Part 24

Almost every nook and corner has its historic tale, its love or war-song, or its tradition. These remains of ancient times and deeds of bravery, with natural beauties superadded,—mountains, valleys, and rivers, of surpassing loveliness, have invested the Environs of Oswestry with an enduring interest with which few, if any other towns in the kingdom, can vie. Our DISTRICT SKETCHES, being arranged alphabetically, will commence with

ASTON HALL,

The seat of Mrs. Lloyd, widow of the late William Lloyd, Esq. It is situated on the right of the turnpike-road from Oswestry to Shrewsbury, about two miles distant from the former. The highly-respected family who have for so many years occupied this beautiful estate are of great antiquity, having descended from Einion, Prince of part of Powys, who distinguished himself in the wars against Henry I. Yorke, in his “_Royal Tribes of Wales_,” writing in 1799, has furnished a copious notice of the house of Aston.

“The Lloyds,” he says, “are descended from Einion. The heiress of the house, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Lloyd, married Foulke Lloyd, of Fox Hall, or the hall of Foulke, and was great grandmother to the Rev. John Robert Lloyd, Rector of Whittington and Selattyn, both in his advowson, the present possessor of Aston. The name of the Fox Hall family was Rosindale, when they came first from the north. To a younger branch, settled at Denbigh, we owe our learned countryman, Humphrey Llwyd. He was of Brazen-nose, Oxford, studied physic, and lived as family physician in the house of the last Earl of Arundel, of the name of Fitz-Alan, the Chancellor of the University. He sat in Parliament for his native town of Denbigh, and died there in the forty-first year of his age, and was buried in the Parish Church with a coarse monument, a dry epitaph, and a psalm-tune under it. He collected many curious books for Lord Lumley (whose sister he married), which form at this time a valuable part of the Library in the British Museum. One of his sons was settled at Cheam, in Surrey, whose great grandson, Robert Lloyd, was Rector of St. Paul’s, Covent Garden, and contended, but without effect, for the Barony of Lumley.”

Aston Chapel was built in 1594, at the expense of Richard Lloyd, Esq., of Aston, and then called Christ’s Chapel. It was endowed by its founder with £15 per annum, and Anne, his wife, left by will £5 per annum in land to the Chapel, and 40s. for four Welsh sermons to be preached in the year, with 15s. to be distributed to the poor of Oswestry parish at each sermon. The chapel was consecrated by Bishop Parry.

BRYNKINALT,

The seat of the Right Hon. Viscount Dungannon, is situated about a mile from Chirk, and one of the most picturesque mansions in the Principality. The house was built during the reign of James I., from a design by Inigo Jones, and is situated on the brow of a hill, at the foot of which flows the Ceiriog. The park is fine, and is divided by the river. On the site of this house formerly stood the residence of Tudor Trevor, a British nobleman who lived A.D. 924, the head of the tribe of March or Maelor, and who bore the title of Earl of Hereford in right of his mother, the daughter and heiress of Lluddocca, ab Caradog Vreichvras, Earl of Hereford. Trevor had large possessions between the Wye and Severn, and was Lord of both Maelors, Chirk, Whittington, Oswestry, &c. His chief residence was Whittington Castle; he was contemporary of Hywel Dda, the Welsh law-giver; and Angharad, daughter of Hywel, became the chieftain’s wife, and had by him three sons and one daughter. The arms of this distinguished man, which are still borne by the Trevor family, are—“Parted per bend sinister ermine and ermines, over all a lion rampant, or.” Debrett informs us that “Arthur Hill, first Viscount, was only brother of Trevor, Viscount Hillsborough, ancestor of the Marquess of Downshire, and grandson of William Hill, who married secondly Mary, eldest daughter of Sir Marcus Trevor, Viscount Dungannon; so created, 1662, for his signal gallantry in wounding Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Marston moor. Arthur, succeeding, 1762, to the estates of his maternal grandfather, Sir John Trevor, of Brynkinalt, Speaker of the House of Commons in England, and first Lord Commissioner of the Great Seal, assumed the name and arms of Trevor, and was created, April 27th, 1765, Viscount Dungannon.” An interesting fact connected with this noble family is, that the mother of the Duke of Wellington, the “Hero of a hundred fights,” was Anne, Countess of Mornington, daughter of Arthur Hill, the first Viscount Dungannon. This illustrious lady was closely allied with two greatly-distinguished men: her husband, the Earl of Mornington, ranked high as a musical composer, and “the Duke,” her son, placed himself high on the roll of fame with conquerors of ancient and modern renown.

