Aug. 30.-Wardour Castle; The Earl of Arundel.-This place takes its name from the very fine ruins of the original castle; but the modern mansion is a plain Grecian edifice with wings, without a portico to its main entrance, and not only objectionable as a piece of architecture, but as unconnected with the grounds either by mural appendages, or sufficient woody scenery. It contains a Grecian chapel, which is much admired; but, for our own taste, we have never seen a chapel either in Italy or England in that taste which can be compared with those in the Gothic manner. The situation of the house, though not marked by nature, is yet good with reference to the whole place, and the surrounding scenery as seen from it. Looking from the garden front, there is a very nobly wooded ridge, nearly a mile in length, which forms the boundary to the landscape on the left, and to the right other woods, corresponding in extent, though on less elevated ground. At the bottom of the wooded ridge is seen the ruins of the ancient castle, and, in front, a lawn of great extent leads the eye to an artificial river. The fine feature of the place is the terrace walk or drive, a mile in length, on the side of the wooded ridge. It is as fine a thing of the kind as is to be met with any where; and being open to the south and southwest, and completely sheltered from the north and north-east, it forms an admirable winter walk, or drive. It has been originally planted with oaks, silver firs, elms, beeches, hollies, and some other trees, with a general under-growth of laurel; so that in the whiter season it must be particularly cheerful. The views from it, down the steep grassy slopes between the trees to the ruins, the modern house, the extensive lawns, and the water, (here seen to the greatest advantage), or over the trees to the distant country, with the hills in the horizon, are grand, varied, and interesting. In these views, Fonthill, and the tower at Stourhead, are striking objects. The soil is perfectly dry, consisting of a mixture of sand and peat, in which every thing, especially laurels, seem to grow with astonishing luxuriance. The laurels are, indeed, too conspicuous objects, and in many places they form a line much too formal along the upper edge of the walk. An attempt has been made to remove this formality by introducing rhododendrons here and there in the margin, which is so far good; but the only effective method is to open glades of turf, and to exhibit these glades stretching far up the steep sides of the hill. The great beauty of a regular, broad, and avowedly highly artificial, walk of this sort, consists in the contrast produced by the irregularity of the scenery on each side of it. The descent from this terrace to a grotto, and thence to the ruins of the ancient castle, is fine and highly interesting. The ruins exhibit a mixture of Gothic and Grecian, the latter probably being added in the time of Elizabeth. [Wikipedia: Wardour Castle is located near Tisbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about 15 miles west of Salisbury. The original castle was partially destroyed during the Civil War. It is managed by English Heritage and is open to the public. It was originally built in the late fourteenth century for John, the fifth Baron Lovell. It was inspired by the hexagonal castles then in fashion in parts of the Continent, particularly in France; but its own six-sided design is unique in Britain, as is its inclusion of several self-contained guest suites.]
