WHITTINGTON,
Is a charming village, possessing all the beauties which give pleasure to the lovers of inland rustic scenery. Picturesque cottages, neat dwellings for people in retired circumstances, good-looking farmers’ homesteads, the village church, in silent repose, surrounded by its grave-yard, and finally, the vestiges of its ancient Castle, once the baronial and stately residence of the renowned Norman Chief Fitz-Gwarine, and the scene of many a romantic story, give to Whittington village a lively interest in which all who can leisurely view it must participate. It is situated upon the turnpike-road from Oswestry to Ellesmere, and two and a-half miles from the former, and five and a-half from the latter. The Great Western Railway passes through the village, where there is also a station, the trains stopping there several times a day.
Its antiquity extends so far back as the year 590, when, as the Welsh poet Llywarch Hên states, it was known by the name of the White Town (Drev-Wen.) In the reign of Rhodri Mawr (Roderick the Great,) king of all Wales, A.D. 843, a British Chieftain (Ynyr ab Cadfarch) built the Castle, which was afterwards possessed by his son, Tudor Trevor, subsequently Earl of Hereford. Tudor Trevor’s mother was grand-daughter to Caradog Vreichvas, who fell in the memorable battle at Rhuddlan Marsh, A.D. 795. The descendants of Tudor continued in possession of the Castle for many generations, and several of the leading families in North Wales can trace their origin to him. At the conquest Whittington became the property of Pain Peverel, and afterwards of Roger, Earl of Shrewsbury. The Castle and lordship next passed into the hands of Hugh, and subsequently of Robert, both sons of Roger, the before-named Earl. On the defeat and forfeiture of Robert, by an Act of Henry I., the property was restored to the Peverels, in the person of Sir William Peverel, distinguished for his noble and valiant enterprises. He had two daughters; the youngest, named Mellet, of martial spirit, resolved to wed no one but the knight greatest in valour, and her father published this declaration, promising Whittington Castle as her dower. This announcement attracted the attention of many a gallant youth, and soon afterwards Peverel’s domain at the Peak, near Castleton, Derbyshire, was the scene of contention for the fair prize. Among the combatants were a son of the King of Scotland, the Baron Burgoyne, and a noble Lorrainer, Gwarine de Metz, (Sheriff of Shropshire, and chief Counsellor to the Earl of Shrewsbury,) the latter of whom appeared with a shield of silver, and a proud peacock on his crest! To him the spirited Mellet was sincere, he having been declared victor. The son of this chivalrous pair was “famed for deeds of arms,” and their posterity, for nine generations, assumed the christian name of Fulk, and the common name of Fitz-Gwarine. The Castle of Whittington was possessed by the family from the end of the reign of Henry I. till the reign of Henry VIII. Gwarine de Metz died in the reign of Henry I. at Alberbury, the Abbey of which place he had founded, and there he was interred, his wife, the famous Mellet Peverel, and her son, the first Fulk Fitz-Gwarine, being present on the affecting occasion.
This youth was as distinguished, in the arts of love and war, as his father. He became desperately enamoured with Hawys, the daughter of Sir Joos, of Normandy; rescued the father from impending death, while in the hands of Walter Lacy and Sir Arnold de Lis, two inveterate enemies, and, as a reward for his gallantry and courage, received the hand in marriage of his beloved Hawys. Fulk Fitz-Gwarine was heroic in all his achievements, was knighted by Henry I., made steward of the King’s Household, and Lieutenant of the Marches. In a skirmish with the Welsh, under Grufydd ab Cynan, he was defeated, and Whittington Castle fell into their hands. In the reign of Henry II. peace was made with Owen Gwynedd, the succeeding Prince of North Wales: the Castle was retained by Owen; and as some compensation for his loss, Fulk had the manor of Alston, in Gloucestershire, bestowed upon him. It is recorded, says the Rev. W. Davies, in his interesting “History of Whittington,” that “Fulk Fitz-Gwarine, and John, son to Henry II. (afterwards King John,) were playing at chess together, when it happened that they disagreed, and the Prince gave Fulk a severe blow upon the head with the board, which the latter returned in such a violent manner as almost to kill the young Prince, a circumstance, had it happened, not much to be regretted, were it not in consideration of the glorious Magna Charta afterwards obtained from him.” Dovaston, in his fine descriptive poem, entitled “Fitz-Gwarine,” makes his hero describe the quarrel in the following lines:—
“Enough to name our last affray,
The Prince his temper lost at play,
The chess-board swung with coward sway,
And hurl’d my head upon;
Ill could the wrong my bosom brook,
I sent him first a furious look,
Then firm with knuckles clench’d I strook
The pate of royal John.”
