I Op Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/severnvalleyseriOOrand THE SEVERN VALLEY: % Btm of SlitttjjK, gestripfik mis litteial, OF THE COUKSE OF THE SEVERN: CONTAINING NOTICES OF ITS TOPOGRAPHICAL, INDUSTRIAL, AND GEOLOGICAL EEATUIiES ; WITH at its pistorkal nnh IT^egenirHrg ^$mmtxonB. BY I RANDALL. LEGEND OF THE SEVERN. LONDON: JAMES S. VIRTUE, CITY ROAD AND IVY LANE. 1862. PREFACE. The Severn is one of five rivers that have their rise on Plinlimmon. In quiet beauty^ as well as in interest attaching to traditional and historical events^ it is not inferior to the most faA^onred of its sister streams; whilst in magnitude it is vastly their superior_, attaining an importance second only to one in the kingdom. It is impossible to have been born upon its banks and not feel an interest in its features. The music of its fords mingles with my earliest recollections ; and rambles by its side have left impressions which have a dewy fresh- ness stilly — a charm that often leads to old haunts^ and a desire to hunt out new aspects. The present volume originated in materials thus col- lected^ — a portion of which has been submitted to the public in the columns of the Shrewsbury Chronicle and Sharpens London Magazine. That portion^ however^ having reference to a very limited district only^ much that was merely local in its interest is now omitted ; iv PKEFACE. and if lengthened descriptions of important towns on the banks of the river^ — such as Shrewsbury^ Wor- cester^ and Gloucester^ — have not been given, it is because all that is additionally interesting respecting them may be found in ordinary Guides and Hand-books, and in order that the proportions of the work might not exceed reasonable limits. The Illustrations have been prepared by Messrs. But- terworth and Heath, and Mr. Wimperis ; excepting a few used in Mr. and Mrs. S. C. HalFs Companion Guide to South Wales, which, by the courtesy of the publishers, have been added. JOHN RANDALL. Jaimarijj 1862. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE Plinlimmon in a Mist— Following the Clywedog — John Bright — Dim Sassenach— Lost in a Bog — Pamllyman — Cairns — Seat of St. Cyric — Openings in the Mist — Magnificent View — Fore- ground and Distance — Source of the Severn — Silence and Sterility — Blaen Hafren — A Mountain Home — Sheep-tending — Alone with Nature — Faint Traces of the Old World's History — The Stone that goes to the River to drink — Hugh Middleton — Woodcock Glens — Mills on the Severn ..... 1 CHAPTER 11. Llanidloes — The stimulus Railways give — Market House — Wattle and Dah— Church of St. Idloes— Abbey of Cwm-hir— The Niche Old Nick has left — Welsh Graveyards — The Severn and the Clywedog — Course of the Severn along the Vale — 'Hills — Families — Beavers— Otters — Trout — Wild Fowl — Dick Kinson, &c. . . 14 CHAPTER III. Llandinam — A balmy Eve — A morning Scene — The Mochtre Twist — Search for Coal — Cefn Carnedd — British Legends — Roman Ruins — The Park — Staple Topics — Farmer of Trefeglwys — Devil's Bridge — Welsh Fairies, Lakes, and Weirs — Former Barriers of the Severn — The Brynn and the Baxters . . 25 vi CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. PAGE Newtown— Newtown Hall — Sir John Pryce and his Wives — Robert Owen's Birthplace — A Chnrch in Ruins — Owen among the Tombs — The Lovers' Grave — Newtown new Church — Vale of Montgomery — A summer morning's Ride — Course of the River through the Vale — A small Hamlet with a long Name — Dolforwyn — Meadow of the Maiden — Abermule — Montgomery — The Camlet and the Rhiew — Forests and former Aspects . 36 CHAPTER V. Welshpool— The Welsh overreached — Powis Castle Park — Battle- ground of Dane and Saxon — Last Battle for Welsh independence — Offa's Dyke — Strata Marcella — Briedden Hills — Geological Features — Historical Associations — Llanymynech Rocks — Con- fluence of the Vyrnwy and the Severn — Salmon Spearing — Still upon the Borders — Alberbury — Old Parr — Loton — Rowton — Shrawardine — Montford Bridge and Montford Bay — The Perry and its Mills — The Isle — Leaton-Knolls — Berwick ^ — Former Aspects of the Severn — Old Sea Bed, Land-locked Lakes, &c. . 50 CHAPTER VI. Shrewsbury — ^Position and Aspect of the Town — Its Origin a Myth — An old Bard's Account — xilternate ascendancy of Celt and Saxon — The Founder of its Castle — The Abbey Church — A cluster of Churches — Domestic Buildings — Guilds and Institutions — Uffingtou and Haughmond — The " Bosky Hill" — The Queen's Bower" — Leap of the Scottish Earl — Sundorne Castle — The Monks of Haughmond — Atcham — St. Eata — The Church — The Bridge — Old Coaching Days — The Lords of Berwick and of Rid ware — Uriconium, its Ruins and Relics .... 75 CHAPTER VII. The Wrekin— Hermit of the Wrekin— The Bladder Stone— The Needle's Eye and Raven's Bowl — Prospect from the Wrekin — Geology of the Wrekin — Legeni of the Wrekin — Eaton Con- stantine — The House where Richard Baxter lived — The Village Green — The Old Church and those who served it — Baxter before CONTENTS. Vll Jefferies — Baxter's Books — Eyton-upon- Severn — Lord Herbert of Chirbury — The Home of the Bradfords — Venus Bank — The DeviFs Causeway — Pitchford, Cound, and Condover — Head of the Royal House of Stuart 92 CHAPTER VIIL The Lady Oak — Cressage — Belswardine — The lost Portrait of Judge Jefferies — Banister's Coppice — Betrayal of the Duke of Bucking- ham — The Villages of Shineton and I^eighton — Great Land-Slip — Present Aspect of the Eiver — The Beauties of Buildwas — The Build was Monks — Privileges and Exemptions — Remains of the Abbey— The Abbey by Moonlight 107 CHAPTER IX. Little Buildwas — Wenlock and Severn Junction Railway — Sinkings in Silurian Rocks for Coal — Lawless Cross — Wenlock, its Buildings and Institutions — The Church — The Abbey — St. Milburg — Lady Godiva — Norman Architecture — Church and Chapter- House — View from Benthall Edge . . . . . .122 CHAPTER X. Coalbrookdale — Walks and Waterfalls — A Village Patriarch — Great Land Flood — The Darbys — Easter Dues — Coalbrookdale Iron Works — Origin of Railways — Casting, Boring, &c. — The Masters and Men: their Institutions . . , . . . .137 CHAPTER XL Coalbrookdale Coal Field — Potency of Iron — Iron Kings — Sir John Guest — Richard Reynolds — The Darbys, &c., &c. . . 144 CHAPTER XII. Ironbridge — Madeley — Origin of Names — The Court House — The Church — King Charles— The Rev. John Fletcher — Broseley — Pipes and Pottery — Tessellated Tiles — Old Works at Caughley — Coalport Porcelain 158 Vlll CONTENTS. OHAPTEH XIII. PAGE Waterfalls, Streams, and Dingles — The Willey Squire — " You all knew Tom Moody"— Tom's Exploits and Last Request — "Bachelor's Hall" — Linley Brook — Bone Bed— Darley Dingle and Frog Mill — Rookery Wood and Chestnut Coppice — Apley Hall and Park — View from the Terrace — Pat's-o'-the-Rock — Stanley Hall— Severn Hall— The Town Mills— The Cemetery . 165 CHAPTER XIV. Bridgnorth — A still-life Picture of an English Town — Hopes of its Inhahitants — Ancient Relics — Churches, Friaries, Mansions — New Red Sandstone everywhere visible — Quatford Castle — Quatford and the Danes — Quatford and the Normans — Legend respecting the Church — Camp Hill — Eardington and the More — Singular Tenure — Dudmaston and Quatt — Chelmarsh, Bil- lingsley, Highley, Stanley, and Areley . . , . .176 CHAPTER XV. From Areley to Bewdley — Woods and former Forests — Cots, Villages, and Towns — Bewdley, its Privileges and Aspects — Villas and Suburban Residences — Winterdyne — Ribbesford — The Black- stone and Redstone Hermits, their Privileges and Patrons . 205 CHAPTER XVI. Areley Kings — Mouth of the Stour — Mills on the Stour — Brindley's Creed and Water- Way — Rapid Rise of Stourport — Hartlebury Common — Hartlebury Village — Hartlebury Church — Hartlebury Castle— The Mitre Oak — Shraw ley — Holt Castle — Bevere Island, &c 211 CHAPTER XVII. Worcester — Aspect of the City from the River — Open Streets — Public Buildings — Edgar's Tower — The Cathedral — Great Men and their Monuments — Cromwell and his Troopers — The Guild- hall — Old Armour— The Scold's Bridle — The Corporation Hall — Fiscal Changes and Staple Trades — Worcester Porcelain . 218 CONTENTS. ix CHAPTER XVIII. PAGE Upton — Uckingshall— Ripple — Primitive Institutions — The Ripple Giant — Curious Carvings — From Worcester to Gloucester — Geological Features — Valleys of the Avon and the Severn — Ancient Remains — The British Woad — The My the — Tewkes- bury — Old Theocus — The Abbey Church — Gothic Architecture — Ancient Buildings — Rival Bellmen — The Avon and the Severn — Deerhurst — The Deerhurst Dragon — Deerhurst Church and Priory — From Deerhurst to Gloucester 226 CHAPTER XIX. Gloucester — ^Early Phases and Pleasant Features — Inns, Hostelries, and Ancient Houses — The old Peg Tankard — Shakespeare's Jug and Cane — Old Churches — Bishop Hooper's Tomb — The Cathedral — Richness of Gothic Architecture .... 240 CHAPTER XX. The Gloucester and Berkeley Canal — " The Old Road" — Minsterworth — Framilode — Fisheries — The Great Horseshoe — Neap Tides — Westbury — Newuham — Historical Associations — The Forest of Dean — Ancient Mines, Iron Works, Customs, &c. . . . 246 CHAPTER XXI. Lyduey — Etymology of the Name — Wiutour's Leap — Roman Remains — Alvington — Berkeley and Berkeley Castle — Tiddenham — Offa's Dyke— Beachley— Aust Cliff— The Meeting Place of Edward and Llewellyn — Ancient Apologue of the Severn, the Wye, and the Rheidol . . .255 CHAPTER XXII. Chepstow High Tides — Chepstow Salmon — Chepstow Castle — Pierce- field and Wyndcliffe — Village of Matherne — Caerwent — Roman Remains — Portskewet — Ravages of the Severn — Former Aspects of the Severn — Caldecot Castle — New Passage — Anecdote of Charles I. — The English Stones — Termination of the Severn — Geological Features and Physical Peculiarities of the Severn — The Severn Bore — Former Estuaries of the Severn . . . 262 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIO^^^S. Page Legend of the Severn . Vignette Blaen Hafren 8 Llanidloes 14 The Trout 20 The Moor-hen 22 The Crane 23 Llandinam 25 Newtown Church 36 Welshpool 50 American Weed 61 The Pike 69 Shrewsbury 75 Atcham Church 84 Uriconium 90 Needle's Eye 95 The Ladj Oak 108 Build was Abbey 120 The Chapter-House of Wenlock Abbey 131 The Waterfall 136 Ironbridge 151 The Eeed-sparrow 167 The Chub 173 Page Bridgnorth 179 . Perch and Grudgeon .... 189 Roach and Dace 201 Bewdley 205 Worcester 218 Purple Saffron 227 Interior of Tewkesbury Abbey 233 The Yellow Water-lily ... 236 St. Mary de Lode, with Bishop Hooper's Monument . . . 243 Gloucester Cathedral and St. Oswald's Priory .... 244 The Berkeley Ship Canal . . 247 Westbury-on-Severn .... 250 The Severn, from Newnham Churchyard 252 View of Lydney Barges . . . 256 Junction of the Wye and Severn 260 Wye Bridge 263 Gateway, Chepstow Castle . . 265 Village of Matherne .... 268 Caerwent Church 270 View of Caldecot Castle . . .274 THE SEYEEN VALLEY. CHAPTER I. Plinlimmon in a Mist — Foliowiiig the Clywedog — John Bright — Dim Sas- senach — Lost in a Bog — Purallyman — Cairns — Seat of St. Cyric— Openings in the Mist — Magnificent View — Foreground and Distance — Source of the Severn — Silence and Sterility — Blaen Hafren — A Mountain Home — Sheep-tending — Alone with Nature — Faint Traces of the Old World's History — The Stone that goes to the River to drink — Hugh Middleton — Woodcock Glens — Mills on the Severn. low that railway communication is complete to the foot of Plinlimmon^ the source of the Severn may be easily reached^ and favourable opportunities for ascending the hill are more likely to be selected. For ourselves^ we made acquaint- ance wdth the father of rivers under dif- ficulties — in the wet summer of 1860^ when continued rains had long delayed the hopes of harvest^ and when the water-pot of Aquarius had^ it was thought, at last become exhausted. It was during a sunny interval, and at the close of a clear, breezy day, that we arrived at Llanidloes ; and it was equally fine as we left it, after an early breakfast next morning, B 2 THE SEVERN VALLEY. with Hngli Jones^ an old fisherman^ for a guide. The hill looked inviting as its azure crest first presented itself from Glyn Hafren ; and the river^ from the effect of recent rains^ frisked and foamed along its rocky channel with all the freedom of a mountain stream. We had followed it for five miles when a provoking haze came on^ first capping the summit of the hill^ then moving slowly from point to pointy and at last envelop- ing the whole in mist. It was imposing and impres- sive to see these silent and increasing vapours rolling in vast white volumes about the hill^ but we returned drenched and disappointed. Our second ascent was also from Llanidloes^ but by the old Machynlleth road^ described by tourists as one of the wildest in the kingdom^ which gave us an oppor- tunity of looking down into the valley of the Clywedog. This tributary of the Severn has its origin in half a dozen aqueous arteries high up on the hill^ the longest two of which commence near lakes Bugeilyn and Glas- lyn ; the latter^ or Blue Pool^ being so called from the fact that it appears like a patch of fallen sky amid the dark turbaries that surround it. Like the Severn^ it exhibits all the usual characteristics of a mountain stream — passing innumerable civms, glens^ and knolls^ working itself into foam through fissures^ or precipi- tating itself over rocky barriers^ with a noise that is heard for miles. Rich bits of mountain scenery occur along its course^ and picture-like peeps^ between the hills^ of hills more distant^ whose peaks gleam upon you from above^ or of valleys which stretch themselves out in zig-zag lines at your feet. Pleasing surprises of this kind occur near Diuas and at Cwm-pwU-Uwyi]^ THE SEVERN VALLEY. 3 where the river forms a horse-shoe round a hilly crescent^ cultivated to the top by the owner of a little cot close by ; also at the pass beneath the old fortress of Bwlch-y-clal^ near which the river Cerist has its rise. At the mines^ we found it turning monster Avheels^ that crush, wash^ and prepare the ore. Near one of these we met John Bright, M.P.^ Chairman of the Delife Mining Company. Mr. Bright had been rusticating and indulging in his favourite amusement^ fishing_, on Plinlimmon. We left the Delife, with its mines^ its churchy and school^ nestling in the hollow of the mountains^ and had passed Dwngwm-nchaf^ and the deep glen-mines higher up^ when a braided whiteness once more settled down upon the hills^ and proceeded to drop its folds^ one by one, into the valley at our feet. Fleecy clouds followed fast and furious, causing us to retreat^ after imprisoning us for hours with some Welsh miners, with whom we could hold no converse. Dim SassenacV^ (I know no English) sounded strange from men removed but by a few hours^ rail from the busy centre of England. The lan- guage which has become the great medium of popular thought and progress^ which has spread over the wide continents of America and Australia^ has not yet pene- trated the mountain fastnesses of Plinlimmon ! And this not from any repugnance of the people to learn — for there is evidently a pride felt by those who, in addition to the language of their fathers^ can speak that of their English brethren — but from the physical peculiarities of the country^ and those national cha- racteristics which have remained unchanged as the hills for two thousand years at least. Schools^ however b2 4 THE SEVERN VALLEY. and cheap English newspapers^ will do in a few years what centuries have failed in accomplishing. The same interminable clouds next morning came steaming up^ as though the sea beyond was one great caldron^ draping the black outlines of the hills with white^ and making the huge water-wheels^ whose whirl and splash we could hear in the glens below^ invisible. But determined to find the source of the Severn^ and then to follow the river to Llanidloes^ we returned to the head of the Clywedog^, and keeping along a marshy tracts fittingly compared to the Great Dismal Swamp/ ^ with Top-cerrig-brithian looming on our rights we reached the Shepherds^ Pool^ Llyn Bugeilyn^ where we became lost in curious mazes^ cut by torrents through the bog. These dried-up channels form perfect labyrinths in a mist, besides which^ the hill itself has five great terminating crests^ and^ with these in the clouds^ it is difficult to ascertain when the highest summit has been gained. These Hums, or crests^ from which the hill derives its name^ are buttressed round by other groups^ branching into chains that stretch over two or three counties ere they cease, and form the back- bone of Wales. A Welsh writer, speaking of the ruggedness and inhospitality of the hill and its environs, says — ^^AU around is vast ; Alps upon Alps, Pelion upon Ossa, or any other swelling image the visitor may eff'ect, would fail to exaggerate the scene -/^ adding that '^^it is the most dangerous mountain in Wales to ascend, on account of the frequent bogs which intersect it, and hold out no warning, concealed as they are under a smooth ^nd apparently firm turf.^^ It was the advantage these sullen turbaries gave to this old natural fortress that led THE SEVERN VALLEY, 5 Owen Glendwr, Cambrians Eagle Chief/^ to fix the centre of his operations here^ when he sacked Mont- gomery^ burnt Welsh Pool^ and called North and South to arms. On each terminating plateau^ tradition asserts^ a battle has been fought. Each^ too^ has its cairn^ where beacon-fires have blazed^ or warriors lie en- tombed. On one^ called Steddva Gyrig^ St. Cyric^ the guardian saint of Cymric mariners^ is said to have had his seat. By the aid of an ordnance map we had reached this last rude heap of stones^ and had rested where the saint was wont to stretch his limbs^ and teach his followers^ when a singular phosphorescent- looking lights caused by the sun shining brightly on a pure white vein of quartz^ outside the haze^ told of the dispersion of the mist ; and we had the pleasure of seeing " The feathery clouds lie loosened on the distant hills." The effect was magical^ and the sudden change en- chanting. The sun sent out expanding pencil rays through the scattered mist that yet lay below^ pro-^ ducing a scene we never saw equalled excepting once, from Snow don. Clonds drawn up were again thrown out, with a play of rainbow colouring that tinted the hills with its own bright hues, till they blended with the ultramarine of those more distant. The hazy curtains next were wider drawn — still disclosing por- tions at a time — and a pale, soft flood of light came down on all the higher hills in view, imparting a many- tinted lustre to a sea of liquid green. No human habi- tation — not a single sign of man or of his works — could be seen ; and among familiar forms which rose beyond the clustering outworks at the mountain foot, were the 6 THE SEVERN VALLEY. Snowdonian^ tlie Cader Idris^ Llandinam^ and Long Mountain chains — with the Briedden^ the Wrekin_, and many minor hills^ varying from the most delightful green to the most delicious blue. In contrast with the ex- treme and middle distances was the immediate fore- ground of black and barren bog-heaps — like earthquake wastes — midst which the Queen of Rivers has its rise. High up among the clouds, on a sterile tract 2^000 feet above the sea^ with the tiniest bubble and the gentlest ripple — the same in summer as in winter^ as though it were the beating pulse of the great mountain — the little current flows : " From the bosom of the mountain, Trom the sileut lands of night, Sparkles up the infant fountain. Crystal clear and crowned with light." The little fount where it rises from darkness into day may be covered by the hand^ and the trickling^ stag- gering stream flowing from it is no thicker than the finger. Not a tree or a shrub is seen^ and only a few rushes mark its course. There is an absence^ too^ of that song and plumage that give interest to its banks along the vale. A pair of Wheat-ears_, scarcely distinguishable from the lichens round them^ appeared as though^ having just arrived^ they were resting on their way; whilst the plover^ whose scream sounded like some youthful shepherd^ s call_, seemed perfectly at home amid the swamps ; and the same may be said of the humble-bee^ — the mead-bird of the Cymru — whose little trumpet sounded loud, and even lively, amid the hills. Lower down, a solitary raven may be seen, poised and motion- less over some stray lamb, or a gloomy heron, feathering THE SEVERN VALLEY. 7 liis wing^ or fishing in the stream ; but common birds of song are few. Still there is song — the silvery song of a thousand streams wandering at their own sweet will^ of streams trickling over mossy carpets^ and under turfy coverings^ of streams leaping^ tumblings plunging^ and mingling their voices in sweetest harmony. From the point where the infant Hafren lays down its own bright livery^ forming an ochre bed as it issues from the rock, it is greeted by mere creatures of a shower, by sombre rills from mossy sponges, fed by rains or passing clouds ; but it is not till it is well out of the cleft in which it has its birth, till it has been well strengthened by streams from springs on either side, that you hear its voice above all others — " With a gentle tinkle ringing, Sweetly singing, Ever bringing Ereshful radiance to the sight. Like a happy-hearted maidea, Robes of golden joy arrayed in^ Dancing to the inner music Of her own young heart's delight. Upwards to the summer skies, Laughing love with starry eyes ; Dov^rawards to the mossy slope. Darting free and full of hope ; And the list'ning air it fills With the tinkling of its rills ; Ancient rocks look blythe to hear it. Heather-bells bloom fresher near it, And a thousand charms endear it To the old paternal hills." Careering down the glen at the foot of Carn Biga, and making merry music between Craig- Wye and the lower 8 THE SEVERN VALLEY. Biga^ it rushes madly over rocky barriers^ plunges per- pendicularly down^ is for a time concealed^ and then spreads out " Into a loud and white-robed waterfall." ELAEN HAPREN. In following it through the glen^ the sudden opening among the hills becomes more striking ; and we All at once behold Beneath our feet a lovely vale — A lovely vale, and yet uplifted high Among the mountains." This romantic spot — two miles from the river's THE SEVERN VALLEY. 9 source — is called Blaen Hafren^ or the Head of the River ; it is " A quiet, treeless nook, with two green fields, A liquid pool, that glitters in the sun, And one bare dwelling, one abode — no more." A sharp and sudden shower made us acquainted with this solitary cabin by the river. It is a primitive aflair of rubble and mud^ and is scarcely fit for man or beast^ although designed for both; the entrance for the former being through an apartment devoted to the latter. We found the floor as nature made it^ excepting around the hearth^ where a peat fire burned^ the smoke of which went curling up among the rafters^ black as soot could make them. The latter were propped^ to enable them to support the heavy turf out- side ; and the apartment looked dismal^ but not unlike others often witnessed in similar isolated districts of North Wales. Two diminutive windows let in a very imperfect light ; and at one of these^ in linsey dresS;, with the usual cap and hat^ the mistress of the house sat knitting. The hat^ however^ was not the old Welsh sugar-loaf, but an English wide-awake ; and the cap^ the double frilled one common in the principality^ but without swathing bands_, such as older matrons use. We shared the fire with the shepherd^ whom the rain had now driven in from the hills^ with a young shep- herdess^, who also came in drippings a boy not less drenched^ and four sharp -nosed sheep dogs_, who_, un- willing to admit they were too close for comfort^ sat tossing their heads^ and looking up the chimney. Dogs^ shepherdess^ and boy^ like the miners we had met^ all looked strange when addressed in English. 10 THE SEVERN VALLEY. But the sheplierd^ from interview! s with those on similar errands to ourselves_, knew a little^ and we became initiated in the art of making rush-candles; we also learnt something of sheep -tendings and of the inconveniences to which an isolated mountain life like his is subject. An Evening Mail, a few days old^ proved a perfect godsend to the shepherd^ whilst the information we were enabled to communicate brought up his knowledge of events for months. The matron^ we were informed^ worshipped at Llanidloes_, and some- times left that town as late as eleven o'clock at night, trusting to her pony for a safe journey of nine miles across the hills. The Welsh appear to think little of long distances over the mountains ; but sudden mists or storms render such journeys sometimes dangerous. A story is told of the wife of a young shepherd, named Humphrey, who in returning from Machynlleth, was lost in one of the bogs we have described near Bugeilyn. Having completed her marketings, and exchanged greetings with her friends, she had commenced her journey homewards, followed by her dog. The day had been fine, the heat intense ; and the long deep shadows of the moantains closed above her head, as she left her last market companion on the road. The sun^s crimson tinge gave place to the moon's pale ray ; this again became obscured ; and as the gloom increased, the husband, who foresaw a storm, left his cabin to seek his wife. His search was fruitless ; the storm which burst grew to a hurricane, and it became so dark that he could not see the nearest object. The dog, during the night, returned ; and next morning led the way to a fearful bog, in which lay the lifeless form of THE SEVERN VALLEY. 11 her he expected soon to have become the mother of his first-born. The rain being over_, the mountaineers left the cabin to drive back the sheep to higher pastures. They soon disappeared among the hills^ excepting the wife^ whom we left wildly throwing up her arms^ and threatening a few loiterers with the dog ; whilst the latter sat watching the effect of the threat^ and awaiting orders to quicken their pace. The sheep come down during rain to shel- tered nooks and better pastures; and in order to preserve these for winter, the shepherd^ s voice is heard with the returning sunshine compelling them to return. Unlike English sheep, the Welsh never go in flocks, but in twos and threes, or as solitary stragglers. They have a pleas- ing effect against the hill sides, and are remarkable for their whiteness, their wildness, and general elegance. They start like deer as you come upon them, nibbling the thymy grass by the river, or stretching after the thin herbage iipon the rocks ; and, when frightened, leap like hunters. They appear to have their mishaps : one had fallen into a bog, another into the Severn, and a third lay dead at the foot of a precipice, down which it appeared to have been driven by dogs. Below Blaen Hafren the same interminable hills continue to accompany us ; hills in which " Fancy a thousand wondrous forms descries, More wildly great than ever pencil drew, Rocks, torrents, gulfs, and shapes of giant size;" and the same sound of gushing rills and rushing brooks, from every glen and dell, continues to fall upon the ear. To those who would be alone with nature, it is a 12 THE SEVERN VALLEY. high treat to witness their sportive playfulness^ and to listen to their music. On their banks the botanist finds^ among the scanty flora of the hills^ specimens chiefly confined to such alpine districts. The Lyco- podium alpinum threads its way^ and puts out its graceful tassels amongst the grass ; the Lycopodium clavatum, or stages horn^ as it is called^ thrusts its branching antlers through the heather ; whilst cluster- ing groups of Lycopodium selago are also seen at in- tervals. Amid rents and ravines^ where the busy pick is heard extracting mineral wealthy and in rugged cliffs by the river side^ like those of FrAvd-fawr^ which stand boldly out from the silky verdure that surrounds them^ the geologist may find faint traces of the old world^s history. A fierce wind^ sweeping up this defile a few years since^ brought down the large stones now lying by the river. To one still maintaining its position on the hill side^ tradition ascribes locomotion. It is one of the lapides fugitivi, or self-locomotive stones^ of which so many tales are told. The legend is that every time it hears the cock crow^ it goes down to the river to drink. A deeply rutted road^ ground into the hill sides^ and following its undulations^ here lays bare the thinly-laminated sheets of these tilted^ deep sea accumulations^ and you travel miles over their edges^ and curious wavy foldings. In furrows or ravines cut by fiercely flowing streams^ you come upon old aban- doned mines ; and one — a level driven into the hill from near the river^ in search of copper — is ascribed to the Romans. For ages some of these have been worked for copper^ for silver^ or lead ; and immense wealth has been extracted. They gave Hugh Middleton that which THE SEVERN VALLEY. 