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I NATURALLY begin this little hiſtory with the account of Tre Eden Owain, the place where I firſt made my entrance into this buſy world. The principal houſe in this townſhip, Downing, was built in the year 1627.DOWNING. It certainly had no pretenſions to the Engliſh name of Downing, which doubtleſsly was a corruption from Eden Owain, the Tre or townſhip in which it ſtands. The founder was John Pennant, ſon of Nicholas Pennant, a younger ſon of Hugh Pennant, of Bychton. He married the heireſs of the place, and built a houſe, which was much too large for the eſtate. The ſtones were brought from Nant-y-bi, a dingle oppoſite to the houſe. There is a tradition, that the ſtones were rolled along a platform from the top of the quarry, raiſed on an [2] inclined plane till they reached the building, and there were ele⯑vated as the work increaſed in height, till the whole was finiſhed. The houſe is in form of a Roman H, a mode of architecture very common in Wales at that period. On the front is the pious motto frequent on the Welſh houſes, Heb Dduw heb ddim, a duw a dig [...]n, which ſignifies, ‘Without God there is nothing, with God enough.’ There were only four generations of this branch; Thomas, the laſt, died in 1724, and was buried in Whiteford church, on June 6th of the ſame year. He bequeathed his eſtate to my father, who made the houſe his reſidence; his own father being living, and the houſe much better than our paternal.
M. EARTH P [...].TO pre [...] all diſputes about the place and time of [...] [...]th, be it known that I was born on June 14th, 1726, old ſtyle, in the room now called the Yellow Room; that the celebrated Mrs. C [...]ay [...]n, of S [...]rowſbury, uſhered me into the world, and delivered me to Miſs J [...]y Perry, of Merton, in this pariſh; who to her dying day never failed telling me, ‘Ah, you rogue! I remember you when you had not a ſhirt to your back.’
ANTIENT MODE OF NURSING.I WAS, according to antient cuſtom, put out to nurſe at a neigh⯑boring farm-houſe, called Pentre, covered with thatch, and which at preſent would be deemed a cottage. My nurſe's maiden name was Pennant; and from the time of this great event ſhe re⯑ſumed it, notwithſtanding ſhe had long uſed that of her huſband, John Pierce, a freeholder of above a hundred a year. He and ſhe were fond of this charge, which was ever eſteemed a peculiar favor and honor. The affection and connection is ſtill retained in many parts of Ireland; but what is unfortunate in more civilized Wales, both ſeem at preſent almoſt extinguiſhed.
[3]OF the affection between the foſter-father, foſter-mother,AFFECTION OF [...]OSTER FATHERS, &c. and foſter-brother, the inſtances were frequent. The fidelity of Robin ap Inko, foſter-brother to Jevan ap Vychan, of the houſe of Gwedir, in the reign of Edward IV. was a moſt noted one. In a fatal feud between Jevan and his brother-in-law Rys ap Howel, the latter, expecting a fray, provided a butcher to murder Jevan in the confuſion of the battle, and to him he gave orders in theſe terms. The butcher not being acquainted with Jevan, Ap Rys ſaid, ‘Thou ſhalt ſoone diſcerne him from the reſt by his ſtature, and he will make way before him. There is a foſter-brother of his, one Robin ap Inko, a little fellow, that uſeth to match him behind: take heed of him, for be the encountre never ſoe hot, his eye is ever on his foſter-brother;’ —and ſo it happened. Robin ſuſpected the treachery, and ſeeing the butcher watching his opportunity, came behind him and knocked him on the head in the moment in which he had come behind Jevan, and had aimed one at that of his beloved foſter-brother. The patrimony of his faithful follower was in the pariſh of Llanderfel; and to this day retains the name of Tyddin Inko.
IN thoſe days there was great competition for the honor of foſtering the children of great men.HORRID MURDEN. The parſon of Llanvrothen near Traeth-mawr, had taken a child of Jevan ap Robert to nurſe. This ſo grieved the wife of Rys (her huſband having more land in the pariſh than Jevan had) that ſhe determined to have the poor parſon put to death. A woman was ſent to his houſe, who was kindly taken in. At midnight ſhe ſet up hideous cries, pre⯑tending that the parſon had attempted to raviſh her. This only was a pretence for revenge: the woman had, as the hiſtorian ſays, [4] to her brethren three notable rogues ‘of the damned crew fit for any miſchief, being followers of Howel ap Rys.’ Theſe watched the parſon, and as he went one morning to look to his cattle, cruelly murdered him; the ſequel is told in the Welſh Tour, vol. i. p. 291, and the proper end of the villains.—Theſe extracts are taken from the hiſtory of the Gwedir family, a curious pub⯑lication, for which we are indebted to my true friend the Honor⯑able Daines Barrington.
WHEN I came into poſſeſſion of Downing, by the death of my excellent father David Pennant, the houſe had partly tranſome, partly ſaſhed windows. By conſulting a drawing of it in that ſtate, may be known the changes made by myſelf. With the eſtate, I luckily found a rich mine of lead ore, which enabled me to make the great improvements I did. The grounds were much hurt by a vile road running in front and on one ſide of the houſe, and through the middle of the demeſne, to the hamlet called Gwibnant, GWIBNANT. or the meandring glen. The houſe was planted up almoſt to the door, which gave it a very melancholy gloom. But I ſoon laid open the natural beauties of the place, and by the friendly exchange Sir Roger Moſtyn made with me, enlarged the fine ſcenery of the broken grounds, the woods, and the com⯑mand of water. The walks in the near grounds, the fields, and the deep and darkſome dingles, are at left three miles in extent, and the dingle not ill united with the open grounds, by a ſubter⯑raneous paſſage under the turnpike road. I am not a little flattered by the admiration of thoſe who viſit the place. Mr. Boydel has publiſhed a fine engraving of the houſe among his Welſh feats. I have, as a head-piece to p. 1. of this Work, given it in the prettieſt repreſentation.
[5]MY grounds conſiſt of very extenſive walks along the fine ſwelling lands, beneath the ſhady depth of the glens,GROUNDS. or through the contracted meads which meander quite to the ſhore.VIEWS. The views are various towards the hills, and the antient Pharos on Garreg. Over the channel of the Dee, the Hilbree iſles, on one of which had been a cell of Benedictines, dedicated to our Lady, and dependent on Cheſter and poſſibly the hermitage called Hilburghey, which in the ſecond of Edward III. received ten ſhillings a year from a charity belonging to the caſtle at Cheſter. The dreary woodleſs tract of Wiral, a hundred of Cheſhire, ſtretches eaſtward as far as its capital, chequered with black heaths, and with corn, a bad return to the proſpect of our wooded ſlope; yet formerly was ſo well cloathed as to give oc⯑caſion to this diſtich:
But our ſea view is animated with the ſight of the numerous fleets entering and ſailing out of the port of Liverpool, now ſwelled into a vaſt emporium, from (a century and a half ago) a moſt inſig⯑nificant fiſhing town.
THE houſe itſelf has little to boaſt of.HOUSE. I fortunately found it in⯑capable of being improved into a magnitude exceeding the reve⯑nue of the family. It has a hall which I prefer to the rural impro⯑priety of a paltry veſtibule; a library thirty feet by eighteen; a parlor capable of containing more gueſts than I ever wiſh to ſee at a time, Septem, convivium; novem, convicium! and a ſmoaking-room moſt antiquely furniſhed with antient carvings, and the horns of all the European beaſts of chace. This room is now quite out of uſe as to its original purpoſe. Above ſtairs is a good drawing-room, in times of old called the dining-room, and a tea-room, the ſum of all that are really wanted.—I have Cowley's wiſh realized, a ſmall houſe and large garden!
THE library is filled by a numerous collection of books,LIBRARY. principally of hiſtory, natural hiſtory and claſſics. My own la⯑bors might fill an ordinary book-room; many of them receive conſiderable value from the ſmaller drawings and prints with which they are illuſtrated on the margins, as well as by the larger intermixed with the leaves; among the latter are ſeveral draw⯑ings of uncommon beauty, by that eminent hand Mr. Nicholas Pococke. Theſe relate either to the Ferroe iſles, or to Iceland, others to the diſtant Tibet or Boutan. I was favored, by John Thomas Stanley, eſq with permiſſion to have copies made of the firſt, and by Warren Haſtings, eſq of the laſt. Among my own labors,OUTLINES OF THE GLOBE. I value myſelf on my MS. volumes of THE OUTLINES OF THE GLOBE, in xxii. volumes, folio, on which uncommon expence has been beſtowed, in ornament and illuminations.
[8] HALL.IN the hall are ſome very good pictures by Peter Pa [...]ou, a fine painter of animals and birds: four expreſs the three cli⯑mates, two of them are of the Torrid Zone, one the Temperate, and another the Frigid, all illuſtrated by ſuitable animals and ſcenery: the two laſt have much merit. Beſides, there is a romantic view in Otabeite, and another of part of an iſle of ice near the Antartic Circle, with three different ſpecies of thoſe ſtrange birds the pin⯑guins, and two different ſpecies of the petrels; this was taken from an original ſketch made on the ſpot by Doctor John Rein⯑hold Forſter.
PORTRAITS.THE parlor is filled with numbers of portraits, and other paintings. The greater part of the firſt are reduced from the originals by Moſes Griffith, in a moſt maſterly manner. A few excepted, they are family pictures. A very large one covers the end of the room; the figures are three quarters, and dreſſed in the manner in which Vandyk did his; the man has a remarkable good look, long hair, whiſkers, and ſmall beard: his wife is by him; between them a boy with a baſket of flowers, and by him a gre-hound.DAVID PEN⯑NANT WIFE AND CHILD. Theſe repreſent David Pennant, ſheriff of the county in 1643, his wife Margaret Pennant, of Merton, and their eldeſt ſon Piers. This piece is done in a ſuperior ſtyle, a good imitation of Vandyk. A grand column and a rich carpet is intro⯑duced, a flattery of the artiſt, for in thoſe days we were far from being able to pay for even a performance of that value. It pro⯑bably was done in the troubleſome times, when ſome painter of merit might have wandered about the country, and have been glad of working for his meat and his drink, and ſome trifle for other neceſſaries.
[9]MY great, great grandfather was an officer in the garriſon of Denbigh, when it was beſieged and taken by my maternal great, great grandfather general Mytton. My loyal anceſtor ſuffered there a long impriſonment. Bychton was plundered, and the diſtreſs of the family ſo great, that he was kept from ſtarving by force of conjugal affection; for his wife often walked with a bag of oatmeal from the pariſh of Whiteford to Denbigh to relieve his wants.
NOTWITHSTANDING the zeal of his houſe for the loyal cauſe, it ſuffered very little in reſpect to the general compoſition of delinquents; the Bychton eſtate only paid 42l. 14s. whereas Robert Pennant, of Downing, paid not leſs than 298 l. for his eſtate, which was very far inferior to the other. The occaſion was this: Robert Pennant had the misfortune to have a hot-headed young fellow in his houſe, when a ſmall detachment of the adverſe party, with a cornet at the head, approached the place. He perſuaded the family to reſiſt; the doors were barri⯑cadoed, a muſquet fired, and the cornet wounded. The houſe was ſoon forced, and of courſe plundered; but, ſuch was the mode⯑ration of the party, no carnage enſued, and the only revenge ſeems to have been the diſproportionate fine afterwards levied.
NOTWITHSTANDING his brother Hugh is not delivered down to us on canvas,MAIOR HUGH PENNANT. I cannot omit the mention of him as a brave and faithful officer in the royal army ſerving in North Wales. He attained the rank of major, and particularly diſtinguiſhed himſelf in the iſle of Angleſey. In 1648, that iſland, in imitation of ſeveral of the Engliſh counties, roſe in order to ſet the king at liberty, and to reſtore monarchy to the oppreſſed kingdom. Numbers of royaliſts reſorted to this iſland from different parts [10] of North Wales, and made a general muſter in the middle of the iſland, under the command of Thomas lord Bulkeley. The par⯑lement determined on their reduction, and made Conwy the place of rendezvous. General Mytt [...]n was the commanding of⯑ficer; he landed at Cadnant, where Hugh Pennant was poſted, who, after undergoing a ſevere fire from the rocks and hedges, being left unſupported, was obliged to retreat. Two captains poſted at Porth-aethwy, made ſo ſpeedy a flight, that it was ſaid that one of them at leſt had previouſly received the bribe of 50 l. for his treachery. In the battle which ſoon after was fought near Beaumaris, Hugh Pennant charged the enemy with great ſpirit, and was very near taking that brave officer colonel Lo⯑thian priſoner. Some others of the loyal officers conducted themſelves with ſpirit; but, in general, the iſlanders are allowed by their own hiſtorian, a ſchoolmaſter of Beaumaris, to have be⯑haved very ill. An Angleſey captain was directed to keep the church: he poſted his men in it, locked them ſafely up, and then ran away with the key in his pocket. The hiſtorian tells us, that he was called Captain Church to his dying day. They certainly had great valor at diſtant danger. As ſoon as the enemy appeared march⯑ing over Penmaen-mawr, at leſt four miles from Beaumaris, the Angleſey people began to buſtle; drums beat, trumpets ſounded, and great vollies of ſmall ſhot and great were diſcharged; at which the enemy, ſays the ſage pedagogue, took little or no no⯑tice. Major Pennant was probably taken in Beaumaris caſtle, with the royal army, to which place it had retired after the de⯑feat. As ſoon as he obtained his liberty he reſided at Bryn-ſhone, in the pariſh of Yſkivi [...]g, where he died on March 10th, 1669, and was interred at Whiteford.
[11]He was married to Margaret Aungier, baroneſs of Longford, one of the daughters of Sir Thomas Cave, of Slimford, in the county of Northampton, knight. This lady had four huſbands; ſhe paid our country the compliment of beginning and ending with a Welſhman: her firſt was Sir John Wynne, of Gwedir, junior, they lived unhappily together, which ſent him on his tra⯑vels into Italy, where he died at Lucca. She then took one of the Mileſian race, for ſhe married Sir Francis Aungier, maſter of the rolls in Ireland, afterwards created baron of Longford. Thirdly, ſhe gave her hand to an Engliſhman, Sir Thomas Wenman, of Oxfordſhire; and, finally, ſhe reſigned her antiquated charms to our valiant major, who in the year 1656 depoſited her with his anceſtors, in the church at Whiteford.
THE next is a ſingle figure, a half-length of Pyers, PYERS PENNANT. ſon of David Pennant, with long hair, a long laced cravat, and in a ſingular gown. His wife is in another frame, a handſome woman, with her neck naked, and long treſſes flowing on each ſide. She was one of the celebrated ſeven ſiſters of the houſe of Gwyſanney, near to Mold, who were all married about the ſame time, and all became widows, and of them only two of them renewed the nuptial vow. Theſe ladies being much talked of, even to this day, I add their names, and thoſe of their ſpouſes. Let me premiſe that they were daughters of Robert Davies, by Anne, eldeſt daughter of Sir Peter Mutton, knight, chief juſtice of North Wales, and owner of Llanerch, in the vale of Clwyd.
Pyers Pennant, who occaſioned this notice, died in 1623.
I CANNOT well aſcertain the next portrait, which is of a hand⯑ſome young man, in long hair, flowing and curling gracefully on his ſhoulders. He is dreſſed in the military dreſs of the time, a laced turn-over, and an elegant buff coat, much ornamented, and a muſket with an aukward old lock in his hand, and a ſword by his ſide. I ſuſpect him to have been a ſon of Pyers Pennant, who was ſlain the ill-conducted expedition to the iſle Rhi, under the duke of Buckingham, in 1627. He probably was in the company of his neighbor captain Richard Moſtyn, a younger ſon of Moſtyn, who fell in the ſame ſpot.
PETER PENNANT.THE portrait of my grandfather, Peter Pennant, repreſents, what I well remember him to have been, a fine perſon, and of a jovial complexion. He is dreſſed in a white tye-wig, and a red coat. On the death of his firſt wife, Catherine, ſecond daughter of the Wynnes, of Glynne, in Merionethſhire, he went into the army in the reign of Queen Anne, and ſerved at the ſiege of Bruſſels. Diſguſted with his colonel, Sir Thomas Prendergaſt, after demanding ſatisfaction, which Sir Thomas declined, he re⯑ſigned, and paſſed the remainder of his days at Bychton; where he lived in great hoſpitality, and died in October 1736, aged 72.
[13]HIS uncle, John Pennant, in a full brown wig,JOHN PENNANT, OF CHELSEA. and brown g [...]wn. By his jolly rubicund face he appears to have been a tho [...]ough bon-vivant, yet with much the air of the gentleman. The original, a well painted picture, was given to us by John Wynne, of Coperleney, in this neighborhood, who, by the in⯑ſcription on the back, ſeems to have taken as much pride in being thought the friend of John Pennant, as Sir Fulke Grevil did in being the friend of Sir Philip Sydney. Many a bottle had they emptied during their thirty years friendſhip. He reſided at Chelſea, where my father often viſited him during the boyiſh holydays. My father told me he was frequently taken by him to the coffee-houſe, where he uſed to ſee poor Richard Cromwell, a little and very neat old man, with a moſt placid countenance, the effect of his innocent and unambitious life.
I IMAGINE that the coffee-houſe was Don Saltero's, to which he was a benefactor, and has the honor of having his name in⯑ſerted in the catalogue. I have, when a boy, ſeen his gift to the great Saltero, which was a lignified hog. I fear that this matchleſs curioſity is loſt, at left it is omitted in the laſt, or 47th edition of the catalogue.—What author of us can flatter himſelf with delivering his works down to poſterity, in im⯑preſſions ſo numerous as the labors of Don Saltero?
John Pennant died in 1709, aged 69, and was interred in the church-yard of Chelſea, and had a ſmall monument to his memo⯑ry erected againſt the wall of the church, by his wife, daughter to Mr. Parry, of Merton, a houſe and ſmall eſtate which we now poſſeſs, above a mile from Downing. Her affection pro⯑vided [14] the following epitaph, which I give more on that account, than for the excellency of the compoſition.
His arms are thoſe of the Pennants. Her's thoſe of Edwyn, lord of Tegengle.
ROBERT PENNANT.ANOTHER of my kindred lies in Pancras church-yard. I may be excuſed for mentioning him, as his epitaph is far from inele⯑gant. This youth, Robert Pennant, was ſon to Pierce Pennant by Katherine, one of the ſeven ſiſters of Gwyſanney, and was ſnatched away at the age of twenty-four, in the year 1639. He was at⯑tended to his grave, as was then the cuſtom, by a moſt numerous ſet of friends, among whom were the two biſhops, and numbers of [15] the firſt gentry of North Wales, who happened then to be in town. Thus is delivered his amiable character:
MY worthy father was painted at the age of fifteen,MY FATHER. moſt aukwardly in a long flowing wig. He was brought up at Thiſtleworth, under Creech, the tranſlator of Lucretius; after that his education was neglected, but he was abnormis ſapiens, and of the beſt of hearts. He paſſed a uſeful and worthy life to a good old age; and departed, with every expreſſion of piety and reſigna⯑tion, on January 1ſt, 1763, aged 78.
MY good and religious mother is painted in oil,MOTHER. over the chimney-piece; ſhe is dreſſed in blue, her neck naked, her treſſes auburn, long, and flowing. The painter was Mr. Fellowes, an artiſt of ſome merit, who lived at Wrexham and Cheſter. She was called a beauty, 'in ſpite of her teeth,' which were not good. She was third daughter of Richard Mytton, Eſq of Halſton (ſee Tour in Wales, i. p. 246) one of fifteen children, by Arabella, eldeſt daughter of Sir John [16] Houblon, lord mayor of London in 1695, lord of the admiralty in the time of King William, and the firſt governor of the bank of England. See more of his hiſtory in my account of London, p. 455. I have often been aſſured by ſome of my aunts, that (with their father and mother) they had often danced to the number of eight couple. My mother was born September 6th, 1689, and married to my father December 24th, 1724. The courtſhip was carried on at Wynn-ſtay, and the nuptials per⯑formed at the neighboring church of Rhiwabon. That good man Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, in a frolic, jumped on the box, and drove the bride and bridegroom to the church-door. This excellent woman died in London of the ſmall-pox, in the year 1744. She, near to her dying moment, called me to the bed-ſide, and preſented me with her ſilver etwee, and looked as if ſhe could have delivered her tender adieu in the Auguſtan ſtyle (which I engraved on it) VIVE MEMOR AMORIS NOSTRI, ET VALE!
ELIZABETH PENNANT.THE portrait of my venerable aunt, Elizabeth Pennant, was drawn in water colors, in her old age, by Moſes Griffith, and does him much credit. It is a very ſtrong likeneſs, dreſſed in the old faſhion, with a long white handkerchief flung careleſsly over her cap; the countenance ſhews the goodneſs of her heart. I ſpeak gratefully of a friend, who doated on me and mine. I loſt this valuable woman October 2d, 1775; who, with all the con⯑ſciouſneſs of a well-ſpent life, quitted the earthly ſtage with the utmoſt tranquillity.
JOHN MYTTON.MY reſpected uncle John Mytton, of Halſton, born Septem⯑ber 11th, 1690, cloſes the liſt of relations. His countenance in⯑dicates [17] the ſweet diſpoſition he poſſeſſed, and [...]ll his features are amiable. His dreſs, a grey tye-wig, a blue coat, with a ſcarlet mantle flung over one arm. He was bred a merchant, and ſpent much of his time in Portugal; but ſucceeding his eldeſt brother Richard in his eſtate, retired to Halſton, where he ended his benevolent life.
I MUST not forget a ſhade of my affectionate uncle James Mytton, fifth ſon of the ſame houſe, and brother to the laſt,JAMES MYTTON. the kind friend of my youth, with whom I lived long, and ſtrove, to the beſt of my power, to reap from him every advantage that his good ſenſe, good heart, and poliſhed manners, wiſhed to inſtil into my ſuſceptible mind.
I CONCLUDE the accounts of the portraits of our family with my own, in a Vandyk dreſs, by Mr. Willes, an ingenious artiſt, who afterwards quitted the pencil and obtained holy orders, to which he did no diſcredit.
Moſes Griffith furniſhed this room with other reduced por⯑traits. That from the fine picture of Sir Roger Moſtyn, knight,SIR ROGER MOSTYN, KNT. (of whom more will be ſaid when I arrive at the houſe) is an admirable performance.
SUPERIOR even to the portrait of Sir Roger Moſtyn is that of Humphrey Lloyd, taken from the original, on board,HUMPHREY LLOYD. in poſſeſſion of the Reverend John Lloyd, of Aſton, in Shropſhire. This illuſ⯑trious perſon was ſenator, philoſopher, hiſtorian, and phyſician. He repreſented the town of Denbigh, in 1653. He is celebrated alſo as an accompliſhed gentleman, eloquent, and an excellent rhetorician. Camden ſpeaks of his great ſkill in the antiquities of his country. He married a ſiſter of John lord Lumley: and [18] formed his brother-in-law's library, which now is the moſt va⯑luable part in the Britiſh Muſeum. He died in 1658, aged 41. He is painted with ſhort reddiſh hair, rounded beard, and whiſkers, a ſhort quilled ruff, black dreſs, and a triple gold chain; on one ſide of him are his arms and creſt; beneath is this motto: ‘HWY PERY KLOD NA GOLYD.’ ‘Fame is more laſting than wealth.’ On the other ſide is the following inſcription: ‘Aetatis 34. A. D [...]i. 1561. Vera effigies incliti Artium Profeſſoris, earumque dumni Humfredi Lloyd, Cambro-Britanni et Denbighenſis, ortus antiqu [...] R [...]ſ [...]ndalorum familiâ; qui floruit temporibus Mariae et Elizabeth [...] beata memoria regin. Obiitq. An. D [...]i. 156 [...], et cum patribus in eccleſia parochiali de Denbigh ſepultus.’ He was buried at Whichchurch, near Denbigh, with a very neat monument. He is repreſented kneeling at an altar beneath a range of ſmall arches, and dreſſed in a Spaniſh habit.
SIR JOHN WYNNE, JUNIOR, KNIGHT.THIS is over the chimney-piece; above him is the portrait of Sir John Wynne, knight, who died on his travels at Lucca, in 1614. (It is taken from the original at Wynn-ſtay.) He was buried there, in the pariſh of St. John's. I have ſeen numbers of his letters, which ſhew him to have been a moſt obſervant man. He was eldeſt ſon of Sir John Wynne, of Gwedir. He is in black, has a large ruff, laced turn-over, and others at his wriſts, a white girdle ſtuck with points, and a white belt paſſing over his ſhoulders and breaſt. His countenance is good, his hair ſhort and dark, his beard ſmall and peaked.
[19]THE next is oppoſite to the other,SIR RICHARD WYNNE, BART. a head of Sir Richard Wynne, baronet, grandſon to old Sir John, and laſt of the male line.
ABOVE Sir John Wynne is a very fine head of Charles I. by Vandyk. He is elegantly dreſſed in a red jacket,CHARLES I. ſlaſhed and laced. This was purchaſed at the ſale of the late colonel Nor⯑ton, of Southwick, in Hampſhire, by my worthy friend the late Puſey Brooke, eſq and gratefully preſented by him to the late Mr. Edwards, of Brynford, to whom he lay under obligations. It was on his death preſented to my father, and decreed to re⯑main an heir-lome in the family.
OPPOSITE to Charles I. is another Charles, HIS GREAT GRANDSON. great grandſon to the unfortunate monarch. It is a head in oil-colors, after the original by Huſſey. He was a man uncommonly handſome: his fine brown hair is tied behind, and curled on the ſides; his body and arms are clad in armor. In the field he certainly took too great care of his perſon, but I believe the armor to have been the painter's choice. His highneſs had given him⯑ſelf the two orders, for both the blue and the green ribbon grace his ſhoulders.
THIS picture was originally the property of the late Sir William Meredith, baronet. He ſuddenly veered from the Stuart to the Brunſwick line; and thinking it unſafe to have a Stuart, even in canvas, preſented it to my very worthy mother-in-law, Elizabeth Falconer, a true votary of exiled royalty. On her death, the choice of any of her perſonality having been, in the moſt friendly manner, offered by her ſon the Rev. James Falconer, D. D. I fixed on this. The period of Jacobitiſm was over; but I re⯑member [20] the time in which I might have been ſtruck out of the commiſſion for having in my poſſeſſion even the ſhadow of diſaffection.
ANSON.ANSON, the perſevering ANSON, graces the lower end of the room: a head painted when he was a captain, before the year 1742, when he began his celebrated voyage. This was the bequeſt of my uncle James Mytton, who well knew the reſpect I had to the two illuſtrious brothers of Shugborough. Lord ANSON was for⯑tunate, but his good fortune was the reſult of merit, not of chance. During his naval adminiſtration, and during that more arduous one under John earl of SANDWICH, the commerce of BRITAIN in every part was uninterrupted! our colonies protected! our acquiſitions ſecured! and, in the latter war, when we had all the world to combat, our ſquadrons were every where! The ſuperior genius of the man diſpoſed our fleets ſo as to gain all thoſe advantages, without neglecting, without weakening the domeſtic ſafety of BRITAIN, which muſt ever acknowlege his ſalutary ſtrength of mind, and bury his foibles in oblivion. His blemiſhes were thoſe of the private man: his high qualities, public benefits. In his active days ‘No navies yawn'd for orders on the main.’
THE next is a ſmall half-length on copper of Saint Charles Bor⯑romeo, praying before a crucifix.SAINT CHARLES BORROMEO. That illuſtrious prelate was an ornament to his church. He is repreſented in his car⯑dinal's dreſs, with a wan and meagre countenance, the effects of his ſincere auſterities. Thoſe alone ought not to have given him a place in the kalendar: his genuine piety, his benevolence, his great deeds of charity, furniſhed him with the fulleſt clame. Add to this, his courage in facing the peſtilence which raged in Milan, his native city, in all its horrors. He adminiſtered to the diſtreſſed every comfort, ſpiritual and temporal. Like ‘Mar⯑ſeilles's good biſhop,’ he eſcaped, and received his heavenly re⯑ward November 3d, 1584.
Or unknown portraits I have two. One is of an officer,UNKNOWN POR⯑TRAITS. I think by de Gelder, a pupil of Rembrandt's. It is much in the ſtyle of his maſter. The figure is ſtanding, with a good military coun⯑tenance. In one hand is a long ſword, the point reſting on the floor; on his head is a hat and feathers; his body is armed to the waiſt; below are long ſkirts of buff; his helmet is on a barrel, the colors-furled, and reſts againſt the wall; his ſhield and war-ſaddle near them. De Gelder was born in 1645, and died in 1727.
[22]THE other is of a Low Country ſoldier; a ſmall full length; a moſt graceful figure of a young man leaning on a chair, with an emptied glaſs in one hand, and on the floor a flagon, and near is his white hat and feathers; his hair long; he is in a buff coat, a broad leathern belt, with a cloak flung careleſsly over one arm; he has vaſt boots, and a long ſword hanging down from his ſide.
A SMALL, but neat inſide of a Flemiſh church; and a fine painting of a white grous, hung by one foot from a tree, with ſome plants near the foot. Theſe are all the paintings I can boaſt of. The laſt is by Ryſbrack, a painter born at Antwerp about the middle of the laſt century.
I MAY conclude with a very neat drawing by Moſes Griffith, of the antient gardens of Llanerch, in the Italian taſte of the middle of the laſt century, made by Mr. Mutton Davies, after his return from Italy; they were fine (in that ſtyle), decorated with water⯑works, ſtatues, dials, &c. &c. emitting water, to the aſtoniſhment of the ſpectators. The original of the drawing is from an old large picture in my poſſeſſion.
CABINET OF FOSSILS. Downing may boaſt of a good and numerous collection of foſſils and minerals, partly collected by myſelf, partly by my ſon in his extenſive travels; many of the ſpecimens are elegant, and moſt of them inſtructive.
TYDDI [...] UCHA'.ABOVE a mile from Downing is Tyddyn Ucha', a farm-houſe belonging to our family. In the laſt century it was inhabited by my grandfather, during the life-time of his father. My uncle John Pennant, and two of my aunts, were born there. I have often heard it ſaid, with pride, that once three baronets were [23] entertained there by the hoſpitable owner. I vehemently ſuſpect, from the ſize of the houſe, that at leſt two of them muſt have ſlept together.
MY father has often told me a ridiculous ſtory of the effect of a jolly evening paſſed there by ſome of the convivial neigh⯑bors. They had made very free with ſome ale which had been brewed with malt made of ſoul barley, unfortunately mixed with the ſeeds of certain plant, which brought on a temporary blind⯑neſs. The gueſts had not gone far before the ſymptoms ſeized them, and they were led back to their hoſt, who was in the ſame condition. They were ſuddenly alarmed with a violent ſcream in a female voice. It ſeems that the butlereſs, or female butler, had, in her repeated viſits to the cellar, ſipped too plentifully of the cwrw, and, terrified with the effect, betrayed herſelf by giv⯑ing unguardedly full vent to her fears.
IN thoſe days the neighbors were much addicted to terming, TERMING. i. e. brewing a barrel of ale at ſome favorite ale-houſe, and ſtay⯑ing there till it was all drunk out. They never went to bed, even ſhould the term laſt a week; they either ſlept in their chairs or on the floor, as it happened, then awoke and reſumed their jollity. At length, when the barrel was exhauſted, they reeled away, and the hero of this Bacchanalian rout always carried the ſpiggot in triumph. Courſing was very frequently the occaſion of theſe terms; each gentleman brought his gre-hound, and often made matches, more for the glory of producing the beſt dog, than for the value of the bet.
AT half a mile diſtance, ſouth of this houſe, ſtands Merton, MERTON ABBOT. in the townſhip of Merton Uwch Glan; I gave it the addition of [24] Abbot, to diſtinguiſh it from the many others of the ſame name. It was built in the year 1572, and for the time was a tolerable houſe. This and the Holywell eſtate was conveyed into our family by the marriage of David Pennat with Katherine Pennant, daughter and ſole heireſs of John Pennant, of Holywell, and Mary, daughter of Thomas ap Thomas ap Edward, of Merton. John was fourth in deſcent from Nicholas Pennant, laſt abbot of Baſingwerk, and ſon of Thomas ap David, &c. &c. his predeceſſor in the abbotſhip. David Pennant, who made this valuable acquiſition, died in 1666; Katherine ſurvived him till the year 1700. This was the only marriage that added much to our eſtate ſince the time of Madoc ap Thomas ap Meiiir, who ſat down at Bychton with the heireſs of Philip O' Phicdan, hereafter to be mentioned.
THE two Mertons, Uwch Glan and Is Glan, are adjacent town⯑ſhips. They were, at the time of compiling the Doomſday Book, undivided, and known by the Saxon name of Meretone, or the townſhip bordering over the ſea.
COMPLAINTS OF TEGENGL.THE noblemen of Tegengl drew up a memorial, which they preſented to John Peckham, archbiſhop of Canterbury, containing, among numbers of other grievances, the wrong done to the men of Merton. The archbiſhop (whom in 1281 came down on the chriſtian deſign of reconciling the differences between Edward I. and Llewelyn) ſeemed to pity their ſufferings; but it it not pro⯑bable that the king paid any attention to their repreſentations, as he was then in full march againſt our gallant countrymen, de⯑termined to make an effectual conqueſt of an enemy who gave him ſo much ſerious diſturbance.
[25]ABOVE three hundred yards from my houſe,DOWNING UCHA'. on the oppoſite ſide of a dingle, ſtands another Downing, the ſeat of my worthy neighbor and friend Thomas Thomas, eſq His good father came into poſſeſſion of it about the year 1749, by marriage with Miſs Mary Lloyd, heireſs of the place, and deſcended from Edwyn, prince or lord of Tegengl. His Llys or palace was near Northop. My much-lamented friend the Reverend John Lloyd, of Caerwys, was of opinion that the fat figure on one of the tomb-ſtones in Northop church, repreſented this chieftain.
MR. Thomas was of Llechweddgarth in Montgomeryſhire. CRUEL FE [...]D [...]. (See Tour in Wales, ii. 349) deſcended from Brochwel Yſcythrog, prince of Powis, who bore ſable three nags heads eraſed argent. Before Mr. Thomas's arrival, a fierce feud raged between the two houſes, as uſual in days of yore; which, on his appearance, was changed into laſting peace. I cannot but mention a cruel revenge which the Montagues uſed to take on their neighbor Capulet, by the advantage of a ſtream which ran through their grounds in its way to our kitchen, where it was applied to the purpoſe of a jack for the turning of a ſpit. How often has that important engine been ſtopped before it had performed half its evolutions! our poor Capulet ſwearing, lady crying, Cogeſs fuming, and nurſe ſcreaming! But
IN the footway to Bychton is the wood,WHITEFORD WOOD. the Sylva mentioned in the Doomſday Book. At the time of that compilation it was [26] valued at 20 s. only. Poſſibly the value did not increaſe greatly in the beginning of the ſixteenth century, when my anceſtor, Hugh Pennant of Bychton (eighteenth in deſcent from their common ſtock) married Jonet, daughter of Richard ap Howel, of Moſtyn, who led his troops to Boſworth Field. Tradition ſays, that (money being wondrous ſcarce in thoſe days) he was offered this wood as a portion with the lady; which our family rejected, as of no value in a country of foreſts. I cannot eſtimate the thouſands it would have been worth at preſent, or in courſe of time.
A LLYS.IN this wood are the remains of ſome antient Llys, or palace, as my friend, the late antiquary of Cherwys, uſed to maintain. I can only ſay, that to judge of the foundations, our palaces in thoſe days were not very ſplendid.
LINE OF TUDOR TREVOR.THE line of Tudor Trevor, with all its branches, is ſo fre⯑quently ſpoken of, that I ſhall here continue his deſcent. He was ſon of Y [...]ger ap Cadvarch, earl of Hereford, in right of his wife Rhiengar, daughter and heir of Llwdocea ap Karadoc Vreichvras, or the earl of Hereford, grandſon to the ſaid Karadoc, and great-grandſon to Karadoc Vreichvras, earl of Hereford and Marchiogen, in the time of prince Arthur, and who had beſides the honor of being one of the knights of the rou [...] [...]ble. Tudor married Angbarad, daughter to Howel Dda, prince of Wales, renowned for his wiſe laws, who quitted his government and retired to Rome, and there died in 948, whoſe death was ſore bewailed of all men, ‘for he was a prince that loved peace and good order, and that feared God.’ I am ſorry to deprive our anceſtor of his title of earl: the Welſh had none ſuch among them. Our great [27] men had that of Arglwydd or Lord, and the chief or monarch that of T'wiſog or Prince. Tudor had in right of his mother immenſe poſſeſſions in Herefordſhire, and in all that country, then called Ferlys, which lies between the Wye and the Severn. He was alſo lord of Whittington, in Shropſhire (See Tour in Wales, i. p. 250.) and made that caſtle his reſidence. Let me obſerve that many of his eſtates, being in the marches of Wales, he was called of the Tribe of March, to diſtinguiſh him from the other tribes.
THE families deſcended from this chieftain were exceedingly numerous, but thoſe ſtill exiſting in the male line are only the following: Thomas Trevor Hampden viſcount Hampden, Richard Pennant Lord Penrhyn, Sir Roger Moſtyn, and the Moſtyns of Bryngwyn, of Segrwyd, branches of his family, and Sir Pyers Moſtyn, Eytons of Eyton, Wynnes of Gwerninvawr, Jones's, of Llwynon, and Jeffries's, of Acton, exiſting in my friend the Rev. Dr. Jeffries, reſidentiary of St. Paul's, and worthy Rector of Whiteford, and the Pennants of Bychton.
ADJACENT to this wood is my paternal ſeat,BYCHTON. I may ſay the primaeval ſeat of our family. The date, on a piece of wood over an added window, is 1572. This gives an idea of the houſe of a gentleman of middling eſtate in thoſe days. There was a much more antient date on a beam in the barn, which was inadver⯑tently deſtroyed when I new built it. I lived at this ſeat in 1761 and 1762; at that time I recollect buying of the tenant, who with great civility quitted it to me, his ſtock of wheat at 2 s. the hobbet, conſiſting of two meaſures, of forty-one quarts each.
[28]LET me contraſt this to a year of ſcarcity in our country, that of 1637, when I find, by a diary kept by a Peter Roberts, of St. Aſaph, that in the ſame year wheat was ſold at 21 s. the hobbet, rye at 15 s. and vetches at 11 s. Change this into the preſent value of ſilver, the hobbet of wheat at this time would be equal to 29 s. of barley to 20 s. 8½ d. and vetches to 15 s. 2¼d. —a calculation for which I am indebted to the ingenuity of my good aſſiſtant, the Rev. Mr. Henry Parry, of Holywell.
SUMMER-HOUSE.VERY near to the houſe ſtood a ſummer-houſe, (a building very frequent near the ſeats of Welſh gentry) with a cellar be⯑neath. Theſe were uſed as retreats for the jovial owners and their friends, to enjoy, remote from the fair, their toaſts and noiſy merriment. Mine was ſo near to ruin, that I was obliged to pull it down. I remember oaks of a vaſt ſize growing near to the houſe. This, and I may ſay the other lower parts of the pariſh, are finely wooded with that noble ſpecies of tree, which grows ſpontaneouſly: was this part deſerted, it would relapſe into its original ſtate, and become an impenetrable foreſt.
MADOC AP MEI⯑LER.NOW let the whole Welſhman ariſe in me! Let me relate how Madoc ap Meiler (ſurnames were not as yet) ap Thomas ap Owen ap Blydden ap Tudor ap Rhys Sais ap Edneſyd ap Llowarch Ga [...] ap Llyddocca, fil. primogen. TUDOR TREVOR, living A.D. 924. (miſcalled) earl of Hereford, cotemporary with the great king Athelſtan, and the greater Edwal Voel, prince of Wales, did take lawful poſſeſſion of Alice, daughter and heir of Philip o Phicdan, by Margaret, daughter and heir of Dafydd ap Ririd, &c. &c. of Penley in Maelwr. This Philip o Phicdan was ſon (See Har⯑lcian Library, No 1792.) to Philip ap Yſwittan Wyddel, of the [29] houſe of Dungannon, in Ireland, one of the Iriſh cavaliers who followed Gryffydd ap Conan out of that iſland, to aſſiſt him to re⯑gain the throne of his anceſtors, about the year 1077, uſurped by Trahaern ap Caradog.
THE great and deciſive victory on the mountains of Carno, in the county of Montgomery, in the ſame year, was owing to the valor of Philip. The uſurper was defeated and ſlain, after the bloodieſt conteſt in our annals. Gryffydd was reinſtated in his lawful dominions, and reigned with great dignity during fifty-ſeven years. He was not ungrateful to his Mileſian general; he beſtowed on him great poſſeſſions in his new-recovered domi⯑nions *, of which one of his ſons inherited Bychton. It remained in the male line only one generation after Yſwittan, as we have above ſaid. If we reckon thirty years to a generation, the match between Madoc ap Meiler and Alice muſt have taken place very early in the next century, if not in the ſame. This gives us a pri⯑ority of landed poſſeſſion in the pariſh of Whiteford to any other freeholder: Madoc being only tenth in deſcent from Tudor Trevor.
THIS my anceſtor Madoc probably lived alſo by the ſword, for I cannot with any certainty prove that before this time he had any landed property. I preſume he was content with his acqui⯑ſition of the fair Alice, and the Bychton eſtate (not Putecaine, as the barbarous Normans made it in the Doomſday Book) at which period (Widfor, i. e. Whiteford) was terra unius carucae, et ibi erat cum duobus villanis et XII. inter ſervos, et an⯑cilla ibi piſcaria, and Sylva, or the wood above mentioned. But I fear we had been long before robbed of the wood at leſt, and [30] poſſibly of our piſcaria, &c. either by our own countrymen or the tyrant Saxons. Madoc ſat down quietly on his lands; his offspring ſeem to have been much reſpected, for his ſon Jerwerth married the daughters of two princes; his firſt wife was daughter of Owen, lord of Tegangl, and his ſecond the daughter of the lord of Allington and Ruthenland. We went on begetting ſons and daugh⯑ters for a long ſpace. My ſon may boaſt of being ſixteenth in deſcent from the great Madoc, or twenty-fifth from Tudor Trevor; where, for brevity ſake, I take up the pedegree, otherwiſe I might reach the renowned K [...]rda Wlodig, after paſſing through five moſt celebrated deſcents.
ARMS. Madoc aſſumed the arms of Yſwi [...]tan Wyddel, his wife's grand⯑father, viz. ‘Fyelde ſilver three barres wavey azure, on the mydle barr three ſhieldrakes of the fyrſte,’ and for his next coat, by the name Philip Phichdan, 'three boars in palle ſilver;' theſe are ſo defined, and placed quarterly by that able genealogiſt John Charles Brooke, eſq Somerſet herald, whoſe untimely end I find daily reaſon to deplore. The three boars were the arms of Yona [...] ap Gr [...]wy, of Penley in Ma [...]wr hundred, in the county of Flint. My father had ſome ſmall poſſeſſions in that country, which he ſold to improve our eſtate nearer home. Thoſe pro⯑bably were derived from Philip Phicdan, and devolved to Madoc on his marriage with his daughter Alice.
THE family aſſumed afterwards their proper arms, thoſe of Tudor Trevor. In the year 1580, a patent for a creſt, the an⯑telope's head moſt ſtrangely disfigured with heraldic liberty, was granted to Pyers Pennant, one of the four gentlemen-uſhers to Queen Elizabeth, and to the poſterity of his father Hugh Pennant. In this patent, which I have in high preſervation, the firſt coat is that of the Trevors, ‘the fyelde party par bend, ſiniſter ermen, and ermyne, a lion rampant goulde, langued and armed gules.’ The two next are as deſcribed above, and the fourth by the name of Gruffydd Lloyd, ‘the fyelde azure three flower-de-luces of the fyelde:’ and ſuch is the dictum of Robert Cooke, alias Clarentieux, ROV D'ARMES, 1580.
THE Moſtyns of Moſtyn bear as their creſt, a lion rampant.
THE Trevors, who were the Pen-cenedl, or head of the whole line, had for their creſt the wivern or dragon on a cap of dignity. The preſent Lord Hampden is its true Pen-cenedl; but by heraldic rules, on the deſcent of the Hampden eſtate to his lordſhip, from the alliance of his anceſtor Sir John Trevor with the Hampdens, the talbot, the creſt of that family, ſuperſedes the antient dragon.
THE dragon was worn as a cogni [...]ance by all our princes, particularly by Cadwaledr, who died in 688. It was adopted by Henry VII. who clamed deſcent from him, and wore it in he battle of Boſworth. It took its origin from the legend of Uther Pen-dragon, father of king Arthur, who is ſaid to have received [32] the addition of Pen-dragon, from his wearing that imaginary ani⯑mal on his helmet.
OUR bards united with the poet the office of herald. At firſt our pedegrees were preſerved by oral communication; after⯑wards committed to writing, and preſerved in the houſes of our great men. The heralds office is at preſent a great repoſitory of theſe kinds of treaſure.
BY the firſt we are aſſured of many other illuſtrious deſcents from princes' anceſtors to our Tudor Trevor; from the princes of Powis; from Rywalbon Conwyn, (who, with his brother Kynric, were joint princes of North Wales;) from even Roderic the Great, and from Cadwaladr; and finally from Vortigern, the un⯑fortunate king of the Britons, who fled from the rage of his ſubjects, for his invitation of the Saxons into Britain, and died in⯑gloriouſly about the year 465, in the darkſome Nant y Gwrtheyrn, in the county of Caernarvon *.
THE Engliſh heralds attempt to add fame to our race, by telling us that the preſent Sir Roger Moſtyn is nineteenth in de⯑ſcent from the Conqueror, from John of Gaunt, from Richard Plantagenet, duke of York, father to Edward IV. I leave Arthur Collins, (vol. iii. p. 129, 131) to adduce the proofs. Why will my ingenious countrywoman, after admitting theſe honors †, deny to us BIRTH, by diſtinction fine as ether, and as imper⯑ceptible, allowing us only the advantage of family! And, not⯑withſtanding the lady's juſtly-favored Johnſon makes birth and lineage ſynonymous, yet my couſin will allow us no more of the former than what that great writer defines the ‘act of coming [33] into the world,’ the act which graced our country with its fair ſynonymiſt.
I HOPE the reader will not think me too warm, for thus vin⯑dicating my clame to birth, in common with my worthy brother-in-law. I am jealous that the honors which I poſſeſs by means of our marriage with his aunt Shonet, ten aſcents higher, ſhould receive any abatement: and I truſt that the lady concerned will, as a Welſh-woman, even applaud my warmth on ſo very intereſt⯑ing an occaſion!
OUR houſe has always been the Pen-cenedl, or chief of the name. We had ſeveral branches, all which, excepting thoſe I have enumerated, are extinct in the male line; unleſs it be in the gentleman who of late years ſpread our celebrity in the capital, under the title of Pennant's Parcel Poſt.
THE firſt who branched from us was the hoſpitable, the uſeful, the valiant Thomas Pennant, abbot of Baſingwerk, ſon of David Pennant ap Tudor, before mentioned. He flouriſhed in the reign of Edward IV. and is highly celebrated by Guttun Owain, a bard of the year 1480, who records the hoſpitality of the abbot, in a poem printed in the collection of Mr. Rhŷs Jones. The poet is ſo liberal of his praiſe as to ſay, That he gave twice the treaſure of a king in wine.
And among his other luxuries I think he enumerates ſugar, which a rich abbot of the fifteenth century might eaſily indulge [34] himſelf in, for it had been a great article of commerce in Sicily as early as the year 1148.
Guttun Owain alſo adds:
A good granary on the other ſide, a malt-houſe, and a houſe of bricks: which laſt was probably a material in building of recent introduction in our country.
Guttun Owain and Tudor Aled, another noted bard, ſpeak not only of his works of utility; of the water and of the wind-mills he erected; of his having enlarged and beautified the abbey, but alſo compliment him on his proweſs in battle. Neither is Guttun ſilent on a ſubject, pleaſing to every Welſh ear, the pedegree of his patron, whom he derives from Edwyn, and from Rhŷs Sais, a direct deſcendant from Tudor Trevor.
IT is probable that our abbot diſcovered that celibacy did not ſuit his conſtitution. He quitted his profeſſion, and became (in the law term) a monk deraigne, and married into the great houſe of Peurbyn, a lady of the name of Angharad. He became the father of four children. Of them, Edward the eldeſt ſucceeded to the fortunes which he ſeems to have ſecured in the pariſh of Holywell. Thomas, the ſecond ſon, became vicar of Holywell. And Nicholas, the third, in due time abbot of Baſingwerk; he was the laſt, and became founder of a family, as I ſhall have occaſion to mention. More alſo will be ſaid of the line of Edward, who may be conſidered as the firſt of the houſe of Bagilt.
WE did not aſſume the name of Pennant, till the time of David Pennant ap Tudor, fifteenth in deſcent from Tudor Trevor; it is a [35] true Welſh name, taken from Pen, a head, and Nant, a dingle, our houſe of Bychton being ſeated at the head of a very conſider⯑able one. The name is very common in North Wales, applied to places, ſuch as Pennant St. Melangl, Pennant Mowddwy, Pennant Lliw, &c. &c. I have found it in Cornwal, and again in the great bay of Douarnenez, in Bretagne, where, among numbers of other Welſh names, is that of Pointe Pennant.
IT has been delivered down to us,GI [...]CS. that in ſome diſtant time a gang of gipſies uſed to haunt this dingle, and that eighteen of them were executed, after which the gipſey race never more fre⯑quented the neighborhood. I cannot learn their crime, poſſibly there was none, for they might have been legally murdered by the cruel ſtatute of the 1ſt and 2d of Philip and Mary, which enacts, ‘that if, within forty days next after proclamation of this preſent act ſhall be made, that then he or they which ſhall not depart and avoid within the ſaid time of forty days, according to the true meaning of this act, ſhall be judged and deemed, ac⯑cording to the laws of this realm of England, a felon and felons, and ſhall ſuffer therefore pains of death, loſs of lands and goods as in other caſes of felony, and ſhall be tried as is aforeſaid, and without having any benefit or privilege of ſanctuary or clergy.’ Sir Matthew Hale tells us, that in Suffolk, a few years before the reſtauration, were executed, at a ſingle aſſizes, not leſs than thirteen; but none, on that barbarous law, have ſuffered ſince that time. In theſe humane days the gipſies may wander in peace, provided they behave inoffenſively whereſoever they chance to make their tranſient abode; for the bloody act was repealed in the twenty-third year of his preſent majeſty.
[36] OUR FIRST M [...] ⯑ [...]GE WITH AN ENGLISHWOMAN. David Pennant was the firſt of us who married into a Saxon family; he took to wife Anne, daughter of John Done, of Utkin⯑ton, in Cheſhire, by Anne daughter of Richard Heaton, of Heaton, in the county of Lancaſter. He begat many ſons and daughters, among them was the famous abbot Thomas, and alſo Sir Hugh Pennant, Offeiriad, or prieſt, whom the great Lhuyd, in his A [...]aelogic, p. 257, calls an able poet, in the time of Henry VIII.; and I find alſo, that in 1575 he was at an Fiſteddfod, at Caerwis, ſecondary ſtudent in vocal ſong, and — he was the only muſical man in all our line.
OUR FIRST SHE⯑RIFF.TILL the advancement of Richard Pennant to the title of Penrbyn, our houſe was never diſtinguiſhed by any honors beyond the moſt uſeful one, that of juſtice of the peace. I ſhould bluſh if a Pennant ſhould be found, who through lack of public ſpirit, ſloth, or ſelfiſhneſe, could decline that great conſtitutional office! The firſt ſheriff of our houſe was Pyers Pennant, who diſcharged that truſt in 1612. He had the lot of marrying the daughter of a family not famed for placidity, or the milder virtues. Valdè valde, irritabile genus! 'And from them, Tom (a moſt worthy aunt of mine uſed often to tell me) we got our paſſion;'—and frequently added the wiſe Welſh caution, Beware of a Breed!
THE fruits of this marriage appeared very ſoon. Thomas, the eldeſt ſon, in a furor brevis, killed his miller: was indicted for the manſlaughter, tried, and convicted; but received his pardon, dated in the firſt of Charles I. or the year 1625. This grace preſerved him from the ignominious part of the ſentence, and the more important advantage of preſerving his perſonality, which would otherwiſe have been forfeited to the crown.
[37]THIS is ſufficient to ſhew that the offence did admit of every palliation; but a ſtronger proof than that may be drawn from the following honor having been conferred on him, when we find that in eight years afterwards, in 1633, he was intruſted with the care of the county of Flint, by having the office of high ſheriff committed to his charge. He died the next year; cujus animae propitietur DEUS! This unfortunate man married a grand-daughter of that nuptial-loving dame Catherine y Berran (See Tour in Wales, vol. ii. p. 29) Mary, daughter of Edward Wynn, of Yſtrad, ſon of Morris Wynn, of Gwydir, fourth and laſt huſband of our famous Catherine. There was no iſſue from this match; ſo Bychton deſcended to David, the next brother.
