the renowned Sir Richard Whittington, “thrice Lord Mayor of London town.”
It is now, however, generally understood that he was born in the township
of Newnes, (not far from Whittington,) about one mile north-west of
Ellesmere. Shropshire claims him for her own; and if Whittington really
was “a proud Salopian,” the county has a right to be proud of the honour
of enrolling among its worthies so distinguished a name. Another vague
tradition prevailed, that the well-known metrical tale of “_The Babes in
the Wood_” derives its origin from _Babins’ wood_, (commonly called
_Babbys’ wood_,) near Whittington. The tradition adds, that the murder
of the two children by their cruel uncle was perpetrated at this place.
Gough, the historian of Middle, relates particulars of the murder of a
child by its uncle, but his account is only from tradition, and therefore
mixed up with much error.
The version we now give of this murder, derived from an authentic source,
shews that the ballad of the _Babes in the __Wood_ could not have been
founded upon it. The scene of the nursery rhyme is laid in Norfolk, and
all the circumstances it details differ materially from those of the
murder at Knockin heath. The version we have is as follows:—
“1590, 27th March.—A man and woman were executed at Knockin heath,
for murdering a child of the age of five years, for his land, being
an heir of £5 a-year, or thereabout, which fell after the said
child’s death, if he died without issue, to his uncles, being three
of them, which uncles procured and imagined the death of the said
child ever since his birth. Two of the uncles were executed at
Bridgenorth assizes, and the third _pressed_ to death there. But the
woman being grandmother to the child, and the man named Geffrey
Elkes, being hired to do the deed, were executed at the said heath
where the said deed was done.” “Elkes, at his execution, affirmed
that he did not kill the child, but brought a pail of water to the
heath, and left it there with the child and the uncle that was
_pressed_ to death, but he confessed that before the deed was done,
and after, two ravens usually would meet him, follow him, and cry
about him; and when he escaped and hid himself, the said ravens did
cry, and flew about the place, and descried him out, and he was found
in a cock of hay by their means.”
The parish register is a curious record of odds and ends, and from it we
make a few quaint selections:—
“Died March 11th, 1767.—THOMAS EVANS, parish clerk, aged 72.
‘Old Sternhold’s lines, or Vicar of Bray,
Which he tun’d best is hard to say.’
I do make choice of William Evans, his son, to serve the office of
parish clerk, being qualified according to the 91st canon, viz: above
twenty years of age, and of an honest conversation, and very
sufficient for his reading, writing, and also for his competent skill
in singing, tho’ not so clever a piper as his father. This choice
was signified to the parishioners in time of divine service, on
Sunday, the 15th day of March, 1767.
(Signed) by me, W. Roberts, Rr.”
* * * * *
“1776.—ANDREW WILLIAMS, in Whittington, aged 84, Decoy-man under the
Aston family, at the Decoy, in this parish, above 60 years:—
“Here lies the Decoy-man, who liv’d like an otter,
Dividing his time between land and water:
His hide he oft soak’d in the waters of Perry,
Whilst Aston old beer his spirits kept cheery;
Amphibious his trim, Death was puzzl’d, they say,
How to dust to reduce such well-moisten’d clay.
So Death turn’d Decoy-man, and decoy’d him to land,
Where he fix’d his abode till quite dried to the hand;
He then found him fitting for crumbling to dust,
And here he lies mould’ring, as you and I must.”
* * * * *
“SAMUEL PEATE, of Whittington Castle, died, aged 84.
“Here lies Governor Peate,
Whom no man did hate,
At the age of four-score,
And four years more,
He pretended to wrestle
With Death, for his castle,
But was soon out of breath,
And surrender’d to Death,
Who away did him take,
At the eve of our Wake,
One morn about seven,
To keep Wake in heaven.”
* * * * *
“Nov. 29th, 1780.—SARAH BROWNE, of Babe’s Wood, widow, aged 76.
“EPITAPH.
Here lies Mammy Brown,
Who oft sung ding and down
Over many a brat;
And what of all that?
Why she sung herself down,
So here lies Mammy Brown.
N.B.—She nursed many children besides her own.”
There are several useful and important charities pertaining to
Whittington parish. Jones’s charity of 1670, and Griffith Hughes’s
bequest in 1706, provide for the education of the boys of the parish, as
that of Elizabeth Probert does for the girls. These bequests are now
applied to the National Schools established in the village.
