White's Directory of Nottinghamshire, 1853

Welbeck Abbey (Extra Parochial)

Welbeck Abbey, the beautiful seat of hii Grace the Duke of Portland, stands in a sequestered situation on the margin of a spacious lake, 34 miles S. by W. of Worksop, embosomed in an extensive park of venerahle oaks, whioh with the demesne and adjacent plantations, forms an extra parochial distriot, containing 22S3A. 3A. 5R. of land, which anciently formed part of the parish of Cuckney, till Thomas, Lord of Cuckney, built a castle at Cuckney, and founded here an Abbey for Prcsmonstratesian canons from Newsome. in Leicestershire; beginning the monastic edifice in the reign of Stephen, and completing it in that of Henry II. He dedicated it to St. James, and gave it and tbe adjacent lands to the monks, in free and prrpetual alms, for his own, father's, mother's, and ancestors' souls, "and theirs from whom be had unjustly taken any goods." After this, many troubled consciences bestowed numerous gifts on this Abbey, and it at length became one of the richest Abbeys in the county.

At its dissolution, in the 13tb of Henry VIII., its yearly revenues were valued at £249. 6s, 3d., and it was granted (by purchase) to Richard Whalley, from whom it passed to Sir Charles Cavendish, youngest son of the celebrated Countess of Shrewsbury, by her marriage with Sir William. He marrying the heiressof Lord Ogle, his son succeeded to that barony, and became afterwards Duke of Newcastle , this wss the noble Duke, the author of the famous Treatise on Horsemanship, and the builder of the large riding house here. Though the Duke was very active during the civil wars on tbe side of Charles, yet this seat and park escaped tbe fury of the Parliamentarians; in other respects, however, he suffered to the amount ,of nearlY one million sterling. His granddaughter and heiress, Margaret, married John Hollis, 4th Earl of Clare, afterwards created Duke of Newcastle; but she left only a daughter who inherited tbe estates, and marryiug the Earl of Oxford, another heiress, the only issue of this union, carried it to the ancestor of tbe present noble proprietor, tbe most noble William Henry Caveudish, Scott-Bentinck, Duke of Portland, Marquis of Tichfield, Viscount Woodstock, Baron Cirencester, Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex, and D. C. D,, who resides, chiefly at Welbeck Abbey, and occasionally at his other seats, viz: Bolsover Castle, in Derbyshire; and Fullerton House and Dean Castle, in Ayrshire. His town residence is in Cavendish square.

The Bentinck Family is descended from the noble family of that name, who were of the province of Overyssel, in tbe republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, where they flourished for many generations. The Westons were Earls uf Portland from 1633 till 1665, when the title became extinct from the death of Thomas Weston, Without issue, but was revived again in 1689, in the person of William Bentinck, who was page to William, Prince of Orange, and was in the suit of that monarch when he came over to take possession of the English throne. His lordship had previously visited England in 1677, when he successfully solicited for his royal master the hand of the Princess Mary, daughter of James Duke of York, afterwards James II. He served under William and Mary with great reputation, both in Ireland and the Netherlands, and was sent Ambassador Extraordinary to the court of France. "His integrity was proved relative to certain transactions about passing an act for insupporting the East India Company, when he disdainfully refused a bribe of £50,000." The House of Commons, however, was not always partial to him, for in 1696, they opposed a grant which King William wished to bestow on him of some lordships in Wales, and in 1701, tbey impeached him with the Earl of Oxford, Lord Halifax, and Lord Somers, for advising and negotiating "a treaty of partitions." He had two wives of the families of Villiers and Temple, and died in 1709, when he was succeeded by his son Henry, who in 1716, was created Marquis of Titcbfield and Duke of Portland, and was governor of the island of Jamaica, where he died in 1726.

His son William, second Duke of Portland, married Lady Margaret Cavendlsh Harley, daughter of Edward Harley,Earl of Oxford, the founder of the celebrated Harleian Library, with whom he obtained Welbeck and the rest ofthe Cavendish estates. He died in 1762, when his estates and titles devolved on his son William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, the late Duke, who was High Steward of the City of Bristol, Recorder of Nottingbam, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, from April 8th, to Sept. 15, in 1782, and First Lord of the Treasury, from April to December, in 1783. He died in 1809, and was succeeded by his son the present Duke, who assumed the name of Scott-Bentinck, and is now considered the greatest farmer in England, as be retains in his own hands snd superintends the cultivation of a large portion of his estate himself, His father held the same rank amongst the English planters, and to them Welbeck and many of the neighbourlng manors are indebted for most of their sylvan honours and agricultural improvements. Besides making about 700 acres d plantations, the late Duke cultivated nearly 2,000 acres of waste land, which has since been greatly enriched by his present representative.

