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FINDEN'S

PORTS, HARBOURS

AND

WATERING PLACES.

[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE PORT OF BERWICK.]

THE

PORTS, HARBOURS, WATERING-PLACES,

And Picturesque Scenery

GREAT BRITAIN.

ILLUSTRATED BY VIEWS TAKEN ON THE SPOT,

W. H. BARTLETT, J. D. HARDING, T. CRESWICK,

AND OTHERS.

WITH DESCRIPTIONS, HISTORICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL.

VOL. II.

JAMES S. VIRTUE, CITY ROAD, AND IVY LANE, LONDON.

LIST OF PLATES.

VOLUME II.

THE RIVER MERSEY, AT LIVERPOOL.

LIVERPOOL--CANNING DOCK AND CUSTOM-HOUSE.

--------- ST. NICHOLAS' CHURCH, WITH SHIPPING.

NEW BRIGHTON, NEAR LIVERPOOL.

MATLOCK, DERBYSHIRE.

CONWAY CASTLE, WITH THE SUSPENSION-BRIDGE.

------ QUAY, WITH THE CASTLE AND BRIDGE.

MENAI BRIDGE, WITH THE STRAIT.

BANGOR, AND PORT-PENRHYN.

BEAUMARIS, WITH THE MENAI STRAIT.

HOLYHEAD, THE LIGHTHOUSE, TRIUMPHAL-ARCH, &c.

--------- SOUTHSTACK LIGHTHOUSE.

CARNARVON CASTLE, THE EAGLE TOWER.

--------- GENERAL VIEW.

HARLECH CASTLE, NORTH WALES.

BARMOUTH, WATERING-PLACE.

SWANSEA BAY, WITH LIGHTHOUSE IN THE DISTANCE.

OYSTERMOUTH CASTLE, OVERLOOKING SWANSEA BAY.

THE MUMBLES' LIGHTHOUSE, SWANSEA BAY.

THE NASS SANDS' LIGHTHOUSES.

CARDIFF, GLAMORGANSHIRE.

GLOUCESTER, PORT AND CATHEDRAL.

BRISTOL CITY, FROM ROWNHAM FERRY.

------- REDCLIFFE CHURCH AND BASIN.

CLIFTON, WITH THE NEW SUSPENSION-BRIDGE.

BATH, WITH THE CITY, CATHEDRAL, AND DOWNS.

CORNWALL, TINTAGEL CASTLE.

PLYMOUTH, DEVON.

--------- MOUNT EDGECOMBE.

BRIXHAM, TORBAY, DEVON.

EXMOUTH, DEVON.

BUDLEIGH SALTERTON.

SIDMOUTH, VIEW FROM THE BEACH.

CAVES AT LADRAM BAY.

WEYMOUTH, WITH THE HARBOUR.

HURST CASTLE, KING CHARLES'S PRISON.

COWES, ISLE OF WIGHT.

SOUTHAMPTON.

------------ THE ANCIENT WALLS.

PORTSMOUTH, ENTRANCE TO THE HARBOUR.

----------- RIGGING-HULK AND FRIGATE.

----------- VIEW FROM THE SALUTING PLATFORM.

GOSPORT, FLAG-SHIP SALUTING.

SPITHEAD, WITH SHIPS OF WAR.

BRIGHTON, SUSSEX.

HASTINGS, WITH THE TOWN AND CASTLE.

--------- VIEW ON THE BEACH.

RYE, SUSSEX, WITH ITS ANCIENT GATE, CHURCH, &c.

FOLKESTONE, FROM THE BEACH.

DOVER, WITH THE CASTLE.

------ FROM THE CASTLE.

SANDWICH, KENT, ANCIENT GATE AND DRAWBRIDGE.

RAMSGATE, KENT, ENTRANCE TO THE HARBOUR.

BROADSTAIRS, ISLE OF THANET, VESSEL ASHORE.

WRECK IN KINGSGATE-BAY.

MARGATE, TWO VESSELS ASHORE.

CHATHAM, WITH THE DOCKYARD.

GRAVESEND, FROM THE RIVER.