13 carried the New River to the metropolis^ and to his successor that with which he clothed King Charleses army. Between Pen-cerrig — the field on the top of the rock^ Cwm-pren-mawr^ Gafron^ and Glyn Hafren^ are a series of rocky glens and grassy undulations^ the favourite haunts of woodcocks ; and the valley^ as you continue to descend^ assumes another aspect. There is the same conglomeration of hills and angular profun- dities ; but the former are of minor altitude^ and are belted round with larch and oak. Whitewashed home- steads peer from clustering trees^ and the river^ flowing through bright green meadows^ is crossed by rustic bridges^ with handrails that tremble as you pass ; cattle stand fetlock deep^ at the fords^ towards which rutted lanes are seen to dip, and then to disappear in woods on the other side. The river, too, becomes industrious — a fact it notifies by swelling into larger lakes, by noisy demonstration at the weirs, and by the slushy sounds it makes against revolving wheels. The noise of whirring jacks from mills, of flying shuttles from the open doors and windows of brookside cottages, comes upon you as you pass ; you see shepherds, like laden ants, coming down with large white bags of wool from the hills ; and you see the finished flannel, whole acres of it, stretched on the hill side, where it remains untouched, although exposed for weeks. Passing Glyn Hafren, Broom Cliffy, and Mount Severn, the river, still bearing the name of Hafren, takes a bold sweep round the bluft* headland of Pen-y-green, and, at a distance of eleven miles by the road, and seventeen by its channel, enters Llanidloes below the weir, represented in our sketch. LLANIDLOES. CHAPTER 11. Llanidloes — Tlie stimulus Railways give — Market House— Wattle and Dab — Church of St. Idloes— Abbey of Cwm-hir— The Niche Old Nick has left — Welsh Graveyards— The Severn and the Clywedog— Course of the Severn along the Vale— Hills— Families— Beavers— Otters— Trout— Wild Fowl — Dick Kinson, &c. LANIDLOES occupies a pleasant nook at tlie confluence of the Severn and the 1^ Clywedog^ where Afon Brochan and other streams, with their respective valleys, meet. It is to these and their surrounding hills, that the town is indebted for its prosperity, for its fulling, its carding and spinning mills, and the wool which gives employment to its population. Like others, THE SEVERN VALLEY. 15 it has profited by the stimulus railway communica- tion usually giveS;, and that to an extent that would render the description given by old topographers a libel. A new market-hall has been built^ smart-looking houses have been raised^ others have put on paint and whitewash ; and even the old town-hall^ so long an eye- sore to all but archaeologists^ by means of lime and raddle^ and a date intended to record some later addition to the buildings has been made to look younger than it really is. Built in the true Welsh fashion of former times^ it is kept in countenance by queer-looking shops^ boarded in front^ to conceal the wattle-and-dab that is behind; with floors formed of river stones, pitched [edgewise^ which gives them much the appear- ance of having been paved with horse-combs^ teeth upwards. Like many others in Wales^ beginning with Llan, the town derives its name from the patron saint to whom its church is dedicated; and who^ in this case^ is said to have been one of the literary fathers of the Welsh church. Looking at the number of chapels^ however^ Methodist^ Calvinistic Methodist^ Baptist^ and Independent^ the inhabitants would appear to think little of St. Idloes^ excepting that service is conducted at each in the language in which he wrote more than a thousand years ago. The church has a wooden bell-tower^ rising from one of stone ; and a number of architectural ornaments much older than itself. These contrast strangely with the plainness of the general structure^ and are said to have formed portions of the spoil of the Abbey of Cwm-hir. Among them are six pointed arches, separating a north side 16 THE SEVERN VALLEY. aisle from the nave^ supported by massive piers^ with clustering shafts^ and capitals ornamented by palm- leaves. The ceiling is of oak^ and the hammer beams which support the roof of the nave are ornamented with large figures of the Saviour^ the Virgin^ and of well-known saints of the Roman calendar ; altogether thirty-four in number. They are exquisitely carved ; many have shields^ either plain or charged with some religious subject ; and one^ more modern than the rest^ contains the date 1542. The terminating corbels have other quaint figures^ of a different class^ accom- panied by emblems of torture — some being represented as undergoing intense agony ; one has a vulture pluck- ing out its eyes ; another has an instrument of punish- ment thrast into its mouth ; whilst a third is made to look ridiculous by the presence of an ape. It seems probable that each class represents some legendary phase in the history of the church : that the former^ looking with serenity from their loftier positions^ were the triumphant^ and the latter the vanquished party^ in some polemical passage of arms. We observed one niche vacant ; the clerk told us it was formerly occupied by the devil^ but that either from wantonness_, or a desire to make the company more select^ a rogue of a boy_, the leader of all mischief in the town^ threw a rope round its neck^ and running with it through the streets^ with a troop of young rascals at his lieels^ demolished it. In the ancient porch of the same edifice are indica- tions of a faith outworn^ but common when those beneath the yew tree^s shade outside were living wor- shippers. How many have gone to swell the mouldering heap since that old tree was planted ! Chosen for THE SEVERN VALLEY. 17 its perpetual greenness and slow growth^ to represent immortality,, it has witnessed — " Thousands entombed within its shadow ; heard, Eor ages past, the sobs, the heart-fetched groans Of parting anguish, ere the grave has closed. And drank the mourner's tears." The Welsh have deep sympathies^ and strong feelings of affection for kindred : in nothing is this more manifest than in their graveyards^ which are carefully kept,, and^ in some instances^ made to look like shrubberies. Like their homes^ their graves are paved with river stones ; the only difference being that^ in the latter case^ they appear to be more carefully selected^ and more elabo- rately worked into patterns. The headstones are neat and costly^ with inscriptions setting forth the virtues of the deceased : some have uncouth rhymes and monitory texts; one records in Latin the virtues of a family once of influence in the district; another conveys an admonition and a story^ thus : — Such the uncertainty of human life, Near at the time 1 thought to have been a wife. Death brought the summons, and the banns forbid, And made this grave of earth my bridal bed." Over all^ the Severn and the Clywedog^ as they mingle their waters^ chant a solemn requiem. The former^ along a rugged^ rocky channel^ goes — " Down beside the churchyard sighing, With an accent sad and low. To a dirge its cadence dying, O'er the many, lowly lying. Those who loved it long ago ; C 18 THE SEVERN VALLEY. But the little temple telleth. Of the sacred ho2)e that dwelleth. Of the bliss that never faileth, Hid behind the pall of woe ; And a song of joy it raises, Up to heaven in holy praises, Sung through all its wayward mazes, Tun'd to accents sweet and slow." Increased in volume by tlie Clywedog^ at Llan- idloes^ tlie Severn now assumes another aspect. No longer foaming along precipitous cliannels^ or fret- ting over rocky barriers^ it glides smoothly along a pebbly bed^, and with road and rail keeps pleasant company. " On it flows, in stately beauty, On it goes, in humble peace ; Noble, for it does its duty, Humbly in the land's increase. Wearily washing through meadowy reaches, Weltering under the roots of the beeches." Its windings are through green pastures^ fringed with sombre trees^ and bounded by lofty hills. Some look like time-worn pyramids^ others are conical^ round- topped^ and furrowed; a few are belted round with wood_, crowned by sheep-walks^ and bronzed into beauty by golden gorse and rich purple heather. They bear still their ancient British names ; some have cairns^ and form familiar landmarks ; whilst each has its history or its legend. Quiet glades and glens run in between them ; and there is a thin sprinkling of pleasantly situated mansions at their feet. Old families have lingered long beneath their shadows^ as in the case of THE SEVERN VALLEY. 19 the darkly- wooded tract, called Berthllwydj whicli is said to have been in the possession of the Llwyds^ or Lloyds^ descendants of Tudor Trevor^ for the past four hundred years. On this estate is Llyn-yr-Afange^ or Beaver Lake^ where tradition asserts these animals once to have been numerous. The otter^ its broad-tailed brother^ is still found along these bushy banks of the Severn ; it is the mortal enemy of the '^gentle art;^^ and^ like poachers of another class^ destroys much more than it eats. Cunning as fish sometimes are^ and trout are proverbially so^ this nocturnal enemy of the tribe is more than their match; and will hunt them up and down the stream^ driving them into shallows^ or compelling them to throw themselves on the shore^ till it is secure of its prey. Old Izaak^ an authority on otters^ as on anglings says a female will go five^ six^ seven^ or eight miles for food for her youngs or to glut herself on fish ; and that^ when these are scarce^ she will take up with frogs or water-rats^ or attack lambs^ sucking pigs^ or poultry. Otter- hunting has almost died out ; and it is seldom that a scene^ described by the correspondent of the Sporting Magazine, some time since^ is to be witnessed. He says : — ^'^ Sitting near the window^ I beheld approaching the bridge a caval- cade^ and foimd it was Squire Lloyd^ of Glen Seven^ escorted by the gentlemen of the neighbourhood^ re- turning from otter-hunting. The gentlemen in the front rank were mounted^ and next the horsemen were three men neatly dressed, in scarlet coats and white trousers, with long spears, on which were suspended three huge otters. Now the huntsman appeared with the well-disciplined hounds ; and then followed the c2 20 THE SEVERN VALLEY. cart^ with nets^ spears^ and paraphernalia ; an old ballad- singer appearing in the rear^ who sang the praises of the high-bred hounds and their master/^ Although otters still haunt the streams^ fair sport is met with. Trout are plentiful : they like swift streams — streams that work themselves into foam against large stones or abutting rocks; and such places are here common to the Severn and its tributaries. An old fisherman of Llanidloes — of whom there are six or seven^ taking their eight pounds or ten pounds each per day — who knows well their favourite haunts^ related some extraordinary instances of their cunnings and of their leaps. Speaking of his feats among the hills^ he said he had taken trout from Snow-brook^ during a summer shower^ two at once^ almost as fast as he could pull them out ; and Mr. Cliffe^ in his Notes of an Angler^^' speaking of the pools on Plinlimmon^ says : — TROUT. THE SEVERN VALLEY. 21 ^' We have had good sport in a thunder- s tor taking some fine fish -/^ but adds^ as a general rule^ a nice^ warm^ ^tqj day is the best_, with the fog down on the tops of the hills. He also quotes Captain Medwin, who^ speaking of Bugeilyn Lake^ near the source of the Severn^ relates that one moonlight nighty from an islet near the shore^ he took an extraordinary number of trout with a moth ; adding^ At the second cast I took a trout of three pounds^ and at the thirds one on my stretcher and second dropper^ and landed both. All the fish in the place seemed collected round the place — the fools ! the moths were irresistible in their attractions. The day broke^ and found us with eighty-one fish^ none small/^ Trout^ in this lake^ are of an inky colour^ probably from the boggy water that finds its way into the lake ; while those of a Ilyn, or lake^ near are red. It is said that^ half a century since^ there were no trout in Bugeilyn^ but millions of horse-leeches ; and that it was originally stocked with trout from the Rheidol^ by two gentlemen who happened to be grouse-shooting ; and that for some years a war of extermination was carried on between the leeches and the trout^ the latter being victorious. " If thou wilt read a lesson that will keep Thy heart from fainting, and thy soul from sleep, Go to the lakes and hills." In addition to good fishings they afford good shooting : on the heather tops of the one the moor-cock crows^ along the sedgy margin of the other the moor-hen nods her head. Wild ducks from the valley^ too^ go up to breed on their sheltered sides^ among the fern. 22 THE SEVERN VALLEY. Farmers acquainted with their haunts^ take their young and rear them^ or their eggs^ and hatch them with domestic fowl^ by which means young broods settle upon contiguous streams or pools^ and get their own living till they are fit for use. For ducks^ geese^ cranes^ cor- morants, grouse, swans, herons, snipes, or woodcocks. MOOR-HEN. we refer the reader to Dick Kinson, of Caersws. Dick is known over the hills for fifty miles ; he has been a sportsman for full that number of years, having taken out a license for thirty, and shot without one for twenty years. It is a treat to see Dick handle his gun, and to hear him discourse of the execution it has done. He had shot in his time, he told us, waggon-loads of ducks, geese, swans, and herons. The latter, he remarked, were devils for fish ; and there was one month in THE SEVERN VALLEY. 23 the year in which they were always fatter than in any other he could not account for it^ but it was so/^ He had cooked them occasionally ; they were very fishy; but two gentlemen dined off one in his little THE CRANE. parlour^ and eat it every bit. How their flesh come to be looked upon as a dainty in former times^ he could not tell^ unless it was that the heron-shaw was pro- tected and the goose wasn^t. They bred on the hills^ in baskets of their own making for nests. It had been 24 THE SEVERN VALLEY. a capital country for snipe ; but^ be goslied^ tbey drained the land so now^ that a poor jack-snipe couldn^t live/^ Dick is an original worth knowing_, quite a philosopher in his way^ and probably as consistent as the fraternity generally : he denounces smoking^ but^ upon being pressed^ admits that he chews two ounces of tobacco in a day. LLANDINAM. CHAPTER III. LlandiRam— A balmy Eve— A morning Scene— The Mochtre Twist— Search for Coal— Cefn Carnedd— British Legends— Roman Ruins— The Park- Staple Topics— Farmer of Trefeglwys— Devil's Bridge— Welsh Fairies, Lakes, and Weirs— Former Barriers of the Severn— The Brynn and the Baxters. LANDINAM is a quiet little village;, close upon the river^ with a comfortable little inii_, where^ after rambling over the hills and getting thoroughly tired and hungry, the reader may find capital accommodation. If he wishes tea— and there is nothing better for an evening meal when tired^ — we promise him accompaniments of ham^ eggs^ butter^ and cream^ — all home manufactured — as nice^ and set out upon a cloth as white^ as the most 26 THE SEVERN VALLEY. fastidious can desire. If he has been fishings and drops in with a full creel, so much the better ; the fish will eat the sweeter for being of his own catching, and he can stretch his legs and have a cosy chat with the landlord^ or walk about the village^ while they are cooking. If he should be here when it is moonlight, let him, by all means, go out and view hill and river bathed in liquid lunar light. We well remember such a scene on a balmy eve in June, when no sound was heard but that of the rippling river ; all else was mute. The moon on rising seemed pillowed upon broad shouldered hills, that dipped their feet in the deep, dark shadows of the vale. As she rose higher, these wrinkled giants stood clearly out, whilst others dis- played a shadowy, yet imposing, grandeur. We arose early the following morning to feast on the quiet beauty of the hills — to see the outlined picture filled in by touches such as early sunlight gives. A few wild fowl lingered on the stream, and a long-legged crane, with neck outstretched, had commenced its flight in the direction of the hills. White mists yet lay on Cefn Carnedd, whilst a flood of sunlight brought out the heather tints of other hills — among them those of Llandinam — with their glades and indentations dotted by sheep, and threaded by winding shepherd paths; and an endless number of larks, soaring above the meadows, mingled their voices and seemed to rejoice in the returning sunshine. Ten years have passed since then, but the village is still the same ^ the same half- dozen half-timbered, white-washed cottages in the foreground, and the same half-dozen more than half- concealed by a grassy knoU^ on which stands the village THE SEVERN VALLEY. 27 churchy with its wooden tower^ and its peal of silvery bells. The venerable edifice may have stood for the picture Mrs. Hemans drew_, where she says — " Crowning a flowery slope it stood alone In gracious sanctity. A bright rill wound Caressingly about the holy ground. And warbled, with a never-dying tone, Amidst the tombs." Close upon the brook^, and a little above the village^ we witnessed a striking instance of folly on the part of a number of Welsh farmers^ who were seeking for coal in the Silurian rocks^ and who^ in their hurry to get rich^ wilfully set at defiance deductions of a well-tried science. At the time we speak of, mineral fuel was imported at high rates; and the vision of great profits resulting from a speedy find of coal_, acted like magic upon the villagers^ who clubbed their capital and staked their all. There are some men you cannot turn if they are under the impression that they are in the right ; and there are others it is impossible to change if they once feel that they are in error. Locally^ this is called the Mochtre twist, or the pig pertinacity of doing wrong : Mochtre being a village near Llandinam^ where tradition alleges the first swine introduced into Wales to have been lodged for the nighty adding that the inhabitants^ who did nothing but stare at them^ so displeased their swinish visitors^ that in revenge they infected them with a disposition similar to themselves. Whether these Llandinam worthies had caught the infection from their neighbours we cannot say ; at any rate^ they had gone stark mad after coal^ and would have sunk their shaft to a much greater depths if they had had 28 THE SEVERN VALLEY. the means. During the progress of the work bits of coal were discovered^ which were said to equal that of Ruabon — which is very probable^ seeing that they had been dropped in by the very men who found them^ and sold them for their weight in silver for the squire^ s inspection^ or for the purpose of inducing others to spend their spare cash. Upon finding these^ the village bells were set to ring^ bands of music were engaged^ and the men were feasted. Up went the shares^, and down went the farmer^ s stock beneath the hammer^ in order that new calls should be met. Some sold everything : a man named Reece^ who had come down from a well- stocked farm to a cottage^ when we called upon him^ had but one old,, bony horse left^ with which he drew stones for the road: the poor fellow afterwards emigrated to America^ and died on the passage. All became deeply in debt for ropes^ labour^ or machinery^ for which they had been answerable ; and some were imprisoned by their creditors. We gathered Silurian fossils from the mouth of the pit^ and endeavoured to persuade them of their foUy^ but it was of no use; they suspected us of being in the pay of the Ruabon com- pany^ and bribed to give an adverse opinion ; moreover they had sent specimens of their sinkings over the mountains to South Wales^ to Wolverhampton^ and to half-a-dozen other places^ and practical men had coun- selled them to persevere. Professor Sedgwick came by the time^ and promised them he would eat all the coal they ever found ; but they never obtained sufficient for a single meal — even for a Professor. There is the old shaft still boarded over^ and close by are some large pieces of timber^ with other memorials of Llandinam folly ! THE SEVERN VALLEY. 29 On leaving Llandinam^ we made onr way for Caersws^ passing Coed Mawr — a long hilly range^ running in the direction of the Severn^ and having an ancient British camp^ called Pen-y-Gaer. This soon terminates^ afford- ing a peep of a copse and a cot-dotted glade^ from a point at which a little stream comes down to join the river. Cefn Carnedd_, the terminating member of a gronp of hills separating the vale of Trefeglwys from that of the Severn, next advances^ and as suddenly ceases^ affording a fine view of the valleys of the Cerest^ the Taranon^ and the Carno. It is crowned by an old encampment_, and from its general outline and position^ is a singularly interesting hill : one on which the reader — " If master of a vacant hour, May linger willingly detained." Although of no great altitude, it affords a view of in- numerable upland vales^ which^ with their respective streams^ meet in an open plain. It is a little rostrum^ raised by Nature in one of her pleasant moods, as if to afford a view of the grand amphitheatre of hills which rise one beyond another^ and increase as they recede. It is just the spot to commend itself to the disciples of that esoteric faith the ancient Britons held ; and one can imagine that the Druids^ midnight horn was wont to summon here the Cymru from their caves for the performance of religious rites — " Rites of sucli strange portending, As done in open day would dim the sun. Though enthroned in noontide brightness." It has been said that " Cambria hath not a vale But appertains to it a tale.'* 30 THE SEVERN VALLEY. And this enchanting spot is ricli in sucli — is redolent of scenes and deeds on which legitimate history sheds no light. Each hill has its cairn or carnedd, its giant^s grave^ its fortress^ or its legend. The Welsh have traditions that Caersws^ at its foot^ was the site of an ancient city^ first founded by Locrinns^ the grandson of jEneas^ who^ at the fall of Troy^ landed on our island^ conquered it^ and peopled it with his followers. They tell of the triumphs of Locrinus on the Humber ; of a fair captive^ for whom he built a palace j adding^ that having divorced himself from his wife^ Gwendolene^ the latter raised an army^ overcame her husband^ slew her rivals and cast her daughter^ Sabra^ into the river that bears her name. Rhos-ddiarbed^ or the field of no quarter/^ still pointed out as the scene of the injured fair one^s exploits^ is thus alluded to by a local poet^ in speaking of Caersws: — " Fair Susan, on her martial car, Led forth thy sons untaught to yield ; And faced the grisly fiend of war, On Rhos-ddiarbed's fatal field." These legends^ which Spenser deemed worthy of his muse^ which Milton gave a place in his British Rivers/^ and of which he made greater use in his Comus/^ are found in ancient British chronicles. They are quoted both by Oliver Mathews and by the monkish historian^ GeofFry of Monmouth. Words^ it has been said_, out- live the stoutest fabrics, and names endure beyond the hardest stone ; and it is only by means of these, and a few earth-covered ruins and relics around, that the early phases of this romantic spot can at all be traced. A place so favoured must have been coveted ; THE SEVERN VALLEY. 31 successive masters of the island must have thought it worth contending for ; and whatever may have been its earlier history,, one can imagine how^ when the waves of Roman conquest rolled over Britain^ and tribe after tribe made submission^ this important pointy com- manding the vale of the Carno from Dimetia^ and that of the Severn from Siluria^ would be fiercely contested. It has been said that one unconquered leader and his people here made a stand to defend these southern passes into Venedotia^ and that Cefn Carnedd^ about a mile from Caersws^ was the scene of the last battle between the Silures and the Romans. Its position^ with regard to the river^ answers to the geography the Roman historian gives of the stronghold of Carac- tacus ; and the learned author of Salopian Antiqua/^ who has laboriously instituted inquiries respecting places assigned as the one where the last great struggle between Ostorius and the British general took place^ thinks that this may have been it. There are numerous British entrenchments in the vicinity^ such as Dinas Pen-y-Gaer^ Pen-y-Castell^ Pen-y-Glyn^ and Cefn-y- Cloddia. That the conquerors would settle down upon a spot so favoured^ and which they had won^ seems probable ; and that the Romans did hold and colonise the place is clear^ from remains found there. Roman bricks^ of composite and of clay^ having Roman letters stamped upon them^ have been built into chimneys now going to decay. Roman capitals and columns of sandstone^ similar to those of Wroxeter^ and wrought^ probably^ in the same quarries^ are used as horseblocks at village inns^ or pounded up for scouring sand. We bought a Roman silver coin of Hadrian^s reign^ for a 32 THE SEVERN VALLEY. shillings at The Bush/^ where we also saw a granite quern^ and other Roman remains^ behind the house. The Machynlleth railway has cut through a Roman mound and the embankment between it and the river^ is made up of the debris of fallen buildings. The cutting exposed a Roman well^ also some beds of clay and charcoal^ in which we found Roman tiles^ Roman pottery^ glass^ and rusty iron. Excavations recently carried on under the superintendence of the Rev. David Davies^ have brought to light Samian ware^ and several kinds of coarse pottery^ a brick with the three first letters of the word ^4egion/' one or more hypocausts^ a tesselated pavement^ a bronze amulet^ a drinking-cup^ and a number of Roman coins. The latter bear the inscriptions of Titus Vespasian_, Domitian, Postumus^, Valerianus^ Vespasian^ Julia Mammia^, Marcus Aurelius^ Victorinus^ Severus^ Augustus Caesar^ and Trajan. A little above the village is a wooded eminence called the Park^ which Queen Elizabeth is said to have given to her favourite^ Leicester. Altogether^ the place is quite a bit of fairy-land ; and one need scarcely wonder^ where fights and feuds^ and such traditions^ form staple topics of fireside chat^ that men are subjects of an easy credulity^ or that you hear of ghosts^ corpse- candles^ knockers^ spells^ and fortune-telling. We were told of a farmer at Trefeglwys^ who has not been beyond the boundary of his farm for twenty years^ from a belief that he is restrained by supernatural agency. The devil^ too^ seems to be an important personage — at times a very useful one^ but liable to be overreached in a bargain,, the Welsh being too much for him. Do you know how the DeviFs Bridge was built ? said an THE SEVERN VALLEY. 33 old lady at Caersws^ whose eyes quite brightened as she found us disposed to listen to her stories. Of course we did not. ^^WeW/' said she^ ^^it bafSed the attempts of the cleverest men in Wales to bridge the Eheidol : no one could bridge the chasm till David ap Griffith undertook the task.^^ David had dealings with the devil^ and could master him in everything.'^ David^ according to the old lady^ having represented the wants of the neighbour- hood to his sable friend^ bargained that if he would bridge the chasm he should have the first that went over for his pains. The devil agreed. He completed his task in a single night ; and David^ with a loaf of breads accompanied by his dog^ proceeded next morning to the place. Here is your bargain/^ said the devil. And here is yours/^ said David^ as he pulled the loaf from his pocket and rolled it over the bridge, the dog running after it. We found the old lady equally eloquent in other stories of David^s achievements, in relating instances of persons bewitched, of spells on farms, where milk and dough became so corrupt as to defy parson, bell, book, and candle,^^ to stay contagion. Heaven defend me,^^ Falstaff is made to say, from a Welsh fairy^ lest he transform me into a piece of cheese.