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The important and ancient capital of Salop would indeed be insulted
were it called a "nook" or "corner." Could it so be named, we might be allowed to let our enthusiasm run wild in this most delightful old town.
Shrewsbury and Tewkesbury are to our mind far more interesting
than Chester, which has so many imitation old houses to spoil the
general harmony. At Shrewsbury or Tewkesbury there are very few
mock antiques, and at every turn and corner there are ancient
buildings to carry our fancy back to the important historical events
that have happened in these places. One cannot but be thankful to
the local authorities for preserving the mediæval aspect, and let us
offer up a solemn prayer that the electric tramway fiend may never be
permitted to enter.
SERVANT'S HALL, CHIRK CASTLE.
Chirk Castle is so close upon the boundaries of Salop that we may
include this corner of Denbighshire. It is the only border fortress of Wales still inhabited, a
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nd is remarkably situated on an eminence high above the grand old
trees of the park, or rather forest, surrounding it. It has stood many a
siege, but its massive external walls look little the worse for it. They are of immense thickness, and so wide that two people abreast can
walk upon the battlements. The huge round towers, with deep-set
windows and loopholes, have a very formidable appearance as you
climb the steep ascent from the picturesque vale beneath. It was built
by the powerful family of Mortimer early in the fourteenth century.
From the Mortimers and Beauchamps it came into the possession of
Henry VIII.'s natural son, the Duke of Richmond and Somerset, and
to Lord Seymour, brother of the Protector Somerset. Then the Earl of
Leicester owned it in Elizabeth's time, and eventually Sir Thomas
Myddelton, Lord Mayor in James I.'s reign. His son, Sir Thomas,
fought valiantly for the Parliamentary side, and in 1644 had to
besiege his own fortress. A letter from the governor, Sir John Watts,
to Prince Rupert, which still hangs in the great hall, describes how the
owner "attempted to worke into the castle with iron crowes and
pickers under great plancks and tables, which they had erected
against the castle side for their shelter: but my stones beate them
off." In the following year Charles I. slept there on two occasions; and
it was here that he learned the defeat of the great Montrose. After the
king's execution, Sir Thomas, like many others, began to show favour
to the other side; and the year before the Restoration he was mixed
up in Sir George Booth's Cheshire rising, and had to fortify his castle
against General Lambert, to whom he eventually surre
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ndered. But the general did not depart until he had disabled the
fortress, and the damage done after the Restoration took £30,000 to
repair. It was Sir Hugh, the younger brother of the first Sir Thomas
Myddelton, who made the New River, which was opened on
Michaelmas Day, 1613. A share in 1633 was valued at £3, 4s. 2d.,
and in 1899 one was sold for £125,000!
SERVANTS' HALL, CHIRK CASTLE.
The various apartments are ranged round a large quadrangle, parts
of which remind one somewhat of Haddon. On one side is the great
hall, and opposite the servants' hall. The former, with its minstrels'
gallery, heraldic glass, and ancient furniture, is full of interest. The walls are hung with various pieces of armour, and weapons, and a
Cavalier drum, saddle, and hat, the latter with its leather travelling
case,
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which is probably unique. There is a gorgeous coloured pedigree to
the first Sir Thomas Myddelton, recording ancestors centuries before,
though perhaps not quite so far back as the pedigree in the long
gallery at Hatfield, which is said to go back to Adam.
The servants' hall is a delightful old room, with long black oak tables
and settles, those against the wall being fixtures to the panelling.
There is a raised dais, and a seat of state to make distinction at the
board. There are queer old portraits of ancient retainers, one the
bellman who used to ring the great bell in the corner turret of the
quadrangle, and another very jolly looking porter, who has his eye on
an antique beer barrel perched on wheels in a corner of the room.
This apparatus has done good service in its day, as have the great
pewter dishes and copper jugs. Above the wide open fireplace are
the Myddelton arms. The servants' hall was an orderly apartment:
"No noise nor strife nor swear at all, But all be decent in the Hall,"
is written up for everybody to see, with the following rules:—That
every servant must take off his hat at entering; and sit in his proper place, and drink in his turn, and refrain from telling tales or speaking
disrespectfully, and various other things, which misdeeds were to be
punished in the first instance by the offender being deprived of his
allowance of beer; for the second offence, three days' beer; and the
third, a week.
The castle is rich in portraits, especially by Lely and Kneller, many of
which hang in the oak gallery, which extends the whole length of the
eastern wing; and there are several fine oak cabinets, one of which,
of ebony and tortoise-shell with silver
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chasings, was given to the third Sir Thomas Myddelton by the Merry
Monarch.
The wrought-iron entrance gates of very elaborate workmanship were
made in 1719 by the local blacksmith.
At the ancient seat of the Trevors, Brynkinalt, nearer to Chirk village,
are some interesting portraits of the Stuart period, notably of Charles
II.; James, Duke of York; Nell Gwyn, the Duchess of Portsmouth, and
Barbara Villiers.
