The County Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland

Benjamin Fawcett of Driffield, "the finest of Victorian colour printers", first collaborated with the Reverend Francis Orpen Morris to produce Bible Natural History in 1850. Their next work was the iconic and revolutionary A History of British Birds. By this time Alexander Francis Lydon had joined Fawcett as an apprentice. He was a gifted artist and engraver who worked for Fawcett for over thirty years. Their final collaborative masterpiece was The County Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland with coloured illustrations of the finest castles, halls and ancestral homes. The publishing of County Seats was complicated and went through a number of editions, versions, titles and publishers. This was in some part due to the changing state, and status, of the houses and of the families who owned them as well as the desire to include more "Seats" and the commercial prospects of the work in the hands of different publishers. This complex history has been the subject of significant research over many years by world renowned antiquarians and historians, though there is undoubtedly more to be discovered. This current research has confirmed, contradicted and contributed to the body of knowledge which comprises the history and mystery of County Seats. In my opinion, the catalogues of some libraries, institutions and antiquarian booksellers sometimes struggle to accurately describe how their copies of books from the County Seats series fit within this complicated publishing history. For example calling the Mackenzie edition a first edition and describing the Longmans two volume first edition as Volumes One and Two with the Mackenzie edition as Volumes Three to Six. I do not profess to have any or all the answers to the complex history of County Seats, I hope that the timeline I have set down initiates further discussion, debate and research.

The engravings from County Seats are used extensively on the Internet to illustrate narrative descriptions of the architecture and history of the residences, usually without reference to or acknowledgement of their origin, a typical example being Wikipedia (e.g. Beaudesert). There's a link at the bottom of the page to view all 240 "Seats" on a map and links which display all the images.

A special thanks to Nicholas Rougeux for his exceptional work on the illustrations in County Seats. The research is meticulous, the images amazing and the presentation outstanding. Check out Seats on c82.

It's difficult to know who instigated County Seats but input from Fawcett, Morris and Lydon with the possibility of outside influence by publishers and the "Noblemen and Gentlemen" themselves may all have played a part. Lydon would have relished the opportunity to put his hand to the production of such an extensive and imposing portfolio. His skill as an artist coupled with the eye of an engraver and printer made this the perfect platform. Morris would have been in his element too, interacting with the aristocracy and landed gentry during the preparation of his text. I don't think there's any doubt that Benjamin Fawcett would have had the final say.

This was Lydon absolutely at the top of his game as the key player in Fawcett's most ambitious and expensive project. He would have painted the original watercolours for each of the houses. These would have been produced using a variety of sources; drawings and paintings made by Lydon himself in situ, sketches and descriptions from the owners or someone with an intimate knowledge of the buildings and, in certain circumstances, photographs of the buildings themselves or close ups of specific details. Lydon would then have skilfully analysed the nuances of colour in the painting and translated them into colour separations. These would be drawn onto the end grain of boxwood blocks by Lydon himself. By this time the skill of Fawcett's engravers was at such a level that Fawcett and Lydon were confident enough to relinquish their previous ownership of the engraving process and pass it over to them. For County Seats the number of colour separations averaged about eight with a key block of mainly line details which would be printed last, usually in black. Proofs would probably have been sent to the owners for approval.

There's a chapter specifically on A F Lydon and County Seats in M C F Morris's 1925 memoir of Benjamin Fawcett and a similar section in his 1897 memoir of his father, Rev F O Morris. In his definitive 1988 work Benjamin Fawcett: Engraver and Colour Printer, Ruari McLean goes into great detail about the history of County Seats. McLean acknowledges the research of the world's leading antiquarian, bibliographer and historian, Percy Horace Muir. Muir presided over the first ever conference of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers in 1949 in Amsterdam. After a period as president, Muir was elected Life President of Honour in 1952. He chaired the historical sub-committee for the 1963 joint exhibition "Printing and the Mind of Man" at the British Museum and at Earls Court and he edited the book which followed. This combined exhibition was dedicated to the history of western civilisation through printing from the 15th century to the present. There had never been a printing exhibition on this scale before, nor since. Muir had for a long time researched into the intricacies of the publishing of County Seats. Before his death in 1979, he passed his notes on to McLean who also acknowledges the help of Muir's widow, Barbara Kaye. The notes were subsequently acquired by Cambridge University Library. I have been in communication with the library to try and locate the notes.