^^ From Llanidloes to Newtown the Severn is pretty much the author of its earlier history, its channel being through alluvial flats of its own creation ; and on either side, much higher than its highest floods now reach, are records of its doings. From Dulas brook to Glyn Hafren, the slopes are strewed with chippings from neighbouring rocks, many of which may be traced to D 34 THE SEVERN VALLEY. their parent bed. It shows tlie extent to which the country has been remodelled by its streams^ acting as saws and planes npon the rocks ; and that to which the surface has been drained by the Severn^ as it deepened its channel and cut through rocky barriers that opposed its progress. Each pebble bears witness of events long anterior to those imagination pictures with respect to Caersws : it tells of broad lakes along the now green vales of the Afon Carno^ the Cerest^ and the Taranon ; and of Cefn Carnedd standing a bluff headland^ with waters wrapping round its sides^ swelling and rolling like an inland sea. Even now^ the river winds^ turns again_, and divides among the gravely as though slow to quit the scene of its former exploits ; and^ before the quiet of its banks was disturbed by snorting trains^ rattling along in the direction of Llanidloes and Machynleth^ wild fowl came down in flocks in seeming confabulation upon changes from lake^ and bog^ and marshy swamp^ to green meadows and cultivated fields. Its foaming fords and impounded pools still give charms to the landscape near Milford House^ where the impending rock on which it stands^ and the hanging woods around it^ are reflected in the lake and like the old mill below the rocky ledges that stretch across the channel^ half hid by embowering trees^ form interesting materials for a sketch. Overlooking one of its prattling fords lower down^ is Severn House^ and higher on the hill is the pleasant residence of Mr. Lloyd ; while higher still is the Brynn^ the residence of the ancient family of the Baxters^ who trace their descent from Bleddyn ah Cynfyn, Prince of North and South Wales. They also claim relationship with Richard Baxter^ the prince THE SEVERN VALLEY, 35 of Puritan divines ; and with tlie Herberts of Chirbury^ who used the same heraldic distinction — three rear mice^ or bats. The late G. R. Wythen Baxter (author of the Book of the Bastiles^^) says that the name was originally Batster ; and those conversant with Welsh legends need scarcely be surprised to find^ as stated upon the same authority, that there is a current super- stition in the family of the Montgomery Baxters, that of a summer^s evening the bats will constantly persist in flying in circles round the head of a member of that race/^ The house is described by Boscoe^ in his Wanderings in North Wales/^ as Ty pren glan, yn nhop bryn glas ^' (a fair house of wood on the top of a green hill) . Over one of its gables is the motto, in large letters^ We are not from kings, but kings are from us/^ Near the house,, and upon the brow of the hill, is a snug little summer-house, which Roscoe de- scribes as a temple presenting many lovely views NEWTOWN CHUECH. CHAPTER IV. Newtown — Newtown Hall — Sir John Pryoe and his Wives — Robert Owen's Birthplace — A Church in Ruins — Owen among the Tombs — The Lovers' Grave — Newtown new Church — Vale of Montgomery — A summer morning's Ride — Course of the River through the Vale — A small Hamlet with a long Name — Dolforwyn — Meadow of the Maiden — Abermule — Montgomery — The Camlet and the Rhiew — Forests and former Aspects. EWTOWN has a position upon the river similar to that of Caersws ; and tradition alleges that it rose like a phoenix from its ruins. Camden says Caersws was a market town and borough privileged^ but having fallen to decay^ New- town was built four miles further down the river/' The mountaineers who saw the old town decay and the new one rise^ gave the THE SEVERN VALLEY. 37 latter its Welsh name^ Tre Newyd. Many of the houses Leland^ three centuries since^ described as new and neatly built^ remain; others more modern have been added^ and both together form a large and important town. Its increase has kept pace with its manufactures ; and its demand for machine-impelling power having outgrown what the old water-wheels could supply, steam has recently been called in to aid the force the river yielded. With advantages such as the Severn gives^ with raw materials such as surround- ing sheep-walks afford^ and those facilities of transit railways give^ Newtown has become the head-quarters of the flannel trade^ and has been called the Leeds of Wales. A Welsh poet thus traces the development of the staple trade of the district : — " Whilst the harp slept the sun of commerce rose. To bless the arts and banish Cambria's woes ; Taught by the power Llanidloes* sons array'd, To drive the wheel, and start the flannel trade. Check'd in their course, the streams that idly ran, To gold were turned by this prolific plan ; The blessing spread adown the grassy vales, And Newtown rose, the busy Leeds of Wales." Some clue to its growth may be found in the fact that in writings still extant^ an ancient mansion is described as opposite to Newtown Hall ; whereas half the town now intervenes between them. Newtown Hall was long the seat of an ancient family possessing large estates^ and that formerly ruled the country from the Severn to the Wye. Its later owners, however, were distinguished for little but their wealth and their eccentricities. One, Sir John Powell Pryce, 38 THE SEVERN VALLEY. was accustomed to follow the liounds after lie had become completely blind^ arxd to run the risk of dan- gerous leaps with his favourite horse. Another^ Sir John Pryce^ grandfather to the last baronet^ who had had two wives^ kept them embalmed^ one on each side of his bed^ till a widow Jones/^ the third lady of his choice^ insisted upon having them entombed before she consented to give her hand. The old hall^ which appears to have been moated^ and which suffered much some time since from a long pending suit in Chancery^ during which the townspeople put up their weaving frames in its rooms^ is now being renovated. At it. entrance stands the monster trunk of a blasted tree, that must have put forth its first green acorns long ere the estate^ like itself, had been shorn of its fair proportions. In the wide street running past this tree into the town^ and near its termination at the cross^ stands the house in which Robert Owen the Socialist was born ; and in which it was his intention^ in coming to New- town, to have died. The old man^s visit to his birth- place was a striking episode in his life^ or a cropping out, rather, at its close, of sympathies which overlying thoughts and cares had proved themselves unable to erase. Owen sought the old church in which he wor- shipped when a boy, and found it^ like himself, tottering to its fall. Costly marble tablets were falling from the walls ; some had fallen, and lay in fragments on the floor. The worm-eaten reading-desk tottered too^ whilst the pews, unable any longer to support each other^ had gone down in masses. On the corner of one still standing lay a yellow^ well-thumbed prayer-book^, THE SEVERN VALLEY. 39 open at the service for the dead; and this^ if we except some tattered flags taken in battle^ that still fluttered in a corner^ was the only portable thing not taken away. The glass had fallen^ or^ like the lead^ had been stolen from the windows ; and the interior was cob webbed, damp, and dirty. No pealing anthems are now heard within its walls; its silence is only broken by the whisperings of trees, by the Severn outside, by the notes of birds that built beneath its roof, or by the stifled sobs of mourners^ when, like Owen, some old townsman dies with a wish to be buried in the family vault. Owen looked round the church, rested in its porch, and having sought among the grass outside the slab tbat covered his futher's dust, pointed it out as the spot where he wished to lay his own. His grave is un- inscribed — the resting-place of the philanthropist,^^ who liobbed and nobbed with the great, and shared the world^s attention a quarter of a century since^ is un- marked by a single token of respect. Near the gates, which a brass plate informs us were presented by ^^Owen^s children,^^ rest the victims of a passion stronger than philanthropy. Their resting-place is called the Lovers^ Grave. It has a bower of haw- thorns, honeysuckles, and ivy ; and is kept in order by sentimental swains and maidens more fortunate in their loves. Owen gave a guinea to have the bower im- proved. Its tradition is but another illustration of the adage, that the course of true love is the reverse of smooth; and it is asserted that plants and flowers refuse to grow on the maiden^s side, for the reason that she suggested the step which terminated their lives. 40 THE SEVERN VALLEY. The new church occupies higher ground than the old one^ and stands upon the opposite side of the town. It is somewhat pretentious in its style of architecture^ and is built of brick^ a material imported from a distance^ and not half so pleasing to the eye as the dark grey stone of the district ; as for instance, like that of which Aberhavesp church is built, lower down the river. Its interior has, however, a much better effect ; it contains the ancient font from the old church, as well as the elaborately and beautifully carved Gothic rood-loft, originally brought from the Abbey of Cwm-hir. From Newtown the canal, the river, the road, and the rail start together, and are companions through the vale : formerly the route of summer tourists by coach from Shrewsbury to Aberystwith. But coaches have become things of the past, even among the hills, where they had taken refuge upon being driven from the plains. As railways extend along the valleys, coaches leave the roads, villages lose their accustomed sights, wayside inns their customers — and, it may be added, tourists their opportunities of seeing the country to advantage. Her Majesty^s mail kept longest upon its wheels, and it was a rare treat on a summer^ s morning to sit behind its four fine horses along the vale. You rose early, and left Shrewsbury at four, with mail-bags the guard delivered by means of ropes let down from bedroom windows at way-side offices, or by flinging them into paddocks and fold-yards in passing. The drive was diversified by fields, by woodland patches, and pleasant hamlets ; the latter would be yet asleep, whilst the morning mists would be busy distilling their dew on woods and rocks, as you approached the THE SEVERN VALLEY. 41 Briedden hills. As the country woke up^ you saw the labourer trudging to the fields^ you heard the anvil of the village smithy ringing through the morning air ; and you met lowing cows coming with well-filled udders to the farm. The coachman levelled his whip to cattle- dealers^ and large farmers^ on their way to the fair^ and told you the names of gentlemen^s seats along the road^ with anecdotes which gave you good ideas of their owners. But the days of the Boyal Mail are num- bered ; from four horses it has come down to two ; its fast horses and fat coachman^ its scarlet-coated guards with loud horn and large chronometer^ will soon altogether disappear_, and the reader will have to search out the beauties of the valley for himself. Thanks to good maps and cheap guides^ this is now no great hard- ship ; for^ as some one has truly said^ to see a country fairly^ you must follow the windings of its streams. They disclose nooks and green retreats that give to him who roughs it^^ the advantage of those who take the road ; they conduct him to choicest bits of landscape^, to scenes such as artists like to sketch — not for pictures so much as for studies^ for their portfolios — bits to be reproduced as occasion may require. The touristy too^ who takes the river need not want for company^ it amuses by its gambols^ and entertains with its music ; and if he follows it from its cradle in the mountains, he feels an interest in its growth, in watching it from a weakly streamlet, hiding between the stones, to a grave, majestic river, sweeping in slow and silent curves between the meadows. Blessed things,^^ says Bulwer, are those remote and unchanging streams. They fill us with the same love as if they were living creatures. 42 THE SEVERN VALLEY. No haunting tone of music ever recalled so rushing a host of memories and associations as that simple^ restless^ everlasting sound_, the murmur of the sunny rivulet^ fretting over each little obstacle in its current^ the happy child of nature ! Everlasting ! all'' else may have changed^ yet with the same exulting bound and happy voice the streamlet leaps along its way/^ And Kingsley^ speaking of a river^ lovingly remarks — It may be but a collection of atoms of water — what is the human body but a collection of atoms^ decaying and renewing every moment ? And is not the river^ too^ a person — a live thing? It has an individual counte- nance^ which you love^ which you would recognise anywhere : it marks the whole landscape ; it deter- mines^ probably^ the geography and society of a whole district. It draws you to itself^ moreover^ by an inde- finable^ mesmeric attraction. If you stop in a strange place^ the first instinct of the idle half-hour is to lounge by the river. It is a person to you : how do you know that the river has not a spirit as well as yourself Escaping from the mills and weirs of Newtown you find it the same sportive river still. Increased by streams which come down to do it homage^ it roars at times with louder voice and deeper current; at others^ as if husbanding its strength_, it retires into lakes and quiet nooks — disturbed by no sound but that of birds^ who pour floods of music from the latticed branches of overhanging trees. It passes Llanllwchairn^ a small hamlet,, notwithstanding its very long name^ with its neat parsonage-house and church ; also Rock House^ with the impending crag from which it takes its name. It flows beneath the conical hill and tottering THE SEVERN VALLEY. 43 ruins of Dolforwyn^ an old Welsh fortress^ calling to mind the lines of Byron^ where_, speaking of the ruins of similar castellated structures_, he says — " There was a day when they were young and proud ; Banners on high and battles passed below ; And those which waved are shredless now, And the black battlements shall bear no future blow." With its deep surrounding fosse of nature^ s making, and trenches cut in the solid rock^ its history^ like that of the hill on which it stands^ is only to be made out by digging beneath the surface. Coins of an unknown date^ and earthen vessels of a primitive kind, have been found j but neither these nor any written record throw light upon its history. The Severn next passes the '^^Meadow of the Maiden/^ and introduces us to one of those fabulous but interest- ing legends, of which we find so many along its course — one, the story of which is interwoven with, and, to some extent, supplementary to, that already given of Caersws. When Locrinus, who built there a palace for the fair Estrildis, had been overcome by an army raised by Gwendolene, his lawful wife, the latter, ^tis said_, had brought before her at the castle on the hill, her rival and her daughter, Sabra_, the fruit of their illicit loves. Having slain the mother, she caused the daughter to be thrown from this green spot^ known as the ^''Maiden's Meadow,^^ into the river still called after her name. The Severn nymphs befriended her^ and at eventide, or as often as the maiden wanders, may be seen her favourite milk-white fawn, coming from the Deer^s Hill, to attend her. Milton embodies the legend thus : — 44 THE SEVERN VALLEY. "The Severn swift, guilty of maiden's death — Sabrina is her name, a virgin pure : While once she was the daughter of Lucrine, That had the sceptre from his father Brute. She, guiltless damsel, flying the mad pursuit Of her enraged step-dame, Gwendolene, Commended her fair innocence to the flood, That stayed her flight with his cross-flowing course. The water nymphs, that in the bottom played. Held up their purl'd wrists, and took her in, Bearing her straight to aged Nereus' hall ; Who, piteous of her woes, rear'd her lank head. And gave her to his daughters, to embathe In nectar'd lavers stow'd with asphodel ; And through the port and inlet of each sense, , Dropt in ambrosial oils till she revived, And underwent a quick immortal change. Made goddess of the river. Still she retains Her maiden gentleness ; and oft at eve Visits the herds along the twilight meadows. Helping all urchin blasts, and ill-luck signs. That the shrewd, meddling elf delights to make. Which she with precious vial'd liquors heals ; For which the shepherds at their festivals Carol her goodness loud in rustic lays. And throw sweet garlands wreathed into her stream. Of pansies, pinks, and gaudy daffodils. And, as the old swain said, she can unlock The clasping charm, and thaw the mumbling spell If she the right invoked in warbled song ; For maidenhood she loves, and will be swift To aid a virgin, such as was herself, In hard besetting need.'* There is an air of romance about tiiese banks^ and an individuality about their features; words current a thousand years ago yet linger^ and names^ like that of Abermule, have remained unchanged for ages. The prefix Aber^ probably as old as the race in Wales^ is a THE SEVERN VALLEY. 45 Celtic word — meanings ^'^tlie mouth of a stream'^ — and is found still retaining its original meaning. It is found in Scotland and in Ireland; and^ witli little variation, according to Bruce, on the Nile. Abermule is a small green hamlet, enjoying the privilege of a mill on the Severn, and a station on the line. During our visit, we found a branch marked out from here to Kerry, an interesting village amid the hills, and surrounded by fruitful vales that intersect them. Near to Abermule is Three Maids' Castle/^ and by the road-side are seven fine silver firs, known as the Seven Sisters.'^ A little lower down is Brynderwyn Bridge, Dolforwyn Hall, Glyn Hafren, in the darkly-wooded pass of that name, and Pennant. Backed by sombre woods that mantle the hills, with an undulating foreground through which the river winds, and opening views here and there of distance, these mansions image forth the most cherished charms of rural retirement. In the direction in which the vale expands, a deviation of two miles takes us to Montgomery; but the distance from the nearest station on the line is not quite so much, and the place is so intimately interwoven with the military history of the district, as to be well worthy of a visit. You pass near the famous camp called the Gaer, on the Roman road from Clawdd Coch to Caersws. The road, too, winds round the foot of an impending cliff, from which the ruins of Montgomery Castle stand boldly out. On an eminence opposite, but less abrupt, the church shows itself above the trees ; whilst the town, with its scattered groups of ancient houses, nestles pleasantly in the hollow between the two. The church has an interesting doorway, a curious screen. 46 THE SEVERN VALLEY. and some chancel stalls^ with misere seats and desks. It contains a magnificent monument to the memory of Eichardj father of Lord Herbert of Chirbury ; and two fine recumbent figures upon a tonib^ which are said to be those of the Mortimer family. We inquired for the Robber's Grave/^ over which tradition states that grass refuses to grow ; and were not surprised to find how widely fact and tradition vary. The town is prettily enclosed on either side by trees^ which cluster closely at the one end of the castle hill^ but disappear where the latter rises into a precipitous tongue of rock. A steep winding path leads to the summit^ where clumps of solid masonry indicate the spot on which the castle stood. An inner and an outer court, pro- tected from the open ground by four fosses in the rock, are discernible ; also a third, probably the parade ground of the garrison. With fosse, wall, and scarped and perpendicular rock, one wonders how, previous to the introduction of gunpowder, or before the science of war had been matured to its present perfection, the place could have changed hands so often as it did. A Watteau-looking group of visitors, squatting on the slope, and a few long-tailed sheep, nibbling the scanty verdure that grows among the bastions, served to suggest a contrast with the past, and a picture that may have served as a companion to Landseer^s inimitable one of Peace. The effect was heightened by the burst of landscape that opened up beyond the ruins where, overlooking rolling upland swells that divide the minor slopes, the eye rested upon a country mapped out into woodland patches, wide stretches of meadow-land, and fields yielding yellow harvests^ bounded by the THE SEVERN VALLEY. 47 sharply outlined Corndon^ and many more distant hills. Near to the hill on which the castle stands^ is one commanding even a finer and more extensive view, and crowned by the British camp called Fridd Faldwyn. Below the town formerly stood Black Hall, the birth- place of George Herbert ; it was destroyed by fire, and no vestige now remains. On the right, the road from Montgomery to Welshpool takes us past Nant Cribba Hall and Moat ; the latter a projecting mass of trap, thirty or forty feet in height. In its surrounding trench are fragments of walls three feet high, and seven or eight in thickness. But we leave the road to follow the river, and go back to where the Camlet and the Rhiew come down on opposite sides to join the Severn. The former is a lazy traveller, so slow and sluggish that a little elevation at its mouth would throw it into a lake ; and its graceful meanderings add much to the beauty of the country. Its opposite neighbour, on the other hand, brisk and busy as a bee, sports and gambles on its way, dividing among the stones, but uniting to master any great barrier to its progress. It flows smoothly at times, past flowers whose forms are reflected on its surface ; it leaps along deep channels, at others, dashing the hardest rocks into fragments, and strewing their debris triumphantly at its mouth. It is known to anglers for its trout, to botanists for the plants that grow upon its banks, and to anti- quarians for an ancient monolith, called Beuno's Pillar. The latter, standing near its mouth, is commemorative of an ancient saint — brother to the miracle-working Wenefrede, whose sanctity, like that of his virgin sister, is supposed to have outlived him; children formerly 48 THE SEVERN VALLEY, having been laid upon his tomb as a cure for rickets. What changes that old stone has witnessed ! The wide green swamps of Beuno^s time have become the green fields of to-day. Fertile tracts, now returning harvests of rich grain^ were then dark forest lands — leafy temples in which the first missionaries sang their hymns^ sylvan solitudes^ where men retired to meditate and pray. Amid their openings wooden churches rose^ and monasteries of which no vestige now remains. Tradi- tion tells of outlaws they harboured during troubled times ; of how the bugle was wont to startle luckless wayfarers along the forest tracts^ and to arrest the ears of those bearing supplies to neighbouring strongholds. History adds that Henry III. ordered five miles of this wide forest to be burnt ; and that the Welsh^ jealous of their covers^ came out in force and drove away the men. Of the size of many of the stout old oaks the spoilers left^ and which have since assisted in winning and maintain- ing for us the sovereignty of the seas_, some idea may be formed from the fact that^ of those cut down in the reign of George III._, one^ at the height of more than seventy feet^ measured sixty- eight inches in circum- ference ; and another^ fifty feet in lengthy ten feet in circumference in the middle. Richly wooded tracts are left^ like that surrounding Vaynor Park — overlooking the Severn and the Pthiew^ the seat of L. Winder^ Esq. It commands extensive views^ and its dark woods add much to the sylvan scenery of the vale. Glyn Severn^ too_, occupies a pleasant spot_, at a point where the two rivers meet. Below Kilkewydd-bridge^ on the opposite bank of the Severn^ is Leighton Hall^ the lately-erected mansion of THE SEVERN VALLEY. 49 Mr. Naylor; and Leigliton church and village^ both indebted to the munificence of the same gentleman. The hills show by their greenness and their crops^ the extent to which capital and science have overcome sterility and climate. Buildings of the most approved kind are erected on the farm^ and connected by rail- roads which convey those elements needed by the fields to supply the loss successive crops create^, and which from the high ground are distributed in a liquid state. E WELSHPOOL. CHAPTER V. Welshpool — The Welsh overreached — Powis Castle Park— Battle-ground of Dane and Saxon — Last Battle for Welsh independence — Offa's Dyke — Strata Marcella — Briedden Hills — Geological Features — Historical Asso- ciations — Llanymynech Rocks — Confluence of the Vyrnwy and the Severn — Salmon Spearing — Still upon the Borders — Alberbury— Old Parr — Loton — Rowton — Shrawardine — Montford Bridge and Montford Bay — The Perry and its Mills — The Isle — Leaton-Knolls — Berwick — Former Aspects of the Severn — Old Sea Bed, Land-locked Lakes, &c. lELSHPOOL and Powis Castle are now seen upon the same abutting hill above the Severn : one near its summit^ the other^ in the true fashion of olden times^ nestling at its base. The former has more of an English aspect than its name implies^ and from its posi- tion near the termination of the vale is an important market town^ where much of the THE SEVERN VALLEY. 51 agricultural produce of the county finds an outlet. To meet their English customers at Pool^ Welsh far- mers bring their stock many miles over miry roads^ whilst their wives with their butter and poultry travel the same weary distance. To see them coming to town or jogging homewards on their hardy steeds, carries you in imagination to cottages and homesteads beside the brooks and wide sheep-walks of Montgomeryshire. In addition to the traffic in horses, cows^ sheep, and poultry, flannels, made in no small quantities on the hills, were formerly sold here, or were taken through, as Dyer describes : — The northern Cambrians, an industrious tribe, Carry their labours on pigmean steeds. Of size exceeding not Leicestrian sheep, Yet strong and sprightly : over hill and dale They travel unfatigued, and lay their bales In Salop's streets, beneath whose lofty walls Pearly Sabriua waits them with her barks.'' The tale is told — how true it is we cannot say — that their Salopian customers overreached them in the measure ; and that, although the Welsh manufacturers took the precaution of measuring their pieces before they left their homes, they invariably found them shorter when they arrived at Shrewsbury, the buyers, under cover of quickness in measurement, having prac- tised the following ridiculous deception. They made a round barrel, or frame, exactly one yard in circum- ference, on which they placed one end of the piece, and went on rolling until the whole was wound up, each revolution counting for a yard ! Railways in these and other things have made great changes ; the Welsh E 2 52 THE SEVERN VALLEY. now take their produce through and return the same day; and the English dealer conies up and transacts his business without having to stop a night or two at the^^Oak/^ or the Coach and Horses'^ — a matter which we heard regretted by some who considered they had thereby sustained a loss. Still the town is pretty much a storehouse for the county — one where many of the country people supply their wants j and the shops are large and well stocked^ especially those in the wide^ open street above the cross^ which appear to do a large business on market days. Their owners appear well to do ; they have a splendid bowling-green out- side the town, on which to spend their spare time ; and some have handsome residences in the suburbs. The churches, occupying elevated positions at each extremity of the town, are, literally, links between earth and heaven. The one nearest to the town is an ancient structure, and, like those of Llanidloes and Newtown, appears to have participated in the spoils of a neighbouring abbey ; its panelled roof having belonged to the refectory of the monastery of Strata Marcella. The tower and chancel are the oldest portions of the building, and the latter has an east window of good decorative character ; three others are of the same period, and a fourth, of a pattern not often met with, of the early English style. It contains a fine monument, to the memory of a former Earl of Powis, from the chisel of Richardson ; also a large and ancient font, and a chalice of solid gold, presented as a thank offering by a pious Welshman, named Davies, who had become governor of an English settlement on the west coast of Africa. The inscription sets forth the motives THE SEVERN VALLEY. 