Suffolk, and her husband, came to prevail upon her to accept the fatal
present of the crown. The duke being beheaded in 1553, Sion House
reverted to the crown. Queen Mary restored it to the Bridgetines, who
possessed it till they were finally expelled by Elizabeth. In 1604, Sion
House was granted to Henry Percy, ninth Earl of Northumberland, in
consideration of his eminent services. His son, Algernon, employed Inigo
Jones to new face the inner court, and to finish the great hall in the
manner in which it now appears. In 1682, Charles, Duke of Somerset, by
his marriage with the only child of Joceline, Earl of Northumberland,
became possessed of Sion House: he lent the mansion to the Princess
Anne, who resided here during the misunderstanding between her and Queen
Mary. Upon the duke's death, in 1748, his son, Algernon, gave Sion House
to Sir Hugh and Lady Elizabeth Smithson, his son-in-law and daughter,
afterwards Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, who made many fine
improvements here, under the direction of Robert Adam, Esq. The late
duke (who distinguished himself at the battle of Bunker's Hill) passed
the principal part of his time at this seat; and here, also, he died,
in the year 1815. The present duke has expended immense sums in the
improvement of the mansion, grounds, and gardens.

The entrance is from the great road through a fine gateway, having on
each side an open colonnade, and on the top a lion passant, the crest
of the noble house of Northumberland. A flight of steps leads into the
great hall, sixty-six feet by thirty-one feet, and thirty-four in
height, paved with white and black marble, and ornamented with colossal
statues, and an extremely fine bronze cast of the Dying Gladiator, cast
at Rome, by Valadier. A flight of veined marble steps leads to the
vestibule, with a floor of scagliola, and twelve large Ionic columns
and sixteen pilasters of _verde antique_. This leads to the dining
room, ornamented with marble statues and paintings in _chiaro