Full text of "Memorials of old Cheshire"

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MEMORIALS OF THE COUNTIES OF ENGLAND

General Editor:
REV, P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A., F.S.A., F.R.S.L., F.R.Hist.S.

MEMORIALS OF
OLD CHESHIRE

*R US Kl Tl **; FLO 14.56'^.

MEMORIALS OF
OLD CHESHIRE

EDITED BY

THE YEN. EDWARD BARBER, M.A., F.S.A.

Archdeacon of Chester and Canon Residentiary of Chester Cathedral

AND

THE REV. P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A., F.S.A.

AUTHOR OF

11 The Cathedral Churches of Great Britain" "English Villages"
" The Parish Clerk," &>c.

WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS

LONDON

GEORGE ALLEN & SONS, 44 & 45 RATHBONE PLACE, W.

1910

C*L

Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & Co.
At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh

TO THE
MOST NOBLE

THE DUKE OF WESTMINSTER

LORD-LIEUTENANT OF THE
COUNTY OF CHESHIRE

THIS VOLUME

IS
DEDICATED

BY HIS GRACE'S KIND PERMISSION

a 2

PREFACE

THE Editors desire to express their grateful thanks
to those who have co-operated with them, and
have contributed papers for this volume. Their
only regret is that the limits of space prevented them from
inviting the assistance of others, and thus of including
other subjects, which, it may be, some readers would
expect to find here.

But wide as the range is, it is manifestly impossible in
a volume of this size to cover the whole ground. It does
not profess to be a complete history, or to give all those
memories of the past which ought to be of interest to
those of the present day. Perhaps no county is richer
in these treasures than the county of Chester, and every
corner of it has its own special ones. The city of Chester
gives its title to the heir to the Crown, as the Prince of
Wales is always Earl of Chester ; and that fact in itself
gives a dignity and importance to both city and county.
Then, as will be pointed out in some of the papers which
follow, as a County Palatine, Cheshire had privileges and
rights of a peculiar character, and all this has made the
task of selection of subjects to be treated of more difficult,
and the reader will doubtless sympathise with the Editors,
even though he may not altogether approve of the result
of their labours, and may lament certain omissions.

Some memorials of old Cheshire will be presented to the
mind and eyes of many in the Historic Pageant which is to
take place in July, and will give further proof of the wealth
of material from which selection had to be made. We
may hope that both this volume and the Pageant will have

Vlll

PREFACE

an educative effect, in that they will lead residents in the
county, and the rising generation in particular, to take a
growing and intelligent interest in its history. This may
be done either in the small and confined space of the
parish in which they live, or in the wider sphere of the
neighbourhood, or of the county as a whole. And it can
be done by individual search and inquiry, and by associa-
tion with the Societies which foster and promote such
studies as conduce to the creation of a greater interest
in the story of the past, and in the preservation of the
objects which will keep it alive.

We have to thank the Chester and North Wales
Archaeological and Historic Society for the loan of some
illustrations, and are only sorry that more could not be
inserted. We have photographs from Dr. Elliott, Mr. F.
Simpson, Mr. G. W. Haswell, and others, some admirable
drawings by Mr. C. H. Minshull, whilst His Honour Sir
Horatio Lloyd has permitted us to reproduce a sketch of
his of the old High Cross at Chester.

We were fortunate to secure the services of so busy
a man as Professor J. C. Bridge, M.A., F.S.A., for two of
the papers, both of which will be found most instructive,
dealing as they do with distinctive peculiarities of the
county, and giving evidence of full and wide knowledge
of the subjects treated of. To one and all, named and
unnamed, we tender our cordial thanks, and trust that the
present volume may be regarded as a not unworthy suc-
cessor of those in the same series which have preceded it.

EDWARD BARBER.
P. H. DITCHFIELD.

CONTENTS

Historic Cheshire . . .

The County Palatine of Chester :
its Place in History .

The Abbeys of Cheshire .
Cheshire Castles ....

The Timber-framed Churches of
Cheshire

The Walls and Rows of Chester

The Half-timbered Architecture
of Cheshire .

An Old Consistory Court .

Halton Court Leet
Cheshire Worthies

The Four Randle Holmes of
Chester (an Epitome of a Paper
by the late J. P. EARWAKER,
F.S.A.)

The Chester Mystery Plays

By P. H. DITCHFIELD,
M.A., F.S.A. ... i

By HENRY TAYLOR (Ches-
ter), F.S.A. . . .19

By the ARCHDEACON OF
CHESTER 33

By the ARCHDEACON OF
CHESTER ... 50

By the Rev. Dr. Cox, LL.D.,
F.S.A 61

By the ARCHDEACON OF
CHESTER ... 70

By C. H. MINSHULL . 80

By the ARCHDEACON OF
CHESTER . . .100

By V. B. DAVIES . . 106

By P. H. DITCHFIELD,
M.A., F.S.A. . . .114

By the ARCHDEACON OF
CHESTER . . .133

By JOSEPH C. BRIDGE,
M.A., Mus. Doc. Oxon.
et Dunelm, F.S.A. . . 142

CONTENTS

The Siege of Chester .

Cheshire and its Families .
Some Cheshire Crosses

Echoes from Farndon

Some Cheshire Customs, Pro-
verbs, and Folk-lore

Two Cheshire Saints .

By the ARCHDEACON OF

CHESTER . . .180

By JAMES HALL . . 194
By the ARCHDEACON OF
CHESTER . . . 207

By the late Rev, L. E.
OWEN . . . .218

By JOSEPH C. BRIDGE,
M.A., Mus. Doc. Oxon.
et Dunelm, F.S.A. . . 230

By the ARCHDEACON OF
CHESTER . . . 264

INDEX

277

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Chester Castle, Barracks, and Courts ....

(From a photograph by F. Frith & Co. Ld.)

View of the City of Chester

(From an old engraving)

Hugh Lupus and his Parliament

The Old Shire Hall, Chester

Norman Doorway in Cloisters, Chester Cathedral

(.From a photograph by F. Simpson)

Cloisters, Chester Cathedral

(From a pholograph by F. Simpson)

Norman Chambers, Chester Cathedral Cloisters

(From a pholograph by F. Simpson)

Doorway in Cloisters, Chester Cathedral .

(From a photograph by F. Simpson)

Old Shotwick Castle

(From an old engraving; photograph by F. Simpson)

Beeston Castle

(From an old engraving)

Old Gateway, Chester Castle

(From an old engraving ; photograph by F. Simpson)

Marton Church

(From a photograph by H. E. Tonge)

Old Warburton Church

(From a photograph by H. E. Tonge)

Siddington Church

(From a photograph by H. E. Tonge)

Bruera Church, near Chester

Bonewaldesthorne's Tower

(From a photograph by F. Simpson)

King Charles's Tower

(From a photograph by F. Simpson)

Frontispiece

PACK, OR
FACING PAGE

. 16

22
32
38

44
52
56
58
62

64
66

68
72

xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE, OR
FACING PAGE

Watergate Row, Chester 76

(From a photograph by F. Simpson)

Bishop Lloyd's Palace, Watergate Row 78

(From a photograph by F. Simpson)

Baggily Hall ; Section through Large Hall . . . -85
Interior of the Hall, Baggily Hall, Cheshire . . -85

Almshouses, Commonhall Lane, Chester 86

Almshouses, Commonhall Lane, Chester 87

Bramhall, the Porch (East End) 89

Bramhall, a Corner of the South Wing 90

Moreton Old Hall, Gatehouse . . . . . . . 92

Moreton Hall, in the Courtyard . . . . . . 93

Broxton Hall, Part Elevation of Gable 96

House, Whitefriars, Chester ....... 98

Consistory Court, Chester Cathedral 102

(From block lent by Chester and North Wales Archaeological Society ;
photograph by F. Simpson)

Halton Castle 106

(From an old engraving by S. Buck)

Sir Hugh Calveley's Tomb, Bunbury Church . . . .116

(From block lent by Chester and North Wales Archaological Society*;
photograph by /. Elliott, M.D.)

Old Lamb Row 138

(From an old drawing by Cuitt ; photograph by F. Simpson)

Tabley House and Chapel 198

(From an old engraving)

The High Cross, Chester 208

(From block lent by Chester and North Wales Archaeological Society ;
drawing by His Honour Sir Horatio Lloyd)

Base of Old Village Cross, Eaton, near Tarporley . . .212

(From a photograph by G. W. Haswell)

Sandbach Crosses 214

(From block lent by Chester and North Wales Archaologicai Society)

Farndon Bridge . ... . . , . . . 220

(From a photograph by F. Simpson)

Facsimile of Speed's Autograph .229

HISTORIC CHESHIRE
BY P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A., F.S.A.

BRIGHT and fair is the Cheshire land and well
renowned in story. It is one of the most famous
counties in England, and can raise its head proudly
above other less noted shires. It rejoices in being a County
Palatine, its Earls in former days having sovereign juris-
diction within its precincts. The Earls of Chester held
their own Parliaments, summoned the barons and tenants
to the conclave, and Acts of Parliament passed by English
houses of representatives had no force within the Palatinate
of Cheshire. It had its own courts of justice for determin-
ing all pleas of land, tenements, contracts, felonies, &c.
It was an imperium in imperio, and though Lancashire
and Durham claimed similar privileges of Palatinate, their
County Palatines were established later than that of Chester
and were not so well settled, nor their powers and privi-
leges so clearly defined. For a brief space Cheshire
was a Principality, and Richard II. styled himself Princeps
Cestrice, and it can still boast of having a Prince for its
Earl, the title of Earl of Chester being always borne since
the reign of King Henry III. by the eldest son of the kings
of England.

Famous, too, is the county for its illustrious sons.
Speed, a Cheshire man, who ought therefore to know well
the truth of his statements, though perhaps for that reason
a little partial, says : " The shire may well be said to be a
seedplot of Gentilitie, and the producer of many most ancient
and worthy families; neither hath any brought more men
of valour into the Field than Cheeseshire hath done, who,

2 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

by a generall speech, are to this day called The Chiefe of
men ; and for nature's endowments (besides their noble-
nesse of mindes) may compare with any other nation in
the world; their limmes strait and well-composed; their
complexions faire, with a cheerfull countenance ; and the
Women of a grace, feature and beautie, inferior unto none."
Verily, Master Speed was a patriotic son, but he was
not far from the truth. Cheshire men have had their
detractors, as who have not ? These scurrilous, envious
persons have dared to frame this distich :

" Cheshire born and Cheshire bred,
Strong i' th' arm and weak i' th' yed."

It sounds like a taunt thrown across the border of my
native county of Lancashire. Strong i' th' arm Cheshire
men have ever been, as the story of many a fight and foray
in which they have gallantly played their part has effec-
tually told, but the long line of Cheshire worthies serves
to prove that their heads are not weaker than those of their
neighbours. If you need a further testimony to their ex-
cellences, you can refer to the sixteenth-century Cheshire
tourist, who wrote of them : " They are of a stomach,
stout, bold, and hardy ; of stature tall and mighty ; withall
impatient of wrong, and ready to resist the enemy or
stranger that shall invade their countrey; the very name
whereof they cannot abide, and namely, of a Scot." Pos-
sibly they have since that time seen fit to modify their
dislike of the gentlemen from across the Tweed, who are
said by a modern critic " to keep the Sabbath and every-
thing else they can lay their hands on."

The story of the shire presents many features of unique
interest. Its proximity to Wales rendered it the field of
many a wild fight between the sturdy Cheshire men and
the warlike Welsh folk, and required the possession of a
powerful garrison. The port of Chester was the chief
place of embarkation for troops, which the turbulent Irish-
men often needed for the preservation of peace, and Briton,

HISTORIC CHESHIRE 3

Saxon, Dane, and Norman have left traces behind them of
their presence in the county.

Before the advent of the Romans the district was in-
habited by a warlike British tribe called Cornavii, whose
territory embraced most of the counties on the Welsh
border. They were a strong and martial people, who gave
much trouble to the Roman conquerors, and required a
formidable company of legionaries to keep them in order.
The Romans firmly established themselves on the banks
of the Dee, or Deva as they called the river. They knew
well the district of Great Meols, where many coins and
fibula have been discovered, but their great stronghold
was Chester. The discoveries of Roman remains in the
city are so important that no other place in the kingdom
can rival it, and most of these have been found during the
last twenty-two years. Built into the Roman city wall
were found a large number of inscribed, sculptured, or
moulded stones, probably taken from the Roman cemetery,
erected in memory of the soldiers who fought in Roman
legions. They establish some interesting historical facts.
First, we gather from a stone erected to the memory of a
soldier, whose name is lost, that the legionaries were here
in the earliest years of the Roman conquest of Britain,
about A.D. 50. The conquerors pushed along the old
Watling Street, which led to the Dee, and must have
established themselves there very soon after their advent
to Britain. Secondly, we learn that Chester was the per-
manent quarters of two special legions, Legio II., Adiutrix
Pia Fidelis, and Legio XX., Valeria Victrix. Nearly all
the inscriptions relate to soldiers of one or other of these
troops. When the Second Legion was withdrawn to de-
fend the Danube frontier, the Twentieth remained to guard
the Chester country, and sent contingents to protect the
forts of Manchester and North Wales. From the fact
that these memorial stones of Roman soldiers were after-
wards taken from the cemetery and built up in the Roman
wall of the city, Dr. Haverfield has determined that the

4 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Roman wall of Chester was built in the latter part of the
second century or in the commencement of the third cen-
tury. But we must leave the inviting subject of the Roman
antiquities of Chester to another chapter.

It must have been a noble place in Roman times, with
its walls and streets and houses replete with the usual
fittings with which the Romans used to love to surround
themselves. It was a great centre of traffic, situated on
the Watling Street that ran from Richborough, through
Chester to Anglesea, and through Chester to Manchester,
York, and Carlisle. Suetonius pitched his camp at Chester,
and Claudius Caesar and the Emperor Galba are said to
have visited it. The existence of Julius Caesar's Tower
will doubtless suggest to the " raw antiquary " mentioned
below a visit of the illustrious conqueror.

When the Roman legions were withdrawn to defend
the centre of the Empire, the British remained masters of
the country as far as the Picts and Scots would permit.
Cheshire is far from Kent, where soon the dreaded Teutonic
races made their appearance, and established their rule
over the enfeebled Britons. The country of the Deeside
remained at peace. Caer-Leon, or Caer Leon Vaur l as the
Britons called it, heard only the smooth-tongued tones of
Celtic speech, and nothing disturbed its quietude, as far as
is known, until in A.D. 613 the fury of war burst upon the
British people. Christianity had taught them many holy
lessons of faith. Wales, with Cheshire, was a land of
saints. Bede tells us that the monastery of Bangor, which
may have been the Christian Banchor, about 15 miles from
Chester, " flourished with learned men at the coming of
Augustine." SS. David, Asaph, and Padern all flourished
after the Saxons had occupied England, and the sixth

1 The imagination of the Celtic mind has made Chester the Neomagus,
founded by Magus, son of Samothes, son of Japheth, 240 years after the Flood.
They say a giant named Leon Vaur, a conqueror of the Picts, built a city
here, which was afterwards beautified by two British princes, Caerleid and
Caerleir. But, concludes the chronicler, " they are but raw antiquaries that
will give credit to such relations."

HISTORIC CHESHIRE 5

century saw, not only the foundation of the Welsh bishop-
rics, but also of the great Welsh monasteries, which were
the especial glory of the Church in Wales. But the British
Christians liked not Augustine, his haughty ways, and his
new-fangled customs, and at a council refused subjection.
So Augustine waxed wroth, and said that " if they would
not preach the way of life to the English, they should at
their hands undergo the vengeance."

A terrible storm did burst upon the unhappy people.
The heathen King Ethelfrid of Northumbria came down
upon the fair land of Cheshire, defeated the Britons, cap-
tured and destroyed Chester. The monks of Bangor came in
crowds to the battle to offer prayers for the success of their
countrymen, and nearly 1200 of them were slaughtered.
Bede, with his Roman leanings, sees in this slaughter the
execution of the Divine judgment and a fulfilment of
Augustine's prophecy a suggestion unworthy of the pious
historian. If the Divine wrath was turned upon the people
of Cheshire and the monks, it was soon dispelled. Ethel-
frid's triumph was of short duration. Soon the gallant
Welsh princes raised an army, marched on Chester, de-
feated the Northumbrian King with great slaughter, and
elected Cadwan King of Wales at Chester.

For more than a century Cheshire remained under
British rule, but stronger grew the Saxon power, when
the rival kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex had settled their
quarrels; and in A.D. 828 King Egbert came to Cheshire,
captured the city, and made the country parts of the Mercian
kingdom. This Mercian kingdom embraced a large extent
of country, and was not divided into shires until the be-
ginning of the tenth century. The older counties Kent,
Surrey, Sussex, Hants, Wilts, Berkshire, Dorset, Somerset,
Devon, Cornwall, Middlesex, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk some
of them representing old kingdoms, are known to have
existed as defined districts in the ninth century. In these
the shire is not named after the chief town except in Hants ;
but when, in A.D. 912, Mercia was divided, each shire took

6 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

its name from the county town. Thus we have Stafford-
shire, Worcester-shire, and others, and Chester-shire or
Cheshire. The county then assumed the concrete shape
and size which it has since preserved.

At the end of the ninth century came the first visit of
those dread marauders, the Danes, who carried fire and
sword through so many fair regions of England. From
Northumberland they swooped down on the fields of
Cheshire, led by the sea-king Hastings, and " arrived at a
western city in Wirall which is called Lega-ceaster. Then
were the forces [of King Alfred] unable to come up with
them before they were in the fortress ; nevertheless they
beset the fortress about for some two days, and took all the
cattle that were there without, and slew the men whom they
were able to take without the fortress, and burned all the
corn, and with their horses ate it every morning." 1 The
Danes liked not this, and were reduced to eating horse-flesh,
and were glad to leave the country and escape to North
Wales. The Saxon Chronicle tells us nothing more of the
visits of the Danes. Higden mentions that at the close
of the tenth century the county was laid waste by pirates,
doubtless the sea-rovers, the Danes, but the evidence of
names proves that the Danes were firmly established in the
shire as settlers. By the Peace of Wedmore in A.D. 878,
they won from Alfred all the country east and north of
Watling Street, including the greater part of Cheshire.
Indications of their presence are not so strong as in Lanca-
shire, but these are sufficiently plain to show they partially
colonised the country. There is a church at Chester dedi-
cated to St. Olave, a Scandinavian king and saint, to whom
the Danish colony in London dedicated a church (Tooley
Street in London is, of course, a corruption of St. Olafs
Street). All names ending in by are Danish, of which we
have Kirby, Pensby, Irby, Frankby, Greasby. That the
Danes were Christians is proved by such names as Kirby,

1 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, A.D. 892 ; according to other authorities, 894.

HISTORIC CHESHIRE 7

Kirkdale, Crosby. But the most remarkable memorial of
all is the name Thingwall, the place where the Folkmote or
Thing met. It is surrounded by several other villages with
Scandinavian names on the small tongue of land between
the Dee and the Mersey. Sometimes a Celtic name is met
with, which has survived amid the Saxon and Danish popu-
lation, such as Meols, Dove, Llandican, and Inch. Further
inland Saxon names predominate, such as Bebington, Old-
field, Woodchurch, Upton.

Over the poor remains of Mercia that remained to
Alfred's rule he set the Ealdorman ^Ethelred, the husband
of his daughter ^Ethelfloed, or Ethelfleda, a ruler well fitted
for his courage to guard against the inroads of the Danes.
He rebuilt Chester, which had been ruinated by the wars.?
On his death the government devolved on his spirited widow
of whom Henry of Huntingdon says :

" O potent Ethelfleda, terrible to men,
Whom courage made a king, nature a queen."

She built a town or fortress at Eddisbury in the forest of
Delamere, and another at Runcorn. The English power
grew stronger in the land. In 920 King Edward the Elder
built the city Thelwall on the Mersey, and placed a garrison
there. King Edgar was at Chester in 973, and received the
homage of eight petty kings, or chieftains, Kenneth III. of
Scotland, Malcome of Cumberland, Macon of the Isle of
Man, James of Galloway, Howell of North Wales, Owen of
South Wales, and two joint rulers, Sfreth of South Wales
and Inkil of Cumberland. Ralph Higden, the monk of
Chester, relates a story of his having been rowed by them
from his palace to the Church of St. John, and Dean
Howson, when speaking of this church, said :

" As regards the historical associations, it should be observed in the first
place that the water in front of the church is that reach of the river Dee over
which the Saxon King Edgar was rowed in 973 by eight British chieftains.
His landing place is on the rocky ground immediately under the church, and
from the church, on looking down the river towards the old bridge, can be seen
the starting point of that short but very expressive voyage. The picturesque

8 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

little chapel among the foliage is also connected by tradition with Saxon his-
tory. It is said that Harold, having ' lost hys lefte eye ' in the battle of Hast-
ings, ' yescaped to the countrey of Chester and lived there holylie in St. James's
cell, fast by Saynt John's Church.' "

This last is, of course, pure legend, but the story of the
wonderful rowing seems to be fully accepted by the Dean,
and is not scoffed at by most Cheshire historians.

When Cnut the Dane ruled over English land, he com-
mitted the government of this part of Mercia to certain
chief men with the dignity of Earl, who were styled Earls
of Chester. Only three of these ruled during the closing
years of the Anglo-Saxon period Leofric, the son of
Leofwin ; Algar, the son of Leofric ; and Edwin, son of
Edgar. Then the Normans came, and many changes took
place in the Cheshire land. The Conqueror confiscated the
estates of the Saxon gentlemen and nobility, and bestowed
them upon his Norman adventurers and followers. He
gave the Earldom of Chester to Gherbod, a noble of Flan-
ders ; but he was compelled to go to his native land, was
seized by his enemies, and retained a prisoner. So the King
gave the title to Hugh Lupus, son of the Viscount of
Avranches, his sister's son, a valiant soldier, whose efforts
were much needed to restrain the tumultuous Welsh. He
gave to the Earl a Palatinate jurisdiction and sovereign
power, to be held under the King in the province over which
he ruled. These are the terms of the grant :

"Tenere totum hunc comitatum sibi et heredibus suis ita libere ad
gladium ut ipse Rex tenebat Anglise coronam."

Hugh Lupus had several barons to assist him in council.
These were Nigel his cousin, Baron of Halton, Constable
and Marshal of Chester; Sir Pierce Malbane, Baron of
Nantwich ; Robert Fitzhugh, Baron of Malpas ; Robert de
Vernon, Baron of Shipbrook; Hamon Massey, Baron of
Dunham ; Walter de Pointon, Baron of Stockport ; and
Eustace Crew de Montalt, Baron of Hawarden.

The stark Earl was as good a Christian as he was a
soldier. He sought the advice of the saintly Anselm, and

HISTORIC CHESHIRE 9

sent for him from Normandy to Chester, and so brought to
England its future Archbishop of Canterbury. By his
counsel Earl Hugh converted the Nunnery of St. Werburgh
into an Abbey, replacing the nuns by monks of the Bene-
dictine Order. His Welsh neighbours caused endless
trouble. He built a castle at Halton, and gave the barony
to Nigel, on condition that he should be Constable of
Chester, and by the service of leading the vanguard of
the Earl's army whenever he should march into Wales.

The history of Cheshire during the two centuries after
the coming of the Normans is a record of the incursions of
the Welsh, and of the continued attempts of the English to
resist them. The country was reduced to a deplorable
condition. The Welsh raided and ravaged the lands next
their borders. English armies came to Cheshire, consumed
the produce of the farms, and often burned the corn and
killed the live-stock lest the Welsh should seek for plunder.
Many of these raids find no place in history ; only those
are recorded which were attended by startling results.
We can mention only a few of them. In 1093 they came,
led by Griffith ap Conan, and made great slaughter. They
fought a great battle at Nantwich during the rule of Hugh
Lupus. In 1 1 21 they made a raid and burned two castles,
Shocklach and Malpas, celebrated for its bad road. In
1150 they came again, but were cut off on their return at
Nantwich. King Henry II. in 1156 came with an army
and encamped on Saltney Marsh. Ten years later he came
by sea with an army to Chester, determining to crush the
Welsh by invading their territory ; but his heart failed him,
and he abandoned the enterprise. In 1212 these terrible
Welshmen took castles, killed the garrisons, burned several
towns, and returned home rejoicing laden with plunder.
King John marched to Chester determined to punish these
outrageous folk who loved fighting, but he had certain
troubles with his barons which need not be here chronicled ;
and being assured that if he marched against the foe he
would be either assassinated or handed over to the tender

io MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

mercies of the marauders, he preferred to hie him back to
London. Matthew Paris, the old chronicler, tells us much
about these terrible doings how in 1245 Henry III. tried in
vain to conquer them, and then caused a fearful famine in
Cheshire by destroying all the corn and produce, including
the salt pits, lest the Welsh should gain plunder ; how
again in 1256 the Welsh invaded the country and ravaged
it to the very gates of the city, and by way of reminder
repeated the process in the next year. Even the stark
Prince Edward they defeated, and King Henry came him-
self with a mighty army to reduce them to order. He
adopted the usual tactics of burning the provisions of the
poor Cheshire farmers, and was thus hoist on his own
petard, as his army could not find food, and the expedition
was abandoned. Then James, Lord Audley, who on return-
ing from abroad found his castles burnt and his retainers
slaughtered, being mightily enraged, marched into Wales
to slay these terrible folk. He killed many, but he might
as well have tried to sweep back the waves that beat on the
Wirral shore. The pertinacious foe only retaliated and
attacked his lands again. And so the fight went on back-
wards and forwards, houses and castles being burnt, men
and women slain, crops destroyed, until the whole county
was reduced to a howling, desolate wilderness. The duel
between Prince Llewellyn and Edward I. is well known.
The King brought an army to Chester ; the Prince sued for
peace, and the expedition was abandoned. In 1274 the
King summoned Llewellyn to a conference at Chester, which
invitation the Prince, perhaps wisely, declined. Instead of
coming to a conference, he made inroads and plundered the
country. Then Edward in 1277 marched with a vast army
to Chester. He cut great avenues through the forests, so
as to protect his men from ambuscades. He marched into
Wales in triumph. Llewellyn made his submission, but
this did not prevent him from renewing his inroads four
years later. At last he was killed in a skirmish by Lord
Mortimer, and the land had rest. Edward gave to his

HISTORIC CHESHIRE n

infant son, born at Carnarvon, the title of Prince of Wales,
and peace at length descended on the hills and vales of
Cheshire which for two hundred years had been complete
strangers to it.

Our chronicle of the Welsh wars and plunderings has
carried us far afield, and we must hark back to the line
of Earls who ruled over the harassed Palatinate. When
Hugh Lupus died without issue, the Earldom descended to
Ranulph Bohun, who married his sister, Margaret. He
took for his arms three wheat sheaves or in a field azure,
which are the present arms of the city. He was succeeded
by his son, Hugh de Bohun, in 1152, who foolishly joined
the rebellious Prince Henry against his father Henry II.,
and was sent a prisoner to Normandy. Ranulph III.
succeeded, and earned the title of " the Good." He founded
several abbeys, fought in the Crusades, and drove the
Dauphin Lewis out of England, who had come to depose
King John.

During the Wars of the Barons against Henry III., a
battle was fought between the Earl of Derby and a large
force for the barons against the royal army led by William,
Lord Zouche, David, brother to Llewellyn, and John, Lord
Audley, when the Earl was victorious and Chester was
captured in 1264. John, Earl of Chester, adopted a novel
expedient to end the Welsh invasions. He married Helena,
the daughter of Llewellyn, during an interval of peace in
order to confirm it. But the lion and the lamb might as
well have mated, and the wild turbulent Princess proved a
strange bride. History records not the differences of that
ill-assorted alliance. Perhaps he tried to tame her too
severely. Perhaps he was but a faint-hearted Petruchio.
At any rate she poisoned him, and, leaving no children, the
King took the Earldom into his own hands and gave it to
his eldest son, Prince Edward. When this Prince was
captured by Simon de Montfort, he was forced to relinquish
the Earldom as part of his ransom, but on the triumph of
the King's forces it reverted again to the Crown.

12 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Richard II., in his troubles with the barons, chose
a bodyguard of 2000 Cheshire men, so trusting was he
in their loyalty and bravery. As a reward forj their fidelity
he made the county a Principality by Act of Parliament,
styling himself Princeps Cestrice, as we have already
noticed. This honour the county did not long enjoy, as
Henry of Lancaster revoked the Act. Not all the men
of Cheshire were loyal to Richard, or were perhaps
wearied of him. When the storm burst some of them,
including Sir Richard and Sir John Legh, went over to
Henry's side. He came to Chester and raised an army
there, and executed Sir Piers Legh, who had remained
faithful to Richard. Soon the men of Chester saw the
stern Duke of Lancaster marching into the city, and behind
him rode their unfortunate King, a prisoner in the hands of
one who knew no pity, and soon to be done to death at
Pontefract Castle. Reports were circulated that Richard
was still alive. In 1403 the Earl of Northumberland and
Lord Percy, commonly called " Hotspur," conspired against
Henry IV. and ordered the news that Richard was living
to be proclaimed throughout the county, stating that he
could be seen at Chester Castle. The Cheshire men
rallied to their old adherence, and readily joined the
standard of the Northumbrian Earl. Every one knows
the result of the fatal fight fought within sight of Chester
walls, when most of the knights and squires, the flower
of Cheshire chivalry, lay dead on the stricken field. Woe-
ful was the day for Cheshire men. Henry captured the
Baron of Kinderton and Sir Richard Vernon, and beheaded
them. Even some who fought on the King's side fell in
battle, including Sir John Calveley and Sir John Massey.
Moreover, the stern Henry was wroth against the county,
and every man felt that his head was in jeopardy. But
in the following year the King was pleased to pardon
the county, and extracted a fine of 300 marks from
the city.

The valour of Cheshire men has shone forth on many

HISTORIC CHESHIRE 13

a battlefield. Look at that gallant feat of arms at the
battle of Poictiers, when Lord Audley and his four Cheshire
knights, Sir John Delves, Sir Thomas Dutton, Sir Robert
Foulhurst, and Sir John Hawkstone won for themselves
undying fame. Sir Piers Legh of Macclesfield, from whom
are descended the Leighs of Lyme, had the lordship of that
place granted to him for taking the Count of Tankerville
prisoner. He was afterwards slain at Agincourt. But in
our unhappy Civil Wars the good gentlemen of Cheshire
were never a united body. They espoused different causes,
ranged themselves under different banners, and so fought
against each other and slew each other. It was so in
Richard's time. It was so at Blore Heath in 1459, when
neighbour fought with neighbour and many fell, amongst
whom were Sir Thomas Dutton, Sir John Done, Sir Hugh
Venables, Sir Richard Molineux, Sir William Troutbeck,
Sir John Legh of Booths, and Sir John Egerton. Thus
does Drayton sing of this unhappy slaughter :

" Then Dutton Dutton kills ; and Done doth kill a Done ;
A Booth a Booth ; and Leigh by Leigh is overthrown ;
A Venables against a Venables doth stand,
A Troutbeck fighteth with a Troutbeck hand to hand :
Then Molineux doth make a Molineux to die ;
And Egerton the strength of Egerton doth try.
Oh Cheshire ! wert thou mad of thine own native gore,
So much until this day thou never shedd'st before !
Above two thousand men upon the earth were thrown,
Of whom the greatest part were naturally thine own."

Again, on Flodden Field, the valour of the Cheshire men
was proved. Macclesfield had cause to weep over the
slaughter of her sons, including her brave mayor, Sir Edmund
Savage. Again, in the Scottish War, in IS44 they showed
their fighting powers ; of the sixty men knighted at Leith,
one-third were gallant Cheshire men.

Before we close this account of the mediaeval period, we
notice the shire studded with fine towns and villages, fine
churches, and noble monasteries. Of these we may mention
the Monastery of St. Werburgh, founded by Hugh Lupus at

14 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Chester; and the smaller houses of St. John for secular
canons, of St. Francis, a Franciscan monastery founded
by King John and suppressed by Cardinal Wolsey for the
founding of his college at Oxford ; and the Nunnery of St.
Mary, founded by Earl Ranulph. At Birkenhead there was
a priory of Black Canons founded by Hano de Massey,
Earl of Derby, and dedicated to SS. Mary and James. At
Combermere there was a house of White Monks founded
in 1134 by Hugo Maltana. At Dernhall was a Cistercian
house, founded by Edward I. in performance of a vow
which he made for a deliverance at sea. This was after-
wards removed to Vale Royal, and became a large monas-
tery with a hundred Cistercian monks, and was valued
at ^32,000. It was consecrated by the Patriarch of Jeru-
salem, with the Bishop of Durham and many other prelates.
Another Cistercian monastery was founded by Robert
Pincerna in 1153 at Poulton, and then removed toDentacres.
A Collegiate Church was established at Macclesfield by
Thomas Savage, Archbishop of York, in 1508. He was
born at that place, and this showed his affection for it.
His death prevented him from finishing it, but his heart
was buried there. Mobberley Abbey of the Canons Regular
of St. Augustine was founded by Patrick de Mobberley ; a
Priory at Norton by William, son of Nigel, Constable of
Chester. He founded also one at Runcorn in 1133, but
afterwards removed it to Norton. Stanlaw Abbey was
founded in 1172 by John de Lacy, Constable of Chester, but
it was afterwards removed to Whalley, where the fine ruins
testify to its former magnificence.

Such were the principal monastic houses in the county
which the decree of ruthless Henry VIII. doomed to
destruction. Chester was one of the sees founded by him
out of the spoils of the monasteries, together with Bristol,
Oxford, Westminster, Gloucester, and Peterborough, and
the Church of the Monastery of St. Werburgh was assigned
as a Cathedral. Previously the Bishop's Chair was placed
in the grand old Church of St. John, as there were Bishops

HISTORIC CHESHIRE 15

of Chester in ancient times, as the author of the Holy Life
of St. Werburgh sings :

" Also the see of Lichfield was translate to Chester
By helpe and suffrance of the bysshop Peter " ;

and that good Bishop Peter enlarged the stately Church of
St. John, which dated back to Earl Ethelred and his good
wife Ethelfleda. The story of St. John's Church is full
of fascination, especially when told by its vicar, Canon
Cooper Scott.

Desolation reigned throughout the land when the King's
Commissioners had stripped the churches and chapels of
their valuables and endowments. The historian of Vale
Royal, writing of the deserted and ruined chantries and
chapels, states : " Wherein nothing now but the tune of
lacrymae is sung, crying out mercy, not for sinners, but for
miserable singers, in these days."

Chester saw the sad burning of George Marsh, a Marian
martyr.

The incessant passing of the military connected with
the settlement of the Irish confiscated estates and of soldiers
oscillating between the Low Countries and Ireland, and the
constant presence of fierce, reckless adventurers, kept alive
a martial spirit and made the county extremely lively. The
following examples may suffice to show how great a
thoroughfare Chester had become :

1594. There came into Chester at several times 2200
footmen and LOGO horsemen to go to Ireland for the
suppression of the rebellion of Hugh Fardorough, Earl of
Tyrone. The mayor had much ado to keep the soldiers
quiet, and caused a gibbet to be set up at the high cross
whereon three soldiers had like to be hanged.

1595. There came to Chester at several times 2400
footmen and 300 horsemen to go to Ireland.

1596. Nine hundred soldiers came to Chester, whereof
500 were sent to Ireland, and the rest, staying for a wind,
were disbanded and sent away.

16 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

1597. A thousand footmen and 280 horsemen came at
several times and went into Ireland.

1598. The Earl of Essex, lieutenant-general for the
wars in Ireland, came into Chester, and with him three
other earls, besides many other lords, knights, and gentle-
men, who were honourably received by the Mayor and his
brethren. A great army of soldiers went over to serve
in Ireland, both horsemen and footmen, all under the com-
mand of the said Earl.

i $99. The I4th of February the Lord Mountjoy,
Deputy of Ireland, and with him a great train, dined with
the Mayor the i/th of February, and departed towards
Wales the I9th of February to take shipping for Ireland.

1591. Many soldiers were this year sent into Ireland.

In 1600 still larger consignments were sent and passed
through the county. We hear of 4000 foot and 200 horse.

Soon the bugles of war sounded nearer at hand, and
Charles was fighting against the Parliamentarians. Another
pen will describe the horrors of that fearful war, and of
that terrible siege of Chester, when the loyal inhabitants
were nearly starved. We seem to see the ill-fated monarch
watching with sad eyes from the Phoenix Tower on the city
wall the defeat of his troops at Rowton Moor. Cheshire
was a vast theatre of war, and witnessed more fighting than
almost any other county. And sad was the havoc wrought.
As in olden days, the gentlemen of Cheshire were as divided
as ever ; some were loyal, and others espoused the cause of
the Parliament. Beeston Castle withstood a brave siege,
and was afterwards " slighted " by Cromwell and reduced
to its present state of ruin. Doddington Castle, Crewe Hall,
Dorfold Hall, Cholmondeley Hall, Garden Hall were gar-
risoned, and endured attacks and sieges. Nantwich was
a stronghold of the Parliamentarians ; and even churches,
such as Barthomley and Acton, were garrisoned and
besieged. Adlington Hall, Stockport, Broughton Hall,
Malpas, Tarvin, Huxley Hall, Birket House, Bunbury, and
Nether-Legh all saw much fighting, and suffered from sieges

HISTORIC CHESHIRE 17

or attacks. A volume would be needed to tell of all the
fightings in Cheshire during that disastrous war. No less
than twenty-two of the great and beautiful houses of the
gentlemen of the shire were destroyed.

The Cheshire folk soon wearied of Cromwell and Puritan
ways, and as early as 1655 several of the principal gentry
were imprisoned at Chester on the charge of disaffection to
the Government. Four years later Sir George Booth, with
the Earl of Derby, Lord Cholmondeley, and others raised
3000 men " to deliver the nation from slavery." A battle
was fought at Winnington Bridge, near Northwich, but
Booth's forces were defeated. The Restoration of King
Charles in the following year was but a fulfilment of the
design of the Cheshire " Chief of Men."

The Duke of Monmouth honoured the county with a
visit in 1683, hunting for popularity and representing him-
self as the champion of Protestantism against the Roman
tendencies of James II. His visit caused a "No Popery"
riot in the Cathedral, when the mob did terrible damage,
broke the font and organ, tore up surplices, destroyed the
glass, and much else. The Duke acted as godfather to
the Mayor's infant daughter, attended the Wallasey Races,
rode his own horse, won the cup, and presented it to his
godchild. The heads of the good citizens were turned by
his graciousness, but that did not prevent them from ringing
the bells of St. John's Church when the news came of his
defeat at Sedgemoor. He is said to have hatched his in-
surrection at Bidston. Henry, Lord Delamere, son of Sir
George Booth, was accused of an intention of raising a
troop for the Duke, and had the unpleasant experience
of being tried before the notorious Judge Jefferies, but
strange to say he was acquitted. A few years later came
James II., who heard mass in the little Early English
chapel at the Castle. The good folk of Chester liked not
his Roman Catholic ways, and we read the " King departed
from Chester not well pleased with the disposition of the
people." His course was soon run, and he fled the country.

i8 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Again the divided counsels of the Cheshire men were
displayed. While Lord Delamere was raising a great force
to support Dutch William, marching south to meet him,
Lord Molyneux and Lord Acton seized Chester for King
James. Happily no fighting was needed.

When James II. landed in Ireland in the spring of 1689
a large army was collected to oppose him. It was led by
the Duke Schomberg, and suffered severely in camp during
the ensuing winter for want of conveniences and even neces-
saries. Most of the army encamped for a week at
Neston, and then embarked at Highlake (Hoylake) for
Ireland. There were about a hundred vessels to convey
them, and the port and river must have presented an
animated scene. In the following summer large rein-
forcements passed through the city at various times, and the
farmers of West Kirkby, Grange, Neston, and Meols made
good profits by entertaining the officers billeted on them.
William III. came in person, the army being encamped on
the Wallasey Leasowes. He was at Chester on Sunday,
June 10, attended service at the Cathedral, and slept at
the house of William Glegg, Esquire of Gayton, whom
he afterwards knighted.

Since that time no great events in the annals of England
have occurred to disturb the peace of Cheshire. In subse-
quent chapters we hope to record the names of many of
Cheshire's illustrious sons, and of the great and noble
families who have shed lustre on the shire. We shall roam
the countryside, see the traces of the great historic past,
note the beauties of the ancestral houses, the half-timbered
mansions, the red-sandstone farms, and if it be our good
fortune to have been born within its borders, one of
Cheshire's "Chief of Men," feel no little proud of our
heritage.

THE COUNTY PALATINE OF CHESTER:
ITS PLACE IN HISTORY

BY HENRY TAYLOR (CHESTER), F.S.A.

THAT safe guide Stephen's Blackstones Commentaries
on the Laws of England, the English law student's
vade mecum, in treating of " The Kingdom of Eng-
land itself/' says :

"Three of the English counties, viz. Chester, Durham, and Lancaster, are
called Counties Palatine. The two former are such by prescription or imme-
morial custom, which dates back at least to the Norman Conquest. Lancaster
was created a County Palatine by Edward the Third in favour of Henry
Plantagenet, Duke of Lancaster, whose heiress being married to John of
Gaunt, the King's son, the franchise was greatly enlarged and confirmed in
Parliament to honour John of Gaunt himself.

" Counties Palatine are so called a palatio because the owners thereof, the
Earl of Chester, the Bishop of Durham, and the Duke of Lancaster, had
formerly in those counties jura regalia as fully as the King in his palace.
That is to say, they might pardon treasons, murders, and felonies ; they ap-
pointed judges and justices of the peace ; all writs and indictments ran in
their names, as in other counties in the King's ; and all offences were said to
be done against their peace, and not as in other places contra pacem domini
regis. These palatine privileges, so similar to the regal independent jurisdic-
tions usurped by the great barons on the Continent, during the weak and
infant state of the first feudal kingdoms in Europe, were in all probability
originally granted to the counties of Chester and Durham because these
counties bordered upon inimical countries, Wales and Scotland ; in order that
the owners, being encouraged by so large an authority, might be the more
watchful in its defence. In the twenty- seventh year of Henry the Eighth, how-
ever, the powers before mentioned of the owners of these three counties pala-
tine were abridged, the reason for their continuance having in a manner ceased,
and in modern times alterations have taken place in regard to the administra-
tion of justice in the counties palatine, which have, for the most part, assimi-
lated them in that respect to the rest of England. Thus by the Law Terms
Act, 1830, the jurisdiction of the Court of Session of the County Palatine of
Chester was abolished, and that county was subjected in all things to the

20 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

jurisdiction of the Superior Courts of Westminster. And by the Judicature
Act, 1873, the jurisdictions of the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster and of
the Court of Pleas of Durham were respectively transferred to the High Court
of Justice, by that Act established. None of the counties palatine any longer
remain in the hands of subjects. For the Earldom of Chester was united to
the Crown by Henry the Third, and has ever since been one of the titles of
the monarch's eldest son ; the palatine jurisdiction of Durham was taken from
the Bishop of Durham by the Durham (County Palatine) Act, 1836 (amended
by the Durham Palatine Act, 1858), and was vested as a separate franchise and
royalty in the Crown ; and the County Palatine of Lancaster, with the duchy
which had been conferred on John of Gaunt, was at length, in the year 1485,
vested in King Henry the Seventh and his heirs, as a distinct and separate
inheritance from the Crown of England."

Of these three Palatinates we must, however, here treat
only of Chester, the eldest of the trio. There were Earls of
Chester in Saxon times, but the establishment of the Pala-
tine County of Chester dates from the Norman Invasion.
Before we proceed to describe its foundation and history, let
us see what Camden, in his quaint way, has to say about
Cheshire and its inhabitants. Quoting Lucian the Monk of
Chester, he remarks :

"Whoever sets about to describe the manners of the inhabitants of this
County in general, or in particular, according to their situation, he will find
them in comparison with those of other parts of England in some respects
better, in others the same. Their manners seem to be in the main of the best
sort, according to the general idea of manners. They are sociable in their
entertainments, cheerful at meals, liberal in their hospitality, hasty, but soon
brought to temper, impatient of dependance and bondage, kind to the dis-
tressed, compassionate to the poor, fond of their relations, sparing of labour,
free from resentment, not given to excess in eating, undesigning, fond of
borrowing other people's property, abounding with woods and pastures, rich
in meat and cattle. They border on one side the Britons, and by long com-
merce of manners are become very like them. Nor must I forget to observe
that the County of Chester bounded by Lime (Macclesfield) Forest from the
rest of England enjoys distinguished immunities, and by the indulgences of our
Kings and the great merit of its Earls is more accustomed to attend on the
Sword of its own Prince than on the Crown of the Sovereign in the assembly
of the people, and without restraint or reserve determine the most important
causes within its own territories. Hence Chester itself is much frequented by
Irish, a neighbour to the Welsh, and plentifully supplied with provisions by
the English ; beautifully situated, its gates are of an ancient form of building ;
approved by hard experience. It has merited the name of City by its river
and ts watch-towers, defended by a watchful guard of holy men and through
the mercy of our Saviour it has always been preserved by divine assistance."

THE COUNTY PALATINE OF CHESTER 21

The late Professor Freeman has said : " Chester was the
last English city to bow to the Norman invader. After the
fall of Chester no integral part of the English kingdom re-
mained unsubdued. William was full King over all England."

Recognising, as the Romans before him had done, that
Chester was the key to Wales, and also that it could be
made the headquarters for an invasion of Ireland, the
Norman Conqueror placed a great military camp there,
and in A.D. 1070 granted to his kinsman and follower
Hugh, surnamed Lupus of Avranches (which is situate on
the borders of Normandy and Brittany close by Mont St.
Michael), the whole of the present county of Chester, and
as much of the neighbouring parts of Wales as he could
secure, to hold as an independent state inferior to the
Crown of England, "ita libere ad gladium, sicut ipse Rex
totam tenebat Angliam ad coronam," "as the very words of
the Charter do run," saith Camden. Which words, says
Leycester the Chester antiquary, " some expound to be the
tenure of being Sword-bearer of England, whence we read
in Matthew Paris that when Henry III. married Eleanor
of Provence, A.D. 1236, the marriage was pompously
solemnised, and all the great men of the kingdom used
those offices and places which had of ancient right belonged
to their ancestors at the coronation of the Kings. The
Earl of Chester (John Scot) then carried the Sword of St.
Edward (which is called Curtein) before the King in token
that he was an Earl Palatine and had power by right to
restrain the King if he should do amiss, his Constable of
Cheshire attending on him.

"But although this office might have of ancient right
belonged to the Earls of Chester ever since the time of
Hugh Lupus, yet I believe there is something more magni-
ficent couched in these words of the first Charter or dona-
tion namely, a dignity inherent in the Sword, as purchased
by it, and to be kept by it also; for as in the Crown of
England there is an inherent right of regality annexed, so
here is given an inherent right of dignity in the Sword.

MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

This is to hold as freely by the Sword as the King holds by
the Crown, only inferior to the King. Hence was it that
whatsoever we say concerning the pleas of the Crown or to
be done against the King's Crown and Dignity, the same is
also said (but in a more limited sense) concerning the pleas
of the Sword of Chester, or against the Sword and Dignity
of the Earl of Chester, as is most evident out of the records
and indictments of those times."

There were seven of these Norman Earls, viz. :

I. Hugh Lupus, before mentioned.
II. Richard his son who, when only twenty-five years
of age and soon after his marriage, was drowned
in the White Ship catastrophe, together with his
bride and the two sons (William and Richard) of
King Henry the First.

III. Randle Meschines, Viscount Bayeux of Normandy.

IV. Randle Gernons.
V. Hugh Cyveilioc.

VI. Randle Blundeville

VII. John the Scot, Earl of Huntingdon, who died
without issue at Darnhall Abbey, Cheshire, on
the /th June 1237.

These Norman Earls had their Chamberlains or Chan-
cellors ; also Justices (before whom causes which of their
nature should otherwise belong respectively to the King's
Bench and Common Pleas were triable), a Baron of
Exchequer, a Sheriff and other officers similar to those
of the Crown at Westminster.

They also had palatinate Barons who held court in
council with them. The form of act or grant of Hugh
Lupus began thus: " Ego Comes Hugo et mei Barones."
These barons were

I. Nigel, Baron of Halton, High Constable of

Cheshire.

II. Robert, Baron of Monte Alto or Montalt (Hawar-
den and Mold), High Steward of Cheshire.

HUGH LUPUS T^ARLK of CHESTER

fittincr m lus PARLIAMENT with *'

Sic Barons and ABBOTS of ^

timt Conn tie PALATIN K .

"&
t4

THE COUNTY PALATINE OF CHESTER 23

III. William, Baron of Wich Maldeberg (Nantwich).

IV. Robert FitzHugh, Baron of Malpas.
V. Richard Vernon, Baron of Shipbrook.

VI. Hamo de Massie, Baron of Dunham-Massie.
VII. Gilbert Venables, Baron of Kinderton, whose heirs
male in the direct line continued until 1679
the last survivors of the Barons of Cheshire.
VIII. Nicholas, Baron of Stockport.
IX. Robert, Baron of Rhuddlan.

Each of these barons had his own court of all pleas,
suits, and plaints (except such as belonged to the Earl), and
power of life and death. The last instance of the execution
of this latter power was in the person of Hugh Stringer,
who was tried for murder in the court of Sir Thomas
Venables, Baron of Kinderton, and was executed in 1597.

The business of these barons was to attend the Earl in
Council, follow him, and grace his court, and as an old
record sets forth, "they were bound in time of war with
the Welsh to find for each knights-fee one horse harnessed
or two unharnessed within the divisions of Cheshire. And
their knights and free tenants were to be furnished with
breastplates and haubergeons, and to defend their respective
fees in person."

The Abbots of Chester and Combermere also had their
own courts as well as the barons, and doubtless they and
the heads of the other monasteries and priories were called
to the Earl's Council in the same way that other ecclesiastics
were summoned to the Parliaments of the early Kings of
England. We here give a copy of the plate by Hollar
in King's Vale Royal of " Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester,
sitting in his Parliament with the Barons and Abbots of
that County Palatine."

Of these Norman Earls of Chester the distinguished
pre-eminence of Earl Randle Blundeville during his long
and active rule has been noticed by all writers on Cheshire
history. That he was a strong man is evidenced by his

24 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

refusal in 1232 to comply with the demand for money from
the county made by Henry III., as well as by his resistance
to that King's permission given to the Pope's officers to
collect Peter's Pence in his Palatinate, and his expulsion
of those officers from the county, whereas all England,
Scotland, Ireland, and Wales paid.

On one occasion Blundeville was surprised and sur-
rounded in his Castle of Rhuddlan by a superior force of
Welsh. He contrived to send a message to his Constable
de Lacy for help. It happened that the Abbot's great fair
was being held at Chester, and de Lacy at once collected
from those attending it an immense crowd of "Players,
Fiddlers, Musicians, and other loose persons," and marched
with them to the relief of Rhuddlan. The Welsh seeing
this immense host, and hearing withal the terrible dis-
cord of " harp, flute, sackbut, psaltery, and other kinds of
music," evidently concluded that Bedlam was let loose,
raised the siege, and took flight.

" Was ever an enemy thrown in such plight?
Did ever a pen such a hist'ry indite ?
And yet the fact's true as black differs from white ! "

After the Earl's return he rewarded de Lacy with an
exclusive prerogative over the "Trades and Mysteries"
of the followers in his rabble army. The Constable's son,
John de Lacy, reserved his exclusive privileges over the
mechanic occupations, but granted the Player and Minstrel
prerogative to Hugh Button of Button and his heirs, who
was the son of that Button who marched at the head of
the minstrels. The Button family and their successors,
down to the year 1756, regularly held a court (which in
the Cheshire Recognisance Rolls is called " a Court of His-
trionics"), and granted licences to play on musical instru-
ments within the county and within the city of Chester.
The various Acts of Parliament passed for the regulation
of "Players Minstrels and other Rogues and Vagabonds"
specially recognise this right, and exempt Cheshire from

THE COUNTY PALATINE OF CHESTER 25

their provisions. We believe to this day this right is re-
cognised in the grant of certain music diplomas.

The rule of the Norman Earls of Chester may be said
to have extended over a period of about one hundred and
sixty-seven years that is to say, from the time of the grant
to Hugh Lupus down to the death of John the Scot, when, he
having died in 1237 without male issue, the Crown seized the
Earldom. King Henry III. then gave it to his son, Prince
Edward, probably in 1245 (together with other possessions),
on his marriage with the Princess Eleanor of Castile. Two
years after this the new Earl the first of the royal Earls
of Chester made his public entry into his county palatine,
and in its ancient metropolis received the homage of his
officers and military tenants. The entry in the Chronicle
of St. Werburgh's Abbey recording the event runs thus :

" 1236. On the Feast of Kenelm (July 17) The Lord Edward, Earl of
icster, entered Chester for the first time, and was received with all due
>pect, as well the Clergy as the laity having gone forth to meet him-
iving remained three days to receive the homage and fealty, as well of
ic Nobles of Chester as of Wales, he set out for Wales, to inspect his lands
id Castles there, and returning on the day of the invention (or finding)

(the relics of) S. Stephen, August 3rd, he left Chester and returned to

jland, 1 going by way of Darnall."

On Prince Edward succeeding to the throne, he relin-
luished the Earldom in favour of his eldest son. His suc-
issors, on being invested with the executive power when
icy created their heirs-apparent to the Crown Princes of
s, at the same time invested them with the Earldom.
The oldest title the present King when Prince of Wales
held was that of Earl of Chester.

The greater part of the present county of Flint was held
by the Norman Earls before the conquest of Wales. King
Edward I., after he had created it into a separate county,
attached it to the "Sword of Chester" as presently de-
scribed. It is evident that it was considered an important

1 Observe the expression "left Chester and returned to England."
Cheshire was a separate state apart from England.

26 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

appanage to the Earldom, as from time to time the name
Flint has been associated with that of Chester, the title
adopted being that of Earl of Chester and Flint. Edward
of Windsor, eldest son of Edward II., was summoned to
Parliament by the name of Earl of Chester and Flint, " since
which time it has been continued as a title in the Princes
of Wales ; and there you will be sure to find who were
Earls of Flint/' says Peter Heylyn in his Help to English
History. The last Prince of Wales summoned by that
title to Parliament was Prince George, afterwards George II.,
in 1714.

If the reigning sovereign had no son to succeed him,
the Earldom appears to have been retained by the Crown
until a new creation. This was so in the case of Richard II.,
who styled himself Prince of Chester, and created the county
palatine a principality. This, however, was revoked in the
following reign.

There seems to have been a close attachment between
this King and the people of Chester and of Wales, doubtless
in consequence of the esteem in which they held his father,
the Black Prince, whom they followed in his French wars,
and who had placed confidence in them. King Richard
had a bodyguard of 2000 Cheshire archers, many of whom
accompanied him in his ill-fated expedition to Ireland, on
his return from which he was taken prisoner by Bolingbroke
at Flint Castle, and from there, it is said, brought to Chester
Castle on his way to London.

When the conquest of Wales had been finally completed
by the defeat and death of Prince Llewelyn, Edward the
First proceeded to regulate the administration of the territory
he had acquired. By his ordinance called the " Statute of
Rhudland," he formed Flintshire into a county, attached,
as previously mentioned, but subordinate to, that of Chester,
and directed the Sheriff of Flintshire to render his accounts
to the Exchequer there. The judges were appointed, some-
times for both counties, at others for each county separately.
By the same statute the greater part of the district governed

THE COUNTY PALATINE OF CHESTER 27

by Llewelyn was divided into the three counties of Angle-
sey, Carnarvon, and Merioneth, and it was to these counties
that the name of " North Wales " was originally confined.
Chester and North Wales were the oldest of the Welsh
Judicial Circuits.

Subsequently, on the petition of the Welsh themselves,
in the reign of the Tudor King, Henry VIII., Wales was in-
corporated with England, and the Lordships Marches were
divided into shires, the counties of Denbigh and Mon-
gomery being added to North Wales. Wales then for
the first time sent representatives to the English Parlia-
ment, but it was not until the reign of his son, King
Edward VI., that the County Palatine of Chester was
given parliamentary representation. Professor Freeman
has said :

" The Earldom of Hugh of Avranches stood alone in its greatness from the
rest of the realm. How distinct Chester and Durham stood from the rest of
the kingdom, is best shown by their having for so many ages (not until the
reign of Edward VI.) no voice in the national Parliament. While Chester
had its own courts and own baronage, knights and citizens from the all
but independent state would have been as much out of place as knights
and citizens from the Isle of Man or the Norman islands of the English
Channel."

About this time also, viz. in 1542, it was enacted that
sessions for the administration of justice should be held
twice in every year in each of the twelve shires of Wales,
to be called " The King's Great Sessions of Wales," appa-
rently to distinguish them from those of the Justices of the
Peace, who were directed to be eight in number in each
county, and to hold their sessions four times a year. For
the business of the Great Sessions, Wales was divided into
four districts, each independent of the rest, with its own
judge and its own establishment of judicial officers.
Anglesey, Carnarvon, and Merioneth continued as before
under the Justice of North Wales, and formed the North
Wales Circuit ; while Denbigh and Montgomery were joined
to Chester, to which, as before mentioned, Flint from its
first creation had been attached. Each Circuit at first had

28 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

a single judge, but in the reign of Elizabeth a second one
was added. The judges were styled Justices, and within
the limits of their Circuits they exercised all the powers of
the Justices of King's Bench and Common Pleas. They
also had an equitable jurisdiction, but important equity
cases were seldom brought before them, as the Court of
Chancery was open to Welsh suitors, and it was only in
matters of immediate urgency that the powers of the Great
Sessions as a Court of Equity were found of use. In equity
an appeal lay to the House of Lords, and in legal cases
" error" could be brought in the King's Bench. In the
administration of criminal law, when cases of difficulty
arose the opinion of the twelve Judges was obtained, in
a similar way to that which was pursued in England. The
process of the Courts could only be executed in the counties
of the Circuit, and the want of further power to give effect
to their orders outside their jurisdiction was one of their
greatest disadvantages. But when final judgment had been
obtained, a transcript of the record could be removed and
execution issued from one of the Superior Courts. Each
Circuit had its judicial seal. The use of seals was looked
upon as a matter of paramount importance (as it is in many
foreign Courts at the present time), and Henry VIII. him-
self is stated to have devised these seals. The original seal
of Chester was used for Flint. Here we give an illustration
from the last seal which was in use when the Chester
Palatinate Court was dissolved. Another original seal for
the shires of Denbigh and Montgomery was entrusted to
the Steward and Chamberlain of Denbigh, and these two
counties formed in some respects a distinct division of the
Chester Circuit. Causes commenced in the Superior Courts
could be sent down to Chester to be tried. The equitable
jurisdiction at Chester belonged to the Chamberlain and not
to the Justices. The Chamberlain's Court is described as
having been one of a very singular character, and to have
administered a mixture of law and equity. The Vice-
Chamberlain presided as the Judge, and the business,

THE COUNTY PALATINE OF CHESTER 29

which is said to have been at one time considerable, appears
latterly to have been small ; but it is to be regretted that
was abolished and not retained, as in the adjoining
County Palatine of Lancaster, as in these days it would
have been of great use.

The Chief-Justiceship of Chester, being the most lucra-
tive as well as the most important of the Welsh Judgeships,

was looked upon as one of the great prizes of the profession,
and was held by many distinguished men. When the Great
Session came to an end the salary of the Chief Justice was
^1630, and that of the second Justice i2$o. An annual
pension of 1015, I2s. was granted to Thomas Jervis
(father of Sir John Jervis, Chief Justice of the Common
Pleas), who was second Justice of Chester, by way of com-
pensation for loss of his office. The Chief Justiceship of
Cheshire was vacant at the time. In Ormerod's History

30 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

of Chester, in the History of the Great Sessions of Wales
by Mr. W. R. Williams, and in the contribution to the
History of the Courts of Great Session of Wales and of the
Chester Circuit, by the late Chancellor Trevor Parkins,
from which I have obtained a considerable amount of infor-
mation, is given a list of judges and officers of these Courts
from early days to their abolition in 1830. A very im-
portant person on every Circuit was the Attorney-General,
who was appointed by the Crown, and possessed all the
powers of the King's Attorney-General. The principal
officer on each Circuit was the Prothonotary, who attended
on the Justices when they held their Courts, and discharged
similar duties to those now performed by the Associate.
He was appointed by the Crown, and was usually Clerk of
the Crown also. The subordinate officers were a marshal,
a registrar, and a crier, and these were appointed by the
Chief Justice.