Chirk village is insignificant, but has a fine church in which are some
interesting monuments, notably that of the gallant knight who
besieged his own castle as before described. He and his second wife
are represented in marble busts. It was their son Charles who
married the famous beauty of Charles II.'s reign; she was the
daughter of Sir Robert Needham, and her younger sister, Eleanor,
became the Duke of Monmouth's mistress. There is an old brick
mansion called Plâs Baddy, near Ruabon, where "La Belle
Myddelton" and her husband lived when the diversions of the Court
proved tedious; but buried in these wilds, she must have felt sadly out
of her element without the large following of admirers at her feet. She
had more brains, though, than most Court
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beauties, and being a talented artist, was not entirely dependent upon
flattery.
Near the entrance of the Ceiriog valley, to the west of Chirk, is a farm
called Pontfaen, and beyond, across some meadows, there is a
remarkable Druidical circle. Gigantic stones are riveted to the
crosspieces of archways, having the appearance of balancing
themselves in a most remarkable manner. The entrance to the circle
has two pillars in which are holes through which was passed a pole to
act as wicket; and in front of the altar is a rock in which may be seen
cavities for the feet, where the officiating priest is supposed to have stood. It is secluded, solemn, and ghostly, especially by moonlight
when we saw it for the first time. The villages hereabouts, though
picturesquely situated, are far from interesting: whitewashed and red-
brick cottages of a very plain and ordinary type, and very few ancient
buildings.
Some of the most picturesque old houses in England are to be found
in the southern and central part of Salop. Take, for example,
Stokesay Castle, which is quite unique. A battlemented Early English
tower with lancet windows and the great hall are the principal
remains. The latter, entered from above by a primitive wooden
staircase, is a noble apartment with a fine open timber ro
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of. The exterior has been altered and added to at a later period,
making a very quaint group of gables, with a projecting storey of half-
timber of the sixteenth century. This is lighted by lattice windows, and
the bay or projection is held by timber supports from the earlier
masonry. It has a deep roof, and the whole effect is odd and un-
English. Not the least interesting feature is an Elizabethan timber
gatehouse with carved barge-boards, entrance gate, and corner
brackets, and the timbers shaped in diamonds and other devices.
Then there is picturesque Pitchford Hall and Condover close by: the
former a fine half-timber mansion, the latter a stately Elizabethan pile
of stone. Pitchford we believe has been very much burnished up and
considerably enlarged since we were there, but we should not like to
see it with its new embellishments, for from our recollection of the old
house, half its charm was owing to the fact that there was nothing
modern-antique about it: a dear old black-and-white homestead,
which looked too perfect a picture for the restorer to set to work upon
it and spoil its poetry; but for all that it may be improved. The
courtyard presents quite a dazzling arrangement of geometric
patterns in the timber work, and over the central porch there is a
quaint Elizabethan gable of wood quite unlike anything we have seen
before. The side facing the north is, or was, quite a picture for the artist's brush. The stately lofty gables of Condover are in striking
contrast with the more homely looking ones of Pitchford; and the
builder was an important person in his day, as may be judged from
his el
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aborate effigy in Westminster Abbey, namely, Judge Owen, who
claimed descent from one of the ancient Welsh kings. Like most
Elizabethan houses, Condover Hall is built in the form of a letter E, but the central compartment was probably added to later on by Inigo
Jones. The doorway and bay-windows above are of fine proportions,
and full of dignity.
At Eaton Constantine, to the east, is the quaint old timber house
where Richard Baxter lived; and at Langley, to the south-east, a fine
old timber gatehouse; as well as Plash Hall, famous for its elaborate
twisted chimneys. Then there is Ludlow with its ruined castle, where
poor young Edward V. was proclaimed king before he set out for
London: and its famous "Feathers" hostelry with black-oak panelled rooms, its old town-gate, and the ancient bridge of Ludford to the
south. The country between Ludlow and Shrewsbury is remarkably
beautiful, especially in the vicinity of Church Stretton, which of recent
years has grown rabidly as a health resort, meaning, of course, the
springing up of modern dwellings to mar its old-world snugness.
There is, or was some twenty years ago, a narrow street of old
houses, behind which, backed by beautiful woods, stood the manor-
house, long since converted into an inn, and the church. Beyond the
woods rise a range of lofty hills; and if we take the trouble to clamber
up to the highest peak (which rises to upwards of 1600 feet), we are
well rewarded for our pains. Two of the highest points are Caradoc
and Lawley, famous landmarks for mi
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les around. The "Raven," when we visited it, was a quaint old hostelry, and an ideal place to make headquarters for exploring the
romantic scenery all around.
At the pretty little village of Winnington, close upon the county border,
and fourteen miles as the crow flies to the north-west of Church
Stretton, stands a tiny little cottage at the foot of the Briedden Hills.
Here lived the famous old Parr, who was born there in the reign of
Edward IV. and died in that of Charles I., having lived in the reigns of
no less than ten monarchs. In his hundred and fifty-second year he
went to London for change of air, which unfortunately proved fatal.
His gravestone in Westminster Abbey will be remembered near Saint-
Evremond's and Chiffinch's, near the Poets' Corner.