LONDON, FROM GREENWICH PARK.

PORT OF LONDON.

THE TOWER.

VIGNETTE-ENTRANCE TO THE PORT OF BERWICK.

THE

PORTS AND HARBOURS

GREAT BRITAIN.

BERWICK.--LIGHTHOUSE ON THE PIER.

The view of the Lighthouse, at the head of Berwick Pier (which forms the

vignette to our Second Volume), is taken from the entrance to the

harbour, about half a mile below the bridge. This Pier, the building of

which was commenced in 1810, stands on the north side of the river, and

is chiefly erected on the foundations of an old one, which is said to

have been built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. From the lighthouse,

which was finished in 1826, two lights are exhibited at night, the one

above the other. The upper one, which is of a pale, white colour, is

lighted from sunset to sunrise; the lower one, which is of a bright red,

is a tide-light, and is only displayed during the time that there is ten

feet water on the bar.

Berwick Harbour is not well adapted for vessels of large burthen, for

the greater part of the shore, in front of the quay, is dry at low

water. On the Tweedmouth side, near the Car Rock, is the best water

within the bar; and a vessel drawing from sixteen to eighteen feet water

may lie there at all hours of the tide without touching the ground. The

entrance to the harbour is narrow, as a bank of sand stretches out to

the eastward, from the Spittal shore, to the extent of nearly half a

mile, and approaches to within a cable's length of the rocks on the

north. When the wind is from the eastward, there is always a swell on

the bar; and the ebb-tide--more especially when there is a _fresh_ in

the river, in consequence of rain--runs out with such velocity that it

is impossible for a vessel to make head against it. Vessels bound for

Berwick, which cannot take the harbour in bad weather, usually seek

shelter in Leith Roads.

The salmon fishery forms a most important branch of the trade of

Berwick. About the middle of the last century, the fish used chiefly to

be conveyed to London by small vessels of about forty tons burthen,

belonging to Harwich and Gravesend, engaged by the London dealers; the

fresh-caught salmon and gilse were conveyed in wells in the hold, but a

large portion was sent pickled in kits. About 1787, the practice of

packing salmon in pounded ice was suggested by George Dempster, Esq., of

Dunnichen, then M.P. for Cupar, to Mr. John Richardson, a salmon-dealer,

of Perth, who immediately adopted it; and the next year the

salmon-dealers of Berwick followed his example.

Most of the salmon sent from Berwick to London are caught between the

mouth of the Tweed and Norham, which is about eight miles up the river,

and the highest point to which the tide flows. In 1799, the yearly

rental of the fisheries within this distance, on both sides of the

river, was estimated at L10,000; and in 1817 it was nearly double that

sum. In consequence of the decline of the salmon fishery since 1820, it

does not at the present time exceed L9,000. Various causes have been

assigned for the decline of the salmon fishery in the Tweed; such as the

building of the New Pier at the north side of the harbour; with the

draining of lands and the destruction of fish in close time towards the

upper parts of the river. How the building of the New Pier, and the

draining of lands in Selkirk and Roxburghshire affect the breed of

salmon, has not been clearly shown; and poaching in close time has not

prevailed to a greater extent during the last twenty years than in the

twenty years previous to 1816. The unremitting manner in which the river

was _legally_ fished between the mouth of the Tweed and Norham, from

1800 to 1817, is more likely to have been one great cause of the

decline; but the proprietors of the fisheries seem unwilling to admit

that a river may be over-fished, as well as land exhausted by

over-cropping.

It can scarcely be said that there is a public market for salmon in

Berwick, almost all that are caught being engrossed by factors or

fish-curers, and sent to London; and salmon is generally as dear there

as in the metropolis. The fish, as soon as caught, are packed in large

boxes, between layers of pounded ice, and in this manner conveyed to the

metropolis.

[Illustration: THE MERSEY AT LIVERPOOL.]

THE MERSEY.

FROM LIVERPOOL.

