Transcribed from the 1890 Phillipson & Golder edition by David Price, ccx074@pglaf.org



The Hawarden Visitors' Hand-Book.

REVISED EDITION. 1890.

Chester: PRINTED FOR THE COMPILER BY PHILLIPSON & GOLDER, EASTGATE ROW.

{W. Gladstone. Photographed by John Moffat, Edinburgh. 1884: p0.jpg}

ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.



Note as to the Illustrations.

The Views of the Castle Gate and of Broughton Lodge are taken from Blocks kindly lent for the purpose of this publication by the Proprietor of the Leisure Hour. And for the View of the House and Flower-garden I am indebted to the courtesy of the Proprietors of Harpers Magazine.

W. H. G.



Regulations as to Hawarden Park and Old Castle.

Visitors are allowed to use the Gravel Drives through the Park and Wood between Noon and Sunset.

Persons exceeding this permission and not keeping to the Carriage Road will be deemed Trespassers.

The Park is closed on Good Friday and Whit-Monday.

Dogs not admitted.

Excursion parties can only be received by special permission, and not later in the year than the first Monday in August.

The House is in no case shown.



Hawarden Village and Manor.

Hawarden, in Flintshire, lies 6 miles West of Chester, at a height of 250 feet, overlooking a large tract of Cheshire and the Estuary of the Dee. It is now in direct communication with the Railway world by the opening of the Hawarden and Wirral lines. It is also easily reached from Sandycroft Station, or from Queen's Ferry, (1.5 m.)—whence the Church is plainly seen—or again from Broughton Hall Station (2.25m.). The Glynne Arms offers plain but comfortable accommodation. There are also some smaller hostelries, and a Coffee House called "The Welcome."

The Village consists of a single street, about half a mile in length. Two Crosses formerly stood in it; the Upper and the Lower, destroyed in 1641. The site of the Lower Cross, at the eastern end, is marked by a Lime tree planted in 1742. Here stood the Parish Stocks, long since perished. More durable, but grotesque in its affectation of Grecian architecture, may be seen close by, the old House of Correction. This spot is still called the Cross Tree.

The Fountain opposite the Glynne Arms is designed as a Memorial of the Golden Wedding of the Right Hon. W. E. and Mrs. Gladstone. A little lower down is the new Police Office; and further on is the Institute, containing mineralogical and other specimens, together with a good popular library.

In Doomsday Book, Hawarden appears as a Lordship, with a church, two ploughlands—half of one belonging to the church—half an acre of meadow, a wood two leagues long and half a league broad. The whole was valued at 40 shillings; yet on all this were but four villeyns, six boors, and four slaves: so low was the state of population. It was a chief manor, and the capital one of the Hundred of Atiscross, extending from the Dee to the Vale of Clwyd, and forming part of Cheshire.

The name is variously spelt in the old records. In Doomsday Book it is Haordine; elsewhere it is Weorden or Haweorden, Harden, HaWordin, Hauwerthyn, Hawardin and Hawardine. It is pretty clearly derived from the Welsh Din or Dinas, castle on a hill (although some attribute to it a Saxon derivation), and was no doubt, like the mound called Truman's Hill, west of the church, in the earliest times a British fortification.

No Welsh is spoken in Hawarden. By the construction of Offa's Dyke about A.D. 790, stretching from the Dee to the Wye and passing westwards of Hawarden, the place came into the Kingdom of Mercia, and at the time of the Invasion from Normandy is found in the possession of the gallant Edwin. It would appear, however, from the following story, derived, according to Willett's History of Hawarden, from a Saxon MS., that in the tenth century the Welsh were in possession.

"In the sixth year of the reign of Conan, King of North Wales, there was in the Christian Temple at a place called Harden, in the Kingdom of North Wales, a Roodloft, in which was placed an image of the Virgin Mary, with a very large cross, which was in the hands of the image, called Holy Rood. About this time there happened a very hot and dry summer; so dry that there was not grass for the cattle; upon which most of the inhabitants went and prayed to the image or Holy Rood, that it would cause it to rain, but to no purpose. Among the rest, the Lady Trawst (whose husband's name was Sytsylht, a nobleman and governor of Harden Castle) went to pray to the said Holy Rood, and she praying earnestly and long, the image or Holy Rood fell down upon her head and killed her; upon which a great uproar was raised, and it was concluded and resolved upon to try the said image for the murder of the said Lady Trawst, and a jury was summoned for this purpose, whose names were as follows:—

Hincot of Hancot, Span of Mancot, Leech and Leach, and Cumberbeach. Peet and Pate, with Corbin of the gate, Milling and Hughet, with Gill and Pughet."

The Jury—so continues the story—found the Holy Rood guilty of wilful murder, and the sentence was proposed that she should be hanged. This was opposed by Span, who suggested that, as they wanted rain, it would be best to drown her. This, again, was objected to by Corbin, who advised to lay her on the sands of the river and see what became of her. This was done, with the result that the image was carried by the tide to some low land near the wall of Caerleon—(supposed to be Chester)—where it was found by the Cestrians drowned and dead, and by them buried at the gate where found, with this inscription:—

The Jews their God did crucify, The Hardeners theirs did drown, 'Cos, with their wants she'd not comply, And lies under this cold stone.

Hence the said low land, or island, as it may have been, is supposed to have got the name of the Rood-Eye, or Roodee as at present.

After the Conquest, Hawarden was included in the vast grant made by William to his kinsman, Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, which included Cheshire and all the seaboard as far as Conway. The Earl had his residence at Chester, and there held his Courts and Parliament. His sword of dignity, referred to in the heading of Common Law Indictments, is preserved in the British Museum. Among the earliest residents at Hawarden occurs the name of Roger Fitzvalence, son of one of the Conqueror's followers; subsequently it continued in the possession of the Earls of Chester till the death of Ranulf de Blundeville, the last earl, in 1231, when, with Castle Rising and the 'Earl's Half' in Coventry, it passed, through his sister Mabel, to her descendants, the Montalts.

The Barons de Monte Alto, sometimes styled de Moaldis or Mohaut (now Mold, 6 miles from Hawarden, where the mound of the castle remains), were hereditary seneschals of Chester and lords of Mold. Roger de Montalt inherited Hawarden, Coventry, and Castle Rising, and married Julian, daughter of Roger de Clifford, Justiciary of Chester and North Wales, who was captured at the storming of the Castle by Llewelyn, in 1281. Robert de Montalt the last lord, died childless {8} in 1329, when the barony became extinct. He it was who signed the celebrated letter to the Pope in 1300 as Dominus de Hawardyn.

