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It has a history chronicled not only in in books, but in its walls, towers, rows, and venerable remains; all of which to an intelligent and inquiring mind, are sugges- tive of much respecting the people and times of the eventful aSt. p A close investigation into the ancient history of Chester is not only interesting, as throwing considerable light on the varied agencies which have contributed to its rise and progress;– exhibiting the sort of antecedents out of which its present has sprung;-but also as furnishing most valuable facts elucidatory of our national annals. Chester has been from time to time the theatre of momentous events, bearing on the development of our national institutions, liberties, and laws. Its history, therefore, cannot fail of interest to the thoughtful, who will gladly welcome any light that can be thrown on the progress of any portion of their country. --- The origin of Chester is of very remote date. No definite conclusion has been reached respecting the exact time of its foundation. Various hypotheses have been started, some of them grotesque and ridiculous enough, but it appears to be lost in extreme remoteness. All writers of note who have investigated the question with great painstaking and ability, concur in the acknowledgment of its great antiquity, and indeed, it is at once a result and a proof of its very early origin, that we have had so many curious conjectures and ingenious theories on the subject. There are some sensible remarks on this point in “King's K. Royal,” which we cannot refrain from transcribing for the benefit of A. 2 THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF the reader. “That there hath been so much wrestling and striving to find out the ancient names and the first original of the City of Chester, is to me one argument of the ancient- ness thereof; for there is no certainty known, how can it be but beyond the reach of all intelligence, that the laborious writers of all ages have endeavoured after. Whereupon I hold it for a conclusion that many monuments in this kingdom, whereof there can be found no memory of their foundation, are more ancient than those which have their foundations either certainly known or probably conjectured. Although for my part I see not but very weak grounds for these conjectures, who would bring our City of Chester's found- ation from beyond all possibility of record, yet I will not pre- judicate any in their surmises, nor defraud them of the praises that any shall think good to bestow upon those who have laboured in collections of that kind. The first name that I find this city to have been supposed to have bourne, was Neomagus ; and this they derive from Magus, the son of Samothes, who was the first planter of in- habitants in this isle after Noah's flood, which now containeth England, Scotland, and Wales; and of him was called Samo- thea; and this Samothes was son to Japhet, the third son of Noah and of this Magus, who first built a city even in this place or near unto it, as it is supposed, the same was called Neomagus. This conjecture I find observed by the learned Sir Thomas Elliott, who saith directly that Neomagus stood where Chester now standeth. Whether it carried that name for any long time of continuance, or when it lost the same, I find no certainty. Randulphus, a monk of Chester, and another of the old Polychronicon, hath another foundation from a giant for- sooth called Leon Gower, which Gower Marius calls the van- quisher of the Picts, who laid the first foundation of this city, as it were, in a kind of rude and disordered fashion, which afterwards by Leir, King of Britain, was brought to a more pleasant fashion of building, which is best expressed in the verses of Henry Bradshaw, another monk of Chester, who writ the life of St. Werburgh, and therein these verses:— “The founder of this city, as saith Polychronicon, Was Leon Gower, a mighty strong giant; Which builded caves and dungeons many a one, No goodly buildings, no proper, no pleasant. But King Leir, a Briton fine and valiant, Was founder of Chester by pleasant building, And was named Guer Leir by the king.” Touching which foundation, supposed by this Leon Gower, . I do, by so much less, give approbation; by how much methinks THE CITY OF CHESTER. 3 that opinion of Mr. Camden’s seems most probable, drawn from the ancient British language, of whom it hath been called Caer- legian Caerleon vaur Caerleon or Dufyrdwy, as the Britons called it; which names are derived from that legion of the Romans, called Vicessima Victrix, which where first planted here in the second consulship of Galba, with Titus Vincus ; and afterwards established under the government of Julius Agricola appointed by this city, &c. By whom, or howsoever, the same city had her first foundation, it is manifest enough that it is exceeding antient; and even the doubtfulness of the first found- ation makes it, as before I touched, of undoubted antiquity.” It is quite clear as an authenticated matter of fact, that Ches- ter was in very early possession of the Romans. It was the head quarters of the 20th legion, which, we find, came into Britain before the year 61 ; for it had a share in the defeat of Boadicea by Suetonius. After that important victory this mighty and intrepid people marched onward towards North Wales, and es- tablished their authority in Cheshire. Scattered through the city, have been discovered many ves- tiges of their power, which enable us to trace their history with considerable distinctness. Wherever they planted their potent sway, they left behind permanent records of their great- ness and skill. Many of these memorials have been discovered in various parts of the old city, and we are glad to find that through the intelligent and zealous investigations of the Chester Archoeological Society, these antiquities are now made tributary to the enlightenment and instruction of the inhabit- ants respecting the history of their own locality. Not only by the antiquarian, however, is Chester worthy of attention; there is scarcely any order of mind or taste, but may here find its fitting gratification. Its noble arched bridge, vene- rable cathedral, unique rows, and walls encompassing the city, with a considerable number and variety of relics, all combine to make Chester a locality the most precious in treasures of in- vestigation, that can be found in the kingdom. It is the metropolis of the county palatine of that name, and is pleasantly situated above the river Dee, on a rising ground. Its names have been various. Its Roman name is Deva, undoubtedly because of its being situated on the river Dee. Then Cestriae, from Castrum “camp;” and Castrum Legionis, “the Camp of the Legion.” Its British names were Caer Lleon—“the Camp of the Legion;” and Caer Lleon Vawr, or Ddyfrdwy, “the Camp of the Great Legion on the Dee.” During the brilliant lieutenancy of Julius Agricola, A.D.85, it became a Roman colony; and the place was called from them and from its situation, Colonia Devana. This is clearly - A 2 4 THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF demonstrated by a coin of Septimus Geta, son of Severus, which has this inscription— Col. Devana. Leg. xx. Victrix. For two or three centuries after this Chester appears to have continued undisturbed in the power of the Romans; during which period “it was a centre of operations while conquest was being produced; a centre of civilization and commercial intercourse when the dominion of the empire was established. The actual form of the city, its division by streets into four quarters, exhibits the arrangement which the Romans established in their camp, and which they naturally transferred to the cities which took the place of their military stations. Traces of the work of that wonderful people still remain on our walls, and on the rocky brows which surround them ; and excite the attention and reward the diligence of the antiquarian. Those pigs of lead, the produce of Roman industry, which are first mentioned in “Camden’s Bri- tannia,” as being found in the neighbourhood of Chester, and two of which have recently been discovered, are memorials of the early period at which the mineral wealth of this district was known, and of the commerce to which it gave rise.” It is a fact, clearly established by history, that to the Romans we are greatly in- debted for the introduction of a much higher order of civiliza- tion than that which they found existing when they took posses- sion of the country. They were the pioneers of social and religious progress. Previous to the Roman invasion, the inhabi- tants were unacquainted with the laws and arts of civilized life; —painted their bodies, despised the institution of marriage, clothed themselves in skins—knew very little of agriculture— were furious in disposition, and cruel in their religious Super- stitions. We find that the practice of human sacrifices was very general amongst them, and in every respect their social and moral condition rude and barbarous in the extreme. So wedded were they to their idolatrous worship and cruel rites, that the Romans after their conquest, found it necessary to abolish their religion by penal statutes: an exercise of power which was not usual with these tolerating conquerors. About the year 50, the Emperor Claudius Caesar, subdued the greater part of Britain, and received the submission of several of the British states who inhabited the south east part of the Island. The other Britons under the command of Caractacus, still maintained an obstinate resistance, and the Romans made little progress against them, until Ostorius Scapula was sent over in the year 50, to command their armies. This renowned general found the country in a state of great excitement and dissatisfaction, bu speedily advanced the Roman conquests over the Britons—defeate THE CITY OF CHESTER. 5 Caractacus in a great battle—took him prisoner, and sent him to Rome—where his magnanimous behaviour procured him better treatment than those conquerors usually bestowed on native princes. He pardoned Caractacus and his family, and commanded that their chains should immediately be taken off. Hollingshed is of opinion that Ostorius Scapula was the founder of Chester, and the reasons he adduces are certainly possessed of great force. He says, “It is not unlike that it might be first built by P. Ostorius Scapula, who, as we find, after he had subdued Caractacus, King of the Ordonices, that inhabited the countries now called Lancashire, Cheshire, and Salopshire, built in those parts, and among the Silures, certeine places of defense, for the better harbrough of his men of warre, and keeping downe of such Britaines as were still readie to move rebellion.” Passing over the space of a few years, we find Julius Agricola completing the conquest of this Island. Such was his formidable power and skilful policy in governing the people, that we are told they soon became reconciled to the supremacy of the Roman arms and language. He quelled their animosity to the Roman yoke, and certainly did very much for the progress of the people in civilization, knowledge, and the arts of peace. There is perhaps no place in the kingdom that can boast of so many monuments of Roman skill and ingenuity as our own vene- rable city; but as these will be described in detail as we proceed we will not stay to specify them here. About the year 448 the Romans withdrew from the Island after having been masters of the most considerable part of its terri- tory for nearly four centuries, and left the Britons to arm for their own defence. But from their long subjection to a foreign yoke, they had lost that desperate valor and love of indepen- dence which had before been prominent features of their char- acter, and were but in a sorry condition to resist the aggression of a formidable foe. No sooner, therefore, had the Romans withdrawn their troops, than the Scots and Picts invaded the country with their terrible forces, and spread devastation and ruin along the line of their march. These vindictive and rapacious barbarians, fired with the lust of conquest, made a pitiless onslaught upon the property and lives of the people. The unhappy Britons petitioned, without effect, for the inter- position of Rome, which had declared its resolution for ever to abandon them. The British ambassadors were entrusted with a letter to the legate at Rome, pathetically stating their perilous dilemma, and invoking their immediate aid. The tenor of the epistle, which was inscribed “the groans of the Britons,” cer- tainly was in perfect keeping with the quaint but expressive inscription:— 6 THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF “The barbarians, on the one hand, chase us unto the sea; the sea, on the other, throws us back upon the barbarians; and we have only the hard choice left us of perishing by the sword or by the waves.” The intestine commotions which were then shaking the Roman empire to its centre, prevented the masters of the then world from affording the timely aid sought at their hands. The petition of the Britons being thus rejected,—their hope of re-inforcement suddenly blighted,—a panic soon spread itself amongst the troops, which reduced them to a state of despair. Dispirited and undisciplined, conquered already by fear, they were unequal to a conflict with their much dreaded foes. They therefore deserted their habitations, and fled for refuge into the forests and mountains, where they suffered alike from the inroads of hunger and their enemy. Their miserable condition and sufferings are described by early chroniclers as desperate in the extreme. We are told that the barbarian invaders not being fully prepared for the permanent occupancy of the country which they had ravaged, and being harrassed by the dispersed Britons, who had not dared to resist them in a body, they retreated with the spoils unto their own country. The Britons taking advantage of this cessation of hostilities, returned to their usual occupations, and soon recovered con- siderable prosperity. But as a striking illustration of their im- providence, and utter ignorance of the tactics of war, during the interval they exercised no forethought, did not attempt to recruit their strength, or make any further provision for the resistance of the enemy, who soon therefore threatened them with a new invasion. Despairing of any re-inforcement from Rome, they now in- voked the aid of the Saxons, who promptly complied with the invitation, and under Hengist and Horsa, two Saxon chiefs, who were also brothers, soon wrested Chester from the hands of the invaders. The Saxons perceiving the weakness of the degenerate allies, soon began to entertain the project of con- quering them, and seizing the country as their spoil. During the conflict which ensued between the Britons and Saxons, who from allies became masters, Chester was frequently taken and re-taken, and suffered severely in various sieges. Ultimately, the Aborigines were totally subjugated under the mightier sway of Saxon arms. In 607, Ethelfred, king of Northumbria, waged a sanguinary battle with the Britons under the walls of Chester, whom he defeated. - It is recorded that he came to avenge the quarrel of St. Augus- tine, whose metropolitan jurisdiction the British monks refused THE CITY OF CHESTER, 7 to admit. Augustine is said to have denounced against them the vengeance of heaven, for this reason, three years previously. Sammes, in his Antiquities of Britain, gives an interesting statement of this celebrated battle, “Edelfrid, the strongest King of the English, having gathered together a great army about the city of Chester, he made a great slaughter of that nation; but when he was going to give the onset, he espied priests and others, who were come thither to entreat God for the success of the army, standing apart in a place of advantage; he asked who they were, and for what purpose they had met there * When Edelfrid had understood the cause of their coming, he said, “If, therefore, they cry unto their God against us, cer- tainly they, although they bear no arms, fight against us, who prosecute us by their prayers.” The victory was not destined, however, to be an abiding one. The supremacy of Ethelfrid over the Britons was not long in duration. History tells us that a few years after he had achieved his conquest, the united forces of Brocmail and three other British princes, rescued from his hands the posses- sion of Chester, and put his armies to flight. In 613, the Britons assembled in Chester and elected Cadwon their king, who reigned with great honor for twenty-two years. From this period to the close of the Heptarchy, we have but very scanty materials respecting the history of Chester. The Britons appear to have retained possession of it until about the year 828, when it was finally taken out of their hands by Egbert, during the reign of the British prince Mer- vyn and his wife Esylht. In a few years afterwards (894 or 895), the city underwent a heavy calamity from its invasion by Harold, king of the Danes, Mancolin, king of the Scots, and another confederate prince, who are said to have encamped on Hoole heath, near Chester, and, after a long siege, reduced the city. These pre- datory pirates were soon after attacked and conquered by Alfred, who utterly routed them from the military defences in which they had embosomed themselves, and destroyed all the cattle and corn of the district. Although historians are not agreed as the exact date when this took place, yet the result appears to be that, after a temporary possession, they were compelled by famine suddenly to depart and take their course through North Wales. After the evacuation of the city by the Danes, it remained in ruins until about the year 908, when it was restored by Ethelred, the first Earl of Mercia, and Ethelfled his wife, who, it is said, enlarged it to double the extent of the Roman town. Sir Peter Leycester says that “Ethelred and his countess 8 THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF restored Caerleon, that is Legecestria, now called Chester, after it was destroyed by the Danes, and enclosed it with new walls, and made it nigh such two as it was before; so that the castle that was sometime by the water without the walls, is now in the town within the walls.” All the narratives which have been handed down to us of this celebrated woman, re- present her as possessed of incomparable talent, great enter- prize, and pure mind. She employed the great power and opportunity she possessed with admirable wisdom, and made them subservient to acts of munificence and piety. She died at Tamworth in 922, from whence her body was translated to Gloucester. Leycester gives a lengthy record of her good deeds, which prepares us for the fact that her loss was deeply and universally regretted throughout the whole kingdom, The security of Chester against the Danish invaders was ultimately effected by the victories of Edmund, in or about 942, after which it was occasionally honoured by the resi- dence of the Saxon sovereigns. Pennant says King Edgar made this one of the stations in his annual circum-navigation of his dominions. About the year 973, he visited Chester, at- tended by his court, and received the homage of his vassal kings. It is said that one day entering his barge, he assumed the helm, and made his eight tributary princes row him from the palace which stood in the field at Handbridge, opposite the prison wards of the castle, and which still bears his name, up the river Dee as far as the monastery of St. John's. In the following century Chester was possessed by the Earls of Mercia until the Norman Conquest in 1066. The tyranny, violence, and bloodshed which marked the course of William the Conqueror, met with determined resistance in various parts of the country; but in the course of six or seven years he utterly crushed all opposition, and became absolute master of the island. He introduced into England the feudal sys- tem. “with its military, aristocracy, its pride, its splendour, and its iron dominion. The importance of Chester as a mili- tary station, was shewn by its being assigned as a fief to one of the chief leaders in the Norman army, and on his death by its being given to the nephew of the Duke himself, under whom it was invested with privileges which raised it almost to the rank of a separate principality. Under Hugh, the first Earl of Chester, and his immediate successors, we may sup- pose that most of those castles were built, which form objects of antiquarian research in the neighbourhood, but which are melancholy records of the state of society at the time, since they were evidently built to protect the frontiers from the continued invasions of the Welsh. Some of these still re- THE CITY OF CHESTER, 9 main ; and from their extent and magnificence, appear to have been the residences of the Earls themselves. Many more have perished, and can only be traced by the banks which mark the outline of their plan. These were probably of an inferior description, and are rather to be considered as guard-houses for the protection of some particular pass, than as regular fortresses. There are traces of this kind at Doddleston, at Pulford, at Aldford, at Holt, at Shotwick, beside the larger and more distinguished holds at Beeston, Halton, Chester, and Hawarden; and probably few years passed but that some inroad of the Welsh carried fire and slaughter to the very ; of Chester, and swept the cattle and produce from the elds.” # For many years previous to the Norman Conquest, Chester was governed by Dukes or Earls; but William, perceiving the danger of entrusting so large a territory in the hands of any one of his barons, curtailed the provinces within narrower limits, and thereby crippled the power which had often proved dangerous to the throne, and at the same time augmented his own, by having a larger number of gifts and emoluments to bestow on his followers. In the first instance, William gave Cheshire to Gherbodus, a noble Fleming, who, having ob- tained permission of the king to visit Flanders for the transaction of some private business, there fell into the hands of his ene- mies, and was obliged to resign the earldom to Hugh Lupus, the nephew of the Conqueror, who was appointed in his stead. The Earldom was now erected into a Palatinate. Camden says “William the 1st created Hugh, surnamed Lupus, the 1st Earl of Chester and Count Palatine, and gave unto him and his heirs all the county, to be holden as freely by the Sword as the king himself held England by his crown.” By reason of this grant the Earls of Chester were invested with sovereign jurisdiction, and held their own parliaments. It has been supposed probable that Lupus was invested with his new dignity at Chester by William himself, when he was present here in person in 1069. He created several barons to assist him in his council and government, some of whom we find upon record, as Nigel, Baron of Halton; Sir William Maldebeng, of Malbanc, Baron ef Wich Malbanc, or Nantwich; Richard de Vernon, Baron of Shipbroke; Gilbert Venables, Baron of Kinderton; Hamon de Massey, Baron of Dunham Massey; Warren de Poynton, Baron of Stockport; Eustace de Monthalt, Baron of Monthalt. * Rev. Chancellor Raikes' Introductory Lecture before the Chester Archae- ological Society. & 10 THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF He converted the church of St. Werburgh into an abbey, by the advice of St. Anselm. He continued earl thirty-one years, died the 27th of July, 1101, and was buried in the church yard, but afterwards re- moved to the present Chapter-house of the Cathedral, where his body was found in 1724, wrapped in leather, enclosed in a stone coffin ; at the head of the coffin was a stone in the shape of a T, with a wolf's head, the arms which he bore, being engraven upon it. His Sword of Dignity forms one of the many valuable curiosi- ties preserved in the British Museum. It is about four feet long, and so unwieldy as to require considerable strength to brandish it with both hands. His parliament was formed of eight barons, who were obliged to attend him. Every baron had four esquires; every esquire one gentleman, and every gentleman one valet. The barons had the power of life and death. Hugh Lupus was succeeded by his son Richard, who was drowned in his passage from Normandy. He governed nineteen years, and was succeeded by Ranulph, surnamed Mechines, son of Margaret, sister to Lupus. Ran- ulph died at Chester A.D. 1129, * and was succeeded by the heroic Ranulph II, surnamed Geronjis, who, having held the Earldom twenty-five years, he was poisoned in 1153, and was as buried at Chester. Hugh II. his son, surnamed Cyvelioc, succeeded him, and continued in the Earldom twenty-eight years. He died at Leeke, in Staffordshire, and was buried at Chester. Hugh was succeeded by his son Ranulph, surnamed Blun- deville, who, for his benevolence, was styled Ranulph the Good. He served in the holy wars, and was as celebrated as any of the Seven Champions of Christendom. After his re- turn he built Beeston Castle, in this county; a noble and im- posing fortress which, before the use of fire-arms, might have been deemed impregnable. It is built on an insulated rock, and its summit is one hundred yards above the level of the brook that runs at its base. It endured three sieges during the civil wars. The middle part of the slope is surrounded by towers, which time, however, has dismantled ; the well in the upper part was cut through the rock to the depth of one hundred yards, in the course of time, it became nearly filled up with rubbish, but within the last few years was cleared, built round, and enclosed, by J. Tollemache, Esq., M.P., to whom the castle belongs. * This Earl was the first who assumed the present arms of Chester: three wheat sheaves in a field azure. THE CITY of CHESTER. * 11 This Earl Ranulph was besieged by the Welsh in the castle of Rhudlan, and was relieved by Ralph Dutton, son-in-law of Roger Lacy, Constable of Chester, at the head of a large body of fiddlers, minstrels, &c., who were then assembled at the fair of Hugh Lupus. A remarkable privilege of this fair was, that no thief or malefactor that attended it, should be attached or punished, except for offences then and there committed. With this motley crew, Dutton marched into Wales, and raised the siege; for which Ranulph rewarded him with full power over all the instruments of his preservation, and the privilege of licensing the minstrels; in virtue whereof Dut- ton’s heirs claimed from the minstrels four bottles of wine and one lance, with a fee of fourpence-halfpenny; and from every courtezan in the city and county, “officium suum exercens,” fourpence. The anniversary of the above narrated achieve- ment was formerly celebrated annually, on the festival of St. John the Baptist, by a regular procession of the minstrels to the church of their tutelar saint in this city, St. Werburgh, in honour of whom Hugh Lupus granted to the minstrels, &c. the above mentioned privilege, which