The old National Schools being too small for the increasing population of
the parish, a new School House, for the accommodation of Boys and Girls,
was erected in the year 1853, on the site of the former Boys’ School, at
a cost of £900, after a design by Messrs W. and J. Morris, Builders, &c.,
of Oswestry, by whom also the structure was erected. The present
much-respected Rector is the Rev. William Walsham How, who purchased the
living in the life-time, and succeeded to it on the death, of the Rev. C.
A. A. Lloyd.
The parish of Whittington contains 8,303a. 3r. 10p.; gross rental,
£13,145 5s. 0d.; rateable value, £12,867 10s. 0d.
It is worthy of record in our notice of Whittington, that the admirable
Missionary Hymn, from the pen of the late Bishop Heber, “From Greenland’s
icy mountains,” was written especially for a public meeting of the
friends of Missions, held in the village about the year 1820, at which
the poet Heber attended. The hymn was sung on that occasion for the
first time; but since then how many thousand voices, in every part of the
habitable globe, have been raised in tuneful melodies whilst pouring
forth this immortal strain! Heber’s hymn ranks with the sacred songs of
our best poets, and has urged many a Christian heart to the heaven-born
work of spreading the gospel throughout the heathen world.
Amongst the pleasant retreats in the neighbourhood of Whittington are
BELMONT, the residence of J. V. Lovett, Esq., an active and intelligent
Magistrate for the county; FERNHILL, about one mile from Whittington, the
seat of Thomas Lovett, Esq., also an able county Magistrate; and the
DERWEN, the house of John Povey, Esq., a gentleman much respected in the
district.
WYNNSTAY,
The beautiful seat of Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart., M.P. for Denbighshire, is
within twenty minutes’ railway ride from Oswestry. The talent, wealth,
and princely hospitality of the Wynnstay family have given to this
mansion and its extensive domains a national celebrity. The late Sir W.
W. Wynn (father of the present worthy baronet) did much to maintain the
high character for hospitality and munificent liberality for which the
House of Wynnstay has ever been distinguished, and his memory is embalmed
in grateful recollections by hundreds who partook of his bounty and were
generously aided by his purse and patronage.
Wynnstay is situated in the parish of Rhuabon, and is erected on the site
of a residence of Madog ab Grufydd Maelor, Prince of Powys, and founder
of the abbey of Llanegwest, or Valle Crucis, near Llangollen. The
original name of this house was _Rhuabon_. It was the property of Edward
Eyton, Esq., whose daughter Mary, the heiress, married Richard Evans,
Esq., son of Thomas Evans, Esq., of Oswestry, attorney-general in the
Court of the Marches. Their grandson, Eyton Evans, (son of Thomas, son
of Richard,) altered the name to _Watt_-stay, on account of its proximity
to Watts’ Dyke; and Jane, sole daughter and heiress of Eyton Evans, Esq.,
married Sir John Wynn, who again changed the name to _Wynnstay_, in
compliment to his own family, he being grandson of Sir John Wynn, of
Gwydir, by his tenth son, Henry, representative for Merionethshire. The
above-named Sir John Wynn, of Wynnstay, left that and other estates of
great value to his kinsman, the first Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, grandson
of Sir William Williams, Speaker of the House of Commons in the reign of
Charles II., and in the early part of his career Recorder of Chester.
Sir William was one of the most successful lawyers of his time, and was a
zealous and eloquent advocate of the popular party in Charles’s reign.
The notorious Jeffreys was reprimanded, on his knees, by him whilst he
was Speaker of the House of Commons; who also conducted the prosecution
of the Seven Bishops, when solicitor-general; and the “Treating Act,”
which still continues one of the safeguards of the purity and
independence of Parliament, was introduced by him in the House of
Commons. This celebrated lawyer was made a baronet in 1688. He married
Margaret, daughter and heiress of Watkin Kyffin, Esq., of Glascoed, in
the parish of Llansilin, near Oswestry. He left two sons, and the elder,
Sir William, of Llanforda, married another great heiress, Jane, the
daughter of Edward Thelwall, Esq., of Plas-y-ward, and was father, as
already mentioned, of the first Sir Watkin Williams Wynn. The Speaker’s
youngest son, John, was an eminent provincial lawyer, and practised at
Chester, and was direct progenitor of the present Sir John Williams, of
Bodelwyddan, Flintshire.
