Baldwyn, Charles
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- Baldwyn, Charles
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(1687 - 1751), 3rd s. of Charles Baldwyn of Stokesay Castle, Salop; Balliol Oxf. 1704; L.Inn 1707; suc. bro. 1727; m. Elizabeth Allgood (d. 1732).
1711 - 12 [Germany] Turin (18 Oct. - 1 Nov. 1711), Milan, Genoa (12 - 30 Nov.), Lerici (1 Dec.), Lucca (2 Dec.), Pisa, Leghorn (6 Dec.), Florence (12 - 20 Dec.), Rome (23 Dec. 1711 - 21 Feb. 1712), Naples (by 28 Feb. - 8 Mar.), Rome (19 Mar. - 13 Apr.), Bologna (19 Apr.), Venice (23 Apr. - 13 May), Padua (14 - 15 May), Vicenza (15 - 22 May), Verona (22 May) Bolzano, 26 May [Augsburg 31 May]
Charles Baldwyn travelled with Burrell Massingberd and one servant 'who speaks the Languages and has been with a gentleman travelling these two years and parted with him at the Hague to us'.1 They came to Italy via the Netherlands and Germany, having been told by a Mr Downs [Downes?]that it was possible to see Italy in three months, but they were to take seven. They had intended to share a voiture across the Alps with Lord Herbert (later 9th Earl of Pembroke) who, however, changed his mind and went to Geneva. Baldwyn found it necessary 'to take some days of repose after passing the mountains, before one could get the thoughts of that unpleasant country out of one's head'.
Baldwyn's letters tended to concentrate upon the incidence of English visitors, comparisons of Italian court life with that of St James's and, of necessity, the progress of the Spanish war; his references to virt? were brief (they were lengthier in his travel journal). He found Turin one of the most beautiful towns he had ever seen. He attended assemblies and had conversation with the Duke and Duchess of Savoy thanks to the British envoy, John Chetwynd. Milan was ugly, very large and full of trade, but he described the festivals and the Cathedral in detail. He admired the cloistered gardens of a convent near Pavia and found Genoa's setting impressive. 'Cittaes baying' (the use of the cicisbeo) was very diverting, but more important to him was the opportunity to visit the British fleet and transports at Vado. Lucca he described as 'this little Commonwealth ... that might easily be formed according to the rules of Utopia'. Leghorn was clean, neat and full of trade but with nothing stately or Antique. John Molesworth, the British envoy at Florence, sent his secretary to introduce them at the Tuscan Court, but the dullness of conversation had to be compensated by the 'pictures and Statues ... disposed of all about the town'. Baldwyn's only concern was with the movement of German troops in Tuscany which could make post horses scarce, 'as they did on our way to Lucca, and stopped us half a day'.
At Rome Baldwyn's days were filled 'with an Italian master and an Architect for two hours, and the Antiquary for three more till dinner', followed by a visit to a villa, the corso, and opera in the evening. He noticed that the Pope had had the marble columns in the Pantheon polished so that they 'now appear the noblest things I ever saw'. There were about twenty English visitors in Rome attending the Carnival, including Samuel Hill, from whom they accepted the offer of the lease on a house in Naples. This they found had views of Capri and Vesuvius. Charles Hooker and Mr Pelham, whom they had known in Rome, joined them in Naples and Baldwyn had a 'great deal of satisfaction' in the company of Sir John Shelley. He remarked that 'Ld. Shaftesbury who came hither almost dead, is now in a fair way of recovery, but I have not seen him. A few days will satisfy our curiosity here, and then we shall return to Rome to buy our things'. Back in Rome he paid particular attention to the sculpture, observing (like Addison before him) 'I believe the whole present Rome has not so many people in it as the antients had Statues'. He and Massingberd visited the Villa Ludovisi with Humphrey Chetham on 23 March 1712.2
Baldwyn acquired more prints than he had intended, and bought two sets by Dorigny, remarking that 'he sells them in England for three guineas - here they are but two'. He left Rome with regret; 'I own my curiosity fully satisfied at Rome, and I shall not care for any sights after it', he wrote.
On 23 April Baldwyn and Massingberd reached Venice, 'certainly the dullest place in the world except for some particular diversions which I do not taste', but the company of Mr Pelham, who had accompanied them from Rome, [Montague] Drake and Lord Herbert afforded some relief. On their return home Baldwyn and Massingberd travelled via Padua3 and Vicenza, and made a particularly enjoyable visit to Verona.
1. See Baldwyn Letters. Itinerary from Baldwyn ms travel jnl. (Brotherton Coll., Leeds U. lib.). 2. Chetham jnl.MSS. 3. Brown 1407.