IN thoſe days, and long preceding,PRESENTS TO SHERIFFS. it was cuſtomary for the friends and neighbors of the ſheriff to make preſents to him to aſſiſt in defraying the expences. I have among my papers two long rolls of gifts. To give the whole would be very tedious. I extract only a few of the moſt remarkable, among which are ſeveral in money, which his friends were not aſhamed to offer: nor the ſheriff to receive. The caſh received in 1612, was £. 10. 18 s. 6 d.; that in 1642, £. 5.
To ſhew that the ſenſe of relationſhip was not, in thoſe days, ſoon worn out, Mr. Done, of Utkinton, ſent a veniſon, for which the ſheriff gave as a fee 6 s. 8 d. to the keeper. This ſheriff was in reſpect to the donor fifth in deſcent from the marriage of David Pennant ap Tudor, with Anne, daughter of John Done, of Utkinton, as near as I can gueſs about the year 1440.
IN theſe numerous liſts of preſents I was ſurpriſed at the omiſſion of brandy;BRANDY. probably the fiery dram was not then in faſhion in Wales: yet nurſe, in Romeo and Juliet, calls for it amain, under the name of aqua vitae: ‘Some aqua vitae, ho! my lord, my lady!’ It appears to have been chiefly uſed in thoſe days for medical purpoſes.
IN captain Wyndham's voyage to Guinea there was brandy on board for the uſe of the ſick ſailors. It was ſaid to have been invented by Raymundus Lullius, the famous alchemiſt, who died in the year 1315. Charles the Bad, king of Navarre, came to a moſt horrible end, ſays Mezerey, (i. 954.) who, to reſtore his ſtrength, weakened by debauchery, was wrapped in ſheets ſteeped [42] in [...]au d [...]e. His valet by accident ſet fire to them: after the third day he died in the moſt dreadful tortures, and it is to be hoped thus expiated the crimes of his moſt execrable life. I am indebted for the origin of brandy to a moſt elaborate eſſay on it which I received from Mr. William Taylor, of Norwich, by fa⯑vor of my friend Dr. Atkin.
WILLIAM PEN⯑NANT. G [...] ⯑ [...].I NOW, in gratitude, take up the brief hiſtory of William Pen⯑nant, ſecond ſon to Hugh Pennant, of Bychton, by Sionet, daughter of Richard ap Howel ap Moſton. His good deeds towards the poor of our pariſh, and his good intention towards our family, give him full clame to this token of reſpect. William was a goldſmith and jewelier; he lived at the Queen's Head, in Smith⯑field; and by the ſign of his ſhop, and by the ſeveral bequeſts he made to perſons about the court, he probably was goldſmith and jeweller to the royal family.HIS WEALTH. He made a conſiderable fortune, and died poſſeſſed of the manor of Moxhall, in the pariſh of Andley, in the county of Eſſex; the rectories called Cutcombe and Luxborough, in the county of Somerſet; the leafe of the manor of Thornes, in Haveringe, in the Bower Ward, in the county of Eſſex; the leaſe of the manor of Noxbridge, in the ſame county; and in London, an eſtate in Smithfield and Hoſier Lane; and a houſe called the Blue Anchor, in Candlewick ward, which laſt he bequeathed to the famous Hugh Middleton, afterwards Sir Hugh, the projector of the New River. All the other eſtates he be⯑queathed thus:—His manor of M [...]xhall, and the two rectories, to his nephew Hugh Pennant; and his leaſes of the manor of Thornes to his brother Pyers Pennant, of Mailard Green, in the county of Eſſex, the gentleman uſher before mentioned.
[43]ALL theſe fruits of William Pennant's induſtry were diſſipated by my unfortunate name ſake, mentioned in a preceding page,D [...] BY HIS NE [...]. who luckily died before he had ruined our paternal eſtate.
HIS bequeſt in money to the poor of Whiteford pariſh had a better fate.HIS CHA [...] [...]. It was laid out in the purchaſe of land in the pariſh of St. Aſaph; the produce of which annually clothes completely eighteen poor men or poor women, on the feaſt of St. Thomas. On the expiration of the leaſe of thoſe lands, I truſt that double the number will experience the benefit of this charity.
William Pennant alſo remembered ſeveral of his friends by le⯑gacies, at this time appearing to us very ſingular.BEQUEST TO HIS FRIENDS. Beſides ſome ſmall legacies in money, he bequeathed the following articles:— ‘Item, I give and bequeath unto Sir William Forteſcue, K•, one chaine of gold and pearle, weighing about 12 ounces and a quarter; one billament of gold and pearle, being 19 pieces; a round ſalt of ſilver, with a cover thereto, weighing 15 ounces, and ſome what more; ſix white ſilver ſpoons; one feather-bed, bolſter, two pillows, two blankets, one blue rugg, a teaſtern of ſatten figured, ruſſet and black, and vallance to the ſame; five curtains of taffety farſanet, on char, and a ſtool with a back of ſatten figured ruſſet; ten black — and ſix ſtools covered with black wrought velvett; and alſo a great cheſt covered with black leather, with an in-lock on it, and all things in it (excepting cer⯑tain plate therein) hereafter bequeathed. Item, I give and bequeath unto — Forteſcue, the daughter of the ſald William Forteſcue, Kt, and god-daughter to my late wife Ellinor, her aunt, one baſon and ewer of ſilver, all gilt, weighing 36 ounces, or thereabouts; one dozen of ſilver ſpoons gilt, [44] weighing 22 ounces, or thereabouts; one ſilver pot hooped, weighing 20 ounces and upwards, with arms on the ſide thereof; a bell ſalt without a cover, partly gilt, weighing 6 ounces, or thereabouts. All which particulars are in the ſaid black cheſt. And I will that the ſame ſhall preſently after my deceaſe be delivered to the ſaid Wm Forteſcue, Kt, for him to keep ſafely in truſt and confidence, to and for the uſe of — —, untill ſhe happen to be married, or untill ſhe ſhall at⯑tain to the age of 21 years, and then to be delivered unto her; and that if the ſaid — — happen to die before ſhe be married, or attain to the ſaid age of 21 years, then I give and bequeath the ſaid legacy to her bequeathed to Roger Forteſcue, her brother, to be delivered to him at his age of 21 years, and untill that time to remain in truſt in the hands of Sir Wm Forteſcue, Knt, his uncle. Item, I give and be⯑queath unto my loving and kind friend, Mr. Randall Woolley, merchant taylor, one ounce of fine gold to make him a ring. Item, I give and bequeath unto my loving friend Mr. John Barker, living at Mr. Rob• Holland's houſe, the like quantity of fine gold to make him a ring. Item, I give and bequeath unto my loving friend Mr. Richd Lockſmith, Clerk to Mr. Attorney General, one ounce of fine gold to make him a ring. Item, I give and bequeath to my loving couſin Mr. John Lloide, bencher of the Inner Temple, 34 buttons of gold; to my couſin Wm Lloyd, his brother, 5 l. of money. Item, I give and bequeath to my honorable and late maſter, the ſaid John Forteſcue, Knt, one of his Highneſs' moſt honorable privy [45] councel, in token of the remembrance of his love and kindneſs towards me, 20l. in money, to buy him a piece of velvet for a gown. Item, I give and bequeath to my loving friend the un⯑der-named, for the love and kindneſs that hath paſſed between us on this earth, as followeth: that is to ſay; to Sir Robert Ban⯑niſter, knight, clark companion of his majeſty's houſehold, one ounce of fine gold, of 3l. to make him a ring. To Thomas Merry, chief clerk of his majeſty's kitchen, one ounce of the like gold to make him a hooped ſilver pot for his wife. Item, to John Trefearne, one other of the clerks of the kitchen, one ounce of like gold, to make him a ring; and to John Crane, one other of the clerks of the kitchen, the like quantity of gold. Item, to Mr. Lewis Owen, ſerjeant of the larder, the like quan⯑tity of gold Item, to Lewis Rogers, the prince's ſervant, half an ounce of like gold to make him a ring. Item, to John Panton, ſervant to the right honorable the lord chancellor of England, one ounce of fine gold of the like value. Item, to John Price, one of the porters of the ſpiritual court in London, the like quantity of fine gold. Item, to John Legate, of Hornchurch, in Eſſex, eſquire, one ounce of fine gold. Item, I give and bequeath to my loving friend Walter Meredith, 5 l. in money, and alſo a cloak of fine black cloth, with ſome lace about, and lined through with ruſſet taffety.’
THIS will is dated May 4th, 1607; the codicil two years after, and Sir Hugh Myddleton left ſole executor.
THE entertaining James Howel, STRANGE STORY OF JOHN PEN⯑NANT; in the xliiid letter of his Epiſtolae Ho-Elianae, makes John Pennant, third ſon of Pyers [46] Pennant of By [...]h [...]n, and brother of the worthy William, the in⯑ſtrument of preſages to our kingdom, of the evil days and evil times which were advancing with rapid pace. The relation is very properly addreſſed to that mirror of credulity, Sir Kenelm Digby, knight.
[...]D A [...]EN [...]S HEART'It was my fortune,' ſays the ſolemn hiſtorian, ‘to be in a late communication, where a gentleman ſpoke of a hideous thing that happened in High Holborn; how one John Pennant, a young man of 21, being diſſected after his death, there was a kind of ſerpent, with divers tails, found in the left ventricle of his heart, which you know is the moſt defended part, being thrice thicker than the right, and is the cell which holds the pureſt and moſt illuſtrious liquor, the arterial blood and the vital ſpirits. The ſerpent was it ſeems three years ingen⯑dring, for ſo long time he found himſelf indiſpoſed in the breaſt; and it was obſerved that his eye, in the interim, grew more ſharp and fiery, like the eye of a cock, which is next the ſerpent's eye in redneſs: ſo that the ſymptom of his in⯑ward diſeaſe might have been told by certain exterior rays and ſignatures.’
‘GOD preſerve us from public calamities! for ſerpentine monſters have been often ill favored preſages. I remember in the Roman ſtory, to have read how, when ſnakes or ſerpents were found near the ſtatues of their Gods, at one time about Jupiter's neck, another time about Minerva's thigh, there fol⯑lowed bloody civil wars after it.’
THIS portentous ſtory is given moſt ſcientifically by Dr. Edward May, in a thin quarto pamphlet of forty pages. The [47] title-page will inform the reader of his various other titles, which ſavor moſt ſtrongly of quackery.
A MOST CERTAINE AND TRVE RELATION OF A STRANGE MONSTER OR SERPENT, Found in the Left Ventricle of the Heart of John Pennant, Gentle⯑man of the Age of 21 Years.
By Edward May, Doctor of Philoſophy and Phyſick, and Profeſſor Elect of them in the Colledge of the Academy of Noblemen, called the Muſaeum Minervae.
Phyſitian alſo Extraordinary unto her Moſt Sacred Majeſty Queene of GREAT BRITAIN, &c.
LONDON: Printed by George Miller, MDCXXXIX.
THE epiſtle dedicatory is ‘to the renowned peere of this king⯑dom, Edward earle of Dorſet,’ the book itſelf to Sir Theodore Maiherne, knight. In that he lays before him the wonderful caſe. He tells us that he was ſent on October 7th, 1637, by Lady [48] Herris, wife to Sir Francis Herris, knight, to diſſect her nephew John Pennant, who had deceaſed the night before, to know the cauſe of his death. The doctor brought with him Maſter Jacob Heyden, ſurgeon, to aſſiſt in the enquiry. Mr. Heydon made in⯑ciſion into the left ventricle of the heart, which was full of blood. On thorough examination, the monſter was diſcovered, the head of which was ſo like to that of a ſerpent, that Lady Herris ſhivered to ſee it. To judge by the prints, all the upper part of it was cylindrical; towards the lower part bifurcated, and each fork divided into five long and ſlender fibrillae. I leave to the reader the peruſal of the reſt of Dr May's moſt curious diſ⯑quiſition.
THIS is not the only inſtance of ſimilar appearances in the heart: but we hear no more of ſerpents; the name was changed to polypuſes, to which, for their numerous ramifications, they might bear the reſemblance. In our Philoſophical Tranſactions are more than one paper on the ſubject. In Mr. Lowthorp's Abridg. iii. p. 70, and tab. p. 120, is an account, and the figure of one found in the heart of a man at Oxford; and in Mr. Martyn's Abridg. ix. p. 135, is the account of ſeveral diſcovered in num⯑bers of ſailors who died immediately on their return from the Weſt Indies. This paper was written by the celebrated Dr. Huxbam; he quotes Malpighius, Bartholinus, Tulpius, and Pechlin, as giving inconteſtible inſtances of the exiſtence of polypi in the heart, in the ſtricteſt ſenſe. This opinion is now exploded. The only uncommon circumſtance (my ingenious friend Dr. Haygarth aſſures me) is, that the left ventricle of the heart, and probably the aorta, which after death are uſually empty, were [49] in theſe caſes full of blood. The craſſamentum, upon coagula⯑tion, had taken the form of the arteries in which it was con⯑tained.
I BREAK a little into chronology,BARBAROUS EVENTS. to conclude with an event relative to another of my houſe; of little moment indeed, but merely to give a picture of the barbarous days, even of the be⯑ginning of the laſt century, which I collected from the journal kept by Peter Roberts, of St. Aſaph, before mentioned. He re⯑cords, that on July 22d, 1615, Hugh Pennant, brother to Pyers Pennant, eſq of Bychton, died of a broken head given him at Denbigh, by Pyers Hughes: That in the year 1626, Rowland Evan, a vicar of St. Aſaph, was killed at an ale-houſe in Llandrillo Eiderneon: That on October 3d, 1628, Mr. Richard Thelwal was ſlain at his own houſe at Ruthen: And that, in 1634, one Foulkes, of Cilowen, killed his wife, and cut his own throat.
THE mention of ale houſe tempts me to ſpeak of a houſe of mine, by the ſea-ſide, in the townſhip of Bychton, LLETTY GONEST. called Lletty Goneſt, or the honeſt houſe. It had been formerly in the higheſt repute for its excellent ale, brewed by a good ale-wife yclep'd Jane, of Lletty, whom I well remember. She acquired both fame and wealth, both of which I may ſay ſhe bequeathed to her deſcendants; who to this day, by their own induſtry, continue to flouriſh on the effect of her's.
THE houſe was originally built by one Smith, from Worceſter, partly for the purpoſes of diſtilling, and partly for a warehouſe. I am told, that it occaſionally had ſerved for the place of con⯑finement for impreſſed men, at the time in which the colliers [50] had ſuch great trade with Dublin. The ſtrong bars in the lower windows favor that notion.
SINGULAR HEAD.ABOVE the door is a very ſingular ſculpture, cut in bas-relief, in ſtone, and let into the wall. One part is a ſtrange chimerical figure of a monſter with four legs, and the head of an owl, fixing its claws in the ſide of a human head. The face is averted, and expreſſing much agony. The eye-lids are drawn up, the eyes the ſame, the mouth half opened, and the teeth cloſely fixed together. The face is young, but has a pair of whiſkers, and is far from being ill cut. It has the character of one of Le Brun's paſſions, article Pain. It evidently never was deſigned for this place, but ſeems originally to have been one of thoſe fanciful gothic ſculptures be⯑longing to ſome antient church.
SMUGGLING.IN the reign of King William, this houſe was remarkable for the violent hands laid on a vaſt ſeizure of French wines, to the amount of ſixty pipes, which had been ſmuggled into the great barn at Trelacre, in the pariſh of Llanaſa, deſtined for the uſe of the Welſh gentry in this and the neighboring counties. It muſt be obſerved, that in thoſe days port-wine was in very little uſe in our country. The officers had conveyed this prize with ſafety as far as Lletty Goneſt, where they intended to ſleep that night. At midnight they were alarmed by the entry of multitudes of colliers, who tied every body in the houſe neck and heels. They removed the wine into other carriages, and conveyed it into places ſo ſecure that it never more could be heard of. Many of the colliers were obſerved to have rings on their fingers, and fine linen. In fact numbers of them were the gentlemen intereſted in the wine, and concerned in the re-capture, who mixed with [51] the colliers, to direct them in their operations. A proclamation was iſſued out for the diſcovery of the offenders; but ſuch was the fidelity of our people, that they were never detected. The poor tapſter, in particular, knew perfectly well who they were, and large rewards were offered to him by the cuſtom-houſe; but nothing could ſhake his attachment to his friends. He lived long after, ſupported by the grateful contributions of the neighboring 'ſquires.
HIGH above Lletty Goneſt ſtands a ſummer-houſe, built by my grandfather, to which he often adjourned with his gueſts, to re⯑gale them with the delicious beer, brewed by the famous Jane. Many years after, when I became maſter of the eſtate, I alſo had my adjournment, but it was either to eat ſhrimps or to drink tea. An honeſt vicar of a diſtant pariſh, who had been a moſt intimate friend of my convivial grandfather, enquired whether I ever went to the ſummer-houſe; and was anſwered, 'Now and then, to drink tea.' Struck with horror at the de⯑generacy of the grandſon, the good man with indignation ex⯑clamed, ‘DRINK TEA! his grandfather would have SCORNED IT!’
THE turnpike road deſigned for the enabling the ſmelters and others to convey our coal to the places of its deſtination, from the Moſtyn and Bychton pits, paſſes by Lletty Goneſt, and goes along the ſhore towards Holywell. In the ſpace of a mile it paſſes by three ſmelting-houſes, Shop-goch, the property of Sir Roger Moſtyn, and Pen-y-Ro and Llanerch-y-môr, belonging to me. The laſt diſputes antiquity with moſt in the county, the late works at Gadlis excepted.
[52]ABOVE the laſt is the neat houſe of Kinſale, inhabited by my good friend and tenant Mr. Ralph Richardſon, who for ſeveral years had with great ſucceſs and integrity carried on the ſmelting buſineſs, with the advantage of ſhipping the produce from the very ſpot, after a ſhort carriage to the veſſels.
A SMALL marſh begins a little beyond Lletty Goneſt, and widens as it extends ſouthward. It borders on the manor of Moſtyn: but itſelf owns no lord but the king. The ſame may be ſaid of the va⯑luable remainder, as far as the manor of Coleſhill, in the pariſh of Flint. The minor of Greenfield, in the pariſh of Holywell, was long ſuppoſed to have been the property of one or other of two clamants, who fell into diſpute about the right. The matter was referred to two gentlemen of the law, eminent for their abilities, and not leſs ſo for their probity. After examining all the proofs adduced by the rivals, they adjudged that neither had any clame to the lordſhip; ſo it is now left to the freeholders under our ſovereign lord the king: a rich tract for future incloſures.
A LITTLE beyond Kinſale is the end of our pariſh on this ſide. The boundary between it and the pariſh of Holywell, is a ſmall [...]ll called Avon Marſh Siambr. AVON MARSH SIAMBR. Above on an eminence is the old ſeat of the Pierces, a family now extinct, and the property paſſed into other hands. It bears the name of Is Glan, from the name of the townſhip in which it ſtands.
ABOUT a mile higher up is Merton, the ſeat of the Reverend Mr. John Foulkes. He derives his right to it from Margaret, daughter and heireſs to Thomas Parry ap William Parry Wynne. She married John Foulkes, of Pen-yeba [...]luy, in the pariſh of Shy [...]iog, great-grandfather to the preſent owner, who died in July, 1667, and was interred in Whiteford church-yard.
[53] Tre Moſtyn bounds Tre Bychton on the weſt.TRE MOSTYN. This town⯑ſhip is conſidered as containing one fourth of the pariſh. It reaches to the ſea-ſide: on which, as well as the whole, trees of every kind grow moſt admirably.
IT is divided from Tre Bychton, in the lower part by the turn⯑pike road, which extends from the ſea-ſide to Henllan, ſixteen miles diſtant, originally deſigned for the conveyance of coal from the pits of this townſhip, and that of Tre Bychton, to the great lime-works near Denbigh. The firſt act was obtained in 1768, the ſecond in 1770: before which our roads were ſcarcely paſſable. If either Sir Roger Moſtyn's family or our own wanted to get to Cheſter, we were to reach the ſea-ſide; then to Flint as we could, and from thence at low water croſs the ford of the Dee, a way not always unattended with danger.
OPPOSITE to Moſtyn gates, on this part of the turnpike road,THE RHEWL. is a hamlet, called the Rhewl, yr Heol, platea, a way or ſtreet. On each ſide are a few houſes. The Swan, a ſmall ale-houſe, my property, was noted for its vaſt trade about the beginning of this century, when the coal trade was in the height of its proſperity: ‘And Cw [...]w da then unexciſed by kings!’ Thomas Edwards, who ſeveral years was tenant there, edu⯑cated a family of numbers of children, at no inconſiderable expence, and is ſuppoſed to have acquired by the tap at leſt fifteen hundred pounds.
FROM the Rhewl opens the principal gates to Moſtyn Hall,MOSTYN HALL. or more properly Moſton Hall, for ſuch, for many ages, was the ſpelling of the names of both the manſion and its antient owners. On this approach is a moſt venerable avenue, which goes for a [54] conſiderable way in a direct line; then turns ſhort, and terminates with a view of the old part of the old manſion. The park is ſmall, but beautifully broken, and cloathed in various parts with fine oaks, and moſt magnificent beeches; but amidſt the trees is ſuffered to remain rugged with the veſtiges of the antient col⯑lieries. The ground ſlopes finely to the ſea, facing the North Eaſt. The trees grow with vigor cloſe to the water, unhurt by the rude winds with which they are affailed.
THE houſe is placed about half a mile from the ſhore. I find ſome difficulty in making a deſcription. I ſhall therefore refer the reader to the firſt plate of Welſh ſeats, by Mr. Boydel, and to my own, as the only method of giving him ſome idea of the ſin⯑gularity of the ſtructure. That plate attempts the front—
For it conſiſts of the moſt antient hall; a leſſer, deſigned for a ſort of ſympoſium for ſervants; and on the outſide, annexed and jutting out, is the quondam chapel, now converted into a bed-chamber. I have a ſketch of the whole as it was in the year 1684, made by a Mr. Thomas Dinely, an attendant on Henry, firſt duke of Beaufort, then lord preſident of the council in the prin⯑cipality of Wales, and lord lieutenant of the twelve counties; who in that year made a reviewing progreſs of the militia of North Wales, and of courſe paid his reſpects to the great man of our country.
I CANNOT trace the time of building of this part of the houſe. It muſt have been at leſt early in the time of Henry VI. but pro⯑bably more antient, for in Bolton Hall, in Bowland, Yorkſhire (the moſt antique ſeat we know) is a hall in a leſſer ſcale indeed, but greatly ſimilar; and in that houſe it is well known that the unfor⯑tunate prince concealed himſelf for a long time. Poſterity may find the account in my ‘Tour in Part of the Mercian and Northum⯑brian Kingdoms.’ The great gloomy hall is furniſhed with a Dais or elevated upper end,THE OLD HALL. and with a long table for the lord and his jovial companions; and another in the ſide, the ſeat of the inferior partakers of the good cheer. To this day the ſimilitude of the old times is kept up when the family is at home. The head ſervants take their dinner at the Dais, and the numerous inferior ſervants fill the long table. The roof is lofty, croſſed with long beams. The nen-bren, or top-beam, was in all times a frequent toaſt, whenever the maſter of the houſe's health was drank; and 'Jached y nen-bren y ty,' was the cordial phraſe. The chimney-piece is magnificently plain, unleſs where the arms of the houſe and its alliances are cut on the ſtone, and properly emblazoned.
THE firſt are the arms (a lion rampant, ermin,COATS OF ARMS. erminé) of Jevan Vychan, of Pengwern, near Llangollen, (ſee Tour in Wales, vol. i. p. 295.) ſixteenth in deſcent from Owen Tudor. By the marriage of Jevan with Angharad, daughter and ſole heireſs of Howel ap Tudor ap Ithel Vychan, of Moſtyn, he added that eſtate to his paternal acres in the reign of Richard II.
IT ſeems (from the Moſtyn pedegree) that in 1444 Jevan had [56] farmed the eſtate. He wiſely determined to turn the leaſe into a perpetuity: and gaining the lady's affections, ‘Connubio junxit ſtabili, propriamque dicavit.’
THE next are the arms of his ſpouſe, the heireſs of Moſtyn: di⯑rectly deſcended from the Edwyn lord of Tegengle before mentioned (argent a croſs engrailed ſable, between four Corniſh choughs.)
THE third are the arms of Gloddaeth, (gules a chevron argent between three plates) acquired by the marriage of Howel ap Evan Vychan, ſon of the former, in 1460, with Margaret, daughter and heir of Gryffydd ap Rhys ap Gryffydd ap Madoc Gloddaeth ap Ma⯑doc ap Jerweth Goch, of Cryddyn, the hundred in which the houſe ſtands.
THE fourth are the arms of Sir Gryffydd Lloyd. Morfydd, one of his daughters and co-heireſſes, married Madoc Gloddaeth, who with her received Tregarnedd, in the iſle of Angleſey, as her portion. That eſtate followed the ſucceſſion of the houſe, till Gloddaeth was united with that of Moſtyn, in which it continued till the year 1750; then it was alienated by the late Sir Thomas Moſtyn, to the late Mr. Owen Williams, of Angleſey.
THE walls are furniſhed in a ſuitable manner with antient mili⯑tia guns, ſwords, and pikes; with helmets and breaſt-plates; with funeral atchievements,FALCON VAST FLIGHT OF ONE. and with variety of ſpoils of the chace. A falcon is nailed againſt the upper end of the room, with two bells, a greater and a leſſer, hung to each foot. On two ſilver rings are inſcribed the name of the owner, Mr. Kinloch, of Kul⯑rie, in the county of Angus, on the Eaſtern ſide of Scotland. With theſe incumbrances it flew from its owner on the morning of the 24th of September, 1772, and was killed near this houſe on the [57] morning of the 26th. The preciſe time it reached our country is not known; therefore we are uncertain whether this bird exceeded in ſwiftneſs the hawk which flew thirty miles in an hour in pur⯑ſuit of a woodcock; or that which made a flight out of Weſt⯑phalia into Pruſſia in a day—inſtances recorded by the learned Sir Thomas Brown.
THE adjacent kitchen is overlooked by a gallery leading to the antient apartments of the lady of the houſe,KITCHEN. at a period when the odors of the pot and ſpit were thought no ill ſavors. From the commanding height of the gallery the good lady might give her orders to her Coges, or ſhe-cook, as Syrus is humorouſly de⯑ſcribed by Terence to do to his ſcullion Dromo:— ‘Let the great eel ſport a little longer in the water.—See that you gut the other fiſhes, and ſtew the great carp well.—Freſhen the ſalt fiſh.— Look to the baked meats, good Douſe.—Criſp the pig nicely.— Pray do not over-roaſt the ſurloin again.—Boil the pudding ſufficiently, and do not ſpare plums and ſuet.—Be ſure not to ſmoke the flummery.—Remember, no onions to-day—neigh⯑bor P. dines with us, &c. &c.’
IN the roof to this gallery are numbers of ſmall rooſting-holes, to which the inferior maidens of the family nightly repair to reſt from their labors.
AT one end of the gallery is a great room,GREAT ROOM. remarkable for a ſingular event. During the time that Henry earl of Richmond was ſecretly laying the foundation of the overthrow of the houſe of York, he paſſed concealed from place to place, in order to form an intereſt among the Welſh, who favored his cauſe on account of their re⯑ſpect to his grandfather Owen Tudor, their countryman. While [58] he was at Moſtyn, a party attached to Richard III. arrived there to apprehend him. He was then about to dine, but had juſt time to leap out of a back window, and make his eſcape through a hole, which,HENRY VII. to this day, is called the King's. Richard ap Howel, then lord of Moſtyn, joined Henry at the battle of Boſworth; and after the victory, received from the king, in token of gratitude for his preſervation, the belt and ſword he wore on that day; he alſo preſſed Richard greatly to follow him to court: but he nobly an⯑ſwered, like the Shunamitiſh woman: ‘I dwell among mine own people.’ The ſword and belt were preſerved in the houſe till within theſe few years. It is obſervable that none of our hiſto⯑rians account for a certain period of Henry's life, previous to his acceſſion. It is very evident that he paſſed the times when he diſappeared from Bretagny, in Wales. Many cotemporary bards, by feigned names, record this part of his life, under thoſe of the LION, the EAGLE, and the like, which were to reſtore the em⯑pire to the Britons: for the inſpired favorers of the houſe of Lancaſter did not dare to deliver their verſes in other than terms allegorical, for fear of the reigning prince.
BEFORE I quit the old houſe, let me ſay, that the beſt view of the chaotic additions backward is from the garden, from a very handſome ſummer-houſe, built by the firſt baronet, as appears by his arms quartered with thoſe of his wife, Bulkeley of Baron Hill. From this ſpot is ſeen great part of the buildings, and the appurtenances to the old houſe, one tacked to the other, as the increaſe or the wants of the family made neceſſary.
IN the year 1631, Sir Roger Moſtyn, knight,NEW HOUSE, 1631. gave to the houſe a very handſome addition; a ſquare maſs, conſiſting of ſix bed-chambers, a very large eating-room, and a dining-room or drawing-room above, with a large bow-window in the middle of each. In that below are the arms of Gwynne and D'Arcy, well emblazoned on glaſs. Theſe are complimentary to two great alliances; the one of Sir Roger himſelf with Mary, daughter of the famous Sir John Wynne, of Gwydir; the other out of reſpect to the alliance with Bridget Savage, daughter of D'Arcie Savage, eſq of Leighton, in Cheſhire, by whom the family acquired the great eſtates they poſſeſs in that county. From the principal gate of the park they have the pleaſing view of thoſe of Beeſton, and thoſe above Parkgate.
OPPOSITE to this window is a fire-place ſuitable to the room. Above are the arms of the numerous alliances of the houſe, [60] beautifully done in ſtucco, dated 1632. Conjoined with them are the arms of Mary Wynne, wife of Sir Roger. Thoſe of Gwydir quarterly with thoſe of Gryffydd ap Conan. In the firſt of the Moſtyn ſide are thoſe of Tudor Trevor, the ſtock of the houſe. The next are thoſe of Llwdocca ap Carad [...]c. 3dly, the arms of Elidir ap Rhys Sais. 4thly, thoſe of Jeſtyn ap Gurgant. 5thly, the bearing of Brochwel Yſcythrog. 6thly, the arms of Edwyn. 7thly, thoſe of Tudor ap Gronw. 8thly, of Ithel Vychan. 9thly, are the arms of Madoc Gloddaeth. 10thly, are thoſe of Sir Gryffydd Lloyd. The 11th, of Goodman; and 12thly, and laſtly, the arms of Shalmeſ [...]orow, which ſeem an appurtenance only to thoſe of Goodman. This is a mere focal ornament, an abridge⯑ment of the thirty-two coats which graced the pedegree of the houſe in the year 1663. Two Termini ſupport the entablature of this genealogical table. The other ornaments are elegant; but unfortunately, as if to daſh the mirth of the company, the architect has added, in full view, the monumental croſs-bones and bared ſkull.
HIS lady's neck (in a picture of the ſame date) is ornamented with a large ruff, ſingle and elevated; her right hand has in it a fan, and reſts on an elbow-chair; on a finger of her left hand is a ring, tied to her arm by ſeveral black ſtrings.
SHE is dreſſed in a handſome long gown, with a ſaſh up to her very arms, exactly like the no-waiſted fair of the preſent days. Her ſhape is contrived to have ſome degree of elegance, notwithſtanding ſhe ſeems to have been a large woman. I wiſh our modern embonpoints reſembled this lady. They ſeem to emu⯑late in faſhion the form of a ſack of wool, bulging out on every ſide, undulating their plump graces, here and there, as motion gives occaſion. Over the mouth of the ſack ſeems to have been oftimes flung by accident a light horſeman's cap, or any other incongruity, inſtead of the venerable coeffure of the Lady Moſtyn, at the ſober age of forty-nine.
HIS ſon Roger, the firſt baronet, created Auguſt 3d, 1660,SIR ROGER, FIRST BARONET. is the middle figure of a picture of the moſt ridiculous compoſition. This diſtinguiſhed character is repreſented a kit-kat length, in a ſtrange long flaxen wig, a breaſt-plate, buff ſkirts, and antique [62] Roman ſleeves; a negro holding his helmet. By him is his ſecond lady, Mary, eldeſt daughter of Thomas, lord Bulkeley, of Baron Hill. She is reading, with one hand on a ſkull, and her little lap-dog placed by her warlike huſband. His third wife is doubled up, and concealed behind the frame. This lady ſhewed ſuch a mercenary diſpoſition, and ſo miſchievous to the children of her predeceſſor, that one of the family affixed this ſtigma. I have taken a peep at her, and may pronounce her countenance to be truly ſymptomatic of her interior.
SIR Roger was a zealous loyaliſt. He raiſed a regiment in ſupport of the crown, conſiſting of fifteen hundred men, in twelve hours time, moſtly colliers. Whitelock, whoſe ſiſter had been married to Sir Thomas Moſtyn, of Kilken, in this county, knight, father to Sir Roger, ſpeaks of him in the following terms; notwithſtanding their principles, and the parts they took were widely different. 'Then the parliament forces (in 1643)' ſays the hiſtorian, at p. 78, ‘took in Moſtyn-houſe, belonging to colonel Moſtyn, the governor of Flint; and in Moſtyn they took four pieces of ordnance and ſome arms.’
‘THIS colonel Moſtyn is my ſiſter's ſon, a gentleman of good parts, and mettle; of a very ancient family, large poſſeſſions, and great intereſt in that country; ſo that in twelve hours he raiſed 1,500 men for the king, and was well beloved there, living very nobly.’
THIS gentleman's loyalty coſt him and the family dear. He ſpent about ſixty thouſand pounds in the ſervice of his majeſty. His houſe of Moſtyn was plundered and ſtripped, ſo that he was obliged to retire to a ſmall houſe called Plas-ycha, about a mile diſtant from Moſtyn. The firſt was built by his grandfather, the [63] old baronet before mentioned: within, in coarſe ſtucco, are his arms, with thoſe of Gwydir, and the date and initials of his and his lady's name—'1603, R. M. M. M.'
SIR Roger had a great intimacy with Pyers Pennant, his cotem⯑porary neighbor at Bychton. Both ſeem to have been boon companions, as is evident from the P. S. to the following cu⯑rious epiſtle:
I HOPE you will excuſe me for aſking for the 4l. you owe me for the pair of oxen; for I want the money to make up 20l. to ſend my ſon to Oxford next week.
P. S.—How does your head do this morning?—mine aches confoundedly.
AT this time money was ſo ſcarce, that 4l. was a price for a pair of oxen; and the baronet of Moſtyn was thought very liberal in ſending his heir apparent to the univerſity with 20l. in his pocket.
THE other portraits are a head of Sir Thomas Moſtyn, the gen⯑tleman who married Bridget Savage, heireſs of the Cheſhire eſtates.
ONE of the late Sir Thomas Moſtyn, when a youth. In him was united the fine gentleman, the polite ſcholar, and the good man. My viſion of a certain youth, I do believe, does not iſſue from the ivory gate.
[64]PORTRAITS of William Vaughan, eſq of Corſygedol, and his brother Evan Lloyd Vaughan, eſq of Bodidris, ſucceſſor to his eſtates, and to his ſeat in parlement for the county of Merioneth.
A SMALL full length of the exiled duke of Ormond, in a Roman dreſs, with a brown full wig, and a plan of a modern fortification, by Vauban or C [...]horn, at his feet.
BILLY BANGOR.LET not the ſhades of the great grow indignant, when I men⯑tion on the ſame page our Billy Bangor, the wit, the jeſter, buf⯑foon, and fool (as he probably was miſnamed) of our country. His ſayings and his pranks are to this day much talked of. His is a half-length, with a pipe in his hand. His look ſavors not of folly, and is full of ſly gravity. The portrait is well painted, I imagine in the beginning of the preſent century, in which Billy flouriſhed.
TWO very good portraits, half-lengths, cloſe the liſt. They are ſaid to have been two painters, who ſate for their pictures to each other. Their countenances are good, their dreſſes ſimilar.
BETWEEN them is a head of Charles II. in his uſual black wig. He is well painted, but without flattery. His coarſe features well vindicate the queſtion he put to poor Riley, the painter, on ſeeing the portrait done by that artiſt: ‘Is this like me?—then, od's fiſh, I am a very ugly fellow *!’
BUSTS.IN the room are ſome buſts collected by the late Sir Thomas Moſtyn, when he was at Rome; among them is a beautiful head of a young Faun, in a Phrygian bonnet, placed (by no very un⯑common miſtake) on a female body, which it never owned.
ONE of the Cornelii, with meagre face and lank hair. Au⯑guſtus. A Seleucus, with two wings faſtened to an imperial [65] diadem, ſymbols of diſpatch and expedition. Two heads of old men, one with ſhort curled hair, and long rounded beard; the other with a long ſquare beard, and long flowing hair. Both have a fillet round the head. Neither of theſe are determined. One is conjectured to have been Heſiod; the other Hippocrates.
THIS room is in length thirty-five feet three inches; in breadth twenty feet, from the hollow of the bow-window to the fire-place.
IN paſſing out of this apartment to the great ſtairs is the entrance into a ſmall and darkſome room, mentioned only for the ſake of a picture of a hound bitch, moſt enormouſly fat, doing great credit to the houſe: as another, I am in poſſeſſion of, did to that of Bychton.
THE dining-room is above the parlor.DINING-ROOM. The dimenſions are very ſingular, exceeding in breadth thoſe of the room below about nine inches. On an antient table, made out of one plank (of ſome unknown wood) ſeven feet ten inches in length, and four feet ten in breadth, ſtands a moſt exquiſite buſt of the elder Brutus, BUST OF THE ELDER BRUTUS; which ſeems as if formed in the inſtant that the love of his country got the better of paternal affection; when with a ſteady voice he was delivering to the lictors his Titus and Tiberius, to receive the reward of their treaſons.
ON a glaſs caſe are two buſts in brown alabaſter,OF TWO FAUNS. of a male and female Faun, with the flammeum on their heads. Both are of hideous deformity, but well executed. In the caſe beneath is a very fine model of a man of war of ſixty-four guns:MODEL OF A MAN OF WAR. and beneath that a moſt ſplendid barge. I ſhould have mentioned, that, between the Fauns, is alſo a model of the Edyſtone light-houſe,EDYSTONE. which was burnt down in the year 1755, and ſucceeded by the preſent, the work of our able engineer the late Mr. Smeaton.
[66] PAINTING OF ST. CATHERINE.ON the left hand of this caſe is a moſt charming painting by Leonardo da Vinci, of St. Catherine. The wheel is placed by her, and in her hand is a palm-branch, the ſymbol of martyrdom. Moreri, and the moderate catholic writers, ſeem to be incredu⯑lous, equally with myſelf, as to her hiſtory. The Golden Legend, that flower of martyrologies, is ſuperior to all doubts. She was daughter to king Coſtus, married to our Saviour, and martyred by a wheel ſtuck with razors, under the tyrant Maxentius. The wheel burſt to pieces, and at once killed four thouſand Paynims who attended the execution. Both theſe ſubjects have furniſhed moſt delightful pictures for the beſt maſters. (See more of her in my Outlines of the Globe—Arabia, vol. x. p. 23.)
THE SU [...]ER AT EMAUS.OVER the chimney-piece is a good picture by one of the Baſſans, of the ſupper at Emaus, filled with pots and kettles, and all the characteriſtic culinary furniture of thoſe famous artiſts.
TWO CAVERNS.TWO very good pieces, I imagine of the interior of ſome great quarries, vaſt caverns, with pillars of ſtone left to ſupport the roof. Similar to thoſe are the caves of Cauſſie, in the county of Banff, in North Britain, drawn by my much-lamented protège, the late Mr. Cordiner, (ſee Introduction to the Arctic Zoology, tab. i.) and ſuch as thoſe engraven by Le Bruyn (ii. p. 189. tab. 250, 251, of the Engliſh edition) which he ſaw on the Wo⯑logda, in the province of the ſame name.
DANIEL EARL OF NOTTINGHAM.THE family portraits ſhall be mentioned as they are placed. At the upper end of the room is Daniel, ſecond earl of Notting⯑ham, ſitting in his robes, with a moſt enormous black wig, flow⯑ing on each ſide, almoſt to his waiſt; his complexion ſuitably ſwarthy.
[67]THIS noble peer was painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller, and was one of the few pictures which that unprincipled painter, as Mr. Walpole ſays, would not gladly have diſowned the moment it was paid for. The earl of Nottingham was, as Dalrymple repre⯑ſents him to have been, moſt vehement in his political principles, both in church and ſtate, ſo that he could hereby not live in charity with thoſe who differed from him. He undertook the defence of the former againſt the attack made upon it by the famous Whiſton, in a letter in 1719, addreſſed to his lordſhip, which the earl anſwered; for which his lordſhip received from the univer⯑ſity of Oxford, in full convocation, its ſolemn thanks, for his noble defence of the Chriſtian faith. He died January 1, 1729-30. His zeal (as Mr. Walpole obſerves) cauſed him during life to ſuffer many aſperſions. In all probability the following may have been one: a ſtanza in the tranſlation of the 4th Epiſtle, lib. ii. of Horace, Ne ſit ancillae tibi amor pudori, by the Earl of to the Earl of S.
HIS ſecond lady, Anne, only daughter of William, HIS COUNTESS. the laſt viſcount Hatton, is the next portrait, ſitting, and dreſſed in white. According to Collins, ſhe was a moſt profitable veſſel, for ſhe had five ſons and eight daughters, beſides ten other children who died young, and ſeven who were ſtill-born.
[68] LADY ESSEX MOSTYN.LADY Eſſex, her eldeſt daughter, in blue, ſitting without a cap. One lock graces her neck. She was married to Sir Roger Moſtyn, the third baronet. There is a good mezzotinto print of her, by John Smith, from a different portrait, by Kneller. The painter has placed her on a bank, in a rural ſcene, with flowers in her hands.
THE ſecond daughter, lady Charlotte, married to Charles Seymour, duke of Somerſet, in yellow, ſitting.
Mary, counteſs of Thanet, in white, ſitting, married to Sack⯑ville Tufton, earl of Thanet.
Dorothy, counteſs of Burlington, wife to the late Richard Boyle, earl of Burlington. She is in the character of Diana, in white, walking, with a ſpear in her hand.
THOSE two ladies were ſiſters, daughters to William Saville, marquis of Halifax, by his ſecond wife, Mary, only daughter of the pious earl above mentioned, by his firſt wife, lady Eſſex Rich, one of the daughters and coheirs of Robert Rich, earl of Warwick.
SIR ROGER MOSTYN.SIR Roger Moſtyn, grandfather to the preſent baronet. He was pay-maſter of the marines, in the reign of Queen Anne, and one of the tellers of the exchequer in that of George I. He died on May 5th, 1739.
LATE SIR THO⯑MAS MOSTYN.THE late Sir Thomas Moſtyn, and the general John Moſtyn, painted when they were children of ſeven or eight years of age, in one piece. Sir Thomas is dreſſed in a blue ſilver-laced ſuit. His younger brother habited exactly like a girl, in ſtays, a frock, and an apron, with his neck naked: too ridiculous to be attempted by the artiſt, or permitted by the parents.
[69] Savage Moſtyn, afterward admiral Moſtyn. ADMIRAL MOS⯑TYN. His is a very good and ſpirited portrait. It was painted when he was a lieutenant: his hand reſts on a cannon, the ſea and ſhipping in view. His dreſs a red ſhort waiſtcoat, a colored handkerchief round his neck, and a colored worſted night-cap, ſitting lightly on his well-ſhaven head. There is a neat etching of this portrait, by Worlidge. It is ſaid that he firſt introduced the uniform into the navy. He died in 1757.
Algernon Percy, earl of Northumberland. EARL OF NORTH⯑UMBERLAND. That nobleman was not bred to the ſea, yet in 1636 was employed by his majeſty, with a fleet of ſixty ſail, to drive away the Dutch (Kennet, iii. 78.) who would perſiſt in fiſhing on our coaſts. When his lordſhip ſound them indiſpoſed to comply, he took ſome, ſunk others, and drove the reſt away. Soon after which the States were glad to ſubmit to pay the ſum of thirty thouſand pounds for permiſ⯑ſion to continue their fiſheries. In the next year the earl was conſtituted lord high admiral of England. Lord Clarendon ſpeaks of him when he was appointed privy counſel, as if it was done for ornament! He took, in the conſequent troubles, a part adverſe to the king. But in 1648, he voted that his majeſty's conceſſions were ſufficient grounds for ſettling the peace of the kingdom. The army ſoon ſettled that affair. His lordſhip retired from the tyranny of the times, became one of the inſtru⯑ments of the Reſtoration, and died in 1668.
HE is painted as lord high admiral, ſitting (a half-length) with one hand on an anchor, with the view of the deſtroying the buſſes at a diſtance.
[70]A BEAUTIFUL ſmall full-length on board, of a very young lady, in the dreſs of the time of Vandyk. The figure is in height only ſeven inches. It is beautifully copied in oil, after that great maſter, probably by Ruſſel, who is mentioned by the noble author of the Anecdotes of Painting, vol. ii. p. 6.
CHARLES I. AND QUEEN. PROFILES.TWO beautiful half-length portraits of Charles I. and his beau⯑teous queen, both profiles, finely painted. They are called Vandyk's, but I ſuſpect the artiſt. Charles in black, with one hand playing with his ribbon. Henrietta is in white, lightly hold⯑ing her mantle.
CHARLES I. AND QUEEN.THERE is beſides the ſame royal pair in one piece, three-quar⯑ters length, ſmall, evidently by Vandyk. The king is in a light red jacket, laced with ſilver; ſhe in white, a favorite dreſs with her majeſty, and preſenting to him a wreath of laurel. She ap⯑pears pregnant. They are charmingly painted. The dreſs of the king is the ſame as the portrait I mentioned at p. 19, only mine is red, laced with gold.
BEAUTIES OF CHARLES II.DISPERSED in different rooms are twelve ſmall heads of Charles II. and his beauties.
ARMS IN STAINED GL [...].IN the windows of the dining-room are ſeveral honorary me⯑morials of alliances, or of great men, friends of the family, per⯑petuated by their coats of arms in ſtained glaſs.
SIR ORLANDO BRIDGEMAN.THE firſt is of Sir Orlando Bridgeman, a perſon eminent for his piety and charity, in the reign of Charles I. and his ſucceſſor. He was employed on the part of the king as one of the com⯑miſſioners at the treaty of Uxbridge, but fell under ſome cenſure in ſhewing a diſpoſition to make conceſſions in church affairs, [71] which were diſagreeable to his majeſty. Yet lord Clarendon, in his own Life, i. 176. attributes them more to a timidity of diſpoſition than to any ill deſign. At the Reſtoration he was ſucceſſively made chief baron of the exchequer, chief juſtice of the common pleas; and at length lord-keeper of the great ſeals. He ended his days in 1674.
THE arms of Cadifod ap Dyfnwal, quartered with ſeveral coats of arms of the great men in South Wales.
James earl of Derby, his arms quartered with thoſe of his gallant Charlotte de la Tremouille.
SIR Thomas Savage, baronet, afterwards created viſcount Sa⯑vage, by James I.; and in 1639, on the death of his father-in-law lord Darcie, viſcount Colcheſter, became earl Rivers.
ARMS of the Moſtyns and Wynnes of Gwydir.
THE Groſvenours and Moſtyns, in memory of the marriage of Sydney Moſtyn, eldeſt daughter of the old Sir Roger Moſtyn, with Sir Richard Groſvenour, of Eyton, baronet.
Moſtyn and Whitelock, occaſioned by the marriage of Sir Thomas Moſtyn, of Kilken, knight, eldeſt ſon of the old Sir Roger Moſtyn, with Elizabeth, eldeſt daughter of Sir James Whitelock, knight, one of the puiſne judges of the king's bench in 1620, and ſiſter to the famous hiſtorian.
Francis earl of Bedford.
Thomas Egerton, baron Elleſmere. See his origin in my Tour in Wales, vol. i. p. 109.
John Williams, biſhop of Lincoln. Theſe arms have, quartered with his own, thoſe of the ſee of Lincoln, which ſhew that they muſt have been put up before he was removed to the ſee of [72] York, in 1641. Probably all the others were put up at the ſame time.
PORTH-MAWR.IN 1570 William Moſton (for till the time of his ſon, Sir Thomas Moſtyn, knight, that was the manner in which the name was ſpelt) meditated a deſign of building a new houſe. By what he executed it appears to have been planned in form of a quadrangle, the old houſe to have been rebuilt, and to have formed the centre, the other three ſides to have been the offices. He finiſhed only one, which from the great gate-way in the middle bears to this day the name of Porth mawr.
THE date is expreſſed in this manner: ANNO MUNDI 5552. W. M. 1570. If I may compare ſmall things with great, my houſe at Bychton was rebuilt, and my houſe at Merton Uchlan was alſo built in the ſame year; ſo it ſeems to have been an improving age.
LIBRARY.AT one end of this building is the library, a room moſt un⯑worthy of the valuable collection of manuſcripts and books it contains. Few, if any, can boaſt of the number or beauty of the firſt, eſpecially the illuminated; and I ſuſpect that the num⯑ber, rarity, and value of the antient claſſics, medallic hiſtories, gems, and variety of every ſpecies of polite literature, is without parallel. They are of the ſcarceſt editions, and printed by the moſt eſteemed printers. I am indebted to Mr. Edward Clarke, A. M. of Jeſus college, Cambridge, for a ſelect catalogue of the moſt valuable manuſcripts and books. The articles mentioned are attended with our joint notes; but my ſhare muſt candidly be confeſſed to have been the ſmalleſt. Mr. Clarke may be ſaid to be a ſcholar, ex traduce. His mother [73] was daughter to the Rev. Dr. William Wotton, famous for having given a tranſlation of the laws of Howel Dda. His grandfather, WILLIAM CLARKE, M. A. was ſtill more eminent. He aſſiſted Wotton in his labors, by a moſt learned and elegant Latin preface to the Leges Wallicae. But his name will be for ever delivered to poſterity for his celebrated treatiſe, The Connection of the Roman, Saxon, and Engliſh Coins, printed in 1767, by his friend Mr. William Bowyer. Neither muſt I be ſilent in reſpect to Mr. Clarke's father, who favored the world with a very ingenious ac⯑count of Spain, where he had reſided ſome time under the patro⯑nage of the earl of Briſtol, the Britiſh miniſter at the court of Madrid.
THE late Sir Thomas Moſtyn may be ſaid to have been the founder of the library. In the old catalogue (for Mr. Clarke has formed a moſt complete new one) is written, in Sir Thomas's own hand, the following very unneceſſary apology: Satius eſt etioſum eſſe quam nihil agere!
AT Gloddaeth is another large library,GLODDAETH LIBRARY. conſiſting chiefly of old Engliſh hiſtory, and very valuable Welſh MSS. collected by Sir Roger Moſtyn, grandfather to the preſent baronet.
Arms of Illuſtrious Families of France, MANUSCRIPTS. beginning with the Comte d'Auvergne, the houſes, and caſtles, and coats of arms, illuminated. Fol. Vel. illum.
Account of the Rebellion in North and South Wales, in the laſt Century, quarto. It begins in 1642, and ends in 1656. Part [74] is written in Welſh. It appears by ſeveral paſſages to have been written by a native of Dolgelli.
Biblia Sacra Antiqua. Quarto, vel. ſlightly illuminated. In moſt curious ſmall gothic letter.
Of the magnificent MS. 'Boccace des nob. & illuſt. Femmes,' Foll. vell. illum. it ſhould be obſerved that the illuminations, in point of beauty and number, exceed any thing of the kind. The principal illumination or fronteſpiece is a repreſentation of our firſt parents in the garden of Eden. The Deity is here pourtrayed in the papal robes, with the tiara on his brow, handing Eve out of Adam's ſide. Two angels in white ſur⯑plices ſupport his train, which is of blue and gold. The garden is encloſed by the walls and windows of a gothic cathedral.
TOWARDS the end of the volume is a repreſentation of Pope Joan's accouchement in the public ſtreets of Rome, in her way to the Lateran church, between the Coliſeum and St. Clement's church, attended by two cardinals, preceded by a white friar, and followed by a numerous concourſe of mob. This cele⯑brated Popeſs (if ſuch there ever was) is ſaid to have been a German girl, who had aſſumed the habit of our ſex, went to Athens to ſtudy, and made ſuch a progreſs as to be the aſto⯑niſhment of every body. By what ſteps ſhe roſe to the papacy I am not told. She attained it in 853, and diſcharged all the duties of it under the name of John VIII. She unfortunately proved a frail mortal. Her holineſs had an intrigue, and the conſequences appeared as related. Unable to bear the ſhame, ſhe died on the ſpot. This affair gave occaſion to a thouſand controverſies: which ſide had the right is little worth enquiry. Mr. Miſſon enters deeply into it, ſee vol. ii. p. of his Travels. [75] He takes the affirmative part, and gives us an engraving of the fa⯑mous chair (ſee tab. vii. p. 119) on which every pope, after the cruel deception, is obliged to ſit. It has in the middle a hole like that of a ſelle-percée, on which the new pope is obliged to ſit ſans culottes, and the youngeſt deacon to make a report that his holineſs has not impoſed on the catholic world.