53 of the donor^ and concludes with an imprecation iipon any one who should attempt to steal it. At the new church within the park are interred the remains of the late Earl Powis^ who was accidentally shot by his son^ and to whose memory a fine altar-tomb has been erected. Powis Castle Park adjoins the town^ and through the liberality of the noble earl is accessible to the inha- bitants^ who are by no means slow to avail themselves of the boon. It presents a pleasant interchange of sun and shade ; of elms^ oaks^ and chestnuts^ that stretch with giant arms their impervious foliage across the drive ; and wide-expanding greensward^ disclosing groups of stately deer. On one side the drive^ pendant branches of larch and fir sweep the rising ground ; on the other, forest-trees of ancient growth dij) with the declivity of the hill^ and^ diminishing to their tops^ lose their identity in one wide green carpet^ as they recede. Two sheets of water^ one the winter haunt of wild fowl^ the other that from which the town of Pool derives its name^ are met with on the left; and soon the turrets of the old castle show themselves above the trees in front. An opening discloses a green^ grassy mound^ with flights of steps, diminishing in perspective to the towering pillars that form the gateway, and which formed the chief approach before carriages were invented, and when visitors arrived on horse- back. Those the old man is taking up, he tells us, must have been worn by feet that trod them a long time ago ; and the grass and weeds that now grow between them show how little they are used at present. Following the dark chasm that once formed its moat, 54 THE SEVERN VALLEY. in wliicli^ from seeds the wind had sown^ large trees have grown^ the military advantages of the site become apparent ; and still more so as we gain the courtyard at the western end of the castle^ and look down the precipitous southern side of the rock on which the building stands. The founder of this old feudal strong- hold was John de Charlton, a renowned warrior, who bore a conspicuous part in the military transactions of the fourteenth century ; and who, marrying the last representative of the princely house of Powis, became possessed of its large estates. The oldest portions of the present building are said to be the roof, on which are doors with the Caernarvon arch, and the postern gateway; others, of the reign of James I., mark its transition from a frowning fortress to a domestic resi- dence. Although condemned, like others, by the Par- liamentary commissioners, it was spared upon condition that its owners demolished the more formidable portions, and entered into security that the remainder should not be used to the prejudice of the Commonwealth. The warrant signed by Annesley, president of the council, giving such permission, is still preserved. Mere traces of the portcullis and drawbridge alone remain, and the same may be said of the tower which stood at the end of the terrace. A brief statement of our object gained us admission to the interior, where we were interested in a long gallery of the sixteenth century, considered to be a pure specimen of the cinque-cento style, and one of the earliest instances of its introduction into the country. It forms a kind of colonnade or covered walk, at the end of which is a large figure of Hercules. To the general visitor, the grand staircase erected by THE SEVERN VALLEY. 55 William^ son of the first Earl of Powis^ will prove an object of interest from its massive workmanship^ and from the magnificent paintings npon the walls and ceiling. The one upon the latter is the coronation of Queen Anne^ and that upon the former a mythological subject^ with figures of Neptune^ Amphitrite, Apollo^ Venus^ Poetry^ Paintings and Music. The hexagon rooms in the towers on the right, their strong walls and ornamented ceilings, their tapestry, and state furniture, bring before the mind reminiscences of the past. The rooms contain pictures by Claude, Rubens, Poussin, Cuyp, Carlo Dolce, and Canaletti. Among the family portraits are those of the great Lord Clive, and the celebrated Lord Herbert, of Chirbury. In the library is the state sword of the Lords Marchers, together with specimens of ancient armour. In a large room at the west end, detached from the castle, is a museum con- taining choice minerals, and trophies of the Indian and Crimean wars, contributed by the great Lord Clive and the late Colonel Herbert. Since the accident to the late earl, which happened upon the occasion of a ball being held here, the place has been little used, and now wears rather a neglected aspect. Leaving the castle by the eastern gateway, where statues of OflFa and Egbert adorn niches in the red sandstone pillars, a magnificent view presents itself. Beyond a foreground of terraces, fountains, and parterres, you look down into the trough of the vale, through which the Severn rolls its peaceful waters, and out upon the Briedden and other hills, associated by means of history or tradition with fierce fights and border feuds. A little more than a mile below Welshpool is But- 56 THE SEVERN VALLEY. tington^ the battle-ground of Dane and Saxon in King Alfred^s time. Here the hardy Northmen^ in their retreat before Alfred^s generals^ were brought to bay; and in attempting to cut through the lines of the be- sieging army met with severe slaughter at the hands of the Saxons^ aided by the men of Powis/^ Buttington lies pleasantly at the foot of the Long Mountain^ which terminates lower down^ having accompanied the river some miles along its eastern banks^ and attained an elevation at the Welsh-harp of 1^330 feet above the sea. It is the Thermopylae of Wales^ where the heroes of the declining star of Cambria made a last stand against the Lords Marchers for the independence of the principality. They were^ however^ in this instance^ overcome by those to whom they were wont to make their famous boast. Nor ever could the Saxons' swords provoke Our British uecks to bear their servile yoke : While Cambria's pleasant counties bounded be With swelling Severn, and the holy Dee ; And since great Brutus first arived, have stood The only remnant of the Trojan blood." Descending the western slope of Mynyd Digol^ as the Long Mountain is called^ marked higher up by ancient tumuli, is that singular earth-mound and bi- national monument of former times known as Offals Dyke. It continues its course, past Buttington church, in the direction of the river, where it is crossed by railways coming up on either side the Briedden hiEs, uniting countries it was designed to separate. There is something interesting in this old mud-wall, running over hills and dipping into valleys j we followed THE SEVERN VALLEY. 57 it in its northerly direction^ across the Morda^ to Cefn- y-Bulch, where it becomes quite a land-mark; also^ past Chirk Castle to the Dee^ where it diminishes to a thread. Speed says it was a bound to separate the Welsh from the English^ designed by Offa; adding^ that a law was made by Egbert_, at the instigation of his wifcj that it should be present death for the Welsh to pass over the same ; and the like under Harold^ wherein it was ordained that what Welshman soever should be found with any weapon on this side of the limit, should have his right hand cut off by the king^s officers.^^ It is not often — in matters bordering on what other- wise may appear a myth^ or a little bit of fairy-land — that history sheds such light on tradition ; or that both are so clearly confirmed by fact. Welsh writers^ however^ question the popular opinion founded upon the three — the legend^ the historic statement^ and the fact ; and ask^ were their fathers pigmies^ that they could be shut out by a wall of mud ? or were the Eng- lish in sufficient force along the borders that a fence stretching from sea to sea across the island could be watched or made to bristle with spears ? Without altogether denying the fact that this remarkable earth- work was the work of the distinguished Mercian king whose name it bears^ they contend that it was an inter- national line of demarcation, the mutual work of the two nations. Either way^ climbing the hills^ dipping into the valleys^ or stretching its slow length along the plain^ it is an eloquent memorial of days gone by ; one which^ coming to the aid of the written record^ revives scenes and associations connected with an interesting phase of bi-national history. And now that the nation 58 THE SEVERN VALLEY. is waking up^ and looking back_, to gather strength from a review of its youthful struggles^ it seems strange that progress and agricultural improvement should lay hands upon it to mutilate it ; still more so that it should be a victim on the estate of a president of an archaeo- logical association. Parallel with it^ between the Severn and the Dee^ is another ancient monument of the kind^ called Wattes Dyke ; it is inferior in its proportions^ and does not extend beyond twenty miles. The intervening ground^ the Rev. D. O. Lewis^ of Buttington^ informs us^ is sometimes called lawers-land and laws-land ; terms associated with a tradition that it formerly belonged neither to England nor to Wales^ but was neutral ground between the two. The tradition receives some colouring from the lines of Churchyard : — " Offa's Dyke, that reacheth farre in length : All kinds of ware the Danes might thether bring, It was free ground, and called the Britaines strength. Wat's Dyke likewise, about the same was set, Between which two both Danes and Britain s met, And trafficke still ; but passing bounds by sleight, The one did take the other prisner streight." Upon the right bank of the Severn^ as we descend^ is an old embankment raised against the encroaches of the latter by the monks of the Abbey of Strata Mar- cella. This monastery^ which has entirely disappeared^ was subject to the monks of Buildwas^, on the river lower down_, and was founded by a pious Welshman, who gave to God, and the Virgin His mother, and the monks, for the good of his soul,'^ the rich pasturage we see before us, along the vale. It is one of the most THE SEVERN VALLEY. 59 productive spots in the two counties upon which it borders^ consequent upon the overflowings of the Severn which enrich the meadows^ assisting them to return good crops many years in succession. Above this alluvial flat^ the familiar forms of the Briedden hills present themselves. Like the Wrekin and the Malverns^ they are conspicuous for many miles along the river^s course^ their aspects changing as the point of vision varies. They consist of the Moel-y- Golfa^ the Middleton_, Bulthey^ Bausley^ Criggion^ and Rodney^s Pillar hills^ together with several minor ones. The resemblance of the former to Vesuvius has often been remarked^ and the conical outlines of others^ when seen from a distance^ are no less striking. The most imposing from the river^ to which it presents a bluff* impending fronts is the true Briedden^ or Rodney^ s Pillar hill ; so called from its summit being surmounted by a column commemorative of the victories of Lord Rodney over Admiral Count de Grasse. It was evi- dently the focus of that volcanic action which gave birth to the group^ and which elevated large tracts of country^ of which the rounded eminences of Ness Cliffy Pim Hill_, and the magniflcent ridges of Hawkstone^ and Pickforton^ with their mineral veins of copper and cobalt^ are results. Like the Wrekin and the Malverns^ they afford evidence of distinct periods of eruption : the grey limestones to the west indicating that the inhabitants of the sea^ of which they were the bed^ were destroyed by sudden outbursts of volcanic matter^ and the red sandstones to the east showing that they were elevated and thrown into their positions long afterwards. Their geological features may be studied 60 THE SEVERN VALLEY. in quarries on the hills^ and the effects their upheaval produced at points in the direction of Welshpool^ where they have severed the Silurian rocks^ and ex- posed the two divisions of the system^ one on either side. Two medals have been awarded by the Society of Arts to persons who have turned these rocks and minerals to account. One for burstones^ the other for felspar^ answering to the Kaolin of the Chinese, and used in the manufacture of porcelain. Sulphate of barytes, lead, and other minerals, are also obtained. The Rodney^ s Pillar hill, rising 1,199 feet, and Moel- y-Golfa, 1,143 feet above the sea, are rude stone walls and earth-works, showing that they have witnessed those outbursts of human passion, of which so many of these Welsh alps have been the theatre. Like Plinlimmon and Snowdon, they are said to have been the favourite resort of Owen Glendwr ; and their geographical posi- tion with respect to the river and its fords, is favourable to the view taken by some writers, that they may have been the scene of the great struggle between Ostorious and Caractacus. Mr. Hartshorne, whom we have quoted in favour of the claims of Cerfn Carnedd, admits the strong grounds archaeologists have for fixing upon this spot. That the stern disciples of Mars were not all insensible to the beauties of their position, is shown by the writings of a bard and warrior of the twelfth century, who, stationed all night to watch one of the passages of the river, thus expressed himself: — " I watched through the night with care, to guard the bounds, Where the pellucid waters plaintively murmur in the fords of Briedden. The grass untrodden wears now a brighter green; how fair the stream, And sea-mews playful on their wavy beds. With polished plumage gliding at their ease in love united groups." THE SEVERN VALLEY. 61 Their summits command fine views of tlie Severn and its tributaries^, of the green livery of their sunny vales^ dotted with homesteads and hamlets, and hounded by an amphitheatre of hills — sharp and clear in outline against the sky. The botanist who climbs the highest crag of the highest hill^ will find around its basaltic zone Potentilla ruprestris^ a plants we believe^ not known in any locality nearer than Cologne ; and around the pillar which crowns its summit Botrychium lunaria, which is also curious^ seeing that it is partial to low meadows. He may also find — Saxifraga hypnoides. S. graiiulata. Veronica hybrida, Pyrus aria. Solidago virgaurea. Hieracium Pilosella, var. Hieracium peleterianum. Lychnis viscaria. Cardamine impatiens. Sedum Eorsterianum. Carex pilulifera. AMERICAN WEED. The sweet sedge [Acorus calamus) is found on the river banks^ and in the river itself ; the river or American weed, which has spread so extensively along our navigable rivers and canals within the last few years, is found to have penetrated thus far. 62 THE SEVERN VALLEY. A pleasant day may be spent in tlie neighbourhood of the Briedden hills ; and few will look across to the lofty ridge of the Llanymynech rocks without feeling a wish to visit them. They exhibit the mountain lime- stone in a form that merits the distinctive term it bears ; and their summits^ on which a scanty herbage only grows,, afford magnificent views of the country round. Ancient British encampments are visible^ and in a cave called Ogo^ a bracelet of gold^ some human remains^ a Druid^s belt^ and a battle-axe^ are said to have been found. Roman coins^ and primitive-looking tools^ have also been founds from which it would appear that^ from very early times, the hill had been ransacked for copper, lead, and other minerals. They are now more extensively quarried for the flux the iron districts require to melt the ore ; and on old weathered banks may be collected characteristic fossils of the formation. Vv^here these rocks dip beneath the coal- measures, the intermediate bed of millstone grit, con- taining fossils, may be found. We found them near the Sweeny Mountains, and in a stone heap at Pentre Shannell. The district affords, within a narrow com- pass, a fine geological field, ranging from the Caradoc sandstones on the one side, to the mountain limestone of the Llanymynech hill, the coal measures, and new red sandstone, on the other. Anglers from Liverpool, and other places, often take up their quarters at Llanymynech ; the Tanat and the Vyrnwy — pronounced Verniew — meet about a mile above the village, whilst the latter, with the borrowed tribute it receives from the former, enters the Severn mid the rich pasture flats of Melverly lower down. THE SEVERN VALLEY. 63 When bank-full the latter mingle their waters with- out a murmur or a sigh ; at other times^ when heavy rains have fallen along the banks of the Tanat or the Vyrnwy^ the latter comes down with a roll^ and rudely thrusts back the Queen of Rivers along the vale. Persons familiar with the latter^ can tell at times of flood whether the increase is from the Severn or its tributaries — the water being charged with sediment corresponding with the rocks each passes in its course. The Vyrnwy has been called Amnis Piscosus, but since the improvements in the Severn navigation lower dov»^n have been carried out, very few salmon, not a single shad, flounder, lamprey, or eel, are to be found so high. We inquired of a man we met with a basket of trout, into the practice of destroying salmon by the spear ; and were told that having discovered the loom, or ripple, the female causes whilst making her nest in the small gravel, the custom is to mark the spot, and to return to the place at night with a kind of fork or dart. True to its instinct, the king of fish leaps the weirs and beats the current, and, escaping the dangers of tw6 hundred miles journey, selects a sunny ford where it would people the upper rivers with its species. It is then pounced upon and destroyed, and, with the mother fish, a family of five, ten, or twenty thousand of its kind. The evil has been aggravated by fixed engines, the proprietors of land on either side have used for the purpose of securing the fish in their passage up the river. We believe that the stringent clauses of the new act for the better preservation of salmon in the Severn, if faithfully carried out, will soon make a vast 64 THE SEVERN VALLEY. difference in the number of fisli in this portion of the river. Increased by the waters of the Vyrnwy_, the Severn is now navigable from Port Quay to Portshead Pointy a distance of 180 miles. It was formerly the great highway of traffic between the vale of Montgomery and the sea ; barges brought up goods from Bristol^ and returned with cargoes of bark^ timber^ lead^ and other produce. But railways have taken the trade the canals had left^ and it is now rare to see vessels with cargoes destined for long journeys. Navigating the Severn was always a very slow affair ; a barge might be brought to Pool Quay for a cargo^ but once there, it frequently had to wait for weeks — oftentimes for months^ for a sufficient depth of water to enable it to , return : so that the entire profits of the voyage would be more than swallowed up. Beturning from the river to its banks^ we find^ below where the Severn and the Vyrnwy meet^ much to remind us that we are still upon the Borders,, and amid the great marches of Wales. Old fortresses and feudal strongholds are thickly sown^ and old churches dedicated to warrior saints are met with^ showing that war and religion then were paramount — that fighting men and priests^ those of stout arms and strong emo- tions^ ruled the world between them. Places where men agreed to sing and pray were sacred ; fugitives or aliens^ even murderers^ upon gaining the interior of the churches, obtained protection from their pursuers ; as at Alberbury^ where tradition alleges that a Welsh- man charged with murder found refuge till released by his countrymen in time of war. Men shed bloody and THE SEVERN VALLEY. 65 then founded monasteries to atone for sin. Like old Fitzwarren^ who^ an old chronicle states^ upon return- ing from relentless wars in Ireland^ and thinking that he had sinned by the slaughter of much people^ sought remission of his sins by founding a priory in a wood near the river Severn. Of the old castle of Fitzwarren^ at Alberbury^ a portion of the walls alone remains ; whilst Wattlesborough^ another Border stronghold near^ has been reduced to a single tower and some portions of its wings. These were but a few of the fortified houses held by Lords Marchers^ whom the government^ from the difficulty of reaching the Welsh in their mountain fastnesses by means of large armies^ found it good policy to incite to win^ and hold as their own^ lands along the borders. The more to encourage them to conquest^ they were given a voice in parliament^ with titles significant of the districts they subdued. In return for these possessions aad privileges^ they ren- dered military services to the crown — such as that of keeping their castles sufficiently fortified to withstand the Welsh^ and of furnishing the king^s army^ in time of war^ with men. There were at one time one hun- dred and fourteen of these lordships^ with military governments and customs so strange^ that offenders in one would often find impunity in another^ and escape the punishment due to crime. With fortified positions and tenantries inured to war^ they became the most powerful of the nobility^ and the harsh government of these Border districts continued in their hands long after the circumstances which called it forth had passed away. They were so numerous that an old writer says: Shropshire seems divided from Wales by a continued 66 THE SEVERN VALLEY. wall of castles/^ Caus and Wattlesborougli^ tlie ancient seats of the Corbets^ were among the most powerful of these. The latter has descended in succession from them to the Mouthes^ to the Burghs^ and the Leigh- tons. It is now the property of Sir Baldwin Leighton^ whose present residence is Loton^ a mansion pleasantly ^ situated nearer to the Severn. George IV.^ when Prince of Wales^ professing to visit the country whence he derived his title^ walked a mile from Loton Hall into the principality^ and plucking a branch of oak^ placed it in his hat^ and returned. The men of Alber- bury^ however, felt flattered by the visit, and made demonstrations accordingly ; the tree is carefully guarded, and a brass plate affixed records the visit for the benefit of posterity. Alberbury is celebrated from its having been the birth- place of the famous English Methuselah, Thomas Parr, the longest-lived Englishman but one on record. Parr, who is said to have been fourscore ere he took to him- self a wife, and six- score and two ere he took a second, did penance in a white sheet, in Alberbury church, at the age of one hundred and thirty-five, for an oflfence against the laws of chastity. His fame was the means of hastening his end. He was taken to London, that Charles I. might see the oldest man in his dominions, and subjected to the annoyance of visitors, one of whom thus describes him : " From head to heel, his body had all over, A quickest, thickest, natural hairy cover.' ' He died at the extreme age of one hundred and fifty-two.* ' * The placs v^^ould seem to be favourable to longevity. " In the same county," it is said, by the author of the " Sage's Triumph over Old Age/' THE SEVERN VALLEY. 67 About a mile below Alberbury is Rowton^ tbe ancient and pleasantly-situated seat of the Lysters. The old castle was razed to the ground by Llewellyn^ in 1482 j and the present was re-constructed^ in a castellated form^ from the mansion which succeeded it. It occupies a wooded slope_, which is said by Camden to have been the Rutunium of the Romans^ described by Antonius. Its distance from Uriconium is sup- posed to correspond to that given in the Itinerary, and traces of a Roman road, add to the probability; nothing, however, remains about the place itself to indicate the fact. A little above Rowton we crossed the river by the ferry, from which a sandy lane, between banks of gravel, leads past woodbined cottages to the village and castle ruins of Shrawardine. The church, an ancient struc- ture, with a wooden tower, contains some brass and marble memorials, and a curious old font. Its prox- imity to the castle appears to have been anything but an advantage, judging from an old register, which minutely describes the injuries it received, during a siege. Unlike the advanced fortresses that bristled along the actual borders, and looked with threatening aspect from the hills we have noticed, this of Shrawar- dine appears to have been designed to check encroaches upon the rich lands of the interior. It was founded, " lived the famous Countess of Desmond, whose age was unknown to her- self, but extremely well supported by the authority of others ; since from deeds, settlements, and other indisputable testimonies, it appeared clearly that she was upwards of one hundred and forty, according to the compata- tion of the great Lord Bacon, who knew her personally, and remarks this particularity about her — that she thrice changed her teeth F 2 68 THE SEVERN VALLEY. and^ during the latter half of the twelfth century^ was held and garrisoned by the crown ; and no less than ten tenures were held of the latter^ in the early part of the thirteenth century^ on condition of service ren- dered in defending it. It was a royal castle up to the year 1215 ; afterwards it came into the hands of the Fitz-Alans ; and tradition tells of a young Fitz-Alan falling from its battlements^ and being killed. During the civil wars the castle was once more put in a state of defence^ and the old register alluded to adds^ The garrison was cowardly surrendered up to the parlia- mentary forces, under the command of Colonel Hunt^ Colonel Lloyd^ and Mr. Charlton^ after five days^ siege^ and within less than a fortnight after^ all the tymber of the castle^ and much goods that were in it_, were all consumed with fire, upon a sudden report that Sir William Vaughan was coming to surprise it. After- wards the work was pulled down and carried to Shrews- bury for the repairing of the castle there, and the making up of Rousal Wall, standing by the Severn side.^^ Its tottering ruins fitly represent the wasting effects of civil feuds and border wars, which contrast strongly with the present castle, village^ homesteads, and fields ripening with yellow grain, which silently but eloquently record the aspect of a diffferent age. Montford village stands on the side of a winding lane, midway between this old feudal relic and Montford Bridge, an old passage of the Severn, of great im- portance during the international disputes and quarrels of the Borders, and famous for many a parley between the representatives of the two countries. The quiet village^ with its cluster of black and white houses. THE SEVERN VALLEY. 69 gardens^ and orchards, is the picture of rural security. Montford Bay, and Shrawardine, or Shradden Bay, as it is called, and their neighbouring fords, are famous fishing stations for pike and trout. Good Bishop Swin- field, during one of his visitations, feasted here on eels THE PIKE. and Severn salmon caught within the weirs, which the owners of the manors of Ford and Montford agreed in former times to divide between them. An old fisher- man told us that he had known fifteen salmon caught here in a day ; but added, you may toil a long time now, and consider yourself lucky if you take one.'