The park in which this house stands, is well known, from many descriptions,
to be a singularly picturesque and pleasing one. It is, at the same time, a
small one, but the dimensions are concealed by the numerous and beautiful
groups of trees with which it is studded. The oaks are particularly
celebrated for their great size and age, several of them are supposed to be
upwards of 500 years old, and some do not hesitate to say 1,000 years; the
girth of many of them is ten yards, or considerably more. A survey of this
park, by order of the Conventional Parliament, in 1653, pronounced 287 of
these oaks as being hollow, and too much decayed for the use of the navy.
The whole of these remain to this day, and may, perhaps, continue two or
three centuries longer; some few of them have been scathed by lightning.
Behind the house, near the entrance of the park from the turnpike-road, are
some ponds, similar in appearance to those frequently seen adjoining
ancient mansions; above these, at the edge of a precipice, was the front of
the ancient castle. This building is doubtless that erected by Lord
Fanhope, at the beginning of the fifteenth century. It was used as a royal
resort by Henry VIII., who was often here, and by Queen Catherine, who
resided here some time previous, and during the time her divorce was in
process at Dunstable.
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