The Chamberlain of Chester or his Deputy was the
Keeper of the original Seal of Chester and Flint. At
Chester, where a considerable amount of business was
transacted, there was a much larger bar than there was
on the Welsh Circuits. The Northern Circuit was strongly
represented there. John Williams, James Parke (afterwards
Lord Wensleydale), Joseph Littledale, William Wightman,
and Charles Crompton, all of whom became High Court
Judges, were among the members of the Northern Circuit
who practised at the Chester Assizes in the early years
of the last century. David Francis Jones, for some time
Recorder of Chester, better known as Sergeant Atcherley,
and those eminent lawyers, John Horatio Lloyd and William
Newland Welsby, Recorder of Chester, and long the leader
of the present Chester and North Wales Circuit, were also
members of the Chester Palatine Bar. Lord Kenyon and
Chief Baron Richards, both of whom were afterwards Chief
Justices of Chester, were among those who belonged to the
Welsh Circuit.

We give an illustration of the old County Hall and

THE COUNTY PALATINE OF CHESTER 31

of the Old Court of Exchequer at Chester Castle (where
causes were heard), before they were taken down and the
present classical buildings, the creation of a Chester archi-
tect, were erected at the close of the eighteenth century,
taken from the Gentleman's Magazine of June 1789. The
Exchequer Court is said to have been the building in which
the Norman Earls sat in Council.

Some years after the abolition of the Palatine Courts the
records relating to them and to the County Palatine were
examined, arranged, and ably reported upon by the late
Mr. Black of the Public Record Office. Efforts were made
to retain these records at Chester, where it was proposed
that a branch of the Public Record Office should be estab-
lished ; but ultimately in the autumn of 1854 they were
removed to London, first of all to the Tower, and afterwards
to the Public Record Office in Chancery and Fetter Lanes.

I find in Appendix n of the Sixteenth Report of the
Deputy Keeper of the Public Records the following:
"The records brought from Chester packed as closely as
possible, filled four or five large boxes and 369 bags, about
100 of the latter being large five bushel bags. The weight
was nearly 13 tons. They filled five of the largest London
and North-Western Railway luggage vans." These records
are being gradually cleaned and classified. The reports
and calendars relating to them, which have already been
published, are extremely valuable and interesting, although
they only touch the very fringe of the information contained
in such an immense mass of documents. There are no
more able or courteous public servants than those in the
Record Office, but they cannot do impossibilities, and
unless the staff is increased it will be ages before the
public can be informed of the entire contents of these
valuable Cheshire and Welsh records. We here give one
of the entries on the Chester Recognisance Roll of the
time of the Owen Glyndwr rebellion, as a sample of
the entries contained in the Deputy-Keeper's reports :
1403 September 4. The Mayor, Sheriffs, and Aldermen

32 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

of the City of Chester are empowered and directed by Writ
to " expel all Welsh from the City, both men and women,
the same not to enter the City before sunrise or tarry in it
after sunset, on pain of decapitation, nor presume to walk
about armed, except with a knife to cut their dinner, nor to
use any tavern or to hold meetings in the same, nor any
three of the said Welsh to meet together within the Walls
on pain of being sent to prison as rebels ; and should any
strangers, Welshmen, viz. from the County of Flint, or
other parts of Wales, come to the said City, the same to
leave their arms, &c., outside the gate by which they
entered."

Camden, in speaking of Cheshire, has said " this County
ever surpassed the rest in producing nobility, nor is there
any County in England that has anciently brought more
Noblemen into the field or can boast a greater number of
Knightly Families."

" Cheshire Chief of Men " is an ancient Cheshire pro-
verb, and is used by Michael Drayton in his Polyolbion.

We may summarise the history of the County Palatine
of Chester thus : On its foundation and during the reigns
of the Norman Earls, it assumed the form of a semi-regal
state. Afterwards, on the assumption of the Earldom by
the eldest sons of the Kings of England, it became their
most ancient appanage, and at first was maintained with
all its regalities. Edward I. made Chester his headquarters
during his Welsh wars, and resided in the city and neigh-
bourhood more than any other sovereign or prince has done.
Subsequently the powers of the Palatinate were gradually
vested in the Crown, and finally abolished in the reign of
Henry VIII., the administration of the law being all that
was left of its ancient prerogatives. Finally, by the Act of
1830 this peculiar jurisdiction was also taken from it, and,
as we have already seen, in 1854 all its records (the muni-
ments of its former greatness) were removed to London.

All that remains is the name "County Palatine," and the
title it gives to the reigning monarch's eldest son.

THE ABBEYS OF CHESHIRE

BY THE ARCHDEACON OF CHESTER

IT is more than possible that the title of this paper will
provoke the question from our readers, "Where are
they ? " There are no beautiful and picturesque ruins
like Fountains, or Tintern, or Glastonbury to be visited,
and we are compelled to go back to the period of the
Dissolution of the Monasteries to find out how the county
was in previous ages served and helped by religious houses.
When we do this we discover that Cheshire did not contain
a large number ; in short, that there were only four counties
(those of Cumberland, Westmorland, Rutland, and Lan-
caster) and the two Welsh dioceses of St. Asaph and
Bangor, which had fewer. If, however, we look at their
value, Cheshire took a higher place, as ten counties, in
addition to the four Welsh dioceses, were inferior to it
in this respect This was due to the richness of the Abbey
of St. Werburgh at Chester, of which the possessions
amounted to three-fifths of the whole. In fact, St. Wer-
burgh's, valued at ^"1003, was richer than Fountains
(998), nearly as rich as Ely (1084), though considerably
poorer than Reading (^1938) and St. Albans (2102).

But when we remember the debt which we owe in the
past to the monasteries, and how they kept alive in the dark
ages both education and religion, we must admit that a
volume like the present would be incomplete without some
account of the Abbeys which were situated in the county,
even though in some cases the name only remains. The
title also excludes foundations like St. John's, Chester,
which was for secular canons, and another of a similar

^3 C

MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

character at Bunbury. It might also reasonably take no
count of the Hospital of Little St. John's, Chester, though
this is included in the list given by Dugdale, no doubt
because it was connected with the Abbey of Birkenhead.
On its site now stand the Blue Coat School and Alms-
houses founded by Bishop Stratford in 1700. The Abbeys
mentioned by Dugdale are St. Werburgh, Chester, St. Mary's
Nunnery, Chester, and Birkenhead, which were Benedic-
tine ; Vale Royal and Combermere, which were Cistercian ;
and Norton, which belonged to the Augustinian Canons.
There was also Stanlow, which was translated to Whalley,
in Lancashire, A.D. 1294; and, for a very short period, a
Cell of Augustinian Canons at Mobberley. It will be con-
venient to take them in the reverse order to that in which
they are here given.

The small house at Mobberley was founded in 1206 by
Patrick de Mobberley. He no doubt intended to establish
a permanent institution, but it came to an end at his death,
as he had only a life-interest in the estate with which he
endowed it, and the fact of its having existed only remains
as an interesting feature in the history of that parish.

Stanlaw, or Stanlow, was an Abbey of the Cistercian
Order, and was built on a rocky eminence jutting out into
the river Mersey where the river Gowy joins it. Some
remains of the buildings still exist. Originally they were ex-
tensive and handsome. At the end of the thirteenth century
the lands and buildings suffered severely from the encroach-
ments of the sea and from fire, and the great body of the
monks were transferred (not without protest from several
quarters) to Whalley, in Lancashire, and only six left in
charge of the church and buildings. The ruins are inter-
esting, but are now more difficult of access, being cut off by
the Manchester Ship Canal.

Norton Priory belonged to the Augustinian or Austin
Canons. At the Dissolution it was purchased of the King
by Richard Brooke, and the property still remains in that
family. A mansion was built on its site, and the only

THE ABBEYS OF CHESHIRE 35

relics of the monastery are to be found now in the basement
or cellar, where an old doorway may be seen, which was no
doubt part of the substructure of the religious house. It is
worthy of note that the suppression of the monastery was
stoutly resisted by the Abbot or Prior and his companions,
who were taken prisoners. The house still bears the name
of Norton Priory. In 1643 ^ was besieged by the Royalists,
who were repulsed, owing to the sturdy defence which was
offered by the eighty men who were sheltered in it.

Combermere Abbey is, again, only a name for the country
residence belonging to the Cotton family, but now occupied
by Katharine, Duchess of Westminster. The Abbey was
Cistercian, but was apparently demolished when the present
^ house was built, though some fancy that traces of the old
work are to be seen in portions of the building. It was the
second richest Abbey in Cheshire, though it did not reach
in value one quarter of what St. Werburgh's was assessed
at. A cell of this Abbey was founded in 1153 at Pulford,
near Chester, by Robert, the Earl of Chester's baker, when
his lord was a prisoner to King Stephen. The Earl on his
release confirmed the foundation, and granted the monks
a fishery in the Dee. In 1214 the cell was removed into
Staffordshire on account of the frequent incursions of
the Welsh.

Vale Royal was another Cistercian foundation. It had
an interesting history, and it must be a matter of regret
that no remains of the original building are left, unless
traces of the refectory are to be seen in the south wing
of the residence, now the seat of Lord Delamere. It was
founded in 1277 by King Edward I., hence the title Vale
Royal. Originally the monks had a temporary home at
Darnhall, and it was not until 1330 that they were estab-
lished at Vale Royal, where 32,000 had been spent upon
the buildings. Their royal patron bestowed great privileges
upon the monks, including the extensive right of advowry
or protection of criminals, and the power of life and death
in their manors of Darnhall, Over, and Weaverham. We

36 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

learn from some records that have been left that the Abbots
had a somewhat troubled experience, and that some of their
number were decidedly warlike in their tastes.

We come now to consider the Benedictine houses which
were situated in the county. Birkenhead was not large,
and was for sixteen monks, and its value was only 93. As
has been stated above, it had some connection with Chester,
for the Hospital of St. John, outside the North Gate, was
attached to it. Some remains of the Abbey are left which
are interesting. The monks were sixteen in number, and
the Abbey possessed the exclusive right of ferryage, and the
name Monks' Brow Ferry still survives. The ruins consist
of the refectory and Prior's apartment, and of the church.
There is also a crypt with elegant groined roof, and the
chapter-house, which was used as a chapel before the pre-
sent church was built at the beginning of the last century.
Washington Irving, in his Sketch Book, vol. i., writes : " As
we sailed up the Mersey I saw the mouldering ruin of an
Abbey overrun with ivy and the taper spire of a village
church rising from the brow of a neighbouring hill ; all
were characteristic of England." The Hospital of St. John,
Chester, was attached to the Priory, the mastership being
granted to the Prior and his successors by Edward II. The
chapel and hospital were destroyed during the civil wars.

St. Mary's Nunnery, Chester, stood in the south-west
corner of the city, and the name was retained in the title
Nuns' Gardens, and now in the newer title Nuns' Road.
Until 1840 some of the ruins existed on the site, but in that
year they were removed, and an arch (which may have
been part of the church) was taken to St. John's Priory, the
house where De Quincey once lived, and was subsequently
erected in the Grosvenor Park, where it may now be seen.
The arch appears to indicate a building of the thirteenth
century. A plan in the British Museum of the date of
Queen Elizabeth gives certain details of the buildings, and
we learn from it that the dimensions of the church were
66 feet by 45 feet, of the cloisters 90 feet by 60 feet, and of

THE ABBEYS OF CHESHIRE 37

the chapel (no doubt the Abbess') 27 feet by 14 feet. We
gather from other sources that the Abbess at the Dissolution
was named Elizabeth Grosvenor, and that she retired on a
pension of 20 a year; and that in 1553 thirteen nuns were
still living and in receipt of pensions. In the Calendar of
Patent Rolls is preserved a chartulary of the nunnery down
to the year 1400. The foundation by Randulf Gernons,

BIRKEHEDDE PRIORY, w CHESHIRE.

Earl of Chester, dates about the year 1150. The founder
and his successors, Earl Hugh and Earl Randulf Blunde-
ville, and many others, gave many and valuable gifts to the
nunnery, which, besides manors and landed possessions,
included the right to have one boat in the water of Chester,
together with one net, and the privilege of free multure of
their corn for the table at the Chester mills. Even more
interesting than these various charters is a copy of the
processional of the nuns, preserved in the collection of
the Earl of Ellesmere, for it throws some light upon their

38 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

services and on the extent of their buildings, for no fewer
than twelve altars are mentioned by name. But perhaps
the most interesting relic is to be found at the end of this
manuscript in a charming carol, which has been rendered
into modern notation by Professor J. C. Bridge, Mus. Doc.,
M.A., F.S.A., and which is occasionally sung in Chester
Cathedral. There is thus a delightful connection between
the present and the past.

We now come to St. Werburgh's Abbey, preserved to
to us in the present Cathedral. Here, as at Gloucester,
Bristol, and Peterborough, the foundation of a new See at
the dissolution of the monasteries has had the effect of
keeping for us the church of the monks, with some adjacent
buildings, so that we are able to estimate in some degree
what their Abbey was like. Here, too, in the stones of the
edifice, with its varying styles of architecture, is written a
history which is well worthy of careful consideration, and
which brings before us many personages of note and im-
portance. We have reason to believe that a religious house
existed on the same spot in Saxon times, though no trace of
such a building is visible ; for in the year 875 the remains
of St. Werburgh were brought to Chester from H anbury,
during an incursion of the Danes, and enshrined in a church
said to have been dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. She
was the daughter of Wulfhere, King of Mercia, who, accord-
ing to one authority, first built the Abbey in 660. She was
a niece of St. Etheldreda, Abbess of Ely, whom she suc-
ceeded, and was herself head of establishments for nuns at
Trentham, Hanbury, and elsewhere, or perhaps it would be
more correct to say that her uncle Ethelred placed all the
religious women in the kingdom of Mercia under her rule.
It was probably from the date of the translation of her
remains to the church in Chester that the dedication was
changed to St. Werburgh. A century and a half later we
are told that secular canons were established in a monas-
tery of St. Werburgh and St. Oswald. The buildings were
repaired and enlarged by Leofric, Earl of Chester, in 1057 ;

NORMAN DOORWAY IN CLOISTERS, CHESTER CATHEDRAL.

THE ABBEYS OF CHESHIRE 39

but in 1093 the Abbey was reconstituted, the secular canons
were banished, and a body of regulars of the Order of St.
Benedict was introduced by Hugh Lupus, the Norman Earl
of Chester. In this work he was assisted by his friend
St. Anselra, then Abbot of Bee in Normandy, whom he had
invited over for that purpose. The story is that Anselm
hesitated to accept the invitation lest he should be placed in
the vacant chair at Canterbury. Eventually he came, and
was called to fill the primatial see. There can be no doubt
that Anselm was responsible for the planning of the Norman
Church of St. Werburgh, of which distinct traces are to be
seen in the north wall of the edifice, the basement of a
north-west tower (never finished), the north transept, and
the large vaulted cellar or chamber on the west side of the
cloisters. Though there are no remains of Norman cloisters
left, there are plain indications that the cloister garth must
have coincided with that which we have at the present day.
It is a matter of considerable interest, then, to be able to
associate the name of Anselm with the Abbey in Chester,
and to know that he must have been anxious in some
measure to reproduce in England the learning for which
Bee had by that time become noted. His chaplain, Richard,
became the first Abbot of the newly founded monastery ;
and even the material characteristics of his old home may
be said to have been reproduced, of which evidence is found
in the strange stone roof of the apse at the end of the south
choir aisle. There was now established a body of regulars
of the Benedictine Order, which was to find its home here
for four hundred and fifty years. During that period the
monks, as well as their buildings, went through many vicissi-
tudes. In 1 1 80 a destructive fire devastated the whole of the
city, and no doubt as a consequence of this, in 1194, we find
the seventh Abbot complaining that the church was in ruins.
He was able to raise enough money wherewith to build the
choir, and his successor appears to have completed the
repairs, and even to have extended the buildings under the
patronage and with the aid of Earl Randle, surnamed

40 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Blundeville. But troublous times again arose, and the
Abbots had much difficulty in protecting both their property
and their church. In 1265 Simon de Whitchurch became
Abbot, and has left his mark behind him in the eastern bays
of the nave and in the beautiful and elegant Lady Chapel,
which is such an excellent specimen of Early English archi-
tecture. Here is to be seen some early vaulting on the roof,
a feature not common in the building generally, as though
provision was made by graceful shafts in the choir and
elsewhere, it was only completed in the Lady Chapel and
in the aisles of the choir, either from lack of funds or for
some other reason. In the groining one of the bosses has a
representation of the martyrdom of St. Thomas of Canter-
bury, and as this must have been put up only a hundred
years after his death, it shows how soon Becket attained
a high position in the estimation of his countrymen. About
the same time was erected the Chapter-house with its vesti-
bule, an exquisite example of architecture as it developed
from the Norman to Early English ; and to the same date
we may refer the refectory with its matchless reading pulpit.
The latter building is unfortunately in a maimed condition,
as one-third of it is roofless and has been separated from
the rest, whilst the raising of the ground on the north side,
and the erection there of some modern houses, quite destroys
the original effect of the exterior. It would be a great and
noble undertaking if this room could be carefully restored to
its proper form and proportions. Subsequent Abbots were
engaged in the completion of the choir, and in the fifteenth
century Abbots Simon Ripley and Birchenshaw did much
to extend and enlarge the fabric. One of the most striking
features of the Abbey (now the Cathedral) is the south
transept, which is almost as large as the nave. The north
transept is quite small as designed by Anselm, and the
south transept was no doubt originally of the same size.
When the monks desired to extend their church by the
addition of more chapels they could not build on the north
side as their other buildings occupied that space. On the

CLOISTERS, CHESTER CATHEDRAL.
( West Walk, showing one of the Monks' Studies.}

THE ABBEYS OF CHESHIRE 41

south they found a parish church, which they removed,
building another church for the parishioners on an adjoin-
ing site. They then built the large south transept, in which
were four altars in their respective chapels, the vaulting of
only one being erected at the time. After about forty years
the parishioners asserted their rights, and assumed occu-
pation of the transept, which thereafter became the Parish
Church of St. Oswald until 1880, when it was once more
thrown into the main building, and the partition which had
separated it was removed. Here the clerestory windows,
as in the nave, are Late Perpendicular, but the tracery of the
other windows gives us a good specimen of Decorated work.
The interior was restored eight years ago as a worthy
memorial of the late Duke of Westminster. The central
tower was probably erected by these later builders, but its
plainness and severity were removed when it was refaced
and ornamented under the direction of Sir Gilbert Scott.
The same Abbots commenced the building of a south-western
tower, which was not, however, carried higher than the nave
roof, the corresponding position on the north side being
occupied by the base of Anselm's Norman tower, which was
incorporated in the Abbot's lodgings. Before dismissing
the exterior of the church, it should be noted that the Early
English builders extended the Norman church eastwards,
and added apsidal chapels to the aisles. These were re-
moved in Perpendicular times, and a further extension of
the aisles was made ; but that on the south was taken down
by Sir Gilbert Scott, and the Early English portion was
restored.

We inherit from the monks in the interior of the church
some most beautiful and elegant woodwork in the choir
stalls, with their quaint and richly carved Misereres and the
delicate tabernacle work with which they are crowned.
There is probably no finer specimen in England, both in
design and execution, and it is a matter of sincere congratula-
tion that it has been preserved, especially when it is remem-
bered that the position of the stalls has been changed more

42 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

than once. The shrine of St. Werburgh, now placed at the
west end of the Lady Chapel, is another treasure, and was
designed in the fourteenth century to take the place of an
earlier structure. It has had a varied history, the lower
part having been used as the base of the Bishop's throne
for many years after the foundation of the See. It was
adorned with forty figures, richly gilded, representing
ancestors or relatives of St. Werburgh.

It should be noted that in monastic times the choir
included one bay of the nave, an arrangement still to be
seen in some of our cathedrals. One old fireplace is to
be seen at the entrance to the north choir aisle, and this
was, no doubt, used for heating the obley irons with which
the wafers were prepared for the Blessed Sacrament.

Though many of the buildings of the monastery have
been destroyed, sufficient are left to enable us, with the aid
of a plan, made probably early in the seventeenth century,
to recall the daily life of the monks. The cloisters are
perfect in form, though the tracery of the windows has in
some instances perished, whilst the glass has altogether
vanished. On the south side, rebuilt recently, and on the
south part of the west side, may be seen the carrels or
places where the monks studied, two in each carrel, and hard
by are the armaria or recesses where the books or manu-
scripts were kept. Close at hand is the seat where the
librarian would have his position, ready to supply any book
or material which might be wanted. At the south-west
corner was the place where youths were instructed. The
floor would be strewn with hay or straw, mixed with herbs,
to afford some little warmth or protection to the silent
monks as they wrote and studied. The silence would be
broken now and again by the footsteps of those who were
entering or leaving the church, where the offices were said ;
otherwise the place would be perfectly still save for the
voice of the monk instructing his pupils. In this way
would the everyday life of the religious be spent. On the
north side was the refectory, where the meals were served,

THE ABBEYS OF CHESHIRE 43

and even at such times, as a rule, there would not be
ordinary conversation, but the monks would in order take
their place in the beautiful and unique pulpit, and read out
of some devotional or instructive book for the edification
of the brethren. On the eastern side was the dormitory,
reached by a staircase which still exists through the door-
way in the north-eastern corner. On the north side, in
the exterior wall of the refectory, graced by a beautiful
Early English arcade, was the washing trough or lavatory,
and we can imagine the monks, when they had descended
each morning from the dormitory, performing here their
simple ablutions. The water was conveyed in pipes from
the neighbouring village of Christleton. On the west side
was the great hall of the Abbot's lodgings, and underneath
it a vaulted chamber, which could be entered from the
cloister, and might be used as an ambulatory or place for
exercise when the weather was unpropitious. In the south-
east was (and is) an ornamental doorway leading through
the vestibule to the Chapter-house, where the brethren sat
in conclave to consider matters affecting the welfare of the
body. Eastwards of this was the infirmary, where the sick
and aged were tended, but no remains of this building or
others near it are now left. The style of architecture of
the present cloisters is Late Perpendicular, and their date is
fixed pretty accurately, for the arms of Cardinal Wolsey on
one of the bosses show that he must have been Archbishop
of York when they were erected. Similarly, we may add,
the Cardinal's arms are to be seen on the flat oak roof of
the north transept, the only portion of the church where no
provision was made for groining. Another boss in the
cloisters bears the initials of Thomas Marshall, who was
Abbot for a few months in 1529. But though the present
cloisters are of this late date, there is little doubt that they
are only the successors of earlier ones. In fact, the Early
English decoration above the lavatory seems to indicate
that cloisters in that style had existed, whilst the late Mr.
Parker, in 1857, gave it as his opinion that " there was an

44 MEMORIAL'S OF OLD CHESHIRE

early cloister even at the Norman period." The cloister
garth, in the plan to which reference has been made, is
called "the sprise garden." This is wrongly interpreted
as " a corruption of Paradise or the Churchyard." The
enclosure was not meant to be used as a burying-place,
though interments did take place in some of the cloister
walks. But the title probably indicated that here were
grown those aromatic shrubs which the monks would require
for their fragrance or for medical purposes. Just outside
the city walls, which bounded the monastic property on the
east, was their vegetable garden, as is indicated by the title
which the place still bears, " the Kale-yard." Here the
brethren would be able to engage in out-door operations,
and to obtain that exercise which would be so necessary
for the preservation of health. Other opportunities of
service would be afforded within the enclosure, which was
a fairly large one, for it contained " the brewhouse and
storehouses, the great kiln and drying floors," besides all
the offices necessary for so large an establishment. It was
entered through two gateways, the one for general use,
the other for cartage and purposes of that kind. Both
openings still remain, and are known by the name of " the
Abbey Gateway " and " the little Abbey Gateway." The
superstructure of the former was unfortunately altered and
modernised early in the nineteenth century, but the gate-
way itself, with its groined roof and finely-carved bosses,
is well worthy of close inspection by the visitor. The
gates have, of course, disappeared, but the larger arch for
the admission of vehicles and the smaller doorway for
pedestrians give us a clear indication of the way the en-
trance was used. The porter's lodge was on the southern
side, and you can still see traces of the doorway of it and
of the window through which the porter would make his
observations. It was before this gateway that the Chester
Mystery Plays were first represented before they were
taken round the city, and thus had ecclesiastical as well
as civic patronage and support. Before this gateway, too,

DOORWAY IN CLOISTERS, CHESTER CATHEDRAL.

THE ABBEYS OF CHESHIRE 45

was held a fair or market, about which certain disputes
arose between the monks and the citizens which were finally
settled in 1488.

Of the Abbot's dwelling, converted at the Dissolution
and foundation of the See of Chester into the Bishop's
Palace, some few but interesting remains are still extant.
For instance, the basement of the projected north-west
Norman tower was, according to the plan in the British
Museum, the wine cellar. It was reached by a spiral stair-
case from the room above, which was probably the Abbot's
private apartment, and became the Bishop's study, obtaining
its light from a fan-light in the ceiling. On the north of
this was the Abbot's chapel, which was a Norman building,
and entered from his room by a fine doorway. This again
was used by the Bishop, and in Bishop Bridgman's time
had a Jacobean chancel added to it. The chapel is in a
somewhat dilapidated condition, and is approached from
the church by the above-mentioned staircase. " The wine
cellar" and the room above have been thrown into the
Cathedral, and now form the baptistery, and in it is a beau-
tiful fifth-century font of Italian origin, which was given by
the late Earl Egerton of Tatton in 1885. From " the wine
cellar " a square-headed doorway, now filled up, led into
" the pantry," and beyond this was " the strong-beer
cellar." It is possible that the names given to these apart-
ments simply indicate the purpose to which they were put
when the Bishop's Palace was here, and that they have no
reference to the use made of them in monastic times. But
they were, at any rate, part of the Abbey buildings. "The
strong-beer cellar," with its graceful columns and vaulted
roof, has been restored by the Dean and Chapter, and is
now known as " the vaulted chamber," and is most useful
for lectures and meetings. The Abbot probably, like the
Bishop, was able to come down into the church without
going into the open air ; at any rate, the latter could do this.
The Abbey had certain small houses or dependencies
in the neighbourhood. To such houses the title Grange

46 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

was often applied, and Saighton Grange, the residence of
the Right Honourable George Wyndham and Countess
Grosvenor, was such an appanage of St. Werburgh's
Abbey. The present building was only a portion, probably
the gateway, of the original structure. At Ince was another,
and here again some interesting remains are to be seen,
though they have been converted into cottages and for
agricultural uses. A small number of monks no doubt
always resided at such places, and generally had charge
of the services in the church. The other brethren might
seek change of scene and air by occasional visits. The
Granges would also be necessary for the storage of the
crops, which could not be carried into the city, and at
Ince the large barn used for this purpose is still to be seen.
When we remember the frequently unsettled state of the
country, especially on the Welsh borders, we are not sur-
prised to learn that in 1499 permission was given to the
Abbot to fortify the Granges at Ince, Saighton, and Sutton,
so that protection might be afforded to the residents and
to the movable property of which they were custodians.
Both at Ince and Saighton we may see traces of the work
which was then undertaken.

The Abbey of St. Werburgh cannot claim amongst her
sons men of such distinction as the Venerable Bede, the
monk of Jarrow; but Ralph Higden, a lay brother, who
died in 1363, may be mentioned as a writer of some distinc-
tion. He was the author of Polychromicon, a record of
events from the Creation to his own time. It is in seven
books, and compiled from various authorities, and, though
not free from inaccuracies, is a surprising work considering
the age in which it was written. Bishop Creighton says
that the work enjoyed unexampled popularity, and was
schemed with a completeness never known before. It
stands out as a memorial of the patient study and research
which often characterised the lives of the dwellers in our
monasteries, and may thus help us to realise how much
we owe to their labours in the preservation of our history

THE ABBEYS OF CHESHIRE 47

and literature. Higden's tomb may still be seen in the
south choir aisle.

From what has been already said, it will readily be
admitted that we owe a deep debt to those monks of old
for the loving care and artistic skill which they lavished
on the Houses of God, and for the patient labour whereby
they preserved for future ages our literature, both ecclesias-
tical and secular. The services, too, in many a parish were
maintained by them, and it is hardly too much to say that
the lamp of religion would have been utterly darkened in
many a place, if it had not been kept alight by the teaching
and preaching of those who had their home in the monas-
teries. Nor must we forget, what has already been hinted
at, that the monks were virtually the only at any rate the
chief instructors of the youth of the country, and thus did
much for the education and elevation of the people. They,
too, were the principal almoners of the poor, who must have
suffered acutely when the monasteries were suppressed. In
all these different ways there is no reason to doubt that the
Abbeys of Cheshire (and especially the comparatively wealthy
one of St. Werburgh's) did their part and share for the
benefit of those around them, and, like similar institutions
elsewhere, did much to inspire and preserve a high and
noble ideal of Christian life. This is not the occasion or
the place to discuss fully the great question of the sup-
pression of the monasteries, or the motives of those who
were responsible for it, and the means which they adopted
for the purpose. But the candid student of history, unless
he be very bigoted, cannot but admit that the measure was
characterised by some very questionable acts, and marked
by deeds which cannot be defended. The reformation of
the religious houses or of such as needed such treatment
could probably have effected all that was necessary, and
have been more beneficial to the country at large. The
monasteries might have adapted themselves to the changed
circumstances and to the growing needs of the age. At
any rate there need not have been that terrible and needless

48 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

waste shown in the wanton destruction of countless treasures
of art and learning, whereby opportunities for the improve-
ment of man were deliberately thrown away. Not to mention
the reliquaries and church plate, which were unscrupulously
seized and desecrated, books and manuscripts of priceless
value were destroyed, painted windows broken, hospitals
and schools closed, buildings unroofed, and suffered to fall
into ruin, and to become a mere quarry for the neighbour-
hood. In these various ways no doubt Cheshire suffered
much like the rest of England ; but the preservation of
the Abbey of St. Werburgh as the future Cathedral of the
newly founded See of Chester, rendered the loss much less
than it would otherwise have been. Still it was sufficiently
great, though it is not possible now fully to estimate it.
All that was left to the Church from the Dissolution of the
monasteries were the six poorly-endowed bishoprics, West-
minster, Oxford, Chester, Gloucester, Bristol, and Peter-
borough, and of these Westminster was appropriated by
the Crown in 1550.

Though not strictly comprised in the title of this paper,
perhaps mention ought to be made of the other religious
houses which were under the friars. Of these there were
three in the city of Chester, all in one quarter, the record
of the fact being still preserved in the names of three streets,
Whitefriars, Blackfriars, and Greyfriars. These represent
respectively the three orders, the Carmelites, the Dominicans,
and the Franciscans. The only remains of these establish-
ments are to be found in certain walls, which, if not the
actual boundary walls, have been evidently erected with
stones from the buildings. Whitefriars possessed a church
with a steeple, erected in 1496, "of great height and
beauty." An old annalist records that "in 1597 the White-
freeres Steeple, curiously wrought, was taken downe,
and a faire house built there by Sir Thomas Egerton,
Knight, Lord-keeper: a great pitie that the steeple was
put away, being a great ornament to the citie. This
curious spire steeple might still have stood for grace to

THE ABBEYS OF CHESHIRE 49

the city, had not private benefit, the devourer of anti-
quitie, pulled it down with the church, and erected a house
for more commodity, which since hath been of little use,
so that the city hath lost so goodly an ornament that tymes
hereafter may more talk of it, being the only sea-mark
for direction over the bar of Chester." The quotation
(which is from Harleian MS. No. 2125) is not without in-
terest, especially in its condemnation of the destruction
of historical buildings for merely utilitarian purposes. At
the Dissolution the Whitefriars had a prior, sub-prior, and
eight brethren. The other houses were no doubt also small,
and, of course, in accordance with their tenets, there was
little or no property beyond the buildings which constituted
their home. The retention of the names in the streets
mentioned above may occasionally induce thinking men to
consider what we owe to the friars. If the monk withdrew
from the world, the friar plunged into its busiest haunts.
The one- used the weapon of prayer and intercession, the
other went as a missionary among men. The one kept
alive the lamp of learning, and wrote or preserved for future
generations literature which otherwise would have been
lacking. The other brought the influence of religion into the
daily common life of mankind. To both we of the present
day owe a debt of gratitude ; and our consideration of the
Abbeys of Cheshire ought not to be limited to recalling
the nature and number of the fabrics, without some thought
of the labour of those who inhabited them, and of the
heritage which they have passed on to us.

It ought to be mentioned that when the See of Chester
was founded, the dedication of the church was altered, and
the Abbey of St. Werburgh was constituted the cathedral
church of the diocese by the name of "The Cathedral
Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chester."
We may regret the change, though there is still one
church in the diocese dedicated to the daughter of Wulf-
here, that of St. Werburgh, Warburton (or Werburgh
town).

CHESHIRE CASTLES
BY THE ARCHDEACON OF CHESTER

CONSIDERING that Cheshire lies on the border
of Wales, and bearing in mind the frequent
incursions made in early days by the inhabitants
of the Principality, we should expect to find in the county,
or, at any rate, in the portion opposed to these attacks,
many fortified buildings or castles. Such, however, is not
the case. There are few examples of ancient castles to
attract the attention of the resident or the traveller, and
we have nothing approaching in size or interest the
magnificent pile of Warwick. That the borderland was
guarded and protected by numerous fortifications is quite
true, but, as will be seen, most of these have disappeared
entirely, leaving behind them only the name, with little or
no traces above ground of the buildings which once were
there, and which played no unimportant part in the history,
not of the county only, but of the nation. It may be well
to look at these, with special reference to their origin and
purpose as works of defence.

Looking, then, at that part of Cheshire which is adjacent
to Wales, we shall find that a close and strong line of forts
was established in very early days. The estuary of the
Dee formed a sufficient protection in itself for the Wirral
until Shotwick was reached, and as this place at one time
was not only a port of departure for Ireland, but also
afforded a landing for a crossing from Flintshire, it was
natural that it should be selected as a site of a castle.
Then, following the course of the Dee upwards, we have
first, as was to be expected, a strong castle at Chester,
which also had the protection of its ancient walls. Above

CHESHIRE CASTLES 51

the city, and on the other side of the river, there were
castles of varying size and construction at Dodleston, Aid-
ford, Pulford, Shocklach, Malpas, and Oldcastle. A second
and inner line of defence would be furnished by castles at
Beeston, Maiden Castle on the Broxton Hills, Newhall in
Audlem parish, and Nantwich ; whilst a third line, and one
protecting attacks from the Mersey and its tributary the
Weaver, included Runcorn, Halton, and Rocksavage, Frods-
ham and Northwich, with Thelwall and Dunham Massy
higher up still. It must not be supposed, however, that all
these date from the same period, or could always be used
at one and the same time to resist attacks. They are
mentioned thus as showing their disposition over the
county.

It will readily be understood that around these different
spots, events of great interest and of lasting consequence
have centred, and that they have witnessed many things
which, if they could now be rescued from oblivion, would
add points of supreme importance to the memorials of Old
Cheshire. We can only here give very slight indications
of their history, but even these may not be without some
result, especially if it leads people to make further inquiries
and investigations for themselves. It may be well first to
give some information as to those which have entirely dis-
appeared, and then to turn to those which are still in
evidence by the remains which exist. Shotwick must,
from its situation, already indicated, have been a position
of considerable importance. Although portions of it were
standing in Leland's time, nothing but the mounds which
mark its site are to be seen. Its walls have all disappeared,
though the ruins remained in 1622, and, according to
Lysons, " the stones were carried way to repair roads
within the memory of man " ! It received several royal
visitors. Henry II. is said to have lodged here on his
way to and from Ireland, and King Edward I. was here
in 1278. A plan and sketch of the castle are in the
British Museum in the Harleian MSS., from which it

52 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

appears that it was pentagonal in form, with several
circular towers enclosing a lofty square one. Of Dodle-
ston, Aldford, and Pulford nothing but the sites remain,
though in the two former the earthworks, which include
about an acre in each case, are visible. The same
may be said of Shocklach, which was said to have been
burnt by the Welsh in 1121. This occupied a moated
site near Castleton Bridge (deriving its name from the
castle), adjoining a small stream. Hanshall gives rough
sketch-plans of all these, and tells us that at Shocklach
the keep was 22 feet in height. It is more remarkable
that we have no remains left of Malpas, though the site
of the keep is seen near the church, for here one of
Hugh Lupus's Barons had his seat, and we might have
imagined that some portion of the building would have
been preserved. Oldcastle, again, is a name only. This
also is in Malpas parish. The castle is said to have been
burnt by the Welsh at the same time that Shocklach was
destroyed. In 1565 not a vestige of its walls remained.
On Oldcastle Heath the Royalist forces were defeated in
1644.

Nantwich Castle was in ruins before the reign of Henry
VII., when the stones were removed and made use of for
the purpose of enlarging the south transept of the church,
which was called Kingsley's aisle. Newhall was in the
parish of Audlem and not far from Nantwich, and was
also destroyed by the Welsh, probably at the same time
as Shocklach and Oldcastle. Leland, in his Itinerary,
speaks of "Newhaull Tower, where there be motes and
fair water." Maiden Castle was an old British fortification
on the Broxton Hills, and defended the pass between
Bickerton Hill and Raw Head. It commanded a most
extensive and magnificent prospect. On the south-west
side it was protected by a precipice, whilst on the other
side the earthworks formed a perfect semi-circle, and
outside this was a ditch 1 5 yards wide. The only entrance
was on the north side. The site is now covered by

CHESHIRE CASTLES 53

heather. There was probably no building of any kind,
the fortification being composed entirely of mounds of
earth. At Runcorn, according to the chronicler Higden,
a castle was founded in 915 by Ethelfleda, but of this no
remains are preserved. The rock on which it stood was
called the Castle Rock, and had evidently been used for
purposes of defence. A description derived from a resident
was given in Hanshall's Cheshire, with a sketch of the
Castle Rock and the supposed plan of the castle. Its
position at what is called Runcorn Gap was evidently a
strong one. A little later, that is in 920, Edward the
Elder built a tower and castle "at Thelwall," so called,
says Leycester, tl from the stakes and stumps cut from
the trees, wherewith it was environed about as a wall ;
and King Edward made it a garrison." Nothing is now
left to indicate its position. On the Overton Hills at
Frodsham, again, was a castle, where it is supposed that
Randle Blundeville, Earl of Chester, resided in the early
part of the thirteenth century, several of the charters
granted by him being signed at that place. In 1654 the
castle, which had probably been built on the foundations
of the earlier building, was completely destroyed, the dead
body of the owner, Earl Rivers, being discovered in the
ruins. It is said that the building was of stone, with
walls of immense thickness, and in the Norman style of
architecture. A view of some small remains is to be found
in Buck's Antiquities in 1727. At Northwich, we learn
from the Harleian MSS., there was " a very stronge castell
on the top of a verie high hill." Here again the name only
is left behind, that portion of the town where it was
situated being now called Castle Northwich, as it was once
known as Castleton. From old documents we gather that
there was an old castle at Dunham Massy before the
present residence was built there : for Walter of Coventry
records that " Haimo de Masci held the castles of Dunham
and of Ullerwell." In the description given by Dr.
Ormerod of the modern house in imitation of Italian

54 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

architecture, we are told that " it stood within gardens laid
out in the stiff taste of the time, and surrounded by an
ample moat, in the angle of which is a large circular
mound with a modern summer-house on the top of it."
It has been suggested that, from its form and situation,
the mound was " the last relic of Haimo's Castle, and, like
similar mounds in the other castles of Cheshire, the site of
the Norman keep."

We come now to consider the castles of which we have
some remains. Rocksavage Castle is not one of the ancient
ones, for it was built by Sir John Savage, who died in 1597.
It cannot therefore claim anything like the interest which
attaches to the others. It was, in fact, a mansion rather
than a fortress, just as we have the title given to other
seats in the county, as Bolesworth Castle and Cholmondeley
Castle. It occupied, however, a striking position, and it is
to be regretted that so little of it now remains. It has been
converted to agricultural purposes, and the stones have
doubtless been used in the construction of other useful
buildings. What was in 1640 described as a magnificent
fabric is now a shapeless ruin, with no trace of its former
glories. And glories it had, for in 1607 James I. and his
train were entertained here, and his Majesty killed a buck
in Halton Park. The property descended through the
female line to the Marquis of Cholmondeley, and gives
the title to the eldest son, who is called Earl Rocksavage.

Close to Rocksavage is Halton, which stands in an
even more commanding position, its very name being said
to imply as much, as meaning a town on a hill. The
castle was probably built soon after the Conquest, as the
barony was given by Lupus, the second Earl of Chester,
to his cousin Nigel. Notwithstanding its situation, which
rendered it a strong and important military post, no great
historical event can be associated with it. The neighbour-
hood was indeed much infested with gangs of robbers at an
early period, and in the reign of Edward II. these free-
booters became so bold as actually to steal armour from

CHESHIRE CASTLES 55

the castle itself. 1 Piers Plowman has the following as a
proverb locally allusive :

" Thoro the pas of Haulton
Poverte might pass whith oute peril of robbinge."

In the Civil Wars the castle was occasionally occupied
by both parties, and in August 1644 the Parliamentary
forces were in possession. Subsequently it became a
prison for debtors for the honour of Halton. But though
no account has come down to us of the castle having ever
sustained a siege, it has interest for us from its connection
with royalty. "Old John of Gaunt, time-honoured Lan-
caster," was Baron of Halton, and when his son, Henry
Bolingbroke, became King, the barony passed to the Crown.
The King has the title of Baron of Halton as well as that of
Duke of Lancaster. Three halmote courts were held here
yearly, and one is still held annually of which an account is
given in another paper in this volume. There are now few
remains of the ancient buildings. The Survey in Crom-
well's time describes them as being very ruinous. The
gate-house has been altered or rebuilt and is now the
Castle Inn, and is a picturesque building, and contains a
room where the courts for the honour are held. The honour
had jurisdiction over thirty-seven townships in Cheshire
and over several in Lancashire. The records of this court
are preserved, and give interesting information, whilst a
paper read in 1858 by the late Mr. William Beamont of
Warrington before the Chester Archaeological Society con-
tained many particulars as to the castle and its owners and
its history.

Beeston Castle affords a most striking object to the
traveller as he journeys from Chester to Crewe. It stands
on a rocky insulated hill, rising in a regular and steep slope
which terminates in a precipice. It was built by Ralph
Blundeville, sixth Earl of Chester, " after he was come
from the Holie Land," and is of irregular form, with a wall

1 From Hanshall's Cheshire.

56 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

and eight round towers after the style introduced by the
Crusaders. The upper ward occupies something less than
an acre. The outer court includes a considerable space of
ground, and is of an irregular shape, with several round
towers. The keep is surrounded with a deep ditch, cut in
the solid rock. The entrance was defended by two circular
towers, still remaining, and the moat was crossed by a
drawbridge. The approach under the gateway is very
narrow, by rugged steps cut out of the natural rock. In
the inner court is the draw-well, perfect, but now quite dry.
It was emptied by directions of the late Lord Tollemache,
and found to be 366 feet in depth. It contained nothing
but rubbish, although stories were current of valuable
treasures which had in bygone times been hidden there.
The position of the castle is remarkable, and very similar
to that of Edinburgh Castle, though the plateau there is
much more extensive. The precipitous rocks on three
sides seem to render it impregnable, but these cliffs were
climbed by Captain Sandford, a devoted Royalist, with
eight of his firelocks, on December 13, 1643. The castle
bore its part in the Barons' War. In 1237 Henry III.,
before possessing himself of the Earldom of Chester on
the death of John Scot, the last of the local Earls, seized
on the castle, together with that of Chester, and placed it
in the hands of Commissioners. In 1256 Prince Edward
inspected the fortress, and put it and the Castles of
Chester, Dissard, Schotewyke, and Vaenor in the charge
of Fulco de Orreby, Justice of Chester. In 1264 the
partisans of Simon de Montfort took possession of it, but
in the following year it was recovered for the royal Earl.
In 1399 King Richard III., just before he was dethroned,
made it the repository of his treasure, which was subse-
quently transferred to Chester ; but on Bolingbroke's
advance it was abandoned by him. In 1406 the castle
was given to the Duke of York. Eighty years later Leland
describes the fortress as being in a state of ruin, and so it
remained until the Civil Wars, when it was put in a state

CHESHIRE CASTLES 57

of defence by a party of three hundred Roundheads in
February 1642. From this time, until it was dismantled
after the siege of Chester, it had many vicissitudes, falling
into the hands of one party or the other, as is set forth in
another paper in this volume. A contemporary writer
gives the following description of its final surrender to
the Parliamentarians on i6th November 1645 : "After
having sustained a siege of eighteen weeks, the garrison of
fifty-six soldiers was driven to the greatest extremity, and
had to surrender. Neither meat nor drink was found in
the castle, but only a piece of turkey pie, and a live peacock
and peahen." Sir William Brereton magnanimously made
a treaty with the brave Royalist Governor of the castle,
" that he and his men should be allowed to march from the
castle with their arms, colours flying and drums beating,
with two cartloads of goods, and be conducted with a con-
voy to guard them to Flint Castle. Twenty of the soldiers
laid down their arms and craved liberty to go to their own
homes, which was granted." Such an incident as this must
awaken many memories as we gaze upon this ancient for-
tress. Now it rises up on its rocky promontory out of a
fertile and grassy plain, presenting in its ruined walls a
striking contrast to the scene below. A recent writer has
said of it : " Excepting Warwick Castle there is perhaps no
more interesting relic of feudal power in England than we
behold in this famous and far-seen ruin/'

We come last of all to the Castle of Chester. It is
almost certain that the site occupied by it was outside the
walls of the original Roman city, and may have been in-
cluded in them either by later Roman builders, or when the
city was repaired, enlarged, and beautified by that great
builder, Ethelfleda, the daughter of King Alfred, in 907.
At any rate the erection of the first Castle of Chester may
safely be attributed to her. Though no trace of the work
exists in Saxon masonry, it is fairly certain that the inner
or upper bailey stands upon the earthworks thrown up by
her, whilst the line of ditch that belonged to the mound on

58 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

which the flag-tower stood may still be discerned. In 1894
the late Mr. E. W. Cox was permitted by the commanding
officer to make a minute examination of the modern build-
ings on the west side of the court. He satisfied himself
that the lower storey of the flag-tower still existed enclosed
within modern work, and that this was indeed the base of
the Norman keep. This is the only evidence of Norman
masonry having been erected on the site, and Mr. Cox
formed the opinion that any other work of that period may
have been of timber, often used by those early builders, as
proved at Montgomery, Shrewsbury, Deganwy, and other
places. We come now to the mediaeval work, of which we
have a portion preserved to us in the Julian Tower, beside
the walls on the south and west. This tower is of three
storeys, each room being vaulted in stone, the centre one
having been the chapel. This is about 16 feet high, and
the groins spring from slender pillars with capitals in the
style of the thirteenth century. James II. heard Mass in
this chapel on 2/th August 1687. The building has for
some time been used for storage. Some years ago traces
of sacred paintings were found on the walls, but they have
now entirely disappeared. A plan and sketch of the castle,
made in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, is in the British
Museum. This gives us in the lower court the noble hall
called Hugh Lupus' Hall, which was taken down about
the year 1790. It was 90 feet long by 45 in breadth,
and the roof was supported by woodwork carved in a bold
style and resting on brackets. Adjoining this was the
Exchequer, said to have been the Parliament House of the
Earls of Chester. All these and the other buildings were
swept away, and their place taken by the Assize Courts
and County Buildings in the Grecian style of architecture.
On either side of the square are now the quarters for the
soldiers, a depot of the Cheshire Regiment being quartered
here. The County Prison, erected at the same time on the
ground below between the castle and the river, has been
removed. Although the remains of the old castle are so

CHESHIRE CASTLES 59

slight, we are able from early drawings and prints to gather
what it was like, and can thus form some idea of the loss,
from a picturesque point of view at any rate, which the
city sustained when it was deemed necessary to erect the
present buildings.

But although the ancient buildings have gone, we may
still call to mind some of the many historic scenes which
have been enacted on the spot. We may picture to our-
selves the warrior princess Ethelfleda, Alfred's daughter,
resolved that Waste Chester should be a waste Chester
no longer, raising up from the old ruinous heaps new forti-
fications, and enclosing within them a wider area, and erect-
ing here within the re-arranged walls the earliest fort or
castle. We can recall the stirring times of the Norman
Earls, when the castle, much strengthened from the simple
fort of Ethelfleda's time, was a valuable bulwark and rally-
ing-point, especially in the frequent inroads of the Welsh.
Here, too, Henry II. must have spent some time, when
he was putting the Flintshire castles in order, before he
set sail for Ireland from Shotwick. King John was in
Chester, and presumably at the castle, in 1212, and left
the city "an outlaw to all Christendom," to fight his
rebellious barons. Chester and its castle played a promi-
nent part in the stirring times that followed, and could
tell of visits paid by Henry III. and Simon Montfort and
others. Henry took over the earldom, the succession of
the Norman earls having failed, which ever since has been
a royal appanage. Edward I., first as Prince and afterwards
as King, was here again and again; and with his Queen
Eleanor attended a service of thanksgiving for his subjuga-
tion of Wales on May 26, 1293. In 1301 the castle was
the scene of a grand ceremony, when the formal homage
of the freeholders of Wales was paid to Prince Edward of
Carnarvon, who was created Prince of Wales and Earl
of Chester at the famous Parliament of Lincoln. Richard II.
was here in 1394 on his way to Ireland, and again in 1396
when he granted Charter 22, and in the following year was

60 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

a prisoner, and was lodged in the donjon in the tower over
the great outer gateway of the castle opposite Gloverstone,
before he signed his abdication. It would, however, be
impossible in the space at our disposal to give a list, much
less an account, of all the royal visits paid to this historic
place, or a description of the notable events which have
transpired here. The castle opened its gates to receive
both Henry VI. and Henry VII. and their Queens ; whilst
of the Stuarts, James I., Charles I., and James II. in their
turn came to the place, and some of these visits were
historical. Our late Queen, whose statue, erected as a
memorial of her Jubilee, adorns the Castle Square, passed
its entrance in October 1832, when she accompanied her
mother the Duchess of Kent, and as Princess Victoria
opened the new Grosvenor Bridge over the Dee.

Then, the Shire Hall, within the castle enclosure, was
the place where the Parliament of the Principality met,
and we can imagine the proceedings which went on there,
when the affairs of the county were discussed and managed.
For we must remember that it was only in the reign of
Henry VIII., in 1543, that the county received summons
to send two knights and the city two citizens to Parliament.
Until that time the county was an independent jurisdiction.
His predecessor, Henry VII., had separated the City from
the county, under the title of "The County and City of
Chester," so that the city is a county in itself. Curiously
enough, the castle is not in the city but in the county ; and
some amusement might be caused by a statement of the
difficulties which have sometimes arisen through conflicting
police jurisdiction. Chester Castle, then, though but little
is left of its ancient buildings, may awaken memories in
the minds of the men of Cheshire and of England generally.
They may acknowledge that it has witnessed many stirring
scenes, and that it has taken its share in the defence of our
country, and in that long line of memorable events which
have made England what she is, and her children proud
of bearing the name of Englishmen.

THE TIMBER-FRAMED CHURCHES
OF CHESHIRE

BY THE REV. DR. Cox, LL.D., F.S.A.

A THOUGH in any survey of timber-work in the
old churches of England, Essex in one sense
stands out clearly first in the number and im-
portance of the fabrics wherein wood is more or less
freely used, in another sense Cheshire, so justly celebrated
for the beauty and frequency of its half-timbered houses,
both small and great, has a claim to the first position.
One or two other counties can point to a single old
church or chapel almost entirely of timber framing, but
Cheshire is the only county which still possesses several.

By far the best known example of such Cheshire
churches is that of Nether or Lower Peover, which was
formerly a chapel of the large parish of Great Bud worth.
It was probably always a timber building, as it still remains,
save for a substantial western tower of stone which dates
from Elizabethan days. There was certainly a chapel there
prior to 1269, for in that year it was agreed between the
prior and convent of Norton (who held the church of Bud-
worth and lands in Peover) and Richard Grosvenor and
other parishioners of Nether Peover, that the priory should
find them a secular chaplain to say mass in their chapel
every Sunday and Wednesday throughout the year, and on
Christmas Day and all the leading festivals, as well as on
St. Oswald's Day, in whose honour the chapel had been
founded. The parishioners were also to have liberty of
baptism in their chapel, provided they could obtain leave
from the mother church of Budworth. The parishioners

62 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

were to find books, vestments, vessels, and other ornaments
of the church at their own cost. Baptismal rights for this
parochial chapelry were not, however, gained until the year
1331, when Bishop Roger de Norbury granted to the inhabi-
tants of the hamlet of Peover the use of a font (Lichfield
Diocesan Registers, ii. f. 25).

In the original edition of Ormerod's CJushinf^lftig) it
is stated that it appears from the register book of Peover
that the tower was built of stone in 1582, " John Bowden
being then master of the work." It is added that " the two
out-isles on either side of the chappel have been enlarged by
the parishioners in late ages."

The present church is usually spoken of as the best
example of a timber church now extant ; but this is scarcely
the case, for it underwent a vigorous restoration, accom-
panied by a considerable rebuilding of the outer walls, at
the hands of Mr. Salvin in 1851-52. An account of this
building, written shortly before the restoration, states that
" The church is divided from the side aisles by four wooden
arches on each side, formed by rude beams of wood spring-
ing from wooden pillars, from which, again, spring other
spars, forming an obtuse arch over the nave. The principal
part of the exterior is formed of timber and plaster, which
presents a most picturesque appearance." Although the
substantial timber framing, stained black, with the filling-
up of white plaster, is almost entirely new, Mr. Salvin
found the inner arcade work, just described, for the most
part sound, and little more was done to it than the clearing
away of several coats of whitewash. In an interesting
account of the unrestored church by Rev. W. H. Massie,
written about 1850, which appeared in the first volume of
the Cheshire Archaeological and Historical Society, it is
stated that the mouldings of some of the window mullions,
and more especially the ogee heads of doorways, pointed
unmistakably to the erection of the timber church, as it then
stood, in the fourteenth century.

The restoration under Mr. Salvin included the removal

THE TIMBER-FRAMED CHURCHES OF CHESHIRE 63

of a western gallery and certain eighteenth-century sash
windows and brick walling on the south side. Prior, too,
to this restoration, the church was roofed with a flat
debased ceiling covering the whole of the area. This
ceiling was removed, and the church was again supplied
with three high-pitched, gabled, and open roofs, of the
original existence of which there was abundant evidence.
The eastern ends of the aisles form chapels, known of old
as the Hulme and Holford Chapels, and appropriated to the
families of Shakerley of Hulme and Brooke of Mere. Both
chapels are separated from the chancel and from the rest
of the aisles by massive parclose screens of early Jacobean
date.

Notwithstanding two somewhat severe restorations
during the Victorian period, the church of Marton, which
stands out prominently close to the roadside, with its some-
what imposing tower and spire, is certainly the most notable
of the extant timber churches of Cheshire. In this case
the exact date of much of the present fabric is known.
The chapel of St. Paul's at Marton (for it remained a chapel
of the widespread parish of Prestbury until comparatively
modern days) was founded by Sir John Davenport in the
year 1343. He endowed it with 60 acres of land, and
the chaplain was to celebrate masses for himself, his
ancestors, and his posterity. When Randle Holme visited
this church in 1597, he noted that " In the Chapell yard
lyeth there two monuments (of which rough drawings were
given) ; it is said by ancient people that they were Sir John
Davenport and Vivian, his son, who founded the chapell of
Merton, 17 Edward III., and they lie buried there, obiit 31
Edward III., 1357." These monuments, or rather stone
effigies, have rested under the tower since 1871. They are
both much more mutilated, through their long sojourn in the
churchyard, than they were in Randle Holme's days. It
is said, though scarcely credible, that they were ejected
from the church by ignorant Elizabethan Puritans under
the supposition that the two knights were popish images !

64 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

The one on the north side, said to be Sir John Davenport,
has lost both legs, but the feet rest on a lion; the head
rests on a great helm crested with a man's head couped.
The figure on the south side is very similar; one leg is
missing. Both of them are undoubtedly of fourteenth-
century date.

The church underwent some repairs in 1804, when the
old roof was taken off and lowered. In 1850 there was a
considerable and unhappy restoration, when the old two-
light wooden-framed traceried windows of fourteenth-century
date (one of them is drawn or described in Mr. Massie's
paper just cited) were removed and plainer three-light
windows substituted. A yet more considerable restoration
took place, under Mr. Butterfield, in 1871, when the old north
door was closed, the south porch rebuilt, and much new work
introduced into the outer woodwork of the tower. Fortunately
Mr. Massie's paper on the timber churches of the county
is illustrated by drawings of the exterior and interior of
Marton church, as well as of the inner timber framework
of the tower, taken before Mr. Derrick, the architect of
1850-51, had begun his doubtless well-intentioned but sadly
destructive work. From these it can be gathered that at
that time the body of the fabric was much the same as when
originally built by Sir John Davenport.

The substantial pointed wooden entrance on the west
side of the tower basement, as well as the doorway within
the south porch, appears to be fourteenth century. In the
interior there are two substantial oak pillars on each side of
the nave supporting arcades of three arches. These pillars
are octagonal, with projecting moulded capitals, and from
these capitals spring timbers forming an arch across the
nave, as at Nether Peover. The dimensions of the nave
are 37 ft. 9 in. in length, with a complete width of 33 ft.
The church evidently underwent considerable alteration
and improvement in the fifteenth century, at which time
a substantial wooden tower was added at the west end,
surmounted by a broached spire. The massive timber

THE TIMBER-FRAMED CHURCHES OF CHESHIRE 65

framework to support the belfry and spire is carried out after
the same fashion as the best of the wooden towers of Essex.
It has a projecting course of buttressing timbers to the
lower stage, which is covered with lean-to roofs. The
interior measurements of the ground-plan of the tower are
23 ft. 9 in. north and south by 17 ft. I in. east and west.
The outer uprights of the framework of this lower stage
have an effective quatrefoil pattern at the head of each
division just below the eaves. The last restoration was
done on somewhat meagre lines, for several of these
quatrefoils and other parts of the outer timbers are of
black-painted deal. The roofing of this part is in stone
slates, and the octagonal spire is shingled.

At the time of the restoration of the church in 1871, the
chancel, which had been rebuilt in brick about 1800, was
restored externally in woodwork. The whole of the outer
black-and-white framework of the church now consists of
uprights of timber, at a short distance apart, banded
together by a horizontal transom, the intervals being filled
up with plaster.

The pulpit seems to date from about 1625. The font is
remarkable, consisting of a square leaden bowl or basin,
enclosed in a square frame of oak. We suppose that this
extraordinary font (which has more than once been
ignorantly added to the list of old lead fonts) can only date
from the restoration of 1871, for Sir Stephen Glynne's notes
of 1853 name the font as "a plain octagonal bowl." There
is a plain oak chest, 5 ft. 8 in. long by I ft. 9 in. broad and
i ft. 10 in. high, with three hinges and three square lock
plates; its date is circa 1550. At the west end are two
eighteenth-century pictures of Moses and Aaron, painted
on panels, with the Ten Commandments.