^ Below Montford bridge, the river Perry, after wander- ing in and out among the many pleasant villages, comes down to join the Severn. It is an industrious little stream, with five feeders, and as many mills upon its banks — old creaking machines, whose lichened wheels still travel at the same lazy pace they have for ages past. Their names are expressive, as Addcott — which may be 70 THE SEVERN VALLEY. rendered^ the mill at tlie cot^ by the ade. This old Saxon term is one still applied by navigators of the Severn to reaches^ where there are eddies in the river ; as Sweney Ade^ Preens Ade, &c. Above the mill in the ade, is Milford mill, vrhich John Fitz-Alan, lord of Arundel, whose will bears date, "Worcester, October 6th, 1267, gave ^^with his body, to the monks of Haughmond/^ The monks of Hanghmond also held Bentmill, and those of Fitz. For the latter they were indebted to Robert de Girrors, who also gave wood, multure, suit, toll of his own wheat, eels caught at the floodgates, common pasture for the miller^ s cattle, and room to winnow corn What pictures of primitive simplicity these old mills present ! They are just a stage above the querns ; when mills came in, we suppose querns went out ; as threshing machines have put down flails, and railway trains the coaches. The miller has always been a favourite with the fair, perhaps it is because he relieved them of an irksome task : — "Ye maids who toiled so faithfully at the mill, Now cease from work, and from those toils be still ; Sleep now till dawn, and let the birds with glee. Sing to the ruddy morn on bush and tree ; For what your hands performed so long, so true, Ceres has charged the water nymphs to do." Chaucer^s miller bore away the ram in wrestling -/^ he could heave a door oflP the bar,^^ or breke it at a running with his hede.^^ The miller^s horse, like his mill, moves slowly; it is quite a sight to see his team, with harness dashed with flour, dragging the richly-laden waggon through the village lanes. The THE SEVERN VALLEY. 71 miller^ s pig is proverbially fat and sweety and the man is deemed fortunate who gets one to adorn his kitchen. There are always ducks too^ and poultry, at the mill ; ducks of the fattest^, and poultry of the plumpest ; and plenty of eels and pike in the mill-stream. The village of Fitz is pleasantly situated upon rising ground, between the Perry and the Severn. Passing Mytton and Bicton, the Severn turns back in the direction of the Perry, to encompass a piece of land six hundred and forty-five acres in extent. It is called the Isle, and is the property of the Sand- fords, to an ancestor of whom it was given by Queen Elizabeth. Below the Isle is Leaton Knolls, wooded to the water^s edge, and commanding views of the winding river, of the Briedden and other hills, and adorned by the modern mansion of John Arthur Lloyd, Esq. Lower down, is Bossall Hall on one side, and on the other Great Berwick, and Berwick House, the property, and the latter the residence, of the Hon. H. W. Powys. It was here the gallant Percy halted, and lay encamped the night before the battle of Shrewsbury ; here, while partaking of the hospitality of the Bettons, of Upper Berwick, he left his sword — an incident which caused him some uneasiness, prior to the commencement of the battle. Opposite Berwick, was Shelton-ford, which Owen Glendwr, it is said, should have crossed to join his ally ; and in a field above the river is the oak, from the topmost branches of which Owen is reported to have watched the course the battle took, prepared to advance or retreat, as the case might be. Welsh histo- 72 THE SEVERN VALLEY. rians^ however^ by no means admit the truth of this tradition^ which involves the good faith of their country- man. Owen^ at the time^ they say^ was in a remote part of Wales_, and ignorant that his presence was either needed or expected till he heard of Hotspur^s overthrow. From the field walks near Shelton Oak the town of Shrewsbury comes pleasantly into view^ and with its towers and spires rising from the trough of the valley^ and seen through casual openings in the trees^ aff*ords good materials for the pencil. Two features^ in connection with the river_, strike those who follow it from the vale of Montgomery through that of Shrewsbury : the sudden change in its direction below the Briedden hills^ and the deep red banks of sand and gravel between which it flows. Having maintained a north-east course from its source^ it immediately turns upon escaping from the vale to the souths making wide sweeps in and out^ among the debris of rocks once cut down by a more powerful agency than its own. Hitherto it had con- tinued its course between the hills^ in the direction of the Humber ; now^ without hills before it to check its progress^ it turns suddenly^ and winds slowly through sand and gravel— the bed of an ancient sea^ that must have extended from the Wrekin to the Ural^ and from the Severn to the Ohio. The brave old hills of Wales appear to have resisted its waves^ but the new red sandstone,, east of the Severn^ fell before their fury, and its ruins, strewed along the plain, formed a bar which no doubt gave to the river its present direction. That the Severn itself has much modified the surface. THE sever:t valley. 73 by carving out the narrower portions of the valley lower down^ is evident ; but that the wider vales were estuaries scooped out by the action of the sea_, is a fact recent investigations abundantly confirm ; not only do marine plants linger along their ancient habitats^ but shells of fish inhabiting our coasts^ and others^ common under more favourable conditions of climate^ are found in sand and shingle left by the retiring waves. We found Turritella terebra in recent cuttings of the Severn Valley Railway ; and they have been found in similar beds around Shrewsbury^ Powick^ Kempsey^ and other places. Another feature is the presence of boulders_, sometimes seen in cottage gardens^ piled up as orna- ments^ or as landmarks^ and objects of road-side interest. No boulders or shells^ however_, are to be found along the vale of Montgomery^ and only for very short distances along openings on the right bank of the Severn lower down j another proof that the sudden change in the direction of the Severn takes place at the point where it formerly entered the sea. When an elevation of land threw off the ocean, and formed new lines of coast^ the Severn became a series of land-locked lakes j before escaping freely from the vale of Mont- gomery_, it had to cut its way through sand and gravel that barred its entrance to that of Shrewsbury — then another link in the liquid chain, till deepening its channel by degrees^ it left standing the gravel banks of Shra- wardine^ Shelton^ and other places. The barrier that formed the lake along the vale of Shrewsbury can be distinctly traced. On the high ground^ at Broseley, more than a hundred feet above the Severn^ the old river bed is met with^ where seams of coal and stone 74 THE SEVERN VALLEY. have been cut tlirougli^ and the debris of distant rocks substituted. On the sides of the hills overlooking the present deep valley^ the old land-locked Severn has left many such memorials of its earlier history. Before it burst its barrier^ other streams poured down their con- tents^ and heaped up pebble-beds_, where their currents naturally became checked higher up. Ji, in imagination^ we throw down once more the flood-gates that connected the lofty ridges at Iron- bridge^ the Severn would then turn back upon itself, till it filled the vale of Shrewsbury ; the Abbey of Build was and the ruins of Wroxeter would disappear^ and the outpouring of the great lake would be precisely where we find the old river bed at Broseley. As the narrow gorge at Ironbridge was being sawn through^ the waters would subside around Newport ; Longford- on-Tern would again become what its name implies; round-topped knolls^ like Kinnersley (Kinnaird^s Island) and others^ with names equally expressive^ would ap- pear ; while forests^ like that which mantled with sombre green the high lands round the Wrekin^ and other Salopian hills^ would spread over dried-up peat beds^ and fringe the banks of the declining streams. SHEEWSBURY. CHAPTER VI. Shrewsbury — Position and Aspect of the Town — Its Origin a Myth — An old Bard's Account — Alternate ascendancy of Celt and Saxon — The Founder of its Castle — The Abbey Church — A cluster of Churches — Domestic Buildings — Guilds and Institutions — Uffington and Haughmond — The " Bosky Hill" — The " Queen's Bower" — Leap of the Scottish Earl — Sundorne Castle — The Monks of Haughmond — Atcham — St. Eata — The Church — The Bridge — Old Coaching Days — The Lords of Berwick and of Ridware — Uriconium, its Ruins and Relics. HREWSBURY owes much of its beauty to its position — an eminence round whicli the river^ upon escaping from the Isle of Poplars^ proceeds to form a liquid crescent. It has an aspect becoming the capital of an important county_, and an air of antiquity befitting its past history. Leland praised its position^ and Speed its salubrity. Shakespeare immortalised its 76 THE SEVERN VALLEY. battle-field^ whilst Shenstone and others have lauded its cakes^its brawn^its ales^ and its hospitality. Its origin is a myth^ and tradition mingles much with its early history. An ancient British prince and poet^ whose writings show some acquaintance with the district^ describes his countrymen as having sought refuge here when driven from Uriconium by the Saxons; and^ for centuries afterwards^ it appears to have oeen the scene of sharp struggles between hostile races for its possession. The Saxons drove out the Britons^ slightly changing its name from the Hill of Alders to the Place of Shrubs ; and that it was what both imply, appears from excava- tions which bring to light leaves buried deep down beneath the oldest buildings on either side the Market- square. The Saxons^ with their chieftain^ whom a Welsh bard styles the hog^ expelled the Britons^ who afterwards established here their Biver King/^ but who^ once more compelled to yields retired beyond the Briedden hills. Scrobbesbyrig now came under the sway of the Mercian kings. Instead of rude hovels and wattled huts^ buildings of importance sprang up ; the college of St. Chad took the place of the log palace of the tusked king/^ and the Lady of the Mercians founded St. Alkmund^s. With the Norman Conquest it again changed masters — at leasts after the battle of Hastings made it prudent for it to do so. The proud title, Earl of Mercia, now became merged in that of Shrewsbury ; and the kinsman of the Conqueror_, upon whom it was conferred, built the stout castle, the ruins of which are seen on the isthmus of the Severn. Leaning its broad back against the Mount/^ how well the old structure THE SEVERN VALLEY. 77 tells its tale ; how significant the old walls stands giving frown for frown to the distant hills of Wales ! How redolent of the olden time^ and what distant periods they link together ! The inner gateway, through which the last Norman Earl of Shrewsbury carried the keys to Henry I. remains^ but the inner chapel^, where fight- ing men once watched and prayed^ has disappeared; whilst that of St. Nicholas^ outside the courts used for retainers of the castle^ has been converted into stables. Shadows of the past fast flit before us^ as we con- template its crumbling walls ; still more so if we ascend the Laura Tower^ rising high above the mounts and look around us — written history being now borne out by accomplished fact. Henry advances from the dark defile of Wenlock Edge ; Stephen lays siege to the castle^ which fortified itself in favour of the Empress Maud ; Llewellyn wins back the heritage of his fathers^ but is expelled by John^ who^ having reduced Oswestry to ashes^ retakes the town ; David^ the last of the British princes^ falls into the hands of Edward^ and parliament is summoned to Shrewsbury for his trial. The sentence it passes is severe^ and its execution a disgrace to the town. Members who witness it hasten to meet the king and his chancellor at Acton Burnell^ where the Commons legislate in a barn. The Great Parliament (20th of Richard II.) is held here^ the lords spiritual and temporal being sworn on the cross of Canterbury, brought to Shrewsbury for the purpose. Two years later, and the elements of rebellion culminate in the great battle of Shrewsbury, when two thousand noble- men, knights, and gentlemen, and six thousand private soldiers, fall on Hateley-field, where the victor built a 78 THE SEVERN VALLEY. church over the bodies of the slain. During the civil wars, the town is taken by storm under Colonel Mytton^ of the parliamentary army. To the Commonwealth succeeds the Restoration ; James II. in the course of a tour through his dominions visits the town^ which gives £200 for his entertainment and makes him a handsome present into the bargain ; and in return^ he condescends to exercise the gift of healings by touch- ing^^ for the king^s evil. We read the early ecclesiastical history of the place^ aided by the same red-stone characters. On the op- posite bank of the river is the Abbey, reared by the same founder^ who^ later^ assumed the monastic garb^ and was buried beneath its altar. It was the depository of the body of the virgin Wenefrede, whose decapita- tion^ with other marvels attendant^ caused her to rank high in the calendar of saints^ and her remains to bring much grist to the abbot's mill. Only the church and some outbuildings remain ; but its broad and massive Norman tower has one of the finest windows in the king- dom ; and its interior architecture^ mural monuments^ and altar tombs, render it well worthy of a visit. In the precincts of the Abbey is a sculptured stone pulpit, formerly used in the refectory by junior monks, who read to their brethren while at meals. A short distance from the Abbey, and near the mag- nificent Doric column commemorating the achievements of Lord Hill, is another memorial of the piety and philanthropy of past ages — a fine old church, dedicated to the patron saint of cripples. A small Norman loop- hole window has a representation of St. Giles ; it is a fine specimen of old stained glass. The church has THE SEVERN VALLEY. 79 very recently been enlarged^ and the original style of the building strictly adhered to. In its capacious grave- yard is a hollow stone^ formerly supposed to have been a pest basin_, but which may have been the socket of a shafts to which belonged the head of an elegantly sculptured cross^ found when rebuilding the western end of the church. Recrossing the river^ by the English bridge^ quite a cluster of churches are seen to crown the hill. The most interesting is St. Mary^s^ its tall^ tapering spire is quite a landmark^ and its architecture betrays the vary- ing styles of centuries. Entering by a triple-faced arch of transitional Norman work^ you find the nave divided from the aisles by piers^ with clustered shafts and capitals of the fifteenth century. There is an equal quiet beauty about its fine old Dutch and Flemish painted glass^ a beauty that in these days is quite re- freshing ; and one window is said to equal the celebrated one of St. Margaret^ s^ Westminster. The Jesse win- dow^ representing the genealogy of Christy and painted more than five centuries since^ was presented to the Grey Friars of Shrewsbury^ by Sir John de Charlton and Dame Hawise^ his wife^ or companion/^ as stated in the inscription. The series of subjects illustrating events in the life of St. Bernard — the designs of which have been attributed to Albert Durer — are exceedingly striking^ and were brought^ it is said^ from the vaults of the church of St. Sevin^ at Cologne. The church contains some noble monuments^ erected in honour of eminent Salopians^ and others, who distinguished them- selves by services in some way rendered to the town ; as those of Benbow^ Blakeway^ and Butler. The latter. 80 THE SEVERN VALLEY. a fuU-lengtli statue — from a design by Chantrey^ but executed by Bailey — of Carrara marble^ and rests on a pedestal of a dove-coloured material of the same kind^ from the Clee Hills. Over one of the chapels in the north transept is a reclusarium^ and over the south porch is a small chamber of the kind — the residence, it is supposed, of one of that class of anchorites who during the fifteenth century were so numerous in Shrewsbury. St. Alkmund^s and St. Julianas also have their monuments ; the latter a very handsome painted window, added in the summer of 1861. Those de- sirous of having a bird^s-eye view of the town, or of looking upon the wide panorama, fringed with distant hills surrounding it, we would advise to climb to the top of the tower of the latter. In contrast with these, is the melancholy but interest- ing relic of St. Chad^s. It stands useless and forsaken, and as though meditating upon the accumulated dust of a thousand years that lies beside it, and which, by injur- ing its foundation, led to the downfall, at the latter end of the last century, of all excepting the chantry chapel. The modern church of St. Chad is the fashion- able one of the town. It stands near the entrance to the magnificent limes which form a public promenade, and intersect the sloping green-sward known as the Quarry. Next to public edifices we have noticed, the most striking features which meet the eye are those presented by the domestic buildings of past centuries. Their white squares, black timbers, lofty fronts, and latticed windows, opening upon carved and highly-ornamented balconies, have a pleasing and suggestive aspect. They THE SEVERN VALLEY. 81 tell us that our ancestors_, who built churches and endowed them^ who fought stout battles and won them^ had that love of home which characterises their descend- ants. At the head of these stands the Council House^ the occasional residence of members of the Council of the Marches. It was the residence^ too^ of Charles I. and James II. during their visits to the town ; and now forms several handsome private dwelling-houses. Its carved fronts and ornamental timber gateway^ leading out of Castle Street^ are relics of considerable interest in themselves. Many of these fine old houses^ some those of wealthy burghers^ are seen in the direction of Mardol^ along High Street^ and at the bottom of the Wyle Cop. They project^ and shade the flags in front ; they nod and lean^ and sometimes touchy forming dark arcades^ locally known as shuts.^^ Many of these singularly beautiful structures are found in out-of-the-way places^, where they appear neglected and as though they shunned observation. One faded mansion of the kind^ with cloistered arches^ ornamental and projecting stories^ has been converted into shambles; the beauti- ful ceilings^ mouldings, panelling, fireplaces, and carv- ings of others have been torn down, their outer shells having been made to serve as storehouses for bark or timber. In wandering through the dark passages of one we came upon a brush-maker, who seemed as sur- prised at seeing any human being but himself amid its wilderness of rooms, as Robinson Crusoe did in dis- covering other footsteps than his own on his solitary island. Equally metamorphosed are the old guilds or halls of trades, which have witnessed in their time much feasting; 82 THE SEVERN VALLEY. and where no little tyranny was practised by the cor- porations of shearers^ mercers^, and others. Excepting the mercers^ the members of which took the oath of alle- giance before the mayor the other day^ these corporate bodies no longer exist ; but their old panellings and quaint carvings^ the portraits of their patrons and presidents^ may still be seen ; whilst the modern pageant of Shrewsbury Show serves to recall the nature of the festivals in which they indulged in former times. With the founders of Shrewsbury's more valued institutions — a list including royal personages as well as private citizens — we find both education and religion cared for. In some instances funds devoted to one were diverted to meet the wants of the other^ as in the case of the Grammar School^ founded by King Edward; and endowed by him out of the dissolved colleges of St. Mary's and St. Chad's. This valuable institution^ enriched from time to time^ has been fortunate in its masters^ and eminently successful in sending out men who have attained great eminence. No one visiting Shrewsbury^ with an hour to spare^ should neglect calling in at its Museum^ held in the spacious hall of an old mansion^ for many generations the town residence of the Myttons. In addition to minerals^ fossils^ and specimens of natural history^ it contains relics collected during the course of many years from Uriconium. Also all that has been found of interest during recent excavations^ including skulls, skeletons of the inhabitants, personal ornaments, imple- ments, and utensils. You find sculptures, building materials, capitals, columns, tesselated and roof tiles, knives^ bolts^ bars^ keys^ padlocks^ chains^ weights. THE SEVERN VALLEY. 83 bodkins^ bracelets^ finger-rings^ coins^ and cart-loads of pottery not yet assorted. The Severn having completed its silvery crescent round the town of Shrewsbury falls back in a reverse and graceful curve^ in the direction of Ufl&ngton^ a little village^ pleasantly situated^ three miles from Shrewsbury. Behind it rises the wooded steep of Haughmond^ referred to in the opening of the fifth act of Shakespeare^s famous play in which King Henry is jnade to say — " How bloodily the sun begins to peer Above yon bosky hill ! the day looks pale At his distemperature." It commands the field where Falstafl* fought a long hour by Shrewsbury clock/^ and is still a forest chase^ as it was in Shakespeare^s time. A dark thicket upon its brow is still called the Queen^s Bower^, from a legend that Queen Eleanor here watched the progress of the battle in which the fortunes of her husband were involved. When Hotspur fell — " Whose spirit lent a fire Even to the dullest peasant in the camp," the Scottish earl who thrice unhorsed the king^ nar- rowly escaping with his life^ fled in the direction of Haughmond Hill^ where he fell in leaping from a crag. A castellated turret crowns the summit of the rock next the river ; and beyond it^ Sundorne Castle^ the seat of Sir Theodore and Lady Brinckman^ with its lawn_, and lakes^ and ornamental grounds^ occupies an opening to the west. On the same side^ against the same dark G 2 84 THE SEVEPvN VALLEY. background^ are the ruins of Haughmond Abbey^ founded by Henry I.^ who gave its inmates pannage of the neighbouring woods^ and rights of weir and fishing in the Tern. The old monks of Haughmond^ verily^ must have had good times of it ; they had woods for their swine^ weirs for their fish^ mills to grind their corn_, cooks to dress their food, and incomes from churches as far off as Coventry and Norwich; whilst to increase their incomes^ JPope Boniface granted indulgences to peni- tents who should visit this out-of-the-way monastery. The old abbey has many interesting features : its chapter-house is a beautiful one of its kind^ but archse- ologists in visiting the ruins^ are pained to find how much they have been tampered with by modern builders_, in taking portions down^ and in turning others to account.^ ^ HE village of Atcham — celebrated as the birthplace of Ordericus Vitalis^ chap- lain to William the Con- ATCHAM CHURCH. qucror^, and an able Salo- pian author^ who faithfully recorded the transactions of his time — ^is now before us. The name is an abreviation of Attingham^ which means the home of the children of Eata^ who was abbot of Melrose^ and also of Lindisfarne^ about the middle of THE SEVERN VALLEY, 85 the seventh century^ and friend of the great St. Cuthbert. But whether the dwellers of Attingham were figura- tively^ as followers^ or by legitimate descent the children of the old Saxon saint^ or when the first church of St. Eata was reared on the little grassy flat where the present stands^ and round which the river bends^ does not appear. Tresses of luxuriant ivy conceal its walls^ in which are found sections of a Roman arch and a sculptured Roman column^ part of the spoil of the city of Uriconium. Among its relics is a reaSing-desk^ carved^ it is supposed^ by Albert Durer^ with panels representing passages in the parable of the Prodigal Son. The Rev. H. Burton takes great pride in the venerable fabric^ and has done much to preserve and restore it. The church formerly belonged to the monks of Lille- shall Abbey^ who held the right of levying a tax at the Atcham passage. With its neat bridge^ its ivied churchy and its large inn^ Atcham is familiar to all travellers along the old Holyhead Road. But the Ber- wick Arms now seldom gets a customer. Aye^ aye^ sir/^ said -an old man whom we found holding forth in its parlour^ those were good times for Atcham^ when as many as eighteen coaches ran through it in a day.^^ I was guard on more than one^ and 1 knew coachmen who reckoned it a bad day^s work if they did not get a guinea.^' Within the parish^ and belonging to the Attingham estate^ is the Lordship of Mavaston^ origi- nally conferred upon a knight of that name^ who served under the Conqueror at the battle of Hastings^ and afterwards held on condition of Border service by his descendants^ the last of whom^ Sir John Malveysin^ of 86 THE SEVERN VALLEY. Berwick^ was slain at a hunting match near the Wrekin^ in the reign of Henry IV. The stone covering his remains has the following : — " The bugle sounds, 'tis Berwicke's lord O'er Wrekin drives the deer : That hunting match, that fatal feud, Drew many a widow's tear. " With deep-mouthed talbe to rouse the game His generous bosom warms, Till furious foemen cheek the chase And dare the din of arms. " Then fell the high-born Malveysin, His limbs besmeared with gore ; No more his trusty bow shall twang, His bugle blow no more. " Whilst Rid ware mourns her last brave son, In arms untimely slain. With kindred grief she here records The last of Berwicke's train." Between these families an old feud respecting rights of fishery existed. They took opposite sides^ too^ in the civil war. Sir Robert Malveysin and Sir William Handsacre left their homes on the same day with six vassals in their train^ for the Shrewsbury fields where they met in fight under hostile banners. Handsacre was slain_, and Sir Robert fell^ it is said^ by Hotspur^s hand ; the tale is told in the following lines on the slab covering his remains at Ridware church : — " By yon old gateway Ridware's Knight Vaunts on his banded roan, How graceful did his beaver sit. How bright his armour shone I THE SEVERN VALLEY. 87 * For Shrewsbury on ! ' (Sir Robert spoke, Triumphant waves his plume), 'At Shrewsbury with the King we'll stand To hasten Hotspur's doom/ " Say, Royal Henry, whose stout arm Could launch the wingful dart. Did Douglas damp the hero's fire, And Percy pierce his heart ? " Though Percy once for Henry fought (How bravely none deny), Bled he at Shrewsbury for his King, Did he for Henry die ? " Attingham Hall^ the princely mansion of Lord Ber- wick_, is finely situated amid an extensive park^ where the Tern comes down^ divides^, and joins the Severn. It remained untenanted^ excepting by aged domestics of the family^ during the lifetime of the late Lord Ber- wick^ who^ having set his mind upon retrenchment^ and the improvement of the estates^ chiefly with the view of benefiting his successor^ lived at a small Italian villa at Cronkhill^ originally designed for the steward. He gained great fame as an agriculturist^ by his unrivalled herds^ reared on the pastures of the Severn and the Tern ; many of his implements were fashioned by him- self^ at the anvil or the bench^ at which he also made his own rifles. Wroxeter^ by the turnpike road^ is but a short dis- tance from Tern Bridge^ and but four miles from Shrewsbury. The first thing that strikes you on arriving at this rich bit of table-land^ boanded by the Severn on one side^ and by the Wrekin that once lent its name to the city on the other^ is the beauty of its situation. Like Caersws^ it is surrounded by an amphi- 88 THE SEVERN VALLEY. theatre of hills^ among wliich the keen-backed Lawley^ the pointed Caradoc^ the round-topped Longmynd^ the craggy Stiper-stones^ the stately Brieddens^ and the hills of Llangollen meet the eye. If we except the disappearance of forests where the red deer bounded and the wild boar stood at bay, the surface, one would imagine, is not far different from what it was when Roman trumpets first awoke the echoes of the hills. It is a position, too, in harmony with the genius of men who dared the deep and came so far from home to ran- sack our mines ; and who left behind them roads, cities, and forms of government, as indications of their presence. " How often as they heard the chill wind howl. Around their fortress in the wooded west, Or watched the rain-clouds gather like a cowl Upon the Wrekin's crest, " They must have longed to feel the rays which throw So warm a mantle round their southern home, Throned on its hills and crowned with golden glow. Imperial, queenly Rome." Here they lived and died, and here the quiet sun-light is let in once more upon their streets, their habita- tions, their gods, their goods, their personal ornaments, and the skeletons of the men themselves. After a lapse of fifteen hundred years, during which the country has many times changed masters, you tread their streets, their thresholds, and their pavements ; you handle the implements they used, the ornaments they wore, admire their well-turned arches, and see the paint and plaster upon the walls of their apartments. The old wall,^^ so long like a sphinx by the roadside, suggesting enigmas to passers-by, has found an interpreter in THE SEVERN VALLEY. 