"A thousand keels the subject wave divide,--

Float with the flow, or stem the ebbing tide,--

Winged messengers that haste, with sails unfurl'd,

To barter produce with some distant world!--

With oar and paddle, sail and thundering steam,

They row--they cleave--they plough the Mersey's stream;

That stream, which, fretted by a thousand prows,

No silent rest, no liquid slumber knows;

Whate'er the hour, whatever wind prevail,

Behold the outward and the homeward sail!"

The Mersey is to Liverpool what the Thames is to London--the grand

channel of mercantile prosperity--the main artery that carries health

and vigour into the heart of the city, and thence distributes them by a

thousand ramifications through all classes of the community. The

navigation of this river has long been an object of primary import to

the prosperity of our national trade; and therefore every suggestion

which promised to obviate and remove those impediments which nature had

thrown in the way, has been met with the greatest promptness and

liberality. Whatever it was possible for art to accomplish has been

attempted, and that so successfully that, if the ultimate object has not

yet been obtained, the navigation of the Mersey has at least been

rendered comparatively safe and expeditious. The grand enterprise for

facilitating the intercourse between Liverpool and Manchester was

commenced in 1720, when a canal was formed, and the navigation of the

Mersey and Irwell was so greatly improved, that the "flats"--which were

previously ten or eleven days in going from one town to the other--could

now, by taking advantage of the tide, accomplish the same distance in as

many hours. How amazingly this distance has been again shortened in our

own times, by the introduction of steam power, is familiar to every one.

The rise and expansion of Liverpool--in all that regards it as a

mercantile emporium--have taken place within the last two centuries. In

1650, the town--a mere fishing hamlet--consisted of only five or six

streets. A pool, branching from the river, extended over the space now

occupied by the new Custom-house and the three streets adjoining; and,

for the convenience of intercourse, a ferry-boat was kept at the corner

of Church-street and Whitechapel. This ferry was at last superseded by a

bridge, erected by the proprietor of the land, Lord Molyneux; and since

that period the advancement of the Mersey in the list of great navigable

rivers has been unprecedentedly rapid and successful. The grand

municipal improvements, however, have all been effected within the last

century. During that interval, splendid squares, streets, and public

monuments have sprung up into existence. Previously to that epoch there

was no spirit, no scope for commercial enterprise, and consequently no

harbour, nor dock, nor warehouse. But now spacious harbours extend for

several miles along the bank of the Mersey: on the bosom of the river

stately merchantmen, outward or homeward bound, laden with the produce

of every clime, are continually passing and repassing; while the usual

embellishments which follow a train of successful industry are apparent

at every step of our progress, adding ever varying features of beauty

and animation to the landscape. He who would form a just estimate of the

vast and unlimited resources of this great commercial city, should spend

at least a day, partly in a promenade along the banks, and partly on the

spring-tide of the Mersey.

This river is navigable for vessels of considerable burden so far as the

mouth of the Irwell,--a distance of thirty-five miles from Liverpool. It

derives its source from the confluence of several small streams on the

Cheshire and Derbyshire frontier, and pursues a serpentine course,

gradually inclining to the south-west. Its largest tributary is the

Irwell, which falls into it near the village of Flixton, seven miles

from Manchester. A little below Warrington, the Mersey expands into a

broad arm of the sea, and turning abruptly to the south-west, contracts

its channel as it passes Liverpool to about three quarters of a mile in

breadth; but in proceeding farther inland, it again increases its width

to more than three miles. This peculiarity is very advantageous to the

port, as the great body of water, passing and repassing at every tide,

keeps the navigation of the Mersey always open. A range of sand banks

run parallel with the coast for many miles, but several channels

intervene, giving sufficient depth for vessels of the heaviest draught

at high water, at which time the Mersey presents the most interesting

and striking scene,--particularly when a westerly wind favours the

arrival of the numerous fleets destined to this port, bearing the flags

and freighted with the produce of all nations that have found a place in

the chart of commercial enterprise.

[Illustration: CANNING DOCK AND CUSTOM HOUSE, LIVERPOOL.

Dedicated to the Right Hon. Viscount Sandon, M. P.]

CANNING DOCK AND CUSTOM-HOUSE,

LIVERPOOL.