A short distance to the west of Marton lies the church
of All Saints, Siddington, which was also a former chapel
of Prestbury. It is usually stated that it was erected in
1474, but this statement is merely based on the fact that
there was a bequest in that year by Robert Sydyngton to

66 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

that chapel. It is said that this church or chapel was
originally entirely of timber and plaster, which may very
probably have been the case ; but at present it is only the
chancel which is of that construction, together with the south
porch and the belfry or square turret over the west end of
the nave. The fabric was much restored in 1853-54, an< ^
again in 1895-96. At first sight the west front appears to
be of an elaborate black-and-white half-timbered design,
but it is in reality merely painted to produce this effect.
The south porch has a wide arched entrance of old timber,
formed of three pieces, and the inner doorway is of like
construction and apparently temp. Henry VII. The interior
of the plastered nave walls are painted to imitate half-
timber work. The upright timbers of the chancel are about
a foot apart. The east end has an interesting projecting
piece of cored work over the three-light wooden-framed
window. There is some old screen-work, and the pulpit is
dated 1633.

At Warburton, on the northern confines of the county,
close to the great Ship Canal, stands the old church of
St. Werburgh, which was at one time entirely of timber ;
but there were some outer stonework repairs done to the
west end of the nave in 1645, an ^ a brick tower was added
to the north-east of the church in 1711. The interior of the
church and chancel afford remarkable examples of timber
construction. The two bays of the nave are supported on
each side by two great timber pillars, which have bevelled
edges but no capitals. There is a space of 15 feet between
them. A single high-pitch roof covers both nave and aisles.
The timber details of the chancel, with its chapel on the
north, are also somewhat exceptional, as appears in the plate
and seem to be of somewhat later date than the nave.
Among other quaint details of this interesting church, it
may be mentioned that deer-horns are attached to the nave
pillars to serve as hat-pegs. The large octagonal font is
inscribed, " William Drinkwater, the Keeper, 1603 "; it bears
a wooden pyramidal cover, which has the date 1595 at the

THE HALF-TIMBERED CHURCHES OF CHESHIRE 67

apex. The altar table, altar rails, and pulpit are all
Jacobean. There is a simply-formed iron hour-glass stand
near the pulpit. In the north chapel or small aisle of the
chancel is a large stone coffin, over 7 feet long, also a much
smaller one, about 3 feet long, a fine thirteenth-century
grave cover, and some other remains which were found in
the churchyard and placed here in 1819.

At Chadkirk, near Romiley, in the north-east of the
county, there is an ancient chapel of very early foundation,
as its name implies, which was doubtless at one time, as
tradition has it, wholly of timber construction. It came in
1548 into the evil hands of Edward VI. 's commissioners,
when its small endowment was confiscated to the Crown
and the building itself dismantled under the plea of being
a superstitious chantry. It was " raised out of its ruins"
in 1747, " repaired, beautified, and a loft erected" in 1761 ;
again repaired in 1860, and finally restored in 1876, as is
stated on tablets within the walls. The nave is now of
stone, after a Georgian fashion; but the small chancel,
which has brick walling on the south, has interesting
ancient oak and plaster work at the east end and on the
north side, which is at least as old as the beginning of
the fifteenth century.

It remains to say a word or two as to another ancient
Cheshire chapel which up to about a century ago was
described as being " wholly of oak and plaster." This was
the chapel of High Leigh (West Hall), to the north-west of
Knutsford. This chapel was pulled down in 1814, when
a pretentious, classical substitute was erected on the site.
A peculiarity of the old chapel was that it had no bell turret,
but a single bell swung from the boughs of a great sycamore
tree near its west end. The classical chapel was destroyed
by fire in 1891, and in 1893 the church of St. John's, built
on the same site, and chiefly constructed in black-and-white
half-timber, was opened for worship.

In Ormerod's Cheshire, early in the last century, the
church of Baddiley is described as " standing on a small

68 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

green within the same enclosure with the barns and othei
domestic buildings. It consists of a small nave and chancel,
originally composed of timber. Another nave has been
recently underbuilt with brick." The writer of these notes
has not had the opportunity of seeing this small church, but
it has apparently not changed during the century, for it is
described in the Little Guide to Cheshire (1905) as consist-
ing of " brick and timber," whilst in the introduction it is
named as one of the half-timbered churches.

There are many traditions up and down the county as
to various other parish churches or chapels having been
originally timber-framed or of black-and-white work. In
some cases these traditions are known to have been true.
Thus Goostrey church was half-timber up to 1790 (probably
from its foundation in 1230), when it was pulled down to
make room for a brick successor; and Eccleston church
was half-timbered up to 1808.

In several of the southern counties many of the stone or
flint churches have timber belfries over the western gable
of the nave, 1 but such a construction seems to have never
been common in Cheshire. The church of Bruera, formerly
a chapelry of St. Oswald's, Chester, a building of much
interest, with traces of Saxon work, has a somewhat
remarkable wooden belfry at the west end ; it has been
restored, but the older part of the timbers are of fourteenth-
century date.

There was much timber-work in the smaller parish
churches of Chester in the old days, as is shown by the
pen-and-ink drawings of Randle Holme III. in the latter
part, of the seventeenth century (Harl. MS. 2073). The
elaborate drawing of St. Peter's church shows that con-
siderable civic building, known as the Pentice or pent-house,
a great timber lean-to on the south side, rebuilt about 1 500,
but extant in another form as early as 1311; it was not
pulled down until 1808. St. Martin's had a wooden belfry

1 Such towers are to be seen at Warndon, Dornston, Kington, and
Pirton in Worcestershire. EDITOR.

THE HALF-TIMBERED CHURCHES OF CHESHIRE 69

on the west gable and a timber porch on the south side,
approached by a flight of steps of the like material. St.
Olave's had also an elaborate wooden belfry on the west
gable, which was taken down in 1693. St. Michael's had
a considerable tower of timber at the west end, as well
as a curious raised portico or room resting on wooden
pillars over the west entrance. St. Bridget's is shown with
a timber parapet, resting on projecting beams, encircling
the base of the spire; all this was taken down in 1690.

Cheshire used to be a remarkably well-wooded county,
and this is still the case in several districts. The area
occupied by woods and plantations, according to the last
woodland return of 1905, is 24,655 acres, and this takes no
account of hedgerow timber or detached trees, for which the
vale of Chester is so celebrated. The two chief royal
forests of Cheshire were those of Mara and Moudrem, after-
wards known as Delamere, about the centre of the county,
and Macclesfield, on the south-east. The two parishes
which have now the largest acreage of woodland are those
of Delamere, 2596, and Taxal (below Macclesfield), 1285.
There was a third forest district, namely, that of the
Hundred of Wirral, that big projecting peninsula which
juts out to the north between the Mersey and the Dee.
The old term forest did not, however, imply a big wood, but
simply a district reserved for royal hunting; and Wirral
Forest was singularly destitute of timber, according to the
old records, as it is at the present day. The parish of
Woodchurch, not far to the south of Birkenhead, probably
obtained its name in early days from being the only place
within many miles which had a church of logs or timber-
framing.

THE WALLS AND ROWS OF CHESTER
BY THE ARCHDEACON OF CHESTER

ITS Walls and Rows (especially the latter) give to the
city of Chester a character all its own. They are
not only the pride of the inhabitants of the city and
county, but they also afford an unfailing source of
attraction to a constant stream of tourists and visitors.
In no other town in the kingdom is it possible to make
a complete circuit of the Walls, which involves a walk
of nearly a couple of miles. That walk is a favourite
promenade, and offers a pleasing and varying prospect
not only of the different features of interest in the city,
but also of the surrounding country, and of the distant
Welsh hills. The Walls too furnish a never-ending subject
for discussion as to their origin and history; upon which
fresh light is continually being thrown by discoveries that
are made. The main point in dispute has been as to
whether they can claim any connection with Roman
builders ; and the question seems by some to have been
settled in the affirmative on various grounds. Whilst
Roman stones have been found in portions of the north
wall when under repair, on the eastern side some masonry
is to be seen which from its character may safely be
ascribed to that early date ; and quite recently some
excavations, which were necessary for building opera-
tions, unearthed at that particular spot the foundations
of the Roman wall just a few feet in front of the present
one. The plinth thus discovered indicates that the place
is the south-eastern angle of the Roman Wall, and proves

what had been tentatively suggested, that originally and

7 o

THE WALLS AND Rows OF CHESTER 71

in Roman times the compass of the Walls was consider-
ably less than it is now. It has been suggested that at
a later date the Romans enlarged the boundaries of the
town, which at first was a camp or fortress, and that
subsequently Ethelfleda, in 907, when she repaired the city,
which had lain waste, still further enlarged its borders on
the south side. On the west there are undoubted traces
of Roman work, and here the Walls (or more correctly
the Quay) in early days must have been washed by the
tidal waters of the Dee, and vessels must have been able
to come up close to them and moor at their side. The
Roman stones discovered in the north wall when it was
under repair, were many of them inscribed and sepulchral :
and so some authorities concluded that they could not
have been placed there by Roman builders. It was shown,
however, that a similar use of a sepulchral monument
occurred in a bastion of the Roman wall of London, and
that none of these stones were found in the upper part
of the wall, but in the lower unmortared base, which was
evidently Roman. The conclusion arrived at was that
the Romans had extended their wall at an early period,
and, in doing so, had enclosed or made use of their
cemetery. In confirmation of this theory, it may be
stated that the surrounding masonry is of Roman char-
acter, and that a similar use of tombstones has been found
elsewhere, as in a Roman edifice on the Roman Wall in
England, and at Worms, and other towns in Gaul. As we
walk round the Walls, then, to-day, we may remember that
a considerable portion of them are on the foundations and
lines laid down in Roman times.

The upper portion is no doubt Edwardian, though
alterations and repairs at different times have somewhat
altered their character. This is specially to be noted in
the removal, at the close of the eighteenth century, of the
old Gateways. These, as we can see from old prints, were
striking and picturesque, if they were at the same time
inconvenient. In York the Gateways (or Bars as they are

72 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

there termed) have been retained, and the convenience for
traffic has been obtained by opening arches at the side
of them and leaving the Bars untouched. We can only
regret that the same policy was not adopted in Chester.

Each of the four gates was under the guardianship
or sergeantry of particular persons. The North Gate,
which contained the prison, was under the charge of the
city authorities ; the East Gate, given originally to
Henry de Bradford, passed into the possession of the
Crewe family. The sergeantry of the Water Gate de-
scended through the Barony of Montalt to the Earl of
Derby, and that of the Bridge Gate from the Rabys and
Troutbecks to the Earl of Shrewsbury. Near each of
these latter two gates are beautiful old specimens of half-
timbered houses, where the sergeants or their deputies
used to live. In addition to these principal gates, there
were smaller ones or posterns, like the Ship Gate, which
led to the crossing over the Dee the New Gate, and the
small Kale Yard Gate, which led to the monastic vegetable
garden. There was also a further protection, at a distance
of about a quarter of a mile on the road eastward, called
the Bars, which has been removed many years ago, though
the name is still preserved.

In early times a murage rate was levied for the main-
tenance of the Walls, and the officers who had charge
thereof and collected and expended this money were called
murengers. At one time a considerable sum was raised by
the impost placed, upon Irish linen, which was imported into
Chester in large quantities.

As we walk round the Walls we can call to mind the
scenes which must have been enacted on them when the city
was attacked. In those days the walk was probably at a
lower level, or at any rate the outer Wall was higher (and
perhaps battlemented), thus affording protection to the
defenders. At various distances were bastions and towers,
some few of which remain, and enable us to form a better
idea of the earlier condition of the city defences. In Roman

THE WALLS AND Rows OF CHESTER 73

times there was the additional protection of a ditch or fosse,
and traces of this have been found in various places. When
the Canal was made close to the North Wall the contractor
found to his great advantage that much of the excavation
out of the solid rock had thus been done for him.

The common gaol of the city was in the North Gate,
and the prisoners there confined must have had very close
quarters. A similar use of the North Gate was made at
Canterbury (where the building still remains), and possibly
in other places. Just outside the North Gate is the Hospital
of St. John, and here in later years the prisoners attended
divine service. A memorial of this is to be seen in the little
bridge which crossed the fosse, now the Canal, and which
has been sometimes called "The Bridge of Sighs." Not
far from here westward is Morgan's Mount, with a lower
chamber and an upper platform from which a fine view may
be obtained. During the siege of the city a very important
battery was planted here, and the site may well arouse
memories of anxious and troublous times. Still further
west is Pemberton's Parlour, so called from the fact that
in 1700 John Pemberton established a rope walk here within
the walls, and probably from this spot watched at times the
operations of his workmen, or rested here after his own
labours. Though now semi-circular in shape, it may once
have been circular, with a passage through it. It also bore
other names, as " Dille's Tower," or "The Goblin's Tower,"
the latter suggestive of a ghost story connected with it.
An inscription on the city side records the repair of this
portion of the Walls 200 years ago, and reminds us of
those civic functionaries, the murengers, who had charge
of the Walls. The north-west angle of the Walls is marked
by Bonewaldesthorne's Tower, and connected with it by a
battlemented curtain wall is the New or Water Tower.
When the latter was built in 1323 it was washed by the
waters of the Dee, and not long since the rings attached
to it for the mooring of vessels might have been seen. At
the present day the Tower rises out of gardens, and the

74 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

river is at some little distance away. Continuing our walk
southwards we come to the Roodeye. Formerly, as its
name implies, this was an island surrounded at high tide
by the waters of the estuary, but it gradually silted up. In
1609 Mr. W. Lester, mercer, who was then Mayor, founded,
chiefly at his own cost, the St. George's Race, which was
to be run on St. George's Day. This was the origin of the
Chester Races, which take place ordinarily in the first week
in May, which would correspond with old St. George's Day.
On its first foundation the race was introduced by a stately
procession, in which certain emblematical characters took
part, as well as the Mayor and Corporation " in their best
apparell and in scarlet," and it was followed by a civic
banquet at the Pentice. We may call up such scenes as
these as we look over the Racecourse, and not content our-
selves with imagining what things are like, when that busy
throng comes to the Chester Races nowadays. Here,
too, were at times presented the Miracle Plays and city
Pageants, and Triumphs and other games, including that
of football, promoted by the Company of Shoemakers on
Shrove Tuesday, otherwise Goteddesse Day, which in 1539
was abolished owing to its dangerous character, foot races
being substituted. We may think, too, of the training of
soldiers here in Elizabeth's reign, and in recent years of the
Yeomanry, until they were removed to Delamere Forest.
As we reach the southern side, and see the waters of the
Dee, we may picture to ourselves Edgar rowed up by
the tributary princes to the Church of St. John, and in
later times see the Walls manned by archers and other
brave defenders, ready to resist the incursions of the Welsh.
In short, the Walls are full of interesting memories, though
only one event is chronicled in an inscription in stone, and
that is on the Phoenix Tower, so called from the device of
the Painters' and Stationers' Company, which is carved
upon its south wall. It was from the top of the Tower
that King Charles I. witnessed the defeat of his forces on
Rowton Moor.

KING CHARLES'S TOWER.

THE WALLS AND Rows OF CHESTER 75

But though only one event is thus definitely recorded,
we can think of others of the monks bringing in solemn
procession the relics of St. Werburgh at some critical time
of danger, and of the protection which these venerable Walls
afforded to the dwellers in the city. Now indeed they
afford a pleasant and enjoyable promenade, much frequented
both by residents and visitors ; but time was when they
were an absolute necessity to secure the safety of the
citizens, and needed to be jealously guarded by their watch-
men, whilst the Gates which provided an entrance had their
sergeants and keepers. And thus a walk round the Walls
should not fail to suggest a contrast between the peaceful
days in which we live, and the troublous and disturbed
times which often threatened our forefathers.

If the Walls of our city possess this great interest for
us, what shall we say of our Rows ? They are practically
unique. Other cities and towns have their Walls, but no
other place, in England at any rate, has anything like the
Rows. And their origin is veiled in obscurity. It is very
difficult to give such a description of them as shall enable
one who has not seen them to realise what they are like.
The late Dean Howson spoke of them as " public highways
passing through the front part of the drawing-rooms on the
first floor of a series of houses, the windows being taken
out, while the inner parts of these drawing-rooms are con-
verted into shops, the bedrooms being overhead, and the
passengers walking over the rooms of the ground storey,
these rooms again being converted into shops." Mr. Pen-
nant in his Tour gives this description, founded, as we
shall see, upon a mistaken idea as to their origin : " The
principal streets run direct from east to west and from
north to south, and were excavated out of the earth, and
sunk many feet below the surface. The carriages are
driven far below the level of the kitchens, on a line with
ranges of shops, over which passengers walk in galleries,
which the inhabitants call the Rows, secure from wet or
heat. In the Rows are likewise ranges of shops and steps

76 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

to descend into the street." Without giving earlier descrip-
tions, it will be gathered, that in the main streets within the
city Walls there are covered galleries over the shops on
the street level, which also are lined with shops. The walks
in these galleries do not come quite to the street frontage,
as opposite each shop there is, as a rule, a " stall," or
sloping platform, on which goods may be exposed, though
in some few instances this space is occupied by buildings of
a permanent character. The stalls are protected from the
street to which they are open by balustrades, some of
which are of oak and of varying and handsome old patterns.
As the shops represent different properties, there is a
pleasing lack of uniformity about the Rows. In some
instances we have the half-timbered architecture for which
Cheshire is famous, in others houses of the date of Queen
Anne; whilst in recent times some have been rebuilt and
made more in accordance with modern requirements, though
due regard has latterly been paid to the character of the
ancient buildings. The walk in Eastgate and Bridge
Street is continuous, and here are the best and principal
shops ; in the other streets the walk is interrupted by inter-
vening lanes or streets, except on the south side of Water-
gate Street, where there are some very striking houses,
such as " Bishop Lloyd's Palace," or " God's Providence
House." The variety is also seen in the height of the
colonnade, which is sometimes through the older houses
quite low, and in the more modern ones much higher. On
the west side of Bridge Street there is, in fact, barely head-
room for a very tall person in some parts, but here there
are no shops in the Row, so that the inconvenience is not
felt. In the greater part of Northgate the Row, if it ever
existed, has disappeared, and in another part it has recently
been brought down to the street level, the under shops,
which were really cellars, having been removed. The
Rows thus, like the Walls, afford a favourite promenade for
visitors. In rainy weather they give protection to those
who have business to transact in the shops which line

THE WALLS AND Rows OF CHESTER 77

them; whilst "the stalls" afford a convenient position for
witnessing any procession passing through the streets. We
may even go back in thought to early days and imagine
how they would be crowded with spectators when the
Chester Plays were acted in the streets, or when the ques-
tionable sport (?) of bull-baiting took place before the
Pentice at the High Cross. It is curious to know that
the ownership of the property on the street level does not
necessarily carry with it the ownership of the shop or house
in the Row above.

In other parts of the city there are shops or houses
where the first floor, supported by brick or stone arches
or by wooden posts, is over the footway or pavement,
and in the city accounts there are repeated entries of
payments made for posts set up in the streets to hold
up houses. Interesting examples of this are to be seen
in Foregate Street and in Northgate.

The arrangement of the Rows is so singular, that
much discussion has taken place as to their history and
origin. Some have contended that they may be traced
back to the Roman period, and that they were probably
suggested by the common form of Roman building with
a portico in front of them. Much ingenuity has been dis-
played by architects and others who urge this view in
the drawings by which they seek to justify this contention.
Stress, too, is laid by them on the fact that the Rows are
confined to that part of the city which is of Roman origin,
though this fact has been denied by those who adopt other
theories.

The late Mr. John Henry Parker, F.S.A., in 1857, wrote
as follows: "The most probable origin of these Rows is,
that after some great fire, it was found most convenient
to make the footway on the top of the cellars, or vaulted
substructures, instead of in the narrow streets between
them. It was the usual custom in the towns in the Middle
Ages to protect the lower storey, or cellar, which was half
underground, by a vault of stone or brick. This was the

78 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

storeroom in which the merchandise or other valuable
property was preserved. The upper parts of the houses
were entirely of wood, and the whole of these being de-
stroyed by fire, it was more easy to make the footway
on the top of the vaults, leaving the roadway clear for
horses and carts. Many of these vaulted chambers of
the mediaeval period remain in Chester, more or less per-
fect; some divided by modern walls and used as cellars,
others perfect and used as lower shops or warehouses."
This theory, again, is ingenious, and has this justification,
that in 1114 a large part of the city was destroyed by fire ;
but against it may be urged the fact that one of the most
perfect, and probably the oldest of these crypts (the house
or shop in which it is being called "Ye Olde Crypt"), is
not in the street front, but beneath the back portion of the
house. Others have supposed that the original ground-
level of the city was the same level with the Rows, and
that the streets were gradually worn down to their present
level through the solid rock! This opinion has, however,
been shown to be untenable, inasmuch as in Bridge Street,
Watergate, and other parts, Roman remains have been
discovered which show that in Roman times buildings
were even a little below the present street level, and that
the foundations of the Roman buildings correspond prac-
tically with the height of the roadway. Archdeacon Rogers,
at the end of the sixteenth century, urged that the Rows were
constructed for defensive purposes, and would be found use-
ful in this way in the time of Welsh incursions. We have,
however, no record of the Welsh having ever effected an
entrance into the town, so that the precaution would seem
to have been superfluous. Canon Morris, in his valuable
work (Chester during the Plantagenet and Tudor Periods),
advances another theory at some length to account for the
gradual development of the Rows from the seldae, or move-
able sheds, on the street level, and the shops built on the
higher ground behind, formed of the debris of Roman build-
ings which had been destroyed. These are some of the

I T qpp *! 55- '^g-' - ' .^^^i

BISHOP LLOYD'S PALACE, WATERGATE Row.

THE WALLS AND Rows OF CHESTER 79

ideas which have been propounded as to the origin of
the Rows. It is well to state them, so that our readers
may gather what a fertile source of interesting discussion
they furnish. Mr. Henry Dawes Harrod, F.S.A., after
carefully examining these explanations, and the arguments
on which they were based, came to the conclusion that we
must look to ancient Chester for the origin of the Rows,
and so go back to Roman times. His contention is not
unlike that of Canon Morris, only he gives an earlier date.
He says : " The shop of the ambulatory, with its covered
way, is perpetuated in the shop in the Row. The stall for
traders on the steps finds its lineal descendant in the shop
in the streets. The covering over the Rows has given way
before the growth of the houses to the front, economising
space, and affording better living accommodation. Without
any great revolution in design or architecture, the Rows have
developed by a natural growth on the lines of the ancient
design of Roman Chester."

" When doctors differ who shall decide ? " It may not
be possible to come to a definite conclusion on the matter;
but, personally, I think that the contention of Mr. Harrod,
advanced in a paper read before the Chester Archaeological
Society on iQth February 1901, and supported by argu-
ments and illustrations, is a most reasonable one, which
at any rate commends itself to my humble judgment. The
mere mention of these various theories may perhaps lead
some of our readers to take even greater interest in the
Rows of Chester, and remind the dwellers in both city
and county that in them they possess a great and unique
treasure.

THE HALF-TIMBERED ARCHITEC-
TURE OF CHESHIRE

BY C. H. MINSHULL

" He that hewed timber out of the thick trees : was known to
bring it to an excellent work."

A" 3EIT this paper is to confine itself to the domestic
or secular side of the subject, and this quotation
might even more suitably serve as his text by the
author treating exclusively of the ecclesiastical examples
of timber-framed buildings, yet its appropriateness may
warrant these words forming a sort of superscription for
what is after all part and parcel of one theme.

While it may be conceded that Cheshire can count
many extant memorials of greater historic importance and
of longer lineage than any of those remaining recorded in
that particular kind of "black and white" coming within
our present immediate purview, it may nevertheless be
claimed that these specimens of the carpenter's craft con-
stitute by no means the least charming and characteristic
of the county's architectural possessions.

The " post and panel " work, the " magpie " style, to
use the sobriquet sometimes familiarly applied to it, so
plentifully strewn throughout its length and breadth, does
certainly bring a very distinct contribution to the pic-
turesqueness of the Palatinate, whose now fertile plain,
studded with these timber structures, is where buildings
of this traditional type most do congregate. Indeed, it is
a question whether they do not serve to connote Cheshire

quite as much as that prosaic product the cheese, which has

HALF-TIMBERED ARCHITECTURE OF CHESHIRE 81

made the name and fame of the county a household word !
Another proof of the identification of the county with the
kind of buildings under consideration is that when a build-
ing is referred to as being in the " Cheshire style," the
description is always understood as implying a half-timbered
erection, and at the same time goes to show that its designer
has been paying his tribute of imitation to and admiration
of the manner and method, which formerly was so felicitously
employed in several parts of the country, but in none more
extensively than in Cheshire a fact happily still capable of
demonstration in the frequency of surviving examples.

Many a piquant touch of contrasted colour does the
landscape owe to these delightful buildings, one of whose
attractive qualities resides in just that faculty of focussing
the eye they so eminently possess. Here it may be a
cluster of quaint cottages, or perhaps a single cottage of
comely proportions nestling in some sequestered spot, or
one of those moated granges or sturdy farmsteads that dot
the countryside ; or there it may be a more elaborate and
ornate example, some " stately home," attesting the skilful
handiwork of \hzfaber lignarius who centuries ago followed
his calling with such excellent and enduring results, his
fitly and soundly framing of the building together having
enabled it to withstand the action of time and weather if
so be by good fortune it managed to escape that more fatal
enemy fire, whose ravages are no doubt responsible for the
disappearance of many an architectural treasure, which,
had a more resistant material been employed, might have
survived to shed additional lustre on the county, already so
renowned for its half-timbered treasures.

The explanation of the prevalence of this species of
building, and of Cheshire having become par excellence a
centre for it, is, of course, to be found in the fact of the
county having possessed an abundance of raw material
in the "thick trees" ready to the hand of the hewer.

In his Story of some English Shires, as told by the late
Dr. Mandell Creighton, speaking of the physical features

82 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

of Cheshire, he says : " Three great forests covered much
of the surface of the ground. From Chester to the sea
stretched the forest of Wirral, from the Mersey to the Dee
extended the forest of Delamere, and the forest of Maccles-
field formed an impenetrable barrier between Cheshire
and Derbyshire " ; and he adds a remark not altogether
irrelevant to the matter in hand : " There was so little
agriculture that the men of Cheshire used to leave their
homes and serve as harvesters in districts where corn was
grown, in the same way as did Irish labourers in our
own days." These copious sources of timber have long
since disappeared, and the once afforested area has given
place to those broad acres under cultivation now covering
the county.

In Domesday Book, under CESTRESCIRE, these forests
are often referred to, but we are left to conjecture what
were the trees growing in them ; doubtless there was the
ash and the elm, and also "the monarch oak, sole king
of forests all," ready to hand for those who, in the elder
days of the carpenter's art, erected the dwellings from
which those later buildings now being considered are either
lineal or collateral descendants. The earliest extant of
these may only carry us back some 500 years, but
this had not only Norman but Anglo-Saxon progenitors.
It is well known that the latter employed both in their
churches and houses timber as their staple building material,
and although all these have perished there remains the
testimony of their language; the Saxon word "timbran"
signified to build with wood, and builder meant carpenter.
Their rude halls may be regarded as the origin of the old
English timber-built houses.

The oldest form of rectangular house was erected in
" bays," the simplest form of construction being the house
of one bay. Two pairs of bent trees (whence the term
" roof tree " seems an outcome) were set up in the ground
about 1 6 feet apart, each pair making a sort of pointed arch,
united at their apexes by a longitudinal beam. The gable

HALF-TIMBERED ARCHITECTURE OF CHESHIRE 83

end of many an old Cheshire cottage shows the persistence
of this traditional type.

Before bringing under review some few of the many
specimens the county contains, a word or two with regard
to their method of construction may not be out of place.
Scarcity of stone and difficulties of transit account for this
material being so sparingly used. Upon a few courses of
stonework forming a plinth, horizontal beams were laid,
and into these angle posts and intermediate uprights were
framed. These carried the sill of the upper storey, whose
floor joists were often made to project, producing the
" overhang/' frequently coved, which is one of the most
effective features of the style.

It is not, however, so much the general disposition of
their main timbers as the varied patterns and devices of
the panels filling in the intervening spaces that provides
one of the distinguishing characteristics of these Cheshire
buildings. As one may often determine a person's native
place by his dialect, so do these lozenges and other chequer
patterns enable one to recognise the place of their origin ;
they are, as it were, a sort of idiomatic architectural ex-
pression. When the carpenter had finished the skeleton
of the structure, there remained, to complete the wooden
walls, the filling in of the interstices of the framing. For
this purpose, what is known as " wattle and daub " was
commonly employed. By this primitive process clay could
be used in its natural state. The method was to make a
foundation by interlacing osiers or hazel twigs, thus forming
a sort of basket work, and then to daub over with clay
mixed with straw or some stringy weed, and upon this put
a thin coating of plaster on both the inside and outside
faces. In his Cheshire Glossary^ Colonel Egerton Leigh
remarks, " The daub seems to have given a name to a
trade," and in support of this statement a quaint old couplet
is quoted :

" The mayor of Altrincham and the mayor of Over,
The one is a thatcher, the other a dauber " ;

84 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

and then follows this favourable comment on the old
process: "Clay, being a non-conductor, makes a warm
house in winter and a cool one in summer."

Whether this " post and panel " work originally
presented the study in black and white it now does, is
open to question. Most likely the tarring of the timbers
was resorted to rather with the object of preservation
than with the intention of producing the contrasted effect
between the wood and the plaster, now so conspicuous
a characteristic. It may be that the dark brown and
yellow ochre colour combination one sees in the corre-
sponding manner of building on the Continent was more
like the original appearance of these Cheshire buildings.
Space forbids going into side issues and demands the
taking into consideration some of the specimens of the
il excellent work," in which the county is so rich as to
make the task of selection by no means easy.

The mere enumeration of notable examples would
occupy many pages, and to deal with them in detail
according to their deserts would call for a treatise instead
of this cursory survey. But for a complete chronicle, is
there not Ormerod's magnum opus? that mine of infor-
mation and monument of industry which is indeed itself
one of the county's " memorials " ; and for pictorial treat-
ment there is that gallery of vivid illustrations, Nash's
Mansions of the Olden Time, wherein are to be seen,
splendidly set forth, several of Cheshire's celebrated " stately
homes," both as regards their outward aspect and their
interiors, and containing, moreover, counterfeit presentments
of their former occupants in their habits as they lived.

Any one unable to visit the actual building and desirous
of getting an idea of their peculiar charm, aye and the
splendour, of these fine old halls of Cheshire, would be
well-advised to turn to that artist's views of Bramall, of
Adlington, and of Moreton, which constitute a trio of half-
timbered treasures not perhaps surpassed by any buildings
of their kind in any other county, or indeed country.

HALF-TIMBERED ARCHITECTURE OF CHESHIRE 85

BAGGILY HALL'.
SECTIONS THCdJLAKOE HALL

SECTION SHEWING KTCHEU END SECTION SHEWING

INTEfclOE OF TH HALL; &AD&ILYKALL. CHE5HITZB.

MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

By right of seniority, as well as by reason of unique-
ness, Baguley or Baggily Hall, in the neighbourhood of
Stockport, claims first consideration. In Parker's Domestic
Architecture, remarking upon the difficulty of finding timber
houses of the fourteenth century, Baggily is referred to as
a " rare example."

On this account and because of its intrinsic interest,

ALMS HOUSES :
COMMONHALL1ANE,
PUUfDDOWJV ABOUT

<: x

it is now illustrated by two sectional views and by a
sketch of the interior showing the purely Gothic spirit
of its open-timbered roof, and giving an idea of the massive-
ness of its oakwork.

There being but few surviving specimens for the
purposes of further illustrating the period between the
reign of Edward III., when Baggily was built, and that

HALF-TIMBERED ARCHITECTURE OF CHESHIRE 87

of Elizabeth, certain almshouses from Commonhall Lane,
Chester, dating from about the time of Henry VII., may
with advantage be here adduced. Unfortunately they are
no longer standing, but, before they were pulled down

ALM5 HOUSES*. COHMONtlALL

PULLED DOWN ABOUT 1570 :

SECTION
THO COVE

"ELEVATION SECTION
DETAIL Of WINDOW IN

PLAN

ITCHESI

some forty years ago, drawings were made which have
rendered possible their reconstruction by means of this
sketch ; and by the reproduction of the window details to
show the distinctive character of this earlier type of timber
work.

88 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

It is on reaching the spacious times of Queen Elizabeth
that there is no longer any paucity but a positive profusion,
and there ensues an embarras de choix in the examples
available.

Her reign and that of her immediate successors consti-
tuted what may perhaps be called the classic era of half-
timbered architecture. A period of not much more than a
hundred years sufficed for the style to attain its zenith and
reach its decline and passing in the seventeenth century.

The frequency with which one comes across the royal
cipher E. R. and the many corroborative arms and date
panels, both in Cheshire and elsewhere, bring to mind the
marvellous outburst of energy and activity that marked her
times in all departments of life, one of whose outlets was in
the building operations of the period, and especially in the
domestic direction, some of the evidences of which we are
now concerned with. England, as has been truly said, is
awake after the slumber of the Middle Ages, and for a brief
period the national life blazes with unprecedented brilliance
and splendour.

Adherence to the traditional manner of timber building
in Cheshire would be accounted for and be encouraged by
the abundant supplies of the requisite raw material still
available ; for this and the adjoining counties of Shropshire
and Lancashire, where this type of building also flourished,
were at a safe distance from the iron-smelting works and
ship-building yards which made such inroads on the woods
and forests in other parts of the kingdom.

In the attractive appearance of those Elizabethan
erections, that Baconian dictum (certainly challengeable, at
all events, from an architect's standpoint), " houses are
built to live in and not to look on/' found plenty of con-
temporary refutation in the picturesque and delightful halls
of this county.

As in the Edwardian Baggily Hall, so in its Eliza-
bethan successors the " great hall " continued to be the
chief feature, the principal pivot, so to say, of the general

HALF-TIMBERED ARCHITECTURE OF CHESHIRE 89

plan. But, whereas in the earlier examples it was in-
variably open right up to the roof, it gradually began to
be divided into two storeys by the interposition of a floor.

One consequence of this change was the disappearance ot
the minstrels' gallery and the dais. The cause of the
decline in importance of the great hall may partly have
been the introduction of Italian ideas, but was mainly due
to the alteration in the habits of life. The progress of

9 o

MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

civilisation brought with it the multiplication of apartments,
and hence the space once entirely occupied by the lofty hall
could no longer be afforded.

An exemplification of this is provided by Bramall, where

BJZAMHALL: ' r _jf^_^

A C6I2NH2 Of= ]HE SOUTH WING .

the " great hall " has a flat ceiling, and above this is the
drawing-room ; an apartment growing rapidly into import-
ance in Elizabethan times. This upper chamber, as is the
case of Bramall, becomes more handsomely treated with

HALF-TIMBERED ARCHITECTURE OF CHESHIRE 91

raised plaster and other ornament, and is, moreover, much
loftier than the hall below it. Access was by means of a
spiral staircase of solid blocks of oak. Bramall, like other
contemporary halls of its class, was originally built in
quadrangular form ; but when peaceful times came, the
owners, desiring a more open outlook, secured this by
doing away with one side of the quadrangle, and with
it swept away the gate-house. The south-eastern wing
contains, as houses of this period commonly do, a
domestic chapel and also the fine banqueting room.
One of its most noteworthy features, "the long gallery," of
which Ormerod gives a sketch, has disappeared. Bramall
originally belonged to the Bromeales or Bromhals, but
passed by marriage to the Davenports as far back as the
reign of Edward III. From the sketches an idea of the
general rich character of the timber framing can be
gathered. Rivalling it in some respects, one may next
mention Moreton or Little Moreton Hall, near the Staf-
fordshire border. It is surrounded by a moat spanned
by a stone bridge, and sentinelled by a gatehouse of strik-
ing proportions, through which one enters the courtyard,
where the many-angled bays at once arrest attention.

By whom they were contrived or, at all events, actually
constructed, and when, can be learned from the inscriptions
carved above the upper windows, which run thus :

" God is al in al thing."

" This windows white made by William Moreton in the
yeare of Oure Lorde mdlix."

" Richard Dale Carpeder made thies windows
by the Gracof God."

Vying with these charming bays in interest and import-
ance, there is occupying the entire length of the main wing
a magnificent room on the topmost (the third) floor which,
tradition has it, was graced by the presence of Queen
Elizabeth, and danced in by her Majesty.

It is at such places as Moreton Hall, with its fine

92 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

ballroom, to quote some reflections which resulted from an
architect's the late Mr. H. Taylor, of Manchester study
of this old house, we see the provisions made in the past
for enjoying life in the country. In this old house the

MOEETON OLD HALL*. GATEHOUSE ,

disturbed state of former times is brought vividly to our
minds if we have sufficiently narrow shoulders to creep
through the sliding panel into the apartment which was
a harbour of refuge for those whose life was in danger.
When hotly pursued, the fugitive escaped down a sort of

HALF-TIMBERED ARCHITECTURE OF CHESHIRE 93

well and through an underground passage. At Moreton
Hall, built when Italian ideas were creeping into the
country, it is instructive to notice how the architect was
apparently puzzled by the conflicting principles of our
humble and beautiful Gothic and of the more pretentious

MOJZE-TON HALL

IN THE

Italian style, e.g. the ballroom, which is on the third storey,
has an open-timbered, pointed roof, with a thrust upon the
walls. This thrust he evidently thought it not proper to
counteract by buttresses as his brethren a hundred years
before would have done, and from this cause the stability
of the building has for some time been threatened. The
inhabitants at Moreton, we cannot but feel, must have
been put to sore inconvenience many a time, inasmuch as

94 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

no one had then invented corridors, and so there are four
or five staircases. This arrangement must have been very
disagreeable on a wet night, as the bedrooms could only be
reached from different sides of the building by crossing the
courtyard with or without candles or lanterns. Much as
one is tempted to linger at Moreton, there is that other
member of the famous triad of half-timbered treasures on
this side of the shire awaiting consideration Adlington.
This is the home of one of Cheshire's oldest families, in
whose possession it has remained for many centuries. Of
considerable exterior interest and entered by an admirably-
proportioned, two-storeyed porch, it is, however, the interior
of the great hall that constitutes its chief glory. A very
noticeable feature is the cove-shaped panelling that runs
right across one end and contains a large number of shields
of arms of the various families connected with the house of
Legh.

The roof is of remarkably fine character with principals
of hammer-beam design, and is a most effective and decora-
tive piece of richly-moulded carpentry and carved work ;
the whole having an obviously Gothic character.

Upon some other "memorials" in this part of the
county, all deserving to be dealt with at length, a very
brief reference is all that can be bestowed the little
priest's house at Prestbury, with its quaint and curious
square - ended bays and four - way gables ; Gawsworth
Hall, now the rectory, with its remarkable three-storeyed
octagonal bay ; Handforth Hall, displaying a finely carved
doorway ; Alderley Edge with its farmhouse, " Eagle and
Child " Inn, and cottages, with gables dressed out in the
local fashion of draughtboard or chequered devices.

Of these examples it may be said that, while they all
may have a certain family likeness, yet each possesses an
individuality of its own, needing but a closer acquaintance
for recognition and appreciation.

To pass to the opposite corner of the county, the
Wirral. Contrary to what might have been expected,

HALF-TIMBERED ARCHITECTURE OF CHESHIRE 95

having regard to the fact that the whole of this peninsula,
"from Blacon Point to Hilbree," was formerly one con-
tinuous thickly-wooded tract, the region yields practically
nothing of half-timbered work. The deforesting which
took place under Edward III. may be mainly answerable
for the absence alluded to.

This district did, however, once possess in a home of
the Stanleys, Hooton Hall, what Ormerod describes as
"a very large quadrangular building in timber," and of
which he gives an illustration. It was demolished in 1778,
and in its stead stands the present stone-built successor.

Mid and Southern Cheshire well make up for the
Wirral's shortcomings.

To cite but a couple, Garden Hall and Broxton Old Hall.
The former must have been a superb example, beautiful
alike in situation and in itself; though now somewhat
marred by sundry modernisings. Its neighbour, Broxton,
has undergone restoration, but retains a good amount of
the original framing. As fairly representative of its kind,
a detail of a gable is given, " ab uno disce omnes"

Seeing that several towns capable of supplying scores
of opportunities for pursuing our subject e.g. Stockport,
Sandbach, Middlewich, and Nantwich have been left out
of sight, it is obvious that not a tithe of the county's wealth
has been touched upon in this slight survey.

If, however, none of these towns has been laid under
tribute, a similar course with respect to the capital city
would be indefensible.

Inasmuch, however, as Chester's half-timbering has so
often been dealt with from the standpoints of antiquary,
artist, and architect, more than an abbreviated review
seems unrequired, and anything like a complete catalogue
raisonne uncalled for of the possessions of what must once
have been a veritable " black and white " city, and can
still claim to be one of the chief places for studying the
style.

Chronologically the Chester timber buildings may not

9 6

MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

number any quite comparable to Shrewsbury's " Butcher's
Row"; howbeit there is at least one example running
that noted Gothic specimen fairly close, as regards age, at

SECTION
BM2T- ELEVATION- OFAQAK-E -

all events the house at the corner of Castle Street being
probably one, if not the earliest (pace a placard on the
seventeenth - century house in Lower Bridge Street pro-
claiming // to be the oldest house, adding a mere matter
of 600 years by converting the figure six on the beam into

HALF-TIMBERED ARCHITECTURE OF CHESHIRE 97

a nought ! and by this doctored date duping, it is to be
feared, many an unsuspecting visitor! ).

This corner house is closely associated with the names
of those Chester worthies, the Randle Holmes, of heraldic
and antiquarian renown. An examination of the mould-
ings and other details of this house points to it having
been erected in Tudor times.

Happily still confronting us in Lower Bridge Street is
that old hostelry known as the " Falcon," and also " The
Bear and Billet," once the town house of the Earls of
Shrewsbury and Talbot. The former has a most engag-
ingly picturesque appearance, with an effective row of
quatrefoils under the range of many-mullioned windows.
Looking at the proportion of the fronts of both these
buildings taken up by their ranges of windows, stretching
from side to side, brings to mind that Derbyshire doggerel,
coined to suit a somewhat like case

" Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall."

Some reference must be made to the famous fronts in
Watergate Street, where is " God's Providence House."
About the only piece of the original timber work remaining
is the beam with the inscription reminiscent of the plague,
which in 1647 so ravaged the city.

Lower down the street is " Bishop Lloyd's Palace " with
its series of panels containing interesting and quaint render-
ings of sacred subjects. Further down the street one comes
to Stanley Palace, which now has no frontage to the street,
and hides the attraction of a fine flank up a passage. This is
a notable specimen of Jacobean Renaissance as applied to
timber work, showing but few traces of the almost forgotten
Gothic which dictated its construction.

Among the minor examples may be mentioned a row of
quaint little dwellings in Park Street facing the city walls.
Of these " Nine Houses " but six are now standing. They
have suffered from the insertion of incongruous sash win-
dows, but this has not deprived them of all their interest.

98 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

One may still admire the handiwork of the old carpenters

HOUSE: : WHITEFI2IAR.S '. CHE5TEJZ .

who there so effectively employed the billet-moulds to the
timbers and the chevron cutting on the beams.

Exemplifying a later manner and different treatment,

HALF-TIMBERED ARCHITECTURE OF CHESHIRE 99

the house in Whitefriars is reserved as the last of this brief
review. This bit of seventeenth century work with its
widely overhanging upper portion, and the raised plaster
ornament in the gables, with the date 1658, may claim to be
regarded as not the least interesting of the "memorials"
we have been considering.

Those who esteem the half-timbered work as among
the county's chief antiquarian attractions and architectural
assets indeed all who feel the fascination of the style
cannot but welcome the reversion to the type and the
revival of the manner in recent years.

Among the patrons of the building arts none was more
susceptible to the peculiar charm of this " nogging-work "
than the late Duke of Westminster, who caused to be
erected on his Eaton estate numerous buildings faithfully
reproducing the forms and features of their Cheshire proto-
types. In this work his Grace was fortunate in having at
command the services of an architect, Mr. John Douglas,
than whom no one has been more successful in recapturing
the spirit of the old timber-work. To the late Duke's liking
for and desire to keep up the " Cheshire style " of architec-
ture, Chester itself owes much that has been done towards
preserving and also perpetuating the traditional character
of its buildings. It is a matter for congratulation that the
lead given has been so loyally followed, both by the Cor-
poration and by the citizens. Another notable instance of
revival is to be seen at Bidston Court in the Wirral ; when
this fine half-timbered house was built a few years ago, an
actual and accurate reproduction of those bays at Old
Moreton Hall was embodied therein.

By way of summing up the subject, the following words
from Ruskin may perhaps be not out of place :

" If indeed there be any profit in our knowledge of the past, or any joy in
the thought of being remembered hereafter, which can give strength to present
exertion or patience to present endurance, there are two duties respecting
national architecture whose importance it is impossible to overrate : the first,
to render the architecture of the day historical ; and, the second, to preserve,
as the most precious of inheritance, that of past ages."

AN OLD CONSISTORY COURT

BY THE ARCHDEACON OF CHESTER

THE title of this chapter may possibly suggest to the
reader that it will unfold some startling records
of the proceedings which have been enacted in one
of those ecclesiastical institutions called a Consistory Court.
Let me at once dispel such anticipation. Though a search
into the dusty documents which have accumulated might
reveal some interesting details of some cause celtbre, and
disclose and hand on to future generations some forgotten
page of history, my purpose is much less ambitious, for
it is rather with the building and interior arrangement of
the Court than with its legal proceedings that I propose
to deal.

One of the most interesting features of Chester Cathedral
is, that it gives us specimens of every style of architecture,
except, indeed, the Saxon. You have Norman work in the
remains of S. Anselm's Church and buildings; exquisite
examples of Early English in the Lady Chapel and Chapter
House ; Decorated and Perpendicular of every period in the
Choir, Nave, and great South Transept ; and Jacobean in
the Consistory Court and in some minor details. It is of
the latter that we are about to treat.

The visitor to the Cathedral, as he enters by the south-
west porch, may see on his left a plain nail-studded door,
reached by three steps, and set in a stone screen surmounted
by heavy ornamental masonry of the date of the seventeenth
century. The doorway and wall may have been built in
the sixteenth century, when the unfinished south-west tower
was projected and commenced, but the superincumbent

AN OLD CONSISTORY COURT 101

balustrade is at any rate later, and bears the date 1636,
and on a small shield the initials "J. B. " clear indication
that it was erected by John Bridgman, who was Bishop
of Chester from 1619 to 1650. It is through this door
that the Consistory Court, which is, in fact, the basement of
the unfinished tower, is reached. Comparatively few visi-
tors to the Cathedral ever see this portion of it. One reason
for this may be that it is not under the complete control
of the Dean and Chapter like the rest of the building. The
Consistory Court is the Bishop's Court, and the papers
contained therein are under his jurisdiction, and it would
not do for the general public to be admitted indiscriminately,
unless they were stored in safe receptacles. A Consistory
Court implies a Bishop; in fact, "a consistory is the court
of a Bishop, in which the principle is that he is surrounded
by representatives of the clergy of his diocese, who act
as his council. In modern times, however, the Consistory
Courts of Bishops are held by deputy, the Chancellor of
the diocese or one of his surrogates being the sole repre-
sentatives of the Bishop and clergy." Until the foundation
of the See of Chester in 1541 there would, of course, be
no Consistory Court in Chester, unless, indeed, the Bishop
of Lichfield, who at one time had a throne or seat in
S. John's Church, ever had one there. When the Abbey
Church became the Cathedral of the new See, it would
seem that the Lady Chapel was used as the Consistory
Court. At any rate it was here that George Marsh was
tried and condemned to death in 1554, when George
Cotes was Bishop. In The Life of Bridgman there is
an allusion to this original position of the Court, when
it is stated that Mrs. Bridgman was buried "at the east
end of the church, next to the old Consistory Court, which
is now called our Ladye's Chapel." Whether the Court
was moved to the place it now occupies before Bishop
Bridgman's time, I cannot say. He, at any rate, put up
the screen (or the upper portion of it) which separates
it from the south aisle, as is shown by the date and by

102 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

the arms of the Bridgman family. The Bishop was re-
sponsible for many repairs and improvements in the Cathe-
dral, and "in the Pallace of the Bishop which was in
great decay " ; and in a manuscript in the University Library
at Cambridge, there is a full and interesting account of what
he did in this respect. Curiously enough no mention is
made of this screen or of the fittings of the Court, and
yet both undoubtedly were due to him, and erected in
his time. He may have rightly thought that the basement
of this tower at the west end of the church was a more
seemly and fitting place for the holding of a Court, even
though the business conducted there was ecclesiastical, than
the chapel at the east, which was designed and used for
the most sacred offices of religion. It may be said here
that it is not an uncommon thing for the Consistory Court
to be a portion of the Cathedral. This is the case at Carlisle,
Durham, Chichester, Hereford, Lichfield, Llandaff, Peter-
borough, Ripon, and Winchester (and this list may not be
exhaustive), though the exact position of the Court in the
church varies considerably.

On entering the Court, the visitor cannot fail to be
struck with the old-world scene before him as he looks
upon the fittings, which were put up 270 years ago. There
is a square enclosure, surrounded by a partition of oak
some four feet high. To this there are entrance-doors at
each corner. Inside a seat is fixed all round this partition,
the central space being filled with a large square table
covered with a green cloth. At the west side, reached by
three steps, is the raised seat for the Chancellor, with a
desk in front of it. The seat is sufficiently wide for two
persons, so that the Chancellor might have an assessor
by his side. The judgment-seat is flanked on either side
by another seat with a smaller desk before it. It is
rendered imposing by an elongated oak canopy with a
carved cornice and by the Jacobean panelling which sup-
ports it. The cornice is, unfortunately, not quite perfect.
A portion is missing on the south side, and on the north

AN OLD CONSISTORY COURT 103

a piece has been cut away. The arms of the Bridgman
family are to be seen in one of the centre panels, thus
proving that the Bishop was responsible for its erection,
and on the imperfect panel on the north side are the letters

CAN* These, no doubt, refer to Edmund Mainwaring,

LL.D., who is styled by Sir Peter Leycester, " Chancellor
of Chester in 1642," though his patent is not in the office.
It shows that the seat was intended for the Chancellor, and
that it was originally constructed for the position it now
occupies. At the north-east corner of the enclosure is a
perched-up seat resting on the top of the oak partition
which surrounds the enclosure. Any person who sat in
it would have to mount upon the seat which surrounds
the table, and to use it as a resting-place for his feet. It
does not look a very safe position. We are left to con-
jecture for whom this seat was intended. It may have
been for the defendant (perhaps a notorious evil-doer) in
ecclesiastical suits or for the witness who was to be exa-
mined. In either case the seat was an uncomfortable
one, and the occupant would certainly be under close obser-
vation. As we look upon these fittings, black with the
lapse of years, one is tempted to think how much they
would be improved by careful and judicious cleaning.
The seat referred to is evidently of the same date as the
other fittings, but it is never occupied now, though the
Court is used regularly, and the Chancellor or his deputy
sits on days duly advertised to hear applications for
faculties. It may be doubted whether there is any other
Court in England which has a similar experience, and of
which it can be said that the seating and arrangements
are identical with what existed nearly 300 years ago. I
have been told that there is one of the same kind at
Lincoln : if that be so, the Chester Consistory Court can-
not claim to be an absolutely unique example. The Con-
sistory Court at Lichfield, which is under St. Chad's Chapel
in the south aisle of the Choir, and is probably the oldest

104 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

part of the building, has in it some curious old Jacobean
woodwork, but this is part of the stall work put up after
1 66 1. The Court has been presided over for many years
by the Worshipful Chancellor Espin, one of the two clerical
Diocesan Chancellors at the present time. I air indebted to
him for the following : " I do not know of any other Court
which has preserved its ancient character as ours has. I
suspect that some, perhaps many, of the Consistory Courts
in the older dioceses have been dismantled. Some years
ago, when Bishop Hobhouse was Chancellor of the Diocese
of Lichfield, I went to stay with him. He told me that he
had been touring about the West of England, and among
other places had lionised Gloucester Cathedral. Having
been taken round by the verger, he asked next to see the
Consistory Court. The verger had never heard of it, and
said there was no such place there. Hobhouse insisted,
and after some altercation an old verger was sent for who
had retired on a pension, and was mouldering away some-
where hard by. He did remember, but said the Court
had never been used for many years, in fact, not since 1856.
When Hobhouse was taken to the place, he found that all
the fittings had been cleared away, and it was made a
receptacle for coals and lumber. Alas for the judicature of
England ! I believe the ancient ' Alma Curia de Arcubus '
(Court of Arches) is now a cheesemonger's warehouse."
The Court still retains some relics of its old procedure.
The official who opens and adjourns the Court, and who
cites all objectors to an application to appear, always begins
with the formula, " Oyez, Oyez ! " carefully pronounced as
" Oh yes, Oh yes ! "

It has been stated above that the Court is under Epis-
copal control, and so is not generally seen by visitors to
the Cathedral. Any one, however, who is desirous of
seeing this " Memorial of Old Cheshire " can do so by
applying to the verger in attendance, and will be repaid
by his visit, as it is extremely doubtful whether anywhere
in England such a venerable specimen of the accessories of

AN OLD CONSISTORY COURT 105

a legal court of olden days can be found. The visitor, if
gifted with a lively imagination, may people the Court with
persons of a former generation, and call up in fancy some
keenly-contested suit in connection with Ecclesiastical dis-
cipline, or some matrimonial or probate cause. If it should
happen that the Court is sitting, he may see the Chancellor
hearing applications for faculties, and may possibly note the
opposition which is sometimes raised; but he will not be
likely to witness such a scene of excitement as recently
marked the Consistory Court of a southern diocese. He
must be content with hearing the judge give his decision,
it may be after a few explanatory remarks, in the words :
" The Faculty is decreed in terms of the Citation."

HALTON COURT LEET
BY V. B. DAVIES

THERE is an interesting little village called Halton
on the northerly border of Cheshire, about two and
a half miles from Runcorn ; but as it is not on the
high road to anywhere in particular, it is little known and
seldom visited by strangers. It is interesting because of the
ruins of an old castle which are there. This castle is situated
on a high hill commanding an extensive view over a large
part of Cheshire and across the river Mersey (which is of
considerable width at this point) into Lancashire. Halton
Castle is of very ancient date. It was built by Hugh
Lupus, first Earl of Chester, soon after the Norman Con-
quest, and the manor and fee of Halton descended to
Henry the Fourth, since when it has been annexed to
the Crown, except during the time of the Protectorate of
Cromwell, when it was put up for sale by auction and
purchased by Henry Brooke of Halton, a predecessor of
the present Sir Richard Brooke. On the restoration of
the monarchy it reverted back to the Crown, and at this
day it belongs to the King, who, as the Duke of Lancaster,
is Lord of the Manor.

In former days the stewards of this manor were officials
of considerable importance, and one of the early stewards
was John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. The late Mr.
William Beamont and Mr. Robert Davies of Warrington
were stewards in more recent years. On the death of
the latter gentleman in 1902, Mr. Bolden, one of the
officials in the Duke of Lancaster's office in London, was

106

HALTON COURT LEET 107

appointed steward, and Mr. Vere Beamont Davies and
Mr. Herbert Hatton of Warrington were appointed deputy
stewards, and this arrangement holds good at the present
time. In connection with this manor there is a court of
very ancient origin, termed the Halton Court Leet, held
at the castle, and over which the deputy steward presides.
The earliest records of the court are dated 1347, in the
time of Edward III.; but it is believed the court goes back
for a period of about 660 years. The court formerly had
a very extensive jurisdiction and a variety of duties to
perform, but at the present time it has been superseded
by the county courts and magistrates' courts, and its powers
have passed away.

The court rolls were formerly kept in a large chest at
Halton Castle, but have now been removed to London.
The late Mr. William Beamont gives a very interesting
account of these rolls in his book, An Account of the Rolls
of the Honour of Halton, and sets out numerous extracts
detailing the work performed by the Court Leet in former
days. The following are some of them, and will, we think,
be of interest to our readers :

In 5 Ed. IV. the inquest at the court make this short
return, " Nil presentant propter breve tempus."

At the Halton Court held in 4 Hen. VIII., 1512, Elizabeth
Heath, servant to John Blinsten, and Agnes, wife of John
Owen, were found to be common carriers away of the poles
of the park, and were fined for it ; and Agnes was further
charged with stealing the racks placed in the park to hold
the hay which had been placed there for the King's deer
(feris).

In 1544 the jury at Thelwall presented Robert Bold and
Thomas Heypey for keeping cards " talos [dice] et alia
joca illicita," in their houses, " contra firmam statuti."

In 1559 a tenant was presented at the court for not
ringing his swine.

io8 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

In 1608 John Lawton was fined 33. 46. for allowing
Thomas Whiteley to remain tippling in his house, which it
is presumed was public, for one hour.

In 1655 a man was fined for suffering his wife to fight
and draw blood.

On Thursday before St. George's Day, 4 Hen. VIII.,
1512, William Hicson was excused attending at the Manor
Court because he was going with the King on his wars in
France. This man probably went with the Marquis of
Dorset's unfortunate expedition, with which, however, the
King did not go.

In the 42 Edward III., 1370, Hamon de Warburton is
fined by the court for taking a hare in the lord's warren at
Whitley. The warren here spoken of must mean the lord's
free warren, for hares are not, like rabbits, confined in an
enclosed warren.

In 1507 the jury at the Halton Court held at Thelwall
presented John Bollyng of Warrington, yeoman, for that
he on I February, and on divers other days as well before
as after at Appleton and elsewhere within the fee of Halton
with greyhounds and other dogs (cum greybitches venaticis
et aliis canibus) was a common hunter "vi et armis," not
having lands and tenements to the value of xls. a year, and,
it is added, " nil habet ideo capiatur."

In 1512, at the Runcorn halmote, the jury, as we have
before mentioned, presented William Runcorn of Runcorn,
chaplain, for that he not being beneficed to xls. a year did
keep a hare hound and was a common hunter.

In 1380 one William Harper, who had been tried at
Chester and found guilty of the murder of Adam Mushet,
was brought back to Halton and there hanged by the bailiff,
and the lord of the fee received six pence for the value of
his goods.

In 1450 six or more persons were charged with

HALTON COURT LEET 109

feloniously entering and breaking into a dwelling-house at
Halton and stealing thereout money and goods.

In 1474 there is a notice of a more serious charge. Two
Welshmen from Mold having committed a burglary at Keek-
wick, and stolen thereout, among other articles, a sheaf of
arrows, and having been committed for it, broke out of the
castle, taking with them their fetters and chains, which must
have helped to discover them, for they were soon afterwards
retaken and tried before Thomas, Lord Stanley, the seneschal,
and, being found guilty, were hanged at Halton.

At the Widnes Court in 4 Hen. VIII., 1512, Robert
Woodfall was charged with walking at night through the
King Street in Farnworth in front of the houses of the
King's tenants, and with force and arms, namely, a staff and
a dagger, calling out " Whoever wishes to fight me, let him
come out," whereby the King's subjects were disturbed and
put in fear ; wherefore he was fined by the court.

In the same year three persons were presented for
lucrum excessivum, by which it is supposed usury was
meant; though in 1375 some butchers were presented quia
ceperunt lucrum excessivum, meaning that they had charged
too much. In 1512 some men were presented for using
bows and arrows to drive a man off some land where he
was digging turf.

In 1544 one George Amery of Barnton was presented
for that he did keep and harbour crows in his grounds and
did permit them to build in his woods, to the injury of the
country and contrary to the statute in such case made and
provided.

On October 3, 1561, Helena Ditchfield was charged
with a trespass in pulling down her neighbours' fences.

In 1593, a grievous murder having been committed at
Grappenhall Heath on the person of John Findley, a hawker
of Scottish cloth, the crime was brought home to one
William Geston, a servant of the Bishop of Chester. The

no MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

jury at Halton presented the fact, and the prisoner, having
been tried for it and convicted at Chester Assizes, was hanged
in chains on April 27, 1593, near the spot where the murder
was committed.