I have located some correspondence regarding County Seats between Percy Muir and Trevor Hall from the year 1974 in the Lilly Library at Indiana University, Bloomington. Grateful thanks to Madeline Keyser, Reference Assistant at the Lilly Library. The Trevor Hall Manuscript Collection was purchased in 2000 from Bertram Rota, the long established, fifth generation, antiquarian booksellers of London. The letters were transcribed by Grenville Cook for Bertram Rota with the unfulfilled intention of publishing a memoir of Percy Muir in 1984. (I wonder if the return letters from Hall to Muir may be in the Cambridge collection?)

I've received copies of the transcripts of the Muir-Hall correspondence and they are very interesting. I will add the information to the version histories in due course. They do confirm the very complex publication history of County Seats and the difficulty that even the leading experts of the day had in trying to piece it all together, a venture that was not, on the whole, successful.

Percy Muir, probably the world's leading expert on antiquarian books up until his death in 1979, corresponded extensively with his friend Trevor Hall and particularly in 1974 regarding County Seats. Hall, from Leeds, a surveyor by profession and vice president of the Huddersfield Building Society, was the President of the Leeds Library and a renowned antiquarian book collector himself. The Leeds Library, founded in 1768, is the oldest surviving subscription library of its type in the UK.

Muir to Hall, 9th April 1974: "Is there anybody on the staff of the library who could help me with a problem - a very complicated one - that has nagged me for nearly 20 years? It concerns the publishing history of Rev F O Morris' County Seats..... Your own experience in bibliography will, I hope, excuse this imposition. If anyone on your staff could help I would be most grateful."

Muir and Hall subsequently corresponded with or visited Dennis Cox, Leeds University Librarian and Keeper of the Brotherton Collection, Hugh Fattorini of Skipton Castle and Norman Higson, Archivist at the Brynmor Jones Library at the University of Hull and formerly the County Archivist of the East Yorkshire Council. They all had, or where responsible for, collections which included editions of County Seats or related documents. Although this research did add to the story, again, it was never brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

Muir pointed out that although the memoir of Benjamin Fawcett by M C F Morris did contain some very useful information it also contained errors. Muir himself was not aware of the existence of the F O Morris memoir. McLean added to, clarified and corrected the work of M C F Morris and of Percy Muir though he also missed some important details and he also made errors.

McLean speculates about the existence of watercolours of the houses for County Seats that must have been made by Lydon and goes on to say that "none of these are known to have survived". At this point I must refer to the "Special Thanks" on the Homepage. It has been my privilege to have been in contact with a family who are descendants of one of Fawcett's engravers. They have in their possession a rare collection of over one hundred original watercolours by Francis Lydon which were used in the production of County Seats. The engraver in question was apprenticed to Fawcett in the 1850s but he left in the 1860s and became a photographer. He died in 1909. Possession of the watercolours can definitely be traced back to the engraver's son. It is possible that the former engraver carried out photographic work for Fawcett in preparation for this major work. I would suggest that the watercolours were either gifted to the former engraver for this work or by Lydon himself, or, most likely, he acquired them at the auction of the contents of East Lodge in September 1894. See An Engraver's Story.

Version History

(Thanks Matthew for getting in touch and suggesting the inclusion of images of front covers for the different versions. I'm on the case and in the process of retrieving some of my copies which are currently in storage.)

It's been difficult, to say the least, trying to piece together the complex history of County Seats. The information below is largely based on the work of M C F Morris, Ruari McLean and, by inference, Percy Muir (plus Muir's recently discovered correspondence). It is also based on my own research and my collection of different versions and editions of County Seats, a collection which seems to keep on growing! This research confirms and adds to the information provided by Morris, McLean and Muir but it also contradicts it in places.