is recognised in all subsequent vagrant acts, by a special exception in favour of the minstrel jurisdiction of the Duttons, of Dutton, in Ches- hire. This last Earl Ranulph died in 1232, and was buried at Chester. John Scott succeeded Ranulph, who died without issue, not without suspicion, Leycester says, of being poisoned by the contrivance of Helene his wife. The Earls of Chester continued to exercise their local sove- reignty for about one hundred and sixty years. They held that sovereignty, it is true, as the representatives of the para- mount sovereignty of the King of England, and as owing allegiance to him in all things; but so far as the government of the Palatinate was concerned, their rule, though nominally mediate, was actually absolute, for the King does not appear to have thwarted their jurisdiction, or in any way to have exerted his supreme authority, beyond the retaining a mint at Chester. After the death of the seventh Earl in 1237, Henry the Third united the Earldom to the Crown; he afterwards con- ferred it upon his eldest son, Prince Edward, about A.D. 1245, who, two years after this, received the homage of his military tenants at Chester. From that period to the present the title of Earl of Chester has been vested in the eldest son of the reigning sovereign, and is now held by his Royal Highness Albert Prince of Wales. In 1255 Llewellyn ap Gryffid, Prince of Wales, provoked 12 THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF by the cruel injuries his subjects had received from Geffrey Langley, Lieutenant of the County under Prince Edward, carried fire and sword to the gates of Chester. In 1257 Henry the Third summoned his nobility and bishops to attend, with their vassals, at Chester, in order to invade Wales; and in 1275 Edward the First appointed the city as the place for Llewelyn to do him homage, whose refusal ended with the ruin of himself and his principality; for in 1300 Edward of Carnarvon here received the final acknowledgment of the Welsh to the sovereignty of England; and in a few years afterwards, Llewellyn was brought hither a prisoner from Flint castle. Richard the Second visited this his favourite city in 1397, and in 1399 he was brought a prisoner from Flint castle to the castle of Chester, which Henry the Fourth had seized, and put to death many of his adherents. In Owen Glendower's wars, this city was a place d’armes for the English troops in the expeditions against the Welsh, who, ever tenacious of their independence, were as unwilling to submit to the Norman as the Saxon yoke. In 1459, Henry the Sixth with Queen Margaret, and her son Edward, visited Chester, and bestowed little silver swans on the Cheshire gentlemen who espoused her cause. It appears that Henry the Seventh and his Queen also visited Chester in 1493. In 1554 George Marsh, the unflinch- ing martyr, was publicly burnt at Boughton, for his stedfast adherence to the Protestant faith. He sacrificed his life rather than falsify his conscience, or recant his faith. In the year 1617 the city was honoured with the presence of James the First, when Edward Button, the then Mayor, presented the King with a gilt cup containing one hundred jacobuses of gold. From this time no event of any great importance appears to have transpired, until the city was involved in the calamities of a siege, in consequence of its loyalty to Charles the First. The city stood the siege for some months; but the inhabitants at last, reduced to the extremity of famine, so that they were compelled to eat horses, dogs, cats, and other animals, aban- doned their resistance, and yielded the city on February the 3rd, 1645-6. Chester was, probably, in the time of the Romans, or earlier, a thriving port. The Saxon navy was stationed here, and it was also the seat of the Mercian Kings. About the time of the Conquest, the imports and exports appear to have been considerable. But as an illustration of the barbarism of the times, we may just mention, that one article of the latter was slaves, obtained, it is conjectured, from the captives which were made in the frequent wars with the Welsh. It is quite THE CITY OF CHESTER, 13 clear that Chester was, in former times, a busy and flourish- ing port, because of the perfectly navigable condition of the Dee. All the early writers of its history unite in bearing tes- timony to this point. 1t may here be just mentioned as a curious and interesting fact, that some centuries ago, Flookersbrook was covered over with water, and that a deep and broad channel flowed through Mollington, Stanney, and that direction, which emptied itself into the estuary now called the Mersey. Hol- linshed, after tracing minutely the course of the Dee through Flookersbrook up to Stanney, distinctly states that it “sendeth foorth one arme by Stannie Poole, and the Parke side into Merseie arme,” &c. Speed distinctly marks out this course in his map ; and it is still more broadly defined in an old Dutch map, which we have recently seen, of a much earlier date, printed at Rotterdam. In consequence of the uncertain and imperfect state of the river, the once thriving commerce of this ancient port has dwindled into insignificance, and Liverpool has reaped the ad- vantage. Spirited efforts are now being made to deepen the channel of the river, so as to render it navigable by vessels of heavy burden. A bill is now before parliament for the pur- pose of scouring this most desirable consummation. THE ANCIENT BRITISH CHURCH, SHORT inquiry into the history of the British Church may, perhaps, be acceptable to those who are inter- ested in such investigations. It is utterly beyond our , power to contribute anything new in the much and " long-disputed question of the first introduction of Christianity into England, or adduce any additional materiél, or employ any novel argument which would in the least aid in decid- ing the controverted point. It is quite clear, however, that very early in the Christian era, sometime during the 1st century, the light of Christian truth penetrated into this Island. Many con- flicting theories have been propounded as to the chronology and the agent employed by Divine Providence, in conferring this great boon upon our country; but as all the varied traditions seem to point to the Apostolic age, we may the more readily acquiesce 14 THE ANCIENT BRITISH CHURCH, in the loss of not knowing who was the actual instrument, especially when we remember, how many of the world’s greatest benefactors have been unknown to those who are most in- debted to them. The foundation of the Church in Britain has been ascribed, by many eminent authorities, to St Paul; and the learned Dr. Burgess, Bishop of St. David's, goes so far as to say, that this interesting point is established by as much substantial evidence as any historical fact can require; and he proceeds to give the testimony of the first six centuries in support of the doctrine. The first and most important testimony is that of Clemens Romanus, “the intimate friend and fellow-labourer of St. Paul,” who says, that in preaching the gospel the apos- tles went to the utmost bounds of the west, which seems to have been the usual designation of Britain. Theoderet speaks of the inhabitants of Spain, Gaul, and Britain, as .dwelling in the utmost bounds of the west. In the second century, Irenoeus speaks of Christianity as propagated to the utmost bounds of the earth by the apostles and their disciples; and Tertullian, at the beginning of the third century, gives a kindred testi- mony. In the fourth century, (A.D. 270-340) Eusebius says, that some of the apostles passed over the ocean to the British Isles; and Jerome, in the same century, ascribes this province to St. Paul, and says, that after his imprisonment, having been in Spain, he went from ocean to ocean, and preached the gospel in the western parts. Theodoret, in the fifth cen- tury, and Venantius Fortunatus in the sixth, are also quoted as witnesses to the same effect. Gildas, a Briton, called the wise, very positively ascribes the first mission to Britain to St. Joseph of Arimathea, who, ac- cording to his account, evangelized Gaul. This opinion is supported by Bede, William of Malmesbury, and many eminent divines of the Church. Sammes, in his ‘Antiquities of Britain,’ inclines to the same idea, and gives an illustration of the first church sup- posed to be built by him; but it does not appear to be based upon sufficient evidence to entitle it to acceptance. The conversion of Britain to the Christain faith has also been ascribed to St. Peter, St. James the Great, and to Simon Zelotes. Bishop Taylor and Dr. Cox are disposed to award the honour to the latter. , Southey is of opinion that the Gospel was first introduced here by the family of Caractacus, who propagated it among the British tribes; and he is certainly upheld in this by many weighty considerations. As there is existing such contrariety of belief among those master intellects, who have deeply studied the subject, we THE ANCIENT BRITISH CHURCH, 15 * should certainly regard it as vain presumption to record any dogmatic judgment. At first the progress of Christianity was slow, but on that account the more sure, as it was gradually supplanting the deep-rooted prejudices of the people. Early in the fourth century, its diffusion had become so accelerated, that Maximius and Galerius, themselves bigoted Pagans, re- commended to the Emperor Diocletian the enforcement of ex- treme measures, in order to crush the growing religion, and the ever-memorable persecution under his reign was the result, when Christians were indiscriminately slaughtered, and churches wantonly destroyed. Under the empire of his successor, Constantine, persecution was extinguished; churches were re-built, the offices of reli- gion generally resumed, and the people enjoyed more than fifty years' tranquility. In the month of August, 314, the cele- brated Council of Arles was assembled; and in the lists of the ecclesiastics who attended the council, we have the names of the British Bishops, a convincing proof this, that the Christian faith had obtained a strong hold on the minds of the people. At a council held at Ariminum, or Rimini, on the coast of the Adriatic, in 359 A.D. in reference to the Arian heresy, that was then rending the Church asunder, we find that there were assembled more than 400 Bishops, “those chiefly of the western church.” Of these ecclesiastics several came from Bri- tain, as we learn from a passage in Sulpicius Severus, which is to the effect, that three out of the eight or ten of the bishops who came from Britain, unable to pay out of their own funds the ex- penses occasioned by their protracted stay at Rimini, had recourse to the public allowance provided for the purpose. The bishops, upon their return to Britain, found the northern part of the Island in a distracted condition, from the destructive invasion of the Scots and Picts. The Gospel flourished a long period in England before it was introduced into Scotland or Ireland, or even into the Principality. It is recorded by Spelman, that Wales was con- yº to the Christian faith about the time of the council of €S. While Britain continued a Roman province, Christianity continued to flourish and extend its dominion throughout the length and breadth of the land. And the Christian Britons sought not only to permeate their own Island with the in- fluence of the truth, but in obedience to that expansive principle which it always implants, they sounded out “the word” to their Pagan neighbours in Scotland and Ireland, amongst whom we find the Britons introduced the Christian religion. The Britons maintained their religion in their respective localities 16 THE ANCIENT RERITISH CHURCH. * until, by the invasion of the Pagan Saxons, British Christians were exposed to persecutions almost as severe as the Diocletian period. In many places churches were destroyed or alienated to Pagan worship, and most of the clergy with their flocks, were compel- led to fly for safety into Wales. Notwithstanding the sufferings by which our forefathers, at this era, were exercised, they still remained faithful to their principles, and continued to worship and receive the instructions of their ministers, according to their own faith. In the year 490 Dubricius was elevated to the Archbishopric of Caerleon, which he appears to have held, together with the Bishopric of Llandaff. Although faithful and laborious in the discharge of the sacred duties of his primacy, we find the Pela- gian heresy breaking out and making rapid progress among the Britons, disturbing the peace and unity of the church. With a view to suppress this heresy, a synod of the bishops and clergy was convened, which assembled accordingly in the year 519 at a place called Brevi (afterwards Llandewi Brevi) in Cardiganshire. Before the synod was dissolved, the age and infirmities of Dubri- cius induced him to resign the Archbishopric, to which St. David was unanimously appointed. Want of space prevents our narrating the incidents which fill up the interval of church history from the time of St. David to the mission of Augustine to this country; we therefore will pro- ceed briefly to notice that interesting and eventful enterprize. Augustine and his associates landed in Thanet A.D. 596, and in a short time after his arrival was admitted to an audience with the King, who gave them full liberty to preach their doctrines in the country; and appropriated the British church in Canterbury for their service. It has been very generally stated that the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons was by the instrumentality of the Roman missionary, but the claim is not proved by satisfactory evidence. There seems to be no doubt that they were partially instructed in the Christian faith before the visit of Augustine to our shores. When he entertained the ambitious project, however of subjecting the British to the Roman see, and also his own metropolitan jurisdiction, he was confronted with a determined resistance from the British monks, who positively refused to concede their independence, and were “fixed in the determination not to be subjugated by any foreign prince, power, or prelate.” Spelman says that the Britons “stiffly opposed” the demands of Augustine to obey the Bishop of Rome and receive the Romish ceremonies; “and after the business had been a long time con- troverted on both sides, another synod or session was agreed on, when a great number of the British clergy were present: amongst them seven bishops. The old controversy is again renewed, but . THE ANCIENT BRITISH CHURCH. 17 when Augustine found that he was likely to gain no farther, he desired they would but conform to him and the Romans in three things only — 1st. In the observation of Easter. 2d. In the administration of Baptism. 3d. In assisting him with their preaching to the English Saxons. But they, suspecting the pride of Augustine, would not condes- cend to him in these things neither.” Failing in this first attempt to bring the monks to the re- cognition of his supremacy, a second synod was summoned, and the proposal already made was repeated, to which “they made answer that they would do none of these things, neither would they acknowledge him for an archbishop.” All his at- tempts to subdue the steady resolution of the old Britons were unavailing, feuds and wars of religious bigotry ensued, and the massacre of the Bangor monks, at the battle of Chester, was the result, which we have already described. Theodore appears to have been the first Anglo-Saxon pri- mate. He was ordained at Rome, A.D. 669, and to his authority the British clergy submitted. According to King’s ‘Vale Royal,” Theodore appointed St. Chad the first Bishop of Chester, who fixed his seat at Lich- field. “After him one Winifred was bishop, who, for his dis- obedience in some points, was deprived by Theodore, who appointed in his place one Sexulph. The said Theodore, by authority of a synod held at Hatfield, did divide the province of Mercia into five bishoprics, that is to say, Chester, Worcester, Lichfield, Cederma in Lindsey, and Dorchester, which after was translated to Lincoln. After Sexulf, one Aldwin was bishop of Lichfield, and next to him Eudulfus, who was adorned with the Archbishop's pall, having all the bishops under King Offa's dominions suffragans to him.” The diocese of Chester seems to have continued one with that of Lichfield to the time of the Conquest, when Pennant says a Bishop of Lichfield of the name of Peter, in the year 1075, removed his episcopal seat to Chester; and during his life made use of the monastery of St. John’s for his cathedral. His successor was Robert of Lindsey, chaplain of Wm. Rufus, who removed the see to Coventry; St. John’s church, how- —ever, continued collegiate up to the time of the Reformation, at which period it had a dean, eight canons or prebends, and ten vicars choral. The prelate and his successors, although having seats at Lichfield and Coventry, as well as Chester, continued to have the designation of Bishop of Chester, until the ap- pointment of John Ketterich, in 1415, who was not so styled, nor any of his successors until the time of the Reformation. B - 18 THE ANCIENT BRITISH CHURCH. “The bishops that were before that time (although they were commonly called bishops of Chester) were bishops of Lichfield, and had but their seat or most abiding in Chester.” Henry the Eight erected Chester into a distinct diocese in the 33rd year of his reign, “turning the monastery of St. Werburgh into the bishop's palace; unto which jurisdiction was allotted Cheshire, Lancashire, Richmondshire, and part of Cumberland; and was appointed to be within the province of York.” John Bird, D.D. “formerly a fryer of the order of the Carme- lites, was the first bishop of this new foundation.” He was de- prived of his bishopric by Queen Mary, A.D. 1544, because of his adhesion to the Protestant faith. He was succeeded by George Cotes, who survived his consecration only about two years. He died at Chester, and was buried in the Cathedral near the bishop's throne. His memory is stained with the blood of George Marsh, who, during his episcopate, suffered martyrdom at Boughton. The next bishop was Cuthbert Scott, who was vice-chancellor of Oxford in 1554 and 1555, one of the delegates commissioned by Cardinal Pole to visit that University, and one of the four bishops who, with as many divines, undertook to defend the Church of Rome against an equal number of reformed divines. He was deposed by Queen Elizabeth, for some abusive expressions uttered against Her Majesty. William Downham, chaplain to Queen Elizabeth be- fore she came to the crown, was consecrated Bishop of Chester, A.D. 1561. He died Nov. 1577, and was buried in the choir of the Cathedral, having sat bishop sixteen years and a half: from that time to the present there has been a regular suc- cession of Protestant bishops. John Graham, D. D. formerly Master of Christ's College, Cambridge, was consecrated to the see of Chester in 1848, and is at present fulfilling the duties of his high vocation with pious earnestness and diligence, —º- —w- GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF CHESTER, JNICIPAL institutions were first introduced into Britain by the Romans. York was one of the first towns in England on which they were conferred. We can discover very little to aid us in tracing s: * the progressive history of the municipal government of the ancient city of Chester, until the time of Ranulph, the third Earl Palatine and nephew of the Earl Hugh ; but being GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF CHESTER, 19 a Roman colony, the inhabitants no doubt were regarded as Roman citizens, and as such entitled to the same privileges which Rome itself possessed. Pennant supposes that the Ro- man proctorium occupied the site on which St. Peter's church is now built. In this tribunal, if the case be so, the civil law and power would be exercised in those days. Before the city had any charter, says King’s ‘Vale Royal,’ “they used by prescription divers liberties, and enjoyed a guild mercatory, that is, a brotherhood of merchants, and that what- soever was not admitted of that society, he could not use any trade, or traffick within the city, nor be a tradesman therein. And the tenor of this guild mercatory did even run in these words : — Sicut hactenus usi fuerint ; and was after con- firmed under the Earl's seal. And there was appointed two overseers, and those were appointed out of the chiefest of the citizens, and were greatly respected of the citizens as offi- cers that had the special care of maintaining those privileges, before a mayor was ordained.” These officers were elected annually, and were denominated leave-lookers; they were accustomed to go round the city to see that its privileges were preserved, and sometimes used to take small sums, called leave lookerage, for leave for non-freemen to sell wares by retail. In the reign of Edward the Confessor, the government of the city was vested in twelve judges, selected from the vassals of the king, the earl, and the bishop. The first charter granted to the city was by the first Ranulph, also styled Ranulph le Meschin, third Earl of Chester, who died in 1128. It grants to his tenants demesne of Chester, that none but they or their heirs shall buy or sell merchandise, brought to the city by sea or land, except at the fairs holden at the nativity of St. John the Baptist, and on the feast of St. Michael ; and is directed thus—Ranul. com. Cestriae. con- stabulario. dupifero justiciar. vice.com, baron, militibus bullivis et omnibus servientibus suis praesentibus et futuris, salutem; Sciatis, &c.; and so makes a large grant to the city, and warrants the same strongly against his heirs, and appoints forfeitures upon all that shall withstand. The charter, which is without date, is witnessed by Domino Hugone, Abbate Cestriae. Domino Hugone le Orebi, tune. justiciar. Warren de Vernon, &c. &c. It was confirmed by the other two Earls Ranulphs, and also by Earl John, who strictly prohibited all buying and selling except as aforesaid, with other additions. King John and Henry the Second also established it, with the addition of some further privileges. Henry the Third granted three charters, in the first of which he recites, that he hath seen the former charters of the earls, and doth grant and confirm domesticis B 2 20 GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF CHESTER, hominibus Cestr. &c., that none shall buy or sell merchandise in the city, but citizens, except in the fairs, &c. subpoena £10. It was at this time that, so far as we can ascertain, the first mayor was created.* In the 26th year of Henry's reign, Sir Walter Lynnet was the first who was invested with civic honours and authority. The mayoralty of Chester is, there- fore, a very ancient one, only 58 years younger we believe than that of London. In 1300 Edward the First confirmed the former charter of his father, Henry the Third; and by the same charter gave the city of Chester, with the appurtenances, liberties, and free- doms to the citizens of Chester and their heirs, to be holden of him and his heirs for ever, paying yearly £100. He granted them also the election of coroners and pleas of the crown, and that the citizens shall have sock, sack, toll, theme, infang- theof, outfangtheof, and to be free throughout all the land and dominion of toll, passage, &c. Many other charters follow, and other matters connected with the government of the city, which it is unnecessary to recapitulate here. Richard the Second in 1347, “for the furtherance of justice and better execution thereof, grants unto his subjects, maiors, sheriffs, and commonality of the said city, to hold their courts; and limited what processes they may award in actions, personal felonies, appeals, process of uttagary, as at the common law;” and since then the sessions of the peace have continued to be held down to the present time. Henry Seventh, “In consideration that through the decay of the haven and river, by many burstings forth, was become sandy and impassable, as before, for merchandise,” remitteth £80 annually of the fee farm rent. And the said King Henry Seventh granteth that the City of Chester and the suburbs, towns, and hamlets thereof, the castle excepted, should be a county of itself, by the name of the county of Chester. Henry the Eighth sent letters in parchment under his privy seal to the Mayor of Chester, charging that the citizens should not be pressed unto the war, but remain within the city for the defence thereof. He also, by letters patent, discharged the city from being a sanctuary for malefactors, which was by proclamation removed to Stafford. In the 32nd year of the same reign, the city obtained the privilege of returning two burgesses as its representatives in the English parliament. The important changes effected in the muncipal corporations of England and Wales in 1835, render it unnecessary to enter further into the various charters granted to the city of Chester. * Ormerod's Cheshire, page 173. GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF CHESTER. 21 By that Act, the local government was vested in town council- lors, elected by the people at large, and who serve for a term of three years. Chester is divided into five wards for the election of the council; each ward elects six councillors, two of whom retire from office annually. The councillors elect ten aldermen, who hold their office for six years; and any member of the council is eligible to the office of mayor. The following is a list of those who have served the office of mayor of Chester — 1251 Sir Walter Lynnett, Knt. 1677 William Ince, Esq. 1696 Peter Bennet, Esq. 1700 Hugh Starkie, Esq. 1702 William Earl of Derby. 1704 Edward Partington, Esq. 1705 Edward Puleston, Esq. 1708 James Mainwaring, Esq. 1709 William Allen, Esq. 1710 Thomas Partington, Esq. 1711 John Minshull, Esq. 1712 John Thomason, Esq. 1714 Francis Sayer, Esq. 1715 Jno. Stringer, Esq. 1715 Sir Richd. Grosvenor, Brt. 1716 Henry Bennett, Esq. 1717 John Hodgson, Esq. 1718 Alexander Denton, Esq. 1719 Randle Bingley, Esq. 1720 Thomas Edwards, Esq. 1725 John Parker, Esq. 1729 Thomas Brock, Esq. 1731 Trafford Massie, Esq. 1733 Peter Ellamies, Esq. 1734 Roger Massie, Esq. 1736 W. W. Wynn, Esq. 1737 Sir Rbt. Grosvenor, Bart. 1738 Nathl. Wright, Esq. 1743 Thomas Davies, Esq. 1744 Thomas Maddock, Esq. 1745 Henry Ridley, Esq. 1746 Edward Yearsley, Esq. 1747 William Edwards, Esq. 1748 Edward Griffith, Esq. 1750 John Hallwood, Esq. 1754 Wm. Cooper, Esq., M.D. 1757 Richd. Richardson, Esq. + 1758 Thos. Grosvenor, Esq. 1759 Thos. Cholmondeley, Esq. 1760 Thos. Cotgreave, Esq. 1761 Holme Burrows, Esq. 1763 Edward Burrows, Esq. 1764 George French, Esq. 1765 Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart. 1769 Gabriel Smith, Esq. 1773 Panton Ellamies, Esq. 1779 Thomas Amery, Esq. 1781 Henry Higg, Esq. 1783 John Hallwood, Esq. 1784 William Harrison, Esq. 1787 Sir Rd. Grosvenor, Bart. 1795 Richd. Ollerhead, Esq. 1803 Edmund Bushell, Esq. 1807 Robt. Earl Grosvenor 1809 Thomas Evans, Esq. 1810 Thomas Grosvenor, Esq. 1811 Robt. Bowers, Esq. 1813 Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart. 1814 John Bedward, Esq. 1815 Sir J. Cotgreave, Knt. 1816 Thos. Francis, Esq. 1817 Henry Bowers, Esq. 1818 Thos. Bradford, Esq. 1819 John Williamson, Esq. 1820 Wm. Seller, Esq. 1821 John S. Rogers, Esq. 1822 Wm. Massey, Esq. 1823 Robt. Morris, Esq. 1824 Geo. Harrison, Esq. 1825 John Fletcher, Esq. 1826 John Larden, Esq. 1827 Thomas Francis, Esq. 1827 Henry Bowers, Esq. 1828 Robert Morris, Esq. 22 GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF CHESTER. 