Nonsuch

An Extract from

Bygone Surrey

by

Clinch, George, 1895

Nonsuch

By S. W. Kershaw, F.S.A.

” That which no equal has in art or fame, Britons deservedly do Nonsuch name.”

Nonsuch Palace By Joris Hoefnagel
Image source Wikipedia

The story goes that Henry VIII., hunting near the Banstead downs, when tired of the chase, was entertained by Sir Richard de Cuddington, who owned that Manor. The King was so pleased with the place, he offered an exchange, annexed the manor to Hampton Court, and built a palace on the site, a palace whose fame has long been a bye-word for quaint and original beauty.

The erection of Nonsuch marks an epoch in artistic history, the fairy-like structure which was the pride of the Tudors, claims the genius of Italy in its varied designs, and its wealth of ornament is a striking illustration of the influence of foreign taste on English architecture.

In the earliest description of Nonsuch, in 1582, “it is stated Henry VIII. procured many artificers, architects, sculptors, and statuaries, as well as Italians, French, and Dutch, who applied to the ornament of this mansion the finest and most curious skill they possessed in their several arts, embellishing it within and without with magnificent statues, some of which represent the antiquities of Rome,” and some surpass them, a statement which Camden in his ” Britannia ” echoes, and declares that Nonsuch ” was built with so much splendour and elegance, that it stands a monument of art, and you would think that the skill and science of architecture were exhausted on this one building. It has such a profusion of animated statues and finished pieces of art, rivalling the ornaments of ancient Rome itself, that it justly receives and maintains its name from them.”

The credit of the design rests with one Anthonio or Toto* dell Nunciata, a Florentine painter and architect, who entered, with many other foreign artists, the King’s service, and whose special skill in designing allegorical and pictorial sculpture was seen in the elaborate ornament, which justly earned for this building the name of ” Nonsuch,” a palace of which, it may be said, it was the only one Henry VIII  built. To the engraved view, taken from Hoefnagel’s print of 1582, may be added the following minute description : —

 * The “Denizations,” Huguenot Society of London, 1893,
mention a grant to Anthony Toto and his wife, of cottages and land at Mitcham. 

” The original and principal structure was of two stories, the lower being of substantial and well wrought freestone, and the upper of wood, richly adorned and set forth and garnished with a variety of statues, pictures (i.e., coloured figures in relief), and other artistic forms of excellent art and workmanship, and of no small cost. Its roof is covered with blue slate. In the centre, over the gatehouse to the inner court, was a clock turret, and at either end of the structure, east and west, was a large tower of five stories high, commanding an extensive prospect. …

This singular building remained in good condition for more than a century, for it is noticed both by Evelyn and Pepys in their diaries in the year 1665. The palace consists of two courts, of which the first is of stone, castle like, built in the reign of Elizabeth, by Lord Lumley ; the other of timber, a Gothic fabric, but the walls incomparably beautiful. The appearing timber, entrelaces, etc., were all so covered with scales of slate, that it seemed carved in the wood and painted, the slate fastened on the timbers in pretty figures, that has, Hke a coat of armour, preserved it from rotting. There stand in the garden two handsome stone pyramids.”**

Documentary evidence proves the vast amount of work expended on the palace, and we note in 1542 a “Bill of charges by carvers and gilders done at Nonsuch,” † as one of the many items expended on this royal domain.

From the same source one gleans much concerning the building materials : the stone was brought from Reigate, also Caen and Luke stone, were conveyed by water, and landed at Ditton on the Thames. The timber was principally supplied from the Wealden district, or from woods near, as we read of its carriage from Horley, Bristow, Lee (Leigh), Bowkham (Bookham). The principal pieces for the towers at Nonsuch were from Rusper on the Sussex border, and there are charges for felling and sawing of timber at the above place, and at Newdigate. These paymasters’ accounts also mention smiths’ work, sawyers and chalk diggers, besides an infinity of smaller expenses, all very interesting, attesting the fact that on the erection of such a house, local resources were employed, and that as one of the King’s manors, the enrolment of its expenses in the State papers, gives it a first rank in Surrey antiquarian lore.

** Gentleman’s Magazine, August 1837.
† Domestic State Papers, Henry VIII

Every portion seems to have received minute attention in decorative details, and to have exemplified this feature more forcibly than Hampton Court or Whitehall, also filled with so called ” pictures,” but as mentioned above, they were more properly bas-reliefs in wood or alabaster plaques, tapestry, needlework, and all those decorations which received a direct impetus from the influence of foreign workmen.