In 1608 one Stockton was presented for selling ale
without the justices' licence, and taking in and entertaining
irregular and pernicious persons to the disturbance of his
neighbours, and one Lawton for permitting a man to tipple
in his house for one hour was fined 35. 4d., and Charles
Hall for taking in inmates was fined 6s. 8d.

On January 16, 1660, Roger Drakeford, who had con-
veyed a prisoner to Sir Peter Leycester's (the great Cheshire
antiquary), a journey of fourteen miles, was paid 35. 6d. for
himself and his horse, a small sum for so long a journey.

In 1388 the Prior of Norton was charged with making
two fish-yards in the Mersey, one called Gracedieu and the
other Charity, which obstructed the passage of the lord's
boat of eight oars from Fresh Pool to Thelwall.

In 1598 the jury found that Robert Dutton of Preston
did fish in Thomas Button's pit and did take his fish in the
daytime without leave or licence from him, and therefore
they did amerce him.

In 1605 the court complained of the number of the
fish-yards at Thelwall and of the encroachments they made
on the river.

On October 8, 1655, the old complaint of the river being
obstructed by fish-yards was again renewed.

In 1655 a number of persons were presented and fined
for keeping up their weirs and fish-yards in the mid-stream
of the Mersey so that the Lord of the fee could not pass by
the " key" of Thelwall with boats and barges.

It will thus be seen that the Court in former days had a
wide and extensive jurisdiction and dealt with a variety of
matters. Nowadays, as before stated, the court has no
powers, but the court is held by the deputy steward at

H ALTON COURT LEET in

the Castle, or rather at the Castle Hotel adjoining the ruins,
once every three years, simply to keep up the old custom,
and for the sake of past memories. A jury summons signed
by the Bailiff of the Court in the following form :

fftanor anfc JFec \ BY VIRTUE of a PRECEPT to me directed, I HEREBY

of ^alton, REQUIRE you personally to be and appear at a COURT

in the County VLEET and VIEW of FRANK PLEDGE and COURT BARON

OF CHESTER, 1 to be held at Halton Castle, according to the custom there

TO WIT. J time immemorial used and approved, on Saturday, the

day of at the hour

of to be upon the Jury there.

Herein fail not at your peril.

SUBitttUSS my hand at Halton aforesaid, this day of 19

BAILIFF OF THE SAID COURT.

is sent to the Overseers of the following townships :

Aston juxta Budworth, Aston juxta Sutton, Appleton,
Antrobus, Astmore, Barnton, Bartington, Bexton, Budworth
(Great), Comberbach, Cotton, Church Hulme (Holmes Chapel),
Cogshall, Crowley, Daresbury, Halton, Hatton, Kekewick,
Lymm, Millington, Newton juxta Daresbury, Preston o'th
Hill, Sutton, Stretton, Seven Oaks, Toft, Tabley (Over),
Weston, Walton Superior, Walton Inferior, Whitley
Superior, Whitley Inferior.

A jury is appointed, and sworn in by the deputy
steward, and a constable and two burleymen are appointed.
The following is the form of oath administered to the
foreman and rest of the jury :

" You as foreman of this inquest, with the rest of your fellows, shall duly
inquire and true presentment make of all such matters and things as relate to
the present service, wherein you shall spare no man for fear, love, favour, or
affection, nor present any man out of malice or hatred, but according as
things here presentable shall come to your knowledge, by information or
otherwise, so shall you make thereof true presentment without concealment.
So help you God."

Before the opening of the court by the deputy steward,
the bailiff makes the following proclamation :

" Oyez ! Oyez ! Oyez ! All manner of persons who owe suit and service
to this Court Leet and view of Frankpledge and Court Baron of His Most

ii2 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Gracious Majesty the King, as Duke of Lancaster, Baron of Halton, and
paramount Lord of this Manor and Fee, draw near, give your attendance,
and answer to your names."

No business is, of course, transacted, and the proceed-
ings finish up with a dinner, over which the deputy
steward presides.

As before stated, the court must have had jurisdiction
over a wide area, as the jurors are summoned from Barnton,
near North wich, and from Toft and Tabley, near Knutsford,
and also from Holmes Chapel. It is also evident from the
extracts from Mr. Beamont's book that minor courts were
held in connection with the Halton Court at a variety of
places, and it is also to be noticed that the jurisdiction of
the court extended across the river Mersey into Lancashire,
and that courts were held at Widnes and Farnworth. In
fact, there is the Manor of Widnes, comprising land on the
Lancashire side of the river, which also belongs to the
Duchy of Lancaster, and of which the King is the lord,
and it is presumed the jurisdiction of the court would
extend over the area of this manor.

In some remarks on the last Court Leet, held in Decem-
ber 1908, the Warrington Guardian stated :

" That the Widnes or Farnworth Leet, which was subject to Halton, had
the power to mete out only four punishments. These included the pillory, an
ignominious punishment ; and the cuck-stool or ducking-chair, for punishing
a scold, of whose unruly member it was said :

* Of members the tongue is the worst and the best,
And an ill tongue sows often the seeds of unrest.'

To curb the tongue, they had also the brank, an iron bridle which kept the
tongue quiet by more mechanical means. The court had also the stocks, the
constable's prison as it was called, and the whipping-post, but the Farn-
worth or Widnes Leet, though allied to Halton, had not the power which
Halton certainly possessed of inflicting the punishment of death."

In addition to its powers of punishment, there is no
doubt that, prior to the days of printing and when only few
people could read or write, the court was used as a means
of making public proclamations, and that presentments

HALTON COURT LEET 113

were made to it of matters of general interest to the people
which otherwise could not have been brought to their
knowledge. To-day we have our telegraphs and tele-
phones, our newspapers and our books, and all other ways
of letting every one know everything. Who shall say
which were the happier days ?

" Let the great world spin for ever
Down the ringing grooves of change."

In conclusion, we may remark that there is another
relic of old times in connection with the Manor of Halton,
in that part of the land there, and also in the Manor of
Widnes before referred to, is still of copyhold tenure, and
the ordinary laws of conveyancing do not apply to it.
For instance, a conveyance of land is carried out by way
of what is called a Surrender and Admission and a mort-
gage by a Conditional Surrender, and the deeds have to be
signed by the parties before the deputy steward. These
deeds are all entered on the court rolls of the manor, the
originals being sent to the Duchy Office in London, and
copies are kept at the office of the deputy steward, and
other copies handed to the parties dealing with the property.

This mode of transfer of the land is cumbersome and
expensive, and is gradually dying out, for any copyholder
can apply to the Duchy of Lancaster to have his land
enfranchised, and on the payment of certain fees he obtains
a conveyance of same from the King, as Lord of the Manor,
and the property then becomes his absolute freehold, and is
dealt with afterwards like any other property. The seal of
the Duchy of Lancaster is always affixed to the enfranchise-
ment deeds, and is so large that it has to be attached to the
deed by a strip of parchment and kept in a tin box.

CHESHIRE WORTHIES
BY P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A., F.S.A.

CHESHIRE, the " seed-plot of gentility," as Speed
loved to call his native shire, can boast of many
illustrious sons who have conferred honour on
their county. A large volume would be needed wherein to
chronicle all their achievements, their deeds of prowess,
their successes as poets, divines, lawyers, and philosophers.
We can only record the names of the most illustrious
Cestrians who have achieved fame in various professions
and are worthy of a niche in these memorials of the county.

SOLDIERS

Cheshire men have always been good fighters. They
have played their part bravely on many a battlefield at
home and abroad, and honour shall first be done to the
soldiers of the shire. In civil war there was little unity
amongst the gentlemen of Cheshire. They fought with, or
against, each other as party faction or inclination dictated ;
but against the enemies of England they were formidable
foes. The great Civil War that raged between King and
Parliament brought most of these Cheshire soldiers into
prominence, and most of the names on our list of warriors
are connected with that period.

In the wars with France when the third King Edward
reigned, Cheshire men showed well the* stuff they were made
of, their valour and bravery in arms. Foremost amongst their
number in this group of early warriors stands Sir Thomas

Danyers, who fought gallantly in the battle of Crecy under

114

CHESHIRE WORTHIES 115

the banner of the Black Prince. He plunged into the
thickest of the fight, and when the King bade his son
"win his spurs and the honour of the day for himself,"
Sir Thomas " relieved the banner of his Earl and took
prisoner the Chamberlain of France, de Tankerville." For
this gallant feat of arms the Prince rewarded the Cheshire
knight with a goodly sum of money, and the promise of the
grant of an estate in his native county. This promise was
not fulfilled until after the warrior's death, when the fair
lands of Lyme were bestowed upon his daughter, who had
married Sir Piers Legh ; and thus the famous family of
the Leighs of Lyme began their existence, and happily the
connection still survives after the lapse of many centuries.

Another brave soldier of the period was Sir John Delves,
who with his companions in arms contributed greatly to the
glorious victory of Poictiers. That fight was memorable for
Cheshire men. The gallant James, Lord Audley, a native
of the shire, though he lived in Staffordshire, had for his
four squires, John Delves, Dutton of Dutton, Foulshurst of
Crewe, and Hawkeston of Wrine Hall, a Cheshire man
though residing in Staffordshire. When the battle day
dawned Audley vowed to be foremost in the field and lead
the attack, and " with the ayde of his four scuyers dyd
marvels in arms, and foughte always in the cheyfe of the
batyle ; y l day he never toke prisoner, but always foughte
and wente on his enemyes." He was sorely wounded, and
was borne from the field by his faithful squires. For his
bravery the Prince made him a grant of five hundred marks a
year for ever. This reward the good knight handed over to
his squires, saying that they had deserved it as much as he,
and had more need of it. So the Prince gave him a second
grant of a like amount. Audley, as a further reward to his
squires, ordered that they should bear on their coats of arms
his own proper achievement, gules a fret, d'or. Sir John
Delves purchased Doddington, near Nantwich, where he
erected a goodly mansion in 1364, and where the statues
of himself and his brave companions, carved in later

n6 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

times, could be seen. There is an alabaster effigy of Sir
Robert Foulshurst, one of the gallant squires, in Barthomley
Church.

Sir Hugh Calveley sleeps at Bunbury, a mighty hero of
the French wars who fought under the brave leader Sir
John Chandos. You can see his fine alabaster tomb, a lion
couching at his feet, and his crest, a calf's head, which he
bore on many a foreign battlefield. Fuller says of him :
" Tradition makes him a man of teeth and hands, who would
feed as much as two, and fight as much as ten men ; his
quick and strong appetite could digest anything but an
injury, so that the killing a man is reported the cause of his
quitting this country, making hence for London and France.
Here he became a most eminent soldier." It were vain to
tell of all his exploits. He fought in Brittany in 1357, at
Auray in 1364, Navarete in 1367, in Brittany again with Sir
John Arundell in 1380, when the expedition was almost
entirely destroyed by a storm and 20,000 men perished.
Many of these warriors lived a wild and turbulent life
during the wars, and Sir Hugh, perhaps repenting of his
deeds, in his old age converted the Parish Church of
Bunbury into a collegiate church, with a master and six
chaplains to pray for his soul. One of his companions in
arms was Sir Robert Knowles, born of mean parentage in
Cheshire, but brave and valiant. He fought with Sir Hugh
Calveley in Brittany in 1351, when thirty Englishmen en-
countered the like number of Bretons and were sorely
worsted. The ruined castles that he left behind him in
France were termed " Knowles's Mitres." His last service
to his country was the suppression of Wat Tyler's rebellion.
The Wars of the Roses claimed some Cheshire victims.
On the bloody field of Blore Heath, when the Earl of Salis-
bury defeated Lord Audley and the Yorkists on September 25,
1459, fell Sir Robert Booth, the ancestor of the Booth family
of Dunham Massey. His brass memorial, with that of his
wife, the heiress of that estate, is in the church at Wilm-
slow. Sir William Stanley, second son of the first Lord

SIR HUGH CALVELEY'S TOMB, BUNBURY CHURCH.

CHESHIRE WORTHIES 117

>tanley, in the time of Henry VII. held Ridley, being
Chamberlain of Cheshire. He distinguished himself at the
battle of Bosworth, rescuing Henry from great peril and
saving his life. He was the first to set the crown of
England on King Henry's head, after it had been found on
the battlefield trampled under the feet of the fighters. A
gratified monarch bestowed upon him wealth and honour,
but he was accused of favouring the design of Perkin
Warbeck, and perished on the scaffold. His manor of
Ridley was forfeited to the Crown and given to another
distinguished soldier, Sir Ralph Egerton, who fought bravely
at the battle of the Spurs, and at the siege of Terouenne
and Tournay, capturing the standard of the French. He
also fought at Flodden Field, and was appointed royal
standard-bearer of England, a high distinction nobly earned.
He lies in the church at Bunbury, and from him descended
the lines of the Earls and Dukes of Bridgewater.

Of the brave men of Elizabethan times we may mention
the Cheshire warrior Sir Uryan Legh, of the Leghs of
Adlington, who, present at the taking of Cadiz under the
leadership of the Earl of Essex in 1590, was knighted
for his gallantry, and in the time of James I. became Sheriff
of Cheshire. You can see his portrait at Bramhall Hall
attired in Spanish dress, in which, according to an old
ballad, he wrought mischief in the heart of a fair Spanish
lady who made violent love to him, and could only be deterred
by the somewhat lately imparted knowledge that Sir Uryan
had already a wife. Sir George Beeston, another gallant
soldier, lies at Bunbury, where a fine monument records his
memory. He was one of those who, though advanced in
years, took an active part in defeating the Spanish Armada,
and fought valiantly at the siege of Boulogne.

Fiercely did the great Civil War rage in Cheshire, and
fiercely did the Cestrians fight. Foremost among them
was Sir William Brereton, the great Cheshire leader of the
Parliamentary army, and commander-in-chief of the Cheshire
forces. The story of his fights is the history of the Civil

n8 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

War in this and the neighbouring counties, and cannot be
told here. His relative Lord Brereton, the owner of the
seat Brereton, one of the finest mansions in the county,
was a brave supporter of the Royalist cause. Sir William
lived to see the Restoration, and died at the archiepiscopal
palace at Croydon, which had been granted to him by the
Parliament. Lord Brereton returned to his goodly house,
but families, alas ! become extinct, and the name once so
famous in Cheshire history now no longer exists save in
memory.

Colonel Edward Massey, of the ancient family of the
Masseys of Coddington, was a soldier of fortune who
fought on both sides in the war. He, however, threw in his
lot with the enemies of the King, and was made Governor
of Gloucester. He held the city during the siege ; but on
the triumph of the Independents his career was chequered,
and he found his way back to the King, and became Major-
general in the Royal army. History tells not when he died.

Another Parliamentary leader was Colonel Robert Dukin-
field, of Dukinfield, who came of an ancient Cheshire family.
He defended Stockport Bridge against Prince Rupert, laid
siege to and captured Whiltenshaw, became Governor of
Chester, took part in the disgraceful court-martial of the
Earl of Derby, who was judicially murdered at Bolton, and
obtained the surrender by the Countess of the Derby estates
in the Isle of Man. He wrote a delightful letter to Crom-
well, in which he tells the Protector that he firmly believes
that the root of the tree of piety is alive in him, though the
leaves thereof, through the abundance of temptations and
flatterers, seemed to the writer to be withered much of late,
yet he hoped time and experience would have a good in-
fluence upon his lordship, Deo juv ante. This letter, and
other outspoken words, did not endear Dukinfield to the
Protector's followers, who showed their distrust of him.
However, he crushed the abortive rising of Sir George
Booth, and received the thanks of the Parliament and a
reward for his services. He did not escape persecution

CHESHIRE WORTHIES 119

at the Restoration, but the Royalists admired the staunch
old Colonel, and the King made his son a baronet.

This Sir George Booth, who before the return of Charles
II. was appointed commander-in-chief of the King's forces
in Cheshire, Lancashire, and North Wales, and headed an
abortive attempt to restore his Majesty to the throne, was
well rewarded for his services. After his defeat he escaped
in a woman's habit, riding on a pillion behind one of his
grooms. But his sex was detected by the landlord of an
inn where he sojourned, and he was captured and sent
to the Tower. In 1660 the House of Commons voted him
;io,ooo for his services in effecting the Restoration. He
was created Baron Delamere of Dunham Massey, and was
appointed Custos Rotulorum for the county. He died at
Dunham Massey, and was buried at Bowdon in 1673. In
his attempt to regain the throne for Charles II. he was
greatly assisted by Roger Grosvenor, ancestor of the Dukes
of Westminster, who have always "stood by their pious
principles of faith and loyalty," as Randle Holme truly
testifies. His son, Sir Thomas, commanded a troop in the
Earl of Shrewsbury's regiment of horse in 1685, which
encamped at Hounslow Heath, and he was offered a
peerage by James II. for his answer to the repeal of the
Test Acts, a bribe which he had the courage to resist. He
was M.P. for Chester, Mayor of the city, and Sheriff of
the county.

The Astons were unfortunate Royalists. Sir Thomas
was defeated by Sir William Brereton at Middlewich, and
Sir Arthur, after being Governor of Reading, and earning
the praise of his sovereign, who deemed that " there was
not a man in his army of greater reputation, or one of
whom the enemy had greater dread," lost his leg and then
his life in the slaughter of the garrison of Tredagh, in
Ireland. Two other gallant Royalists must be mentioned,
Sir Francis Gamul, of Buerton, who watched from the
Phoenix Tower with the King the fatal fight of Rowton
Heath, and helped him to escape from his enemies ; and

120 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Sir Geoffrey Shakerley, who performed many deeds of
daring during the war; and at Rowton Heath, in order
to convey a message to the King, crossed the Dee in a
tub, holding the bridle of his horse, which was swimming
at the side. He was a good friend and servant of the
King, Governor of the Castle of Chester, and lies beneath
his fine monument at Nether Peover Church.

Henry Booth, Earl of Warrington and Baron Delamere,
second son of Baron Delamere before mentioned, played
as distinguished a part in the Revolution and in establish-
ing William III. on the English throne as his father had
done for Charles II. A brave assertor of his country's
rights, and a defender of the Protestant religion, he fell
foul of James II., and was tried on a groundless charge
of high treason, the notorious Jefferies being his accuser.
He escaped that peril, and soon raised an army in Cheshire
and Lancashire to aid Dutch William. To him fell the
duty of telling the last Stuart king that he must leave
Whitehall, treating the fallen monarch with a respect and
deference that touched his Majesty. Many honours were
heaped upon him, including the Earldom of Warrington
and a pension of .2000 a year; but he did not long enjoy
his dignity, as death summoned him at the early age of
forty- two years in 1693-4.

Colonel, and afterwards General, Werden risked his life
and fortune for King Charles, had to fly from the country,
and continued with the royal family until the Restoration,
after which he was appointed to several offices of trust?
and was comptroller of the royal household. His son John
was created a baronet, and held many important posts.

Sir Roger Mostyn, of Mostyn, Baronet, was a gallant
soldier who raised 1500 men for the King's service, cap-
tured Hawarden Castle, >was Governor of Flint Castle,
which he maintained until the death of the King's cause.
His house of Mostyn was plundered, and he was imprisoned
in Conway Castle ; at the Restoration a baronetcy was the
reward of his services.

CHESHIRE WORTHIES 121

Doubtless Cheshire had many other brave soldiers, but
this list must now suffice.

BISHOPS

The county has seen many of her sons raised to the Epis-
copal Bench. Foremost amongst these was the saintly Bishop
Wilson of Mona's Isle, who was born of humble parents
in the parish of Burton in the Wirral district. Three years
after the Restoration Thomas Wilson first saw the light ;
his holy, wise, charitable, God-fearing life was a burning
and a shining light in his age, and his influence spread
far and wide. He planted the Church anew in his remote
little diocese. In vain did Queen Anne and Queen Caroline
try to tempt him to leave the island by the offer of another
diocese. He set his face against pluralism, the curse of
his time, refusing to hold any preferments in addition to his
See, which was poor and impoverished. Crowds flocked
to see him, to crave from him a blessing. The writer has
been with the fishermen of this island, and heard them sing
their sweet hymns as they kneel beside their bulwarks when
they are going to ply their calling on the sea, and he was
told that Bishop Wilson first taught their fathers to sing
those hymns and seek a blessing on their toil.

We know little of Dr. Hugh Bellot, Bishop of Bangor
and Chester. He was the son of Thomas Bellot, of Great
Moulton Hall, in the parish of Astbury in this county, and
died in 1596. Nor can I say much of Bishop Rider, who
was born in 1562 at Carrington in this county. He became
Bishop of Killaloe in 1612, and found time amid his epis-
copal duties to compile a Latin Dictionary, But every one
has heard of the famous Bishop Heber, who was born at
Malpas in 1783, the son of the rector of that place. His
poems and hymns are known to all. It was his Newdigate
Prize Poem at Oxford on the subject of Palestine that first
brought him fame. For some years he was rector of
Hodnet, where he delighted in the calmness of village life.

122 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

At length he received a call to the See of Calcutta, where
he died at the early age of forty-three years.

Bishop Edward Stanley was the son of Sir J. T. Stanley
of Alderley Park, and was born in 1779. He was rector of
Alderley from 1805 to 1837, and proved himself a model
clergyman, shining as a light in a dark age. He came to
an entirely neglected parish, and by his example and pre-
cept transformed it into a totally different place. He was
an early educationist, and took care that his children should
be well taught. He put down drunkenness and prize-
fighting, and was a close observer of nature a northern
White of Selborne. In 1837 he was called to the See of
Norwich, which he held until his death in 1849 a very
worthy Bishop.

A few learned divines we may mention. Dr. Samuel
Clarke, a Puritan, minister of Shotwick, where he was
a favourite preacher. He was a very voluminous writer,
and died in 1682. Dr. John Hulse, the founder of the
Hulsean Lectures at Cambridge, was born at Middle-
wich in 1708. When a child he was rescued by his
grandfather from squalid circumstances, and obtained high
university distinction at Cambridge. He became vicar of
Goostrey until, on his father's death, he became possessed
of the family estate of Elworth, near Sandbach. John
Barron, D.D., canon of Salisbury, chaplain to Lord-
Chancellor Egerton, and founder of a Hebrew lectureship
at Brazenose College, Oxford, should be mentioned, who
died in 1642. He is described by a contemporary biographer
as " a bountiful housekeeper, of a cheerful spirit and a
peaceful disposition." Many other names of learned bishops
and divines will occur to the reader, and this list would
include many of the bishops and deans of Chester, but few
of them were natives of the county, and are therefore not
included in these biographical notes.

CHESHIRE WORTHIES 123

POETS

Of poets, we have mentioned the saintly Heber. But
there are others of an earlier age. John Brownswerd, a
native of the shire, was born in 1540, and after graduating
at Cambridge became master of the Grammar School at
Macclesfield, earning fame as one of the best Latin poets
of his age. A tablet was raised to the memory of this
" vir pius & doctus," who is described as

Alpha poetarum, coryphaeus gratnmaticorum
Flos paedagogum hie sepelitur humo.

He died in 1589, a good example of the learned men of the
Elizabethan age, who trained their pupils in good classic
lore. There were several such schools in Cheshire at
Chester, Audlem, Northwich, and other places. Another
Elizabethan poet owed his education to such schools.
Geoffrey Whitney, who was born at Nantwich, learned his
classics at Audlem and Northwich, graduated at Oxford,
and then migrated to Leyden. There he published his
Choice of Emblemes, printed in 1586 in the famous printing-
press of Christopher Plantyn, and a collection of fables.
Each poem is dedicated to one of the principal gentlemen
in Lancashire and Cheshire. The Cheshire historian
Ormerod quotes a poem addressed " to my countremen of
the Namptwicke in Cheshire," relating to a fire that had
lately destroyed the town, and comparing the place to a
phoenix, of which the poet gives a device. Near Northwich
was born Sir John Birkenhead, poet and political writer, of
humble origin, his father being either a saddler or an inn-
keeper. The excellence of the Cheshire schools is again
shown by his ability in taking a degree at Oxford and a
fellowship at Oriel College. When the Civil War broke
out he started the newspaper the Mercurius Aulicus for
the purpose of " communicating the intelligence and affairs
of the Court of Oxon to the rest of the kingdom." The
King was pleased with this product of his fluent pen, and

124 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

appointed him Reader in Moral Philosophy. When mis-
fortune befell him with the fall of the Royal cause, he wrote
poems and divers political tracts, and at the Restoration
was rewarded for his loyalty with a knighthood and other
lucrative appointments. He has been described as a man
"of great courage in words, scoffing humour, an un-
scrupulous conscience, and an inexhaustible fund of arch
and mischievous drollery, . . . one of the most expert and
successful guerilla partisans on the side of the Royalists."

The poet Milton is connected with this county, as his
third wife, Elizabeth Mynshal, a lady connected with some
of the best Cheshire families, came from Cheshire and died
at Nantwich. She is believed to have been a termagant,
and brought the poet little pleasure, but others have de-
scribed her as of "a peaceful and agreeable humour."

The Rev. William Broome, a native of Cheshire, was a
poet of some distinction, a translator of Homer, and the
coadjutor of Pope in the translation of the Odyssey. He
supplied all the notes to that work, but he quarrelled with
Pope, and was lampooned in the Dunciad. Dr. Johnson
gave him a niche in his Lives of the Poets, describing him
as an excellent versifier ; " his lines are smooth and
sonorous, and his diction is select and elegant." Another
name must be honoured among Cheshire poets, that of
Henry Birkenhead, M.D., a poet of distinction, Fellow
of All Souls College, Oxford, a founder in 1707 of the
Professorship of Poetry in that University.

JUDGES AND CHANCELLORS

Some Cheshire lawyers have achieved fame. In the
spacious days of Queen Elizabeth, at Nantwich in 1588 was
born Randolph Crewe, who came of the distinguished family
of the Crewes of Crewe Hall, though his father was in poor
circumstances at the time of his birth. He and his brother
Thomas were fired with the idea of regaining the family
estates. The good schools of Cheshire enabled them to

CHESHIRE WORTHIES 125

go to Oxford ; they became students at Lincoln's Inn,
Serjeants-at-Law, and successively Speakers of the House
of Commons. Randolph rose rapidly in his profession, and
in 1624 became Lord Chief Justice of England. In the
discharge of his high office he showed a perfectly honest
and independent spirit, much learning and ability, strict
honour and integrity, therein differing from many of the
venal judges of his age. He refused to bow to the King's
will in respect of the imposition of illegal taxes, and in
consequence was deprived of his rank. He retired to his
beloved Cheshire, purchased the old family estates, and
built for himself a new manor house. Fuller tells in his
quaint way that Sir Randolph " first brought the model
of excellent building into these remote parts ; yea, brought
London into Cheshire, in the loftiness, sightliness, and
pleasantness of their structures." His letter to the Duke
of Buckingham is a model of straightforward honesty,
stating his reasons for his decision in the matter of the
taxation, and asking for his Grace's intercession with the
King. While the war was raging between King and Parlia-
ment he quietly passed away in his Hall at Crewe, and lies
at rest in the Crewe Chapel at Barthomley.

Another eminent lawyer was Lord Chancellor Ellesmere,
Thomas, Viscount Brackley, the natural son of Sir Richard
Egerton of Ridley, born in 1540. Queen Elizabeth on one
occasion heard him pleading with his usual shrewdness
against a Crown case, and exclaimed, " In my troth, he
shall never plead against me again," and from that day
his rise was rapid. He became Attorney-General in 1592,
was knighted, Master of the Rolls in 1594, and two years
later Lord Keeper and Member of Privy Council. On the
death of the Queen he was called upon to conduct the affairs
of the nation until the arrival of King James of Scotland,
who constituted him Lord Chancellor and Baron Ellesmere.
For twelve years he held the reins of office, conducted
many important trials, helped to unite the kingdoms of
England and Scotland, and at length, full of years and

i26 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

honours, with much pathos resigned his high office, being
succeeded by Sir Francis Bacon. His body rests in
Dodleston Church.

The name of Sir Edward Fitton, Lord President of
Connaught and Thomond, and Treasurer of Ireland in the
reign of Elizabeth, must not be forgotten or omitted from
our list of Cheshire worthies. He was born at Gawsworth,
and a memorial to the knight may be seen in St. Patrick's
Cathedral in Dublin.

Sir Humphrey Davenport was Lord Chief Baron of the
Exchequer in the reign of Charles I., and had a distin-
guished legal career. He was the fourth son of William
Davenport of Bramhall, near Stockport. Sir Peter War-
burton of Grafton, one of the Judges of the King's Bench
about the same period, was also a Cheshire man. Another
great lawyer was Richard Peter Arden, Lord Alvanley, born
at Bredbury in 1745. In 1780 he became King's Counsel,
M.P. for Newton in the Isle of Wight, Master of the Rolls,
and, in 1801, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, when he
was created Lord Alvanley, taking his title from a manor
in the parish of Frodsham which had been held by his
ancestors. He was a somewhat outspoken, hasty, and
flippant judge, and amusing stories are told of his sayings
in court and of his disputes with Lord Chancellor Thurlow.

Chief Justice Williams was the son of a rector of
Bunbury, where he was born in 1777, and had a brilliant
legal career. His reputation was made at the trial of
Queen Caroline, whose junior counsel he was, with Mr.
Brougham, afterwards Lord Brougham, as his senior. His
able advocacy was the chief cause of the vindication of the
unfortunate Queen. He was returned to Parliament for
Lincoln in 1823, became Attorney-General in 1830, and
Puisne Judge of the King's Bench four years later, when
he was made a knight. A volume of Greek epigrams
testifies to his devotion to classical studies.

The last Cheshire lawyer on our list is Lord Kenyon.
Though not actually born in the county, his native place

CHESHIRE WORTHIES 127

being Greddington, just over the border in Flintshire, he
had a Cheshire lady for his mother, and began his career
at an attorney's office in Nantwich. He might have spent
his life there, having been offered a partnership ; but he
soared higher, went to London, and was called to the Bar
in 1756. He was M.P. for Hindon and Chief Justice of
Chester in 1780, and was engaged in the defence of Lord
George Gordon in that memorable trial of the Gordon
rioters. After being Attorney-General and Master of the
Rolls, he was created a baronet, raised to the peerage, and
appointed Chief Justice in 1788. He was noted for his
parsimonious ways, relics of his early poverty ; but his
biographers assert that few lawyers so able, and none more
honest, ever entered Westminster Hall.

SCIENTISTS

Edward Brerewood, the son of a Chester tradesman,
born in 1565, was a celebrated mathematician and anti-
quary. From the Free School at Chester he went to
Oxford, and became the first professor of astronomy in
Gresham College. Several of his works were published
after his death by his nephew, Robert Brerewood, of
Chester.

Cheshire can boast of an early botanist and herbalist;
John Gerarde, who was born at Nantwich in 1545. He
was head gardener to Lord Burghley from 1577. He took
his early lessons in the book of nature when wandering on
the banks of the Weaver in his native shire. He wrote, in
1596, his work, entitled Catalogus arborum, fruticum ac
plantarum, and he was the author of The Herball or
General Historie of Plantes, "gathered by John Gerarde,
of London, Master in Chirurgerie."

A more eminent scientist was Samuel Molyneux, son of
a learned father, and was born at Chester in 1689. He was
a wonderful, precocious genius, and could do marvellous
things when he was only five years old. His biographer

128 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

tells us that " when he advanced to manhood he was
acknowledged to be one of the most polite and accomplished
gentlemen in England or Ireland, and was appointed secre-
tary to the Prince of Wales, afterwards George II., and had
a house in Kew, near Richmond, where he improved himself
in his favourite study astronomy." He greatly improved
the making of telescopes. He married Elizabeth, sister to
the Earl of Essex.

The third Lord Brereton, unlike his father, who loved
warlike pursuits and fought for the King in the Civil War,
was a lover of science and peaceful pursuits. He was
educated at Breda in Holland, under the care of Dr. John
Pell, and became a good mathematician and algebraist. He
was one of the founders of the Royal Society, associated
with all the learned men of his time, and always endeavoured
to advance the cause of science. He was somewhat of a
poet, musician, and composer. The proceedings of the
Royal Society often record his name, which learned
Society in its infant days seems to have concerned itself
with somewhat childish questions, and exercised the minds
of its members on the divining-rod and the superstition
with regard to the portents presaging the death of any
member of the Brereton family.

Lawrence Earnshaw was a wonderful mechanical genius,
a native of Mottram-in-Longdendale in the first half of the
eighteenth century. Nothing came amiss to his skilful
fingers. He could shear sheep and make the wool into cloth
entirely with implements of his own making. Engraver,
painter, gilder, glass-stainer, blacksmith, gunsmith, bell-
founder ; maker of sundials, harpsichords, violins, organs
he could do everything. But his great achievement was in
the art of clockmaking, producing a curious astronomical and
geographical machine which represented the motions of the
earth, moon, stars, &c. He anticipated the invention of
the spinning-jenny, but destroyed his machine lest it should
decrease labour and take bread from the mouths of the
poor. Another noted clockmaker was John Whitehurst,

CHESHIRE WORTHIES 129

Fellow of the Royal Society, born at Congleton in 1713.
He was author of some philosophical papers, amongst
others of an Inquiry into the Original State and Formation
of the Earth.

Another learned Cestrian was Dr. William Falconer,
born at Chester in 1741. He was learned in science and
horticulture, and published several works, including An
Historical View of the taste for Gardening and Laying-out
Grounds among the Nations of Antiquity ; An Essay on
the Means of Preserving the Health of those employed in
Agricultural Labours ; and A Sketch of the History of Sugar
in Early Times.

HISTORIANS

Many are the writers on Cheshire history whose names
should be recorded men who have loved their county and
desired to tell of its beauties and historical associations.
We can only mention a tithe of those worthy sons who
have done honour to their shire, and accomplished work
which has been often little understood or appreciated by
their fellows.

The first of these is a name honoured by all historians,
Henry Bradshaw, a native of Chester and a monk of St.
Werburgh's Abbey, who lived in the latter part of the
fourteenth century. He was one of the earliest chroniclers
of Cheshire, and wrote his works in the cloistered shade of
his monastic house. His works consist of a treatise, De
Antiquitate et Magnificentid Urbis Cestrice, and a transla-
tion of " The Holy Lyfe and History of Saint Werburge,
very frutefull for all Christen people to rede." The first
work is believed to have been lost, unless it is incorporated
in the latter treatise, as Dr. Gower suggested. Perhaps
we should have included Henry Bradshaw amongst our
poets, in whose company he well deserves a high and
important niche. His body lies near the shrine of the
saint of whose virtues he loved to sing.

John Booth of Twamlowe, a contemporary of Sir

130 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

William Brereton, was a distinguished Cheshire genealogist
who occupies a foremost place amongst the antiquaries of
the county. His works have been most useful to sub-
sequent writers.

John Speed, born at Farndon in 1552, is a writer of
whom any county may be proud. An account of this
learned historian has already appeared in this volume.

The disputes of the learned often cause amusement,
and the controversy between the rival baronets, Sir Peter
Leicester and Sir Thomas Maynwaring of Over Peover,
aroused much merriment in 1673-75. Sir Peter published
a learned work in two volumes on the historical antiqui-
ties of Great Britain and more particularly of Cheshire,
in which he asserted that Amicia, daughter of Hugh
Keveliock, fifth Earl of Chester, a descendant of Hugh
Lupus, was illegitimate. This aroused Sir Thomas Mayn-
waring, whose ancestor had married the said Amicia. He
published a defence of the injured lady. Then Peter wrote
an answer to Sir Thomas's book, who retaliated with
another book. So the controversy went on, each disputant
waxing more wroth, until at last a law-suit ensued, the
result being in favour of the champion of Amicia.

One of the earliest historians of Cheshire was Daniel
King, the author of The Vale Royal of England, or History
of Cheshire. He was more skilled in engraving than in
writing, and his work was adorned with plates by Hollar.
He was greatly aided by William Smith, Rouge Dragon,
William Webb, clerk of the Mayor's court at Chester, and
William Aldersey, Mayor of Chester. Webb had some
pretensions to be accounted a poet, and wrote "a Discourse
on English poetry" in 1586. King's Vale Roy at was not a
great book, but it has served its purpose in preserving a
record of many things which might have been forgotten,
and its engravings and illustrations will always be valuable.
An abridged and revised edition was subsequently pub-
lished by Thomas Hughes.

An account of the Randle Holmes father, son, and

CHESHIRE WORTHIES 131

grandson a noted family of antiquaries, appears in another
chapter. Mr. T. Worthington Barlow, F.L.S., barrister of
Gray's Inn, wrote much on the county ; and we are greatly
indebted to his Historical and Literary Associations of
Cheshire for much valuable information which has been
useful in the compiling of this record of Cheshire worthies.
Nor must we forget the interesting diary of the Rev.
Edward Burghall, the Puritanical vicar of Aston, who
records with much perspicuity the events of the Civil War
in Cheshire with many " moral reflections." His anim-
adversions on the Quakers, who troubled him sorely, are
rather amusing reading.

Amongst Cheshire worthies must not be forgotten Sir
Richard Sutton, co-founder with Bishop William Smyth of
Lincoln, of Brazenose College, Oxford, " for the study of
Philosophy and Sacred Theology, to the Praise and Honour
of Almighty God," in 1509. He was born at Prestbury,
near Macclesfield, and was a lawyer, Governor of the Inner
Temple, and Steward of the Monastery of Syon, afterward
Sion College. He was the author of a work entitled
Orcharde of Syon, but his chief fame rests on his com-
pletion of the foundation of the Oxford College which had
been commenced by the bishop.

Such, then, are some of the worthies of Cheshire.
Many others might be included, but the roll of honour of
the county is already lengthy. We might mention the
names of several of the illustrious families of the shire
whose scions still continue to follow in the footsteps of
their forefathers, and have conferred credit on their houses
and on their native county. Some of the great and good
men of Cheshire have but recently passed away, whose
names are household words in the Cestrian land. They
need no mention, no memorial, save that which their lives
and good deeds have afforded. The love of the men of
Cheshire for their shire has inspired many an act of daring,
much toil, much devotion ; may it continue so to do in the
Vale Royal of England.

132 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

There is one name more that must be mentioned. He
has been denounced as a "viper of hell," a "monster of
men," whose bones were dragged from his tomb in West-
minster Abbey and buried beneath the Tyburn gallows tree.
Shall a regicide be mentioned among the worthies ? Such
was John Bradshaw, the judge of the Martyr King. He
came of a good Cheshire family, and spent his life in studying

-Conn tne (onne d Ifinrve

- fi / .,

law, rising high in his profession. This is not the place
to judge his motives. He was no time-server, nor was he
a universal favourite with his political colleagues. It is
enough for us to note that he was born in Cheshire. A
facsimile of the register of his baptism is shown with the
additional word tl traitor " added by a later hand, marking
the writer's detestation of the man who was called upon
to play so prominent a part in the tragedy of the murder
of a king, the chief instrument in the travesty of justice
that ended on the scaffold at Whitehall.

THE FOUR RANDLE HOLMES OF
CHESTER

(AN EPITOME OF A PAPER BY THE LATE
J. P. EARWAKER, F.S.A.)

BY THE ARCHDEACON OF CHESTER

NO book dealing with memorials of old Cheshire
would be complete which did not give due promi-
nence to those noted antiquaries of former genera-
tions, the Randle Holmes, and acknowledge gratefully and
without stint the indebtedness of subsequent writers and
students to their research and patient investigations. What
follows will show, however inadequately, how great these
obligations are. At the outset it may be said that some
confusion has arisen from the fact that the name Randle
Holme was borne by four members of the family in succes-
sive generations, and as a consequence the work of one has
sometimes been assigned to another.

The family of Holme is a distinctly Cheshire one, Robert
de Holme acquiring by marriage at the end of the fourteenth
century a moiety of the manor of Tranmere or Tranmole.
The property remained in the family till the reign of James I.,
when William Holme of Chester, on whom it had devolved,
sold it. His uncle Thomas was the first to settle in Chester,
and his fourth son was the first Randle Holme. He was
born about 1571, dying in 1655, i* 1 tne eighty-fourth year of
his age. By his marriage in 1 598 with the widow of Thomas
Chaloner of Chester, a distinguished antiquary and herald,
he succeeded to her late husband's papers, and was thus

probably led to take up the study of genealogy and family

133

134 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

history. Chaloner had held an official position as deputy to
the Heralds' College, and in March 1600- 1 he was succeeded
by Randle Holme, who was appointed by William Segar,
Norroy King-of-Arms, as his deputy, to keep a " regester
booke of Funerals in the counties of Chester, Lancaster, and
North Wales." In this capacity he had to truly enter the
arms and crests, &c., "of all such persons of Coate Armor
and worship as it shall please God to call out of this tran-
sitory life " ; and to demand and collect the " due fees."
In 1604 he is mentioned as an Alderman of his company, as
also is his brother William, " a stationer," he himself being
" a painter/' In 1615 he was one of the two sheriffs of the
city, and in 1622 rebuilt his house in Bridge Street, now the
" Old King's Head." In 1631 he was one of those selected
for " obligatory knighthood," but he compounded by pay-
ment of ;io. In 1633 he was elected Mayor of the city,
and at the same time his son Randle became one of the
sheriffs. He was in Chester throughout the whole of the
troublous time of the Civil War, and also during the violent
outbreak of the plague in 1647. In January 1646 he was
charged by the Parliamentarians as having taken the King's
part, and was fined as a delinquent 160. This apparently
he did not pay, for after his death his son protested against
the payment of this large sum, and some interesting docu-
ments are in existence in which it was urged that he was
looked upon as the Parliament's friend. He died in January
1654-55, and was buried at St. Mary's-on-the-Hill, the in-
teresting memorial tablet on wood, bearing his arms, being
unfortunately lost. He was succeeded by his son Randle,
born in 1601, who in 1625 had married the eldest daughter
of Matthew Ellis of Overleigh, whose widow became ten years
later his father's second wife. In 1629 he was one of the
churchwardens of St. Mary's, holding office for two years ;
and in 1643 he became Mayor, and as such was the recipient
of numerous official letters from the chief commanders of the
Royalist side. These and other similar documents were
bound up by his son and successor the third Randle

THE FOUR HANDLE HOLMES OF CHESTER 135

Holme, and are preserved in the Harleian MSS. in the
British Museum. They bear autograph signatures of King
Charles I., Prince Rupert, Sir John Byron, Sir Francis
Gamul, and many others, and form a most interesting col-
lection. The same description applies to another volume,
giving a full account of the siege of Chester, and which was
written at the time and derived from papers of the Randle
Holmes, the writer in one passage stating that he had " for
the most part gathered this history from the study of Randle
Holme" that is, the second i Randle Holme. This is a
sufficient indication of the historical instinct and practice
of the family, and of what we owe to it for the preservation
of accurate records of events that happened. Randle Holme
the Second did not long survive his father only a little over
four years. A handsome monument to his memory in the
Church of St. Mary-on-the-Hill in Chester gives a pedigree
of the family, tracing it back to " Peter de Lymme, son of
Gilbert, Lord of Lymme, who lived in the time of Edward I."
It also contains three coats of arms, besides crests, and is
a good specimen of heraldic knowledge and genealogical re-
search. This Randle Holme, though buried at St. Mary's,
lived after his second marriage, in 1643, in the parish of
Holy Trinity, where his name appears in the list as Mayor
in 1644. During the siege of Chester the Stationers' Com-
pany could not hold their meetings in the " Golden Phoenix "
(the Phoenix Tower), and so they met at " Alderman Holmes
junior's house in Watergate Street." In the entry of a
meeting "at the Alderman's howse " on October 18, 1645,
we are told that " the Golden Phoenix was employed for
service for the defence of the garrison of Chester, the enimie
in close seidge about the Cittye." Whether Randle Holme
the Second was able to secure the remission of the fine de-
manded of his father we cannot say. In the Harl. MSS. is
a document in which he has left a record of his family, with
the dates of their births and baptisms, and the names of
their god-parents, designated in some of the entries as
" witnesses " and in some as "gossips." We learn from

136 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

this that his first-born and eldest son, the third Randle
Holme, was born on December 24, 1627, and baptized on
the 3<Dth of the same month, and that one of his godfathers
was Francis Gamul, the other being his grandfather, the first
Randle Holme.

Randle Holme the Third is the most distinguished of the
four who successively bore that name. He was the author
of a most extraordinary book, entitled The Academy of
Armoury ; and he was also a prominent Freemason. He
took up the business of his father and grandfather, and in
due course was admitted a member of the same company, of
which, on the death of his father, he was duly elected an
alderman. He served the office of churchwarden of St.
Mary's for two years from Easter 1657, and was instru-
mental in the erection of a new tower or steeple and the
provision of a new peal of four bells, the initials of the
churchwardens (George Chamberlain and Randle Holme),
as well as those of the bell founder, John Scott of Wigan,
appearing on them. The peal has now been enlarged into
one of eight. In 1664 he was appointed to the office of
"sewer of the chamber in extraordinary to his Majesty
King Charles II." A " sewer" was an officer whose
function it was to place the dishes on the table and to remove
them afterwards, and some think that it was also his duty
to taste them. It almost looks as if the title had arisen
from the mis-spelling of the word, and as if the "sez/er"
really was the "server." However, the word is to be
found in Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, and others. In the
Harl. MSS. we have the certificate of Randle Holme's
appointment, which shows that under it he was exempt
from " bearing any publick office whatsoever." This will
account for the fact that, unlike his father and grandfather,
he never held any office in the corporation of his native
city. We do not know by what Court influence he obtained
this appointment, which, though it contained certain privi-
leges, must have been purely honorary, and we do not read
of his being called upon on any occasion to fulfil its duties.

THE FOUR HANDLE HOLMES OF CHESTER 137

A dispute arose about this time between Randle Holme
and the Heralds' College, whose powers he was charged
with usurping, by preparing coats of arms and hatchments,
and receiving fees for so doing. The controversy was
sharp and took a very practical shape, for we learn from
the diary of William Dugdale, Norroy King-of-Arms, that
he pulled down or defaced some "Achievements which
Holmes, the Paynter, of Chester had hung up." This he
did at Budworth, Nether Peover, and Eastham, and other
places in Cheshire. The dispute had nothing to do with
his heraldic knowledge and skill, which cannot have been
disputed, but probably arose from the fact that he had not
then (as he subsequently was) been officially appointed
deputy to the Norroy King-of-Arms. It would have been
a dangerous precedent to allow any unauthorised person,
however competent, to undertake such functions, and might
have led to much confusion and to many mistakes, so that
the action of the Norroy King-of-Arms is easily accounted
for. The difficulty, which lasted some five years or there-
abouts, was apparently solved by the appointment of
Randle Holme as deputy to the Norroy King-of-Arms
(as his father had been before him), though there is no
record of the date of his appointment. He had probably
acted for his father, and continued the same practice after
his father's death without waiting for the requisite authority.

It was in 1688 that he issued his extraordinary book
The Academy of Armory, or a Storehouse of Armory and
Blazon. From the title it might be supposed that the work
was entirely on heraldic matters, whereas it treats of almost
every subject under the sun, and is a kind of encyclopaedia,
arranged, it must be confessed, in a most awkward form.
He began collecting materials for it at a very early age,
when he was only twenty-two ; and it was forty years later
before the book was printed. Whilst there can be no doubt
that much of what it contains might well have been omitted,
it stands out as a monumental evidence of the industry of
the author as a collector of out-of-the-way information

138 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

which he was anxious to preserve, and of his desire to
make the work as complete as possible. The information
thus gathered together is sometimes very valuable, and
often very quaint ; whilst specimens of Cheshire dialect,
now obsolete, are to be found in words and phrases which
were evidently in common use when the book was written.
The title-page, which is very long, prepares us for the
variety which the book contains, as the following sentence
from it will show : " Very useful for all gentlemen, scholars,
Divines, and all such as desire any knowledge in arts and
sciences."

The chapters are dedicated to various personages or
classes of persons, and some of these lengthy dedications
are interesting compositions. The Fourth Book was never
set up in type, and of the latter portion of the Third Book
the only printed example is in the Royal Library at
Windsor Castle. Other copies end with the first part of
Book III., concluding with a valedictory address, explain-
ing how the vast expense entailed and the inadequate
return made him " resolve to go no further." The book
was printed at Chester, and is the earliest work printed
there, and as such has, of course, a special interest for
the city and county. It is rather remarkable that on the
site of his house in Bridge Street (engraved by Cuitt as
Lamb Row, the house having subsequently been converted
into a hostelry, "The Lamb") now stand the printing
works of Mr. Griffiths. In his will his son Randle re-
ferred to a " Room in his dwelling in the Bridge Street
formerly made use of as a Printing House or place." Dr.
Ormerod describes the book as "the strangest jumble
on natural history, mineralogy, and surgery, occasionally
diversified by palmistry, hunters' terms, the cockpit laws,
an essay on Time, and on Men punished in Hell." The
description is not inaccurate, yet there can be no doubt
that in its eleven hundred folio pages are to be found many
valuable pieces of information, and that in this respect
they form " a storehouse " not only of " Armory and

THE FOUR RANDLE HOLMES OF CHESTER 139

Blazon," but also of many other subjects, so that the
student who has the patience to explore them is sure to
learn something. They show, too, what an inquiring
mind the author must have had, and how he noted down
and kept ready for use the knowledge he obtained.

Randal Holme the Third was also a distinguished
Freemason, and probably one of the earliest connected
with Chester. He alludes to the fact that he was a
" Member of the Society called Free-Masons" in his
Academy of Armory, and one of his manuscript volumes
is entitled Constitutions of Masonry, giving certain par-
ticulars as to the names of persons made Freemasons, and
to the initiation fees paid by them. Evidently there was
a lodge of Freemasons at Chester in the seventeenth cen-
tury, of which Randle Holme (III.) was a member. It
has been supposed by some that his father also may have
been a Mason, as there are some masonic emblems on the
monument put up to his memory in St. Mary's Church.
The Freemasons of the county showed their respect for his
memory, and commemorated his connection with the church
by rebuilding the north porch in 1892, whilst Mr. Henry
Taylor, F.S.A., placed stained-glass windows of a heraldic
nature in the same, with a full account of him. The laying
of the foundation-stone of this porch by the then Provincial
Grand Master, Earl Egerton of Tatton, with full masonic
rites, was an interesting ceremony, and was attended by
some two hundred Masons in their regalia.

It has been already noted that Randle Holme III. lived
in Bridge Street. This house he apparently built about
1670, and did this without consulting the Corporation, and
he was ordered to pull it down, and fined for persisting
in building it. The house, however, was not demolished
until early in the nineteenth century, when the Grosvenor
Bridge was built over the Dee, and it was subsequently
converted into a tavern called "The Lamb."

Randle Holme III. died on March 12, 1699-1700, in
the seventy-third year of his age. He was thrice married,

140 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

and had issue eight sons and six daughters. Of the former
only three survived him Randle, by his first wife, born
in 1659, and George and John by his second. Randle
was taken into partnership by his father when he was
thirty-one years of age that is, in 1690. In 1691 he be-
came a member of the Stationers' Company, of which he
was elected an alderman in 1705, the same year in which
he was one of the two sheriffs of the city. Like his great-
grandfather, grandfather, and father, he also served the
office of churchwarden of St. Mary's, and like them, too,
he was deputy to Norroy King-of-Arms. He continued the
work of his ancestors, and the churchwardens' accounts
of St. Mary's contain various entries of payments to him
for work done. He died August 30, 1707, aged 48, all
his five children having predeceased him. In his will,
referred to above, he bequeaths all his books and collections
of heraldry to his half-brothers George and John, to be
equally divided between them. These books and collec-
tions no doubt represented the work and labours of all four
Randle Holmes, as well as what the first of that name
obtained by his marriage with the widow of Thomas
Chaloner. They represented the researches of over a
hundred years, and contained abstracts of many documents
which no longer exist, and accounts of visits paid to many
churches, with accurate descriptions of the monumental
inscriptions, and the old heraldic stained glass in the win-
dows. Early in the eighteenth century they were purchased
by Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, having been, it is said,
first offered to the Corporation of Chester, who declined
to buy them. They now form a portion of that magnificent
collection of manuscripts in the British Museum known
as "the Harleian MSS.," and run to about 270 volumes.
Naturally their contents are extremely diversified, and they
vary considerably in value ; but there can be no doubt that
to any one inquiring into the history of Chester, Cheshire,
Lancashire, and North Wales they contain a mine of in-
formation, and are simply invaluable. Unfortunately there

THE FOUR HANDLE HOLMES OF CHESTER 141

is no complete and sufficient index of their contents, so that
laborious perusal of them is necessary, for the acquisition
of the information which they can convey. Allowance, too,
will have to be made for the fact that none of the four
were good mediaeval Latin scholars, for none of them had
the advantage of a university education. Consequently in
their transcription of old Latin records many mistakes will
be found, and though these may be irritating to the modern
student, they can easily be corrected. The opinion passed
on the first Randle Holme by the late Mr. W. H. Black,
F.S.A., Assistant Keeper of the Public Records, may virtually
be applied to them all : " In short, he was an industrious
and faithful copyist or collector of historical antiquities, but
his philological learning was too scanty for him to use
extreme accuracy on the one hand, or to invent any of
the documents which he professed to transcribe, extract,
or abridge on the other. Therefore his copies may be
always relied on as faithfully transcribed in substance."
Though the man of learned leisure has not yet appeared
who can wade through these volumes and make us ac-
quainted with the treasures they contain, yet it is true to
say that no historian of Chester or of Cheshire can fulfil
his purpose who does not either first-hand or second-hand
(the former course being the better) derive a great deal
of information from these industrious antiquarians of the
seventeenth century. They have set an example which
has been stimulating and fruitful, and it is only right that
in a volume of this character generous and adequate expres-
sion should be given to the debt which we owe to them
for the preservation of details and information which other-
wise would have been irrevocably lost. They have left
also in many of the churches in Chester and its neighbour-
hood many examples of their heraldic knowledge and skill
in the memorials of deceased persons. Painted as these
were on wood, many have disappeared ; those that are still
left are full of interest. May we not class these four Randle
Holmes as amongst Chester's most notable worthies ?

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS

BY JOSEPH C. BRIDGE,
M.A., Mus. Doc. OXON. ET DUNELM., F.S.A.

Introduction.

THERE is no more interesting study in our early
literature than the Mystery Plays which were
once so popular throughout the length and breadth
of England. It may be well to premise that their proper
title is " Miracle " Plays, and no early writer ever alludes
to them under any other name ; nor was there in this
country any difference between " Miracle " and " Mystery,"
as stated by some authorities. But custom has now
definitely coupled the latter title with those early dra-
matic efforts of our forefathers, and it will be used in
these pages.

Excluding odd ones, four great series of plays have
come down to us, viz. those of York, Wakefield, Chester,
and Coventry, and each place probably served as a centre
of dramatic influence. While York acted as a stimulus
to Wakefield itself and Newcastle, so Chester supported
the dramatic efforts from Kendal in the north to Shrews-
bury in the south and Dublin in the west.

Each series of plays possesses distinct characteristics,
and, happily, Chester can claim that her plays have in
them " less to offend and a more reverential tone " than
many others, for it is useless to disguise the fact that many
readers object to these plays as seeming to treat religious
subjects with levity. But with a little reflection we shall
see that these plays do not deserve such condemnation

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 143

if judged from the right standpoint, and that standpoint
is assuredly not the twentieth century. We must throw
ourselves back five centuries at least if we are to obtain
a right focus. From the time of St. Paul, God's Word
has been preached in divers ways and by divers methods,
and we must not be surprised if the mediaeval preacher
was shrewd enough to use the dramatic instincts of the
people as distributing media of religious knowledge. 1

Let us remember that the Bible and religious books could
not be read or consulted by the people ; and as late as the
seventeenth century we find an aged rustic who knew
nothing of our Saviour except what he had learnt by seeing
a Corpus Christi play at Kendal, where " there was," said
he, "a man on a tree, and the blood ran down."

There is a good deal of strong argument put into the
mouths of mediaeval players by the old Wycliffe preacher,
who makes them say that " by such playing of miracles
men be converted to good living and, since it is
lawful to have the miracles of God painted, why is it
not as lawful to have the miracles of God played, since
men may better read the will of God and His marvellous
works in the playing of them rather than in the painting of
them ... for this is a dead book, the other a quick ? "

The introduction of humour into these sacred plays is
no novelty. There is a broad touch of it as early as the
time of Hilarius in his play of St. Nicholas, and we cannot
deny that the writers of our Miracle Plays showed some
skill in thus early lighting upon one of the greatest of
dramatic rules, viz. the law of contrast.

Then, again, one other point, which is generally over-
looked, must be taken into consideration. The Persons of
God and our Saviour are treated with the utmost reverence.
It is only when the common people come on the stage
that we find a certain coarseness and humour. And this
is no more than we should expect to find.

1 Milton thought of writing Paradise Lost as a Mystery Play, but changed
his mind.

144 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

These city actors would have thought it absurd to
render shepherds as quiet, well-educated men. Did they
not know plenty of shepherds round Chester who had
hard times and hard fare, and whose only knowledge was
of the diseases of animals ? Were they not plagued with
mischievous shepherd-boys who were ever ready for fun
and play ? And if Noah's wife was a shrew, were they
not well acquainted with many such, and was not the
scold's bridle and the ducking-stool kept at the Cross for
such offending citizens ? And can we blame them for
looking upon many of the characters mentioned in the
Bible as being ordinary everyday personages ? I think
not. However, opinions on this point will always be
divided, and the following quotations from the writings of
two well-educated women, who lived 100 years apart, are
interesting :

" Next he (Mr. Bryant) spoke upon the Mysteries, or origin of our
theatrical entertainments, and repeated the plan and conduct of several
of these strange compositions, in particular one he remembered, which was
called Noatts Ark, and in which that patriarch and his sons, just previous to
the Deluge, made it all their delight to speed themselves into the ark without
Mrs. Noah, whom they wished to escape ; but she surprised them just as they
had embarked, and made so prodigious a racket against the door that, after a
long and violent contention, she forced them to open it, and gained admission,
having first contented them by being kept out till she was thoroughly wet to
the skin.

" These most eccentric and unaccountable dramas filled up chief of our
conversation ; and whether to consider them most with laughter, as ludicrous,
or with horror, as blasphemous, remains a doubt I cannot well solve."

So wrote that somewhat priggish but clever and witty
young authoress, Miss Fanny Burney, in the eighteenth
century. 1

The following twentieth-century opinion is from a
paper by the late Mrs. Henry Sandford, a woman of
sound judgment and of great educational experience :

" In the first place, we cannot but observe that, with all their faults, they
did keep vividly before the mind of the English nation the leading outlines of

1 It may be interesting to note that her father, Dr. Burney, was educated
in Chester.

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 145

Christian teaching, and that, in the historical form suggested by the Apostles'
Creed. Much that was legendary, coarse, incongruous, was there also, no
doubt, but that was there above all.

" The old religious drama created in the popular mind a high ideal of the
true use and purpose of dramatic art, namely, to present to the imagination a
living picture of the realities of life and feeling."

But I will not pursue the arguments any further.
Suffice it to say that the sense of humour and the re-
presentation of everyday life occur in all the arts of the
Middle Ages. Those who would eliminate all this human
part of the plays, or would forbid their use, must, to be
consistent, rip the Misereres out of the choir of Chester
Cathedral and burn them for firewood.

It is sometimes said that not only was there irreverence,
but even indecency, especially in the play of the Creation
and Fall, where Adam and Eve are commanded to " stand
nackede." I believe this stage direction to be merely
figurative, 1 and the Cornish play of the Creation of the
World* gives a clue to the whole matter, as it contains
specific instructions that Adam and Eve are to be " appa-
relled in white leather." 3 At Norwich also we know that
Adam wore " a wig, gloves, and a cote of hosen steyned,"
and Eve " a wig, gloves, and two cotes of hosen steyned."

