoe form,— the whole body of the church being before us, which is divided into a nave and side aisles. It was restored a few years ago, at considerable expense; and now the interior presents a truly beautiful appearance. By the courtesy of the vicar, several Christian friends were admitted at the same time as ourselves, when a well-known gentleman of the medical profession presided at the noble organ. It was with some degree of reluctance that we left the sacred edifice. We next repaired, in company, to the hall and gardens. The hall was formerly the residence of the Coke family, and is now the seat of Lord Palmerston. There is an incident connected with Melbourne Hall well worth notice. It was here that the celebrated Baxter composed his "Saints' Rest." Let this distinguished divine give his own account of the matter:-"The second book which I wrote," says he," was that called The Saints' Everlasting Rest.' While I was in health, I had not the least thought of writing books, or of serving God in any more public way than preaching. But when I was weakened with much bleeding, and left soliVOL. XI.-FIFTH SERIES. |