[Picture: Brynkinalt]

The present Viscount Dungannon takes much interest in archæological pursuits, and is author of an ably-written work, in two volumes, 8vo., entitled “The Life and Times of William the Third, King of England, and Stadtholder of Holland.” His Lordship has acquired the literary distinctions of M.A., F.A.S., and M.R.S.L., and is an active magistrate for the district in which he resides. He has large possessions in the north of Ireland, in which he takes much interest.

CHIRK CASTLE,

The noble residence of Colonel Myddelton Biddulph, is situated near to Chirk, on elevated ground on the Berwyn range of hills, commanding delightful views of the surrounding scenery. It is a bold castellated mansion, built of grey stone, partly mantled with ivy, and is supposed to have been erected on the site of an ancient fortress called by the Welsh _Castell Crogen_, near which, as is recorded, the celebrated Battle of Crogen took place in 1164, when the Welsh fought with more than their usual bravery against Henry II., for the recovery of their independence. The present castle was built in the reign of Edward I. by Roger Mortimer, son of Roger, Baron of Wigmore, to whom the king had granted the united lordship of Chirk and Nanheudwy.

[Picture: Chirk Castle]

The Castle continued in the hands of the Mortimer family but a short period, it being sold by John, grandson of Roger Mortimer, to Richard Fitz-Alan, Earl of Arundel, whose family possessed it for three generations. It afterwards passed to Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk and Justice of North Wales, Chester, and Flint, in right of his wife, Elizabeth, eldest sister to Thomas, Earl of Arundel. It then devolved upon the Beauchamp and Neville families, and afterwards became the property of Sir William Stanley, together with Holt Castle. Henry VIII. bestowed it upon his natural son, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset; in the following reign it was granted to Thomas, Lord Seymour, brother to the Protector Somerset. Queen Elizabeth granted it to her favourite Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and on his death it became the property of Lord St. John, of Bletso, whose son, in 1595, sold it to Sir Thomas Myddelton, Knight, Lord Mayor of London, in a branch of whose family it still remains.

It is stated that the erection of the Castle was begun in 1011, and finished in 1013. The building partakes both of the castle and mansion, the form quadrangular, the angles being strengthened with bastion-like towers, each surmounted by a small turret. The principal entrance, through a fifth massive arched tower, is at the north front, leading into a court-yard 160 feet long by 100 broad. Around this are ranged the different apartments, and the east side is ornamented by a handsome colonnaded piazza. The north and east wings are occupied by the family, and the south and west given up to the offices. The most remarkable of the apartments are, a saloon of sixty feet by thirty, lighted by three large mullioned windows looking towards the court; a drawing-room thirty feet square; and an oak gallery, extending the whole length of the west wing, one hundred feet by twenty-two, leading to the chapel. The ceilings throughout are ornamented by rich plaster work, and the rooms display a large collection of paintings. Among the portraits are those of the Myddelton family, Sir Orlando Bridgeman, the Duke of Ormond, and his son Lord Ossory, the Countess of Warwick, daughter of the fourth Sir Thomas Myddelton, and afterwards wife to the celebrated Addison, author of the “_Spectator_” and other classic writings. Among the landscapes there is a view of the admired water-fall, _Pistill Rhaiadr_, in Montgomeryshire, represented as falling into the sea. Of this work of art a pleasant story is told. The artist employed in taking the view was a foreigner, to whom it was hinted, when he had nearly finished the picture, that the addition of a few sheep would add to the effect. The painter replied, “you want some _sheeps in it_. O! O! ver veil. I vill put you some _sheeps_ it.” He then introduced the sea, and with it several _ships_! The picture being thus ludicrously transformed, it was allowed to remain in its altered state as an artistic curiosity; and the visitor when inspecting it is sure to have his risible muscles disturbed by so droll a metamorphosis. The gallery contains several old cabinets, the work probably of Italian or French Artists; one, an exceedingly handsome one, a gift from Charles II. to the brave Sir Thomas Myddelton.

