ANCIENT STREETS
AND
HOMESTEADS OF ENGLAND
[Illustration]
[Illustration: WREXHAM TOWER.]
ANCIENT STREETS
AND
HOMESTEADS OF ENGLAND
BY ALFRED RIMMER
AND AN INTRODUCTION
BY THE VERY REV. J. S. HOWSON, D.D.
DEAN OF CHESTER
[Illustration]
_WITH ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY ILLUSTRATIONS
FROM DRAWINGS BY THE AUTHOR_
ENGRAVED BY J. D. COOPER
London
MACMILLAN AND CO.
1877
PREFACE.
It cannot with truth be said that monumental history is treated in our
day with scanty regard. Never, perhaps, were such permanent and forcible
memorials of the past as the Arch of Titus in Rome, the _Pont du Gard_
in the south of France, and the _Porta Nigra_ of Trèves, visited and
gazed upon with warmer interest or a deeper sense of their value. We all
feel the power that is exerted over us by the ruins of great Castles and
great Abbeys. And in another way is this strong feeling of our times
very widely manifested. I refer to the restoration of Cathedrals and
Churches--not only in our own country now for many years--but, more
recently, in France. This restorative work may not always have been
conducted with faultless taste or perfect judgment, but (to say nothing
of religious motives) it testifies to a high appreciation of the
importance of history written in stone.
There is, however, what may be termed a minor monumental history, which
has not by any means always received its due attention. Our country is
full of historic scenes, where the past is visibly recorded, and where,
a few years ago, it was more visibly recorded than at present. Old
states of society, old modes of living, obsolete habits of the people,
are commemorated in many a small building which attracts little notice
from the ordinary passer by. The lives of eminent persons, public events
of high significance, have left their mark in villages, and market
towns, and wayside places, where these recollections ought to be
cherished, and where, if possible, the hand of the destroyer ought to be
arrested. It should be added that nearly all such scenes and such
fragments are pleasing in their aspect and worthy of the artist’s pencil
as well as of the historian’s pen.
Under the influence of mixed feelings, made up partly of delight in what
remains of this kind, partly of sorrowful regret for what is lost, I
cannot hesitate to recommend these drawings by Mr. Rimmer, which he has
illustrated by a running commentary. I do not commit myself to all his
conclusions, which embrace a great multiplicity of subjects connected
with very various parts of our country. The plan of the book is, of
necessity, somewhat desultory; but I think there is some advantage, as
certainly there is no fatigue, in rambling with him irregularly from
county to county, through towns and hamlets, and using his eyes as we
travel. We cannot all literally see these places ourselves; and if we
were to see them, we might easily, through the want of some guidance,
fail to observe their true character and expressive meaning. It should
be remembered, too, that large numbers of such historic and picturesque
buildings as Mr. Rimmer here delineates have been destroyed, or are in
danger now of destruction. It is something if drawings preserve for us
in one sense what in another sense (and a very melancholy one) is
irreparably lost. Such views, too, and such pages as these, may help us
to set a higher value on that which survives. On the whole, it seems to
me evident that this book is a very useful contribution to what I have
termed minor monumental history.
I will exemplify what I mean, and what I understand Mr. Rimmer to mean,
by one or two independent illustrations, that suggest themselves to my
memory; and if, in some degree, I appear to differ from him as to the
resources of this kind which are afforded by different parts of the
country, this only shows that, with all his care and diligence, he has
not exhausted his subject.
Two illustrations shall be taken from the northern counties: and the
first shall be the town of Kendal, which our author dismisses as
containing hardly any architectural reminiscences of the past. To this I
somewhat demur. Kendal, indeed, has no ancient houses, but its
ground-arrangement is very singular; and this must be very ancient. It
consists almost entirely of one broad winding street a mile in length,
from which narrow lanes, which are not properly streets, open to the
right and left, each being entered by a very small passage. Such narrow
passages could very easily have been defended, in case of forays from
the Scottish border; and it might be conjectured that they were planned
with this danger in view. This question, indeed, must be dismissed as a
puzzle nearly as great as that which is connected with the origin of the
Chester _Rows_. The point of historical interest, for the sake of which
Kendal is here brought forward, is this,--that through this broad
winding street, where the ground rises and falls very boldly, and where
even now the houses are so varied in character that on days of light and
shade they supply many good subjects for pictures, the troops of Charles
Edward marched or straggled in 1745, both on the way to Derby and on
their return. Through this circumstance, especially if we combine it
with stories current in the neighbourhood concerning that time, this
dull Westmorland street acquires a new and lively interest.
A second example is supplied by village after village in that
wide-spread country of the dales which lies south-east of Kendal.
Through Airedale and Ribblesdale, from Bradford to Lancaster, and
northward to some considerable distance, there are a multitude of
specimens of a curious kind of doorway, which I do not recollect to have
seen elsewhere. These doorways generally consist of two curves, more or
less regular, and more or less enriched with ornament, and with the
initials of the families of some now forgotten dalesmen: the dates range
from about 1630 to 1730: the earlier forms are simpler than those which
follow; and after the later period they seem to cease suddenly. However
this provincialism of rural architecture is to be explained, it is a
social and artistic fact worthy of being observed and permanently
recorded.
Turning now to the Midland Counties, I will again illustrate the subject
by a couple of instances. Mr. Rimmer most accurately notes that the
ancient Roman way of Watling Street passes along the north-eastern
frontier of Warwickshire: but beyond this he does not make much use of
a county which is by no means poor in historical associations. One place
which would have given him excellent materials for description and for
drawing, and not far from that part of this county, where, to quote the
old rhyme,
From Dover to Chestre goth Watlyn-Street,
is the village of Polesworth. My attention was especially called to its
picturesque and suggestive aspect, because I happened to visit the place
just when I was within reach of the opportunity of inspecting some of
the manuscripts of that prince of archæologists, Sir William Dugdale.
