_alto-relievo_. The principal stair-case is lighted by a dome of stained
glass, exhibiting the names and arms of different proprietors, with the
dates of their occupancy, and the names and arms also of various
heiresses connected therewith, namely, Laken, Maurice, Owen, Anwyl,
Wynne, Godolphin, Ormsby and Gore. The reception rooms are furnished
with remarkable elegance and taste. In the saloon is the full-length
portrait of Mrs. Siddons, a singularly-faithful likeness, and also a
curious painting on panel, being the only portion saved of the
Altar-piece of Valle Crucis Abbey.
The views from the Terrace at Porkington are extensive and highly
picturesque, displaying a variety of rich landscape scenery. In the
foreground (now attached to the Porkington estate) is _Old Oswestry_, the
_Hen Dinas_ of the Welsh, (and in still more ancient periods Caer
Ogyr-fan, from Ogyr-fan, a hero contemporary with Arthur,) a densely
wooded hill, and supposed to have been a strong fortification of British
or Roman origin. It is situated on the range of Watts’ Dyke, which
served as a boundary to the neutral ground on the Welsh side. It is
surrounded by three deep entrenchments, one above the other, in which are
two passes, north and south, to ascend to a very extended plain on the
top of the whole, encompassed with fortifications &c., comprising upwards
of forty-two acres of land. The sides of the entrenchments are closely
wooded, and carefully preserved by Mr. Ormsby Gore, who has also planted
an adjacent hill on the other side of the valley.
The parish of Selattyn, in which Porkington stands, is divided into two
townships, deriving their names from the same source, namely, _Upper
Porkington_ and _Lower Porkington_.
SELATTYN & HENGOED.
SELATTYN,
Or Sylattin, is a parish in the upper division of Oswestry, a rectory
remaining in charge, in the diocese of St. Asaph and the deanery of
Marchia. The village is situated about two miles from the Great Western
Railway Station at Preesgwene, and three miles north-west of Oswestry.
The population of the parish has greatly increased within the last forty
years, much land, hitherto waste, has been brought into a profitable
state of cultivation, and many neat and convenient cottages have been
built. During the long residence in the parish of the late Rev. G. N. K.
Lloyd, rector, who died in his sixtieth year, on the 17th January, 1846,
the social condition of his parishioners was greatly improved, as he was
constantly engaged for their benefit in every “good word and work.” In
October 1846 a water-ram was erected at the expense of his nephew, the
Rev. Albany R. Lloyd; by which means the water is forced up, from a fine
spring some distance off, to the rectory, and on towards the village, for
the convenience and comfort of the inhabitants.
[Picture: Selattyn Church]
The village is romantically situated. The church and school, the small
collection of dwellings, with the little picturesque valley leading to
it, and the brook, which empties itself into the Morlas, rolling its
limpid stream over a rocky and pebbly bed, are all delightful features of
the scene. In the church-yard some beautiful and aged ash-trees expand
their immense arms over the precipice beneath, while a noble avenue of
lime trees adorns the northern side, and several lofty firs enrich the
southern. There are also several ancient yews, which add solemnity to
this interesting spot. On the hills above Selattyn are two large
carneddu, with lesser ones near to them.
The erection of the steeple of the church was commenced upon in 1703. In
1821 a north transept was added to the fabric, and in 1828 the south
transept was built. A new organ, built by Bryceson, was placed in the
church in 1847.
A whimsical derivation of the name of the place is given by the late John
Davies, Esq., Recorder of Oswestry:—“A schoolmaster having set up here,
and finding that few pupils attended, imagined that people did not know
of him, but passed on to Oswestry, wrote over his door, ‘I sell Latin!’”
Whether this was veritably the origin of the name we are unable to prove,
but, as Mr. Davies adds, “if not the best, it is not worse than some
derivations which may be found.”
We subjoin a list of the rectors of the parish since 1537, including the
appointment of the fiery meteor Sacheverell, whose career we have noticed
in preceding pages:—
LIST OF RECTORS.
