ance and arrangement of our manor-houses. Palladio was the
originator of this style. The old English model was declared obsolete,
and fashion dictated that Italian villas must supersede the old houses.
These new buildings were very grand with their porticos and colonnades;
but the architects cared little for comfort and convenience. Indeed a
witty nobleman suggested to the owner of one of these new houses that
he had better hire a lodging over the way and look at it.

[Illustration: OLD MANOR HOUSE, UPTON COURT]

The old manor-houses are often surrounded by a moat, and not unfrequently
contain secret rooms and underground passages, which were often used as
places of refuge in troublous times. Those held by recusants usually had
two or three hiding-places ingeniously contrived, which must have baffled
all pursuers, and were needed for the concealment of the Roman Catholic
priest, in the days when his services were proscribed. There are two
cleverly designed hiding-places at Ufton Court, Berkshire, which was held
by the Roman Catholic family of Perkins. In a subterranean vault under an
old house at Hurley, in which the bones of monks were discovered, the
supporters of William of Orange used to meet to plan his succession to
the English Crown. The walls of many of the manor-houses and halls in
Lancashire and Yorkshire could tell of many a plot for the restoration
of the Stuarts to the throne, and of many a deep health drunk to "Bonnie
Charlie," while the chorus rang--

"He's over the seas and far awa',
He's over the seas and far awa',
But of no man we'll stand in awe,
But drink his health that's far awa'."

The rectories and vicarages scattered over the country have passed
through the same transformation as the manor-houses, which they much
resembled. The rectory was often surrounded by a moat, with an entrance
protected by a gatehouse. The duty of entertaining strangers and
travellers was always duly recognised by the clergy, and entailed a
heavy charge upon their income. Those who lived off the main roads used
to provide accommodation for an occasional guest, but the rectors in the
more frequented districts had frequently to entertain many travellers.
There _is_ a description of the rectory-house of Kelvedon, Essex, in a
deed dated 1356, which runs as follows:--

"One hall situate in the manor of the said abbot and convent
[Westminster] near the said church, with a soler and chamber at one end
of the hall,