THE horrors of the various and barbarous modes of execution exhibited in moſt of the pages, take away the pleaſure of exa⯑mining minutely this fine MS.
Comedia di Dante, fol. vell. illum. A moſt infernal MS. in gothic letters; the illuminations coarſe, numerous as horrid; on every page devils are repreſented in all forms. Fancy ſeems exhauſted. Done by the Fuſeli of the time. Mr. Addiſon ſome⯑where obſerves that the devils of Dante and Taſſo are made hor⯑rible by their horns, claws, and tails; Milton's by their evil paſ⯑ſions. I wiſh the reader could compare the deformity of the dae⯑mons in this MS. with the greater deformities occaſioned by the evil paſſions which render deteſtable even the beauteous features of the fallen angels, painted by the admirable Weſtall for Mr. Boydel's Milton. It ſhould ſeem as if the ideas of our great poet had tranſmigrated into our young painter, to give the preſent times the fulneſs of his conceptions.
Chroniques de Jean Froiſſart, en deux livres, avec figures. Folio, vell. illum.—A very fair and antient manuſcript, with the hiſtory of every chapter curiouſly painted in gold and water-colors. It was written in Froiſſart's own time, or near it, and belonged to a Holland. The firſt lord Buckhurſt made a preſent of it to Sir William Cecil. The arms of the Hollands are often painted [76] in the initial letters, and in others the arms of the nobility men⯑tioned in the hiſtory.
THE fronteſpiece to this volume is a battle, with a town at a diſtance. The French appear victorious; their cavalry driving be⯑fore them that of the fugitive Engliſh. I compared the text of this valuable MS. with the French edition, printed at Lyons in 1559, and the famous tranſlation by Sir John Berniers, lord Bourchier, done in 1525, and find both vary in language, but not in ſenſe, from this manuſcript. Another volume of the firſt and ſecond books, equally beautiful, is to be found in the Gloddaeth library; which I thus deſcribe in my Tour in Wales, ii. p. 337. ‘The fronteſpiece repreſents the author on his knees, in a blue man⯑tle, preſenting his book to Edward III. A king of France, diſtin⯑guiſhed by the fleurs-de-lis on his robes, holds a queen by the hand, who, from the arms of England, and the lions on her robe, ſeems to be queen Philippa, to whom Froiſſart was clerk of the cloſet. She holds by the hand a little boy, whoſe robe is alſo marked with the lions. This muſt have been Richard of Bour⯑deaux, her grandſon, afterwards Richard II. A lady and ſeveral other figures appear in the piece.’ —Mr. Simco, bookſeller, in Great Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, had copy of this manuſcript. It was dated on the back 'd'environ 1470.'
Decreta ſac. Congregationis Concilii, tom. 7, quarto, in Italian, a common hand, ill-written.
De Arte Amandi, Ovid, vell. quarto.
Euſebii Gloſſarum Liber, vell. fol. gothic letters.
Evang. de Matthae, cum Expoſ. vell. fol. moſt curious gothic letter, ſlight but elegant illumination.
[77] Ellegia di Madonna Fiametta, fol.
Hiſtoire des Roys de France, fol. vell. illuminated.
Hiſtoire des quatre Roys de France, Charles V, VI, VII, & Lewis XI. Fol. vell. illum. only one large illumination, a battle: King Charles VII. mounted, driving an Engliſh body of cavalry before him: a town at a diſtance.
Herodiani Hiſtoriae, &c. Fol. ſuperb vell. with beautiful ena⯑melled coins—a MS. matchleſs for elegance of the ornamental part of illumination, and equally ſo for the medals in rich gold, ſeemingly real, and as if lying on the paper. To the firſt letter of each chapter is prefixed one, with the reverſe.
Il Nimfale in Verſi, di Giov. Bo [...]accio, 8vo.
Imperatoris Caeſaris Maximiliani, de Vita ſua, Comm. Quarto, ſuperb illum. with a portrait of the emperor, and a view of his ſtudy.
Maximiliam I. was born in 1459. He firſt married, in 1477, Mary of Burgundy. After her death he married by proxy Ann of Bretagne: but Charles VIII. of France actually married her in perſon, and in conſequence added her dominion to that of his ſucceſſors. The illuminations are very beautiful. His own portrait is the firſt, ſitting in a rich chair, at a table, with his pen in his hand. That of his chriſtening is the next. In another he is inſtructed in the art of beleaguering. A fourth places him in his ſtudy, drawing figures aſtrological, calculating ſome great event. From the king to the cobler, every one was in thoſe ages an aſtrologer.—Conſult Sully, 410 edit. i. 78.81.382.530.
[78]ONE ſide of the ſtudy is filled with books, moſtly claſped, with their faces outwards, the leaves gaily painted. Above Maximi⯑lian are his croſs-bows, his bows and arrows, the inſtruments of the chace; and by them his art in muſic is expreſſed by the lute. On the floor is ſhewn the objects of his various ſtudies. That of artillery, by two golden cannon. Of painting, by the grinding-ſtone for colors, and the pallet. Of huſbandry, by a hoe. Of his ſkill in the arts of the carpenter and joiner, by the ax, plane, &c. &c. &c. Of the ſmith, by the iron anvil.—A more curious illu⯑mination is not to be found!
IN one or other of them are depicted the deeds of his buſy life. His amuſements in the chace are given in various draw⯑ings; ſuch as that of the bear, the boar, the ſtag, the chamois, and ibex. The ſcenery of vaſt rocks and precipices, and the manner of the chaſſeurs overcoming all difficulties, make this a moſt curious delineation. There is one ſhewing him employed in falconry. Tilts ending moſt fatally, and as cruelly as ſhows of gladiators, next are exhibited. His marriage, and his being inſtructed in virtuous gallantry with the ladies of the court, and the maids of honor, all true Platonic lovers. Maximilian was alſo great in the field. Voltaire tells us that prince introduced the arms of the Macedonian phal [...]nx; and in all the military illuminations, the long pike (eighteen feet in length) is introduced. In the midſt of war he preſerved his gallantry. A lady is repreſented at the entrance of his tent, like another Syfigambis, kneeling to this ſecond Alexander, imploring his pity.—This was the virago ſiſter of Egmond, duke of Gueldres, who, after his death, entered [79] Venlo, and defended it valiantly againſt Maximilian, who ſoon reduced her to ſubmit to his mercy.—Let this cloſe his glorious life. I ſhall add no more than the concluſion: for in 1519, at the age of ſixty, he quitted the mortal ſtage, the com⯑mon fate of emperors and their meaneſt ſubjects.
La Vie de Monſ. Sevin, fol.—Francis Sevin, a learned Frenchman, one of the Academy Royal of Inſcriptions, &c. at Paris, appoint⯑ed (in conjunction with l'Abbê Fourmont) to travel into Greece in ſearch of antient MSS. He returned in 1730, and with ſuch ſucceſs, that he was rewarded with the place of keeper of the royal MSS. He was born in 1699, died in 1741, leaving be⯑hind numbers of learned memoirs, printed among thoſe of the academy.
Lactantius Firmianus, 1663. fol. vell. the writing moſt ele⯑gant, like the fineſt type, in the manner of Aldus. One ſide of the margin is prettily illuminated with a fancy ſcroll; birds, &c.
Miſſale Vetus, 12mo. with curious muſical notes.
Naldinaldii Florentini, Oratio de Laudib. Urbis, 4to, vell. moſt elegant writing, a thin octavo.
Officium beatae Mar. Virg. 4to. vell. with ſuperb illum.
Seneca, fol. vell. From the library of Samuel Petit, of which are many others. This S. Petit was a celebrated miniſter of the Calviniſt perſuaſion, and of French deſcent, whoſe parents had fled to Geneva from Paris, after the infamous maſſacre.
Sozomeni Hiſtoria, tom 2. fol. vell. moſt beautifully written, one border finely fancied.
Suetonius Mſtus in Pergameno, per Caſſium Parmenſem, ad Fidem optimorum Codicum, 1469.
[80] S. Thomas de Rege Princip. 8vo. vell. in fine gothic letters. In⯑ſtructions how princes ſhould reign.
Suetonius. A beautiful MS. on vell. 4to.
Sidonius Apollinaris. 4to. vell. gothic letter.
Valerio Maximo Manuſcripto, 8vo.
THIS department is not to be left without mention of the moſt valuable illumination of a Britiſh library the pedegree of the family. This is rich in two. One is not leſs than forty-two feet long; which, after paſſing through the Britiſh and Saxon race of monarchs, purſues its purpoſe through the monarchs of Iſrael; reaches Noah and his ark, and finiſhes with Adam and Eve. Our bards were our heralds and genealogiſts. This muſt originally have been compoſed by one, who, I dare ſay, was in⯑finitely diſpleaſed that he was cruelly ſtopped in his progreſs by our firſt parents, and by the Moſaic account denying to him all power of extending his patron's lineage into that of the Pre-Adamites. The other pedegree (notwithſtanding it is moſt beau⯑tifully illuminated) is ſcarcely worth mention, being a mere abridgment of the former, and not above twenty-two feet in length.
TO this claſſical liſt let me add a modern edition of the BIBLE, remarkable for its magnificence, but more ſo for a ſingular erratum. It was printed by Baſket, at the Clarendon [85] preſs, in 1717, in two vaſt volumes. It is adorned with a fronteſ-piece, and various head-pieces, from paintings by Sir James Thornhill, and others, engraven by Vander Gutch, de Boſche, &c. The ridiculous miſtake is in the running-title to the twentieth chapter of St. Luke; in which 'Parable of the vineyard' is printed 'Parable of the vinegar;' and on that account the edition is better known by the name of the Vinegar Bible, than any other.
1. Iſis nurſing the infant Orus, a figure ſix inches in height.ISIS. For a deſcription of which ſee Montfaucon, vol. ii. chap. 5. pl. 113. fig. 2.
2. A FEMALE figure riſing from the bath,A FEMALE RISING FROM THE BATH. adjuſting her hair before a mirror, which ſhe holds in her right hand, while the left is employed in arranging her waving treſſes. The legs of this beautiful little bronze have been reſtored. The reſt of the figure is remarkable for its ſymmetry and elegance.
3. THE eagle of Jupiter, with extended pinions,JUPITER'S EAGLE. retaining the thunder in its claws. This has been ſuſpended as a vow at the ſhrine of that deity. The ſame figure often occurs upon the antient lamps, as will be ſhewn hereafter. Montfaucon has given [86] an exact repreſentation of this figure in vol. i. pl. 154. It there forms the principal ornament of a bronze lamp; and over it is this inſcription:
L.
TETIUS
ALYPUS.
JOVI. D. D.
[...].4. IMAGE of Oſ [...]ris, the tutelar deity of the Nile; according to Mr. Bruce, the perſonified repreſentation of the dog-ſtar. For an account of this god, ſee Montfaucon, tom. ii. chap. 8.
[...]LLUS.5. THE PHALLUS, certainly intended as a pendant for the ear. With the ancients it was a ſymbol of ſecundity. Herodotus mentions its having been carried in ſolemn proceſſion at the ſacrifices of Bacchus. Athenaeus ſpeaks of one carried in this manner, which was twenty cubits long, and formed entirely of gold. It was moreover adorned with garlands, which were twined round to its vertex, where was a golden ſtar, ſix cubits in circumference. See Athen. lib. v. c. 5. At Iſernia, a province in the kingdom of the two S [...]cilies, the women annually celebrate the anniverſary of their patron ſaint, by offering at his ſhrine ex voto of wax, repreſent⯑ing the male organs of generation, which they ſtyle St. Coſmus's toes. Sir W. Hamilton addreſſed a letter to the Dilettanti ſociety upon this curious circumſtance, which he accompanied with dif⯑ferent ſpecimens of the uſual offerings! This letter gave birth to a very learned and ingenious eſſay, by Mr. Knight, on the ancient worſhip of Priapus, written at the requeſt of the ſociety! and partially diſtributed for their uſe! In the courſe of this work [87] Mr. Knight thus expreſſes himſelf: ‘Whatever the Greeks and Egyptians meant by the ſymbol in queſtion, it was certainly nothing ludicrous or licentious; of which we need no other proof than its having been carried in ſolemn proceſſion, at the celebration of thoſe myſteries, in which the firſt principles of their religion, the knowledge of the God of nature, the FIRST, the SUPREME, the INTELLECTUAL (v. Plut. de ls. & Os.) were preſerved from the vulgar ſuperſtitions, and com⯑municated under the ſtricteſt oaths of ſecrecy to the initiated; who were obliged to purify themſelves, prior to their initiation, by abſtaining from venery, and all impure food.’
I FIND this deteſtable worſhip among the Gentoos in Indoſtan. Captain Alexander Hamilton, in his account of the Eaſt Indies, i. p. 381, gives the following relation: ‘In all this tract between Gamgam and Jagarnaut, the viſible god in moſt eſteem is Go⯑palſami, whoſe temples are decorated with obſcene repreſenta⯑tions of men and women in indecent poſtures, alſo of demons and caco-demons, whoſe ſhameful parts are of a prodigious ſize, in proportion to their bodies. This filthy image is worſhipped by the heathens of both ſexes; but barren women are his greateſt devotees, and bring him the beſt oblations.’
6. THE HOG-SKIN *—A vow to Bacchus. A HOG-SKIN.—The cuſtom of preſerving wine in hog-ſkins is ſtill obſerved in Spain, and many other parts of the world. The antients retained the form of it in their domeſtic utenſils, and veſſels of libation, long after the [...]ſe of it had been ſuperſeded by the more convenient amphora.
[88] PATERA.7. AN inſtrument of ſacrifice, by ſome falſely called a patera. Montfaucon has proved that theſe inſtruments, round, flat, having no cavity to contain the liquor, are not paterae. Beger ſuppoſes them to be what Iſidorus calls apophereta, which were uſed as plates to hold fruit and other viands. ‘Apophereta, a ferendo poma vel aliud, nominata; eſt enim plana.’ See Mont⯑faucon, tom ii. pl. 63. fig. 2.
THE paterae were very different from thoſe deſigned for feſtive purpoſes. The latter were rich goblets, or a ſpecies of tankard. Montfaucon has, in vol. iii. part 1. p. 146, to p. 149, engraven ſeveral kinds. Virgil, in deſcribing Dido's royal feaſt, ſays, ‘Implevit mero pateram.’ After the fair queen had made a delicate libation, ſhe pre⯑ſented the goblet to the jovial Trojan, Bitias, who drank it up at one tip. The Poet deſcribes it moſt humorouſly and em⯑phatically:
A SPECULUM.8. A SPECULUM, or mirror, of ſome metallic ſubſtance, at this day retaining a poliſh equal to the firſt teleſcope reflector. Biſhop Watſon, in his Chemical Eſſays, vol. iii. p. 335, has given a pretty comment on the compoſition of theſe ſpecula. 'Cop⯑per,' ſays the ingenious prelate, ‘communicates a ſmell both to gold and ſilver. The Roman ſpecula, which they uſed as looking-glaſſes in Pliny's time, were commonly made of ſilver; but the ſilver was alloyed with much copper; for we [89] find a cunning waiting-maid in Plantus, adviſing her miſtreſs to wipe her fingers after having handled a ſpeculum, leaſt her paramour ſhould ſuſpect her of receiving ſilver from ſome other lover:’
9. THE STRIGIL, a crooked inſtrument for ſcraping the muſcles.A STRIGIL. It was in high requeſt among the Romans. Montfaucon gives the figures of ſeveral. Among others, he has pourtrayed a man of rank in the bath, while two boys are ſeen on each ſide of him, uſing the ſtrigil. This inſtrument is very common on all the Greek vaſes, and is always repreſented among the ceremonies of the bath.
10. A COMB, exactly reſembling thoſe now in uſe. This alſo formed a neceſſary article among the bathing apparatus.A COMB.
11. A SMALL ſpice-box; of the ſame nature as thoſe found at Pompeia.
12. A BRACELET for the arm.BRACELET. Theſe are frequently found in Greek ſepulchres; and in the excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeia.
13. AN intaglio ring, beaded round; the work very coarſe,RING. and altogether in the Egyptian ſtyle.
14. ARM of the Diſcobolus, ARM OF A DISC⯑OBOLUS. in the act of throwing the diſ⯑cus. I find the ſame ſort of fragment mentioned in an old col⯑lection of antiquities, engraved at Rome in the year 1610; with this exception, that the latter is of marble: ‘Marmoreum bra⯑chium [90] chium Diſcoboli, libratum pondus in [...]ras mittentis.’ —R. Antiq. Pa. Pet. C. R.
KEY.15. A SMALL key connected to a beaded ring.
16, 17. Prefericula, as ex voto.
LAMP WITH THE FACE OF JUPITER AMMON.1. A BEAUTIFUL Lamp, of the Nola clay, with an uncom⯑monly fine head of Jupiter Ammon, in mezzo relievo.
JUPITER, AND HIS EAGLE.2. A DITTO, repreſenting Jupiter ſupported by the eagle, with the thunder in its claw; the exact repreſentation of this lamp is in Montfaucon, vol. v. pl. 154. Alſo in Bartoli's L [...]cerne Antiche, part ii. pl. 4. As Bartoli's account is ſhort and ſatisfac⯑tory, I ſhall inſert it: ‘Gieve pertato dell' Aquila. A queſta figura di Giove portato in alto dall' Aquila, [...]cello ad eſſo conſecrato, altro non habbiamo da aggiungere, ſe non che [...] Ro⯑mani dopo morte, nelia conſecratione de [...]o [...]mperadori uſunano queſto honore, fingenda che [...]e l [...]ro anime dall' Aquila foſſino inal [...] al cielo, & fra le fielle. Tale Ambitione induſſe ancora huomini privati ad inſ [...]ire & deficare in to [...] modo i l [...]o Defonti, in habito, e culto divino, portati dall' Aquila al' Cielo.’
4. A SMALL lamp in Nola clay, L. WITH A HORSE. with a horſe in mezzo relievo.
5. A BEAUTIFUL lamp, of red clay,L. WITH A WAR⯑RIOR's HEAD. with a remarkably fine head in relief; repreſenting a warrior, accompanied by an inſtru⯑ment of ſacrifice.
6. A FIGURE of Iſis, one of the Egyptian Penates,ISIS, A SMALL FIGURE. carved in ſtone, and covered with hieroglyphics.
7. A SIMILAR figure, formed of blue antique paſte,ANOTHER. of the ſame kind which the ancients uſed in their Moſaics, known to Italians by the name of fritta. This figure is alſo covered with hieroglyphics.
TO theſe may be added others, which I have deſcribed in the firſt volume of my Tour in Wales. Thoſe which are foreign, are ſeveral marbles brought from Narbonne, the Narbo Martius. NARBONNE MAR⯑BLES. It is one of the moſt ancient cities in Gaul, for it was a flouriſhing place two hundred and eighty years before the Chriſtian era. A Roman colony was eſtabliſhed there in the time of Marcius Rex, from whom it received its addition. It is full of antiquities, which have been uſed in the various modern buildings. Thoſe in queſtion came from the walls of the archbiſhop's palace; and were brought here by the late Sir Thomas Moſtyn. The en⯑graving, [92] with the inſcriptions, taken from the 2d volume of my Tour, gives a full idea of theſe funebrial memorials.
TORQUES.THE golden torques, that invaluable morſel in poſſeſſion of this family, was found by digging in a garden near to Harlech caſtle in 1692. It is well deſcribed by Camden, as a wreathed rod of gold, about four feet long, with three ſpiral furrows, with ſharp intervening ridges running its whole length to the ends, which are plain, truncated, and turn back like pot-hooks. Whether this was purely Roman, or whether it might not have been common to both nations, I will not diſpute. The uſe was that of a baldric, to ſuſpend gracefully the quiver of men of rank, which hung behind, by means of the hook; and the golden wreath croſſed the breaſt, and paſſed over the ſhoulder. Virgil, in his beautiful deſcription of the exerciſes of the Trojan youth, expreſſes the manner, in theſe frequently miſconſtrued lines:
THE torch, or torques, worn by the Gauls and Britons, was a very different affair, a collar of gold, or other metal, worn round the neck. Our heroine Boadicea had a great one of that precious metal; and Virdomaerus wore round his neck another, faſtened behind with hooks, which fell off when the conqueror cut off his head.
Manlius acquired the addition of Torquatus, from a torques which he won from a Gaul, whom he flew in ſingle combat, in ſight of the army; and Publius Cornelius, after the ſlaughter of the Boii, took, among other ſpoils, not fewer than four thouſand and ſeventy golden torques.
THEY were alſo in uſe among the Romans, who beſtowed them as military rewards; and, as Pliny pretends, the golden on the auxiliaries, the ſilver on the citizens. They probably were made in ſeveral ways. I have ſeen a very beautiful one (I think at preſent in poſſeſſion of the Rev. Mr. Preſcot, of Stockport) compoſed of ſeveral links of ſilver wire, moſt elegantly twiſted together: it was long enough to go twice round the neck, and had claſps which faſtened it on.
THE cuſtom of wearing the torques was continued from the more remote periods of Britain, to later times. Llewellyn, a lord of Yale, was called Llewelyn aur Dorchog, ‘Llewelyn, with the golden torques,' on that account; and the common proverb, Mi a dynna'r dorch a chwi, I will pluck the torques with you,’ ſignifies to this day, a hard ſtruggle of a perſon before he would yield a victory.
THE next antiquity is, as to material, Britiſh; COPPER CAKE. as to its deſtina⯑tion, Roman. I refer to the cake of copper ſmelted at the antient Conovium, the modern Caer-bên, near to Conwy, which probably was ſmelted from the ore of the Snowdon hills, where of late years much has been got. This maſs is in ſhape of a cake of bees⯑wax: [94] on the upper part is a deep concave impreſſion, with the words 'Se [...]o Romae, To my partner at Rome:' acroſs theſe is im⯑preſſed obliquely, in leſſer letters, Na [...]ol. I cannot explain it, unleſs N [...] ſtands for Na [...], the people who paid this ſpecies of t [...]bute, and ſol for [...], that being the ſtamp-maſter's mark. Theſe cakes might be bought up by a merchant reſident in Britain, and conſigned [...], 'to his partner at Rome.' The weight of this antiquity is forty-two pounds; the diameter of the upper part eleven inches; the thickneſs in the middle two and three quarters.
SILVER HARP.THE ſilver harp is purely Britiſh, both as to the metal, and the uſe; which, with the commiſſion for holding an Eiſteddfod, or ſeſſions of bards, at Ca [...]wis, in 1568, is ſtill in poſſeſſion of Sir Roger Moſtyn. The harp from time immemorial had been in the gift of his anceſtors, to give as a temporary mark of excel⯑lency on the chief of the faculties, or thoſe who had excelled in their different ways, poetical or muſical. I ſhall only pre⯑ſent the reader with the copy of the patent to Sir Richard Bulkeley, knight, and to William Moſton, and many others. William Moſton is the gentleman mentioned at p. 72. This commiſſion is in ſome meaſure hiſtorical: but the reader who wiſhes for a fuller account of the [...]iſteddfod, may gratify his curioſity by turning to p. 457, and from thence to p. 478, of the firſt volume of my Tour in Wales. The commiſſion is as follows:
—WHERAS it is come to the knowledge of the lorde preſident, and other or ſaid counſail, in or marches of Wales, that vagraunt and idle pſons, naming themſelfs mynſtrells, rithmors, and bar⯑thes, are lately growen into ſuch an intollerable multitude wthin the principalitee of Northwales, that not only gentlemen, and others, by theire ſhameles diſorders, are oftentimes diſ⯑quieted in their habitaons; but alſo thexpert mynſtrells and muciſions in toune and contry therby much diſcouraged to travail in thexerciſe and practize of their knowledge; and alſo not a litle hyndred in theire lyvings and pfermts. The reformac̄on whereof, and the putting of theſe people in ordr, the ſaid lorde preſident and counſail have thought verey ne⯑ceſſarye; and knowing you to be men both of wyſdome and upright dealing, and alſo of experience and good knowledge in the ſcyence, have apointed and authoriſed you to be com⯑miſſioners for that purpoſe. And foraſmuch as or counſail of late, travayling in ſome pte of the ſaid principalitee, had ꝑfect underſtanding, or credible report, that thaccuſtomed place for thexecuc̄on of the like comſſyon, hath bene her⯑tofore [96] at Carcyes, in our countie of Flynt, and that William Moſt [...], eſquio [...], and his anceſt [...], have had the gyfte and be⯑ſtowing of the ſylver harpe apꝑtayning to the cheff of that facultie, and that a yeares warning at the leaſt hath bene ac⯑cuſtomed to be geaven of thaſſembly, and execuc̄on of the like commiſſyon. Our ſaid counſail have, therfore, apoynted thexecuc̄on of this commyſſyon to be at the ſaid towne of Cartyes, the Monday next aft (er) the feaſt of the bleſſed Trynitee, wch ſhall be in the yeare of or Lorde God 1568.
AND therfore we require and command you, by the autho⯑ritee of theſe p̄ſents, not only to cauſe open ꝓclamaons to be made in all ffayors, mrketts, townes, and other places of aſſembly wthin our counties of Anglize, Carnrvon, Meyryonneth, Denbigh, and Fflynt, that all on evry ꝑſon & ꝑſons that entend to maynteigne theire lyvings by name of color of myn⯑ſtrells, rithm̄rs, or barthes, within the Talaith of Aberfiowe, comphending the ſaid fyve ſhires, ſhal be and appeare before you the ſaid day and place, to ſhewe theire learnings accord⯑ingly: but alſo that you xx••e, xixen, xviiien, xviien, xvien, xven, xiven, xiiien, xiie, xin, xen, ix, viii, vii, or vi. of you whereof youe Sr Richard Bulkley, Sr Rees Gruffith, Ellice Price, and Wm Moſtyn, eſquiors, or iiiee, or ii. of you, to be of the nombr to repayre to the ſaid place the day aforſaid, and calling to you ſuch expert men in the ſaid facultie of the Welſhe muſick, as to you ſhall be thought convenient to ꝓceade to thexecuc̄on of the ꝑmiſsn, and to admytt ſuch and ſo many as by your wiſdomes and knowledges, you ſhall fynde worthy into and undr the degrees heretofore in ſemblable ſort, to uſe, [97] exerciſe and folowe the ſcyences and facultes of theire ꝓfeſſyons in ſuch decent ordr as ſhall apꝑtaigne to eche of their degrees, and as yor diſcrec̄ons and wiſdomes ſhall p̄ſcribe unto them, geaving ſtraight monycons and comaundm [...], in or name and on or behalf, to the reſt not worthy, that they returne to ſome honeſt labor, and due excerciſe, ſuch as they be moſt apte unto for mayntenaunce of theire lyvings, upon paine to be taken as ſturdy and idle vacaboundes, and to be uſed according to the lawes and ſtatutes ꝓvided in that behalf, letting you wyth or ſaid counſaill look for advertiſemt by due certificate at youre handes of yor doings in thexecuc̄on of the ſaid ꝑmiſsn. For ſeeing in any wiſe that upon the ſaid aſſembly the peas and good order be obſerved and kept accordingly, aſſertayning you that the ſaid Willm Moſtyn hath ꝓmiſed to ſee furnyture and things neceſſary ꝓvided for that aſſembly, at the place afor⯑ſaid.
FINALLY, in the library, is a moſt exquiſite drawing upon vellum, of the crucifixion, done with a lead pencil, twenty-two inches by fifteen. It formerly hung in the approach to the chapel, and was brought there by the lady of Sir Thomas Moſtyn, the ſecond baronet. That lady, as I have before mentioned, was a Roman catholic, and placed it where it was originally found, to exalt her devotion. The drawing was made after a pi [...]ture by Rub [...]ns, as the inſcription ſhews, P. P. Rubens pin [...]. The [98] copyiſt was David Legg [...]n, a celebrated engraver of his time, about the year 1677, and remarkable for the neatneſs of his drawings of heads in black-lead *. On his drawing at Moſtyn is 'D. L. de [...]in.' The expreſſion of agony in the countenance of our dying SAVIOUR, is remarkably ſtriking; and the head, and every part of the drawing, is finiſhed with all the accuracy of the fineſt miniature painting.
OF the ſeven churches in the hundred of Coleſhill, part of the S [...]n diſ [...]ros, Wisford, as it is called in the Doomſday Book, is one. The name was changed to Whiteford, of derivation un⯑known. In the Doomſday Book notice is alſo taken of ſome of the preſent townſhips, ſuch as Tre-Moſtyn, Tre-Bychton, and M [...]ton, under the names of Moſtone, Widford, Putecaine, and Mer [...]tone. M [...]ſtone was then a plough-land, terra unius carucae. It had on it four villeyns and eight boors; (Bordarii) a wood a league long, and forty perches (perticatae) broad, and was valued at twenty ſhillings.
Widford is joined with Putecaine, the firſt ſeems to have com⯑prehended our preſent Tre [...]lan, or the place where the church-village now ſtands. Theſe had one plough land, two villeyns, and twelve others between men and maid ſervants, fiſheries, and a wood half a mile long, and forty perches broad; the value was the ſame with that of Moſtone.
WITH Mereton is joined the third part of Widford, and the Berewicha, or hamlet of Caldecote, the laſt at preſent a townſhip of the pariſh of Holywell. In this diviſion was a preſbyter, a church, and ſix villeyns. Here was a wood half a mile long, and twenty perches broad. One Odin held theſe of the earl.
[99]THE church ſtands in the townſhip of Tre lan. THE CHURCH. It is dedi⯑cated to St. Mary; ſo popular was that Saint, that thirteen churches in our country were placed under her patronage, and thirteen wakes kept on that day. The living is a rectory, a ſine⯑cure, which, with the vicarage, is in the gift of the biſhop of St. Aſaph. The church conſiſts of a nave, with a good plain tower-ſteeple. It has beſides a ſide aile, built by a Blithyn Drow, of the houſe of Moſtyn, to whom that part belongs.
DIVINE ſervice is performed every Sunday, alternately in Welſh and in Engliſh. At the firſt the congregation is very nume⯑rous, and at all times truly ſerious and devout. The dreſs of even the pooreſt, neat and whole, and very unlike the ſqualid ragged figures, too frequently ſeen in the congregations of many a ſouthern county.
OFFERINGS at funerals are kept up here, and I believe in all the Welſh churches. A diſguſting, and in caſes in which the deceaſed may have died of an infectious diſtemper, a dan⯑gerous cuſtom, often prevales, of the corpſe being brought into church during divine ſervice, and left there till the congregation is diſmiſſed.
THAT excellent memento to the living, the paſſing-bell, is punctually ſounded. I mention this, becauſe idle niceties have in great towns often cauſed the diſuſe. It originated before the Reformation, to give notice to the prieſt to be ready to do the laſt duty of extreme unction to the departing perſon, in caſe he had no other admonition. The canon (67) allows one ſhort peal after death, one other before the funeral, and one other after the funeral. The ſecond is ſtill in uſe, and is a ſingle bell [100] ſ [...] [...]ed. The third is a merry peal, rung at the requeſt of the [...]s; [...] if [...] like, they reioiced at the eſcape of the departed out of thi [...] troubleſome world.
BELL-CORN is a ſmall perquiſite belonging to the clerk of certain pariſhes. I cannot learn the origin.
[...]HANGING up againſt the wall is an imperfect table of bene⯑fa [...]tors. The ann [...]al revenue in intereſt and land is 68 l. yet the poor's rates are alarmingly high. In the beginning of the pre⯑ſent century poor rates had not taken place. Collections were made in the church for the ſick and the aged. Filial piety had at that time f [...] poſſeſſion of the breaſts of the children, or great affection the part of more diſtant relations, and the pangs of p [...]verty were as much as poſſible alleviated. There was alſo a laudable p [...] in them, which made them above ſuffering their friends to be a burden to their fellow pariſhioners; all this gra⯑dually ceaſed, and the warmth of natural affection ſoon quite diſ⯑appeared. I cannot but mention an inſtance of the rapid increaſe of taxes in my days. In the year 1756 William Lloyd, ſmith, was one of the overſeers of the poor; at that time the annual tax was only 6 [...]. 3 c. 1 d. He was appointed again overſeer in the year 17 [...], when the tax was increaſed to 600l. William Lloyd is now living, but the books prove the exactneſs of the aſſertion.
SCHOOL.IN the village is the ſchool. It was founded by Mary Brad⯑ſhaw, widow of Thomas Williams, of Moſtyn Gate, who bequeathed by will, dated 1745, the intereſt of 141l. to be paid to the maſ⯑ter of the ſaid ſchool, for inſtructing for ever, annually, fourteen children, who are inſtructed in reading and writing Engliſh, and [101] accounts. The preſent ſchool-houſe was built by Pyers Jones, an opulent farmer of this pariſh, who alſo beſtowed a very hand⯑ſome braſs chandelier on the church.
IN this and a few other of the mineral pariſhes,CLUB is a Cymdei⯑thos, or club, inſtituted in 1766, for the ſupport of the members in caſe of illneſs, or any accidents, provided they are not con⯑tracted by intemperance, fighting, or any immoral act. Our club conſiſts of 240 members, each of whom contributes monthly 8d. which is put into a box locked with three keys; two are kept by the ſtewards, and the third by the perſon to whom the box is intruſted, ſo that all three muſt be preſent at the taking out or putting in of any money. The club has been of late years for⯑tunate enough to have ſaved three hundred pounds, which is put out on good ſecurity, and kept in reſerve againſt any calamitous times, ſuch as ſeaſons of ſickneſs, or uncommon ſucceſſions of accidents.
IN caſe of illneſs a certain allowance is made till the time of their recovery, or till they are deemed incurable. In the laſt caſe they are allowed two ſhillings and ſix pence for life. In caſe of death forty ſhillings is paid for funeral expences, and a ſum to the widow proportionable to the time the huſband had been member of the club.
WHENEVER the buſineſs requires a meeting, the ſteward muſt bring with him the tankard of ale, and a very ſmall cup, in or⯑der that the members may not exceed the bounds of temperance.
IF any member comes to the club in liquor, he forfeits two-pence; if he ſpeaks ill of government, or abuſes any body, or curſes and ſwears, or will not hold his tongue when required by [102] the ſtewards, he forfeits two-pence for every offence. In a word, every caution is obſerved to preſerve the rules of morality in this our paroc [...]al ſociety. Finally, there is a great annual meeting on New-Year's Day, in which every member attends. Every one appears neatly dreſſed, carrying a wand gally painted, and make altogether a moſt reſpectable figure, ranged in two lines from the porch door to that of the church.
I STEP into the church-yard, and ſigh over the number of departed which f [...]ll the inevitable retreat. In no diſtant time the north ſide, like thoſe of all other Welſh churches, was, through ſome ſuperſtition, to be occupied only by perſons exe⯑cuted, or by ſuicides. It is now nearly as much crowded as the other parts. The moſt remarkable inſcription is on a head-ſtone ſet up by myſelf.
THIS Ante-d [...]ian was one of thoſe characters miſnamed fools, a mixture of weakneſs, with much acuteneſs and ſtrong expreſſions, often highly diverting to the company. The addi⯑tion to her name of G [...]r [...] was from her coming from Cors-y-gedol, in Meri [...]e, into our ſervice.
THIS diſtant uncle was a younger ſon of Hugh Pennant, NICOLAS PEN⯑NANT. and one of twelve children by Sionet Moſtyn (See p. 26) one of the five daughters of the valiant Howel ap Richard de Moſtyn, who led his countrymen to Boſworth-field, and received the honor⯑able reward I mentioned, at p. 58.
BY the remains of Nicolas Pennant are depoſited thoſe of my late worthy ſervant Louis Gold. LOUIS GOLD. What I never with to be done for myſelf, I did for him, I placed a ſmall braſs within the church, with an inſcription expreſſed in the following terms:
This ſmall Monument of eſteem was erected by his lamenting Maſter in Memory of LOUIS GOLD, a Norman by Birth, and above twenty years the faithful Servant and Friend of THOMAS PENNANT, Eſq of Downing.
In his various ſervices he made conſiderable ſavings, which he diſpoſed of by his laſt will (having no relations of his own) with affection to his friends and to his fellow-ſervants, with unmerited gratitude to his Maſter and his family, and with piety to the poor.
[104] Every duty of his humble ſtation, and every duty of life, He diſcharged ſo fully, That when the day ſh [...]ll come which levels all diſtinction of ranks, He may, By the favor of our bleſſed Mediator, hear theſe joyful words, "Well done, thou good and faithful ſervant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." He was born at St. Hermes de Rouvelle in Normandy, Auguſt 22, 1717; died at Downing, Auguſt 20, 1785; and was interred in the Church-yard near this wall on the 22d of the ſame month.
The wealth which Louis had acquired was conſiderable. Above ſixteen hundred pounds paſſed through my hands. He had be⯑ſides a thouſand pounds, which a ſetter to an attorney prevaled on the good man to ſink with the man of the law for an an⯑nuity. Death ſoon put the lawyer in poſſeſſion of the principal. I lament this; for I had been left by him reſiduary legatee and ſole executor, with a power to diſpoſe of the remainder (all legacies paid) in charitable uſes. Thus a thouſand pounds were loſt to Whiteford pariſh. The intereſt of the remainder is quarterly divided among the worthieſt of our poor, who may annually bleſs ſo excellent a benefactor.
Louis was bred a Roman catholic, and notwithſtanding he occa⯑ſionally frequented the prayers of our church, he choſe to be buried according to the rites of thoſe of Rome, which were per⯑formed [105] in a room in my houſe. He left twenty pounds to the gentleman who performed the ſervice. I fixed on the Re⯑verend Philip Jones, who had in this neighborhood near fifty years diſcharged his function in a manner truly exemplary. I took up the old cuſtom of attending a faithful friend to his grave, a reſpect the excellency of his conduct clamed from me.
NEAR to the tomb of Nicolas Pennant, is another in memory of Hugh Pennant, ſon and heir of Robert Pennant, of Downing, (ſee p. 9.) who was buried Auguſt 16th, 1675, with this beſt of cha⯑racters: ‘He lived honeſtly, and hurt nobody. He gave every one his due.’
NEAR to this place, tumbled on the ground,PIERCES OF YSGLAN. is a ſtone in memory of a Pierce of Yſglan, in this pariſh, a reſpectable family now extinct, deſcended from Ednowen Bendew. The creſt of this family is a boar's head marked with a creſcent, a ſign of its having been a ſecond branch. On a board I have of the arms of the houſe, I ſee it had been allied with numbers of reputable families, among others I venture to reckon that of Bychton.
I MIGHT mention other tombs of the men of property in our pariſh, who in leſs luxurious times lived in hoſpitality, till, infected with thoſe fiends luxury and oſtentation, they ſoon became ſwallowed up in the greater eſtates.
BENEATH the venerable ſhade of two great yews,OF THE FOULKE [...]'s. our Baucis and Philemon, is the tomb which preſerves the memory of Mar⯑garet Parry, heireſs of Merton, (ſee p. 52.) the ſeat of our hoſpi⯑table [106] vicar, the Rev. Mr. John Foulkes. The epitaph gives the deſcent:
THIS at preſent is the tomb of the family of Mr. Foulkes, of Merton. On the top are cut, as I ſuppoſe, the arms of the fa⯑mily from whom he derives his right, quarterly for his firſt coat a ſtag, by which I imagine that the bearer derived his deſcent from Hedd Molwynog, lord of Uwch Aled, and one of the fifteen tribes, and cotemporary with Dafydd ap Owen Gwynedd. If the reader will give himſelf the trouble of turning to p. 56 of the ſecond volume of my Welſh Tour, he will find a recital of the great deeds of the houſe.
O [...] WILLIAMS.THE next is the place of interment of Peter Williams, of Mer⯑ton Yſglan, who died January 19th, 1671.
HIS arms ſhew him to have derived his deſcent from the above-mentioned Ednowen Bendew, quarterly with thoſe of Edwyn, lord of Tegengl. The family fell to decay, and the part of the eſtate which lay in our pariſh was purchaſed by my father, and the name changed to that of Kinſale (ſee p. 52.) from the late owner having made that place his reſidence.
THE following quaint rhyme, on another grave-ſtone, may conclude with much propriety this part of the funebrial ſubject.
[...]EERE TO THIS LYETH THE BODY OF ELIZABETH MOSTYN ONE OF THE CO [...]S OF RICH ALDERSAY OF THE CITIE OF CHESTER GE [...]Y WIFE TO WILL MOSTYN ARCH BANG A RECTOR OF CHRYSILTON BY WHOME HE HAD ISSVE THREE SONNES AND TWO DAVGHTERS SHE DEPARTED THIS LIFE THE 10• OF APRIL ANNO DM 1 [...]
Monument of Elizabeth Mostyn. [...])
[107]I STEP within the church with reverential awe. Many pious men I have ſeen offer up at ſhort ejaculation in our Welſh churches (even when alone) to the Almighty Being, to whoſe ſervice they were founded, and in whoſe praiſe we all unite. A few monumental marks of reſpect are to be ſeen, and three on the north wall not inelegant.
ALL are ſmall. The firſt has the figure of a man and woman kneeling on oppoſite ſides of a deſk. Two ſons are behind the man, and three daughters behind the woman, in the ſame at⯑titudes. They are moſt neatly engraven on a tablet of white marble, and the whole included in a very neat frame. The in⯑ſcription gives their brief tale: ‘Neere to this lyeth the body of Elizabeth Moſtyn, one of the Coheires of Rich. Alderſey of the Citie of Cheſter, Gent. Wife to Will. Moſtyn, Arch. Bang. and Rector of Chryſilton. By whom he had iſsve three ſonnes and two daughters. She de⯑parted this life the 10th of April, Ann. Dni. 1647.’
TWO of the ſons were heads of two families, thoſe of Bryng⯑wyn, in Montgomeryſhire, and thoſe of Segroit, in Denhighſhire.
THE next records the death of a ſon of Gwydyr. The arms of the houſe, three ſpread-eagles and three lions, are cut on the [108] tablet. Above is the creſt, and on the entablature, MORTUUS VIVO. The inſcription follows: ‘Here lyeth interred the body of Ellici Wynn, the 9th ſon of Sir John Wynn, of Gwydyr, Knight and Baronet, aged xx, who died the xxth of 9ber, and was buried the xxiii of the ſaid month, Ao. Domini 1619. Omnis caro foenum.’ Conjoined with the laſt is the tablet of one of our vicars, neat, like the others, only his arms are cut on the ſtone; the epitaph beneath: ‘Near this place lieth interr⯑ed the body of Mr. Richard C [...]tmor, late Vicar of Whitford, and Rector of Aber, who died the xxvii day of July, MDCLXXXIIII, and was buri⯑ed the 3o, aetatis ſuae 42.’ Richard Coytmore was one of the nineteen vicars who filled the living, from the year 1537. The following is the liſt of all the vicars, from that date to the preſent time:
THE vault of the Moſtyn family is at the end of this aile.VAULT OF THE MOSTYNS. The laſt who was buried there was Sir Roger Moſtyn, the firſt baronet, who died in 1651. His ſecond lady, Mary, eldeſt daughter of Thomas, lord viſcount Bulkley, was buried in the ſame vault. Her epitaph is preſerved in our pariſh-regiſter, and is as follows:
THE diſgraced lady mentioned in p. 62, is alſo commemo⯑rated here.
HIS ſon and ſucceſſor Sir Thomas Moſtyn married Bridget, daughter and ſole heireſs of Darcie Savage, of Leighton, eſq who transferred to the houſe of Moſtyn the great Cheſhire eſtates. This lady was a Roman catholic. Tradition is warm in her praiſe, and full of her domeſtic virtues, and the particular at⯑tention that ſhe ſhewed in obliging her domeſtics, of each re⯑ligion, to attend their reſpective churches. Her huſband and ſhe ‘were lovely and pleaſant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided.’ They died within a day or two of each other, at Gloddaeth, in Caernarvonſhire, and were interred in the neigh⯑boring church of Eglwys Rhôs. They are here mentioned as the firſt of the family who were interred out of the antient vault of the houſe of Moſtyn.
OF THE PEN⯑NANTS.I TURN mine eyes towards the ALTAR, towards the aeterna [111] domus of our race. The recent viſitation of Heaven! The un⯑cloſed wound!—arreſt my pen.
O PRAECLARUM DIEM, CUM AD ILLUD DIVINUM ANIMORUM CONCILIUM, COETUMQUE PROFICISCAR, CUMQUE EX HAC TURBA, ET COLLUVIONE DISCEDAM! PROFICISCAR ENIM NON AD AMI⯑COS SOLUM, ET PARENTES DILECTISSIMOS, SED ETIAM AD SARAHULAM, ANIMULAM NOSTRAM, QUA NEMO MELIOR NATA EST, NEMO PIETATE PRAESTANTIOR: CUJUS A ME CORPUS CRE⯑MATUM EST▪ QUOD CONTRA DECUIT AB ILLA MEUM. ANIMUS VERO NON ME DESERENS SED RESPECTANS, IN EA PROFECTO LOCA DISCESSIT, QUO MIHI IPSI CERNEBAT ESSE VENIENDUM. QUEM EGO MEUM CASUM FOR TITER FERRE VISUS SUM; NON QUOD AEQUO ANIMO FERREM: SED ME IPSE CONSOLABAR, EX⯑ISTIMANS, NON LONGINQUUM INTER NOS DIGRESSUM ET DIS⯑CESSUM FORE.
ON a braſs plate, now covered with the Downing ſeat, is a memorial of Morris Kyffin, of Maenan, who died (a youth) June 2d, 1610, at Bychton, on a viſit to his ſiſter Jane, wife to Pyers Pennant.
THE next townſhip to the village is in Whitford Garn. GARREG. In this townſhip is Garreg, or The Rock, the higheſt land in the pariſh; it is a large incloſed hill, the property of Sir Roger Moſtyn. Part of it is a fine turf, and excellent ſheep-walk; [112] the ſummit, and part of the ſides, rocky. From Whiteford to the top is a continual aſcent. From this height the traveller may have an auguſt foreſight of the lofty tract of Snowdon, from the crooked Moel Shabog, at one end, to the towering Pen⯑maen-mawr at the other; of the vaſt promontory of Llandudno, and part of the iſle of Angleſea, with the great bay of Llanddulas, forming an extenſive creſcent; the eſtuaries of the Dee and the Merſey; and to the North (at times) the iſle of Man and the Cumberland Alps, the frequent preſages of bad weather.
PHAROS.THE Romans took advantage of this elevated ſituation, and placed on its ſummit a Pharos, to conduct the navigators to and from Deva, along the difficult channel of the Seteia Portus. The building is ſtill remaining. It is tolerably entire; its form is circular; the inner diameter twelve feet and a half; the thickneſs of the walls four feet four inches. The doors, or entrances, are oppoſite to each other; over each is a ſquare funnel, like a chimney, which opens on the outſide, about half-way up the building. On each ſide is a window. About four feet from the ground are three circular holes, lined with mortar, as is frequent in Roman buildings; and penetrate the whole wall, for purpoſes now unknown.
TO the building is very evidently a broad and raiſed road, pointing from the eaſt; and near its upper end are the marks of a trench, which ſurrounded and gave protection to this uſeful edifice. It certainly had in later times been repaired, or perhaps applied to ſome other uſe, for in one part is a piece of timber which could not have been aboriginal.
THE curious croſs called Maen Achwynfan, MAEN ACHWYN⯑FAN. or the ſtone of lamentation, ſtands in a ſmall field oppoſite to the gate which opens from the turnpike-road into Garreg. It takes its name, in all probability, from the penances, which were often finiſhed be⯑fore ſuch ſacred pillars; attended with weeping, and the uſual marks of contrition: for an example, near Stafford ſtood one called the weeping croſs, a name analogous to ours. This is of an elegant form and ſculpture; is twelve feet high, two feet four inches broad at the bottom, and ten inches thick. The baſe is let into another ſtone. The top is round, and includes, in raiſed work, the form of a Greek croſs. Beneath, about the middle, is another, in the form of St. Andrew's: and under that, a naked figure, with a ſpear in his hand. Cloſe to that, on the ſide of the column, is repreſented ſome animal. The reſt is covered with very beautiful fret-work, like what may be ſeen on other pillars, of antient date, in ſeveral parts of Great Britain. I do not preſume (after the annotator on Camden has given up the point) to attempt a gueſs at the age; only muſt obſerve, that [114] it muſt have been previous to the reign of groſs ſuperſtition among the Welſh, otherwiſe the ſculptor would have employed his chizzel in ſtriking out legendary ſtories, inſtead of the elegant knots and interlaced work that cover the ſtone.
THOSE, who ſuppoſe it to have been erected in memory of the dead ſlain in battle on the ſpot, draw their argument from the number of adjacent tumull, containing human bones, and ſculls often marked with mortal wounds; but theſe earthy ſe⯑pulchres are of more antient times than the elegant ſculpture of this pillar will admit. This likewiſe (from the croſſes) is evidently a Chriſtian monument. The former were only in uſe in pagan days.
GELLI.THERE is likewiſe, near to it, an antient chapel, now a farm⯑houſe, called Gelli, or the Hazel-grove, the name of an adjacent tract. This might have relation to the croſs; as well as a place for performance of divine ſervice to the abbot of Baſingwerk, who had a houſe at no great diſtance. This tract (mis-ſpelt by the Engliſh, Geteley,) with the wood (at that time on it) was granted by Edward I. to the abbot and convent, on the tenth of November, at Weſtminſter, before the death of our laſt prince. He alſo gave him power to grub up the wood; which by the nakedneſs of the place appears to have been done moſt effectually.
FARTHER to the weſt is another incloſed mountain called Glol. my own property; part is covered with hazels and large white-thorn trees (perhaps a continuation of the Gelli,) part is very [...]cky, part a fine ſheep-walk. In many places were ſe⯑veral druidical circles, which I believe are now injured by the removal of the ſtones for various uſes. In the rougher parts of [115] this incloſure are often ſeen vipers, which always prefer the dry and ſunny parts of a country.
ON Sarn-Hwlkin, a little common to the eaſt of Glol, SARN-HWLKIN. was a very long but low tumUlus, ſuppoſed by the vulgar to have been a giant's grave, from a tradition that one of our ſons of Anak had been there interred. It probably did cover the remains of ſome Britiſh heroes of the common ſize, who there found their grave, after ſome fierce action, I have before ſuppoſed to have happened before the place.
THE townſhip of Tre'r-Abbot, TRE'R-ABBOT. one of the eight which compoſe our pariſh, joins to this part of Tre-Moſtyn. In it ſtands the houſe of the ſame name, originally the country-ſeat of the abbots of Baſingwerk, but long ſince the property of the Davies's, lately ſold to Edward Jones, of Wepre, eſq From the proof that gentleman has given of his literary abilities in drawing up the reſolutions of the Holywell aſſociation, in December 1792, I muſt lament they are not oftener exerted, the occaſion alone ex⯑cepted.
THIS townſhip was once exempted from the payment of tythes by a modus, originally granted by the abbot of Baſing⯑werk, but which by negligence has been totally loſt.
THE houſe, in Mr. Miles Davies, MILES DAVIES. produced a very extraordi⯑nary genius indeed! The talents of this eccentric gentleman were poetical. He lived about the year 1716, and publiſhed three volumes of his Athenae Britannicae. In his Martii Ca⯑lendae ſive laudes Cambro Britanniae, is a Latin poem on St. David's Day. I never could get the ſight of the books, but was indebted to the Rev. William Cole, late of Milton, near [116] Cambridge, for the following extract; which will, I dare ſay, content the reader, as it does me.
HAVING reached the fartheſt part of our pariſh, to the north-weſt, I return along the great heath Mynydd Tegen, or Tegen-Mountain, which yet preſerves the antient name of Tegengl, which comprehended the three modern hundreds of Coleſhill, Preſtatyn, and Rudland. It had been the property of Edwin, deſcended from Roderick the Great, and called prince of Tegengl. His Llys, or royal reſidence, was, in 1041, near Llaneurgan or Northop. This common, for I cannot call it mountain, ſtretches along the whole of the higher parts of our pariſh, and is covered with the erica vulgaris, or common heath. It feeds numbers of ſheep, and is part of the mineral tract of Flintſhire.
LLYN HELYG.THE manor of Moſtyn, of which Sir Roger Moſtyn is lord, includes the greater part of the mountain, and reaches to the ſea. It was derived from the heireſs of the houſe, deſcended from her anceſtor, prince Edwin.
