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Page 35
Sir Richard spent a great portion of his life in collecting the
paintings and other relics of antiquity which adorn the mansion, and
published a very sumptuous descriptive work, entitled "Museum
Worsleyanum." The Estate descended to the Pelham family by the marriage
of the Baronet's niece to the late Earl Yarborough.
The park of Appuldurcombe is extensive; and the soil being extremely
rich, supports a great number both of deer and cattle,--the former of
which is nowhere else to be found in the island. At the back of the
mansion rises a lofty hill, whose sides are hung with groves of noble
beech, interspersed with many venerable oaks. On the summit is an
obelisk, originally seventy feet high, built of Cornish granite, to the
memory of Sir Robert Worsley: but of late years it has suffered severely
from the high winds, to the violence of which its elevated position
renders it so exposed. From almost every part of this down we gain the
most splendid views; below, is the rich vale of Arreton, Newchurch, and
Godshill: beyond is seen on the north, Portsmouth and the neighbouring
anchorages, with the wooded heights above Southampton Water; eastward
are the beautiful shores of Sandown Bay; to the west the prospect is
continued far beyond the white cliffs of Freshwater, by the coasts of
Hants and Dorset: and on the south expands the azure horizon of the
boundless ocean.
N.B. Strangers desirous of visiting Appuldurcombe, must provide
themselves with tickets at the office of the stewards, Messrs. Sewell,
Solicitors, Newport: the days allowed are Tuesdays and Fridays, between
the hours of 11 and 4 o'clock.
* * * * *
GODSHILL,
Bordering on Appuldurcombe Park, is a populous village, chiefly
remarkable for the very picturesque situation of the Church, a large and
venerable pile, which stands upon a steep hill in the centre of the
village,--commanding such an extensive and beautiful prospect as will of
itself repay the tourist for the trouble of ascending. The interior of
the church is enriched by several interesting monuments, ancient and
modern, in memory of the various possessors of the Appuldurcombe
estates,--the most sumptuous being that to Sir J. Leigh and his lady,
whose marble effigies are canopied by a beautifully ornamented arch; and
the massive tomb of Sir Richard Worsley, which occupies the south
transept, where a colored window is placed to give it greater
effect.--Godshill has a small country inn called the Griffin.
* * * * *
The distance from Ventnor to Godshill is four miles:--and thence to
Newport, six: the country is well-cultivated, but presents no object to
call for particular notice: we pass the hamlet of ROOKLEY: and the
villas of PIDFORD and STANDEN.
WHITWELL is a very retired village, winding between Godshill and Niton:
and having a church of some antiquity.
* * * * *
Returned to the Undercliff, the next place in our route which boasts of
superior scenic beauty is ...
STEEPHILL,
[Illustration: STEEPHILL, UNDERCLIFF, ISLE OF WIGHT.]
Where a splendid CASTLE was erected in the year 1833, by J. Hambrough,
esq. (thence often called after his name), on a broad terrace of rock
that rises almost perpendicularly from the present road: and here it may
not be quite uninteresting to state--at least to some of our friends who
used to visit the island years ago, that the castle occupies the very
site of the once-noted Cottage of the late Earl Dysart, and which was
for many years that nobleman's favorite retreat. Steephill was then a
most charming rural hamlet; but the cottages are removed (much to the
advantage of the tenants), to afford a scope in the grounds
corresponding with the dignity of the new mansion. Rustic simplicity and
the wilder graces have given way to elegance and polished decoration:
but whether the alteration
"Adds beauties to what Nature plann'd before,"
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