John ap Robert —
Robert Stanley 1537
T. Thomas 1556
Robert Powell 1557
Richard Price 1578
Thomas Topperly 1587
William Horton (Vicar of Oswestry) —
Rowland Thackerly 1592
Henry Jones 1600
James Wilding 1610
Thomas Wilding 1666
John Jones 1681
Henry Sacheverell, D.D. 1713
William Daker 1713
Thomas Hammer 1719
William Roberts 1780
John Robert Lloyd —
Whitehall Whitehall Davies 1801
George Newton Kynaston Lloyd 1810
Charles Arthur Albany Lloyd (Rector of Whittington) 1846
Henry James Lloyd 1852
John Husband 1853
HENGOED,
In the parish of Selattyn, is situated about two miles north of Oswestry,
and has derived much interest from the recent erection of a neat and
convenient church, dedicated to St. Barnabas, built chiefly at the
expense of the Rev. Albany Rossendale Lloyd, the present much-respected
Incumbent, aided by a few subscriptions. The foundation-stone was laid
by the Rev. A. R. Lloyd, Aug. 16th, 1849; the church was opened for
divine service June 11, 1850; and was consecrated by the Right Rev. Dr.
Thomas Voule, Bishop of St. Asaph, August 15th, 1853. A district, with a
population of about 650 persons, has been legally assigned to this
church, and was duly gazetted January 31st, 1854. An excellent
Sunday-school is attached to the church, and was originally used, until
the present church was completed, as a place for divine worship.
* * * * *
The amount rated to the poor for the parish of Selattyn, for the year
ending 25th March, 1855, was 1s. 3d. in the pound. The annual rental of
the land and buildings is fixed at £6,974; rateable value, £6,501 6s.
8d.; and the estimated extent of acreage, 5,434a. 3r. 13p.
ST. MARTIN’S
Is a parish situated about five miles from, and in the hundred of
Oswestry. It is a vicarage discharged, in the diocese of St. Asaph, and
deanery of Marchia. The great tithes were given by one of the Fitz-Alans
to the Monastery of Oswestry, _Album-Monasterium_. They afterwards
became the property of the Duke of Powis, and now belong in part to
Viscount Dungannon. The living is a vicarage, and is valued at £9 8s.
8d., but, having received Queen Anne’s Bounty, is discharged from
payments. The church is dedicated to St. Martin. The tower is a
handsome building of freestone, but the body of the church is of rubble
stone, and very inferior in appearance. In 1811 the church was new
pewed, when a gallery was also erected, and the same year the late Lord
Dungannon made a present of an organ. In the roof of the chancel were
several beautiful wood-carved images, but they were destroyed by some
merciless churchwarden. The Bishop of St. Asaph had a palace here, but
Owen Glyndwr burnt it when he laid waste the county of Salop. In the
Mostyn library is a Welsh manuscript on parchment, of the life of St.
Martin. It was translated from the Latin by John Trevor, a writer who
flourished between 1430 and 1470. In the parish are two schools, one
founded by William ab Royd, Merchant Taylor, for fifteen poor children,
and the other by the late Viscountess Dungannon, on the Lancasterian
plan, for twenty poor girls. The poor-rate return for the year 1855
shows that the acreage of the parish is 5,315; the gross rental, £10,016
13s. 9d.; and the rateable value, £9,534 4s. 3d. The present Vicar is
the Rev. William Hurst.
In the village called _The Lodge_, in this parish, a school was erected
in the year 1851, and has been productive of much good among the humbler
portion of the inhabitants.
* * * * *
In the parish of St. Martin’s there are several beautiful residences,
among which may be enumerated _Preesgwene_, _The Quinta_, _Tyn-y-Rhos_,
and _Greenfield Lodge_.
