mself a house on the
higher ground overlooking a fine stretch of water and many miles of
Thameside country. From his son, who had inherited the dukedom of
Newcastle, this house was bought by the Duke of York in 1794, but was
burnt down the same year, and the royal Duke rebuilt it. He and his
duchess lived there until 1820, when she died. It must have been a
curious household. George III brought Queen Charlotte there, and the
Court with her; Georgian wits and beauties gathered in the duke's
dining-rooms and played cards in his grottoes. Charles Greville was
often at Oatlands, and Sheridan and Beau Brummell and Horace Walpole;
Mrs. Gwyn came there, and Mrs. Bunbury, Oliver Goldsmith's "Jessamy
bride" and "Little Comedy." Both were buried in Weybridge old church.
Samuel Rogers, in his _Table-talk_, gives a quaint picture of the
household:--

"I have several times stayed at Oatlands with the Duke and Duchess
of York--both of them most amiable and agreeable persons. We were
generally a company of about fifteen; and our being invited to
remain there 'another day' sometimes depended on the ability of our
royal host and hostess to raise sufficient money for our
entertainment. We used to have all sorts of ridiculous 'fun' as we
roamed about the grounds. The Duchess kept (besides a number of
dogs, for which there was a regular burial-place) a collection of
monkeys, each of which had its own pole with a house at top. One of
the visitors (whose name I forget) would single out a particular
monkey, and play to it on the fiddle with such fury and perseverance
that the poor animal, half distracted, would at last take refuge in
the arms of Lord Alvanley.--Monk Lewis was a great favourite at
Oatlands. One day after dinner, as the Duchess was leaving the room,
she whispered something into Lewis's ear. He was much affected, his
eyes filling with tears. We asked what was the matter. 'Oh,' replied
Lewis, 'the Duchess spoke so _very_ kindly to me!'--'My dear
fellow,' said Colonel Armstrong, 'pray don't cry; I daresay she
didn't mean it.'"

The Duke of York died in 1827, and thirty years later Oatlands became a
hotel. The building was greatly altered, but the grounds still keep some
untouched memorials of the past. One is an extraordinary grotto, built
by the Duke of Newcastle, and used by the Duke of York and his friends,
according to local tradition, as a card-room