Fulk Fitz-Gwarine was succeeded by his eldest son, who bore the same name, and eclipsed his father by the brilliancy and skill of his military enterprises. He accompanied Richard I. in the Crusades, and was made Lord Marcher of Wales. At the commencement of King John’s reign Whittington was in the hands of Maurice, brother to the Roger to whom Owen Gwynedd had presented it. Fulk Fitz-Gwarine applied to John for the restoration of the ancient property of his ancestors; but John rejected his application. Indignant at this treatment Fulk joined the Welsh sovereign, made battle against Maurice, in which the latter was slain. The English King determined upon having Fulk Fitz-Gwarine put to death, but the latter fled to France, under the nom de guerre of Sir Amice, a wandering knight, and was so much admired by the French monarch for his honourable and chivalrous conduct, that he tendered to him a barony of France. After having performed many acts of valour and renown in France, Fulk returned to England, determined to see King John and propitiate his favour. Fearing discovery, he exchanged clothes with a peasant, and wended his way to Windsor, to confront the monarch. In Windsor Forest they both met, John being out hunting, and Fulk appearing before the King as a peasant. Fulk made known to him his errand, and declared that he was the obnoxious Fitz-Gwarine; with the courage and dignity of his race he menaced the king for the unjust treatment he had received, and forced him to restore to his undisturbed possession the Castle and lordship of Whittington, his ancestral property. John immediately repudiated his grant, and Fulk was again compelled to leave the kingdom, having been pursued by emissaries of the monarch, charged to slay him. Fitz-Gwarine was still as adroit as he was brave; he killed the man who meditated his assassination, fled to Orkney, where he released a persecuted female from her captivity, and won a hauberk of hard steel, which, with other ancient pieces of armour belonging to his family, hung, till Cromwell’s wars, in the church of Whittington. From Orkney Fulk sailed to Carthage, where he derived much information, his patriotism was inflamed, and where also his enthusiastic desire for the improvement of his native country glowed with increased ardour. Wrapt in these visions of future glory and happiness, he re-embarked for England, arrived safely, appealed again to King John, obtained pardon for all past offences, and with it the restoration of Whittington Castle and all its appendages. Thus once more in possession of his ancient halls, he lived in the state and hospitality which became his princely condition. Then, as the author of “Fitz-Gwarine” so sweetly sings—
“Other guests than yon lone bird,
And other music here were heard,
In times of better days;
Festive revelry went round,
The board with blushing goblets crown’d,
And costly carpets clad the ground,
Where now yon cattle graze.
Days were those of splendour high,
Days of hospitality,
When to his rich domain
Welcom’d many a crested knight,
Welcom’d many a lady bright,
Fitz-Gwarine of Lorraine!”
This remarkable man was afterwards sent by the English King to Ireland on an important service, and was distinguished on his return, with the title of The Great. He subsequently united with the English Barons in their memorable demand from King John of Magna Charta, and so resolute was his conduct on that great occasion at Runnymede, that the Pope actually conferred upon him the honour of excommunication from the papal church.
After various other conflicts and disasters, “by flood and field,” he descended into old age, when he was stricken with blindness. He was buried in the porch of Whittington Church, and his remains were found there in an oak coffin, three inches in thickness, by digging a grave in the year 1796. He left behind him a son who enjoyed his father’s estates and titles, but for no considerable time. He followed Henry III. through all his adverse fortunes, and whilst engaged at the battle of Lewes was drowned in crossing a river, leaving behind him a young son, the fourth Fitz-Gwarine.