89 revelations the pick and spade have made within its shadow. It stands about the centre of the city^ which^ from the time when its walls first fell down^ has fur- nished plunder for the country round. The old monks^ who found it easier to take down its stones than to quarry new ones^ built their churches with its spoil; whilst the old fragment left standing served as a per- petual advertisement of treasures buried around it. During the latter end of the past and the first half of the present centuries^ much treasure has been removed ; for^ notwithstanding the jealous care taken by lords of the soil to secure objects turned up by the plough^ there is scarcely a cottager for miles but has done a small trade in coins^ or other articles of value. Roman skulls are used by rural labourers for lanterns^ for threshing in the barns — for which they say they are suited^ by reason of their large size : farmers them- selves have relics ; and it is not unusual to meet with stones which were originally Roman capitals hollowed out to serve as drinking troughs for cattle. A few have valuable collections ; and two have contributed shafts of Roman columns^ to form a gateway to the church, which are surmounted by capitals^ remarkable for the beauty of their sculpture. Inside the church is another^ which serves the purpose of a font. " And now, where once, in all the pomp of power, The Roman eagle spread his haughty wing, Waves the sweet banner of wild weed and flower. And wood birds rest and sing. " While in the very hall where nightly rose The banquet's fragrance and the revel's sound. The clustering blossom of the elder throws Its heavy scent around." 90 THE SEVERN VALLEY. Excepting tlie old wall^ tlie whole of the buildings above the surface had been carried away^ whilst the tiles that covered them^ the floorings^ and hypocausts that remain^ are found but short distances beneath it. One tesselated pavement did not appear to be more than three feet below the soil^ and another to be not more than four feet from the surface. Light and dark coloured stones^ of small size and oblong form^ three inches long and one or one and a half square^ had been employed to work out the design ; but in the decorative URICONIUM. border another of a red colour was added, and a passage paved with bricks, set herring-bone fashion, led to a large rectangular enclosure, two hundred and twenty- six feet in length by thirty in width. Columns, capitals, and sculptured stones, indicating buildings of pretension and importance, were strewn THE SEVERN VALLEY. 91 about^ and inscriptions in large characters were met with. South of the old wall^ doorways worn by feet were founds and hypocansts in an excellent state of pre- servation, with pillars supporting the floors of the rooms above them. One room^ with a semicircular recess^ com- municated with another similarly provided, and on a little platform, at the bottom of a stone staircase, a perfect mine of pottery, glass, coins, hair-pins, &c., were found. The human skeletons met with in different portions of the ruins are supposed to afford evidence of the massacre of the inhabitants, some of whom appear to have been pursued and slaughtered in an open court, and others to have perished in one of the hypocausts, where they had fled for safety. One, that of an old man, with whom the ruling passion appears to have been strong in death, was found near a heap of Roman coins, one hundred and thirty-two in number, among which were nails, and bits of decomposed wood, as though they had been contained in a box of that material. As excava- tions proceed, the plan of the city unfolds itself ; the forum, the baths, the market-place, and the sites of public and private buildings become clear. Interesting discoveries have also been made in the cemetery, where funeral urns, ornaments, and inscribed stones have been found; but, with ruins three miles in circumference, much remains to be explored : — " All desolate lies Uriconium now, The dust of ages piled upon her brow ; But like the mists which mantle round the morn. This gloomy covering shall aside be torn ; Her broken ramparts yet again shall gleam. And woo the gaze by upland, vale, and stream ; Science shall yet the buried past relume, And Art reclaim her trophies from the tomb ! " CHAPTER VII. The Wrekin— Hermit of the Wrekin— The Bladder Stone— The Needle's Eye and Raven's Bowl — Prospect from the Wrekin — Geology of the Wrekin — Legend of the Wrekin — Eaton Constantine — The House where Richard Baxter lived — The Village Green — The Old Church and those who served it — Baxter before Jeffries — Baxter's Books — Eyton-upon- Severn — Lord Herbert of Chirbury — The Home of the Bradfords — Venus Bank — The Devil's Causeway — Pitchford, Cound, and Condover — Head of the Royal House of Stuart. I O all friends round the Wrekin^ is an old Salopian sentiment. At the social board when wine flow^s freely^ at festive gatherings when eyes sparkle brightly and distant ones are called to mind^ when the last joke and the last bottle both are cracked and guests are about to separate^ with a shout that finds a ready echo^ this well-known toast is given. Pleasing in sentiment^ and expressive of local ties and tendencies^ it is significant also of the geographical position of the hill itself. Rising abruptly from the plain^ it is what its Celtic name implies — the chief or conspicuous hill — and al- THE SEVERN VALLEY. 93 though not the highest the county boasts^ it is its most familiar landmark. Its aspects vary much^ accord- ing to the point from which it is seen ; at one time it looks like the segment of a circle^ or some bold arch of nature^s turning ; at others as some huge tenant of the deep^ stranded by old world floods^ the narrow line made by the walk along its back^ making the illusion more complete. Wooed by its charms^ many from adjoining hamlets make annual pilgrimages to its shrine. In springs when gladsome May with flowers and greenness comes^ and the cooing of the ring- dove rises and falls on the breeze that sweeps the Ercall woods^ villagers,, far and near^ hold festival on its sides. Few^ however^ like to find themselves within the shadows of these at night fall^ from a belief that in their thickets spirits meet — " To haunt, to startle, and waylay." Many allege they have seen strange sights^ heard strange sounds^ and that they have been unable to find their way along roads they knew ; that in the glimmer- ing twilight^ when through the caverns of the Ercall^ the night wind sighs^ and over its dark pool phospho- rescent gases steals they have been lifted from their feet^ or imprisoned in a field^ by that mischievous imp whom Shakespeare makes to say — " Sometimes a horse I'll be, sometimes a hound, A hog, a headless bear, sometimes a fire And neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and burn. Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire at every turn/' Of the presence of less shadowy forms during some 94 THE SEVERN VALLEY. distant period of its past history^ more substantial evidence is aflforded — "The sod of Ercall is on the ashes of fierce men of the progeny of Morial." And although, there is nothing in the old bard^s poems to fix his allusion to the Ercall of the Wrekin^ good evidence that it was meant to be so applied is furnished by tumuli between it and the foot of the latter hill^ by hundreds of spear-heads and broken weapons that have been founds and by rude fortifications on its summit^ through which heaven gate^^ and ^^hell gate^^ are openings. Here^ in more peaceful times — " Unknown to public view, Prom youth to age a reverend hermit grew ; The moss his bed, the cave his humble cell, His food the fruit, his drink the crystal well. Remote from man, with God he passed his days, Prayer, all his business —all his pleasure praise." During this period^ its old name was suspended in honour of its hermit^ and it was called Mount St. Gilbert ; as at the Forest assizes^ 1371^ at which we • find Michael de Burgo and others presented as habitual malefactors, with respect to venison in the forest of Mount Gilbert. We presume the good man who pitched his tent so high above liis fellows^ abstained from such tempting luxuries^ that on his wooden trencher^ no king^s venison smoked^ and that fare more becoming gown and girdle contented him ; so^ at leasts it must have been reported to Henry III.^ who^ to give the said hermit^ Nicholas de Denton^ greater leisure for holy exercises^ and to support him during his life,, so long as he should be a hermit on the aforesaid mountain/^ THE SEVERN VALLEY. 95 granted six quarters of corn^ to be paid by the sheriff of Shropshire,, out of the issues of Pendleston mill^ Bridgnorth. The hermitage^ like hermit^ has disap- peared^ and not a stick or stone remains to mark the spot. Was the hollow cliff, known as the Needless Eye/' sheltered from the norths and open to the souths his cell? Did the Raven's Bowl/^ fed by nightly dews^ supply his morning's draught ? Was he awoke by the matins of countless birds in the wilderness beneath ? Was he actuated in seeking isolation merely by a wish to escape the world ; or^ with the expanding 96 THE SEVERN VALLEY. mass of rock and river^ wood and hill — varying from the warmest and gayest to the faintest and gentlest touches of Nature^ s pencil — before him^ did he — " Converse with Nature's charms, And view her stores unrolled." From this culminating point of the hill a magnificent prospect presents itself. Beyond the mantling woods in the foreground^ the river is seen to linger^ to wind^ and turn again^ as if reluctant to leave a scene of so much beauty. On its western bank the grey ruins of the abbey show themselves amidst the trees^ beyond these the round-topped Acton Burnell Hills appear^ then the graceful Caradoc and Brown Clee group ; east of these are the Malverns^ and^ more distant stilly the sugar-loaf of Monmouth; the two Beacons of Breck- nockshire^ Plinlimmon^ Cader Idris^ Arran Fowdy^ Arran Ben Lyn^ and the Berwyn chain^ overtopped by the blue Snowdon range^ lie west and north-west^ and on clear days may sometimes be seen. We enumerate a few only of the more prominent features in this won- derful panorama of river^ dale^ and dingle^ wood beyond wood^ rock beyond rock^ and hill rising beyond hill^ their blue tops swellings towering^ vanishing^ and melt- ing into the azure sky^ the whole forming one solemn picture beyond the reach of pen or pencil^ and kindling^, with sublime emotions^ a sense of the grand harmony of the Creator^s works. A tradition of the neighbourhood is^ that the small round basin in the hard and solid rock called the Raven^s Bowl^, and always containing water^ was formed and mysteriously supplied for the use of the anchorite THE SEVERN VALLEY. 97 to whom we have alluded ; and another is, that the Needless Eye was formed^ as we see it_, at the Cruci- fixion. The Bladder Stone is a term supposed to have a heathen origin^ and to have been derived from the god Balder^ of Scandinavian mythology. It consists of pinkish felspar, and marks the point where the force that reared the mass was greatest. Rocks pierced in the ascent of the hill lie in fractured masses on its sides; among them the Caradoc sand- stone — altered and rendered porcelanic by the heat. Unlike the sedimentary strata surrounding it^ and bearing impressions of winds and waves, of plants, and deep-sea forms of life, the Wrekin was first forged deep down where Pluto reigns, and thrust hissing hot into the waters of a surrounding ocean. It is one of those monuments in the earth^s chronology that commemo- rate successive revolutions the surface has undergone. It gave no tokens of its birth till the sea-bed named in honour of Britain's chief, the Caradoc, had been formed. Afterwards, when forms of life had been multiplied, and inhabitants of the deep had sported above the old theatre of violence for ages, the main body of the hill was reared above the waves. Between the points where living swarms first were buried — buried in scalding mud and ash of the Caradoc sea — and that at which its last elevation took place, vast periods in point of time must have elapsed. The polyp-piled mass of limestone on its flank had been elaborated, vege- tation had spread its verdant mantle over hill and dale, an exuberance of plants, rank and green, had accumu- lated in surrounding swamps, and into inland lakes a thousand streams had laboured to bring down the mud H 98 THE SEVERN VALLEY, now wrought as iron ore. This had been repeated — lake^ swamp^ or dry land — until coal and ironstone in succession had been formed^ and covered up by a returning sea that spread out the new red sandstone^ when a mine was laid that was to lift the whole. Vol- canic fires returned once more to their old channels^ and amid boiling waters^ rushing waves^ and hissing steam, the Ercall and Lilleshall hills rose to the surface. Tradition, of course, accounts for the Wrekin very differently ; and the legend of its having been placed there by the giant who was overreached by a cobbler is, no doubt, familiar to the reader. The following version is given by the humorous author writing under the signature of Ingoldsby — " A Cobbler one morning his way home was wending, With a pretty good bagM of shoes wanting mending. When he heard a great sound, Which shook even the ground ; And, on looking around, He saw a great mound, Or rather a mountain, which toward him came. He at first thought his senses were having a game ; But as longer he gazed. He was somewhat amazed To find by a giant the mountain was carried. So, thinking it wise if no longer he tarried. He took to his heels, and, before one could say Jack Robinson, swiftly he bolted away. When the Giant saw Crispin, he sung out ' Halloa i Down there below. My fine fellow, don't go ; How far is it to Shrewsbury? I want to know.' Poor Crispin, on hearing this sound, at once stopped, Though he thought that with fright he'd have certainly dropped. And said — ' Sir, I hope that you won't take it ill. If I ask what you are going to do with that hill ? ' THE SEVERN VALLEY, 99 Said the Giant — ' 1 Ve sent down to Shrewsbury there. To order that precious old donkey, the Mayor, To provide me with plenty of grub for my dinner. He's neglected, and, surely as I am a sinner, (He went on in a voice which made poor Crispin shiver) I've been d g their town, so I'll now dam the river.' " To save his customers the cobbler fibs : — " ' How far may it be To this said Shrewsbury ?' Says the Cobbler, says he, * I don't know — let me see— - I can't tell you exactly how far — but I know That, though with such legs you won't walk very slow, You won't get there to-day, or perhaps even to-morrow ; For, in walking from thence, I have found to my sorrow I've worn out all these shoes on my back which I carry. And which load I was wishing just now at Old Harry.' The Giant, on hearing this, uttered a groan Would have melted a heart that was not made of stone. And said — * Well I'm blowed ! If I'd certainly knowed 'Twas so far, I would never have carried this load. I shall do you some damage ; my temper I'm losing. And the sweat from each pore of my body is oozing ; However, this thing I'll soon get off my hands.' So he dropped it, and there to this moment it stands. And if e'er for amusement you're Shrewsbury seeking, They'll tell you this story concerning the Wrekiu." The foot of the Wrekin stretches to the Severn and_, appearing here and there in rugged masses of dark grey trap_, crosses it in the direction of the Caradoc. Fol- lowing its direction beyond Primrose Hill^ we arrive at the little village of Eaton Constantine^ where is still standing the house in which the great Puritan divine Richard Baxter lived. He was born at Rowton_, a H 2 100 THE SEVERN VALLEY. short distance from here^ but was removed^ as he tells us in his biography^ when a child^ to his father^s estate and habitation^ at a village called Eaton Con- stantine^ a mile from the Wrekin hill^ and about half a mile from the Severn river/^ The house still stands, surrounded by the estate of his ancestors. It is one of those substantial, old-fashioned homesteads one so often meets with in country places ; it has in front a heavy timbered porch, round which imagination pictures the honeysuckle to have once entwined, and which, like the house itself, appears to have seen better days. The reader may select it at once on approaching the village, and walk, as we did, straight to the door, where the thrifty housewife, rightly interpreting the object of our visit, met us and bid us welcome. The room into which the porch leads is large, and furnished not unlike what it might have been in Baxter^s time. A bacon-rack over head was stocked with home-fed and walking-sticks, and a polished dresser — with shining pewter, and side cabinets of crockery — held the place of honour. In one corner a copper warming-pan shone red like a sunset ; from another strings of onions and herbs perfumed the room. The good wife was frying eggs and bacon for her husband^ s dinner ; and near her stood a white deal table, like the one on which Baxter was wont to lay his Bible. There, too, was the settle, like the one which we saw at a farm close by, with the initials of Richard and Margaret Baxter carved on the back. We sought the village sages for traditions of the family, and were told that the last of the Baxters was eccentric, very fond of fishing and coursing. We sought THE SEVERN VALLEY. 101 the village green^ where^ to fife and tabor^ Baxter tells us^ retiring congregations danced out their Sunday afternoons. A modern churchy we founds had taken the place of the one of rubble^ of which we were shown a drawing at the Rectory^ and which^ defiant of all orders of architecture^ reminds one of the irregularities of the men who served it^ and whose qualifications Baxter so graphically paints. One^ he tells us^ had been promoted from the flail^ and another from the thimble/^ a third was the best stage-player in the country^ an excellent gamester^ and a good fellow; whilst a fourth had been an attorney's clerk^ who^ reduced by tippling/' had been induced to take up with the Church for a living. We looked over hedges into orchards^ which we imagine Baxter robbed when a boy; for^ sanctified '' as his father believed Bichard to be '^from birth/^ he inherited this one weakness from mother Eve — an inordinate love of apples^ which led him to take forbidden fruit. From Eaton Constantine^ Baxter went to London to seek the patronage of Sir Henry Herbert,, the then Master of the Revels. He returned, entered the Church, and commenced the duties of active life at a time when questions of stirring interest were moving the minds of men, first at Bridgnorth, then at Kidderminster, and afterwards at Coventry, where he became chaplain to Whalley's regiment. He witnessed the sieges at Bristol and Worcester, and between skirmishes and pitched battles held long discussions with the men, the officers, and with Cromwell, whom he describes as a man of good natural parts, but not well up in the prin- ciples of his religion,'' and as being of a sanguine com- 102 THE SEVERN VALLEY. plexion, naturally of such, a vivacity^ hilarity^ and alacrity as another man hath when he has drunken a drop too much/^ Baxter^s zeal^ abilities^ and sterling piety^ made him the brightest ornament of the Church at the Restoration ; whilst his great learning caused him to be chosen as leader of one of the great parties at the synod of Savoy. He had his triumphs and his defeats^ his joys and his sorrows ; and for a companion^ during a portion of them^ a young and gentle wife. He was near fifty years of age when he married Margaret Charlton^ a young ladj'' of twenty- one j and the portrait he draws of .his wife cannot fail to reconcile the reader to his choice, notwith- standing his strongly expressed and previously written opinions in favour of clerical celibacy. He was seventy and a widower when he confronted Jefi'eries, his ermined judge and bitter accuser, who, taunting him with the number of books he had written, said — Richard, thou hast written books enough to fill a cart ; hadst thou been whipt out of thy writing trade forty years ago, it had been happy. Jeffcries did not much over-estimate the number ; they amounted to one hundred and sixty-eight volumes, many folio size — a number perfectly astounding. As Sir James Stephen has said, he appears before us, even now, as an intel- lectual giant, playing with his quill as Hercules with the distafl^, his very sport a labour under which any one else would have staggered.^^ When Boswell asked Johnson what books of Baxter^s he should read, he replied — Bead any of them, for they are all good.^^ Barrow, Boyle, Orme, Acton, and a host of others, have also borne their testimony to the greatness of the man. THE SEVERN VALLEY. 103 Like Baxter_, the great Puritan divine^ Lord Herbert^ the celebrated sceptic_, was also born within the shadow of the Wrekin^ and within sight and sound of the Severn. The honour is sometimes given to the village of Chirbury, from which he derived his title ; but in his life^ written by himself, he says^ I was born at Eyton^ in Shropshire, being a house which_, together with fair lands^ descended from the Newports to my grandmother.^^ In modes of life and habits of thought the two men, who lived during the same stirring times, appear to have been the antipodes of each other. If Baxter was a saint when a boy, Herbert, from his own confessions, was subject to strange doubts and sceptical fancies when a child ; and that a work by one of the English free-thinkers, read when a boy, served to turn his thoughts entirely in that direction. With an organisation exceedingly sensitive, he appears to have been early impressed with the beauties of external nature, and during lonely wanderings by the river, and among the woods and shadows of his native hills, to have indulged thoughts which he afterwards gave to the world in that fascinating form that at once pleased and bewildered it. In the acquirement of knowledge he made amazing progress, both at school and college. He quitted Oxford in his nineteenth year, inferior to few he left behind ; but only to con- tinue his studies in the library, the laboratory, and the dissecting-^room. He married, at Eaton, the daughter of Sir William Herbert, a man conversant with books, and given,^^ he tells us, to the study of the book of Revelations, and the philosopher's stone ; and who failed as signally in his exposition of the former, as he 104 THE SEVERN VALLEY. did in liis discovery of the latter. Herbert's politics assumed a republican form^ and he became the stern advocate of an equality of property and condition^ the opponent of revelation^ and the champion of a platonism which he gave to the world in fervent faith that he was aiding the development of truth. His marriage having proved the reverse of happy^ he separated from the accomplished lady of his choice, and was left at liberty to follow his ambition. He excelled in runnings leaping, and wrestling ; in fencing, shooting, and riding ; and performed acts of heroism such, to use the language of Lord Orford, as to make us wonder, and such as wonder would make us doubt, did not the charm of his ingenuous integrity dispel our hesitation. He was made Knight of the Bath on the accession of James I., and distinguished himself by his romantic bravery with the English forces under the Prince of Orange, at the siege of Juliers. He served a second time under the same prince, and, upon his return, was appointed ambassador to the court of Louis XIII. He was afterwards created a baron of the kingdom of Ireland, and subsequently an English baron, by the title of Lord Herbert of Chirbury. There Avere few men of the court of that age, we imagine, who, like Lord Her- bert, upon looking back could say, I can affirm to all the world truly, that from my first infancy to this hour I told not anything that was false, my soul having naturally an antipathy to lying and deceit ; or of whom Ben Jonson could write, — " If men get fame for some one virtue, then What man art thou that art so many men ? All virtuous Herbert ! on whose every part Truth might spend all her voice, Fame all her art." THE SEVERN VALLEY. 105 Of the Old Hall/^ as it is called^ the birthplace of Lord Herbert^ and the home of the Newports^ only a few isolated clumps of ruins remain. The plough passes over its court-yard^ and prolific crops are raised on the site on which much of the old mansion stood. Its first founder was Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas Bromley^ who enriched it by extensive spoils from the Shrewsbury Abbey. It came into the hands of the Newports^ by Sir Richard^ who married the only daughter of its founder. Its subsequent history under the Bradfords^ the Bridgmans^ the Pultneys^ the Mur- rays^ the Darlingtons^ with its long pending trial in Chancery^ is curious^ and contains many features of interest. The estate is held by the present Duke of Cleveland^ who is esteemed by his tenantry as a liberal and considerate landlord. Crossing the river by the Puncb Bowl^ and turning a little to the rights we come to Venus Bank^' and the ^^DeviFs Causeway; the first a smooth green knoll^ the latter a paved road running down to a ford^ nearly opposite to Wroxeter. The Ptomans^ there is little doubt^ constructed both; and a ruder people coming after them^ struck with the ingenuity displayed in the contrivance of the latter^ but knowing nothing of its origin^ ignorantly ascribed it to an agency which^ in matters difficulty, seems frequently to have been called in^ in former times. It commenced opposite to the bank on which the city stood^ and crossing the Brook near Cound^ ran south-west to Rushbury^ Nordy Bank^ and Norton Camp^ well-known Roman stations. Near it are the villages of Pitchford^ Cound^ and Con- dover ; the former deriving its name from one of those 106 THE SEVERN VALLEY. bituminous springs of whicli the Romans did not fail to make good use. Pitchford Hall^ one of those heavily- timbered mansions^ in the style of past centuries^ now the property of Lord Liverpool^ was formerly the resi- dence of the Pitchfords^, one of whom is represented by a recumbent figure in the church. The figure is carved from a solid block of wood^ it is seven feet long, and is said to be one of the finest of its kind in the kingdom. Lower down is Cound, and higher up is Condover. Cound, Mr. Eyton says, is a name the early settlers gave the colony they founded at the confluence of Cound brook with the Severn ; and Con- dover, a misnomer perpetrated by the Saxon who esta- blished themselves higher up, and who, ignorant of the Celtic meaning of the term, called their place Upper Cound, or upper embouchure. It was held by Henry I., also by Henry III., who gave it to the wife of Llewellyn; subsequently by others, on condition that its owner found twelve men in time of war for the king^s service. The manor of Cound, was held at a rose rent; one of its owners, Walter Fitz-Alan, entered the service of David, king of Scotland, and afterwards became the head of the royal House of Stuart. CHAPTER VIII. The Lady Oak — Cressage — Belswardine — The lost Portrait of Judge JefFeries — Banister's Coppice — Betraj al of the Duke of Buckingham — The Villages of Shineton and licighton — Great Land-Slip — Present Aspect of the Kiver — The Beauties of Buildwas — The Buildwas Monks — Privileges and Ex- emptions — Remains of the Abbey — The Abbey by Moonlight. ' j N a long, sandy lane between Cound and Cressage^ nearly parallel with the - railway is the Lady Oak. The venera- tion of the Druids for the oak has been perpetuated by traditions still current in many country villages. King of forest trees^ it wins admiration by its uses and its beauty. Hearts of oak/^ ^''the tough old oak/^ and the brave old oak/' are terms that typify national and personal characteristics^ and many a man would bag a hare or rob a hen-roost with less hesitation than he would injure one of these trees. Their stout trunks rise above the hedge-rows, their tortuous branches shade and drop their yellow acorns into lanes_, where cottagers gather them now as in Saxon and in Norman times. Nothing but veneration could have preserved the one between Cound and Cres- sage j fires have been lighted in its inside by wandering gipsies^ but its shattered bole is clamped with iron^ and 108 THE SEVERN VALLEY. propped with, wooden blocks to j^reserve it ; and sucli is the affection for the old tree^ that its destruction would be deemed a calamity in the district. It is associated by tradition with the dawn of Christianity from the East; to the first missionaries of which it is said to have THE LADY OAK. given shelter. It bears the impress of antiquity, what- ever may be its age ; and, as if to perpetuate both the tree and its legend, an acorn dropped in the centre of its hollow trunk has given rise to a young oak, which THE SEVERN VALLEY. 