Liverpool presents one of the most remarkable instances on record of the

vast influence of commercial speculation, when pursued with steady

vigour, prudence, and resolution. Commerce is the first step to empire,

and, successfully prosecuted, never fails to consolidate the strength

and independence of the state. To this important end no city in the

kingdom has so amply contributed as Liverpool; none of our rivers, the

Thames excepted, has wafted to our shores so many precious cargoes as

the Mersey, nor exported so much of the produce of our native

manufactures to all parts of the world. This great commercial city,

rapid as its progress has been, is still advancing in the career of

prosperity; hardly a month passes without some local improvement,--some

substantial proof that her trade is on the increase, stimulating

domestic industry, and affording the means of unlimited intercourse with

every shore of the commercial world.

Canning Dock, with the Custom-house, forms one of the finest points of

view in Liverpool, presenting at one view a building of elegant design

and execution, and a forest of masts which sufficiently indicate the

bustle of trade, and the air of business that pervade every feature of

the place--animate or inanimate. Canning Dock--so distinguished in

honour of Mr. Canning, a name happily identified with Liverpool and the

prosperity of its trade,--covers a space of five hundred yards in

length. On the west side it communicates with three graving docks, where

vessels are laid up for repairs, and is chiefly occupied by vessels

trading to the northern coast. It is the first of the seven docks

extending southward, and is generally filled by vessels in the act of

discharging or taking in their cargoes. It presents a scene of great

bustle and activity, and, though only one out of many, affords the

stranger a very clear idea of the vast amount of traffic that is daily

shipped or entered at this emporium.

The Custom-House is of recent date, and replaced the old official

buildings, which were found quite inadequate to the purposes of a daily

extending commerce. Through the united interest of Canning and

Huskisson, negociations were entered into with Government as to the

necessity of a new Custom-house; and after a short time arrangements

were concluded for its immediate erection. Mr. Foster, architect to the

Liverpool corporation, was engaged to prepare the designs, and made

choice of the present site as the most appropriate for a commercial

building of this size and character.

The lower apartments of the Custom-house consist of spacious vaults for

the safe custody of bonded and other goods; and in the centre is the

apartment known as the Long Room. The offices of customs occupy the

whole extent of the west wing; and it is intended that part of the east

wing shall be appropriated to the use of the general post-office. Above

these are the excise offices and those of the dock-treasurer and

secretaries. The remaining portions of the edifice are subdivided into

the board-room, the dock-committee's offices, and the stamp-office.

The chasteness and beauty of the Ionic style of architecture adopted in

this magnificent edifice have been much and justly admired. The centre,

and the east and west fronts are adorned by lofty porticos, each

supported by eight Ionic columns. The centre of the building is

surmounted by a magnificent dome, lighted by sixteen windows, and

ornamented round by pilasters. Inclosed within the outer dome is a

smaller one encircled by twelve windows, so as to afford sufficient

light to the Long Room. The interior of this building will amply repay

the stranger for a visit. The grand front is opposite Castle-street;

and, entering in this direction, the first object which claims attention

is the massive grouping of the pilasters which support the floor of the

Long Room over head. The stairs, flanked by handsome iron

balustrades,--the landing-places supported by eight Ionic stone columns,

each of a single piece,--the four pilasters, and the elaborate

ceilings,--are all deserving of particular attention. The Long Room is

altogether splendidly designed and executed; lighted by fourteen windows

on the sides, and by twelve as already observed, in the inner dome. The

ceiling is divided by lateral and transverse beams into regular

compartments, all beautifully ornamented. At each of the opposite ends

of this noble apartment are a corresponding flight of stairs and

landing-places. But to convey a just description of this monument to the

genius of commerce is at once difficult and tedious; we therefore

recommend all who may visit Liverpool, as admirers of its docks,

harbours, and splendid edifices, to devote an hour to the

Custom-house--a building which reflects great honour upon the architect,

and serves as a lasting ornament to the second city of the empire.

[Illustration: ST. NICHOLAS' CHURCH, LIVERPOOL.