Fitz-Gwarine the second was married to Clarice of Abbourville, and he went generally by the peculiar appellation of Proud-homme, as a mark of respect to his nobility.
Whittington Castle, after the battle of Lewes, was bestowed by the Earl of Leicester upon Peter de Montford. Leicester also compelled the captive king Richard II. to deliver it, with other Border Castles, into the hands of Llywelyn ab Grufydd, Prince of Wales, who had just received the entire sovereignty of Wales, and required homage from all the barons under him.
The subsequent history of the Fitz-Gwarines presents but few interesting features. This illustrious race became extinct at the death of Henry, fifth Earl of Bath (who inherited the title of Fitz-Gwarine through the marriage of Elizabeth, sister and heiress to Fulk the ninth, with Richard Haukford, Esq.,) and the manor, after various transfers in succeeding ages, was purchased by Francis (or William) Albany, Esq., of London, from one of the Earls of Arundel, it having been granted to him by Queen Mary, but afterwards mortgaged and sold. The manor, advowsons, and estate of Fernhill passed subsequently to the house of Aston, by the marriage of Sarah, daughter and heiress of the said Francis Albany, Esq., to Thomas Lloyd, Esq., of Aston. In the year 1760 the eastern tower of the Castle fell into the moat after a severe frost, and some years afterwards one of the northern towers and the western wall were taken down to repair, it is said, the road leading from Whittington to Halston bridge.
The remains of the Castle are still a picturesque ruin, which attracts artists from all parts of the kingdom to sketch its lingering beauties. Our own artist has done justice to the Castle in the sketch he has taken. The towers of the gate-house are still entire, and part of the ancient building is converted into a dwelling, and occupied by Thomas Broughall, Esq. A running brook passes through the moat, which is overhung with fine old trees, casting their shade upon the waters. In the year 1796 three curious bottles, richly gilt, were found, and subsequently, in clearing the bottom of one of the old towers, some huge iron fetters, a gyve of ponderous size, with a number of the heads and antlers of deer. The Castle, from its position on the frontier of Wales, and from the warlike spirit of its lords, was in feudal times a place of great consequence, and, like other border fortresses, alternately the scene of clashing arms and knightly festivity.
The church, which is dedicated to St. John, is a rectory in the archdeaconry and diocese of St. Asaph, and was originally designed as a chapel to the castle. The body of the church was rebuilt in 1805, from a design by the late Mr. Thomas Harrison, architect, of Chester. It is a large brick building of 60 feet by 50, and cost £1500. To lessen the expense of building the church two briefs were procured that raised £703 15s. 1d., but of this sum only £42 2s. 1d. was received. In 1810 a new organ was erected in the church. In the same year the church-yard wall, being much out of repair, was rebuilt with stone. The Rev. Charles Arthur Albany Lloyd, who had filled the office of Rector for many years, died July 24th, 1851, he being also Rector of Selattyn at the time.
Whittington parish is divided into nine townships, namely,—Whittington to the south; Berghill and Francton (or Frankton) to the east; old Marton (or Martin), Hindford, Henlle, and Ebnall, to the north; and Fernhill and Daywell to the west.
In a manuscript description of the parish we find the following derivation of names:—
Whittington, or White Town, from White Castle, in Welsh, Drewen.
Berghill—Welsh, Byr-Ghill, or Short Hazles.
Hindford—,, Hen-fordd, or The Old Road.
Henlle—,, Hen, old, and Lle, Place.
Daywell—,, Fynnon du, or dydd. Day Spring (or well).
Fernhill—,, Fwrn and Oven, or Hole and Hill.
A tradition long prevailed in the village, that it was the birth-place of the renowned Sir Richard Whittington, “thrice Lord Mayor of London town.” It is now, however, generally understood that he was born in the township of Newnes, (not far from Whittington,) about one mile north-west of Ellesmere. Shropshire claims him for her own; and if Whittington really was “a proud Salopian,” the county has a right to be proud of the honour of enrolling among its worthies so distinguished a name. Another vague tradition prevailed, that the well-known metrical tale of “The Babes in the Wood” derives its origin from Babins’ wood, (commonly called Babbys’ wood,) near Whittington. The tradition adds, that the murder of the two children by their cruel uncle was perpetrated at this place. Gough, the historian of Middle, relates particulars of the murder of a child by its uncle, but his account is only from tradition, and therefore mixed up with much error.