Further, there can be no doubt whatever that women
were not allowed to take part in plays or to appear on the
stage in public until some years after Mystery Plays had
completely died out. 4

Evidence of this may also be found in the music of the
plays. In the Coventry Mysteries the " Lullaby," supposed

1 Thomas Wright, the able editor of the Chester plays, comes, I am glad
to say, to the same conclusion.

2 The Creation of the World. A Cornish Mystery, edited by Whitley
Stokes.

3 The Person of God was also occasionally represented in white leather
with the face gilded.

4 Miss Hamilton Moore, in English Miracle Plays and Moralities, seems
to think that I assert in my Introduction to the Chester Plays (published for
the revival in 1906) that women acted the play of The Assumption. Not
so : I merely stated that the ale-wives of the city provided and furnished the
play, but I am quite sure they did not perform it.

164 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

to be sung by the women in the Slaughter of the Innocents,
actually has Tenor and Bass parish

Origin of Plays.

These plays sprang from the Church, and ' ' all evidence
points to Easter as the festival with which the earliest
religious dramas were most intimately connected, and it is
probable that the first form which the Easter play assumed
was that of a ceremony in which the Crucifix was solemnly
buried on Good Friday and again disinterred on Easter Day
amid a pompous ritual." 2

So long as the Church controlled the plays, the clergy
were favourable to their performance ; but when their
popularity and their growth rendered it necessary to per-
form them out of doors, when the stage was pitched on
the green or in the street before the Abbey gate, it became
another matter.

The following rimes, written in 1303 by Robert Manning
(Le Brunne), show this distinctly :

" Hyt ys forebode in the decree
Miracles for to make or se
For miracles yf you begynne
Hyt ys a gaderynt, a syghte of synne
He may in the churche, thurgh thys resun
Play the resurrecyon.

Yf thou do it in weyis or grenys
A syghte of synne truly hyt semys."

As late as 1385 we find William of Wykeham objecting
to the plays taking place in the churchyard, and threaten-
ing those who should lend vestments from the church to
the actors. 3

1 This trio would be sung by two men and a boy. Similarly the trio in
Chester Noah's Play would be sung by the " Three clerkes from the Minster,"
who, as we shall see, were duly engaged as professionals.

2 Professor Pollard.

3 We must not forget that the Welsh played interludes in their churchyards
on Sunday afternoons down to a very late period.

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 147

The opposition of the clergy might have been fatal to
the continuance of Miracle Plays but for the Feast of Corpus
Christi, which was instituted in 1264, and firmly established
in 1311. On this day the people and the trade gilds took
part in processions with the clergy, carrying pictures and
images of saints, and sometimes accompanied by the
members of the gilds dressed as angels, the twelve
apostles, &C. 1 From this parade it was an easy step to
dramatic representation ; and this day was rigidly adhered
to by the gilds as their great and common festival.

Chester has always had the credit of being an exception
to the rule by holding the performances of the plays at
Whitsuntide, but this view is incorrect, and Chester was, at
first, in line with other places, for we find from the Bakers'
Charter, 2 Edward IV. (which is the earliest authoritative
allusion to the plays), that " there hath been tyme out of
mind a company of bakers," and they are " to be redy to
pay the costes and expenses and play and light of Corpus
Christi as oft tymes as it shall be assessed." 2 Chester's
gilds were numerous and powerful, and many of them exist
in some form or other at the present day.

The authorship of the plays is generally attributed to
Ralf Higden, the author of Polychronicon, and a monk of
Chester, where he is said to have died at a great age in
1353. But there is no evidence to justify such a definite
statement as this. All we know of the origin of the plays
is found in the following :

1. A "Banes," XV. Cent., giving Sir John Arneway as

the "deviser." He was Mayor 1268-1276;

2. A Proclamation, c. 1520, giving Arneway as the

" deviser," and Francis, a monk, as the writer.

3. A " Banes," c. 1570, giving Arneway as "deviser,"

and a " Dom Randall " as the writer.

1 This is frequently to be seen in Italy at the present day.

z The alteration must have occurred very soon after this, for the " Banes,"
quoted later, which gives Whitsuntide as the time of the plays, cannot, I think,
be much later than 1470.

148 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

4. An account of the plays, by Archdeacon Rogers,

c. 1575; one version gives " Randall Higden" as
the writer, and places the time in the mayoralty of
Arneway, 1328; the other version gives "one
Randoll a monke," Arneway as Mayor, and the
date 1339.

5. An endorsement or a Proclamation in the Harleian

MSS., supposed to be written by one of the Holmes,
c. 1628, stating "Hignet" was the writer.

6. A similar endorsement on a copy of the plays of

about the same date.

If the religious tendency of the Chester Plays was
owing to a guiding hand from the monastery, that hand
was, according to our earliest tradition, one Henry Francis,
whose name occurs in deeds dated 1377-82. Higden was
never mentioned until late in the sixteenth century.

It is quite possible that Henry Francis and Ralph
Higden may have translated and revised some of the plays,
and rendered literary help in reducing the cycle to unity,
and that is all we can say with safety. 1 And this theory
is supported by the fact that the closer the plays are
studied, the more certain appears the fact that they are not
by one hand.

Wright and Collier have pointed out many passages
which are identical with the French plays published in the
Mystere du Vieux Testament. Certain plays may therefore
have been translated from the French. The Sacrifice of
Isaac is probably derived from a play found at Broom Hall,
Suffolk, or perhaps both are from some other original.
Miss Toulmin Smith says :

" Lines 163-314 have a strong resemblance to corresponding 134 lines
in Chester version. This resemblance, sometimes of phrase, sometimes

1 It seems to me sheer waste of time to try and synchronize Arneway and
Higden as many writers do. I see no reason why we should not believe in
the earliest tradition that Arneway devised the plays. The writing of them
would be a gradual process, covering many years and involving, probably,
several authors.

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 149

only of meaning, is interrupted by occasional passages in the Brome MS.,
which have no equivalents in Chester. Apparently, both editors worked upon
a common original, but the Chester poet compressed the more freely, and, in
so doing, greatly heightened the effect and dialogue. But he showed poor
tact in omitting the charming scene between the father and the son after their
agony is over. ... It is possible, however, that the Chester play has come
down to us mutilated. It was plainly at one time a separate play, and when
amalgamated with that of Abraham and Lot may well have been cut down for
greater convenience of performance."

The germ of the fine speech from the Resurrection,
quoted later, may be found in the Wakefield play, where it
begins as follows:

" Earthly man that I have wroght,
Wightly wake and slepe thou noght !
With bitter bayll I have thee boght

To make thee free ;
Into this dongeon depe I soght,

And all for luf of thee."

The Three Kings seems founded on a Latin play, and
the exceptional plays of the series (Nos. 23 and 24) can be
traced in that fine old poem the Cursor Mundi.

In Tke Shepherd's Play we certainly find the work of a
local playwright, as references are made to a "jannock of
Lancastershire," butter from Blacon (a suburb of Chester),
and ale from Halton. Other examples might be given.

It seems probable that as the plays sprang from the
Church, so the four great cycles now existing are derived
from some greater and anterior cycle authorised by the
Church.

We find numerous references in the Chester Companies'
accounts to the original book of the play, which is generally
called the "reginall."

This may in some cases refer merely to the special play-
book belonging to the company, but it more often refers to
the volume of the plays possessed by the City Corporation.
If we still had this book we might settle many vexed
questions. Unfortunately it is missing, for on April 3Oth,
1 567, " Randall Trever gent was called before the Maior of

150 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

the Citie of Chester and was demaunded for the originall
booke of the Whydson Plaies of the said Citie who then and
ther confessed that he have had the same booke which book
he deposeth upon the holy evangelist of God that by com-
maundement he delivered againe but where the same is now
or to whom he then delivered the same book, deposeth like-
wise he knoweth not."

In the year 1883, Mr. Sutton (the chief librarian of the
Manchester Free Library) found an old parchment book-
cover, with some writing upon it, which he submitted to
Dr. F. J. Furnivall, who pronounced it to be a portion of a
late fifteenth century MS. of the Chester Plays. It is the
commencement of the play of the Resurrection, and it is
very probable being on parchment that it is a remnant
of the original Chester Play Book.

We are therefore dependent upon certain transcriptions
of the whole series of plays made at the end of the sixteenth
century. When the plays were dying out, it is certain that
some of the old citizens would desire to keep a " book of
the words/' hence the number of MSS. of that period.

The Chester MSS. extant are :

a. 1591, by " Edward Gregorie a Scholar of Bunbury " ;

now in possession of the Duke of Devonshire.

b. 1 592 ) by George Bellin, Brit. Mus. : Add. MS. 1 0305 ;

c. 1600 J Brit. Mus.; Harl. 2013.

d. 1604, by William Bedford, Bodleian.

e. 1607, by James Miller, Brit. Mus.; Harl. 2124.

/. "The Resurrection" Play, by George Bellin,

in the books of the Ironmongers' Company,
Chester. 1

George Bellin was parish clerk of Holy Trinity Church
in Chester. 2 He wrote an excellent hand, was a member of

1 Found by me last year. It is no doubt the "riginall " which the Com-
pany used, as they were responsible for the play. I have collated it with the
other MSS., but the differences are not very important.

" George Bellin ironmonger & Clarke of this p'rish bur: in the middle
He 23 July 1624." Holy Trinity Registers.

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 151

the Ironmongers' Company, and had doubtless often acted
in the plays, and he is therefore, on the whole, a reliable
guide, especially as to stage directions. He made some
curious mistakes, and his French is very bad, but we must
be grateful to him for his labours.

As already stated, Chester was fortunate in possessing,
like York, London, and other great centres, a powerful
array of Trade Gilds. 1 These City Companies provided
workable units, and their power of organisation, the dis-
cipline exerted over their members, the brotherly feeling
engendered by the Companies were all potent factors in
the representation of these plays. "It made the per-
formance a local work of art, in which all the city had a
personal share. They believed with just pride that search
England throughout none had the like, nor like does
sett out."

The preparation of the plays occupied many months.
There was keen competition between the various City
Companies, and great pains were taken by the civic fathers
to see that really competent players were chosen, and that
no one should have .an undue number of parts, and the
Mayor frequently attended rehearsals.

Then the " Pageant carriages," 2 which had been securely
housed since the last performance, had to be newly cleaned
and repaired, and there needed much mending and repaint-
ing of the canvas and boards which represented " Heaven
and Hell," "Morning and Night," or, as in "Noah's Play,"
was embellished with representations of birds, beasts, and
fishes.

1 The City Gilds still hold an annual dinner in Chester, and in January
1908 representatives of some thirty Companies attended. Many of these
Companies possess badges, flags, and documents of priceless interest ; but
in many cases they are insecurely kept.

2 The carriages themselves were sometimes called *' Pageants," and were
kept in special houses. Most of the Gilds had their own, but sometimes
two Gilds shared the cost between them. They were drawn by men, as a
rule, e.g. :

" To twelve porters of the cariage ..... iij. ivd."

Painters and Glaziers' Accounts.

152 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

The stage manager's properties had also to be bought
or borrowed throughout the town, and included many
dozens of articles, ranging from a costly cope 1 down to the
whistles 2 for the shepherd-boys and the ox tongue 3 for the
old shepherd to put in his haversack, and it is obvious that
the success of these plays depended greatly on the felicitous
subdivision of work amongst the numerous City Companies,
for no one manager could have supervised the whole.

The expenses were evenly divided among the members
of the Company. Sometimes there was a " passive re-
sister" who thought the plays nonsense', and that there
should be "no more cakes and ale"; but he was speedily
disillusioned, for the Mayor promptly clapped him into
prison until he, or his friends, paid his proper 4 share.

It has been said that "no English play that has been
preserved to us contains any mark of its representation
by clerical actors," but we find that as late as the sixteenth
century the "clerks from the Minster," the organist and
choir boys, had no scruples about joining in the plays, and
helping in those parts which required musical qualifications.

1561. To Sir Jo : Jenson for songes 5 ... xiid.

To the five boys for singing . ..',.. . us. vid.

1567. To two of the clarkes of the Minster . . viiid.

To Mr. Whyte 6 iiiu.

This appears to be the only time that they did so :

" Item paid for a brode clothe againste the Witson plais . vis. viiid.
Item for a barrell of bere to gene to the pleares to make

them to drinke ... .... vis.

Item for packe thread at Witson daye to hange up the

clothe ii</."

1 "To the Clark for loan of a Cope an Altar Cloth and

Tunick xd."

Smiths' Accounts.

2 " For two Wystylls for Trowe \\d.

3 " For a beast's tongue and four calfe's feet . . . viiid."

Painters and Glaziers' Accounts.

4 Andrew Tailer of the Dyers' Company was thus treated in 1575.

5 Senior Minor Canon.

6 Organist and a very celebrated musician. It was probably due to his
influence and co-operation that the Cathedral authorities joined in the prepara-
tion and plays, as appears from the Cathedral Treasurer's accounts for 1567.

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 153

1568. To Mr. Rand' Barnes 1 ins. iiiid.

To Mr. Whyte for singing .... iiiu.

,, Spent on the Chanter and Clark of the Minster vd.

1569. For the Clergy for our songs .... iiiis. iid.

But before the plays took place it was customary to send
messengers on horseback and on stilts 2 to various places
round the city 3 to read the " Banes/' or " Banns," announc-
ing the performance, and Bellin has left us a copy of the
" Banes," which has been often printed, and is therefore here
abbreviated. It is a curious document, for it is so extremely
apologetic in tone, and notes even words in the plays which
had become obsolete. The " Banes" is dated 1600, and it
is possible that Bellin merely meant the date of his copying,
but a careful study of it makes me suspect that there was
in this year one last expiring effort made by the citizens
to perform the plays, and that this " Banes " was specially
written for the occasion. Although Archbishop Grindal
had prohibited the plays in 1571, we know of performances
up to 1576. In 1599, also, Henry Hardware, the Mayor,
"was not liked by the commons," because he tried to do
away with the Midsummer show and all festivity, but we
are expressly told that next year the Mayor, Robert Brere-
wode, " restored again all the ancient customs . . . and put
down Mr. Hardware," and he may have tried to revive
the plays as well as the Midsummer show. However, no
trace of any performance in 1600 has yet come to light.

1 Organist.

2 " To our horses at the rydyng of the Banes .... xvid.
" To Richard Dobie for going on the stilts at the Banes ryding "

Painters and Glaziers' Accounts.

Some of the performers from the Mayor's Midsummer show gradually
got grafted on to the " Banes Riding," and increased the importance of it.

3 The Castle and the North Gate were two of the appointed places, and
the "Banes" would be heard by the wretched prisoners there, to whom a
donation was generally accorded :

" To the prisoners at the Castle id.

To the prisoners at the North Gate id"

Painters and Glaziers' Accounts.

154 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

THE BANES

WHICH ARE READE BEEFORE THE BEGIN NINGE OF THE
PLAYES OF CHESTER, 4 JUNE 1900.

Reverende lordes & ladyes all,

That at this tyme here assembled bee,

By this message understand you shall

That some tymes there was Mayor of this Citie

Sir John Arnway, Knighte, who most worthilye

Contented hymselfe to sett out in playe

The devise of one Done Rondall, moonke of Chester Abbey.

This moonke, moonke-like, in Scriptures well scene,

In storyes travilled with the beste sorte,

In pagentes set fourth apparently to all eyne

The olde & new testament, with livelye comforth,

Interminglinge therewith, only to make sporte,

Some thinges not warranted by any writt,

Which to gladd the hearers he woulde men to tyke yt.

This matter he abrevited into playes twenty-foure,

And every playe of the matter gave but a taste,

Leavinge for better learninge the scircumstance to accomplishe ;

For all his proceedinges maye appeare to be in haste,

Yet all together unprofitable his labour he did not waste ;

For at this daye & ever he deserveth the fame

Which all monkes deserves, professinge that name.

These storyes of the Testamente at this tyme, you knowe,

In a common Englishe tongue never read nor harde ;

Yet thereof in these pagentes to make open shewe,

This moonke & moonke was nothing afreayde,

With feare of hanginge, breninge, or cutting off heade,

To sett out, that all maye disserne & see

And parte good be lefte, beleeve you mee.

As all that shall see them shall moste welcome be,
Soe all that here them wee moste humble praye
Not to compare this matter or storie
With the age or tyme wherein we presentlye staye,
But in the tyme of ignorance, wherein we did straye ;
Then doe I compare that this lande throughout
Non had the like, nor the like dose sett out.

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 155

This worthy Knighte, Arnway, then mayor of this Citie,

This order took, as declare to you I shall,

That by twenty-fower occupations, artes, crafts, or misterie,

These pagentes shoulde be played, after breeffe rehearsall ;

For everye pagente a cariage to be provyded withall ;

In which sorte we porpose, this Whitsontyde,

Our pageantes into three partes to devyde.

But a much older and more valuable " Banes " has been
found by Canon Morris amongst the Harleian MSS. 1 (not
numbered or catalogued), and has been printed in his
Chester during the Plantagenet and Tudor Periods?

THE BANES OR PROCLAMATION OF THE PLAYES.

The comen bannes to be proclaymed and Ryddon with
the Stewardys of every occupacon I

Lordings Royall and Reverentt
Lovelie ladies that here be lentt
Sovereigne Citizens hether am I sent
A message for to s'ay.

I pray you all that be present
That you will here with good intent
And all your eares to be lent
Hertfull I you pray.

Our worshipfull mair of this Citie
With all his royall cominaltie
Solem pagens ordent hath he

At the fest of Whitsonday tyde.

How every craft in his decree
Bryng forth their playes solemplie
I shall declare you brefely
Yf ye will a while abyde.

The worshipfull tanners of this towne
Bryng forth the heavenly manshon
Th' orders of angells and theire creation
According done to the best.

1 Collected by the Randle Holme family of Chester.

2 By his kind permission printed here.

156 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

And when the angells be made so clere
Then folowyth the falling of Lucifere
To bring forth this play with good chere
The tanners be full prest.

You worshipfull men of the draperye
Loke that paradyse be all redye
Prepare also the mappa mundi
Adam and eke Eve.

The waterleders and drawers of Dee
Loke that Noyes shipp be sett on hie
That you lett not the storye

And then shall you well chrue.

The bar burs and wax channdlers also that day
Of the Patriarche you shall play
Abram, that put was to assay
To sley Isack his sonne.

The cappers and pynners forth shall bring
Balack that fears [fierce] and mightie Kyng
And Balam on an asse sytting :
Loke that this be done.

Youe wrights and slaters will be fayne
Bring forth your cariage of Marie myld quene,
And of Octavian so cruell and kene
And also of Sybell the sage.

For findyng of that Royal thing
I grant you all the blessing
Of the high imperiall King
Both the maister and his page.

Paynters glasiars and broderers in fer
Have taken on theym with full good chere
That the Sheppards play then shall appere
And that with right good wyll.

The vynteners then as doth befall
Bringe forth the 3 Kings Royall
Of Colyn or pagent memoryall
And worthy to appere.

Then shall you see how that Kynges all
Came bouldly into the hall
Before Herode proude in paulle
Of Crysts byrth to heare.

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 157

The mercers worshipfull of degre

The presentation that have yee

Hit falleth best for your see

By right reason and style

Of caryage I have no doubt

Both within and without

It shall be deckyd y* all the Rowte

Full gladly on it shall be to loke

With sundry cullors it shall glime

Of velvit satten and damaske fine

Taffyta sers-nette of poppyngee grene.

The gouldsmyths then full soone will hye
And masons theyre craft to magnifye
Theis two crafts will theim applye
Theyre worshipp for to wynne
How Herode King of Galalye
For that intent Cryste to distrye
Slew the Innocents most cruely
Of tow yeres and within.

Semely smythis also in hyght
A lovely caryage the will dyght
Candilmas day for soth it hyght
The find it with good will.

The buchers pagene shall not be myst
How Satan tempted our Savyour Cryst
It is an history of the best
As witnesseth the gospell.

Nedys must I rehers the glover
The give me gloves and gay gere
The find the toumbs of Lazarey
That pagene cometh next.

Also the corvesers with all their myght
The fynde full fayre syght
Jerusalem their caryage hyght
For so sayth the text.

And the bakers also be dene
The find the Maunday as I wene
It is a carriage full well besene
As then it shall appeare.

Flechers bowyers with great honours
The Cowpers find the Tormentors
That bobbyde God with gret honors
As he sat in his chere [chair].

158 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

The Iron mongers find a caryage good
How Jesus dyed on y e rode
And shed for us his precyus blud
The find it in fere.

Cryst after his passion

Brake Hell for our redempcion

That find the cookes and hostelers of this towne

And that with full good chere.

Also the skynners they be boune
With great worshipp and renowne
They find the Resurection
Fayre maye them befall.

Sadlers and Foysters [" Fusterers"] have the good grace
They find the Castell of Emawse
Where Crist appered to Cleophas
A faire pagend you shall see.

Also the Taylers with trew Intent
Have taken on them verament
The Assencyon by one assent
To bringe it forth full right.

Fysshe mongers men of faith
As that day will doe their stayth
To bringe there caryage furth in trayth
Wyt Sonday it hight.

The worshipfull wyves of this towne
Ffyne of our lady thassumpcon
It to bryng forth they be bowne
And meyntene with all theyre might. 1

The Shermen will not [be] behynd

Butt bryng theire cariage with good mynde

The pagent of prophettys they do fynd

That prophecied ffull truly

Off the coming of Anticrist

That goodys ffaith would resist

That cariage I warrand shall not myst

Butt sett forth full dewly.

1 Played in 1488.

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 159

The hewsters that be men full sage

They bryng forth a wurthy cariage

That is a thing of grett costage

Antycryst hit hight.

They weyvers in very dede

Ffynd the day of Dame, well may they spede

I graunt them holly to theire neede

The blysse of heven bright.

Sovereigne syrs to you I say

And to all this ffayre cuntre

That played shalbe this godely play

In the whitson weke

That is brefely for to sey

Uppon Monday Tuysday and Wennysday

Whoo lust to see theym he may

And non of theym to sek.

/Also maister maire of this Citie
Withall his bretheryn accordingly
A solempne procession ordent hath he
To be done to the best
Appon the day of Corpus Christi
The blessed sacrament caried shalbe
And a play sett forth by the clergye
In honor of the fest
.5 > Many torches there may you see
Marchaunts and craftys of this citie
By order passing in their degree
A goadly sight that day
They come from Saynt Maries on the Hill
The Church of Saynt Johns untill
And there the sacrament leve they will
\The sauth [sooth] as I you say.

Whoo so comyth these plays to see

With good devocon merelye

Hertely welcome shall he be

And have right good chere.

Sir John Arnway was maire of this citie

When these playes were begon truly

God graunt us merely

And see theym many a yere.

Now have I done that lyeth in me
To procure this solempnitie
That these playes contynued may be
And well sett fourth alway.

160 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Jhu [Jesu] Crist that syttys on hee
And his blessed mother Marie [erased]
Save all this goodely company
And kepe you nyght and day.

With regard to the Banes we must notice first that it is
in the same metre and rhyming stanza as the Plays them-
selves, and may have been written with them. Secondly,
it sheds light on some very important points. Here is
one:

" The worshipfull wyves of this towne
Ffyne of our lady thassumpcon
It to bryng forth they be bowne
And meyntene with all theyre might." l

Here we have The Assumption definitely classed as one
of the Chester series (a point hitherto unknown), and also,
we see that it was provided by women ; this is unique, I
think. In none of the other cycle centres do the women
manage a play by themselves. 2
Again,

" Also maister maire of this Citie
Withall his bretheryn accordingly
A solempne procession ordent hath he
To be done to the best
Appon the day of Corpus Christi
The blessed sacrament caried shalbe
And a play sett forth by the clergye,
In honor of the fest.

1 It is worth noting, that in 1483, at York, four men came before the
Mayor, "& by the assent of all the Innholders of this said Citie tuke upon
them to bring furth yerely during the term of VIII. yere, then next folluying
the pagent of the Coronacion of our Lady perteyning to the said Innholders,
etc. It seems likely, then, that the " worshipful wyves " were the ale-wives
of Chester, and it is by no means improbable that Chester again followed the
lead of York. As Mrs. Green says, " Cooks and brewers and hostellers were
naturally deeply interested in the preservation of the good old customs, and
it was, in some cases, certainly this class (the most powerful in a mediaeval
borough), who raised the protest against the indifference and neglect of the
townspeople for public processions and merry-making, because ' thereby the
victuallers lose their money ' ; and who insisted on the revival of these festi-
vals for the encouragement of trade." Town Life XV. Century, i. p. 153.

2 Canon Morris says : " It is omitted from Bellin's transcript in 1600, and
was, in all probability, discontinued in Edward VI. 's reign, in deference to
the religious feeling of the time."

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 161

Many torches there may you see
Marchaunts and craftys of this citie
By order passing in their degree
A goadly sight that day.
They come from Saynt Maries on the Hill
The Church of Saynt Johns untill
And there the sacrament leve they will
The sauth as I you say."

It will be seen that the Mayor and Corporation had
ordered a procession at Corpus Christi, and that the
clergy were to provide a play. What this play was we
have, unfortunately, no means of knowing.

This may account for the transference of the gild plays
to Whitsun week. The clergy, anxious to have the Corpus
Christi procession to themselves without the trade gilds,
may have said to the citizens, " If you will have your plays
at another time we will, at our own charge and expense,
provide a play on Corpus Christi, so that there shall be no
loss to the citizens in that respect." * Thus the plays got
transferred to Whitsuntide.

My third quotation must be :

" Sir John Arnway was maire of this citie 2
When these playes were begon truly
God graunt us merely
And see theym many a yere."

This is the earliest mention of their origin.

At last the momentous Monday in Whit-week arrived,
and early in the morning the first car started from the
great gates of the Abbey, where the Abbot and his followers
sat in state, and proceeded down the street to the High
Cross, where the Mayor and Corporation were assembled.
As each car finished its play, its place was taken by another,
and so in regular succession and at appointed places, the
whole series of plays was gone through in three days. By
this sensible and orderly arrangement a citizen could retain

1 This is precisely what happened at York, where after 1426 the Corpus
Christi procession and the plays were separated.

2 Arneway was Mayor, 1268-76.

162 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

his standing place or seat, and be assured of missing
nothing. No doubt seats at the performing points com-
manded a premium, and documents exist of an interesting
law-suit between two citizens with reference to the right
to occupy a " roome or place for the Whytson plaies in the
Bridge-gate streets in the Cyty of Chester."

We can imagine the pride of the Cestrian housewife
when shesaw her husband magnificently dressed as " Herod,"
or her sons in parti-coloured costumes as " devils" rushing
from the bottom to the top of the car only to disappear in
" Hell's mouth " amidst fire, smoke, and sulphur, and the
laughter and applause of her neighbours ; and may not she
have felt a holy thrill when, perhaps, her youngest boy on
bended knee offered his small shepherd's pipe or his nutting
stick as a gift to the " Lord of all " ?

Depend upon it Chester was full of legitimate pride on
such occasions, for, as the citizens said in their Banes,
" None had the like, nor the like did sett out."

And the educational force of this cannot be over-
estimated. The young citizen when he took up the free-
domship of his company, took up also duties of stage craft
and stage management which had been traditional for
generations in that company. If he possessed ability as
an actor he had no difficulty in obtaining a part to play,
and if he could not act then he found plenty to do in
preparation for the play, which esprit de corps demanded
should not be behind other companies.

And so the Elizabethan drama found a people already
prepared, by centuries of familiarity with the stage as an
amusement, to respond to the demands good plays might
make on their imagination and receptive faculties. The
Mysteries were but young plants Shakespeare was the fruit.

The fact is, the whole country was given up to plays of
this sort, and we know of more than one hundred towns
and villages which enjoyed these entertainments. The
annual play at Wymonham (or Windham), in Norfolk,
lasted two days and two nights; and the inhabitants of

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 163

Lydd, in Kent, were so keen that they went to the play on
a Sunday, while watchmen were paid to keep guard on the
shore against a surprise from the French.

If the trade gilds showed any desire to shirk such
representations, the Mayor could, and did, issue a notice
commanding a performance; and it was also the Mayor's
duty, as officer of the King's peace, to issue proclamations
on all festive occasions of this sort.

The ordinances of the Mayor of York, in 1394 and
subsequently, show that the regulations to control the plays
and populace were most stringent and comprehensive, and
that the plays began as early as 4.30 A.M.

In addition to the ordinary series of Chester Mystery
Plays, we find that the play of the Assumption was per-
formed at the High Cross in 1488, and before Prince Arthur
in 1497, both at the Abbey gates and at the High Cross ;
and also in 1515 in St. John's Churchyard. We find, also,
the Cappers, Pewterers, and Smiths undertaking plays in
1520-1 ; and that in 1529 King Robert of Sicily had been
performed at the High Cross.

THE PLAYS

The number of plays now existing is twenty-five, but we
know that the Assumption has been lost, and there are signs
of two plays being compressed into one, as in the Histories
of Lot and Abraham, so that the original number was no
doubt larger. Fluctuations would undoubtedly take place
with the rise and fall of City Companies, if for no other
reasons. As the number of gilds expanded or were re-
duced, so the plays were increased or amalgamated. 1 The
list of plays and the gilds that performed them will be found
in the " Banes " already printed. The Chester series is noted
for two plays that occur nowhere else, viz. No. 23, on
Prophecies, and No. 24, on Anti-Christ.

1 At York the MS. of the plays (c. 1430) shows 48 ; but in 1415 there had
been 51 ; and another earlier list shows 57.

164 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

The English employed seems to be of the beginning of
the fifteenth century, many of the stage directions are in
Latin, and the Three Kings, Octavian, and Herod occasion-
ally use French, that being the Court language. 1

It is not to be supposed that we have the text of the
plays as written at first, for the original plays are without
doubt much older than the fifteenth century. We find that
the quarrels of Noah and his wife formed so familiar a story
that they became proverbial. Chaucer says :

" Hast thou not heard (quod Nicholas) also
The sorowe of Noe with his felowship
Or that he might get his wife to ship."

Chaucer wrote this about 1390, and it appears certain,
therefore, that our play of Noah, and probably those on the
same subject at Wakefield and Newcastle-on-Tyne, were
often performed by the middle of the fourteenth century.

The metre employed varies, but a large proportion is in
eight line stanzas, sometimes with two rimes :

a a a b
a a a b

and sometimes with three ;

a a a b
c c c b

as may be seen in the following example :

CHRIST'S ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM

THE CORVYSORS PLAYE

Pagina decima Quarta, deJes^l intrante domum Simonis Leprosi,
et de aliis rebus.

JESUS.

Brethren, goe we to Bethany e,

To Lazarre, Martha, and Marye,

For I love moche their companye ! a a a b

1 It is not generally considered to afford any argument as to the plays
being derived from the French.

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 165

Thedder nowe will I wende.
Symond the Leaper hath piaied me

In his house to take charatye ; a a a b

With them nowe it liketh me

A whyle for to lende.

PETRUS.

Lorde, all readye shall we be
In life and death to goe with thee ;

Greate joye they maye have to see a a a b

Thy cominge into their place.

PHILIPPE.

Lazarre thou raysed through thy pittie,
And Symonde also, messille was he,

Thou clensed, Lorde, that wotten we, a a a b

And holpe them through thy grace.

Tune ibunt versus domum Simonis Leprosi.

LAZARRUS.

Welckome, Lorde, sweete Jesu,

Blessed be the tyme that I thee knewe !

From death to liffe through thy vertue a a a b

Thou raysed me not yore ;
Power dayes in eairth when I [had] layne,
Thou granteste me life againe.
Thee I honoure with all my mayne, c c c b

Nowe and ever more.

But other metres are frequently used.

A very fine dramatic effect is produced in some of the
plays by the sudden use of the short Skeltonian metre. In
the play of the Passion the Tormentors cry :

And thou be messye
And loth for to lye
Who smote thee ? Crye
If thou be Christe.

Now he is bounden
Be he never so wounden
Soon he shall be founden
With flaps in fear.

166 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

In woe he is wounden
And his grain is grounden,
No lad unto London

Such law can him lere (teach).

Again in the Crucifixion :

SECUNDUS JUDAKUS.

This coat shall be mine,
For it is good and fine
And seam is not therein
That I can see.

TERCIUS JUDAEUS.

Yea, God give me pain
And (if) that shall be thine,
For thou art ever incline
To draw towards thee.

QUARTUS JUDAEUS.

Nay, fellow, by this day
At the dice we will play,
And there we shall essay
That weed for to win.

SECUNDUS JUDAEUS.

His other clothes all
To us four can fall ;
First part them I shall
And after play for this.

This kyrtel mine I call,
Take thou this pall,
Each man in this hall
Note I do not amiss.

Again, we get later rhythms grafted on to the original, as
in the drinking trio sung by Noah's wife and her gossips in
Noah's Play.

THE GOOD GOSSIPS' SONG.

The flood comes flitting in full fast,

On every side it spreads full far ;
For fear of drowning I am aghast ;

Then, good gossips, let us draw near.

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 167

And let us drink ere we depart,

For often times we have done so ;
For at a draught thou drinkest a quart,

And so will / do ere I go.

The " Song " concludes with what is probably a portion
of the original trio. The other half stanza is unfortunately
lost :

Here is a pottle good and strong,
It will rejoice both heart and tongue ;
Though Noah thinks us never so long,
Here we will drink alike. 1

A similar instance is the Ale-wife's speech, which has been
tacked on to the end of the play The Harrowing of Hell.

In the Resurrection play we have the following. It is
one of the finest speeches in the plays :

JESUS.

Earthly man that I have wrought,

Awake out of thy sleep ;
Earthly man that I have bought,

Of me thou hast no keep.
From heaven man's soul I sought,

Into a dungeon deep,
My dear leman from thence I brought,

For ruth of her I weep.
I am very prince of peace,

And king of free mercy ;
Who will of sinnes have release

On me they call and cry.
And if they will of sinnes cease,

I grant them peace truly,
And thereto a full rich messe

In bread my own body.
I am very bread of life ;

From heaven I light and am sende,
Who eateth that bread, man or wife,

Shall live with me without end.
And that bread that I give you,

Your wicked life for to amend,
Becomes my flesh through your belief,

And doth release your sinful band.

1 With revised spelling the whole has a very modern "ring" about it.
The first two verses may have been sung as a solo and the last half stanza
as a trio.

168 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

And whosoever eateth that bread

In sin or wicked life,
He receiveth his own death,
I warn both man and wife.

Three personages other than actors sometimes occupied
the stage a Preco or page, an expositor, and a messenger.
They all three appear in the play of The Histories of Lot
and Abraham. The page appears on the "pageant
carriage " immediately after the play of Noatis Flood,
and says :

All lordings that be here present,
And hearken me with good intent,
How Noah away from us he went,

And all his company ;
And Abraham, through God's grace,
He is comen into this place,
And ye will give us room and space

To tell you of story.

This play, forsooth, begun shall be
In worship of the Trinity,
That you may all hear and see

That shall be done to-day ;
My name is Gobbet-on-the-Green,
With you I may no longer bene ;
Farewel, my lordes, bydene

For letting of your play.

The expositor or doctor takes care that the play is " under-
standed of the people." He appears early in the play on
horseback, and says :

Lordinges, what maye this signify
I will expound it appeartlye,
That the unlearned standing here by
May know what this may be. 1

He interrupts at different points, and explains the rite of
circumcision and the offering up of Isaac, and then we have

1 Being on horseback, he would, of course, be more easily heard by the
crowd. Everything in the play points to the fact that it was looked upon as
a means of instruction for the people, and not a mere amusement. The play
itself consists of two plays compressed into one, and seems to be one of the
oldest of the series.

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 169

the remarkable and significant fact that the crowd joins him
in prayer.

Here let the docter knele downc, and sate,

Such obedience grante us, O Lorde !
Ever to thy moste holye worde,
That in the same we may accorde

As this Abraham was bayne ;
Then al togaither shall we
That worthy kinge in heaven see,
And dwell with him in greate glorye,
For ever and ever, Amen.

His place is now filled by a messenger, who announces the
next play. The stage direction is

Here the messenger inaketh an ende.

Make rombe, lordinges, and give us waye,
And let Balacke come in and plaie,
And Balame that well can saie

To tell you of prophescie.
That Lord that died on Good Frydaie,
He save you all bouth nighte and daie !
Fare well, my lordinges ; I goe my waie,

I may no longer abyde.

The ordinary reader has little or no idea of the literary
and dramatic value of the plays, owing to the fact that
printed copies are not easily accessible.

I have thought it well, therefore, to print (in a slightly
shortened form) and to explain the following play.

It embodies most of the points mentioned in this article,
it has distinct literary and artistic value, and, above all, the
character of Herod made it the most popular play of the
cycle, and is often allnded to.

Shakespeare uses the phrase " out-Heroding Herod.''
Chaucer says of Joly Absalon :

Sometyme to shewe his lightness and maistrye
He pleyeth Herodes on a scaffold hye.

In the Paston letters we find Sir John Paston's agent,
in describing the high-handed proceedings of the Duke of
Norfolk in 1478, saying, " There was no man that played

170 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Herod in Corpus Christi play better and more agreeable
to his pageant than he did."

It will be seen, I think, that the verdict of the general
public was a sound and good one.

THE EIGHTH PAGEANT " THE THREE KINGS."
Presented by the Vintners.

This must have been a striking sight, for the Three
Kings, richly apparelled, accompanied the pageant-carriage
on horseback through the city, and the First King tells how
they are looking for the fulfilment of Balaam's prophecy and
seeking a sign.

FIRST KING.

Mighty God in majesty,
That ruleth the people of Judye,
When thou on man wilt have pity
And his sins for-bye,

Send some tokening, Lord, to me,
That ylke star that we may see
That Balaam said should rise and be
In his prophecy.

For well I wot, forsooth, I wis,
That his prophecy sooth is,
A star should rise betokening bliss
When God's son is born.

Therefore, these lords and I in fere (company)
In this mount make our prayer
Devoutly once in the year,
For thereto we be sworn.

Then they dismount, and the Third King hands his horse
to attendants :

" Say, fellows, take this courser
And abyde me right here,
Go we, sirs, to our prayer
I rede now in good faye ;
I have done this many a year,
And my ancestors that before me were.
High God, prince of power,
Thou comfort us this day."

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 171

Then they proceed on to the pageant-carriage which
represented the " mountain " they had to ascend. On
reaching the top, an angel appears carrying a star, and
now the Kings burst forth into French :

FIRST KING.

A, Sir Roy, si vous plaist
Gardez sus sur votre test.

SECOND KING.

Une Esteile issi est
Que sir, vous repleist.

THIRD KING.

A loys soyt luy une semblant
De une virgin portant
Comme le semble de une Infant
Embrace apportement.

Then they fall on their knees, and the angel says :

A ! rise up, ye Kings three,

And come along after me

Unto the land of Judye

As fast as you may hie ;

The child ye seek there shall ye see,

Borne all of a maiden free,

That King of heaven and earth shall be,

And all mankind for-bye.

Then followed an incident which must have given great
pleasure to the sightseers, for the Kings descended into the
street * and mounted imitation dromedaries ! The Second
King says:

Yea, sirs, I rede us every one
Dromodaryes to ride upon,
For swifter beasts be there none.
One I have, you shall see.

To which the Third King replies :

A dromodary in good faye
Will go lightly on his way
A hundred miles upon a day,
Such coursers now take we.

1 In the Coventry plays Herod " rages in the pagond and in the streete also."

172 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

And then one MS. has the stage direction :

" Then the Kinges go doune to the beasts and ride about" 1

After circling round the pageant-carriage they ascend
it again, and then, the star having disappeared, they are in
doubt as to the right way, but fortunately meet with a
messenger or " explorator."

FIRST KING.

Can thou say ought what place and where
A child is born that crown shall bear
And of the Jews be king ?

SECOND KING.

We saw a star shine verily
In the East in noble array,
Therefore we come now this way
To worship him with win.

MESSENGER.

Hold your peace, sir, I you pray
For if King Herod heard you so say
He would go mad, by my fay
And fly out of his skin.

THIRD KING.

And sith a king is so near
Go we to him in all manner.

MESSENGER.

You may well see he wounes here (lives here

A palace in to dwell.

But moy he wot, withouten were,

That any is born of more power,

You bring yourselves in great danger

Such tydinges for to tell.

1 Chester was accustomed to produce beasts of this sort. In 1564 an
agreement between the mayor and two citizens shows that the latter under-
took to provide yearly for 405. "4gyants, i unikorne, I dromodarye, I Luce,
i Camel, i Dragon," &c. These were for the midsummer play. Each beast
required two men to work it.

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 173

"Here the messenger goeth to the King and the myn-
strilles must play" and the Kings are then introduced to
Herod, and Court language again is spoken.

FIRST KING.

Sir Roy, royale et reverent,
Dieu vous gardes Omnipotent.

HEROD.

Bien soies venues, rois gente ;
Me dites toute votre intent.
(Welcome, stranger kings ;
Tell me what is your intent.)

THIRD KING.

Infant, queruns de grand parent
Et roi de ciel et terre.
(Seeking a child of great parentage
And king of Heaven and Earth. )

Then Herod bursts forth in the following fine ranting

speech : 1

HEROD.

Sirs, advise ye what you sayen ;
Such tidings make my heart unfayne ;
I rede you take these words again,
For fear of villany.

There is none so great that me dare gain
To take my realm, and to attain
My power, but he shall have pain
And be punished apertly.

I, king of kings, none so keen ;
I, soveraign sire, as well is seen ;
I, tyrant, that may both take and teen
Castle, tower, and towne,

I wield this world withouten wene,
I beat all those unbuxsome beene,
I drive the devils all by deene
Deep in hell adowne.

1 It compares very favourably with the " Coventry " play, where the
ranting oversteps the mark and becomes balderdash.

174 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

For I am king of all mankind ;
I bid I beat I loose I bind,
I master the moon : Take this in mind
That I am most of might.

I am the greatest above degree
That is, or was, or ever shall be.
The sun it dare not shine on me
If I bid him go down.

No rain to fall shall none be free
Nor no Lord have that liberty
That dare abide, and I bid flee,
But I shall crack his crown.

Nor far nor near that doth me (an)noy
Who wrathes me, I shall destroy ;
For every freak I dare defie
That nill me pay ne please.

But you be bayne, I shall you beat,
There is no man for you shall treat ;
[Then aside] All for wrath see how I sweat ;
My heart is not at ease.

And to carry out his pretence that he is not frightened but
quite cool, he throws his sword up in the air and dexterously
catches it while he continues :

For all men may witte and see,
Both he and you all three,
That I am King of Galilee
Whatsoever he saith or does.
What the devil should this be !
A boy a groom of low degree
Should reign above my Royalty
And make me but a goose !

The Kings then answer :

By prophecy well wotten we

That a childe born should be

To rule the people of Judye

As was said many a year.

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 175

Herod says :

Other kings shall none here be

But seeing you speak of prophecy
Whether ye speak sooth or lye
My clarke soon shall see.

He then bids his " chief of clergy " to look up the books
of prophecy and tell him what they say.

Then the doctor reads the scriptures, and amongst other
prophecies says :

DOCTOR.

Daniel, fulfilled with heavenly grace,

Prophesied also by divine inspiration,

That when he was came, that all holy was,

The most holiest in earth, to take his habitation

In the womb of a virgin, and by his blessed incarnation

Out of Satan's band to deliver mankind,

Whom sin original piteously did bind,

Then both unctions, sacrifices and rites ceremonial

Of the Old Testament with legal observation,

Shall utterly cease and take their end final,

Through Christ's coming which for man's salvation

A New Testament shall ordain by divine operation

Offering himself in Sacrifice for mankind's offence,

Which from Heaven was exiled through his great negligence.

HEROD.

Fie on that dream, reader ! such dotards never shall
Nor no sleeping sluggard make my right title cease
But I shall knightly keep it, whatsoever befall,
Against that young godling, and if he once do press
This kingdom to claim, or put me to distress
His head off shall I hew. . . .

Yet look if thou find there
Where this boy is born for whom these kings enquire.

DOCTOR.

Micheias, enflamed with ghostly inspiration,
Prophesied that Bethlehem should a prince forth bring
Ruler of God's people and of the Jew's nation
Should he be born of Israel to be king.

176 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Esay, unto whom the spirit of prophecy

Was singularly given through the Holy Ghost

In this time prophesied that kings witterly,

And folk of strange nations from many a sundry coast,

That prince's birth to magnify which of might is most

Should walk in great light, and brightness should appear

As did unto these kings in a bright star shining clear.

HEROD (throwing his sword down),

Alas, what presumption should move that peevish page
Or any elfish godling to take from me my crown ?
But by Mahomet ! that boy for all his great outrage
Shall die under my hand, that elfe and vile congeon !
And all his partakers I shall slay and beat down,
And both of him and his final destruction make
Such vengeance, and such cruelty on them all will I take,
That none such a slaughter was seen or heard beforne
Sith Athalia here reigned. . . .

Yet look and search again
If these kings shall find him and his presence attain.

DOCTOR.

David of all prophets called most prepotent
Prophesied that kings from Tharsis and Araby
With mystical gifts shall come and present
That lord, that king, and high Messie (Messiah),
That in Bethlehem shall be borne,
A child to save that was forlorne,
And rule all Israel.

HEROD (breaking his sword in his rage).

By Mahoun ! thou art foresworn.

Have done ; these books were best rent and torn.

[ Throws the book on the floor.
For he shall be no king in crown
But I fully in my weal.

And mauger David, that shepherd with his sling
Esay, Jeremy with all their offspring
Here get no other Messiah nor king
From my right title to expel,

This realm is mine and shall be aye
Manfully to maintain it while I may.
Tho' he bring with him to-day
The devil and all his host.

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 177

Then, concealing his anger, he turns to the Kings and
suavely says :

But go ye forth ye kings three
And enquire if it so be
But always come again to me,
For you I think to feed.
And if he be of such degree
Him will I honour as do ye,
As falls for his dignity,
In word, thought and deed.

FIRST KING.

By leave, sir, and have good day
Till we come again this way.

SECOND KING.

Sir, as soon as ever we may
And as we see so shall we say.

THIRD KING.

And of his riches and his array
From you we shall not leave.

HEROD.

Farewell Lords, in good faye
But hye you fast again.

Immediately the Kings retire, Herod breaks forth again :

Out alas ! what the devil is this ?
For shame almost I fare amiss
For was I never so cool, I wyss
For wrath I am near woode (mad) !
For every man may well say this
That I maintain my realm amiss
To let a boy inherit my bliss
That never was of my blood.

But to-morrow he will

Raise the country on every side,
All that may ever go or ride ;
So shall this boy lose his pride
For all his greatest boast.

178 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Now he can do no more, and he sinks back, exhausted, into
a chair :

This boast doth me so great annoy

That I wax dull and clean dry.

Have done ! and fill the wine in high,

I die but I have drink.

Fill fast and let the cups fly

And go we hither hastily ;

For I must ordain curiously

Against these Kings coming.

Such is the play of The Three Kings, and there can be
no doubt whatever of its fine dramatic effect. We cannot
wonder that this character of Herod is mentioned by old
writers more than other characters of the plays. Imperious
and proud, firmly believing in his own kingly right, but,
like most ignorant people, profoundly impressed by pro-
phecies and vaticinations which he did not understand,
Herod is now impelled forward by swaggering pride and
now dragged back by craven fear and subtle influences.

The part gives the actor every opportunity to show forth
his art, and the calm, clear tones of the doctor quietly read-
ing the scriptures give the required dramatic contrast. The
speeches show the traces of late literary labour, and that we
had got within measurable distance of blank verse when
the play received its last polish, though the original play
was probably founded on an early Latin one called Herodes,
sive magorum adoratio}-

" Postea Herodes interroget Scribas, dicens :
O vos scribae
Interrogati dicite
Si quid de hoc puero
Scriptum videritis in libro.

Tune Scribae diu revolvant librum, et tandem inventa quasi prophetica
dicant. . . .

Vidimus, Domine, in prophetarum
Lineis, nasci Christum
In Bethleem ludae civitate
David propheta sic vaticinante.
Tune Herodes, visa prophetica, furore accensus, projiciat librum" &c.

1 See Wright's Early Mysteries, p. 26.

THE CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS 179

This play, together with the play of The Salutation and
the Nativity and The Shepherds Play, was acted at Chester
in 1906 by Mr. Nugent Monck and his " English Drama
Company " under the auspices of the Chester and North
Wales Archaeological Society, and with success, but the
expense was too great to admit of the whole cycle being
performed. The same plays have also been performed in
London by Mr. Monck's company, and by Mr. Benson's
company at Stratford-on-Avon during the Shakespeare
Commemoration week.

In conclusion, I would point out that the motto of the
city of Chester is curious and indeed unique :

"ANTIQUI COLANT ANTIQUUM DlERUM."
11 Let the ancient people worship the Ancient of Days"

I cannot help thinking that this contains an occult reference
to the Chester Mystery Plays.

THE SIEGE OF CHESTER
BY THE ARCHDEACON OF CHESTER 1

THE city of Chester, with its ancient walls and ram-
parts, erected as they were for the protection of the
inhabitants, must have experienced many an on-
slaught, and again and again its citizens must have known
what it was to be besieged for a shorter or a longer period.
But the Siege of Chester the one, that is, which stands out
in history so that it deserves this definite title is the one
that occurred in the time of the Civil War, and which lasted
practically for three years, and for one year at least was
very close.

Bishop Creighton has told us that "the Civil War
wrought greater havoc in Cheshire than in any other part
of the country " ; and the city of Chester suffered, we may
say, more severely than any other place in the county.
The city, as Lord Clarendon tells us, "was firm to the
King, by the virtue of its inhabitants." Not that quite all
were of the same mind, for on August 8, 1642, a deter-
mined attempt was made to rouse the disaffected within the
city and induce them to enlist themselves on the side of the
Parliament. The vigorous action of the Mayor, Thomas
Cowper, repressed the movement, and, in fact, gave rise to
a vigorous counter-movement and to the raising and equip-
ment of 300 men in the following October in addition to
the ordinary trained band. A regular and continuous
watch was appointed for each of the four city gates, and
a levy or assessment made for its maintenance. A little

1 The writer has got most of the information in this paper from The
History of the Siege of Chester, published by Broster in 1790.

180

THE SIEGE OF CHESTER 181

more than three months later, on February 3, 1643, a
further assessment of ^"500 was made and forthwith col-
lected for the making of fortifications, and for defraying
divers charges incident thereunto. When these loyal pro-
ceedings were reported to his Majesty, he thought it neces-
sary to send to his faithful citizens at Chester an officer
of skill and experience to direct their courage, and appointed
Sir Nicholas Byron, a soldier of very good command, as
Colonel General of Cheshire and Shropshire and Governor
of Chester. He inspired great enthusiasm, and was able,
with the encouragement of some gentlemen in North Wales,
to raise a considerable body of horse and foot. He also
directed the operations with such vigour that the outworks
and entrenchments were completed in the summer, giving
a further protection outside the walls from Pemberton's
Parlour right round to the river. Meanwhile Sir William
Brereton, a gentleman of competent fortune in the county,
had taken command of the Parliamentary forces, and
established himself at Nantwich, which he fortified. From
that place he made an attack upon Chester on July 2Oth,
but was driven back with some loss, and proceeded to
Flint, joining in the siege of that castle till its surrender
upon honourable terms, owing to lack of provisions, was
effected. Whilst this siege was proceeding the houses and
buildings just outside the entrenchments were cleared away.
The King thought it desirable to visit Chester in person ;
the city being of the greatest importance as the key
to Ireland. Accordingly he despatched a courier from
Stafford on September 18, 1643, an< ^ announced his inten-
tion ; and five days later, attended by many of the nobility
and gentry, approached the city and was received by the
civic authorities and the citizens with all loyal devotion.
The Mayor delivered the city sword to the King, who
graciously returned it, when the Mayor, bare-headed,
carried it before his Majesty to the Pentice, where the
King was entertained and presented with 200 in gold,
and i oo was given to the Prince of Wales. The King's

182 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

stay in the city was very brief, and after a, few days he
departed, having heard from Prince Rupert of the advan-
tage gained by his forces before Worcester. Shortly
afterwards Sir William Brereton occupied Hawarden
Castle, and from there demanded the surrender of the
city of Chester. As a matter of precaution the houses
in the intervening suburb of Handbridge and the neigh-
bourhood were destroyed by the authorities of Chester;
and eventually Hawarden Castle, which had been invested
by the King's forces from Ireland, aided by reinforcements
from Chester, capitulated on honourable terms. Mean-
while Beeston Castle, on a commanding position a few
miles from the city, had been occupied by the Parliamen-
tarians; but on December 13, 1643, it fell into the hands of
the Royalists, who were led by Captain Thomas Sandford,
" Captain of Firelocks." A few weeks later the head of the
surrendered garrison, Captain Steel, was condemned at
Nantwich by his own party and shot as a traitor.

It will be readily understood that the citizens had to
put forth supreme efforts to maintain their troops and
defend their position. Accordingly we find various resolu-
tions passed at their assemblies with these objects in view.
At one of them the Mayor was desired to repair with all
speed to Oxford to present a petition to his Majesty in
answer to a gracious letter received by him. Payments
were ordered and levies made for the reparation of the
mud walls as outworks, and for the repair of the city walls
and cleaning out of the city ditch, &c. In January 1644
one hundred pounds' worth of the city plate was converted
into coin to be used for the defence of the city, whilst a
further assessment was levied for the perfecting of the
works, and for provisioning the garrison. It was also
ordered that 300 should be presented to the King and
a like amount to the Prince of Wales. Lord Byron,
nephew of the governor, was in command of the Royalist
forces ; and although he had gained a signal victory near
Middlewich in December 1643, he failed a month later in

THE SIEGE OF CHESTER 183

his siege of Nantwich, and had to make good his retreat to
Chester. Early in 1644 the Parliamentarians advanced
close to the city and effected a lodgment at Christleton.
They were forced to retire ; but to prevent danger in the
future the suburb of Great Boughton was burnt down by
the citizens, so that the enemy might not harbour there.

In March 1644, Prince Maurice arrived in the city, and
a form of loyal protestation was drawn up, which was to be
submitted " to all the nobility, gentry, divines, citizens, and
all other inhabitants of the city." In the summer and
autumn of this year the city was more closely surrounded
by troops under the command first of Colonel Jones and
subsequently of Sir William Brereton himself. Various
communications passed between the besiegers and the
besieged, in which the former were urged to submit, a
course they strenuously refused to adopt. They were,
however, in a very confused situation, having nothing but
the city wall for their defence. The frequent assessments
which had become necessary also caused a good deal of
discontent, and it was found expedient to nominate a
number of soldiers to collect them. On November i8th, Sir
William Brereton demanded the surrender of the city " by
trumpet," and to this, after a second letter on the following
day, an indignant refusal was rendered. The confusion
occasioned by the war led to no Mayor being elected this
year. A " faithful well-wisher," by a letter tied to an arrow
and shot into the city, endeavoured by insinuating methods
to induce the citizens to betray their trust, but without
success ; though the constant levying of assessments showed
strongly the state to which the garrison must have been
reduced, and the heavy demands which were made on the
loyalty and patriotism of the besieged.

In the early part of 1645, tne correspondence between
the leaders on both sides was constant. Sir William
Brereton, however, seems to have been indisposed to treat
with commissioners from the other side for a surrender,
which apparently he would only accept on his own terms,

184 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

which were set forth in a letter thrown over the walls. In
March the advent of Prince Maurice and Prince Rupert into
Cheshire caused some diversion of the besieging forces ;
and in May Sir William Brereton retreated from his posi-
tion before Chester to Nantwich, and on the 22nd the city
was relieved. This movement was no doubt due to the
report that the King himself was advancing with a powerful
army. He did not, however, at that time come further than
Drayton, from which place he marched to Uttoxeter. The
city, however, was not left without anxiety, as the out-
works may be said to have been still in the possession of
the enemy. In September intelligence was received that the
King had left Hereford with his forces, and was on his way
to Chester. Coming from Chirk Castle, he sent most of his
horse over Holt or Farndon Bridge into Cheshire, and him-
self, with his guards and Lord Gerard and the rest of his
troops, entered the city by the old Dee Bridge on Sep-
tember 23rd, and lodged that night at Sir Francis Gamul's,
in Lower Bridge Street. It is interesting to know that a
portion of this house still remains, though its external
appearance has been absolutely changed. It was on the
following day that the battle of Rowton Heath, so disastrous
to the King's cause, took place. The defeat was in great
measure due to misunderstandings, and the fact that the
soldiers of the garrison did not know the situation in which
Sir Marmaduke Langdale,in command of the Royalist cavalry,
was placed. The result of this was that Sir Marmaduke
was surrounded and overpowered, and forced to retire
towards Chester. Some of his horse were scattered over
the country, crossing the river at Boughton Ford, or making
for Holt Bridge, whilst those who accompanied him became
entangled in the narrow lanes leading to the city, and there
was a general rout. The King, attended by Sir Francis
Gamul and Alderman Cowper, had the mortification of wit-
nessing the disaster from the leads of the Phoenix Tower,
at the north-east angle of the city walls. In this battle
many gentlemen and officers of distinction lost their lives,

THE SIEGE OF CHESTER 185

or were taken prisoners ; and it is computed that not less
than 600 men were killed on both sides, and amongst the
slain was Bernard Stuart, the young, gallant Earl of Lich-
field, whilst Sir Philip Musgrave was taken prisoner. On
the following day the King, accompanied by Sir Francis
Gamul, Captain Thropp, and others, and with 500 horse,
marched over Dee Bridge into Wales, and so to Denbigh
Castle. Before his departure he gave orders to Lord Byron
and his commissioners, " if after ten days they saw no
prospect of relief to treat for their own preservation." It
will be seen from this that he judged that the city was in
great danger, and that it could hardly be expected to hold
out much longer.

Sir Francis Gamul and his companions remained with
the King for a couple of days, took a sad and final farewell
of their Sovereign, and then returned to Chester. They
found the city in an even more distressed condition, for the
enemy had again forced the works at Boughton, and were
close up to the walls, and in possession of the part of the
town just outside the Eastgate. For at least a week the
daily onslaught of the besieging forces was of the most
determined character. They planted their cannon at close
quarters, and effected a breach in the walls near the New-
gate, and in many parts destroyed the battlements. At
night time the damage was repaired as far as was possible.
The several assaults of the enemy were met with a stout
and stubborn resistance. On October 7th, having surrounded
the city with their cavalry, a violent and determined attack
was made upon the walls in many parts, which were as
resolutely defended. Great courage and determination
were exhibited on both sides, and when the assailants
in some places gained the top of the walls they were
beaten off, thrown down and killed, and the scaling-
ladders which they had used were taken possession of.
So powerful had this resistance proved to be, that the
besiegers gave up their intention of storming the city,
and changed their plan into that of a close blockade,

i86 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

trusting to subdue by famine those whom they were
unable to conquer by force.

The position of the city was not improved by the fact
that Beeston Castle, after a siege lasting eighteen months,
and after great privations suffered by the garrison, at
this time had to capitulate to the Parliamentarians. The
Governor secured very honourable conditions, he and his
men being allowed to march out with horses and arms and
with colours flying, a convoy being provided to guard them
to Flint Castle. The besieged in Chester had now a very
trying time. Their opponents had constructed a floating
bridge over the river at Boughton which proved a consider-
able annoyance to them, whilst affording much help to
those who had contrived it. An ineffectual attempt to
burn it down was made by turning adrift at high tide two
boats filled with combustibles, but though the trains caught
fire they were speedily extinguished. A brisk sally out of
the city with 500 horse and 200 foot also met with no
success. Sir William Brereton again proposed a surrender,
but Lord Byron and the commissioners insisted upon terms
which he felt he could not grant.