First Version

The first version, The County Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, consisted of two volumes and was published by Longmans, Green & Co in 1866. It was published initially in monthly parts in green paper wrappers and was advertised in the Publisher's Circular 15th February 1866 for "half-a-crown each, with four plates". Publication of the second volume is a little complicated as the credit on the illustrated frontispiece is to Banks of Leeds and on the title page to Longmans. Each volume contained 40 "Seats" plus a vignette on the frontispiece, Balmoral Castle in Volume 1 and Clumber Park in Volume 2.

I've never seen a copy of the Longmans version for sale. I have found two different digitised copies, one provided by the British Library and one by Google Books. Both copies appear to be the two volumes bound as one and both show the Banks frontispiece in Volume 2. They are from different originals. The British Library version shows evidence of being all the monthly parts bound together with the Part 1 front cover at the beginning of Volume 1 and the Part 20 cover at the beginning of Volume 2. There are also three pages of adverts between the two volumes. The Google Books version does not have 'Part' front covers and is bound in plain brown cloth. It is possible that this extremely rare first version was limited to the monthly parts that may have been bound together to produce a single book containing the two volumes. The lack of evidence makes it difficult to come to any definite conclusion.

Second Version

The second version also consists of two volumes. The first volume was published in 1868 by Bell and Daldy under the title The Ancestral Homes of Britain. It was virtually the same as volume one of the first version. Of all the various forms in which County Seats appeared this is the only one to display a date on the title page. The binding was available in blue or brown with gilt lettering and decoration including an impressive double castle gate on the front cover. The cost of this book at the time was £1 11s 6d, the equivalent today would be about £170. Muir mistakenly identifies this version as Ancient Homes of Britain.

A second, companion volume to Ancestral Homes called The Castles and Halls of England was announced by Bell and Daldy in the 1870 English Catalogue of Books.....

It has been widely reported that Castles and Halls was never published. McLean was of the opinion that "this never actually appeared". In his book, McLean mistakenly has the title as Castles and Halls of Great Britain. M C F Morris makes no mention of it in his chapter on County Seats. As McLean had access to Muir's research, it follows that Muir was not aware of its existence either and he doesn't mention it in any of the correspondence that I have seen.


I can reveal, however, that Castles and Halls was in fact published. I am fortunate to have some copies in my collection. They are rare survivors of what was probably a limited print run. With the next expanded version already in the pipeline and sales not going well it seems that Fawcett was reluctant to print this book in large numbers. The front cover is similar to Ancestral Homes but the right hand side castle gate is ajar. They do indeed make an impressive combination. The British Library does not have a copy of Castles and Halls. The British Library is the largest national library in the world. Under the Legal Deposit Scheme, which dates back to at least 1610, the British Library is the only library that must automatically receive a copy of every book published in Britain, as enshrined in English Law in 1662. Library Hub Discover (COPAC as was) identifies a single copy which is housed in the National Art Library General Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. WorldCat shows two more copies. One is in the Rare Book Collection of the University of North Carolina, from the collection of Alfred G Engstrom (1907-1990), American novelist and Professor of French at UNC. The other is in the Special Collection Rare Books, Alfred Deakin Prime Ministerial Library, Deakin University, Australia.

I'm very grateful to Patrick Perratt, librarian at the V&A, for sending me an image of the binders' ticket from Burn & Co. in their copy of Castles and Halls. It has prompted me to look more closely at covers and bindings as an interesting aspect of Fawcett's book production. Only one of my copies of Castles and Halls has a binders' ticket and I do have a copy of its companion volume, Ancestral Homes, also with a ticket from Burn though with a different design including their address, 37 & 38 Kirby Street. I would also like to thank Kristen Thornton, Special Collections Librarian at the Deakin University Library, for also kindly sending me images of the covers and binders' tickets from their copies of both these two books. The covers and tickets, where present, across all the copies of the two books mentioned above are the same.