PREESGWENE HOUSE is historically connected with the Border Lands. It is
the property and residence of J. R. Powell, Esq., is a neat mansion,
embosomed in rich foliage, and situated four and a half miles from
Oswestry. The house was built in the sixteenth century, by E. Phillips,
Esq., an ancestor of the present possessor. The Rev. Robert Williams, in
his “_Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Welshmen_,” states that “Gwên,
the most valiant of the twenty-four sons of Llywarch Hên, was slain on
the ford of Morlas, a brook which rises in Selattyn mountain, near
Oswestry, and flows into the Ceiriog. The name of Gwên is preserved in
Prys Gwên, a gentleman’s residence near the Morlas, in the parish of St.
Martin’s.” Llywarch Hên is said to have died in the parish of Llanvor,
near Bala, where a secluded place called _Pabell_, or the cot of Llywarch
Hên, is still pointed out. He was a British Prince by birth, and a
distinguished bard, as already stated. [See pp. 8 and 9.]
THE QUINTA was for many years the residence of the late Hon. Frederick
West, (a gentleman whose virtues and honour endeared him to all who had
the privilege of his acquaintance,) by whom it was greatly improved.
This delightful estate was purchased by Thomas Barnes, Esq., M.P., for
Bolton, Lancashire, one of the most successful manufacturers of that
county. In his hands the property has undergone still further
improvements.
TYN-Y-RHOS, the seat of the Rev. John Croxon Phillips, is an ancient
mansion. In 1164, the reign of Henry II., Owen (or Owain) Gwynedd,
Prince of North Wales, slept at this house, and granted to the owner
certain privileges already described. [See p. 24.]
GREENFIELD LODGE is a pleasantly-situated villa, the property, and
formerly the residence of F. W. Smith, Esq., Agent to F. R. West, Esq.,
M.P. The house is approached by a remarkably fine avenue.
WEST FELTON
Parish comprises many beautiful residences, including PRADOE, the seat of
the Hon. Mrs. Kenyon (widow of the late Hon. Thomas Kenyon, third son of
Chief Justice Lord Kenyon); WOODHOUSE, the fine old mansion of W. Mostyn
Owen, Esq.; TEDSMERE, a house belonging to T. B. Bulkley Owen, Esq.; and
“THE NURSERY,” formerly the residence of J. F. M. Dovaston, Esq., but now
possessed by John Dovaston, Esq., the inheritor of the Poet’s estates.
The parish church is dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, and is of
great antiquity, the nave being of Norman date. Within the last few
years a new aisle on the north side, in the early English style, has been
erected. At the east end of it there is an elegant triplet filled with
stained glass of early English character, displaying scriptural subjects
in medallions. Other improvements have been made in the church from
designs by Mr. G. G. Scott. Near Haughton, in this parish, large
quantities of earthenware have been discovered, of various colours, blue,
red, green, and yellow, and highly glazed. Their origin or purpose
remains a mystery, but is still worthy of antiquarian investigation.
Sandford Hall, in this parish, was formerly the residence of the
celebrated “Bumper Squire Jones,” the hero of the once popular song of
that name.
The present rector is the Rev. T. Hunt. According to the poor-rate
return for 1855 the acreage of the parish is 5,989 acres 2 roods; the
gross rental £10,048 10s.; and the rateable value assessed to the relief
of the poor, £7,948 6s.
WHITTINGTON,
Is a charming village, possessing all the beauties which give pleasure to
the lovers of inland rustic scenery. Picturesque cottages, neat
dwellings for people in retired circumstances, good-looking farmers’
homesteads, the village church, in silent repose, surrounded by its
grave-yard, and finally, the vestiges of its ancient Castle, once the
baronial and stately residence of the renowned Norman Chief Fitz-Gwarine,
and the scene of many a romantic story, give to Whittington village a
lively interest in which all who can leisurely view it must participate.
It is situated upon the turnpike-road from Oswestry to Ellesmere, and two
and a-half miles from the former, and five and a-half from the latter.
