marriage to Ranulph de Meschines, Earl of Chester, that nobleman became lord of Harewood.

This lordship afterwards passed to many different families, being frequently transferred by the marriage of heiresses. It was thus brought, about the beginning of the reign of Edward III. to Sir W. Aldburgh of Aldburgh, in Richmondshire, who is supposed to have built the castle of which the remains are now seen; although it can scarcely be doubted that there was a castle here as early as the reign of Henry II. Harewood afterwards came into the possession of the Gascoignes, of Gawthorpe. From them it was transferred to the illustrious family of Wentworth, by the marriage of Margaret, only daughter and heiress of William Gascoigne, Esq. with Thomas Wentworth, of Wentworth Wood-house, Esq, grandfather of the famous Thomas, Earl of Strafford, who resided at Gawthorpe during part of the time in which the storm was gathering which proved so fatal to himself, his sovereign, and the kingdom. Before the reign of Charles I. the castle does not appear to have suffered any great dilapidations. Camden says, that in his time it was a neat and strong building; but his commentator, Dr. Gibson, informs us, that it was reduced to a skeleton by the civil wars.* *William, second earl of Strafford, sold the Harewood estate, during Cromwell's usurpation. It was afterward purchased by Sir John Cutler, of penurious memory, whose character is thus delineated by Pope,

"Cutler saw tenants break and houses fall,

"For very want he could not build a wall.”

He resided at Gawthorpe Hall, and is said to have reduced the ancient castle of Harewood to ruin for the sake of the timber; but if what Dr. Gibson tells us be true, the civil wars must, before that time, have rendered it uninhabitable. This gentleman left the estate to his only daughter, the Countess of Radnor, at whose death without issue in 1696, it devolved on her relative, John Boulter,

* Camd. fol. 714. and Gibson's Notes, fol. 731.

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Boulter, Esq. and his heirs sold it to Henry Lascelles, Esq. father of Edwin, the late lord Harewood.

The family of Lascelles is ancient, and may, it is said, be traced to the conquest. It is certain that this family was of great note, and possessed several estates in Yorkshire at an early period, and in the 22d year of Edward I. Sir Roger de Lascelles was summoned to parliament among the barons of the realm. On the 19th June 1790, Edwin Lascelles, the late Lord Harewood, was advanced to the peerage, and at his decease, on the 18th June 1796, was succeeded by Edward, the present lord.

NEWHALL,

About one mile nearly north from Otley, is the seat of Thomas Clifton, Esq. This estate belonged to the family of Fawkes in the reign of Edward I. After passing through several hands, by inheritance or purchase, it came into the possession of Edward Fairfax, Esq. the celebrated poet, who flourished in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. and died at this place, A. D. 1632.

WESTON,

A little more than two miles nearly west from Otley, is the seat of William Vavasour, Esq. a descendant of the ancient and honourable family of the Vavasours, of whom there are many different branches. The house is handsome and pleasantly situated.

FARNLEY HALL,

Nearly three miles almost north from Otley, is the seat of Walter Fawkes, Esq. who was lately M. P. for the county of York. This elegant mansion is fitted up in a superb style, and contains a fine selection of paintings. The hall is 37 feet by 24, and has two recesses; the walls and ceiling are ornamented with paintings

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and basso relievos, in the antique taste. The breakfast room is ornamented with many large drawings of a variety of romantic landscapes in Switzerland and Italy, admirably executed by Warwick and Smith. The dining room, 36 feet by 24, and 18 feet high, is painted by Taylor, except the medallions, which are executed in a masterly manner by Le Brun. The ceiling is supported by four fluted columns with rich Corinthian capitals. The chimneypiece is of the finest Italian marble, and superbly executed by Mr. Fisher, of York. The drawing room, 33 feet by 22, and 17 feet high, is ornamented with an excellent selection of pictures, viz. a portait of Lord Cottingham, by Cornelius Jansen; a Madona, by Carlo Dolci; three first rate ships of war, by Turner; a magdalen, by Guido;* a sea-piece, representing a calm at sunset, by J. W. Turner, Esq. the duchess of Aremberg and her infant son, by Vandyke;† a group of cattle, by Adrian Vandervelde; Hermaphroditus, by Caracci; a sea piece by moonlight; a portrait of James I. Susannah and the elders, by Guercino; a ship in a gale of wind, by Backhuysen.

Here is a most elegant window of stained glass, bearing the initials of the name of John Hawkesworth, who served under Richard de Pons, a Norman Lord, at the battle of Hastings, and of William Hawkesworth, with the date 1220, and displaying the principal quarterings and intermarriages of the families of Hawkesworth and Fawkes.

The library, 24 feet by 22, and 17 feet high, is furnished with a choice collection of books, and a great variety of well executed prints by Gilpin, Varley, and others.

This elegant mansion, which has been lately rebuilt, is pleasantly situated on an eminence, commanding delightful prospects of the VOL. XVI.

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vale

This is esteemed an excellent picture; it once belonged to the family of Montmorenci, in France.

This picture, which is in excellent preservation, is regarded as one of Vandyke's best pieces.

This stained glass was removed from the ancient family seat of Hawkesworth by the present proprietor in 1807, as appears by an inscription.