The historian of Warwickshire remarks that “for Antiquitie and venerable
esteem,” the village of Polesworth “needs not to give Precedence to any
in the Countie;” and indeed there is a charming impression of age and
quiet dignity in its remains of old walls, its remains of old trees, its
church, and its open common. Not far off, on an eminence commanding a
delightful view, is Pooley Hall, the Lord of which “by Reason of the
Floods at some time, especially in Winter, which hindered his Accesse to
the Mother Church,” obtained a license from Pope Urban IV. to build a
chapel within the precincts of his lordship. And here, in the garden of
this modest hall, is a little chapel of comparatively late architecture,
but doubtless built on the site of the old one; and here, full in view,
on the level ground below, with the village beyond, is the river,
evidently liable to floods. I give this scene merely as a specimen of
the wealth that our English counties contain for the historian who is
also an artist.
The other county of which I am thinking is Bedfordshire. Of course Mr.
Rimmer does not fail to take notice of the town of Bedford, and its
neighbouring village of Elstow, and their still visible associations
with John Bunyan; but there still remain some things to be added to
those which he has so well described. I fear it must be admitted that
the prison, in which the author of the _Pilgrim’s Progress_ spent those
days and nights that have enriched the world, was not on the bridge over
the Ouse, but in another part of Bedford. The jailor’s door, by a most
curious accident, survives, built into the wall of a granary, and with
quite enough of character to deserve an engraving on descriptive pages.
As regards the village of Elstow, there is abundant material of this
kind in the isolated church tower, containing the very bells in the
ringing of which Bunyan rejoiced and afterwards trembled; in the
curious building, undoubtedly contemporary, upon the green where he
danced; and, above all, I must mention what appears till recently to
have escaped attention. The “wicket-gate” of the _Pilgrim’s Progress_ is
commonly represented as a garden-gate or a turnpike-gate; but really the
term denotes a small doorway, cut out of a large door; and concealed
behind a tree at the west end of Elstow Church, is just such a small
doorway in the broad wooden surface of the great door. Through this
lowly opening Bunyan must often have passed when a boy; and if it were
simply drawn and engraved, I believe we should have a correct picture of
that which was before his imagination when he described the early steps
of Christian’s pilgrimage.
It is natural to both Mr. Rimmer and myself, with such thoughts in our
minds, that we should make much of the ancient and striking city where
we happen to dwell. He begins with Chester: and I will end with some
words concerning it by a recent American traveller. Those who come for
the first time from the United States to Europe frequently hasten to
Chester with a feeling of extraordinary interest, partly because it is
the nearest cathedral city, partly because it is a walled city. This
writer is describing the walls. “Chester has everywhere,” he says, “a
rugged outer parapet, and a broad hollow flagging, wide enough for two
strollers abreast. Thus equipped, it wanders through its adventurous
circuit; now sloping, now bending, now broadening into a terrace, now
narrowing into an alley, now swelling into an arch, now dipping into
steps, now passing some thorn-screened garden, and now reminding you
that it was once a more serious matter than all this, by the occurrence
of a rugged ivy-smothered tower. Every few steps as you go you see some
little court or alley boring toward it through the close-pressed houses.
It is full of that delightful element of the crooked, the accidental,
the unforeseen, which to American eyes, accustomed to our eternal
straight lines and right angles, is the striking feature of European
street scenery. An American strolling in the Chester streets finds a
perfect feast of crookedness--of those random corners, projections, and
recesses, odd domestic interspaces charmingly saved or lost, those
innumerable architectural surprises and caprices and fantasies, which
offer such a delicious holiday to a vision nourished upon brown stone
fronts.”
The pleasure which I feel in having anything to do with a book like this
is very much increased by the reflection that American readers are
likely to take the warmest interest in the visible reminiscences of
history, in which the country that they recognise as their mother-land
still abounds.
J. S. H.
THE DEANERY, CHESTER,
_October 6, 1876_.
[Illustration: PARRY’S ENTRY, CHESTER.]
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
REMAINS OF STREET ARCHITECTURE IN ENGLAND--CHESTER: VARIOUS
THEORIES OF THE ROWS--REMINISCENCES OF ANCIENT HOUSES IN
CHESTER--WIRRAL--CONGLETON--NANTWICH--WHITTINGTON.....1
CHAPTER II.
OSWESTRY--SHREWSBURY--BATTLE OF SHREWSBURY--WENLOCK--COUNTY
TOWNS AS CENTRES OF EXCLUSIVE SOCIETY--ITALIAN
ARCHITECTURE--BRIDGENORTH--HEREFORD--ROSS--MONMOUTH--WORCESTER--GLOUCESTER:
NEW INN--CONDITION OF ROADS--TEWKESBURY--CORNWALL.....37
CHAPTER III.
EXETER--WELLS--GLASTONBURY, LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR INTERRED
HERE--DORSET--SHERBORNE--WEYMOUTH.....91
CHAPTER IV.
CARDINAL BEAUFORT’S TOWER--ST.
CROSS--WINCHESTER--SURREY--SALISBURY--CANTERBURY--ROCHESTER--RYE--EAST
GRINSTEAD--MIDDLESEX.....106
CHAPTER V.
HERTFORD--ST. ALBANS--ELIZABETHAN
ARCHITECTURE AND JOHN THORPE--MARLOW--STONY
STRATFORD--COLCHESTER--BANBURY--TETSWORTH--OXFORD--NORFOLK AND
SUFFOLK--NORWICH PRELATES--BRICK ARCHITECTURE.....134
CHAPTER VI.
THE FEN COUNTIES, AND THEIR
PICTURESQUENESS--ELY--CAMBRIDGE--HUNTINGDON--MARKET
BOSWORTH--BEDFORD--ADVANTAGES OF WATER
POWER--LINCOLN--GAINSBOROUGH--GRANTHAM--STAMFORD--ANGEL INN,
GRANTHAM.....175
CHAPTER VII.
NOTTINGHAM--ROBIN
HOOD--SOUTHWELL--NEWARK--NOTTINGHAM--WARWICKSHIRE--DUGDALE--COVENTRY--
DERBY--STRATFORD--ROMAN ROADS--YORK--RIPON--WAKEFIELD--PONTEFRACT.....217
CHAPTER VIII.