The version we now give of this murder, derived from an authentic source, shews that the ballad of the Babes in the Wood could not have been founded upon it. The scene of the nursery rhyme is laid in Norfolk, and all the circumstances it details differ materially from those of the murder at Knockin heath. The version we have is as follows:—
“1590, 27th March.—A man and woman were executed at Knockin heath, for murdering a child of the age of five years, for his land, being an heir of £5 a-year, or thereabout, which fell after the said child’s death, if he died without issue, to his uncles, being three of them, which uncles procured and imagined the death of the said child ever since his birth. Two of the uncles were executed at Bridgenorth assizes, and the third pressed to death there. But the woman being grandmother to the child, and the man named Geffrey Elkes, being hired to do the deed, were executed at the said heath where the said deed was done.” “Elkes, at his execution, affirmed that he did not kill the child, but brought a pail of water to the heath, and left it there with the child and the uncle that was pressed to death, but he confessed that before the deed was done, and after, two ravens usually would meet him, follow him, and cry about him; and when he escaped and hid himself, the said ravens did cry, and flew about the place, and descried him out, and he was found in a cock of hay by their means.”
The parish register is a curious record of odds and ends, and from it we make a few quaint selections:—
“Died March 11th, 1767.—Thomas Evans, parish clerk, aged 72.
‘Old Sternhold’s lines, or Vicar of Bray,
Which he tun’d best is hard to say.’I do make choice of William Evans, his son, to serve the office of parish clerk, being qualified according to the 91st canon, viz: above twenty years of age, and of an honest conversation, and very sufficient for his reading, writing, and also for his competent skill in singing, tho’ not so clever a piper as his father. This choice was signified to the parishioners in time of divine service, on Sunday, the 15th day of March, 1767.
(Signed) by me, W. Roberts, Rr.”
“1776.—Andrew Williams, in Whittington, aged 84, Decoy-man under the Aston family, at the Decoy, in this parish, above 60 years:—
“Here lies the Decoy-man, who liv’d like an otter,
Dividing his time between land and water:
His hide he oft soak’d in the waters of Perry,
Whilst Aston old beer his spirits kept cheery;
Amphibious his trim, Death was puzzl’d, they say,
How to dust to reduce such well-moisten’d clay.
So Death turn’d Decoy-man, and decoy’d him to land,
Where he fix’d his abode till quite dried to the hand;
He then found him fitting for crumbling to dust,
And here he lies mould’ring, as you and I must.”
“Samuel Peate, of Whittington Castle, died, aged 84.
“Here lies Governor Peate,
Whom no man did hate,
At the age of four-score,
And four years more,
He pretended to wrestle
With Death, for his castle,
But was soon out of breath,
And surrender’d to Death,
Who away did him take,
At the eve of our Wake,
One morn about seven,
To keep Wake in heaven.”
“Nov. 29th, 1780.—Sarah Browne, of Babe’s Wood, widow, aged 76.
“EPITAPH.
Here lies Mammy Brown,
Who oft sung ding and down
Over many a brat;
And what of all that?
Why she sung herself down,
So here lies Mammy Brown.N.B.—She nursed many children besides her own.”
There are several useful and important charities pertaining to Whittington parish. Jones’s charity of 1670, and Griffith Hughes’s bequest in 1706, provide for the education of the boys of the parish, as that of Elizabeth Probert does for the girls. These bequests are now applied to the National Schools established in the village.
The old National Schools being too small for the increasing population of the parish, a new School House, for the accommodation of Boys and Girls, was erected in the year 1853, on the site of the former Boys’ School, at a cost of £900, after a design by Messrs W. and J. Morris, Builders, &c., of Oswestry, by whom also the structure was erected. The present much-respected Rector is the Rev. William Walsham How, who purchased the living in the life-time, and succeeded to it on the death, of the Rev. C. A. A. Lloyd.