(from St. George's Basin)]

ST. NICHOLAS' CHURCH AND ST. GEORGE'S BASIN,

LIVERPOOL.

"Here have the wild deer bounded,--here the trees

Waved, a wide-spreading forest, in the breeze!

Then came the woodman's axe,--the forest fell,--

The shrine arose, and peal'd the chapel bell;--

The crowd of pilgrims and the sound of prayer

Disturbed the woodland savage in his lair....

What hear we now!--what see we in the gale!

The city's shout,--the far-expanding sail,--

The crowded Mart,--the tramp of busy feet--

And wheels that shake the densely-peopled street."

St. Nicholas, or the Old Church, is supposed to stand upon the site of

an ancient chapel built about the time of the Conquest. But whether this

be correct or not, there is at least evidence to prove that, in 1361,

license for burial here was granted by the Bishop of Lichfield. It was

endowed by Queen Elizabeth with a small sum, under five pounds, to be

paid annually out of the chantry rents to the minister; and another sum,

between five and six pounds, as a yearly grant to the schoolmaster. In

the olden time a statue of the patron, St. Nicholas, erected in the

churchyard, was much frequented by mariners, who believed that an

offering made to the saint would conciliate the winds in their favour,

and secure a prosperous voyage. Time, however, put an end to this

confederacy between the saint and seamen. St. Nicholas was dethroned;

and for a time the winds "blew as if they would have cracked their

cheeks" at the downfall of one who had so long laid them under arrest.

But at length a better knowledge of the compass and the coast made the

seaman ample compensation for the loss of his ghostly patron, and showed

him that a skilful mariner and a stout bark are better securities

against storm and tempest than any saint in the calendar.

In 1774 this church was rebuilt,--"The old roof, walls, and Gothic

pillars, the old blue ceiling, black and white clouds, golden sun, moon,

and stars, painted and gilt thereon," were removed, and the

re-edification completed, under the direction of Joseph Brooks, Esq. In

1810 this church was the scene of a dreadful catastrophe; the steeple

suddenly gave way as the children of the charity-school were entering

the church. It fell upon the body of the building, and twenty-four lives

were sacrificed, seventeen of which were girls belonging to the school.

Many others were severely wounded. The accident was attributed to the

weakness of an old arch upon which a modern spire had been erected. The

spire was subsequently restored by Mr. Harrison, of Chester, with a

degree of taste and execution which does him credit. It consists of an

ornamented Gothic tower, surmounted by an open lantern, with an air of

great lightness and elegance, and forming a very striking feature among

the many architectural objects--civil and ecclesiastical--by which it is

surrounded. The height of the tower is one hundred and twenty feet, and

that of the lantern sixty; so that together the steeple has an elevation

of not less than one hundred and eighty feet. During the night the clock

opposite the river is illuminated, so that it may serve as a landmark to

assure the mariner that St. Nicholas is still on the watch for his

safety, as in the good olden time.

St. George's Dock, from which the view of the Church is taken, was

constructed according to an act of parliament obtained in 1762, and

completed at an expenditure of twenty-one thousand pounds. It is two

hundred and sixty-four yards in length, one hundred in breadth, and

lined on the east side by a row of very large warehouses, with footpaths

under the piazzas. Extending along both sides are sheds for merchandise;

and on the pier-head, at the west side of the dock, are the public

baths. The latter, comprised in a large building of plain but classical

design and execution, were erected by the corporation at an expense of

thirty-six thousand pounds, and opened to the public in the month of

June, 1829. Nothing could be better adapted to its purpose than this

great public edifice, in which the twofold recommendation of ornament

and utility are happily combined. The water is constantly flowing

through the baths in a fresh current; being supplied from the river at

high-tide, filtered, and contained in a reservoir of eight hundred tons

under the centre of the building. Private, cold, shower, warm, tepid,

medicated, and vapour baths are to be had at all hours; and from the

excellent manner in which every department is arranged and conducted,

the inhabitants possess in this establishment one of the great means of

promoting health and averting disease.

[Illustration: NEW BRIGHTON.]

NEW BRIGHTON.