BEVERLEY--STONE
CROSSES--NORTHUMBERLAND--ALNWICK--HEXHAM--NEWCASTLE--DURHAM--KEPIER
HOSPITAL--CARLISLE.....279
CHAPTER IX.
MOORE RENTAL--ISLE OF MAN--BERESFORD HOPE’S REMARKS--EXPRESSION
IN ARCHITECTURE--REMARKS BY GODWIN--CONTRACT FOR BUILDING
ST. MARY’S CHURCH, CHESTER--GENERAL PRINCIPLES--GREEK
ARCHITECTURE--CONCLUSION.....301
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
WREXHAM TOWER _Frontispiece._
PAGE
PARRY’S ENTRY, CHESTER xiv
AT THE CROSS, CHESTER 1
THE ROWS, CHESTER _To face_ 4
CHESTER 5
SCENE IN A CHESTER ROW 8
COURT CONNECTING WATERGATE AND NORTHGATE ROWS 11
OLD LAMB ROW, CHESTER 13
ANCIENT FRONT, CHESTER 14
THE DARK ROW, CHESTER 16
STANLEY HOUSE, CHESTER 17
JULIUS CÆSAR’S TOWER, CHESTER 19
BRIDGE STREET, CHESTER 23
WHITEFRIARS, CHESTER 24
BIDSTON VILLAGE 26
CONGLETON INN 28
NANTWICH 29
GREEN MAN, ELLESMERE, OSWESTRY 32
WHITTINGTON VILLAGE 33
CHESTER: INTERIOR OF OLD ROOM 36
OSWESTRY _To face_ 37
SHREWSBURY 39
OLD HOUSES 40
SHREWSBURY 41
ON BATTLEFIELD ROAD, SHREWSBURY 42
HEAD QUARTERS OF HENRY VII. ON HIS ROAD TO BOSWORTH FIELD 45
ECCLESTON 47
LODGE TO MUCH WENLOCK ABBEY 50
MARKET PLACE, WENLOCK 51
WENLOCK 53
SHIFFNAL, SALOP 54
BRIDGENORTH: HOUSE WHERE BISHOP PERCY WAS BORN 62
BUTCHER’S ROW, HEREFORD 64
OUTHOUSE: NELL GWYNNE’S BIRTHPLACE, HEREFORD 66
MARKET PLACE, ROSS 68
GATE ON MONMOUTH BRIDGE 69
MARKET PLACE, MONMOUTH 70
FRIAR STREET, WORCESTER 72
WORCESTER 73
WORCESTER 74
CLOSE IN WORCESTER 76
NEW INN, GLOUCESTER 78
GLOUCESTER 81
TEWKESBURY _To face_ 83
BLACK BEAR, TEWKESBURY 84
TEWKESBURY _To face_ 86
OLD MARKET, PENZANCE 86
CRAMPTON, NEAR SHREWSBURY 90
GOLDSMITH STREET, EXETER 91
OLD HOUSES, EXETER CLOSE 93
GUILDHALL, EXETER 94
WELLS CATHEDRAL, FROM BISHOP’S GARDEN _To face_ 98
GLASTONBURY TRIBUNAL 101
SHERBORNE, DORSET _To face_ 104
PASSAGE IN EXETER CATHEDRAL CLOSE 105
CARDINAL BEAUFORT’S GATE AND ANCIENT BREWERY, WINCHESTER 106
WINCHESTER GATE 108
STREET IN CLOSE, WINCHESTER 110
GUILDFORD, SURREY 114
SALISBURY: CATHEDRAL CLOSE 115
SALISBURY OLD GATEWAY, HIGH STREET 116
SALISBURY _To face_ 116
OLD HOUSES, SALISBURY 117
SALISBURY, FROM BRIDGE 118
SALISBURY MARKET 119
CANTERBURY _To face_ 120
FALSTAFF HOTEL, CANTERBURY 122
ROCHESTER 126
OLD HOUSES, RYE 128
EAST GRINSTEAD 130
PINNER 132
STREET IN CANTERBURY 133
ANCIENT HOUSE NEAR ST. ALBANS 134
PICTURESQUE GABLE, HERTFORD 135
ST. ALBAN’S CLOCK TOWER 136
AYLESBURY, BUCKS 139
KING’S HEAD INN, AYLESBURY 140
GABLE IN OCKWELLS, BERKS 142
BANBURY: CROMWELL’S PARLIAMENT HOUSE 144
OLD GABLES, BANBURY 146
OLD HOUSES, OXFORD 147
MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD _To face_ 148
GROVE STREET, OXFORD 149
MERTON COLLEGE CHAPEL, OXFORD 151
ENTRANCE GATE, MAGDALEN COLLEGE 154
ORIEL COLLEGE, OXFORD 155
NORWICH PRECINCT GATE AND FERRY _To face_ 158
ABBOT’S BRIDGE, BURY ST. EDMUNDS 159
BRICK GABLE, GRAMMAR SCHOOL, HULL 166
ANCIENT BRICKWORK, LINCOLN’S INN 169
HOUSE WHERE WILBERFORCE WAS BORN 172
WINDOW IN OLD FARM-HOUSE NEAR SALISBURY 174
MARKET PLACE, PETERBOROUGH 175
ENTRANCE TO CLOSE, ELY 177
PLOUGH INN, ELY 180
ROAD LEADING TO ELY CLOSE 181
ANCIENT BRIDGE, HUNTINGDON 185
OLD GEORGE INN, HUNTINGDON 186
LEICESTER ABBEY _To face_ 187
LADY JANE GREY’S HOUSE, LEICESTER 188
GATEWAY AT NEWGATE STREET, LEICESTER 190
ELSTOW, BEDFORD 192
JEWS’ HOUSE, LINCOLN 198
ON THE WITHAM, NEAR STONE BOW 205
CHURCH STREET, GRANTHAM 209
GRANTHAM _To face_ 209
HOUSE WITH NORMAN DOOR, STAMFORD 210
GABLES, STAMFORD 211
GEORGE HOTEL, STAMFORD 212
MARKET PLACE, OAKHAM 215
WINDOW, GAINSBOROUGH 216
SARACEN’S HEAD, SOUTHWELL 217
CHIMNEY AT SOUTHWELL 222
SOUTHWELL, NOTTS 224
MARKET SQUARE, NEWARK 226
CHIMNEYS IN NEWARK 228
LORD LEICESTER’S HOSPITAL, WARWICK 231
PORCH WITH BOW-WINDOW UNDER, OUTSIDE WARWICK GATES 233
OBLIQUE GABLES IN WARWICK 234
COVENTRY GATEWAY 235
COVENTRY, WARWICK 236
STREET IN COVENTRY 238
BABLAKE’S HOSPITAL, COVENTRY 239
IRON GATE, DERBY 240
SAMSON SQUARE, YORK 255
STREET IN YORK 257
RICHMOND, YORKSHIRE 263
RIPON, YORKSHIRE 267
WAKEFIELD 269
EDWARD IV.’S CHAPEL, WAKEFIELD BRIDGE 271
OLD BUILDINGS LEADING TO PONTEFRACT, YORKSHIRE 273
DOORWAY IN COTTAGE, WITH ROYAL ARMS, PONTEFRACT 276
LAMP IN ENTRANCE TO CLOSE, DURHAM 278
ENTRANCE GATE TO BEVERLEY, YORKSHIRE 279
MARKET SQUARE, BEVERLEY, YORKSHIRE 280
HEXHAM 290
HEXHAM 291
BLACK GATE, NEWCASTLE 292
DURHAM, FROM AN OLD HOMESTEAD ON THE WEAR _To face_ 294
DURHAM, FROM WEAR BRIDGE 297
KEPIER HOSPITAL GATEWAY, DURHAM 298
ROAD THROUGH CATHEDRAL CLOSE, CARLISLE _To face_ 298
BUTTRESS, CARLISLE 299