The excessive patronage of ” strangers,” naturally caused dissatisfaction, a sentiment expressed in the rhyming ballads of the day : —

 ” Poor tradesmen had small dealings then,
And who but strangers bore the bell,
Which was a grief to Englishmen,
To see them here in London dwell.”

To construct the clock which adorned the central tower of Nonsuch, six French artisans were sent for, and their names are to be found in the “Letters and Denizations,” 1509-1603, before mentioned.

At this time there were few clockmakers in England, most of them came from Normandy, and the old turret clock at Hampton Court bears the initials of Nicholas Oursiau, a foreigner.

Gardens and lawns surrounded Nonsuch, and many a fantastically wrought fountain sparkled in the fair quadrangle, or on the broad terraced walk of this stately manor.

Long varied banks and alleys of trellis work diversified the scene, and it is said that Lord Bacon had this unique picture in his mind when he wrote his ” Essays of Buildings and of Gardens.”

Hentzner, whose travels are far famed, de- scribing his visit, says “two fountains, one round and the other like a pyramid, upon which are perched small birds that stream water out of their bills ; in the grove of Diana is a fountain and nymphs with inscription ; there is besides, another pyramid of marble, full of concealed pipes which spirts upon all who come within their reach !”

Camden writes : —

“The house is surrounded with parks full of deer, delicate orchards and gardens, groves adorned with arbours, little garden-beds and walks shaded with trees, that pleasure and health seem to have made choice of this place, and to live together.”

The manor of Cheam has had its roll of fame. Henry the VIII. exchanged it with Cranmer for lands at Chislet in Kent. The living has also been noted, for five of its rectors, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries became bishops, and of them, Lancelot Andrews and Bishop Hacket of Lichfield were most eminent. Of the former, the witty Fuller remarked that ” they who stole his sermons could not steal his manner.” Elizabeth made him Dean of Wells, and he had great share in the revision of the Bible in 1611. His ability and learning found vent in the couplet,

 ” If ever any merited to be The universal Bishop, this was he,”

and one of the famed monuments in St. Saviour’s, Southwark, is to Bishop Andrews.

After the death of Henry VIII., the Earl of Arundel, whose descendants are commemorated in the celebrated Lumley monuments and brasses, in the adjoining church of Cheam, possessed Nonsuch.

Near at hand an ancient house called ” Whitehall,” was famous for having been either an appendage for the court attendants, or for occasional use by royalty itself.

Lord Lumley was a great collector, and a most interesting association constantly occurs in the fact that many of Archbishop Cranmer’s works were acquired by Lord Lumley, whose autograph with that of the martyr Primate repeatedly appears on the title pages.

The correspondence of the Earl of Arundel with Sir William More, is to be found in the famous collection known as the “Loseley MSS.” extending from the twelfth to the seventeenth century, and that mine of chronicled lore and political gossip was gathered in the historic house of Loseley, than which no more typical illustration of “bygone” art and architecture exists, even to-day, in this, one of the fairest mansions in all Surrey.

It was from Lord Arundel that Elizabeth purchased Nonsuch, and became so enamoured of the place. Long before her tenure, this house had played a varied and important part in English annals, ” the manor of Nonsuch ” being a frequent appendage to many a state paper, news-letter, or Royal despatch. In 1555 we read Queen Mary’s permission was given to M. Noailles, the French ambassador, to see the gardens and park ; another time we read of a warrant to deliver to him two does from the Great Park, and to her cousin, Cardinal Pole, the Queen wrote a letter, under royal signet, permitting him to hunt deer in the park.

As time progresses, we find mention of several offices connected with this mansion ; Sir Thomas Cawarden, ” Master of the Revels,” was keeper of the palace and park in the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward, and Elizabeth, his friend and executor was Sir Wm. More, of Loseley, and it is of much interest to note that under Sir Thomas, a school of actors had been formed, who, it appears, were indirectly connected with the rise of the Blackfriars Theatre, and so with that of the great Shakespeare himself.

Henry VIII.’s license permitted Sir Thomas to have a company of armed retainers ; his feudal estate at Blechingley further associates him with “Bygone Surrey,” as well as his friendship with Sir William More, whose “zeal and pleasure,” shown in all local matters, claims for the owners of Loseley, a very distinguished place in historic and county annals.