The parish of Whittington contains 8,303a. 3r. 10p.; gross rental, £13,145 5s. 0d.; rateable value, £12,867 10s. 0d.
It is worthy of record in our notice of Whittington, that the admirable Missionary Hymn, from the pen of the late Bishop Heber, “From Greenland’s icy mountains,” was written especially for a public meeting of the friends of Missions, held in the village about the year 1820, at which the poet Heber attended. The hymn was sung on that occasion for the first time; but since then how many thousand voices, in every part of the habitable globe, have been raised in tuneful melodies whilst pouring forth this immortal strain! Heber’s hymn ranks with the sacred songs of our best poets, and has urged many a Christian heart to the heaven-born work of spreading the gospel throughout the heathen world.
Amongst the pleasant retreats in the neighbourhood of Whittington are Belmont, the residence of J. V. Lovett, Esq., an active and intelligent Magistrate for the county; Fernhill, about one mile from Whittington, the seat of Thomas Lovett, Esq., also an able county Magistrate; and the Derwen, the house of John Povey, Esq., a gentleman much respected in the district.
WYNNSTAY,
The beautiful seat of Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart., M.P. for Denbighshire, is within twenty minutes’ railway ride from Oswestry. The talent, wealth, and princely hospitality of the Wynnstay family have given to this mansion and its extensive domains a national celebrity. The late Sir W. W. Wynn (father of the present worthy baronet) did much to maintain the high character for hospitality and munificent liberality for which the House of Wynnstay has ever been distinguished, and his memory is embalmed in grateful recollections by hundreds who partook of his bounty and were generously aided by his purse and patronage.
Wynnstay is situated in the parish of Rhuabon, and is erected on the site of a residence of Madog ab Grufydd Maelor, Prince of Powys, and founder of the abbey of Llanegwest, or Valle Crucis, near Llangollen. The original name of this house was Rhuabon. It was the property of Edward Eyton, Esq., whose daughter Mary, the heiress, married Richard Evans, Esq., son of Thomas Evans, Esq., of Oswestry, attorney-general in the Court of the Marches. Their grandson, Eyton Evans, (son of Thomas, son of Richard,) altered the name to Watt-stay, on account of its proximity to Watts’ Dyke; and Jane, sole daughter and heiress of Eyton Evans, Esq., married Sir John Wynn, who again changed the name to Wynnstay, in compliment to his own family, he being grandson of Sir John Wynn, of Gwydir, by his tenth son, Henry, representative for Merionethshire. The above-named Sir John Wynn, of Wynnstay, left that and other estates of great value to his kinsman, the first Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, grandson of Sir William Williams, Speaker of the House of Commons in the reign of Charles II., and in the early part of his career Recorder of Chester. Sir William was one of the most successful lawyers of his time, and was a zealous and eloquent advocate of the popular party in Charles’s reign. The notorious Jeffreys was reprimanded, on his knees, by him whilst he was Speaker of the House of Commons; who also conducted the prosecution of the Seven Bishops, when solicitor-general; and the “Treating Act,” which still continues one of the safeguards of the purity and independence of Parliament, was introduced by him in the House of Commons. This celebrated lawyer was made a baronet in 1688. He married Margaret, daughter and heiress of Watkin Kyffin, Esq., of Glascoed, in the parish of Llansilin, near Oswestry. He left two sons, and the elder, Sir William, of Llanforda, married another great heiress, Jane, the daughter of Edward Thelwall, Esq., of Plas-y-ward, and was father, as already mentioned, of the first Sir Watkin Williams Wynn. The Speaker’s youngest son, John, was an eminent provincial lawyer, and practised at Chester, and was direct progenitor of the present Sir John Williams, of Bodelwyddan, Flintshire.
The mansion is a noble pile of building, of fine white stone, and has, recently, under the direction of the present possessor of Wynnstay, undergone much improvement. The interior comprises several noble apartments, which are embellished with paintings by the first masters, portraits of various members of the family, and busts by eminent sculptors, of the distinguished statesmen Lord Grenville, William Pitt, &c. The library consists of a fine collection of books, in ancient and modern literature, with valuable MSS. illustrative of early British history. Among the variety of plate, including elegant race-cups, &c., is a large silver vase, or punch-bowl, presented to the late Sir W. W. Wynn, by his countrymen, on his return from the battle of Waterloo.