[Picture: Wynnstay]
The mansion is a noble pile of building, of fine white stone, and has,
recently, under the direction of the present possessor of Wynnstay,
undergone much improvement. The interior comprises several noble
apartments, which are embellished with paintings by the first masters,
portraits of various members of the family, and busts by eminent
sculptors, of the distinguished statesmen Lord Grenville, William Pitt,
&c. The library consists of a fine collection of books, in ancient and
modern literature, with valuable MSS. illustrative of early British
history. Among the variety of plate, including elegant race-cups, &c.,
is a large silver vase, or punch-bowl, presented to the late Sir W. W.
Wynn, by his countrymen, on his return from the battle of Waterloo.
The grounds in which the house is situated are remarkable for their
sylvan beauty. The avenue leading to the mansion from Rhuabon is formed
of fine oak, elm, beech, and other trees, one of which, “The King,”
measuring thirty feet in circumference, and with its outspreading arms
appearing to bid defiance to its fellows, seems to have a just claim to
the monarchical title it bears. A fine sheet of water in front of the
house adds much to the picturesque and deeply-wooded scenery around.
Both the near and distant views from the park are distinct and
attractive, those especially towards the Berwyn chain of mountains, with
the grand breach in it beyond Llangollen, through which rolls the rapid
Dee. An obelisk or handsome free-stone column is erected in the park,
after a design by Wyatt, as a tribute of maternal affection, in memory of
Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, grandfather of the present baronet. Round the
entablature is a gallery, with a circular iron balustrade, nine feet
high, in the centre of which stands a handsome urn in bronze. The plinth
is wreathed with oak leaves descending from the beaks of eagles. A
door-way leads, by a wide stair-case, to a gallery at the top. On the
lower part of the Cenotaph is the following emphatic inscription:—
“FILIO OPTIMO.
MATER CHEU! SUPERSTES.”
Although this column cannot be seen from the house, a glimpse of it may
be caught on the left side of the railway, in passing from Rhuabon
towards Oswestry. The Nant-y-Bela Tower, in “The Dingle of the Marten,”
is another Cenotaph, erected by the late Sir W. W. Wynn, after a design
by Sir Jeffrey Wyattville, in memory of his brother officers and private
soldiers slain in Ireland during the rebellion of 1798. It stands on an
eminence, and commands a view of the Vale of Llangollen, for several
miles. The Waterloo Tower, close also to the railway, is another
ornament to the park.
In the days of Sir W. W. Wynn, grandfather to the present baronet,
theatrical performances were often given during the Christmas Holy days,
in a neat theatre near the house, erected for the purpose. David
Garrick, “the British, Roscius,” as he was called, frequently
superintended these histrionic displays, where wit and revelry prevailed.
The surrounding nobility and gentry participated in these festivities,
which uniformly passed off with _eclât_. The late Sir W. W. Wynn
divested this Thespian Temple of its ornaments, and appropriated it for
an annual agricultural meeting, as an auxiliary to the society at
Wrexham. An annual show of cattle was held at Wynnstay, where premiums
were adjudged, for the best of every species of stock, for ploughing the
greatest number of acres, with two horses a-breast, without a driver, &c.
This bucolic fete was generally held in September, when a numerous
assemblage of practical agriculturists attended. A dinner at the hall
followed, where covers were laid for five or six hundred persons. The
tables groaned beneath the weight of viands, including fine samples of
roast beef and unctuous venison; “rosy wine” spread its charms along the
festive board, and “old October,” from the cellars of Wynnstay, were
handed round in huge flagons worthy of the merriest days of Cambria. On
these occasions Sir Watkin generally presided, and did the honours of the
table with an urbanity and cheerful hospitality that endeared him to all
his visitors.
The present Sir W. W. Wynn represents in parliament the county of
Denbigh, is Steward of the Lordships of Bromfield and Yale, and is
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry Cavalry.
* * * * *
Among the more attractive residences in the immediate suburbs of the town
the following claim a brief notice:—
BROOM HALL, the residence of Mrs. Aubrey, widow of the late H. P. T.
Aubrey, Esq., is situated near to the town, on the west side. Mr. Aubrey
died in 1848. [See p. 143.] DRENEWYDD stands about a mile and a-half
from Oswestry, on the road leading to Whittington, is a very ancient
house, and has some interesting historical facts connected with it. It
was formerly the residence of Edward Lloyd, Esq., eldest son of Marmaduke
Lloyd, Esq., by Penelope, daughter of Charles Goodman, Esq. He was
eminent for his learning, and after a long and diligent search into
ancient records, wrote a history of his native county, but did not live
to publish it. A MS. copy of his learned works is preserved in the
Bodleian Library, Oxford. He was elected Mayor of Oswestry in 1707; in
which office, it is recorded of him, “he corrected many existing abuses.”