109 now mingles its foliage with that of its parent. From a similar oak^ a quarter of a mile below^ Cressage is said to derive its name. It was called Christ's-ache^ ache being Saxon for oak ; but this tree^, and the stone cross which succeeded it^ have long since disappeared. Near to Cressage is Belswardine^ an old Border estate^ that still remains in possession of the family that received it from the Conqueror. The name is indicative of the tower and bell^ that once summoned to prayer^ or sterner duties^ the dependants of the place. One of its former proprietors married the daughter of Judge Jefferies ; and the late Lord Camp- bell^ in his Lives of the Chancellors/^ speaking of the portrait of this notorious judge being taken from the King^s Bench^ says that it was brought to Belswardine. In confirmation of his lordship^s remarks^ we may men- tion that Sir George Harnage informed us that he well remembers seeing the portrait in its place in the hall j but that when he came into possession in 1841^ it was gone. The probability is_, that it is irretrievably lost^ and that the curses heaped upon the original led to its destruction. Near Belswardine^ is a rude bleak tracts called Banister^ s Coppice^ where the great Duke of Buckingham is said to have been betrayed when defeated in his attempt to cross the river lower down^ by what was long afterwards called Buckingham's Flood.''^ Shakespeare^ in his Richard III./^ thus alludes to it : — The news I have to tell your majesty Is, — that, by sudden floods and fall of waters Buckingham's army is dispersed and scatter'd, And he himself wander d away aloney No man knows whitherj'* 110 THE SEVERN VALLEY. Proclaimed a traitor by the crown^ and forsaken by his army, he sought a hiding-place in these dark seques- tered woods, belonging to one who had worn his livery, and one whom he flattered himself he could trust. The duke, who had assumed the disguise of a country- man, and was employed in digging a ditch at the time of his arrest, finding himself betrayed, fell upon his knees, imprecating his betrayer; and with that faith in retributive justice so general in former times, it is circumstantially recorded how the curses uttered were fulfilled. An old writer says — Shortly after he had betrayed his master, his sonne and heyre waxed mad, and dyed in a bore's stye ; his eldest daughter, of excellent beautie, was sodaynelie stryken with a fouUe leperze ; his seconde sonne very mervalously deformed of his limmes ; his younger sonne in a smal puddell was strangled and drowned ; and he, being of extreme age, arraigned and found gyltie of a murther, was only by his clergye saved; and as for his thousand pounde, Kyng Richard gave him not one farthing, saying that he which would be untrew to so good a master would be false to al other; howbeit some sale that he had a smal office or a ferme to stoppe his mouthe withal.^^ Retracing our steps in the direction of the Severn, we pass Shineton Church, which has recently been restored. In contrast with the smarter looking por- tion of the building, is a dingy stone in the tower with the initials of one of the Harnage family, bearing the date 1669 ; and at its western entrance is a ponderous door studded with nails, that formerly belonged to the abbey of Buildwas. It has a fine old oak pulpit and THE SEVERN VALLEY. Ill some excellent carved work^ which^ if not brought as spoil from the abbey^ was the work probably of the Build was monks. Buildwas Park is close upon the right; but the house is hid by trees. It is situated on the hill, has ornamental grounds, an interesting sheet of water near, and a singular and romantic-looking avenue of dark, dense yew-trees. Leighton, with its church, and hall, and ivy-fronted cottages, is now seen on the opposite bank of the river, where a colony of rooks have long held possession of the tall elms upon the slope. Some of the finest, having bent their tops across the parsonage garden to catch the sun, have lost them, and thereby hangs a tale of strife between the parson and the squire. Like a way- side stone, Leighton has the gathering of ages round it, and its beauties mingle with memorials of olden time. It boasts seven feudal lords in a line, down, from Saxon times. In the struggles between the barons and King John, Ptichard de Leighton, with his neighbour, Thomas de Constantine, took part with the former; and his lands became forfeited, which were restored by Henry III. In the church is a Knight Templar, the fifth Lord of Leighton, who^ having incurred Bishop Langton^s displeasure, was pronounced contumacious, and finally excommunicated; also several very hand- some monumental tablets, and among them one in white marble to the memory of Thomas Kinnersley, Esq., recently erected by his relative, Richard Gardner, the present proprietor of the mansion. A little below Leighton is the Grove, between which and the Birches, a notable phenomenon, which caused the 112 THE SEVERN VALLEY. removal of a number of trees^ and a large portion of land^ took place some years ago; it created considerable sensa- tion at the time^ and is still much spoken of by old people. Mr. Fletcher^ who visited the place a few hours after the occurrence^ thus describes it: — ^^The first thing that struck me was the destruction of the little bridge that separated the parish of Madeley from that of BuildwaSj and the total disappearing of the turnpike- road to Buildwas Bridge^ instead of which nothing pre- sented itself to my view but a confused heap of bushes and huge clods of earthy tumbled one over another. The river_, also^ wore a different aspect ; it was shallow^ turbid^ noisy^ boisterous^ and came down from a different point. Following the track made by a great number of spectators who came from the neighbouring parishes, I climbed over the ruins and came to a field well-grown with rye-grass_, where the ground was greatly cracked in several places_, and where large turfs — some entirely^ others half-turned up — exhibited the appearance of straight or crooked furrows,, as though imperfectly formed by a plough drawn at a venture. Getting from that field over the hedge into a part of the road which was yet visible, I found it raised in one place, sunk in another, concave in a third, hanging on one side on a fourth, and contracted as if some uncommon force had pressed the two hedges together ; but the higher part of it surprised me the most, and brought directly to my remembrance those places of Mount Vesuvius where the solid stony lava has been strongly marked by repeated earthquakes, for the hard-beaten gravel that formed the surface of the road was broken every way into huge masses, partly detached from each other, with THE SEVERN VALLEY. 113 deep apertures between them exactly like the shattered lava. This striking likeness of circumstances made me conclude that the similar effect might proceed from the same cause^ namely^ a strong convulsion on the surface^ if not in the bowels^ of the earth. Going a little further^ towards Buildwas^ I found that the road was again totally lost for a considerable space^ having been over- turned^ absorbed^ or tumbled^ with the hedges that bounded it^ to a considerable distance towards the river. This part of the desolation appeared then to me inex- pressibly dreadful. Between a shattered field and the river^ there was that morning a bank on which^ besides a great deal of underwood^ grew twenty-five large oaks ; this wood shot with such violence into the Severn before it^ that it forced the water in great volumes a considerable height^ like mighty fountains^ and gave the overflowing river a retrograde motion. This is not the only accident which happened to the Severn^ for^ near the Grove^ the channel^ which was chiefly of a soft blue rock^ burst in ten thousand pieces^ and rose perpen- dicularly about ten yards^ heaving up the immense quantity of water and the shoals of fishes that were therein. Among the rubbish at the bottom of the river^, which was very deep at that place^ there were one or two huge stones and a large piece of timber^ or an oak tree^ which^ from time immemorial^ had lain partly buried in the mud — I suppose in consequence of some flood. The stones and tree were thrown up as if they had been only pebbles and a sticky and are now at some distance from the river_, many feet higher than the sur- face of it. Ascending from the ruins of the road^ I came to those of a barn^ which^ after travelling many I 114 THE SEVERN VALLEY. yards towards the river^ had been absorbed in a chasm where the shattered roof was yet visible/^ The old wounds the earth received^ the chasms made^ and the dislocated heaps of earth described^ are now greened over by grass^ and weeds^ and nnderwood ; whilst the river having returned to its former channel^ moves slowly apd solemnly through rich grassy flats it beau- tifies and fertilises in its course — the very picture of peace. Beautiful as are the hills and vales, enchanting as are the fields and woods around^ the chief charm^ the living soul of the landscape^ is the river. Winding gracefully^ and moving slowly_, it is the image of tran- quillity; sunbeams play upon its surface^ forget-me-nots enamel its banks^ and their azure forms are reflected in its waters^ whilst the meadows and pasture flats it serves to fertilise and beautify^ are tinged by the purple safiron and golden buttercup. A Sabbath -like stillness reigns around^ and no wonder that on Sunday afternoons strings of loungers^ groups of loiterers — youth and manhood^ prattling infancy and tottering age^ true to the impulse of nature that stirs within them — are found enjoying such a stroll. Having heard of God in the mornings they come to see Him in His works in the afternoon^ to drink in lessons of His goodness^ to find voiced forth in pleasant images and sounds — in all things seen and heard — the works of Him who gave us spirits^ reflections of His own^ to understand and profit by them. Truly has the poet said — " From Nature's beauteous outward things, What gleams of hidden life we win ; Tor still the world without us flings Strong shadows of the world within." THE SEVERN VALLEY, 115 The beauties of Buildwas are of a class requiring more than one visit fully to appreciate them. Their chief charm lies not in the buildings nor the landscape^ but in the analogy and harmony existing between the two. The abbey ruins take the attention firsts and the landscape with its interesting features next. Time and observation^ however^ bring before the visitor the feli- citous keeping of the one with the more pleasing features of the other. He sees a temple within a temple; one fast crumbling to decay^ the other ever new — having the Severn with its grassy flats for its nave and aisles^ the hills on either side for its walls^ and embowering trees_, with their trunks and spreading branches^ for clustering columns and interlacing arches. The analogy is even more complete^ for beneath the fretted tracery of trees the frankincense of hidden flowers perfumes the air : whilst the vesper songs of birds^ the whisperings of leaves_, and the murmuring of fords swell along the vale in tones and semitones that remind him " Of the ancient time — The days of the monks of old ; When to matin, and vesper, and compline chime, The loud hosanna rolled." The Cistercian monks usually selected such green sequestered nooks ; as in the case of Strata Marcella^ on the banks of the Severn^ beneath the Briedden Hills^ and as in the case of Dunbrody^ in the coimty of Kilkenny^ both of which abbeys were subject to that of Buildwas. They belonged to a contemplative order of men who were accustomed to look to nature for manifestations of its Author^s goodness^ greatness^ and I 2 116 THE SEVERN VALLEY. wisdom : nature to them being one vast cathedral^ in which the grass^ the fern^ the forest tree^ and the gentle flower alike are decorations^ and the feathered songsters of the woods its ever-ringing choristers. Thoughtful men^ in all ages^ have been wont to frequent such retired nooks : it was so with the early fathers of the Church ; how fondly they speak of nature^ how vividly they describe it ! Easily who left the pleasures of Athens for retirement^ revels in his description of the hills^ the streams^ the plains^ the vapours^ the songs of birds^ and the profusion of flowers around him. Gregory says^ ^' Whoso gazes through these with the inward eye of the soul^ feels the littleness of man in the greatness of the universe ; and Chrysostom^ from his retirement near Antioch^ was equally eloquent in its praise. The monks of Buildwas were of this class ; they sought retirement for purposes of contemplation. They sought the Deity in His works^ as in His word ; and it would be well for many who sneer^ and go into a titter when these old monks are mentioned, if they had more of their spirit and their mood. To men bowed by care and fevered by thought, that would commune with their own spirits and be at peace, green meadows and mur- muring streams are places where God always walks, where His voice may ever be heard ; and in these peaceful valleys those sick of worldly strife found a refuge and a resting-place, ere they entered that haven where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest.'^ They obtained great privileges, and many exemptions from secular duties. We learn from their charters that they were free and quit of geld, danegeld, scutage, fines for murder and larceny, THE SEVERN VALLEY. 117 of hidage of shires and hundreds^ military services, summonses, sheriffs^ aids, and all other aids; also of any amercement set upon the county or hundred, of toll, of passage, and of pontage belonging to the king ; of all work at castles, bridges, vivaries, walls, parks, fencings ; of pleas, plaints, and all other customs, of all secular service, exaction, and servile work/^ It is true we read our duties differently ; and that the religion re- quired is one that will go into the world and rough it — ministering to the wants of the age, associating itself with labour, sanctifying the life and conduct ; a practical godliness that is not ashamed to dig and delve, to buy and sell, and to use just weights and measures in a bargain. The Buildwas monks may have seen one side only of a great truth ; but it would be better if we looked more on their side, and had less of that hard en- crusting materialism against which they protested. Men thank God every day for a good dinner, who never thank him for a flower, a tree, or a river. But although exempt from some, the Buildwas monks did not neglect all the duties of life ; much less did they live idly, or spend their time uselessly. They were thinkers and reformers, who multiplied manuscripts and dissemi- nated knowledge ; who shed a light on a dark and feudal age, and kept alive a love of learning in times of ignorance and bloodshed. They raised their bield — their shelter by the water — such being the etymology of Build was. We may trace its outer or industrial court, its central church is still standing, and also its offices devoted to literary and educational pursuits. The former stood in the now rank green meadow, between the railway and the river, where raised mounds mark 118 THE SEVERN VALLEY. the sites of workshops^ in which carpenters^ smiths^ plumbers^ braziers^ curriers^ tailors^ and millwrights were employed; each under his foreman^ and the whole under the supervision of monks appointed to the duty. Through this court of art and skill wanders still the stream that turned the abbot^s mill^ and fed his fishponds. Hospitality was one of the duties of the establishment ; and near this stream^ at the outer courts stood the lodge where a discreet monk received the abbot^s guests^ and distributed alms to the poor. The gateway and guest-house are gone, and only a window jamb and an arch remain ; but the church is still a fine example of a Cistercian edifice^ and every part of its arrangement is distinctly traceable. The massive pro- portions of its arcades^ and the scolloped capitals of their columns indicate the Norman style of architec- ture ; whilst the pointed arches show an approach towards that which^ early in the thirteenth century, superseded it^ the union forming the transition which began about the year 1150. The clerestory remains entire on both sides,, with round arched windows throughout. Between the columns are indications of a screen, which shut off the eastern aisles; at the end of the fifth arch from the west, the choir, or portion devoted to the monks, commences; and at the inter- section of the transepts still stands the tower, resting on four pointed arches. At the eastern end, beneath the long windows, which at some period or other have been formed out of smaller ones, stood the altar ; and near it, the beautiful sedilia; on the south side are still the doorways which led to the dormitories of the monks engaged in the night services of the church. On the THE SEVERN VALLEY. 119 side next the river^ a long line of building forms the eastern cloister; and beyond the crypt^ on the same side^ a handsome archway leads into the chapter-house^ the roof of which is vaulted^ groined^ and supported by beautiful slender columns. Beyond are the remains of the refectory, and the room of audience, the only place where^ according to the strict rules of the order, the monks were permitted to converse. Here, also, was the warm-room, the kitchen, and lavatory. On the north side are remains of a string of offices for novices, and for scribes employed in multiplying copies of the Scrip- tures, and other books. Beneath the lingering rays of the setting sun, who can look unmoved upon these roofless walls and ivied gables, and fail to feel the skill, the poetry, and stern deep purpose they witness of men far removed by time? Viewed from the Severn's banks, the picture is even more complete ; the eye takes in the river, the out-buildings, and the noble amphitheatre of hills beyond. Amid fitful gleams of sunshine, that come and go, as the glorious orb of day retires behind the western hills, how the old Norman pillars and massive gables advance, and then retire into the sombre back- ground ; and as the rich green meadows mellow into darker tones, where the ground breaks up into nooks and glades and groves beyond, what warm brown shadows deepen into one cold grey shroud ! This next enfolds the woods, from one of which, distinct against the yellowish light of the evening sky, are heard the ca wings of retiring rooks. *' Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight and a deep silence settles down, broken only by the mur- 120 THE SEVERN VALLEY. muring of a neighbouring ford. The gloomy night is gathering fast/^ and stars wink out above the wooded hills. The moon^ we know^ by the softening light upon the highest trees^ has risen ; and faint^ and pale^ half clear, half obscure,, as though afraid to meet her rivals glare^ she looks along the valley^ and sheds her silvery BITILDWAS ABBEY. light upon the hills. Above the heights of Benthall Edge she takes her place^, and the features of the land- scape one by one aie softly shadowed forth — excepting where a soft and fleecy vapour creeps along the fields and valley sides^ rendering them indistinct. How beautiful is night The moonbeams glisten upon the stout stone pillars in fronts to which relief is given by THE SEVERN VALLEY. 121 the row on the opposite side the central aisle ; and the play of light and shade npon the chiselings of the capitals^, from which rise arches of well-known Norman mouldy awaken both the senses and the soul. The pic- ture is at the mercy of clouds^ which veil the moon at times and then pass by^ permitting another flood of silvery lustre to stream aslant the roofless tower^ and through its opening into the transept. Fantastic forms of dense dark shadow sweep across the buildings and widespread patches of unillumined night rest upon the chapter-house_, the cloister^ and refectory^ presenting a picture of silence^ solitude^ and seclusion ! Not a voice^ not a sound — save the distant one of water — is to be heard ; not a living thing is seen^ excepting now and then a bat that leaves the dormitories where once the old monks slept^ and a group of whitish-looking kine^ which having browsed their fill^ lie ruminating with heads erect^ fixed and stifi* as statues upon the grass. The deep glade beyond has disappeared in the gloom of dark umbrageous woods^ edged with moonlight on the hills^ but lost in undefined masses of shadow in the vale. The picture reminds us of the one drawn by Sir Walter Scott :— If thou would st view fair Melrose aright, Go visit it by the pale moonlight. For the gay beams of lightsome day Gild but to flout the ruius gray : When the broken arches are black in night. And each shafted oriel glimmers white ; When the cold light's uncertain shower Streams on the ruin'd central tower ; When buttress and buttress alternately Seem framed of ebon and ivory." CHAPTER IX, Little Buildwas— Wenlock and Severn Junction Railway — Sinkings in Silurian Rocks for Coal — Lawless Cross— Wenlock, its Buildings and Insti- tutions — The Church — The Abbey— St. Milburg — Lady Godiva — Norman Architecture— Church and Chapter-House — View from Benthall Edge. ITTLE BUILDWAS takes its name from the abbey. Its churchy which is a simple buildings with nave and chancel, and one of the old-fashioned wooden turrets, contains some costly marble . It is what is called a Peculiar, with me of j616 from lands contiguous to the This sum a former incumbent was wont ease by marrying all comers ; he was consequently patronised by disciples of Hymen for many miles around, and did a considerable business in weddings. Buildwas and Wenlock are now united by a railway, that winds through beds of Silurian rocks, which, from their full development around the town of Wenlock, jVfurchison has distinguished by the name. The pro- prietor of an estate including a large portion of land between Wenlock and the Severn, employed a number THE SEVERN VALLEY. 123 of men three or four years ago^ in searching for coal in these limestone shales ; experiments were made and half-a-dozen shafts sunk at a cost of several thousand pounds^ although every spadeful of earth brought up Silurian fossils. A German was engaged to superintend the work at a great salary ; and a number of men were employed at wages so unusual in the district^ that they had an interest in the fraud. The railway runs side by side with the brook which crosses the industrial court of the abbey ^ and which is still made to do duty at the abbey mill. But the abbey tenant is no longer in a position to enforce multure, to compel neighbouring cultivators to bring the contents of their barns to be ground at the mill^ nor yet to take his handful from his neighbour's batches. As in similar situations^ where a supply of water capable of mechanical force is founds advantage from time imme- morial has been taken of the fall^ and from father to son, primitive-looking wheels have kept up their slow and silent march. Two or three upon becoming worn out, have been abandoned, and the wheel race, the mill-dam, or, perhaps, the miller's cottage, alone remains. One at the upper extremity of the dingle only continues its crunching sound, the monotonous click -clack of its machinery, and the splash of the water upon the ladles of its wheels. There is something interesting about these mills, with their lakelets of treasured water diminishing and receding between segdy-banks where wild fowl breed, with house and out-houses in liveries of white — one of lime, the other of flour, and monthly roses blooming against the walls. Add jasmine to roses, distinguished only from the white-washed 124 THE SEVERN VALLEY. walls by its spear-like leaves of green^ and an orna- mental summer-house^ and you realise a fac- simile of the one before us. The half-open door of the miller^s house shows you a bright quarry floor^ polished fire- irons^ and culinary vessels^ on which reflections of the wood fire in the capacious grate rise and fall. With beauty around him^ and '^'^the stafl* of life'^ to lean upon^ what wonder if from time immemorial — or^ at any rate^ since old King Hal knighted the blithe miller of Mans- field — these grinders of batches have been proverbially jolly ? As Charles Mackay has sung — " There dwelt a miller hale and bold, Beside the river Dee, He work'd and sang from morn till night. No lark more blythe than he : And this the burden of his song For ever used to be, — ' I envy nobody, no not I ! And nobody envies me ! ' " Between these mills^ at the point where the boundaries of the Buildwas and Wenlock Abbeys meet^ is a place called Lawless Cross^ — a name derived from its having been one of those sanctuaries which the Church provided for criminals^ and from which the civil authority had not the power to take them. Some silly ceremony was performed_, by which the criminal abjured the realm^ and by self-banishment was supposed to have atoned to society for the wrongs he had committed. The privilege became so abused_, by men taking advantage of the cross to commit crimes with impunity^ that the Courts of Westminster^ in Hilary Term^ 1221^ were employed in considering the expediency of altering a THE SEVERN VALLEY. 125 certaia pass in the Royal Forest near to Buldewas/' from its having become the haunts of malefactors^ and from its notoriety for the constant commission of crimes/^ In ascending the dingle we pass a series of large open quarries^ and upon gaining the hill^ the broken outlines of Wenlock Abbey^ the tower^ and graceful spire of the churchy rising above the buildings^ present themselves. The limestone livery of the country is at once con- spicuous^ and gives to the whole relief amidst tlie hills. Isolated and hitherto cut off from communica- tion with other towns by bad roads and surrounding hills^ railway communication has long been a desi- deratum^ and its accomplishment has given a wonderful stimulus to improvement. The aspect of the place is undergoing a change ; old decrepid Jiouses have been taken down^ others are being smartened up^ and a corn market for farmers^ with a handsome suite of rooms for the Agricultural Reading Society^ has also been erected. The museum connected with this institution contains fossils and minerals representing the geology, and a large collection of botanical plants (collected by W. P. Brookes^ Esq.) representing the flora^ of the district ; also a collection of modern shells^ a variety of ancient deeds^ royal and other seals^ and old coins ; be- sides a number of rare encaustic tiles and other relics^ including vases found in making excavations in the abbey. One of the most popular of the sections of this society^ and one that has excited considerable interest through the country^ is the Olympian class^ established in 1850. It originated in an impression^ which every day appears to be growing stronger^ that^ in giving up 126 THE SEVERN VALLEY. the more objectionable forms of amusement common with our forefathers^ we have gone to the extreme on the other side^ and neglected that training needful to bodily development and proper healthy muscular force. The Guildhall is an ancient building of timber and plaster^ with a projecting upper story containing the municipal rooms of the corporation. Over the Re- corder's seat^ in the firsts are the arms of Elizabeth^ whilst the inner or municipal courts is beautifully fitted up with elaborately carved wood panelling. The borough is very extensive^ and embraces the former estates of the abbey. Old people are tolerably familiar with its limits^ from having gone a bannering/^ or assisted in beating the boundary/^ when youngsters^, and having had good duckings to make them remember it. A late town clerk — writing to the commissioners of public records — saj^s^ I am old enough to remember an old custom^ and the last time it took place was sixty years ago ; it was called the ^ Boys^ Bailiff/ and was held in the Easter week_, Holy Thursday^ or in Whit sun week^ and I have no doubt it was for the purpose of going bannering over the extensive boundaries of this franchise^ which consisted of eighteen parishes. It consisted of a man^ who wore a hair-cloth gown^ and was called the bailiff, a recorder^ justices^ town clerk^ sheriff*, treasurer^ crier^ and other municipal officers. They were a large retinue of men and boys mounted on horseback^ begirt with wooden swords^ which they carried on their sides^ so that they must draw the sword out of the scabbard with their left hands. They^ when I knew them, did not go to the boundary, but used to call at all the gentlemen^ s houses in the franchise, where THE SEVERN VALLEY. 