Part 1

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Memorials of the Counties of England

General Editor: Rev. P. H. Ditchfield, M.A., F.S.A., F.R.S.L., F.R.Hist.S.

MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

MEMORIALS OF OLD CHESHIRE

EDITED BY THE VEN. EDWARD BARBER, M.A., F.S.A. _Archdeacon of Chester and Canon Residentiary of Chester Cathedral_ and THE REV. P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A., F.S.A. Author of “_The Cathedral Churches of Great Britain_,” “_English Villages_,” “_The Parish Clerk_,” _&c._

With many Illustrations

LONDON GEORGE ALLEN & SONS, 44 & 45 RATHBONE PLACE, W. 1910 [_All Rights Reserved_]

Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh

TO THE MOST NOBLE THE DUKE OF WESTMINSTER LORD-LIEUTENANT OF THE COUNTY OF CHESHIRE THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED BY HIS GRACE’S KIND PERMISSION

PREFACE

The Editors desire to express their grateful thanks to those who have co-operated with them, and have contributed papers for this volume. Their only regret is that the limits of space prevented them from inviting the assistance of others, and thus of including other subjects, which, it may be, some readers would expect to find here.

But wide as the range is, it is manifestly impossible in a volume of this size to cover the whole ground. It does not profess to be a complete history, or to give _all_ those memories of the past which ought to be of interest to those of the present day. Perhaps no county is richer in these treasures than the county of Chester, and every corner of it has its own special ones. The city of Chester gives its title to the heir to the Crown, as the Prince of Wales is always Earl of Chester; and that fact in itself gives a dignity and importance to both city and county. Then, as will be pointed out in some of the papers which follow, as a County Palatine, Cheshire had privileges and rights of a peculiar character, and all this has made the task of selection of subjects to be treated of more difficult, and the reader will doubtless sympathise with the Editors, even though he may not altogether approve of the result of their labours, and may lament certain omissions.

Some memorials of old Cheshire will be presented to the mind and eyes of many in the Historic Pageant which is to take place in July, and will give further proof of the wealth of material from which selection had to be made. We may hope that both this volume and the Pageant will have an educative effect, in that they will lead residents in the county, and the rising generation in particular, to take a growing and intelligent interest in its history. This may be done either in the small and confined space of the parish in which they live, or in the wider sphere of the neighbourhood, or of the county as a whole. And it can be done by individual search and inquiry, and by association with the Societies which foster and promote such studies as conduce to the creation of a greater interest in the story of the past, and in the preservation of the objects which will keep it alive.

We have to thank the Chester and North Wales Archæological and Historic Society for the loan of some illustrations, and are only sorry that more could not be inserted. We have photographs from Dr. Elliott, Mr. F. Simpson, Mr. G. W. Haswell, and others, some admirable drawings by Mr. C. H. Minshull, whilst His Honour Sir Horatio Lloyd has permitted us to reproduce a sketch of his of the old High Cross at Chester.

We were fortunate to secure the services of so busy a man as Professor J. C. Bridge, M.A., F.S.A., for two of the papers, both of which will be found most instructive, dealing as they do with distinctive peculiarities of the county, and giving evidence of full and wide knowledge of the subjects treated of. To one and all, named and unnamed, we tender our cordial thanks, and trust that the present volume may be regarded as a not unworthy successor of those in the same series which have preceded it.

Edward Barber. P. H. Ditchfield.

CONTENTS

Historic Cheshire By P. H. Ditchfield, M.A., F.S.A. 1

The County Palatine of Chester: By Henry Taylor (Chester), its Place in History F.S.A. 19

The Abbeys of Cheshire By the Archdeacon of Chester 33

Cheshire Castles By the Archdeacon of Chester 50

The Timber-framed Churches of By the Rev. Dr. Cox, LL.D., Cheshire F.S.A. 61

The Walls and Rows of Chester By the Archdeacon of Chester 70

The Half-timbered Architecture of Cheshire By C. H. Minshull 80

An Old Consistory Court By the Archdeacon of Chester 100

Halton Court Leet By V. B. Davies 106

Cheshire Worthies By P. H. Ditchfield, M.A., F.S.A. 114

The Four Randle Holmes of Chester (an Epitome of a Paper by the late J. P. Earwaker, By the Archdeacon of F.S.A.) Chester 133

The Chester Mystery Plays By Joseph C. Bridge, M.A., Mus. Doc. Oxon. et Dunelm, F.S.A. 142