He left an only son, Charles, who was the last in the male line of the
Drenewydd family. The old house at Drenewydd is now the property of
William Ormsby Gore, Esq., and is occupied as a farm house. MOUNT
PLEASANT, the seat of Thomas L. Longueville, Esq., (a gentleman
distinguished for his public and private worth,) is situated about one
mile from Oswestry, on the road leading to Llansilin. OAKHURST, a
newly-erected mansion, about one mile north-west of Oswestry, on the road
leading to Selattyn, commands extensive and delightful views of the
surrounding country, including the Vale of Salop and the Breidden hills.
It is built in the Elizabethan style of architecture, and is the property
and residence of R. J. Venables, Esq., one of the Magistrates of the
county, and a Director of the Great Western and Oswestry and Newtown
Railway Companies. The family of Mr. Venables have for many years been
honourably connected with the borough of Oswestry. At RHYD-Y-CROESAU is
the residence of the Rev. Robert Williams, author of “Biographical
Dictionary of Eminent Welshmen.” Mr. Williams is a profound scholar, and
his location in the district, at the head of an ably-conducted school,
may be looked upon as a great advantage to the inhabitants generally.
PENTREPANT, the property of T. G. Warrington Carew, Esq., is the
residence of Colonel Frederick Hill. It is about one mile from Oswestry,
on the road to Selattyn. The estate was for many generations in the
Hanmer family, and John Hanmer, Bishop of St. Asaph, resided here. He
died in 1629, and was buried in the church of Selattyn, to the poor of
which parish, and also of Oswestry and St. Asaph, he gave £15 to be
equally divided between them. PENYLAN is a very beautiful House, about
one mile from Oswestry. The pleasure-grounds and shrubberies are laid
out with much taste and skill. It is the residence of Mrs. Longueville,
(Widow of the late T. L. Longueville, Esq.,) a lady of enlarged
benevolence, and who has ever shewn herself ready to alleviate the
sufferings of the poorer classes of the district. SWEENEY HALL, situated
about two miles from Oswestry, on the left of the road to Welshpool, is a
handsome mansion built of freestone, and beautifully placed in the midst
of a well-timbered park. The house was erected by the late Thomas
Netherton Parker, Esq., a gentleman who will be long remembered as an
active and impartial Magistrate of the county; as an enlightened landed
proprietor; and a liberal and warm-hearted friend to the poor of his
district. Mr. Parker was an able writer on agricultural and social
economy, and some clever essays from his pen show how intimately
acquainted he was with the condition of the rural population of all
classes. He was an ardent promoter of agriculture, and most assiduously
employed himself for its practical advancement. The estate is now the
property of his son, the Rev. John Parker, Vicar of Llanyblodwel, and the
house is occupied by Hugh Beavor, Esq. Some particulars relative to the
ancient burial-ground upon the estate are given in page 153. WOOD HILL
HALL, about two miles from Oswestry, on the right of the road to
Llanymynech, was formerly the property of L. J. Venables, Esq., but has
recently been purchased, and is now occupied by J. Lees, Esq.
* * * * *
In closing our SKETCHES of the ENVIRONS, a brief reference to Chirk and
Llangollen Vale, both being within half an hour’s railway ride from
Oswestry, seems to be necessary.
CHIRK is situated upon the northern bank of the river Ceiriog, and is a
pleasant and somewhat picturesque village. The entire parish is the
property of Col. Myddelton Biddulph. The church, dedicated to St. Mary,
contains an interesting monument of the gallant Sir Thomas Myddelton; and
in the church-yard are some fine yew trees, the growth of centuries.
There is an excellent inn in the village, _The Chirk Castle Arms_, kept
by Mr. Moses, who is also post-master there. From the poor-rate return
for the present year (1855), it appears that the acreage of the parish is
4,635a. 3r. 29p.; the gross rental, £9,401 8s. 4d.; and the rateable
value assessed to the relief of the poor, £9,308 2s. 1d. The present
much-respected Vicar is the Rev. Joseph Maude, who is also, as already
stated, Chairman of the Board of the Oswestry Incorporation. The Vale of
the Ceiriog, like that of the Dee, generally attracts the attention of
railway travellers, from its singular beauty and historical associations.