The Great Western Railway passes through the village, where there is also
a station, the trains stopping there several times a day.
Its antiquity extends so far back as the year 590, when, as the Welsh
poet Llywarch Hên states, it was known by the name of the _White Town_
(Drev-Wen.) In the reign of Rhodri Mawr (Roderick the Great,) king of
all Wales, A.D. 843, a British Chieftain (Ynyr ab Cadfarch) built the
Castle, which was afterwards possessed by his son, Tudor Trevor,
subsequently Earl of Hereford. Tudor Trevor’s mother was grand-daughter
to Caradog Vreichvas, who fell in the memorable battle at Rhuddlan Marsh,
A.D. 795. The descendants of Tudor continued in possession of the Castle
for many generations, and several of the leading families in North Wales
can trace their origin to him. At the conquest Whittington became the
property of Pain Peverel, and afterwards of Roger, Earl of Shrewsbury.
The Castle and lordship next passed into the hands of Hugh, and
subsequently of Robert, both sons of Roger, the before-named Earl. On
the defeat and forfeiture of Robert, by an Act of Henry I., the property
was restored to the Peverels, in the person of Sir William Peverel,
distinguished for his noble and valiant enterprises. He had two
daughters; the youngest, named Mellet, of martial spirit, resolved to wed
no one but the knight greatest in valour, and her father published this
declaration, promising Whittington Castle as her dower. This
announcement attracted the attention of many a gallant youth, and soon
afterwards Peverel’s domain at the Peak, near Castleton, Derbyshire, was
the scene of contention for the fair prize. Among the combatants were a
son of the King of Scotland, the Baron Burgoyne, and a noble Lorrainer,
Gwarine de Metz, (Sheriff of Shropshire, and chief Counsellor to the Earl
of Shrewsbury,) the latter of whom appeared with a shield of silver, and
a proud peacock on his crest! To him the spirited Mellet was sincere, he
having been declared victor. The son of this chivalrous pair was “famed
for deeds of arms,” and their posterity, for nine generations, assumed
the christian name of Fulk, and the common name of Fitz-Gwarine. The
Castle of Whittington was possessed by the family from the end of the
reign of Henry I. till the reign of Henry VIII. Gwarine de Metz died in
the reign of Henry I. at Alberbury, the Abbey of which place he had
founded, and there he was interred, his wife, the famous Mellet Peverel,
and her son, the first Fulk Fitz-Gwarine, being present on the affecting
occasion.
This youth was as distinguished, in the arts of love and war, as his
father. He became desperately enamoured with Hawys, the daughter of Sir
Joos, of Normandy; rescued the father from impending death, while in the
hands of Walter Lacy and Sir Arnold de Lis, two inveterate enemies, and,
as a reward for his gallantry and courage, received the hand in marriage
of his beloved Hawys. Fulk Fitz-Gwarine was heroic in all his
achievements, was knighted by Henry I., made steward of the King’s
Household, and Lieutenant of the Marches. In a skirmish with the Welsh,
under Grufydd ab Cynan, he was defeated, and Whittington Castle fell into
their hands. In the reign of Henry II. peace was made with Owen Gwynedd,
the succeeding Prince of North Wales: the Castle was retained by Owen;
and as some compensation for his loss, Fulk had the manor of Alston, in
Gloucestershire, bestowed upon him. It is recorded, says the Rev. W.
Davies, in his interesting “History of Whittington,” that “Fulk
Fitz-Gwarine, and John, son to Henry II. (afterwards King John,) were
playing at chess together, when it happened that they disagreed, and the
Prince gave Fulk a severe blow upon the head with the board, which the
latter returned in such a violent manner as almost to kill the young
Prince, a circumstance, had it happened, not much to be regretted, were
it not in consideration of the glorious Magna Charta afterwards obtained
from him.” Dovaston, in his fine descriptive poem, entitled
“Fitz-Gwarine,” makes his hero describe the quarrel in the following
lines:—
“Enough to name our last affray,
The Prince his temper lost at play,
The chess-board swung with coward sway,
And hurl’d my head upon;
Ill could the wrong my bosom brook,
I sent him first a furious look,
Then firm with knuckles clench’d I strook
The pate of royal John.”