New Brighton has already taken a prominent station in the list of

fashionable watering-places, and in several respects bids fair to

eclipse even the attractions of its celebrated namesake in Sussex.

Highly favoured by nature in a romantic point of view, the striking

features of this locality have been duly taken advantage of in

constructing a series of marine villas, all in harmony with the native

landscape. These, with the most picturesque effects as viewed from a

distance, combine every accommodation that can be desired,--either for

families of distinction, or private individuals; while the air, which

the invalid inhales from the atmosphere around him, produces a degree of

vigour and exhilaration, which is rarely experienced in situations more

inland or less elevated.

"The rural wilds

Invite; the mountains call you; and the vales,

The woods, the streams, and each ambrosial breeze

That fans the ever-undulating sky--

A kindly sky!"

The honour of founding New Brighton belongs to James Atherton, Esq. A

bold design, as it at first appeared, but which judgment, taste, and a

liberal hand have converted into a lasting monument,--creditable alike

to the originator and to the discriminating public, who have manifested

a decided preference for the situation, and thus amply justified the

enterprise. The first step taken by Mr. Atherton was to purchase nearly

two hundred acres of land, including the site of the future town. These

were put under the care of persons well instructed in the plan of

operations. The design was prosecuted with unremitting zeal; houses

sprang up, streets were laid out, and in a comparatively short time the

skeleton of New Brighton was completed. Strangers resorted to the spot;

the citizens of Liverpool became eager for its completion, and for those

enjoyments which it presented as a summer retreat, as well as for the

many advantages which it offered to the invalid. Thus encouraged by the

vote of public approbation, the works made rapid progress, and shortly

after assumed the name and consideration of a favourite watering-place.

In the design and execution of the various embellishments of the place,

the architect has never stepped aside from the rules of good taste. The

pleasure and accommodation of the visitors have been carefully studied.

Spacious streets, fifteen yards in breadth and nearly a mile in length,

insure a free circulation of air, and throw open an agreeable promenade

to the public, who resort thither in great numbers during the summer and

autumn. The partiality evinced for this watering place, (of which the

inhabitants can so readily take advantage,) is every day adding to the

number of its visitors, and thereby contributing to the further

extension of the original plan. A commodious and elegant hotel has been

erected, where casual visitors and others, in conjunction with the

allurements of a well-served table, can enjoy the exhilarating prospect

of the sea, and the numberless vessels of all denominations that stud

and traverse its waters. For the accommodation of the resident

population, a reservoir, containing nearly two thousand gallons of

water, has been constructed, and supplied from a fine spring on the

beach.

The Fort and Lighthouse are objects well deserving of attention. The

former is very strongly built, and covers a space of nearly four

thousand yards. It is approached from the main land by means of a

drawbridge, and mounts sixteen pieces of cannon with others in the

embrasures of the towers. On account of the great sandbank at the

entrance of the river, it is ordered that every ship of heavy burden

shall pass within nine hundred yards of the Fort.

The Lighthouse is constructed of Anglesey marble, and is considered a

masterpiece of its kind. It rises about ninety feet above the rock; each

stone is worked to a given geometrical form, and made to lock and

dovetail with those adjoining with great accuracy. The whole is cemented

together by a liquid volcanic substance brought from the vicinity of

Mount AEtna, which, in the course of time, becomes as hard as marble. The

lantern is illuminated by revolving lights--two of which are brilliantly

white, and the other of a deep red. The work is from the design of Mr.

Foster, and executed by Mr. Tomkinson, at an expense to the Liverpool

Corporation of twenty-seven thousand five hundred pounds.

[Illustration: MATLOCK BATH.]

MATLOCK,

DERBYSHIRE.

"To MATLOCK'S calm, sequester'd vale

Bear that maiden, faint and pale!

There--'mid streams like music flowing,

There--'mid flowers profusely blowing,

Health and beauty shall return,

And snatch a victim from the urn."

