The environs, which are studded with numerous handsome residences and gentlemen’s seats, abound with richly diversified scenery; and from the higher grounds are obtained extensive and varied prospects over the surrounding country, which is rich in picturesque beauty. The air is salubrious, and the opportunities of cold and sea-bathing, render it not only a pleasant place of permanent residence, but also of occasional resort for invalids, for whose comfort every accommodation is provided, with the benefit of good medical advice, and the advantage of numerous pleasant rides and walks in the immediate neighbourhood.—There are several good inns in the town, the principal of which are, the White Horse, King’s Arms, King’s Head, and the Red Lion.
For many ages, the copious stream of St. Winefred served only to turn a corn-mill belonging to Basingwerk abbey, and it was not till the year 1777 that Holywell began to emerge from obscurity, when Mr. Smalley introduced the cotton manufacture, and erected a mill on a principle similar to that of one built at Cromford, by Sir Richard Arkwright. Soon after this, Mr. Smalley was joined by an opulent company from Lancashire, and erected, in 1783, a larger mill, now called the upper mill, which worked 12,218 spindles; the same company, in 1787, built the lower mill, adapted to the working 7492 spindles, and in 1791, the crescent mill, in which 8286 spindles were kept in motion. These mills were applied to the spinning of cotton thread, of which 26,098lb was produced on an avenge weekly, furnishing employment to nearly one thousand persons. A great part of that trade has now left Holywell, and the buildings are applied to other branches of manufacture.
There are, upon the same stream, several extensive copper mills, for rolling sheet copper, the manufacture of every description of copper vessels, copper bolts used in ship-building, and copper cylinders: there is also a mill for drawing copper wire, &c. Besides these, there are a large iron foundry, a paper mill, and zinc works.
The district immediately around Holywell, is pre-eminently distinguished for the richness of its mineral treasures, and particularly for its mines of lead and calamine, which appear to have been worked from the earliest period, and continue still to form an almost inexhaustible source of wealth.
Basingwerk Abbey,
(Or Maes-glâs), called also Greenfield Monastery, is beautifully situated in a meadow, about a mile east of Holywell among rich meadows, commanding a fine view of the Cheshire shore, with a profusion of spreading sycamores, and groves of ancient trees on all sides. Its time-worn and crumbling ruins are, from some points of view, highly picturesque.
The little at present left of the abbey is scarcely sufficient to indicate its former extent. The church, which stood on the east side, is totally destroyed.
Near to the abbey, a castle formerly reared its towers, but of this scarcely a vestige remains visible. Close to this spot also runs the celebrated Watt’s Dyke, which terminates at the Dee below. It is clearly traced hence through Northop, Hope, Wrexham, and the grounds of Wynnstay, to Maesbury, near Oswestry, where it ends.—About three miles north-west of Holywell, is
Downing,
The seat of Viscount Fielding, who married, in June 1846, Miss Pennant, the heiress to the estate. The present house was built, probably on the site of an older mansion, in 1627, but has lately undergone great improvements. This hall was the birth-place and residence of the celebrated author, Mr. Thomas Pennant, whose antiquarian and topographical researches form an important contribution to the historical records of the country. The walks are agreeable and diversified, particularly in the immediate vicinity of the mansion, which is approached by a rural path, winding through a beautiful and well-wooded dingle. Much taste is displayed in the landscape gardening and horticultural arrangements of this little paradise.—About a mile and a half north-west of Downing, on the summit of a lofty hill, stands