Robert de Montalt bequeathed his estates to Isabella, Queen of Edward II., and Hawarden afterwards passed by exchange, in 1337, to Sir William de Montacute, Earl of Salisbury. From that family it reverted in 1406, by attainder, to the Crown, and in 1411 was granted by Henry IV. to his second son, Thomas, Duke of Clarence. Clarence dying without issue in 1420, it reverted once more to the Crown, but finally, in 1454, passed to Sir Thomas Stanley, Comptroller of the Household and afterwards Lord Stanley, whose son became the first Earl of Derby. In 1495, Henry VII. honoured Hawarden with a visit, and made some residence here for the amusement of stag-hunting, but his primary motive was to soothe the Earl (husband to Margaret, the King's mother) after the ungrateful execution of his brother, Sir William Stanley. {9a}

Hawarden remained in the possession of the Stanleys for nearly 200 years. William, the sixth Earl, when advanced in years, surrendered the property to his son James, reserving to himself 1000 pounds a year, and retiring to a convenient house {9b} near the Dee, spent there the remainder of his life, and died in 1642. James, distinguished for his learning and gallantry, warmly espoused the cause first of Charles I. and afterwards that of his son. Under his roof Charles, when a fugitive, halted on his way from Chester to Denbigh, on Sept. 25, 1645. After the battle of Worcester, in 1657, James was taken prisoner, tried by Court Martial, and executed at Bolton in the same year.

In 1653, the Lordship of Hawarden was purchased from the agents of sequestration by Serjeant (afterwards Chief Justice) Glynne; and in 1661 the sale was confirmed by Charles, Earl of Derby.

The Glynnes are first heard of at Glyn Llivon, in Carnarvonshire, in 1567. They trace their descent, however, much further back, to Cilmin Droed Dhu (Cilmin of the Black Foot), who came into Wales from the North of Britain with his uncle Mervyn, King of the Isle of Man, who married Esyllt, heiress of Conan, King of North Wales, about A.D. 830. The territory allotted to him extended from Carnarvon to beyond Clynnog. Edward Llwyd was the first to assume the name of Glynne, which his descendants continued till the male succession ended in John Glynne, whose daughter and heiress, Frances, married Thomas Wynne of Bodnau, created a baronet in 1742. His son, Sir John, is said to have pulled down the old strong mansion of Cilmin, and erected the present one. His son again, Sir Thomas, was created a Peer of Ireland for his services in the American war, whose descendant is the present Lord Newborough. The father of the Serjeant was Sir William Glynne, Knight, 21st in descent from Cilmin Droed Dhu. The Serjeant early espoused the cause of the popular party, perhaps rather from ambition than from principle. His abilities were soon recognized, and while still young he became High Steward of Westminster and Recorder of London. In 1640 he was elected Member for Westminster as a strong Presbyterian. He was actively concerned in conducting the charge against Lord Strafford. In 1646 he opposed in Parliament Cromwell's Self-denying Ordinance, and was thrown into prison. He found means, however, to get reconciled to Cromwell in 1648, and became one of his Council and Serjeant-at-law. In 1654 he became Chamberlain of Chester, and in the following year succeeded Rolle as Lord Chief Justice—which office he discharged with credit. {10} In 1656 he was returned for Carnarvonshire, and in the Rump Parliament he sat again for Westminster. Meanwhile he contrived to ingratiate himself with the opposite side, and in 1660 we find him assisting on horseback at the coronation of Charles II. He now resigned the Chief Justiceship, made himself very useful in settling legal difficulties consequent upon the usurpation, and became as loyal as any cavalier: the King, as a mark of his favour, {11a} bestowing a baronetcy upon his son in 1661. He possessed Henley Park, {11b} in Surrey, and an estate at Bicester, in Oxfordshire, (of which church, as well as Ambrosden, he was patron) where the family resided. He died at his house in Westminster in 1666, and was buried in a vault beneath the altar of S. Margaret's Church.

His son, Sir William Glynne, the first baronet, sat in Parliament for Woodstock, and died in 1721. It was not till 1723 that the Glynnes moved to Hawarden, from Bicester. An old stone records the building of a house in Broadlane in 1727. In 1732 Sir John Glynne, nephew of Sir William, married Honora Conway, co-heiress with her sister Catherine of the Ravenscrofts of Bretton and Broadlane, an old family connected with Hawarden for many generations. {11c} This lady was the great great grand- daughter of Sir Kenelm Digby, and with her one-half of the Ravenscroft lands came into possession of the Glynnes; the other half in Bretton passing eventually to the Grosvenors. She died in 1769. In 1752 Sir John built a new house at Broadlane, which has since been the residence of the family.

Though not the founder of the family, Sir John Glynne may fairly be considered the founder of the place, and of the estate in its modern sense. Though he sat for five Parliaments for the Borough of Flint, he devoted himself largely to domestic concerns and to the improvement of his property by inclosure, drainage, and otherwise. The present beauty of the Park is in a great measure due to his energy and foresight. Upon the acquisition of Broadlane Hall, he at once took in hand the re-planting of the demesne, {12} first in Broadlane and about the Old Castle, and in 1747 on the Bilberry Hill. He also turned his attention to the developement of the minerals on the estate, and attempted the carriage of coals to Chester by water. He died in 1777.

His Grandson, Sir S. R. Glynne, married in 1806 the Hon. Mary Neville, daughter of Lord Braybrooke and of Catherine, sister to George, Marquess of Buckingham, and by her had four children: Stephen, eighth and last Baronet, born September 22, 1807; Henry, Rector of Hawarden born September 9th, 1810; Catherine, now Mrs. Gladstone, born January 6, 1812; and Mary, afterwards Lady Lyttelton, born July 22, 1813. He died in 1815 at the age of 35 years, and of his children Mrs. Gladstone alone survives. Sir Stephen, the last Baronet, died unmarried in 1874, surviving his brother the Rector only two years; and the Lordship of the Manor, together, by a family arrangement, with the estates, then devolved upon the present owner.

{Catherine Gladstone. Photographed by G. Watmough Webster, Chester: p12.jpg}



The Old Castle.