The reputation of the Matlock water is supported by the recorded

testimony of more than a century; while the picturesque scenery in which

the village is embosomed forms no small addition to its medicinal

attractions. The number of invalids who resort annually to this

salubrious spring appears to be on the increase,--the best criterion of

the value attached to it. In the superior accommodation which it now

offers to every class of visitors, nothing has been neglected that even

the most fastidious can desire. Those domestic comforts, in particular,

which are often of more real importance to valetudinarians than the

skill of the physician, have been provided with a scrupulous exactness,

which makes the stranger at Matlock feel completely at home.

Matlock, however, though so friendly to the invalid, is neither gloomy

nor isolated; but to those who delight to mix in the gayer scenes of

artificial life, it possesses every attraction which refined society and

social intercourse can bestow. He who seeks health, and he who seeks

relaxation and pleasure, may enjoy every facility which science or

fashion can offer; and nowhere are the amusements better conducted, or

the rules of society more strictly observed, than at Matlock.

The environs embrace some of the most striking and romantic scenery, as

well as historical sites, in England; and so close at hand that many of

the finest features enter into the same picture. Washed by the crystal

Derwent and finely wooded,--with rocks, and fountains, and precipices,

scattered at random through the charming landscape,--the visitor is

tempted to pass much of his time in the open air, which accelerates the

cure the water has begun. Romantic foot-paths, meandering along the

rocky acclivities, and opening at short intervals upon enchanting points

of view, allure the indolent to that salutary exercise which seldom

fails to reward the _pieton_ with increased strength and exhilaration of

spirits. The roads in the vicinity are kept in the best possible order,

and, owing to the nature of the soil, rain is so speedily carried off,

or absorbed, that the invalid may indulge in out-door exercise without

apprehension.

That portion of Matlock in which the invalid is most interested consists

of the Old Bath, the New Bath, the Hotel, and several commodious

lodging-houses, situated on the south-east side of the Derwent. These,

with the various additions and improvements recently effected, offer to

his choice all that can be desired in point of comfort and convenience.

The buildings are of stone, elegantly constructed externally, and

presenting internally an arrangement admirably adapted to the purposes

of their erection. The servants of the establishments are well

conducted, and attentive to their several duties; and the vigilance with

which every department is regulated is a subject of commendation with

every visitor.

The water of Matlock is remarkable for its sparkling purity; it springs

from limestone rock in a copious stream; and, having a temperature of

sixty-eight degrees of Fahrenheit, is to be considered as a thermal

water. It has been found to contain a small portion of neutral

salt--probably muriate of soda--and an earthy salt, chiefly calcareous.

Of the latter, when the water is exposed to the air, a deposition is

quickly effected, and incrustations formed upon every substance immersed

in it--some curious specimens of which are seen at what are called the

Petrifying Wells.

In a medical point of view, the water of Matlock may be employed in all

those cases in which a pure diluent drink is advisable; but it is

chiefly used as a tepid bath--or at least as one which exceeds the

extreme limits of a cold bath. On this account, it produces only a

slight shock on immersion, and is, therefore, peculiarly fitted for

those delicate and languid habits that cannot exert sufficient reaction

to overcome the effects of the common cold-bath, and on which the

benefit it produces chiefly depends. It forms a good intermediate bath

between that of Bath or Buxton and the sea, and may be recommended as a

preparative for the latter. The abundant supply of water always at the

same temperature is a circumstance in favour of natural baths; while the

purity of the air and exquisite beauty of the situation must always

render Matlock a favourite resort for the invalid and man of taste. To

the geologist it presents a wide and interesting field of observation.

Few districts in England comprise within the same limits so great a

proportion of poetical and historical scenes.

[Illustration: CONWAY CASTLE.]

CONWAY CASTLE,

NORTH WALES.

"Tantot c'est un vieux fort, qui, du haut des collines,

Tyran de la contrie, effrei de ses vassaux,

Portait jusqu'au ciel l'orgueil de ses crenaux;

Qui, dans ces temps affreux de discorde et d'alarmes,

Vit les grands coups de lance et les noble faits d'armes

De nos preux chevaliers......

Aujourd'hui la moisson flotte sur ses debris."