The history of the Myddelton family is one of national interest. There were four Sir Thomas Myddeltons at Chirk Castle, the two former knights, and the two latter baronets. The first Sir Thomas was Lord Mayor of London when his brother, the celebrated Hugh Myddelton, was knighted for bringing the new river into the Metropolis. The second Sir Thomas served in Parliament for the county of Denbigh, and took arms in its support when he was fifty-seven years old. For his services at Oswestry, Montgomery, and Holt, in 1643–4, he received the thanks of Parliament through the Speaker. When he engaged in the service of the Parliament his own castle became garrisoned for the king, and the veteran knight was compelled to besiege it with all his force. It remained, however, in the hands of the royalists till February 1646, when Sir John Watts, the governor, quitted it, and was captured, with his men, at Churchstoke, Montgomeryshire. Sir Thomas Myddelton, some ten years afterwards, abandoned the parliamentary cause, and took up arms with Sir George Booth, a Cheshire general, to restore the monarchy, and place Charles II. on the throne. The royalists were few in number, and easily defeated, by Lambert, who retook Chester, and made Sir George Booth prisoner. He then laid siege to Chirk Castle, which, after a sharp resistance, was surrendered by Sir Thomas Myddelton, who deemed it useless, he said, to oppose the whole kingdom. A resolution was passed in parliament, authorizing Lambert to demolish the Castle; but, Cromwell dying the same year, the threatened destruction did not take place. The damage and loss sustained at Chirk Castle, during the usurpation, are said to have amounted to £130,000. Such was the reward which the veteran Sir Thomas Myddelton received for his patriotism. His fate resembled that of his co-patriot, Major-General Mytton, but was somewhat more disastrous.

Sir Thomas’s son, of the same name, was made a baronet at the Restoration. The son died in 1663, his father surviving him three years, when he died at the age of 80 years. His grandson, the fourth Sir Thomas, and the second baronet, married twice. By his second wife, Charlotte, daughter of the Lord-Keeper Bridgeman, he had an only daughter, Charlotte, who married first to the Earl of Warwick, and secondly to Addison, as already mentioned. Their daughter, Miss Addison, died unmarried. The baronetage became extinct at the death of Sir William, son of Sir Richard, brother to the last Sir Thomas, Sir William having died unmarried in 1718. The estate, by the entailment, came to Robert Myddelton, eldest son of Richard, the third son of Sir Thomas, the soldier. He, dying without issue, was succeeded by his brother John, father of Richard, father of Richard Myddelton, Esq., for many years M.P. for the Denbigh boroughs, who died unmarried in 1796. The estate was afterwards divided among his three sisters. The eldest, Mrs. Myddelton Biddulph, had for her share Chirk Castle and its domain, and it is now in the possession, as before stated, of her son, Col. Myddelton Biddulph. The second sister, Maria, who married the Hon. Frederick West, brother of the late Earl of Delawarr, had for her portion the property in Llangollen, Rhuabon, Wrexham, and Holt. The third sister had for her portion Ruthin Castle with its demesnes, and died unmarried; her property, with that of the Hon. F. West, came into possession of his son, Frederick Richard West, Esq., M.P. for the Denbigh Boroughs, who now resides at Ruthin Castle, a portion of which has been re-built, and the whole greatly embellished under his tasteful superintendence.

Chirk Castle is among the most interesting and oldest-inhabited feudal buildings in the kingdom. Its

“Towers, unmodernized by tasteless art, remain Still unsubdued by time.”