The Ruins of Hawarden Castle occupy a lofty eminence, guarded on the S. by a steep ravine, and on the other sides by artificial banks and ditches, partly favoured by the formation of the ground. The space so occupied measures about 150 yards in diameter. Upon the summit stands the Keep, towering some 50 feet above the main ward, and some 200 feet above the bottom of the ravine.

"The place presents," says Mr. G. T. Clark, "in a remarkable degree the features of a well-known class of earthworks found both in England and in Normandy. This kind of fortification by mound, bank and ditch was in use in the ninth, tenth, and even in the eleventh centuries, before masonry was general. {13} The mound was crowned with a strong circular house of timber, such as in the Bayeaux tapestry the soldiers are attempting to set on fire. The Court below and the banks beyond the ditches were fenced with palisades and defences of that character."

It was usual after the Conquest to replace these old fortifications with the thick and massive masonry characteristic of Norman Architecture. Hawarden, however, bears no marks of the Norman style though the Keep is unusually substantial. It appears, according to the best authorities, {14} to be the work of one period, and that, probably, the close of the reign of Henry III. or the early part of that of Edward I. Hence Roger Fitzvalence, the first possessor after the Conquest, and the Montalts, who held it by Seneschalship to Hugh Lupus, must have been content to allow the old defences to remain, as any masonry constructed by them could scarcely have been so entirely removed as to show no trace of the style prevalent at the time.

The Keep is circular, 61 feet in diameter, and originally about 40 feet high. The wall is 15 feet thick at the base, and 13 feet at the level of the rampart walk—dimensions of unusual solidity even at the Norman period, and rare indeed in England under Henry III. or the Edwards. The battlements have been replaced by a modern wall, but the junction with the old work may be readily detected. In the Keep were two floors—the lower, no doubt, a store room without fire-place or seat—the upper a state room lighted from three recesses and entered from the portcullis chamber.

Next to this last is the Chapel, or rather Sacrarium, with a cinquefoil- headed doorway, and a small recess for a piscina, with a projecting bracket and fluted foot. Against the West wall is a stone bench, and above it a rude squint through which the elevation of the Host could be seen from the adjoining window recess. Of the two windows, one is square, the other lancet-headed. The altar is modern. There is a mural gallery in the thickness of the wall running round nearly the whole circle of the Keep, and with remarkably strong vaulting.

Descending from the Keep and inclosing the space below, were two walls or curtains, as they are technically called. That on the N. side, 7 feet thick and 25 feet high, is still tolerably perfect, and within it lay the way between the Keep and the main ward. Of the South curtain only a fragment remains attached to the Keep.

The entrance to the court-yard—now the so-called bowling-green—was on the N. side. On the South side, on the first floor (the basement being probably a cellar), was the Hall, 30 feet high from its timber floor to the wall plate. Two lofty windows remain and traces of a third, and between them are the plain chamfered corbel whence sprung the open roof. Below the hall is seen a small ambry or cupboard in the wall.

Outside the curtain on the East side, where the visitor ascends to the Courtyard, are remains of a kitchen and other offices with apartments over, resting upon the scarp of the ditch.

From the N.E. angle of the curtain projects a spur work protected by two curtains, one of which, 4 feet thick and 24 feet high, only remains, with a shouldered postern door opening on the scarp of the ditch at its junction with the main curtain. This spur work was the entrance to the Castle, and contains a deep pit, now called the Dungeon, and a Barbican or Sally-port beyond. The pit is 12 feet deep and measures 27 feet x 10 feet across. It may possibly have served the double purpose of defence and of water supply—there being no other apparent source. In the footbridge across the pit may have been a trap-door, or other means for suddenly breaking communication in case of need. Overhead probably lay the roadway for horsemen with a proper drawbridge. The thickness of the walls indicates their having been built to a considerable height, sufficient probably to form parapets masking the passage of the bridge.

In the mound beyond, or counterscarp, was the gate-house and Barbican, containing a curious fan-shaped chamber up a flight of steps. While the earth-works surrounding the Castle are the oldest part of the fortifications—possibly, thinks Mr. Clark, of the tenth century—the dressed masonry and the different material of the Barbican and Dungeon- pit, together with some of the exterior offices, show them to be of somewhat later date than the main building. They have, in fact, as Mr. Clark remarks, more of an unfinished than a partially destroyed appearance. The squared and jointed stones, so easily removable and ready to hand, {16} proved no doubt a tempting quarry to subsequent owners of Hawarden, who perhaps shared the faults of a period when neither the architectural nor historical value of ancient remains was generally appreciated.

It now remains to trace the history of the Castle, so far as it is known to us.

In 1264 a memorable conference took place within its walls between Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, at which each promised to aid the other in promoting the execution of their respective plans. The King, who, with the Prince of Wales, was the Earl's prisoner, was compelled to renounce his rights, and the Castle was given up to Llewelyn. On the suppression of de Montfort's rebellion the Castle reverted to the Crown, and Llewelyn was called upon by the Papal Legate, Ottoboni, to surrender it. This he at first declined, but being deserted by the Earl, who at the same time, in order to put an end to the conflict, offered to him his daughter Eleanor in marriage agreed afterwards to a treaty by which the Castle was to be destroyed, and Robert de Montalt to be reinstated in the possession of his lands in Hawarden, but to be restrained from restoring the fortification for thirty years.

This stipulation appears to have been violated, for in 1281 the Welsh rebelled, and under David and Llewelyn (who then made up their quarrel), an attack was made by night upon the Castle, then styled Castrum Regis, which was successful. Roger de Clifford, Justiciary of Chester, was taken prisoner, and the Castle with much bloodshed and cruelty stormed and partly burnt on Palm Sunday. The outrage was repeated in the next year (Nov. 6th, 1282), when the Justice's elder son, also Roger Clifford, was slain. Soon after this Llewelyn died, Wales was entirely subjugated, and David executed as a traitor.

To this period may most probably be assigned the present structure. A Keep, such as that now standing is not likely to have been successfully assaulted in two successive years; nor does internal evidence favour the idea that it was the actual work taken by the Welsh. Robert, the last of the Montalts, was a wealthy man, and in all probability it was during his Lordship, between 1297 and 1329, that the Castle, as we now see it, was built. Though the unusual thickness of the walls of the Keep might be thought more in keeping with the Norman period, the general details, as already stated, the polygonal mural gallery and interior, and the entrance, evidently parts of the original work, are very decidedly Edwardian.