A LARGE piece of water, now well ſtocked with fiſh, made by Sir Roger Moſtyn, baronet, grandfather to the preſent owner, [117] lies near that end of the heath. In the winter it is the reſort of ducks and teal.
ON the eaſt-ſide of Moſtyn pool, in Tegen mountain,PLAS CAPTAIN. is a grave bounded at each end by a rude ſtone, above four feet high. It contains the remains of captain Edward Morgan, of the adjacent houſe of Plâs Captain, and of the reſpectable family of the Mor⯑gans, of Gwlgray, in the adjoining pariſh of Llan Aſaph. Some years ago a perſon of ſtrange curioſity opened the grave, and found the ſkeleton. On the head was a red cap, I think of velvet, and round his neck a ſilk handkerchief. By him lay his ſword, and his helmet; and beneath the ſkeleton two bullets, which had fallen out of the body on its diſſolution; all which verify the report of his having been ſlain in battle, or in ſome ſkirmiſh during the civil wars, and that he was interred, according to his wiſh, under the ſpot on which he fell. In a collection of pede⯑grees lent to me by Thomas Gryffith, eſq of Rhual, I find this ſhort memorial of the captain, in the pedegree of his family: 'Capt. Edward Morgan, ſlain at Cheſhire raiſe.' If he was ſlain in that county, I cannot ſuppoſe that his body would have been carried ſo far; nor can I account for this relation, or for the body being found here, unleſs that the above is a miſtake, and that he fell in ſome ſkirmiſh near to his own houſe.
AT a ſmall diſtance from Plâs Captain, is Plâs-mawr, at pre⯑ſent the property of Sir Edward Price Lloyd, bart. of Pengwern, in right of his worthy grandmother, Frances, daughter and heireſs to Bell Jones, ſecretary in the civil board of ordnance in the Tower. He erected a handſome monument in Whiteford church in memory of his father Robert Jones, and others of his predeceſ⯑ſors. [118] He died, and was buried in the chapel of the Tower, aged 49, near the remains of his wife Frances, who died No⯑vember 24th, 1723, aged 48.
ABOUT a mile farther, the turnpike, which is named the Flint road, creſſes the upper road from Newmarket to Holywell.
IT is the firſt turnpike known on the Holyhead road. The act was obtained in 1755, and contained, beſides the diſtrict of Flint, thoſe of E [...]mere, Cheſter, and Mold. The part in queſtion is called Llwybr-hir, or the long-path, for it extends along the mountain weſtward, as far as Brick-kiln.
[...]USUSES.ON the right hand, as you paſs towards that hamlet, on a rocky elevated part, called Gelli, is a multitude of looſe ſtones, lying on the ſurface. They are of the lime-ſtone kind, mere l [...]es, aſſuming moſt ſingular forms; ſome are excavated, and often perforated. This muſt have been done when they were in a ſoft ſtate, for ſince their formation nothing has fallen on them but the rain of heaven, and that could not effect the phenomenon.
ENTRENCHMENT.SCATTERED over this part of the mountain are ſeveral rounded tumuli; and to the le [...]t, at ſome diſtance, is a work, pro⯑bably coeval with them. On the ſlope of the weſt part of the race-ground is an entrenchment of a circular form, about a hundred and ſixty-three feet in diameter, ſurrounded with a low bank, and on the outſide of that with a ditch; in one part very ſhallow, in the other more deep. This circle could not have been deſigned as a poſt, or place of retreat from an enemy. Its entrenchment is weak, and it might eaſily be commanded from above by the riſing-ground. Poſſibly it might have been for ſome religious purpoſe, or for a place of council, or for ha⯑ranguing [119] the people, who might aſſemble round the outſide, and readily hear what was delivered to them.
ON returning along Llwybr-hîr, I rejoin the Newmarket road,LLWYBR-HÎR. at the pla [...]d had left it, near a great incloſure belonging to Sir Roger M [...], called Ty-maen. Within, near to the road,TY-MAEN. is a great mount, now planted with fir-trees, the ſite of a caſtelet, probably a ſeat of Owen Bendew, EDNOWEN BEN⯑DEW. which my friend and fellow-traveller, the late Rev. John Lloyd, ſuppoſed to have been one of the habitations of that chieftain. Owen was lord of Tegengl in 1079, and one of the fifteen tribes of North Woles. He was diſtinguiſhed by the name of Pendew, or Bendew. I have conſulted Davies's, and all our dictionaries, and can find no other tranſlation of the word than Thick-ſcull. Of him are deſcended, as the MS. of the Rev. Lewis Owen (my authority) ſay, many worthy families, among them Ithel ap Rotpert, arch⯑deacon of Tegengl, who was living in the years 1375 and 1393, and the Bithels, and a great many families beſides. I might venture to mention the living deſcendants of the great Bendew; for the unfortunate idea of character impreſſed by the cognomen is entirely worn out. They are only to be known by their arms, argent, three boars heads couped, a chevron ſable.
THE extinct families were the Wynnes, of Galedlom, and Caerwis; Piers of Llanaſaph and of Merton Yſglan, and the Williams's of Merton, both of the pariſh of Whiteford; the Parrys, of Coleſhill and Baſingwerk; the Ffachnalts, of Ffachnalts, in the pariſh of Mold; and the Griffiths, of Pant [...]y Llo [...]wndŷ, in Llanhaſa pariſh, and Griffiths of Caerwis hall; all of whom are now extinct, unleſs it may be in the female line.
[120] GO [...]SEDDAU.A LITTLE farther on the left, on the common, are two raiſed mounts of a conoid ſhape, called Gorſeddau, a name common to all of the ſame kind. According to our learned Rowlands (ſee p. 69) it is derived from the cuſtom which the Druids had of fitting aloft on them, when they pronounced their ſentences, and made their ſolemn orations to the people. 'Multa,' ſays Caeſar, 'de Decrum immortalium vi et poteſtate diſputant, et juventute tra⯑dunt.' The cuſtom of promulging the laws in the Iſle of Man from their Tinwald, a larger but ſimilar mount, has its origin in Druidiſm. A certain officer takes the place of the Druid, and makes known to the people, who ſtand beneath, the inſtitution of the new law.
PEN-FFORDD Y WAEN.ON the mountain oppoſite to the place called Penffôrdd ŷ Waen, are other remains of the antient Britons, one or two tumuli, and near one of them an upright ſtone; and a little farther is another, its tumulus poſſibly deſtroyed. Theſe are the Meini Gwŷr, Meini Hirion, and Lleche, differently denominated in different places. Theſe were ſometimes memorials of great events, ſometimes monumental, as in the preſent caſe. There are illuſtrations of both in the book of Geneſis, ch. xxxv.v.v. 14, 20. On the pillar which Jacob erected, after he had the gracious favor of converſing with the Deity face to face, he made a libation of oil: on that raiſed on the grave of his wife Rachel, he omitted that reſpect.
I NOW advance towards my concluſion, and ſhall attempt the more intereſting topics of the rural oeconomy of my native pariſh, and its mineral and commercial advantages. In reſpect [121] to ſize and population, it may rank among the moſt important in this diviſion of our principality.
IT is bounded on the eaſt by the Cheſter Channel, BOUNDARIES OF THE PARISH. the Seteia Aeſtuarium of Ptolemy. Its inhabitants at that time were the Or⯑dovices; but whether in ſo long a period any of the antient blood at preſent runs in our veins, is extremely uncertain. The ſouthern boundary of this pariſh is that of Holywell; the northern, thoſe of Llan Aſaph, Newmarket, and Cwm; and the weſtern, thoſe of Tremerchion and Caerwis.
THE whole length of the pariſh, from its eaſtern extremity,LENGTH. not far from Holloway turnpike-gate, to the extremity of the townſhip Tre'r-Abbot, is about four miles two furlongs. Its greateſt breadth, from the ſea-ſide near Llanerch-y-môr, to Foel-da, ad⯑joining to Yſkiviog pariſh, is near three miles four furlongs. The northern part, which is its length, is in general a rapid deſcent of two miles three quarters and 136 yards, reckoning from Pen-y-ffordd Waen, to Llanerch-y-môr. All beyond to the ſouth and to the weſt is Tegen mountain, or the old Tegenia, a large extent of plain ſwelling into gentle riſings, covered chiefly with heath, and mixed with graſs, unleſs where the lime-ſtone ſtratum appears above the ſurface.
BEING on the ſpot,MINERALS. I ſhall give firſt ſome account of our minerals, the ſource of wealth to the land-owner, and of wealth, but oftener poverty, to the adventurous miners, who, like ad⯑venturers in a lottery, to which miners may truly be compared, are tempted by the good fortune of others to riſque and fre⯑quently loſe their all. If they are ſucceſsful, they never th [...]k of a future day, but enjoy their fortune in good living, forgetfull [122] of the pains it coſt them, till all is gone, and they are again compelled to take to hard labor. After a life of diſſipation they ſink under the fatigue, loſe their health, and early become a burthen to the community, by adding to the load of paupers under which it groans.
WORKED BY THE ROMANS.THE want of gun-powder, in early times, with the Romans, was a great impediment. Inſtead, we find that great fires were uſed; the rock intenſely heated, and cracks formed in it by the ſudden infuſion of water; Pliny ſays of vinegar. The wedge or pick-ax was then inſinuated into the apertures, and the ſtone or ore forced out. Miners often diſcover the marks of fire in antient mines. I am in poſſeſſion of a little wedge, five inches and a quarter long, preſented to me by the late Mr. Smedley, of Bagillt Hall, diſcovered in working the deep fiſſures of Dalar Goch rock, in the pariſh of Diſerth, in this county. This little inſtrument affords a proof of its antiquity, by being almoſt in⯑tirely incruſted with lead ore. It had probably lain in the courſe of ſome ſubterraneous ſtream, which had brought along with it the leaden particles, and depoſited them on the iron.
THEIR TOOLS.PICK-AXIS of an uncommon bulk, and very clumſy, have been diſcovered in the bottom of the mineral trenches; theſe ſeem to have been the ſame with the fractaria of the Romans, pick-axes of enormous ſize, uſed by the miners in the gold mines of Spain. Buckets of ſingular conſtruction, and other things of uſes unknown at preſent, have been found among the antient mines.
1 2. Antient [...] wedges
3. a [...]eaden [...]
[...]
I AM alſo indebted to Mr. Edwards for a plate of lead of the ſhape of the ſole of a ſhoe, with an elevated rim round the ſides, and furniſhed alſo with a hooked handle to hang it in the fiſſures of the rocks of the mines, evidently deſigned to have placed on it a lamp, to give the miners light in their ſubterraneous opera⯑tions. This and another were found at the depth of ſixty yards in a Roman mine.
OUR mineral tract is from Pen-yr-allt, or Bryn-digri, MINERAL TRACT. in a line to the weſtern borders of Holywell pariſh. Its extent to north and ſouth is very narrow. The turnpike road by Kelyn and Pen⯑y-ffordd Waen, as far as Creecas, deſcribes its courſe eaſt and weſt. This part goes under the name of the Whiteford Rake, and is nearly the ſummit of the pariſh in this part. The veins on the eaſt ſide, when they dip into the fields, ſcarcely ever bear.
THE veins run either north or ſouth, or eaſt or weſt: the laſt are generally found moſt profitable. It is ſingular, that the ore got in the firſt ſcarcely ever produces ſilver worth the re⯑finer's labor.
THE ores differ in quality.LEAD ORES. The lamellated or common kind, uſually named potter's ore, yields from fourteen hundred to ſixteen hundred and a quarter of lead from twenty hundred of the ore: but the laſt produce is rare.
[124]THE quantity of ſilver produced from our lead is alſo vari⯑able. The upper part of a vein of lead ore is always richeſt in ſilver; the bottom, in lead. Our refiners will aſſay any lead that with yield ten ounces in the ton of lead and upwards. The uſual produce is fourteen ounces: ſixteen have been gotten; but acquiſitions of that kind within this circuit are extremely uncommon.
CAR [...]CKFER [...]ON the ſide of the Whiteford Rake are the ruins of a large bu [...]ding called Carrickfergus, probably from being ſounded by ſome adventurer from that town, for the purpoſe of ſmelting the ore got in its neighborhood. It is near a century old, and erected when the furnaces were conſtructed in a manner very different from thoſe of the preſent times; for by the remains of the chimnies they ſeem to have been formed like thoſe of the modern iron-furnaces.
THE depth of our lead-mines are various. Rich veins have been diſcovered to the depth of ninety yards.
THE veins are found either in the lime-ſtone rock or that of chert. Theſe frequently go to unknown depths; the ore is pur⯑ſued extremely far indeed; and when it ceaſes, the unprofitable is uſually found to conſiſt of ſpar.
GRAVEL LEAD-ORE.GRAVEL ore, or lumps, from forty tons weight to the ſize of a hazel-nut, are often diſcovered in what the miners call flats, or looſe ground full of gravel, tumblers, and the like. It is rounded and ſmoothed on the ſurface, as if it had been rolled in violent waters: but within is pure, lamellated, and rich. It is a potter's ore, reduced to this form by accident.
[125]THERE is no aſcertaining the quantity of lead ore which is annually taken up in our pariſh, nor yet that of lead exported. It is included in the cuſtom-houſe books at Cheſter, in the general account of the produce of the mineral parts of this county, and that of Denbigh. The number of tons exported in 1792, is as follows:
| Foreign. | Coaſtways. |
| 540 tons of lead. | 4497. |
| 150 ore. | 761. |
ABOUT fifty years ago about ſeventeen hundred weight of cop⯑per ore was diſcovered in a tenement of my father's called Cathe⯑rine George's; which on being aſſayed was found to be very rich:COPPER ORE. but none has been diſcovered ſince, notwithſtanding the ground has been diligently ſearched.
LAPIS CALAMINARIS, or calamine,CALAMINE. is found in very great quan⯑tities almoſt the whole way I have mentioned, but increaſes in plenty as we advance eaſtward. It is found in veins like lead ore, often by itſelf; ſometimes mixed with ore, which renders the break⯑ing and ſeparating a work of labor and expence; what is found in theſe parts is generally of the cavernous, boney, or cancellated kinds. This mineral was the Cadmia of Pliny, lib. xxxiv. c. 10; and the Stone-cadmia of Strabo, lib. iii. 248. The Romans knew its uſes in making of braſs; therefore cannot be ſuppoſed to have overlooked ſo neceſſary an ingredient. The remains of the braſs-founderies, diſcovered in our kingdom, ſhew, that they were ac⯑quainted [126] with it. The knowlege of this mineral in after-ages was long loſt. Before the reign of Elizabeth, much was im⯑ported from Sweden; but at that period it was diſcovered again in the Mendip-hills; and, fortunately, at the ſame time that the working of the copper-mines in thoſe of Cumberland was re⯑newed. Our county abounds with it; but, till within theſe ſixty years, we were ſo ignorant of the value, as to mend our roads with it; which have of late years been turned up in a hun⯑dred places moſt ſucceſsfully to recover the loſt wealth. It was John Barrow, JOHN BARROW. a miner, from the Mendip-hills (whom I well re⯑member living in this pariſh) who firſt made us acquainted with this valuable mineral, having long worked in the calamine mines of his own country.
IT appears that this mineral tract (which is called the Pant⯑vein) has yielded ore from very early times. In the laſt century there have been no very rich veins: but then it is almoſt always yielding ſomething, and of later years has been particularly productive of calamine. In the beginning of this century Sir Thomas Groſvenour had a good mine of lead ore on the ſide of the road. My grandfather had another. The benevolent, chari⯑table Mr. Edwards, of Brinford, had another. The Mr. Jones, of Celyn, had another. The laſt is ſaid to have put a trap-door to the top of the ſhaft, and to have locked it, and made uſe of the trea⯑ſure below as a bank, which he had recourſe to according to his wants. All theſe mines are on the ſame vein, which is an eaſt and weſt, Sir Thomas Groſvenour's mine was included in the vaſt mineral grant, poſſeſſed by his anceſtor, ſee Tour in Wales, i. p. 76. [127] All the other freeholders work on their reſpective freeholds. Sir Roger Moſtyn on his manor of Moſtyn, and on his freehold.
A MR. Francis Leiceſter, of Vauxhall, gives an account of this vein in a ſmall pamphlet, called 'The little Mine Adven⯑ture,' publiſhed in 1702. He ſtyles himſelf the preſent leſſee, and gives, I believe, a good plan of the vein in an annexed map.
BLACK JACK, Zinc, Pſeudo-galena, BLACK JACK. is met with in large quanti⯑ties near the eaſtern extremity of the pariſh. It is found to anſwer the purpoſes of calamine. It has hitherto been only exported to Briſtol; and is ſold there at the rate of 4l. 10s. per ton, deli⯑vered. We have it in a metallic form, of a blueiſh grey color, and again of the colors of the dark ſemi-pellucid ambers. Cronſted, ii. p. 779. Magellan's ed. calls the firſt, Zincum ferro ſulphurato mineraliſatum; the other, Zincum calciforme cum ferro ſulphuratum.
THIS ſemi-metal, and its ore, has been long known in India, and imported from thence in a metallic ſtate, under the name of tutenag, as early as the year 1647. It had even been fuſed in the Goſlar mines, as early as 1617. Yet the ſecret of its being an ingredient in making braſs, did not reach us till the year 1738; when it was communicated to us by Mr. Von Swob. I refer to the learned Biſhop Watſon's entertaining and inſtructive works, for a full account of this uſeful mineral. Let me here inform the reader from the ſame authority, (iv. p. 2.) that by the ac⯑cident of the Dutch taking a Portugueſe ſhip laden with cala⯑mine, we learn the origin of the name, it being derived from the Arabic, calaem, the ſame mineral as our calamine, which is [128] plentifully found in the peninſula of Malacca, and probably in other parts of India.
MILL-DISTEMPER.A MOST excruciating, and often fatal diſorder, frequently at⯑tacks the miners who work in the hard veins of lead ore, or of black jack, or of ſuch as are ſolid and lodged between ſides, or immerſed in the rock. The diſorder is called the Felyn, from Felyn, a mill. It may be tranſlated into Mill-diſtemper, becauſe it was at firſt moſt frequent in the ſmelting-mills; but for a conſiderable time paſt has ceaſed in thoſe buildings; and that happineſs may be dated from the period in which lime has been uſed as a flux for the lead ores.
IN the mines it ariſes from the workmen being obliged to uſe the pick-axe in the hard veins to get the ore out. The mi⯑nute particles fly about, and are taken down into the ſtomach, and into the lungs. This occaſions a moſt obſtinate coſtiveneſs, attended with moſt dreadful pains, which have been known to laſt fourteen, and even twenty-one days, and attended with a ſtrong ſymptomatic fever.
‘William Spencer, a miner, worked in Meilwr, (a mine near Holywell) in a cloſe confined ſituation, and where the ore was of a particular hard nature. He was attacked annually, during fifteen or ſixteen years, (uſually in the ſpring) with an acute pain in the pit of his ſtomach, extending itſelf downwards, with a griping pain in the bowels; and attended with a violent reaching, vomiting, coſtiveneſs, and teneſmus. His bowels and abdominal muſcles were much contracted, his pulſe feeble and low, he was ſubject to cold clammy ſweats, and an unuſual coldneſs of his extremities. In the efforts to vomit, he ſome⯑times [129] parted with a quantity of bile; and in each evacuation I obſerved a depoſition of a number of particles of lead, by parting with which he found great relief. The coſtiveneſs continued ſometimes eight, nine, or ten days, notwithſtanding the repeated uſe of purgatives, (chiefly caſtor-oil, in large doſes, which I found to be the moſt effectual remedy). When this was got the better of, and a ſtool procured, I ob⯑ſerved in each evacuation a quantity of lead, by which, from the relief he obtained, his pulſe became better, the contraction of his bowels diſappeared, and likewiſe the cold clammy ſweats. In three or four days, and in the two laſt attacks, he felt a ſimilar acute pain in the lower part of his belly, attended with a ſcantineſs, pain, and difficulty in voiding his urine. I conſequently ſuſpected that ſome leaden particles might have found their way into the bladder, and gave him ſome diuretic medicines, as balſam of copaiba, gum-arabic, and oil of juniper. In the courſe of twenty-four hours his urine was voided much eaſier, and in greater quantity, and he parted with as much pure lead by urine as would lie on a ſhilling. He in the latter part of his days became aſthmatic, and weak, and died Nov. 30, 1754, in the 51ſt year of his age.’
I AM obliged to Mr. William Denman, of Holywell, ſurgeon, for the above account of the ſad diſorder; but more materially to his ſkill, and my excellent conſtitution, for a ſpeedy recovery in the laſt ſpring (April 6th, 2 P. M.) from the con⯑ſequences of a knee-pan ſnapped in two tranſverſely, by no other violence than by ſtepping down two ſteps inſtead of one. After a ſtrict recumbency of near ſeven weeks in poſ⯑ſeſſion [130] of high ſpirits, fulneſs of faculties, and enjoyment of my favorite amuſements, I roſe from my bed, with the grateful pro⯑ſpect of p [...]ng the remainder of my days with my prior activity little impaired; thankful to PROVIDENCE for graciouſly adding this bleſſing to the numbers of others it has ſhowered on me during my long and various life.
CHERT.CHERT, which I have mentioned before, as being often the lodgement of the mineral veins, is the petroſilex, and lapis corneus, of Cronſtedt, i. 189. It is of a flinty nature, and the only one of that claſs we have in our county. Nodular flints, the attendant on chalks, are quite unknown here. This is in the neighborhood of lime-ſtone, as flints are concomitant with chalk. It is an opaque ſtone, ſome⯑times plain, often varied with ſtripes. I have ſpoken of it as a ma⯑trix of the ores. I now conſider it as uſeful in manufactures. It is frequently cut out of its quarries in great maſſes, and ſent to the pottery countries of Staffordſhire, firſt, for the purpoſes of form⯑ing ſtones to grind and comminute the calcined flints, which are the great ingredients in the ſtone ware; and I think it is itſelf calcined, and being homogeneous with the purer flints, ſerves alſo for the ſame purpoſes. Much of it is found in the midſt of our hills, ſinking, as I have ſaid, to depths unknown. In Sir Roger Moſtyn's land, near Pen-yr-allt, where the upper part of the pa⯑riſh hangs abrupt over the lower, it forms the broken precipitous front, and has been of late quarried out for exportation. Biſhop Watſon, (ii. 263) ſays, that it ſells in Derbyſhire at eight ſhillings ton. The duke of Rutland contents himſelf with five ſhillings per ton, as lord of the rock. The workmen have three ſhillings for raiſing. I leave the reader to conſult the right reverend au⯑thor [131] for the proceſs of calcining, &c. The knowlege may be of uſe to my countrymen, whether it is any way related to the Petunſe of the Chineſe, p. 273. It may not be wrong to conſult our late legatine voyagers to China for that purpoſe.
OUR lime-ſtone is a genuine marble, often pure,LIME-STONE. often filled with entrochi and ſhells, compoſed entirely of homogeneous matter. I have mentioned the immenſity of the beds: but it is often found mixed with calamine and ore. Its uſes cannot be unknown to any, whether in building, whether for the purpoſes of agriculture. I am ſenſible its application is not extended as far as it ought to be; (but more of that under the article Rural Oeconomy.) Here I may ſay that it is the common flux uſed by the ſmelters in the fuſing the lead ores; which has taken off much of the noxious effect it formerly had on the ſmelters, who were engaged in the operation, and on the cattle who fed on the graſs within reach of the ſmoke.
ON the weſt ſide of Celyn rake, is a large ſtratum of a deep grey lime-ſtone, which, when calcined, makes, mixed with common lime, an excellent cement or terras, for works con⯑ſtructed in water. It is nearly equal to the Aberdour ſtone from South Wales, of which much has been imported for the uſes of our great buildings on the Holywell ſtream.
OF ſpars we have in abundance the white opaque kind;SPARS. but I think none of the fine refracting ſpars, or the Cryſtallum Iſlan⯑dicum, which is frequent in the neighboring pariſhes.
PETROLEUM, rock-oil,PETROLEUM. or what the Welſh call it y menin tyl⯑with têg, or fairies butter, has been found in the lime-ſtone ſtrata [132] in our mineral country. It is a greaſy ſubſtance, of an agreea⯑ble ſmell; and I ſuppoſe aſcribed to the benign part of thoſe imaginary beings. It is eſteemed ſerviceable in rheumatic caſes, rubbed on the parts affected. It retains a place in our Diſpenſary.
ADVENTI [...]OUS [...].I SHALL juſt mention two or three adventitious bodies diſco⯑vered at vaſt depths in our mines. We have been often ſur⯑priſed with finding great rude logs of timber, at the depth of twenty-five or forty-five yards under ground. They are quite rough, and totally freed from any ſuſpicion of having been uſed in the mines, even had they not been met with in new or un⯑worked ground, in blue clay, and amidſt tumblers. They are firm and ſtrong when firſt taken up, and of a black color, as if they had been burnt.
SHELLS.SHELLS, eſpecially conchae anomiae, are very common, ſome⯑times looſe, but more frequently immerſed in the lime-ſtone.
CHANGE OF STRATA.I NOW quit the heights, and go down a ſteep deſcent, about half a mile, into the lower part of the pariſh. The mouth of a level, and a ſhallow ſhaft near it, diſcovers the change of ſtrata. The chert and the lime-ſtone quite diſappear, and in their place appear firſt the beds of ſhale,SHALE. black, ſhattery, and ſoon diſſoluble when expoſed to the weather. It is the ſymptom of approach⯑ing coal, and the covering. Cronſtedt, i. 259, calls it a pyrita⯑ceous ſchiſtus, and gives it other epithets, according to its con⯑tents. It is often found in beds of immenſe thickneſs, and often filled with inflammable air, which frequently burſts out to the great inconveniency and danger of the workmen. It is alſo im⯑pregnated with bitumen, which adds to its powers. In many parts of the kingdom it is found to contain quantities of alum;ALUM. [133] and to be worked for the purpoſe of extracting from it that uſe⯑ful article. The trial is worth making. In our parts we have the ſame advantages of coal for the proceſs, and water-carriage for the exportation, as Whitby has. Coals begin to appear in their unprofitable beds, at a ſmall diſtance to the eaſt; half a mile further, in great bodies, and of an excellent quality.
THE collieries of Moſtyn and Bychton have been worked for a very conſiderable ſpace;COLLIERIES. and in the laſt century ſupplied Dublin and the eaſtern ſide of Ireland with coals. They were diſcovered in the townſhip of Moſtyn, as early as the time of Edward I. as appears by an extent of that place, in the twenty-third year of that reign.
I REMEMBER many fluctuations in their ſtate. They are now in the moſt flouriſhing which I ever remember, inferior only to that in which they were in the latter end of the late, and the be⯑ginning of the preſent century. The riſe of the collieries at White⯑haven, which interfered with our trade to Dublin, was one cauſe of their decline; but another great cauſe was a natural one, the loſs of the channel of the river Dee. We ſtill load a few ſmall veſſels for the neighboring coaſts of North Wales. But our pre⯑ſent proſperity ariſes from the great works of copper-plates, bolts, and ſheathings for ſhips, and the works of braſs eſtabliſhed of late years near the town of Holywell. To them may be added the conſumption occaſioned by the increaſe of population, by the acceſſion of the cotton manufactures; and, finally, th [...] vaſt quantities uſed for burning of lime, the effect of the happy in⯑provement in agriculture, annually increaſing for numbers of years. I do not mention our obligations to the numerous ſmelting-houſes for lead, as they have been eſtabliſhed among us, during time immemorial.
[134] QUAYI REMEMBER a quay beneath the Moſtyn collieries, built by the grandfather of the preſent Sir Roger Moſtyn, at which ſmall veſſels uſed to take in their lading.ENGINE. And I alſo remember on the ſhore the walls which ſupported the wheels and other machinery of a water-engine for draining the colliery. Of this I have a drawing by Mr. Dinely, whom at p. 54, I have re⯑lated to have viſited Moſtyn, in the year 1684.
THIS engine ſeems to have been formed on the model of ſome of thoſe uſed in the German mines in the time of George Agricola. See the repreſentation of ſeveral from p. 148 to p. 158, in his Treatiſe de Re Metallica. This celebrated author floriſhed in 1550.
THE beds of coal dip from one yard in four, to two in three;COAL. they immerge between the eſtuary of the Dee, are diſcovered again on the ſouth-ſide of Wiral, in Cheſhire, as if correſponding with ſome of the Flintſhire. They remain as yet loſt on the northern part of the ſame hundred, but are found a third time in vaſt quantities in Lancaſhire, on the oppoſite ſide of the Merſey. Their extent from weſt to eaſt, in this country, may be rec⯑koned from the pariſh of Llanaſa, through thoſe of Whiteford, Holywell, Flint, Northop, and Hawarden. Our coal is of differ⯑ent qualities, ſuited to the variety of demands of the ſeveral ſorts of founderies in the neighborhood. Sometimes is alſo found the peacock-coal of Dr. Plot, remarkable for the beauty of its ſur⯑face, gloſſed over with the changeable brilliancy of the colors of that beautiful bird.
[136] CAN [...]L C [...]L.THE beds of canal are inferior indeed in elegance to thoſe of Lancaſhire, but greatly coveted by the lime-burners.
COALS were known to the Britons, before the arrival of the Romans, who had not even a name for them; yet Theo⯑phraſtus deſcribes them very accurately, at leſt three centuries before the time of Caeſar; and even ſays that they were uſed by workers in braſs. It is highly probable that the Britons made uſe of them. It is certain they had a primitive name for this foſſil, that of Glo; and as a farther proof, I may add, that a flint-ax, the inſtrument of the aborigines of our iſland, was diſ⯑covered ſtuck in certain veins of coal, expoſed to day in Craig y Parc, in Monmouthſhire; and in ſuch a ſituation as to render it very acceſſible to the unexperienced natives, who, in early times, were incapable of purſuing the veins to any great depths. The artleſs ſmelters of antient times made uſe of wood only in their operations, as we find among the reliques of their hearths.
FREE-STONE.AT a ſhort diſtance from the ſhale appear the beds of free-ſtone, firſt on the ſide of the dingle Nant y bi, and from thence above the coal, terminating in the cliffs in the parts of Tre Bych⯑ton and Tre Moſtyn, which are waſhed by the ſea.
BURNT ROCK.IN the townſhip of Tre Moſtyn, near the ſhore, is a cliff of a very ſingular appearance, looking like the ſemi-vitrified lava of a volcano. The ſtratum is in front univerſally changed in its diſpoſition, and run into a horrible maſs of red and black; often porous, in all parts very hard. In it is a hollow, a vein in which was lodged the pyritical matter that took fire, which continued burning by its own phlogiſton, (ſee Biſhop Watſon, i. 167, to p. 200.) and cauſed the phenomenon. Its fury chiefly raged [137] towards the front, and diminiſhed gradually in the internal part of the bed; which, at ſome diſtance within land, appears only diſ⯑colored. The ſtratum is a ſand-ſtone of the common ſort (Da Coſta's Foſſils, 133.) I am informed, that theſe appearances are not uncommon in Derbyſhire; and that Mr. Ferber, an ingenious Swede, and Mr. Whiteburſt, our ingenious countryman, have taken notice of them in their writings.
I SHALL here introduce the mention of damps found in col⯑lieries, which are not unfrequent,A FIRE-DAMP. and ſometimes act with amaz⯑ing fury, and fatal conſequences. There are two ſpecies, the ſuffocating, and the fire. The laſt is very rare in the lead-mines, unleſs in thoſe parts where the ſhale, or ſtone attendant on coal, begins. The firſt kills inſtantaneouſly, by its mephitic vapor, and is a diſaſter common to neglected vaults, and draw-wells. The other is inflammable, and burns and deſtroys in a dreadful man⯑ner, as the colliers, through negligence in not ſetting fire to the vapor before it gets to a head, do often experience. The moſt tremendous inſtance was on February 3d, 1675, in a coal-work at Moſtyn, which I ſhall relate from the Philoſophical Tranſactions; and ſo conclude the account of our mineral concerns.
‘THE damp had been perceived for ſome time before, re⯑ſembling fiery blades, darting and croſſing each other from both ſides of the pit. The uſual methods were taken to free the pit from this evil. After a ceſſation of work for three days, the ſteward, thinking to fetch a compaſs about from the eye of the pit that came from the day, and to bring wind by a ſecure way along with him, that, if it burſt again, it may be done without danger of men's lives, went down, and took two men [138] along with him, which ſerved his turn for this purpoſe. He was no ſooner down, but the reſt of the workmen that had wrought there, diſdaining to be left behind in ſuch a time of danger, haſted down after them; and one of them, more indiſ⯑creet than the reſt, went headlong with his candle over the eye of the damp pit, at which the damp immediately catched, and flew up, to and fro, over all the hollows of the work, with a great wind, and a continual fire; and, as it went, keeping a mighty great roaring noiſe on all ſides.’
‘THE men, at firſt appearance of it, had moſt of them fallen upon their faces, and hid themſelves as well as they could, in the looſe ſlack, or ſmall coal, and under the ſhelter of poſts; yet nevertheleſs, the damp returning out of the hollows, and drawing towards the eye of the pit, it came up with incredible force; the wind and fire tore moſt of their clothes off their backs, and ſinged what was left, burning their faces and hands; the blaſts falling ſo ſharp on their ſkin, as if they had been whipt with cords. Some that had leſs ſhelter were carried fifteen or ſixteen yards from their firſt ſtation, and beaten againſt the roof of the coal, and ſides of the poſts, and lay afterwards a good while ſenſeleſs, ſo that it was long before they could hear or find one another. As it drew up to the day-pit, it caught one of the men along with it that was next to the eye; and up it comes, with ſuch a terrible crack, not unlike, but more ſhrill, than a cannon, that was heard fifteen miles off, with the wind, and ſuch a pillar of ſmoke as darkened all the ſky over-head for a good while. The brow of the hill above the pit was eighteen yards high, and on it grew trees of fourteen or fifteen [139] yards long; yet the man's body, and other things from the pit, were ſeen above the tops of the higheſt trees, at leſt 100 yards. On this pit ſtood a horſe-engine, of ſubſtantial timber, and ſtrong iron-work; on which lay a trunk, or barrel, for winding the rope up and down, of above 1000 pounds weight; it was then in motion, one bucket going down, and the other coming up full of water. This trunk was faſtened to that frame with locks and bolts of iron; yet it was thrown up, and carried a good way from the pit; and pieces of it, though bound with iron hoops and ſtrong nails, blown into the woods about; ſo like⯑wiſe were the two buckets; and the ends of the rope, after the buckets were blown from them, ſtood awhile upright in the air like pikes, and then came leiſurely drilling down. The whole frame of the engine was ſtirred and moved out of its place; and thoſe men's clothes, caps, and hats, that eſcaped, were afterwards found ſhattered to pieces, and thrown amongſt the woods a great way from the pit.’
ANOTHER of theſe damps happened in the ſame lands within my memory. In the year 1751,ANOTHER IN 1751. one man was beat to pieces in the bottom of the pit. Two others were taken up alive, but died ſoon after; and two others ſurvived, but were moſt dread⯑fully burnt: and one who is now living, remains a dreadful evi⯑dence of the effects of the damp. All his fingers burnt off, and his viſage terribly disfigured.
I SHALL here deſcribe agitations of the earth derived from other cauſes, which,EARTHQUAKES. dreadful as they have been in diſtant coun⯑tries, have here occaſioned little more than a momentary alarm. I have at this houſe felt four ſhocks of the earthquake. I ſhall [140] relate their effects, from the Philoſophical Tranſactions, in which they are recorded. On April 2d, 1750, between the hours of ten and eleven at night, I was greatly alarmed with a violent ſhock of an earthquake. I, who was in bed, was frequently moved up and down; and the bed, having caſtors, was removed ſome ſmall ſpace from its proper ſituation.
DURING the ſhock, a great noiſe was heard in the air; and, ſome nights before, lights were ſeen in the ſky; ſuch as were previous to the earthquake in town.
I HAVE ſummed up the remainder in a letter to Sir Joſeph Banks, baronet, K. B. which had the honor of being read before the ROYAL SOCIETY, on January 25th, following, and afterwards printed in the Tranſactions, vol. lxxi. p. 193.
It is very ſingular, that in three days after my return home, I ſhould be reminded of my promiſe by a repetition of the very phenomenon on which I had engaged to write to you: for on Saturday laſt, between four and five in the evening, we were alarmed with two ſhocks of an earthquake; a ſlight one, im⯑mediately followed by another very violent. It ſeemed to come from the north-eaſt, and was preceded by the uſual noiſe. At preſent I cannot trace it farther than Holywell.
THE earthquake preceding this was on the 29th of Auguſt, 1780, about a quarter before nine in the morning. I was fore⯑warned of it by a rumbling noiſe, not unlike the coming of a great waggon into my court-yard. Two ſhocks immediately followed, which were ſtrong enough to terrify us. They came [141] from the north-weſt; were felt in Angleſea, at Caernarvon, Llan⯑rwſt, in the vale of Clwyd ſouth of Denbigh, at this houſe, and in Holywell; but I could not diſcover that their force extended any farther.
THE next, in this retrograde way of enumerating theſe pheno⯑mena, was on the 8th September, 1775, about a quarter before ten at night. The noiſe was ſuch as preceded the former; and the ſhock ſo violent as to ſhake the bottles and glaſſes on the table round which myſelf and ſome company were ſitting. This ſeemed to come from the eaſt. I ſee in the Gentleman's Maga⯑zine of that year, that this ſhock extended to Shropſhire, and quite to Bath, and to Swanſea in South Wales.
THE earlieſt earthquake I remember here was on the 10th of April, 1750. It has the honor of being recorded in the Philo⯑ſophical Tranſactions; therefore I ſhall not trouble you with the repetition of what I have ſaid.
PERMIT me to obſerve, that I live near a mineral country, in a ſituation between lead-mines and coal-mines; in a ſort of neutral tract, about a mile diſtant from the firſt, and half a mile from the laſt. On the ſtricteſt inquiry I cannot diſcover that the miners or colliers were ever ſenſible of the ſhocks under ground: nor have they ever perceived, when the ſhocks in queſtion have happened, any falls of the looſe and ſhattery ſtrata, in which the laſt eſpecially work; yet, at the ſame time, the earthquakes have had violence ſufficient to terrify the inha⯑bitants of the ſurface.
TO this obſervation I may add, that no eruptions of water were ever obſerved to follow the ſhocks; no water from the vaſt [142] reſervoirs of that element, formed in the deſerted pits, which have often burſt through the hollow which contained them, and more than once drowned the unhappy colliers who have been working beneath.
I HAVE ſeen in prints an obſervation of ſome gentleman learned in earthquakes, that the cauſe of thoſe I have mentioned, which leave the ſhattery ſtrata of the coal-mines unaffected, to have been electricity, which in theſe inſtances moved equally and gently, ſo as not to cauſe any concuſſion, or to go perhaps far below the ſurface, ſo that they leave the worked depths totally untouched.
NONE of theſe earthquakes were local; for, excepting the firſt, all may be traced to very remote parts. The weather was remarkable ſtill at the time of every earthquake I have felt.
QUADRUPEDS.THE quadrupeds of this pariſh are common to many parts of England. Yet I ſhall give a catalogue of them in our antient tongue, and affix to them thoſe in the Engliſh.
1. IN reſpect to the March, Ceffyl, the horſe, the caſeg or mare, diſpaidd-farch or gelding, there are abundance in our pariſh, uſed chiefly in the carriage of coal, and our mineral wealth; but as to fine large black horſes uſed in the coach, and by the richer farmers, ſcarcely any are bred in our pariſh, but numbers are bought from thoſe of Northop, Mold, and Hope, in our county, which are far from a diſgrace to the gentleman's equipage.
[143]2. THE mûl, or mule, is very rare with us; but the
3. Aſyn, or aſs, is in great plenty, uſed by the poor to carry coal, to eaſe themſelves of part of the expence of turnpike. It for⯑merly was applied for the carriage of ore; but ſince the improve⯑ment in our roads, has been quite lain aſide for that purpoſe.
4. THE tarw, bull; buwch, cow; ych, eidion, ox; llo, calf, or whatſoever goes under the general adopted name of cattal, or more properly gwarthag, or cattle, produces nothing worthy of note in Whiteford pariſh. Neither cheeſe nor butter for ſale made from their milk, excepting for family conſumption. There is only one ox-team in the pariſh; but that is a remarkably fine one. It is the property of Sir Roger Moſtyn, and uſed on his noble demeſn, which is kept in admirable order. I muſt not conceal, that Sir Roger would be the beſt farmer in the pariſh, if he was permitted to have his own way: but no one can be ignorant of the tenacity of ſervants to old cuſtoms, and the difficulty of over⯑coming ingrafted obſtinacy.
5. THE hwrdd, maharen, or ram; dafad, ewe; oen, lamb. Sheep in general are not greatly cultivated in our pariſh: many in⯑deed are turned out by the farmers on Tegen-mountain, but the gentry chiefly buy their ſtock for the table from Llangollen and other places.
6. Bwch, the he-goat; gafr, the female; myn, the kid, are very little favored, even in the county at large. I keep a few on my mountain Glol, for the ſake of any invalids who may want their reſtoring milk.
7. Hydd, the buck or fallow-deer; ewig, the doe; elain, the fawn, Br. Zool. i. No 7. are kept in Moſtyn park, and give a veniſon of uncommonly good flavor.
[144]8. Baedd, the boar; hwch, ſow; mochyn, hog, have nothing in the breed particularly worthy notice.
9. OUR ci, dog; and gaſt, bitch; are under the ſame predicament.
10. Llwynog, dog-fox; llwynoges, bitch-fox, Br. Zool. i. No 11; are too frequent.
11. Cath-goed, the wild or wood-cat, Br. Zool. i. No 12. has been frequently ſeen in our woods, but I believe are now ex⯑tirpated. The laſt which was killed was about eight years ago.
12. Pry-llwyd, pry-penbrith, the badger, Br. Zool. i. No 13. An animal found in our pariſh: but neither here nor in other parts of the kingdom a common animal.
13. Ffwl-bard, polecat, fitchet, Br. Zool. i. No 14. Common and deſtructive.
14. Bela-graig, the martin, Br. Zool. i. No 15. The kind intended is the martin with a white throat, a ſweet-ſcented, elegant animal, which in my younger days I have kept tame. They inhabited our woods. The laſt time in which I have known one taken, was about fifteen years ago.
15. Bronwen, the weeſel, Br. Zool. i. No 17. Not unfrequent.
16. Carlwm, ſtoat or ermine, Br. Zool. i. No 18. More com⯑mon than the former. I have ſeen this animal more than once in my grounds, wholly changed (tail excepted) to a ſnowy whiteneſs; and alſo partly white, partly brown.
17. Dyfr-gi, the otter, Br. Zool. i. No 19. This animal is ſeldom ſeen in this pariſh. It is certain that they have paſſed to and from Cheſhire, over the channel, at low water.
18. Yſgyfarnog, the hare, Br. Zool. i. No 20.
19. Gwiwair, the ſquirrel, Br. Zool. i. No 23. This elegant animal enlivens our woods in numbers.
[145]20. Pathew, the dormouſe, Br. Zool. i. No 24. Very rare in our pariſh.
21. Llygoden Ffrengig, the black rat, Br. Zool. i. No 25. Ffren⯑gig ſignifies French, as if it had been imported from France; which originally it might have been, with every animal we poſſeſs, before the ſeparation of Gaul from Britain, by the convulſion which formed the Streights of Dover *. Whether our anceſtors had any tradition of its being of a later importation, (as the diſtinction might imply) is unknown to me. They have long ſince been extirpated by the Brown Rat. The laſt I have ſeen in this pariſh, was at my old houſe at Bychton. They are ſtill found in our ca⯑pital: the ſpecimen of one taken there is preſerved in the col⯑lection of Britiſh animals near the Pantheon.
22. THE Brown Rat is a modern importation, and has no name in the Britiſh. It is a peſt to all countries it has ſettled in, (ſee Br. Zool. i. No 26, and Hiſt. Quadr. ii. No 375.)
23. Llygoden y dwr, water rat, Br. Zool. i. No 27. Once very common in the meadow below my houſe.
24. Llygoden ganoleg, Llygoden y maes, field mouſe. Br. Zool. i. No 28.
25. Llygoden, common mouſe, No 30, has ſometimes been found white in our pariſh.
26. Llygoden gwtta'r maes, ſhort-tailed mouſe, No 31.
27. Llygoden goch, Chwiſtlen, Llyg, ſhrew, No 32.
28. Wadd, Twrch daear, mole, No 34. Sometimes white in my grounds.
29. Draenog, Draen y coed, urchin, or hedge-hog, No 35— [146] humbly petitions mankind to deſiſt from all farther perſecutions; declaring themſelves innocent of the various charges brought againſt them, particularly for that of ſucking cows; reſting their a [...]quittal on this ſimple plea—the impoſſibility. They could not effect it, by reaſon of the ſmallneſs of their mouths; nor the cows permit, by reaſon of the ſharpneſs of their teeth.
30. Moel- [...]n, ſeal, No 3. By ſtorms one was once taken on our ſhore.
31. Yſtlum, the common bat, No 41.
[...]DS.THE Buzzard and the Keſtrils annually build in the tall pines near my houſe. I believe them to be the leſt noxious of the rapa⯑cious tribes, I therefore ſpare them; they animate the air, as well as other birds do the woods. Both feed principally on mice. The evolutions of the laſt, and their beautiful ſuſpenſion in the air, are pleaſing ſpectacles, and contribute to grace the ſcenery.
THE owl tribe, in my opinion, do not render night hideous. Their hootings, and their other notes, break finely into the ſtill⯑neſs of the evening; and their f [...]rm and ſapient looks, are a ſingu⯑lar variation among the feathered tribe. The white owl, that uſeful ſpecies, is gratefully ſpared, as it is moſt particularly ini⯑mical to mice. Its chaſe after the different kinds of field-mice is very amuſing, while it ſkims along the meadows. The beauty of its pl [...]mage is admirable; let that be the excuſe for giving the figure of a bird that is not extremely rare.
THE long-tailed tit-mouſe, Br. Zool. i. No 166, with its numerous brood, paſſes annually through my garden. They flit from tree to tree, as if on their progreſs to ſome other place, never making any halt.
THE Nut-cracker, Br. Zool. ii. App. tab. iii. Latham, i. p. 400, is an accidental viſitant of this iſland. One was killed in the gar⯑den at Moſtyn in 1753. On the continent it extends from Ger⯑many to Kamtſchatka, and inhabits the vaſt foreſts of pines. It alſo neſtles on lofty towers, and, like the jackdaw, is very noiſy. In ſize it is about equal to that bird. Its colour is ruſty brown, prettily marked with triangular ſpots of pure white. It feeds on nuts (which it breaks with its bill) alſo on fir-cones, acorns, ber⯑ries, and inſects. Its bill is as ſtrong as that of the wood-pecker, which enables it to pierce the bodies of trees, and make great havock among the timber.
VAST numbers of water-fowls frequent our ſhores in the win⯑ter time, chiefly ducks and wigeons. In very ſevere weather, variety of others emigrate here; but none excepting thoſe which accidentally viſit every other maritime part of Great Britain.
I SHALL conclude this mention of the birds with an account of a ſingular accident diſcovered in a turkey which was killed for my table. The cook in plucking it found herſelf much wounded in the fingers. On examining the cauſe, it was found, that from the thigh-bone of the bird iſſued a ſhort upright proceſs, and to that grew a large and ſtrong talon, with a ſharp and crooked [148] claw, exactly reſembling that of a bird of prey. Every head was ſet to work to explain the cauſe of this wondrous pheno⯑me [...]n. The effects of fright, of conceit on the minds of the female, human and brute, in the ſtate of pregnancy, was then conſidered, and all the various inſtances of monſtrous produc⯑tions. I have heard of a duckling, which, to the ſurprize of a g [...]ave family, [...]ad [...] from its n [...]ſt with a long ſerpentine tail inſtead of its natural rump. This was readily reſolved into a fright the mother-duck took, at finding, when it went once to lay, a ſnake coiled up in the neſt, as was a real fact. I conſulted the learned, but found the doctrine of terror and fancy totally exploded. I then conſulted the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Brobdingnag; and, to my inexpreſſible ſatisfaction, found that the opinion of that illuſtrious body coincided with my own: ſo I put down this uncommon accident as no more than a Relpium Sca [...]cath, or, in the modern phraſe, a luſus naturae.
FISHES.THE tides recede here ſo very f [...]r as to deny us any variety of fiſh. The ſpecies moſt plentiful are of the flat kind, ſuch as flounders, a few pla [...]ce, ſmall ſoles, and rays. Dabs viſit us in November. Smear Dabs, Br. Zool. iii. No 106, alſo viſit our ſea; and in the laſt year was taken that rare ſpecies of flounder the whiff, the figure of which is given in the Britiſh Zoology, No 111.
THAT turbots of a large ſize are found in our neighborhood, is evident; twice in my life I had one brought to me which weighed twenty-two pounds. There have been a few others taken here of the ſame ſize, but the inſtances are rare.
[149]VARIOUS other fiſhes are taken off our coaſt accidentally.ANGEL FISH. Among them is the Fiſhing Frog, or Angler, Br. Zool. iii. No 51. And once a large Angel or Monk (Br. Zool. iii. No 39.) fiſh got into my fiſherman's nets. The man was very poor, I there⯑fore thought he might get a little money by exhibiting it at C [...]eſter. I gave him a few inſtructions, and drew up for him a curious advertiſement; but the rogue went beyond his inſtructions, for as ſoon as he arrived in the city, he ſent the bellman about to notify his arrival, and that of his wonderful monſter; ſignifying that Squire Pennant had conſulted all his books, and could not find the like. His ſucceſs was great, for he got ten pounds by the curioſity of the good people of Cheſter. When the ſmell grew intolerable, he ſold it to another poor per⯑ſon, who ſtuffed the ſkin, and diſtended it to a moſt dreadful form, and carried it to Worceſter, and the internal parts of England, where I doubt not his ſucceſs was equal to that of poor Thomas H [...]d [...]field.
'Advertiſement. 'TO THE CURIOUS. July, 1761.
To be ſeen at the upper White Bear, in Bridge-Street, in this ‘City, (now in its Road to the ROYAL SOCIETY) THE STUPENDOUS SEA MONSTER, Taken alive on the Coaſts of North Wales.’
‘IT is the moſt amazing prodigy the great deep ever produced, being headed like a bull-dog, mouthed like the ravenous ſha [...]ke, and armed with a four-fold row of teeth. It has a breaſt like the human kind, wings like thoſe of an eagle, and a [150] tail very like that of a fiſh. It could fly, walk, and ſwim, and was ſo fierce as to keep three men at bay for two hours, before it could be taken.’
‘THIS amazing monſter has given the greateſt ſatisfaction to all that have viewed it; and may now be ſeen at the ſmall expence of three-pence.’
‘N. B.—THE Proprietor of this wonder is willing to oblige perſons, by bringing it to their houſes, on paying double price.’
STING RAY.THAT rare ſpecies of fiſh the Sting Ray, Br. Zool. iii. No 38, is ſometimes taken in our channel. It is greatly dreaded by our fiſhermen, on account of the dangerous ſpine iſſuing from the tail, with which it might give a mortal wound. From the Britiſh Zoology, I ſhall add, that the terror of its weapon ſup⯑plied the antients with many tremendous fables relating to it. Pliny, A [...]ian, and Oppian, have given it a venom that affects even the inanimate creation. Trees that are ſtruck by it inſtantly loſe their verdure, and periſh, and rocks themſelves are incapable of reſiſting the potent poiſon.
THE enchantreſs Circe armed her ſon with a ſpear, headed with the ſpine of the trygon, a ſpecies of ſting-ray, as the moſt irreſiſtible weapon ſhe could furniſh him with, and with which he afterwards committed parricide, unintentionally, on his father Ulyſſes. But we need not dive into antiquity for the fatal applica⯑tion of the ſpine of ſome of the ray genus. The inhabitants of certain parts of South America, and of ſome of the new-diſcovered iſlands in the Pacific Ocean, ſtill head their ſpears with the ſpines [151] of the congenerous kinds, which prove far more tremendous than thoſe pointed with iron, in uſe among the European warriors.
THE Herring in this ſea is extremely deſultory.HERRING. At times they appear in vaſt ſhoals, even as high as Cheſter; arrive in the month of November, and continue till February; and are fol⯑lowed by multitudes of ſmall veſſels, which enliven the chan⯑nel. Great quantities are taken, and ſalted; but are generally ſhotten and meagre. The laſt time in which they appeared here in quantities was in the year 1766 and 1767.
A few Anchovies, Br. Zool. iii. No 163,ANCHOVY. have been taken off this pariſh, particularly in 1769. Ray, in his Philoſophical Let⯑ters, p. 47, ſaw ſome at Cheſter in the year 1669.
THE Argentine, Br. Zool. ii. No 156, a very rare fiſh, not much above two inches long, has alſo been taken in our channel.