The family have hitherto protected it from injury, as it has been repaired with care and skill where much decay or damage had presented itself, but in no degree to impair its original character. Within the last few years considerable improvements and alterations have been made in it, under the direction and superintendence of the late Mr. Pugin. The lower apartments are of the pure gothic of the fifteenth century. The large rooms are in the style of Francois the First. The bed in which Charles I. slept when he visited Chirk Castle, in his “utmost need,” in 1646, is still shown in a room adjoining the gallery. The south-west wing has undergone little if any alteration by modern art, and there may still be traced the architecture of the period in which the fortress was erected.

The large estate surrounding the Castle has been much improved by Col. Myddelton Biddulph; the grounds and noble trees that ornament it are kept in excellent order, and the farms upon the property are all in a nourishing and healthy condition.

Col. Myddelton Biddulph is Lord Lieutenant of the county of Denbigh, and representative also for the shire.

HALSTON,

The seat of Edmund Wright, Esq., was for several centuries the property of the Myttons. It is situated within a mile of Whittington, on the Oswestry and Ellesmere turnpike road. It is called in ancient deeds _Haly-stone_ or _Holy-stone_. Near the house stood the abbey, taken down about a century and a half ago. The Rev. Peter Roberts says, “That it had been a sanctuary is evident. Meyric Lloyd, lord of some part of _Uwch Ales_, in the reign of Richard I., would not yield subjection to the English Government, under which the Hundred of Dyffryn Clwyd and several others were then, and having taken some English officers that came there to execute the law, (which was contrary to the customs of the Britons,) hanged some and killed others. For this act he forfeited his lands to the king, fled, and _took sanctuary_ at Halston, where (for his notable enterprises and merited chivalry,) he was taken under the protection of its possessor, John Fitz-Alan, Earl of Arundel, ‘who made him general of the army in the besieging of Aeon, in Asia, anno dom. 1190, where he behaved himself,’ as Reynolds informs us, ‘with such dexterous attempts as were admirable to the spectators.’” [See his exploits further recorded in our notice of “Llanforda.”]

[Picture: Halston]

In the Saxon era the Lordship of Halston belonged to Edric, at which time there were on the property two Welshmen and one Frenchman. After the Conquest Halston became the property of an Earl of Arundel, or of Robert, Earl of Shrewsbury, and was afterwards bestowed on the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. In the 26th Henry VIII. the commandry was valued at £160 14s. 10d. a year. On the abolition of many of the military-religious orders and monasteries, Henry empowered John Sewster, Esq., Scutifer, and afterwards allowed him to dispose of this manor to Alan Horde, who made an exchange with, or sold it to Edward Mytton, Esq., of Habberly, ancestor to the present John Mytton, Esq. This alienation was subsequently confirmed by Queen Elizabeth.

In a manuscript account of Halston, written in 1821 by the late Rev. C. A. A. Lloyd, we find the following description:—

“The Manor of Halston is extra-parochial. The Mansion-house of Halston was formerly situated near the chapel, but in the year 1690 it was removed to its present situation, which is on an elevated spot of ground rising out of an extensive flat, and formerly subject to frequent floods. The grandfather of the present owner (the late John Mytton, Esq.,) was a gentleman of great spirit and enterprise, and at considerable trouble and expense drained vast tracts of the low ground, which rendered the neighbourhood more healthy. The river Perry here forms several islands, and its shores are shaded by oaks, perhaps the finest in the country.”

After describing the pictures and books at Halston at the time he was writing, he adds,

“Mr. W. Mytton was engaged for many years in collecting materials for a History of the County, but unfortunately died before he arranged them. Among the collection is a manuscript copy of the History of the County, by Mr. E. Lloyd, of Trenewydd, which Mr. Pennant, by some blunder, mistook for Mr. Mytton’s.”

The Chapel of Halston is a donative, without any other revenue than what the chaplain is allowed by the owner, and is of exempt jurisdiction.