During the Earl of Arundel’s tenure of Nonsuch, he entertained the Queen splendidly in 1579. Strype writes : — ” Here the Queen had great entertainment, with banquets, together with a masque, and the warlike sound of drums and flutes, and all kinds of music till midnight ; at night was a play of the children of St. Paul’s, and their master, after that, a costly banquet, accompanied with drums and flutes, and the Earl presented Her Majesty with a cupboard of plate. ”

These expressions of goodwill were shown, though in another way, to Archbishop Parker, to whom the Earl gave an order to deliver deer from his estate. At this time, we read much of the Park at Nonsuch, of which there appears to have been a “Great and Little Park.” In 1605 a regulation was made to endow lands for the enlargement of the park, and for some years later the State Papers record many an incident relating to its maintenance, also as to the Lodge, such as ” timber for the repair,” and a ” warrant for sale of trees in Chute Forest, Hampshire, as well as £150 to build a fair lodge in Nonsuch Park.”

Queen Elizabeth took possession of Nonsuch about 1580, and here, until her death, the Court often repaired, whence despatches were constantly dated, the letters of the famous Lord Howard of Effingham, concerning the Armada, and other like correspondence, are among the most notable.

On the second outbreak of the Spaniards, after the great invasion, Rowland Whyte reports, ” Our fleet goes to sea ; Sir Walter Raleigh took leave at Court of all the ladies and his friends; he was brought to see the singularities of the gardens, which pleased him infinitely.”

At this historical house were dated some of the letters concerning the fate of Mary Stuart, from Secretary Davison to the Earl of Leicester.

In less than a month afterwards, the Earl of Essex rode hastily along those noble avenues to the entrance court, eager to lay the report of his management in Ireland before the Queen. In that early summer morning, Essex had taken , horse from Westminster, and stirred not till he arrived at the gates of Nonsuch, and although the Queen was but ” newly up ” he obtained an audience. Her Majesty gave him ” good words and said he was welcome, and willed him to rest after so wearie a journey.” ” Essex thanked God that although he had suffered much trouble and storms abroad, he found sweet calm at home.”

That fickle Queen, when the Earl waited on her later in the afternoon, ” ordered him to keep his chamber.” Essex was in reality a prisoner here, but he was visited and consoled by his good friend Francis Bacon, who was then in attendance at court.

Sir Nicolas Bacon, lawyer, wit, and courtier, and keeper of the Great Seal, received the Queen at his house at Gorhambury in 1577, who, when she told him it was too little for him, elicted from him the remarkable answer ” No madam, it is your Highness had made me too great for my house.”

The council which terminated the fate of Essex, sat at Nonsuch, and when, in after days, the Queen heard of his revolt and attempt at the overthrow of the Crown, all her fiery Tudor nature arose within her, and she exclaimed to her Chancellor Harrington, ” By God’s son, I am no Queen, this man is above me.”

Soon after this, we read of few events at Nonsuch, and, if the story be true, riding on a sun-glaring day, the Queen thought the Palace was on fire, and on her attendants telling her it was only the sun’s rays on the roof, the mistake so displeased her vanity, that she rode home and bade adieu with her Court to Nonsuch for ever. This foible, though small, stamps the extra- ordinary nature of a sovereign who, in other ways, brought England to such a height of renown, and who had made her throne one of the first in the world.

James I. and Anne of Denmark lived here at various times, but “Theobalds,” on the way to Newmarket, was a more attractive resort of that pleasure-loving king. Though Hampton Court was the favourite abode of Charles I., occasional allusions are made to his sojourn at Nonsuch — certainly as recorded by Miss Strickland in her lives of the Queens of England — ” the king and Henrietta Maria seem to have retired here, after a somewhat paltry little quarrel on the dismissal of the Queen’s French attendants, whose retention gave great offence to the general public.”

The Palace was a retreat for court favourites ; in 1625 we read of the Duke of Buckingham being here to ” confirm his health,” and a few years before, the Spanish Ambassador, Gondomar, on account of his countenance of the mass, was so unpopular, that he retired here to avoid the fury of the people.

The Civil War brought its consequent train of events. This mansion, with other crown lands, fell into the hands of the commissioners, and in 1648 the following order was issued ” to send out scouts to discover whether there be any movements of the enemy towards surprising Oatlands, Richmond, and Nonsuch, and to prevent the execution of that design.” It is probable that these houses not so fortified escaped the attacks made on the greater strongholds of Farnham, Guildford, and Sterborough castles, all of which underwent a siege.