1829 William Moss, Esq. 1830 Titus Chaloner, Esq. 1831 Richd. Buckley, Esq. 1831 Geo. Harrison, Esq. 1832 John Fletcher, Esq. 1833 Geo. Harrison, Esq. 1834 The same 1835 The same 1836 William Cross, Esq. 1837 Thos. Dixon, Esq. 1838 Ed. Saml. Walker, Esq. 1840 The same 1841 Wm. Wardell, Esq. 1842 Wm. Brown, Esq. 1843 Wm. Hny. Brown, Esq. 1844 Henry Kelsall, Esq. 1845 Charles Potts, Esq. 1846 Edward Tilston, Esq. 1847 R. P. Jones, Esq., M.D 1848 The same 1849 Sir E. S. Walker, Knt. 1850 John Williams, Esq. 1851 The same —º- ROMAN ANTIQUITIES, 1839 John Uniacke, Esq. *A*Y*I have already intimated that Chester is very remark- \\\\ |% able for the many antiquities which have been dis- WN covered here at various periods of its history; and as every vestige of this enterprizing and powerful people is possessed of intense interest and impor- tance, because of the aid thus furnished in historic inves- tigation;—for the sake of those who are in quest of such materials, and are prepared to appreciate their value, we will proceed to direct the attention of the reader to some of the relics for which Chester is famous, referring the antiquary to the works of Leycester, King, Pennant, Ormerod, and Han- shall, for a more minute description. Altars, Roman pavements, pigs of lead, coins, and other precious relics of former times, have been discovered in va- rious places in the city and neighbourhood, Some of them within a very recent period. Now that the people are happily being taught to estimate local antiquities at their proper worth, and a spirit of inquiry is being invoked respecting them, it is to be hoped that any future discoveries that may be made, will be carefully preserved. There is no doubt that, through recklessness or ignorance, many links in the chain of our local history have been neglected and lost. On a projecting rock in Handbridge, situate at the south end of the bridge, is a sculptured figure of Minerva, with her symbol, the owl. Time, with his silent tooth, has very much obliterated and defaced this ancient sculpture, called Edgar's cave, which is generally regarded by historians as of Roman date. Close to the figure is a great hole in the rock; and the field in which it is ROMAN ANTIQUITIES. 23 situated is known by the name of Edgar's field to the present day. In the year 1653 an altar, supposed to have been dedicated to Jupiter, was dug up in Foregate-street, and which is pre- served among the Arundelian marbles at Oxford. The back of it is plain : on the sides of it there are neatly sculptured a Patera, a º& #: - § # s t . w y y * § § •º & cup which was used in their libations; and a Thuribulum, or censer for burning incense. The inscription when perfect was— I . O. M. TANARO T. ELVPIVS. GALER PRAESENS , GUNTA PRI. LEG. XX . v. V. COMMODO . ET . LATER.A.No COS W. S. L. M. 24 ROMAN ANTIQUITIES. which Leigh, in his “Natural History of Lancashire and Che- shire,” explains thus— JOVI OFTIMO MAXIMO TAN AIRO TITUS ELUPIUS GALERIUS PRAESENS GUIBERNATOR. PRINCIBUS LEGIONIS WICESSIM.AE VICTRICIS WALERICE COMMODo ET LATERANO CONSULIBU's, VOTUMI SOLVIT LUEENS MERITO. In the year 1693, on the occasion of digging a place for a cellar in Eastgate-street, an altar was found buried amongst a great quantity of ashes, horns, and bones of several animals. On the back of the altar is represented a curtain with a fes- toon, over which is a globe surrounded with palm branches. On one side is a vase with two handles, from which issue acanthus leaves, supporting a basket of fruit ; on the other side is a Genius with a Cornucopia in his left hand, and an altar on his right: on the top of the altar is a well sculptured human face within the Thuribulum. - > 222. - == - E.---> == - - - …: º 24%liºl|IIITſūliſº it! t; till il. hiſ º º * : § | ( * º { } { % ‘. ºftößAll boſſ. §º". |CTISS |Moſry M. i §§§Nº. | !" ELAY!!NºS. Loº ºrkſBºiſ {{dNGINVS : Flº |\VSuffoºnºotſº º §§§§ Jº } (§ §§ g? . * . ,--- sº Zºº: ! ! !]{!º wiftº: This altar was found with the inscription downwards, and near it were two medals, one of Vespasian, the other is as- ROMAN ANTIQUITIES. 25 signed to Constantius Chlorus, son-in-law of Maximian. The inscription, with restorations, runs thus:— PRO . SAL . DOMIN ORUM . NN , INVI CTISSIMORVM AVG.G. ... GENIO . LOCI FLAVIVS . I.ONGVS TRIB . MIL . LEG. , XX . VV LONGINVS . FIL EIWS , IXOMO SAMOSATA V . S Mr. Roach Smith says, “The persons who erected this altar were of Samosata, a town of Syria, celebrated as the birth-place of Lucian.” In 1779 an altar was found in Watergate-street, which is still preserved in the grounds of Oulton Park, the seat of Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P. : at the sides are the rod of Esculapius, the Cornucopiae and rudder, a patera, urn, sacrificial knife and other instruments. The inscription, with a few restorations, is as follows:— -----...º.º.º.º. tºur; §. + * ºr-sº \ -* .# \ NS º Wºm fiſſiºn º, º º |ºs 2. El - | ||roRTVNTEREDWºlf ſºlºrerºsivrºni º LIBERTÉTéFAMRLIA % y | {\s † :- Se: %'ſ jºin. r. “ *RVfirſtSTANFFWNJY. Nis l" -- ... -- *"ſh ºf 10. M-1ECAVº \\il £- | * - 22 !o § * SS ſy |ſyronPrº - § ..º *s-Jº ſ’ A /A" -- ſº º, s'; KN"S" ... Yº *Nº. t Wº...º-H=::::::===º Z}º WWN WWWES | Ekº - >vvi kºji s, ºft 26 ROMAN ANTIQUITIES. FORTVNAE, REDWCI ESCVLAIP . IST . SALVTI , EIWS LIBERT . ET , FAMILIA CAII. PONTII, T , F , CAL . MAMILIANI BVFI . ANTISTIANI . FVNINSVLANI VETTONIANI, IIFG , AVG. ID , IX In the year 1821 a handsome altar was found by some labourers in a field called “the Daniels,” in Great Boughton, near Chester, between the Tarvin and Huntingdon roads: it is now preserved at Eaton Hall, the seat of the Marquis of Westminster. It is of red sand stone : the mouldings are bold, but it has no other ornaments upon it except the scrolls which support the Thuribulum. The inscription is the same on both sides, and is as follows:— It has been supposed probable that the reason why this altar was erected on that particular spot, was because of the pure water that springs on that side of the town : the old ROMAN ANTIQUITIES. 27 abbot's well is in that quarter, from which water was formerly conveyed by pipes to some of the monasteries in Chester. Dr. Gale gives an inscription (Antonini It. p. 53) which he states to have been found at Chester: it is not known from whence it came :- IDEAE NYMPHAE BRIG In 1729, in digging a cellar in Watergate-street, a stone was found with an inscription, of which the following frag- ment only remains:– NVMINI. AVG. ALMAE . CET NVS . ACTOR. EX . WOTO . FACI In the Chapter-house of Chester Cathedral, there is a red Sand stone, 24 inches by 8 inches, found on the site of the Deanery, bearing this inscription :- COH . I C . OCRATI MAXIMINI : M . P Mr. Roach Smith, an eminent authority in such matters, says that this inscription is to be ascribed to the century of Ocratius Maximus, of the first Cohort of the 20th Legion ; it has evidently been a facing stone, probably in the city wall; it resembles in character the centurial commemorations on the stones in the great northern wall, and like them, apparently refers to the completion of a certain quantity of building. In the year 1738, in digging the foundation of a house in the market-place, a fragment of a slate stone was found, on which was cut in bas relief, the figure of a Retiarius armed with his trident and net, and a considerable part of the shield of the Secutor. The Secutores and the Retiarii were gladi- ators distinguished by their armour and manner of fighting. 28 POMAN ANTIQUITIES. They bore in their left hand a trident, and in the right a net, with which the combatant attempted to entangle his ad- versary, by throwing it over his head, and suddenly drawing it together, and then with his trident he usually slew him. Horsley describes a small statue of stone found near the Dee, supposed to be either Atys or Mithras. It had a Phrygian bonnet, a mantle on the shoulders, a short vest on the body, and a declining torch in the hands. On pulling down the old Eastgate in 1768, some portions of the original Roman structure were discovered, consisting of four arches, two in a line, and fifteen feet distant from each other; between the two arches fronting the east, was a sta- tue of the god Mars, holding in his right hand a spear handle, and his left resting on a shield. This was cut in one large stone of about a half ton weight. There was also found a piece of rude sculpture about two feet in height, representing a Roman soldier. In the year 1800 a Roman Ring, with an onyx stone in the centre, was found by some workmen when digging in a gar- den in Upper Northgate-street, and is now in the possession of R. J. Hastings, Esq. of this City. In 1803 part of a mosaic pavement, about five feet square, was discovered about six feet below the surface of the earth, on digging a cellar in what was then known by the name of the Nuns' Garden, near the Castle. In 1813, in sinking the foundation of a cellar at Nether- leigh House, a short distance from Chester, a considerable number of large vases of red clay were discovered; they were regularly arranged in vaults, each vault containing four or six vases. Some of these were filled with calcined bones and small lumps of white clay. One of the vases was secured in a perfect state, but the others in most part were destroyed, through the carelessness of the workmen. A demi figure, habited in a sacerdotal costume, was found at the same time. In 1814 a tesselated pavement was discovered near the gateway of the Castle, in making the alterations there, part of which was destroyed, and the remainder covered up again. In April, 1850, whilst excavating for a drain on the pre- mises belonging to Mr. Wynne, carpenter, on the east side of Bridge-street, adjoining the Feathers-lane, a portion of a tile flooring was discovered, in a remarkably good state of preser- wation, and which is supposed to be medieval. This floor was made the subject of an interesting lecture by Mr. Harrison, architect, which is embodied in the valuable report published by the Chester Archaeological Society. Large square Roman tiles of red clay are frequently found in removing old buildings, and ROMAN ANTIQUITIES. 29 breaking up the pavements in Chester. Many of these are stamped with the inscription of the 20th Legion, LEG. xx. VV. and others are marked LEG, vv. GE, |IFC:{XV #P- These tiles were manufactured by the soldiers of the Legion, who, we find from history, were accomplished masons, being trained to use the pick-axe, spade, and trowel, as well as military arms. In times of peace they were employed in building houses and public edifices, constructing roads, and tilling the fields. To them “we are indebted for nearly all the inscriptions discovered in this country, which abound in the districts where they were regularly quartered, or employed on public works, and are comparatively scarce in other lo- calities.” A great number of coins have been found at various times within the walls of Chester, of Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Fl. Wal. Constantius, and other Roman emperors, some in brass and others in silver. A very fine gold coin of Faustina the elder, wife of Antonius Pius, was found a few years ago near the castle; and in 1826 a very beautiful gold coin was dug up in a field at the east end of Capt. Wrench’s house, which is in the possession of Captain Wrench. On the obverse is the head of Nero, with his title NERo CESAR AvGwsTVs, and on the reverse is a figure in a sitting posture, and the legend SALVs. Whilst excavating a drain in Grosvenor-street, in 1828, several coins were found, some of which were in very good preservation, especially one of Trajan and another of Geta. A lamp made of lead, and an ivory stylus were also dug up at the same time. In the same year was found near the new church of St. Bridget, a small altar, without any inscrip- tion to assist the antiquarian in ascertaining anything respect- ing its dedication. Within the space of a few inches from the altar was found a brass medal, on which the figure of the god Neptune is clearly delineated, with his trident, and a ship with her sails. The legend on it is NEPTVNvs; on the reverse is Hercules with his club, and a female figure by his side, and around is the inscription HERCVLEs ET PALLAs. A short time ago a small votive altar was found by W. Ayrton, Esq. at Boughton, near to the spot where the altar, dedicated 30 ROMAN ANTIQUITIES, to the Nymphs, was discovered, which we have already de- scribed. We have exhibited it in the annexed engraving. The inscription has been interpreted thus:– GENO. AVERNI. IVIL. QVNTILIANVS. § - §§§ſºn, gººj}), }} tº *r., *i; |) }''...})* : . wººl tº % | º *...* h łł sºft, r §s & r $f - 'º, # Ş gº HH TH rif ... tººlſ, tº T->g iſitſ t; $3. { i § Julius Quintilianus to the genius of Avernus. Examples of dedication to genii are very numerous; the be- lief that they presided over the Welfare of cities, families, and individuals, was part of the religious system of the Romans. It was generally believed that every individual had two genii, the one good, the other bad. With reference to the particular inscription to the genius Avernus, Mr. Roach Smith says, “that he finds no other mention; but the locality in which the altar was found, confirms the literal interpretation that the genius of the well known lake in Carpania is here to be under- stood as addressed by Julius Quintilianus. The waters of the lake were much used by the Romans in magical rites, as the classical reader will be reminded by the line in Virgil's descrip- tion of the incantation scene, preparatory to Dido's death — Sparserat et latices simulatos fontis Averni. ROMAN ANTIQUITIES. 31 A short time ago there was found in Common Hall Street, embedded in a thick wall several feet under ground, a block or pig of lead, which we exhibit in the annexed cut – Nº º Y. \\º, Wº: it;&s ..., \ º § sº º $º º, At Ş. §§ 3º º, ºr Infortunately the inscription has only been partially pre- served, inasmuch as it presents a different reading from others which have been discovered, and which Camden mentions as being very general in Cheshire; but those which he records as having come under his notice had inscribed on them— IMP . I OMIT AVG , GER , DE , CEANG. These pigs of lead appear to have been paid as tribute by the Britons to their Roman masters, “the harsh exaction of which was one of the causes of the insurrection.” A great quantity of the Red Samian, and other kinds of pottery, have been discovered within the walls of Chester, which are supposed to have been of foreign origin. The names of the potters were:– HIVNV. — SEV. . . . — BELINOI.M.–AILBINVS.— BITVRIX.-ATILLWS.— v.ARIvs. F.—I of FIC.—CRESI. M.–PvoNI. M.–E / Cv ºc I. M. The following recent discoveries we extract from the first report of the Chester Architectural, Archaeological, and Historic Society, incorporated in a most able and interesting paper by C. Roach Smith, Esq. Weaver-street.—In excavating for sewers, was found, at the depth of seven fect, a raised foot-path, edged with curb-stones, and a regular paved road, of marble stones, set in sand; four feet above this, a layer of charcoal ; at ten or eleven feet deep, a quantity of Roman tile. Commonhall-street.—Up the centre, a row of foundations formed of concrete (broken marble-stones in hard mortar), about nine feet apart, all in a line, and about ten feet deep, presenting the appearance of having supported columns. A large square block of stone, four feet two inches square, and sixteen inches deep, without lewis holes, on a bed of concrete. A portion of a column of very debased classical form, about two feet in diameter; at the top is a hole, four inches and a half square, and the same deep, and a similar hole at the bottom ; the 32 ROMAN ANTIQUITIES, square part seems never to have been smoothly dressed; the workman said it was fast to the grouted concrete, at the depth of ten feet; mouldings, broken tiles, and pottery, coins of Pius, Tetricus, &c.; a quantity of animals’ bones, a stag's skull, with the horns sawn off, and a wild boar's tusk. In the ad- joining street, a moulded block of cornice, eight inches thick, on the under side of which is a rude inscription; embedded in a thick wall, at the same place, a pig of lead; a capital of a pillar. The tiles are of various forms, some overlapping one another; some with a kind of pattern or letters; others with marks of animals' feet. One, perfect, twenty-one inches by thirteen, of singular form. Also, what appears to have been a portion of a gable end.” In December, 1850, whilst fresh drains were being made, an old Roman Vase was found in a yard belonging to Mr. Parkinson, plumber, in Northgate Street, between the Abbey Square, and the Abbey Green. The labourer who was em- ployed in the drain in that neighbourhood, unhappilly shattered this vase in pieces. The fragments, however, were collected together with great care, and re-united by Mr. Parkinson, in whose possession it now remains. “There were found with it Some portions of annular brass money, much corroded.” Near to the Feathers Hotel, in Bridge Street, in a cellar now occupied as an earthenware shop, are the remains of the Roman Hypocaust and sweating bath, the use of which appears to have been very general amongst the Romans, and regarded by them as one of their chief luxuries. From the details which have been handed down to us by ancient historians, respecting these curious erections, we learn that they were not only con- structed so as to secure the comfort and convenience of the bathers to the fullest extent, but were often built in the most magnificent style of architecture. The one in Bridge Street, which circumstances have happily spared, is in a tolerably perfect state. * It is fifteen feet long, and eight wide, and six feet seven inches deep. There is an adjoining chamber, or proºfurnium, of the same dimensions. The Hypocaust is supported by twenty-eight square pillars, two feet eight inches high, and one foot square at the top and bottom. Over these pillars are placed bricks, eighteen inches square, and three inches thick, which support others two feet square, perforated with small holes, about six inches asunder, for the purpose of conveying the heat upwards. Immediately above this uppermost layer of bricks is a terrace floor, composed of several layers of lime, pounded bricks, &c., * A beautiful engraving of this bath has just been brought out by the publisher of this work, from a drawing by G. Pickering, Esq. ROMAN ANTIQUITIES. 33 in different proportions and degrees of fineness. The room above is the Sudatorium or Sweating Room, which received the hot air from the Hypocaust below. Around the walls were benches, rising one above another, on which the bathers sat, until they burst out into a free perspiration ; after which they were scraped with a bronze instrument called a Strigii— thin and fiexible like a hoop, by which all impurities were removed from the skin; they were then shampooed, rubbed down with towels (Linteay, and their bodies anointed with oil, by an attendant called Aliptes, after which they returned to the Tepidarium, where they attired themselves, and cooled gradually before returning to the open air. In 1779, another IIypocaust, and the remains of several adjoining rooms of a Roman house, were discovered in digging the foundations of houses near the Watergate. The Hypocaust consisted of the same number of pillars as those which are to be seen near the Feathers Inn. The Sudatory stood lower down, much nearer the gate : the upper floor was supported by twenty-four pillars composed of tiles, nine inches square and two inches thick, filled up with a fine red clay. On the top of each pillar was placed a tile two feet square, which seemed to have supported a double floor of coarse cement: round the sides of the room there ap- peared to have been a row of funnel bricks, fixed with their upper ends level with the surface of the floor, each tunnel having two opposite mortice holes for a cross passage to con- vey the heat more regularly over the sweating room. It was paved in a circular mosaic figure : the tesserae of which it was composed were of three different colours, viz., a dusky blue, a brick coloured red, and a yellowish white, of cubes not exceeding half an inch. The pillars of this Hypocaust, the altar dedicated to Fortuna Redux, Esculapius et Salus, and a few other antiquities were found at the same time, and were removed to Oulton Park. But small portions of the original Roman wall of Chester, we believe, now exist; the present wall, no doubt, stands on the same foundation. The Roman pavement has been often discovered at the depth of a few feet below the modern one, in the prin- cipal streets which, in all probability, run in the same direction as those of the Roman City. In closing this brief enumeration of the Antiquities of Chester, we have only to express our earnest hope that a local museum may soon be established, especially devoted to the careful preservation of relics having reference to the county, perfectly classified and arranged, so that nothing may be lost which may serve to enlighten us on the history of the past. C A WALK ROUND THE WALLS OF CHESTER, Nºſº, HE Chester walls are the only perfect specimen of Wº this order of ancient fortification now to be met Hº with in the kingdom. There is nothing, perhaps, f/\9 ºf which impresses a stranger more forcibly, or sooner attracts his interest and curiosity, than these embattled memo- rials of the olden times. The moment he beholds them, he is reminded of a state of things, which, happily, for centuries has ceased to exist. A comparison of the use to which they are now appropriated, with that to which they were devoted in days gone by, strikingly shows the genial change which has passed over the spirit of the people ; and the contrast may serve to render us more satisfied with the present age. in “King's Vale Royal” it is stated that they were first built by Marius King of the Britons, A. D. 73. Leland and Selden, both authors of credit, attribute to the Romans the foundation of Chester. According to Geoffry of Monmouth, Higden, Brad- shaw the Monk, and Stowe, it is of an origin more ancient than Rome itself, and was only re-edified by the legionaries; but, in support of their assertions, the aforesaid writers, all of whom delight in the marvellous, give no other authority save vague tradition. On the other hand, the Walls of Chester, at this hour, bear witness to the truth of Leland and Selden's account of their origin. In choosing the ground for their camps, the Romans usually fixed upon stations commanding an extensive view of the adjacent country, a constant stºpply of water, and (if possible) a communication with the Sea. All these were to be found in Chester ; and when it is added that the Walls still retain the exact form of the agger of the castra hiberma of the Romans,—that the Old Eastgate, which was evidently a porta principalis, stood in the line of the Watling Way, -and that there is evidence of the praetorium having stood on the spot now occupied by St. Peter's Church, there is fair ground of belief that the Walls were originally the work of the Romans. They are built of soft freestone, and command an extensive and beautiful prospect Over many miles round. The view from the Northgate, with the Welsh Hills in the distance, is uni- versally admired. The Walls are a mile and three quarters and one hundred and twenty-One yards in circumference, and are kept in repair by the Corporation. We commence our perambulation at a flight of steps on the North side of the Eastgate. Proceeding to the right a short A W ALK ROUND THE WALLS, 3.5 distance, and the venerable Cathedral arrests our attention, seen in one of its best points of view, of which a lengthened description will be given as we proceed. At the end of Abbey Street, is a small archway or passage through the Walls, leading to the Kale-yards or cabbage gardens, which formerly belonged to the Abbot and Convent of St. Wer- burgh. This opening was permitted to be made for their convenience in the reign of Edward I. to prevent the necessity of bringing their vegetables a circuitous round through the Eastgate. A few paces farther on was a quadrangular abutment. on which formerly stood a tower called The Sadler's Tower, from the Company of Sadlers holding their meetings there. The tower was taken down in 1780; and the abutment, which marked the place where it stood, was taken down in 1828. The elevated tower on the Canal bank belongs to the exten- sive Shot and White Lead Manufactory of Messrs. Walker, Parker, and Co., and forms a prominent object in the different approaches to the City. The lofty tower which stands at the angle is called THE PHOENIX ToweR, which possesses intense interest, from the memorable incidents with which history identifies it. There are but few of these time-stricken towers remaining to perpetuate the hostile aera in which they were erected. The Phoenix Tower was formerly used by some of the companies of the city, whose arms were placed upon it, as a chamber for business. Of these the Phoenix, the crest of the Painters' and Stationers' Company, which was put up in 1613, now only remains. From the summit of this tower, King Charles I had the mortification to see his army, under the generalship of Sir Marmaduke Langdale, defeated by the parliamentary forces. under their leader, General Pointz, at the battle of Rowton Moor, on the 27th September, 1645. From its clevation and command of view over the township of Newton, it was formerly called Newton's Tower. Linked as it is with that eventful battle during one of the most significant epochs of our national history, it is not surprising that it is always regarded with intense curiosity, as a suggestive memorial of most interesting occurrences. The mind is involuntarily carried back to the period when our country was involved in the discord, strife, and bloodshed of civil war; and, perhaps, as involuntarily re- flects on the genial and happy change which the progress of knowledge, freedom, and religion, has accomplished in the minds C. 2 36 A WALK ROUND THE WALLS, and institutions of the people. We can now occupy the very spot on which the hapless monarch beheld the discomfiture of his hopes and power; but can now gaze upon a prospect very different to that which greeted his vision, and with emotions more grateful than those which then distracted the monarch's breast. His Majesty remained that night in Chester, and on the following day marched with 500 horse into Wales. Beneath the Walls here, deeply cut in the solid rock, is the Ellesmere and Chester Canal. Between the Eastgate and Phoenix Tower the remains of the Roman Walls are conspicuous in the lower courses. At the distance of about seven feet from the top of the parapet, the Roman portion is terminated by a cornice, which extends in broken lengths for at least 100 yards. We may just state that, in the time of the great civil war, a ditch surrounded the Walls, from the Eastgate to the Water Tower. The view which is obtained from the elevation of this part of the Walls is very expansive and beautiful. As you approach the North from the Eastgate, the ranges of Peckforton Hills, Beeston Castle, and the Forest of Delamere, form the back ground of the landscape, marked on the foreground with Waverton and Christleton church ; and still nearer the extensive Railway Station. This view embraces a rural district of more than a dozen miles in length. Next we arrive at THE North GATE. The ancient gate, over which the gaol was situated, and where criminals were formerly executed, was taken down in 1808, and the prisoners removed to a more commodious building on the south side of the infirmary. The present gate is a handsome Doric structure, form- ing a capacious elliptic arch of white stone, divided from two smaller ones at the sides by two pillars. It was erected at the expense of the late Marquis of Westminster. The North side Lears this inscription : PORTAM SEPTENTRIONALEM SVBSTRVCTAM A ROMANIS WETVSTATE JAM DILAPSAM IMPENSIS SWIS AB INTEGRO RESTITVENDAM CVRAVIT ROBERTVS COMES GROSVENOR, A. R. GEORGIH TERTIE LI. On the South side is the following :— IN CHOTA (FYI, IELMIO NEWELL ARM. MAI, MDCCCVIII. PERFECTA THOMA GROSVEN OR ARM, MAI, MDCCCX. THOMA. H.A.R.H.ISON ARCHITECT (). A W AH, K H.O.U.N.I.) THE WALLS. 