Malmaison House was partly destroyed by fire a number of years ago, [3] and
two years later the portion still standing was taken down to make way for
the proposed branch of the London and South-Coast Railway. The branch is
still unbuilt, but only some heaps of grass-grown rubbish remain to mark
the site of the venerable edifice. But at the period of which I am now
writing it was an imposing pile of gray-stone, standing on a slight
elevation, with a sloping lawn in front, and many large trees surrounding
it. The centre and the right wing were of Elizabethan date; the left wing
was constructed by Sir Christopher Wren, or by some architect of his
school, and, though outwardly corresponding with the rest of the building,
was interiorly both more commodious and less massive. The walls of the old
part were in some places over four feet in thickness, and even the
partitions between the rooms were two feet of solid masonry. Many of the
rooms were hung with tapestry; and in taking down the house several traces
were discovered of secret passages hollowed out within the walls
themselves, and communicating by means of sliding panels from room to
room. The plan of the building comprised two floors and an attic; but the
attic was not coextensive with the lower areas; and there was often a
difference of level between the apartments on the latter floors of from
one to four steps. An irregular corridor on the first floor, badly
lighted, and in some places perfectly dark, extended from the centre into
the right wing, affording entrance to the rooms front and back.

At the end of the right wing was situated the east chamber, of which
mention has already been made. Originally, the only access to it was by
way of a larger chamber adjoining, which, again, could only be entered
through the dark corridor. This was the condition of things at the time of
the famous magic disappearance of Sir Charles Malmaison, in 1745. But, at
the beginning of the present century, a door was cut through the outside
wall, whence a covered flight of stone steps led down into an enclosed