Conway, or more properly Aberconway--so called from its position on the

river of that name--makes no inconsiderable figure in the page of

ancient history. It appears, on the testimony of Suetonius, the Roman

governor in Britain, that the chief motive entertained by his countrymen

in their occupation of this coast was a pearl fishery at the mouth of

the river Conway; a specimen of which, presented by Sir R. Wynne to the

Queen of Charles the Second, is said to have found a place among the

jewels that now adorn the British diadem.

The town of Conway is large, though not populous, and in situation and

appearance highly picturesque. It is surrounded by lofty embattled

walls, a mile and a half in circumference, well preserved, defended by

twenty-four round-towers and four gates, and presenting at all points a

striking picture of the ancient style of fortification. From the side

towards the river ran two curtain-walls, terminating in watch-towers,

but of which only one remains.

The castle, a truly grand and imposing structure, was built in 1284; an

epoch which gave origin to so many of those native fortresses, which

will long continue to be the subject of interest and admiration to every

traveller in this romantic country.

Conway had, unlike Carnarvon and other fortresses situated on a level,

no imposing portal to usher into the interior. Its two entrances were

small, both practised for security, between an advanced work flanked by

two small towers, one ascending by winding stairs from the river, the

other, from the interior of the town, crossed the defensive moat by

means of a drawbridge, and passed through a portal and outwork of small

turrets into the great court of the castle. This stands on a rock, its

courts flanked by eight enormous battlemented round-towers of unequalled

beauty of proportion, those next the river having in addition small

turrets. Of these towers, all are perfect as to their exterior save one,

called Twr Dwu, or the broken tower, of which the lower portion, with

the rock that supported it, has fallen away, exposing to view the

immense solidity of its fractured walls. The interior of each tower was

occupied by several stages of spacious apartments, the flooring and roof

of which are entirely gone, with the fire-places, and lancet windows,

the interior yawning in vacant desolation, blackened, weather-stained,

and overgrown with rampant weeds and briers. There were stairs to ascend

to the upper apartments from the courts below, and a way round the

battlements which may still be followed out. The interior of the castle

consists of two courts, comprising the different apartments. As we enter

the grassy area, surrounded by ivied walls, and picturesquely surmounted

by the battlemented turrets, the great hall appears on the right; three

spacious windows of pointed architecture, and formerly highly enriched

with mullions and tracery, lighted it on the side next the court, and

the side wall, furnished with six lancet windows, with recessed and

raised seats, looking out upon the creek, which, running up from the

Conway, defended the walls on the south. Two carved fire-places of ample

dimensions warmed the immense and royal apartment, supported by several

gothic arches, some of which, clothed with ivy, still span the vacant

space above, while beneath, among nettles and brambles, yawn the offices

below. At the extremity of the hall is a noble arched window. The walls

are now mantled thick with ivy, and the nettle and bramble overgrow what

remains of the floor of this royal apartment, where Edward, whose statue

in Westminster Abbey is of unequalled beauty, and Queen Eleanor, with

masque and antique pageantry, entertained the throng of knights and

barons bold, who had assisted in the subjugation of the Welsh, who

besieged, however, the potent monarch in his own castle, and would have

starved him into a surrender, but for the timely arrival of a fleet

bearing soldiers and provisions. Since that period, its history is

little remarkable. It was held in the civil war, for Charles I., by

Archbishop Williams, who, being superseded by Prince Rupert, assisted

the Parliamentarians in effecting the reduction of the place.

[Illustration: CONWAY QUAY.]

CONWAY QUAY.

The district of Conway is mostly agricultural, and possesses no distinct

manufactures by which the prosperity of the town and its population can

be greatly promoted. A few small trading-vessels belong to the port; and

here also ships of burden are occasionally repaired. The great

improvement to the harbour is the erection of the quay; and the channel

of the river having been deepened, and every impediment to the

navigation removed, it may be anticipated that a speedy increase of

trading intercourse will succeed its former languor and inactivity. The

exports consist chiefly of timber, slate, and lead; and the imports, of

coal from Flint and Liverpool, and of tea, sugar, cotton, with various