The Siege of Chester By the Archdeacon of Chester 180

Cheshire and its Families By James Hall 194

Some Cheshire Crosses By the Archdeacon of Chester 207

Echoes from Farndon By the late Rev. L. E. Owen 218

Some Cheshire Customs, Proverbs, By Joseph C. Bridge, and Folk-lore M.A., Mus. Doc. Oxon. et Dunelm, F.S.A. 230

Two Cheshire Saints By the Archdeacon of Chester 264

Index 277

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Chester Castle, Barracks, and Courts _Frontispiece_ (_From a photograph by F. Frith & Co. Ld._)

Page, or Facing Page View of the City of Chester 16 (_From an old engraving_)

Hugh Lupus and his Parliament 22

The Old Shire Hall, Chester 32

Norman Doorway in Cloisters, Chester Cathedral 38 (_From a photograph by F. Simpson_)

Cloisters, Chester Cathedral 40 (_From a photograph by F. Simpson_)

Norman Chambers, Chester Cathedral Cloisters 42 (_From a photograph by F. Simpson_)

Doorway in Cloisters, Chester Cathedral 44 (_From a photograph by F. Simpson_)

Old Shotwick Castle 52 (_From an old engraving; photograph by F. Simpson_)

Beeston Castle 56 (_From an old engraving_)

Old Gateway, Chester Castle 58 (_From an old engraving; photograph by F. Simpson_)

Marton Church 62 (_From a photograph by H. E. Tonge_)

Old Warburton Church 64 (_From a photograph by H. E. Tonge_)

Siddington Church 66 (_From a photograph by H. E. Tonge_)

Bruera Church, near Chester 68

Bonewaldesthorne’s Tower 72 (_From a photograph by F. Simpson_)

King Charles’s Tower 74 (_From a photograph by F. Simpson_)

Watergate Row, Chester 76 (_From a photograph by F. Simpson_)

Bishop Lloyd’s Palace, Watergate Row 78 (_From a photograph by F. Simpson_)

Baggily Hall; Section through Large Hall 85

Interior of the Hall, Baggily Hall, Cheshire 85

Almshouses, Commonhall Lane, Chester 86

Almshouses, Commonhall Lane, Chester 87

Bramall, the Porch (East End) 89

Bramall, a Corner of the South Wing 90

Moreton Old Hall, Gatehouse 92

Moreton Hall, in the Courtyard 93

Broxton Hall, Part Elevation of Gable 96

House, Whitefriars, Chester 98

Consistory Court, Chester Cathedral 102 (_From block lent by Chester and North Wales Archæological Society; photograph by F. Simpson_)

Halton Castle 106 (_From an old engraving by S. Buck_)

Sir Hugh Calveley’s Tomb, Bunbury Church 116 (_From block lent by Chester and North Wales Archæological Society; photograph by J. Elliott, M.D._)

Old Lamb Row 138 (_From an old drawing by Cuitt; photograph by F. Simpson_)

Tabley House and Chapel 198 (_From an old engraving_)

The High Cross, Chester 208 (_From block lent by Chester and North Wales Archæological Society; drawing by His Honour Sir Horatio Lloyd_)

Base of Old Village Cross, Eaton, near Tarporley 212 (_From a photograph by G. W. Haswell_)

Sandbach Crosses 214 (_From block lent by Chester and North Wales Archæological Society_)

Farndon Bridge 220 (_From a photograph by F. Simpson_)

Facsimile of Speed’s Autograph 229

HISTORIC CHESHIRE

By P. H. Ditchfield, M.A., F.S.A.

Bright and fair is the Cheshire land and well renowned in story. It is one of the most famous counties in England, and can raise its head proudly above other less noted shires. It rejoices in being a County Palatine, its Earls in former days having sovereign jurisdiction within its precincts. The Earls of Chester held their own Parliaments, summoned the barons and tenants to the conclave, and Acts of Parliament passed by English houses of representatives had no force within the Palatinate of Cheshire. It had its own courts of justice for determining all pleas of land, tenements, contracts, felonies, &c. It was an _imperium in imperio_, and though Lancashire and Durham claimed similar privileges of Palatinate, their County Palatines were established later than that of Chester and were not so well settled, nor their powers and privileges so clearly defined. For a brief space Cheshire was a Principality, and Richard II. styled himself _Princeps Cestriæ_, and it can still boast of having a Prince for its Earl, the title of Earl of Chester being always borne since the reign of King Henry III. by the eldest son of the kings of England.