OLD HOUSES, HEXHAM 300
CASTLE SQUARE, LANCASTER 301
LORD WINMALEIGH’S HOUSE IN WARRINGTON 309
OLD ROW IN MANCHESTER 310
OLD MARKET, WARRINGTON 311
HIGHAM FERRARS, NORTHANTS 316
STAIRCASE IN AUTHOR’S RESIDENCE, CHESTER 340
[Illustration: AT THE CROSS, CHESTER.]
CHAPTER I.
REMAINS OF STREET ARCHITECTURE IN ENGLAND--CHESTER: VARIOUS
THEORIES OF THE ROWS--REMINISCENCES OF ANCIENT HOUSES IN
CHESTER--WIRRAL--CONGLETON--NANTWICH--WHITTINGTON.
There are not many Abbeys or Cathedrals which have not been fairly
delineated, and it is a pleasure to add that in this respect few Parish
Churches have been neglected. Indeed, if these possess any interest,
they are almost sure to secure a record of their form, and at least one
antiquary to publish their history. Ancient mansions also have been
lithographed by Habershon and Richardson, and very excellently by Nash.
Happily, also, for this class of buildings, they generally belong to
some family who take a pride in them, and may fairly be left to attend
to their preservation.
It is not for such remains as any of the above that a plea is needed;
they have powerful friends, and perhaps no enemies. But there is another
class of architecture that is fast fading away, and that a class which
has brightened many a landscape and figured cheerfully in many a tale.
Ruskin, in his Oxford Lectures on Art, has said of the architecture of
old streets in towns and cities that “it is passing away like a dream,
without any serious attempt having been made to preserve it, or indeed
even to delineate it.” Old blocks of buildings have yielded to the
modern innovator in numberless cases where a little ingenuity and care
would have adapted them to their new requirements; and, as Ruskin has
eloquently said, “it is difficult to understand the contempt and envy
with which future generations will look upon us who had such things and
allowed them to perish.”
Since commencing these pages, not less than three street scenes have
been destroyed, which would otherwise now figure among our
illustrations. One of them contained four houses that dated back to the
reign of Richard III., and these houses have been destroyed, though in
an admirable state of solidity, and replaced by others that, as far even
as convenience is concerned, have little advantage, and for every other
consideration are not to be named in comparison.
The wealth of England, however, in ancient remains of all kinds is still
very great, and nothing illustrates this more strikingly than the fact
that for all the changes and improvements that go on in ancient cities
like Chester, Shrewsbury, or Salisbury, we still find the antique
character left, even if several years have elapsed since our last visit.
The superior beauty of ancient street architecture has already arrested
the attention of many landowners. Gabled cottages with tall chimneys, in
a style superior to that which has been often called, not
inappropriately, “Cockney Gothic,” are built, and the problem of making
small cheap dwellings picturesque is gradually being solved, a problem
that was well understood by our forefathers. This will be dwelt on at
greater length in the last chapter of the book.
Perhaps no more suitable starting-point than Chester could be found for
our researches. It is tolerably well known to most Englishmen either by
description or personal inspection. The distinguishing features of
Chester are “The Rows” as they are called. These are long covered
arcades of unknown origin and antiquity. In familiar language, they
resemble such a space as would be formed by removing the storey over the
ground floor of a row of buildings through the entire length of the
street, and supporting the upper chambers with columns or piers at
irregular distances. They differ entirely from those in Berne, or indeed
anywhere else, in their form and purpose, and also from the covered
passages outside the city, of which an example is here given. These,
indeed, resemble similar structures at Berne, Totness, and other places.
Speaking of them, Colonel Egerton Leigh, one of the members of
Parliament for Cheshire, has well remarked in a paper read before the
Chester Archæological Society: “I really think it would improve the
quaint look of the city if the projection of the second floor, supported
on pillars (either of wood, brick, or stone) over the pavement, were,
under certain necessary regulations and restrictions, encouraged on the
Boughton, Hanbridge, and
[Illustration: THE ROWS, CHESTER.]
[Illustration: CHESTER.]