The grounds in which the house is situated are remarkable for their sylvan beauty. The avenue leading to the mansion from Rhuabon is formed of fine oak, elm, beech, and other trees, one of which, “The King,” measuring thirty feet in circumference, and with its outspreading arms appearing to bid defiance to its fellows, seems to have a just claim to the monarchical title it bears. A fine sheet of water in front of the house adds much to the picturesque and deeply-wooded scenery around. Both the near and distant views from the park are distinct and attractive, those especially towards the Berwyn chain of mountains, with the grand breach in it beyond Llangollen, through which rolls the rapid Dee. An obelisk or handsome free-stone column is erected in the park, after a design by Wyatt, as a tribute of maternal affection, in memory of Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, grandfather of the present baronet. Round the entablature is a gallery, with a circular iron balustrade, nine feet high, in the centre of which stands a handsome urn in bronze. The plinth is wreathed with oak leaves descending from the beaks of eagles. A door-way leads, by a wide stair-case, to a gallery at the top. On the lower part of the Cenotaph is the following emphatic inscription:—
“Filio Optimo.
Mater cheu! superstes.”
Although this column cannot be seen from the house, a glimpse of it may be caught on the left side of the railway, in passing from Rhuabon towards Oswestry. The Nant-y-Bela Tower, in “The Dingle of the Marten,” is another Cenotaph, erected by the late Sir W. W. Wynn, after a design by Sir Jeffrey Wyattville, in memory of his brother officers and private soldiers slain in Ireland during the rebellion of 1798. It stands on an eminence, and commands a view of the Vale of Llangollen, for several miles. The Waterloo Tower, close also to the railway, is another ornament to the park.
In the days of Sir W. W. Wynn, grandfather to the present baronet, theatrical performances were often given during the Christmas Holy days, in a neat theatre near the house, erected for the purpose. David Garrick, “the British, Roscius,” as he was called, frequently superintended these histrionic displays, where wit and revelry prevailed. The surrounding nobility and gentry participated in these festivities, which uniformly passed off with eclât. The late Sir W. W. Wynn divested this Thespian Temple of its ornaments, and appropriated it for an annual agricultural meeting, as an auxiliary to the society at Wrexham. An annual show of cattle was held at Wynnstay, where premiums were adjudged, for the best of every species of stock, for ploughing the greatest number of acres, with two horses a-breast, without a driver, &c. This bucolic fete was generally held in September, when a numerous assemblage of practical agriculturists attended. A dinner at the hall followed, where covers were laid for five or six hundred persons. The tables groaned beneath the weight of viands, including fine samples of roast beef and unctuous venison; “rosy wine” spread its charms along the festive board, and “old October,” from the cellars of Wynnstay, were handed round in huge flagons worthy of the merriest days of Cambria. On these occasions Sir Watkin generally presided, and did the honours of the table with an urbanity and cheerful hospitality that endeared him to all his visitors.
The present Sir W. W. Wynn represents in parliament the county of Denbigh, is Steward of the Lordships of Bromfield and Yale, and is Lieutenant-Colonel of the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry Cavalry.