I have recently become aware of one other copy of Castles and Halls. It has a different ornate binding with a gold stylised Grecian urn and floral arrangement. There is no binders' ticket. It is possible that it was an optional binding, a one-off commission or, less likely, a later re-binding. If anyone is aware of any items or information that may shed light on this specific area I would be most interested. Contact

Third Version

As mentioned, County Seats was expensive compared to most of Fawcett's other works and sales of these earlier versions didn't go well. The next version can be really divided into three "sub-versions", let's call them 3a, 3b(i) and 3b(ii). In its final consolidated six volume form, 3b(ii), published by Mackenzie, it offered many different options for bindings, covers and colours. These were included in a Prospectus along with examples of the content. The target for potential purchasers would be the Royal Family, aristocracy and gentry themselves plus the aspiring middle class. Fawcett had by this time adopted a subscription model. The Prospectus would be used by travellers or agents as they criss-crossed the country in their quest for subscribers, encouraged by a handsome commission. Facsimiles of the subscribers' signatures were later collated to create another volume, Fac-simile of Autographs of Subscribers as a supplement to Version 3. They included royal families, aristocracy and landed gentry at home and abroad.

The vignette on the title page of Autographs is of Osborne House. Although Queen Victoria was probably an ardent reader of County Seats her signature does not appear in this book though the signatures of many other members of the Royal Family do. Victoria and Albert were looking for a "bolt-hole" to get away from London and bought the Osborne Estate on the Isle of Wight in 1845. They demolished the existing house and commenced re-building immediately under the supervision of Prince Albert. After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria continued to spend a lot of time at Osborne House and she died there in 1901. The newly crowned Edward VII gave Osborne House to the nation in 1902. The inclusion of Osborne House in the "seventh volume" of County Seats must have been a gesture towards Queen Victoria. Victoria and Albert had been well aware of the work of the printer Benjamin Fawcett of Driffield and had a number of his works in their collections. They also donated some of these works to libraries and institutions.

Between 1869 and 1880, to develop the subscription model and along with the prospectus, a major expansion of the work occurred under the title A series of Picturesque Views of Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain, Ireland was dropped from the title. This new, expanded version, 3a, consisted of eighteen separate Divisions. The first twelve were published by Banks and a further six by William Mackenzie. There were about twelve to fourteen "Seats" per Division. The contents of the first six Divisions are more or less the same as in the earlier two volume versions with some additions. Divisions seven to eighteen contain an additional 160 or so "Seats" with many of the illustrations signed by A F Lydon especially in Divisions seven and eight. Illustrations in the earlier versions, and Divisions one to six, are not signed. For this expanded version, Lydon had to produce a further 160 watercolours, the majority of which are included in the surviving collection mentioned earlier. The eighteen Divisions were subsequently consolidated into a six volume set, initially Version 3b(i), published by Banks, with Ireland still missing from the title.

Between 1875 and 1894 Ireland reappears in the title resulting in the second and final six volume version but with variations, A series of Picturesque Views of Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, published by William Mackenzie, Version 3b(ii). There were at least three different bindings available for the Mackenzie edition including one with an ornate binding of brown cloth with gilt and black lettering and an inlay to the spine and front cover. A deluxe edition was also published with a red Morocco binding. Of all the versions, the Mackenzie edition with the ornate brown binding is the most readily available today.

The "seventh volume", Fac-simile Autographs of Subscribers was compiled by A Clarke in 1880 and was available as an addition to all the six volume editions.

Changes

The Mackenzie version was subject to a number of changes over the years due to the changing state, and status, of the houses and of the families who owned them, as mentioned earlier. Three of the houses were completely redrawn for various reasons. There are two different versions of Inverary Castle in Volume 1 before and after the fire of 1877 after which a third floor and conical roofs on the corner towers were added. Incidently, Inverary Castle was designed by Roger Morris, Rev F O Morris' great grandfather.

The owner of Mamhead, Sir Lydston Newman, was disappointed with the first version and insisted that it be redrawn to create a more imposing scene.