Northgate approaches to Chester. There are several examples of this
style remaining in the suburbs, and they are a curious and
characteristic introduction to the Rows inside the city.” The
illustration is taken from the Boughton approach to Chester. One
peculiarity may be noticed: the nearest pier of the arcade is enlarged
into a kind of buttress capacious enough to accommodate a barber with
his stock in trade; and this is not the only example in the city, there
are similar establishments in Bridge Street, Watergate Street,
Northgate Street, and in the piers of the arcades.
According to Webb, the Rows were built as a refuge to the citizens
during any sudden attack of the Welsh, though the mode of building in
the more northerly part of England would seem to have been better
adapted for any such emergency. However, let Webb tell his own story:
“And because these conflicts continued a long time, it was needful for
them to build a space before the doors of their upper buildings, upon
which they might stand in safety from the violence of their enemies’
horses, and withal defend their houses from spoyl, and stand with
advantage to encounter their enemies when they made incursions.”
Pennant, on the contrary, says: “These Rows appear to me to have been
the same with the ancient vestibules, and to have been a form of
building preserved from the time the city was possessed by the Romans.
They were built before the doors, midway between the streets and houses,
and were the places where dependents waited for the coming out of their
patrons, and under which they might walk away the tedious minutes of
expectation. Plautus, in the third act of his _Mostella_, describes both
their station and use:--
‘Viden vestibulum ante ædes et ambulacrum ejusmodi.’
The shops beneath the Rows were the cryptæ and apothecæ, magazines for
the various necessaries of the owners of the houses.”
Other writers, such as Stukely, confirm the Roman origin of the Rows;
but Lysons, certainly one of the most accomplished and patient
antiquaries of England, dissents from the Roman theory. “Mr. Pennant
thinks,” he says, “that he discerns in these Rows the form of the
ancient vestibules attached to the houses of the Romans who once
possessed the city. Many vestiges of their edifices have certainly been
discovered in Chester, but there seems to be little resemblance between
the Chester Rows and the vestibules of the Romans, whose houses were
constructed only of one storey.” Hemingway, the historian of Chester,
seems to differ very much from Lysons, and refers the Rows to the Roman
period. “Nor am I aware,” he says, “of any historic data that can
disprove an opinion I strongly entertain, that the excavations
mentioned, by which our Rows as distinguished from the carriage-road are
formed, are the work of Roman hands.”
The end of a Row in Bridge Street here given will easily illustrate the
manner in which these singular passages are broken, and resumed after
[Illustration: SCENE IN A CHESTER ROW.]
being intersected by a cross street. Hemingway in another passage says,
“It hardly requires a word of argument to show that the pavements in
Bridge Street, Watergate Street, and Eastgate Street were originally on
a level with the houses standing in the Rows; for it is utterly
impossible to conceive that the present sunken state of the streets, as
contrasted with the elevated ground on either side, could be the effect
of natural causes. It is most obvious, therefore, that at some period or
other the principal streets have been made to take their present form by
dint of human art and labour; and it is not less evident that from the
East, West, and South Gates to the Cross, and from the latter to nearly
where the Exchange now stands, which is almost the highest part of the
city, excavation has been employed. These conclusions, though they are
incapable of proof from any existing testimony, seem necessarily to
arise from a close observation of the subject, and I believe they have
received the concurrence of all our historians and antiquaries. But some
difference of opinion has existed as to the fact whether these
excavations were made prior to the erection of the buildings above, or
subsequent to them. This question, although involving no important point
of history, is worthy of a slight notice, if it were for no other use
than a curious speculation. Webb, in _Kings Vale Royal_, fixes the
origin of the Rows at a much later period than the one I am of opinion
they were entitled to, and he likewise leans to the hypothesis that they
were a kind of afterwork, begun and completed when the buildings in the
sunken line of the streets were already inhabited.”
Much has been written on the origin of the Rows, and much learning has
been expended on the subject, which is indeed of exceptional interest,
but it is generally considered that only a little light has been thrown
upon it. Of course, at the present time they are so varied in antiquity
and form that it is difficult indeed to approach the subject.
The curious Row in Watergate Street here given is a very good example of
the more ancient forms. This particular building is generally called
Bishop Lloyd’s Palace, and the front of it to the street, as all
visitors to Chester will recollect, is ornamented with grotesque wood
carvings; but it must be evident that it only occupies the site of some
more ancient building; indeed, the oldest of the Rows is evidently in
the same position, and we must look for their origin in more remote
forms. All theories that refer them to some particular date at which
they were simultaneously constructed seem to have been abandoned, and
chance-medley has probably had more to do with them than we at one time
fancied. An American gentleman of great intelligence, who visited the
city for the first time during the progress of this work, may possibly
have conjectured something of the origin of the Rows by giving the
original builders credit for sufficient
[Illustration: COURT CONNECTING WATERGATE AND NORTHGATE ROWS.]
sagacity in their work. “Chester,” he said, “is far beyond any city we
possess in the New World in point of convenience. Country towns are run
up there on a uniform plan, and in some of the streets in the cities of
the far west are great blocks of pretentious warehouses and stores that
look like bankruptcy itself. A tradesman commencing business has but
little option--he must either take one of these or else he is out of the
world. And if he takes a place that is so much too large for him, he has
to purchase more goods than he can pay for when the time for payment
comes round. I speak,” he said, “of no imaginary evil, but one that
actually exists, as I have found out to my cost; but here, in the Rows,
are shops and stores of all sizes, so that a tradesman commencing
business may suit himself with premises to his proper requirements, yet
not be out of the business world.” He further added that their exceeding
picturesqueness, the shelter they afforded from summer heats and winter
storms were too obvious to even point out, and that such places in
America would have the vast advantage of affording a dry footwalk over
the snow, and protection from the rays of an almost tropical sun; so
that for economy, beauty, and convenience, the Rows have the advantage
over all other modes of building for ordinary city purposes. There is,
perhaps, no great strain of imagination required to give the original
builders of Chester credit for seeing some of the advantages of Rows for
commercial purposes, and letting each building as it grew conform with
its neighbour. Rows have been stopped and built up
[Illustration: OLD LAMB ROW, CHESTER.]
even in the present century, and in Lower Bridge Street something nearly
approaching one has lately been formed. Again, it is very evident that
some of the Rows were not existing, at least in their present position,
in the thirteenth century, and they must have been constructed since
that time. Under all circumstances, the simplest way out of the
difficulty would seem to be that the Rows were the result of some
prevalent fashion of building, more adventitious than anything else. A
Roman portico may have suggested some form that was preserved in
rebuilding, or some few spirited proprietors may have commenced the
system without any combined action.
