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SECTION I.

Last Excursion into Derbyshire. - Reflections on the word Last. Meersbrook House. Samuel Shore, Esq.

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Walk from Heeley to Norton. - Norton House and the Oakes.

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My last excursion into Derbyshire was made chiefly for the purpose of exploring the scenery of the RIVER DOVE, and completing my original design of "travelling through the mountainous parts of Derbyshire, and visiting every place worthy of notice in the High and Low Peak; especially those sequestered spots which lie within the dales that determine the course of the three principal rivers, the WYE, the DERWENT, and the Dove." Every place, indeed, through which I may pass in my progress to, or my return from, the picturesque windings of this romantic stream, is entitled to attention; providing that any thing connected with it is sufficiently important to elicit observation, and compensate for the delay it may occasion. This present excursion, will, if I may be permitted to use the expression, be more erratic than the preceding ones, and embrace a much greater extent and variety of ground. To reach the river Dove, a considerable part of the county, extending from Yorkshire to the borders of Staffordshire, must be traversed; in doing which, the most interesting road will be selected, and my return will include some objects not comprehended within that part of the county usually denominated the Peak, but which by a Derbyshire tourist cannot be entirely omitted.

I have called this my last excursion. What a train of serious reflections and associations are excited by this little monosyllable; there is something in the word itself, that checks the playfulness of every lighter thought, and gives a chastened and sober tone to feeling. My various perambulations along

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LAST EXCURSION.

SAMUEL SHORE, ESQ.

the heathy moors, and through the dales of Derbyshire, have been accompanied with so much of actual enjoyment, that the idea of having seen them for the last time cannot be contemplated without sensations of regret. Bidding a final adieu to scenes rendered dear and interesting by pleasing recollections, with a feeling that we may never more behold them, is somewhat like taking an everlasting farewell of a friend whom we sincerely love, whose kindness and companionship have endeared existence, and strewn a few perishable roses amongst the thorns of life.

Early on a fine May morning my companion and myself commenced our tour; and crossing Meersbrook at the little village of Heeley, we entered Derbyshire about one mile from the town of Sheffield. The river Sheaf was on our right, babbling and sparkling amongst shades of elms, poplars, and alders. The moment we were admitted within the boundary line of this interesting county, we felt the beauty of the surrounding scenery. A noble sheet of water, of many acres, lay on our right; beyond, rising above an intervening screen of lofty foliage, which was vividly reflected on the surface of the water, part of the town of Sheffield appeared, backed with a range of thickly-wooded hills. Such materials can hardly be so ill disposed as not to produce a pleasing picture; here they are happily combined, and constitute a scene richly diversified and full of imposing objects.

As we proceeded, on our left, pleasantly situated on a rising ground, amongst groups of trees, stands Meersbrook House, the residence of Samuel Shore, Esq. This venerable and

worthy man was born in the town of Sheffield; he is, therefore, a native of Yorkshire, but the greatest part of his life has been passed in Derbyshire. In 1760, the year that his late Majesty George the Third succeeded to the throne, he filled the office of sheriff for the county. He then resided at Norton Hall, which is now occupied by his grandson, Sydney Shore, Esq. Afterwards, he became a magistrate for the West Riding of the County of York, in which capacity he was associated with the Rev. James Wilkinson, late Vicar of Sheffield, Walter Osbourne, Esq., and others, who held their meetings for the business of the magistracy at Sheffield. Mr. Shore is a Protestant dissenter, and he had been several years actively employed as a magistrate, when the various classes of dissenters in the kingdom presented petitions to Parliament for a repeal of the Test Laws. Being a sincere

DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF FORMER TIMES.

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friend both to civil and religious liberty, he cordially united in the prayer of these petitions. The application was unsuccessful, and Mr. Shore, in consequence, deemed it his duty to discontinue his magisterial services, as a decided testimony against the existence of those Laws, which he regarded as intolerant, impolitic, unjust, and inconsistent with the free principles of the British Constitution. His nice sense of integrity and propriety on all matters connected with his duties as a man, and his faith as a Christian, influenced his decision, and he retired into private life accompanied with the esteem of all who can admire goodness, and know how to venerate the dictates of conscience. This gentleman possesses the Norton Lees estate, which in the reign of Henry the Seventh was the property of the family of the Blythes of Norton; two of whom arrived at great honours in the church; one of them, John, being the Bishop of Salisbury, and the other, Geoffrey, Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry.

The old mansion at Norton Lees, once occupied by this family, is still in existence; and it is one of those ancient structures which serve to keep alive the recollection of the domestic architecture of our forefathers: it is therefore not only a picturesque, but an interesting object. At a very early period our Saxon progenitors built their houses with wood, but shortly after the Norman Conquest plaster was intermixed with timber, and subsequently the basement story was made of stone. The upper apartments were so constructed as to project over the lower, and considerable ornament, both in carved wood and plaster, was introduced about the doors, the windows, and the roof of the building. The house at Norton Lees is a good specimen of this early style of architecture, and it has been supposed by some to be as old as the reign of Richard the Second: that it was erected many years after this period can hardly be doubted. Though composed of stone and wood, it is evidently not one of the earliest structures of this description: it is indeed highly probable that it was built in the reign of the Seventh or Eighth Henry, but certainly not sooner. At this period the halls or family mansions of the yeomanry of the country had nearly all the same general character. Previously, but little stone was used in any of them. One of the oldest of these structures at present in the kingdom, is Moreton Hall in Cheshire, which though a highly-. ornamented building, is entirely composed of wood, and was erected at a time before stone was generally used even for the

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NORTON LEES HALL.

lower apartments. The earliest date about this ancient remain is 1559.

Anxious to preserve the remembrance of the old house at Norton Lees, I have obtained a sketch of it from the pencil of Mr. E. Blore, an artist of great eminence in his profession, and who in his peculiar style of drawing happily unites pictorial effect with the most scrupulous fidelity. The man who loves to look into the past, to pore over the history of former periods, and become acquainted with the modes of life, and the manners and customs of his forefathers, cannot but feel deeply indebted to that art, which, when these curious remains have become venerable with age, and picturesque with decay, arrests them in their fall, commits their forms to canvass or to copper, and preserves them in our recollection long after they have disappeared from among us. Happy art! that can disappoint time of its prey, prolong the remembrance of forms that now exist, and transmit them through successive generations. The arts are the handmaids of our pleasures, they administer to some of our most refined enjoyments, and give an elegance and charm to life.

In our walk to Norton we left Norton Lees a short distance on our left, and passed through some sweet scenery about half a mile from Heeley, at a place called Smithy Wood Bottom. This retired spot attracted the particular attention of DAYES, during his tour into Yorkshire, and it is more commended by him than any other in the vicinity of Sheffield. He saw it on a fine summer's evening, when all the parts came in masses, and the lights and shadows were not only favourable but strikingly imposing. Strange that such a man as Dayes could pass through the fine country around Sheffield and see no beauty but in Smithy Wood Bottom.

The walk from Heeley to Norton, by the way of Woodseats and Bole Hill, commands a series of delightful views over the adjacent country. In one direction the hills and woods of Beauchief and Ecclesal enrich the middle distance of the landscape, and the heathy moors of Derbyshire terminate the prospect. In another, Banner Cross and the woods about Sheffield, extending from Wincobank to Grenoside, and from thence to Wentworth and Warncliffe, are pleasing features in the extensive and beautifully-diversified landscapes which this walk in its progress presents. Having attained the summit of the hill that overlooks Abbey Dale, and paused a while to gaze upon the scenery before us, we proceeded to Norton, one of

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