37 ry The summit of this gate commands a most extensive and delightful prospect. On each side of the gate is a commodious flight of steps, by which the passenger may descend into Northgate Street. Before the gate, and on the left hand of Upper Northgate- Street, stands the Blue-coat Hospital, which was founded by subscription in 1700, at the suggestion of Bishop Stratford; the greater part of the present structure was built in 1717, partly at the expense of the Corporation and partly by benefactions. Twenty-eight boys are ioarded, clothed, and educated, from the age of 12 to 14. There are also sixty-four probationary day scholars, who succeed to the vacancies of the former. They are well educated in the various branches of useful knowledge, and at the age of 14 are provided with respectable situations. The chapel, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, called Little St. John’s, occupies the south wing of this building: it was formerly an hospital, or sanctuary, and endowed with great privileges. It is extra-parochial, and a perpetual curacy is in the gift of the corporation. The Rev. William Clarke is the present curate. The hospital is of great antiquity, having been founded by Randal Earl of Chester, for a master, three chap- lains, and thirteen citizens of Chester, being either “poor or sillie, or poor or feeble persons.” The mastership was granted in the ninth year of Edward Second, to the prior of Birken- head. The chapel and hospital being destroyed during the civil wars, were re-built by Col. Roger Whitley, to whom King Charles Second granted the hospital estate for his life and twenty years after. When the city charter was renewed in 1686, the reversions were granted to the mayor and citizens for ever, as trustees for the Hospital. The corporation obtained possession in 1703, and have since exercised the right of presentation : in the time of King Henry VIII. it consisted of a Chaplain and six poor brethren; and had lands and profits to the amount of twenty-eight pounds ten shillings and four-pence. There are now in the Chapel-yard six alms-houses for widows, who are each allowed £1 6s. 8d. a year and some perquisites. In 1801, Alderman Crewe bequeathed £30 per annum to be divided amongst them in equal proportions. Proceeding on our circuit, we are next brought to a curious square building called MoRGAN's MoUNT, a platform on the right, accessible by a flight of steps, underneath which is a sort of chamber, apparently one of the stations for a sentinel. From the summit we have a wide-spreading and enchanting pros- pect, which is seldom surpassed; exhibiting the windings of the Dee to its estuary; Flint Castle; the Jubilee Column, on Moel 38 A WALK ROUND THE WALLS. Fammau; the Light House, at the Point of Ayr; the beautiful range of the Clwyddian hills; and the church and castle of Hawarden. On the right, a very excellent view is presented of the TRAINING COLLEGE, which was erected from a design and under the superintendence of Messrs. J. C. and G. Buckler, of London, at an estimated cost of £10,000, raised by public subscription, assisted by a grant from government, and was completed in September, 1842. The institution is under the presidency of the Lord Bishop of the diocese; and has the sanction of the Very Rev. The Deans and the Rev. The Chapters of Chester and Manchester. The object it seeks to promote is, the supply of the parochial schools of the Diocese of Chester with masters well qualified by a sound, religious, and scientific training, for the discharge of their important duties. Hitherto, it has nobly sustained its purpose, and by regularly sending forth men, whose minds have been brought under thorough discipline, and well furnished with gen- eral knowledge and science, is doing very much towards the ele- vation of parochial education in the county. The college is under the able direction of the Rev. Arthur Rigg, M.A., of Christ's College, Cambridge; the vice-principal is the Rev. W. J. Constable, M.A., graduate of the same University. A very graphic and truthful description of the management and inward operations of this important institution, written by an Irish gentleman, appeared a short time ago in the ‘Chester Courant,’ whose letter we will here insert :— Royal Hotel, Chester, Sept. 1850. “My DEAR T-I promised to send you a report of our visit to the Training College; and for once you must be con- tent with having a letter occupied with a single object, instead of including, as a tourist’s letter may naturally be expected to do, the record of a variety of scenes over which his eye has wandered. Accompanied by your friend, who offered to in- troduce us, we drove to the College this morning, soon after breakfast, and were delighted at once with the situation, and the view which it commands. The College stands on a rising ground, just out of the town, on the road leading to Parkgate; and the valley, through which the River Dee pursues its course to the sea, rich in verdure and foliage, spreads before you; bounded by the noble range of hills, I might almost say moun- tains, which separate the Vale of Clwyd from that of the Dee, and form the north eastern frontier of the Principality. Not to dwell, however, on externals, we entered the building at the A WALK ROUND THE WALLS. 39 western end, which, it seems, forms the residence of the Prin- cipal, and enquired for him. We were told that twelve o’clock had struck, and that he had just left the class-room, and that he was probably somewhere among the workshops. It seemed odd to hear of workshops in a College; but your friend who knew all the ways of the house, desired us to follow him; and having passed through a small piece of kitchen garden, where two young men in square caps, such as are worn in Cambridge, were digging very neatly some borders into which plants were to be set; we went up a passage through which we entered a yard, in one corner of which was a blacksmith's forge in full activity. The bellows were working merrily; quick and heavy blows were falling on a piece of red hot iron; and bright sparks were flying in every direction from the anvil; while two men were striking, and half a dozen lads were busy, either in work- ing the bellows or in subjecting pieces of metal to the fire. “Mr. Principal,” said your friend, “I have brought you some visitors, who wish to see the College, but do not let us disturb you, if you are busy.” One of the workmen stopped, and briefly saying that he was quite at our service, he threw off the leather apron which he had been wearing, put the sledge- hammer into the hands of a stout youth who had been stand- ing by, told him in a word how he was to go on, and then presented himself to us as the Rev. Arthur Rigg, late of Christ College, Cambridge, and Principal of the College at Chester. I could not but ask him what he was about ; as I certainly wished to know what it was that had turned a learned eccle- siastic into a blacksmith, and whether it was fancy or amuse- ment that led to this unusual employment. He told me with great good nature, that they were employed in making turning lathes for sale, and that they forged the bar iron into the pieces from which the screws and other parts of the ma- chine were made ; and that he had merely taken the hammer in order to show the others the way in which the iron was to be welded. He pointed to a number of tools, such as chisels, &c., which were hanging upon the walls, and said, “we make all these things here ; and you will soon see how many we need and the use to which we turn them.” My ladies looked half frightened at this vestibule into which their wish to see the College had carried them; but Mr. R. began to talk to them at once as he led the way out of the yard; and I was entertained by seeing how much and how rapidly he laid hold of their atten- tion. “It is our playtime,” he said, “the men have just left their studies, and we shall find them scattered about the pre- mises, doing what they like in the way of amusement till dinner time; and the ladies will be more entertained by seeing their 40 A WALK ROUND THE WALI.S. recreations than they could be by seeing them absorbed in cal- culations in the class-room, or bothered with books. Down these steps, he added, and we shall find them all at work.” We followed him down a short flight of steps, which led into a large subterraneous room, like a well-lighted cellar; and it seemed as if we had got into the workshop of the world. Fifteen or twenty young men, with rather a larger number of boys, were all at work: but all so busy, so merry, and so deeply interested in what they were about, that they took no notice of us, and went on hammering, sawing, turning, and grinding, as if their livelihood depended on what they did. Gradually as I recovered my senses and was able to look round, I found one group occupied with a lithographic press, striking off circulars from stone. I found a long table surrounded by others who were executing with extraordinary correctness some Gothic mouldings in oak. A circular saw, which was set in motion by a large wheel, was cutting deal plank into slips with as much rapidity as if it had been paper; and in the further end there were several turning lathes at work, and articles of use were being thrown off in quick succession. Half a dozen other crafts were, I believe, going on in other corners, and in a laboratory near the door I found three little fellows occupied in colouring glass, and two others were finish- ing some excellent models of the steam-engine and power-loom. The scene was in truth most extraordinary : and I must own the universal animation and goodness which pervaded the party was as wonderful as their activity. All seemed at work, but without collision ; the boys seemed to have their own departments as well as the men, and not one stepped beyond his line, nor did more than he was wished to do, or able to do. We must not stay here too long, said Mr. R. as he saw the ladies watching with interest the working off of the copies of the lithographic press; there are some other things that you should see, and the time is short. We followed him to another workshop, where the boys were making those card board models for linear drawing, which you have seen in use at —, and which are now recommended by the best masters. They were working on geometrical rules, and were evidently doing their work both accurately and neatly, and two others were hard at work binding a book. In an adjoining room there were half a dozen more employed in a chemical experiment; in the labo- ratory two others were melting some brass ornaments out of which they were to construct a paper weight; and in the midst of them, a tall gentleman-like person, with something more of an academical look than the Rev. Principal, was pre- paring for a lecture on Agricultural Chemistry by mixing in A WALK ROUND THE WALLS. 41 separate saucers the earths of which he was to give an analysis in the evening. We were introduced to him as the Vice- Principal, and he explained briefly the nature of the lecture for which he was arranging the materials, and in which his young companions seemed to take considerable interest by the attention they paid to what he said. Passing through these rooms, we followed the Principal into another workshop, where a small steam-engine of singularly neat construction, was in full operation. It was moving six or eight lathes, and iron and brass were being turned into screws, or holes were being drilled through plates of the same metal, with a rapidity which astonished us; and our astonishment was no doubt increased, when I heard from the friend who introduced and accompanied us, that the steam engine had been constructed by the students in their leisure hours, and that the whole appa- ratus which I saw was literally home-made, from the engine itself down to the tools with which the men were working. The ladies, however, were now growing weary, and Mr. R. kindly proposed that they should go into his house to take some refreshment; but they wished to proceed, and we did proceed. We passed, however, through his house, and were introduced to his lady, who kindly insisted on accompanying us through the interior. Under her escort we went on, and saw the two large class-rooms, and admired the excellent system of ventilation, which secured to each a continued influx of warm but pure air; and then on the two upper stories of the house, we saw the dormitories of the men who are training as masters for schools; and that for the boys in the commercial school, which is above. In these dormitories each individual has his separate cell, a cell just large enough to hold an iron bed- stead, a wash-hand stand, and chest of drawers; all lighted up by gas at the hour of retiring, and all lights extinguished at the same minute. We saw the separate apartment called the hospital, which, happily, has hardly ever been used, but which contains a good sitting-room, together with four sleeping rooms, differing only from the others in this, that each room is on a larger scale, and has a small fireplace. We descended to the kitchen, a lofty, light, and spacious room, where an excellent dinner for about 90 hungry men and boys was being cooked by a fire which was less than that which I frequently see in your drawing-room ; and we also saw the tables prepared in the hall, for the reception of the whole body. Beyond the hall, we proceeded by a short passage to the College chapel; and here alone can anything like ornament be traced. Through- out, the building is as simple as it possibly can be, though the mass is imposing, and the outline forms a group of no ordinary 42 A WALK ROl. NIO THE WALLS, beauty. The chapel, however, is elegant. It was elegant in its original design ; but the interior is now receiving continued increase of embellishment, through the labour of the young men, who are filling up the pannels with mouldings on the best and purest form, and who beyond this are endeavouring to purchase the embellishment of painted windows by the sale of works done in their hours of recreation. When that deco- ration shall be added, few mansions of our nobility, few Colleges in either University will possess a building so chaste in design, and so appropriate in its style as the one of which I am writing. While we were occupied in admiring this very striking scene, the dinner bell had summoned the men and boys from their workshops, and after a very hasty toilette, had collected them in the class-room. We heard the hymn chanted, which is used before meals, and as they slowly filed through the rooms and took their places at the table, the harmony of sound was sus- tained. The music indeed then ceased, and the clatter of knives and forks testified to the appetite with which the meal was welcomed, after the exertions, bodily as well as mental, included in the morning's employments. My companions were loud in expressing their admiration of what they had seen; but I own that on my mind there was another feeling still more predo- minant. I had long been thinking and enquiring on the subject of education. I had long been wishing to find a place where a really useful and practical education might be got. I had con- sidered the plans of Pestalozzi, of Fellenberg; and I had been prepared to run some risk and much expense, in order to obtain what I wanted, and here, to my surprise, I seemed to find it, combined with the strictest moral discipline, and the soundest religious training, and offered at a price infinitely lower than I had been prepared to expect. The charge was stated as being £30 for a boy below twelve years, and £35 for a boy above, without any of the various et ceteras which swell out the accounts at schools of a different description. When at last it was necessary to take leave, I turned to the Principal, and whilst expressing my grateful acknowledgment of his courtesy, and for the pleasure he had given us, I could not help intimating my surprise that I had previously heard so little of a place of which so much might be said. He smiled and said—“Perhaps, sir, it is owing to our motto, for our motto intimates the principle on which we act here.” He said this and pointed to a scroll which is placed over a large book-case at the end of the class-room. I looked up and read—“Without noise, without bustle, and without fame.” Such has been the employment of the morning. I have written this description, A W ALK ROUND THE WALLS, 43 while the objects were fresh in my memory; and now let me hear what you think of Mr. Principal, and of his principle. Yours truly, “E. T. P.S.–If you should think of sending your nephew here, let me tell you that the boys in the commercial school are mixed with the young men who are being educated as schoolmasters only at the hours of play and at their meals. The studies are con- ducted separately and in different rooms. The boys in the commercial school learn all that is taught at common schools, such as arithmetic, geography, English grammar, and learn it fully and thoroughly. They may also learn Latin, French, and German, if their parents choose; and they are all grounded in the theory of music and linear drawing. I own, however, that the knowledge they may gain in the workshops is, in my opinion, more valuable than any other; for I know no other place where it can be gained ; and I see the purposes of use- fulness to which it may be turned. Nor can I forget that this knowledge, which may be so useful, is being gained while other boys are only learning how to play at cricket, or wast- ing their time in idleness and mischief.” # A few paces further on is an ancient tower, formerly called Goblin's Tower, but now known by the name of PEMBERTON's PARLou R. Being in a ruinous condition, part of it was taken down in 1702, and the remainder renovated and repaired. On the front was some excellent carved work in stone, and the names of the Mayor (the Earl of Derby) and the other corporate officers of the year in which the repairs were made ; but in consequence of the stone being of a soft and friable nature, and from other causes, both the inscription and the carved work are now almost obliterated. The inscription, so far as it is legible, is as follows:— * In the Minutes of the Committee of Council on Education for 1850, there are the following remarks by the Rev. Henry Moseley, upon the Chester Training College:– “I have to bear the same testimony as heretofore to the excellent dis- cipline of the Institution ; to the great order that pervades it; and to the judicious arrangements made in respect to the industrial training of the Students : the industry, cheerfulness and activity, with which these labours are pursued, in the intervals of study, is most pleasing to con- template. I know no other Training School, which, in respect to these things, appears to me superior to this; and I attach to them, in a moral point of view, the first importance, Nor do I know any other in which the buildings appear to me better adapted to the use of a Training School, or in which those minor arrangements, on which the domestic comfort of the inmates and the good order of the household depend, are more care. fully observed.” 44 A WALK ROUND THE WALLS. “* * * * year of the glorious reign of Queen Anne, divers wide breaches in these walls were re-built, and other decays therein were repaired ; 2000 yards of the pavement were new flagged or paved, and the whole repaired, regulated, and adorned at the expense of £1000 and upwards. Thomas Hand, Esq., Mayor, 1701. The Right Honourable William, Earl of Derby, Mayor, 1702, who died in his Mayoralty.” On the left is a large field, anciently called Barrow Field, which was used by the Roman soldiers for their military exercises; a vast number of bodies were buried here at one of the periods when the plague raged so severely in the City. Continuing our route westward, we next come to THE WATER ToweR, which is evidently an ancient fortress, erected for the pur- pose of repelling the approach of maritine foes, for it appears that formerly the river flowed under this part of the walls, so that vessels could sail close by the Tower. At high tide, the whole of the land on which are now situated Crane-street and the neighbourhood, was covered with water. At the south angle of the walls is an old square tower, anciently called Bonwaldes- thorne's Tower, from which is an embattled passage to the Water Tower, which was built in 1322, by contract for £100, by John Helpstone, a mason. The dimensions were 24 yards in height and 10% yards in diameter. It had openings for cannon and rings in the walls to which ships were formerly moored. This noble bulwark is suggestive of reflections of deep historic interest; for at the seige of Chester by the republican army, this place was bombarded from the farm-house called Brewer's Hall, on the opposide side of the river, but without success. Many a gallant sentinel has here kept loyal watch against the approach of the enemy. Happily, our age needs not these ancient fortifications for the warlike purpose to which they were originally devoted, and as an exhibition of the genius of the 13th and 19th centuries in happy contrast, this Tower, built for war, is now occupied as a MUSEUM of THE MECHANICs' INSTITUTION, and is devoted to the more beneficent object of science and general improvement. Although the Museum is but of recent origin, the zeal and liberality of its supporters have already well furnished it with valuable relics, which will interest the antiquary and other curiosities of more modern date, which afford gratification to all. The munificent liberality of William Wardell, Esq., a devoted friend to every enterprise which contemplates the Social and intellectual advancement of A WALK ROUND THE WALLS. 45 the citizens, enables us to point out a most attractive object in the CAMERA. OBSCURA, which is situated on the upper part of the tower, and is well worthy of notice. We can promise the reader very great grati- fication and amusement from this excellent instrument, which will furnish him with a most charming prospect of the diver- sified and lovely scenery which nature has here so profusely spread around. The beautiful view of the winding Dee and the picturesque country on its banks is most delightful, and cannot fail to excite very pleasurable emotions. On the top of the tower is fixed a very good telescope by Dolland, which enables us to command a most extensive and magnifi- cent view. If the day be favourable, and the atmosphere clear, we can stretch our gaze over a wide and truly grand range of objects, embracing the Great Ormshead at Llandudno, in Car- narvonshire, The Wrekin, in Shropshire, Moel Fammau and the Welsh Hills towering aloft in their imposing majesty. Across the river is Brewer's Hall, which we have mentioned, where Cromwell’s army erected a battery, for the purpose of destroying this tower, “but which had no great effect;” close by is the Railway Viaduct of 47 arches, and the Bridge crossing the Dee on cast-iron girders; the whole scene forming an ex- ceedingly fine panorama. At the foot of the flight of steps close by are the City Baths and Wash-houses. The swimming bath is very capacious, and the necessary adjuncts most complete; there is also a fine shower bath, both being made tepid in Spring, autumn, and winter. We now resume our walk ; and proceeding southwards from the Water Tower, on the left, in a beautiful and salubrious situation, is THE INFIRMARY : A handsome brick building, founded by Dr. William Strat- ford, who bequeathed £300 to the charity. It was opened on the 17th March, 1761. It is capable of containing 100 beds, with commodious offices, and excellent accommodation for its respective officers. The north part of the building is exclusively devoted to a fever ward. This asylum for the afflicted is liber- ally supported by voluntary subscriptions, and in its medical and domestic management, perhaps second to none in the kingdom. There are hot, cold, and vapour baths in the house, for the benefit of the patients; new baths have also been recently opened for the accommodation of the public. Donors of twenty guineas, and subscribers of two guineas per annum, are governors, with the privilege of recommending two in-patients, and six out-door patients annually. 