Of the subsequent history of the Castle, we have unfortunately nothing to record until we come to the Civil War between Charles the First and the Parliament. On Nov. 11th, 1643, Sir William Brereton, who had declared for the Parliament, appeared with his adherents at Hawarden Castle, where he was welcomed by Robert Ravenscroft and John Aldersey, who had charge of it in the name of the King. Sir William established himself in the Castle, and harassed the garrison of Chester, which was for the King, by cutting off the supplies of coals, corn and other provisions, which they had formerly drawn from the neighbourhood. Meanwhile the Archbishop of York, writing from Conway to the Duke of Ormond announced the betrayal of the Castle and appealed for assistance. In response to this a force from Ireland was landed at Mostyn in the same month, and employed to reduce the fortress, garrisoned by 120 men of Sir Thomas Middleton's Regiment. The garrison received by a trumpet a verbal summons to surrender, which gave occasion to a correspondence, followed by a further and more peremptory summons from Captain Thomas Sandford, which ran as follows:—

Gentlemen: I presume you very well know or have heard of my condition and disposition; and that I neither give nor take quarter. I am now with my Firelocks (who never yet neglected opportunity to correct rebels) ready to use you as I have done the Irish; but loth I am to spill my countrymen's blood: wherefore by these I advise you to your fealty and obedience towards his Majesty; and show yourselves faithful subjects, by delivering the Castle into my hands for His Majesty's use—otherwise if you put me to the least trouble or loss of blood to force you, expect no quarter for man woman or child. I hear you have some of our late Irish army in your company: they very well know me and that my Firelocks use not to parley. Be not unadvised, but think of your liberty, for I vow all hopes of relief are taken from you; and our intents are not to starve you but to batter and storm you and then hang you all, and follow the rest of that rebellious crewe. I am no bread-and-cheese rogue, but as ever a Loyalist, and will ever be while I can write or name

THOMAS SANDFORD, Nov, 28, 1643. Captain of Firelocks.

I expect your speedy answer this Tuesday night at Broadlane Hall, where I am now, your near neighbour.

Reinforcements having arrived from Chester, this was followed by a brisk attack on the 3rd December, whereupon the garrison being short of provisions, a white flag was hung out from the walls, and the Castle surrendered on the following day to Sir Michael Emley. It was held by the Royalists for two years, but after the surrender of Chester, in Feb. 1646, Sir William Neal, the governor, capitulated (after receiving the King's sanction—then at Oxford—) to Major-General Mytton after a month's siege. It was probably during these operations that the specimens of stone and iron cannon balls still remaining were used.

An entry in the Commons' Journals refers to this last event, dated 16th March, 1645.

Ordered: That Mr. Fogge the Minister shall have the sum of 50 pounds bestowed upon him for his pains in bringing the good news of the taking of the Castle of Hawarden; and that the Committee of Lords and Commons for advance of Moneys at Haberdashers' Hall do pay the same accordingly.

The Lords' concurrence to be desired herein.

In the following year there is an Order "That the Castles of Hawarden, Flint, and Ruthland be disgarrisoned and demolished, all but a tower in Flint Castle, to be reserved for a gaol for the County"; and a confirmation of it follows in the next year, dated 19th July, 1647.

These orders were no doubt forthwith executed, and of Flint and Rhuddlan little now remains. At Hawarden gunpowder has been used to blow up portions of the Keep. Sir William Glynne, son of the Chief Justice, twenty or thirty years later, carried further the work of destruction. Sir John Glynne, too, is said to have made free with the materials of the Castle, and certain it is that a vast amount has been carted away and used up in walls and for other purposes. His successors, however, have done their utmost to make amends for these ravages, and to preserve the ruins from further injury. The entrance and the winding stair by which the visitor mounts to the top of the Keep are a restoration skilfully effected not long ago under the direction of Mr. Shaw of Saddleworth. The view embraces a wide range of country, North, East, and South, extending from Liverpool to the Wrekin: on the West it is bounded by Moel Fammau or Queen Mountain, on the summit of which is seen the remnant of the fallen obelisk raised to commemorate the 50th year of the reign of George III. Round about lie the Woods and the Park, presenting a happy mixture of wild and pastoral beauty; while close beneath the Old stands the New Castle, affecting in its turreted outline some degree of congruity with its prototype, but much more contrasting with it in its home-like air, and the luxury of its lawns and flower-beds.

Not less striking is the view of the Ruins from below. Here judgment and taste have combined with great natural advantages of position to produce an exceedingly picturesque effect. From the flower garden a wide sweep of lawn, flanked by majestic oaks and beeches, carries the eye up to the foot-bridge crossing the moat, thence to the ivy-mantled walls which overhang it, and upward again to the flag-topt tower that crowns the height. Clusters of ivy, and foliage here and there intervening, serve to soften and beautify the mouldering remains. The scene brings to our minds the words of the poet—

"The old order changeth, yielding place to new";

and, conscious as we may be that society in our day has its dangers and disorders of a different and more insidious kind, we are thankful that our lot is not cast in the harsh and troublous times of our history. All around us the former scenes of rapine and violence are changed to fertility and peace. The Old Castle serves well to illustrate the contrast. Its hugely solid walls, reared 600 years ago with so much pains and skill to repel the invader and to overawe the lawless, have played their part, and are themselves abandoned to solitude and decay. Within the arches which once echoed to the clang of arms the owls have their home; while the rooks from the tree-tops around seem to chant the requiem of the past.

{Ruins of Old Castle: p21.jpg}



The Church.

{The Church: p22.jpg}

Hawarden Church, with its large graveyard attached, finely situated overlooking the estuary of the Dee, is supposed to have been built about A.D. 1275, and has much solidity and dignity of structure. The patron saint is S. Deiniol, founder of the Collegiate monastery at Bangor, and about A.D. 550 made first Bishop of that See. In the old records he is styled one of the three "Gwynvebydd" or holy men of the Isle of Britain. He was buried in Bardsey Island. A place still called "Daniel's Ash"—perhaps a corruption of Deiniol—may be the very spot where he gathered his disciples round him. Two Dedication festivals are observed, the one on S. Deiniol's Day, December 10th, the other on the Sunday after Holy Cross Day, September 14th. The Church has a central tower containing six bells, {23a} a chancel with a south aisle called the Whitley Chancel (after the Whitleys of Aston), and a nave with blind clerestory and two aisles. There is a division in the roof between the chancel and the nave which has the appearance of a transept, but not extended beyond the line of the aisles. The axis of the chancel deviates from that of the nave.

