entertained there, when "there was such excess in feasting as had
scarcely ever been known in England," and Ben Jonson was present at the
invitation of the Duke to enliven the festivities with his wit.

The main portions of the abbey and the abbey church became merged in the
new structure; but there are legendary stories that the bodies of the
Cuckneys and the abbots remain entombed upon the site, and that their
stone coffins form part of massive walls and hidden foundations.

The remains of the ancient Abbey of St. James have been carefully
preserved, and the arched ceilings of two or three apartments are
interesting examples of the Gothic period. The Servants' Hall is a relic
of the monastic buildings, and three other rooms adjacent are in the
same style. There is a small doorway with Norman features of
architecture, and some roomy vaults and parts of inner walls on which
are the effigies of departed monks, indicating the original purpose of
the great house as an ecclesiastical establishment.

Bess of Hardwick had a hand in building part of the present mansion,
when the domain came into the hands of her third son, Sir Charles
Cavendish. Her design, bearing the date 1604, was on the foundations of
the old abbey, and still another noble lady added her quota to its
architecture. There is the Oxford wing built by the Countess of Oxford,
whose daughter Margaret had Welbeck as her dower when she married into
the Bentinck family. The Countess had the date 1734 affixed to the wing
erected under her auspices. There is the Gothic Hall which was part of
her design, and by some is regarded as a gem of its particular style of
architecture, with an elegantly-adorned ceiling and fan tracery of
stucco on basket-work. The carving is rich and over the fireplace are
the Countess of Oxford's armorial bearings.