46 A WALK ROUND THE WALLS. The inmates receive the most humane and skilful attention from the medical staff, which consists of Llewellyn Jones, Esq. M.D. ; R. P. Jones, Esq. M.D. ; J. Edwards, Esq. M.D.; John Harrison, Esq.; T. Brittain, Esq.; J. Weaver, Esq.; Con- sulting Surgeon, G. Harrison, Esq.; House and Visiting Surgeon, William S. Jones, Esq.; Assistant, A. L. Slater, Esq. The number of patients admitted during the year 1849 were. In-patients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 797 Home-patients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1621 Out-patients . . . . . . . . * * * * * * * * * * * * 1881 The total number since the foundation of the institution, 201,891. Of all the charitable institutions which do honour to the benevolence of the city, the Infirmary ranks the first in be- neficial and important operations, and eminently merits the sympathy and support of the public, The next large building close by is THE CITY GAOL, which also includes the Hous E OF CORRECTION ; both are under the superintendence of a committee of the Town Coun- cil. The Gaol is in the western part of the building, with a handsome Doric entrance. Over the front entrance, within the iron railing, the condemned criminals are executed ; which revolt- ing spectacle, we are happy to say, has but very seldom to be witnessed. The entrance to the House of Correction is at the east end, and is also of stone. Each of these establishments has four courts with cells and day rooms adjoining; and both are under the government of one gaoler, and a male and female as- sistant. There is a chapel common to both establishments. The chaplain is appointed by the Corporation. In consequence of the escapes the prisoners have succeeded in making from time to time, many improvements have been made in the internal arrangements of the prison, since it was first built, respecting the classification of prisoners and other matters; and the outworks of the building have received some important additions to ensure their greater security. A little further on to the left is Stanley Place, a pleasant open square, of elegant, modern residences; at the the top of which is the Linen Hall Cheese Mart, which is well supplied at the fairs, held six times during the year, with cheese from the dairies of Cheshire and North Wales. We now ascend a handsome gateway called THE WATERGATE. the custody of which formerly belonged to the Earls of Derby, who held a valuable river jurisdiction, in executing the mayor's warrants on the Dee, which formerly flowed close underneath. It was purchased from the Derby family by the corporation in A. WALK. R.O.U.N.E) THE WALLS 47 1778, and taken down in 1788, and the present structure erected in 1789, the expense being defrayed out of the murage duties fund. It consists of a wide and lofty arch, thrown over the Watergate-street, where a rapid descent adds much to its appa- rent elevation. The west side bears the following inscription : IN THE XXIX YEAR OF THE FREIGN OF GEO. III. IN THE MAYORALTY OF JOHN HALLWOOD, AND JOHN LEIGH, ESQUIRES, THIS GATE WAS ERECTED. Thomas corºntº E, ! ESQUIRES, MIURENGERS. EDWARD ISU RROWs, ) -- The view from the summit of this gate is very extensive, the objects immediately surrounding adding much to the pleasure of the scene. On the opposite shore is Curzon Park, with its beautiful villa residences. On the left is Grosvenor Bridge with its far-famed noble arch, the widest circular arch in the world; a little beyond may be seen the grand lodge entrance to Eaton Park, erected at the cost of £14,000. The tout ensemble forming a most animating picture. The site of the present Crane- street and the parts adjacent were formerly under water. Immediately below is the beautiful and spacious lawn galled the RooDEYE. It contains about S4 statute acres of land, and is let lºy the corporation as a pasture for cattle. It was once the arena for sports of the ikoman soldiery, and the city games and gymnastics were afterwards celebrated here, respecting which there are many curious records extant. Of these, however, the horse races alone remain, which continue to be held on the first week of May, and in the month of October, and enjoy a high reputation on the turf. The course is little more than a mile, and affords the spectators the singular advantage of their being enabled to see the horses during the whole race. The Öheshire Yeomanry assemble annually on the ſtoodeye for exercise. The antiquity of the Chester races appears from the following extract from the collection of the late Mr. Nicholls of Chorlton, to whose researches the authors of the History of Cheshire are much indebted. The MS. from which this is extracted, is entitled— Certayne collections of anciante times, concerning the anciante and fa- mous cættie of Chester, collected by that Reverend Man of God, Mr. Robert Rogers, bachelor of divinitie, archdeacon of Chester, parsone of Gooseworth, Gºd prebande in the Cathedral of Chester, being put iſ scattered notes, and by his son reduced into these chapters following — of ST. GEORGE's RACE, OF LATE TIME INVENTED, AND wine:N ALTERED. $ “In A. D. 1609, Mr. William Lester, mercer, beinge mayor of Chester, one Mr. Robert Amerye, ironmonger, sometime sherife, of 48 A WALK ROUND THE WALLS. Chester, (A. D. 1608,) he, with the assent of the mayor and cittie, at his own coste chiefly, as I conceive chiefly, caused three silver cupps of goode value, to be made, the which saide silver cupps were, upon St. George's daye, for ever to be thus disposed : all gentlemen that would bringe their horses to the Rood-dee that daye, and there run, that horse which with spede did over-rune the reste, shouide have the beste cuppe there presently delivered, and that horse which came seconde, next the firste, before the reste, had the seconde cuppe, there also delivered ; and for the thirde cuppe, it was to be run for at the ringe, by any gentleman that woulde rune for the same, upon the said Rood-dee, and upon St. George's daye ; being thus decreed, that every horse putt in soe much monie as made the value of the cupps or bells, and had the money, which horses did winne the same, and the use of the cupps, till that daye twelve mouth, beinge in bonde to deliver in the cupps that daye ; soe also for the cuppe for the ringe, which was yearly continued accordingly, until the yeare of our Lord 1623; John Brereton, inn-holder, being mayor of Chester, he altered the same after this manner, and caused the three cupps to be sould, and caused more money to be gathered and added, soe that the in- tereste thereof would make one faire silver cuppe, of the value of £8 as I suppose, it maye be more worth, and the race to be altered, viz. from beyonde the New Tower a great distance and soe to rune five times from that place rowlid about the Rood-dee, and he that Over- came all the rešie the laºt course, to have the cuppe freely for ever, then and there deiivered, which is continued to this daye. But here I must not omit the charge, and the solemnitie made the first of St. George's daye ; he had a poet, one Mr. Davies, who made speeches and poeticale verses, which were delivered at the high crosse, before the mayor and aldermen, with shews of his invention, which booke was imprinted and presented to that famous Prince Henry, eldeste sonne to the blessed King James, of famous memorie. Alsoe he caused a man to go upon the spire of St. Peter's steeple in Chester, and by the fame, at the same tyme he sounded the drum, and displayed a banner upon the top of the same spire. And this was the original of St. George's race with the change thereof, as it is now used. On the west side of the Roodeye stands THE Hous E of INDUSTRY, built by the corporation in 1757, as a refuge for age and in- digence. Warm and cold baths are established for the use of the inmates, whose comfort is most studiously consulted and provided for. Behind the house is an establishment for the reception of lunatics. The pleasant row of houses on the right of the Roodeye, is called Paradise Row, the site of which, as appears by an ancient map, was once the deepest part of the river. Soon after passing the Watergate, on the left, there is a commodious opening to the city, called Smith's Walk, at the bottom of which stands a large house, on the site of which formerly stood the Priory of White Friars or Carmelites. On the north side of the open field on the left, is a beautiful mansion, now occupied by the Rev. F. Ayckbowm, the re- spected rector of Trinity, but formerly the residence of the A WALK ROUND THE WALLS. 49 iate Thomas Harrison, Esq. the celebrated architect, who has immortalized his genius in some of the finest works of which Chester can boast. Near this spot once stood a Convent of Benedictine Nuns, dedicated to St. Mary. It was suppressed with the other lesser monasteries in 1537, and no vestige of the ancient building now remains. Before proceeding further on our circuit round the walls, we recommend the visitor to turn off to the right, for the pur- pose of inspecting the NEw CEMETRY, which has recently been opened on the other side of the bridge, It is arranged with admirable taste, and was rendered necessary by the overcrowded state of the parochial burial grounds. Oppo- site the Cemetry gates is a suspension bridge for foot passengers to Curzon Park, from whence we have a fine panoramic view of Chester. We now retrace our steps to survey that magnificent structure THE CASTLE. We have no precise authority whereby to ascertain the date of the foundation of Chester Castle. Some think there is good reason to believe it to be of Roman origin, and of equal an- tiquity with the city walls. Others have fixed the date of its erection A.D. 1069, by William the Conqueror; but there are some considerations which seem to point to an earlier period than this. It is stated by Camden to have been repaired by Hugh Lupus, and additional fortifications erected by the Norman Earls his successors. It was certainly the palace of the local monarchs, as well as their chief stronghold, and retained much of this mixed character until modern alterations were made. Pennant describes the castle as it formerly stood as being com- posed of two parts—an upper and a lower, each with a strong gate, defended by a round bastion on each side, with a ditch and draw-bridges. In 1237, upon the death of John Scott, the last earl of the Norman line, the Commissioners of Henry III. seized Chester Castle for the King. In 1265, James De Aldithley and Urian De St. Pierre, at the head of the citizens of Chester, besieged Luke De Taney, the King's Justice, in the Castle, which held out for ten weeks, when, upon receiving intelligence of the battle of Evesham, he surrendered. Henry of Lancaster, (afterwards Henry IV.) having taken up arms against Richard II. in 1399, mustered his army upon the bank of the Dee, under the walls of Chester, and Sir Piers I) 50 A WALK ROUND THE WALLS. Legh of Lyme, an adherent of Richard, was beheaded, and his head set upon the top of the highest tower in the Castle. Shortly after- wards, the unfortunate Richard and the Earl of Salisbury were brought prisoners to Chester, mounted (says Hall) “upon two little nagges, not worth forty franks,” when the King was de- livered “to the Duke of Gloucester's sonne and the Earle of Arundell’s sonne, that loved him but a little, for he had put their fathers to death, who led him strait to the castell.” In 1403, Henry Percy, surnamed Hotspur, visited Chester on his way to the fatal field of Shrewsbury, and caused procla- mation to be made, that King Richard was yet alive, and a prisoner in Chester Castle, where he might be seen. Eleanor Duchess of Gloucester, wife of the Good Duke Hum- phrey, was confined for several months in Chester Castle, in 1447, previous to her removal to the Isle of Man, under a sen- tence of perpetual imprisonment on a charge of “practising the King's death.” Here, in 1651, the Puritans “sought the Lord” by trying and condemning to death the gallant and patriotic Earl of Derby, Sir Timothy Featherstonehaugh, and Captain Benbow. According to Whitlocke, the Earl “attempted to escape, and was let down by a rope from the leads of his chamber; but some hearing a noise, made after him, and he was re-taken upon Dee bank.” We shall now proceed to describe the present appearance and condition of the Chester Castle. The ancient structure was taken down at the close of the last century, and the present magnificent edifice erected on its site. The principal entrance is through a handsome portico of Grecian Doric architecture. It is 103 feet by 35, and consists of a centre and two wings connected by covered passages. The ten fluted columns, which compose the peristyle in the centre, are each cut out of a single block of stone. “It is situated in the centre of a semicircular sunk fence or foss, 13 feet deep, and 390 feet in diameter, cased with hewn stone, surmounted with stone pedestals at equal distances, and the spaces filled with handsome iron rails, forming the north west boundary of the esplanade. * On the western side of the esplanade, is the Armoury, ca- pable of containing between 30,000 and 40,000 stand of arms. This is well worthy the inspection of strangers, who cannot fail to be struck with the excellent state in which the military stores are kept, and the tasteful arrangement of the arms. Within the gate at the east end of this range of building, is the guard-house, behind which is a venerable tower, called * Pigott's History of Chester, A "WALK ROUND THE WALLS. 51 Julius Agricola's, or Caesar's, which is still entire, and partly occupied as a magazine. Within this tower is a curious chapel, mentioned in the tax-book of Henry VIII. as the chantry “infra Castrum Cestriae” and yielding as its tenth 10s. 8d. It is an upper chamber, about 19 feet by 16, and 16 feet in height. The roof, which is vaulted and groined, is of stone. On one side is a plain pointed recess in the wall, the back of which appears to have been ornamented with paintings, and was probably the altar. James II. heard mass in this chapel. Returning through the gate we next come to THE NEw GAOL AND CouxTY HALL. The principal entrance to the latter is through a portico of twelve columns in double rows, 22 feet high, and 3 feet l; inches in diameter, each formed of a single stone. The ceiling, roof, and covering are also of stone. The hall is of a semi- circular form, measuring 80 feet by 50, including the judgment seat, and 44 feet high, and is lighted from above. The ceiling is a semi-dome boldly caissoned with ventilators opening to the roof, in the shape of ornamental roses. It is supported by a row of twelve Ionic columns, each composed of a single stone, from the basis of which there is a gradual descent by a flight of circular steps to the bar, which enables every one in the body of the court to have a perfect view of the judges, counsel, prisoners, and witnesses. There is a subterraneous passage from the dock to the prison, which affords both facility and safety in the removal of the prisoners. On the right of the entrance to the County Hall are the Grand Jury Room, the Prothonotary’s Offices, and the Record Room of the County Palatine, in which some very curious ancient documents are preserved. In a small room on the ground floor is the model of the New Bridge before mentioned, and full length portraits of William III, Charles II, George I, George II, and Frederick Prince of Wales. On the left is the entrance to the County Gaol, which may vie in every respect with any other establishment of the sort in the kingdom. It is built upon two levels. On the east side of the range of buildings on the upper level is the Deputy Governor's house; adjoining are the day and sleeping rooms of the male debtors, with a large and commodious yard, command- ing a picturesque view of the surrounding country; and in an extensive wing, built a few years ago, are the convicts’ cells; apartments for the female debtors and prisoners, with the matron's house and hospital. In the centre, projecting beyond the level, and of a semi-circular form, so as to command a view of the court yards, &c., are the gaolor's or governor's apartments. D 2 52 A WALK ROUND THE WAFLLS. Underneath the governor's apartments, and of the same form, is the chapel. It is situate between the upper and lower level, and so ingeniously contrived as to receive the debtors and cri- minals into different compartments, from their respective court yards. Divine service is performed in the chapel every morning during the week, and twice every Sunday. Rev. H. S. Joseph is the present chaplain, who is most indefatigable in the dis- charge of his duties. On the lower level, under the jailor's house, are the felons’ yards, five in number. They are spacious and airy, and each contains a pump and trough. A sort of area or passage surrounds these yards, and beyond that is the outside wall, built of immense blocks of stone, and conveying at once the idea of security and solidity. Nothing can exceed the ex- cellent discipline and general arrangement of the prisoners. Each has his separate sleeping room, and a commodious day- room is attached to each of the yards. There are distinct cells for solitary confinement and condemned criminals; and conve- nient cold and warm baths, in which every prisoner is obliged to undergo an ablution upon his entering the prison. His clothes are then taken from him, steamed and stoved, and carefully put away for him to wear on his trial, while he is accommodated with a comfortable suit of the prison uniform in the mean time. A large proportion of the prisoners are profitably employed under the superintendence of a task-master. They are chiefly employed in calico, rug, and carpet weaving, shoe-making, and basket- making. The greater part of the articles of clothing and bed furniture used within the walls are manufactured by them ; and the store-room presents the appearance of a complete depository of useful articles for the prison, of almost every description. There is also a commodious school-room which is efficiently superintended. Every thing relating to the internal manage- ment of this prison is complete in each department, and reflects the highest credit on the governor, Mr. Dunstan, who is Supreme within the walls, and holds his office by patent from the Crown. Previous to the present new erections, on the east side of the lower court stood the ancient Shire Hall, in which the courts of justice for the county used to be held. It was a magnificent building, nearly ninety feet in length, and forty-five in breadth; the height very lofty, and worthy the state apartment of the first Norman Earl, Hugh Lupus, who required a hall suitable to the greatness of his hospitality. Adjoining to this hall was the Court of Exchequer, or Court of Chancery, of the county palatine of Chester. It was the Parliament House of the little kings of the palatinate, and had neat gothic seats for the abbot and eight barons. The east side of the esplanade is appropriated to Barracks, which A WALK HOUND THE WALLS. 53 contain excellent accommodations for 150 men and their officers. Behind the Barracks is the Provost, with an enclosed yard It is no longer employed for this purpose, having been, some time since, converted into an armoury for pensioners, military library and reading room, &c. This wing, and the opposite one on the west side of the esplanade, were built at the joint ex- pense of the Crown and the County Palatine. Proceeding through the gate at the east end, we come to THE SEssioxs Hous E, A neat and commodious edifice with a tolerably spacious court. magistrates' and grand jury rooms, and a robing room for counsel on the ground floor, and up stairs are the Clerk of the Peace’s record rooms and other offices. Having completed our view of the Castle, we return to con- tinue our walk on the Walls, proceeding onward until we reach the boundary of the castle walls, where the tourist will have a splendid view of GROSvFNor BRIDGE. This stupendous work of art, which is unequalled in the history of bridge-building, crosses the Dee at the south-east angle of the Roodeye, and is approached by a new road from the centre of Bridge Street, which passes by the Castle esplanade, proceeds across the City Walls, and then by an immense embankment, thrown over a deep valley, to the foot of the bridge. The bridge consists of one main stone arch, with a small dry arch or towing path on each side, by which the land communication is preserved on both sides of the river. The cost of erection was £36,000. The great distinguishing feature of this edifice is the un- paralleled width of the chord or span of the main arch, which is of greater extent than that of any other ever known to have been constructed. Of its dimensions the following is an accurate delineation :-The span of the arch, two hundred feet.* Height of the arch from the springing line, 40 feet. Dimensions of the main abutments, 48 feet wide by 40, with a dry arch as a towing path at each side, 20 feet wide, flanked with immense wing walls, to support the embankment. The whole length of the road-way, 340 feet. Width of the bridge from outside the parapet walls, 35 feet 6 inches, divided thus: carriage road, 24 feet; the two causeways, 9 feet; thickness of the parapet walls, 2 feet 6 inches. Altitude from the top of the parapet wall to the river at low water mark, 66 feet 6 inches. The architectural plan of this bridge was furnished by the late Thos. * The largest stone arch known, that which bears the nearest ap- proach, is at Vieille Briode, which crosses the river Allien, in France, whose span is 183 feet, being 17 feet less than the Chester bridge. It was erected in 1454, by Grenier. 54 A WALK ROUND THE WALLS, Harrison, Esq., contractor and builder; Mr. James Trubshaw, of Staffordshire; surveyor, Mr. Jesse Hartley, of Liverpool. The first stone was laid on the 1st October, 1827, by the late Marquis of Westminster, and a specimen of each of the current coins of the realm, deposited therein; and was formally opened in October, 1832, by her Royal Highness the Princess Victoria, her present Most Gracious Majesty, on occasion of her visit, and that of her royal parent, the Duchess of Kent, to Eaton Hall. As an equally delicate and well-merited compliment to her noble host, at the request of the commissioners, the bridge was named “Grosvenor, Bridge,” by the young Princess, it was opened to the public in December, 1833. It was near this part of the Walls where King Edgar's palace was situated, from which he was rowed in 971, up the river, to St. John's Priory, by eight tributary princes. Within seventy yards of the bridge formerly stood an ancient Roman gateway in the walls called the SHIPGATE, or Hole in the Wall, at one time the only entrance into Chester from Handbridge. It was taken down some years ago, and is now in the possession of John Finchett Maddock, Esq. It forms a perfect specimen of Roman masonry, originally 20 feet in height by 16 in breadth. Pennant remarks, “that this postern seems originally to have been designed for the common passage over the Dee into the country of the Ordovices, either by means of a boat at high water, or by a ford, at low, the river here being remarkably shallow.” Opposite the Shipgate is a ford in the river leading through to a field on the Handbridge side, called Edgar's Feld, in which stands the ancient sculpture of the Diva Armigera PALLAs, already mentioned under the head of Roman ANTIQUITIES in a former part of this work. Pursuing our walk, we next arrive at ... ... s. E * * *-s ºfflºº a s-ºrsº ºf ſº º "...º.º.º.º.Bº: ---., - zºo.º.º.º. fººl-rº". --p º º *-i-fºrm º - *sº - º:: *- :- THE BRIDGEGATE, A WALK ROUND THE WALLS, 55 A handsome arch gateway, having two posterns, erected in 1782, at the expense of the corporation. On the tablet over the western postern is the following inscription — THIS GATE WAS BEGUN APRIL, MDCCLXXXII, PATISON ELLAMES, Esq., MAYOR, AND FINISHED DECEMBER THE SAME YEAR, THOMAS PATISON, ESQ., MAYOR. THos. COTGREAVE, ESQ. MURENGERS. HENRY HESKETH, ESQ. Joseph TURNER, ARCHITECT. On another tablet on the east side— THIS GATE HAVING BEEN LONG INCONVENIENT, WAS TAKEN DOWN A.D. MDCCLXXXI. JOSEPH SNOW, Esq., MAYOR. THOS. AMERY, HENRY HEGG, From the top of this gateway the banks of the Dee, with the Bridge, and suburbs of Handbridge, present a lively and striking appearance, which at low water is increased by the rapid falling of the stream over the causeway across the river immediately above the bridge. In the distance may be seen Beeston Castle, on its lofty summit; and the successive ranges of Bucklow and Peckforton Hills, form an impressive and beauti- ful back-ground. A little southward stands THE OLD BRIDGE, which is of considerable antiquity. A wooden bridge was erected on the same spot by the Mercian Princess Ethelfleda, early in the 10th century; but from the Chronicle of Chester Abbey, we learn that in 1227 “pons Cestriae totus cecedit;” and that in 1279, “mare erupit, pontem Cestriae confregit et asportavit.” The wooden bridge being thus disposed of, we next find from the Red Book of St. Werburgh, that “in 1280 the King (Edward I.) compelled the citizens of Chester to rebuild Dee Bridge at their own charge, contrary to the privileges which had been granted to them.” In 1500, the south end of the Bridge having fallen into decay was rebuilt, and a tower for its defence added at the entrance into Handbridge, which was taken down about sixty years ago. In 1826 the Bridge was widened to the extent of seven feet, by the addition of a flagged footpath, on the east side, bounded towards the river by a good iron railing, the pro- jection supported by two courses of corbels. It consists of seven irregular arches, and when viewed from } TREASURERS. j6 A WALK ROUND THE WALLs. the west, presents an appearance of venerable antiquity; but on the east it no longer holds out that recommendation to the eye of the observer, modern alterations having left nothing on that side, to render it worthy of notice. At the north end of the Bridge stand the DEE MILLs, used for the grinding of corn. Although the date of the first erection of mills on this spot cannot now be ascertained, yet there is evidence of their having been there from remote antiquity. Sir Howell-y-Fwyall obtained a grant of them from Edward III. in reward for his services at the battle of Poictiers, In the 5th of Edward VI. they were granted by the Crown to Sir Richard Cotton in exchange for the manors of Bourne and Moreton in Lincolnshire; and by his son George they were granted in fee farm to Edmund Gamul at an yearly rent of £100. Gamul expended a large sum in repairing the causeway originally erected by Hugh Lupus. In 1646 an order of Parliament was issued that the mills and causeway should be destroyed, as an obstruction to trade;—but this order, issued by the Puritans then in power, probably with no other view than to obtain a composition from the proprietor, was never complied with. On the alienation of the Gamul property, the greater part of the mills fell into the hands of Mr. Edward Wrench, in whose successor the property of the whole is now vested. The Dee Mills have been twice de- stroyed by fire within the last sixty years. The first conflagration broke out about twelve at night of Saturday, September 26, 1789; the second, about the same hour of Saturday night, March 6, 1819; on which latter occasion the progress of the flames was so rapid, that the whole of the premises, with the exception of part of the outward wall, were destroyed in less than six hours. The loss sustained was upwards of £40,000. A third fire took place in January, 1847, which destroyed the whole of one of the mills. We shall now proceed to notice THE OLD BRIDGEGATE, which appears to have been of equal antiquity with the bridge itself, for it is shewn by documents in the possession of the Earl of Shrewsbury, that Randle, Earl of Chester, confirmed a gift of his Countess to Poyns, her servant, of the custody of this gate. And another deed of the 13th century, preserved among the same documents, records “quod ego Ricardus Ba- goth de Cestr; dedi et omnino quietam clamavi Philippo clerico civi Cestr : totum jus meum in porta pontis Cestr : cum omnibus pertinentijs suis.” From Philip the clerk the custody of this gate passed to the family of Raby, one of whom, Philip de Raby, in the 14th century had also the keeping of the Earl's garden A WAI, K ROUND THE WALLS. 