Fulk Fitz-Gwarine was succeeded by his eldest son, who bore the same
name, and eclipsed his father by the brilliancy and skill of his military
enterprises. He accompanied Richard I. in the Crusades, and was made
Lord Marcher of Wales. At the commencement of King John’s reign
Whittington was in the hands of Maurice, brother to the Roger to whom
Owen Gwynedd had presented it. Fulk Fitz-Gwarine applied to John for the
restoration of the ancient property of his ancestors; but John rejected
his application. Indignant at this treatment Fulk joined the Welsh
sovereign, made battle against Maurice, in which the latter was slain.
The English King determined upon having Fulk Fitz-Gwarine put to death,
but the latter fled to France, under the _nom de guerre_ of Sir Amice, a
wandering knight, and was so much admired by the French monarch for his
honourable and chivalrous conduct, that he tendered to him a barony of
France. After having performed many acts of valour and renown in France,
Fulk returned to England, determined to see King John and propitiate his
favour. Fearing discovery, he exchanged clothes with a peasant, and
wended his way to Windsor, to confront the monarch. In Windsor Forest
they both met, John being out hunting, and Fulk appearing before the King
as a peasant. Fulk made known to him his errand, and declared that he
was the obnoxious Fitz-Gwarine; with the courage and dignity of his race
he menaced the king for the unjust treatment he had received, and forced
him to restore to his undisturbed possession the Castle and lordship of
Whittington, his ancestral property. John immediately repudiated his
grant, and Fulk was again compelled to leave the kingdom, having been
pursued by emissaries of the monarch, charged to slay him. Fitz-Gwarine
was still as adroit as he was brave; he killed the man who meditated his
assassination, fled to Orkney, where he released a persecuted female from
her captivity, and won a hauberk of hard steel, which, with other ancient
pieces of armour belonging to his family, hung, till Cromwell’s wars, in
the church of Whittington. From Orkney Fulk sailed to Carthage, where he
derived much information, his patriotism was inflamed, and where also his
enthusiastic desire for the improvement of his native country glowed with
increased ardour. Wrapt in these visions of future glory and happiness,
he re-embarked for England, arrived safely, appealed again to King John,
obtained pardon for all past offences, and with it the restoration of
Whittington Castle and all its appendages. Thus once more in possession
of his ancient halls, he lived in the state and hospitality which became
his princely condition. Then, as the author of “Fitz-Gwarine” so sweetly
sings—
“Other guests than yon lone bird,
And other music here were heard,
In times of better days;
Festive revelry went round,
The board with blushing goblets crown’d,
And costly carpets clad the ground,
Where now yon cattle graze.
Days were those of splendour high,
Days of hospitality,
When to his rich domain
Welcom’d many a crested knight,
Welcom’d many a lady bright,
Fitz-Gwarine of Lorraine!”
This remarkable man was afterwards sent by the English King to Ireland on
an important service, and was distinguished on his return, with the title
of THE GREAT. He subsequently united with the English Barons in their
memorable demand from King John of Magna Charta, and so resolute was his
conduct on that great occasion at Runnymede, that the Pope actually
conferred upon him the honour of excommunication from the papal church.
After various other conflicts and disasters, “by flood and field,” he
descended into old age, when he was stricken with blindness. He was
buried in the porch of Whittington Church, and his remains were found
there in an oak coffin, three inches in thickness, by digging a grave in
the year 1796. He left behind him a son who enjoyed his father’s estates
and titles, but for no considerable time. He followed Henry III. through
all his adverse fortunes, and whilst engaged at the battle of Lewes was
drowned in crossing a river, leaving behind him a young son, the fourth
Fitz-Gwarine.
