Examples of Houses dependant on peculiar Circumstances. -In those places where the house already exists, and the character is fixed, the grounds must, in a certain degree, be accommodated to the style of the house: but where a new house is to be built, its proper site and character will depend on various circumstances, of which I shall give two singular examples. Within the last forty years, the property and even the characters of individuals, have undergone more change than in any period of the English history: we daily see wealth, acquired by industry, or by fortunate speculations, succeeding to the hereditary estates of the most ancient families; and we see the descendants of these families reduced by the vain attempt to vie in expense with the successful sons of commerce: this will often account for the increase of novel or fantastic edifices, and the decrease of those venerable specimens of former grandeur, the baronial castle, or the castellated mansion. Few instances occur where the honest pride of ancestry is blended with the prudence and success of commercial importance; yet, in one of these, I had occasion to deliver the following opinion: "The antiquity, the extent, and beauty of--------Park *[The name is omitted, at the request of the proprietor.], together with the command of adjoining property, might justify the expenditure of ten times the sum to which I am instructed to limit my plans. I shall, therefore, describe what may be done, and not what might be done, to fix the true character for this house, since it cannot be a palace, and, perhaps, ought not to be a castle: from its situation, it certainly ought not to be a villa; it ought not to be a cottage; and, as a shooting-box, the present rooms in the farm-house are sufficient for a bachelor: but this must be the residence of a family; and, being amid the mountains of Wales, at some distance from society, we must not only provide for the accommodation of its own family, in all its various branches, but for the entertainment of other families in the neighbourhood, and for the reception of friends and visitors from distant parts; all this cannot be expected in a very small house; and since (without great expense) the ancient baronial castle cannot be imitated, we may, perhaps, with less difficulty restore that sort of importance which was formerly annexed to the old Manor House, where the lord of the soil resided among his tenants, not merely for the purpose of collecting his rents, but to share the produce of his estates with his humble dependants, and where daily plenteous hospitality was not sacrificed to the occasional ostentatious refinements of luxury and parade. It is not meant to condemn the improvements in comfort or convenience enjoyed in modern society, or to leave, unprovided for, every accommodation suited to the present habits of life; but to furnish the means of enjoying them without departing from the ancient character of the place, by erecting, or restoring, on the same identical spot, and in nearly a similar style, the Grange, or old Manor House, which will not be found incongruous with the surrounding scenery, when spread out and connected with all its appendages on the cavity between the two hills on the summit of this beautiful mountain*".
*[One of these hills, within a short walk from the house, commands a view of a rich cultivated valley winding through this mountainous scene. Such a prospect derives additional interest with the proprietor of an estate, who must naturally feel the satisfaction of looking upon hills and dales, and villages and farms, which he may call his own; a satisfaction which, however the vanity of property and the pride of possessions may be ridiculed, may innocently be gratified, when the proprietor has humanity to reflect how far his influence and benevolence may be extended over the prospect he admires.]