Among the more attractive residences in the immediate suburbs of the town the following claim a brief notice:—
Broom Hall, the residence of Mrs. Aubrey, widow of the late H. P. T. Aubrey, Esq., is situated near to the town, on the west side. Mr. Aubrey died in 1848. [See p. [143].] Drenewydd stands about a mile and a-half from Oswestry, on the road leading to Whittington, is a very ancient house, and has some interesting historical facts connected with it. It was formerly the residence of Edward Lloyd, Esq., eldest son of Marmaduke Lloyd, Esq., by Penelope, daughter of Charles Goodman, Esq. He was eminent for his learning, and after a long and diligent search into ancient records, wrote a history of his native county, but did not live to publish it. A MS. copy of his learned works is preserved in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. He was elected Mayor of Oswestry in 1707; in which office, it is recorded of him, “he corrected many existing abuses.” He left an only son, Charles, who was the last in the male line of the Drenewydd family. The old house at Drenewydd is now the property of William Ormsby Gore, Esq., and is occupied as a farm house. Mount Pleasant, the seat of Thomas L. Longueville, Esq., (a gentleman distinguished for his public and private worth,) is situated about one mile from Oswestry, on the road leading to Llansilin. Oakhurst, a newly-erected mansion, about one mile north-west of Oswestry, on the road leading to Selattyn, commands extensive and delightful views of the surrounding country, including the Vale of Salop and the Breidden hills. It is built in the Elizabethan style of architecture, and is the property and residence of R. J. Venables, Esq., one of the Magistrates of the county, and a Director of the Great Western and Oswestry and Newtown Railway Companies. The family of Mr. Venables have for many years been honourably connected with the borough of Oswestry. At Rhyd-y-Croesau is the residence of the Rev. Robert Williams, author of “Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Welshmen.” Mr. Williams is a profound scholar, and his location in the district, at the head of an ably-conducted school, may be looked upon as a great advantage to the inhabitants generally. Pentrepant, the property of T. G. Warrington Carew, Esq., is the residence of Colonel Frederick Hill. It is about one mile from Oswestry, on the road to Selattyn. The estate was for many generations in the Hanmer family, and John Hanmer, Bishop of St. Asaph, resided here. He died in 1629, and was buried in the church of Selattyn, to the poor of which parish, and also of Oswestry and St. Asaph, he gave £15 to be equally divided between them. Penylan is a very beautiful House, about one mile from Oswestry. The pleasure-grounds and shrubberies are laid out with much taste and skill. It is the residence of Mrs. Longueville, (Widow of the late T. L. Longueville, Esq.,) a lady of enlarged benevolence, and who has ever shewn herself ready to alleviate the sufferings of the poorer classes of the district. Sweeney Hall, situated about two miles from Oswestry, on the left of the road to Welshpool, is a handsome mansion built of freestone, and beautifully placed in the midst of a well-timbered park. The house was erected by the late Thomas Netherton Parker, Esq., a gentleman who will be long remembered as an active and impartial Magistrate of the county; as an enlightened landed proprietor; and a liberal and warm-hearted friend to the poor of his district. Mr. Parker was an able writer on agricultural and social economy, and some clever essays from his pen show how intimately acquainted he was with the condition of the rural population of all classes. He was an ardent promoter of agriculture, and most assiduously employed himself for its practical advancement. The estate is now the property of his son, the Rev. John Parker, Vicar of Llanyblodwel, and the house is occupied by Hugh Beavor, Esq. Some particulars relative to the ancient burial-ground upon the estate are given in page [153]. Wood Hill Hall, about two miles from Oswestry, on the right of the road to Llanymynech, was formerly the property of L. J. Venables, Esq., but has recently been purchased, and is now occupied by J. Lees, Esq.
In closing our Sketches of the Environs, a brief reference to Chirk and Llangollen Vale, both being within half an hour’s railway ride from Oswestry, seems to be necessary.
