The entrance is from the great road through a fine gateway, having on
each side an open colonnade, and on the top a lion passant, the crest
of the noble house of Northumberland. A flight of steps leads into the
great hall, sixty-six feet by thirty-one feet, and thirty-four in
height, paved with white and black marble, and ornamented with colossal
statues, and an extremely fine bronze cast of the Dying Gladiator, cast
at Rome, by Valadier. A flight of veined marble steps leads to the
vestibule, with a floor of scagliola, and twelve large Ionic columns
and sixteen pilasters of _verde antique_. This leads to the dining
room, ornamented with marble statues and paintings in _chiaro
oscuro_, after the antique, with, at each end, a circular recess,
separated by Corinthian columns, fluted, and a ceiling in stucco, gilt.
The drawing room has a rich carved ceiling; and the sides are hung with
three-coloured silk damask, the finest of the kind ever executed in
England. The antique mosaic tables, and the chimney-piece of this
apartment are very splendid, as are also the glasses, which are 108
inches by 65. The great gallery, serving for the library and museum, is
133-1/2 feet by 14, is in stucco, after the finest remains of antiquity,
and is remarkable as the first specimen of stucco work finished in
England.
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