Fitz-Gwarine the second was married to Clarice of Abbourville, and he
went generally by the peculiar appellation of _Proud-homme_, as a mark of
respect to his nobility.
Whittington Castle, after the battle of Lewes, was bestowed by the Earl
of Leicester upon Peter de Montford. Leicester also compelled the
captive king Richard II. to deliver it, with other Border Castles, into
the hands of Llywelyn ab Grufydd, Prince of Wales, who had just received
the entire sovereignty of Wales, and required homage from all the barons
under him.
The subsequent history of the Fitz-Gwarines presents but few interesting
features. This illustrious race became extinct at the death of Henry,
fifth Earl of Bath (who inherited the title of Fitz-Gwarine through the
marriage of Elizabeth, sister and heiress to Fulk the _ninth_, with
Richard Haukford, Esq.,) and the manor, after various transfers in
succeeding ages, was purchased by Francis (or William) Albany, Esq., of
London, from one of the Earls of Arundel, it having been granted to him
by Queen Mary, but afterwards mortgaged and sold. The manor, advowsons,
and estate of Fernhill passed subsequently to the house of Aston, by the
marriage of Sarah, daughter and heiress of the said Francis Albany, Esq.,
to Thomas Lloyd, Esq., of Aston. In the year 1760 the eastern tower of
the Castle fell into the moat after a severe frost, and some years
afterwards one of the northern towers and the western wall were taken
down to repair, it is said, the road leading from Whittington to Halston
bridge.
[Picture: Whittington Castle]
The remains of the Castle are still a picturesque ruin, which attracts
artists from all parts of the kingdom to sketch its lingering beauties.
Our own artist has done justice to the Castle in the sketch he has taken.
The towers of the gate-house are still entire, and part of the ancient
building is converted into a dwelling, and occupied by Thomas Broughall,
Esq. A running brook passes through the moat, which is overhung with
fine old trees, casting their shade upon the waters. In the year 1796
three curious bottles, richly gilt, were found, and subsequently, in
clearing the bottom of one of the old towers, some huge iron fetters, a
gyve of ponderous size, with a number of the heads and antlers of deer.
The Castle, from its position on the frontier of Wales, and from the
warlike spirit of its lords, was in feudal times a place of great
consequence, and, like other border fortresses, alternately the scene of
clashing arms and knightly festivity.
The church, which is dedicated to St. John, is a rectory in the
archdeaconry and diocese of St. Asaph, and was originally designed as a
chapel to the castle. The body of the church was rebuilt in 1805, from a
design by the late Mr. Thomas Harrison, architect, of Chester. It is a
large brick building of 60 feet by 50, and cost £1500. To lessen the
expense of building the church two briefs were procured that raised £703
15s. 1d., but of this sum only £42 2s. 1d. was received. In 1810 a new
organ was erected in the church. In the same year the church-yard wall,
being much out of repair, was rebuilt with stone. The Rev. Charles
Arthur Albany Lloyd, who had filled the office of Rector for many years,
died July 24th, 1851, he being also Rector of Selattyn at the time.
Whittington parish is divided into nine townships, namely,—Whittington to
the south; Berghill and Francton (or Frankton) to the east; old Marton
(or Martin), Hindford, Henlle, and Ebnall, to the north; and Fernhill and
Daywell to the west.
In a manuscript description of the parish we find the following
derivation of names:—
WHITTINGTON, or White Town, from White Castle, in Welsh, _Drewen_.
BERGHILL—Welsh, _Byr-Ghill_, or Short Hazles.
HINDFORD—,, _Hen-fordd_, or The Old Road.
HENLLE—,, _Hen_, old, and _Lle_, Place.
DAYWELL—,, _Fynnon du_, or _dydd_. Day Spring (or well).
FERNHILL—,, _Fwrn_ and _Oven_, or Hole and Hill.