we visited the seat of P. Yorke, Esq. The grounds and plantations are
very extensive; and the bowery walks, while they afford refreshing
shelter from a summer’s sun, allow partial views of the counties of
Cheshire and Shropshire, with the Wrekin and Brydyork Hills; in short,
through these groves
“How long soe’er the wanderer roves, each step
Shall wake fresh beauties, each short point presents
A diff’rent picture—new, and yet the same.”
The tower of Wrexham, and the town itself, as occasion offers, is a
nearer and an additional charming object. In an alteration of the walks,
a few years since, were discovered below the surface of the ground the
shattered walls of an ancient castle. These fragments Mr. Yorke has left
unimpaired, and they remain a memento of the vicissitudes of fortune: the
entrenchments round the castle, and likewise the original site of the
keep, are still very apparent.
The house itself is very indifferent: Watt’s Dyke runs through part of
the grounds. In a parlour opposite the garden we observed some fine
paintings of the Hardwicke family. Mr. Yorke has dedicated another room
to the royal tribes of Wales, {259} where the arms and lines of the
descent, as far as they can be traced, are emblazoned and hung up.
In the coolness of the evening our hospitable host conducted us to the
neat and elegant little country church of March Wiel, lately cased with
stone; and in the year 1788 ornamented with a new painted window, by Mr.
Egington, near Birmingham. The twenty-one compartments contain the arms
and crests of the Middletons and Yorkes, with rich transparent borders.
This window is undoubtedly very elegant, but the subject, in my opinion,
more adapted to a ball than an ornament to a church window. The high
tower appears not in proportion with the body of the church.
Deeply impressed with sentiments of gratitude towards our reverend
friend, and sensible of his hospitality and kind intentions, we took our
leave of him early the next morning, and pursued our route to