On December loth, orders were sent by Parliament for
the Lancashire forces under Colonel Booth to join Sir
William Brereton, and in a few days they arrived, to the
consternation of those within the city, which was now
quite encompassed, and a scarcity of provisions was soon
occasioned. Sir William Brereton, in January 1646, sent
again and again a summons to the besieged to surrender,
but this was refused nine times, although they had to feed
on horses, dogs, and cats, and boiled wheat, as the hope
was entertained that the King might still be able to come
to their relief. It was only when all chance of this had
vanished that a treaty was agreed upon, and a large
number of commissioners on each side were appointed to
draw up the terms of it. Accordingly " Articles of Sur-
render," seventeen in number, were devised and agreed
to, and signed on February 3, 1646. It is a singular

THE SIEGE OF CHESTER 187

coincidence that this day happened to be, in former times,
the Feast of St. Werburgh, who might be called the patron
saint of the city. These Articles of Surrender are very
interesting, and may be accounted very generous. In them
" liberty to march out of the city, castle, and fort with all
their apparel whatsoever and no other " was granted to
all, the amount of money which each should carry being
fixed, and ranging from forty pounds in money and twenty
pounds in plate for Lord and Lady Byron to twenty shil-
lings for lieutenants, cornets, ensigns, and other inferior
officers in commission ; arrangements were made for the
protection of women and prisoners and for the prevention
of pillage and plunder; no church within the city, or
evidence or writing belonging to the same, was to be
defaced ; those who marched out of the town had liberty
to march to Conway, and facilities were granted to them
for this purpose ; " the friends of the Earls of Derby and
Lichfield, or any of those whose dead bodies were not yet
interred in the city, had two months' time given them to
fetch them from thence whither they pleased, provided they
came attended by not more than twenty horse " ; and
hostages were to be given for the due performance of the
said Articles.

Thus, after a sturdy resistance of three years and a
half, the city was taken, after proving its unflinching
loyalty to the King and his cause. In this respect Chester
stands out in a remarkable manner, and may be said to vie
with Oxford in its devotion to Charles I. The damage
inflicted on it was immense, and a very moderate calcula-
tion has estimated it at ^"200,000. Randle Holme has
given an interesting description of the damage done,
mentioning many specific instances, and ending with this :
" This may be an advertisement to us that God's mercy
is yet to be found, since he hath left so many streets, lanes,
and churches unmolested. God grant us faith, patience,
and true repentance and amendment, that a worse danger
befall us not. Amen." The same writer, alluding to the

i88 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

attack on September 29, 1645, says : " By this time our
women are all on fire, striving through a gallant emulation
to out-do our men, and will make good our yielding walls
or lose their lives to show they dare attempt it. The work
goes forward, and they, like so many Amazons, do outface
death, and dare danger though it lurks in every basket ;
seven are shot and three slain, yet they scorn to leave their
matchless undertaking, and thus they continued for ten
days' space, possessing the beholders that they are im-
maculate ! " It will be seen from this contemporary de-
scription that the annals of the period, if fully chronicled,
would afford a wonderful story of bravery and endurance
and patience, and would add lustre to the fame of the
ancient city of Chester. Even this imperfect sketch may
not be out of place, but may lead us to admire the chivalry
and loyalty and courage of those brave defenders of our
walls in bygone days.

Sir William Brereton's forces were not very particular
as to the observance of the treaty. The sword and mace
were indeed restored to the city, but much injury was done
to the Cathedral, where the choir was defaced, the organ
damaged, the stained-glass windows broken, and the font
demolished. The High Cross was also taken down, and
the fonts taken out of several of the parish churches, in
which also many of the ancient monuments were destroyed.
As a result, very few of the latter of an early date are found
now in Chester. The Gamul and Oldfield monuments in
the Church of St. Mary on the Hill were preserved by a
special agreement with Sir William Brereton. The Church
of St. John suffered much, as it was so long in the posses-
sion of the enemy, being without the city walls. No doubt
in other respects the terms of the " Articles of Surrender "
were violated.

The following fuller descriptions of the visit of the King
will not be out of place as an appendix to this paper. I
am indebted for them to the Rev. Canon Morris, D.D.,
F.S.A., who had supplied them for another purpose.

THE SIEGE OF CHESTER 189

"From the account in Harleian 2155, &c., it would appear
that the citizens were surprised when active operations were
resumed on September 20, 1645. A force detached from the
troops besieging Beeston Castle, and consisting of 500 horse,
200 dragoons, and 700 foot, advanced stealthily by ways through
the country in the dead of the night, and at daybreak proceeded
to storm the suburbs. Seizing, with little loss (either by treachery
or through the negligence of the garrison), a mount near Deeside
at Boughton, they set upon the main line of defences, and cap-
tured all the mounds on that side of the city. Then forcing
their way through the Bars into Foregate Street, they obtained
possession of the north-western suburb up to the Eastgate,
taking as a trophy and a * token of good presage,' the city sword
and mace, which was probably in the Mayor's house in St. John's
Ward, afterwards occupied by Sir W. Brereton as his head-
quarters. This success encouraged the Parliamentarians to hope
that with a special effort the siege of Chester might be brought
to a rapid close, and the authorities in London despatched
urgent messages to the neighbouring counties calling for im-
mediate reinforcements. Chester was regarded as a place of
very great consequence (especially by Parliamentarians), both
for the reducing and settling of all North Wales, and for the
preventing of the landing of any Irish supplies. The citizens
were equally active in taking precautions against the expected
assaults in force. The East Gate was rammed up with earth.
The houses in Cow Lane, St, John's Lane, and St. Thomas'
Street (on the Boughton side) were burnt to deprive the enemy
of shelter. Occasional sallies were made with indifferent success,
and marksmen on the walls and towers were keeping up a con-
tinual fire. The besiegers were equally busy on their side.
From the steeple of St. John's Church they had an excellent
position for annoying the citizens, and on Monday, September 22,
a large breach was made by their artillery in the walls near the
New Gate, sufficient to admit ten men abreast. Vigorous attempts
were made to make good this breach with beds and wool-packs.

They were ordered to carry the beds, &c., one half to St.
Bridget's ; and, after a sharp fight, at eight in the evening the
enemy were beaten back with considerable loss by the courageous
defence of the Chirk Castle troop. A simultaneous attempt was

i 9 o MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

made by another body to scale the walls on the east between
the Sadler's Tower and the East Gate, but they were beaten
off with much loss.

" King Charles at this time was on his way from Hereford,
intending to pass through Lancashire and Cumberland into
Scotland. On receiving information of the critical position at
Chester he marched at once for the city, which he entered with
some hazard, at Handb ridge, on Tuesday, September 23, attended
by Lord Lichfield, Lord Gerard, and a small bodyguard. The
King lodged that night at Sir Francis Gamul's house in Bridge
Street. The remainder of the King's troops under Sir Marma-
duke Langdale marched on towards Holt, and, crossing the Dee
by the bridge, took up a position on Rowton Heath, about two
miles from Chester. Here, early in the morning, he encountered
General Poyntz, who had been ordered by the Parliament Com-
mittee to follow the King and prevent him from relieving Chester.
Although his horse was tired with the long march overnight,
Langdale succeeded in beating back Poyntz with considerable
loss. He at once sent by Col. Shakerley to inform the King
that he had obeyed his orders in checking Poyntz's advance,
and to ask for further orders. The Colonel executed his orders
with better speed than could be expected, for he galloped directly
to the river Dee under Huntingdon House, got a wooden tub
(used for slaughtering swine) and a batting staff (used for batting
of coarse linen) for an oar, put a servant into the tub with him,
and in this desperate manner swam over the river, his horse
swimming by him (for the banks there were very steep and
the river very deep), ordered his servant to stay there with the
tub for his return, and was with the King in little more than
a quarter of one hour after he left Sir Marmaduke. This ex-
peditious method saved him going the nine or ten miles about
by Holt Bridge.

"This speedy transmission of intelligence did not save the
situation. Although preparations were made early in the day
for a sally, and the citizens were busy clearing out the dung
that barred up the gate which led to the suburbs, such delays
were made by some about the King, that no orders were sent,
nor any sally made out of the city by the King's party till past
three o'clock in the afternoon, which was full six hours after

THE SIEGE OF CHESTER 191

Poyntz had been beaten back. Through some misunderstanding
Lord Gerard ordered Langdale to draw nearer Chester, where
some foot would be ready to support him. This was imprac-
ticable, as Sir Marmaduke would then have been open to attack
in rear as well as in front. For Poyntz had now had time to
rally his forces, and, in obedience to his message, was reinforced
about noon by 500 horse and 300 foot under Col. Jones, the
Adjutant General, drawn hurriedly from the force besieging
Chester. This hasty march of the Parliamentarians was mis-
taken for flight, and a considerable portion of the garrison with
Lord Gerard and Lord Lichfield were ordered to pursue, passing
through the North Gate round by Flookersbrook, as the direct
way by the East Gate had been blocked up. Before they could
learn their mistake Poyntz fell upon Langdale, who was thus
compelled to meet his assault in front, as well as Col. Jones'
attack in rear, and notwithstanding a gallant resistance he was
routed, and forced to retire in the direction of Hoole Heath.
Here the Royalist horse became disordered, and the narrow
lanes and passes between there and Chester so crowded, that
they were unable to make an effectual stand, and, in fact, threw
their supporters under Lord Gerard into immediate confusion.
Some made for Holt Bridge, others crossed the river at Dee-fords,
and so into the city ; but Poyntz, satisfied with his success, made
no attempt to pursue them. No less than 600 men fell in this
battle, amongst them several of high rank and distinction :
more than 800 prisoners were taken. Amongst the slain was
Bertie Stuart, the young Earl of Lichfield. The King, attended
by the Mayor, Sir Francis Gamul, and Alderman Cowper, had
the unhappiness of watching this disaster, first from the Phcenix
Tower, and afterwards from the Cathedral Tower, where, as
he was talking with a captain, a bullet from St. John's gave
him a salute, narrowly missing the King, hit the said captain
on the head, and killed him on the spot. Owing to this disaster,
it was not thought advisable that the King should remain in
Chester. Before his departure he called the Mayor and leading
citizens together, and desired them, if he was unable to send
them the aid he expected within eight or ten days, to make the
best terms of surrender they could. Instead of pursuing his
route to Scotland, he returned into Wales, passing over Dee

192 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Bridge between nine and ten in the morning, accompanied by
Sir F. Gamul, Capt. Thorpe, and Alderman Cowper. After
staying three hours at Hawarden Castle, he reached Denbigh
Castle the same night."

FROM SLINGSBY'S DIARY.

"By ye wayes we took through ye almost inaccessible mountains of Wales,
y* we heard no more of Poyntz, nor did he trouble us much till we got to
Chester ; and though he troubled us not, yet found we both loss and trouble
in our passage : loss in our horses, many of y m tireing so, y* ye Troopers were
fain to forsake y m . In our Quarters we had little accommodation, but of all
ye places we came to ye best at Old Radnor, where ye King lay in a poor
low chamber, and my Lord of Linsey and others by ye Kitching fire on hay :
no better were we accommodated for victuals : which makes me remember
this passage ; while ye King was at his supper eating a pullet and a piece
of cheese, ye room without was full but ye men's stomachs empty for want
of meat. Ye good wife troubled w th continual calling upon her for vic-
tuals, and having it seems but ye one cheese, comes into ye room where
ye King was, and very soberly asks if ye King had done with ye cheese for
ye gentlemen w th out desired it. But ye best was we never tarried long in
any place, & therefore might we more willingly endure one night's hardship
in hopes that ye next might be better. And thus we continued our march until
we came to Chester, when we found my Lord Byron in command in ye town &
ye enemy in ye suburbs, and so close y l it was some hazard to ye King to pass
ye bridge. Now, our horse quartered about 3 miles off, except only ye
King's life-guard and my Lord Garrard's (Charles Gerard, created L d Gerard
Nov. 8 this year) horse, both w h were drawn into ye town, & preparations made
ye next day to have a sally, but while they were busy to carry out ye dung
that barricaded up ye gate y* led to ye suburbs a messenger came y* brought
ye King's word y* Poyntz had engaged Sir Marmaduke Langdale to fight,
& a little after we heard y fc we had taken some colours of ye enemy's,
but y* ye King must send supplys, by reason y* ye enemy increased by
that assistance they had from neighbouring garrisons which flocked to them.
Whereupon ye King sent forth both Lord Lichfield and Lord Gerard with
those that were in ye town, but before they could joyne our horse were
beaten, and in ye view of ye town & of ye King, who at ye very same time was
in one of ye towers of ye Walls, looking over to see our men & theirs in ye
suburbs exchanging some bullets one with another. We took it first for
ye enemy till some came wounded & brought in ye sad news y* our horse
was routed, many taken, and my Lord Lichfield slain.

" Here I do wonder at ye admirable temper of ye King, whose constancy
was such y fc no perils never so unavoidable could move him to astonishment,
but y* still he set ye same face & settled countenance upon what adverse
fortune soever befell him, & neither was exalted in prosperity nor dejected
in adversity ; w h was ye more admirable in him, seeing he had no other to

THE SIEGE OF CHESTER 193

have recourse unto for counsel & assistance, but must bear ye whole burden
upon his shoulder. By this accident I never found him moved at all, though
the loss was so much & greater by my Lord of Lichfield's death, his kinsman,
& whom he loved so dearly. But this makes him look nearer for his own
safety, & therefore gives order for his march ye next day with those horse y fc
came safe to ye town ; which he left without all hopes of relief to make
conditions for themselves for the town if they durst attempt no more. We
marched over ye bridge in ye day, having set up some blinds if they might
not take notice so easily when ye King passed over, & except one horse
that was killed, I think no others took any harm. From hence we marched
on to Denbigh Castle, and after that to Ruthin, till at last by unknown
ways and passages, with many dark & late marches, we arrived at ye
garrison of Newark about ye 14 th of October."

The above contemporary accounts will enable us to
realise both the gravity of the situation in the city, and
the difficulties which beset the Royalist troops in their
journeys through the country.

CHESHIRE AND ITS FAMILIES
BY JAMES HALL

Author of "A History of Nantwich^ The Civil War in Cheshire? &c.

CHESHIRE, in regard to its shape, has been said
to resemble a bird's wing, an axe-head, and a
shoulder of mutton. The late Colonel Egerton
Legh humorously compared it to a chicken with its head
in Featherbed Moss, Macclesfield in its crop, and the tail
formed by Wirral. Perhaps more seriously, but no less
fancifully, it may be likened to a broad, ear-topped shield
of the College of Arms type, divided pale wise by a central
line of hills, of which the isolated rocks of Halton and
Beeston occupy respectively the chief point and the fesse
point of the shield.

From the summit of Beeston Castle, or, better still,
from the more elevated escarpment of the adjacent Peck-
forton Hill, marked on the survey map Stanner Nab a
name little altered from its original Saxon, Stan-es Nebb,
literally " front of stone," or stone head, and now commonly
called Tanners Nob nearly the whole county is spread
out in fine panorama of plain ; the view extending from
the Wirral coast to the high moorlands of Macclesfield, a
distance of about fifty miles ; and from the Mersey to the
Shropshire border, a little over thirty miles. A like distant
and picturesque horizon is obtainable from eminences such
as Alderley Edge, Cloud End, and Mow Cop on the east ;
Frodsham Hill, Helsby Tor, and Halton Castle on the
north ; Garden Cliff, Harthill, and Belvidere in Wirswall
on the south border. From gentle uplands, the more

CHESHIRE AND ITS FAMILIES 195

circumscribed landscape presents the effect of a tree-
covered plain, owing to the great quantity of hedgerow
timber, chiefly oak, and the smallness of the fields. This
illusion is perfect when the view is taken from the cupola
on the roof of Doddington Hall ; but in reality the county
is almost destitute of woods, excepting spinnies, often
hidden in dingles, and the rather modern plantations on
the central hills. There are, however, extensive parks at
Dunham, Tatton, Tabley, Arley, Lyme, Peover, Somerford,
Oulton, Vale Royal, Eaton, Cholmondeley, Combermere,
Doddington, and Crewe; although some mentioned in
history have been disparked, as at Kermincham and
Norbury Booths.

Cheshire is a county of large estates, many of which
have descended by a long ancestry to the present owners.
The greatest estates occur in the purely agricultural and
sparsely populated districts of the south. In order of their
extent comes first the Peckforten estate, 25,380 acres (Lord
Tollemache); next Cholmondeley, 16,842 acres (the Marquis
of Cholmondeley); then Eaton, 15,001 acres (the Duke of
Westminster) ; Doddington, 13,832 acres i(Sir Delves L.
Broughton, Bart.); and Crewe, 10,148 acres (Earl Crewe) ;
but this last estate does not include the railway town of that
name. Other large landowners l (most of whose names are
historic in the county, and whose estates vary between
5000 and 10,000 acres) are

The LORDS Egerton of Tatton, Harrington, Stamford,
Derby, Haddington, De Tabley, Delamere, Stanley of
Alderley (Sheffield), Kilmorrey, Shrewsbury, and Comber-
mere. Also Sir Philip Grey-Egerton, Mr. Legh [now Lord
Newton] of Lyme, Mr. Legh of Adlington, Mr Egerton-
Warburton of Arley, Sir W. G. Shakerley, Mr. Bromley
Davenport, and Colonel France Hayhurst.

These twenty-three gentlemen own collectively 203,533

1 This list of names is taken from the published returns to the House
of Commons of the " Owners of Land " throughout the United Kingdom,
commonly called the Modern Domesday Book, of 1873.

196 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

acres, or a little over one-third of the whole county; but,
according to the same authority, 2840 persons own lands
varying from IO to 1000 acres, also 3166 persons have
holdings between one acre and ten acres, while 17,691
persons possess lands less than one acre in extent. The
Crown lands amount to 3581 acres, and the commons or
waste lands to 6704 acres, so that the total number of
owners in Cheshire is 23,720, the total area of the county
being 608,922 acres, or rather less than 1000 square miles.

Some houses of the gentry have from ancient times
stood on the margin of a natural mere, as at Tatton, Tabley,
Mere, Rostherne, Arley, Combermere, and Marbury ; or
beside an artificial pool, as at Crewe and Doddington. But
Bagmere, which once reflected the stately mansion of the
Breretons, has been drained, and Ridley Pool has long been
" sown and mown," in fulfilment, as credulous people have
believed, of Nixon's prophecy. Barmere is one of the few
meres that have not been honoured by a gentleman's seat.

Of modern mansions, both the magnificent palace at
Eaton and the castle at Cholmondeley stand near ornamental
sheets of water ; while Peckforten Castle, perhaps the most
remarkable house in all England, being built in close imita-
tion of a Norman castle, is perched on a rocky eminence
like an eyrie.

In no part of Cheshire are so many gentlemen's seats
clustered together as within a radius of a few miles around
the old-fashioned town of Knutsford. They are as
follows :

Dunham Hall, or Dunham Massey, as it was named
in ancient times, when it was held as a feudal barony
by the Massey family until the death of Hamon, about
the year 1340, stands in what is known as the Old Park,
which is walled round for the protection of about a hundred
head of deer. The so-called New Park, nearly three miles
in circumference, also contains aged oaks and beeches,
and is divided from the other park merely by the road
leading from Bowdon to Dunham village. From the

CHESHIRE AND ITS FAMILIES 197

Masseys the estate descended to the notable family of
Booth. At the old mansion lived Sir John Booth, who
was slain at Flodden Field ; Sir George Booth, created
Baron Delamere in 1661 in honour of his staunch royalist
services to Charles I. ; and his son Henry, second lord,
who, after having been three times unjustly imprisoned in
the Tower, was in 1686 tried for high treason by his peers
and acquitted.

High Leigh. Here two important mansions stood in
close proximity, namely, East Hall and West Hall. The
latter, or what remains of it, was changed into a farm-
house nearly a century ago. The former, rebuilt towards
the end of the eighteenth century as a brick mansion, is
still the residence of the Legh family, which has been
seated there since the time of Edward I. In the reign
of Henry VII. there was much litigation between the
Leghs of the two halls.

Rostherne Hall, long the residence of the Masseys of
Coddington, and now the property of Lord Egerton, stands
on the border of a broad mere, as much famed for its
curious legends as for the natural beauty of its surround-
ings.

Ashley Hall, where, in 1715, ten Cheshire gentlemen,
namely, Thomas Assheton, the resident proprietor ; Sir
Richard Grosvenor, of Eaton; James, Earl Barrymore, of
Marbury; Charles Hurleston, of Newton; Amos Meredith,
of Henbury ; Alexander Radclyff, of Fox Denton in Lan-
cashire, but born at Wythenshaw in Cheshire in 1677 ;
Robert Cholmondeley, of Holford ; John Warren, of Poyn-
ton ; Henry Legh, of Legh ; and Peter Legh, of Lyme ; met
to discuss the propriety of espousing the cause of the Old
Pretender, the Chevalier St. George, the decision arrived
at being in the negative by the casting vote of the owner
of Ashley.

Tatton Hall, anciently the seat of the knightly family of
Massey, from the time of Edward I. to the time of Henry VI.,
descended in the time of Charles II. to the Egerton family,

198 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

and is now owned by Lord Egerton. The present mansion,
designed by the two Wyatts, has for its chief external
feature a portico of columns 25 feet high, and stands in
the centre of a park nearly 12 miles in circumference. The
old hall, half a mile away, is situate on low, sheltered
ground at the north end of the lake.

Mere Hall. The old hall, long the residence of the
ancient family of Mere, stood nearer the village, but only
a portion of it now remains, used as a farmhouse. This
estate has been in the possession of the Brooke family since
1652. Mr. Peter Langford Brooke, who, in 1834, built the
present brick mansion overlooking the mere, had the mis-
fortune to be drowned while skating on the mere on Qth
January 1840, his wife witnessing the sad occurrence.

Arley Hall, the seat of the Warburton family for several
centuries, was demolished in 1833, and the present hand-
some structure, with its chapel designed by Salvin (who
was also the architect of Peckforton Castle), was not com-
pleted until 1845. Over the stone porch doorway is carved
the following rhyme by the squire of the hall :

" This Gate is free to all Good Men and True,
Right Welcome thou, if worthy to pass through."

Marbury Hallf possessed by the Marbury family for
many generations until the death of Richard Marbury in
1684. Since the eighteenth century it has belonged to the
family of Barry. The present mansion, overlooking Bud-
worth Mere, was built by the architect, Mr. A. Salvin, in
the French chateau style.

Tabley Hall, which resembles Tatton in architecture,
was completed in the year 1769. The old hall, now in a
ruinous condition, and in danger of becoming a tumbled
heap by its thick mantling of ivy, together with a detached

1 On the southern border of the county is another Marbury Hall, late
the residence of Cudworth H. Poole, Esq., beautifully situated on a hill
that commands the view of two meres and a picturesque church and village
of the same name.

CHESHIRE AND ITS FAMILIES 199

brick chapel dated 1675, stand on an island in the circling
mere. This was the home of Sir Peter Leycester, the
representative of a long lineage, and the first great his-
torian of Cheshire families, who was buried at Budworth
in 1678.

The above-mentioned halls lie on the northern and
western sides of Knutsford ; two others are on the south
side of that town, namely :

Toft Hall, another seat of the Leycester family for
many generations, and remarkable now for its fine avenue
of elms in triple rows. Ralph Leycester, who died in
1777, owned this estate for no fewer than 70 years.

Peover Hall is associated with the Mainwarings from
Plantagenet times, whose surname, according to the
antiquary Dugdale, had undergone 131 variations of
spellings in old deeds. Sir Henry Mainwaring, who died
unmarried on 6th April 1797, was the last direct descen-
dant. By his will the estate came to his uterine half-
brother, Thomas Wettenhall, of Nantwich, who took the
name and arms of Mainwaring, and, dying the following
year, on I2th July 1798, thus became the ancestor of the
present line of baronets of Peover.

Farther away from Knutsford, on the borders of
Delamere Forest, stand three notable houses ; namely,
Delamere House, designed by Wyatt, and owned by Mr.
Wilbraham, who is the direct descendant of the ancient
family of Wilbraham of Woodhey in the south part of the
county ; Vale Royal, the seat of the present Lord Delamere,
that estate having been purchased in 1615 by the noble lady,
Mary Cholmondeley, widow of Sir Hugh Cholmondeley,
and known in history as " the bold lady of Cheshire," who
entertained King James I. on his progress through the
county in 1617; and Utkinton Hall, now a farmhouse
with some remains of its former importance, which in the
same year, 1617, was the residence of the forester, Sir
John Done, who had married Dorothy, daughter of Thomas
Wilbraham of Woodhey, whose manners and character

200 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

were " so amiable that to this day " (as Thomas Pennant
says in 1782), " when a Cheshire man would express some
excellency in one of the fair sex, he would say, ' There is
a Lady Done for you ! ' '

Very fine specimens of ancient timber houses are at
Bramhall, Little Moreton, Adlington ; and the hall at Bagu-
ley, perhaps the oldest building of its kind in the county,
has massive oak beams, still in good condition, proving
the durability of that material for building construction.
Of stone and brick mansions, Brereton is the best example
of Tudor architecture ; Dorfold and Crewe of the seven-
teenth century renaissance ; Oulton, Lyme, and Doddington
of the later palladian style.

Other halls constructed wholly or in part of timber,
and once occupied by the yeomen class the charterers
or freeholders named on old manor court-rolls whose
estates have been swallowed up in the larger properties,
were usually defended by deeply-dug, rectangular moats,
indicative of an unsettled and dangerous state of life in
former times. At Huxley Old Hall, at Harden, at More-
ton, and elsewhere, moats and draw-bridges still exist;
but some moated enclosures have been turned into or-
chards, and a farmhouse has been built outside, as at
Mickley in Wrenbury parish, and at Stapeley in Wybun-
bury parish.

Formerly Cheshire people frequently married with
neighbouring families of like station in life, according to
their common proverb, " It is better to marry over the
mixen than over the moor ; " and even yet there is a
saying : " If you are going into Cheshire, remember they
are all cousins."

The long-established peasant families must not be
passed over in silence. Suspicious of strangers, they
understand "the law of the land" very differently from
the inhabitants of crowded cities and manufacturing towns.
Country people still speak with confidence and respect of
" our squire," just as the landlords talk of " our people " ;

CHESHIRE AND ITS FAMILIES 201

although it must be admitted that the mutual social in-
fluences of old English life are now fast waning. A former
manifestation of goodwill and good understanding among
the tenantry of a large estate may here be mentioned. On
the death of the Rev. Sir Thomas Broughton, Bart., in
July 1813, the coffin containing his remains was borne
to burial on the shoulders of relays of farmers by road
from Doddington Hall to Broughton Church, a distance
of no less than twelve miles !

The numerous townships into which Cheshire is divided
are almost entirely rural in their situation; and in few
parts of the county, Wirral being the chief exception,
are the dwellings sufficiently near each other to constitute
what is generally known as a village. I have heard a
countryman express this peculiarity in these words: "The
common people live in the lanes, but the quality (that is,
the well-to-do farmers) live up in the fields."

With regard to Cheshire families in the dim past,
Camden the antiquary of the sixteenth century wrote : 1
" Cheshire is the great nursing-mother of the gentry ; for
there is no other English county that formerly supplied
the King's army with more nobility, or that could number
more knightly families."

Contemporary with Camden, John Speed, the historian,
a native of the county, calls Cheshire the "seed-plot of
gentility." In proof of this, we refer to the statement
already made in the historical introduction to this volume,
that William the Conqueror constituted Cheshire a county
palatine, bestowing the earldom on his nephew, Hugh
Lupus, whose title, Earl of Chester, has belonged, since the
time of Edward I., by hereditary right to the heir-apparent
of the English Crown. Cheshire, like Normandy in France,
thus became an imperium in imperio, with the Earl as
titular sovereign and courts of justice, administered by a

1 The original words in the Britannia read : " Cestria eximia nobilitatis
altrix ; nee enim alia est in Anglia provincia, quse plures nobiles in aciem
eduxerit, et plures equestres familias numerarit."

202 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Constable, Seneschall, Chamberlain, Justices, Barons of
Exchequer, Sheriff, Attorney, Escheator, &c. So constituted,
the county preserved its independent existence until the
time of Henry VIII., when it became subject to the Crown ;
and in the next reign the county sent its first representatives
to the national Parliament at Westminster. The first Earl
held a large part of the earldom in his own hands; and
portioned out the rest of the land among military men,
whom he created barons, or tenants in capite ; and their
hereditary honorary services for their fees were due to
him and his successors. In course of time these fees
became a civil establishment rather than a military plan,
and the services began to be compounded. Agricultural
and other services grew out of the sub-infeudations of the
chief tenants; and eventually, by a statute, 12 Chas. II.,
local baronies and manors became little more than nominal
institutions, and as such they continue to be.

It is said the Grosvenors are descended from Gilbert
le Grosvenor, who came over from Normandy with Hugh
Lupus, his uncle ; the Mainwarings from Earl Randle ;
and the Egertons and Cholmondeleys from the Norman
Barons of Malpas. The ancient, but now extinct, families
of Merbury, Hatton, Rutter, Birkenhead, Vernon, Leftwich,
and Fitton, each bore three garbs or (three golden wheat-
sheaves) on their shields, an honourable charge claimed
to have been assigned them by the sixth Earl, Randle
Blundeville, who bore the same device. In modern times
the garb or occurs on the arms of Wicksted, Cholmondeley,
and Grosvenor ; and, in the last named, since the time of
Richard II., when Sir Robert Grosvenor contended with
the proud Sir Richard Scrope of Yorkshire in the long
heraldic suit (1386-1389) as to the right to bear Azure
a bend or, with the result that Sir Robert should bear a
golden sheaf instead of a golden band, as descended from
the Earls of Chester.

In the ancient days of chivalry the military aristocracy
promoted peace and order within the county, and defended

CHESHIRE AND ITS FAMILIES 203

it against raids from beyond the Welsh Marshes. Cheshire
archers became famous; and, led by their own knights,
gained renown in the wars of the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries.

If military achievement be claimed in justification of
the proverb " Cheshire, chief of men " quoted by Dray-
ton, it must be remembered there was a rival in the field.
The "Men of Kent," who boldly said to William the
Conqueror

' ' We are ready to offer thee either Peace or War at thy own choice
and election Peace with faithful obedience, if thou wilt permit us to
enjoy our liberties ; War, and that most deadly, if thou deny it "

have a prior claim for daring manhood. But while Grose,
the antiquary, insinuated that the proverb was given to
our noble selves by our noble selves, it may, after all, have
had no more serious signification than that Cheshire men
always boasted of their isolation from other English people.

Truly the warrior-roll forms a long list of brave and
hardy men, from Roger Lacy, the Constable of Cheshire
in 1 200, that magnanimous champion of war in both France
and Wales, down to Field-Marshal Combermere of Sala-
manca and Bhurtpore fame ; but memorials abound of heroic
endeavour in the arts of peace, in law and letters, as well as
in the field.

Of famous lawyers were Lord Chancellor Egerton and
Sir Ranulph Crewe, the Speaker of the House of Commons,
in the seventeenth century. In the following century were
Randle Wilbraham, ancestor of the Wilbrahams of Rode,
and of Lathom House (now Lord Skelmersdale) in Lanca-
shire ; Sir John Chesshyre, who founded in 1733 a library
at Halton, and was buried at Runcorn in 1738 with this
epitaph :

" An honest man's the noblest work of God " :

and Richard P. Arden, born at Stockport in 1745, who
became Lord Chief Justice, Baron Alvanley, and died
in 1804.

204 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Of talented men of letters were Dr. Broome, the poet,
born at Haslington in 1689; and in our own time Lord de
Tabley, eminent as poet, botanist, and author of the first
work on the subject of book-plates ; Sir Philip Egerton, the
learned geologist and mineralogist ; the Rev. A. P. Stanley,
Dean of Westminster; and other worthies whose names
are enshrined in the volumes of the National Biographical
Dictionary.

Of benefactors of their fellow-men were James Neild,
born at Knutsford in 17/4, the philanthropic prison-visitor;
the Duke of Bridgewater, pioneer of canal construction ;
George Wilbraham, Esq., of Delamere House, who died
in 1813, and was one of the first to introduce an improved
system of agriculture into the county ; the first Lord Tolle-
mache, who in his lifetime was everywhere spoken of as
Cheshire's model landlord ; and many others who, holding
positions of trust for the general good, fulfilled their duties
with integrity and honour, and to whom we are all debtors.

There is another local proverb, expressed in curious
rhyme and alliteration, that relates to the number and
distribution of four Cheshire family names:

As many Leighs as fleas ; Massies as asses ;
Crewes as crows ; and Davenports as dogs' tails.

This is easy of explanation when multitudinous plebeians
bearing the same surnames are added to the following lists
of genteel families :

There were Leghs of Legh, Northwood, Sandbach,
Booths, Oughtrington, Adlington, Baguley, Lyme, and
Ridge.

There were Masseys of Massey, Coddington, Pudding-
ton, Tatton, and Chester.

There were Crewes of Crewe, Nantwich, Alvaston, Farn-
don, Holt, Cholmondeston, and Utkinton.

There were Davenports of Davenport, Woodford, Cal-
veley, Wheltrough, Bramhall, Henbury, Capesthorne,
Blackhurst, Boughton, and Chorley.

CHESHIRE AND ITS FAMILIES 205

The Davenport family had power of life and death over
intruders infesting the royal forest of Macclesfield ; and
their crest a rogue's head, with a halter round the neck
must have been a constant reminder that the Davenports
were terrors to all evil-doers.

The Bramhall Davenports, who held that estate for more
than five hundred years, have persistently borne the name
of William ; and for the same length of time the Tattons of
Wythenshawe have been named Robert and William alter-
nately; while the owner of Garden has been John Leche
for sixteen successive generations !

In regard to curiosities of descent, it may here be re-
stated that Robert Hyde, of Hyde, Esq., who died about
the year 1528, left a son, Lawrence Hyde, who, leaving
Cheshire for Wiltshire, became the ancestor of the Hydes
of Westhatch, from whom descended the celebrated Edward
Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, whose two granddaughters, Mary
and Anne, became in succession Queens of England.

Few counties in England have had their history so fully
written and re-written as Cheshire ; and therefore from this
epitome of a wide-embracing subject the reader is referred
to the writings of Camden, Webb, Fuller, Sir Peter Ley-
cester, the Lysons, and the monumental volumes of Dr.
Ormerod's History of Cheshire ; to the published trans-
actions of the Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire,
and of the historic societies of Manchester, Liverpool, and
Chester ; to many separate histories of towns and parishes
in the county; and to the genealogical works of the late
Mr. Earwaker, whose untimely death in 1895 is still de-
plored by all who take an interest in the records of family
history.

This chapter shall close with the words of two Cheshire
poets the one Geoffrey Whitney, who, living in Queen
Elizabeth's reign, wrote in praise of prominent Cheshire
men of that time; the other, the late Rowland Eyles Egerton-
Warburton, " the rhyming squire of Arley," in the time of
Queen Victoria.

206 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Whitney, in his Emblem, dedicated to " I. I. esquier,"

says :

Not for our selues alone wee are create,

But for our frendes, and for our countries good.

Mr. Egerton-Warburton composed these verse-mottoes
for the shields that decorate the two fireplaces in the dining-
room at Arley Hall.

Under the Egerton shield :

Since days of olden chivalry bequeathed from sire to son,

May honour keep untarnished still the shield which valour won.

Under the Warburton shield :

If proud thou be of ancestors for worth and wisdom famed,
So live that they, if now alive, would not of thee be shamed.

SOME CHESHIRE CROSSES
BY THE ARCHDEACON OF CHESTER

IT would be impossible, in the course of a short chapter,
to give an adequate account of all the crosses in the
county of which remains still exist. On such a
subject, as in the case of most counties, a volume might
be written. Nor will it be attempted even to refer to
all of them or to give a complete list, and it may well be
that some interesting specimens will be omitted, or not
mentioned here, not because they are not worthy of
mention, but because there is not space to do justice to
them.

It cannot but be a matter of regret that Puritan
fanaticism was responsible for the destruction of many,
if not most, of these crosses throughout the country. It
has been computed that at least 5000 had been at various
times erected, and they afforded not only types of archi-
tectural design and ornament, but also historical evidence
of former times and customs.

The crosses varied much in form and character, as also
in position and origin. Many of them, no doubt, were in
the first instance Preaching Crosses. The monks or other
early heralds of Christianity would rear up some simple or
wooden cross to mark the place from which they would
address the people who came to hear them, and this would
in process of time give place to a more permanent structure
of stone, sometimes of an elaborate nature. Generally it
would be elevated or raised upon a platform of steps,
sometimes few, but sometimes as many as eight or more.

The cross itself might be enriched with the Figure or with

207

208 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

some inscription or pattern of some emblematic kind. After
a time, in some places, a church would be erected, and the
cross or its successor would become the Churchyard Cross.
Where this did not happen, the cross would remain as a
reminder to the people of the message that had been
delivered there, and to teach them that all their actions
were to have a religious purpose. In some instances the cross
became a Market Cross, of which, in different parts of the
country, we have various elaborate specimens. Here again
the name, whether the form of the cross was prominent or
not, was evidently meant to suggest that the transactions
there carried on were to be true and just, as became
Christian men. Sometimes the cross became " the High
Cross" where justice was administered and civic matters
discussed ; and in this case also the title is most suggestive.
In addition to these there were Boundary Crosses, by which
would be implied the sin of removing a neighbour's land-
mark ; and Weeping Crosses, visited by penitents. Of all
these, except, so far as I know, the latter, there are, of
course, many examples in the county, and of some of them
this article will treat.

First and foremost, it is a matter of great regret that the
High Cross has disappeared from its position in the city of
Chester. It has indeed left its name behind it, the junction
of the four principal streets in the centre of the city being
still known as The Cross, and being so named not from the
fact of the cross-roads being there, but from the structure
which once stood on the spot. This was a tall shaft with
canopied head, on which were carved two rows of figures
in niches, and on the top an orb surmounted by a cross.
The civic buildings were close at hand, being built on to
St. Peter's Church, and being styled The Pentice, probably
from pent-house, as indicating the way in which it was
built on to the church. Though the offices of the muni-
cipality have long since been moved to the Town Hall, the
old name is still preserved, one of the courts over which the
Recorder presides being called in documents " The Pentice

THE HIGH CROSS, CHESTER.

SOME CHESHIRE CROSSES 209

Court." The High Cross was taken down in 1646, when
the Parliamentarians entered the city, the other crosses
having been destroyed in 1577 or earlier. It was removed
to Netherleigh House in the outskirts of the city, then the
home of the Cotgreaves. What is said to be the head of it is
now in the Grosvenor Museum at Chester, but the carvings
have been cut away, as it is quite plain ; and the shaft
is said to be in the grounds of Plas Newydd at Llangollen.
The suggestion has been made that the cross might he
restored, and though it could not be placed again on its
old site, owing to the confined space and the exigencies of
traffic, it might find a position of importance in some other
part of the city. The High Cross was the scene of all great
civic functions. Here, again and again, royalty was received
and conducted into the adjacent Pentice and entertained.
Here proclamations were read out with due formality, and
here the Mystery Plays were represented, the first perform-
ance having taken place at the Abbey Gate before the Abbot
and his brethren. The cross would thus be associated in
the minds of the citizens with much of their civic life, and
many noteworthy events in their history, and for this
reason, if for no other, its removal is much to be regretted.

Reference has already been made to the destruction of
crosses in 1577 in and about Chester. In that year Sheriff
Mutton seems to have distinguished himself in this work, as
we read that he pulled down certain crosses by a commission
from the Archbishop's visitors. Some probably had dis-
appeared at an earlier date, for in 1543 the city mason was
paid two days' wages " for shiftyinge the cross " at St.
Mary's-on-the-Hill. No doubt at this period many of the
churchyard crosses in the county, as well as in the city,
were demolished. This was often done by shortening the
shaft, thus taking away the cross itself, and using the
portion that was left as the basis for a sun-dial. This was
sometimes a flat one, as at St. Mary's-on-the-Hill, Chester,
and sometimes a four-sided one, as at Acton, where a very
elaborate one of the latter description may be seen. In this

2io MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

latter case the base, out of which the octagonal shaft rises,
rests upon a pedestal of three steps, and the square stone,
with its dial-face on each side, is surmounted by a round
knob. On the top of the cube there was this inscription :
on the north, " Tempus fugit : mors venit " ; and on the
south, " Ut hora : sic vita." Originally this cross must
have been very fine in its proportions, and a conspicuous
object, whether it occupied its present position (at the west
of the church) or not. In the churchyard of St. John the
Baptist, Chester, is a sun-dial, which probably stands
where the Churchyard Cross stood, as marked in an old
plan of the end of the fifteenth century preserved in the
British Museum. In the old chapter-house of this church
are preserved some fragments of crosses of a remarkable
character. They are of beautiful design, and are fully
described by the Bishop of Bristol in vol. xlix. of the
British Archceological Journal. He assigns them to the
pre-Norman period, and designates them as British, and
prior to 903, when the Brets were driven out of this part
of England. In his opinion the fragments of two beautiful
sculptured shafts are as fine in their work as any of the
pre-Norman monuments left in England. Fragments of
crosses of a similar character, and probably of a similar
date, are to be found at Neston, Bromborough, and West
Kirby, and a portion of one from Hilbre Island is now in
the Grosvenor Museum at Chester. Most of these have
circular wheel heads with three projections, a type of cross
which (according to Mr. Romilly Allen) is common to North
Wales and Cornwall, but does not appear to be known
elsewhere. Some of the crosses here mentioned, besides
others elsewhere, as at Disley (now at Lyme Hall) and
at Cheadle, have no doubt been sepulchral, either as
headstones or flat ones. Some, however, have been
Churchyard or Preaching Crosses, and a notable in-
stance of this is to be found in the fragments now
preserved at Bromborough. The late Mr. E. W. Cox
gave a very accurate and careful description of these, and

SOME CHESHIRE CROSSES 211

a design for the reconstruction of the cross, which would
have stood about 10 feet high. A similar one once existed
at Wallasey, and is described in a MS. history of that
parish early in the seventeenth century. It is said to
have been broken in three pieces by the soldiers of William
III., and afterwards used for steps to the churchyard stile.
In many of our churchyards, as at Bebington and at Shock-
lach (and no doubt there are many other instances), the
pedestals or bases of crosses are to be seen. In the latter
place the stones of the three steps have been carefully
refixed, and the stem been lengthened a foot at its lower
end so that it might fit into the socket on the top base.
On the top of the stem (from which, of course, the cross
had been removed) are four semi-circular holes systemati-
cally placed opposite to each other, 2 to 2| inches in
diameter, and ij inches deep. These are not dowel or
cramp holes for the affixing of a sun-dial, or for the cross
itself ; and it has been conjectured that marketing and
other transactions would take place here, and that when
the plague was raging these holes would be filled with
vinegar, in which the coins would be placed, so as to render
them free from infection. Many of our readers will think
of other examples which are left, some, it may be, in their
own churchyards, and will be able to associate with them
scenes of former days. They may picture to themselves
the congregations gathered round them listening to the
monk or friar or other early preacher as he unfolded the
story of which the cross was the centre and the emblem,
and pressed upon his hearers the lessons it was to teach,
and the impression it was to make upon their daily lives.
Then, in some cases, these fragments which are left have
preserved to us wonderful specimens of decorative treat-
ment, interesting not merely to the archaeological student,
but also to the ordinary individual, as indications of the
art and skill and thoroughness of past generations, and
thus as treasured memorials of olden days. Sometimes
the Churchyard Cross has been restored in recent years, as

212 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

at Over Peover and St. Mary 's-on-the-H ill, Chester. In
each case the shortened shaft had been made the receptacle
of a sun-dial. At Peover the restored cross is a memorial
to the late Sir Philip Mainwaring. On an octagonal shaft
of Portland stone a moulded capped head has been placed,
on which is carved the figure of our Lord upon the cross
with St. Mary and St. John under a gabled canopy. The
cross at St. Mary's, Chester, is a floriated one of Yorkshire
stone : at the bottom of the new work is a border with
four angels, and above this architectural canopies or niches,
in one of which is the patron saint of the church, the
Blessed Virgin Mary. The cross occupies a most com-
manding position overlooking the river and the city walls.
Other examples will no doubt occur to many of our
readers.

Mention must be made, though an accurate description
cannot be given, of Clulow Cross, near Wincle, of the Bow
Stones on Lyme Moor, of two at Ludworth, and of three in
the Public Park at Macclesfield. They are singular in their
construction, the shafts being square at the top and round
at the bottom. Mr. Romilly Allen has given a careful
description of these, which have great antiquarian interest,
but has not suggested what their origin may have been,
though he classes them amongst early Christian monuments.
Whilst they may have been memorial in the first instance,
they may afterwards have served the purpose of reading a
lesson and imparting instruction to the wayfarer as he
passed by, or to the observer as he noted them from a
distance.

Of Market Crosses the county has some noteworthy
examples. Some of these are to be found in places where
markets are no longer held, and thus stand out as witnesses
of departed greatness. A notable instance of this is found
at Bromborough, in the Wirral. Though a simple village,
it formerly had a market on Monday, which was granted
in 1277 to the Abbot and Monastery of St. Warburgh, in
Chester, together with a three days' fair at the festival of

SOME CHESHIRE CROSSES 213

St. Barnabas, the patron saint of the church. The market,
of course, has long since ceased to be held, but in the centre
of the village the site of the Market Cross is marked by the
ancient steps, eight in number, on which was erected a few
years ago a handsome cross. In this case it can only recall
what once has been. At Lymm (where again no market is
now held) is another example of a different kind. Here the
lower steps are carved out of the natural rock. On the top
one stands, not a cross, but a stone building, supported on
four columns, with a gabled roof, surmounted by a knob
facing each way. On the gables are sundials, which have
been renewed, and on the top a central pinnacle with
weather-cock. On one of the lower steps are the stocks,
very perfect examples of these old-time punishment seats.
The grooved uprights still remain, and the woodwork, with
a double pair of holes (so that two offenders might be in
durance vile at the same time), though much chipped and
broken, is still complete. In the little hamlet of Eaton,
in the parish of Tarporley, at the junction of the roads may
be seen a flight of steps, on which once evidently rested a
cross, the place of which is now occupied by a growing tree.
The position seems to bring it into the category of market
crosses. Was it in humble imitation of larger places that
village crosses were erected in the centre of the hamlet, and
did they thus give their religious sanction to the business
which might be transacted beneath them, even though no
markets, in the proper sense of the word, were held there ?
At Macclesfield, the remains of the old Market Cross now
stand in the Park, where the uncomfortable town stocks of
iron may also be seen. In other places in the county no
doubt similar relics have been preserved ; but it is in the
Market-place of Sandbach that the greatest treasures of this
kind are to be seen. Of the Sandbach crosses Ormerod
has said, " They may indisputably be ranked among the
finest monuments of antiquity of this kind in the kingdom."
Similarly Mr. Romilly Allen has said, " Much of the finest
series of figure subjects probably in all England is to be

214 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

seen on the mutilated crosses at Sandbach." The origin
of the crosses is veiled in obscurity. It has been asserted
that they were put up in the year 608, when Penda returned
a Christian convert to Mercia, attended, according to Bede,
by four priests deputed to preach the gospel throughout his
dominions. But though this statement may be quite con-
jectural, there is no doubt that they may be placed at a very
early date. Mr. Romilly Allen thinks that the earliest date
which can be assigned to any Christian monument in
Cheshire is in the second half of the seventh century; so
that he (no mean authority) would not accept the above
statement.

The crosses have had a chequered history. They were
broken down and defaced in the civil wars in the reign of
Charles I. The pieces were then dispersed, and were taken
possession of by different people. One of the largest was
removed to Utkinton Hall, thence later to Tarporley Rectory,
and finally to Oulton Park, where it stood for some time
near the park wall, not far from the lodge. Other pieces
had a similar experience. Dr. Ormerod was chiefly instru-
mental in gathering the fragments together, one having
been built into a wall near the town well, and another used
as a step of a cottage. Fortunately the stone, though local,
is of a much harder grit than the ordinary Cheshire sand-
stone, and in consequence the carving has not suffered to
anything like the extent it otherwise would have done by
these removals and by weather. Considering the unique
character of the crosses, this is a matter of sincere con-
gratulation. Mr. Allen suggests that they were erected
" to encourage devotion in a public place by the religious
subjects sculptured on them " ; and to this we might add,
to urge upon all who transacted business there that their
dealings should be marked by truth and justice. The two
crosses stand on a substructure of two steps, with two
sockets in which the crosses are fixed. At the angle of
each stage of the platform are stone posts, on which figures
have been rudely carved. The crosses are now of unequal

SANDBACH CROSSES.

SOME CHESHIRE CROSSES 215

height, if ever they were of the same dimensions. The
taller one is 16 feet 8 inches high; the shorter one 1 1 feet
1 1 inches. On the shorter cross one piece, and on the taller
one two pieces, have evidently suffered somewhat when they
were taken away, as the carving on them is less distinct
than on the rest. The following description will give some
idea of the elaborate nature of the carvings, and will show
that the opinion of Dr. Ormerod and other experts is amply
justified, and that the county, and specially the town, of
Sandbach may be proud of possessing such treasures. In
the larger cross the framework, in which the figures on each
side are included, divides near the base and becomes forked,
and in the angles on the east side are figures of cherubs
looking upwards. Immediately above this is a large circle
containing three figures, representing the Virgin enthroned,
holding the Holy Child, with a saint on either side and the
Holy Dove above. In the next compartment are three
figures, and it has been suggested that they may represent
the Baptism of our Lord, though it would seem to be un-
usual to have three figures in such representation. The
Holy Dove is again observed here on the right. The longer
panel above this has in the lower division the Nativity, the
ox and the ass being seen on either side of the manger-
cradle. Then there is the Crucifixion, with the sun and
moon above and the Virgin and St. John below ; and
surrounding this are the symbols of the four Evangelists.
On this latter point Mr. Romilly Allen remarks : " The
association of the symbols of the four Evangelists with the
Crucifixion is somewhat unusual, as well as in the form
of the symbols, which resembles those on one of the crosses
at Ilkley, in Yorkshire, and on a small fragment of a cross
shaft at Halton, in Lancashire." Perhaps the association
of the four Evangelists with the Crucifixion may be intended
to emphasise the fact that that event is recorded with much
minuteness by each of them, and is thus the central fact
of the gospel story. The west side of this cross is divided
into eight double compartments. The first part is filled by

216 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

dragons and other zoomorphic designs, and in other parts
representations of winged figures. The scriptural scenes
are pronounced to be the appearance of the Angel Gabriel to
Zacharias ; Simon of Cyrene bearing the cross ; our Saviour
led bound before Pilate ; Christ in glory ; and St. Peter with
his keys. On the south side we find a variety of foliage,
knots, and elaborate ornaments ; and on the north side a
number of figures, the most conspicuous being a large fish,
with tongue triply cloven. The smaller cross bears a
variety of human figures placed within niches and lozenges,
with one group apparently intended to represent the Three
Persons of the Blessed Trinity. There are at least three
different patterns in what may be called the knot ornamen-
tation, which may be thus described : knots derived from a
three-cord plait, figure-of-eight knots, and a pattern derived
from a four-cord plait. This last is one of extreme rarity in
this country, there being, in Mr. Romilly Allen's opinion,
no other instance of its occurrence elsewhere. It is, how-
ever, to be found on a splendid sword of the Viking period
found at Ultuna, in Sweden. Mr. Romilly Allen, comment-
ing on the crosses, remarked that, " The way in which the
designs are arranged in several different kinds of panels is
worthy of notice. Some of the panels have square tops,
others round tops, others are diamond-shaped, and others
triangular. They are also in some cases placed in double
rows, and are not always opposite each other. On one of
the shafts the panels are shaped like a thimble, and aggre-
gated in twos and threes in an extraordinary way."

It will be understood from this that these monuments,
whatever be their origin, are of priceless value, and offer for
the student much food for reflection, and for the ordinary
individual objects for admiration.

It is satisfactory to know that the local authorities at
Sandbach fully appreciate these treasures. Quite recently
they consulted the Council of the Chester and North Wales
Archaeological and Historic Society as to their condition, and
as to whether any further steps should be taken for their

SOME CHESHIRE CROSSES 217

preservation. Accordingly two members of the Council
with expert knowledge visited the place, and came to the
conclusion that beyond the careful pointing of some joints
nothing was necessary. They thought that a fence or
barricade of any kind would interfere with the harmony
of the design, and that if a careful watch was exercised
to see that no damage was done by children or mischievous
persons, the crosses would last in their present condition for
generations, the nature of the stone being hard and durable.
Still more recently Sandbach has been visited by the
Cambrian Archaeological Society, and as a consequence of
that visit it is probable that casts or squeezes will be taken
of the designs on the crosses, and that thus a more close
and careful examination of them will be rendered possible.
This may lead to the elucidation of some of the doubtful
points in connection with their interpretation, and so to the
clearing up of a good deal which is at present uncertain.
At any rate, we may hope that for many generations Sand-
bach will be known as the happy possessor and the jealous
guardian of these early monuments, and that for many a
long year amongst the " Memorials of Old Cheshire " will
be reckoned these wonderful and unique crosses.

ECHOES FROM FARNDON

BY THE LATE REV. L. E. OWEN

[The sudden death of Mr. Owen prevented him from recasting the
materials he had gathered and the paper he had written. It has
been a labour of love to the Archdeacon of Chester to do this, and to
add some little matter bearing upon the points which Mr. Owen,
with his full and sympathetic knowledge of the place, had brought
into such clear prominence.]

FARNDON (Ferenton in Domesday Book) is a village
about eight miles from Chester, and small though it
is, it has played no unimportant part in the history
of the county. It is situated on the banks of the Dee,
immediately opposite to Holt, in Wales, with which it is
connected by a fine stone bridge of nine arches. Many
people nowadays will only think of the extensive fields of
strawberries for which Farndon is famous, and it will there-
fore be a revelation to them to learn that the village in
former days was a place of some importance.

Going back to Roman times, we must remember that
Farndon was on the road between Chester and Wroxeter,
and that it commanded the ferry, the first means of crossing
the river above Chester. The importance of this situation
in that early period has recently been brought out by the
discovery of extensive Roman remains at Holt, and within
half a mile of Farndon Bridge. Here cartloads of broken
pottery, tiles, and drain-pipes have been found, many of
which bear the stamp of " Leg. xx. v.v.," with that regiment's
peculiar badge of the boar. The excavations are still pro-
ceeding, and fortunately are being conducted under the

supervision of an ardent antiquarian, Mr. Arthur Acton,

218

ECHOES FROM FARNDON 219

who is the occupier of the site. It is too soon yet to form
an adequate opinion of the bearing of this discovery on past
history. That an important Roman station existed here
there can be no doubt, and it must have extended its
distinction to Farndon, at the opposite side of the river.
In fact, Roman tiles and portions of a hypocaust have been
found at Crewe Hill, the residence of Mr. Harry Barnston,
in the parish and about a mile south of the village of
Farndon. It has been suggested that the site at Holt may
have been occupied by kilns for the manufacture of tiles
and pipes. The profusion in which these are found and
the character of some of them are somewhat in favour of
this idea. Large supplies would be needed for the neigh-
bouring city of Chester, and this may have been the most
convenient spot for making them. But if this were so, the
factory would no doubt be protected in some way, and
the excavations which are proceeding will probably reveal
something, and may clear up the matter. In any case,
Farndon would derive considerable importance from its
proximity to Holt, as it was here that the river was
crossed ; if Holt was a camp, there would be frequent com-
munications through Farndon between it and Chester ; if a
factory, the articles constructed would have to be conveyed
through the place in the same way. We can well imagine
that in those bygone ages Farndon witnessed a consider-
able, if not a constant, stream of traffic between Wales and
Chester. It is possible that Holt, and not Bangor-is-y-coed,
may have been the site of the Roman Bovium, and the late
Mr. Thompson Watkins, in his Roman Cheshire, in 1886
wrote : " If Bovium were on this line of road, which I do
not think, it would certainly be at Holt or Farndon, for the
distance, nine English or ten Roman miles, exactly agrees,
whilst Bangor is at least fifteen Roman miles from Chester."
If this were the case, Farndon would derive considerable
importance from its nearness to the place, and would in
some measure be a kind of outwork and protection to it.
Coming on to a later period, Farndon, from its position,

220 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

must often have been the scene of stirring events. It was,
as will have been gathered, not far from Bangor Monacho-
rum, and communications between the two places must have
been frequent. It is conceivable that the first Christian
church was planted at Farndon, or the first preaching of
Christianity given, by the monks from that monastery, but
this must be a matter of conjecture. But when Ethelfrith,
the pagan King of Northumbria, having conquered Chester,
invaded Wales, A.D. 613, he must have passed through
Farndon, or been in its immediate neighbourhood. It was
then that the " Battle of Chester " was fought, and that the
King massacred 1200 monks upon the field, because, though
not bearing arms, they were praying for his defeat, and
afterwards burnt down the monastic buildings, murdered
the remnant of the monks, and destroyed their libraries.
Those must have been anxious times for the dwellers in
Farndon. No doubt in the years that followed they were
continually being roused to activity, and had to protect
themselves from constant attacks from their neighbours,
the Welsh ; but all this we must imagine, for we have no
definite record of it. We are told that Edward the Elder,
son of King Alfred, died at Farndon in 925, on his way
south from fighting at Chester. He was carried to Win-
chester and buried in the Cathedral. The quotation from
William of Malmesbury is as follows : After the battle at
Chester " paucis diebus apud Ferenduna mortuus est
Edvardus." Some think that this refers to Farndon in
Nottinghamshire, though the wounded monarch could hardly
have accomplished so long a ride in a few days. The state-
ment or tradition is an interesting one, and it would be well
if further confirmatory information were forthcoming. It is
curious (though it may have no connection with this event)
that there was afterwards at Farndon one of the Cheshire
sanctuaries called King's Marsh. " It was a wild, desolate
district, surrounded by a ditch to mark the limit of safety
for fugitives and ' foreigners ' ; for any who sought the pro-
tection of the Earl of Chester, or who were acting as

ECHOES FROM FARNDON 221

mercenaries against his enemies, might reside here in safety
for a year and day, provided they used no nails or pins in
the erection of their squatter's tent." l

The bridge which succeeded the ferry has always been
famous as affording connection with Wales. The next
bridge below is at Aldford, some six miles by river, and the
next above at Bangor, about fourteen miles distant by the
river, which winds considerably. The date for it given by
Pennant is 1345, and he says, " Until lately" (by which
he may mean 1820 to 1830) " the date was over one of the
arches," but that has now disappeared. It consists of nine
arches, one of which is higher than the rest ; and in the
roadway above this is some very massive masonry on the
north side, indicating the site of the guardhouse, under
which was a drawbridge, used with considerable effect at
the battle of Farndon Bridge, when the Parliamentarians
drove the Royalists over into Wales in 1643. ^ n tne Con-
stable's accounts for 1727 occurs the item : " Payd for the
Guard House, oo. 01. 09." The best part of the old bridge
is to be seen by going into the third bay from Holt on the
north side, and observing the tracery of a portion of some
beautiful windows. The western one has remains of steps
leading down to the water. Attention is directed to this, as
but few visitors notice it. A sad tragedy is connected with
this bridge. Prince Madoc, son of Griffith, Lord of Dinas
Bran, had two sons, of whom Earl Warren and Roger
Mortimer, Earl of the Marches, were appointed guardians
by Edward I. These lords soon conspired to free them-
selves from their charges and possess themselves of their
estates. Accordingly they caused them, one being of the
age of ten and the other eight, to be thrown over the bridge
and drowned. The authority for this story is in a manuscript
in the Bodleian Library, but for many years a variation of
it was current in the country under the fable of two young

1 Coward's Picturesque Cheshire, p. 278. The title may perhaps be due
to the fact that King Richard III. granted Over-Marsh to Sir William Stanley,
the name being subsequently changed to King's Marsh.

222 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

fairies who had been destroyed in this manner. There were
also legends of their ghosts being seen at certain times. It
was Roger Mortimer who, with Isabella, wife of Edward II.,
was responsible for that King's death at Berkeley Castle.