In 1764 the nave and aisles were newly pewed in place of the old benches, and the floor flagged instead of being strewn with rushes. In 1810 a gallery was erected at the west end and an organ placed in it; the gallery was enlarged and a new organ purchased in 1836. {23b}

Great improvements were made about the year 1855 by the Rev. Henry Glynne, Rector: the organ and singers were removed from the west to the east end, the pews converted into open seats, and the cumbrous "three decker" pulpit and reading desk {24a} exchanged for simpler furniture. Unfortunately on the 29th October, 1857, a disastrous fire occurred, almost entirely destroying the roof and fittings of the Church. Its restoration was at once placed in the hands of Sir Gilbert Scott, architect, who improved the occasion by adding the small spire which now with excellent effect crowns the otherwise somewhat stunted tower. An organ chamber was now added on the N. side of the chancel, and on the 14th July, 1859, with Sermons from the late Bishop Wilberforce, Dean Hook and others, the Church was re-opened. The whole expenditure was about 8000 pounds.

The Reredos is a representation of the Last Supper in alabaster, and was erected as a memorial to the Rev. Henry Glynne, Rector of the Parish for 38 years. In the side chancel {24b} under the 'Vine' window, is a recumbent figure of his brother, Sir Stephen Glynne, who died two years later in 1874—a beautiful work by Noble. To his memory also were given by the parishioners the wrought-iron gates at the main entrance to the Churchyard.

Upon the altar table stands a handsome brass cross mounted on rosso antico the gift of the parishioners to the present Rector. The old Communion plate was twice stolen, viz., on April 13th, 1821, when it was recovered, being found beaten flat and buried near the Higher Ferry; and finally in 1859. The Churchyard was enlarged in 1859, by gift of the late Rector. The old Cross which stood in the Churchyard in 1663, has disappeared: possibly the Sun-dial now occupies its place.

The Parish Register dates from the year 1585; and the list of Rectors goes back to 1180.

The Living is what is termed 'a Peculiar,' and was formerly exempt from Episcopal jurisdiction. The Rectors granted marriage licenses, proved wills, and had their own consistorial Courts and Proctors. The Court was held in the Eastern Bay of the Chancel Aisle: the seal, still used, represents Daniel in the Lion's Den, with the legend 'Sigillum peculiaris et exemptae jurisdictionis de Hawarden'. These privileges, originally granted by the Pope, were continued at the Reformation; but in 1849 the Parish was definitely attached to the Diocese of S. Asaph, and the power of granting marriage licenses now alone remains.

The Tithes were in 1093, granted by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, to the Monks of S. Werburgh. In 1288 Pope Nicholas the 3rd, granted them to King Edward the 1st, for six years. They were then valued at 13 pounds 6s. 8d. At the Reformation they were estimated at 66 pounds 6s. 5.5d.

The Rectory was greatly enlarged by the Hon. George Neville Grenville, Rector from 1814 to 1834, and afterwards Dean of Windsor. The garden comprises nearly six acres and is charmingly laid out.

A list of Rectors of Hawarden is appended. Up to the middle of the 15th century exchanges were very frequent.

1180. William de Montalt

1209. Ralph de Montalt

1216. Hugh William

1272. Roger Richard de Osgodly

1315. William de Melton

1317. John Walewayn

1331. Thomas de Boynton

1333. Roger de Gildesburgh

1344. John de Baddeley

1350. James de Audlegh

1353. John Bexsyn

1357. Robert de Coningham

1368. William Pectoo

1391. Roger de Davenport Henry Merston

1423. Marmaduke Lumley

1425. John Millyngton

1466. James Stanley

1478. Matthew Fowler

1487. James Stanley

1505. Randolph Pool

1557. Arthur Swift

1561. Thomas Jackson

1605. John Phillips D.D.

1633. Thomas Draycott

1636. Robert Browne

1638. Christopher Pasley D.D.

1640. Edward Bold

1655. Lawrence Fogge D.D.

1664. Orlando Fogge

1666. John Price D.D.

1685. Beaumont Percival D.D.

1714. B. Gardiner

1726. Francis Glynne

1728. John Fletcher

1742. Richard Williams

1770. Stephen Glynne

1780. Randolph Crewe

1814. George Neville-Grenville

1834. Henry Glynne

1872. Stephen E. Gladstone

{Interior of Church: p26.jpg}



The Modern Residence and Park.

The modern Residence was built in 1752 upon the site of Broadlane Hall, the seat of the Ravenscrofts, an old house of wood and plaster, which came into Sir John Glynne's possession by his marriage with Honora Conway, daughter of Henry Conway and Honora Ravenscroft. Originally a square brick house, it was afterwards in 1809 extended by the addition of the Library on the West side and of the Kitchen and other offices on the East; the whole being cased in stone {27} and castellated. The entrance was now turned from the S. to the N. front—the turnpike road, which passed in front of the house and along the Moat to the Village, having been diverted in 1804—and the present Flower-garden constructed with the old Thorn-tree in the centre. Quite recently has been added the block at the N.W. angle of the house, containing Mr. Gladstone's Study, or, as he calls it, the 'Temple of Peace.'

{House and Flower Garden: p27.jpg}

The most striking feature about this room is that (to use the phrase of a writer in Harper's Magazine) it is built about with bookcases. Instead of being ranged along the wall in the usual way, they stand out into the room at right angles, each wide enough to hold a double row facing either way. Intervals are left sufficient to give access to the books, and Mr. Gladstone prides himself upon the economy of space obtained by this arrangement. His Library numbers near 20,000 volumes, many of which have overflowed into adjoining rooms, where they are similarly stored. Of this number Theology claims a large proportion; Homer, Dante, {28a} and Shakespeare also have their respective departments, and any resident visitor is at liberty, on entering his or her name in a book kept for the purpose, to borrow any volume at pleasure. Three writing-tables are seen. At one Mr. Gladstone sits when busy in political work and correspondence; the second is reserved for literary and especially, Homeric studies; the third is Mrs. Gladstone's. "It is," remarked Mr. Gladstone to the writer above mentioned, with a wistful glance at the table where 'Vaticanism' and 'Juventus Mundi' were written, "A long time since I sat there." About the room are to be seen busts and photographs of old friends and colleagues—Sidney Herbert, the Duke of Newcastle, Canning, Tennyson, Lord Richard Cavendish, and others, while in the corners lurk numerous walking sticks and axes.

