Near the church, and now enclosed in a garden, stands an artificial mount, which Mr. Pennant conjectures to be coeval with Offa’s Dyke. [31] A similar one stood on the opposite side, where now the road runs. These mounts were probably Saxon stations, and curbs to the Welch, to prevent them from violating the line of demarcation which Offa had formed.
The church is a capacious old structure, dedicated to St. Mary, and was formerly an impropriation belonging to the Abbey of Valle Crucis. It has a tower steeple, containing six bells. All the east side of the church wall within is nearly covered with marble monuments of the Chirk Castle family. A bust of Sir Thomas Myddelton, and another of his Lady, are well executed. There are also many other remarkable memento mori’s within the church, well worth the attention of those who love to muse on
“Names once famed, now dubious or forgot,
And buried midst the wreck of things which were.”
I believe there are not standing within the same compass of ground in the kingdom of Great Britain, three mansions so eminently deserving admiration for magnificence, grandeur, and beauty, as Wynnstay, Chirk Castle, and Brynkinallt; the latter of which I shall now proceed to describe.
Brynkinallt
Is about one mile from the village of Chirk, and is the ancient seat of the noble family of the Trevors, as I find in an authentic genealogical table, of which the following is a short extract:—“In the reign of King Richard II. there was a noble peer, by name Geofry Lord Trevor, and also John Trevor, Bishop of St. Asaph, and Chancellor of Chester. He continued in the bishoprick to the sixth year of King Henry IV. And in the reign of King Henry VI. (1421) lived two brothers descended of this honourable family, namely, John and Richard. John, the eldest brother, was seated at Brynkinallt. He married Agnes, daughter and heiress of Peter Chambre, of Pool, Esq. by whom he had issue five sons, who laid the foundation of many noble branches. Robert, the eldest, succeeded his father at Brynkinallt. He married Catherine, daughter and heiress of Llewellen Ap Howel De Mould, and had issue. From Edward, the second son, by Amy, daughter of James Ryffin, Esq. descended Mark Trevor, from whom descended the Viscount Dungannon in Ireland.” From him the nobleman who at present inherits the title, and the residence of Brynkinallt, is a lineal descendant; and under his auspices, aided by the exquisite taste of his Countess, this superb edifice has attained the acme of beauty.
To rush at once into this charming labyrinth of delight would fill the mind with confusion; and the beholder would be at a loss in what direction to commence his observations, where every part claims his admiration. I therefore beg my readers will accompany me about two miles on the Oswestry road, to Bryn y Gwyla Lodge, a beautiful triumphal arch-like entrance into Bryn y Gwyla Park, through which a new road is now forming to Brynkinallt. This part of the domain is in Shropshire; the interesting stream of the Ceriog dividing Shropshire from Denbighshire at this place.
As you proceed towards the river, whose sides are charmingly clothed with forest trees, and whose banks are fringed with shrubs to the water edge, the eye is caught by some of the pinnacles of Brynkinallt, and by the blue smoke arising from the mansion, which seems playfully to linger among the lofty summits of the luxuriant trees that adorn it. Proceeding on the highest road, called the Green Drive, which runs along the top of the Hanging Wood, whose majestic and venerable timber seems to continue the luxuriant line of wavy branches to the very mansion, through one of the natural vistas which here and there present themselves, Brynkinallt bursts upon the sight in all its beauty, embosomed in the softened and variously tinted foliage of the plantations which surround it. From this spot the most interesting and picturesque view of the place is obtained; and I believe it is the point from whence an artist of some celebrity has designed a picture of the mansion.
At the termination of this drive the murmuring Ceriog is crossed by an ornamental stone bridge, at the foot of which, on the bank of the river, stands a simple rustic cottage, richly clothed with ivy, and formed of unhewn pebble stones. At this lodge is kept a key of the bridge gate; and a bell attached to the gate procures attendance. Crossing the bridge into Denbighshire, the elegant taste of the inheritor of the place begins to display itself. New beauties appear at every step, as you approach the house; pheasants feed in numbers on the smooth verdant lawn before the windows, and seem to give an earnest of the quiet and security of the domain.
This beautiful place is thus mentioned by Mr. Pennant:—“From Chirk (he says) I made an excursion to Brynkinallt, about a mile below the village: this had been the seat of the Trevors. The house is of brick, built in 1619.” [38] Nor can I find more attention bestowed on this charming place by any of the numerous tourists who have given an account of their excursions to the public; and I am at a loss to account why this, the most unique and beautiful spot in the neighbourhood, should thus long have escaped attention.