57 at the Castle, for which service he received the fruit of a tree called “a restynge tre,” and whatever remained on the other trees after the first shaking, under the reddendo of furnishing the Earl’s household with colewort from Michaelmas to Lent, and with leeks during Lent. From the Rabys the custody of the Bridgegate passed to the Norris's, of Speke, in Lancashire, and the Troutbecks. In 1624 the corporation purchased the liſtillºl Wilſº º Fºliºſilſº *:::::… 2%z. ".. 3.22%.6% Aft |####if: &% § # 3% ſº ift # ; § º #jīſīš. j £º º º *śjiffºjilllllllkillili º š | ºś / º #. ºft#. º º f : # É 2% # f i }}} º | # º ºf jºijº §§ º %; º lſº §º % 㺠§ 4% intº {{#if: § º - | #######|ft - º #. º ºft º º º ºft i. #: iſit #| || º （ |# º ºzz º: ji |ill #!. º º |i º|| tº: sº ºlliſillſ|| t º ##|ſºft tºº lº f % º , % TEIE O II) BRIT GF GATE. moiety belonging to the Norris's; and in 1660 they also pur- chased the other moiety from the Earl of Shrewsbury, repre- sentative of the Troutbecks, the Earl reserving to himself, during his visits to Chester, the use of a suite of apartments in a house near the gate. 58 A. WALK ROUND THE WALLS, The Old Gate consisted of an arched gateway, flanked with two strong round towers, on one of which was erected a lofty octagonal tower, containing a cistern for supplying the city with water, called Tyrer's Water Works, concerning which Webb says, “The Bridgegate hath of late been greatly beautified by a seemly water-work of stone, built steeple-wise, by the ingenious industry and charge of a late worthy member of the city, John ; #: # º j ſ f à i * º zºº zº # ºº ſº wº Nº. ; #: tºlº : % * º §: 3. ; : ; ; ; * : * * * : * Wºw , , TT, ºf as *{#t } g ſ f H #: A NOT FIER VIEW OF THE OLD BRIDGEGATE. Tyrer, gent, and hath served ever since to great use, for the conveying of the river water from the cistern, in the top of that work, to the citizens' houses in almost all the parts of the city, in pipes of lead and wood, to their no small contentment and commodity.” The whole fabric was taken down in 1781. Proceeding eastward, a most pleasing view of the Dee, of considerable extent, is presented before us, with delightful cottage residences on the Boughton bank On the left of the river is a cool and shady walk called The Groves, where there are excellent pleasure boats for the accommodation of those who enjoy a sail A WALK ROUND THE WALLS. 59 s up the river. We have here a very good view of St. John's Church on the right, a venerable pile, containing some very curious specimens of Saxon architecture. Within about fifty yards of the Recorder's steps, the wall forms an angle to the northward. Here we ascend six flights of steps, consisting of three steps each, called the Wishing Steps, erected in 1785, at the top of which stood an ancient Watch Tower, which had formerly an apartment with a stone seat on one side, and windows commanding a view of the river and adjacent country. This room was removed in 1826. e next arrive at THE NEWGATE, a plain arched gateway, forming a communication betwixt New- gate Street and Pepper Street within the Walls, and St. John's Street, Dee Lane, &c., without. On the spot now occupied by this gate, formerly stood a postern, called Wolf's Gate, or Pepper Gate. Of this postern, Fuller says, that in the sixteenth century “the Mayor of the city had his daughter, as she was playing at ball with other maidens in Pepper Street, stolen away by a young man through the same gate, whereupon he caused it to be shut up,” which gave rise to the saying, “When the 60 A WALK ROUND THE WALLS. daughter is stolen, shut Pepper Gate.” The postern was re- moved and the Newgate erected in 1608. From a Journal of the Siege of Chester, in King's Vale Royal, it appears that on the 29th September, 1645, “the besiegers made a breach in the walls near to the Newgate, by the battery of 150 cannon shot, and at midnight made a sharp assault upon the breach. They likewise attempted to mount the walls with scaling ladders, but some officers and several soldiers, were hauled in over the walls; some of the ladders too were dragged over, and many of the assailants thrown down and killed, and the rest forced to give over the attack.” A short way further to the eastward, after passing the scanty remains of an old tower abutting from the Walls, called Thim- bleby's Tower, we arrive at a flight of steps leading to the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in St. John's Street, the access to which from this quarter was made under the sanction of the corporation. This handsome and commodious place of worship was erected in 1811. Near to the chapel, is a large and commodious School-house, recently erected, capable of con- taining from 200 to 300 children, which is occupied during the week as a Day School, and is in a prosperous condition. A few paces now brings us to , \ + 1 t t º } º . hi, #ſº ## § sº *:::: º :-º: º kº) º º -- rººm \" º ºne- iſ' iſſi jºi {{#|||||||||||| | | |#######|| º | --~~~~ --- ||f|| || | . . . ºººººº::::::::::::::::::: | * ...ºft. #H# 4: sº * ...” =-# #ã=#| - - - - --~… ºxº -º-º-º-º-º: Tº .… THE EASTGATE, consisting of a wide and beautiful centre arch for the passage of carriages, and two posterns for the safety and convenience of foot passengers. It was built at the sole expense of the late Marquis of Westminster, whose arms, and those of the city, A WALK ROUND THE WALLS. 6? occupy the centre of the principal arch. On the 8th August, 1768, the south-west corner stone of the Eastgate was laid by John Page, Esq., Provincial Grand Master, attended by four regular lodges of Free Masons; and the north-west corner stone by the Mayor, Sheriffs, and Aldermen of Chester. On the east side, under the Grosvenor armorial bearings, is the following inscription — ERECTED AT THE EXPENSE OF RICHARD LORD GROSVENOR, MDCCLXIX. And on the west side, under the city arms, BEGUN A. D. MDCCLXVIII, JOHN KELSALL, ESQ., MAYOR. FINISHED A. D. MDCCLXIX, CHAs. BOSWELL, ESQ., MAYOR. From the summit of this gate there is a fine view of Eastgate Street, within the walls, and Foregate, or Forest Street on the outside. On a market day it is truly spirit-stirring to observe the multitude beneath, and listen to the “busy hum of men,” citizens and country folks, engaged in buying and selling,- bringing in and carrying out, the various commodities which furnish forth the provision market of a county town. On the same spot formerly stood º #!: }* titlıdiffi: ſº º |;#####. * * * * * fill ſº º | •- -" 1 it a $º- 4 - I ºaſiſ " º; º, u. ºlº | j ſº º # § §§§ - ºn | ! º: i º O. : Rºº º: º: =º º - THE OLD EASTGATE, removed in 1768, as too narrow and inconvenient for one of the principal entrances to the city. It consisted of a beautifully 62 A WALK ROUND THE WALLS, formed Gothic archway, flanked by two massive octagonal em- battled towers, connected by a substantial building, two storeys in height, over the gateway, the roof of which was raised to a level with and embattled in the same manner as the flanking towers to which it formed the centre. From the bearings on four shields which ornamented the front of this gate, it is con- jectured to have been erected during the reign of Edward III. A Roman gateway appears to have occupied the same spot at a still earlier period; for in pulling down the Old Eastgate in 1768, two wide circular arches of Roman architecture were discovered within its workmanship. With all due admiration for the spirit of useful improvement which dictated the erection of the present Eastgate, we cannot avoid expressing our regret that the old one no longer remains to gratify the eye of the antiquary and the man of taste. Although the present gate is undoubtedly much better adapted for the entrance of carriages of all kinds, yet the Cestrians of the last century, who remembered the glories of the old struc- ture must have been but ill reconciled to its substitute. Having thus completed the circuit of the Walls of Chester, as they at present stand, it only remains to notice that there was formerly an outer gate in Foregate Street, about half a mile from the Eastgate, called º 2−Hº: - - i , , f : . - —F. L.''' - ºfflº, “rr-, ºr T 3. ſiliºs “..." º - tiº i"/? † ſiliº 14- º % iſſ-I- * . l it: Hºl | .*-*- - i tº ſº.” ! - !!!. i. iſºſ | t | 4 + º ºſº ** --- || | :* # | —— 4"— |. i:. . . .r-T H * - * ºt ºil iſſillº- || ºft||| tº-wºr: | ! jill | | | # | llllll: ... ." § | |# # łl #Thiſt Hiſ: jºltiii; g * * * * * * ſºft ill ||||Will, | º: # | | | * *::::--T ... • *S***** -º jºs º --- --- t º §º º º §§ : ss º **ºrd `AN §§ §§§º: * { Eº §§ -- T---- -----. §§ tºº §§§ sº- §§Nº. _---~~~T --ºº: §§ Ş. ..º. §§N :=SSº §: º ºS NNº. 2 assº. º Eliºs::=º §§§sºs ºś *ssºs == --- º =-r - THE BARs GATE, which, being in a very dilapidated state, was removed as a nuisance in 1770. An out-work, in connexion with this gate, was raised previous to the seige of Chester in 1643. This out- work, consisting of a mud wall, fortified with mounts and A WALK ROUND THE WALLS. 63 bastions, joined the City Wall at the New Tower, from whence it stretched out to the north-east So far as to take in Upper Northgate Street, then running eastward encompassed all the suburbs on the north of Foregate Street, until it approached Boughton, when it turned southward, and proceeded in that direction across Foregate Street at the Bars Gate, down Dee Lane, at the bottom of which its course was terminated by the river. This outwork withstood a violent assault by the Puritans under Sir Wm. Brereton, on the 18th July, 1643, wherein the assailants were forced to retire with great loss; but on the 19th of September, 1645, it was surprised and carried by a night assault of the enemy, under the command of General Louthian, and was afterwards occupied by the Puritans as a circumvalla- tion, while prosecuting the siege of the city. “In perusing the foregoing sketch of our Walls, with the incidental notices of contiguous objects, it is presumed, that individuals, most con- versant with the localities of the city, will meet with several particulars, either to gratify their curiosity, or add to their information. And it may also be hoped, that should the account be read by those who are strangers to our ancient fortifications, and the peculiar attractions of Chester, it may excite a commendable inquisitiveness for a personal survey, at the same time that it may assist as a directory to their inquiries. In whatever point of view these old ramparts are considered, they possess an imposing interest, and confer incalculable benefits. To the invalid, the sedentary student, or the man of business, occupied during the day in his shop or counting-house ; to the habitually indolent, who require excitement to necessary exercise, to all these, the promenade on Chester Walls, have most inviting attractions, where they may breathe all the salubrious winds of heaven in a morning or an evening walk. Here the enthusiastic anti- quarian, who would climb mountains, ford rivers, explore the bowels of the earth, and, regardless of toil and the claims of nature, exhaust his strength in search of a piece of rusty cankered brass, or a scrap of Roman earthenware, can scarcely advance a dozen paces but the pavement on which he treads, or some contiguous object, forces upon his observation the reliques of times of earliest date. Nor can the philosophic moralist encompass our venerable walls without having his mind, comparing the splendid and gigantic works of antiquity with their present condition, strongly impressed with the mutations produced by the lapse of ages, and the perishing nature of all mundane greatness. I shall conclude this branch of our History by citing the sentiments of a man well known to the republic of letters, regarding our ancient city, not indeed particularly as to her walls, but as to her general attractions. His information as a traveller was varied and extensive, and his discern- ment and intellect strong and acute. This gentleman, who was no other than Mr. Boswell, in a letter to Dr. Johnson, dated October 22, 1779, says, “ Chester pleases me more than any town I ever saw. I told a very feasing young lady, niece to one of the Prebendaries (Miss Letitia arnston) at whose house I saw her, “I have come to Chester, madam, I cannot tell how ; and far less can I tell how to get away from it.” Dr. Johnson in reply says, “In the place where you are, there is much to be observed, and you will easily, procure yourself skilful directors.” In another letter, dated November 7, in the same year, Boswell remarks, “I was quite enchanted at Chester, so that I could with difficulty quit it.’” * Hemingway's History of Chester. A WALK THROUGH THE CITY, T is our purpose now to conduct the tourist through the city, that we may point out in detail, the various ob- jects of interest which claim his attentive inspection, iº9 But before commencing our perambulations through the principal streets, we will here introduce a few remarks on that unique feature, which constitutes the distinguishing attraction of Chester, and has given it universal celebrity, THE Rows. Very curious are these old arcades, which are as interesting to the antiquarian as they are convenient for a quiet lounge to ladies and others engaged in shopping. They occupy the greatest part of both sides of Eastgate Street, and the upper parts of both |ſºthºgulſº Hºſſ º - Rºſſ'ſſiſſ iſſiſſ Hiſtºlſ EASTGATF ROW NORTH sides of Watergate Street and Bridge Street. Those in North- gate Street are more irregular, only one side, commonly called Shoemakers' Row, being used as a regular thoroughfare. Their appearance, both interior and exterior, are extremely singular. They form a gallery, occupying the front floor of each house, A WALR THROUGH THE CITY. 65 parallel with the streets below, and are approached by flights of steps, placed at convenient distances, in addition to those by which they are entered and quitted at each end. The passenger walks over the shops on a level with the street, and under the first floor of the dwelling-houses, and thus two lines of shops are erected in one front. The rows are kept in ex- cellent repair, and form the chief promenade of the citizens. To strangers they cannot fail to prove an object of curiosity. Whilst these rows are exceedingly singular, they are also often found to be very convenient, as in weather they afford ample protection from the “pitiless storm.” The shops in the rows are generally considered the best situations for retail shop-keepers; but those on the southern side of Eastgate Street and the eastern side of Bridge Street have a decided preference. Shops let here at high rents, and are in never-failing request; and perhaps there are no parts of the city which have undergone equally rapid or extensive improvements. In the sixteenth century they appear not to have exceeded 6 feet in height and 10 in width, with clumsy wooden rails towards the street, and large oaken pillars, supporting transverse beams and brackets, on which rested the houses over head, formed of wood and plaster, so far over-hanging the street that in some places the upper floor of opposite houses nearly met. Nearly the whole of the buildings of this description are now taken down; and in re-building care has been taken to raise and widen the rows, and to place iron railings towards the street in place of the wooden posts formerly used. The shops in the rows present a very different appearance to that of about 60 years ago; then, as Hemingway says, “the fronts were all open to the row in two or three compartments, according to their size; and at night were closed by large hanging shutters fixed on hinges, and fastened in the day time by hooks to the ceiling of the row.” At present these rows are “capable of supplying all the real demands of convenience and the artificial calls of luxury, mental and corporeal, presenting a cluster of drapers, clothiers, jewellers, booksellers, &c., as respectable as the kingdom can produce.”* The origin and cause of the rows has furnished matter for much curious investigation; and many conflicting conjectures have been propounded respecting them. The subject is involved in much obscurity; and in the absence of any positive data, we are not able to take higher ground than the probabilities of the case. It has been alleged that they were originally used as places of defence, from whence to annoy and repulse the assaults of the enemy, who might gain entrance into the streets beneath, * Hemingway's History of Chester. E 66 A WALK THROUGH THE CITY. by surprising the gates during those remote ages, when Chester was subject to the sudden incursions of the Welsh. But against this opinion it may be urged, that in no one of their attacks upon this city did the Welsh ever force their way within the gates or walls; so that these latter, being proved by experience to be a sufficient bulwark against our foes, there existed no necessity for the erection of any further defences. There is irrefragable evidence that the form of our city is Roman, and that our walls were the work of that people; and the same reasons which justify these conclusions are not less cogent for presum- ing that the construction of our streets are Roman also. Pen- nant appears to have arrived at this conclusion :-he says, “these rows appear to me to have been the same with the ancient ves- tibules, and to have been a form of building preserved from the time that the city was possessed by the Romans. They were built before the doors, midway between the streets and the houses, and were the places where dependants waited for the coming out of their patrons, and under which they might walk away the tedious minutes of expectation. Plautus, in the 3rd act of his Mostella, describes both their station and use :— ‘Viden vestibulum ante oadus, et ambulacrum ejasmodi.’ The shops beneath the rows were the Cryptae and Apothecae, magazines for the various necessaries of the owners of the houses.” Ormerod says that some of these crypts exhibit specimens of vaulting equal to the cloisters of our cathedral. Camden, in describing Chester, says, “the houses are very fair built, and along the chief streets are galleries or walking places they call rows, having shops on both sides, through which a man may walk dry from one end to the other.” And Shukeley, in his Itinerary in 1724, says, “the rows or piazzas are singu- lar through the whole town, giving shelter to foot people. I fancied it a remain of the Roman porticoes.” The supposition that their construction is of Roman origin, seems to be the most reasonable one, being sustained by many collateral evidences. In the oldest histories, descriptive of the city in some form or other, the elevated rows and the shops be- neath, are recognised; nor have we the slightest intimation of any period in which these rows were constructed, or when the level of the streets were sunk so much below the surface of the walk- ing paths in the rows and the ground behind them. There is no doubt that the pavement in Bridge Street, Watergate Street, and Eastgate Street, were originally on a level with the ground floor of the houses standing in the rows, and that they have been made to take their present form at some period or other, by dint of human art and labour; nor does there appear any reason to A W ALK THERO U GH THE CITY, 67 doubt, that the excavations by which these singular galleries are distinguished from the carriage road, are the work of Roman hands. Tacitus, “in describing the process by which Roman manners diffused themselves throughout Britain, and gradually completed the subjugation of the country, speaks of the natives of Britain as acquiring a taste for the two leading features in Roman civi- łization, “Porticus and Balnea,” — the portico in which they were delighted to stroll and sun themselves, and the baths which were their national luxury. He mentions these, and we cannot but be struck, by the coincidence with things, with which we are all familiar—the Rows of our ancient city and the Hypo- caust which is still shewn as the Roman bath. We are hereby led to infer, that the mode of construction which gives the character to our city, originated in Roman habits.” PRINCIPAL STREETs. Within the walls, the city is subdivided by four principal streets. intersecting each other at right angles at Peter's church, which stands in the centre of the city. These streets retain numerous old timber buildings, which give them an unusual and impres- sive appearance, and are much wider in general than those of cities of equal antiquity. Immediately in front of the church formerly stood the High Cross, which was pulled down and defaced by the Parliamentarians when they took possession of the city in 1646. The upper portion of this valuable antiquity is still preserved in the grounds of Netherlegh House, though some of the carved figures are a good deal injured. Mr. Pen- nant is of opinion that St. Peter's church and a few houses to the north and west occupy the site of the Roman Praetorium. with its Court of Judicature and Angulale, where prayers, sa- crifices, and other religious rites were wont to be performed. Adjoining the cross formerly stood that ignominious instrument of punishment, called the Pillory, which happily, the spirit of the times has long since dispensed with. Adjoining the south side of St. Peter's church, stood the old Pentice, where the magistrates performed their judicial duties, where the sheriffs sat to determine civil causes, and where the Town-office was kept, until the year 1803, when it was removed for the purpose of widening the road into Northgate and Watergate streets, at that time extremely narrow and dan- gerous. The bench of magistrates was then removed to much more commodious apartments in the Exchange. At the corner of the east of Bridge-street and the west of Eastgate-street and near to the Cross, there was formerly a small stone building, form- * Rev. Chancellor Raikes. E 2 6S A. WALK THROUGH THE CITY. ing a basin at the top, called the Conduit, to which water was formerly brought into the city from St. Giles's well at Bough- ton, and thence conveyed to different parts of the city.” The Cross used formerly to be the scene of the barbarous sport of bull-baiting of which the following satirical sketch is given in an old history of Chester now before us:— “The Cross is famous for being the annual scene of exhi- bition of that polite play called a bull-bait; where four or five of these horned heroes are attended by several hundred lovers of that rational amusement. Till within a few years, the dramatis personae of this elegant scene included even magistracy itself, the mayor and corporation attending in their official habili- ments, at the Pentice windows, not only to countenance the diversions of the ring, but to participate in a sight of its enjoy- ments. A proclamation was also made, by the crier of the court, with all the gravity and solemnity of an oration before a Romish sacrifice ; the elegant composition of which run thus, “Oyez / Oyez / Oyez / If any man stands within twenty yards of the bull-ring, let him take—what comes.” After which fol- lowed the usual public ejaculations, for “the safety of the king and the mayor of the city;” when the beauties of the scene com- menced, and the dogs immediately fell to. Here a prayer for his worship was not unseasonable, as even the ermin'd cloak was no security against the carcases of dead animals, with which spectators, without distinction, were occasionally saluted. “We shall not attempt a description of the tender offices practiced, at such times, on so noble a creature—one, however, we cannot omit mentioning—in 1787, an unfortunate animal, smarting under his wounds and fatigue, was very naturally induced to lie down ;-the argument made use of, in this situ- ation, however, as naturally induced him to get up ;-his hu- mane followers hitting upon the ingenious expedient of setting fire to some straw under his body; when, it is hardly neces- sary to add, “ the wretched animal heav'd forth such groans, as stretch'd his leathern coat almost to bursting.” This cir- cumstance of the fire was, however, no bad satire (emblematically considered) on the transactions of the day—the whole being little better than a-‘‘ burning shame.” “The late Dr. Cowper is said to have had the merit, when mayor, of putting a stop to the attendance of the corporate body on these days; and Mr. Alderman Brodhurst, in his mayoralty, made a laudable, but ineffectual, effort to suppress a relick of barbarism, ‘more honoured in the breach than the observance.’” * Hemingway's Chester, A. WALK THE&O U GH THE CITY. 69 EASTGATE STREET, A spacious street, forming a direct line to the Eastgate, about 209 yards in length. The appearance of the street has been considerably modernized of late years; many of the old houses having been taken down and spacious shops and dwelling- houses erected on their site. There is a very interesting old crypt to be seen on the premises of Messrs. Prichard, Drapers, | | | § |j EASTGATE STREET. which furnishes an additional illustration of the statement already made, that many of the buildings in the principal streets are erected on the remains of ancient religious houses. This crypt is supposed to have been erected in the eighth century. Dr. Ormerod gives it as his opinion that these conventual build- ings occupied nearly, if not wholly, one fourth of the city. About two-thirds down the street on the right, is Newgate Street, and opposite is St. Werburgh's Street, leading to the Cathedral. There are two excellent Inns in Eastgate Street, the Green Dragon and the ROYAL HoTEL. This is a fine lofty edifice, the front resting on six or eight round stone pillars, betwixt which and the coffee-room, there is a capacious piazzi; the front has a commanding appearance, and the accommodations within, are most excellent. Passing under the arch you enter 7() A WALK THROUGH THE CITY, For EGATE STREET, A spacious airy street, about 572 yards in length, and in the most parts is in breadth; on the right hand is, St. John-sººt, in which is situated on the left the Post-office, and a little iower down on the right the Mechanics' Institution and News- room. The spacious circular building is a place of worship used by the Wesleyan Methodists. The narrow street on the ift takes us to St. John's Church and Priory, which will amply repay a careful and attentive study. Returning to the Cross we now proceed down WATERGATE STREET * Which possesses remarkable interest, from the number of very old houses that are still remaining in it. This street has per- haps