Chirk is situated upon the northern bank of the river Ceiriog, and is a pleasant and somewhat picturesque village. The entire parish is the property of Col. Myddelton Biddulph. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, contains an interesting monument of the gallant Sir Thomas Myddelton; and in the church-yard are some fine yew trees, the growth of centuries. There is an excellent inn in the village, The Chirk Castle Arms, kept by Mr. Moses, who is also post-master there. From the poor-rate return for the present year (1855), it appears that the acreage of the parish is 4,635a. 3r. 29p.; the gross rental, £9,401 8s. 4d.; and the rateable value assessed to the relief of the poor, £9,308 2s. 1d. The present much-respected Vicar is the Rev. Joseph Maude, who is also, as already stated, Chairman of the Board of the Oswestry Incorporation. The Vale of the Ceiriog, like that of the Dee, generally attracts the attention of railway travellers, from its singular beauty and historical associations. It is crossed by a Viaduct of the Great Western Railway, and by an Aqueduct also, extending along the Ellesmere canal upon long ranges of arches at a considerable elevation. Llangollen Vale is only a few minutes’ ride from Chirk, and, we need not add, “the admired of all observers.” The tourist is amazed with the first view obtained of it; its hills and slopes display enchanting spots, and the beauty of the natural scenery is increased by the massive elegance of Robertson’s railway viaduct across the Dee, and the classic grace of Telford’s aqueduct. The Vale, on both sides the river Dee, is at length brought to a high state of cultivation. Looking down the valley from the railway viaduct, or from the more elevated portions of the Holyhead road, the scene presents a strange admixture of beauty and ugliness; and a stranger, for the first time viewing the scene, would declare, “I see nothing but smoke.” On the north side of the river are the extensive iron works of the New British Iron Company, disgorging smoke and flame day and night, and on the opposite side of the river are the Vron limestone quarries and kilns, equally active in discharging huge volumes of vapour. The tourist must pass on from these manufacturing localities, and his eye will soon rest upon scenery of surpassing loveliness and grandeur. The wood-crowned heights of Trevor, the Eglwyseg and Berwyn range of mountains, the old battered fortress, Castell Dinas Bran, the luxuriant Vale, which presents the form of a capacious amphitheatre, and the Dee, vending its course over beds of clay-slate, limestone, and granitic boulders,—these, with abundance of full-grown timber, snug villas, white-washed cottages, and well-managed farms, with fertile fields and well-farmed hill-sides, show of what materials the panoramic valley is composed. Could Moore have viewed it, as we have done on a bright summer day, he would have been constrained to quote his own beautiful line,
“The valley lies smiling before me.”
Of Llangollen itself we shall attempt no description. Its charms have been transmitted to glowing canvass and sung in rapturous verse from Anna Seward downwards; its hostelries, the Hand and the Royal Hotels, its “trouts,” its mountain mutton, sparkling ale, and other delicacies, have too long been the “household words” of tourists, album-writers, and after-dinner orators, to render eulogium or even “faint praise” from us in the slightest degree necessary.
After these poetic visions it is difficult to descend to sober reality. The tourist, generally speaking, unless he be a botanist, a geologist, or an artist, penetrates little beyond the public highway, except in those localities distinguished by a waterfall, an ancient castle, or a noble residence. Thousands of people, from the manufacturing districts, cannot in their visits to the Principality do more than give a passing glance to the country through which they hurriedly travel. In the immediate vicinity of the turnpike-roads on both sides of the Dee the land there lets at a high price, and, generally speaking, is ably farmed; and ascending the hills, to the heights of ten or twelve hundred feet, most of the little inclosures occupied by small farmers, or by parties engaged principally in other occupation than that of agriculture, are also well cultivated, and fetch a rental of from 30s. to 40s. per acre. Some twenty years ago the mountain-land in the Vale of Llangollen was deemed common, and but few habitations were erected upon it; but at the present time neat cottage-dwellings for the industrious poor are raised in clusters, and most of the land attached to them is farmed with a skill and success that would put to the blush many a professed agriculturist. No doubt that this comparatively high price for mountain-land is caused by the large number of working-men employed in the various manufacturing and other working establishments in the neighbourhood. Such men require small portions of what is called occupation land, on which to feed a cow and grow a little wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes. To them the land even at the price is an advantage; but still it is a fact worthy of note, that mountain-land in this busy district is in great demand, and whenever let fetches a high rental. Such is the influence of manufactures upon agriculture, both of which, as Sir Josiah Child said years ago, “must wax or wane together.”
OSWESTRY: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GEORGE LEWIS.
CORRIGENDA. [296]
Some few typographical and other errors have occurred in the progress of the volume, which we are anxious to correct.
In page [210], line 13, for “old transparent,” read “cool transparent.”
In page [223], line 3, for “carbonate of zinc,” read “carbonate and sulphuret of zinc.”
In page [251], line 4, for “Procapella de Coton,” read “Pro capella de Coten.”
In the List of Illustrations, for “Corn Market,” read “Cross Market.”