It is crossed by a Viaduct of the Great Western Railway, and by an
Aqueduct also, extending along the Ellesmere canal upon long ranges of
arches at a considerable elevation. _Llangollen Vale_ is only a few
minutes’ ride from Chirk, and, we need not add, “the admired of all
observers.” The tourist is amazed with the first view obtained of it;
its hills and slopes display enchanting spots, and the beauty of the
natural scenery is increased by the massive elegance of Robertson’s
railway viaduct across the Dee, and the classic grace of Telford’s
aqueduct. The Vale, on both sides the river Dee, is at length brought to
a high state of cultivation. Looking down the valley from the railway
viaduct, or from the more elevated portions of the Holyhead road, the
scene presents a strange admixture of beauty and ugliness; and a
stranger, for the first time viewing the scene, would declare, “I see
nothing but smoke.” On the north side of the river are the extensive
iron works of the New British Iron Company, disgorging smoke and flame
day and night, and on the opposite side of the river are the Vron
limestone quarries and kilns, equally active in discharging huge volumes
of vapour. The tourist must pass on from these manufacturing localities,
and his eye will soon rest upon scenery of surpassing loveliness and
grandeur. The wood-crowned heights of Trevor, the Eglwyseg and Berwyn
range of mountains, the old battered fortress, _Castell Dinas Bran_, the
luxuriant Vale, which presents the form of a capacious amphitheatre, and
the Dee, vending its course over beds of clay-slate, limestone, and
granitic boulders,—these, with abundance of full-grown timber, snug
villas, white-washed cottages, and well-managed farms, with fertile
fields and well-farmed hill-sides, show of what materials the panoramic
valley is composed. Could Moore have viewed it, as we have done on a
bright summer day, he would have been constrained to quote his own
beautiful line,
“The valley lies smiling before me.”
Of _Llangollen_ itself we shall attempt no description. Its charms have
been transmitted to glowing canvass and sung in rapturous verse from Anna
Seward downwards; its hostelries, the _Hand_ and the _Royal Hotels_, its
“trouts,” its mountain mutton, sparkling ale, and other delicacies, have
too long been the “household words” of tourists, album-writers, and
after-dinner orators, to render eulogium or even “faint praise” from us
in the slightest degree necessary.
* * * * *
After these poetic visions it is difficult to descend to sober reality.
The tourist, generally speaking, unless he be a botanist, a geologist, or
an artist, penetrates little beyond the public highway, except in those
localities distinguished by a waterfall, an ancient castle, or a noble
residence. Thousands of people, from the manufacturing districts, cannot
in their visits to the Principality do more than give a passing glance to
the country through which they hurriedly travel. In the immediate
vicinity of the turnpike-roads on both sides of the Dee the land there
lets at a high price, and, generally speaking, is ably farmed; and
ascending the hills, to the heights of ten or twelve hundred feet, most
of the little inclosures occupied by small farmers, or by parties engaged
principally in other occupation than that of agriculture, are also well
cultivated, and fetch a rental of from 30s. to 40s. per acre. Some
twenty years ago the mountain-land in the Vale of Llangollen was deemed
common, and but few habitations were erected upon it; but at the present
time neat cottage-dwellings for the industrious poor are raised in
clusters, and most of the land attached to them is farmed with a skill
and success that would put to the blush many a professed agriculturist.
No doubt that this comparatively high price for mountain-land is caused
by the large number of working-men employed in the various manufacturing
and other working establishments in the neighbourhood. Such men require
small portions of what is called occupation land, on which to feed a cow
and grow a little wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes. To them the land
even at the price is an advantage; but still it is a fact worthy of note,
that mountain-land in this busy district is in great demand, and whenever
let fetches a high rental. Such is the influence of manufactures upon
agriculture, both of which, as Sir Josiah Child said years ago, “must wax
or wane together.”
* * * * *
* * * * *
* * * * *
* * * * *
OSWESTRY: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GEORGE LEWIS.
CORRIGENDA. {296}
Some few typographical and other errors have occurred in the progress of
the volume, which we are anxious to correct.
In page 210, line 13, for “old transparent,” read “_cool_ transparent.”
In page 223, line 3, for “carbonate of zinc,” read “_carbonate_ and
_sulphuret_ of zinc.”
In page 251, line 4, for “Procapella de Coton,” read “_Pro capella de
Coten_.”
In the List of Illustrations, for “Corn Market,” read “_Cross_ Market.”
* * * * *
THE POST-OFFICE.