In my father's younger days, Cod-fiſh, of conſiderable ſizes, and in vaſt quantities, were taken on the back of the Hyle ſands, but have deſerted the place beyond my memory.
THE Weever, Br. Zool. iii. No 71, is very common here,WEEVER. and equally dreaded in theſe parts as they are on the different ſhores of England. Pliny, lib. ix. c. 27, 48; and Aelian, lib. ii. c. 50 men⯑tions this ſpecies, its dorſal ſpine, and its dangerous effects, under the name of Draco; and Pliny again under that of Araneus.
OUR ſhore is not productive of any variety of cruſtacea, or of ſhells. We have the cancer maenas, or the common crab; and the cancer crangon, or ſhrimp. The laſt is here ſo peculiarly deli⯑cious, that had Apicius failed from Minturnae to the Flintſhire ſhores, to have feaſted on them, at he did to thoſe of the Sinus [152] Hipponenſis, in Africa, to indulge on the congenerous locuſtae * of that ſea, he would not inſtantly have returned indignant, as he did from thence, at finding himſelf deceived in the report of their excellency, but remained on our coaſt, wallowing in epicuriſm the whole of the happy ſeaſon.
AS to ſhells, we have only one ſpecies, we can call new, the tro⯑chus ulvae, Br. Zool. iv. No 12 [...]. tab. lxxxvi. fig. 120. It is very ſmall, not exceeding the ſize of a grain of wheat, conſiſts of four ſpires, the firſt ſwelling: the color deep brown. Theſe are found in great numbers, lodged in the ulva lactuca, on our ſhores.
PLANTS.AMONG the rarer plants of our pariſh, are the lithoſpermium arvenſe, Syſt. Pl. i. 385. Corn Gromwell, or baſtard Alkanet, Gerard, 610.
Anchuſa ſempervirens, Syſt. Pl. i. 389. Never-dying borage, Gerard, 797.
Phellandrium aquaticum, Syſt. Pl. 701. Flor. Scot. i. 163. Common water hemlock, Gerard, 1063.
Campanula latifolia, Syſt. Pl. 1458. Giant throat-wort, Gerard, 448.
Chlora perfoliata, Syſt. Pl. ii. 161. Flor. Scot. p. 200. Yellow centorie, Gerard, 547. Elegant, and rather ſcarce.
Trifolium fragiferum, Syſt. Pl. 559. Strawberry trefoil, Gerard, 1208.
Tragopogon pratenſe, Syſt. Pl. iii. 611. Flor. Scot. 426. Purple goat's beard, Gerard, 735.
[153]THE Rev. Mr. Lightfoot diſcovered in our dingles, in the month of May, a variety of the Anenome Nemoroſa, Syſt. Pl. ii. 637. with the leaves dotted on the back like the fructifications of a polypody: preciſely correſponding with the figure of a ſup⯑poſed fern, in Mr. Ray's Synopſis, 124, after No 24; and fig. i. tab. iii. at p. 128.
THE arenaria ſaxatilis, Syſt. Pl. ii. 364. is found on our moun⯑tain in plenty, and chears the ground with its white flowers, in May. I do not find it in Mr. Hudſon, nor any of our Britiſh flo⯑riſts. It is found in Sibiria, Fl. Sib. iv. 157. tab. 63; and in Switzerland, Haller, p. 383, No 867.
THE geranium phaeum, Syſt. Pl. iii. 32. has alſo been diſcovered in the hanging wood above my garden.
THE pictureſque dingle Nant-y-bi abounds with what the bota⯑niſts name the cryptogamous plants. The idea of cryptogamy in⯑ſpired Timaeus with ideas of loves of other kind; and makes our Nant the tender ſcene of courtſhip for all the nymphs and ſwains of Whiteford pariſh, which he candidly admits does always terminate in honeſt matrimony in the pariſh church. I leave to the learned in German, to peruſe his very graphical account *. [154] Perhaps the quotation of two lines from Dr. Darwin's elegant poem, book ii. line 361, 'On the Loves of the Plants,' may prove full as pleaſing. He makes Muſcus, one of the claſſes in queſtion, thus addreſs itſelf, juſt in the manner our amorous couples may be ſuppoſed to do:
THE rareſt plants of the dingle, of the cryptogamous kind, are the Polypodium creopteris, Lin. Soc. Tranſ. i. 181.
Bryum extinctorium, Fl. Scot. ii. p. 718. Dillen. Muſc. tab. 95. fig. 8. So called from having a membranaceous calyptra hanging lower than the capſule, like an extinguiſher upon a candle.
Bryum calliſtomum, Dickſ. Faſc. iii. tab. 10.
Jungermannia ciliaris. Hudſon Fl. Angl. i. 515.
Lichen concentricus, Lin. Soc. Tranſ. ii. 284. Diſcovered by my excellent botanical aſſiſtant, the Reverend Hugh Davies Aber, Caernarvonſhire.
Lichen quercinus, Dickſ. Faſc. i. p. 9.
Agaricus piperatus, Fl. Scot. ii. p. 1013. Fl. Angl. i. 613. A moſt acrid fungus, and the moſt ſuſpicious of the whole claſs; yet is eaten in great quantities by the Ruſſians. They fill large veſſels with them in the autumn ſeaſon, or pickle them with ſalt, and eat them in the enſuing Lent.
A DREADFUL POISON. Haller gives a dreadful account of the fatal effects. ‘The maladies they occaſion are a ſwelling of the abdomen, reſtleſs⯑neſs, heart-burns, vomitings, colics, difficult breathings, hic⯑coughs, melancholy, diarrhoeas, accompanied with a teneſmus, and gangrenes. To which dreadful complaints, the acrimonious quality of ſome fungi brings on beſides inflammations in the [155] mouth, with bloody lotions and bloody ſtools. Laſtly, it is certain that ſome ſpecies have an intoxicating quality, followed often by deliriums, tremblings, watchings, faintings, apoplexies, cold ſweats, and death itſelf. Some have fancied that ſkilful cookery would deprive them of their bad effects, and that oils would ſheath their noxious qualities; but theſe are fatal deceits, not to be truſted. Notwithſtanding this, nothing can prevail on the northern nations from depriving themſelves of ſo favorite a food.’
Agaricus delicioſus. Orange agaric. Hudſon Flor. Angl. ii. 613.
Boletus ſuberoſus. Cork boletus. Hudſon Flor. Angl. ii. 624. Flor. Scot. ii. p. 1032. So called from its being light, tough, and ſpongy like cork, and is ſometimes cut and ſhaped by the country people, and uſed as corks for their bottles; but muſt not be ſuffered to touch any liquid, for moiſture ſoon renders them ſoft and uſeleſs.
Helvella mitra. Curled helvella. Hudſon Flor. Angl. Fl. Scot. ii. p. 1047, is nearly allied to the Phallus eſculentus, and like that is eſteemed to be of the eatable kind.
THE peziza deſcribed by Ray, Syn. Stirp. Brit. i. 18. No 5. is found near my houſe; it is a fungus of the cup-form, and of a moſt brilliant ſcarlet color.
THE waters of this pariſh are very numerous,WATERS. as is the caſe of all mountanous tracts. Here indeed we muſt confine them to the ſteep ſlope that falls rapidly to the ſea. It abounds with little ſprings, which accumulating in their courſe, form ſtreams of power ſufficient to turn ſome corn-mills of conſiderable ſize.
[156] FFYNNON OSWALD.THE largeſt independent rivulet is that which guſhes from Ffynnon Oſwald, or the well of Oſwald, in the townſhip of Merton Ychlan. It takes its name from the Saxon monarch, martyr, and faint, Oſwald king of the Northumbrians, who was defeated and ſlain on October 5th, 642, near Oſweſtry, by the pagan Penda; king of the Mer [...]ians, who hung his limbs on ſtakes diſperſed over the field, as trophies of his victory. Some of the tradition reached our pariſh: for there is near to the well a certain field called A [...]lod Oſwald, or Oſwald's limb, as if one of them had found its way to this place. (For a farther account of the legend, I refer to article Oſweſtry, vol. i. p. 258, edit. 1784, of my Tour in Waies.) This ſtream divides the pariſh of Whiteford, for a certain way, from that of Holywell.
BRYN-Y-GROES.POSSIBLY St. Oſwald had near his well a croſs; for not remote, on an eminence named Bryn-y-Groes, or the Hill of the Croſs, ſtood one of thoſe marks of piety, of which ſtill remains the ſhaft.
WHITEFORD STREAM.THE ſtream of moſt utility riſes from a ſpring a little beyond the village of Whiteford. It runs by my houſe, and is no ſmall ornament to my ground. It turns my two mills, which, with much patriotiſm and little wiſdom, I erected. The firſt is near the Gwibnant or Wibnant, and made in form of a chapel. My great folly is about half a mile lower: is an excellent mill, and does much buſineſs for the leſſee. This ſtream is much augmented by an⯑other, which riſes at a place called Saith Ffynnan, or the Seven Wells, and murmurs through the romantic Nant-y-bi, and unites with it at the Wibnant. It concludes its courſe near Llanerch-y-môr ſmelting-houſe, to which it is of great uſe, by ſetting in [157] motion ſome ſtampers for comminuting the ſlags before they are committed to the hearth for the extraction of the remaining lead.
THE laſt ſtream runs through Felyn Blwm, or the lead-mill, FELYN BLWM. a great romantic dingle which divides this pariſh from that of Llan-Aſaph. Near its fall into the ſea is a conſiderable mill, the property of Sir Roger Moſtyn. This dingle probably takes its name from the number of antient ſmelting-hearths for lead found in it, in uſe in the primaeval artleſs times of ſmelting.
ALL our dingles run parallel to each other,NATURE OF THE DINGLES. and begin at ſome diſtance from the firſt or ſteepeſt deſcent from the mountain. The ſides of all are cloathed with oaks, and each has its rill at the bottom. Theſe great ravines, I may call them, were evi⯑dently formed on the running down of the waters of the deluge on its ſubſidence, when they found their way to what the AL⯑MIGHTY determined ſhould ever remain a circum-ambient ſea.
NUMBERS of the ſmall ſprings which ariſe in the lower part of the pariſh ſhew ſymptoms of the internal contents.CHALYBEATE SPRINGS. In the neighborhood of the coal, they are covered with a dirty yellow ochreous ſcum; and are more or leſs chalybeate. One, which riſes before my houſe, is ſtrongly ſo, and proved very beneficial to the only perſon I know who made a fair uſe of it.
IN reſpect to the huſbandry of this pariſh;HUSBANDRY. it may be di⯑vided into ſeveral parts. I ſhall firſt pay attention to the higher or the mountanous. That tract is very extenſive,MOUNTAIN GROUND. covered in general with heath mixed with coarſe graſs. The climate very cold in compariſon of the lower parts. We often find during [158] winter a ſevere froſt reign there, when the ground has been quite ſoft, and the air mild, in the lower parts.
THE ſoil in general a poor loam, and in many parts very thin; in others, the lime-ſtone pervades the ſtratum, and forms large tracts of rock. There are certain parts fit for agriculture, as has been found by the ſurreptitious incloſures made in a few parts, which yield corn, ſuch as barley and oats, in a kindly manner. I wiſh experiments were made of planting part; which, if put under the care of a woodman, might be a national benefit, as well as a private one to the lord of the manor. The neglect of appointing woodmen would render the planting of no effect, by reaſon of the variety of treſpaſſes; as we free-holders of the lower parts, who make our woods the glory of our eſtates, do daily and cruelly experience.
OUR mountains ſupport ſome black-cattle; the greater part of which are left out the whole year to take their chance. Still the high country is a nurſery. Many are ſent lean to market, and drove to more genial ſoils. Moſt of our farmers fatten cattle, and either ſell them to the butchers for the Holywell market, or to thoſe of Cheſter and Leverpool.
SHEEP.THE ſheep are numerous. They likewiſe are left to them⯑ſelves; and become in hard weather great nuſances by their treſpaſſes on the cultivated lands of us low-landers. As may be imagined, they produce little wool. Their fleeces are coarſe, yet of that a ſmall quantity is ſold into Merionethſhire, and the reſt manufactured at home, and made either into cloth for the country people, or into flannel for the women, or knit into ſtockings, all for home conſumption. In reſpect to mutton, much [159] is brought to market from the mountains, but that is only during the vigorous part of the ſummer, and after the froſt or rainy ſea⯑ſon: but the greateſt part of the ſheep bought by the gentry for the table, is purchaſed at the diſtant country fairs.
NUMBERS of hogs are bred in our pariſh;HOGS. and numbers are ſold at the fairs, and driven to diſtant parts.
THE ſoil of the lower part of the pariſh is in general a very ſtiff clay, which continues quite to the edge of the cliff,SOILS. CLAY. above the ſhore. In many places are ſpots of gravel, but of very ſmall extent. We have alſo beds of pure ſand, but that uſeful arti⯑cle is in moſt parts ſcarce.
FROM the Rhewl to Avon Marſh Siambr is a thin vein of very rich marle, ſaponaceous to the touch; prettily veined with red, grey, and white. It is got in too ſmall quantities for uſe. On the edge of the mountain, eſpecially on the tenement of Plâs Captain, is a larger vein of a coarſer kind. The tenant, Thomas Blore, a Cheſhire man, converſant in this ſpecies of manure, has made a judicious application of it on his farm, and as long as it laſted reaped the reward of his induſtry.
BEYOND the ſpace between the boundary and the mountain is a tract of light ſoil, which may be ſaid to begin under Kelyn, LICHTER SOIL. in the townſhip of Uchlan, and continue in a direct line by Tyddin Ycha, to Plas Ycha, in the townſhip of Moſtyn. This is extremely well adapted for that uſeful root the turnep; and it has been tried with ſucceſs. But the farmer is obliged to give up the cultiva⯑tion, by reaſon of the depredations the poor make on the crops. They will ſteal the turneps before his face, laugh at him when he fumes at them; and aſk him, how he can be in ſuch a rage about a few turneps? As a magiſtrate, I never had a complaint made before [160] me againſt a turnep-ſtealer. Our farmers, and our coal-adven⯑turers, have not yet 'plucked the old woman out of their hearts,' for the laſt ſuffer likewiſe in a great degree in their trade, yet hardly complain. Incredible as it may appear, numbers of them are in fear of being curſed at St. Aelian's well, (ſee my Tour in Wales, vol. ii. p. 337) and ſuffer the due penalty of their ſuperſtition.
AT uncertain ſeaſons clouds of ring-doves, wood-pigeons or queeſts, winter-migrants from Scandinavia, have viſited our turnep-fields, and done no ſmall damage to the crops.
POTATOES.EVERY cottage has its garden; and if that is not large enough, any landlord or neighbor allots him a piece in one of his fields, for the purpoſe of a potatoe-garden, and this ſpot is prepared and manured by the landlord, and for which not more than 18 d. per rood is demanded. The laſt comfort is not of long date, for I can remember the time in which it was almoſt unknown to the poorer people; neither did the rich extend the culture beyond the garden. How ſingular does appear to us the following quotation from old Gerard, p. 928, who ſpeaks of it as ‘being alſo a meate for pleaſure, equall in goodneſſe and whole⯑ſomeneſſe vnto the ſame, being either roſted in the embers, or boyled and eaten with oyle, vinegar, and pepper, or dreſſed any other way by the hand of ſome cunning in cookerie.’ —At pre⯑ſent our gardeners, and a few others of the pariſh, raiſe ſufficient to ſupply their neighbors, and to carry for ſale to the adjacent market. The ſtiff ſoil of the pariſh is unfavorable to the cul⯑ture. If we want potatoes in any quantities, we muſt import them from the vaie of Conwy, from Cheſhire, and Lancaſhire. In the preſent time of ſcarcity, (May 1795) the cultivation [161] has been unuſually encreaſed in Whiteford pariſh. Before this ſeaſon, I never raiſed more than was neceſſary for the uſe of my family: this year I increaſed my potatoe-ground many-fold, even before I had read the ſpeech made by Sir John Sinclair. Thouſands have done the ſame in a ſimilar ſtate of ignorance, ſome from benevolence, ſome from view of gain, and others on the principle of ſelf-preſervation. I may predict alſo, from the former motives, that wheat will be in the next ſeaſon ſown four⯑fold. Admonitions ſurely are unneceſſary. In the next year we may rejoice in plenty, even in ſuperfluity, and have the happineſs of ſeeing the poor man exult in our ſucceſs.—But the halcyon days are arriving faſt. Let us comfort ourſelves with the fair proſpect before us, and devoutly pray for the accom⯑pliſhment of thoſe hopes delivered to us in the following pro⯑phetic effuſions:
WHEAT grows remarkably well in our clayey land;WHEAT. it is the red kind, that the farmer prefers for ſeed; it is the hardieſt, and the ſureſt of finding ſale; the white and the grey being in our country leſs in requeſt. We raiſe much more than the pariſh would conſume. The reſt is exported to Leverpool, to ſupply the county of Lancaſhire with bread, that vaſt county not being pro⯑ductive of much wheat. The demand, therefore, from the nu⯑merous populous towns is very conſiderable, and at times occa⯑ſions a great riſe in the price, and a conſequential clamor at home. The complaints are the draining of our county of grain, and the imaginary evil of great farms. Grain is one of the ar⯑ticles of commerce of the pariſh; and weaving the ſupport of [162] thouſands and thouſands of poor in the great county I have men⯑tioned. We feed them, they ſupply us with various ſpecies of cloathing. As to food, let me add, that the farmers of that county even make us a return in that article; for they ſupply us with potatoes, as we do them with wheat. We all depend upon one another: ſo true is it, that ‘GOD never form'd an independant man [...]’ Without ſuch means of ſale, or, we may call it, exchange of commodities, the great farmer would ceaſe to plough, would ceaſe to form thoſe magazines of corn, on which, at all times, our markers depend, and which are the great preſervative from famine in theſe kingdoms. At times, bad ſeaſons occaſion bad crops, and of courſe enhance the price. An inordinate luſt of gain may ſometimes occaſion criminal confederacies; which, criminal as they are, have hitherto baffled every attempt of the legiſ⯑lature to prevent. The poor are now left quite defenceleſs againſt the iniquitous race of foreſtallers, &c. &c. by the repeal of the 5th and 6th Edw. VI. It is much to be lamented that thoſe humane laws are not revived, modified in any manner adapted to the times. A middle man in great contracts is often requiſite: it is not that deſcription of men at whom I aim, but thoſe who in ſmall bargains tempt the farmer, by offers of exor⯑bitant prices, and contribute to the diſtreſſes of the poor, and diſcontents of the country, to a degree unſpeakable. At preſent a calamitous war aſſiſts that evil; but ſurely we cannot grudge food to our brave countrymen, who are fighting for all that is dear to us. Among them we may have neighbors, ſons of tenants, our own ſons, or different relations: to whom, if we think a moment, we ſhould be aſhamed to deny a ſhare in the produce of the labor of their native country, in which it is poſſible they themſelves might have bore a ſhare.
[163]SUPPOSING all farms are reduced to an equality, and all made ſmall ones, the ground muſt be divided into little portions for the ſupport of a miſerable team, or of a few cows, or for raiſing ſmall quantities of corn. No magazines could be formed againſt evil days; the produce of the dairy would be ſmall, and the proviſion for fodder ſerve for little more than to ſupport the live ſtock. A few hobbets * of corn would be ſent to market to pay the rent; the reſt might ſerve to maintain the family till the return of the harveſt: and if the ſtock ſhould be conſumed before that ſeaſon, how would they wiſh for the reſtoring of the great farms! Many of the little farmers are alſo day-laborers: to whom could they apply for work, the very ſupport of them and their families? NEVER HAS THERE BEEN A FAMINE IN ENG⯑LAND SINCE THE INTRODUCTION OF GREAT FARMS. Unavoidable ſcarcities will happen, from cauſes inevitable. But there has not been an inſtance, for numbers of centuries, of the poor running into corners to die for want of food; of their ſeeing their infants periſh before their eyes; and perhaps a plague might enſue, the conſequence of famine, to thin the land of multitudes of the mi⯑ſerable ſurvivors.
I SPEAK diſintereſtedly, for I have not on my eſtate a ſingle great farmer. I find no merit in this aſſertion; had it been otherwiſe, I ſhould have ſupported him in all that was right, in common with my pooreſt tenant, and my pooreſt tenant perhaps in pre⯑ference to him.
[164]I WOULD never grant a leaſe to a great corn-tenant. I would preſerve a power over his granary, which legiſlature will not or cannot aſſume. Should he attempt by exportation to exhauſt it, in years of ſcarcity, and not leave a ſufficient ſupply for the country which produced the grain; ſhould he attempt a monopoly; ſhould he refuſe to carry a proper quantity to the next market; or ſhould he refuſe to ſell to the poor, who cannot attend the market, corn in ſmall quantities, I would inſtantly aſſume the power of the landlord, and expel him from my eſtate: a juſt pu⯑niſhment for the tenant, who, through rapacity, declines to com⯑ply with my deſires, excited with no other view than to promote the good of the public.
THE neceſſity of great farms is admitted; but let it be re⯑membered, that their ſupport reſts upon the laborers, who are equally requiſite to the great farmer as beams are to a building. Let not the rapacity of the miſcalled great man direct all his force to the ſupport of the opulent farmer, for the ſake of in⯑creaſed rent. He will (as ſad examples prove) depopulate his country by removing the ſturdy laborers to the ground of wiſer landlords, and leave his own weakened by their deſertion; while the fields of the former laugh and ſing, but round his own, ingens [...]it ſolitudo.
I COULD wiſh (was it in my power) to add even to the cot⯑tages of my laborers two or three ſmall fields, that they might have the comfort of a cow, to ſupply their families with milk. They are too uſeful a claſs of men to be neglected: to be left to the precarious poſſibility of getting any of that invigorating fluid, ſo neceſſary for their infants, and even for the ſupport of their [165] own ſtrength, to ſuſtain them through their labor. Give them a dry ſtated cottage, with an upper floor, and a kind landlord, and a Britiſh laborer need not envy Caeſar.
BEFORE I take leave of the ſubject, let me define the ſize of a great and a ſmall farm in this pariſh. Our greateſt farm is rented at £. 110 per ann. at the rate of about 14 s. per acre. Our ſmall farms have from 20 to 10 acres; and the rent per acre from 12 s. to 7 s. There may be in every pariſh inſtances of the exorbi⯑tant raiſe of rent: an evil moſt frequently originating in the luxury of the landlord. Our rents are moderate, becauſe our gentry would bluſh to add one diſh to their table at the expence of the tenant. Mr. Wedge, in his Survey of Cheſhire, p. 72, ſpeaks humanely and ſenſibly on the affected maxim of ‘high rents being a ſpur to induſtry.’ This (for I muſt help Mr. Wedge with a ſimile) reſembles the practice of the prudent planter, who wiſhes to quicken the induſtry of his negroes by the invigorating appli⯑cation of the cart-whip to their velvet ſkin.
IN reſpect to leaſes, the utility is not perfectly agreed on. In our parts of North Wales I have known leaſe-tenants of very mo⯑derate rent continue on their farms their whole term without ſuc⯑ceſs: and I know in this pariſh, and within a ſmall diſtance, ſeve⯑ral rack-rent tenants, with large farms, the moſt proſperous of any in the country. They improve boldly, and reap amply the fruits of their induſtry. They have confidence in their landlords, nor can they recollect more than one inſtance (and that indeed diſgrace⯑ful enough *) in which they found it miſplaced. They are maſters [166] of the knowlege of the ſoil, and the nature of the climate of their own country. The appearance of their tenements does them credit. When they heard of a perſon ſent among them to inculcate the principles of good farming, they ſmiled at the deſign, but ſpoke with gratitude of the kind intent of the Board of Agriculture. Denbighſhire has long had its little board, for North Wales does not neglect its own intereſts. An agricultural ſociety has, for a number of years, been eſtabiſhed in the vale of Clwyd. None who have viſited that beautiful tract can deny the general excellency of its culture.
IN Cheſhire the antient practice of leaſing is growing faſt out of uſe: and agriculture will increaſe in that county in proportion.
MR. George Kay, of Leith, the miſſionary to whom was commit⯑ted the inſpection of every farm in the ſix counties of North Wales, favored me with a call ſome time in the laſt ſummer, and delivered to me his credentials from Sir John Sinclair. I was really at the time out of ſpirits. At the ſame time, a report was circulated, that the object of the miſſion was to aſcertain the reality of our land-tax; which was much credited by my coun⯑trymen. I was certain that the report was entirely unfounded; but I did not chuſe to trouble myſelf with militating againſt what I knew muſt ſpeedily become ſelf-confuted. I treated Mr. Kay with all civility. He left me, and I believe, through all his journey, (one place excepted) had no reaſon to complain of the reception he met with. Sir John Sinclair is a man of honor. He had not the leſt occaſion to give himſelf the trouble of making to me ſo earneſt an aſſeveration of the purity of his intentions, as he did in his laſt favor. He is above taking clandeſtine means of getting at any kind of information.
[167]WE lament that Mr. Kay did not ſee, in any one of our ſix counties, a ſingle cuſtom that could be uſeful to others *. From the ſtate of numbers of our farms, I ſuſpect that we had pre⯑viouſly adopted many methods of agriculture from Engliſh coun⯑ties, which muſt have occaſioned his remark. I would fain pay that compliment to his candour. On the whole, I fear that the miſſion has paſſed moſt unprofitably to both viſitor and viſitè. Nothing ſeems to have been learned by the one, and nothing taught by the other.
WE thatch our hay-ricks with admirable neatneſs, and in that manner preſerve the hay for years. I do not know a better expedient, even could the landlord afford to every little farm a hay-barn, or give them a moveable canopy, which is liable per⯑petually to be out of order. Neceſſity in every country cauſes different modes of oeconomy. Send Shenkin ap Morgan on a ſurvey of Cathneſs, and he would at firſt ſtare at the bykes †, but would admire the ingenuity of the contrivances, and acknowlege the wiſdom of the farmer in the preſervation of his grain, where other means were wanting.
THERE are, certainly, both beyond the Tweed, and beyond the Dee, many thouſands of acres, of which a tenant ſhould be court⯑ed to attempt the cultivation, and be bribed by leaſes to ſettle upon them. In North Britain the practice is common. In North Wales, our mountain landlords rarely grant leaſes, poſſibly from their not finding the neceſſity.
IN all the mineral part of Flintſhire are numbers of ſmall farms, tenanted by carriers, who entirely ſupport themſelves by the [168] carriage of the lead ore, and calamine or coal. Theſe are reck⯑oned the moſt ſlovenly farmers we have. They apply them⯑ſelves to carriage to ſuch a degree, as to neglect their tenements. The minerals are the great natural ſtaple of this, and moſt of the pariſhes; ſo that theſe ſpecies of farms are quite indiſpenſable.
LET not the little farmer, or the cottager, repine at the wealth of the great farmers. It is not many weeks ſince their empty ſtomachs have been filled from the hoards of the latter. Had they not been able to form a ſtock, or to enable by ſale others to do ſo, what would have become of you? The good, the bene⯑volent, have been able to purchaſe from them the food that has contributed to preſerve, for many months, you and your's from cruel want. The inſtances of the recent charities have not been equalled. I may ſpeak of the univerſal charities. But I will recal to your minds thoſe of your ſeveral neighborhoods. In public calamities little ſouls lie ſquat in their holes: great ſouls ariſe, and are called forth to action; ſome from a generous ſenſibi⯑lity, others from ſelfiſh motives. I cannot but confeſs myſelf to be among the latter. I am ſelfiſh enough to wiſh to put out my money at leſt on reverſionary intereſt, but that on ſecurity inconteſtible. ‘HE THAT HATH PITY ON THE POOR LENDETH TO THE LORD; AND LOOK WHAT HE LAYETH OUT, IT SHALL BE PAID TO HIM AGAIN!’ With what animated benevolence of ſentiment doth Sir Thomas Broune comment on this pious exhortation! 'There is,' ſays the great phyſician of Norwich, ‘more rhetoric in that one ſentence than in a library of ſermons; and, indeed, if thoſe ſentences were underſtood by the reader, with the ſame em⯑phaſis as they were delivered by the Author, we needed not thoſe volumes of inſtructions, but might be honeſt by epitome.’
[169]THE produce of the wheat of this pariſh is from ſeven and eight fold, to twelve or thirteen,PRODUCE OF WHEAT. according to the pains taken with the ground, or the nature of it. Our general manure is lime, burnt in ſod-kilns. The lime-ſtone, broken ſmall,SOD-KILNS. is placed within a thick circular wall of ſods, and the ſtrata of ſtone, broken ſmall, interlaid with beds of coal, which is ſet on fire by wood placed in certain holes left at the ſides. Theſe holes ſerve likewiſe to ad⯑mit the air, which promotes the fierceneſs of the fire within. The lime-ſtones are piled in a conic form, to a great height above the top of the ſod-wall, and then covered thickly with ſods. I muſt mention that the holes are four in number, placed oppoſite to each other, and have a gutter cut from one to the other, which is left hollow by means of flat ſtones over them, to promote the current of air. A circular gutter alſo runs cloſe to the interior ſide of the ſod wall. A common-ſized kiln will require about ſixteen tons of ſtone: but there are larger, and thoſe often of an oval form.
SOMETIMES the lime-ſtone is burnt in common kilns, then taken and carried to form a compoſt with earth, which had been depoſited in ſome adjacent place, and which uſually had been dug out of old ditches. The lime is intimately mixed with it, and left a conſiderable time to mature, after which it is applied to uſe.
OUR beſt barley is raiſed in the light ſoil which we have men⯑tioned at p. 159.BARLEY. In general our farmers prepare the ground for barley by giving it a fallow in December or January, and again harrow and plough it the latter end of April or beginning of May. In the ſtiffer lands the crops are frequently very un⯑favorable. [170] The quantity raiſed is not equal to the conſump⯑tion. It is the principal grain uſed by our common people. The produce from the hobbet is about equal to that of the wheat.
OATS.OATS are chiefly ſown in the mountain incloſures, or on the lands adjacent to the mountains. The produce is by no means equal to our demand.
GRASSES.THE artificial graſſes are but two. Clover (the red ſort) which we ſow immediately after the barley.CLOVER. When the clover is ſowen by itſelf, or without any other graſs-ſeeds, the quantity to each acre is eighteen or twenty pounds. It is not a favorite graſs, but we do not know how to remedy ourſelves. It wears out in leſs than three years, after which we renew the ground with a crop of wheat, managed as before related. The clover-ſeed is procured from the vale of Clwyd, and other places where the plant is culti⯑vated for the ſake of the ſeed.
RYE-GRASS.RYE-GRASS is ſowen in our poor land; which, if not harveſted early, is little better than a fodder of ſtraw.
I VALUE myſelf on being the firſt in this pariſh who introduced on my eſtate the huſbandry of draining and flooding, which I did laſt autumn, and throughout the winter, on a great number of acres. I did intend to deſiſt from working after Chriſtmas, had I not been induced to continue it throughout the ſeaſon, in conſi⯑deration of the numbers of poor people who were in the deepeſt diſtreſs for want o [...] employ. The ſeaſon was ſo rigorous, that the laborers were obliged to break into the unfrozen ground with the pick-ax, before they could uſe the ſpade. This, and the ſhort days, made the work very expenſive: but I was far [171] over-paid by the conſideration of having given food to mul⯑titudes, who in themſelves or their families muſt otherwiſe have labored under the greateſt difficulties. The undertaker was Mr. Henry Harriſon, who followed the moſt approved practice. I flatter myſelf that in the enſuing year I ſhall experience the effects of his ſkill.
To clear the free-holders of Whiteford pariſh from any inatten⯑tion to that important article of huſbandry, planting,PLANTING. I bring the brief, but irreſiſtible, defence of—the impoſſibility. The dingles are filled with oaks. I believe there is not one of us have any waſte ground for the purpoſe. All our tenements conſiſt of arable or paſture land, too valuable to be ſpared for any other purpoſe in this populous pariſh. Sir Roger Moſtyn, on his coming to his eſtate, planted the little that had been cleared by his predeceſſor. Beſides Moſtyn or Whiteford wood (ſee p. 25) many of our very hedges are filled with oaks: poſſibly they do not benefit our land by their ſhade, but a few of us are true druids; and ſhould we apply the ax, we ſhould imagine that we heard the groans of the Hamadryads at every ſtroke.
I AM, in particular, ſo very avaricious of my woods, that at this inſtant of writing, I, with true reluctance, ſign to my ſon the death-warrant of a few ſtag-horned trees, that have far outlived the beſt of their days. They, in all probability, would have had a re⯑ſpite, could I move from my couch to take a look at my antient favorites. But the void ſpace ſhall be inſtantly incloſed, and, I may promiſe, that in a ſhort time it will be filled with the beſt of ſucceſſors, ſelf-ſown, from ſome of their own deſcendants, their eldeſt and moſt ſturdy progeny.
[172] SIR EDWARD LLOYD, A GREAT PLANTER.IF we of Whiteford pariſh are deprived of the poſſibility of planting within its limits, yet we can boaſt of a Flintſhire gentle⯑man, who probably will be found to have contributed as a planter more to the benefit of his heir and of the ſtate, than any other in the principality, in this age, or any paſt. I mean Sir Edward Lloyd, bart. of Pengwern, in the pariſh of St. Aſaph, who finiſhed his long and uſeful life on May the 26th of the preſent year. On his Flintſhire eſtates he has planted a hundred and ſixty-two thou⯑ſand trees; and on his eſtate at Pant-glâs, in the county of Caer⯑narvon, more than three hundred and twenty thouſand. Moſt of the trees are oaks, which in future times may float on the ocean, guardians of Britain, in diſtant wars, excited, either by the ambi⯑tion of foreign ſtates, or by the incendiary machinations of domeſ⯑tic male-contents.—Even at preſent what have we to dread! The maritime genius of our iſland at length begins to ſmile on her again, and vigor and activity once more will fill every ſail. The great ſpirit of old Sandwich has tranſmigrated, leaving behind the frailties of its mortal ſtate, purified and congenialized to the breaſt it has taken poſſeſſion of, on its return to the wonted Board, to re⯑ſume its well-known powers.
[...]
LONDON▪
[...]
AT Avon-marſh Siambr, (ſee p. 52.) we quit the pariſh of Whiteford, and enter the townſhip of Greenfield, in the pariſh of Holywell, along a moſt excellent road. On the left is a continuation of the marſh. Above which is a low cliff, of the ſame nature as thoſe which front the ſhore of the pariſh of Whiteford.
LET me preface this little hiſtory with ſaying that Avon Marſh Siambr is ſix miles diſtant from the rill which divides Holywell pariſh from that of Flint; that its greateſt breadth is three miles from the turnpike road in Greenfield, to the borders of the pariſh of Skyviog; TOWNSHIPS. and that the pariſh conſiſts of the town⯑ſhips of Holywell, Greenfield, Bagillt Vawr and Vechan, Whel⯑ſton, Coleſhill Vawr and Vechan, Brynfordd, and Calcoed. Its [186] boundaries on the eaſt are Flint, and part of Northop pariſhes; on the eaſt Halkin; on the ſouth-eaſt Skyviog; on the weſt Whiteford; and on the north the eſtuary of the river Dee.
S [...]ABOVE Avon-marſh Siambr, on the riſing ground, ſtands S [...]cky [...], a ſmall houſe, which, with the eſtate belonging to it, has been of late years purchaſed by James Potts, publican in Holywell, and the houſe much improved. It originally belonged to a Moſtyn, a younger branch of the Moſtyns of Trelacre; T. M. ſigni⯑fying the name of Thomas Moſtyn, cut above the arms on the mo⯑nument. A daughter of this gentleman, or one of his deſcendants, and heireſs of the place, transferred the eſtate into the very antient family of the Blounts, of Orlton, in the county of Hereford, and with them it remained till the purchaſe by the preſent poſſeſſor.
RIVER DEE COMPANY.THE rights of the freeholders over the marſh extend a certain way to the eaſt. Theſe were ſettled by commiſſioners, in the year 1787, and a plan made, aſſerting the clames, as well of the freeholders, as of the River Dee Company. Theſe were founded on acts of parlement, originating in the years 1732 and the fol⯑lowing, from that of the 11th and 12th of William III. entitled, ‘An act to enable the mayor and citizens of Cheſter to recover and preſerve the navigation of the river Dee.’ It is poſſible that Mr. Andrew Yarrenton might be the primary cauſe of the improvements, by a ſurvey he had made, in the year 1674, of the river Dee and its eſtuary.—I refer my reader to the account I have given, at p. 200 of my Welſh Tour, vol. i. for farther particulars.
THE other acts were paſſed in the years 1740, 1742, and 1752, and the works were begun with vigor. The project was carried on by ſubſcription; and the adventurers were to be [187] rewarded by the lands they were empowered to gain on both ſides, from the White Sands, or the ſea from Cheſter; and between the county of Cheſhire, on the north ſide, and the county of Flint on the ſouth ſide; being ſands, ſoil, and ground not bearing graſs. The tract, as appears by the chart attending the award made in 1787, and preſerved among the records by the clerk of the peace for the county of Flint, terminate on our ſide at the Point of Air, in the pariſh of Llanaſaph: on the Cheſhire ſide at the Little Meels, at the extremity of the hundred of Wiral.
THE adventurers in the River Dee Company have gained a conſiderable quantity of land from the ravages of the ſea, be⯑ginning from the walls of the city of Cheſter, and extending above five miles, even beyond the lower ferry.
THE report of the quantity of embanked land made from the beginning, by the River Dee Company and others (according as it is made to me by Mr. Wedge, agent to the company) is as follows:
| Acres incloſed by the company, | 3,500 |
| On Blacon-marſh, belonging to John Crewe, of Crewe, eſquire, about | 300 |
| On the ſouth ſide of the river, belonging to the free-holders of Hawarden, as Mr. Wedge believes, about | 2,200 |
| Total ſtatute acres | 6,000 |
| Marſhes unincloſed, Auguſt 13th, 1795, about | 2,000 |
MR. WEDGE informs me that the graſs which is found to an⯑ſwer beſt in theſe ſandy incloſures is medicago ſativa, Lucerne. LUCERNE GRASS. It [188] will not however grow to any perfection on land where there is not a depth of at leſt two feet of dry ſand or ſoil beneath the ſurface, and ſucceeds (like moſt other graſſ [...]) in proportion to the quality of the ſoil. All kinds of ſtock are [...] of it; it is of a very feeding nature, and is both grazed [...] [...]rveſted. Cloſe grazing will deſtroy it; but if properly attended to, and aſſiſted with manure about every f [...] ye [...]r, the plants will continue ſtrong for upwards of thirty years. It may be grazed (ſparingly) with ſafety in the ſpring, until the firſt week in May, and alſo in autumn, in the months of October and November, after the ſecond crop is out. The hay, being of a dying nature, ſeems to be much better adapted for feeding ſtock, than either for horſes or milking cows. I know no kind of hay that ſtock will feed faſter upon than Lucerne, if it is well har⯑veſted; as graſs, it will anſwer beſt for ſoiling ſtock, when houſed.
LAST E [...]BANK⯑MENT.NO attempts to embank were made farther to the weſt, till the ſummer of 1794, when about forty ſtatute acres were incloſed by the ſame company, on the white ſands bordering on Green⯑field marſh. Early in the next winter a fierce tide deſtroyed part of the embankment: but it now ſeems to be reſtored in the moſt effectual manner *.
PROJECTS.NEAR the extremity of this marſh the turnpike gates croſs the roads leading to Flint and Holywell. A grand and beneficial [189] project was ſome years ago formed, of making two canals. The one to be carried over the marſh (aſſiſted by the Holywell ſtream) down to or near the perch or anchoring-ground; with a lock ca⯑pable of receiving veſſels of a hundred tons burden.
ANOTHER canal was deſigned to have branched from this eaſtward as far as Pentre r [...]k, near Flint-caſtle, for the purpoſe of carrying the coal which was or may be diſcovered on that tract, either to the various mineral works, or into the lock for exportation. I truſt, if ever the plan is reſumed, that it may ex⯑tend a little farther, to the collieries belonging to Sir Roger Moſtyn and myſelf, and others which may be diſcovered here⯑after. Nor ſee we any reaſon for our excluſion by ſo impolitic a partiality! The more choice of ſhops, the cheaper the goods. Both of the plans were taken by the able engineer, Mr. William Jeſſop, in the year 1785, and declared to be practicable. The expence indeed would have been very great; but alas! the aſpect of the times forbids us to flatter ourſelves with the reſumption of the great deſign.
THE Mark, or place where the veſſels lie to receive or diſcharge their lading, is about two miles from the turnpike gate.THE MARK. The channel of the Holywell river is to be ſeen at low water meandring to it, and might prove a uſeful means of improving the commerce of the country. At preſent the veſſels muſt, on the receſs of the tide, lie dry, and in hard gales, before they get afloat, are ſubject to much danger. The ſands alſo ſhift, and make the Mark or an⯑choring-ground often precarious.
THE River Dee Company have power to incloſe as far as the channel of the Dee, which in Holywell pariſh is ſuppoſed to extend [190] as far as three miles from the turnpike road. In a late act of parlement for aſcertaining the rights of the pariſh, and thoſe of the company, in the ſpring of 1791, the agents for the company, after the act to confirm a line of boundary between the property of the company and the part of the marſh which was common, had been twice read, introduced clauſes to render their pro⯑perty extra-parochial, and conſequently to exempt the occu⯑piers from contributing to the church and poor, and other parochial rates of Holywell, Whiteford, or any pariſhes concerned; and alſo to exempt future houſeholders from being liable to execute any offices within thoſe pariſhes; and at the expence of others, artfully attempting to exonerate their tenants from bearing any part of the burdens. But the deſign was diſcovered, and the offenſive clauſe omitted.
THE company have obtained a grant of all their lands from the pariſh of Hawarden to that of Whiteford, under the follow⯑ing circumſtances: ‘Lands derelict by the ſea belong to his prerogative; and being conſequently extra-parochial, the tythes are due to the king; and if he grants them, his patentee ſhall have them.’ Such is the opinion of Sir John Comyns, as conveyed to me by the favor of Edward Jones, eſquire, of Wepre hall.
WAT'S DIKE.ON paſſing the turnpike gate, a ſmall walk brings us to the ſite of the abby and caſtle of Baſingwerk, a place of importance in the wars between the Engliſh and Welſh. The land towards the ſea is ſteeply ſloped. The weſt ſide was protected by a deep gully, formed by the river. The ſouth eaſt by the vaſt ditch, which had hitherto been miſtaken for that made by Oſſa, king [191] of the Mercians. I owe the detection of the error to Mr. John Evans, of Llwyn y Groes, who proves it to b [...] one termination of another ſtupendous work of the ſame kind, called Wat's Dike, which appears by his ma [...]nificent map of NORTH WALES, pub⯑liſhed this year, to have firſt become viſible near Maeſbury mill, in Oſweſtry pariſh, where it is loſt in moraſſy ground; from thence it takes a northern direction to Hên ddinas, and by Pentre'r Clawdd, to Gobowen, the ſite of a ſmall ſort, called Bryn y Caſtell, in the pariſh of Whittington: then croſſes Prys Henlle Common, in the pariſh of St. Martin; goes over the Ceir [...]g, between Brynkinallt and Pont y Blew forge, and the Dee below Nant y Bela; from whence it paſſes through Wynnſtay Park, by another Pentre 'r Clawdd, or townſhip on the ditch, to ERDDIG, the ſeat of Philip Yorke, eſq where there was another ſtrong fort on its courſe: from Erddig it goes above Wrexham, near Melin Puleſton, by Dolydd, Maeſgwyn, Rhôs ddu, Croes oneiras, Mr. Shakerley's Gwerſyllt; croſſes the Alun, and through the townſhip of Llai, to Rhydin, in the county of Flint; above which is Caereſtyn, a Britiſh poſt: from hence it runs by Hope church, along the ſide of Moleſdale, which it quits towards the lower part, and turns to Mynydd Lychdyn, Monachlog near Northop, by Northop mills, Bryn-moel, Coed y llys, Nant y Flint, Cefn y Coed, through the Strand fields near Holywell, to its ter⯑mination below the abby of Baſingwerk. I have been thus mi⯑nute in giving its courſe, becauſe it is ſo often confounded with Offa's ditch, which attends the former at unequal diſtances, from five hundred yards to three miles, till the latter is totally loſt.
IT is obſervable, that there are numbers of ſmall artificial mounts, the ſites of ſmall forts, in many places along its courſe, [192] as well as that of Offa's. Theſe were garriſoned, and ſeem in⯑tended for the ſame purpoſes as the towers in the famous Chineſe wall, to watch the motions of neighbors, and to repel any hoſtile incurſions.
IT is remarkable that Wat's dike ſhould have been overlooked, or confounded with that of Offa, by all writers except by Thomas Churchyard the poet, who aſſigns the object of the work: that the ſpace intervening between the two was free ground, where the Britons and Saxons might meet with ſafety for all commercial purpoſes.
B [...]INGWERK CASTLE.VESTICES of the fortreſs appear in the foundation of a wall on the edge of the ditch, and on the road ſide, near the turnpike gate, oppoſite to the ruins of the abby. Lord Lytteiton * ſays, that the founder was an earl of Cheſter. I imagine that it muſt have been Richard, ſon of Hugh Lupus, and ſecond earl of Cheſter, and that the abby was fortified by reaſon of a danger he had incurred near the abby: for even religious [...]tutions had no exemption, tempore neceſſitatis, l [...]lli [...]citum eſt, hoſpitari et in caſtellari in eccleſia †.
THE firſt notice I find of it is in the life of St. Werburg, by Bra [...]ſ [...]aw; who informs us, that Richard, on his return out of Normandy, where he had been educated, began his reign with an act of piety. He attempted, in 1119, a pilgrimage to the well of St. Wene [...]rede; but, either in going or returning, was attacked by the Welſh, and obliged to take ſhelter in Baſingwerk. He applied to St. W [...]burg for relief; who miraculouſly raiſed certain ſands between Flintſhire and Wiral, and thus gave means [193] to his conſtable to paſs to his aſſiſtance: which ſands, from that time, were called the Conſtable's Sands. Bradſhaw ſtyles the place of his retreat an abby; a proof that here had been a re⯑ligious community before the time uſually aſſigned for the foun⯑dation of this houſe. I muſt alſo draw from Lord Lyttelton's au⯑thority (for I can find no other) that this caſtle was demoliſhed by the Welſh in the reign of Stephen *.
HENRY II. in 1157, after his eſcape from the ambuſcade of Eulo, left Baſingwerk reſtored, well fortified, and manned †, in order to ſecure a retreat on any future diſaſter. He did the ſame by the caſtle of Ruddlan. In his days the inland parts of our county were a dangerous wild of foreſt. After his defeat he never truſted himſelf among our woods; but made his marches along the open ſhores.
THE ſame monarch left another ſpecies of garriſon ‡; for he eſtabliſhed here a houſe of knights templars, a military order introduced into England in the preceding reign. They were firſt inſtituted in the Holy Land for the protection of pilgrims; and poſſibly Henry might have the ſame in view in fixing them here, to ſecure the Engliſh devotees in performing their vows to our neighboring ſaint, who ſeems about this time to have come into reputation. It is ſingular, that theſe religious knights were allowed at their inſtitution only one horſe between two; yet ſo greatly did they flouriſh, that about the year 1240, or a hundred and fifty years after their inſtitution, the order had acquired, in different parts of Chriſtendom, nineteen thouſand manors.
THIS caſtle was but of very ſhort duration; for in 1165, the gallant prince Owen Gwynedd laid ſiege to it, took ‖ and levelled [194] it to the ground; after which the name occurs no more as a fortreſs. I think at this period it belonged to Hugh de Bello Campo, or Beauchamp, on whom this and Ruddlan caſtle had been beſtowed by the Engliſh monarch *.
ABBY.THE abby †, of which there are ſome conſiderable remains, was founded in 1131 (according to the opinion of Biſhop Tanner) by Randal the ſecond earl of Cheſter: according to Biſhop Fleet⯑wood, by Henry II. For my part, I believe it to be of greater antiquity; but do not pretend to derive its origin. No light into the matter can be collected from the charters preſerved by Sir William Dugdale. There are three of them, either ſerving to confirm the antient donations, or confer new: in each is mention of the earl as a benefactor; but there is not the leſt hint of his having been the founder. I muſt attribute that honor to one of the princes of Wales; for both Lhewelyn ap Jor⯑werth, and his ſon David, in their reſpective charters recite, that they give and confirm the ſeveral donations to GOD, St. Mary, the monaſtery of Baſingwerk, and the monks, which had been beſtowed on them by their predeceſſors for the ſalvation of their ſouls.
RANDAL was certainly a great benefactor; for it appears, that before his days the monks had only a chapel here. From that period it became conſiderable; and about that time part of the preſent buildings were erected, for the conveniency of its inhabi⯑tants, who were of the Ciſtercian order.
[195]GIRALDUS calls it cellula de Baſingwerk *. He lodged here a night in the train of Archbiſhop Baldwyn, on his progreſs through Wales to preach the cruſade. He took with him our eloquent countryman, on account of his ſkill in the Welſh lan⯑guage.
THE architecture is mixed. Here appears what is called Saxon; having the round arches and ſhort columns in ſome parts; and the Gothic narrow ſlips of high-pointed win lows in others. The firſt ſpecies had not fallen out of uſe, and the laſt was coming into faſhion, in the days of the firſt great benefactor.
THE church lay on the eaſt ſide; but is now almoſt deſtroyed. The refectory is pretty entire; and on one ſide has a great receſs, with two round arches. The pillars which ſupport them are very curious, formed of circular ſtones of the form of cheeſes, ſet cloſe one upon the other.
ABOVE were the cells for the lodgings of the monks, with a ſmall window to each.
THE chapel of the knights templars is a ſpacious building. The windows are long, narrow, and pointed; the pilaſters be⯑tween them on the inſide ſlender and elegant.
WHATEVER monuments or inſcriptions might have been in the church, are totally deſtroyed, unleſs that which may be found in one of the out-houſes. It preſerves the memory of a pious emigrant of the laſt century, George, youngeſt and eighth ſon of William ſecond Lord Petre, who, plagued with the fanatical per⯑ſecutions in the reign of Charles I. quitted his country, died at [196] Wexford, and was brought to Baſingwerk for interment. The following is the inſcription:
THERE are ſome remains of offices, uſed at preſent by a tanner. Within leſs than fifty years, much of the habitable part was ſtanding; and ſometimes uſed by the worthy family, the [197] Moſtyns of Trelacre. A lady of the family now living was born within theſe walls.
GREENFIELD HOUSE,GREENFIELD HOUSE. which was built by that worthy friend of mine, the late relict of Sir George Moſtyn, baronet, of Tre⯑lacre, was built as a dower-houſe for her, and the widows of the family. It is a neat brick houſe on the weſt ſide of the turnpike road, oppoſite to the ruins of the abby, commanding a fine view of the eſtuary, and the Cheſhire ſhore. It is at preſent in the hands of the great copper companies, being leaſed to them with part of the ſtream on which their works ſtand.
DURING the preparations for the conqueſt of Wales by Ed⯑ward I. the abby was under the protection of the Engliſh. There are extant two orders for the purpoſe, providing that they had no commerce with what are ſtyled the Welſh rebels *. I imagine that the convent was firmly attached to the victor; for I have been informed that there are, among the liſts of ſummons in the Tower, writs for calling the abbot to parlement, in the 23d, 24th, 28th, 32d, and 34th of Edward I.
ACCORDING to the valuation of its revenues in 1534, the groſs ſum at the diſſolution was, according to Dugdale, 150 l. 7 s. 3 d.; to Speed, 157 l. 15 s. 2 d. In 1553, there remained in charge 4 l. in annuities †.
THE particular endowments, as I collect from Dugdale ‡, were theſe: Henry III. by charter, grants and confirms ten librates in Longenedale in Derbyſhire, with the church of Gloſſope, [198] and all its appertenances, to be held by them as freely as William Peverel held the ſame in the time of Henry his grand⯑father. The ſame charter confirms the donations of Ranulph earl of Cheſter, and other barons, viz. Holywell, Fulbrook, the chapel of Baſingwerk, the antient reſidence of the monks, with the mills and their appertenances; likewiſe Holes, and a moiety of Leeche, and one hundred ſhillings of the revenues of Cheſter, the gift of the ſaid earl. Calders with its inhabitants, and finally, Kethlenedei, the gift of Robert Banaſtre.