The Mytton family are of great antiquity, and their connection with Shrewsbury is of remote date. The late John Mytton, Esq., sold, among other property belonging to him in that town, a field called the “Chapel Yard,” on Coton Hill. When Leland visited Shrewsbury the Myttons lived on Coton Hill. In the bailiff’s accounts for a year from Michaelmas, 2nd Richard III., among rents in decasu (in decay) is one “Procapella de Coten Thome Mytton,” the sum defaced; and his descendant Thomas Mytton, Esq., was rated for it to the poor as late as 1686. Major-General Thomas Mytton, the great parliamentary commander in the Civil Wars, was a descendant of the Myttons of Shrewsbury. Halston was his birth-place, and he resided there for many years. He was a zealous and untiring leader of the parliament forces under the Commonwealth, and gave his days and nights to the Protector’s cause; but he lived long enough to realize the truth of the poet’s exclamation,

“How wretched is the man that hangs on Princes’ favours!”

He saw men of inferior talent, but ostentatious in profession, placed over him in rank, and had to suffer the penalty which many others paid for their attachment to Cromwell—the neglect and indifference of the party whom he had so long delighted to serve, and the favour of the Protector extended to sycophants and flatterers.

The late John Mytton, Esq., was the last member but one of the family who possessed the Halston estates. This unfortunate gentleman passed a brief life in folly and dissipation, and closed his existence with an unenviable notoriety. On reaching his majority he found himself the owner of immense wealth, in money and landed property. Under pernicious influences he plunged into extravagance, recklessly squandered away his patrimony, and in a few years became the inmate of a gaol,

“Deserted at his utmost need, By those his former bounty fed.”

He drew his last breath within the gloomy walls of a prison, at the early age of thirty-eight, and was interred, with his ancestors, in the burial-ground at Halston Chapel.

It is painful to advert to so lamentable a career and so distressing an end. But, whilst we point to Mr. Mytton’s ruinous habits, we cannot withhold the acknowledgment that he had redeeming qualities. Like most men of his pursuits, he often found the means he possessed too limited for his own wants; yet occasionally he would perform noble and generous deeds, that might be classed with the purest benevolence. His mental calibre was of no common order. Had he been rightly disciplined in his youth, and trained to habits of self-denial and literary improvement, his life might have been honourable, and extended to a good old age. “It was the misfortune of John Mytton,” as a county historian observes, “to lose his father in his infancy, and it is remarkable that the heirs of the house of Halston have for several generations been orphans.”

Mr. Mytton was High Sheriff of Salop in 1823, and represented Shrewsbury in the last parliament of George III., being elected May 23rd, 1819. He was a candidate the second time for the same borough, in March, 1820, the other candidates being Panton Corbet, Esq., and the Hon. Henry Grey Bennett, but was then defeated. His Parliamentary career was therefore but of short duration; but brief and useless as it was, it cost him many thousand pounds, to raise which a large portion of his Shrewsbury and other property had to be sold.

Mr. Mytton married in 1818, soon after he became of age, a daughter of Sir Thomas Jones, and sister of the late Sir Thomas John Tyrwhitt Jones, of Stanley Hall, near Bridgenorth, by whom he had one daughter only, who is now the wife of Captain Clement Hill, a brother of Lord Hill. Mrs. Mytton died in 1820, and in the following year he married Caroline, one of the daughters of Thomas Giffard, Esq., of Chillington, in the county of Stafford, by whom he had an eldest son John, (who sold the Halston estate to Mr. Wright,) and several other children. Mrs. Mytton survived her husband, but at her death, although from Mr. Mytton’s erratic habits she had been compelled to separate herself from him, she was, at her own request, laid in the grave at Halston by his side.

The Halston Estate was purchased in April 1847 by the late Edmund Wright, Esq., of Manchester, from the present Mr. Mytton. The property was offered for sale by auction on the 13th of that month, at Dee’s Royal Hotel, Birmingham. At Mr. Wright’s death it came into the possession of his son, Edmund Wright, Esq., the present worthy owner. Since his possession of the estate he has greatly improved it. Additions have been made to the house, and he has otherwise rendered it more convenient and ornamental. The park has been thoroughly drained, four feet in depth, within the last three or four years, the main drain being carried underneath the upper pool, by which means an ample fall for the efficient working of the drain is secured.

KNOCKIN.