The bridge must have been the scene of many a fierce
fight when the marauding Welsh sought to cross to Farn-
don ; sometimes also between the factions of the two towns,
for though such near neighbours, the men of Farndon and
Holt were frequently at loggerheads. In the Civil War,
however, the bridge came into great prominence. Sir
William Brereton forced his passage over it into Wales
in November 1643 on his way to Hawarden. A few years
ago letters from him bearing on the point were published
in the Reports of the Historical Manuscript Commission.
They show how the Royalists had made a tower and a
drawbridge, and put strong gates on the bridge between
Holt and Farndon ; and these were so strong " that they
and wee conceived it verrie difficulte, if not altogether
ympossible, to make way for our passage over the bridge."
However, Sir William, having by a feint drawn off some
of the Royalists, made a fierce attack on the bridge, cut
the ropes of the drawbridge, forced open the gates, and
gained possession of the bridge. Many of the Royalist
troops retreated to Holt Castle, which was strongly forti-
fied, but Sir William pushed on and captured Wrexham,
and eventually, as stated in another paper in this volume,
occupied Hawarden Castle. Two years later the Royalist
cavalry, coming from Wales under the command of Sir
Marmaduke Langdale, came over the bridge before the
disastrous battle on Rowton Moor, and some few of those
who escaped made use of the same way for their retreat.
And during this anxious time, or at any rate a portion of
it, the church at Farndon was turned into a garrison for
soldiers, and naturally suffered in consequence. It was
burnt by the Parliamentarians in 1645, and traces of this
may still be seen, as also the marks of the shot and bullets
which were discharged at it.

ECHOES FROM FARNDON 223

The church probably occupies the site of an earlier
Saxon wooden building. Like the church of Holt, it is
dedicated to St. Chad, who is the patron saint of a great
many churches in the boundaries of the old kingdom of
Mercia. It stands on an eminence, and is 86 feet above
the sea-level, whilst the bridge is 12 J miles distant from
the weir at Chester. The nave and pillars are late Norman
of the close of the twelfth century. Originally the nave
had a sloping roof, the lines of which may be seen above
the tower arch. The clerestory windows were added at the
rebuilding of the church after the fire. The tower, which
can be seen from a considerable distance, is said to be of
the thirteenth century, and the aisle windows are of the date
of Charles II. Formerly there was good stained glass of
an heraldic character relating to the families of Leche of
Garden and Bostock of Churton, but this has entirely dis-
appeared. A great treasure, however, is to be seen in the
Barnston Chapel, on the south side, where there is a small
stained-glass window of a character almost absolutely
unique. It contains coloured figures of the four loyal
Royalist families who fought for King Charles I. The
first top light has gone, but on the plain glass is the in-
scription : " This window being ruinated was repaired by
Dean Cholmondeley." In the second light we have Sir
William Mainwaring ; in the third, Sir Thomas (or Sir
Roger) Grosvenor; and in the fourth, Captain William
Barnston. In the centre is a representation of Sir Francis
Gamul (bearing the badge of baronetcy) of Chester, with
whom King Charles witnessed the defeat of his army on
Rowton Moor. In the lowest light is a picture of Mr.
Barrington of Chester, who is carrying an ensign most
gracefully. The glass is most interesting, and the details
of the various panels are very full, the coats of arms of
the various officers being given, and thus leading to their
identification. The great gun or arquebus should be noted,
with its support or carrier looking like a pitchfork. Large
pikes and helmets like those depicted are preserved at

224 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Crewe Hill, the residence of Mr. Harry Barnston. The
glass has been carefully protected, under the advice of
Messrs. Powell, and Mr. Barnston has written a descrip-
tion, which is placed underneath. The window may
probably be dated soon after the Restoration. The Barns-
ton family have resided in the parish since 1370.

Another feature of the church is the ancient stone
effigy of a knight in armour. The probable date of this
is 1 346. On his shield is written in Lombardic letters :
" Hie jacet Patricius de Barton. Orate pro eo." Barton,
it may be remarked, is one of the townships of Farndon.
He is semi-plated with chain armour and surcoat. The
arms or distinctions on the shield are : "Argent, a bend
cotised." At his feet are two animals, a dog and a scaly
animal, various interpretations being given of them, but
none so far satisfactory. 1 The face of the knight was
probably disfigured when the church was used as barracks.
There were two other stone effigies in the church, but they
were broken up about 1780 to mend the paths ! One is
said to have been a monument to Madocus, a prince in
Wales, already alluded to.

The overseers' and wardens' books give many interest-
ing particulars bearing upon the state of affairs at the time
of the Civil War. Many of these were published in The
Cheshire Sheaf in 1884. The following will give some
indication of their character : " 1644. To the Constable
for the Treaned (trained) Souldier for tow months' pay
for the loar (lower?) house, xviiijW." " 1644, 20 Jan.
Payd to Crestlendon (Chris tleton) to the garrison there,
x</." " 1644, 21 ffebruary. Richard Oakes took three
measures of malt to ffarndon sege, and the yth of this
month a lofe of bread 14 Ib." The experience of these
anxious days no doubt led the parochial authorities to
the conclusion that permanent arrangements should be
made for the protection of the place and district. After

1 Lysons describes them thus : " On one of the shields a lion rampant, and
on another a wolf passant regardant (the coat of Daresbury)."

ECHOES OF FARNDON 225

the raising of the siege of Chester we find this entry :
" 1646, 28 May. Payd to Thos. Moltra, constable, 2 mises,
one for the building of a munt (mount) in the view of the
Castle of the Holt for to keep them better in, the other,
&c." This building of a mount is most interesting. There
is still a place called "The Mount Field" on the Farndon
side of the river, nearly opposite Holt Castle. Upon this
spot in 1646 cannon were placed, and cannon-balls have
been found in the field. Many other entries from these
carefully preserved records and from the registers might
be given, but these must suffice to show the importance of
Farndon, which must from the earliest times have been a
commanding position, and thus have filled no mean place in
the annals of the history of the county and the country
at large.

It will not be out of place to mention here that Farndon
is one of the parishes which keep up a Rushbearing Sunday.
Of course this does not imply, as in olden days, the strew-
ing of the church with fresh rushes, which was done for the
comfort of the worshippers. At stated times, and generally
at the time of the patronal feast of a church, the old rushes
were cleared away and new ones carried in, and this was
done with due solemnity, and the occasion made into a
parochial festival. Now at Farndon, Shocklach, and some
other places, the graves are decked with rushes and flowers,
and thus the memory of departed friends is cherished, whilst
it is a time for reunion of families, and distant members
revisit their homes.

We can give no account, not even traditional, of the
prowess of Patrick de Barton and the other knights whose
effigies have been mentioned. They probably would have
been worth recording if this had been possible. But Farn-
don can, at any rate, boast of some distinguished natives.
The Barnston Chapel in the church cannot but remind us
of some, and specially Wm. Barnston, portrayed in the
window there. He died 6th March 1664, and on the
tablet to his memory he is thus described : " He was a

226 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

person of great worth and integrity, ventured his life and
fortune with King Charles the First; was sent prisoner
from Oxford to London, where he continued till he paid
his composition for his estate." In later years a member
of the same family, Roger Barnston, distinguished himself
in the Crimea and in the Indian Mutiny, dying of his
wounds at Cawnpore ; and his deeds are commemorated
by a tall stone obelisk by the side of the road in the
parish. But Farndon has produced one distinguished
man of peace at least besides these strenuous soldiers.
John Speed, generally known as the historian, was born
here in 1552. He was a tailor by trade, and migrated
first to Wrexham and then to London. Here, " under
the favour of the Company of Merchant Taylors, he was
rescued from his menial employment." He must, of
course, have shown some aptitude for study to have
attracted this notice. His opportunities at Farndon cannot
have been great, as the school there was only founded in
the year of his death. In passing we may note that this
place produced another antiquary in the person of Dr.
Williamson, who was born at Chilton, a township of this
parish, and whose manuscript history of the Cheshire
manors ( Villare Cestriense} has been of much use to
subsequent writers. Speed apparently rose to high office
in the company, which had just shown its warm interest
in education by establishing in 1561 the Merchant Taylors'
School, which has proved such a valuable institution.
Queen Elizabeth had two favourite antiquarians one was
Sir John Camden and the other John Speed. The former
of these is no doubt the more famous of the two, and
his researches have been of great benefit to subsequent
historians, whilst his name is perpetuated in the title of
one of the History Professorships at Oxford. But Speed
did very good work and has left behind him a great deal
that is valuable in his stupendous volumes, The History
of Great Britain. Hulbert, in his Cheshire Antiquities
(1828), states that " he has often been denominated the

ECHOES OF FARNDON 227

Elucidator of the Biography and History of Great Britain."
Had he had the advantages of a liberal education he would
probably have been as eminent a scholar as his patrons, Sir
Fulke Greville and Sir Robert Cotton. By the generous
assistance of the former of these he was enabled to withdraw
from the drudgery of business, and to devote himself to his
favourite pursuit, the study of history. How Speed became
known to him we do not know, but that great patron of
learning (afterwards Lord Brooke, who was assassinated in
1628) had the discernment to discover and the generosity to
encourage talent and genius, however humble in rank or
obscure in birth. John Speed must have become acquainted
with the literary men of his time, as Bacon, Shakespeare,
Raleigh, Spenser, and others, and from his association
with them must have learnt a great deal and have acquired
that taste which stood him in good stead in the gathering
of information. When his origin and early years are taken
into account, he stands out as a wonderful example of the
acquisition of knowledge under difficulties, and so of patience
and perseverance in endeavouring to overcome them. He
must have been gifted with great natural talents, and he
certainly made a good use of them. He was a notable map-
maker, and that at a time when such art must have been
rare and hard to acquire. Many old books of the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries contain maps drawn by him,
and these generally were embellished with certain artistic
accessories, and were not confined to mere outlines and
names. Thus fi the ground plan of Chester " has also a
view of Chester from the south-west side, the arms of the
seven Earls and eight Barons of Chester, and the arms of
the city, as also a reduced " mapp of Cheshire." Similarly
the map of " the Countye Palatine of Chester " has also a
plan " of that most ancient citye," the arms of the Earls, and
of Speed and his assistant. In the body of the map are
trees, hills, windmills, and churches, whilst ships and fishes
(of a wonderful order) are to be seen in the estuary. An
angel is depicted with one hand on a globe on a table, and

228 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

the other holding a shield on which are Speed's coat of arms,
and underneath the inscription : " Performed by John Speed
assisted by William Smyth. And are to be solde by Roger
Rea the Elder and younger at the Golden Crosse in Cornhill
against the Exchange." It will be gathered from this that
in the production of his works Speed must have taken the
greatest pains, and that he was not content with merely
following the ordinary lines. The following quotation from
the 37th chapter of his book, dealing with the County
Palatine of Chester, may be interesting as showing the
style in which he wrote : " If the affection to my natural
producer blind not the judgement of this my Survey ; for
aire and soil it equalls the best, and farre exceeds her
neighbours the next Counties : for although the Climate
be cold, and toucheth the degree of Latitude 54, yet the
warmth from the Irish Seas melteth the Snow, and dissolveth
the Ice sooner there than in those parts that are farther off;
and so wholesome for life that the inhabitants generally
attain to many years. The soil is fat, fruitful!, and rich,
yielding abundantly both profit and pleasures of man. The
Champion grounds make glad the hearts of their Tillers ;
the Medows imbroidered with divers sweet-smelling flowers ;
and the Pastures make the Kine's udders to strout to the
Paile, from whom and wherein the best Cheese of all
Europe is made." No apology can be necessary for giving
this opinion of his native county in Memorials of Old
Cheshire^ as it shows the estimation in which he held it three
hundred years ago. Speed did not forget his old home and
the church where he was baptized, for he presented a silver
chalice to the church. Unfortunately this has disappeared,
and one of the chalices now in use bears the inscription :
" This Cup was given in exchange for one given to Farndon
Church by John Speed." The assassination of his patron,
Lord Brooke, in September 1628, and the death about the
same time of his wife, with whom he had spent fifty-seven
years of his life, made a great impression upon Speed, and
he died 28th July 1629, and was buried in St. Giles' Church,

ECHOES OF FARNDON 229

Cripplegate, where a monument was erected to his memory,
on which was inscribed : " Civis Londinensis mercatorum
scissorum fratris servi fidelissimi regiarum majestatum
Elizabethae, Jacobi, and Caroli nunc superstitis." His
portrait is in the National Portrait Gallery. He published
his Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain in 1606,
accompanied with the first set of maps ever published in
England. His History of Great Britain appeared in 1644
after his death, and beneath the plate of his portrait is a
long Latin inscription, of which a portion is given above.
In this he is described as a " Geographer of our lands, a
faithful historian of the antiquity of Britain, and a most
elegant delineator of sacred genealogy." This last is an
allusion to an elaborate work of his entitled, The Cloud of
Witnesses ; or, The Genealogies of Scripture confirming the
truth of the Sacred History, &c.

Farndon and the county of Cheshire may well be proud
of her son, who (to use Mr. Hulbert's words) " by his char-
acter, talents, industry, and perseverance gained friends
among the most distinguished individuals in the kingdom
for learning and transcendent abilities ; and who was a man
of genuine enlightened piety, and made his talents and his
studies subservient to the cause of virtue and true religion."

FACSIMILE OF SPEED'S AUTOGRAPH

SOME CHESHIRE CUSTOMS,
PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE

BY JOSEPH C. BRIDGE,
M.A., Mus. Doc. OXON. ET DUNELM., F.S.A.

CHESHIRE, although it borders on Wales, has
caught but little of the Celtic imagination ; and
it is remarkable that the only Celtic legend cur-
rent is found on the northern side of the county. The
folk-lore of this County Palatine cannot compare with the
quantity and quality of the Shropshire folk-lore; but
legends are to a great extent born of valley and hill and
stream, and Cheshire, with its vast plain, is, with the
exception of the river Dee, deficient in those material
phenomena which are present in such profusion in the
neighbouring border county.

But Michael Drayton says of Cheshire men that "they
of all England most to antient customs cleave " ; and
an attempt will be made in this chapter to give a general
and compressed account of the customs which still exist
and of folk-lore which has been, and still is, of great
interest. The legends connected with the river Dee, and
the many fine old customs connected with Chester itself
are omitted, as they can easily be read in every history of
the city. For other omissions the want of space must
plead excuse.

Souling

The most curious Cheshire custom still existent, and
one which has not attracted the attention it deserves, is

called "souling." The day after All Saints' Day (now

230

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 231

November 1st) is All Souls' Day. This was established
as a festival of the Church about the tenth century, and
in the Middle Ages it was customary for persons dressed in
black to traverse the streets, ringing a bell at every corner
and calling on all to join in prayer for the souls in Purga-
tory, and to contribute towards the paying of masses for
them. After the Reformation the demand for money was
transformed into demands for liquid and solid refreshment
by the"soulers."

But at Salerno, we are told that a custom prevailed
previous to the fifteenth century of providing in every
home on the eve of All Souls' Day, a sumptuous entertain-
ment for souls in Purgatory, who are supposed to revisit
temporarily the scene of their earthly labours. Every one
left their house and remained in church all night, while the
feast was consumed by thieves who made a harvest out of
this pious custom. Such is the origin of our "souling,"
and it seems probable, therefore, that " soul-cakes " were
not, at first, meant for consumption by the " soulers " them-
selves. The custom is still observed, and on the eve of All
Souls' (i.e. on the night of All Saints' Day) bodies of
children still parade Chester and Cheshire villages singing
a portion of the old souling song, but tacked on to debased
and incorrect versions of the old words, and in many cases
amounting to mere doggerel. 1

Now, the melody sung is most interesting, for it is
undoubtedly pre-Reformation and is cast in the style of
the Church music of the period, for there was no sharp
dividing line between secular and sacred music when
" souling " first began. 2 The " punctum " or drop of a
fifth is very characteristic, and will be found in Merbecke
and Church writers of the period.

1 e.g. Instead of "Soul, soul, for an apple or two," I hare heard them
sing, " Sole, sole, sole of my shoe " !

2 I heard a comic song sung by a rustic in Sussex a few years ago to the
plain-song which is used for the hymn "O come! O come! Emmanuel,"
in Hymns Ancient and Modern.

2 3 2

MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

The following is the tune as taken down by me many
times in the past thirty years, though it is now getting
greatly corrupted and altered, and will probably soon die
out. No accompaniment is used :

Soul - ing night has
God bless the mas - ter

come at last, And
of this house, God

we are soul - ing here ; And all that we are
bless the mis - tress too ; And all the lit - tie

soul - ing for, Is ap - pies and good cheer,
chil-dren that A - round the ta - ble go.

Soul, soul for an ap - pie or two,

If you've no ap - pies, pears will do ;

j -

-J 1-

If you've no pears, a good jug of beer Will

rail.

last us all till this time next year.

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 233
Other verses are :

Likewise you men and maidens,
Your cattle and your store,
And all that dwells within your gates,
We wish you ten times more.

The lanes are very dirty,
My shoes are very thin ;
I have a little pocket,
To put a penny in.

It will be noticed that the "refrain" 1 practically con-
sists of only two notes, so that it could easily be lengthened
at the will of the singer and new lines inserted. Here are
some of the oldest rimes to which it is sung :

Soul ! Soul ! for a soul-cake,

Pray, good missis ! a soul-cake,

An apple, a pear, a plum or a cherry,

Or any good thing to make us merry

One for Peter, two for Paul,

And three for Him who made us all.

Up with the kettle and down with the pan

Give us i an answer \and we'll be gone. 2
( our souhngj

The following Staffordshire version is valuable for the
statement that they "have all been praying for the soul
departed."

" Soul day, soul day,
We be come a-souling ;
Pray, good people, remember the poor,
And give us all a soul-cake.
Soul day, soul day, soul,
One for Peter, two for Paul,
Three for Him who made us all.

1 Mr. Fuller-Maitland gives this as the tune in English Crunty Songs,
p. 30. This is a mistake : he only has the " refrain."

2 There is always an "up " and " down " in all the versions met with, but,
as pointed out in Shropshire Folk-Lore, the original no doubt was :

" Up with the ladder and down with the can,"

i.e. the ladder is to be raised to the apple-loft and the can taken down in the
cellar for ale or cider.

234 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

An apple, a pear, a plum, or a cherry,

Or any good thing to make us merry.

Soul day, soul day,

We have all been praying

For the soul departed :

So pray, good people, give us a cake,

For we are all poor people,

Well known to you before ;

So give us a cake, for charity's sake,

And our blessing we'll leave at your door.

Soul ! soul ! for an apple or two,

If you have no apples, pears will do ;

If pears are scarce, then cakes from your pan,

Give us our souling, and we'll be gone." l

The following is a Lancashire reference :

" There is a singular custom still kept up at Great Marton in the Fylde
district on this day. In some places it is called ' soul-caking,' but there it is
named 'psalm-caking' from their reciting psalms for which they receive
cakes. The custom is changing its character also for in place of collecting
cakes from house to house, as in the old time, they now beg for money. The
term ' psalm ' is evidently a corruption of the old word ' Sal,' for soul ; the
mass or requiem for the dead was called ' Sal-mass,' as late as the reign of
Henry VI." 2

As time went on this tune was probably considered dull
and old-fashioned, and the following has, to a limited extent,
supplanted it. It is evidently an adaptation of a "pace-
egging " song (see post) :

We are one, two, three heart - y lads, and we're

all of one mind, We have come here a - soul - ing, good

4. l The Customs , Superstitions and Legends of the County of Stafford, by
C. H. Poole, p. 34.

2 Lancashire Folk-Lore^ p. 251, by Harland and Wilkinson.

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 235

na - ture to find ; We have come here a - soul-ing as
it doth ap - pear, And it's all that we are

p=g^J=^=g=

soul - ing for is your ale and strong beer.
There are two other Verses.

At Northwich, Tarporley, and other places the soulers are
accompanied by one bearing an imitation head of a horse,
which snaps its jaws in an alarming manner. Thus " soul-
ing " has got grafted on to the pagan custom of " hodening."
At Over the soulers blacken their faces. This is a survival
of the wearing of black already mentioned.

The "Soulers' Song," as given by Egerton Leigh, is
a poor modern version, evidently adapted from a Maying
song :

* ' Ye gentlemen of England I could have ye draw near
To these few lines which we have wrote,

And all ye soon shall hear

Sweet melody of music all on this evening clear,
For we are gone a-souling for apples and strong beer."

This is the fourth series of rimes on the subject, and the
constant demand for apples and ale was to make a "was-
sail" bowl of " lambswool," or hot spiced ale, with toast
and roasted apples in it.

Souling seems to have been confined to, or at all events
to have only survived, in the counties of Cheshire and
Shropshire, though why this should be so it is difficult

236 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

to say. It is also met with in the adjacent counties of
Staffordshire and Lancashire, but only because it seems
to have drifted over the borders. One curious reference
to it occurs in Tales and Traditions of Tenby : J

"What was called 'souling,' or 'sowling,' was practised by the female
portion of the poor, who visited their wealthier neighbours, demanding
'soul' (possibly from the French sodl, signifying ' one's fill,' or from saouler,
' to satisfy with food.' See Wright's Provincial Dictionary}, which signified,
in its provincial acceptation, any condiment eaten with bread, such as meat, fish,
etc., but especially cheese. As the usage was very generally recognised, souling-
day proved, and still proves, one of the most profitable days in the calendar."

The fanciful derivation of " souling " may be passed by,
but it is hard to account for this reference to it in " little
England beyond Wales."

At Oswestry, on the Welsh border, it is customary to
begin with :

" Wissal, wassal, bread and possel,
Cwrw da, plas yma, 2
Apple or a pear, plum or a cherry,
Any good thing that will make us merry."

Bye-gones> December II, 1872.

Aubrey wrote regarding Shropshire thus :

" In Salop the die onium Animarum (All Soules-day, Novemb. 2d) there
is sett on the Board a high heap of soule-cakes lyeing one upon another like
the picture of the Sew-bread in the old Bibles. They are about the bignesse
of 2d cakes, and n'ly all the visitors 'that day takes one ; and there is an old
Rhythm or saying

' A soule-cake, a soule-cake,
Have mercy on all Christian soules for a soule-cake.' "

"The late Mrs. Gill, of Hopton, near Hodnet, had soul-cakes made in
her house to give away to souling children every year up to her death in 1884.
They were flat round, (or sometimes oval) cakes, made of very light dough,
spiced and sweetened." 3

1 Published by R. Mason, Tenby, 1858, p. 17.

2 i.e. " good ale (in) this place."

3 Burne-Jackson's Shropshire Folk-Lore, p. 382 et seq. Mr. Wirt Sykes,
in his British Goblins, quotes this, and also the information about Tenby, but
adds nothing to our knowledge.

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 237

We find some of the words of the " Souling Song" in
nearly every itinerant begging custom. In Montgomery-
shire a New Year's rhyme is :

" The road is very dirty,
My shoes are very thin ;
Please give me a penny
To put some nails in."

Several of the verses are found in a " Wessel-cup Hymn "
a carol popular in Shropshire thirty years ago and in
customs in Worcestershire and Yorkshire.

MARLING

The traveller cannot fail to notice the large number of
square pits in the green fields of Cheshire, which are very
different from the round drinking ponds of the southern
shires.

These " pits " are excavations from which marl has
been dug to place on the surface of the surrounding land
as manure, and some curious old customs and words are
connected with " marling." After breakfast on the pit
bank, the " head man," who was termed the " Lord of the
soil," called out in a loud voice three times :

" ' O ! Yez ! O ! Yez ! O ! Yez ! This is to give notice that Mr.
has given to us Marlers part of a thousand pounds, and to whomsoever will
do the same we will return thanks and shout.' The men then joined hands,
and, putting their heads together, shouted ' Largesse ! Largesse ! ' '

Should any one pass through the field, the " Lord "
walked up, having a marl clod on his shoulder. This was
so well understood that sixpence or a shilling was usually
given. If the former, it was proclaimed as " part of one
hundred pounds " ; if the latter, " part of one thousand
pounds." At the close of the season they assembled in
front of the village inn, and repeated the oration.

" Ladling and slutching " is the clearing out the water
and mud from a pit. " Fea " is the soil covering the marl.

238 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

" Setting " is spreading the marl over the land ; " Mid-
feather," the space between the pits.
The Cheshire rhyme says :

" He that marls sand may buy the land,
He that marls moss shall have no loss,
He that marls clay flings all away."

RUSH-BEARING

The strewing of the floors with rushes is an old custom,
and has died hard. The farmhouses in Cheshire were
strewn on the first of May with green rushes, over which
lavender and rosemary were scattered. Rushes are no
longer used, but a pattern is frequently worked on the
flagged floor by the juice of dock leaves. 1

Formerly all churches were strewn with rushes, and
these were generally renewed on great festivals :

" 1551 Rysshes at Wytsontyd - - ' - vi d
,, ,, ,, Mydsomer - - - viij d

,, against All Hallowtyde - - x d

1584 To Edward Griffith for boughs, rishes,
* and other things what time the

Earl of Leicester came hither xviij 8 ij d " z

" 1630 Paid to Robert Raborne for getting

out the old rushes of the church viij d " 3

The custom of carrying rushes to church gradually
developed into a festival, and the rushes were then decorated
and carried in procession. In some parishes, where the
time of year was suitable, this was done on the *' Wake "
day of the village. Flowers and garlands were added,
which " were hung up in the church ; we saw these gar-
lands remaining in several places." 4 Finally, the graves
were strewn with them. This custom is still observed at
Farndon with much ceremony on July i6th or the first
Sunday afterwards.

1 Utkinton Hall, 1908.

2 Chester Cathedral Treasurer's Accounts.

3 Frodsham Accounts.

4 Lyson's Cheshire.

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 239

Many rush-bearings, or tl rush-buryings," as they are
sometimes called, became riotous festivities, and the Chester
Courant for August 6, 1810, says :

" CHRISTLETON RUSH-BEARING. We were sorry to learn that the
festivities of this annual fete should have been disgraced by that almost
universally reprobated amusement, a Bull-bait. After this savage practice
has fallen into disrepute and disgrace amongst the most uncultivated parts of
the island, it is mortifying for us to record a transaction so disgraceful in the
immediate vicinity of the polished city of Chester."

In Cheshire also rushes are used as a charm for warts.
The charmer has a long straight rush, ties three knots in it,
makes it into a circle, draws it over the wart downwards
nine times, at the same time muttering a spell which he
refuses to disclose on the ground that if he did so the
charm would not work. In three months the wart will
disappear.

The old rush-lights of Cheshire were sold at twenty for
sixpence. " They were as thick as the present ' twelve '
candles (twelve to the pound), but half as long again, and
gave a steady but dim light. There were some curious
bits of folk-lore connected with them. For instance, if a
rush-light in ' sweating ' curled over, it denoted death ;
if a bright star appeared in the flame, it portended a letter." 1

PACE-EGGING

This is still practised in the Wirral peninsula, and the
rime sung by the children was as follows :

" Please, Mr. Whiteleg,
Please give us an Easter egg ;
If you do not give us one,
Your hen shall lay an addled one,
Your cock shall lay a stone."

Sometimes with the addition from "Souling" of:

" One for Peter, two for Paul,

And three for the One who made us all."

1 Burton, Rush- Bearing.

240 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

" In Birkenhead, for some years after the Park was laid out, there were
several grassy mounds inside the railings . . . which went by the name of ' The
Bouks ' (Banks). . . . Every Easter Monday the children would bring baskets
of coloured eggs. Then a game was played. First, wickets were fixed at in-
tervals at the foot of the ' Bouks,' the children took their eggs to the top of the
hills and rolled them down, aiming to pass them unbroken through the wickets." l

By degrees " Pace-Egging " became grafted on to the old
mumming play which is found in nearly every county of
England, and the following was sung at Thurstaston some
thirty years ago. Two verses are omitted :

Here come four or five hearty lads all of one mind ;
We have come a' paste-egging if you will prove kind ;
If you will prove kind, and never will fail,
We'll treat our young lasses to the best of X ale.
Fol di-diddle dol-di-day.

The next that steps in is Lord Nelson, you see
With a bunch of blue ribands tied on to his knee,
With a star on his breast like silver do shew,
And he comes a'paste-egging with his jolly crew.
Fol di-diddle dol-di-day.

The next that steps in is a lady so gay,
Who from her own country has run far away,
With the red cap and feathers that look very fine,
And all her delight is in drinking red wine.
Fol di-diddle dol-di-day.

The Master and Mistress that sit by the fire,
Put your hand in your pocket, that's all we desire ;
Put your hand in your pocket, and pull out your purse,
And give us a trifle you'll ne'er be any worse.
Fol di-diddle dol-di-day.

VII.

Some eggs and strong bacon we'll never deny,
For the eggs we can suck while the bacon doth fry.
Now all ye young lasses, just mind what ye are about,
If you give nought, we'll take nought, so we'll bid you good night.
Fol di-diddle dol-di-day.

Gamlin's Memories of Birkenhead.

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 241

MAYING

The " Mayers" went about singing and soliciting alms
for some weeks before the first of May. The following is a
portion of one of their songs, and a variant may be found
in Halli well's Palatine Anthology, which was given to him
by Ormerod, the Cheshire historian. The tune taken
down by Egerton Leigh, and given in his book of poems,
is terribly mutilated, but I have reconstucted it by the aid
of a very similar Lancashire tune. It is undoubtedly old,
and the commencement on the supertonic is very quaint.
The words are distinctly above the average of old ballads :

CHESHIRE MAYING SONG

All on this plea - sant eve - ning to

ge - ther come are we, For the sum-mer springs so

q q=:q=iir:=p zzzzq pi jjuzqzzr =3

fresh green and gay, We'll tell you of a

bios - som and buds on eve - ry tree, Draw - ing

near to the mer - ry month of May.

242 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

CHESHIRE MAY SONG

All on this pleasant evening together come are we,
For the summer springs so fresh, green, and gay,

To tell you of a blossom that buds on every tree,
Drawing near to the merry month of May.

Rise up, the master of this house, all in your chain of gold,
For the summer springs so fresh, green, and gay ;

We hope you're not offended, this night we make so bold,
Drawing near the pleasant month of May.

Ill

Oh ! rise, the mistress of this house, with gold upon your breast,
For the summer springs so fresh, green, and gay ;

And if your body be asleep, we hope your soul's at rest,
Drawing near to the merry month of May.
&c. &c.

In the Halliwell-Phillipps' version each verse ends with

" Oh this is pleasant singing,
Sweet May flower is springing,
And summer comes so fresh, green, and gay."

In Chester and surrounding villages the children still
carry round May garlands, and generally a small child
bedecked with ribbons, but the old May songs are no
longer used.

At Knutsford a May Queen is annually chosen and
crowned in public. This village has many curious and
pretty customs. On the occasion of a marriage there,
brown sand was strewn in the streets, and on this, fanciful
figures of white sand and sometimes the flowers of the
season were added.

LIFTING

Hone says that the custom of Lifting was prevalent in
Chester, but that instead of being tossed in the air, the
victims were swung about in a chair.

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 243

However, a correspondent in Adams' Weekly Courant
(printed in Chester, 26th March 1771) complains strongly
of the custom of " Lifting, or rather the assembling in a
riotous manner of a considerable number (I am sorry to
say) of females at all the gates and other thoroughfares
of this city to extort money from every man whose business
may oblige him to pass that way. This is justly complained
of by travellers, who, unacquainted with such customs (it
not being suffered in any city but this) have given a con-
siderable sum for leave to pursue their journey, and have
scarce rode to the other end of the city but must again
purchase the liberty of passing on." It was practised at
Chester up to about the year 1860.

The custom is supposed to have reference to the
Ascension of our Lord.

HARVEST HOME

When the last field of corn was cut, then the farmer
had what was called a " shutting." The reapers would
stand in a ring on some high ground, and one, acting as
spokesman, gave out the " nominy " :

" Oh, yes ! oh, yes ! oh, yes ! this is to give notice
That Mester 'Olland has gen th' seek a turn
And sent th' owd hare into Mester Sincop's standin' curn."

Then, taking hands, they all bent down and uttered an
unearthly " Wow ! wow-w ! wow-w ! " Other " nominies "
followed, and then a liberal allowance of beer went round.
This was supplemented by another ceremony. The last
stalks of grain were plaited and formed into a threefold
strand, at which the reapers threw their sickles. The one
whose aim cut it down was the winner. This was called
" cutting the Neck."

244 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

CORKAGE

Cheshire has the great distinction of possessing two
Forest Charter Horns held by cornage tenure, and these
are still in existence.

The Wirral Horn. The Hundred of Wirral was mainly
divided between the Church and the Palatinate barons. The
latter not being resident, the natives were lawless and
turbulent; added to which the district was specially liable
to incursions from sea-rovers. To reduce the natives to
obedience, and as a matter of precaution, Ranulph de
Meschines, the third Earl of Chester, about 1121, destroyed
such boundaries of property as existed and planted the
whole as a forest, so that " From Blacon Point to Hilbre
a squirrel might jump from tree to tree " ; as the old
Cheshire rhyme has it.

The office of chief forester he bestowed upon Alan
Sylvester, together with the manors of Storeton and
Puddington, to be held by the tenure of blowing a horn,
or causing it to be blown, at the " Gloverstone," Chester,
on the morning of every fair-day, to indicate that the tolls
payable on all goods bought or sold in the city, or within
sound of that horn, during the fair, belonged to the Earl and
his tenants there.

After 250 years the citizens of Chester found the forest
and its freebooters such a nuisance (for, so far from check-
ing marauders, the forest, as a hiding-place, encouraged
them), that they complained to the Black Prince, and begged
that he would get his father to abolish it.

In 1376-7, the last year of Edward III.'s reign, the
district was disafforested. The horn and its rights had
passed, by marriages of female heirs, to the Bamvilles,
and then to the Stanleys of Hooton Hall. They continued
as titular foresters as late as of 7 Henry VI.

The horn is thus described: i6f in. convex, 13! in.
concave, 9^ in. wide at the mouth, 7 in. in the middle,

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 245

tapering to 2\ in. at the mouthpiece. The colour is yellow
to light brown, with blue or black spots or flakes. It was
in the possession of Sir John Stanley-Errington until his
death in 1896.

The Delamere Horn. What we now call the Forest
of Delamere was originally the two forests of Mara
and Mondrem, extending, roughly speaking, over all the
lands between the rivers Weaver and Gowy. Mara was
on the Mersey side, and Mondrem on the Nantwich
side.

The land was afforested immediately after the Conquest,
though the Saxon owner was, for a time, allowed to keep
his estate in it. About 1123 Ranulph de Meschines, third
Earl of Chester, added to the forest some waste lands and
the villa or township of Kingsley, and conferred on Ranulph
de Kingsley the forestry rights to be held in grand serjeantry,
and gave him a horn in token of his rights as master forester.
It is worth noting that the horns of Wirral and Delamere
were both given, and at the same period, by this third Earl
of Chester. But it is important to note that the office of
master forester was not altogether paramount. Certain other
rights belonged to the families of Grosvenors, Weavers, and
Mertons ; and the rights in the two forests were often kept
separate and distinct. Finally, however, the whole of the
forest rights were vested in the family of Done of Utkinton,
and in 1617 James I. came " a-hunting " in the forest of
Delamere and knighted John Done, who attended him as
chief forester and bow bearer. Sir John died in 1629, and the
male line of Dones came to an end. Through the female
line the horn and forest rights descended to the Crewes
and Ardernes, and then to the present Earl of Haddington,
who married Miss Arderne in 1854.

The horn is a beautiful black colour and strongly curved.
It is 14 in. on outside curve, but it is only 5 in. across
from mouthpiece to mouth. Its greatest width is if in. at
the mouth, and f in. at the other end. The mouthpiece
seems of silver gilt, but there is no sign of the other two

246 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

" golden " bands with which pictures and old documents
show it was embellished.

Forest of Macclesfield. The third great forest of
Cheshire was that of Macclesfield, which was in existence
before Domesday survey.

The office of hereditary master forester of the forests
of Leek and Macclesfield was held by the Davenports of
Davenport by a grant from Hugh Cyvelioc, Earl of Chester
(1160).

Now the original grant, as in the case of Mara and
Mondrem, did not prevent subordinate rights being granted,
and there were no less than eight sub-foresters who exer-
cised rights down to the sixteenth century.

One of these foresterships belonged to the manor
of Taxal, which was held by the Downes of Sutton
Downes and Taxal. According to depositions about the
year 1720, it is said of Reginald Downes, the then
owner :

" That hee when ye King came a hunting all ways rowsed ye stagg, and
when ye King came to ye forest Mr. D. held ye King's stirrup and ye
L'd Darby held his stirrup ; and that the L'd Darby, instead of actually
holding ye stirrup, put his strop or whip and held it towards ye stirrup
while Mr. Downes mounted.

"That the said Mr. Downes had informed this deponent that he held his
land by the blast of a horn on Midsummer Day, and paying a pepper-corn
yearly ; and that once, about 63 or 64 years agoe, this deponent was with the
said Mr. Downes when he blowed his horn at Windcather (a range of high
hills above Taxal) on that occasion."

Another deposition states that the horn required " three
blasts." No special horn seems to have existed.

PROVERBS AND SAYINGS

The hard-headed Cheshireman may be deficient in
legend, but he has invented a number of wise sayings
and proverbs which can hold their own in quality and
quantity with any other county. Some of the oldest,

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 247

however, given by Ray, are wrapped in obscurity. The
following is a selection :

" by a pr over be certan

Good manners and conynge maken a man."

BRADSHAW (Life of St. Werburgh).
[He was a contemporary of William of Wykeham.]

" Cheshire, Chief of men."

" Stout, bold, and hardy withal, impatient of wrong, and ready to resist the
enemy or stranger that shall invade their country" WEBB.

Fuller says: "Its gentry is remarkable on a fourfold account their
numerousness . . . their antiqtiity, their loyalty, and their hospitality."

"Cheshire for men,
Berkshire for dogs,
Bedfordshire for naked flesh,
And Lincolnshire for bogs."

" By waif, soc and theam,
You may know Cheshire men."

[Powerful in their legal rights and tenacious of them.]

" As many Leighs as fleas, Massies as asses,
Crewes as crows, and Davenports as dogs' tails."

Some of the great Cheshire families.

" There is more than one yew bow in Chester."
A s many a Welshman had found out.

" Cheshire born and Cheshire bred,
Strong i' th' arm and weak i' th' yed."

Perhaps invented by neighbours "over the border" who had felt the strong
arm.

" To grin like a Cheshire cat."

No satisfactory explanation of this has ever been given. It has formed the
subject for inquiries innumerable in " Notes and Queries."

There is another version : " To grin like a Cheshire cat chewing gravel."

" It is better to marry over the mixen than over the moor."
// is better to marry an honest farmer from next door whom you know,
than a fine gentleman from a distance who may turn out a fraud."

" Enough and no more, like Mrs. Milton's feast."

Milton married as his third wife Elizabeth Minshull of Wistanstow, near
Nantwich, who survived him. She was poor and proud, and her enforced
economy was not to the taste of her neighbottrs.

248 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

" When the daughter is stolen, shut the Pepper-gate."
Equivalent to " shutting the stable door -when the steed is stolen? This
originated in a former Mayor of Chester fastening up the Pepper-gate after his
daughter had eloped through it with her lover.

" If thou hadst the rent of Dee Mills thou wouldst spend it."
These Chester mills yielded anntially a large rent.

11 As fair as Lady Done."

The wife of Sir John Done, hereditary bow-bearer of Delamere Forest.
Pennant, in his " Tour from Chester to London" says that " when a Cheshire-
man would express siiper eminent excellency in one of the fair sex, he will say,
' There is a Lady Done for you.' "

" Higgledy Piggledy Malpas shot."

All share alike.
The well-known anecdote need not be quoted.

"All on one side, like Parkgate."
A single street with one side only, the river being on the other side.

" Every man was not born to be Vicar of Bowdon."
One of the most valuable livings in Cheshire.

" To pull Lymm from Warburton."
Complete and absolute separation.

" Hanged hay never does cattle."

Bought hay, hung and weighed in the scales, is not economical. It will not
do {pronounced " doe ") cattle.

"To scold like a wych-waller."
I.e., a " salt-boiler " at one of the wyches of Cheshire.

" To catch a person napping, as Moss caught his mare."

" I'll tell thee, quoth Wood,
If I can't rule my daughter, I'll rule my good."

" But when ? quoth Kettle to his mare. "
Of these three worthies history is silent.

" Like Gaodyer's pig, never well but when he is doing mischief."

" He stands like Mumphazard, who was hanged for saying nothing."

" Like the parson of Saddleworth who could read no book but his own."

" Roint you witch ! as Bessy Locket said to her mother."

" No more sib (akin) than sieve and riddle that grew in a wood together."

" If he were as long as a lither, he might thatch a house without a ladder."

" It would make a dog doff his doublet."

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 249

" She hath broken her elbow at the Church door."
A woman grown idle after marriage.

" Score twice before you cut once."

Used by curriers. Holmes* " Academic of Armourie."

Don't cut your leather until you feel sure you have selected the right place.

" Stoppord law, no stake no draw."

Stockport or Stopport only those who contribute to an undertaking may
reap benefit from it.

" You may know a Mobberley man by his breeches."

An allusion to poachers in the neighbouring Tatton Park. They made their
breeches of buckskin.

" The Mayor of Altrincham lies in bed while his breeches are mending."
" The Mayor of Altrincham, and the Mayor of Over,

The one is a thatcher, the other a dauber."

These places were small and unimportant, and the mayors were therefore
sometimes chosen from men in humble ranks of life.

" A Stopport (Stockport) chaise."
Two women riding sideways on one horse.

" As thrunk as three in a bed."
Thrunk = crowded.

" It is time to yoke when the cart comes to the caples."
" In some part of England they call a horse a caple" CHAUCER. Latin
= Caballus.

" Good to fetch a rich man sorrow and a dead man woe."
" As much wit as three folks two fools and a madman.'
" She hath been to London to call a strea a straw, and a waw a wall."
Adopting the London pronunciation and forgetting, or being ashamed of,
the county dialect.

" To come home like the parson's cow, with a calf at her foot."

" To look a strained hair in a can."

" To shed riners with a whaver."

" To surpass anything skilful or adroit by something still more so."
WiLBRAHAM. Riner=a toucher used at quoits.

"Too-Toowill in two."
Strain a thing too imich and it will not hold.

" Well, well, is a word of malice."

" You been like Smithwick, either clemed or bossten."

Too little or too much.

250 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

" Afraid of far enough."

" Afraid of him that died last year."

Of that which is never likely to happen.

LOCAL RHYMES

Holt liars, Farndon bears,
Churton greyhounds, Aldford hares.

In Stoak there are but few good folk,
In Stanney hardly any.

Gobbinshire, Gobbinshire from Gobbinshire Green,
The ronkest oud beggar as ever was seen.

Gobbinshire was a name of the lower portion of the Wirral peninsula.

Sir Randle Crewe, the Lord of this manor,
Was born in Nantwich, the son of a Tanner.

Middlewych is a pretty toun

Seated in a valley,
With a Church and Market Cross

And eke a bouling alley ;
All the men are loyal there,

Pretty girls are plenty,
Church and King, and doun with the Rump

There's not such a toun in twenty.

Cavalier Ballad.

" Congleton rare, where they sold the Bible to buy a bear."
The inhabitants once laid by money for a new Bible, but the town bear
having died, they devoted their savings to buying a new bear for baiting.

When the Chester and Birkenhead railway was made,
the name of Ledsham was given to a station which was
nearest to Sutton, and this gave rise to the following :

" I want to go to Sutton please."
" There aren't no Sutton now."
" It's taken t'name o' Ledsham, sir."
" For an estate ? or how ? "

SUNDRY SAWS
Farm servants dissatisfied say :

Maily bread an maily pies,
Skim Dick full o' eyes,
Buttermilk astid o' beer,
I'm sartin I shanna stop here.

(South Cheshire.')

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 251

Come aw ye buttermilk sellers that have buttermilk to sell,
Ah'd have ye give good mizzer, and scrub yo'r vessels well ;
For there's a day o' reckoning, an hell will have its share,
An' the devil will have you nappers as Mossy ketched his mare.

" Go fiddle for shives (slices of food)
Amongst old wives."

Said in contempt.

" Laus-a-dees
What times be these."

" Stare-agog, stare agog
Tumbled o'er the tatoe-hog."

Children irritate bulls by shouting :

" Billy Billy Belder
Sucked the cai's elder " (udder).

PHENOMENA

Dee's valley mild till close of year
Means three months cold in store, I fear.

THE MOON.

When hoo fulls at ye midnight, or soone after that,
In ye sommer, great heat,
In ye winter, hard frost.

When hoo fulls at ye midday, or soone after that,
Winter cries, " O ye rain,"
Summer says, " Cheshire's lost."

Old Cheshire Household Book, 1675-85.
(Hoo is the old English " she.")

A winde from Sandbach in the Easte
Blows good to neither man nor beast.

Malpas ales and Malpas gales
Cheer the farmer, fill his pails.

Whenever Chester chimes at Congleton do sound

A flood, like Noah's, will wash away ye ground.

The toivns are thirty miles apart.

It rains, it pains, it patters i' the docks,
Mobberley wenches are weshin' their smocks.

As long as Helsby (hill) wears a hood,
The weather's never very good.

252 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

If Wednesday, Thursday, or if Friday
Happen this year to be May day,
Then begin some harmless thing
And it will thee much credit bring.

RANDLE HOLME, Harleian MSS.

LEGENDS

The Celtic legend already alluded to comes from Alder-
ley Edge. It is a version of Arthur and the Knights of the
Round Table.

A farmer going through Alderley Edge, on his way to
the fair to sell a beautiful white mare, was accosted by
a venerable old man dressed as a monk, who said :

" Sell as thou wilt that steed of thine
'Tis fated that the steed be mine."

The farmer found no purchaser, and, returning at night,
met the monk by two enormous iron gates, through which
they entered into a huge cavern where numbers of milk-
white steeds were stalled, and by each lay an armed
warrior asleep. The wizard paid the farmer, who asked
the meaning of the mysterious troopers, and was told that
they would, when England

" Was thrice lost and thrice won
'Twixt dawn of day and setting sun,"

come to her aid.

When the wizard ceased, the farmer found himself alone
on the hill, and the gates closed behind him.

A dragon legend is connected with Thomas Venables,
son of Sir Gilbert Venables, cousin-german to William the
Conqueror :

" It chaunced a terrible dragon to remayne and make his abode in the
lordeshippe of Moston in the Countye of Chester, wheare he devoured all
such persons as he laid hold on, which ye said Thomas Venables herringe
tell of ... dyd in his awne person valiantly set on the saide dragon, where
first he shotte hym throwe with an arrowe, and afterward with other weapons
manfullie slew him, at which instant the dragon was devouringe of a
childe."

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 253

A greater fund of legendary lore is found with regard
to the lakes or meres of Cheshire :

BRERETON BAG OR BLACK MERE.

'* Here is one exceeding strange, but attested in my hearing by many
persons, and commonly believed. Before any heir of this (Brereton) family
dies, there are seen in a lake adjoining, the bodies of trees swimming upon
the water for several days together." CAMDEN.

Sir Philip Sidney, in Seven Wonders of England,
says :

" The Breretons have a lake, which, when the sun
Approaching warms (not else) dead logs up sends
From hideous depth, which tribute when it ends
Sure sign it is the Lord's last thread is spun."

CAPESTHORN RUDESMERE, OR REEDSMERE.

In the grounds of Capesthorne is a fine sheet of water
called Reedsmere, containing a floating island about ij
acres in size, which in strong winds is blown here and
there. A country legend accounts for this floating island
by a story that a certain knight was jealous of his lady-
love, and vowed not to look upon her face until the island
moved on the face of the mere. But he fell sick, and
was nigh to death, when he was nursed back to health
by the lady, to reward whose constancy a tremendous
hurricane tore the island up by the roots.

ROSTHERNE MERE.

" All kinds of legends are current about Rostherne, as is the case with
most lakes which are reported to be deep. One is, that a mermaid comes
up on Easter Day and rings a bell ; another, that it communicates with the
Irish Channel by a subterranean passage ; another, that it once formed with
Tabley, Tatton, Mere, and other lakes, a vast sheet of water that covered the
country between Alderley Edge and High Leigh." HOPE, Holy Wells and
Traditions.

COMBERMERE
Has also a bell legend.

254 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

BELLS.

The Curfew is still tolled at nine o'clock at Chester
Cathedral, and the big bell used to be tolled whenever
the Dean or Bishop was going to preach, but this has
been discontinued. " Curfew " is tolled at many of the
country churches, sometimes throughout the year, and some-
times only at harvest-time.

At Frodsham Church a small bell, which stood over the
chancel arch, was called the "Dag-tale" bell, or "day-
telling" bell probably from being used to denote the
hours of the day to those working in the fields. At Holmes
Chapel, in the parish of Sandbach, there is an entry in
1723 for "bell ropes to Dag-tail I2s."

The " Pancake " bell is still rung at Congleton on
Shrove Tuesday at 1 1 A.M., and at Tarvin ; and at Bar-
thomley and other places it was called by the expressive
name of the " Guttit " bell.

Ray says :

" At Nantwich they have a custom like that in Scotland ; when anyone
is dead a Bellman goeth about the streets in the morning that the dead person
is to be buried, tinkling a bell he has in his hand, and now and then makes
a stand and invites the people to come to the funeral at such an hour."

Prebendary Garencieres of Chester Cathedral, in his will
of 1703, says:

" I would have no other invitation to my funeral than by notice given by
the Clerk to the parishioners of Handley and Waverton, and by the Belman
to the people of Chester, of the time when, and the place where my corps
is to be buried."

Congleton still preserves three ancient leather belts,
on which are strung a number of metal bells with rolling
clappers. Two belts have seven, and one has five, and
each bell has a different tone. They are said to have
been worn by three church officials on the Congleton
" Wake " day, the Feast of St. Peter ad vincula, or " St.
Peter in Chains." At midnight of that day three acolytes

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 255

ran round the town summoning the people to church,
thereby representing the clanking of chains. About one
hundred years ago the bells fell into the hands of a family
of chimney-sweeps, but were ultimately seized and preserved
by the town authorities. They are unique.

The following is a Cheshire distich on bells :

Higher Peover kettles, Lower Peover pans,
Knutsford sweet music, and Rostherne great drones.

BIRDS.
Two cocks answer one another :

1. " Cocky Keeko !

The women been master here."

2. " Cocky Keeko !

It's the same everywhere."

(South Cheshire.)

The "Golden Plover" is called "The Sheep's Guide"
by the Longdendale shepherds, who say the bird's note
warns the sheep of danger.

It is considered bad luck to take the eggs of, or to
kill the Robin, Wren, Spotted Fly-catcher, and Swallow,
hence the following:

The Martin and the Swallow
Are God's Mate and Marrow,

or,

'* Are God Almighty's birds to hollow " ( = to hallow or keep holy).

Eggs of game-fowl are placed in Magpies' nests to be
hatched, in order to make the game-cocks fight better.

The calling of a green Woodpecker indicates rain.

The name of " Boggarts muck " is given to Owl pellets,
the idea being that the small bones therein are those of
fairies eaten by boggarts.

The Cuckoo was called "The Welsh ambassador" in
Cheshire, because this herald of spring was generally heard
first on the Welsh border.

256 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

GAMES

Randle Holme gives an entertaining list of children's
games in the Stuart period, nearly all of which are now
obsolete. He does not mention one which is more popular
in Cheshire than the Southern Counties. This is the game
in which a horse chestnut is threaded on a string and
struck at with chestnuts similarly threaded. The chestnut
is called a " coppity-co " :

" Coppity-co,
My first blow "

is the rhyme used. The word is now softened into cobbity-
co (so in Shropshire] and even into comity-co {Chester, 1909).

" Cobbity-cuts
Put dain your nuts."

(South Cheshire.)

Cop is old English for top or head. 1 Somnolent church-
goers in olden times had reason to remember this fact.

Paid Richard Pennington for whiping dogs and cobing

sleeping folke ..... o 10 o

(Bunbury Church Accounts. )

A similar official at Tarvin was familiarly known as " The
Cobber," and at Tarporley as "The Awakener." 2

Another curious game is " Dot." Children move in a
ring round one representing " Dot," and sing :

" Dun yo', wot 'oo were Dot?
He were not a bad lot ;
Whereabouts was his cot,
Oi'n furgotten to jot."

(North Cheshire and Malpas.}

At this point "Dot" puts his hand out, and the one touched
has to take his place. This is practically a "counting-out

1 So at Chester, the top of the river bank is called "The Cop," and a
" cop-hedge " is, in Cheshire, a bank with a hedge on top of it.

2 The following anecdote, which is vouched for, is too good to omit : At a
certain Cheshire church, where the farmers slumbered peacefully during the
afternoon sermon, the incumbent was surprised on a certain Sunday to see
the farmers, one after another, waking up suddenly and vigorously rubbing

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 257

rhyme," and there seems every probability that it is a very
ancient one.

The Manor of Edge, in the Hundred of Broxton, was
held, according to Domesday Survey, by Edwin, a Saxon
thane, who, although he was compelled to become tenant to
Norman Robert FitzHugh, managed to retain for himself
the two Edges. Contemporary with him was Dot, the Saxon
lord of sixteen manors, some of them conjointly with Edwin ;
but, more unlucky than he, Dot lost all his manors and fled
to Wales. His grandson, Cadwgan Dot, was father of Hova
Dot or Dod, from whom the Edge and Broxton Dods claim
lineal descent.

The following are additional "counting-out" speci-
mens :

Orcum, Borcum,
Boni, Corkum,
Ericum, Bericum, bo-ni-bus.
O.U.T. spells out.

(Chester.}
One, two,
Sky-blue ;
All in
But you.

(Chester, 1904.)

MUSIC

Although Cheshire cannot be described as a musical
county, yet it has no reason to be ashamed of its past
musical history.

" Cheshire Rounds " was a celebrated tune and dance
sometimes danced by a couple (whose gyrations resembled
the movements of the sun and moon) and sometimes by a
single person. The only known portrait of Doggett (who
founded the celebrated waterman's badge) shows him dancing
the "Cheshire Round."

their faces. At last, looking up in a gallery to the left of the pulpit, he saw a
boy with a pea-shooter, and at once discerned the cause of the commotion.
He shook his fist at the lad, but to no effect, and at last cried out, " Young
man, desist !" but the boy, bent on his work, replied, " Never thee mind !
get along with thy sermon ; I'll keep the beggars awaken for thee ! "

258 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

Miss Stanley writes from Alderley Park

Sep. 8, 1798.

We had yesterday what is generally called a harvest home supper, but
here a " shutting." Old Peter danced the Cheshire Round on the table after
supper with Charlotte Alcock, one of the women.

A play-bill of the time of William III. shows how popular
the dance was then

In Bartholomew Fair, at the Coach-house, on the pav'd stones at Hosier
Lane end, you will see a Black that dances the Cheshire Rounds to perfection.

The Morris Dance has always been a favourite, especi-
ally in the Knutsford district, where it was danced to the
following :

Mor - ris Dance is a ve - ry pret - ty tune,

I can dance in my new shoon ;

My new shoon they are so good,

I could dance it

This is it, and that is it, And

-I !

this is Mor - ris danc

My poor fa - ther

broke his leg, And so it fell a chanc - ing.

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 259

Just over the border, in Lancashire, the version runs

My new shoon, they are so good,
I could dance Morris if I would ;
And if hat and sark be drest
I will dance Morris with the rest.

Three ballads were very popular, viz. "The Miller of
the Dee/' "The Spanish Lady" (who is supposed to have
fallen in love with the Cheshire knight Sir Uryan Leigh),
and "The Cheshire Cheese."

CHURCHES

The old parish account-books show that much more was
spent on music in old times than in the present day, e.g.
Bunbury :

1762. For a bassoon . . . . . 5 5 o

1787. John Richardson, for instructing the singers . 8 17 o

1801. For a hautboy . . . . o 14 o

1811. For a base violin . . . . 6 16 7

1820. Paid Mr. Cotgreave, for leading the singers, 62

nights at 55. . . . . 15 10 o

1821. Do. do. 77 nights at 5s. . 19 5 o

In 1785, at Farndon, we find

To a vestry meeting about a bassoon . . . 2 6

To a bassoon . . . . . .608

Two new " cleronets " and reeds cost $. 125. pd., and a new hautboy i. 8s.

At the same vestry the churchwarden was empowered to
pay i. is. yearly to the singers "so long as they continue
to sing such tunes as the inhabitants of the parish shall
approve of " ; and William Snelson was paid two guineas
per annum "to teach the children to sing psalms in
church." . . .

The abolition of the old church band has not been of
benefit to many churches and villages.

Passing mention must be made of Handel's visit to
Chester, in 1741, when he tried over the music of the
" Messiah " before its first performance in Dublin, and of

260 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

the great Chester Musical Festivals held at various inter-
vals from 1772 to 1829, and of the celebrated political song
called the " Glorious Sixth of May," which stirred Chester
like a second " Lillibulero/' just one hundred years ago.

WELLS

A wishing well, called "Billy Hobby's Well," was in
the field which is now the Grosvenor Park, Chester, and a
local poet sang thus in 1823

I lov'd the tales that idle maids would tell,

Of wonders wrought at Billy Hobby's well ;

Where love-sick girls with leg immured would stand,

The right leg 'twas the other on dry land,

With face so simple stocking in the hand

Wishing for husbands half a winter's day,

With ninety times the zeal they used to pray.

Other wells round Chester were "St. Giles' Well" at
Spital Boughton, "Jacob's Well" near St. John's Church,
" Aganippe's Well " at Newton, and the " Abbot's Well " at
Christleton, which supplied the monastery at Chester with
water. It still exists, but the others are extinct.

Another wishing well was at Gayton, and a holy well at
Alderley Edge. St. Plegmund's Well is in the parish of
Plemstall (three miles from Chester). It has been customary
for many years to take the water used for christenings in
the church from this well.

A chalybeate spring existed in Delamere Forest, and
was resorted to by invalids in the eighteenth century.

The largest well now existing is the " Synagogue Well "
at Frodsham, which is close to the site of the ancient castle
there, and may have been connected with it. It still has a
copious supply of water, and has been cleansed and repaired,
much to the detriment of its former picturesque appearance.

There is no history attached to it nor any explanation
of the curious name. Major Egerton Leigh gives a fancy
history of it in his Ballads and Legends of Cheshire.

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 261

No traces of well-worship exist ; but up to a late period
the inhabitants of Nantwich used to sing a hymn of thanks-
giving at the " Blessing of the Brine." An ancient pit,
called the " Old Brine " or " Biat," was decked on Ascen-
sion Day with flowers, and a jovial band of young people
celebrated the day with song and dance. Aubrey says :
" In Cheshire, where they went in perambulation, they did
blesse the springs i.e. did read the Gospel at them, and
did believe the water was better."

A remnant of fire-worship existed at Alvanley, where,
on the Toot Hill, fires were made in the spring and autumn,
through which the villagers jumped.

ROBERT NIXON

Mention must be made of Robert Nixon, the great
Cheshire prophet, whose fame not only rivalled that of
Mother Shipton, but may be said (seeing that he is
mentioned in Pickwick] to have lasted longer. The
earliest history is Oldmixon's, published in 1714, which
says that " in the reign of James I. there lived a fool whose
name was Nixon," and that Thomas Cholmondley of Vale
Royal (d. 1652) "took him into his house, where he lived
when he composed this prophecy." But other writers place
him at a much earlier period. His prophecies really fall
into the two periods of civil war, viz. the Wars of the
Roses, and the Great Rebellion. If, therefore, Nixon was
a real personage, it is obvious that if he lived in the reign
of James I. he cannot have uttered some of the prophecies
attributed to him. The discovery of an " Irish Analogue of
Nixon's Prophecy" (Notes and Queries, October 21, 1865)
throws great doubt on the whole matter. The subject still
requires much investigation.

The following are a few of Nixon's prophecies :

When an eagle shall sit on the top of Vale-Royal House,
Then an heir shall be born, who shall live to see great
troubles in England.

262 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

It is said that the Cholmondley family was at this time
nearly extinct, but in due course an heir was born, during
which time an eagle perched on the house-top.

Between a rick and two trees
A famous battle shall be.

The " rick and two trees " may be Warwick, Coventry,
and Daventry, and the battle, Edgehill, 1642 ; or Rickmans-
worth, Elstree, and Edwinstree, and the battle the second
fought at St. Alban's, 1461.