Welcbeck Abbey is a large irregularly built mansion, which has been enlarged at various periods, and appears to retain none of the ancient monastic walls, except in the interior, where in some of the apartments, even the sepulchral monuments fixed in some of the ancient walls are not destroyed, "but only hid by the wainscot panels and other hangings" What is seen, however, is of comparative modern erection, being begun in 1604; yet it has towers, turrets, some small battlements, and some balmstrades, which altogether give it an impressive air of antiquity. Those which are called tbe new apartments are very spacious, but, with the exception of additions, no great alteration bas been made in the house since the early part of the 17th ceutury, though the late Duke fitted up all the principal rooms in their present state. The principal apartments are all elegantly furnished, and contain an immense collection of family portraits and other paintings by eminent masters. The Library is a superb room, (44 feet by 30) in the florid gothic style, and neatness and elegance pervade the whole mansion.

The Equestrian Duke of Newcastle built a most magnificent riding house here, in 1623, and finished the stables in 1625, but his immediat successor aid not keep up his favourite hobby, as it was for some time permitted to go to decay, but is again restored to its original use; and the great stable is now one of the finest in the kingdom, being 130 feet long by 40 broad, and containing 40 stalls, the outside being finished in tlie modern gothic style.

The Park is about 3 miles in circumference, and the attention of the visitor is powerfully excited by the majestic woods of ancient oaks, many of which are of an extraordinary size. The largest of these is the Greendale Oak, which is supposed to be upwards of 700 years old, and measures in circumference, 33 feet at the bottom. Its branches once covered a space equal to 700 square yards, but it is now in a state of decay, having but one small branch to crown its venerable trunk, which is now supported by props, clasped with iron bars, and in some places capped with lead to preserve it from the wet: though in its last stage of declining years, it braves the storms of each revolving winter; while the winds of Heaven have blown down many a toweriug tree, this stands firmly rooted in the propitious soil that gave it birth. A coach road, upwards of 10 feet in height, and six feet three inches in width, was cut tbrougb this aged oak in 1724; Yet it never contained so much timber ss some other trees in this park, which have been estimated at from 7 to 300 solid feet. The Duke's Walking Stick is 111 feet six inches in height, and 11 tons in weight, having upwards of 410 solid feet of timber. The Two Porters have received their names from there having been a gate betwixt them; their respective heights are 98 and 88 feet, and their circumference 34 and 33. These are in the Rein Deer Park, on the west side of the lake, near Norton Cuckney, where there are many other trees which are supposed to bave braved the tempesls for upwards ofsix centuries. On the opposite side of the park, near the gate which goes in from Worksop, is a remarkable tree called the Seven Sisters, from its consisting of seven stems springing from one root in a perpendicular direction ; but one of them was unfortunately broken off upwards of 40 years ago. The circumference of the common truuk, close to the ground, is 30 feet, and the height of the stems 88 feet. That part of the park which is seen in the vicinity of the house, and in which the plantations are upon a very large scale, has been rendered ornamental, and contains a very fine piece of water, occupying a windiug valley, meandering tbfough the dark foliage of the surrounding wood, and whose bottom being boggy, was dug out by order of the late Duke, and being made the receptacle for all the drainage is now completely floated. This charming lake is a great embellishment to the grounds, being of a considerable breadth, and more than a mile ti length; winding with the most natural effect in an easy but bold line at the foot of several small promontories shaded with planting, and presenting the most picturesque prospects at every turn, till it arrives at Milnthorpe, after passing under an elegant stone bridge of Qne arch, erected about two years ago, where it received the Poulter, and forms the river Wollen, which flows eastward through Clumber Park. The late Duke made many considerable alterations and improvements, independent of this piece of water; but he was rather unlucky in one proposed embellishment, for having erected a most elegant, nay magnificent, bridge of three arches, the centre one of which was ninety feet ln span, and the side ones seventy five each, it fell down just as it was finished.

The sons of his Grace the Duke of Portland, who reside with him at Welbeck Abbey, are t.he Hon. John Soott Bentinck, Marqais of Titchfield, and the Hon. Lord Henry Bentinck.

[Transcribed by Clive Henly]