Adjoining Mr. Gladstone's room is the Library of the house—a well-proportioned and comfortable room, well stored with books, prominent among which topography and ecclesiology testify to the predelictions of the late owner, Sir Stephen Glynne. {28b} There are some good family portraits and other pictures, among which are specimens of Sir Peter Lely, Snyders, and a very fine likeness of Sir Kenelm Digby by Vandyke. There is a fine picture by Millais of Mr. Gladstone and his grandson, {29a} painted in 1889, and another good portrait of him by the late F. Holl; also a much-admired likeness of Mrs. Gladstone by Herkomer.

Shading the windows of Mr. Gladstone's Study is a singular circle of limes of some 20 feet in diameter, which goes by the name of Sir John Glynne's Dressing-Room. Mounting the slope towards the old castle is the Broad Walk, terminating in an artificial amphitheatre at the top, made by Sir John Glynne to give employment in a time of distress. The grounds abound in fine trees, {29b} and in rhododendrons which in spring form masses of bloom.

In 1819, Prince Leopold, the late King of the Belgians, visited the Castle; and the small wooden door on the south side of the Ruins is still called after him. The Visitors' Book at the Lodge also records, in autograph, the names of Her Gracious Majesty, as Princess Victoria, and her mother, the Duchess of Kent, in or about the year 1833.

In the palmy days of the Royal British Bowmen the Castle was the frequent scene of bow-meetings; the peculiar green costumes and feathers worn by both the ladies and gentlemen competitors contributing to the picturesque effect of these gatherings. Simultaneously with one of these Archery Meetings, in the year, we believe, 1835, was held a Fancy Bazaar, commemorated in some admirable lines by Mr. R. E. Warburton of Arley Hall, which will be read with pleasure in connection with more recent bazaars held in the same place.

While tents are pitched in Hawarden's peaceful vale, And harmless shafts the platted targe assail; While now the bow (the archers more intent On making love than making war) is bent; Beneath those towers, where erst their fathers drew In deadly conflict bows of tougher yew; Lo! Charity, a native of the skies, Whose smile betrays her through a vain disguise, Mounts the steep hill, and 'neath th' o'erhanging wall, The canvass stretch'd in triumph, plants her stall; In gay profusion o'er the counter pours Her glittering wares and ranges all her stores.

Beneath the magic of her touch behold Transformed at once the warlike aims of old! The mighty falchion to a penknife shrinks, The mailed meshes from the purse's links; The sturdy lance a bodkin now appears, A bunch of tooth-picks once a hundred spears; A painted toy behold the keen-edged axe! See men of iron turned to dolls of wax!

The once broad shield contracted now in span Raised as a screen or fluttered as a fan; The gleaming helm a hollow thimble proves, And weighty gauntlets dwindle into gloves. The plumes that winged the arrow through the sky, Waft to and fro the shuttlecock on high; Two trusty swords are into scissors cross'd, And dinted breastplates are in corsets lost; While dungeon chains to gentler use consigned, Now silken laces, tighten stays behind.

Approach! nor weapons more destructive fear, Where'er ye turn, than pins and needles here. While hobbling Age along the pathway crawls, By aid of crutch to scale the Castle's walls: With eager steps advance, ye generous youths, Draw purses all, and strip the loaded booths. Bear each away some trophy from the steep, Take each a keepsake ere ye quit the keep! Come, every stranger, every guest draw nigh! No peril waits you save from beauty's eye.

Hard by the Castle and across the yard will be found Mrs. Gladstone's Orphanage, containing from 20 to 30 boys. Close by is a little Home of Rest established by Mrs. Gladstone, for old and infirm women. The house in which the orphans are lodged is called Diglane, and was formerly the residence of the Crachley family. It was sold to Sir John Glynne in 1749.

{Gateway—Castle, shewing Orphanage: p31.jpg}

The Park is about 250 acres in extent, to which have to be added the Bilberry Wood and Warren Plantations. It is divided into two parts by a ravine passing immediately under the old Castle and traversing its entire length. The further side is called the Deer Park, inclosed and stocked by Sir John Glynne in 1739. Its banks and glades, richly timbered, and overgrown with bracken, afford from various points beautiful views over the plain of Chester, with the bold projections of the Frodsham and Peckforton hills. Along the bottom of the hollow flows Broughton brook. Two Waterfalls occur in its course through the Park: the lower is called the Ladies' Fall: near the upper one stood a Mill, now removed, the erection of which is commemorated by a large stone, bearing the following inscription:

"Trust in God for Bread, and to the King for Justice, Protection and Peace. This Mill was built A.D. 1767 By Sir John Glynne, Bart., Lord of this Manor: Charles Howard Millwright. Wheat was at this year 9s. and Barley at 5s. 6d. a Bushel. Luxury was at a great height, and Charity extensive, but the pool were starving, riotous, and hanged."

Between this spot and the "Old Lane," a sandy gully, lined with old beeches, and once the road to Wrexham—now tenanted by rabbits—are two large oaks, 17 and 18 feet in circumference respectively. Another tree, a beautiful specimen of the fagus pendula, or feathering beech, a great favourite with Mr. Gladstone, deserves attention. It stands a few yards from the iron railing near the moat of the old Castle, and measures 17ft. 11 in. round. The sycamores at Hawarden are particularly fine. Nor should the visitor omit seeing the noble grove of beeches at the Ladies' Fall.

The road which descends the steep hill under the Old Castle and crosses the brook, leads up through the Park to the Bilberry Wood. Twenty minutes' walk through the wood brings one to the "Top Lodge" (1.75 miles from the Castle). From this point either the walk may be continued through the further plantations to the pretty Church of St. John's at Penymynydd, {32a} or, if necessary Broughton Hall Station, 2.5 miles distant, may be gained direct. The inclosures and the plantations on this portion of the estate, called the Warren, were made in 1798, and command some very fine views. The high road through Pentrobin and Tinkersdale offers a pleasant return route to Hawarden.