Eaton hall, home to the Grosvenor family, must have been one of the most altered houses in Britain. First completed in 1682 (William Samwell), it was redesigned in 1768 by Robert Adam but the work was never carried out due to gambling debts and the marital complications of the Grosvenor family. The house was rebuilt in gothic style in 1812 (William Porden) with significant alterations in 1851 (William Burn). This is the house in the first illustration. The house was again rebuilt in 1883 (Alfred Waterhouse), the second illustration. The owner at that time, the 3rd Earl of Grosvenor, later became the 1st Duke of Westminster. He requested that the illustration be redrawn specifically to include the clock tower. During the First and Second World Wars the house was used as a hospital and then as a Cadet Training School. The main house was demolished and rebuilt in 1961. During the nearly 350 year life and continuing occupation of Eaton Hall the heads of the Grosvenor family have ascended the entire ranks of the Peerage of Great Britain holding the titles of Baronet, Baron, Viscount, Earl, Marquess and Duke. A Baronet, one above a Knight, is not actually a Peer of the Realm. The title Baronet had been around since the 1300s but it was appropriated by King James I in 1611 who sold the title in order to raise funds for the Crown.
A F Lydon left Driffield for London in 1883, the new illustration of Eaton Hall may have been his last piece of work for Fawcett, he may even have completed it in London. The illustration isn't signed but it certainly looks like the work of Lydon particularly the sky, trees and architecture. The sky in the second version is a close match to that in the first.

McLean mentions a number of changes to the text in different versions. I'm sure there are many more but to tease them out would need a forensic, sentence by sentence comparison of multiple copies of the Mackenzie six volume edition. I'm afraid I haven't got the stamina for that at the moment!

The Mackenzie versions continued to be published for a short while after the deaths of both Fawcett and Morris and over ten years after Lydon had left Driffield for London.


Version Summary

Version 1.

The County Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland. 1866. Longmans, Green and Co.
Initially in monthly parts, four seats per part. Blue paper wrapper, 2s 6d per part.
Consolidated into two volumes, 40 seats per volume. Second volume frontispiece credited to Banks of Leeds.

Version 2.

More or less the same content as Version 1 but with ornate bindings.

Two Volumes.
(i) The Ancestral Homes of Britain. 1868. Bell and Daldy. The only dated edition. 40 seats.
(ii) Castles and Halls of England. (Forming a New Series of "Ancestral Homes"). 1870. Bell and Daldy. 40 seats.
Castles and Halls was announced in 1870 but it has been widely reported, incorrectly, that it was never actually published.

Version 3.

160 new seats added.

a. A Series of Picturesque Views of Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain.

18 separate "divisions" making 6 volumes. 13 or 14 seats per division. Division number on Spine, volume number on title page.
Divisions 1 to 12 - Banks, 13 to 18 - William Mackenzie.

b. The 18 divisions consolidated into 6 volumes with a number of different bindings.

Volumes 1 and 2 more or less the same content as in Versions 1 and 2.

(i) A Series of Picturesque Views of Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain. Banks. 6 volumes.
(ii) A Series of Picturesque Views of Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland. William Mackenzie. 6 volumes. Options include a luxury red Morocco binding with gilt illustration.

Supplement. Fac-simile Autographs of Subscribers. 1880. A Clarke. Available as an addition to all the six volume editions.

View all 240 Seats on a map. It's not interactive at the moment, I'm working on it! Links to images of all the "Seats" from the six volume Mackenzie edition below. -

Houses marked ★ are regarded as "lost" in whole or in part.