Nonsuch came under the parliamentary tenure, and a minute survey made in 1650 gives a very fair idea of its condition. Each part is described in detail, giving an excellent notion of the size and use of the numerous rooms, which accommodated so large a court retinue as had been lately maintained by Henrietta Maria. Nor are the fountains, the gardens, and the smaller buildings omitted in this survey, which is printed in Archæologia (vol v.), 1779, and of which but a fragment is here given : —

 ” The gatehouse leading into the outward court aforesaid, is a building very strong and gracefull, being three stories high, leaded overhead, battled and turretted in every of the four corners thereof, the highest of which stories contains a very large and spacious roouie, very pleasant and delectable for prospect.

And also consisting of one other faire and very curious structure or building of two stories high, the lower story where- of is of good and well wrought free stone, and the higher of wood, richly adorned and set forth and garnished with variety of statues, pictures, * * * all which incloseth one faire and large court, * * * all paved with free stone, commonly called the Inner Court:”

 ” And also consisting of one structure of timber building of a quadrengular forme, pleasantly situated upon the highest parte of the said Nonsuch Parke, commonly called the Banquetting House, being compassed round with a brick wall, the four corners whereof represent four half moons or fortified angles ; this building being of three stories high, * * * the stanchions and out postes of which banquetting house are all covered with lead ; over the thirde story, there is a lanthorne placed, covered with lead, and in every of the four corners of the whole house a belcone placed for prospect.”

From the above description, it would appear that the ” banquetting house ” was detached from the main building, and placed so as to serve equally for outpost as a dining chamber ; disposed somewhat after the Italian manner, then in vogue. This is strengthened by the fact that the fashion of dining together in the great hall was, in the 16th century, falling into disuse, greater pro-minence being given to the so-called ” banquetting house.”

Ordinances for the Royal household in 1526 state that “sundrie noblemen and gentlemen doe much delighte, and use to dyne in corners and secret places, and not repay ring to the King’s chamber or hall.”

The Park is so often mentioned in the State papers of the 17th century, that it almost claims a chapter for itself.

Henry VIII. made the two parks, called the Great and Little Parks — at one time they were partly turned into tillage, and strong measures were taken to impark them again, and enlarge their area, so much that several warrants were granted for land to extend the boundaries ; the two lodges were repaired, enlarged, and improve- ments were constant. Worcester Park was in- cluded in the Great Park, attached to Nonsuch, but was sold about 1750. The Survey then states : —

 “The trees within the Parke aforesaid, already marked forth for the use of the navie, are found to be in number two thousand eight hundred and five, two hundred whereof growe so neare unto Nonsuch house, and in such a decent order, being a speciall ornament thereunto, that the cutting down thereof will not only very much impayre the magnificence of the structure, but will also exceedingly detract from the pleasantness of the seate which we humbly make bould to certifie.”

We hear of Nonsuch again in 1663, when Pepys writes, that he saw a famous race on Banstead Downs, rode through Epsom, and then goes through Nonsuch Park to the House “looks through the great gates, and found a noble court.”

Three years later, the fire of London raged, and to this Surrey mansion the Exchequer’s money was sent for safety.

Pepys again describes it as a ” fine palace and prospect, a great walk of elm and walnut, set one after another in order, all the house has the outside filled with figures of stories, the house covered with lead and gilded.” His brother diarist, Evelyn, always more minute in his artistic descriptions, ” took an exact view of the plaster statues and bas-relievos, inserted ‘twixt the timbers and stanchions of the outside walls of the court, which must needs have been the work of some celebrated Italian. I much admired how it lasted so well, and entire since the time of Henry VIII., exposed as they are to the air. . . There are some mezzo-relievos as big as the life ; the story is of the heathen gods, emblems, compartments, etc.”

There stand in the garden two handsome stone pyramids, and the avenue is planted with rows of fair elms, but the rest of the goodly trees of this and Worcester Park adjoining were felled by those destructive rebels in the late war, and thus was defaced one of the stateliest seats his Majesty possessed. In the gardens, there was a fountain set about in six lilacs, and these have been said to be the first lilacs brought into England. Charles II. gave Nonsuch to the Duchess of Cleveland, — then its historic days are over, for to feed her extravagance, that unprincipled favourite sold the materials, with which the Earl of Berkeley erected the ” Durdans ” at Epsom, afterwards destroyed by fire in 1764. It was hardly to be expected otherwise of the Duchess, ” who when she had a point to gain with the king, had resource either to smiles or rage, as the case might require.”

The Duke of Grafton, afterwards acquired the property, and it went through various changes till the year 1803, when the present modern and elegant house, designed by Jeffrey Wyattville, was built, and the owner. Captain Farmer, J.P., now resides there.