LHEWELYN AP JORWERTH, prince of Wales, and cotemporary with Henry III. confirms all the donations of his anceſtors; particularly the ſite of their houſe, the mill before their gate, and the land before their doors; which laſt was granted to them by Ranulphus, and his brother Aeneas. The ſame grant gives them alſo the land of Meredeth Wawor, in Holywell; Ful⯑brook; a community of paſturage on the mountains; Hanot de le Wecch, and Creicgraft, with all their appertenances. His ſon and ſucceſſor, David ap Lhewelyn, by another charter, confirms the donations of his father, and adds the lands of Huttred, brother to Meredeth Wawor of Holywell; the church of Holywell, and the chapel of Colſul; and the land and paſturage of Gelli, before granted by his father. He likewiſe empowers them to buy and ſell every thing toll-free in all his territories, for the uſe of their houſe. Alſo, the fifth pan of the fiſh taken in his fiſheries at Ruddlan; and the tenth of the fiſh belonging to him in other parts. He confirms to them all the village of Wenhewm, with all its inhabitants and appertenances, being the gift of Howen de Porkenton, and confirmed by Helyſo. He at the ſame [199] time confirms the lands and paſturage in Penthlin, the gift of his father.
DAVID alſo beſtowed on the monks of Baſingwerk, Folebroc, Feilebroc, or as it is now called Fulbrock, ſeated near the weſtern extremity of the pariſh; which is mentioned in the confirmation of the grant to that convent by Henry II. and again in the confirma⯑tion of the charters renewed to it by Llewellyn ap Jorwerth and his ſon. The monks had a grainge on theſe lands, and right of paſturage on the mountain, in common with the neighboring in⯑habitants *. The Grange is at preſent a farm-houſe, the property of Sir Pyers Moſtyn, and ſtill retains its antient name.
THIS charter is dated from Coleſhill in 1240, and witneſſed by Hugh biſhop of St. Aſaph, and his chancellor, the famous Ednyfed Vychan, and others.
TANNER † mentions the tithes of Blackbrook, and the wood of Langdon; lands in Chancleſworth; the manor of Weſt Kirkby in Cheſhire; the ſilver mine near Baſingwerk; free warren in Gethli, Menegrange, Ouregrange, Beggerburgh, and Holywell.
THE abby alſo was poſſeſſed of the hoſpital or chapel of Sponne near Coventry, which had been originally founded by Hugh Cevei⯑lioc earl of Cheſter, who probably beſtowed it on theſe monks ‡.
THE revenues of the abbot amounted in the whole, reck⯑oning thoſe ariſing from the mills, lands, cows, and ſheep, to 46 l. 11 s.
IN the grant to the abby of Baſingwerk, of the lands in the Peak of Derbyſhire, there is a clauſe reſerving the veniſon to the [200] king, with the conſent of the abbot and convent; for the pre⯑ſervation of which two foreſters were appointed by the king: but the grantees were allowed to kill hares, [...]e, and wolves *.
IN 1540, the houſe and lands in the neighborhood were granted to Henry ap Harry, of the tribe of Ednowain Bendew; whoſe only daughter Anne, by her marriage with William Moſtyn, eſquire, of Trelacre, conveyed it into that family, in which it now remains.
I CANNOT recover the names of any more than two of the abbots. Thomas ap Dafydd Pennant preſided over the houſe in the time of Guttun Owain, a bard who flouriſhed in the year 1480. Beſide that, and another eulogiſt mentioned in p. 34, I may add a third, viz. Thomas ap Rhys ap Howel, of Stokyn, who pub⯑liſhed an awdl or ode in his praiſe. It is to be found in the Se⯑bright Collection, vol. i. p. 37. among a collection of poems and prophecies delivered by the bard when the awen, or furor poeticus, had full poſſeſſion of him.
I SHALL not here repeat what I have ſaid of this celebrated abbot, in pp. 33, 34, but refer to them for his hiſtory. I ſhall only add here, that the ruins of a noble oak, ſtill to be ſeen near the remains of the abby, is ſuppoſed to have been his co⯑temporary.
I HAVE ſpoken of his ſon and ſucceſſor Nicholas, at pp. 24, 34; and ſhall again, in the article Bagillt, reſume the ſubject.
THE whole road from the abby to St. Wenefrede's well, is moſt remarkably pictureſque, along a narrow but deep valley, bounded [201] on one ſide by hanging woods. In former times the ſacred ſtream hurried to the ſea unconfined by the buſy manufactures. During the reign of pilgrimages nothing but the corn-mills, the property of the monks, found employ for its waters.
BEFORE I advance up the valley, let me obſerve, that notwith⯑ſtanding it has the common cauſes of health, a rapid ſtream, and the greateſt part of the year a briſk wind (uſually from weſt to eaſt) yet it is viſited with the uſual diſeaſes of the country, in a degree even greater than other parts; nor has the angina maligna, hereafter to be ſpoken of, ſpared the children of this little tract.
COMMERCE found its way to the valley about fifty years ago.WHITE AND RED LEAD WORKS. I can remember the building of the works of white and of red lead under the conduct of Meſſrs. Smedley. But prior to theſe, a little above, was a tilting-mill, and an iron-wire mill.IRON-WIRE MILL. The firſt leſſees were Hart and Co. from Yorkſhire. They were ſuc⯑ceeded by Mr. Barker and Sir James Creed, who erected a new one on the lower part of the ſtream. On Mr. Barker's death the remainder of the term was purchaſed by Mr. John Norman and Mr. Rouben Chambers. Under a new leafe Mr. John Chambers converted the old mill into a ſteel-wire-mill; before which his mo⯑ther uſed it for a warehouſe for a coarſe-paper-mill.PAPER MILLS. The Parys mine company ſucceeded to both the premiſes, and covered them with their important edifices.
IT muſt be obſerved, that the antient corn-mills, belonging to the abby, ſtood where the paper-mill was, the molendina quae juxta portam abbatiae habent *.
[202] SNUFF MILLSON this ſtream had been three ſnuff-mills; the oldeſt was occu⯑pied by Mr. Edward Jones, tobacconiſt, now living. It joined the old and uppermoſt corn-mill. It was taken down by the cotton company, who on the ſite built part of the new corn-mill, near the Holywell ſpring.
PETER PARRY, tobacconiſt, had two ſnuff-mills, one on the land of John Pierce, joiner, deceaſed, a little below the creſcent cotton-mill. It was purchaſed by the braſs battering-mill com⯑pany, for the ſake of giving their pool a little greater depth of water, which built another for Peter Parry, below their braſs-works.
OLD SMELTING-WORK.AN antient ſmelting-work ſtood in my memory on the ſite of the old cotton-mill, and part of the garden. They were erected before the year 1733, by leaſe from Roger Pennant, eſq of Bagillt. I do not recollect the names of the leſſees, but the com⯑pany was known by that of Madam Kaye and Co. The ſmoke did ſuch injury to the fine woods belonging to Sir George Moſtyn, of Trelacre, bart. as to occaſion many law-ſuits between Sir George and the company; ſo that there enſued a total ceſſation of the ſmelting-trade in theſe works. Whether the ſuit came to a deciſion, does not appear. The ſuit muſt have commenced before March 26th, 1733, from which day all proceedings, which uſed before to be in Latin, were to be carried on in the Eng⯑liſh tongue. Juſt before that period poor Sir George ſuffered a nonſuit, for uſing the word propè inſtead of juxta; and was foiled a ſecond time, by uſing in the proceeding the title of Sir George Moſtyn, inſtead of George Moſtyn, eſq his elder brother being liv⯑ing, and at that time an eccleſiaſtic in the church of Rome: and it [203] is ſaid that he ſuffered a third repulſe, by ſtating that the works were in the townſhip of Greenfield, inſtead of Holywell, or vice verſa.
HOW the affair ended I cannot learn. The building reverted into the hands of the heirs of the leſſors. Edward Pennant, eſq granted a leaſe of it, in 1758, to Mr. Champion, partner and agent in the Wormley company, near Briſtol, who there calcined black-jack. He was the firſt who engaged in ſuch a concern in this country, and probably in Great Britain, which he carried on under the protection of a patent.
A PIN-MILL was built in 1764, for the uſe of James Eden, PIN-MILL. pin-maker, who occupied it about two years, and then failed. The next occupier was Mrs. Chambers, who converted it into a coarſe-paper mill, and continued the uſe of it till 1783, when it fell into the hands of the cotton-company, which turned it into a ſmithy: and, finally, three corn-mills,THREE CORN-MILLS. formed with the above the ſum of the works upon the ſtream, in my early days. The lower of theſe two, reckoning from the well, was pulled down.
IN the year 1766 began the memorable epoch in the annals of our famous ſtream, when the late Mr. Patten of Warrington, FAMOUS EPOCH OF COMMERCE. and Co. built the firſt battering-mill for copper and braſs. In about ten years from that time, Mr. John Smalley, now deceaſed, introduced the firſt manufacture of cotton. By his ſucceſſors, and by the great copper-companies, thoſe behemoths of commerce, our little Jordan was ſoon drunk up. By their ſkill and induſtry they ſucceeded, to the benefit of the ſtate, and to their private emolument. Tho. [204] Williams, eſquire *, that uſeful and active character, with unparal⯑leled ſpeed, covered the lower part of the ſtream, or that next to the ſea, with buildings ſtupendous in expence, extent, and ingenuity of contrivance. Theſe great works are under the firm of the PARYS MINE COMPANY.PARYS MINE COMPANY. The buildings were completed in the year 1780, and held under leaſe from Sir Pyers Moſtyn, bart. owner of the whole ſtream, excepting a ſmall part. To Mr. Samuel Williamſon, chief agent of this part of the works, I am indebted for the account of the works carried on here. Theſe are entirely confined to the manufacture of copper.
IN this department is a great forge for heating the cakes of copper, previouſly to their being beat into pans, or rolled into ſheathings, &c. &c. The wheels and machinery are ſet in motion by the water from a large pool, parallel to the road, which is filled from the ſtream, and let out by another channel to effect its purpoſes.
THESE may be called the great magazines for the ſupply of the royal navy with the various neceſſaries in copper, ſuch as ſheath⯑ings, bolts, and nails. Some of the bolts are twenty feet long, and ſo hardened by rolling and battering, as to be capable of being driven almoſt to their heads, in the entrance forward, and run abaft of the ſhips where the beds of timber are the thickeſt; which work is facilitated by boring with an anger two-thirds of the length.
SOME of the nails are a foot in length, and from that ſize to that of a ſadler's cack.
RUDDER bands and braces are here made of an enormous [205] ſize; ſome, deſigned for the largeſt firſt-rates, weighed one ton fourteen hundred.
THE number of men employed in theſe works is ninety-three. This is intended when they are in full employ: the ſame muſt be underſtood of all the reſt.
THE head of water to this mill is about twenty-one feet and a half, and the ſuperficial ſurface of the pool about 112,028 feet.
THE trade of theſe works is not confined to the royal navy. The merchant ſhips are from hence ſupplied with conſiderable quantities of ſheathing, bolts, and nails, as are many of the ſhips in the ſervice of the Eaſt India Company.
FROM hence braziers are furniſhed with copper veſſels of all kinds, and the materials for all the copper branches of their buſineſs.
THE works on this river are ſupplied with their copper from the Parys mine and Mona mine companies; the ore of which is ſmelted chiefly at Ravenhead, and Stanley, in Lancaſhire.
THE Corniſh ores are ſmelted at Swanſey, Neath, Briſtol, and in Cornwal.
THE Duke of Devonſhire's ores, at Whiſton, in Derbyſhire.
THE number of veſſels immediately employed by the copper-companies on this river, to convey the ſeveral manufactures, or the materials to and from Leverpool, and the other places con⯑nected with them, amount to between thirty and forty, from thirty to fifty tons burden.
MR. WILLIAMS has, beſides the works on the Holywell ſtream, two near Marlow, in Buckinghamſhire, upon as large a ſcale as thoſe in Greenfield. There are alſo in this kingdom others be⯑longing [206] to different proprietors, at Congleton and Macclesfield, in Cheſhire, at Swanſey, and Briſ [...], and in Cornwel, and a number in the vicinity of London.
THE COMPANY'S COIN.I MUST not be ſilent on the ſubject of the moſt beautiful coin or token in uſe by this great company, as it exceeds in elegance any which has been yet emitted. On one ſide is the head of a Druid, emblematic of the iſle of Mona, the antient ſeat of the ve⯑nerable order, and which now produces the material of the coin. On the reverſe is the cypher of Parys mountain, with a promiſ⯑ſory legend to pay one penny, or one half-penny, as it happens to be, in London, Angleſey, or Leverpool, to bearer on demand.
VAST quantities of theſe coins are counterfeited at Birmingham, and may be had by public order in any number.
BRASS MELTING-HOUSES.ABOVE theſe works is a great cluſter of vaſt ſquare chimnies, the diſcharge of the tremendous volumes of thick black ſmoke, riſing from the making of braſs. Theſe are the braſs melting-houſes belonging to the Greenfield copper and braſs company, under the direction of Mr. Donbavand, where they have ſix large melting houſes with twenty-four fires, each fire contains nine pots, with metal, fluxes, &c. Here they make plate-braſs for the purpoſe of being manufactured at their battery-mills, plate-braſs for wire for the pin-manufacturers, and ingot-braſs for the va⯑rious founders, &c. At this place they have a mill, places to calcine, buddle, and grind the lapis calaminaris, &c. for the pur⯑poſe of making braſs; alſo a copper forge, not uſed at preſent: the head of water is about 21½ feet, ſuperficial ſurface of the pool about 23,664 feet. The number of the men employed in theſe works, is about fifty. The materials for the making of [207] braſs are all at hand. The copper ſhot and clippings are from the adjacent works, the calamine from our own mines, and the charcoal from our woods. The art of making braſs in early times, is mentioned before at pp. 123, 124. The firſt patent for the calamine ſtone, and the uſe thereof, was granted to William Humſrey, and Chriſtopher Shutz, dated the 17th of September, 1565, at which time the long loſt art in theſe kingdoms began to revive.
IN digging the foundation for the braſs melting-houſes,HYPOCAUST. Mr. Donbavand diſcovered an antient Roman hypocauſt, furniſhed with various flues, with the ſuperincumbent tiles of a fine red color. Theſe artificial hot baths and ſweating-rooms were the greateſt luxuries of the Romans. This proves that they had a ſtationary ſettlement in this place, probably of merchants concerned in the mineral works, which they certainly had on the adjacent moun⯑tains, of which I have given an account in p. 122 of this book.
NOT far from this work, on the eaſt-ſide of the river,WIRE-WORK. is the great manufactory of braſs wire of every denomination. Alſo here are drawn the ſquare materials for making copper nails, which are formed by the common proceſs of beating and heading. This work has a head of twenty-three feet, which is capable, by means of an extenſive pool, that may be formed above, of having a very large work built on the now vacant ſpot.
AT a ſmall diſtance to the ſouth,COTTON-WORK. a moſt magnificent cotton-work ſoars, like the tower of Babel, above all the lower buildings. I ſhall here only ſay, that about ten weeks before its completion, nothing but a void appeared before me: at the expiration of that ſpace, in another ride I took, I cannot expreſs my aſtoniſhment at ſeeing the enormous maſs riſen, as if by magic, out of the [208] ground. It was erected in the ſummer of 1785: is thirty-ſix yards long, ten yards wide, and ſix ſtories high, and is worked with a water-wheel eighteen feet high, and ſeven feet wide, with a fall of water of ſixteen feet.
NE [...] POLLING MILL.AT ſome diſtance beyond this is the NEW ROLLING MILL, erected in 1787 *. The largeſt and moſt commodious build⯑ing, for the purpoſe it is applied to, of any in the kingdom. Its area within the walls meaſures eighty-ſix feet in length, by ſixty-nine in breadth, floored with iron flags. Its height in the center is twenty-eight feet and an half. The roof is ſingle, and covered with copper, ſupported in the center by two pillars, eleven feet and a half diſtant from each other; on their tops are tranſverſe timbers ſupporting one end of each beam which more immediately ſuſtains the roof, the other end reſting on the wall.
THE water-wheels are of caſt-iron, upon a curious conſtruction. They are three in number, each of which receives its ſupply of water, at a height of about forty-five degrees, from an iron-pipe fixed in the bottom of the penſtock, and ſo fitted to the buckets of the wheel, that ſcarce any water is waſted (of which we are ſtudiouſly careful.) Wheels ſo receiving their water are called breaſt-wheels, of which kind I believe all the wheels on this ſtream are, excepting that belonging to the corn-mill, and another at this company's braſs-works, which is uſed for grinding calamine; the water by that mode of delivery communicating the moſt powerful impulſe, and the moſt ſteady motion. The iron-wheels here are twenty feet diameter, and they will, when unclogged with [209] heavy weights, perform twenty revolutions in a minute. Now if we ſuppoſe a wheel of that diameter moving upon a plane with the ſame rapidity with which it revolves on its axis, it will, in a year, deſcribe a line nearly equal in length to five circles of our globe at the equator. The yard and reſervoir of water pertain⯑ing to this noble manufactory are ſuitable to its magnitude, and by much the moſt ſpacious on the Holywell ſtream.
THE number of men employed here are about forty-ſix.
1ſt. IT is a certain fact that the people conſtantly employed in the copper-manufactories are as healthy, and arrive to as great an age, as the generality of people employed in other occupations not connected with fire or metal; but they are ſcrupulous ob⯑ſervers of the antient law, which forbade to eat with unwaſhen hands; and they find it highly neceſſary to perform a careful ab⯑lution of the whole body at leſt once a week, to rub off the cop⯑per duſt, which adheres to their bodies, and occaſions violent eruptions of a green color, evincing, by the tinge, their origin. The pain and ſymptoms are eaſily removed by waſhing with clean water; but if that is neglected, the conſequences become ſe⯑rious, and even to require chirurgical aſſiſtance.
2d. YOUNG dogs, which have acquired a habit of licking cop⯑per ſheets or bars, have never been known to ſurvive long. The metallic virus by that means conveyed into the inteſtines ſoon deſtroys the animal by violent purging.
[210]3d, YET it may deſerve notice, that the writer of theſe hints having formerly kept a great number of poultry running about the yard, he obſerved that the fowls preferred drinking the water from a ſhallow copper pan that lay out of doors, and was generally full of rain-water, tinged of a deep green color, to freſh clear water, of which there was abundance. No ill effect was ever known to have happened to them from the green water, though a ſucceſſion of poultry reſorted to it for years.
THE writer of this having been employed on the ſpot, from the firſt opening of the ground for the foundations of the mill and other buildings, found frequent proofs that the ſurface of the land had formerly been about fourteen or ſixteen feet lower than at the time the buildings were erected. His inducements to form that opinion were,
1ſt. THAT though the ſoil contained many large pebbles throughout its whole depth, yet at the depth of twelve to ſixteeen or eighteen feet, grey pebbles of large ſize were every where found in great abundance, and mixed with ſand or gravel, juſt as they appear on the ſhelving ſhores of many rivers.
2d. AT the depth of fifteen feet, under the wood where the warehouſe now ſtands, the head of a battle-axe was picked up. The writer not chancing to be on the ſpot when it was taken up, could gather no information whether any part of the handle re⯑mained, but ſuppoſes not. He was ſhewn the ſpot where it lay, and meaſured fifteen feet to the ſurface.
3d. AND the moſt deciſive proof is, that, after cutting down an oak-tree of pretty large girth, and afterwards clearing away the root, in digging ſtill deeper, for the foundation of the preſent [211] warehouſe, the workmen found a lime-kiln, of very ſmall dimen⯑ſion, perhaps it would contain half a ton of lime-ſtone, but perfect, and having calcined lime in its baſon. It was conſtructed of the ſame kind of red ſand-ſtone as that now below Wepre. The bottom of that kiln now forms the loweſt foundation of the north-eaſt corner of the warehouſe, which is nea [...]ly level with the ſurface of the cotton-mill-pool below it.
IMMEDIATELY above the laſt are the works under the ſuper-intendency of Mr. Daniel Donbavand, GREENFIELD COPPER AND BRASS COMPANY. who with great civility informed me of their origin, and conſequent improvements. Theſe are on the ſite of the braſs-battery-mills, built in the year 1765, and ſet to work 20th Sept. 1766. The firſt braſs made at Greenfield, was on the 20th Auguſt, 1766, then held by Meſſ. Patten and Co. Since January 1786 they have been in the hands of Thomas Williams, eſq and Co. under the firm of The Greenfield Copper and Braſs Company, who have very much improved them by various erections, ſo as to enable them to finiſh goods for Africa, America, and moſt other markets, viz. braſs Neptunes, or large pans, in which the negroes make ſalt; pans for getting the gold out of their rivers, and for various other purpoſes; kettles; braſs and copper rods; bright and black manillas—the firſt are rings for ornaments to the arms and legs, the laſt for the current money of the country. The laſt are not unlike the golden bracelets of the antient Britons, the ends turned up and flatted; and add to theſe various ſorts of latten, braſs, &c. for mathema⯑tical inſtruments, &c. &c.
THE word latten is applied to works in braſs, with which, for certain purpoſes, is an admixture of any other metal. Some⯑times [212] it is made a ſynonym of braſs itſelf. Watſon's Eſſays, IV. 70. and in the ſame page: and Stringer, in his Opera Mineralia Ex⯑plicate, p. 34. gives us the qualities of the ſaid latten, as explain⯑ed in the patent of 7th Elizabeth to Humphrey and Shutz, above⯑mentioned, which was granted to Shutz for ‘his great cunning, knowlege and experience, as well in the finding the calamine ſtone, called in Latin, lapis calaminaris, and in the right and proper commodity thereof, for the compoſition of mixed me⯑tal, commonly called latten, and in reducing it to be ſoft and malleable, and alſo in apting, manuring, and working the ſame for and into all ſorts of battery wares, caſt-work, and wire, and alſo in the mollifying and manuring of iron, and drawing and forging of the ſame into wire and plates for the mak⯑ing of armor, and alſo for divers other needful and profitable uſes.’
THE word latten is alſo uſed for a diſtinct metal, as appears by two patents, one of the 30th Henry VI. to his chaplain and con⯑troller of all his mines of gold, &c. in Devon and Cornwal, (ſee Stringer, p. 20.); the other in the patent of 10th Elizabeth, (ſee Watſon, iv. 70.) both which mention mines of latten. But, as the Biſhop obſerves, whatever the name did mean, it is now loſt. I can only ſay, that calamine does appear in ſo many, and ſo dif⯑ferent forms, that the application might have been to one of them, ſince the qualities ſeem to have been the ſame.
THE head of water to theſe mills is about 21½ feet; and the ſuperficial ſurface of the pool or reſervoir, about 70,696 feet.
[213]ALL the pools belonging to the ſeveral works are well ſtocked with trout brought from the river Wheeler, which flows beneath Caerwis. They grow to a vaſt ſize: I have heard of one which had been taken in the braſs mill-pool, which weighed between eleven pounds and twelve pounds, but thoſe over-grown fiſh do not equal in flavor thoſe of an inferior ſize. The three-ſpined ſtickle-back, (Br. Zool. iii. No 229.) a little fiſh, ſeldom of the length of two inches, abound in this ſtream, but eſpecially in the ſtiller parts, where the water has been confined for the uſe of the works. Eels are the only fiſh, beſides theſe, found in theſe waters.
THOSE beautiful birds, the kingfiſhers, are very frequent about theſe waters, and almoſt dazzle the eye in their frequent tranſi⯑tions from place to place.
THIS work was erected in the ſpring of 179 [...],CRESCENT-MILL. is twenty-ſix yards by ten wide, and is ſix ſtories high. It is worked by a water-wheel, fifteen feet high, and ten feet wide, with a fall of water of thirteen feet and a half. This work makes a noble figure on the ſtream, is ornamented with a handſome cupola, with a fine gilden creſcent on the top, from which it receives its name.
A CORN-MILL ſtood on part of the ſite of this mill.CORN-MILL. On the ſtream had been, within theſe few years, a tilting-mill, under the direction of Mr. William Smalley, which has ſince been removed to Avon Wen, below Caerwis; and a wire-mill on an extenſive ſcale has been erected on the Wheeler, at a ſmall diſtance from the tilting-mill, in the beautiful vale of Maes Mynnan.
[214] OLD COTTON-MILL.A LITTLE beyond the creſcent-mill, is the Old Cotton Mill, or that which was firſt known on the ſtream. It was erected in the ſpring of the year 1777, by Mr. John Smalley, of Preſton, in Lan⯑caſhire. He died January 28th, 1782, aged 53, and was interred in Whiteford church-yard. On his tomb mention is made of his having at Holywell eſtabliſhed the cotton-works. This mill is ſmall and low, is 33 yards long, 8 yards wide, and only three ſtories high, and is worked by a water-wheel 15 feet high, and 5 feet wide, with a fall of water of 11 feet 6 inches.
MR. John Smalley, ſenior, had long been engaged in a cotton-work at Cromford, near Mat [...]ck, in Derbyſhire, unhappily with⯑in the baleful influence of a tyrant rival, which forced him to ſeek the protection of St. Wenefrede, under which he pro⯑ſpered, and his children ſtill proſper, bleſſing the benefit of the change made by their injured parent.
GREATEST COT⯑TON-MILL.A LITTLE way above this mill is the largeſt and moſt magnifi⯑cent of any on the water. It was erected in the autumn of the year 1783, in the ſpace of ſix weeks from laying the foundation-ſtone. It is 40 yards long, 10 yards wide, and 6 ſtories high, and is lighted by a hundred and ninety-eight ſaſh windows, which nightly exhibit a moſt glorious illumination. It is worked by a water-wheel 20 feet high, and 7 feet wide, with a fall of water of 20 feet.
ALL the cotton-mills on the river go under the name of the Cotton Twiſt Company. It is to Mr. Chriſtopher Smalley, one of the partners, and eldeſt ſon to the founder of theſe great manufactories, I am obliged for the account of what relates to them.
[215]THE cotton-twiſt company have between three and four hun⯑dred apprentices, which they clothe and feed themſelves,MANAGEMENT OF THE CHILDREN. in com⯑modious houſes built for that purpoſe, the boys and girls in ſepa⯑rate houſes. Theſe houſes are white-waſhed twice every year, are fumigated three times a week through every apartment, with ſmoak of tobacco; beſides this the ſleeping-rooms are waſhed twice a week, and the bed-ſtocks are frequently ſprinkled with rectified oil of tar. All the windows in the ſleeping-rooms open at the tops, by which a thorough draft of air is admitted during the whole time the children are at work. To theſe and other precau⯑tions the good ſtate of health of ſo many children may be juſtly attributed; for though the number of apprentices have not been leſs than 3 [...]0 for theſe ſeven years paſt, they have only buried ſeven. Their food for dinner is beef or pork and potatoes three or four times a week, the other days herrings and potatoes, or ſoup and bread and cheeſe, as much as they pleaſe to eat. Their break⯑faſts and ſuppers in ſummer is milk and bread; in the winter, when milk cannot be had, they drink porridge or broth, with bread and cheeſe. A ſurgeon is appointed to ſuperintend their health; and a Sunday ſchool is regularly attended by a maſter at each houſe.
OUR little children ſleep three in a bed,THEIR BED. the larger ſizes only two; and thoſe who work in the night are ſo far from ſucceeding each other in the ſame beds, that they do not even ſleep in the ſame rooms.
[216]
| The number of men employed at Greenfield, are | above 100 |
| women and children, | above 500 |
| At Northop, | 49 |
| At Denhigh, | 140 |
| At Sky [...]g, | 36 |
| At Newmarket, | above 100 |
| Apprentices, | above 300 |
| Total | 1225 |
COTTON wool is produced in the Eaſt and Weſt Indies, and alſo in many other places. The Iſle of Bowbon, in the Eaſt Indies, fur⯑niſhes the beſt; the next to this in quality, grows in the Portugueſe ſettlements in South America, from whence it is exported to Liſbon, and imported from thence to England in Britiſh bottoms, duty-free. If in foreign bottoms, a penny per pound is paid. About fifteen years ago, not more than five hundred bags were culti⯑vated in the Brazils; but of late years, on an average, fifty thou⯑ſand. The Dutch ſettlements, ſay Berbice and Surinam, ſupply a conſiderable quantity of good cotton, and comes to this country better cleaned than any other.
THE cotton-plant grows naturally in China and India. The cultivation travelled weſtward into Arabia, Perſia, and the Levant. It is alſo cultivated in the province of Valencia, in Spain, with vaſt ſucceſs. On the plains of that rich province, in good years, about four hundred and fifty thouſand arrobas (of 26 lb. each) are har⯑veſted. I ſuppoſe all this to be manufactured in Spain, at leſt I do not hear of any being imported into our kingdoms.
[217]COTTON twiſt is ſpun here of 130 hanks to the pound. Each hank is 840 yards long, ſo that one pound of cotton thread thus fine will be 62 miles 80 yards long. The new principle (for it is not yet 30 years old) by which cotton wool is made ſo perfect a thread, is by the uſe of iron-rollers moving horizontally; their ſpeed is governed by braſs wheels of different ſizes and numbers, calculated to produce what fineneſs is wanted; the twiſt required is given by the flier and ſpindle. The cotton-twiſt made here is ſent chiefly into England and Scotland, to be woven into ginghams, muſlins, muſlinets, dimities, nankeens, fine callicoes, fuſtians, &c. &c. which goods, when finiſhed, are either admitted or ſmuggled into every part of the known world. It is introduced into every part of the Ruſſian dominions, and even into the diſtant Kamt⯑ſchatka.
A NUMBER of machines called Mules are alſo uſed here with ſucceſs:MULES. this machine is a compound of the water-engine and the ſpinning-jenny, and being of a mixed breed, was, I preſume, the reaſon of its being ſo named. It is a machine particularly adapted to the ſpinning of fine yarns, and far exceeds every other yet diſ⯑covered for that purpoſe.
THE laſt mill on the river is a corn-mill:CORN-MILL. a large building erected by the cotton-twiſt company, inſtead of the old one; and of another which ſtood a little lower down, on the ſite of which ſtands part of the great cotton-mill.
THE length of the ſtream, from the fountain to the marſh,LENGTH OF THE STREAM. is one mile and two hundred and thirty-four yards. The following are the number of falls, from the level of the marſh to the ſpring-head:
| Heads. | Surface of Pools. | |
| Feet. | Feet. | |
| Parys Mine Company, Copper forge, | 10¾ | 54,842 |
| Old Copper forge Greenfield, Copper & Braſs Co, | 21½ | 23,664 |
| Parys Mine Company, Copper rolling-mill, | 21¾ | 40,068 |
| Parys Mine Company, Copper wire-mill, | 23 | |
| Lower cotton-mill, Cotton & twiſt Co | 28 | 131,670 |
| Greenfield Copper & Braſs Co Copper rolling-mill, | 21½ | 112,028 |
| Greenfield Copper & Braſs Co Braſs battery mills, | 23 | 70,696 |
| Cotton Twiſt Company, Creſcent cotton-mills | 13½ | |
| D' Old cotton-mill, | 11½ | |
| Do Upper cotton-mill, | 20 | |
| D' Corn-mill to ſpring⯑head, | 7½ | |
| Total feet | 202¾ |
LET me conclude with remarking the vaſt population theſe companies have brought to the townſhips of Holywell and Green⯑field. In reſpect to the firſt, there is no great increaſe of building; but the latter has of late years received ſuch an addition in works and in houſes, that almoſt the whole is a continued ſeries of edifices of different kinds, from the upper corn-mill quite to the ſea-ſide. Among them are a hundred and ſeventy-ſeven houſes for workmen of different occupations, of which few in⯑deed have been erected beyond my memory.
[219]THE origin of this uſeful ſtream is diſcovered at the foot of the ſteep hill, beneath the town of Holywell, or Treffynnon, ST. WENEFREDE'S WELL. to which it gave the name. The ſpring boils with vaſt impetuoſity out of a rock, and is confined in a beautiful polygonal well, co⯑vered with a rich arch, ſupported by pillars *. The roof is moſt exquiſitely carved in ſtone. Immediately over the fountain is the legend of St. Wenefrede, on a pendent projection, with the arms of England at the bottom. Numbers of fine ribs ſecure the arch, whoſe interſections are coupled with a ſculpture.
SOME are mere works of fancy; groteſque figures of animals: but the reſt allude chiefly to the Stanley family. This building, and the chapel over it, roſe from the piety of that great houſe, which left theſe memorials of its benefactions: there are beſides ſome marks of the illuſtrious donors; for example, the profile of Margaret, mother to Henry VII. and that of her huſband the earl of Derby, cut on the ſame ſtone.
THE compliments to the Stanleys, are very frequent. The wolf's head is the arms of the earls of Cheſter: it is incloſed in a garter, in reſpect to Sir William Stanley, knight of that order, who had been chamberlain of that city, and juſticiary of North Wales. The tun with a plant iſſuing out of it, is a rebus, the arms of his wife Elizabeth Hopton, alluſive to her name. This proves, that the building was erected before 1495, in which year Sir William loſt his head. The other badges of the ſame houſe are, the ſtag's head; the eagle's leg; and the three legs, the arms of the iſle of Man.
[220]WE alſo find, that Catherine of Arragon, widow to prince Arthur, and afterwards the unfortunate wife of his brother Henry VIII. was a benefactreſs to this building; at left her arms appear here: three pomegranates in a ſhield, ſurmounted with a crown; the badge of the houſe of Granada, in memory of the expulſion of the Moors, by her father Ferdinand *. The eagle ſeems alſo to belong to her, being one of the ſupporters of the arms of her family.
OVER one of the leſſer arches, on each ſide of the well, are the dragon and gre-hound, the ſupporters of the arms of England during the reign of Henry VII. and part of that of Henry VIII. The firſt was born by Henry VII. as a badge of the houſe of Tudor, which derived itſelf from Cadwalader, laſt king of Britain, who bore on his enſign a red dragon. Henry, in imitation of him, at the battle of Boſworth carried on his ſtandard a red dragon, paint⯑ed on white and green ſilk; which afterwards gave riſe to the office of Rouge-dragon among the heralds.
ON one ſide of a wall that ſupports the roof, was painted the tale of the tutelar ſaint; at preſent almoſt defaced: over it is in⯑ſcribed, in honorem Sanctae Wenefredae, V. & M.
IN another wall is an elegant nich, in which ſtood a ſtatue of the Virgin Mary; pulled down, as I have been informed, in the year 1635.
I HAVE alſo heard, that there had been another of St. Wene⯑frede. To grace the image on high feſtivals, it is probable, that Iſabel, counteſs of Warwick, widow to the great Richard [221] Beauchamp, left to St. Wenefrede, in 1439, her gown of ruſſet velvet *.
OVER this ſpring is a chapel,CHAPEL. of the ſame date with the other building: a neat piece of gothic architecture; but in a very ruinous ſtate. The eaſt end is a pentagon, and had five windows with elegant tracery. The top arched, and croſſed with neat ſlender ribs. It had been open to the body of the chapel; but the fine arch which formed the diviſion, has been bricked up a great number of years ago. On one ſide of the body is an oblong receſs, divided from it by three arches, ſupported by pillars; and within is a window impending over the well. Under the centre window muſt have ſtood the altar. The whole length of the chapel is fifty-two feet: the breadth is twenty. The re⯑ceſs is twenty-ſix feet long, and eight broad. The roof is neat wood-work. This had been a free chapel, in the gift of the biſhop, with the reſerve of a ſtipend to the chapter; but the reſt of the offerings were to be expended on the chapel. In Richard III.'s time, the abbot and convent had from the crown ten marks yerely, for the ſuſtentacione and ſalarie of a prieſte, at the chapelle of St. Wynefride †. The chapel is the property of Daniel Leo, eſquire, in right of his wife Laetitia, ſiſter to the late John Davies, eſquire, of Llanerch.
THE following order, for putting the chapel over the well into poſſeſſion of a clergyman of the church of Rome, [222] was addreſſed to Sir Roger Moſtyn, baronet, by the queen of James II.
IT having pleaſed the king, by his royall grant, to beſtow upon me y [...] antient chappell adjoining to St. Winifride's well; theſe are to deſire you to give preſent poſſeſſion, in my name, of the ſaid chappell, to Mr. Thomas Roberts, who will deliver this let⯑ter into y [...] hands. It being alſo my intention to have the place decently repaired, and put to a good uſe, I further deſire, that you will affoard him your favour and protection, that he may not be diſturbed in the performance thereof. You may reſt aſſured, that what you do herein, according to my deſire, ſhall be very kindly remembered by
MAY ye 8th, 1687. WHITEHALL.
FREE SCHOOL.IN this chapel is kept the free-ſchool for ſixteen boys, with a ſettled ſalary, from money laid out at intereſt, of 10l. per annum. The vicar appoints the maſter, which, as far as I recollect, has been a clergyman, excepting in one inſtance.
SUNDAY SCHOOLS.BESIDES the Sunday ſchool, where the cotton-company's ap⯑prentices are inſtructed, there is another parochial one kept in the chapel over the well. This is ſupported by a general ſub⯑ſcription through the pariſh; and about ſeventy poor children are inſtructed by proper maſters, in reading, writing and arithmetick. The copper and braſs companies are handſome ſubſcribers, but [223] they ſend only a few adults, to be inſtructed in matters, their more advanced years make them capable of learning.
THIS room has been uſed as the hall for holding both the great and the quarter ſeſſions. I remember Matthew Skinner, eſquire, chief juſtice of Cheſter, holding the aſſizes there; and I alſo recollect a quarter ſeſſions: the hall having been properly fitted up for the purpoſe. But the diſtance from the center of the county was found ſo inconvenient, that after theſe inſtances they were removed to Flint, and finally to Mold, where they ſtill continue.
THE window in this chapel impends a vaſt height over the bathing well.CHAPEL WINDOW. Several perſons (not in their ſober ſenſes) have leaped into the water, without receiving any other damage than the ſmart cauſed by the daſhing on the ſurface from their exalted ſtation. Within my memory, one John Blackwall, of Llanaſaph, took a far more deſperate leap into the ſame water, from the church-yard wall, almoſt adjoining to the chapel. The leap would have been great, had it been on level ground. Here, had he not reached the water, the conſequence would have been, that of being daſhed to pieces on the flags.
THE bathing-well is an oblong, 38 feet by 16, with ſteps for the deſcent of the fair-ſex, or of invalids. Near the ſteps, two feet beneath the water, is a large ſtone, called the wiſhing-ſtone. It receives many a kiſs from the faithful, who are ſuppoſed never to fail in experiencing the completion of their deſires, provided the wiſh is delivered with full devotion and confidence.
ON the outſide of the great well, cloſe to the road,LITTLE SPRING. is a ſmall ſpring, once famed for the cure of weak eyes. The patient made an offering to the nymph of the ſpring, of a crooked pin, and [224] ſent up at the ſame time a certain ejaculation, by way of charm: but the charm is forgotten, and the efficacy of the waters loſt.
THE well is common; for I find by a deciſion of the court of chancery, on a law-ſuit reſpecting the lordſhip of Holywell, be⯑tween Sir John Egerton, knight, and John Eldred; chancellor Elleſmere decrees, ‘That on calling to mind, that within the ſaid manor there is a fountain or well of antient and worthy memory, he doth not think fit that the petitioner, or any other, ſhould have the property thereof, notwithſtanding the general words of the grant of the manor: and therefore his lordſhip doth order, that notwithſtanding the ſaid grant, that the well ſhall-continue as now it is, or heretofore hath been; ſaving to the petitioner, and his heirs and aſſigns, the benefit of the ſtream and watercourſe, with the appertainances.’
THERE are two different opinions about the origin of this ſtream. One party makes it miraculous: the other aſſerts it to be owing only to natural cauſes. The advocates for the firſt, deliver their tale thus:
OF SAINT WENE⯑FREDE.IN the ſeventh century lived a virgin of the name of Wenefrede, of noble parents; her father's name was Thewith, a potent lord in the parts where Holywell now ſtands; her mother's Wenlo, de⯑ſcended from an antient family in Montgomeryſhire, and ſiſter to St. Beuno. Beuno aſſumed the monaſtic habit, retired to Clynnog, in Caernarvonſhire, where he built a church and founded a con⯑vent. After completing this work of piety, he viſited his rela⯑tions in Flintſhire; and obtaining from his brother-in-law a little ſpot at the foot of the hill on which he reſided, erected on it a church, and took under his care his niece Wenefrede. It is pro⯑bable [225] that the ſaint uſed occaſionally to make ſome reſidence in this country; for near the entrance of the dingle, oppoſite to the great cotton-work, are two ſmall fields, called to this day Gerddi Saint Beuno, or the gardens of St. Beuno.
A NEIGHBORING prince of the name of Cradocus, ſon of king Alen, was ſtruck with her beauty, and at all events determined to gratify his deſires. He made known his paſſion to the lady; who, affected with horror, attempted to eſcape. The wretch, enraged at the diſappointment, inſtantly purſued her, drew out his ſabre, and cut off her head. Cradocus inſtantly received the reward of his crime: he fell down dead, and the earth opening, ſwallowed his impious corps. Higden, in his Polychronicon, adds, that even the deſcendants of this monſter were viſited with hor⯑rible judgments, to be expiated only by a viſit to this well, or to the bones of the ſaint at Salop.
THE ſevered head took its way down the hill, and ſtopt near the church. The valley, which, from its uncommon dryneſs, [226] was heretofore called Sych [...]nant, now loſt its name. A ſpring of uncommon ſize burſt from the place where the head reſted. The moſs on its ſides diffuſed a fragrant ſmell *. Her blood ſpotted the ſtones, which, like the flowers of Adonis, annually commemorate the fact, by aſſuming colors unknown to them at other times.
ST. BEUNO took up the head, carried it to the corps, and, offering up his devotions, joined it nicely to the body, which inſtantly reunited. The place was viſible only by a ſlender white line encircling her neck, in memory of a miracle, which ſurpaſſed far that worked by St. Dionyſius, who marched in triumph after decapitation, with his head in his hands, from Mont martre to St. Dennis's †; or that of St. Adelbertus, who, in like circumſtances, ſwam acroſs the Viſtula.
To conclude: St. Wenefrede ſurvived her decollation fifteen years. She died at Gwytherin in Denbighſhire, where her bones [227] reſted till the reign of king Stephen, when, after divine admo⯑nition, they were ſurrendered to the abby of St. Peter and St. Paul at Shrewſbury. The memory of the two great events, that of her firſt death is celebrated on the 22d of June: that of her tranſlation the 3d of November.
THE firſt Sunday after St. James's day is alſo kept in honor of certain ſaints;DYDD SUL Y SAINT. (probably St. Wenefrede and St. Beuno) not with prayers or with holy maſſes, but in every ſpecies of frolick and exceſs. It originated in the Romiſh church: but I clear that congregation from being concerned in any part of the orgies; which are, I fear, celebrated by perſons of our own religion only, who flock here on that day for moſt unſaintly ends. The day is called Dydd ſul y Saint, or the Sunday of the Saints. I wiſh I could trace the primaeval ceremonies, and whether one might not have been the Druidical cuſtom, the Deiſeal, or Deiſol, or turning from the eaſt to the weſt, according to the courſe of the ſun. In ſome of the weſtern iſles the cuſtom is ſtill preſerved with great devotion. Deas ſignifies the right hand, and ſul the ſun, from the ceremony being performed with the right hand always next to the circle, cairn, or whatſoever they ſurround *. It is poſſible that this cuſtom might have been applied to our ſaint, and the words Deiſeil, or Deiſol, corrupted for that purpoſe for Dydd-ſol, for giving particular ſanction to the Sunday in queſtion.
A FRATERNITY and gild was eſtabliſhed in honor of our ſaint at Shrewſbury. It had its common ſeal, which,AN ANTIENT SEAL. through the [228] kindneſs of my friend, Mr. Henry Levingſton, is now in my poſ⯑ſeſſion. It is of copper, of the form expreſſed in plate VI. of Vol. I. of my Tour in Wales. In the center is a repreſentation of the martyrdom; above is a croſs in form of a T, placed be⯑tween the letters T. m. which mark the time when the fraternity was inſtituted, during the abbacy of Thomas Mynde; who was elected in 1459, and died in 1499, a period in which theſe reli⯑gious ſocieties were much in faſhion. The T or croſs refers to the church of St. Croſs within this monaſtery. Beneath are probably the arms of the houſe, a ſword and a key, ſymbols of its tutelar apoſtles; and round the margin is this inſcription:
A bell belonging to the church was alſo chriſtened in honor of her. I cannot learn the names of the goſſips, who, as uſual, were doubtleſsly rich perſons. On the ceremony, they all laid hold of the rope; beſtowed a name on the bell; and the prieſt ſprinkling it with holy water, baptized it in the name of the Father, &c. &c *. He then clothed it with a fine garment: after this the goſſips gave a grand feaſt, and made great pre⯑ſents, which the prieſt received in behalf of the bell. Thus bleſſed, it was endowed with great powers; allayed (on being rung) all ſtorms; diverted the thunder-bolt; drove away evil ſpi⯑rits. [229] Theſe conſecrated bells were always inſcribed. The in⯑ſcription on that in queſtion ran thus:
And a little lower was another addreſs: ‘Protege l'rece pia, quos convoco, virgo Marta.’
AFTER her death, her ſanctity, ſays her hiſtorian, was proved by numberleſs miracles. The waters were almoſt as ſanative as thoſe of the pool of Betheſda: all infirmities incident to the human body met with relief; the votive crutches, the barrows, and other proofs of cures, to this moment remain as evidences pendent over the well. The ſaint is equally propitious to Pro⯑teſtants and Catholics; for among the offerings are to be found theſe grateful teſtimonies from the patients of each religion.
THE Holy Father gave all encouragement to the piety of pil⯑grims to frequent this fountain. Pope Martin V. * in the reign of Henry V. furniſhed the abby of Baſingwerk with pardons and indulgences, to ſell to the devotees. Theſe were renewed again in the reign of queen Mary, by the intereſt of Thomas Goldwell biſhop of St. Aſaph †, who fled into Italy on the acceſſion of Eliza⯑beth. Multitudes of offerings flowed in; marks of gratitude from ſuch who had received benefit by interceſſion of the virgin.
[230]THE reſort of pilgrims of late years to theſe Fontanalia has conſiderably decreaſed; the greateſt number are from Lancaſhire. In the ſummer, ſtill a few are to be ſeen in the water in deep devotion up to their chins for hours, ſending up their prayers, or performing a number of evolutions round the polygonal well; or threading the arch between well and well a preſcribed number of times. I am ſorry to ſay that this exceſs of piety has coſt ſeveral devotees their lives. Few people of rank at preſent honor the fountain with their preſence. A crowned head in the laſt age dignified the place with a viſit. The prince who loſt three kingdoms for a maſs, payed his reſpects, on Auguſt 29th 1686, to our ſaint; and received as a reward a preſent of the very ſhift in which his great-grand-mother Mary Stuart loſt her head *. This prince gave, in the courſe of his progreſs, as marks of his favor, golden rings, with his hair platted beneath a cryſtal. I have ſeen one, which he had beſtowed on a Roman Catholic prieſt of a nighboring family. The majority of devotees are of the fair ſex, attracted hither to commemorate the martyrdom of St. Wenefrede, as thoſe of the Eaſt did the death of the Cyprian favorite,
[231]WE, whoſe anceſtors, between two and three centuries ago, abridged our faith to the mere contents of the Old and New Teſtament, and to the creed called the Apoſtles, do not think the belief in the above, and other legends, requiſite. I refer the reader to the arguments uſed by the antiquary Doctor Powel, in his notes on the Itinerary of Giraldus Cambrenſis, and to Biſhop Fleetwood's annotations on the life of the ſaint, for proofs againſt the truth of the tale: but with Proteſtants, and temperate Catho⯑lics, it carries with it ſelf-confutation.
THE waters are indiſputably endowed with every good quality attendant on cold baths; and multitudes have here experienced the good effects that thus reſult from natural qualities, implanted in the ſeveral parts of matter by the divine Providence, in order to fulfil his will. Heaven for a ſhort period deigned to convince a dark and obdurate age with a ſeries of miracles; which were de⯑livered down to ſucceeding times, as inconteſtible proofs of the reality of the divine miſſion. Without them, a ſufficient ground of truſt and reliance upon the Supreme Being has long ſince been eſtabliſhed. Second cauſes innumerable are diſperſed throughout the univerſe, ſubordinate to the FIRST. Every element proves to us a medicine or a bane, as ſuits His unerring diſpenſa⯑tion. We cannot want, we cannot have the mediation of poor departed mortals. The ſuppoſition would be beſtow⯑ing on them the attributes of the Deity; omnipreſence and omniſcience.
SOME eminent botaniſts of my acquaintance have reduced the ſweet moſs, and the bloody ſtains, to mere vegetable produc⯑tions, far from being peculiar to our fountain. The firſt is [232] that kind of moſs called Jungermannia Aſplenioides, Fl. Angl. 509, Tour in Wales, vol. i. tab. 6. imperfectly deſcribed and fi⯑gured by Dillenius, in his hiſtory of moſſes; which induced us to give a new engraving of it. This ſpecies is alſo found in another holy well in Caernarvonſhire, called Ffynnon Llanddeiniolen, in a pariſh of the ſame name.
THE other is a Byſſus, likewiſe odoriferous: common to Lap⯑land, and to other countries beſides our own. It adheres to ſtones in form of fine velvet. Linnaeus calls it Byſſus Jolithus *, or the violet-ſmelling. He ſays, the ſtone to which it adheres eaſily betrays itſelf by the color, being as if ſmeared with blood; and if rubbed, yields a ſmell like violets. Micheli, in his Genera of plants, mentions the ſame †; and Schwenckfelt diſcovered it among the vegetables of Sileſia. He calls it a muſcus ſubrubeus, and informs us, that the ſmell is grateful to the heart; and that if put among clothes, it gives them a good ſcent, and ſerves to drive away moths ‡. Linnaeus ſays ‖, that it is of uſe in eruptive diſorders. The Conferva Gelatinoſa, Syſt. Pl. iv. 591. Fl. Scot. ii. 986, is found in the ſame well.
[...] TO THE [...] W [...] WHEEL.A SPECIES of moſs is apt to vegetate on the oaken wheels of ſe⯑veral of the mills of this ſtream. Theſe give ſhelter to multitudes of animal [...]ae. Theſe, it is probable, eat into the timber, and occaſion the ill ſame our river has obtained of having a corro⯑ſive quality. Mr. William Chambers, of Holywell, has aſſured me that he has ſeen the penſtock and contiguous parts, which lie [233] always under water, in ſome parts pierced with a few holes, in others eaten quite thorough; and that the planks appeared, after the moſs was ſeparated, as if conſuming by the wet rot. He adds, that the moſs firſt adheres to the oaken planks, and then it is that the ſmall grubs eat into them; and in ſome parts quite penetrate, ſo that the moſs becomes ſeemingly the nurſery or receptacle of the grubs. The method uſed to preſerve the wheels, was by ſcraping the moſs off annually.
THIS account is corroborated by Mr. Robert Tart, a very in⯑telligent maſter-carpenter, who ſays, that the wheels made of the beſt oak are deſtroyed remarkably ſoon by the Holywell ſtream. A wheel which ought to have laſted thirty years, has here been known to become unfit for uſe in about twelve. Mr. Tart recommends wheels made of pine or red deal, and that the ſurface of the wheels be paid with pitch, tar, and ruddle; but even this has proved ineffectual, for the water occaſions the mixture ſoon to peel away. Mr. Donbavand was ſo ſenſible of the evil, as to ſub⯑ſtitute, inſtead of timber, wheels of caſt-iron in the works which he ſuperintends.
EDWARD DAVIES, an experienced wheel-wright, aged ſeventy-five, confirms the above; and adds that red deal periſhes in the ſame manner, but in a much ſlower degree, by reaſon of its reſinous qua⯑lity. There have been formerly inſtances of oaken planks, which had laid long under water, being found as full of holes as if they had been eaten through by Norway rats; and were kept as curioſities by the late Meſſrs. Barker, of Brynmadin, or Gadlys.
ON examination of the animalcula which occaſion this da⯑mage, we found them to be the erucae or caterpillars of a certain [234] inſect, which depoſite its eggs in the moſs, the Hyp [...]um riparium, Flora [...]cot. ii. 760. we found them in the ſtate of erucae, about a third of an inch long, and of a whitiſh color.
WE found others arrived to the ſtate of pupae or chryſalides, of the ſame length as the caterpillar, and of a deep brown color. Whether theſe deſtructive inſects are ephemerae, or phryganeae, of the claſs of inſects which, by a wonderful direction of nature, de⯑poſite their eggs in waters of different depths, I cannot aſcertain. It is certain that theſe genera, before they aſſume the inſect form, remain under the water. They from the egg become cater⯑pillars; theſe caterpillars reſt a certain time in ſhape of pupae, then burſt out into flies or inſects, after that inſtantly quit the watery element. In a ſtill day they may be obſerved to make their appearance, preceded by a bubble: the inſect immediately follows, and either takes to the air, or runs along the ſurface of the water, before it riſes into its new habitation.
CHURCH.ABOVE the well ſtands the church, dedicated to St. Wenefrede. The pariſh wakes are celebrated in November, the time of her tranſlation. The living, before the diſſolution, belonged to the abby of Baſingwerk; and is a vicarage in the gift of Jeſus College, Oxford, which nominates; and Daniel Leo, eſquire, the lay-rector, preſents. It was given away by Robert Davies, to the college, by deed dated 1626, expreſſing, that as often as it became vacant, the ſaid Robert Davies and his heirs ſhall freely, and charitatis in⯑tuitu, et abſque aliqua moroſa cunctatione, preſent a native of Wales, rightfully and canonically nominated by the college.