suffered less from the innovation of modern improvement than any other part of Chester. The rows on both sides ex- tend nearly to the bottom of the street, and retain several marks of great antiquity. In front of an old house on the south side of the street, there is a post with the date 1539 carved upon it. On the same side, nearer the Cross, is an old dwelling-house, with the inscription- “God's Providence is mine Inheritance—1652,” cut upon a beam in front, in legible characters. At the time when the plague was devastating the city, this Was almost the only house which was exempt from its destructive havoc, A WALIX THROUGH THE CITY. 71 Gratefully sensible of this singular blessing, the pious occupier placed this inscription on the front of his house, as a commemo- rative memorial of Divine Providence and care. Lower down on the same side, is a singularly decorated old house, having the whole front divided into square compartments, filled with carved work of various descriptions, principally heraldry and scripture history. In the lowest line of compartments, imme- diately over the row, are represented the following subjects:— Adam and Eve standing on each side of the tree of knowledge, the serpent twined round the trunk of the tree, and over head a winged bust, representing, perhaps, an angel issuing from the clouds;–Cain killing Abel;—Abraham offering up Isaac ;— Susannah and the Elders;–a naked figure seated on a bed, holding a sword in the right hand, the point towards his side, apparently in the act of committing suicide. There are three other compartments in the same line with those above described, two of them consist of armorial bearings, including the Earldoms of Chester and Derby, &c. crested with a bishop's mitre; the third bears an inscription, illegible from the street, and the date 1613. This house was built by Dr. George Lloyd, of the family of Lloyd of Kimmell, in North Wales, Bishop of Chester from 1604 to 1615. Lower down, on the same side of the street, below Nicholas Street, is a curious and spacious old palace, once the mansion of the Derby family, which is well deserving of the visitor's notice. It is approached through a narrow passage. The ºtº: s º rº-ºx is ºw-- ~ *------ . bºyº . . . . . .2% ''A : º - º 2. -- -- - | {t |llilillº |Hiſſ liliili Hillhälhilliſill; Illi （lilill THülüllülüſlf THE WATER.G.A.T.E. 72 A WALK THEROUGH THE CITY. front of the house presents some interesting specimens of curious ornamental carved work. On this spot once stood a Monastery of the order of Black Friars. The street on the opposite side leads to the new Linen Hall, where the cheese fairs are periodically held. It was built by the Irish merchants in 1778. At that time the imports of linen were very considerable, and a large business was done. At the corner of this street stands her Majesty's Custom House, a small, inelegant building, destitute of any outward features to arrest the attention of the passer-by. Adjoining is Trinity Church, which contains the mortal remains of Parnell the poet, and Matthew Henry, immortalized in his far-famed commentary. Trinity Street contains nothing worthy of spe- cial notice: it leads, however, to a memorable spot, of Sur- passing interest to all who love to trace the “records of a good man’s life.” Higher up is Crook Street, where stands the chapel built for Matthew Henry. These chapel walls once echoed the voice of that eloquent divine, who assiduously defended the principles of a sound protestant, evangelic faith. Asso- ciated therefore, as the place is with the memory of a great mind, whose works have taken an honourable position in the religious literature of the country, it cannot but be a great attraction, to all who love to treasure the incidents, which mark the history, of a great and worthy man. Matthew Henry's chapel is now occupied by the Unitarians. Returning now to the Cross, we proceed to NoFTHGATE STREET, which forms the northern division of the city, and is 440 yards long. On the east side, adjoining St. Peter's Church, are the Commercial buildings, occupied as a subscription News Room and City Library, which contains an extensive collec- tion of valuable old works. The Rows in Northgate Street are chiefly formed of wood, and retain all the inconveniences of antiquity, unsophisticated by the innovating hand of improve- ment. That on the west is the only one in general use, extending from the Cross to the Fish Market. The regular market for “Fish and vegetables (says a History of Chester, 1791,) is in the square, opposite the Exchange, which in general are plentiful and reasonable. In that useful article, salmon, no market in the kingdom did, some few years ago, excel it; indeed such was the profusion of this valuable fish, that masters were often restricted, by a clause of indenture, from giving it more than twice a week to their apprentices! Though the bounty of Providence, in this particular, is yet unabated, such restriction is no longer necessary—some artificial A W.A.L.K THF.O.UGH THE CITY. 73 cause or other, very kindly rendering this fish, at the present day, a delicacy even to the masters themselves.” THE Exchang E is situated in the Market-place, on the west side of Northgate Street. It was commenced in 1695, and completed in 1698, at an expense of £1000, towards which Roger Whitley, then Mayor, contributed largely. It is a noble brick building, orna- mented with stone work, supported by stone pillars on the ground floor, through which is a spacious thoroughfare from South to north. In a niche on the south front is a statue of Queen Anne in her coronation robes. On the right of this sta- tue is a tablet, having the arms of the Earldom of Chester on a circular shield in the centre, and above these the coats of the principality of Wales and Duchy of Cornwall, having each their respective coronets over them; beneath are two dragons, seant regardant, as supporters. The blazon of this tablet, which is much admired, is believed to have been furnished by the last Randle Holmes, deputy Norroy king at arms, who died in 1707. On the left of the statue is another tablet, containing the Royal Arms of England, as borne by Queen Anne. The statue origi- nally held a sceptre in the right, and a ball in the left hand, but these have long since been destroyed. The ground floor of the Exchange originally consisted of four rows of pillars, having the intervals entirely open. But in 1756, apprehensions being entertained of the stability of these pillars to sustain the floor above, the range of shops on the west side, and the shop at the south-east were erected with a view to strengthen the building. The centre of the building is occupied by the Common Hall, wherein are held the city sessions, and where the annual elec- tion of the mayor and sheriff takes place. The north end of the Common Hall is fitted up as a court of justice, having a bench, bar, witness and jury boxes. On each side of the bench are ornaments, composed of lictors' fasces, spears, &c., used to support the sword and mace. The walls are hung round with the following portraits:—on the east side Recorders Combermach and Leycester; on the north-east angle Recorder Sir William Williams; and adjoining the last, Sir Henry Bunbury, the city's representative in eight successive parliaments during the reigns of Queen Anne and George the First ; and Sir John Grey Egerton, member for the city from 1807 to 1818; at the north- west angle, Recorder Levinge; and on the west side, Recorder Townsend and Thomas Cholmondeley, Esq., Mayor in 1761. Adjoining and communicating with the Common Hall on the north is the Council Room, commonly called the Pentice, where the mayor and magistrates sit three times a week as a Court of A. WAI, K. THROUGH THE CHTY. -* ,©#;-+ {ſ} ſă ſă šį žº № -º:： HE E 5 £ € E ? £ € "E.T @ №, º :• º 5 £, º• №， +---+ '~~' ） ） * • E TÉ É º lă try （E. „№ OC_ ~ • ►ł§ ¶ TE TË E E È TÈ E T ſ㺠© ® F · ſ-º ;-）•^ £ ¥ $ ¢ £ - ſº Q ±± ' >2 .\， ſſſQ) ſ- .ſn .ſº º # # # 5 -5 T >-.ſE 3 -5 g rº|-#--{ ± à § § → · § c3 • r-4|--~~~~ （; — Ğ -º-:și º „ș; 5• ſaeQ-4 --: •* - -4 -> rrº eseſ = ſ ? ） ğ žº žijº （E） ~ : ∞ 2. . 5 Œ ?!?-? № § @ : „ º ） 2. № Ē Ē Ē ） ... Ť Ť ť º º ſă º #-#•· și º ff = '#' ） ）; º → ſſ~ a ~,;: º, , -, . ;-） c) +→. +→.ſ.r.; º ſº ' & >-3 ſ-C) ș （ „ſ， r++ Q §-ſ § <> 'F №. ！! 5 → + +- - 5 ! -, º-© $ $ $ $ № № g * **• ſae&*#-# £ €g **|E ޺ ëſ) E "5 <> ;C) Œ Œſº, àſ 1 § §§{ { ſ. ;*. № SF; º "º & ;---: Q)o £ $2 TE „ž º ± à ã @-- «ȚĂ Ț3 ） $ $ $3 # * *...* * ide ar the south s Wost. On guished benefactors y as Mayors of Chester, painted b of the city. tf sq. the first the portraits of several distin E Cross, There is also a full length portrait of William At the north end passing of the Reform Bill. º Mavor after the <+-+ +. Ë, E ? ± √3, 25 "E № , ！! 93 ºp： Ş; $2 Œœ} º £ <; ^）; º № Ē Ě # = ± º go C <--- ? <ă （5 #3 &{} TĒ Ě -5 † 25.） .Ę ſă ºf != 'E 2 C- 5'-º ，, , ș-- « №, № C E º §§ € § 3 £; £ € +ſ/?~ +4.4 ± ¿ † ‡ Pº z = r-+ ¿ † ‡ <！-- r， Q ！ ğ Ağ 4 №. È © ± --> č0 30 ± &， ſ- Æ æ Œ © ~ . º £; £ ſa și šį, se ſ 5 -5. § → <+-+#---> C -º -º h | | NO RTEIGATE. THE O LTD A WAI.K THROUGH THE CITY. 75 up and well adapted for their respective purposes. We recom- mend the tourist now to continue his walk up the street, for the purpose of visiting the Training College, which we doubt not, our former description has made him curious to see. Sup- posing this to have been done, we now return on the east side passing through the Northgate about 100 yards, where we com. | º ºlºlºlulºſ Hi d |H|fºº}|† jillº \\ T |||}| | | º ºff. ####| \ ||||||| tº ul liffſ | frni ###!! ºs-S º SSSSSSSºlºlli | i. Šºšíř ºf SNsº |||}| | # |}}}}}}| º i! # * if a liºt till - # | | j ==ll =- Sº-S ===s== --- º º-º-º-º-º-º: sº ºstrº-º-º-º: cº E >= THE NORTEIG ATH to a narrow avenue on the left under an old archway, the re- mains of one of the gates of the monastery of St. Werburgh. A little further down, opposite the market hall, stands a noble arch called THE ABBEY GATE, which is a Gothic pointed arch with a postern at the side, both of which are included in a larger obtuse one, apparently of the same order. The interior of the gateway is vaulted with stone, with ribs, and carved keystones at the intersections, and the rooms over were originally approached by a spiral staircase.* * An incident connected with these rooms (says Hemingway), which occurred about fifty years ago, is still remembered, and often spoken of by many of our ancient gossips. A Mr. Speed, the then deputy re- gistrar, had been frail enough to entice a female, as frail as himself, into a room adjoining his office; when an unexpected visitant arriving, who required his immediate presence, for fear of an unlucky discovery, he locked her up in the room. The fair one became so alarmed that she opened one of the windows looking into Abbey Square, from which she threw herself to the ground, but without any serious injury. The whole story, however, soon became known, and the subject of the inci- dent was subsequently illustrated in a humourous caricature, to which was appended the following distich, said to be written by the late Mas- sie Taylor, Esq.- “Since women are so fond of men, With Speed she will fly up again.” The copper-plate is in the possession of the publisher of this work, on which is engraved the following inscription —” A Speed-y method of get- ting out of the Spiritual Court.” 76 A. WALK THIROUGH THE CITY. On the south side was the porter's lodge, and on the other St. Thomas's court. Before this gate were anciently raised the booths, for the merchants frequenting the Abbot’s fair, these booths were covered with reeds, which the Monks were empowered to gather from Stanlaw Marsh ; and here also the performers in the Chester Mysteries commenced the exhibition of their pageants. This was formerly the grand entrance into the monastery, which appears to have occupied a very extensive range. On passing through the arched gateway we enter into the Abbey Square. On the right hand is a dead wall, enclosing the episcopal palace, which was re-built by Bishop Keene out of his private resources, at an expense of £2200, soon after his promotion to the see in 1752. In former days the residence of the Abbots of St. Wer- burgh stood on this site. The spacious edifice at the end of the palace wall is the Registry Office, of which Dickens has given an interesting sketch in his “Household Words” in one of his able papers entitled “The Doom of English Wills.” The entire arrangements and management of the office are described in terms of unqualified commendation, highly complimentary to the talented registrar, who is described as “a gentleman who fulfills the duties of his office in person with assiduity.” In the centre of the square is a neat shrubbery, enclosed with an iron palisading, having in the centre an eliptic column, which was once a pillar under the Exchange ; but on removing it to build a shop there, the corporation presented it to the Dean and Chapter, who appropriated it to its present use. In the north- east angle of the square is the Deanery, built on the site where once stood an old Gothic structure, called St. Thomas' Chapel. Returning into Northgate Street, the next narrow avenue on the left gives us a fine view of the west transept of the Cathe- dral, with its beautiful window, enriched with elegant tracery. A few paces below we arrive at THE THEATRE ROYAL. The citizens of Chester appear to have been early distinguished for a love of theatricals. From a MS. entitled, “Certayne collections of aunchiante times concerninge the aunchiante and famous Citty of Chester,” by Archdeacon Rogers, we learn that in the beginning of the 14th century, Randal Hig- den, a monk of Chester, “translated the Bible into several partes and plays, so as the common people might learne the same by theyre playinge.” These spectacles, then called the Whitsun Plays, were first performed in 1328, during the mayor- alty of Sir John Arneway, at the expense of the city companies; and being “profitable for them, for all both far and near came to see them,” they were repeated annually on Monday, Tuesday, A WALK THROUGH THE CITY. 77 and Wednesday, in Whitsun week, for nearly 250 years, until 1574, when they were suppressed by authority. The theatre for these performances was of the original Thespian cast, a four- wheeled scaffold or waggon, whereof the body served for a tyring room, and the roof of the stage, whereon the mem- bers of the different city companies did “each man play his part.” The first place of performance was at the Abbey Gate, that “the monks and churche might have the first sighte, and then the stage was drawne to the High Crosse before the Mayor and Aldermen, and soe from streete to streete; and when one pageant was ended another came in the place thereof, till all that were appoynted for the daye were ended.” Each company had its own peculiar parts allotted to its members to perform in the Whitsun Plays, of which a list is given in the above quoted MS. In addition to the Whitsun Plays, the citizens were anciently entertained with processional pageants by the different companies, which latter appear to have survived the suppression of the former for many years. They were suppressed for some time by the party in power during the Commonwealth, but revived with great splendour at the Restoration. The pageants were abolished by order of the Corporation in 1678. “No circumstance,” says the old history from which we have already quoted, “can evince the strange mutations to which things are liable, more than this place : which was ori- ginally a chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas, and devoted to religion; afterwards a common hall devoted to justice; next a warehouse devoted to trade ; and now a playhouse devoted to amusement.” Returning to the Cross, from whence we set out, we now direct our attention to BRIDGE STREET, which is an open and spacious street, in length from the Cross to the Bridge about 554 yards. This street is characterized by many striking features, which will afford deep interest to the antiquarian, and indeed to all who love to visit the localities, which are associated with any remarkable events and phases of our national and ecclesiastical history. Although the buildings now present a much more modern aspect than they did some years ago, there are still remaining many conspicuous proofs of the antiquity of the city, and many curious remains which give it peculiar attractions. A little way down the street, on the left hand, is a house now occupied by Mr. W. Brittain, Woollen Draper, which is rendered remarkable from a peculiar, and as it resulted, fortunate f S A WALR THEROUGH THE CITY, incident, which occurred there in 1558. In that year Dr. Cole, Dean of St. Pauls, came to Chester on his way to Ire- land, intrusted with a commission from Queen Mary, for prosecuting the Protestants in that part of the kingdom. The commissioner stopped one night in this house on his way, then a noted inn, called the Blue Posts, where he was visited by the Mayor, to whom, in the course of conversation, he commu- nicated his errand, taking out a leather box out of his cloak bag, and saying, in a tone of exultation, “Here is what will lash the heretics of Ireland ' " This announcement was overheard by the landlady of the house, who had a brother in Dublin ; and whilst the commissioner was complimenting his worship down stairs, the good woman, prompted by a tender regard for the safety of her brother, opened the box, and taking out the commission, placed in its stead a pack of cards, with the knave of clubs uppermost. The unsuspecting Doctor packed up the box again, and with its far different contents proceeded on sº | º | ##### tº #ſº BRIT) GE STREET, his journey. On his arrival at the Castle of Dublin, the precious box was presented to the Lord Deputy and privy council, who, on opening it, found, in the place of the commis- sion, the pack of cards, prefaced with the significant knave of clubs. The surprise of the assembly was of course very great, and the Doctor's perhaps the greatest of all; he was not lack in his protestations that the commission he had received, and was entirely ignorant how it had disappeared. “Let us have an- A WAR.R. TiHROU (, H THE CITY, 7 {} other commission,” said the Deputy, and forthwith the amazed and chagrined Commissioner returned to court for the purpose : but before he could return to Ireland, Queen Mary died. Eli- zabeth, her successor, rewarded the woman, whose name was Elizabeth Edwards, with a pension of £40 a year during her life. A little lower down, on the same side, are the remains of a Roman Bath and Hypocaust, which we have minutely described under the head of Roman Antiquities. This curious relic, we take for granted, he will “go and see.” A little further is the Church of St. Michael, which has re- cently been erected on the site of the old church, which had become so much delapidated, that apprehensions were excited as to its safety. Passing Pepper Street, adjoining St. Michael’s, we next meet with THE ALBION HoTEL, A capacious building, elegantly fitted up, connected with which is a spacious Assembly Room, and behind the premises extensive pleasure grounds and bowling green. The admirable arrange- ments and accommodation of this excellent hotel have given it a deservedly high repute. Passing on to the lower end of the street, we come to St. Olave's Church, an edifice of very mean pretensions, but of very ancient foundation. In the copy of an old Court Roll, the advowson of St. Olave's is mentioned among other advow- sons, belonging to the Abbey of St. Werburgh. A clerk was instituted and inducted upon the presentation of the Abbey, in the time of King John. * Continuing down the street we arrive at a handsome arch called the Bridgegate, beyond which is the old bridge, which will lead the tourist (should his curiosity incline him) to Edgar's Cave, already described under the head of antiquities. Returning on the west side of the street, we come to a steep lane, called St. Mary’s Hill, which leads to the Castle and St. Mary’s Church. Opposite St. Olave's Church, before mentioned, is an old house, formerly occupied by the Gamul family, which possesses great interest from the fact of its having given protection to Charles 1st, during the siege of Chester by the Parliamentary forces. There is some very curious painted pannel work and beautiful carving in the interior, which render it well worthy of inspection. A little higher up is an antiquated building * Gastrell's Notitia Cestensiensis, vol. 1, p. 110 80 A. WALK THROUGH THE CITY. called “the Falcon Inn; ” a fine specimen of the old timber houses of Chester; adjoining this house, formerly stood the OLD LAMB ROW, which was one of the most remarkable objects of curiosity in the city. The materials of which the buildings were composed were the same as that of the Falcon, which is probably an older building than the Old Lamb Row was. It was constructed of massy beams of oak, heavy roofs, and the interstices of the timber in the fronts filled up with sticks and clay. The age of the Row is pretty clearly determined by the inscription on a stone, discovered after the fall of the building — 16—H–55 R. H. The initials of Randle Holme, the builder. This was the man- sion of the family of Holme, the famous Cheshire antiquaries. In the year 1670, the third Randle made some important and obnoxious alterations, which brought upon him the censure of the corporation, who ordered that “the nuisance erected by Randle Holme in his new building in Bridge-street, near to the two churches, be taken down, as it annoys his neighbours, and hinders their prospect from their houses.” He proceeded with his work, however, sans ceremonie; and in the following year Mr. Holme, painter, “was fined £3 6s. 8d. for contempt to the Mayor, in proceeding in his building in Bridge-street.” It continued the residence of that heraldic family so late as 1707. It appears that the Holme family subsequently sank into ex- treme indigence, and at no very distant period, we believe, a descendant was an occasional boots and waiter at a tavern in Liverpool. Such are the reverses of fortune How this pro- perty became alienated from the Holmes, has not been ascer- A. WALK THROUGH THE CITY. 81 tained. It was occupied about the middle of the last century as a public house, called “The Lamb,” whence it derived the name of the Lamb Row. In 1821, in the middle of the day, it suddenly gave way and tumbled into the street; happily without any injury to the inhabitants. An old woman was sitting in the upper room at the moment the over-hanging roof bore down the trembling building beneath : the wall of the apartment separated within six inches of a chair on which she was seated, but she fortunately escaped. After passing Grosvenor-street, we come to White Friars, which derives its name from a monastery of Carmelites or White Friars being once located there. The next turning is Com- mon-hall-street, so called from its being the place where the Common-hall of the city formerly stood, as its name imports. Some are of opinion that it occupied the site of a building now used as a Dissenting chapel; but Ormerod is of opinion that it stood on the south side of the street, near to several old alms-houses which still remain. Prior to the era of the Reformation, Chester abounded in its re- ligious institutions and edifices. We have already indicated this fact, in pointing out the localities where some of these religious buildings were situated. There are many convincing evidences, in the lower part of several houses in the principal streets, that they have been erected on the ruins of these ecclesiastical foundations. A remarkable instance in support of this sup- position, has recently been brought to light, upon clearing out an underground cellar behind the shop of Messrs. Powell and Edwards, cutlers, a little further up in the street, when the remains of AN ANCIENT CHAPEL were discovered. We are much indebted to the care and good taste of these gentlemen, that this valuable antiquity has been so admirably preserved; and as they are most courteous in af- fording strangers the privilege of examining it, we doubt not that the opportunity will be gladly taken. The chapel is of an oblong form, running from east to west. Its dimensions are 42 feet in length, 15 feet 3 inches in breadth, and the height, from the surface of the floor to the intersections of the groining of the roof, 14 feet. It was partially lighted through the upper part of the west end, in which there are three small windows, divided by stone mullions, and protected by iron bars. On examining the intersection of the groins, marks were discovered on the stone work, that a couple of lamps had been used for lighting. The entrance to the east end was by a flight of steps cut out of the rock; this passage is now closed, but F 82 A VISIT TO THE CATHEDRAL. from what remains, there is no doubt this was the case. On the south side is an Anglo-Norman-Gothic doorway, attained by three or four circular steps, and forms an outlet within its inner and outer wall, by another flight of steps to the surface above the building. At the west end are two niches, on which the baptismal fonts are supposed to have been placed; one of these was found during the excavation, and is deposited in one of these recesses; the other was unfortunately destroyed by the workmen. The date of the erection of this interesting structure is supposed to be early in the 13th century. Taking into consideration the fact that not far from this spot were the monasteries of Grey Friars and White Friars, it has been conjec- tured by some that in this chapel they assembled for their religious celebrations. It seems to be, however, a more feasible hypo- thesis, that the site was once occupied by some order of religious house; that the chapel formed a part of the erection, and was used by the inmates for their religious ceremonies and worship. In the upper part of the premises, there appear to be some characteristic remains of the ancient structure. Lacking any further evidence, as to the character and extent of this vene- rable building, than the place itself supplies, the question is involved in uncertainty. The crypt is a most interesting curi- osity, worthy of the investigation of the antiquarian, and to his better judgment we leave the subject. —º- —w- A WISIT TO THE CATHEDRAL, As, REVIOUS to the Roman conquests, the Britons AP were accustomed to celebrate the rites of Druid- ism ; but as it was the custom of the Romans º: to carry into the lands they conquered, not only their civil polity but also their religion, the gods of the Pantheon became consequently the gods of our ancestors. Near the existing memorials of Druidical superstition, there arose the majestic fanes of a more polished mythology. At Bath there is said to have been a temple dedicated to Minerva, while on the site now occupied by the splendid cathedral of St. Paul there was a temple to Diana. It appears from a passage in “King's Vale Royal,” there was a tradition generally accepted in his day, that on the present site of Chester ��！