The following is unintelligible :

There will be three gates to London of imprisoned men for Cowsters.
Then, if you have three cows, at the first gate sell one, and keep thee at
home. At the second gate sell the other two, and keep thee at home. At
the last gate all shall be done.

Old Mab's Curse is directed against any one of the
Minshull family who shall sell the family acres

Mabel's dole, of pious fame

From royal blood they say she came ;

Poor and needy folks do tell

That Mynshull's land no one dare sell,

For Old Mab's curse on him would light

That ere should sell land, stone, or bight.

The belief that bees must be told of their master's death
is widely spread, also that a winter crop of primroses be-
tokens a death in the house. Powdered alabaster is con-
sidered a good remedy for the ailments of sheep, and the
beautiful tomb of Sir Hugh Calveley in Bunbury Church
has, in consequence, it is said, suffered much mutilation.

We find Trowle, the shepherd boy in the Chester play,
making much of his tar-box as a specific, for the diseases
of sheep and cattle were serious matters for an agricultural
people, as the following show :

Paid for a book concerning ye disorders of cattle . . ^o I o 1
1 Bunbury Church Accounts.

CHESHIRE CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, AND FOLK-LORE 263

and in the accounts of St. John's Church, Chester, the
following occurs five times in 1747 :

Paid for a book about the horned cattle . . .^008

One other point remains to be noticed. There is a
widely-spread belief that the indentures of apprentices in
Chester contained a clause stipulating that they should not
be compelled to eat salmon more than three days in each
week. No such indenture has ever been seen, and the late
Mr. Frank Buckland offered, in vain, a reward of five
pounds for the sight of such a document. The tradition
exists wherever there is a salmon river, but investigation
shows that it is without foundation.

Such is some of the folk-lore of Cheshire, and there
may still be a great deal which has never yet been recorded.
It behoves every one to use his utmost endeavours to put
into print every song, legend, saying, or custom that he
may meet with. Such relics of the past can only now be
obtained from aged people, and in a few years this source
will fail, and the rising " school-board " generation will
neither know nor care for such things. It is well to
remember also (to quote another Cheshire proverb) that
" the unlikeliest places are often likelier than those which
are likeliest."

It has been impossible to give all references, but
especial mention must be made of Hazlitt's and Ray's
Proverbs, Mr. Robert Holland's various papers, The
Cheshire Sheaf , and some Bird Notes of Mr. T. A. Coward.

TWO CHESHIRE SAINTS
BY THE ARCHDEACON OF CHESTER

WE are justified in giving this title to St. Werburgh
and St. Plegmund, of whom specially this chapter
will treat, since both belonged to the old kingdom
of Mercia, of which Cheshire was a part.

We owe our knowledge of St. Werburgh to the metrical
life of the Saint written by Henry Bradshaw, a monk of St.
Werburgh's Monastery, who died in 1513. The full title of
his work (which was printed in 1521 and reprinted by the
Chetham Society in 1848) is The Holy Lyfe and History of
Saynt Werburge, very frutefall for all Christen people to
rede. It purports to be a translation into English verse
from the original Chronicle or Passionary stated by him
to be preserved in the Monastery. He makes frequent
allusions to the Venerable Bede (whom he styles his
author), as also to " Master Alfrydus, William Malmsburge,
Gyrarde, Polycronycon, and other mo(re)."

St. Werburgh was born about 650, and was the daughter
of Wulfhere, King of Mercia (whose name is perpetuated in
Wolverhampton) and Ermenhild his wife. She was thus
descended from four royal families. Her father was the
second son of Penda, King of Mercia, who claimed descent
from Woden. Her mother was the daughter of Earconbert,
King of Kent, and was thus a descendant both of Tytillus,
King of East Anglia, and of St. Edwin, King of North umbria.
She was also connected with the kings of France, as St.
Ermenhild's grandfather and great-grandfather both married
princesses of that royal house. We may say that she was of

saintly as well as of royal lineage, for five of her grand-

264

Two CHESHIRE SAINTS 265

father Penda's children (pagan though he himself was)
earned the title of saints; whilst her mother's family
included the names of St. Hilda, St. Etheldreda, St.
Ethelburga, and St. Sexburga (her mother).

Wulfhere and his queen chiefly lived at Stone in
Staffordshire, where St. Werburgh, under the care of her
good mother, grew up. Bradshaw gives a very interesting
picture of her early years, in which her religious disposi-
tion, fostered no doubt by her mother's influence and
example, manifested itself in various ways. Thus :

" First in the morning to church she would go,
Following her mother the queene every day,
With her boke and bede's, and depart not them fro,
Hear all divine service and her devocyons say :
And to our Blessed Saviour, mekely on her knees pray,
Daily Him desiring, for His endless grace and pity,
To keep her from sin, and preserve her in chastity."

She was an only daughter having three brothers. She
listened with earnest attention to every word of instruction
and advice ; abjured giddy pleasures ; and found her truest
joy in contemplation of heavenly things, and holiest bliss
arising from a pure conscience, chastened by fasting and
sanctified by prayer.

Bradshaw gives a full description of her young days,
and fondly lingers over the narration of her virtues. She
attracted many suitors, but courteously dismissed them all.
Among these was the Prince of the West Saxons, who
made offer of marriage and of all his worldly goods :

" Landes, rentes, and libertees all at your pleasure ;
Servantes every hour, your byddynge for to do,
With ladyes in your chambre to wayte on you also."

She gently but firmly declines, saying :

" But now I shewe you playnly my true mynde,
My purpose was never maryed for to be ;
A lorde I have chosen, Redeemer of Mankynde
Jhesu the Second Persone in Trynyte
To be my Spouse."

266 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

The suit of Warbode, a powerful knight and chief
steward in her father's household, was attended with
disastrous results. He had gained an evil influence over
King Wulfhere, and induced him, if not to become an actual
apostate, to adopt a distinctly hostile attitude to Christianity.
When his suit, though favoured by his master, is declined
by St. Werburgh, he retires in wrath and plots revenge.
He poisons the King's mind, and persuades him that his
sons Wulfade and Ruffyn are plotting against him, leads
him into the forest, where they are found in St. Chad's cell
being instructed by the good Bishop in the Christian faith ;
and then in his blind rage the King slays them both, and
rushes back to his castle. No sooner did he return than he
was seized with sore pains, the mark of God's vengeance.
Stung with remorse, he repented of his apostasy ; repaired
to St. Chad; professed his contrition; promised to destroy
all idols and temples in his realm and to build monasteries ;
and founded the Abbey of Peterborough and a priory at
Stone

" To the honour of God, and these martyrs twayne."

And now St. Werburgh begs her father to be allowed to
become " a religious," and to enter the Abbey of Ely, where
her great-aunt, St. Etheldreda (or Awdry) was the Abbess.
Wulfhere is reluctant and slow to consent, but at length he
yields ; and, when the matter was once settled, does his
part nobly.

After her year of probation, St. Werburgh made her
holy profession with great solemnity, and her biographer
holds her up to the women of his day as an example of
virtue and humility.

On the death of Wulfhere, his widow, Ermenhild, her-
self repaired to the convent of Ely, where her mother,
St. Sexburga, had succeeded her sister, St. Etheldreda, as
Abbess, and vied with her daughter in piety and devotion.
Wulfhere was succeeded as king by his brother, Ethelred,
to whom, according to Giraldus Cambrensis, is due the

Two CHESHIRE SAINTS 267

building in 689 of the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in
Chester. Ethelred fully appreciated his niece's character,
and, seeing her holy conversation, made her Lady and
President at Weedon, Trentham, and Hanbury, thus making
her ruler of the nuns within his realm. He himself also
took the vows and became a monk, resigning the crown
to his nephew, Cenred, St. Werburgh's brother, who, after
a short reign of five years, followed his uncle's example;
went to Rome the year of grace 708, and was " professed
to Saint Benette's religion," and " frome this lyfe transitory,
with vertu departed to eternal glory."

Bradshaw goes on to describe " the gostly devocion of
Saynt Werburge, and vertuous governans of her places,"
and, if the chronicler is to be trusted, she showed a mar-
vellous capacity for ruling her abbeys. Her behaviour and
character is thus described :

" She was a minister rather than a mistress,
Her great pre-eminence caused no presumpcion,
Serving her systers with humble subjection.

Piteous and merciful and full of charity
To the poor people in their necessity.

She never commanded systers to do anything
But it was fulfilled in her own doing."

Even from these short extracts we can readily gather
what a gentle, lovable personage she must have been, and
how in all her relations of life she manifested a truly humble
and Christian spirit. Her life was mainly spent between
Weedon, Trentham, Repton, and Hanbury, and we can
imagine what a gracious influence she exercised upon the
religious houses there and their occupants, and so upon the
surrounding neighbourhoods. It was at Trentham that she
died, enjoining, however, that her body should rest at Han-
bury. When she felt her end approaching she gave direc-
tions as to her successors and officers in the monasteries, and
as to how their affairs should be conducted in the future ;
then, calling the sisters round her, she gave them her last

268 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

exhortation, to live in temperance, obedience, and love,
recited the Creed, received the Blessed Sacrament, and

" The third day of February ye may be sure,
Expired from this life, caduce and transitory,
To eternal blyss, coronate with victory,
Changing her lyfe, miserable and thrall,
For infinite joy, and glory eternal."

This was probably in the year 699. The people of
Trentham buried her in that place, watching over the body
lest it should be removed. However, the people of Hanbury
came, and, a deep sleep having fallen upon the watchers,
were enabled to carry the body safely to Hanbury, where it
was interred in the chancel. Nine years afterwards, in the
summer of 708, it was moved from the grave to a duly pre-
pared shrine with great pomp, in the presence of her cousin
King Ceolred and the bishops and the clergy. Here, says
the chronicler, the body remained whole and substantial
"for nearly 200 years, till the coming of the pagan Danes,"
when " it was resolved and fell to powder lest the wicked
miscreants with impious hands should dare to touch it."

It was in 875, to save the remains from such violation,
that the people of Hanbury were inspired to bring them
to Chester, as the Danes, having destroyed Weedon and
Trentham, had come as far as Repton. It was then that

" The relique, the Shryne full memorative,
Was brought to Chestre for our consolacion,
Reverently receyved, set with devocion
In the mouther Church of Saint Peter and Paule
(As afore is sayd) a place most principall."

A full description is given of the solemn reception of the
shrine and its treasured contents, and also of the gifts
wherewith rich and poor vied with each other to enrich it. 1
The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul was probably some-
where on the site of the present cathedral. Ethelfreda,

1 According to the Ely Book (Liber Eliensis) the relics were brought to
the Abbey of Ely (Wall's ' Shrines of British Saints). Certain portions of
them may have been carried to either place, or there may be some confusion
as to the name.

Two CHESHIRE SAINTS 269

daughter of King Alfred, built a separate minster to St.
Werburgh, joining it to the east end of the older church.
This building (rebuilt, we are told, by Leofric, Earl of Chester)
gave place to the Norman structure of Hugh Lupus, in the
erection of which he was assisted by the advice of St. Anselm.
But through all these changes and vicissitudes the name of
St. Werburgh was associated with the dedication of the
church, and her shrine found its home there.

The shrine was no doubt visited by pilgrims from all
parts, and as time went on was adorned and beautified. The
shrine proper was a box or receptacle in which the relics
of the saint were deposited, and was often made of the most
splendid and costly materials, and enriched with jewels in
profusion.

Bradshaw speaks of this portable shrine as "a riall
relique " (royal relic), and also tells of the " many riall gyftes
of jewels to the shrine." It was carried about in processions
and in times of danger and emergency, and was lt set on the
towne walles for help and tuicion " ; to save Chester from
the attacks of the Welsh ; and again,

" The devout Chanons sette the holy Shryne
Agaynst their enemies at the sayd Northgate,"

" when innumerable barbarik nations purposed to disstroye
and spoyle the city." Similarly we are told "howe in 1180
a great fire, like to destroye all Chestre, by myracle ceased
when the holy shryne was borne about the towne by the
monkes." As various miracles were ascribed to her agency
in her lifetime, so now her relics were regarded as powerful
instruments in warding off evil whether from individuals or
the community at large. The shrine would be visited by
suppliants from every quarter, who would invoke the aid of
the Saint to remedy their various ills. For the portable
shrine a suitable resting-place would be erected, one pro-
bably giving place to another as successive generations
altered the style and character of the building. Round
this stately and elaborate structure would be places where

270

MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

the suppliants could kneel, and also receptacles for the
offerings which their piety and gratitude inspired. Of the
earlier structures no trace remains, but the fifteenth century
one has in recent years been placed at the west end of the
Lady Chapel of the Cathedral, as being probably near the
spot where it originally stood. At the foundation of the
See, and up till 1870, the lower portion formed the base of
the Bishop's Throne, the crown being lowered so as to
form the balustrade in front of the Bishop's seat. In this
adaptation certain stones were removed, and were built up
in the wall which enclosed the staircase which led from the
Bishop's study directly into the Cathedral. In removing
this staircase in 1885 these stones were discovered, and
have again been placed on the shrine, which is thus restored
to its original proportions. The shrine was adorned with
canopied niches, in which were sculptured figures bearing
their names on scrolls, representing the Kings and Saints
of the Mercian kingdom.

It will be gathered from what has been said that though
Saint Werburgh probably spent no portion of her life in
Cheshire, yet she was for more than seven hundred years
associated in men's minds with the county, inasmuch as her
shrine had its home in Chester. In those days she would be
looked upon as a Cheshire Saint, and from far and near
religious pilgrims would come to say their devotions and to
tender their offerings at her shrine in the Church which was
dedicated to God's service in her name. We are therefore
justified in speaking of her under this heading. And she
has left her name in the county in other ways. Nine
churches in England (six of them in the old kingdom of
Mercia) are dedicated in her name. One of these is in
Cheshire at Warburton, Werburgh town. That place gave
its name to an honoured Cheshire family, which has given
its scions to the service of their country in many directions,
and which still holds a position of high renown and esteem
in the county. We may thus legitimately term St. Werburgh
a Cheshire Saint. We cannot do better than follow her

Two CHESHIRE SAINTS 271

favourite precept and common saying : " Please God and
love Him, and doubt not anything."

The other subject of our paper is St. Plegmund, to many
perhaps an unknown name, though he rose to a high
position, and must have exercised a wide and beneficent
influence on Church and State both in his own day and for
succeeding generations. He, like St. Werburgh, was a
native of Mercia, though we cannot give his birthplace or
his parentage. But we can connect him very closely with
the county and with the neighbourhood of Chester, where
his name is still preserved in the name of a parish, that of
Plemstall. This has been variously written at different
times, as Plegmundstall, Plegmondesham, &c. It was here,
in fact, that he established himself as a hermit in an Isle
of Chester ; for though Plemstall is no longer an island, it
has been clearly shown that in earlier times the locality
would justify such description.

Plegmund was born in troublous times about the middle
of the ninth century. The Danes had overrun the land,
destroyed the monasteries, the only places of learning, and
driven the monks from their books. Some there were, how-
ever, who determined, in spite of all difficulties, to pursue
their studies and to pray in solitude for better times, and
of these Plegmund was one. He had very probably been a
monk, though this cannot be said with certainty. At any
rate he adopted the hermit's life, and set up his stall or
habitation at Plemstall, then doubtless an island amid
fens and marshes, and by its situation affording a place of
safety in times of disorder and unrest. His lonely dwelling,
of which no trace remains, may have been on the site of the
present church or a short distance away, and nearer to the
well which still bears his name. Here he lived the hermit's
life ; but we must remember, as Dean Hook tells us, that a
hermit was not an anchorite. The latter never quitted his
cell, but was an absolute recluse. The hermit was a
more independent character ; he moved about as occasion
demanded. If he had a settled abode he would go to places

272 MEMORIALS OP^ OLD CHESHIRE

of resort near at hand, and by his preaching seek to benefit
the wayfarers who might be passing by.

We can imagine therefore St. Plegmund paying his
frequent visits to the neighbouring city, only three or four
miles distant, taking up his position at one or other of its
gates (for it was surrounded by its Roman walls, and though
then " waste" must have had some inhabitants), and in-
structing out of his laboriously-acquired learning those who
were willing to pause and listen to his discourse. The
anxious inquirer might return with him to his island home
and, after further preparation as a catechumen, receive the
grace of Holy Baptism at the well above referred to. His
supply of books or manuscripts would be but small. The
Bible of course was his constant companion, and it has been
suggested with confidence that Boethius' De Consolatione
Philosophize would certainly be one of his treasures. This
treatise was afterwards translated by King Alfred, a task in
which Plegmund may have helped him. There is in the
library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, a copy (the
oldest in existence) of the Saxon Chronicle, said to have
been translated by Plegmund, for which assertion there is
internal evidence of an indirect nature. This, however, was
probably done after he left this neighbourhood ; but the fact
may be taken as showing what his powers were, and what
a diligent student he must have been, especially when we
consider the scanty materials which would be at his service.
He must have acquired some reputation for his learning,
and his fame reached the ears of King Alfred, who sent for
him to his Court to act as his adult tutor. There he would
find Grimbald, Werefrid, Asser, and others, and with them
would be associated with the monarch in the promotion of
learning and in furthering the best interests of the nation.

We speak of the king as "Alfred the Great," but then
he was known as " England's Darling." Alfred came to
the crown in 872, and died in 900. How soon after his
accession he summoned Plegmund to his side to be his
tutor and instructor we cannot say, but that the relations

Two CHESHIRE SAINTS 273

between them were very close and intimate and mutually
advantageous, we can have no doubt. In the year 8go
the see of Canterbury was vacant, and, having been declined
by Grimbald, was offered by the King to Plegmund, a step
which was received with general approbation, for the entry
in the Saxon Chronicle runs thus : tl This year 890 Pleg-
mund was chosen of God and of all the people Archbishop
of Canterbury." Plegmund was consecrated at Rome by
Pope Formosus, but as some doubt and discredit was thrown
upon the actions of this pontiff, he paid a second visit to
Rome, and was re-consecrated by Pope Stephen, thus sub-
mitting to a rite of more than questionable propriety. He
cordially seconded the King in his endeavours to establish
a learned priesthood. Some justification has been alleged
for the fact that several sees and posts were for a time kept
vacant, in the consideration that men of sufficient learning
and education were not to be found for them. At anyrate
Plegmund, scholar and theologian as he was, did all that lay
in his power to remove the reproach which was fastening
upon the Church that it had an ignorant and illiterate
clergy.

In conjunction with the King, he published The Pas-
toral Care of Gregory the Great, a copy of which was sent
to every English bishop, with a noteworthy preface from
the King himself, in which the sovereign acknowledged
what he had " learned of Plegmund my Archbishop, and of
Asser my bishop, and of Grimbald my presbyter, and of
John my presbyter." It is interesting to know that the
copy addressed to Plegmund is still preserved, as well as
those addressed to the Bishops of Worcester and Sher-
borne. It is reasonable to conclude from this that Alfred
would find in his Archbishop a zealous assistant in all his
efforts to promote sound and religious learning, and that
the two would heartily co-operate in endeavours to secure
an educated clergy. Whether he ever visited the scene of
his former labours, it is impossible to say ; but the late Mr.
Thomas Hughes, F.S.A., in a fancied description of the

274 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

laying of the foundation of St. John's, Chester, writes
thus : " First there were Ethelred and Ethelfleda, the joint
founders near them might stand their Royal Ward, Athel-
stan, the Etheling, heir to his father's throne. Prominent
among the group would be Plegmund, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, a native of Mercia, and but a few years before
a modest recluse at the hermitage in that island of Chester."
We cannot give a detailed account of Plegmund's episcopate,
which lasted for twenty-four years ; but we are sure that,
as he assisted his royal master when at his Court and
before he became Archbishop in promoting learning amongst
his people, so in the higher position and with the larger
opportunities he must have done the like. Himself a
student, he knew the advantages of learning, and would
be anxious to make them as widespread as possible.

Alfred is looked upon as the founder of the University
of Oxford, or of University College, its first hall, and we
can understand how in that work, in the conception as well
as in the performance of it, the advice and counsel of his
own tutor, Plegmund, would be most valuable. During his
pontificate the West Saxon Episcopate was sub-divided, and
the number of sees thereby increased, a clear indication of
his vigorous and strenuous rule. In 909 on the same day
no fewer than seven bishops were consecrated by Plegmund,
three of them for newly-founded sees, and one of these for
the extreme west in Devonshire. This was for Kirton,
identified as Crediton, and it is interesting to note that the
millenary of the consecration of Eadulf as the first bishop of
Crediton has just been celebrated at that place. On that
occasion the Bishop of Bristol (Dr. G. F. Browne), who is
an eminent historian, gave a most instructive address, re-
ferring specially to the work of Plegmund, and to an earlier
Saint connected with Crediton, S. Boniface. It was pro-
bably owing to that connection that Crediton was chosen as
the seat of the Bishops of Devonshire, a position it retained
for more than a hundred and fifty years. The Archbishop
of Canterbury was also present on the occasion, and

Two CHESHIRE SAINTS 275

expressed the hope that the work they were doing now, the
things they were now starting, and the works they were
taking in hand, might give as good cause to people a
thousand years hence to thank God and take courage, as was
given a thousand years ago to them by Plegmund and the
seven Bishops of whom they had heard that day. Plegmund
died on July 23, 914, and was buried in the Cathedral of
Canterbury. No likeness of him has been left, not even on
the coins which bear his name. His life in Cheshire must
have been singularly quiet, and yet we cannot doubt that he
was thereby nerved and braced for the battle of life, and
fitted for the arduous duties of the high position to which he
was afterwards called.

Allusion has been made to St. Plegmund's Well. It is
interesting to know that whilst it bore this title in very early
deeds, it has for generations been designated " the Christen-
ing Well," as the water for the Font for Holy Baptism was
drawn from it. Moreover, in the old churchwardens'
accounts of the parish, mention is made of an annual pay-
ment made to the clerk for cleaning out this well, and keep-
ing it free from weeds. There was some danger of the well
being overlooked, as it is very much overhung by bushes in
the hedge at the back of it. The original stone work at the
side and bottom had decayed. In the autumn of 1908 a
new curb and back were erected at the expense of Mr
Osborne Aldis, and dedicated on November loth, when a
goodly congregation assembled, and after a short service in
the church, when the story of St. Plegmund was unfolded,
proceeded to the well where the dedicatory prayers were
said. On the stone-work the following couplet is carved :

" Hie fons Plegmundi functus baptismatis usu
Regnante Alfredo tune hodieque solet."

This may be freely translated as follows :

" Here as in days when Alfred erst was king
Baptismal water flows from Plegmund's spring."

It is hoped that by this restoration of the well the memory

276 MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

of S. Plegmund may be preserved : and it is not improbable
that the ceremony of dressing the well, not uncommon in
the adjoining county of Derbyshire, may be adopted as a
village festival on July 23rd, the day of St. Plegmund's
death.

Note. The preceding chapter embodies the substance of two
papers by the same writer, read before Meetings of the Chester and
North Wales Archaeological and Historic Society.

INDEX

ABBESS of Ely, St. Etheldreda,

266
Abbey, Birkenhead, 14, 34, 36

Combermere, 14, 34, 35

Mobberley, 14, 34

Norton, 14, 34

Pulton, 14, 35

Runcorn, 14

Stanlaw, 14, 34

St. Werburgh's, 9-13, 33, 34,

38-48

Vale Royal, 14, 34, 35

Abbot's Well, 260

Academy of Armoury, The, 136,

137
Account of the Rolls of the Honour

of Halton, An, 107
Acton Church, 16

Lord, 18
Adlington, 200

Hall, 1 6, 84, 94

Aganippe's Well, 260

Alderley Edge, Celtic legend, 252

farmhouse, 94

Aldford Castle, 51, 52

Alfred the Great, 272
Almshouses in Commonhall Lane,

Chester, 86, 87
Alvanley, fire-worship at, 261
Ancient poaching, 108

timber houses at Adlington,
200; Baguley, 200; Bramhall,
200 ; Little Moreton, 200

Anselm, St., 8, 269
Anti- Christ, a Mystery Play, 163
Archbishop of Canterbury, St. Pleg-
mund, 273

of York, Thomas Savage, 14

Architecture of Cheshire, half

timbered, 80-99
Arley Hall, 198
Arneway, author of Mystery Plays,

148
" Articles of Surrender," Chester,

186

Ashley Hall, 197

Assumption, The, a Mystery Play,

i 60, 163
Aston, Sir Arthur, 119

Sir Thomas, 119

Audley and the Welsh raids, James,

Lord, 10
James, Lord, 115

Lord, 13

Author of Mystery Plays Arne-
way, 148 ; Ralf Higden, 147

BKBINGTON Cross, 211

Baddiley Church, 67

Baguley, or Baggily Hall, 85-89,

200

Bakers' Charter, Chester, 147
Ballads, 259
" Banes" or " Banns" of Mystery

Plays, 153, 154-160
Bangor Monachorum, 220

Monastery of, 4

Baptistery, Italian font in St. Wer-
burgh's, 45

Barlow, T. Worthington, 131
Barnston, Roger, 226

William, 225

Barons of Cheshire, 8, 22

wars, n

Barren, Dr. John, 122
Barthomley Church, 16

alabaster effigy in, 116

Battle of Chester, 12, 220

of Rowton Heath, 74, 184,

190, 191

at Nantwich, 9

" Bear and Billet, The," Chester,

Bell, Congleton, 254

custom, Nantwich, 254

Fordsham Church, 254

"Pancake, "254
Bells, some Cheshire, 254
Bell in, George, parish clerk, 150

277

278

INDEX

Beeston Castle, 16, 51, 55, 182, 1 86,

194

- Sir George, 117
Bidston Court, 99
" Billy Hobby's Well," 260

Bird sayings, 255
Birkenhead Abbey, 14, 34-

- Henry, 124

- Sir John, 123
Birket House, 16

Bishop Edward Stanley, 122

- Heber, 121

- of Bangor and Chester, Dr.
Hugh Bellot, 121

- of Chester, John Bridgeman,
101

- Lloyd's Palace, 75, 97

- Rider, 121

- Wilson, 121
Bishops, Cheshire, 121-122
Bishopric of Chester, 14
Blackfriars, Chester, 48

" Blessing of the Brine," 261
Blore Heath, 13
Blundeville, Earl Randle, 23
Bohun, Earl Ranulph, 1 1
Bonewaldesthorne's Tower, 73
Booth, Colonel, 186

- family of Dunham Massey,
116

- Henry, Earl of Warrington
and Baron Delamere, 120

- of Twamlowe, John, 129

- Sir George, 119

- Sir John, 197

- Sir Robert, 116

- Sir Thomas, 119
Boundary Crosses, 208
Bow Stones Cross, 212
Bradshaw, Henry, regicide, 129
-- Monk of St. Werburgh's,

264

Bramall Hall, 84, 89, 90
Bramhall, 200
Bravery of Cheshire men, 13
Brereton, 200

- legend, 253

- Lord, 1 1 8, 128

- Sir William, 117, 181, 183,

1 86

Brerewood, Edward, 127
Bridge, Farndon, 221

- Gate, Chester, 72
Bridgewater, Duke of, 204
Bromborough Cross, 210, 212
Bromhal family, 91

Brooke family, 198

of Mere, family of, 63

Broome, Dr., the poet, 124, 204
Broughton Ford, 184, 186
Brownswerd, John, 123
Broxton Old Hall, 95, 96
Bruera Church, 68
Building, Elizabethan, 88
Bunbury, 16

alabaster tomb, 116

Burghall, Rev. Edward, 131
Burney on miracle plays, Miss

Fanny, 144
Byron, Lord, 182, 186
Sir Nicholas, 181

CAER-LEON, 4

Calveley, Sir Hugh, 116

Camden's description of Cheshire,
32

Canterbury, St. Plegmund, Arch-
bishop of, 273

Garden Hall, 16, 95

Castle Aldford, 51-52

Beeston, 16, 51, 55, 182, 186,

194

Chester, 57, 60

Doddington, 16

Dodleston, 51-52

Dunham Massey, 51, 53

Frodsham, 51, 53

Halton, 9, 51, 54, 106
Hawarden, 182

Holt, 222

Maiden, 51, 52

Malpas, 9, 51, 52

Nantwich, 51, 52

Newhall, 51, 52

North wich, 51, 53

Oldcastle, 51, 52
Peckforton, 196

- Pulford, 51, 52

Rhuddlan, 24

Rocksavage, 51, 54

Runcorn 51, 53

Shocklach, 9, 51, 52

Thelwall, 5 1

Catesthorn legend, 253
Cathedral, chapter-house of, 43

Misereres in, 41

Celtic legend, 252

place-names, 7

Cenred, St. Werburgh's brother,

267
Chadkirk Chapel, 67

INDEX

279

Chains, hanging in, 1 10
Chaloner of Chester, Thomas, 133
Chamberlain of Chester, 30
Chancellors, Cheshire judges and,

124-127

Chapel, High Leigh, 67
Chapter-house of Cathedral, 43
Charles I. at Chester, 181
Charm for warts, rushes a, 239
Cheshire a land of saints, 4

Prince Maurice and Prince
Rupert in, 184

"Rounds," 257

Saints, two, 264-276

Sanctuaries, 220

Saxons in, 5

Chesshyre, Sir John, 203
Chester, almshouses in Commonhall

Lane, 86, 87
" Articles of Surrender," 186

- Battle of, 12, 220

Bishopric of, 14

Castle, 57^60

Chamberlain of, 30

Chief-Justiceship of, 29

City plate melted down, 182

Duke of Monmouth at, 1 7

- Earldom of, 8

Ethelfrid attacks, 5

Ethelred, founder of monas-
tery at, 266

Gateways of, 71

Bridge Gate, 72

- East Gate, 72

- Kale Yard Gate, 72

- New Gate, 72

- North Gate, 72, 73

Ship Gate, 72

- Water Gate, 72

Handel at, 259

- High Cross, 188, 208, 209

James II. at, 17

John Bridgeman, Bishop of,

101

King Edgar at, 7

King Egbert at, 5

King John at, 9

martyr, George Marsh, 15

Musical Festivals, 260

- Phoenix Tower, 74, 1 84
Prince Maurice at, 183

Races, 74

Records of, 3 1

Roman, 70, 77

Roman legions at, 3

Roman wall of, 4

Chester, Roman work, 71

St. Bridget's Church, 69

St. Martin's 68

St. Michael's ,, 69

St. Olave's 69

St. Peter's ,, 68

seventeenth century house in

Whitefriars, 99
Siege of, 180-193

Sir Nicholas Byron, Governor
of, 181

the key to Wales, 2 1

Trade Guilds at, 151

Chestnut, a " coppity-co," 256
" Chief of men," 2, 32, 203
Chief-Justiceship of Chester, 29
Cholmondeley, 195

family, 202, 262

Hall, 1 6

Lady Mary, 199

Christleton, 183

Rush-bearing, 239

Church, alabaster effigy in Bar-
thomley, 116

bell, Frodsham, 254

Bunbury, 116, 117

Farndon, 223

of St. John, Chester, 14

of St. Oswald, 41
Churches, music in, 259

timber-framed, 61-69

Churchyard crosses, 208, 210,

211

Circuits, judicial, 27

Civil war in Cheshire, 16

Clarke, Dr. Samuel, 122

Clulow Cross, 212

Combermere Abbey, 14, 34, 35

Field-Marshal, 203

legend, 253

Commonhall Lane, Chester, alms-
houses in, 86, 87

Congleton bell, 254

Constable de Lacy, 24

Copyhold tenure, Manor of Halton,

Cornage, 244-246
Corpus Christi, feast of, 147

procession, 161
Corvysors' Playe, The, 164, 165
Costume of players, 145
" Counting-out" rhymes, 257
County Flint, 25

Hall, Chester, 30

Palatine of Chester, I, 19-

280

INDEX

Court, Bidston, 99

Leet, Halton, 106-113

of Exchequer, Chester, 3 1

Old Consistory, 100

Creation and Fall, a Mystery Play,
HS

Crewe, 195, 200

Hall, 16

Randolph, 124

Thomas, 124

Crewes, 204

Cross at St. John the Baptist,
Chester, 210

at St. Mary's-on-the-Hill,

Chester, 209, 212

Bebington, 211

Bow Stones, 212

Bromborough, 210, 212

Clulow, 212

Disley, 210

Eaton, 213

High, Chester, 208, 209

Lymm, 213

Macclesfield market, 213

Neston, 210

Over Peover, 212

Shocklach, 211

Wallasey, 211

West Kirby, 210

Crosses, boundary, 208

churchyard, 208, 210, 21 1

destroyed, 209

"High, "208

Lud worth, 212

Macclesfield Public Park, 212

Market, 208, 212, 213

preaching, 207, 210

Sandbach, 213-217

weeping, 208

Croughton Hall, 16

Crucifixion, The, a Mystery Play,

1 66

" Crypt, ye Olde," 78
"Curfew," 254
Curse, Old Mob's, 262
Customs, some Cheshire, 230-263

DANCE, morris, 258
Danes, 6

Danish place-names, 6
Danyer, Sir Thomas, 1 14
Davenport family, 91

of Davenport, family of, 246

Sir Humphrey, 126

Sir John, 63

Davenports, 204
Delamere, 69

Baron, 197

Forest, 74, 82, 245

Horn, The, 245

House, 199

Lord, 1 8, 199

of Dunham Massey, Baron,

119
Delves at Poictiers, Sir John, 115

Sir John, 1 3

Dernhall, 14

Description of Cheshire, Camden's,

Diary, Slingsby's, 192
Dieulacres, 14
Disley Cross, 210
Dissolution of monasteries, 14, 33
Doddington, 95, 115, 200

Castle, 16

Dodlest on Castle, 51, 52
Dog-whipper and sluggard-waker,

256
Done of Utkinton, family of, 245

Sir John, 13, 199

Dorfold, 200

Hall, 1 6

" Dot," a children's game, 256
Downes of Sutton Downes and

Taxal, family of, 246
Dragon legend, 252
Drayton's Lamentation, 13
Dukinfield of Dukinfield, Colonel

Robert, 118
Dunham Hall, or Dunham Massey,

196

Massey Castle, 51, 53

Dutton of Dutton, 24, 115
Sir Thomas, 13

" EAGLE and Child" Inn, 94

Earldom of Chester, 8

Earl of Chester, Prince Edward, 25

Earnshaw, Lawrence, 128

East Gate, Chester, 72

Hall, High Leigh, 197

Eaton, 195

Cross, 213

Eccleston Church,'68
Edgar at Chester, King, 7, 74
Edisbury, 7
Edward I., 10

the Elder, died at Farndon,

220
Effigies at Farndon, 224

INDEX

281

Effigy of Sir Robert Foulshurst,

alabaster, 116
Egbert at Chester, King, 5
Egerton family, 202

Lord, 197

Sir John, 1 3

Sir Philip, geologist, 204

Egerton- Warburton, Rowland Eyles,

205, 206

Ellesmere, Lord Chancellor, 125
Elizabethan building, 88
England, Sword-bearer of, 2 1

the Vale Royal of, 130
/Etheldred, Ealdorman, 7
Etheldreda, St., Abbess of Ely, 266
Ethelfleda, 7, 71

rebuilt Chester Castle, 59
Ethelfrid attacks Chester, 5
Ethelred, founder of monastery at

Chester,
Exchequer, Court of, Chester, 31

"FALCON," the, Chester, 97
Falconer, Dr. William, 129
Families, Cheshire, 194-206
Family, Bromhal,9i
Brooke, 198

Cholmondeley, 202, 262

Davenport, 91

Egerton, 202

Grosvenor, 202

Hyde, 205
Legh, 197

Mainwaring, 199, 2O2

Marbury, 198

Massey, 196

of Brooke of Mere, 63

of Davenport of Davenport,
246

of Done of Utkinton, 245

of Downes of Sutton Downes
and Taxal, 246

of Dunham Massey, Booth, 116

of Holmes, 133

of Shakerleys of Hulme, 63
- Warburton, 198

Wilbraham, 199

Farndon Bridge, 221

Church, 223

Edward the Elder died at, 220

effigies at, 224

parish books, 224

Rush-bearing Sunday at, 225,

238
stained glass at, 223

Farnworth Leet, Widnes or, 112
Feast of Corpus Christi, 147
Festivals, Chester Musical, 260
Fire-worship at Alvanley, 261
Fitton, Sir Edward, 126
Flint, county, 25
Folk-lore, Cheshire, 230-263
Font at Warburton, 66

Marton, 65

of Italian origin in baptistery,

Chester, 45

Football at Chester, 74
Forest, Delamere, 74, 82, 245
of Macclesfield, 82, 246

of Wirral, 82, 246
Forests of Cheshire, 69, 82
Foulshurst of Crewe, Sir Robert, 13,

115, n6

Freeman quoted, Professor, 21, 27
"Free-Masons," 139
Frodsham, 51, 53

Church bell, 254

" Synagogue Well," 260

GAMES, children's, 256-257

unlawful, 107
Gamul of Buerton, Sir Francis, 119,

184, 190

Gateways of Chester, 71
Gawsworth Hall, 94
Gayton, wishing well at, 260
Gerard, Lord, 191
Gerarde, John, 127
" Glorious Sixth of May," song, 260
" God's Providence House," 75, 97
"Golden Phoenix," 135
Goosetrey Church, 68
Governor of Chester, 1 8 1
Grammar Schools, Cheshire, 123
Great Broughton burnt down, 183

Budworth, 61

Meols, 3

Greyfriars, Chester, 48
Grosvenor family, 202
Roger, ancestor of the Dukes

of Westminster, 119

HALF -TIMBERED architecture of

Cheshire, 80-99
Hall, Adlington, 16, 84, 94

Arley, 198
- Ashley, 197

Baguley or Baggily, 85-89, 200
Bramall, 84, 89, 90

282

INDEX

Hall, Broxton Old, 95, 96
Garden, 16,95

Cholmondeley, 16

County, 30
Crewe, 16

Croughton, 16

Dorfold, 1 6

Dunham, or Dunham Massey,

196

East, High Leigh, 197

Gawsworth, 94

Handforth, 94

Hooton, 95
Huxley, 16

Little Moreton, 84, 91, 92,93

Marbury, 198
Mere, 198

Peover, 199

Rostherne, 197

Tabley, 198

Tatton, 197

Toft, 199

Utkinton, 199

West, High Leigh, 197

Halton, An Account of the Rolls of

the Honour of, 107
Halton Castle, 9, 51, 54, 106
Handbridge, 182
Handel at Chester, 259
Handforth Hall, 94
Hanging at Halton, 109

in chains, 1 10

Harden, moated house at, 200
Harvest Home, 243
Hawarden Castle, 182
Hawkeston of Wrine Hall, 115
Hawkstone, Sir John, 13
Heralds' College, 137
Hiding holes, Moreton Hall, 92
Higden, Ralf, author of Mystery

Plays, 46, 147
High Cross, Chester, 188, 208,

209

" High Crosses," 208
High Leigh, 197

Chapel, 67

Hill, Peckforton, 194, 195
Historians, Cheshire, 129, 132
Histories of Lot and Abraham, a

Mystery Play, 163
Holme, family of, 133

of Chester, William, 133

Randle (I.), 134, 187

(II.), 134, 135

(III.),i36,i39

(IV.), 140, HI

Holt Castle, 222

Roman remains at, 218

Hooton Hall, 95

Horn, The Delamere, 245

The Wirral, 244

Horse hodening at Northwich, 235

at Tarporley, 235

Hospital of St. John, Chester, 36,

House, Birket, 16

Delamere, 199

" House, God's Providence," 75,

Hoylake, 18
Hulse, Dr. John, 122
Hunting parson, a, 108
Huxley Hall, 16, 200
Hyde family, 205

INGE Grange, 46
Incursions of the Welsh, 9
Italian font in baptistery, 45

[ACOBITES of Cheshire, 197

Jacob's Well, 260

Barnes II. at Chester, 17

[ohn at Chester, King, 9

fudges and Chancellors, Cheshire,

124-127

Judicial circuits, 27
seals, 28

KALE Yard Gate, Chester, 72

Kenyon, Lord, 126

King, Daniel, 1 30

King Robert of Sicily ; a Mystery

Play, 163

Kingdom, Mercian, 5
Knowles, Sir Robert, 116
"Knowles's Mitres," 116
Knutsford, 196

May Queen, 242

morris dance at, 258

LACY, Constable de, 24
" Lamb, The," 138, 139
Langdale, Sir Marmaduke, 184
Leet, Halton Court, 106-113

Widnes or Farnworth, 112

Legend, Brereton, 253

Capesthorn, 253

Celtic, 252

INDEX

283

Legend, Combermere, 253

dragon, 252

Rostherne Mere, 253

Legh family, 12, 197, 204

of Booths, Sir John, 13

of Macclesfield, Sir Piers, 13,

Sir Uryan, 117

Leighs of Lyme, 1 3

Legions at Chester, Roman, 3

Leycester, Ralph, 199

Sir Peter, 130, 198
Lifting, 242-243
Little Moreton Hall, 84, 91, 92,

93, 200

Llewellyn, Prince, 10
Lord of the Manor of Halton, the

King, 1 06

Ludworth crosses, 212
Lupus, Hugh, 8, 21, 106, 202,

269

Lyme, 200
Lymm Cross, 213

MACCLESFIELD Forest, 82, 246

Market Cross, 213

Public Park crosses, 212

1 Magpie " architecture, 80
Maiden Castle, 51, 52
Main waring family, 199, 202
Malpas, 1 6

Castle, 9, 51, 52

Manners of Cheshire people, 20
Marbury family, 198

Hall, 198

Market crosses, 208, 212, 213
Marling, 237-238
Marton church, 63

font, 65

Martyr, George Marsh, Chester,

15
Massey, Colonel Edward, 118

family, 196

Massey s, 204

of Coddington, 118, 197

Maying, 241-242

Maynwaring of Over Peover, Sir

Thomas, 130

May Queen, Knutsford, 242
Mercian Kingdom, 5
Mere Hall, 198
Middlewich, 182
Milton, 124

Miracle Plays, Chester, 74, 77
Misereres in Cathedral, 41

Moated houses at Harden, 200

at Huxley, 200

at Moreton, 200

Mobberley Abbey, 14, 34
Molineux, Sir Richard, 13
Molyneux, Lord, 18

Samuel, 127

Monasteries, dissolution of, 14, 33
Monastery at Chester, Ethelred

founder of, 266

of Bangor, 4

Monk of St. Werburgh's, Henry

Bradshaw, 264

Monmouth at Chester, Duke of, 17
Moreton, moated house at, 200
Morgan's Mount, Chester, 73
Morris dance, Knutsford, 258
Mostyn of Mostyn, Sir Roger, 120
Mottram-in-Longdendale, 128
Mumming play, 240
Music, 257-258
Music in churches, 259
Musical Festivals, Chester, 260
Mynshal, Elizabeth, 124
Mystery Plays, Chester, 142-179

NANTWICH, 16, 183, 261

battle at, 9

bell custom, 254

Castle, 51, 52

Neild, James, philanthropist, 204
Neston Cross, 210
Nether-Legh, 16
Nether or Lower Peover Church,

New Gate, Chester, 72
Newhall Castle, 51, 52^
Nixon, Robert, Cheshire prophet,

261
Noatis Ark t a Mystery Play, 144,

164, 1 66

" Nogging-work," 99
"No Popery" riot, 17
Norman Earls of Chester, 22
North Gate, Chester, 72, 73
Northwich, 51, 53

horse hodening at, 235

Winnington Bridge, near, 17

Norton Abbey, 14, 34

Nunnery, Chester, St. Mary's, 34>

OLDCASTLE Castle, 51, 52
Old Consistory Court, 100

284

INDEX

" Old King's Head," 134
OldMaVs Curse, 262
Origin of Mystery Plays, 146
Oulton, 200
Over Peover Cross, 212

PACE-EGGING, 239-240

" Pageant carriages," 151

"Palace, Bishop Lloyd's," 75, 97

Palace, Stanley, 97

"Pancake" bell, 254

Parish books at Farndon, 224

Parson, a hunting, 108

Passion, The, a Mystery Play,

165
Peckforton Castle, 196

Hill, 194, 195

Petnberton's Parlour, Chester, 73,

181

Pentice, the, 208
People, manners of Cheshire, 20
Peover Hall, 199
Phosnix Tower, Chester, 74, 184
Place in history of County Palatine

of Chester, 19-32
Place-names, Celtic, 7
Place-names, Danish, 6
Plate melted down, Chester City,

182

"Players' victory," the, 24
Plays, Miracle, 74, 77
Plemstall (Plegmundstall), 271
Poaching, ancient, 108
Poets, Cheshire, 123, 124
Polychromicon, 46, 147
"Post and panel" work, 80, 84
Powdered alabaster as a cure for

sheep, 262

Preaching crosses, 207, 210
Prestbury, 65

priest's house at, 94

Prince Maurice at Chester, 183
and Prince Rupert in

Cheshire, 184
Princeps Cestria, I, 12
Principality, Cheshire a, I
Priory, Birkenhead, 14, 34, 36

Norton, 14, 34

Runcorn, 14

Procession, Corpus Christi, 161
Prophecies, a Mystery Play, 163
Prothonotary, the, 30
Proverbs, some Cheshire, 246-252
Pulford Castle, 51-52
Pulton Abbey, 14, 35

RACES, Chester, 74

Ranulph III., Earl of Chester,

Records of Chester, 31
Resurrection, a Mystery Play, 150,

167
Reverence shown in old plays,

Rhuddlan, Castle of, 24

" Rhudland, Statute of," 26

Rhymes, "counting-out," 257

Richard II., Cheshire men body-
guard of, 1 2

Ridley, 117

Riot, "No Popery," 17

Rocksavage, 51, 54

Rode, Wilbrahams of, 203

Roman Chester, 70-77

legions at Chester, 3

remains, 3

at Holt, 218

wall of Chester, 4

work, Chester, 71

Roodeye, Chester, 74

Rostherne Hall, 197

Mere legend, 253

" Rounds, Cheshire," 257

Rows of Chester, 75-79

Rowton Heath, 16

battle of, 74, U9, 184.

190, 191

Runcorn, 7

Abbey, 14

Castle, 51, 53

Rush-bearing, 238-239

at Christleton, 239

Sunday at Farndon, 225,

238

Rushes a charm for warts, 239

Sacrifice of Isaac, a Mystery Play,

148

Saighton Grange, 46
St. Bridget's Church, Chester, 69
St. Ethelreda, 266
St. Giles' Well, 260
St. John, Chester, Hospital of, 36,

73
the Baptist, Chester, Cross at,

210

St. Martin's Church, Chester, 68
St. Mary's Nunnery, Chester, 34,

36
St. Mary's-on-the-Hill, Chester,

Cross at, 209, 212

INDEX

285

St. Michael's Church, Chester,

St. Olave's Church, Chester, 69
St. Oswald, Church of, 41
St. Plegmund, Archbishop of Can-
terbury, 273

St. Plegmund's Well, 260, 275
St. Peter's Church, Chester, 68
St. Werburgh, remains of, 38

shrine of, 42

St. Werburgh's Abbey, 9-13, 33,

34, 38-48
Henry Bradshaw, monk of,

264

Saints, Cheshire a land of, 4
Saltney Marsh, 9
Salmon story, a, 263
Sanctuary, Cheshire, 220
Sandbach Crosses, 213-217
Savage, Archbishop of York,

Thomas, 14

Sir Edmund, 13

Saxons in Cheshire, 5
Schomberg, Duke, 18
Scientists, Cheshire, 127-129
Seals, judicial, 28
" Sewer," an office, 136
Shaker! ey, Colonel, 190

Sir Geoffrey, 1 20

Shakerleys of Hulme, family of, 63
Shepherd's Play, The, a Mystery

Play, 149

Ship Gate, Chester, 72
Shire Hall at Chester Castle, 60
Shocklach Castle, 9, 51, 52

Cross, 211

Siddington Church, 65
Slingsby's Diary, 192
Sluggard-waker and dog-whipper,

256

Soldiers of Cheshire, 114-120
Souling, 230-237
Speed, John, i, 138, 226
Stained glass at Farndon, 223
Stanley, Dean, 204
Palace, 97

Sir William, 117
Stanlaw Abbey, 14, 34
" Statute of Rhudland," 26
Stockport, 1 6

Stocks, punishment of the, 112
Sutton Grange, 46

Sir Richard, 1 3 1

Sword-bearer of England, 21

" Synagogue Well," Frodsham,

260

TABLEY Hall, 198

Lord de, poet, 204

Taft Hall, 199

Tarporley, horse hodening at, 235

Tarvin, 16

Tatton Hall, 197

Taxal, 69

Thelwall Castle, 51

Thingwall, 7

Three Kings, The, a pageant, 149,

170-178

Timber-framed churches, 61-69
Tower, Bonewaldesthorne's, 73

Phoenix, Chester, 74, 184

Trade Gilds at Chester, 151
" Trades and Mysteries," 24
Tranmere, 133
Troutbeck, Sir William, 13

UNLAWFUL games, 107
Utkinton Hall, 199

VALE Royal, 199

- Abbey, 14, 34, 35

of England, The, 130

Venables, Sir Hugh, 13
Victory, " The Players'," 24

WALES, Chester the key to, 21
Wallasey Cross, 211

Leaseowes, 18

Wall of Chester, Roman, 4
Walls and Rows, Chester, 70-77
Warburton Church, 66, 270

family, 198

font, 66

War in Cheshire, Civil, 16

Warts, rushes a charm for, 239

Water Gate, Chester, 72

" Wattle and daub," 83

Weeping Crosses, 208

" Well, Billy Hobby's," 260

Well-dressing, 261

" Well, Synagogue," 260

Wells, Wishing, 260

Welsh, incursion of the, 9

raids, James, Lord Audley,

and the, 10
Werden, General, 120
West Hall, High Leigh, 197

Kirby Cross, 2IO

Whiltenshaw, 118
Whipping-post, Widnes, 112

286

INDEX

Whitefriars, Chester, 48

seventeenth century house in

Chester, 99

Whitehurst, John, clockmaker, 128
Whitney, Geoffrey, 123

George, 205

Widnes or Farnworth Leet, 112
Wilbraham family, 199

George, 204

Wilbrahams of Rode, 203
Williams, Chief Justice, 126
Williamson, Dr., 226
Winnington Bridge, near North-
wich, 17

Wirral, 94, 95

forest, 82

Horn y The, 244

Wishing Wells, 260
Woman fighting, a, 108
Woodchurch, 69
Work, " post and panel," 80
Worthies, Cheshire, 114-132
Wulfhere, King of Mercia, 264

" YE Olde Crypt," 78
York, Thomas Savage, Archbishop
of, 14

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This volume is the result of several years' research, and is a continuation of the
Author's previous work entitled " Early History of Venice."

Egypt and the Egyptians : Their History,

Antiquities, Language, Religion, and Influence over Palestine
and Neighbouring Countries*

By the Rev. J. O. BEVAN, M.A. With Preface by Sir GEORGE DARWIN. 336
pages, Crown 8vo, cloth, 55. net.

" We can recommend this compact volume to any who wish to obtain a general know-
ledge of the subject." Westminster Gazette.

THE BRITISH EMPIRE

The aim of this new series of books is to give the public at home and in
the Colonies an absolutely trustworthy, authentic, and up-to-date description
of British interests, resources, and life throughout the Empire, which, with its
great problems of government, self-defence, finance, trade, and the representa-
tion of the coloured races, forms a subject of at least as great and live value as
any of the subjects studied at school and university.

Large Crown 8vo t Cloth, gilt top, with Map, 6s. net per Vol.

Yesterday and ToDay in Canada.

By His GRACE THE DUKE OF ARGYLL.

Modern India.

By J. D. REES, C.V.O., C.I.E., M.P. Sometime Additional Member
of the Governor-General of India's Council.

South Africa.

By the Right Hon. JOHN XAVIER MERRIMAN, Prime Minister of
Cape Colony.

Other Volumes in Preparation

COUNTY CHURCHES

General Editor: REV. J. CHARLES COX, LL.D., F.S.A.

Foolscap 8vo, Cloth, 2s. 6d. per vol. net. ; each Volume Illustrated
with Half 'tone and Line Illustrations

A new series of small handy guides to all the Churches in each of the
Counties of England. All written by expert authors, drawing attention to the
main Architectural features, and to the Fonts, Pulpits, Screens, Stalls, Benches,
Sedilia, Lectern, Chests, Effigies in Brass and Stone, and other Monuments.
The initial date of the Registers will also be given.

The following volumes will be published immediately :

Cambridge. By C. H. EVELYN-WHITE, F.S.A.

Norfolk (Two Vols., 6s. net). By J. CHARLES Cox, LL.D., F.S.A.

Surrey* B X j. E. MORRIS, B.A.

SuSSeX* By P. M. JOHNSTON, F.R.I.B.A., F.S.A.

Isle Of Wight* By J.CHARLES Cox, LL.D., F.S.A.

Other Volumes are being arranged
5

Old English Gold Plate.

By E. ALFRED JONES. With numerous Illustrations of existing specimens froi
the collections belonging to His Majesty the King, the Dukes of Devonshir* ,
Newcastle, Norfolk, Portland, and Rutland, the Marquis of Ormonde, the Earls ( f
Craven, Derby, and Yarborough, Earl Spencer, Lord Fitzhardinge, Lord Walerai
Mr. Leopold de Rothschild, the Colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, &c. Royal
4to, buckram, gilt top. Price 2 is. net.

" Pictures, descriptions, and introduction make a book that must rank high in the estima-
tion of students of its subject, and of the few who are well off enough to be collectors in this
Corinthian field of luxury." Scotsman.

Longton Hall Porcelain*

Being further information relating to this interesting fabrique, by the late WILLIAM
BEMROSE, F.S.A., author of " Bow, Chelsea, and Derby Porcelain." Illustrated with
27 Coloured Art Plates, 21 Collotype Plates, and numerous line and half-tone
Illustrations in the text. Bound in handsome " Longton-blue " cloth cover, suitably
designed. Price 425. net.

"This magnificent work on the famous Longton Hall ware will be indispensable to the
collector. ' ' Bookman.

Old English Silver and Sheffield Plate, The

Values of, from the Fifteenth to the Nineteenth Centuries*

By J. W. CALDICOTT. Edited by J. STARKIE GARDNER, F.S.A. 3000 Selected
Auction Sale Records ; 1600 Separate Valuations ; 660 Articles. Illustrated with
87 Collotype Plates. 300 pages. Royal 4to, buckram. Price 425. net.

" A most comprehensive and abundantly illustrated volume. . . . Enables even the most
inexperienced to form a fair opinion of the value either of a single article or a collection, while
as a reference and reminder it must prove of great value to an advanced student." Daily
Telegraph.

Old English Porcelain and its Manufactures,

History of*

With an Artistic, Industrial, and Critical Appreciation of their Productions. By
M. L. SOLON, the well-known Potter-Artist and Collector. In one handsome
volume. Royal 8vo, well printed in clear type on good paper, and beautifully
illustrated with 20 full-page Coloured Collotype and Photo- Chromotype Plates and
48 Collotype Plates on Tint. Artistically bound. Price 52S. 6d. net.

" Mr. Solon writes not only with the authority of the master of technique, but likewise
with that of the accomplished artist, whose exquisite creations command the admiration of
the connoisseurs of to-day." Athenceum.

Manx Crosses; or The Inscribed and Sculp-
tured Monuments of the Isle of Man, from about the end of
the Fifth to the beginning of the Thirteenth Century*
By P. M. C. KERMODE, F.S.A.Scot., &c. The illustrations are from drawings
specially prepared by the Author, founded upon rubbings, and carefully compared
with photographs and with the stones themselves. In one handsome Quarto Volume
ii& in. by 8 in., printed on Van Gelder hand-made paper, bound in full buckram,
gilt top, with special design on the side. Price 635. net. The edition is limited
to 400 copies.

"We have now a complete account of the subject in this very handsome volume, which
Manx patriotism, assisted by the appreciation of the public in general, will, we hope, make a
success. " Specta tor.

Derbyshire Charters in Public and Private

Libraries and Muniment Rooms*

Compiled, with Preface and Indexes, for Sir Henry Howe Bemrose, Kt., by ISAAC
HERBERT JEAYES, Assistant Keeper in the Department of MSS., British Museum.
Royal 8vo, cloth, gilt top. Price 425. net.

" The book must always prove of high value to investigators in its own recondite field of
research, and would form a suitable addition to any historical library." Scotsman.

Dorset Manor Houses, with their Literary

and Historical Associations*

By SIDNEY HEATH, with a fore-word by R. Bosworth Smith, of Bingham's Mel-
combe. Illustrated with 40 drawings by the Author, in addition to numerous
rubbings of Sepulchral Brasses by W. de C. Prideaux, reproduced by permission of
the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club. Dedicated by kind per-
mission to the most Hon. the Marquis of Salisbury. Royal 4to, cloth, bevelled
edges. Price 305. net.

" Dorset is rich in old-world manor houses ; and in this large, attractive volume twenty are
dealt with in pleasant descriptive and antiquarian chapters." Times.

How to Write the History of a Parish.

By the Rev. J. CHARLES Cox, LL.D., F.S.A. An Outline Guide to Topo-
graphical Records, Manuscripts, and Books. Revised and Enlarged, Fifth Edition.
Crown 8vo, cloth, 35. 6d. net.

Church Plate of the Diocese of Bangor.

By E. ALFRED JONES. With Illustrations of about one hundred pieces of Old
Plate, including a pre- Reformation Silver Chalice, hitherto unknown. Demy 4to,
buckram. Price2is.net.

"This handsome volume is the most interesting book on Church Plate hitherto issued."
Athcn&um.

Church Plate of the Isle of Man.

By E. ALFRED JONES. With many illustrations, including a pre- Reformation
Silver Chalice and Paten, an Elizabethan Beaker, and other important pieces.
Crown 4to, buckram. Price I OS. 6d. net.

"A beautifully illustrated descriptive account of the many specimens of Ecclesiastical
Plate to be found in the Island." Manchester Courier.

Cathedral Church and See of Essex*

By the Rev. J. CHARLES Cox, LL.D., F.S.A. This book contains an outline story
of the founding of Christianity in the Kingdom of the East Saxons in the seventh
century, and the history of the Church in Essex. Crown 8vo, with many illustra-
tions. Paper covers, IS. 6d. net; cloth gilt, 2S. net.

" To Churchmen generally the little book before us should prove especially interesting."-
Church Family Newspaper.

Garden Cities in Theory and Practice*

By A. R. SENNETT, A.M.I.C.E., &c. Large crown 8vo. Two vols., attractive!
bound in cloth, with 400 Plates, Plans, and Illustrations. Price 2 is. net.

"... What Mr. Sennett has to say here deserves, and no doubt will command, the care
ful consideration of those who govern the future fortunes of the Garden City." Bookseller.

Corporation Plate and Insignia of Office of

the Cities and Towns of England and "Wales.

By the late LLBWELLYNN JEWITT, F.S.A. Edited and completed with large
additions by W. H. ST. JOHN HOPE, M.A. Fully illustrated, 2 vols., crown 4to,
buckram, 428. net. Large paper, 2 vols., royal 410, 638. net.

" It is difficult to praise too highly the careful research and accurate information through-
out these two handsome quartos." Athenceum.

Completion of the Great TLdition of 'Ruskin

The whole of Ruskin's works are now for the first time
obtainable in a complete, Uniform, Annotated, Illustrated,
and Indexed Edition. This has just become possible through
the completion of

THE LIFE,

LETTERS, AND WORKS OF
RUSKIN

EDITED BY

E. T. COOK AND ALEXANDER WEDDERBURN

The Final Volume, consisting of a Complete Bibliography
and an Index to the Whole Work, with 100,000 references,
is in preparation. Its inclusion will make this more than ever
the One Reference and Library Edition of Ruskin's Works.
With about 1800 Illustrations from drawings by Ruskin.
For full particulars of the 38 Volumes, for 42 the set, or
in Monthly Instalments, see Prospectus.

George Allen & Sons, Ruskin House
Rathbone Place, London

i at . \

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CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY

DA Barber, Edward (ed.)

670 Memoirals of old Cheshire

C6337