[Illustration: ANCIENT FRONT, CHESTER.]
Old Lamb Row, here shown, was a perfectly independent Row by itself, and
clearly only copied from others. The house is said to have been the
residence of Randal Holme, who has left us some valuable records of
Chester, though it is clear that the woodwork was of more ancient date,
and must have been adapted as the details on the recently uncovered
front in the same street which forms the subject of another
illustration. The date on this is 1664, but it is very obvious that the
carving on the wood is much more ancient, and probably the timbers were
taken from some more antique structure. The happy way in which municipal
laws were passed and carried, is illustrated by an incident in the
career of Lamb Row, for in 1670 the corporation considered it a
nuisance, and though no Act of Parliament seems to have been infringed
by its erection, they said that the “nuisance erected by Randal Holme in
his new building in Bridge Street be taken down, as it annoys his
neighbours, and hinders their prospect from their houses.” No particular
result would seem to have followed this resolution of the council. Mr.
Holme allowed it to stand, though, as events proved, the city were
right, for in 1821 it fell down, owing to its bad construction and some
slight decay in the timbers. The name Lamb Row was derived from the sign
of a lamb over a tavern, for which the building was let after Mr.
Holme’s death. It is a curious illustration of the immunity of the times
that the Corporation fined Mr. Holme £3: 6: 8 the following year for
contempt against the mayor, in disregarding their minute; which fine
does not seem to have met with a better fate than the original order.
In the house called Bishop Lloyd’s house are many splendid remains of
ceilings and fireplaces. It is let off to subtenants at a few shillings
a month: but it is much to be feared that its lease of life is
precarious in the face of modern improvement.
The street which cuts through the Row in Bridge Street, and is part of a
former illustration, is called Commonhall Street, and it formerly
contained a very curious building, of uncertain origin, which afterwards
was converted into almshouses. It was very massive and quaint, and it
should have formed one of our illustrations, but unhappily, almost
without notice to the citizens, it was demolished, to make room for an
unsightly row of brick cottages, and, as far as I have been able to
learn, no drawing of it is preserved.
[Illustration: THE DARK ROW, CHESTER.]
In one place only is a Row closed from the light, as in the Dark Row
here shown, and it forms a kind of tunnel, which emerges at either end
into the open Row.
[Illustration: STANLEY HOUSE, CHESTER.]
The fine old residence called Stanley House is situated in the same
street as Bishop Lloyd’s house, and is now let off into small cottages.
It is historically interesting as being the place where the unfortunate
Earl of Derby spent his last day before he was taken to be executed at
Bolton, in 1657. “Mr. Bagaley, one of his gentlemen, attended him at his
dying hour, and thus speaks of one Lieutenant Smith, a rude fellow, with
his hat on:--He told my lord he came from Colonel Duckenfield, the
governor, to tell his lordship he must be ready for his journey to
Bolton. My lord replied, ‘When would have me to go.’ ‘To-morrow, about
six in the morning,’ said Smith. ‘Well,’ said my lord, ‘commend me to
the governor, and tell him I shall be ready by that time.’ Then said
Smith, ‘Doth your lordship know any friend or servant that would do the
thing your lordship knows of? It would do well if you had a friend.’ My
lord replied, ‘What do you mean--to cut off my head?’ Smith said, ‘Yes,
my lord, if you could have a friend.’ My lord said, ‘Nay, sir, if those
men that would have my head will not find one to cut it off, let it
stand where it is!’” The carvings in the front of this house are
extremely beautiful.
The next engraving shows the tower in Chester Castle called “Julius
Cæsar’s Tower.” This castle has been much modernised, but was a grand
specimen of a Norman residence even in Pennant’s time, writing at the
close of the last century. “On the sides of the lower court stands the
noble room called _Hugh Lupus’_ Hall. The length is nearly 99 feet, the
breadth 45, the height very awful, and worthy the state apartment of a
great baron. The roof supported by wood-work, in a bold style, carved,
and placed on the sides, resting on stout brackets.” This building, now
destroyed, probably retained its original dimensions. The character of
the first
[Illustration: JULIUS CÆSAR’S TOWER, CHESTER.]
Norman earl required a hall suited to the greatness of his hospitality,
which was confined to no bounds. “He was,” says Ordericus, “not only
liberal but profuse; he did not carry a family with him, but an army. He
kept no account of receipts or disbursements. He was perpetually wasting
his estates, and was much fonder of falconers and huntsmen than of
cultivators of land and holy men; and by his gluttony he grew so
excessively fat that he could hardly crawl about.” Adjoining the end of
this great hall is the court of exchequer, or the chancery of the county
palatinate of Chester. The account here given is, we will hope, an
exceptional one of the barons of the period.
The walls of Chester are entire, and a complete circuit of the city may
be made on them without once leaving the footwalk on their summit. These
are the only complete walls in England, though at one time all
considerable towns were similarly surrounded. The semicircular building
shown here is the lower part of a tower that was taken down, and similar
towers yet remain on the walls in a state of great preservation.
Close by the tower here shown was an old hostelry called the “Blue
Posts,” kept by Mrs. Mottershed in the year 1558. This was the year when
Queen Mary reigned; and one Dr. Henry Cole, Dean of St. Paul’s, was
charged by his royal mistress with a commission to the council in
Ireland, which had for its object the persecution of Irish Protestants.
