.]

The illustration of Hardwick Hall shews oak panelling and decoration of a
somewhat earlier, and also somewhat later time than Elizabeth, while the
carved oak chairs are of Jacobean style. At Hardwick is still kept the
historic chair in which it is said that William, fourth Earl of
Devonshire, sat when he and his friends compassed the downfall of James
II. In the curious little chapel hung with ancient tapestry, and
containing the original Bible and Prayer Book of Charles I., are other
quaint chairs covered with cushions of sixteenth or early seventeenth
century needlework.

[Illustration: The Entrance Hall, Hardwick Hall. Period Of Furniture,
Jacobean, XVII. Century.]

Before concluding the remarks on this period of English woodwork and
furniture, further mention should be made of Penshurst Place, to which
there has been already some reference in the chapter on the period of the
Middle Ages. It was here that Sir Philip Sydney spent much of his time,
and produced his best literary work, during the period of his retirement
when he had lost the favour of Elizabeth, and in the room known as the
"Queen's Room," illustrated on p. 89, some of the furniture is of this
period; the crystal chandeliers are said to have been given by Leicester
to his Royal Mistress, and some of the chairs and tables were sent down by
the Queen, and presented to Sir Henry Sydney (Philip's father) when she
stayed at Penshurst during one of her Royal progresses. The room, with its
vases and bowls of old oriental china and the contemporary portraits on
the walls, gives us a good idea of the very best effect that was
attainable with the material then available.

Richardson's "Studies" contains, amongst other examples of furniture, and
carved oak decorations of English Renaissance, interiors of Little
Charlton, East Sutton Place, Stockton House, Wilts, Audley End, Essex, and
the Great Hall, Crewe, with its beautiful hall screens and famous carved
"parloir," all notable mansions of the sixteenth century.

To this period of English furniture belongs the celebrated "Great Bed of
Ware," of which there is an illustration. This was formerly at the
Saracen's Head at Ware, but has been removed to Rye House, about two miles
away. Shakespeare's allusion to it in the "Twelfth Night" has identified
the approximate date and gives the bed a character. The following are the
lines:--

"SIR TOBY BELCH.--And as many lies as shall lie in thy sheet of paper,