Famous, too, is the county for its illustrious sons. Speed, a Cheshire man, who ought therefore to know well the truth of his statements, though perhaps for that reason a little partial, says: “The shire may well be said to be a seedplot of Gentilitie, and the producer of many most ancient and worthy families; neither hath any brought more men of valour into the Field than Cheeseshire hath done, who, by a generall speech, are to this day called The Chiefe of men; and for nature’s endowments (besides their noblenesse of mindes) may compare with any other nation in the world; their limmes strait and well-composed; their complexions faire, with a cheerfull countenance; and the Women of a grace, feature and beautie, inferior unto none.”

Verily, Master Speed was a patriotic son, but he was not far from the truth. Cheshire men have had their detractors, as who have not? These scurrilous, envious persons have dared to frame this distich:

“Cheshire born and Cheshire bred, Strong i’ th’ arm and weak i’ th’ yed.”

It sounds like a taunt thrown across the border of my native county of Lancashire. Strong i’ th’ arm Cheshire men have ever been, as the story of many a fight and foray in which they have gallantly played their part has effectually told, but the long line of Cheshire worthies serves to prove that their heads are not weaker than those of their neighbours. If you need a further testimony to their excellences, you can refer to the sixteenth-century Cheshire tourist, who wrote of them: “They are of a stomach, stout, bold, and hardy; of stature tall and mighty; withall impatient of wrong, and ready to resist the enemy or stranger that shall invade their countrey; the very name whereof they cannot abide, and namely, of a Scot.” Possibly they have since that time seen fit to modify their dislike of the gentlemen from across the Tweed, who are said by a modern critic “to keep the Sabbath and everything else they can lay their hands on.”

The story of the shire presents many features of unique interest. Its proximity to Wales rendered it the field of many a wild fight between the sturdy Cheshire men and the warlike Welsh folk, and required the possession of a powerful garrison. The port of Chester was the chief place of embarkation for troops, which the turbulent Irishmen often needed for the preservation of peace, and Briton, Saxon, Dane, and Norman have left traces behind them of their presence in the county.

Before the advent of the Romans the district was inhabited by a warlike British tribe called Cornavii, whose territory embraced most of the counties on the Welsh border. They were a strong and martial people, who gave much trouble to the Roman conquerors, and required a formidable company of legionaries to keep them in order. The Romans firmly established themselves on the banks of the Dee, or Deva as they called the river. They knew well the district of Great Meols, where many coins and _fibulæ_ have been discovered, but their great stronghold was Chester. The discoveries of Roman remains in the city are so important that no other place in the kingdom can rival it, and most of these have been found during the last twenty-two years. Built into the Roman city wall were found a large number of inscribed, sculptured, or moulded stones, probably taken from the Roman cemetery, erected in memory of the soldiers who fought in Roman legions. They establish some interesting historical facts. First, we gather from a stone erected to the memory of a soldier, whose name is lost, that the legionaries were here in the earliest years of the Roman conquest of Britain, about A.D. 50. The conquerors pushed along the old Watling Street, which led to the Dee, and must have established themselves there very soon after their advent to Britain. Secondly, we learn that Chester was the permanent quarters of two special legions, Legio II., Adiutrix Pia Fidelis, and Legio XX., Valeria Victrix. Nearly all the inscriptions relate to soldiers of one or other of these troops. When the Second Legion was withdrawn to defend the Danube frontier, the Twentieth remained to guard the Chester country, and sent contingents to protect the forts of Manchester and North Wales. From the fact that these memorial stones of Roman soldiers were afterwards taken from the cemetery and built up in the Roman wall of the city, Dr. Haverfield has determined that the Roman wall of Chester was built in the latter part of the second century or in the commencement of the third century. But we must leave the inviting subject of the Roman antiquities of Chester to another chapter.

It must have been a noble place in Roman times, with its walls and streets and houses replete with the usual fittings with which the Romans used to love to surround themselves. It was a great centre of traffic, situated on the Watling Street that ran from Richborough, through Chester to Anglesea, and through Chester to Manchester, York, and Carlisle. Suetonius pitched his camp at Chester, and Claudius Cæsar and the Emperor Galba are said to have visited it. The existence of Julius Cæsar’s Tower will doubtless suggest to the “raw antiquary” mentioned below a visit of the illustrious conqueror.