“In this house,” says Hemingway, “he was visited by the mayor, to whom,
in the course of conversation, he related his errand, in confirmation of
which he took from his cloak a leather box, exclaiming, in a tone of
exultation, ‘Here is that which will lash the heretics of Ireland.’
This annunciation was caught by the landlady, who had a brother in
Dublin, and while the commissioner was escorting his worship (who that
year was Sir Lawrence Smith) down stairs, the good woman, prompted by an
affectionate regard for the safety of her brother, opened the box, took
out the commission, and placed in lieu of it a pack of cards with the
knave of clubs uppermost. This the doctor carefully packed up, without
suspecting the transformation, nor was the deception discovered till his
arrival in the presence of the lord deputy and privy council at the
castle of Dublin. The surprise of the whole assembly on opening the box
containing the supposed commission may be more easily imagined than
described. The doctor was sent back immediately for a more satisfactory
authority, but before he could return to Ireland, Queen Mary had
breathed her last. The ingenuity and affectionate zeal of the landlady
were rewarded by Elizabeth with a pension of forty pounds a year.”
The old front previously shown is in the same street where the “Blue
Posts” stood, and is a fine example of a black-and-white gable. The
carving on the woodwork is more ancient than the date that appears on
the building, and has been cut and adapted from some older house--not
by any means an uncommon case, though the cause of considerable
confusion to the antiquary if the adaptation has been a good one. This
is the house that has been alluded to as being covered with plaster, and
only brought to light during the progress of the present work. Indeed
plans were prepared for a new building, but the firm of architects who
were employed, as soon as they found that there was ancient work under
the plaster, properly cancelled their plans, and adapted the old front
to the requirements of the proprietor. The curious house in the same
street, here shown, is probably among the most ancient wooden structures
in Chester: there is nothing to indicate its exact age, but its general
appearance would point to considerable antiquity; houses of this shape,
however, were common from the beginning of the fifteenth to the
seventeenth century.
Hemingway, speaking of Bridge Street, says, “Every gradation of
architecture, from the rude clumsy wood hut to the open airy commodious
hotel, is here displayed, and it is not perhaps the least worthy of
observation to see the awkward confinement of low close rooms gradually
yielding to the more healthful taste of modern building. The
[Illustration: BRIDGE STREET, CHESTER.]
original plan of the houses (if there was any plan at all) seems to have
been in the cottage style, with the gable end of each to face the
street. This mode of building certainly gives great extent of premises
behind, but renders the inner rooms and staircase rather dark.” He adds
what is true of other streets in the city beside Bridge Street, “The
curious observer will discover in the street that the square brick
fronts of some of the houses are nothing more than a wall carried up as
high as the ridge of the roof, thus having the appearance of a handsome
modern house, while the interior retains most of its original
formation.”
The next illustration is of a fine gabled house in Whitefriars: this is
remarkably well proportioned, and has some very excellent work inside.
[Illustration: WHITEFRIARS, CHESTER.]
The outside of the Row in Eastgate Street, behind which the “Dark Row,”
previously alluded to, runs, has unfortunately been pulled down since
this work was commenced, but the drawing at the head of the chapter
gives an accurate idea of the premises, and was made just before the
building was demolished. It consisted of the three gables shown, and
some back premises, and its strength was so great that some time was
spent in its destruction.
The most westerly part of Cheshire is called Wirral, and it formerly was
covered with forests, though now it is nearly destitute of any
considerable woods. The land of which it is formed is rocky, and
contains some good veins of building stone. In consequence of this there
are a number of very substantial stone houses in most of the villages.
Many of them are of good design, and well adapted to modern
requirements; simple, indeed, as this style may seem, it is quite
possible for the designer to find himself in confusion in carrying it
out. The roofs and chimneys should be so contrived as to stand out
clearly, and to show that the house _has_ a roof and a chimney. The
great danger of this style is that, if employed by inartistic hands, it
is apt to become tame, or else to develope itself into some kind of
Swiss cottage that hardly suits an English landscape.
The ancient house at Bidston village, here given, was at one time the
residence of one of the Derby family. The Earl, who was executed at
Bolton, and whose tragic end has been alluded to, lived at Bidston Hall,
now a picturesque and substantial farm-house.
[Illustration: BIDSTON VILLAGE.]
At Tranmere village, on the Cheshire side of the river Mersey, is an
exterior well known to all Liverpool pedestrians. There are some curious
panes of glass in it, with emblematic devices and legends on them, and
the stonework is excellently true.
The greater part, however, of the Wirral houses have been sadly
mutilated, owing to the proximity of that part of Cheshire to
Liverpool.
Congleton, in the eastern part of Cheshire, is a fine example of an old
English country town that has been built at various times, but has
always retained its antique character. It is situated in a lovely
country, through which the river Dane quietly flows to the Weaver, and
it is hemmed in on all sides with venerable family seats. The buildings
tell their own tale in very permanent materials. There are red brick
houses of a century and a half old, and joining these are gabled ones of
greater age. The roofs are of different levels, and covered, according
to the period of their erection, with slates or tiles or flags. Here and
there a black and white house is left, and there are in some streets a
few cottages built into the motley row; some of these are of great
antiquity.
The old Inn at Congleton is a fine specimen of a black-and-white gabled
hostelry. The great porch, with a room over, rests on two stone pillars,
and the interior of the Inn quite corresponds in character with the
exterior. This is just the kind of Inn so dear to novelists, and so
seldom well described. Perhaps the country Inn in _Barnaby Rudge_ is as
well-drawn a picture of one of the old houses of accommodation as any;
and if Dickens’ works are ever to be picturesquely illustrated, the
Lion Inn at Congleton might serve the artist for a model. All it wants
to complete its ancient character is the signboard across the road.
[Illustration: CONGLETON INN.]
Cheshire abounds with material for such a work as this; and many old
towns--Sandbach, Malpas, Nantwich, or Knutsford, for example--are well
worthy of a visit. A curious old house at Nantwich is here given; the
bow window consists of a heavy octagonal bow overhanging another of
similar shape and smaller dimensions in a kind of telescope fashion. The
noble octagonal church tower is rising above. Nantwich church is seen to
great advantage from many parts of the town, and is of Cathedral
dimensions. It is remarkably beautiful in details, and is in a fine
state of preservation.