Ž;& Zae'#* 4. å！?!~x + + · · · ·£ ș: 2źffffff===）: Ë ¿ §§№ËĘ， №ğ №șĘĚĖĒĒ№ae， A VISIT TO THE CATHEDRAL, 83 Cathedral, was a temple dedicated to Apollo, during the period that the city was inhabited by the Legionaries. “I have heard it,” he says, “from a scholar residing in the city, when I was there, anno 1653, that there was a temple dedicated to Apollo in olden time, in a place adjoining to the Cathedral Church, by the constant tradition of the learned.” . We are not aware that the supposition is capable of being verified by any existing record, but when we take into con- sideration the policy generally pursued by the Romans in subjugating a country, it seems to be countenanced by strong probability. With this form of Paganism, however, there came zealous men, of true apostolic stamp, whose earnest inculcation of vital principles, accelerated the progress of a better faith. So conspicuous had that progress become early in the third century, that Tertullian, in his work written against the Jews, A.D. 209, states that “even those places in Britain, hitherto inaccessible to the Roman arms, have been subdued by the gospel of Christ.” The ground on which the temple of Apollo once stood (if the tradition be trustworthy,) was occupied early in the second century, by a monastery dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, “which was the mother church and burial place to all Chester, and seven miles about Chester, and so con- tinued for the space of three hundred years and more.” To this monastery (according to Bradshaw the monk) the relics of Saint Werburgh, daughter of Wulphere, King of Mercia, were removed from Hanbury, in 875, for fear of an incursion of the Danes, and here re-buried with great pomp ; a ceremony usually called “the translation of the body.” The same author informs us that the army of Griffin, King of Wales, was stricken with blindness for their Sacrilegious boldness, in attempting to disturb these sainted remains. This, and other reputed miracles of St. Werburgh, appear to have induced the celebrated Ethelfleda, Countess of Mercia, to translate the mon- astery of St. Peter and St. Paul, to the centre of the city, and to erect on its site a convent or monastery of secular nuns, dedicated to St. Werburgh and St. Oswald. Earl Leofric was a great benefactor to this foundation, having repaired its decayed buildings at his own expense : and in 1093, when (says Rodolphus Glaber) “princes strove a vie that cathedral churches and minsters should be erected in a more decent and seemly form, and when Christendom roused as it were herself, and, casting away her old habiliments, did put on every where the bright and white robe of the churches,” Hugh Lupus expelled the canons secular, º laid the foundation of F 84 A VISIT TO THE CATHEDRAL, a magnificent building, the remains of which are still existing ; it was established by him as an Abbey of Benedictine Monks from Bec in Normandy, to pray (as the foundation charter expresses it) for the soul of William their King, and those of King William his most noble father, his mother Queen Maud, his brothers and sisters, King Edward the Confessor, them- selves the founders, and those of their fathers, mothers, ante- sessors, heirs, parents and barons, and of all christians as well living as deceased.” The confirmation charter by the second Ranulf (surnamed De Gernon or Gernons), Earl of Chester, in which the grant of Hugh Lupus is recapitulated, is in the possession of the Marquis of Westminster, by whose kindness this most important and interesting instrument has been lent for the use of the Archaeological Association, and has just been pub- lished in the pages of their journal. It is most beautifully written in columns or pages, for the facility of reading. The charter occupies nine, and commences with the copy of the original grant of “Hugone Cestreasi comite, anno ab incarnatione 3Domini milesimo nonugesimo” to the Abbey of St. Werburgh, which was witnessed by Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, followed by the grants of several of the other witnesses, and it concludes by the confirmation of them all by the second Ranulf : (Ego secundus Ranulfus comes Caestrie concedo et confirmo hos omnibus donationes quos mei antecessores vel ba- rones eor’m dederunt,”) with additional grants from himself. Anselm, Abbot of Bec, afterward Archbishop of Canterbury, regulated the new foundation and appointed Richard, his chap- lain, the first abbot. Hugh Lupus, following the example of most of his predecessors, lived a life of the wildest luxury and rapine. At length, falling sick from the consequence of his excesses, and age and disease coming on, the old hardened soldier was struck with remorse ; and—an expiation common enough in those days—the great Hugh Lupus took the cowl, retired in the last state of disease into the monastery, and in three days was no more. - The Abbey was so richly endowed by the founder and his successors, that at the dissolution, its revenues amounted to no less a sum than £1,073 17s. 7d. per annum. On the general dissolution of the monasteries, Chester was erected into an independent bishoprick, and St. Werburgh’s was converted into a Cathedral Church, which it has ever since remained. It was dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, and a dean and six prebendaries installed in it, Thomas Clarke, the last abbot, being appointed the first dean. A VISIT TO THE CATHEDRAL. 85 The principal portions of this venerable pile have been erected at different periods from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century, although there are some parts which bear indubitable marks of a much earlier origin ; the greater part, perhaps, belong to the fourteenth or fifthteenth century, when the richly decorated style of Gothic architecture was at its zenith in this country. The Cathedral, from whatever side it is viewed, presents a massive appearance, and exhibits a pleasing variety of styles in accordance with the taste of different ages. Mr. Asphitel has said that he found beauties which grew on him more and more at every visit. The Norman remains are extremely fine—there is work of all kinds of great beauty— and there are the most curious and instructive transitions from style to style that perhaps were ever contained in one build- Ing. Its general style may be termed the Norman-Gothic. It has been generally supposed that there are also some re- maining specimens of the Saxon ; but Mr. Asphitel in an interesting lecture, delivered before the Archoelogical Associa- tion, stated that he could not, from the most minute research, discover any portion of the Saxon Church ; he considered it possible there might be some portions in the foundations, but none were visible. The west front is said to have been the work of Abbot Ripley, who was appointed to the abbacy in 1485. It is now in an unfinished state, and it seems more than probable that there was an intention to form two western towers. The foundation of them was laid with much ceremony by Abbot Birchensaw in 1508, the Mayor being then present ; but the project was abandoned, most likely for want of funds ; had the original design been executed, says Winkle, it would not have been very imposing. The west entrance is a singular and beautiful composition ; the door itself is a Tudor arch, enclosed within a square head ; the spandrils are filled with rich and elegant foliations ; the hollow moulding on the top is deep and broad, and filled with a row of angels, half lengths; all this is recessed within another Tudor arch, under another square head, with plain spandrils of ordinary pannelling. On each side of the door are four niches, with their usual accompaniments of crocketted canopies, pinnacles, and pendants; and instead of brackets, the statues formerly stood on pedestals, with good bases and capitals. Above this entrance is the great western window of the nave, deeply and richly recessed ; it is of eight lights, with elaborate tracery of the kind most common in the latest age of the pointed style. The arch of the window is much depressed, S6 A VISIT TO THE CATHEDRAL. and has above it a flowing crocketed canopy ; the gable has no parapet, but is finished off with a simple coping ; the flanking-turrets are octagonal, and have belts of pannelled tracery and embattled parapets. Leaving the west front, and turning to the south, a rich and deep porch presents itself behind the consistory court; the porch is flanked by buttresses, which once had pinnacles. The entrance is under a Tudor arch within a square head, the spandrils richly pannelled ; over the square head is a broad belt of quatre-foil pannelling ; above that a hollow moulding, adorned with the Tudor flower ; above this are two flat-headed windows of two lights each, with a deep niche between them, resting on a project- ing bracket, the statue is of course gone, but the projecting and richly decorated canopy remains, on both sides of which, the wall above is adorned with two rows of pannelling, the open embattled parapet which once crowned the whole has disappeared. The south side of the nave and its aisle is plain, but not without dignity; the windows are all pointed and of perpendicular character, those of the aisle have straight canopies, with projecting buttresses between, which still have niches, and once had both pinnacles and statues; the aisle has no parapet. The windows of the clerestory are unusually large and lofty, and their canopies are flowing in form, but perfectly plain and without finials, they have no buttresses ºn them, and the parapet is very shallow and quite plain. The next feature of the Cathedral is a very singular one, and, indeed, unique, viz. the south wing of the transept. It is no uncommon case to find the two portions of the transept unlike each other in some respects; but in no other instance are they so perfectly dissimilar as at Chester. Here the south wing is nearly as long as the nave, and of equal length with the choir, and considerably broader than either, having, like them, aisles on both sides; while the north, which probably stands on the original foundations, has no aisles, is very short, and only just the breadth of one side of the central tower. The east and west faces of this south portion of the transept are nearly similar. The aisles have no parapet: the windows are pointed, of four lights each, with late decorated tracery and small intervening buttresses. The Clerestory has a parapet similar to that of the nave; the windows are pointed, large, and lofty, with perpendicular tracery and two transoms. The south front of this transept, flat at top, is flanked with square embattled turrets and buttresses, and has a large window of the perpendicular age, filling up nearly all the space between them. The south face of the aisles on each side, have pointed A VISIT TO THE CATHEDRAL. 87 windows and sloping tops, without parapet, but flanked by double buttresses at the external angles, without pinnacles. The south face of the choir, with its aisle, is in nearly all respects similar to the south portion of the transept : but the aisle is lengthened out beyond the choir, and becomes the side aisle of the Lady Chapel, and has an octangular turret near the east end, with embattled parapet, and beyond it a plain heavy clumsy buttress; the sloping parapet of the east face of this aisle meets at the top the flat plain parapet of the most eastern compartment of the Lady Chapel which projects beyond the aisle, to that extent. The windows of the Lady Chapel are all pointed, and of good perpendicular character; the projecting portion has double buttresses at the external angles, and the eastern face has a low gable point. This chapel is very little higher than the side aisles of the choir, the east face of which is seen over it, with a large lofty pointed window, with perpendicular tracery and several tran- soms, flanked with octagonal turrets, engaged, and terminated with something like domes of Elizabethan architecture. The parapet of this east face of the choir is flat. The north side of Lady Chapel is similar to the south; the choir and its aisles exhibit features of an early English character on this side, but the Chapter-room conceals a considerable portion of it, which is a small building of an oblong form, and also of early English architecture. Over its vestibule and the arched passage leading into the east walk of the cloister, is seen the large window in the north front of the transept; the arch is much depressed, the tracery very common and plain, and it has two transoms; the walls of this wing of the transept are very plain, flat at top, and no parapet. The whole north side of the nave can be seen only from the cloister-yard. The south walk of the cloister is gone, and in the wall of the aisle, below the windows, are still seen several enriched semicircular arches resting on short cylindrical columns, evidently belonging to the original church of Hugh Lupus. The windows of the aisle are Tudor arched, with the ordinary tracery of this period; but, owing to the cloister once existing beneath, are neces- sarily curtailed of half their due length : there is a thin flat buttress between each; the aisle has no parapet. The cleres- tory is lofty, and the windows pointed, and not so much depressed as those in the aisle beneath: they are not so lofty as those in the south side, nor have they any canopies. There is a thin buttress between each, without pinnacles, and the parapet is quite plain, but not so shallow as that on the south side. The central tower is perhaps the best external feature of 88 A VISIT TO THE CATHEDRAL. this Cathedral, it is indeed only of one story above the roof ridge, but it is loftier than such towers usually are ; in each face of it are two pointed windows, divided down the middle with a single mullion, with a quatrefoil at the top, and all of them having flowing crocketted canopies with finials. At each of the four angles of the tower is an octagonal turret engaged, all of which, like the tower itself, are terminated with an em- battled parapet. On entering the interior, through the west doorway into the nave, “some disappointment and regret,” says the same authority, “cannot but be felt ; here is no vaulted roof, but a flat ceiling of wood, resting on brackets of the same material, slightly arched, which gives the nave the appearance of having less elevation than it really possesses, for the naves of many much more magnificent Cathedrals are not so lofty as this by several feet, but by being vaulted their apparent height is increased.” The stone vaulting appears to have been actually commenced, and was probably interrupted by the dissolution ; it is to be regetted that the work was not completed, as it would have given to the nave a much more imposing effect. The north wall of the nave to the height of the windows, is Norman work, and contains on the side of the cloisters, six tombs, where, as it appears from an old MS. written on the back of an old charter, now in the British Museum, the early Norman Abbots are interred. Under a wide arch sunk in the south wall, which from the ornaments attached to the pillar near it, appears part of the original build- ing, is a coffin-shaped stone with a cross fleury on the lid, over the remains of some abbot. Nearly opposite to this, is an altar tomb, the sides of which are ornamented with Gothic niches, with trefoil heads, and with quatrefoils set alternately, the quatrefoils being also alternately filled with roses and leopards' heads ; the lid slides, and discloses the lead coffin, a part of which has been cut away ; on the lid is a plain coffin-shaped stone. It is highly probable that this tomb contains the remains of one of the later abbots. The pillars of the nave are clustered, and have rich bases and foliated capitals, and the arches are pointed. In this part of the Cathedral and the north transept, are several monuments worthy the attention of visitors. A pyramidical monument by Nollekins, representing a female figure resting on a rock, against which is placed a broken anchor ; erected by Capt. John Matthews, R.N. to the memory of his wife. One, in white marble, by Banks, representing the genius of history, weeping over an urn, having three vols. inscribed “Longinus,” “Thucydedes,” “Zenophon,” A. VISIT TO THE CATHEDRAL. 89 placed by it; erected to the memory of Dean Swift the learned translator of those works. One to the memory of Mrs. Barbara Dod, erected by the minor canons. One to Capt. John William Buchanan, of the 16th light dragoons, slain at the Battle of Warterloo. One of Cavalier Sir Willm. Main- waring, killed at Chester during the great civil war, 1644. Against the north wall, a handsome monument, enclosing a bust of Sir J. G. Egerton, Bart., erected by subscriptions of the citizens of Chester, in memory of their honourable and independent representative. One in memory of Major Thos. Hilton, who died at Montmeir, in the Burmese empire, 2nd February, 1829. One to Augusta, the wife of the Revd. James Slade, Canon of the Cathedral, and daughter of Bishop Law. One of Capt. John Moor Napier, who died of asiatic cholera, in Scinde, July 7th, 1846, aged 28 years: this monument was executed by Westmacott, the inscription was written by his uncle, the gallant Sir Charles Napier, and is as follows:— The tomb is no record of high lineage; His may be traced by his name. His race was one of soldiers: Among Soldiers he lived, among them he died, A soldier, falling where numbers fell with him In a barbarous land. Yet there died none more generous, More daring, more gifted, more religious. On his early grave Fell the tears of stern and hardy men, As his had fallen on the grave of others. To the memory of their comrade, the officers of the General Staff in Scinde erect this cenotaph.-[The above was executed by Westmacott.] In the north transept is a piece of very fine tapestry, executed after one of the cartoons of Raphael, representing the history of Elymas the sorcerer. Wright, in his travels through France and Italy, expresses his opinion that this is much superior to any of the tapestry which he saw in the Vatican. There is also a well executed stone monument, to Roger Barnston, Esq.; and a Tablet in memory of good Chancellor Peploe. The choir well merits the attention of every visitor of taste. From the organ loft to the Bishop's throne, the sides are orna- mented with rich spiral tabernacle work, underneath which are massive and highly ornamented stalls. The choir is separated from the nave and broad aisle by a Gothic stone screen ; there are five pointed arches on each side; above them, is an arcade of pointed arches, resting on slender shafts, and above it are 90 A VISIT TO THE CATHEDRAL. the clerestory windows. The pavement of the choir is of black and white marble. At the west end of it, are four stalls on each side of the entrance, and there are twenty others on each side of the choir; over these are rich canopies, with pinnacles and pendants in great profusion. Above the stalls on the right hand, opposite the pulpit, is the Bishop’s throne, which formerly stood at the east end in St. Mary’s Chapel, and is said to have been the shrine of St. Werburgh, or as suggested by Pennant, the pedestal on which originally stood the real shrine which contained the sacred reliques. At the Reformation it was removed to its present position, and con- verted into a throne for the Bishop. It is a rich specimen of Gothic architecture, decorated with carved work, and embellished with a range of thirty curious small statues, variously hab- ited, holding scrolls in their hands, and originally inscribed with their names, but now defaced. Dr. Cowper published in 1799, an elaborate history of these figures, and was of opinion that they represented kings and saints of the royal Mercian line, ancestors or relations of St. Werburgh. Very great improvements have recently been effected within the choir. The restoration of the bishop's throne was effected by the munificence of the Rev. Canon Slade, as an obituary testimonial to his late father- in-law, Bishop Law, in memory of whom, the following in- Scription, engraven upon a brass plate, is affixed to the throne:— In gloriam Bei ſanc cathedram reficientam curabit 3.3B. ſhip(tºt(ſt 14%) #. jacobus $ſale, 3, ſil, hujus ecclesiac Glattonicus. ſlettion in piām titº- mariam &turgii ſãentici żałm, $5.Q.I.33. per rii. ammdā Qºpišcupi (Cº3trittišiš, Utin Bathoniensis. At the back of the throne is a magnificent stone screen, the gift of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The altar screen was pre- sented by the Rev. Peploe Hamilton, of Hoole, near Chester; the chair within the communion table by the Rev. Canon Blom- field; the new bible desk, of carved oak in the form of an eagle, by the Rev. Chancellor Raikes; the new stone pulpit, from a beautiful design by Mr. Massey, is the liberal gift of Sir Edwd. S. Walker, of this city. Towards the restoration of the cathe- dral, Her Majesty the Queen also contributed a donation of £105 in the name of the Prince of Wales as Earl of Chester. Under the east window is an arch opening to the Lady Chapel, which consists of a middle and two side aisles, the stone vaulting of which is adorned with richly carved key-stones. The side aisles are divided from the middle portion of two arches, sprung from a massy pier on each side, apparently part of the original building, cut down and crusted over with clusters of light pillars, terminated in elegant pointed arches, with quatrefoils inserted A VISIT TO THE CATHEIORAL. 91 in the mouldings. On the north side of the chancel, which extends beyond the side aisles, are two elegant pointed arches; one contains two piscinas; the other was apparently a seat for the Officiating priest; another pointed arch appears also on the opposite side. The cloisters are on the north side of the Church, and form a quadrangle of 110 feet square. Originally these were four walks, but the south walk is destroyed. The general style of the cloisters is that of the fifteenth century, with carved cornice key-stones at the intersections of the vaulting; the arches of the windows are depressed. A lavatory projects from the west walk of the cloisters, and did extend along the south walk ; over the east walk was a dormatory, which was some time ago destroyed, much to the injury of the appearance of these venerable conventual ruins. It is obvious that the present cloisters are only a restoration of an earlier one. In the east walk of the cloisters is the entrance into the Chapter House. The stone vaulting rests in clusters of slender shafts, with foliated capitals; notwithstanding the soft nature of the stone, the carving is all in a good state of preservation. The chapter house was built in the beginning of the twelfth century, by Randle, Earl of Chester, who removed hither from the churchyard, the body of his uncle Hugh Lupus, whose remains were found enclosed in a stone coffin in 1723, by persons employed in digging in the chapter house. The scull and bones were entire, and lay in their proper position, enveloped in an ox-hide. On the breast was a piece of cloth, the texture of which could not be ascertained. Mr. Asphitel considers the chapter house, with its singularly tasteful vesti- bule, to be the finest in the kingdom. We now direct the visitor's attention to a portion of the Norman edifice, which has of late excited very great interest, the Promptuarium, lately excavated; “the chamber is a sort of gallery or cloister on the ground floor, about ninety feet long by forty feet wide, traversed in the centre by a row of pillars (with one exception cylindrical), which divide it into six double bays, from which pillars, and four corresponding ones at each side, spring the intersecting arches by which the building is vaulted. The side pillars are as entirely Norman in their character as the centre ones, being simply the square pier, on each face of which is the pilaster attached ; the groining of the roof is without the finish of ribs at the joints, a finish characteristic of a later period. The chamber, which has at present only a borrowed light from the cloisters on the east, was originally lighted from the west side, by a window in each bay, except the second bay from the south end, in 92 A VISIT TO THE CATHEDRAL, which was a principal entrance. This doorway and the windows are now all choked up by the adjoining garden. On the same side, and at the north end, is a very large chimney and fire-place. A glance at the groining and arches at the north end informing us that the chamber did formerly end here, I was induced to think, by this situation of the fire- place, that its length was originally very much greater. I have since found the termination of the chamber in the cellars of the present Registry, where the groining is supported by corbels, which shew that the vaults extended there, but no further. One double bay, therefore, added to the present remains, gives us the entire length of the building, Labout one hundred and five feet. In this last bay, on the east side, is a principal doorway (four inches wider than the one on the west side), leading towards the Refectory. On the east side also, and near the north end, is a postern from the cloisters and a spiral staircase, partly constructed in the thick- ness of the wall, leading to the chamber above, of which there are now no remains. Two small archways at opposite sides of the chamber, precisely similar in form and size, and rising from beneath the level of the floor, seemed to indicate a subterranean passage connecting them. An excavation round each has, however, discovered no channel between them. In considering the character and situation of this vaulted chamber it should be borne in mind that though now apparently sub- terranean, it is only so with reference to the west side, the level of the floor being four feet above the level of the nave of the Cathedral. The ground which now rises above , it on the west side is all made ground of late date, belonging to the Palace, the original level of which is identical with this chamber, as shewn by the area round the present Palace kitchens, and by those apartments belonging to the Abbot’s residence, which yet remain.”* Mr Asphitel, in his able lecture on Chester Cathedral, bestowed the name of Promptuarium on this Norman cloister, he says, “these are vaulted apartments of early Norman work, and are described in the charter of Henry 8th, by which he divides the properties between the bishop and dean, promptuaria et pannaria, the former derived from a word devoting a butler or steward, probably a buttery; and the latter, from pannus, a cloth, probably the place for clothing.” Mr. Ayrton, in an able paper on the Norman remains of the Cathedral, read before the Chester Archaeological Association, entered into an elaborate enquiry on the subject, stating his * Mr. W. Ayrton on the Norman remains of the Cathedral. ºf H§§ ºë \;=% Mºč Wº:3 \\ § \ §§ NS §§ºº -º * *3. f.