IN a letter, dated 26th October, 1676, Mutton Davies, grand⯑ſon of the donor, earneſtly recommends to the college Mr. [235] J. Humphreys; adding, ‘That by this I do not take upon me in the leſt to detract from the gift my grandfather made the col⯑lege, but I glory in the honor to be deſcended from one who had the happineſs to pay ſuch reſpect to the ſociety.’ In ano⯑ther letter, dated January following, after thanking the ſociety for conſenting to his requeſt, he adds, ‘I ſhould be as ungrate⯑ful as diſingenuous ſhould I convert your condeſcenſion herein to the diſadvantage of your ſociety, by attempting hereafter to inſinuate a right, when I ought to commemorate a free obliga⯑tion, which induces me (out of ſome congruity to my appre⯑henſion) to ſend my eldeſt ſon to deliver this unto your hands, and to gain him the honor of being known unto you, which my ill-fortune hath denied me hitherto, though I covet it very much.’
THE liſt of the vicars of Holywell, from the year 1537 to the preſent time, was communicated to me by my moſt worthy friend, Lewis lord biſhop of St. Aſaph. It is entitled, vicars of Holywell, Tre-fynnon, or Ffynnon Gwen-frewi.
AN account of the tythes will be given in the Appendix, with thoſe of Whiteford pariſh.
THIS vicarage even wants a globe, unleſs we call the garden to the houſe by that name. Neither has it any other endowment, unleſs the ſhare of tithes mentioned in the Appendix, and an ac⯑quiſition of Queen Anne's bounty of two hundred pounds. This, in the time of the Rev. Ellis Price, vicar, received the ad⯑dition of two hundred more, which lay at intereſt till the laſt year, when, on the donation of a hundred and fifty pounds from Jeſus College, the whole was laid out in the purchaſe of a portion of the waſte lands in the pariſh of Kilken. An act had been paſſed in the year 1793, for the purpoſe of incloſing the common, di⯑viding it among the freeholders, and ſelling certain portions to defray the expences of the act, &c &c. &c. One part was bought with the above ſums, and ſettled on the miniſter of Holywell and his ſucceſſors, in addition to their income; and ſay the activity of the preſent vicar, the ground has already been incloſed, drained, ploughed and ſown! The other ſupport of the vicars is the an⯑tient one, ‘oblationes altaris, among which are reckoned the of⯑ferings [237] at burials for the pious uſe of the prieſt, and the good eſtate of the ſoul of the deceaſed.’ (See Kennet's Parochial An⯑tiquities. Gloſſary.) Thoſe of Holywell pariſh amount, communibus annis, to eighty pounds.
THE vicarage houſe, about the middle of this century, became ſo ruinous as to be uninhabitable. In a few years it was rebuilt by the piety of two brothers, Thomas and John Barker, of Bryn⯑madyn, agents to the great ſmelting-company at Gadlys, who be⯑queathed to the vicar of Holywell 400l. for the purpoſe of build⯑ing a new glebe houſe at Holywell, for him and his ſucceſſors, on the ſame ſpot as that on which the old one ſtood. It was finiſhed in the year 1760, and, with the adjacent premiſes, has been con⯑ſiderably improved by the preſent vicar, the Reverend John Lloyd, and made a moſt comfortable reſidence.
NOT far diſtant, at the very foot of the hill, above the well,CHURCH. ſtands the pariſh church, placed in that inconvenient ſituation, out of reſpect to the guardian ſaint. It has only one bell, and that not to be heard at any diſtance; ſo that the congregation is aſſem⯑bled by a walking ſteeple, a man with a ſmall bell, who ſounds the notice through every ſtreet.
THE preſent church was rebuilt in 1769, on the ſite of the old, and of the ſame length and breadth, viz. the length ſixty-eight feet, the breadth fifty-ſix. It is difficult to aſcertain the antient archi⯑tecture of this church. Near the entrance, at the weſt-end, is a door-way, with an obtuſe gothic arch. The pillars, plain them⯑ſelves, and with plain capitals, which ſupport the gallery on each ſide of the nave, are original; and by the ſpecimens given by Dr. Ducarel, in his Norman Antiquities, tab. xiii. appear to have [238] been in uſe among the Saxons and the Normans. The arches, which might have confirmed my ſuſpicion that the church was built in the Norman reign, are taken away, but the ſtyle con⯑tinued till about the year 1200. The church has a nave and two ailes, over which are two handſome galleries; and the whole is ſuppoſed to contain three thouſand people. It is plain, neat, and calculated for uſe.
SHOULD it be ever thought neceſſary to commemorate the re⯑pair of the church by an inſcription, I would venture to recom⯑mend the energetic lines inſcribed, on a ſimilar occaſion, on a church at Briſtol, adapting the date and third line to the circum⯑ſtances of that of Holywell.
UNDER the chancel are the vaults of the Moſtyns of Trelacre, the Pennants of Bagillt, and the Pantons of Bagillt. The late Edward Pennant, eſquire, on the purchaſe made by me of part of his eſtate, promiſed to me his ſhare of theſe eternae domus. He died, and the poſthumous gift was in the handſomeſt manner [239] transferred to me by Roger Barnſton, eſquire, who afterwards poſſeſſed the remainder of his fortunes.
IN the chancel is a neat caenotoph, in memory of Mary, MONUMENTS. mother to the late Edward Pennant, eſquire. The inſcription does this lady no more than juſtice: ‘She was prudent, pious, and charitable; in the midſt of misfortunes ſhewed a great example of meekneſs and humility, of patience and reſignation to the will of GOD.’ With the beſt and moſt affectionate intent to improve the affairs of her ſon, ſhe engaged in a partnerſhip with a ſmelting-company in the neighborhood. The company failed; and the creditors, in an unrelenting manner, purſued the good lady till ſhe was obliged to take ſhelter in the iſle of Man; where ſhe died, on the 28th of February, 1750, aged forty, and was interred in the church at Douglas.
ON the wall of the ſouth aile is a ſmall monument in memory of the Reverend Robert Edwards, a younger ſon of Brynford, rector of Halkin, who died May 13th, 1694. Above the inſcription are the arms of the houſe, viz. field vert, a cheveron between three wolves heads argent, eraſed, with the lion, the arms of Tudor Trevor, empaled. The firſt denotes the deſcent of the family of Brynford from Ririd Vlaidd, lord of Penllyn, &c. killed in battle at the latter end of the reign of Henry II.
ON the wall at the end of the ſame aile, is a flat ſtone, with twelve quarterings, all faithfully copied from thoſe over the chimney-piece in the dining-parlor at Moſtyn. This belonged [240] to the Moſtyns of Calcoed, who, by virtue of their deſcent (of which more in another place) have a right to the firſt coat. The reſt appertain only to Sir Roger Moſtyn, eſpecially thoſe of Edwyn, gained by the marriage of Jevan with the heireſs of Moſtyn; thoſe of Gloddaeth, gained by the heireſs of Gloddaeth; and thoſe of Tregarnedd, gained by the heireſs of Ednefydd Vychan: to each of which none could have a right but the Moſtyns of Moſtyn, and their heirs. On one ſide is a ſhield argent, with four bars azure; in the firſt, three ſhieldrakes; in the ſecond and third, two; and in the fourth one: theſe evidently variations of the coat, (ſee p. 30.) Beneath is Hodie mi, cras tibi. On the other ſide, be⯑neath the arms of Philip Phycdan, is Virtus ſemper vivit.
THE ſame errors reign in the arms of Thomas Moſtyn, of Stokyn. They are almoſt the ſame with the preceding: the date is 1658. I ſhall not repeat here what I have ſaid at p. 186, of the poſſeſſors of Stokyn.
ON a pillar in the north aile are the very ſame arms over the ſeat of the Williams's of Trellynian, with this motto:
THE arms of Trellynian are thoſe of Idnerth, lord of Maeſ⯑ [...]rook, a boar's head in chief, on the arms of Edwyn, lord of Te⯑gengl. Probably the pillar and the ſeat had been transferred to the Williams's by ſome deſcendant from the houſe of Tudor Trevor; perhaps a Moſtyn of Hen-Blâs, in Brynford, now the pro⯑perty of Sir Roger Moſtyn.
[241]A FOURTH flat ſtone, ſmaller than the preceding, is placed in the wall of the north aile: on it is inſcribed the following epitaph:
JOHN PENNANT was ſecond in deſcent from Nicholas Pennant, laſt abbot of Baſingwerk; and was married to Margaret, daughter of Hugh Moſtyn, younger ſon of Pyers Moſtyn, of Trelacre. His arms are the three ſhieldrakes quarterly with thoſe of Sir Robert Pounderling, conſtable of Deſert caſtle, and of Sir Griffith Llwyd, mentioned before at p. 31. He was great-grand-father to Mary Pennant, who conveyed into our houſe the Holywell and Merton Abbot eſtates, by her marriage with David Pennant of Bychton.
IN rebuilding the church was found the headleſs figure of a prieſt, in his ſacerdotal habit, and with a chalice in his hand. He is ſuppoſed to have been Thomas, ſecond ſon of Thomas ap David, abbot of Baſingwerk; whom I find in the Bagillt pedegree to have been vicar of Holywell.
THE ſteeple is plain and ſquare, very ſtrongly built, but without any mark to denote the time of its being built.
THE church-yard is the worſt in the whole dioceſe.CHURCH-YARD. A ſmall part is a gentle ſlope, but the greater almoſt precipitous; ſo that after any continuance of wet weather, a fall may happen pro⯑ductive of the moſt indecent and horrible ſpectacles.
THE number of inhabitants in this pariſh may be from 7 to 8000. There are about 1000 houſes in the whole pariſh,NUMBER OF PEOPLE. of [242] which upwards of 400 are in the town. Greenfield contains about 1 [...] houſes. This is the townſhip which has received the great⯑eſt increaſe, by reaſon of the ſudden and vaſt acceſſion of inhabi⯑tants, by reaſon of the manufactures which ſettled here nearly at the ſame time. In theſe evil days about twenty of the houſes are empty.
INCREASE.THE increaſe of inhabitants may be collected from the follow⯑ing abſtract from the Holywell regiſters. Let it be obſerved, that the number allowed to each houſe is greater than common, from the conſideration that in manufacturing places the number of poor employed in them are crowded into far leſs ſpace than in any other towns.
| Year | 1670. | 17 [...]. | 1760. | 1770. | 1780. | 1787. | 1790. | 1794. |
| Baptiſms, | 29 | 72 | 88 | 122 | 1 [...]2 | 164 | 198 | 193 |
| Burials, | 27 | 52 | 76 | 90 | 111 | 122 | 151 | 156 |
IN biſhop Tanner's MS. notes on the dioceſe of St. Aſaph, pre⯑ſented to me by my reſpected friend the late Reverend Doctor William Wynne, I find that in the year 1686 the number of fami⯑lies was 274, of which 41 were recuſants.
POORS RATES.IN reſpect to the poors rate, I have a very curious memoran⯑dum, extracted out of the old veſtry-book of the pariſh, by Mr. Samuel Small, who, with his uſual friendſhip, communicated it to me; and every thing elſe which he thought would promote my deſign.
‘IN 1721.1722, May.—Veſtry ordered the church and poors ley to be aſſeſſed ſeparately, and that £. 14 be raiſed for the church, and £. 24 for the poor, both for the year 1721.’ (till then the leys [243] were promiſcuous, and denominated a church rate). That book began in 1715, and ended in 1763.
ANOTHER memorandum.—1723, June 4. Ordered,IN 1723 ‘that church and poors leys be aſſeſſed ſeparately; and that £. 14 be raiſed for the church, and £. 21 for the poor, both for 1723.’
IN the preſent year the rates,IN 1793 equalized according to the actual rents, amount to fifteen hundred pounds!!!
IN this pariſh are three clubs, or friendly ſocieties,CLUBS OR FRIEND⯑LY SOCIETIES. inſtituted on the ſame plan as thoſe in Whiteford pariſh (ſee p. 101.) The firſt, or the Old Club, was formed on March 7th, 1751: ſo that it is prior to our's by fifteen years. It conſiſts at preſent of 214 members.
CLUB the ſecond conſiſts of 170 members, and was formed January 27th, 1759.
CLUB the third is compoſed of 160 members, and commenced on January 21ſt, 1775. Each of theſe clubs have their rules, but ſo ſimilar to thoſe of Whiteford pariſh, that I ſhall not repeat them. I ſhall only remark, ne quid detrimenti eccleſia capiat, that there is an article which excludes every one who is not of the true church of England by law eſtabliſhed, unleſs with the approbation of the majority.
THE UNION CLUB was eſtabliſhed in April, 1789.UNION CLUB.It is com⯑poſed of forty-two members, in general the moſt reſpectable in⯑habitants of the pariſh, untainted with deſpotic or jacobinical prin⯑ciples. Every Chriſtmas they ſhew exemplary charity to their poor neighbors; and under their influence above 160l. was raiſed the late ſeaſon of ſcarcity, and diſtributed among the objects moſt [244] worthy of relief. My ſon and I are proud of being members of this ſociety, as well as all the preceding.
OLD [...]-C [...].LET me here mention (from the principle Haec olim me⯑ [...]niſſe [...]ava [...]is) a ſociety long extinct, which conſiſted of the gentlemen of the neighborhood, and the moſt reſpectable men of buſineſs, tradeſmen, or mine adventurers, who met, dur⯑ing ſummer, once a week, to dine at the houſe of Bryn Celyn, and after dinner deſcended to the bowling-green juſt beneath, to amuſe themſelves with the innocent recreation. Adjoining, in a room of retreat, in the intervals of play, the perſons out, took their pipe and ale, or perhaps a ſmall bowl of punch: for in thoſe plain days wine was ſeldom called for, unleſs by the few with whom other liquors might diſagree *.
IN the town are three places of worſhip beſides the church, two for the Roman Catholics, and one for diſſenters. The laſt was built on my ground, by leaſe dated April 16, 1788, and is maintained by voluntary contributions. Of the former, one ſupports a ſecular or pariſh prieſt. The other a gentleman of the late order of Jeſuits. Both of their cures are endowed with lands veſted in truſtees. Each of their houſes had been a ſpecies of hotel, probably de⯑ſigned for the reception of pilgrims of better rank. One was called the Croſs-keys, the other the Star. I remember at one or other of them Edward duke of Norfolk, and other viſitants of diſtinction.
BRYN Y CASTELL.ABOVE the church is a hill called Bryn y Caſtell, narrow and very ſteep on the ſides, projecting at the end over the little valley. [245] On this might have ſtood the caſtle of Treffynnon, or St. Wenefrede, built by Randle III. earl of Cheſter, in the year 1210 *. There are not at preſent any veſtiges left.
IT is ſingular that no mention is made in the Doomſday-Book of either chapel, church, or well; yet townſhips now of leſs note are named; ſuch as Brunford, Caldecote, and others. Notwith⯑ſtanding biſhop Fleetwood's opinion, I think the legend of St. Wenefrede was known previous to that ſurvey; for the very name of Holywell is Saxon, probably beſtowed on it before the Conqueſt, on account of the imputed ſanctity of the well.
THE ſpring is certainly one of the fineſt in theſe kingdoms; and, by the two different trials and calculations lately made for my information, is found to fling out about twenty-one tons of water in a minute. It never freezes. In reſpect to the equality of the water in droughts, or after the greateſt rains, I find I muſt place it among the vulgar errors. From the authority of Mr. Chriſtopher Smalley, and other reſpectable manufacturers on the ſtream, I diſcover that the variation is extremely great, and that there is a decreaſe in ſummer of more than one-third, and in great droughts of ſtill more, and after violent rains the increaſe is in like proportion: ſome even ſay it is one-half. As long as I remember, the fountain, after heavy falls of wet, became of a wheyey color. This is increaſed to a great degree, grows more turbid, and even depoſits a mud upon the ſtones.
THE town was alſo very inconſiderable till the beginning of this century; the houſes few, and thoſe for the moſt part [246] that [...]; the ſtreets unpaved; and the place deſtitute of a mar⯑ket. The flouriſhing mines, that for ſome time were diſcovered [...], made a great change in the appearance, and introduced the effects of wealth. The effects of the manufacto⯑ [...] make leſs appearance in the town than in the valley beneath, [...] from the well to the ſea-ſide, is a continued ſucceſſion of [...]s.
[...]THE monks of Baſingwerk obtained for it the grant of a [...] a market. The firſt has been dropt beyond the memory of [...]. The market was alſo loſt, till it was renewed by letter [...]ent, dated Jan. 20th, 1703, granted to Sir John Eger [...] [...] [...]et. The patent alſo contains a grant of three fairs, viz. on the 23d of April, the Tueſday in Eaſter week, and the 2d of [...]er. The market has been the moſt flouriſhing in North Wales, but the fairs never could be eſtabliſhed.
THE market is the beſt in the county for butcher's meat. That for corn is now much reduced, by reaſon of the greater farmers, or the badgers or purchaſers for exportation, leſſening the great ſtock which uſed to ſupply the markets at reaſonable rates. Every great farmer ſeems now to have taken the early part of his education in Change-Alley, and is as expert in prices of corn, as any academy of that noted place is in thoſe of ſtocks. That there never can be a deficiency for the uſe of the natives of Flintſhire, either from their own lands, or the vale of Clwyd, is evident from the following table of exportation, from September 1, 1794, to Auguſt 5th, 1795; communicated to me by the friendſhip of the gentlemen of the cuſtom-houſe in Cheſ⯑ter, from which appear the following truths:
| Wheat. Qrs. B. | Wheat Flour Q [...]. B. | Rye. Qrs. B. | Barley. Qrs. B. | Malt. Qrs. B. | Oats. Qrs. B. | Oat⯑meal. Qrs. B. | Beans. Q [...]s. B. | Bean Flour. Qrs. B. | |
| From Rudland | 1,064 1 | 1 0 | 0 0 | 3 2 | 0 0 | 930 0 | 0 0 | 29 2 | 0 0 |
| From Weppra | 78 0 | 0 0 | 17 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 |
| From Bagillt | 30 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 |
| From Cheſter | 4 [...]0 2 | 469 6 | 9 3 | 123 6 | 612 4 | 2 4 | 646 4 | 0 0 | 11 0 |
| Total | 1,652 3 | 470 6 | 26 3 | 127 0 | 612 4 | 932 4 | 646 4 | 29 2 | 11 0 |
THIS is the ſum of the corn exported from Flintſhire or Cheſter; for I find that none had for ſeveral years paſt been ſent from Rudland to any place weſtward of that port.
THE following table will ſhew the particular places to which the above is exported, and the quantity delivered at each place.
| Wheat. Qrs. B. | Wheat Flour. Q [...]s. B. | Rye. Qrs. B. | Barley. Qrs. B. | Malt. Qrs. B. | Oats. Qrs. B. | Oat⯑meal. Q [...]s. B. | Beans. Q [...]. B. | Bean Flour. Q [...] B | |
| P [...]r [...]th | 10 0 | 22 6 | 9 3 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 |
| [...]tis | 0 0 | 157 4 | 0 0 | 3 6 | 270 4 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 |
| [...]von | 0 0 | 154 0 | 0 0 | 5 0 | 269 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 |
| [...]erpool | 1,642 3 | 94 4 | 17 0 | 115 0 | 63 0 | 0 0 | 646 4 | 0 0 | 11 0 |
| P [...]llhely | 0 0 | 41 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 |
| C [...]eſter | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 3 2 | 0 0 | 030 0 | 0 0 | 29 2 | 0 0 |
| Holyland | 0 0 | 0 1 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 |
| [...]ay | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 10 0 | 2 4 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 |
| Total | 1,652 3 | 469 7 | 26 3 | 12 [...] [...] | 612 [...] | 952 2 | 6 [...]6 4 | 29 2 | 11 0 |
[248] [...]TO conclude, I ſhall give the prices of the different kinds of corn during this noted year of ſcarcity, famine it cannot be called, for the evil has been very remote from that dreadful judgment, by reaſon of the innumerable reſources Britain has within itſelf, both from the vegetable and animal kingdoms.
| Cheapeſt. | Middle. | Deareſt. | 41 Q [...] per Me [...]re. | |||||||
| £. | s. | d. | £. | s. | d. | £. | s. | d. | ||
| Wheat | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | per Meaſure. |
| Barley | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | Do |
| Oats | 0 | 2 | 4½ | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | Do |
| Beans | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 6 | Do |
THE ſituation of the town is pleaſant and healthy. On the back is a lofty hill, at times extremely productive of lead-ore. Towards the ſea is a pretty valley, bounded by woods: the end finiſhes on one ſide with the venerable abby. To ſuch who require the uſe of a cold-bath, few places are more proper; for, beſides the excellence of the waters, exceeding good medical aſſiſtance, and comfortable accommodations, may be found here; and the mind entertained, and the body exerciſed in a variety of beautiful rides and walks.
ROADS.THERE are ſeven roads out of Holywell, leading to different places. The firſt, or that from the lower part of the town to the ſea-ſide,TO THE SEA. I have already mentioned.
TO RUDLAND AND ST. ASAPH.THE ſecond paſſes through Whiteford ſtreet, and is that to Rudland, St. Aſaph, Conwy, and Holyhead, and alſo is the coach-road to Denhigh. Its extent in this pariſh is only one mile, [249] ending at the late Mr. Henry Steeple's wall, where the pariſh of Whiteford begins. Above the weſt end ſtands the Grange, which was called Feilebrock (and alſo Fulibrock.) The Grange ſtill re⯑mains a farm-houſe in a moſt ruinous condition. It is the pro⯑perty of Sir Pyers Moſtyn, but formerly belonged to the abby of Baſingwerk, having been granted to them by Meredeth Wawor, of which Dugdale, (i. 721) gives the following account, in the charter of David ap Llewelyn, prince of North Wales: ‘Terram etiam quam Meredit Wawor in villa de Haliwell et extra villam habuit et terram quam Huttredus frater ejus ſecum excambiavit in ipſa villa pro ſua parte terrae in Quitfordia et grangiam illo⯑rum quae appellatur Feilebroc cum omnibus pertinentiis et aſia⯑mentis ſuis et communitatem paſturae montium cum caeteris.’
THE Holywell level was begun in 1774, [...]. under leaſes granted by Sir Pyers Moſtyn, baronet, myſelf, Peter Parry, eſquire, Ed⯑ward Jones, eſquire, and Mrs. Mary Williams, of Trelunniau. I and my two ſons made the voyage of this important venture on September 21ſt, 1795, and took boat, or rather punt, at the en⯑trance into the work in Coed Cae Dentir, a field belonging to Sir Pyers, on the north ſide of a ſmall dingle opening into the road oppoſite to the great cotton factory. Under the pilotage of the honeſt Thomas Edwards, agent to the mine, we entered the mouth, lighted by candles, ſtuck on each ſide of our veſſel. The firſt forty yards of our way was arched with ſtone, and ſo low as to oblige us to ſtoop. When the arch ceaſed, the roof was the natural rock, of that ſpecies called ſhale. [...]. The height begins now to be ſix feet; the breadth four; the depth of the water, included in the height, is two and a half. After paſſing in the ſhaley ſtratum about two hundred and twenty-ſix yards, we find it is ſucceeded [250] by that of ch [...]rt, C [...]. at which ſpot the level enters my ground, in the field called Coed Cae porfa. There the height to the ſurface is eighteen yards. Several ſhafts have been ſunk for air between this place and the mouth of the level. In a field of mine, called C [...]dlas [...]r, was early diſcovered, at the depth of thirty-one yards, a ſtrong ſtring of ore, which raiſed the hopes of the adventurers to the higheſt degree; and the mineral ſtock roſe in proportion. But alas! in a little time, both ſpirits and ſtock fell; for the pro⯑miſing proſpect ſuddenly vaniſhed, an accident too frequent with miners to occaſion ſurprize. The chert continues to a little beyond the turnpike-road, when we again enter the land of Sir Pyers Moſtyn, in a field called Brocknallt, where it ſtops. Hitherto the level has preſerved a ſtrait courſe:LIME STONE. but in this field (where the lime-ſtone ſtratum begins, and is continued to the end of the preſent work⯑ing, above five hundred yards) it takes a bend parallel to the road, and ſo continues as far as Brocknallt-pella, and then makes another curvature, and near a ſmall but pretty cave croſſes obliquely the turnpike-road.A CAVE. The cave is furniſhed with a table and benches, at which the viſitants never fail experiencing the hoſpitality of their worthy conductor. Out of this cave is a paſſage, or ſump, or ſhort ſhaft, ſunk for the purpoſe both of ſearching for ore, and alſo for conveying of air, which began to be wanted, into the level. This ſump communicates with ſeve⯑ral others, till it reaches a ſhaft. The action of the air is various, ſometimes it deſcends through the ſhaft;VE [...]TILATOR. at other times ruſhes up the mouth of the level; but in each caſe paſſes into the mouth of a ſquare wooden conductor, which enters the lower part of the ſump, and is continued on one ſide of the level, al⯑moſt to the end of the preſent working.
[251]IN proceeding farther we were alarmed with the awful ſound of a cataract. On arriving at the ſpot from whence it iſſued, the noiſe ſeemed to have derived its greateſt force from the confined arch of the level;CASCADE. for we diſcovered it to proceed from a ſmall but elegant caſcade, which, in our ſight, tumbled down a ſmall hollow, and ſerved to augment the water of the level, which was alſo increaſed by ſeveral ſtrong ſprings riſing from the ſides and bottom with ſtrong ebullitions.OTHER SUBTER⯑RANEOUS WA⯑TERS. Similar noiſes are ſaid to have been heard in Coetiau'r Odyn. It is poſſible that this ſubterraneous water may be one of the feeds of St. Wenefrede's well, as the field is nearly in a deſcending line with it. I have alſo heard, on good authority, of another large ſtream of water running through a great ſubterraneous cavern, in working Portaway mine, in Pantaſa, in the pariſh of Whiteford, but its diſcharge has never been yet diſcovered.—But to return. After paſſing this fall, we reached the end of our voyage, at the length of 1167 yards from the mouth, and at the place where two miners were purſuing the working of the level, and had got within ten yards of the ſhaft in which the miners are working in the rich vein, beneath the field called Coed Cae Plwm, or the wood or field of lead. The height from the ſole of the level to the ſurface at this place is ninety-three yards and a half; the depth of the ſhaft, which is now ſo flattering to our hopes, is fifty yards; ſo that there are forty-three yards and a half from its ſole to that of the level, which all the way is found to be filled with ore!!!
BUT we have more than one ſtring to our bow.OTHER [...] Coetiau'r Odyn vein runs entirely from Coe [...]iau-maur fields through my ground, as does Maes Whiteford, giving Mr. Jones of Wepre a ſmall [252] chance in our mineral lottery. Then comes True Blue, which is ſhared between Sir [...]yers Moſtyn and myſelf; and the once rich vein of Brocknallt is entirely his. All theſe run north and ſouth, and have in general been very productive, but eſpecially thoſe be⯑longing to the houſe of Tre [...]a [...]re.
CONTINUANCE OF.LET me obſerve that in the depth of the level we ſaw the deſcend⯑ing courſe of all theſe veins (excepting Coe [...] [...]dyn) ſome of them which were tried at that depth proved bar [...]. How far lower the veins deſcended, may probably ever remai [...] [...]cret, unleſs ſome bold adventures ſhould have the ſpirit to attempt a level from the marſh, which we (at p. 218) proved to have, from the we [...], a fail of 2 [...]2 feet.
FERTILE TRAC [...].THE whole tract below the eaſt ſide of this road, is a moſt fer⯑tile and well cultivated bottom, ſloping on each ſide. Its rural oeconomy may vie in excellen [...]e with the moſt boaſted of our iſland. The proſpect is charming, of the whole length of the Cheſter channel, bounded on the oppoſite by Wiral, and a diſtant view of part of Lancaſhire.
FROM the other ſide of the road the ground riſes ſteeply; on the ſummit is a tract of incloſed land, backed by the mountain or common.
PEN-Y-BAL ROAD.I RETURN into the town, and at the end of Whiteford-ſtreet aſcend the ſteep road called Pen-y-Bal, of very laborious aſcent. I remember it the only coach approach on this ſide. The pre⯑ſent fine road, then with great propriety called Holloway, was too narrow for any carriage beyond the then wretched carts of the country. I well remember that whenever our family wanted to viſit Holywell, it was obliged to be dragged up to Pen-y-fordd-waen, [253] to croſs the mountain, and with locked wheel, and with great peril, go down the almoſt precipitous way.
FROM the ſummit of Pen y-Bal, to the weſt,CALCOLD. is a narrow tract of common. A little beyond, in a ſmall wood, ſtands Calcot or Calcoed, in the townſhip of the ſame name. In the Doomſd [...]y Book, it is called Caldecote, and is there united with Meretone and [...]rtia parte de W [...]dford. The founder of this houſe was Henry Moſton, doctor of civil law, ſecond ſon of Pyers Moſton, of Tre⯑lacre. He purchaſed Ca [...]lcot, as it was then ſpelt, of George and Thomas Manley, of Cheſter, in the year 1595, for the ſum of 467 l. After four generations, the ſucceſſion ended in the male line in Samuel Moſtyn, eſquire, who died May 16th, 1760, aged 79, and was buried at Northop on the 19th: who ſettled his eſtate on his nephew Mr. John Ellis, who aſſumed the ſurname of Moſtyn.
ON the mountain to the eaſt of the common way to Calcoed, NAID-Y-MARCH. are two ſtones, about three feet high, and about twenty-two feet diſtant from each other. They are called Naid-y-March, or the horſe's leap, from a vulgar notion of the derivation of the name. They are of the very antient Britiſh origin, and probably the place of interment of ſome hero whoſe body was depoſited between ſtone and ſtone. The diſtance might be intended to give an idea of his mighty ſize; as Alexander is ſuppoſed, on his return out of India, to have buried various ſuits of armor, of gigantic dimen⯑ſions, to impoſe on future times an exalted notion of the troops he had led to this diſtant country.
I DESCEND again into Holywell, HALKIN AND BRYNFORD ROADS. and at the ſouth end of the High Street turn to the right, up the road which leads to Halkin and Brynford; the latter branches from that to Halkin on the right. [254] Above the road is the old houſe of Brynford, [...]FORD HOUSE. at preſent the pro⯑perty of Richard Garnons, eſquire. It had been that of the Ed⯑wards's. Their deſcent is given at p. 239. I remember it in⯑habited by Thomas Edwards, eſquire, a moſt reſpectable old gen⯑tleman, blind with age, of great charity and benevolence; and who, moſt grateful to Providence, increaſed his charities in pro⯑portion to the increaſe of his abilities, in obedience to the direc⯑tion of Heaven, to obſerve its frequent injunctions to the per⯑formance of that virtue.
PEN-Y-BRYN MINE.OPPOSITE to the houſe, on the other ſide of the road, was for⯑merly a profitable lead-mine, called Pen y Bryn, belonging to lord Kilmorey. REFRACTING SPAR. It was remarkable for the quantity of refracting ſpar, ſpatum Iſlandicum, of great purity and traſparency; and often ele⯑gantly infected with marcaſite finely diſpoſed in lines.
THIS road ends on the mountain on the borders of Skyviog pariſh, the boundary of Holywell pariſh on this ſide.
PISTILL.I RETURN to the turnpike road, and continuing my way, paſs on the right by Piſtill, a neat ſmall houſe, the property of Peter Parry, eſquire, of Twiſſog, in the county of Denbigh.
IN order to proceed towards the rich mineral country I am entering on, I ſhall continue the enumeration of veins from C [...]etiau'r Odyn (ſee p. 241.)
MEI [...] AND OTHER MINES.THE next to that, eaſtward, is Caleb Bell, a north and ſouth vein, which is traced from the eaſt ſide of Pen-y-Bal, deſcends from the mountain, towards the late John Denman's, but as yet has not been traced to the road. This has in old times been very rich in ſeveral places.
THE old vein, or Pant Ithel, is another rich vein, which firſt [255] appeared in Pantaſa, and yielded great quantities of ore and ca⯑lamine. From thence croſſes Butler's fields, and Pen-y-Bal, and then to Coetia fawr; from thence to Pant Ithel, where it de⯑ſcends near [...]ynford houſe, and croſſes the road into Highgate te⯑nement, the property of Mr. Williams of Trelunnian. It then enters into my tenement called Meilwr, and was the firſt place in which ore was found in the level; the leaſe of which was granted by my father, on December the 20th, 1754.
THE next is the Highgate vein, which about Piſtill had branch⯑ed into many ſtrings. As they advance from Piſtill eaſtward, they enter Highgate tenement, and become very productive, both in Mrs. Williams's land, and alſo my own, which for many years poured on me in great abundance its mineral wealth. I never conſidered this ſpecies of riches but of the moſt precarious nature, liable inſtantly to fail: I therefore ſecured them on the beſt of tenures, and purchaſed with them the moiety of the Bagillt-Hall eſtate, which has turned out to me uncommonly fortunate. I alſo was enabled by another part to improve my houſe at Downing to what it now is.
EVERY thing has its end. The vein or veins at length grew poorer. A great fire-engine was erected a few years ago, in hopes of clearing the water, and getting at the ore which was ſuppoſed to have been left in the ſoles.
THE level begins at the bottom of the north ſide of Nant⯑hill-brwc, and runs ſouth-weſt. How uncertain is mineral know⯑lege, even among the moſt knowing! The object of the leſſees was the working up to a certain rich vein, named the hard ſhaft, in the lands belonging to Brynfordd. An object that never [256] yet has been obtained. But in purſuit of that object they moſt unexpectedly met with the veins which produced ſo much wealth to Mr. Williams and myſelf. Perhaps I fall ſhort in my eſtimate if I ſay, that to leſſors and leſſees, the total amount muſt have exceeded a hundred thouſand pounds.
THE next vein to the high-gate, is a ſtring within five yards of the high gate, which his been very productive. Into the field called Coetia Yſcubor, the hard ſhaft vein is expected to enter, and croſs the whole breadth, into the ground of Pen y pylle. And at the very corner of the ſame field, another vein croſſes into the ſame land, and has been tolerably rich.
I NOW quit my mineral territories in this part of the country; and croſs over the road to Pen y pylle, the ſeat of Hugh Hum⯑phreys, eſquire, deſcended from Edwyn, prince of Tegengl. That gentleman has had large ſhare of the mineral wealth. The vein Reſt y cegin paſſes under his very houſe and garden. The mine-hillocks fill the land: but by his judicious walks and plantations, which now cover them, he has turned them into beauties. The vein continues to his grounds, below his houſe, and may probably be a ſource of new wealth.
THE Lucky Venture, is the laſt vein I can mention in this pa⯑riſh, which ranges from the mountain, and croſſes the road into a corner of a field of Mr. Humphreys, and immediately from thence into the land belonging to Edward Jones, eſquire, of Wepre, in which abundance of ore has been got. Much has alſo been got in the very road, in a pit ſunk by earl Groſvenor, a privilege clamed by his lordſhip, in virtue of his great mineral grant?
[257]THIS townſhip ends at about a mile diſtance from Pen y pylle, where it is ſeparated by Rh [...]d [...], a little [...]ll, from the pariſh of Halkin.
I RETURN again into the town,GADLYS ROAD and after croſſing the eaſt end of the High Street, take the road leading toward Gadlys. On the right I ſee a trifling monument of my reſpect to a town which has for a long ſeries of years ſhewn every mark of eſteem for the landlord of many, and the friend of all. In an adjacent field of mine, called Roft T [...]b, was a valuable ſpring, which running to waſte, occaſioned a great loſs of time, to rich and poor, in pro⯑curing water. I (by the aſſiſtance of Mr. Denbavand) cauſed, in the year 1794, a pillar to be erected, into which the water was collected, and raiſed to a height convenient to be received into veſſels placed there, to ſupply, with eaſe and expedition, the wants of the inhabitants.
AT the bottom of the deſcent from Holywell is a beautiful din⯑gle, named Nant-hil-brwe, which winds on the right to Meilwr tenement, and on the left quite to the marſh, the greater part of the way ornamented with hanging woods. On croſſing a bridge near a large mill, the property of Paul Panton, eſquire,BAGILLT TOWN⯑SHIP. enter the townſhip of Bagillt; and in leſs than half a mile paſs by the houſe of that worthy friend of mine. Our intimacy began in early youth,HOUSE THE PAN⯑ [...]. and has been ever ſince retained. With joy I ſee his eldeſt ſon riſing with progreſſive goodneſs, and rare abilities. I ſee with pleaſure my eldeſt ſon, with true judgment, cultivating with him a friendſhip. May it continue through a long life of human felicity, pleaſant to themſelves, and uſeful to their neighbors and country!
TO Mr. Panton ſenior I hold myſelf greatly obliged for the account of his family, maternal and paternal.
[258] THE GRIFFITH O [...] BAGILLTTHE houſe and eſtate of Bagillt was conveyed into Mr. Pan⯑ton's family, by the marriage of his father with Mary, daughter of Edward Griffiths, eſquire, deſcended from the Griffiths of Caerwis-hall, who derived themſelves from Ednowen Bendew, one of the fifteen tribes of North Wales. His anceſtors had long been ſettled at this place, and have as antient deeds to ſhew for their lands as any in Wales, as will appear by the following will:
‘CU [...]IOU [...] WILL.IN the name of God, Amen.—The 11th day of November, in the year of our Lord God 1331, I, John ab Griffith ap Cona, being of good and whole mind and memory, and ſick in body, make, ordain, and declare my laſt will and teſtament in manner and form following:—Firſt, I bequeath my ſoul to Almighty God, and his mother St. Mary, and my body to be buried in the pariſh church of Holywell: alſo I bequeath to the ſaid pariſh church, to buy a banner withall 4s.: alſo I bequeath to the Fryers of Rudland, 20 d. and to the friars of Denbigh, 12 d.: alſo I bequeath to the Rhode work of the Mold, 2s.: alſo I will that a trental be given to pray for my father's ſoul, my mo⯑ther's ſoul, my brethren's ſouls, and all Chriſtian ſouls. Alſo I will that a man be hired to go to St. David's on pilgrimage for my ſoul. Alſo I bequeath to Sir Rys, my curate, 2 s. Farther, I bequeath to my ſon Thomas, a young heifers, of 3 years old: alſo I bequeath to my ſon Richard, 16 s. 8 d. which is in the hands of Harry Vaughan. Moreover, I will that Anne my wife ſhall occupy, with my children, my houſe, and all the lands thereto belonging, as long as ſhe ſhall be unmarried, and keep herſelf a good woman, and no longer. Alſo, my will is, that a cloſe, called Gwern Onnen, be reſtored to Jonet wch Rhys, or her ſon, they paying to my heirs 6 l. of lawful money of Eng⯑land. [259] —Furthermor I will that Sir Robert ap Meredith, chap⯑lain, and Morris ap Llewelyn, my feoffees of truſt of and in all my lands and tenements, ſhall ſtand and be feoffees of the ſame, to the uſe and behoof of my children, and thereof to make them an eſtate when they ſhall come to their lawful age, and at their lawful deſire. And all the reſidue of my goods, not bequeathed in this my laſt will and teſtament, I give and bequeath to my children, whom I make and ordain, my ſons Thomas and Richard, my full and lawful executors.—In witneſs whereof all and ſingular the premiſes Sir Richard my curate, Rynallt ap Griffith ap Cona my brother, and Morris ap Llewelyn, and divers others.—And further my will is, that John ab Harry ab Kenrick, Sir Robert ap Mered [...]th, Edward Pennant ap Rys ap Llewelyn, and Ellys ap John ab Ithel, be over⯑ſeers, as well of my children, as of this my laſt will and teſta⯑ment, till they come to lawful age, and all this at the overſight of my lord abbot.’
THE cloſe diſtinguiſhed in this will by the name of Gwern Onnen, ſtill retains the name, and runs from Roft Tob towards the woods that lead to Meilwr.
THE licence for Mr. Panton's great-grandfather's marriage (by his mother's ſide) in Cromwell's time, is a curioſity worthy of the reader's peruſal. I think that the ſame form is introduced into France, ſince the abolition of religion in that kingdom. It pro⯑bably was taken from the model left by our fanatical rulers in the laſt century. I have another of a ſimilar marriage in our family, atteſted by — Evans, a juſtice in Northop pariſh.
KNOW all men, that upon the eleventh day of February, CU [...] [...]. in the year of our Lord God one thouſand ſix hundred and [260] fifty-five, Richard Griffith, ſonne and heire app [...] ̄nt of John C [...]ff [...], late of Bagilt, in the county of [...]lint, eſqr, deceaſed, and Martha Pennant, the daughter of Edward Pennant, eſqr, of Bagillt aforeſaid, came before me Ralf Hughes, eſq•, one of the juſtices of the peace of the county of [...]int, and deſired to be joyned together in matrimony; and being ſufficiently ſatisfied that the ſaid intended marriage was publiſhed on three ſeveral Lords dayes, at the tyme of morning exerciſe, within the pa⯑riſh church of Holywell, within which pariſh the ſaid parties reſide, and that noe [...] ſon gayneſayed or [...] tended any cauſe why the ſaid parties might not be joyned togeather in matrimonie, both of them being of full age and diſcretion, and the parents of both parties conſenting thereunto;—and after both parties had pronounced before me, in the preſence of divers credible wit⯑neſſes, the words of ſolemnization mentioned in an act of parlia⯑ment, intitled, an act touching marriages, and dated the xx [...] day of Auguſt 165 [...], I did pronounce and declare the ſaid Richard Griffith and Martha Pennant to be lawful huſ⯑band and wife. In witneſs whereof I have hereunto put my hand and ſale, the day and yeare firſt above written, 1655,
THE antient ſmelting-houſe of Gadlys ſtood a full mile diſtant from this houſe, about a mile diſtant from the ſhore, and on the land of Robert Hughes, eſquire, of Halkin. The leaſe expired [261] in 1786, and the works were pulled entirely down, after ſtanding the term of the agreement, which was forty-four years.
THE reſpectable company, long known by the name of the Governor and Company for ſmelting down Lead with Pit Coale and Sea Coale, by the royal charter, granted in the 4th of William and Mary, began buſineſs in this county about the year 1700. They flouriſhed with a moſt fair reputation for a great number of years, till their decline, either through want of ore, or other in⯑evitable cauſes, induced them to remove their antient furnaces to ſome works, built by the late Meſſrs. Smedley, on the bank above Bagillt. Thoſe they purchaſed; and continued ſmelting, un⯑der the direction of their agent, Mr. William Smith *, till they ſold them to Meſſrs. Griffith and Aſtet, of London. This company was often called the Quakers Company, from the number of per⯑ſons of that mild perſuaſion being of it.
DURING the proſperity of the works (which was very long) they produced vaſt quantities of lead and bullion; of the latter they extracted from the lead, between the year 1704 and 1744, not leſs than 430,604 ounces. Queen Anne and her ſucceſſor commanded that all ſpecie coined from the ſilver ſhould be ſtruck on the reverſe with the plume of feathers, as a mark of its having been the production of the principality †. James I. gave the ſame directions reſpecting the coin made from the ſilver of the mines worked by Sir Hugh Middleton, in Cardi⯑ganſhire; and in 1637, Charles I. cauſed the ſame marks of Welſh ſilver to be placed on the coins of the mint at Aberyſtwith, ob⯑tained [262] from the mines of the ſame county *. Other coins from the company's works were called quakers money, from the cauſe above aſſigned. In an antient map of Denbighſhire and Flintſhire, by W. Williams, publiſhed in 1720, is an engraving of a crown, with the feathers, the inſignia of Wales; and alſo another, of the ſeal of the corporation, with its creſt and arms. The ſupporters are two miners; and the motto the apt one, Spectatur in igne. And above them is a view of the works, faithfully given, as they appeared before they were reduced to a ſingle chimney.
THE company were for a long ſeries of years the greateſt mine-adventurers in North Wales, and had very conſiderable mines in every part of Flintſhire. The company diſpoſed of their remain⯑ing property in the county, and totally withdrew from it at Mi⯑chaelma [...], 1792; but ſtill they carry on very extenſive mines and ſmelting-works in Cumberland and Northumberland, under the commiſſioners of Greenwich hoſpital, on the forfeited eſtates of the earl of Derwentwater.
GADLYS takes its name from the Welſh, Câd, an army, and Llys, ſignifying the royal head quarter, or palace. Near the works ſtood a large mount, on which might have been a caſtelet, the reſidence of ſome of our princes.
BETWEEN this place and Pentre Bagillt is another eminence of antient celebrity, Bryn Dychwelwch, ſo named from Bryn, a hill, and Dychwelwch, return! being traditionally ſaid to have been the place from which Henry II. gave his order for retreat, when he was engaged with the Welſh, in 1157, with his whole army, in Coleſhill, in the ſame difficulties as he had juſt [263] before experienced in the depth of Coed Eulo. BATTLE OF COLESHILL. In this action his forces were again defeated, and Euſtace Fitz John, a baron firſt in rank, wealth, and abilities among the Engliſh; and Robert de Courci, another great baron, with numbers of others, were ſlain. Henry de Eſſex, hereditary ſtandard-bearer, and a man of ap⯑proved valor, was ſeized with a panic; and flinging down the ſtandard, cried out, that the king was killed! The route would have been general, if the king had not valiantly rallied his forces and repulſed the Welſh; but in the end he thought it prudent to withdraw his army, and encamp in a ſecure ſtation. He after⯑wards attempted, by decamping from the ſhore, and endeavoring to get into the interior part of the country, to cut off Owen's re⯑treat into the mountains *. But the wiſe prince, penetrating into his views, retired to a plain near St. Aſaph, ſtill called Cîl Owen, or Owen's Retreat, and from thence to a ſtrong poſt named Bryn-y-Pin, defended by great ramparts and ditches. This camp lies in the pariſh of St. George, on a lofty rock above the church, and is now called Pen y Pare.
I RETURN from this length of road to the ſkirts of the town of Holywell, and enter the road to Wall-wen, ROAD TO FLINT. on the borders of the marſh, a branch of the Flint turnpike diſtrict, tacked to it by act of parlement in 1771, which had been obtained in that ſeſſions, for enlarging the term and powers of the Moſtyn diſtrict, and particu⯑larly adding this road, under the deſcription of ‘from Wall-wen to the then dwelling-houſe of Edward Parry.’ This act will not terminate till 1812.—After a very ſhort ſpace, paſs by a noble malt-kilo and granary, the property of Mr. Richard Sankey, MALT KILN. who more than once gave a very ſeaſonable relief to the country [264] in the late time of ſcarcity, by large importations of barley, and that with very ſmall profit to himſelf. [...]E Would not repoſitories of grain, eſtabliſhed and filled by parlementary ſanction, be ſtronger prevertatives of that evil than any other? I would have no part of our waſtes lie uncultivated. Our waſtes have very properly the ſynonym of commons; for rich and poor, bordering on them, have in them proportionate rights *. If the poor man is to loſe his benefit of feeding a few geeſe, or a few ſheep, ought he not to have recompence by the greniers d'abondance, granaries of plenty, ſo uſeful to France before the miſeries in which rich and poor have been involved by the chime [...]as of bram-ſick politicians? If our waſtes are to be generally incloſed, ought not the produce to be ſafely lodged in proper houſes of reception, and from the boaſted plenty which is to enſue, be ready, by the reſource at hand, to chaſe away the daemon rapa⯑city, which has had too great a power over the dealers in the ſubſiſtence of the land. All that human wit could invent, ſhould be practiſed to prevent their eluding the attempt to reduce grain to a price which might afford an honeſt profit to the farmer, and yet enable him to ſupply the poor laborer at a rate which might give him power, not only to feed his family, but to cloath them with decent rayment, an article co-eſſential to their comfort, and to their health.
[265]AS a houſe of induſtry is now in contemplation by the pariſh of Holywell, is there not a poſſibility of allotting certain portions of the waſte lands for ſale, to raiſe a fund to carry on the work, or to give in mortgage to ſuch perſons who may be willing to advance money for ſo ſalutary a purpoſe?
THE town of Shrewſbury, and I may ſay of every manufactur⯑ing county, have ſucceeded to admiration in their attempts, and ſhould be examples to us. This neighborhood is now filled with men of buſineſs, capable of the conduct of ſuch works: beſides, the cotton and twiſt company have it in their power to expend annually above £. 1800 in the town, in picking the cotton; but from the diſlike of the poor to that employ, are obliged to ſend the materials to diſtant places (ſee p. 216.) whereby the town and neighborhood loſe the expenditure of that great ſum among them. We ſquires are leſs qualified for operations which require vigor and activity, but we can contribute countenance and power, equally eſſential to the ſup⯑port of the deſign. I know the poor will be averſe to it at firſt: but when they recollect how long they had ſtarved under the careleſs care of overſeers, and that they will be placed under the immediate attention of viſitors conſiſting of their neighbors, and that they will not be removed beyond the reach of their friends and relations, whom they may ſee at proper times, I truſt they will be ſatisfied. To baniſh the poor from the poſſibility of the occa⯑ſional comfort of their deareſt relatives, would be unſpeakable cruelty. I, therefore, muſt ever condemn a county houſe of in⯑duſtry, in which that eſſential conſolation is made difficult or im⯑poſſible, to the inmates from diſtant parts.
[266] VITRIOL-WORKS.ON gaining the ſummit of this road, appears a vitriol-work, the property of Mr. Donbavand, placed under the care of Mr. John Jones, of Holywell, an able chymiſt. His operations are di⯑rected to three articles: blue vitriol, or vitriol of copper, which is made by diſſolving copper in oil of vitriol or acid of ſulphur. After the ſolution has taken place, the produce is diſſolved in boiling water, evaporated down to a given weight, and put in coolers to evaporate.
THE uſe of this ſpecies of vitriol is in dying cottons of a green or olive color, and hats and woollen cloths black; and alſo for making green verditer for painting in oil or water-colors,VERDITER. by precipitation with whiting.
SUGAR OF LEADTHE laſt article is ſugar of lead, or ſaccharum ſaturni, which is lead diſſolved in diſtilled vinegar. When the vinegar is ſatu⯑rated with the lead, it is boiled down to a given weight, and, like the blue vitriol, is put in coolers to cryſtallize. For the purpoſe of making the wort for the vinegar, twelve hundred hobbets of barley or malt had been employed in a ſingle year; but in the late ſeaſon of ſcarcity the proprietor totally deſiſted from this branch of buſineſs.
SUGAR of lead is uſed in the cotton printing buſineſs, for fixing the colors in the ſtuff dyed or printed. Such I believe to be the ſole application of it from theſe works; but from others nearer to the capital I fear a moſt criminal one is frequently in practice, (for it is a moſt dangerous poiſon) I mean that of uſing it in the refining of white wines, or in reſtoring the ſweetneſs to ſuch which are grown ſour: for this drug is the ſweeteſt of all ſweet things. It occaſions to the drinkers of wines thus reſtored, [267] or rather thus endowed with the powers of poiſon, numbers of maladies they cannot account for, ſuch as colics, obſtinate coſ⯑tiveneſs, and paralytic affections of the limbs. Finally, we may add death itſelf. The fatal dinner at Salt Hill, on March 27th, 1773, which ended in the deſtruction of ſeveral gentle⯑men, ſuppoſed to have been cauſed by wine impregnated with this fatal drug, has been much talked of. I believe that not to have been the caſe. The gentlemen did not ſicken till after ſeveral days. One (Mr. Pote, who had drank as the reſt did) never was infected. It happened that he walked in the garden during the time a moſt miſerable object, a pauper, had been examined, from whom the peſtilential miaſmata of a fever, probably of the nature of the jail-fever, had diffuſed themſelves among the company preſent; for all, except Mr. Pote, ſickened *. In this inſtance the vintners may be cleared; but ſince it is probable that numbers of people fall victims to their art, I wiſh legiſlature would frame a law to condemn them, not to the halter, but to the more apt puniſhment of ſwallowing a competent draught of their own Stygian liquor. Nec lex eſt juſtior ulla!—Biſhop Watſon (iii. 369) ſays, that in Germany ſuch adulteration is puniſhed with death. In Henry VIII.'s time, a cook was boiled to death, (I hope in his own kettle) for poiſoning a number of poor at Lambeth, with the broth allotted by a pious prelate for their ſupport.
I MUST not forget that in October laſt Mr. Hugh Roberts, RIBBON WEAVERS. of Little Moorfields, eſtabliſhed on my ground, oppoſite to the vitriol-works, a colony of ribbon-weavers. Sixteen looms are already employed, and others continually expected.
