Through this
park there are several footpaths open to the public, and are the most
rural and delightful walks imaginable.
_Guy's Clift_.
Leland, the antiquarian, who wrote in the time of Henry 8th, speaking
of this delightful and romantic place, says, "It is the abode of
pleasure, and a place delightful to the muses: there are natural
cavities in the rocks, small but shady groves, clear and chrystal
streams, flowery meadows, mossy caves, a gentle murmuring river
running among the rocks, and to crown all, solitude and quiet,
friendly in so high a degree to the muses."
The approach to this romantic place is from the Coventry road, by the
side of shady plantations, until you arrive at a lofty stone arch,
through which you enter the court yard, the whole of which is hewn out
of the solid rock, and underneath there are subterraneous passages and
cellars, wherein the atmospheric air produces so little effect, that
during the heats of summer or the colds in winter the thermometer only
varies one degree. In this court there are numerous stables excavated
out of the solid rock, as are some of the lower apartments of the
house, which is an elegant modern mansion, and near to it is the
ancient chapel, with its embattled towers and gothic windows, as it
was originally built in the reign of Henry 6th, and is still in good
repair.
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