Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume II.djvu/204

 watered by the Severn, and bounded by mountains. The terrace is of width sufficient to admit half a dozen carriages abreast; its covering velvet turf.

Picking our way through the intricacies of cross- roads, heavy from the sandy soil of the country, we passed through ShifFnall to Tong-Castle, the seat of Mr. Durant. This is a magnificent modern castellated mansion, built with great taste on the scite of a more ancient fabric, by the father of the present possessor. Its fronts, nearly correspond with the four cardinal points, that to the east is a very noble one; one hundred and eighty feet in length, sixty-eight in breadth, and ninety-two in height. Towers crowned with cymatian cupolas adorn the summit of the building. The park is small, but laid out with great taste. At its north- east corner, about six hundred yards from the cas- tle, is the venerable ancient church of the village; a most pleasing object from the principal rooms. It is famous for its large bell, weighing forty-eight hundred weight, and many noble table monuments of the former possessors of the estate ; the Vernons, the Pembridges, the Stanleys, and the Pierreponts. The house contains the following portraits and pictures; but all in bad condition, owing either to damp or ill-usage.

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