When the Roman legions were withdrawn to defend the centre of the Empire, the British remained masters of the country as far as the Picts and Scots would permit. Cheshire is far from Kent, where soon the dreaded Teutonic races made their appearance, and established their rule over the enfeebled Britons. The country of the Deeside remained at peace. Caer-Leon, or Caer Leon Vaur[1] as the Britons called it, heard only the smooth-tongued tones of Celtic speech, and nothing disturbed its quietude, as far as is known, until in A.D. 613 the fury of war burst upon the British people. Christianity had taught them many holy lessons of faith. Wales, with Cheshire, was a land of saints. Bede tells us that the monastery of Bangor, which may have been the Christian Banchor, about 15 miles from Chester, “flourished with learned men at the coming of Augustine.” SS. David, Asaph, and Padern all flourished after the Saxons had occupied England, and the sixth century saw, not only the foundation of the Welsh bishoprics, but also of the great Welsh monasteries, which were the especial glory of the Church in Wales. But the British Christians liked not Augustine, his haughty ways, and his new-fangled customs, and at a council refused subjection. So Augustine waxed wroth, and said that “if they would not preach the way of life to the English, they should at their hands undergo the vengeance.”

[1] The imagination of the Celtic mind has made Chester the Neomagus, founded by Magus, son of Samothes, son of Japheth, 240 years after the Flood. They say a giant named Leon Vaur, a conqueror of the Picts, built a city here, which was afterwards beautified by two British princes, Caerleid and Caerleir. But, concludes the chronicler, “they are but raw antiquaries that will give credit to such relations.”

A terrible storm did burst upon the unhappy people. The heathen King Ethelfrid of Northumbria came down upon the fair land of Cheshire, defeated the Britons, captured and destroyed Chester. The monks of Bangor came in crowds to the battle to offer prayers for the success of their countrymen, and nearly 1200 of them were slaughtered. Bede, with his Roman leanings, sees in this slaughter the execution of the Divine judgment and a fulfilment of Augustine’s prophecy--a suggestion unworthy of the pious historian. If the Divine wrath was turned upon the people of Cheshire and the monks, it was soon dispelled. Ethelfrid’s triumph was of short duration. Soon the gallant Welsh princes raised an army, marched on Chester, defeated the Northumbrian King with great slaughter, and elected Cadwan King of Wales at Chester.

For more than a century Cheshire remained under British rule, but stronger grew the Saxon power, when the rival kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex had settled their quarrels; and in A.D. 828 King Egbert came to Cheshire, captured the city, and made the country parts of the Mercian kingdom. This Mercian kingdom embraced a large extent of country, and was not divided into shires until the beginning of the tenth century. The older counties--Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hants, Wilts, Berkshire, Dorset, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, Middlesex, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk--some of them representing old kingdoms, are known to have existed as defined districts in the ninth century. In these the shire is not named after the chief town except in Hants; but when, in A.D. 912, Mercia was divided, each shire took its name from the county town. Thus we have Stafford-shire, Worcester-shire, and others, and Chester-shire or Cheshire. The county then assumed the concrete shape and size which it has since preserved.

At the end of the ninth century came the first visit of those dread marauders, the Danes, who carried fire and sword through so many fair regions of England. From Northumberland they swooped down on the fields of Cheshire, led by the sea-king Hastings, and “arrived at a western city in Wirall which is called Lega-ceaster. Then were the forces [of King Alfred] unable to come up with them before they were in the fortress; nevertheless they beset the fortress about for some two days, and took all the cattle that were there without, and slew the men whom they were able to take without the fortress, and burned all the corn, and with their horses ate it every morning.”[2] The Danes liked not this, and were reduced to eating horse-flesh, and were glad to leave the country and escape to North Wales. The _Saxon Chronicle_ tells us nothing more of the visits of the Danes. Higden mentions that at the close of the tenth century the county was laid waste by pirates, doubtless the sea-rovers, the Danes, but the evidence of names proves that the Danes were firmly established in the shire as settlers. By the Peace of Wedmore in A.D. 878, they won from Alfred all the country east and north of Watling Street, including the greater part of Cheshire. Indications of their presence are not so strong as in Lancashire, but these are sufficiently plain to show they partially colonised the country. There is a church at Chester dedicated to St. Olave, a Scandinavian king and saint, to whom the Danish colony in London dedicated a church (Tooley Street in London is, of course, a corruption of St. Olaf’s Street). All names ending in _by_ are Danish, of which we have Kirby, Pensby, Irby, Frankby, Greasby. That the Danes were Christians is proved by such names as Kirby, Kirkdale, Crosby. But the most remarkable memorial of all is the name Thingwall, the place where the Folkmote or Thing met. It is surrounded by several other villages with Scandinavian names on the small tongue of land between the Dee and the Mersey. Sometimes a Celtic name is met with, which has survived amid the Saxon and Danish population, such as Meols, Dove, Llandican, and Inch. Further inland Saxon names predominate, such as Bebington, Oldfield, Woodchurch, Upton.

[2] _Anglo-Saxon Chronicle_, A.D. 892; according to other authorities, 894.