Volume 1 Windsor Castle (Frontispiece) Harewood House Wilton House Castle Howard Howsham Hall Sudeley Castle Picton Castle Wentworth Woodhouse Everingham Park Holm Lacy ★Eaton Hall Thrybergh Park Floors Castle ★Lea Hall Farnham House ★Ilam Hall Warwick Castle Burton Constable Franks Chatsworth Guy's Cliffe Knowsley Hall ★Garnstone ★Trentham Hall Charlecote Ripley Castle Burghley House ★Alton Towers Broadlands Temple Newsam Wollaton Hall Inverary Castle Newstead Abbey Blenheim Cranbury Park Scone Palace Whitley Court Glanusk Park Burton-Agnes Hall Balmoral Castle (Vignette)	Volume 2 Alnwick Castle (Frontispiece) Beaudesert Belvoir Castle Hatfield House Hampton Court Mulgrave Castle ★Woburn Abbey Raby Castle Harlaxton Manor Ardtully Elvaston Castle Milton Abbey Cobham Hall Stourton Melbury House Taymouth Castle Cholmondeley Castle Worsley Hall Swithland Hall Clifton Hall Stowe Park Combermere Abbey Leeds Castle Gopsal Hall Dunrobin Castle Drakelowe Hall ★Panshanger Park Audley End ★Mount Edgcumbe Penrhyn Castle Wytham Abbey ★Eden Hall Lowther Castle Ugbrooke Corsham Court Wimpole Hall Cassiobury Park Badminton House Danbury Palace Clumber Park (Vignette)	Volume 3 Sandringham (Frontispiece) Compton Verney ★Lambton Castle Mamhead Keele Hall Shirburn Castle Wynyard Park ★Hutton Hall Muncaster Castle Brantingham Thorpe Helmingham Hall Trafalgar House Broughton Castle Stowlangtoft Hall Capesthorne Powerscourt Studley Castle Eshton Hall Caen Wood Towers Birr Castle Arbury Hall Wroxton Abbey Coughton Court ★Euston Hall Sezincot Kimbolton Castle Westonbirt House ★Wolseley Hall Dartrey Merevale Hall Bestwood Lodge Rossmore Park Philiphaugh Wynnstay ★Moreton Hall Hengrave Hall ★Easton Hall Preston Hall Lawton Hall St. Michael's Mount (Vignette)
Volume 4 Arundel Castle (Frontispiece) Exton House ★Rolleston Hall Lumley Castle Rushton Hall Peper Harow Capernwray ★Bulwell Hall Bishops Court Heaton Park Drumlanrig Castle Carnanton Dromoland Locko Park ★Elton Hall Eastnor Castle Galloway House Deene Park Adare Manor Appleby Castle ★Kelham Hall Castle Coole Kirtling Tower Haddo House Barons Court ★Walton Hall Oxley Manor ★Nether Hall Gunton Park Shelton Abbey Ednaston Lodge Peckforton Castle Tyttenhanger Park Penshurst Castle Somerleyton Underley Hall Ashcombe Park Witchingham Hall Caledon Denby Grange (Vignette)	Volume 5 Hornby Castle (Frontispiece) Bowood Park Astley Hall Beningbrough Hall Donington Hall Dunmore Park Kimberley Hall Sandbeck Park ★Ravensworth Castle Bramhall Hall Glamis Castle Rhydd Court Aske Hall Hughenden Manor Tregothnan House Abbotsford Denton Park Longleat Glynde Place Lanhydrock House Studley Royal West Wycombe Mersham Hatch Aldby Park Dalkeith Palace Cowdray Park ★Lathom House ★The Down House ★Workington Hall Ditchley House Castle Forbes Nostel Priory Hanbury Hall Westwood Park Toddington Park Downton Hall Rossie Castle High Cliffe Danesfield House Abercairny (Vignette)	Volume 6 Bagshot Park (Frontispiece) Brancepeth Castle Wycombe Abbey ★Willesley Hall Hamilton Palace ★Hutton Hall Cliveden Meer Hall ★Eggesford House Lilburn Tower Stevenstone Park Netherhall Brechin Castle Pynes Bearwood Nuneham Park Chillingham Castle Castle Hill Thicket Priory ★Sundorne Castle Holker Hall Dunster Castle ★Eastwell Park Acton Reynald Hall Levens Hall Normanhurst Apley Park Dalton Hall Hemsted Park Powis Castle Hawkestone Howick Hall Hawarden Castle Warter Priory Knole Castle Macgarrett Melton Constable Brockley Hall Heythrop Berkeley Castle (Vignette)