[Illustration: NANTWICH.]
There are many houses in Nantwich with dates of the sixteenth century
carved on them, and there is a curious history belonging to them. In
1583 a great fire swept away nearly the whole of Nantwich, and
immediately after a collection was instituted to reimburse the
inhabitants for their heavy losses. The parish register says, “A most
terrible and vehement fire, beginning at the water-lode, about six of
the clocke by night, in a kitchen, by brewinge. The winde being very
boisterouse increased the said fire, which more vehementlie burned, and
consumed in the space of 15 hours, 600 bayes of buildings, and could not
be stayed neither by labour nor pollice, which I thought good to commend
unto posteritie, as a favourable interposition of the Almightie, in
destroying the buildings and goods only, but sparing the lives of many
people, which, considering the time, space, and perill, were in great
jopardie.”
The term “600 bayes” is a suggestive expression, and it probably has a
similar meaning to bay of modern times. This is generally understood to
denote the space between the principals of a roof, the sections as it
were into which the front to the street was cut. The building here
illustrated would thus have five bays; but the expression seems to have
been customary in Queen Elizabeth’s time to define the size of a house.
The clown says in “Measure for Measure,” “If this law hold in Vienna ten
years, I’ll rent the fairest house in it after threepence a bay.”
The collection was ordered by the Queen in 1585, and perhaps partook
rather of the character of a rate. The estimated damage was £30,000, an
enormous sum in those days.
Ellesmere is situated in the northern extremity of Shropshire, nearly at
its contact with Cheshire. It is on a fine sheet of water, from which it
takes its name. The streets are remarkably picturesque. There are many
substantial residences in it, which are finely shaded with forest trees
and evergreens, and at one end of the town is a large ancient cruciform
church overlooking the lake. The woods and lawns of Oakley Park stretch
along the opposite shore, and it would be difficult to imagine a more
delightful scene. Long low comfortable hotels with bow windows prevail
in Ellesmere, and they have ample accommodation for coaches and
post-horses, though now grass grows in many of the roomy quadrangles
round which their stables are built, as most of their occupation is
gone.
I noticed a pleasing device on the front of one of the houses which
faced the south: a large grape vine grew at one end of the house, and it
was bent horizontally after reaching a certain height across the whole
front of the building; over it was an open verandah roofed with thick
glass, which enabled the grapes to ripen, and formed a charming summer
shade; indeed, on the bleakest winter day, Ellesmere has a sunny
cheerful look. The road from Ellesmere to Oswestry lies through a
beautiful country, and is about eight miles long. The Green Man, so
called from the sign of a forester in hunting green, is another example
of an old-fashioned roadside Inn. The walls are panelled in oak, and the
ancient benches and tables with carved legs still remain. The fireplace
in the hall is 12 feet wide, and ornamented with a great store of
antique pewter platters. Halston Park, a little farther along the
Oswestry road, was the seat of the celebrated Captain Mytton, whose
random exploits are the subject of a rather uncommon biography.
[Illustration: GREEN MAN, ELLESMERE, OSWESTRY.]
[Illustration: WHITTINGTON VILLAGE.]
Whittington village lies on the same road, and is about two miles from
Oswestry. It is introduced here to illustrate the excellent effect of
breadth in a landscape. A well-defined broad white gable stands out
against the rest of the village and sets it off. Of course there is the
advantage of fine trees behind it, but it stands back from the road,
which is broader here, and affords them every chance of being seen. It
is actually a fact, which few persons unacquainted with perspective
would at first credit, that if the road continued at the same width, and
if ordinary three-storied village houses were substituted, this
beautiful scene would be completely closed out. We pass in English roads
hundreds of pleasant prospects that we do not know of, as they are shut
out by the dreary brick buildings that characterise the present century.
A comparatively small object may do an immense amount of mischief. We
may, for example, be admirably placed in a theatre for seeing and
hearing everything. The building may be crowded, but we see over a
low-sized individual in front the whole of the scenery and the
performers, when a hat, only six inches high, and about as broad,
appears, and then “our revels all are ended,” and the actors have
“melted into air--into thin air.”
This kind of teaching is especially wanted now among architects. It is
not too much to say of the majority of them, that if they were required
to build a church in some distant county, they would consider it quite
sufficient to have a plan of the churchyard and adjoining lanes sent to
them, without their having the least idea of the surrounding buildings
or trees, or the outline of the neighbouring hills. Infinite pains are
taken with details, but though books which treat of these are excellent
and numerous, one turns in vain for any architectural work to guide him
to a knowledge of what is more important--picturesqueness. Ruskin’s
works are not as yet studied by architects as they should be; indeed
they require a previous knowledge of, at any rate, the preliminary
elements of art, which, to some extent, would limit their general
acceptance in the profession. Still the number of his readers is
increasing yearly among architects, much to the advantage of the
country. Detail, however beautiful, and however necessary excellence in
it may be, can no more improve a building that jars with its
surroundings, than an elaborate label can cure a bottle of indifferent
Rhenish wine.
There is a curious old book written by Sir Edward Moore to his son and
heir, which shows how a landlord of the seventeenth century regarded the
appearance of his street property. He was the principal lord of the
manor of Liverpool, and at great length gives directions for the
guidance of his heir. Speaking of one of the tenants, he says:--“This
man should have built two dormer-windows, as the others did, but when he
had got me fast, and he was loose, he would build none, but made the
house like a barn, much to the disparagement of the street. If he have
occasion to use you, deal not with him till he hath made two dormer
windows.” Instances are unhappily the exception where such fastidious
care is taken of the appearance of a street by the proprietor.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF OLD ROOM]
It may be mentioned incidentally that the gateway of Peveril’s castle is
in Whittington village, which was also the birthplace of Sir Richard
Whittington, three times Mayor of London.
[Illustration: OSWESTRY.]