Everyone has heard of Mr. Gladstone's prowess as a woodcutter, and to some it may even have been matter of surprise to see no scantiness of trees in the Park at Hawarden. It is true that he attacks trees with the same vigour as he attacks abuses in the body politic, {32b} but he attacks them on the same principle—they are blemishes and not ornaments. No one more scrupulously respects a sound and shapely tree than Mr. Gladstone; and if he is prone to condemn those that show signs of decay, he is always ready to listen to any plea that may be advanced on their behalf by other members of the family. In this, as in other matters, doubtful points will of course arise; but there can be no question that a policy of inert conservatism is an entire mistake. Besides the natural growth and decay of trees, a hundred other causes are ever at work to affect their structure and appearance; and the facts of the landscape, thus continually altering, afford sufficient occupation for the eye and hand of the woodman. It was late in life that Mr. Gladstone took to woodcutting. Tried first as an experiment, it answered so admirably the object of getting the most complete exercise in a short time that, though somewhat slackened of late, it has never been abandoned. His procedure is characteristic. No exercise is taken in the morning, save the daily walk to morning service but between 3 and 4 in the afternoon he sallies forth, axe on shoulder, accompanied by one or more of his sons. The scene of action reached, there is no pottering; the work begins at once, and is carried on with unflagging energy. Blow follows blow, delivered with that skill which his favourite author {33a} reminds us is of more value to the woodman than strength, together with a force and energy that soon tells its tale on the tree

* * * * Illa usque minatur Et tremefacta comam concusso vertice nutat, Vulneribus donec paulatim evicta supremum Congemuit, traxitque jugis avulsa ruinam.

Virgil OEn II. 626

"It still keeps nodding to its doom, Still bows its head and shakes its plume, Till, by degrees o'ercome, one groan It heaves, and on the hill lies prone."

Conington's Translation.

At the advanced age he has now attained, it can hardly be expected that Mr. Gladstone can very frequently indulge in what has been his favourite recreation for the past twenty-five years. The present winter {34} however saw the fall of at least one large tree, in which he took a full share—a Spanish chestnut, measuring 10ft. at the top of the face, and those who were present can testify to the undiminished vigour with which the axe was wielded on that occasion.



Parish and District of Hawarden.

The Parish of Hawarden is a very extensive one, containing upwards of 17,000 acres, with a population, according to the census of 1871, of 7088. Sixteen townships are included in it; Hawarden, Broadlane, Mancot Aston, Shotton, Pentrobin, Moor, Rake, Manor, Bannel, Bretton, Broughton, Ewloe Wood, Ewloe Town, Saltney and Sealand. To provide for the spiritual wants of so large a district, four daughter churches have been built—viz.: S. Matthew's, Buckley, {35a} in 1822, S. Mary's, Broughton, {35b} in 1824, S. Johns, Penymynydd, {35c} in 1843, and S. Bartholomew's, Sealand, in 1867. The work of the Parish Church is now further supplemented by three new School-chapels at Shotton, Sandycroft and Ewloe. The chief portion of Saltney, and the district of Buckley, have been recently separated from Hawarden for ecclesiastical purposes.

{Lodge Gate—Broughton Approach: p35.jpg}

The Rector of Hawarden has also to provide for the management and support of eight National Schools, involving an annual expenditure of 1460 pounds. The requirements of the Education Act of 1870 involved an outlay of 4300 pounds raised entirely from local sources.

The patronage of the living is vested in the Lord of the Manor. {36} The Rev. S. E. Gladstone, the present Rector, was appointed by the late Sir Stephen Glynne in 1872.

The Grammar School is finely situated, near the Church, and has accommodation for 50 scholars, inclusive of 20 boarders. The income from endowment is 24 pounds.

The temporary building adjoining contains a portion of the Library of the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone.

The land about Hawarden varies much in quality. The best lies towards the river and on Saltney, where are large and well cultivated farms. On the higher ground in Pentrobin the soil is poorer; here however are found holdings that have remained in the same family for generations. The land is mainly arable; but little cheese being now made.

About one mile and a half from Hawarden on the road to Northop, lie ensconced in a wood the scant remains of the old Castle of Ewloe—the scene of a battle between the English and Welsh in 1157, in which the former were defeated by David and Conan, sons of Owen Gwynedd.

The district is rich in beds of coal and clay. The former have been worked from an early period when the coal was mostly sent to Chester; but the difficulties of carriage before the turnpike road was made, and especially of draining the mines, which before steam-engines came into use was attempted to be done by means of levels, {37} were a serious impediment to that development which under more favourable conditions has since taken place.

Formerly the only means of getting the minerals of the district away, was a horse tramway from Buckley to Queensferry. In 1862 however was opened the Wrexham and Connah's Quay Railway,—Mrs. Gladstone cutting the first sod, and an address from the Corporation of Wrexham being at the same time presented to Mr. Gladstone, then Chancellor of the Exchequer. This line is now carried through Hawarden, and, when connected with Birkenhead and Liverpool by the Mersey Tunnel, now happily completed, is destined in all probability to become one of importance beyond the limits of the immediate district.

Clay has been extensively worked in Buckley, where the Messrs. Hancock's famous fire-brick is made. Mention may also be made of the white bricks made by the Aston Hall Coal and Brick Company, which are in great favour with builders on account of their powers of resisting the weather and of retaining their colour. A clay, resembling terra cotta when burnt, has also been found on Saltney.

At Sandycroft, on the river bank, are the Ironworks belonging to Messrs. Taylor, where mining and other machinery is made.

The present course of the River below Chester, is called the New Cut, and was completed under Act of Parliament, in 1737, by the River Dee Company, who have lately handed over their interest in the River to a newly formed Conservancy Board. The River, which before wandered over a large tract, was thus confined to the present channel, and a large reclamation of land effected. In compensation for the loss of rights of pasturage, 200 pounds is paid yearly by the Company to Trustees for the benefit of the Freeholders of the Manor of Hawarden; 50 pounds is also paid yearly for the repair of the south bank. This was followed by the inclosure of Saltney Marsh, in 1778.

Possessing as it does a greater depth of water over the bar than the Mersey, and provided with ample railway communication with the great industrial centres, it is probable that the Dee may ere long become a far more important river as a vehicle of commerce than heretofore. Of still more importance to Hawarden is the establishment of direct communication with Liverpool already referred to, in place of the present circuitous route by Chester and Runcorn. By the new Swing Railway Bridge across the Dee, direct access will be given to Birkenhead and Liverpool by the Mersey Tunnel across the Wirral; such communication will not only stimulate and develop to the utmost the natural resources of the district, but will offer residential facilities, beneficial, as it may be hoped, alike to town and country.