[268] [...] THE [...].FROM the ſummit to the ſhore is a moſt ſteep deſcent. About a quarter of a mile lower, on the right, ſtands the houſe of Bagillt-Hall, erroneouſly ſo named, it not being poſſeſſed of any m [...]ne⯑rial rights, nor does it ſtand even in the townſhip of Bagillt; the whole road from the town of Holywell being in the townſhip of that name, divided from the former by the bottom of the dingle which we croſſed by Mr. Panton's mill.
THE houſe was large, had a great and handſome hall, and a good parlor, the laſt wainſcotted with good oak, much carved about the chimney. The reſt of the houſe conſiſted of a number of rooms irregularly diſpoſed. Near it ſtood, as uſual with our old ſeats, a ſummer-houſe.
THIS place is beautifully ſituated, the grounds ſlope towards the ſea, and command a fine view of the Cheſter channel, and as far as Beeſton caſtle, and its adjacent hills.
A FEW years ago I was obliged to pull down great part of the building. It was very old, and going faſt to ruin; and the repairs would have been uſeleſsly expenſive, for the thick ſmoke of a great ſmelting-mill for lead, and of a great calcining-houſe for calamine, juſt beneath, muſt have ever deterred my deſcendants from making it their reſidence.
LET me not forget that Nicholas had alſo two ſiſters, one named Agnes, wife of John Griffith ap Twna; the other Margaret, wife of Gruff. Lloyd ap John of Griffith ap David.
THE houſe of Bagillt was probably built by Henry, ſecond in deſcent from the abbot, for he is ſtyled in the pedegree, ‘of Holywell and Bagillt,’ whereas his father Edward is deſigned of Holywell only.
FROM David, fifth brother of Henry, PENNANTS OF H [...]NDRE-FI⯑GILLT. ſprang the family of the Pennants of Hendre figillt, in the pariſh of Kilken. He married Deili, daughter and heir of John ap Deio ap Jevan, of Halghton. In Kilken church-yard are ſeveral inſcriptions of this branch of the family. The oldeſt informs us that Angharad Pennant was buried on September 25th, 1588. The laſt who is mentioned in the pedegree of the houſe is Peter, who married Barbara, daugh⯑ter [270] of John Eyton, of Leefwood, and was cotemporary with David Pennant, of Bychton, who was living in 1664.
C [...] PEN-Y-GARTH.THERE were other branches of the houſe of Hendre-figillt, one ſettled at Pen-y-Garth, in the pariſh of Mold, but is now extinct. Part of the lands are now in poſſeſſion of Mr. Thomas Williams, of Dolevechles, a reſpectable freeholder, in the pariſh of Kilken, in right of his great-grand-mother, Mary Pennant, a daughter of Pen-y-Garth. She was buried at Kilken, September 1ſt, 1693. As to the houſe and eſtate of Hendre-fig [...]lt, it has long ſince paſſed into the family of Kilken, and is at preſent poſſeſſed by Moſtyn Edwards, eſquire.
LORD PENRHYN.MY reſpected, but remote kinſman, Richard Pennant, baron Penrhyn, ſprung from this branch of our family. He is ninth in deſcent from the abbot, and third from Gifford Pennant, ſecond ſon of Edward Pennant, of Bagillt, by Catherine, daughter of Edward Kynaſton, of Otely, in the county of Salop. He went to Jamaica, in the time of Oliver Cromwel; had a grant of lands there November 5th, 1665; ſettled in the pariſh of Clarendon, and died in 1677. His lordſhip's property in that iſland is immenſe, and his addition to it in the county of Caernarvon, in this his native iſland, is very conſiderable, by his marriage with Anne Suſanna, daughter and heireſs of the late general Warburton, of Winnington, in Cheſhire. With ſingular fortune, by this match his lordſhip poſ⯑ſeſſes Penrhyn, the ſeat and eſtate belonging to the family of Angbarad, his diſtant anceſtreſs; from whom lady Penrhyn is by her grandmother alſo deſcended. All theſe fortunes they enjoy with dignity, and with utility to their numerous tenantry. I particularly allude to thoſe about Penrhyn, where he has made [271] his vaſt ſlate-quarries an object of admiration to travellers, pro⯑fitable to himſelf, and the ſource of opulence to the ſurrounding country. I had not, at the publication of my Welſh Tour, oppor⯑tunity of informing myſelf about theſe important works; I, there⯑fore, give a brief ſketch of their hiſtory.
WHEN his lordſhip came to poſſeſſion of his fortunes in part of the iſland, he found great appearance of neglect and poverty among the tenantry; the ſlate-quarries, one great ſtaple of the country, in a very low ſtate; and the export of that valuable article did not annually exceed a thouſand tons; and there were not four carts on his eſtate, and only three in all Nant-Frankon, and the roads ſcarcely paſſable for a horſe. By his judicious management a happy reverſe took place. The carriages have encreaſed to the preſent time, to rather more than a hundred broad-wheel carts and waggons.
PORT Penrhyn, formerly Aber-cegid, is now highly improved by quays for the reception of veſſels; ſo that thoſe of two hun⯑dred tons burden can lie cloſe to them, and take in their cargo. Veſſels of above three hundred tons can enter the port, but cannot get cloſe to the quays.
BEFORE the country experienced his lordſhip's improving ta⯑lents, not above a thouſand tons have been exported in the year. In 1794 the export amounted to fifteen thouſand. In 1795 there was every reaſonable hope that it would have increaſed to twenty thouſand, but the tax on the ſlates has given it a check; though it is expected that the return of peace, and a modification of the duty, will reſtore the progreſs of the trade.
[272]THE ſtate-quarries are a few miles from the port, near the entrance into Na [...]t-Frankon. From four to five hundred men are employed in them. They live in very elegant cottages, prettily diſpoſed in groups. Here is a butcher and a ſhoe-maker, but no corrupting ale-houſe is permitted. His lordſhip has built a mar⯑ket houſe, ſo that the workmen need not wander for the neceſſary proviſions. Let me not forget that he erected an elegant pa⯑vilion, called Ogwen Bank, with a kitchen, ſtables, &c. which lord and lady Penrhyn often viſit, either to examine into this creation of theirs, or to amuſe their gueſts.
HIS lordſhip was elected member for Petersfield, in the firſt parlement of his preſent majeſty; and in 1767 vacated his ſeat to be elected for Leverpool. He was returned in 1768, 1774, and again in 1784. In that arduous ſituation, his lordſhip diſ⯑charged his truſt with zeal, abilities, and fidelity.
EDWARD PENNANT, the laſt owner of Bagillt, and laſt of the male line (lord Penrhyn excepted) died at Marſeilles, on March 2d, 1 [...]8; and was there interred. In 1766 he diſpoſed of to me by ſale all the eſtates in the townſhip of Holywell. And ſoon after he retired into France, he bequeathed the remainder of his for⯑tunes to his couſin Thomas Cratchley, who dying, left them to Roger Barnſton, eſquire, of Cheſter.
M [...]. H [...]S OF [...].FROM Bagillt-hall I deſcended into the townſhip of Bagillt, through the turnpike-gate at Wall-wen. Immediately on the left hand, in Holywell townſhip, is a ſmall houſe, and ſmall patrimony, the property of the Reverend Thomas Hughes, a curate of twelve years ſtanding, of good morals, decent, and modeſt. His family, [273] and two other families not remote from him, had long poſſeſſed reſpectable freeholds of fifty pounds a-year each. ‘Time and chance happeneth to all men.’ Our humble curate is far diſtanced by the other two. He remains a drudge in his pro⯑feſſion, honeſtâ pauperie, reſulting from fraternal affection, in ex⯑erting every nerve to ſupport two ſiſters, who reſt on him for the poor pittance he can afford to give.
AFTER paſſing the turnpike-gate, I find myſelf on the conti⯑nuance of the turnpike-road from Greenfield to Flint. The diſ⯑tance from the Greenfield gate to Flint is only four miles. Let me add, that within little more than one mile from the fountain of St. Wenefrede, at Holywell, to the gate juſt mentioned, Britain may be challenged to ſhew, on an equal ſpace, a ſimilar aſſemblage of commercial buildings, or of capitals employed in erecting and in carrying on their ſeveral objects. I refer the reader back to p. 203, for an account of thoſe upon the Holywell ſtream. I re⯑ſume the chain of commerce, from the copper-forge, the loweſt link, which reaches to the very road.
A LITTLE to the right of the turnpike-gate, the little rill Nant-hil-brwe divides the ſmall townſhip of Whelſtone from that of Holywell. This tract, of which I have the tythes, is one of the portions of Bagillt townſhip, which is very large, and ſubdi⯑vided into two others, Bagillt-ſawr, and Bagillt-fechan.
ON the ſide of the rill ſtand the works called the River Bank, eſtabliſhed on my land, by leaſe dated September 22, 1785,RIVER BANK WORKS. granted to Meſſrs. William Roe and Edward Hawkins. Theſe buildings are employed for the double purpoſes of calcining ca⯑lamine for the braſs-works at Cheadle and Macclesfield, and for [274] the ſmelting lead-ore. It has the advantage of a ſmall ſtream, which improves the operation of the latter.
IT turns two wheels, one of which is twenty-four feet in dia⯑meter, and from the ſize and breadth makes a noble appearance. At each end of theſe wheels is a balance-wheel; one of them ſets the great refining bellows in motion, the other that of the ſlag⯑hearth.
HERE is alſo a curious contrivance for ſaving the calx of the lead-ore, which would otherwiſe have gone away in ſmoke. It beſides leſſens the bad effects on the grounds above. For this purpoſe two brick flues have been conſtructed, one from each furnace; each of them is horizontal, and is ſupported by three arches, and over each is a channel to contain a ſmall current of water, for the purpoſe of turning the wheels, and alſo to con⯑denſe the ſmoke in its paſſage. Theſe flues converge, and meet a little beyond the third arch, and terminate in the condenſing room, to the walls of which the calx adheres. This room is opened three times a-year: the calx is taken out, and re-ſmelted with ſome profit.
THE two flues, in iſſuing out of the building, are united in one, and are continued, forming a right angle for a very conſiderable way. Out of the end riſes a vertical flue, forty-three feet high, out of which the ſmoke iſſues. The length of the horizontal flues which paſs over the arches is fifty-ſeven feet; of the ſingle one which paſſes from the room which catches the calx, is two hundred and ten feet.
BAGILLT UPPER WORKS.ABOUT three quarters of a mile farther on the bank, above the road, ſtands a large ſmelting-work, originally built by virtue of a [275] leaſe granted, in 1727, by Roger and Edward Pennant, eſquires, of Bagillt, to Francis St [...]l [...]y and Nicholas Twig. It was after⯑wards rebuilt, and paſſed through various hands; the Smed⯑lies, father and ſons; Henry Vigars, of Eaton, whoſe widow ſold it to the Gadlys company. That expiring corporation poſſeſſed it only from about Michaelm [...]s 1783, after deſcending from their ancient works at Gadlys. In 1792 it again changed maſters, and was ſold by the company to Mr. John Griffith and Mr. Robert Aſlett, of London.
BELOW them, on the road-ſide,LOWER WORKS. were works of greater anti⯑quity. Thoſe were in poſſeſſion of two leſſees before the year 1717. The firſt was Mr. Thomas White; the laſt was a gen⯑tleman well known by the name of Major Roberts. He was of the antient houſe of Plaſhewydd, near Ruthin. His leaſe was ſurrendered, and a new one granted, in 1717, by Roger Pennant, eſquire, to Mr. Benjamin Perrin, father to our reſpectable coun⯑tryman, Sir Richard Perrin, baron of the exchequer. I remem⯑ber them ſtanding; but ſoon after they became a heap of ruins, and at preſent their place is ſcarcely known.
A MR. Warren came into this country in 1794, and built,D [...]E BANK. on the land of Roger Barnſton, eſquire, a ſmelting-houſe, on a new conſtruction. But it was ſcarcely warmed, when it was diſpoſed of to a Mr. Langworthy, mineral agent to earl Groſvenor!
THE collieries near theſe works have been very conſiderable.COLLIERIES. I remember, about forty years ago, there was between twenty and thirty thouſand tons of coal upon bank, the greateſt quan⯑tity, perhaps, ever ſeen together. The pits were then worked by the Gadlys company. The company had imprudently given [276] their agent, one Lanceſter, an unlimited order for raiſing the coal. This he found ſo profitable to himſelf, that he never de⯑ſiſted till the diſcovery was made of his ſelfiſh views. To ex⯑pedite the working, he engaged numbers of colliers from New⯑caſtle, and was the firſt in this country who made uſe of horſes under ground. The coal might have lain on the bank to this day, if a diſpute had not roſe between the city of Dublin and the coal-adventurers at Whitehaven. This occaſioned the citi⯑zens of Dublin to purchaſe this great ſtock, which was all carried away before the differences were ſettled.
FOR a conſiderable time after this glut of coal, the collieries declined greatly, and became very low, till they were revived of late years by the ſpirit and perſeverance of Mr. Roger Ellis, of Corniſh, in the pariſh of Flint, who has erected a powerful fire-engine on the road-ſide, between Greenfield turnpike-gate and Flint, and raiſes great quantities of that important re⯑quiſite.
NANT-Y-MOCH.QUIT the townſhip of Bagillt, after croſſing a little rill, iſſuing out of Nant-y-moch, or the dingle of the hogs. Here we enter the townſhip of Coleſhill-fawr. On the right, on an eminence, are the ſmelting-works, built by the grandfather of the preſent Sir Richard Perrin, whoſe father continued the works, and lived at Farm, till he took up his reſidence at Flint. About the year 1755, a new company was formed by Paul Panton, eſquire, under the firm of himſelf, the Reverend Thomas Ince, and Charles Pigot, eſquire.
COLESHILL.THE Doomſday-Book informs us, that at the time of the com⯑pilation of that record, Coleſelt was held by Robert de Roelent, or [277] Ruddlan, a valiant Norman, nephew to Hugh Lupus, earl of Cheſter. Edwyn held it of Robert, and as a freeman. There was one taxable hide of land, a land of one caruca, or a plough-land. On C [...]l [...]ſilt, was one Radman, four villeyns, and two boors. The Radman was the ſame with the Rod or Rad-knights, who by the tenure of their land w [...]re bound to ride with or for their lord, and to guard him [...] lady as often as they were required.
THIS townſhip took its name from the abundance of coal which is produced. At preſent it gives name to one of the hundreds of the county. In the Doomſday-Book this townſhip is placed in the hundred of Atiſcros, a name which would have been loſt, was it not retained in a tract called Croes-ati, a certain ſpace round a croſs, not remote from Flint, the pedeſtal of which I remember ſtanding.
BENEATH the ſmelting-work is a neat building for the purpoſe of calcining calamine, held by leaſe granted by Mr. Panton, A CALCINING-WORK. June 24th, 1794, to Mr. Thomas Davies, of Smethwick, Stafford⯑ſhire, and the company known by the name of the Smethwick Braſs Company.
Paul Panton, eſquire, is lord of the manor of Coleſhill, and,MANOR OF COLESHILL. till the marriage of his father, the family inhabited the manor-houſe, which of late years has been conſiderably enlarged and improved.
THE Pantons were a Denbighſhire family,PANTON FAMILY. poſſeſſed of large property in Llanvair-Talhaiarn, Llanyfydd, Henllan, and other pariſhes. John Panton quitted Plâs-Panton, the antient reſi⯑dence, a great houſe, called New Plâs-Panton. (See its unfor⯑tunate hiſtory in the Tour in Wales, ii. p. 52.) He married [278] Alice, fourth daughter of Sir William B [...]th, of D [...]ham-Maſſe, in Ch [...]ſire. He was ſecretary to the [...]rd chancellor Elleſmere, and repreſented the borough of Denhigh, in the [...]9th and 43d of Elizabeth; and the borough of Harwich, in the 1ſt of James I. He diſinherited his ſon Thomas, and left his large poſſeſſions to his only daughter A [...]thea, who married the lord [...]and [...]-de-la-Vine, in Hampſhire *.
Thomas, the diſinherited ſon of this John, by his induſtry and ſkill in agriculture, became enabled to purchaſe this lordſhip, in 1617, of the firſt earl of Bridgewater, ſon of the lord chancellor Egerton. At the time when paper credit was little known, to him was intruſted caſh to be conveyed to London, which, by a letter of Pyers Pennant's, I find he did in perſon. The manor has continued in the family from his time. In 1753, the preſent gentleman improved it greatly, by an embankment from the ſea, which in parts is productive of moſt excellent wheat, &c. &c.
THE firſt I find of the line of the Pantons, is Jevan Panton, twelfth in deſcent from March-weithian, one of the fifteen tribes of North Wales. His wife was daughter and heir of Bennet, fourteenth in deſcent from Marchudd, another of the fifteen tribes. Their hiſtory, and their ſeveral deſcendants, are given in the Appendix to this Work.
ALL the coaſt of Whiteford and Holywell pariſhes are more particularly ſubject than the drier parts to pleuriſies,DISEASES. intermittents, and fevers of the putrid kinds. The laſt chiefly in the places where the poorer people are obliged to crowd into ſmall apart⯑ments, [279] by which the air ſoon becomes ſoul, and produces this ſpecies of fever.
A CRUEL kind of quinzy has of late years infeſted theſe pa⯑riſhes, and others adjacent. In 1794 it raged particularly in the townſhip of Greenfield, and pariſh of Halkin, and made dreadful havock among children from the age of three to that of five. The average loſs was four or five in ſeven. In this viſitation the diſeaſe did not attack adults; not that inſtances are wanting in other places of its attacking grown-up perſons. In September, 1771, a Mr. Poole, his wife and mother, were buried in one vault in Bunhill-fields. His daughter fell a victim alſo, and made the ſum of the family, who died at the ſame time, and by the ſame malignant diſorder.
THE name given by the learned to this fatal diſeaſe, is angina maligna, and cynanche maligna. Cynanche, becauſe the patients are often obſerved to protrude their tongue far out of their mouth, like an over-heated dog.
THE ſymptoms are too terrible for deſcription. They may uſeleſsly affect parents, who may ſafely truſt to the medical peo⯑ple for the knowlege of them, for they are by no means equivo⯑cal; but, if any one's curioſity is excited, it may be ſatisfied by the peruſal of the works of the late Dr. Fothergill, p. 198. and Dr. Huxham's Eſſays, p. 286. It ſeems to have been one of the Nova Cohors Febrium. It was firſt obſerved in Spain, in 1610, from whence it ſpread into Malta, Sicily, Otr [...]nto, Apulia, Calabria, and, finally, in 1618, it broke out at Naples. It alſo appeared in the Archipelago, when Tournefort (ſee his Travels, i. [280] p. 132.) was in Milo, in the year 17 [...]0. In Spain it got the name of garrotillo, from the horrible noiſe made by the patients, like that of perſons ſtrangled by a rope.
THIS fatal diſorder reached England in 1739. Its firſt victims were two ſons of Mr. Pelham, on the 27th of November of that year. After this it ſeemed to diſappear, but began again in 1742; and with great fatality in 1746, when ſeveral of the in⯑habitants of Brom [...]y, near Bow, loſt moſt of their children. From Dr. Huxham we learn, that in 1751 it viſited C [...]wall; and from the latter part of that year, to May 1753, carried off numbers of children, and ſome adults.
IN the year 1743 it appeared in North Wales. From March 5th to March 10th, our late worthy vicar, the Reverend Griffith Griffith, buried three children. It was too much for his paternal feelings, and ever after greatly hurt his mind. And in the year 1744/5 that calamity viſited the county of Caernarvon; and from January 28th to February 9th, the late Sir Thomas Moſtyn, ba⯑ronet, at Gloddaeth, in Caernarvonſhire, loſt four. Theſe were obſerved to have been the only inſtances of the diſeaſe in their reſpective neighborhoods.
I CANNOT trace the progreſs of this diſeaſe any farther north⯑ward than my own country. If it has not made any advances towards the colder climates, it may be deemed a malady of the warm and temperate parts of Europe.
THAT it has found its way to the New World, appears from the following inſtances. In 1746 it viſited many parts of North America, from Philadelphia to New-York and New-England, and [281] with a rage unknown in Great-Britain; for in New-England it depopulated whole villages. And that it either continues on the continent, or has re-viſited it, is evident from its having appeared in New York, in the year 1771.
THE cynanche trachialis, or croup, has appeared here too fre⯑quently. A few years ago it deſtroyed not fewer than ſix chil⯑dren in the family of a reſpectable farmer in a neighboring pariſh.
THE ſmelting-works at Flint are at a very ſmall diſtance from the eaſtern boundary of Holywell. FLINT SMELLING-WORKS. The diviſion of the pariſh of Flint from that of the latter, is by a rill not far from the town of Flint. The works are of great antiquity. They are here men⯑tioned as the laſt link of the chain of metallic operations along the ſhore. There is no limiting the antiquity of the ſmelting-works; for we have proofs of very conſiderable ones having been near the town of Flint, at a place called Croes Ati, which is evident from the quantity of ſcoria of lead, bits of lead-ore, and frag⯑ments of melted lead, diſcovered in ſeveral places. I refer the reader, for a full account of them, and of the various antiquities met with on the ſpot, to p. 52. vol. i. of my Welſh Tour, which evince that they had been Roman works; ſo that it is probable there had been a ſucceſſion of ſmelting-hearths in one part or other of this county, even to the preſent day.
TO return to the works in queſtion. They are frequently known by the name of the ſalt-works; which poſſibly implies that the ſite had been occupied by works of that nature, prior to the exiſtence of the ſmelting-works. They have been occu⯑pied [282] by ſeveral companies: at preſent by Mr. Richard Ingleby, of Halkin.—May ſucceſs be his reward, for the ſeaſonable and uſeful importation of barley in the late time of ſcarcity; a cri⯑tical relief to the numerous miners on the adjacent mountains, in which he had no more intereſt than in the reſt of the human race!
GRYFFITH AP CYNAN, King of North Wales, is the firſt regiſtered in our books. He was the grand-child of prince Jago ap Edwal, whoſe ſon Cynan was forced to fly into Ireland for ſafety, where he married Ranullt, daughter of Auloedd, king of Dublin, Man, and the Iſles, and the relict of Mathganyn, king of Ulſter, and had iſſue by her this Griffith.—* He beareth gules, three lioncels paſſant in pale barry argent, armed azure.
RHYS AP TEWDWR MAWR, (the ſecond Royal Tribe) who took upon him the government of South Wales A. D. 1077. —Gules, a lion rampant o [...], within a bordure indented.
BLETHYN AP CYNFYN, (the third Royal Tribe) was King of North Wales, and Prince of Powys *. And after the death of Meredith ap Owain ap Edwyn, (prince of South Wales) he became King of all Wales.—Or, a lion rampant gules, armed and langued or.
ETHELYSTAN GLODRYDD, (the fourth Royal Tribe) Prince of the * country between Wye and Severn. He was the ſon of Cyhelyn ap Ifor, by Rhiengar, the daughter and heir of Gronw ap Tudor Trevor, from whom he had derived to him the title of the earldom of Hereford. Athelſtan, King of England, was his god-father.—Ethelyſtan, (or, as he is ſometimes called, [287] Elyſtan) b [...]e two coats quartered, azure, three [...] heads caboched ſable, langued gules, tuſked or. His mother's [...], parted per bend ſiniſter ermine and ermines; over all a lion rampant or.
JESTYN AP GWRGANT, (the fifth Royal Tribe) was Prince or Lord of Glamorgan; he deſcended from Tewdrie, King of Gwent, in King Arthur's time. He loſt his country to Robert Fitzhamon, and his twelve knights; whom by the pro⯑curement of Einion ap Cadiſor ap Collwyn, he had hired to come with an army to aſſiſt him againſt Rhys ap Tewdwr, Prince of South Wales, and Blethyn ap Maenyrch, Lord of Brecknock. As a judgment upon him, for his diſloyalty to the ſaid Rhys, his ſovereign, God was pleaſed ſuddenly to puniſh treachery with treachery.
Rhys and Blethyn, after a very bloody battle † (not far from Brecknock) were ſlain in the field.—Gules, three cheveronels in pale argent.
PRINCE Griffith ap Cynan, Rhys ap Tewdwr, and Blethyn ap Cynfyn, made diligent ſearch for the arms, enſignes, and pede⯑grees of their anceſtors, the nobility and kings of the Britons. What they diſcovered by their pains, in any papers and records, was afterwards, by the bards, digeſted and put into books. And they ordained five royal tribes, (there being only three before) from whom their poſterity to this day can derive themſelves: and alſo fifteen ſpecial tribes, of whom the gentry of North Wales are, for the moſt part, deſcended. And in our books we have mention of the tribe of March, &c. beſides other tribes called Gwehelyth, and Gwehelaethau.
HWFA * AP CYNDDELW (the firſt of the fifteen tribes) lived in the time of Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales. Some books of pedegrees allege that he was ſteward to the ſaid Prince †. His office, by inheritance, was to bear the Prince's coronet, and to put it upon his head when the Biſhop of Bangor anointed him, (as Nicholas, Biſhop of Bangor, affirmeth). His houſe, I believe, was Preſaddſed, in Angleſey. What lordſhips he had beſides that, are mentioned, in the Extent of North Wales, to be divided among his five ſons, viz. Methu⯑ſalem, Cyſnerth, Jeuan, Jorwerth, and Blettrws. Many of the gentlemen of Angleſey hold lands from him by lineal deſcent, but who his heir is, I know not. Sir Howel-y-Pedolau ‡ was a fa⯑mous man in his time, and deſcended from him, being the ſon of Griffith ap Jorwerth ap Meredydd ap Methuſalem ap Hwfa ap Cynddelw. Sir Howel's mother was King Edward the Second's []
[291] nurſe; and he being the King's foſter-brother, was in great fa⯑vor with him, who knighted him. He was a very ſtrong man, inſomuch that he could break or ſtraiten horſe-ſhoes with his hands.—His arms he beareth gules between three lioncels rampant, a cheveron or.
* LLOWARCH AP BRAN, (the ſecond of the fifteen tribes) lived in the time of Owain Gwynedd, and was the Prince's bro⯑ther-in-law, for both their wives were ſiſters, the daughters of [292] Grono ap Owain ap Edwyn, Lord of Tegaingle, (as Griffith Hirae⯑thog, and Sir Thomas ap Jevan ap Dei [...]ws, and alſo an old parch⯑ment MS. written about four hundred years ago, do teſtify.) What office he bore under the Prince, I do not know. Some ſay he was Owain's ſteward, as in a book of Sir Thomas ap Williams of Trefri [...], I found. I believe he dwelled in the townſhip which from him is called Tref Llowarch, which hath in it Caer Gybi, (or Holyhead) and three parcels of land, bearing the name of his three ſons, viz. Gwely Jorwerth ap Llowarch, Gwely Cadwgan ap Llowarch, and Gwely Madoc ap Llowarch, as in the Extent of North Wales is manifeſt. He had a grand-child by his ſon Jerwerth, called Meredydd, who, for his good ſervices, had the freehold of the townſhip of Eſkyniok given him and his heirs for ever, by Prince Llewelyn ap Jerwerth; whoſe poſterity, viz. Jeuan * Wyddel, and Tudur ap Howel ap Tudur, held the ſame by the grant aforeſaid, in the twenty-ſixth year of King Edward the Third, as is to be ſeen in the Extent Book of North Wales. Jeuan Wyddel's mother was the daughter of the Lord Cywchwr in Ireland, deſcended of the Earl of Kildare, of whom the gentlemen of Moſoglen, Bodowyr, Porthamal, and many others are deſcended.—He beareth argent, between three crows with er⯑mine in their bills, a cheveron ſable.
GWEIRYDD AP RHYS GOCH, of the hundred of Tal-Ebolion in Angleſey. He dwelt at Caerdegog, the hamlets and tenements whereof bear the names of his children and grand⯑children, as Gwely Madoc ap Gweirydd, Gwely Llowarch ap Gweirydd, Gwely Howel ap Gweirydd, and Gwely Meuric ap Gweirydd, whoſe great grand-child Howel ap Jeuan ap Ednyfed ap Meuric ap Gweirydd, enjoyed Gwely Meuric, in the twenty-ſixth year of Edward III.—* He beareth argent on a bend ſable, [294] three lions' heads caboched of the firſt. He lived in the time of Owain Gwynedd, and of his ſon David ap Owain.
CILMIN TROED-DU * lived in the time of Merfyn Frych †, King of Man, being his brother's ſon, with whom he came from the north of Britain, when Merfyn married Eſyllt, the daughter and heir of Conan Tindaethwy, king of the Britons. What of⯑fices he bore, I have not been able to find out. His poſterity were wiſe and diſcreet men, in all their ages; and many of them were learned in the laws in the time of the kings and princes of Wales, and were judges; as Morgeneu ‡ Ynad ap Gwrydr, and Cyfnerth his ſon, whoſe Law-Book is yet extant, fairly written on [295] parchment; Morgeneu Ynad ap Madoc; Morgan Ynad ap Meuric, and Madoc Gôch Ynad. Robert ap Meredydd ap Hwlkin Llwyd, a wiſe and couth gentleman, lived in the time of Henry the Seventh; and of him are deſcended the Glynns of Nanlley. His houſe, I believe, was Glynllifon, whence ſome of his deſcendants took the name of Glynn.—He beareth quarterly 1, argent, an eagle diſplayed with two heads ſable; 2, argent, three fiery ragged ſticks, gules; the 3d as the ſecond; the 4th as the firſt. Over all, upon an eſcutcheon of pretence argent, a man's leg coupé a la cuiſſe, ſable.
COLLWYN AP TANGNO is ſaid to be Lord of Efionydd Ardudwy, and part of Llŷn: and it is true, that his progeny have, and do to this day, poſſeſs and enjoy the greateſt part of the ſaid [296] country. His grand-children Aſſer, Meirion, and Gwgan, the ſons of Merwydd ap Collwyn, lived in the beginning of Griffith ap Cynan's time, as by the Life * of the ſaid Griffith is manifeſt, whereby may be known what time Collwyn lived and flouriſhed. It is ſaid that he lived ſome time in Bronwen's tower at Harlech, calling the ſame town after his own name Caer-Collwyn. But his ſaid grand-children, when Griffith ap Cynan challenged the principality of Wales, lived in Llŷn, as in the ſaid book of his life is extant. His poſterity were always the nobleſt and beſt men in Efionydd and Ardudwy, next to the princes and their iſſue. His heir, from eldeſt ſon to eldeſt ſon, is hard to be known, in regard that by the Britiſh laws every man's inheritance was to be divided among his children, and the youngeſt ſon had the principal houſe; whereby every one having an equal portion of his parent's land, his poſterity was forgotten.—He beareth ſable, between three flower-de-luces a cheveron argent.
SIR Howel-y-Fwyall †, deſcended of Collwyn, was a noble warrior, and was in the battle of Poictiers with the Black Prince, when the French King was taken priſoner: where, with his pole⯑ax, he behaved himſelf ſo valiantly, that the prince made him a knight, and allowed a meſs of meat to be ſerved before his ax or partizan for ever, to perpetuate the memory of his good ſer⯑vice: which meſs of meat, after his death, was carried down to be given to the poor for his ſoul's ſake; and the ſaid meſs had eight yeoman-attendants found at the king's charge, which were [297] afterwards called Yeomen of the Crown, who had eight-pence a day of ſtanding wages, and laſted to the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth: (as by the relation of Serjeant Roberts, of Haſod-y-Bŵch, near Wrexham, and Robert Turbridge, of Caerfallen, near Ruthin, eſquire, is recorded in the hiſtory of the noble houſe of Gwydir, wherein you may find this relation more at large.) Beſides, he had the conſtableſhip of the caſtle of Crickieth, where he kept houſe; and the rent of Dee-mills at Cheſter, for the term of his life. His father was Griffith ap Howel ap Meredydd ap Einion ap Gwrganen ap Merwydd ap Collwyn.— His arms * were ſable, between three flower-de-luces a pole-ax argent.
NEFYDD HARDD, of Nant Conwy, lived in the time of Owain Gwynedd, who gave Idwal his ſon to be foſtered by him; but Nefydd, for what cauſe I know not, cauſed Dunawt his ſon to kill the young prince, at a place called of him Cwm Idwal. Wherefore Nefydd and his poſterity were degraded, and of gen⯑tlemen were made bond-men of Nant Conwy. His ſon Rhûn, to expiate that foul murder, gave the lands whereon the church of Llanrwſt was built, whoſe grand-child, (and Madoc Gôch ap Jor⯑werth ap Gwrgynon ap Cyfnerth, his ſon) were ſtewards to Llewelyn ap Jorwerth, Prince of Wales, (as Griffith Hiraethog ſays.) He dwelled at Crygnant, as I take it, near Llanrwſt.—* He beareth argent, three ſpears' heads imbrued, ſable pointed upwards.
MAELOC CRWM, of Llechwedd-iſaf, and Creuddyn †, lived in the time of Prince David ap Owain Gwynedd, about the year of our Lord 1175, (as Sir Thomas ap Williams' book averreth). What offices he bore, I have not learned. The moſt famous men deſcended of him were, Sir Thomas Chaloner, and others of that name, deſcended of David Chaloner, of Denbigh, whoſe anceſtor Trahaiarn Chaloner was ſo called, becauſe his grand⯑father Madoc Crwm of Chaloner had lived in a town in France called Chaloner, whence he took that name.—He beareth argent, on a cheveron ſable, three angels or.
MARCHUDD AP CYNAN, Lord of Abergeleu: His houſe was Bryn Ffenigl. He lived, (as Sir Thomas ap Williams' book ſaith) in the time of Rodri Mawr *, king of the Britons, about the year of our Lord 849 †. Of him was Ednyfed Fychan de⯑ſcended, who being general of the prince's ‡ hoſt, was ſent to the Marches, to defend the frontiers from the approach of the Engliſh army, which was ready to invade them, under the command of Ranulph, earl of Cheſter, (who met them) and killed three of their chief captains and commanders, and a great many of the common ſoldiers. The reſt he put to flight, and triumphantly returned to his prince; who, in recompence of his good ſervice, gave him, among many gifts and honors, a new coat of arms; for the coat, which he and his anceſtors had always given before, was the coat of Marchudd, being gules, a Saracen's head eraſed proper, wreathed or.—The new coat was thus diſplayed, gules between three Engliſhmen's heads couped, a cheveron ermin.—From the death of the laſt Llewelyn, Ednyfed's poſterity were the greateſt men of any in Wales, (as by the works of the bards and records is very manifeſt.) If I ſhould go about to reckon all the famous men deſcended of him, it would require more time than I can well ſpare. Let it be ſufficient to remember Henry the Seventh, king [301] of England, Henry the Eighth, Edward the Sixth, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth, all of whom were deſcended lineally and paternally of Ednyfed Fychan, who likewiſe was deſcended of Marchudd.
HEDD MOLWYNOG †, of Uwch-aled, (as Sir Thomas ap Williams' book hath it) was ſteward to Prince David ap Owain. His lands and lordſhips were Llanfair Talybaern, Dyffryn Elwy, and Nanbaled, the which his three ſons, viz. Meuter, Gwillonon, and Gwrgi, divided, and their poſterity have enjoyed, and do ſtill enjoy, ſome part of them. Rhys ap Jeuan ap Llewelyn Chwith of Chwibren, was an eſquire of the body to King Edward the Fourth (as the book of Evan Lloyd Jeffrey hath it): he and his [303] couſin-german, David Jenkin, were very turbulent in the Lancaſ⯑trian war.
Meuric Llwyd, of Llwyn y Maen, near Oſweſtry, was a valiant captain under the earl of Arundel, who by his proweſs atchieved a very noble coat of arms, viz. The field argent, an eagle diſplayed with two heads ſable.
And here, I think, Jolo Gôch *, Owain Glyndwr's bard, whoſe mother was the Counteſs of Lincoln, (as Griffith Hiraethog ſaith) may well bear a place among the worthy deſcendants of this tribe; who, for his lofty ſtrain, and ſingular ſkill in Britiſh poetry, was and is as famous and renowned as any that hath been theſe four hundred years.—And alſo † Tudur Aled, another learned bard, and a doctor of the chair in his profeſſion: but their learned works will make them famous and ever glorious.— He beareth ſable, a hart paſſant argent, attired or.
BRAINT HIR, of Is-dulas, lived, as I conjecture, about the time of the ſons of Roderic * the Great. His poſterity did not much increaſe, for there are not many, at preſent, known to be deſcended from him, yet ſome there are.—His arms are vert, a croſs flowery or.
† MARCHWEITHIAN was called Lord of Is-aled; his lands were Carwed Fynydd, Dincadfael, Prees, Beryn, Llyweni, Gwy⯑therin, and many other townſhips within the hundred of Is-aled, [305] as appears by the extent of the lordſhip and honor of Denbigh, made in the eighth year of Edward the Third; at what time, Cynwric Fychan, being the ninth in deſcent from Marchweithian, lived; whereby ſome aim may be made at the time he flouriſhed.
THE families and houſes deſcended of him are many, but the moſt eminent are theſe, Berain, formerly incorporated to the houſe of Llyweni, by the marriage of Mrs. Catherine, of Perain *, the daughter and heir of Tudor ap Robert Fychan, of Berain, eſquire, with John Saliſbury, the ſon and heir of Sir John Saliſbury, of Llyweni, knight; after whoſe death ſhe married Richard Clough, eſquire, of Denbigh, a rich merchant; after whoſe deceaſe ſhe married Maurice Wynne, of Gwydir, eſquire, and had iſſue by both: and laſt of all ſhe married Edward Thelwall, of Plâs-y-Ward, eſquire.—Mr. Robert ap Rees, deſcended of this tribe, and anceſtor to the family of Rhiwlas, was chaplain to Cardinal Wolſey, and a very great man in the reign of Henry the Eighth.— Ellis Price, of Plâs-Yolyn, doctor of the law, who, I believe, was one of the ſcholars of Cambridge, that diſputed with Throgmorton, and other ſcholars of Oxford, at Cambridge, in the year of our Lord 1532, and got the beſt; (as James Caius, in the firſt book of The Antiquities of Cambridge, affirmeth.)—He bore, in a ſhield gules, a lion rampant argent, armed azure.
EDWIN, commonly called King of Tegaingle *, was the twelfth tribe, whoſe ſon Owain had a daughter called Angharad, mar⯑ried to Griffith ap Cynan, king of Gwynedd, or North Wales. Many worthy and noble gentlemen in Flintſhire and Denbighſhire are deſcended of him, as the Biſhop of Bangor, now living—(I believe he means William Roberts, D. D. who was conſecrated Biſhop of Bangor, in September 1637, and died at Llandurnog, Auguſt 12th, 1665, aged 80.) Thomas Owen, judge of —, father of Sir Roger Owen, late of Cundover, knight. † Howel Gwynedd, a very valiant and ſtout man, who, ſiding with Owen Glyndwr againſt Henry the Fourth, did much annoy the Engliſh; but on a time, being more ſecure than he ought to have been, he was taken by his adverſaries of the town of Flint, who, upon a place called Moel-y-Gaer, cut off his head: and long time before, one Owain ap Uchtryd, being grandſon to Edwin, kept by force of arms all Tegaingle under ſubjection, not⯑withſtanding all the power of the king, lords, and country to the contrary; and the third year, having his pardon, he deli⯑vered the owners their lands.—He beareth argent, between four Corniſh choughs armed gules, a croſs floury engrailed ſable.
EDNOWAIN BENDEW was Lord of Tegaingle in the year of our Lord 1079, (as the book of Ednop ſaith.) He is ſaid by Peter Ellis, the counſellor, to be the chief of the fifteen tribes. Of him are deſcended Ithel ap Rotpert, Archdeacon of Tegaingle, [309] the Bithels, and a great many worthy families beſides.—He bear⯑the argent, between three boars heads, a cheveron ſable.
THE reſidence of Ednowain is ſuppoſed by ſome to have been at Ty-maen, in the pariſh of Whiteford, (ſee p. 119.)
EFNYDD, commonly called the ſon of * Gwenllian, the daughter of Rhŷs ap Marchon, who was lord of ſeven townſhips in Dyffryn Clwyd, called Ruthin land, viz. Tr [...]-ben-y-Coed, and Fereel dyd, y Groeſ [...]wyd, Pant Meugen, and three more, all free⯑hold land. He had no children beſides Gwenllian aforeſaid, who by the intereſt of B [...]te [...]n op Cy [...]yn, king of Wales, was given in marriage to this Efnydd's father, being nearly related to the ſaid king, who gave him likewiſe ſeven townſhips, to wit, Almar, Tref-alen (or Alynton), Gre [...]ford in Bromfield, Lleprog-fawr, Lleprog-fe [...]han, and Tref-y-nant, in Tegaingle, &c. He had a daughter called Hunydd, who was the wife of Meredydd ap Blethyn, prince of Powys. Of him was deſcended John Almor, one of the marſhals of the hall to king Henry the Seventh, father of John Almor, ſerjeant at arms to king Henry the Eighth, (as I think) who bare azure, a lion rampant or, armed and langued gules; and of Sir William Meredith, who lived in Yorkſhire, or ſome⯑where elſe in England.—He bare a lion rampant ſaliant or, where⯑with he quartered his mother's coat, being azure, between three nags heads eraſed argent, a feſs or.
EDNOWAIN AP BRADWEN * is by writers called Lord of Meirionydd: but ſurely the princes and their iſſue were always lords of Meirionydd; howbeit it might be, that he (as others) took the ſame to farm, and therefore might be called lord thereof. And yet he and his iſſue were poſſeſſed of all Tal-y-Bont, ſave Nanney, and the prince's demeſnes, and for the moſt part of Yſtumanner in the like manner. The offices he bare under the prince, I know not. Some books of pedegree ſay that he lived in Griffith ap Cynan's time, but I think he was not ſo antient †. The ruins of his Llŷs, or palace, are to be ſeen in the townſhip of Cregenan, in Tal-y-Bont Iſcregenan. Llewelyn ap Tudur ap Gwyn ap Peredur ap Ednowain ap Bradwen, lived in the time of Edward the Firſt, and did him homage with the lords and [312] gentry of Wales, as by the ſaid king's records is manifeſt. Aaron, his grandchild, by his ſon Ednyfed, had two ſons more eminent than the reſt of his children, Ednyfed and Griffith; of the laſt of whom William David Lloyd, of Peniarth, eſquire, lately deceaſed, was deſcended: whoſe inheritance is come to Margaret, the mother of Lewis Owen, of Peniarth, eſquire, now living. Ednyfed ap Aaron is ſaid to have entertained Owain Glyndwr, when he was overcome by king Henry the Fourth, the uſurper, but ſe⯑cretly in a cave, by the ſea-ſide, in the pariſh of Llan Gelynin, which of him is called * Ogof Owain. Of this Ednyfed was de⯑ſcended Morgan ap Griffith ap Eineon, a courageous ſtout man, who, as it is reported by his kinſmen, by chance, in the ſtreets of the city of London, late in the night, met with King Henry the Eighth, with a ſmall guard about him, coming to ſee what rule was kept in the city; and when neither would yield to the other, they drew and fought hardly, until a perſon, who accompanied Morgan, bade him take heed what he did, for that he feared it was the king with whom he fought. Whereupon Morgan crying mercy, yielded, and craved pardon; and the king did let him go, ſaying, that he was a luſty man, and ever after he was called Luſty Morgan. This is a report, I cannot tell how true.
—He bore gules, three ſnakes enowed in a triangular knot argent.
Out of our ancient books of pedegrees, we are enabled to add another Tribe; by no means inferior to any of the foregoing, in the reſpectability and number of its deſcendants.
TUDOR TREVOR, the tribe of * March, called likewiſe in our books Llwyth Maelor (or the tribe of Maelor,) was the ſon of Ynyr ap Cadfarch, deſcended of Cadell Deurnllug, King of Powys. He is ſaid to have been the founder of, and to have re⯑ſided at, Whittington Caſtle, which continued in his poſterity for many generations after. His mother was Rhiengar, daughter to Lluddocca ap Caradoc Vreichfras, earl of Hereford, who was one of the knights of king Arthur's Round Table. Tudor had large poſſeſſions in Herefordſhire, in right of his mother, as well as in that country called Ferlys, which lies between the rivers Wye [314] and Severne. He was cotemporary with Howel Dda, king of Wales, whoſe daughter Angharad he married, by whom he had three ſons and one daughter. Powell, of Edenhope, in his Pen⯑t [...]chia, deſcribes his arms in the following manner:
Which may be thus expreſſed in plain Engliſh: ‘Parted per bend finiſter ermine and ermines, over all a lion rampant or; the well-known arms of the Moſtyns, and alſo of the Trevors.’
HERE it may not be improper to mention, that though the tribes are generally conſidered as the nobility of Wales, yet are there many ancient Welſh families of high reſpectability, who de⯑rive not their deſcent from any of them. Such are the Middle⯑tons, of Chirk caſtle and Gwaunynog; the Vaughans, of Glan-y-llyn, afterwards of Llwydiarth and Llangedwyn, but now extinct, who are deſcended from Ririd Flaidd, lord of Penllyn, &c. The Vaughans, of Cors-y-gedol; and the Wynnes, of Dolegwyn, whoſe ſtock was Oſbwrn Wyddel, (or the Iriſhman.) The Eytons, of Leeſwood; the Wynnes, of Tower; the Davises, of Gwaſane (whoſe repreſentative in the male line is Peter Davies, eſquire, of Broughton;) the Parrys, of Pwllhalog, and the Williamses, of Fron, who are deſcended from Cynric Efell, baron of Eglwyſeg.
IN Angleſey are the Williamses, of Ty-fry, deſcended from Ca⯑drod Hardd, (or the Handſome) lord of Tal-ebolion; and from [316] them the Williamses, of Nantarog, anceſtors of the preſent Sir Watkin Williams Wynne; the Williamses, of Penbed [...], and the Williamses, of B [...]d [...]ydd [...]n.
THOUGH many others may be added to theſe, we ſhall now cloſe this account with the deſcendants of Br [...]chwel Yſgrithog, prince of P [...]wys, viz. the Blaneys of Tregynon, the Wynnes of Garth, the Ll [...]yds of Leig [...]ton, and the Thomases of Llechwedd⯑gerth, whoſe preſent repreſentative is T [...]o. Thomas, eſquire, of Downing Ucha'.
THE number of Tribes in the MS. is only XV.—We retain the title, but add that of TUDOR TREVOR, or the Tribe of MARCH, as is done by ſome of our writers.
N. B. TITLE PAGE to Whiteford, the date 1796.—I requeſt that this may be read 1795. It was expected that the whole book would have been printed in that year; but by various delays, too well known to authors, it was not completed till the month of March 1796. I therefore beg the reader would conſi⯑der that the ſeveral references which may be ſuppoſed to relate to 1796 can only intend 1795: for example, p. 161. l. 9. 'next ſeaſon' means the wheat-ſowing ſeaſon of that year. 'In the next year,' means 1796. The attentive reader will diſcover many other reference of that kind.
PAGE 99, after paragraph 2d.—We retain in Whiteford church the decent ſervice of praying for the ſick, inſtead of lazily ſinking it into the xxixth ſupplicatlon of the Litany. The prayers on that occaſion are ſo pathetic, ſo admonitory to the congregation, that I am amazed that any miniſter ſhould remain inſenſible of the impropriety of the omiſſion.
I NOW cannot but moſt earneſtly exhort the ſquires of every pariſh to attendance on divine ſervice, if it was only to hear the ſad catalogue of the miſerable objects which compoſe the largeſt part of thoſe for whom the devotions I allude to are intended. It will direct their benevolence to their relief. They may find among them objects of their charity, whom they may never otherwiſe have heard of. They may find tenants to whom they ought to be fathers. They certainly will find congenerous beings, to whom every duty of humanity is enjoined by the SA⯑VIOUR of the world: This I ſhould hope is thus irreſiſtibly enforced:
COME, YE BLESSED OF MY FATHER, INHERIT THE KINGDOM PREPARED FOR YOU FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.
FOR I WAS AN HUNGRED, AND YE GAVE ME MEAT; I WAS THIRSTY, AND YE GAVE ME DRINK; I WAS A STRANGER, AND YE TOOK ME IN; NAKED, AND YE CLOATHED ME; I WAS SICK, AND YE VISITED ME; I WAS IN PRISON, AND YE CAME UNTO ME.
THEN SHALL THE RIGHTEOUS ANSWER HIM, SAYING, LORD, WHEN SAW WE THEE AN HUNGRED, AND FED THEE? OR THIRSTY, AND GAVE THEE DRINK?
WHEN SAW WE THEE A STRANGER, AND TOOK THEE IN? OR NAKED, AND CLOTHED THEE?
OR WHEN SAW WE THEE SICK, OR IN PRISON, AND CAME UNTO THEE?
AND THE KING SHALL ANSWER, AND SAY UNTO THEM, VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, INASMUCH AS YE HAVE DONE IT UNTO ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE MY BRETHREN, YE HAVE DONE IT UNTO ME.
To theſe benedictory verſes let me add one, in which the penalty, as well as the reward is united. I cannot reſiſt the im⯑pulſe, as it is ſo admirably adapted to the times. It ſhall be followed by an extract from p. 164 of this work, which I com⯑municated to the public through the channel of the Cheſter paper, followed by ſome declarations to prevent the miſtaking of any part. I fervently wiſh to promote a friendly agreement between landlord and tenant; between tenant and every poor laborer. The benevolent Duke of BEAUFORT, and I believe others of the benevolent GREAT, have made the attempt; and, to [325] the glory of landlord and tenant, are to this moment diſpenſing their generous plan to a grateful people. Such an agreement was entered into by the farmers of part of this and a neighbor⯑ing county; but to their infamy, many of them withdrew from their words and their ſignatures. May the landlords become the inſtruments of compelling them to accept the bleſſing offered in the laſt part of the line, and to ſhun the curſe denounced in the firſt! There is one deſcription of men, on whom it ſhould fall in a moſt exemplary manner. The badger, or factor, employed to exhauſt the ſtock of corn and other proviſions, not by fair agreement, but by openly raiſing the price, by offering more than the farmer would have aſked; and even telling them, in open market, 'Aſk what you will, and we will give it.' The poor, ſince the repeal of the 5th and 6th of Edward IV. by the 12th of George III. are left defenceleſs. The means of inflicting the pu⯑niſhment by the ſtatute is taken away, and they are to ſeek juſtice through the tedious expenſive labyrinths of the common law.
PERMIT me to convey, through the channel of your paper, a paragraph from a book which is ſtill in the preſs:
‘I would never grant a leaſe to a great corn-tenant. I would preſerve a power over his granary, which legiſlature will not, or [326] cannot aſſume. Should he attempt by exportation to exhauſt it in years of ſcarcity, and not leave a ſufficient ſupply for the country which produced the grain; — ſhould he attempt a mo⯑nopoly,—ſhould he refuſe to carry a proper quantity to the next market;—or ſhould he refuſe to ſell, to the poor who can⯑not attend the market, corn in ſmall quantities, I WOULD INSTANTLY ASSUME THE POWER OF THE LANDLORD, AND EXPEL HIM FROM MY ESTATE. A juſt puniſhment for the tenant, who, through rapacity, declines to comply with my deſires, excited with no other view than to promote the good of the public.’
THE end which we wiſh by the above radically to correct, may ſoon be paſt cure, I therefore commit the extract to your hands. The evil is entirely local; other parts of Great Britain are poſſibly unaffected by it, and have no occaſion to take alarm. We do not wiſh the farmers ſolely to feed the poor; we only re⯑queſt them to reſerve in the country corn enough of EVERY kind to enable others to exert their benevolence to their poorer neigh⯑bors; not by gratu [...]tous donations, but by ſelling it at reaſonable prices to thoſe who are in want; we do not aſk it from the farmers at the prices of good times. GOD forbid that we ſhould deny them FAIR profits, ſuch as every other dealer has a right to. I wiſh to inculcate univerſal juſtice; but let us remember that CHARITY begins at home. We ſhall gladly impart our ſuper⯑fluity to our moſt diſtant neighbors, even ſhould we be obliged to pay more for the bare competency we may reſerve.
PAGE 5. l. 18. for Liverpool, read Leverpool —P. [...]. [...]— P. 18. l. 15. for Whichchurch r. Whitchurch.—P. 55. [...] r. y gwr a biau'r nenbren.—P. 67. l. 15 for epiſtle r. ode.—P. 72. for mother r. grandmother —P. 75 l. 5 for culottes r. culotte.—P. 81. l. 26. for Eſopus cum commentariis varius r. Aeſopus cum commentariis variis.—P. 120. l. 7. for juventute r. juventu [...].—P. 140. l. 12. for STATA r. STRATA.—P. 135. l. 16. for beneath r. under.—P. 192. l 28. for eccleſia r. eccleſiae.—P. 200. l. 21. for ru [...]ns r. ruin.—P. 206 l. 7. for Parys Mountain r. Parys Mine Company.—P. 206. l. 8. for evaporate r. cry [...]allize.—P. 271. l. 7. before part, inſert this.
This battle took place in the year 1090. Our valiant Prince Rhys had the honor of falling in the field, fighting in the defence of his country, at the great age of ninety-eight years.