Then you perceived its grand though irregular facades, its
enormous gates, its cloistered walks, and its superb gardens; and
comprehended that with its five courts and the countless apartments they
contained, to say nothing of the world of offices, that the huge edifice
comprised a town within itself--and a well-peopled town too. The members
of the household, and the various retainers connected with it, were
multitudinous as the rooms themselves.
One charm and peculiarity of the palace, visible from without, consisted
in the arched walks before referred to, placed high up on the building,
on every side. Screened from the weather, these walks looked upon the
different courts and gardens, and commanded extensive views of the
lovely sylvan scenery around. Hence Cheshunt and Waltham Abbey, Enfield,
and other surrounding villages, could be distinguished through the green
vistas of the park.
On the south, facing the grand avenue, was "a large open cloister, built
upon several large fair pillars of stone, arched over with seven arches,
with a fair rail, and balusters, well painted with the Kings and Queens
of England, and the pedigree of the old Lord Burleigh, and divers other
ancient families."
The body of the palace consisted of two large quadrangles: one of which,
eighty-six feet square, was denominated the Fountain Court, from the
circumstance of a fountain of black and white marble standing within
it. The other quadrangle, somewhat larger, being one hundred and ten
feet square, was called the Middle Court.
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