{Map of Hawarden: p38.jpg}

PHILLIPSON AND GOLDER, PRINTERS, CHESTER.



Footnotes:

{8} He was buried at Shuldham, in Norfolk.

{9a} Pennant. Sir W. Stanley had rendered the most valuable service to the King at the battle of Bosworth; yet, upon suspicion of his favouring the cause of Perkin Warbeck, the King had him seized at his castle at Holt and beheaded.

{9b} This may have been the house known as "The Manor," now occupied by Mr. Bakewell Bower of the Manor Farm.

{10} See Campbell's Lives of the Chief Justices.

{11a} The Letters Patent recite also the service rendered to the King by the furnishing a sum of money sufficient for the maintenance of thirty soldiers for three years in the Plantation of Ulster.

{11b} Henley Park was left to John Glynne, (son of the Chief Justice by his second wife,) through whom it passed by marriage to Francis Tilney, Esq.

{11c} We find Hugh Ravenscroft mentioned as Steward of the Lordships of Hawarden and Mold, about the year 1440. Thomas Ravenscroft, father of Honora, afterwards Lady Glynne, by his wife Honora Sneyd of Keel Hall, Staffordshire, was a Member of Parliament, and died in 1698, aged 28. There is a monument to him in Hawarden Church.

{12} Pennant learnt that the timber had been valued in 1665 at 5000 pounds and subsequently sold.

{13} Between 1830 and 1840 the Norman Archaeological Society visited the sites of all the Castles of the Barons who had gone over to England with William the Conqueror, and in none of them found any masonry older than the second half of the eleventh century.

{14} e.g. Mr. G. T. Clark and Mr. J. H. Parker, from whom this account is chiefly derived.

{16} The uncommon strength and tenacity of the ancient mortar used in the Castle was especially conspicuous in the Keep prior to the recent restorations. In one place an enormous mass of masonry remained suspended without other support than its own coherence and adhesion. For security this has now been underpinned.

{23a} In 1563 there were five bells. In 1740 they were sold and six new ones purchased from Abel Rudhall of Gloucester, at a cost of 628 pounds. They bear the following inscriptions, with the initials of the maker and the date 1745 in each case:

No. 1. Peace and good neighbourhood.

,, 2. Prosperity to all our benefactors.

,, 3. Prosperity to this Parish.

,, 4. I to the Church the living call, And to the grave do summon all.

,, 5. Geo Hope, Churchwarden. Thos Fox, Sidesman.

,, 6. Abel Rudhall of Gloucester cast us all.

{23b} There is a curious carved oaken slab, 4ft high, surmounted by a cross, which forms part of the present Reading Desk. On the cross is an eagle, with a vine branch and grapes above, and with a scroll in his beak inscribed, In Domino confido. The pillar was probably in commemoration of a maiden daughter of Randolph Pool, Rector in 1537.

{24a} Its peculiarity consisted in its accommodating two officiating clergymen simultaneously. The Clerk's Desk was, as usual, below.

{24b} This Chancel, called the Whitley Chancel, was restored and decorated in 1885, by the munificence of H. Hurlbutt, Esq., of Dee Cottage, from the designs of Mr. Frampton, and under the superintendence of Mr. Douglas, Architect, Chester. The same gentleman erected the Lych Gate at the North entrance to the Churchyard.

{27} From Tinkersdale Quarry.

{28a} Dante is one of the four authors to whom Mr. Gladstone attributes the greatest formative influence on his own mind; the other three being Aristotle, Bishop Butler, and S. Augustine.

{28b} Sir S. Glynne was one of the highest authorities on English Ecclesiology. He visited and described in a series of Note Books, which are carefully preserved, nearly the whole of the old parish churches in the country. His Notes of the Churches of Kent are published by Murray. He died in 1874, at the age of 66. There is a good portrait of him by Roden.

{29a} Eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Gladstone.

{29b} Sir John Glynne has recorded that only one tree was standing about the place in 1730. This is supposed to be the large spreading oak adjoining the Flower Garden.

{32a} This Church contains some noteworthy frescoes and other mural decorations, the work of the Rev. John Troughton, sometime curate in charge.

{32b} A wag is said to have scratched on the stump of a tree at Hawarden the following couplet:

"No matter whether oak or birch— They all go like the Irish Church."

{33a} Homer. Iliad xxili. 315

"By skill far more than strength the woodman fells The sturdy oak." Ld. Derby's Translation

{34} 1889-1890.

{35a} Buckley Church, towards which a grant of 4000 pounds was made by the Commissioners for Church building, was designed by Mr. John Gates of Halifax, and holds 740 persons. The first stone was laid by the youthful hands of Sir S. R. Glynne and his Brother Henry, afterwards Rector, and the Consecration was performed nine months afterwards, by the Bishop of Chester, Dr. Gardiner, Prebendary of Lichfield, preaching the Sermon. The Schools and Parsonage had been previously erected by the exertions of the Hon. and Rev. George Neville Grenville (afterwards Dean of Windsor), at a cost of about 2000 pounds.

{35b} Much improved by the recent addition of a Chancel, the gift of W. Johnson, Esq., of Broughton Hall.

{35c} Built by Sir S. R. Glynne: Vicarage and Schools by Lady Glynne.

{36} In the Journals of the House of Commons occurs the following entry, dated 23rd February, 1646:—"An Ordinance from the Lords for Mr. Bold, a Minister, to be instituted into the Church of Hawarden, in Flintshire."

{37} On the 1st October, 1770, assembled a grand Procession, with coloured cockades, to start the opening of a Level, designed to be driven one mile and three quarters in length and eighty yards deep "in order" (so the notice ran) "to lay dry a body of coal for future ages." The wages were to be, for boys and lads employed about the horses, and windlasses—26 in number, 6d. a day, smiths, carpenters and labourers, above ground generally—42 in number, 1/4 a day, underground laboures 42, Cutters 68 in number, 1/6 a day, underground stewards 10 in number, 1/6 a day.

At this date the price of coal at the pit's mouth was not less than 16/- a ton, or fully double what it is at present. The course of this notable work which effectually drained the Hollin seam of coal may still be traced for a long distance by its succession of ventilating shafts, finally issuing in the ravine called Kearsley, and discharging its waters into the brook.

THE END