127 they were regaled with meat^ drink^ and money ; and before the conclusion they assembled at the Guildhall^ where the town clerk read some sort of a rigmarole^ which they called their charter^ and I remember one part was — ' We go from Beckbury and Badger to Stoke on the Clee, To Monkhopton, Round Acton, and so return we.' " Many of the names you meet with in the streets^ savour of the past : as the Bull Ring and Spittal Street^ the latter prefix being a corruption of Hospital/^ which in old works is written Ospital/^ the letter H being left out — as it often is in the pronunciation by Shropshire men. Some rigid economist next stripped the word of the O and pronounced it ' Spital/ a term still applied to institutions where relief is given. It was a building endowed as an asylum for the poor and sick^ as a halting place for pilgrims^ and a shelter where tired travellers might have food and rest : it enjoyed special and distinguished patronage^ royalty condescending^ at different times^ to confer favours upon the monks who conducted it. Henry III. granted them and the master who managed it distinguished privileges; and Edward I.^ who received the brethren under his pro- tection^ also entreated his subjects to give munificently to it when asked for alms ; but the name only^ and the arms of the brethren — a shepherd^s crook and two sheaves of wheats remain to point out the spot where it stood. The church bears marks of extreme antiquity ; but one very interesting feature^ its fine Norman fronts is hidden by the tower^ and is but partially seen by going 128 THE SEVERN VALLEY. inside. The arclies which separate the nave and side aisles^ rise from clustering pillars of great beauty ; and one which divides the nave from the chancel^ where there is an elegant sedilia^ is of considerable interest. But the chief attraction of Wenlock is the abbey. This^ one of the richest of the Shropshire monasteries, was raised by St. Milburg^ one of a brave trio of sister saints, and a grand -daughter of Penda, one of the last and fiercest of our Saxon heathen kings. Wild and dreary must have been the prospect that met the sight of the maiden saint as she looked around her to select a spot — wood and forest land, relieved by rock and lake, where the bittern boomed and the heron reared its young, * could there be seen. In the direction of the river, " Down below, were depths and mysteries, Dim perspectives and a humid smell Of decaying leaves, and rotting cones : While far up, the wild bee rung her bell, And the blossoms nodded on their thrones." In those rude times such homes of purity proved stronger safeguards than embattled castles ; their culti- vated plots disarmed, and sometimes won the heathen to the Christian faith, a truth the following lines set forth :— " The sisters of Llan Meilien* Round the Abbess Milburg stood; O ladye stay, go not away Thro' yon dark lonesome wood. The road of wolves is sore beset, And eke of Paynim foe ; Then tarry here, ladye dear, To Godestoke do not go. The ancient name of the place. THE SEVERN VALLEY. 129 King Merewald's daughter raised her hand, And sadly shook her head : *Ere break of day I must away To Godestoke/ she said. * For sword I'll take the holy cross, My maiden truth for shield ; So armed, my asse and I mote pass Safe thro' a battle field.' O'er hill and dale, thro' brake and feU, Sped on the milk-white ass ; And ere the sun had reached his noon, Thro' Corve's fair dale they pass. There in the deep red furrow The sowers dropped the grain; An armed Pagan by their side Looked out athwart the plain." Having been a former suitor^ he taunts tlie maid with having despised his passion^ and threatens to be re- venged. But " The maiden's heart it quailed not, She meekly raised her eye ; Wolfgang, thine arm can never harm One that hath friend on high : He who can make yon grain to spring, And ripen into fruit. Pours rain and sunshine in the heart, And bids the faith take root.' She pointed to the furrowed field ; Lo ! even as she spake. From the dry seed up sprang green blade, And stalk and full ear brake. In sore amaze the serfys gaze, The warrior smote his breast, And humbly ou his bended knee The Christian's God confest." Although proof against the Saxon^ pi^ty and purity K 130 THE SEVERN VALLEY. were no safeguard against the Dane^ and St. Mil- burg^ s convent fell into disuse through terror of these heathen^ who ^' left fearful traces of their course^ as they rode through Mercia/^ Weeds grew where flowers had flourished ; and the whole building went to decay, so that the place of the saint^s sepulchre became forgotten. Saxon zeal a second time raised the abbey ; a second time, too, it was woman who provided this sanctuary in the wilderness ; for although credit is given to Earl Leofric for its erection, it is understood that he was influenced thereto by his wife Godiva, who befriended the good people of Coventry, and who had a loving regard for the memory of St. Milburg. A second time it fell; and Norman masons next laid deep and broad the foundations of a more majestic building. Higher, by far, rose tower and turret, roof and steeple ; higher rose pillar, shaft and buttress, like clustering trunks of trees, supporting fretted vaults, that looked like forests formed of stone. Unlike the old Saxon walls, that looked like fields left fallow, these were pierced by lancet and triple lancet windows^ that flooded pillars, shafts, mouldings, and other chiseled ornaments with light. For elaborate tracery, deco- rative arch, and groupings of pillars in relief, the chapter-house is a singularly beautiful specimen of true Norman architecture, the whole shell of which is yet standing. Entering by a richly rounded door- way, the wall is seen to be divided into compartments, by pilasters, with indented capitals, from which spring clustering arches studded with ornament; and these again combine and mingle with an exuberant wildness of invention, displaying double-headed griffins, not THE SEVERN VALLEY. 131 uncommon in Norman works of the kind. The church is large and stately^ and must have been a magni- ficent specimen of architectural taste. Its west front had a triplet lancet window^ round slender shafts^ mouldings bound with rings^ and arches with trefoil THE CHAPTER HOUSE OF WENLOCK ABBEY. heads — like those of Salisbury and Wells. Over the nave^ and along the second story^ ran a gallery with pointed arches^ divided by slender pillars ; above were single lancet windows of the clerestory^ between which ran clustering pilasters— -branching in wondrous ramifications into a groined and splendid ceiling ; and^ K 2 133 THE SEVERN VALLEY. above all^ rose the great tower and central steeple — typical of strength^ and pointing heavenward. You still trace the dormitories^ the room for him whose task it was to perform the midnight office of the choir^ the cloisters^ ambulatories and lavatories_, the refectories and lodges^ storehouses and courts^ gardens and fisheries. There stood the group, majestic and alone — the concentration of learnings the poor man^s temple where he went to pray^ the hallowed sanctuary to which he was carried when he died. For this^ serf and freeman lived in damp and dreary huts ; for this_, the slave toiled at the mill^ the smith at the forge, and the carpenter at the bench ; for this^ weavers threw their shuttles^ and herdsmen^ ploughmen, and shepherds went through life-long tasks of labour. Pilgrim, monk, and layman had faith in the marvellous. Dragons appeared on earth, and squadrons of armed men in the heavens. Holy water put to flight a host of demons, the cross acted as a spell, and the dust of saints had power to cure diseases. St. Milburg^s piety had been handed down, her sanctity had wedded her name to the build- ing j but the place of her sepulture had been forgotten. Other places had their saints and their shrines. The Shrewsbury monks had the bones of St.Wenefred, and the Wenlock monks had St. Milburg^s well, but they needed her body also. Fortunately for the revenue of the house, and the maladies of the people, her sepulchre was discovered ; and such were the oblations offered at her shrine, and the wonderful cures efl'ected, that it threw into the shade the doings of its rivals. The historian monk of Malmesbury says, — While a new church was erecting, a boy, running violently along the THE SEVERN VALLEY. 133 pavement^ brake into the hollow of the vaults and dis- covered the body of a virgin^ when^ a balsamic odour pervading the whole churchy she was taken np^ and performed so many miracles^ that the people flocked thither in great multitudes ; large spreading plains could hardly contain the troops of pilgrims^ a common faith impelling all ; nor did the saint deceive their expectations^ for no one departed without either a perfect cure or a considerable abatement of his malady^ and some were even cured of the king^s evil^ where medical advice had been unavailing." Should the reader find a ramble along the high ground of Benthall Edge agreeable^ he may^ in re- turning to the Severn^ load himself with fossils from quarries along his route^ or with plants^ whose habi- tats are chiefly confined to such lofty limestone ridges. Among the former^ corals^ encrinites^ terebratula^ spirifers^ and the enomphalus, of which there are here three species^ are most common ; and lower down^ where the Severn Valley Railway has cut through the Wenlock shale^ trilobites^ and graptulites maybe found. It is a wild^ bushy eminence^ with winding walks overhung with birch and hazel^ and openings presenting views that cannot fail to excite surprise^ the finest of which occurs at its abrupt termination^ where the Valley of the Severn lies spread out at your feet. Directly opposite rises the craggy clifi* of Lincoln Hill, with caverns which Sir R. Murchison has given in his Siluria.^^ To the right is one more modest, from which the famous Iron Bridge stretches like a gossamer across the river, and which, from the bridge to the summit, where the little farm of Hodge Bower stands 134 THE SEVERN VALLEY. embosomed high in tufted trees^ is dotted by gardens^ orchards^ cottages^, and villas — the latter raised by men to whom years of toil had given the means to gild the eventide of life. To the left^ separated by a limestone ridge, with scarcely a blade of grass on one side^ but clothed with fir and larch on the other, is a companion picture, with prospect less varied, but of equal interest. Half-way down the hill a thin wreath of smoke betrays a whitewashed group of cottages, rejoicing in the name of Paradise ; above them is the Rotunda, beyond which a mimic temple looks down, from an opening in the wooded crescent, upon Coalbrookdale. Eastfield, the Elms, and Severn House lie below by the Severn ; beyond are slopes and patches of park-like scenery, stretching from Stret-hill to Marnwood, Timberwood, and Oldbrookwood, thence along a dusky horizon, from which the arch-like form of the Wrekin rises, and bounds the view. CHAPTER X. Coalbrookdale — Walks and Waterfalls — A Village Patriarch — Great Laud Flood — The Darbys — Easter Dues — Coalbrookdale Iron Works — Origin of Railways — Casting, Boring, &c. — The Masters and Men : their Institutions. ^'OALBROOKDALE is one of those sunny openings on the Severn that so frequently mark the embouchure of its tributaries. Of its undulating slopes, some are clothed with wood, others have their summits crowned by dusky foliage, and on their sides gathering groups of buildings — from the stately mansion to the unassuming cot. A few are old, with respect to date and style ; one block being in the many-gabled form devised by the plodding brain of architects of the olden time. Some are on the verge of green lanes, sufficiently with- drawn from public thoroughfares to realise the much- prized blessing of retirement, and with embowering woods behind, and rustic foot-bridges over running streams in front, are spots that feast the eye, and call to mind the charms of country life. Some rise abruptly, in relief against a background of grey and green, or one of richer tone and deeper shadow ; above trees that lift their branches as a perpetual 136 THE SEVERN VALLEY. screen from wintry winds^ come wreaths of wavering smoke^ betraying others that are completely hidden_, whilst a few stand out by gleaming pools^ amid glades and undulating lines of landscape. Above these are wood walks^ stretching from the Rotunda to the WATERFALL. Temple^ from which a pleasant path continues past Sunny-side to La Mole, where the brook^ prattling over pebbly fords^ and fed by constant droppings from rocks dyed red and orange, forms a waterfall^, with petrifactions of surpassing interest. THE SEVERN VALLEY. 137 Villages like that of the Dale generally have their red-letter events^ with oracles privileged to expound them. Among grey-beards is the sage^ whose version is deemed truthful as the current coin. Coalbrookdale_, within our recollection^ boasted such an one ; not an octogenarian merely^ but the oldest inhabitant/^ by being a quarter of a century in advance of the rest of the village elders. He lived not only to celebrate the centenary of his natal day^ but — like a tree blanched by storms^ and putting forth its leaves afresh — he cut^ at a still riper age^ his second set of wisdom teeth. Envy never sought to dim the lustre of his fame^ and on village anniversaries the patriarch would be carried to crown the presidential chair/^ when the members of a club with flags and music met in summer time. Old Adam^s cottage_, standing amidst an odorous strip of garden that caught the last lingering rays of the setting sun^ seemed a counterpart of himself ; and like the vine that girdled its shattered walls^ he clung to the place till his friends feared the two would disappear together. White as were its wattled walls^ Adam^s locks were whiter^ and the accessories of dress and details of person were in keeping. A net-work of wrinkled smiles accompanied the delivery of the old man^s homilies^ and amusing were the landmarks which memory set up for giving events their place in point of time. The topics on which he dilated most were the land- slip we have alluded to^ of the Birches^ and the land- flood of the Dale^ recorded in the Philosophical Trans- actions of the time. Withdrawing his long pipe and letting out a wreath of smoke^ speaking of the latter^ he 138 THE SEVERN VALLEY. would say — I remember it well ; the berries were ripe on the hedges^ and fruits were mellow in the orchards, the air was close, steamy vapours swam along the valley, and a dense fog-looking cloud hung in the sky. The mist spread, and rain, like ripe fruit, came down in heavy drops.' The leaves trembled on the trees, and the cattle hung their heads in the fields ; the wind blew by fits and starts, and cold air succeeded warm j crackling thunder- claps were heard, and streams of fire, like molten iron, ran in and out amongst the clouds; and a roaring wind, with pelting rain, came up the valley just as a dense, black cloud dropped like a sponge upon the hill. Down came a rushing torrent with a noise louder than that of the great blast; down, too, came brooks, the louder where they met, carrying trees, bridges, stones, and blocks of wood before them. Fiercer came the rush, and louder swelled the stream, forcing the pool-dam till the great timbers snapped like glass, and stones were tossed like corks against buildings, that in turn gave way. Steam came hissing up as the water neared the works, and when, being driven from behind, it came into con- tact with the iron, thunders from below answered those above, and one loud explosion, that burst the strongest bars and shattered the stoutest walls, filled the air with red-hot slag.^^ The old man having made an eff'ort, would re-light his pipe, adding, I think I forgot to say it was Sunday. The Darbys were at meeting : it was a silent meeting — I mean there had been no speak- ing — and if there had, they would have heard plain enough what was going on. Well, when the furnace blew up, they came down to see what was the matter. They never appear in a hurry, Quakers don^t, and did THE SEVERN VALLEY. 139 not then^ though thousands of pounds of property were going to rack every minute. ^Is any one hurt?^ was the first question asked by Miss Darby She was an angel ; every one of the Miss Darbys have been. ^Is there any one hurt^ Adam?^ she said. I said ^ No^ there^s nobody hurt ; but the furnace^ the blow- ing mill^ the pool-dam^ and the buildings are gone.^ ^ Oh ! I am so thankfid/ she said ; ' never mind the buildings^ so that no one is hurt / and they all looked as pleased^ if you^U believe me^ as if they had found a new coal in the Dawley Fields instead of having lost an estate at Coalbrookdale. I could tell you many more anecdotes/^ the old man continued^ of the Quakers — I mean the Darbys. They like a joke right well; and as for kindness^ it seems as if they thought it a favour to be allowed to assist you. They allow me a pension^ and pay a woman to wait upon me. They never liked to be done^ however. You knew Solomon Brickhill^ the sexton ? well^ I remember him going to the haunted house^ as they call it^ for an Easter offering. The ser- vants were ordered to attend him, and he sat for some time and eat and drank^ and smoked his pipe — but not a word was said about Easter dues. He had knocked the ashes out of his third pipe^ and feeling muddled a bit about the head^ thought it time to be moving. At last Mr. Darby entered the room^ and Solomon made bold to ask for the Easter offering. Friend/ said Mr. Darby^ throwing up the sash^ and assuming a determined attitude^ ' thou hast had a meat-offering and a drink-offering ; thou hast even had a burnt-offer- ings as I judge from the fumes of this room^ and unless thou choosest to go about thy business, thou shalt have 140 THE SEVERN VALLEY. a heave-offering,^ As Solomon had no wish to be pitched out of the window,, he made himself scarce/^ The old village sage is gone ; he died^ as his friends assert^ at the advanced age of one hundred and seven^ or^ as his head-stone more modestly states (and modesty is not a fault common with such posthumous mementoes) at the age of one hundred and three. Coalbrookdale has long been celebrated for its iron works j from time immemorial the ring of its hammers and the noise of its forges have mingled with the sounds of its streams and the whisperings of its trees. Of the origin of the works^ there is neither record nor tradi- tion^ and persons unacquainted with the history of iron- making sometimes wonder that Coalbrookdale should have been chosen for this important branch of manu- factures^ seeing that neither coal nor iron ore are found there. The situation^ however^ was^ formerly^ a desirable one^ proximity to the mines being a secondary considera- tion^ and a good strong stream near a wood a primary one ; one blew their leathern bellows and lifted the huge forge-hammer^ whilst the other supplied the means by which to smelt the ore. Few places have done more to help along the path assigned it the great civilising agent of modern times. Whilst the fire-water- worV^ of the Marquis of Worcester^ in the hands of Watt^ was assuming a form that was to culminate in the modern locomotive^ improvements destined to termi- nate in modern railways were being made by men of the Dale. some years ago/^ said Sir R. Stephenson^ visited the great iron works at Coalbrookdale, where cast-iron was indisputably first applied to the construc- tion of bridges; and^ according to the information THE SEVERN VALLEY. 141 which I have been able to obtain^ it was here also that railways of that material were first constructed. It appears from their books that between five and six tons of rail were cast on the 13th November, 1767, as an experiment, on the suggestion of Mr. Reynolds, one of the partners.^^ The works are famous chiefly for their fine castings. Upon entering, the first thing that strikes you is a heap of black-looking material, used for taking an impression of the model. The boy shovelling it into an iron frame-work, or the man ramming it tight down till it fills every crevice, will tell you that it is fine sand, mixed with charcoal; also that he is very particular about the quality of sand, that for some pur- poses he has to go miles in search of one suitable. The mould is in parts, that it may be taken to pieces for the convenience of liberating the model when its exact impression has been made upon the sand; and when this is completed, it is separated, the model is taken out, and the parts are again restored. Not that the former will answer to the latter in every respect ; cast-iron, the moulder will tell you, occupies less volume when fluid than when solid ; yet, in the in- termediate act of arranging its moleculae, it is of larger bulk than at any other time. The men were moulding, during a recent visit paid to these works, John BelPs statue of Cromwell, for the Exhibition of 1862 ; the casting of which, or of a more bulky object, such as a cylinder, is an exciting time among the men, and a suc- cessful operation is usually deemed a triumph. With tact and art, you see them ramming the sand firmly but equally round the mould, taking precaution against 142 THE SEVERN VALLEY. a contingence not uncommon in the coolings called the expansion or separation of the interior and exterior of parts of the mould. Cranes^ crabs, and strong chains are employed in moving and swinging about monster cauldrons of liquid metal. The men, all activity, skip about with blazing torches; some skim the metal with rods dripping hot, that let fall drops of liquid iron. All are grimy with charcoal dust ; voices are raised to the highest pitch, and everybody appears to be looking for something he cannot find. The hissing cauldron being swung over the entrance to the mould, the sparkling metal in a golden stream is poured in ; but it is not enough, and ladle after ladle is brought/ till, being full, the surplus goes splash upon the ground, in molten drops that sparkle like stars. But after the monster has been filled, and the metal has ran over, it requires more. Other ladles full are poured in, and rammed down the runner of the mould, to supply the shrinkage, an iron rod being worked up and down to pre- vent the metal settling till it has percolated into every chasm formed, either by air or the shrinking of the mass. Supposing the article cast to be a statue, it is taken to be filed and chiseled, and if a cylinder, to the mill to be bored. Hard as its interior is, there are knives that peel off the iron from the interior as easily as you would peel an apple. It may groan and growl beneath the operation, but still it moves up to the knives, compelled by the dread force of wheels and straps, till the process is complete. The advance made in what may be called fine art and ornamental casting, — those finer manipulations by which a sense of beauty is conveyed by man to THE SEVERN VALLEY. 143 metal^ is amply illustrated by grates^ fenders^ foun- tains^ vases^ and statuary^ that issue from these works. None^ probably^ look more to the culture of their men^ or have made greater provision for those with yearnings after the beautiful and true^ than the Coalbrookdale Company. They have placed before them elements of knowledge needed in their profession ; and to the train- ing of the hand they have added opportunities for that of the head and of the heart. Side by side with the works^ are schools^ a churchy and a literary and scientific institution^ the latter princely both in structure and appearance. Such advantages give heart and hope : they serve to sweeten daily toil^ and to make men intelligent citizens as well as clever workmen. CHAPTER XI. lancet. Coalbrookdale Coal Field— Potency of Iron— Iron Kings— Sir John Guest — Richard Reynolds— The Darbys, &c., &c. RANCIS HORNER truly observes— iron is the soul of every other manu- facture, and the main-spring of civi- lized society.^^ It forms the heaviest shot^ the largest gun^ and the sharpest It makes the most elastic springs the heaviest hammer^ the longest wire^ and the greatest ship. In the trembling needle out at sea^ in the palace of glass at Sydenham_, in the steel pen^ in the tubular bridge and in railways ; in numerous castings^ ornamental and useful^ for the palace or the cot — are witnessed the wonderful modifications of which it is susceptible. Among those who have contri- buted so largely to its development^ are many associated by birth or pursuit with this interesting district. Many are^ or were^ self-made^ as it is called; an increasing class^ before whom old families have been going into insignificance^ and into whose possession baronial halls and many large estates have been quietly passing. Made potent by knowledge^ integrity, and ability, THE SEVERN VALLEY. 145 they find ready learners in princes^ premiers^ and legislators. Money^ whether derived from broad acres on the surface or from others under it^ is power ; and^ witnessing the wealth yielded at the Midas-touch of the iron-kings^ noblemen now deal largely in shares in iron roads^ and derive princely revenues from the manufacture of the crude material. The anecdote of Lady Guest — wife of the late Sir John^ the wealthy iron- master of South Wales — told by Roebuck in his History of the Whigs/^ is probably familiar to the reader. Her ladyship^ it is said^ during one of her brilliant receptions^ surrounded by highest rank and peerless beauty^ was informed that an anticipated messenger had arrived from Monmouth. Ask him to come in/^ said her ladyship ; and booted and sparred^ with the mud of the roads and the dust of the coal-hole/^ the agent was ushered into the room^ with a long tin case containing a statement of the accounts for the year. A bevy of beauties^ with heads gleaming with diamonds^ crowded rounds wondering at the cabalistic features in red and black that appeared upon the document. Rapidly running through the figures, under the respective heads income and expendi- ture, and mentally calculating the profits, she repeated, half aloud, Three hundred thousand pounds — three hundred thousand pounds and, in answer to inquiries, astonished the eager group around her by informing them that the net profits from the coal-hole,^^ as she facetiously termed the Welsh Iron Works, for the year amounted to this princely sum. It was iron making gave Sir John his position, his seat at the club, his proud step, and great weight. Half a century ago a couple of horsemen might have L 146 THE SEVERN VALLEY. been seen riding at a rapid pace along Watling Street. Each prided himself upon his steed^ whose mettle he appeared disposed to try^ but secretly believed to be unequalled. That the horses were not neck-and-neck was due to a degree of deference paid by the one more plainly dressed^ rather than to any inferiority of the rider or his beast. Urging^ alternately^ their favourites^ a very dashing speed indeed had been attained^ and as well-shod hoofs clattered over the old praetorian high- way_, you might have imagined a wager to have depended upon the result. Each unexpectedly had found his match^ and pulling up, after mutual compliments and a hearty laugh, the leader observed — I believe, Mr. Reynolds, this is the first time a Quaker and a Lord Chancellor ever rode a race together.^' The speaker was Lord Thurlow, who held the Great Seals under the Pitt administration, and who had just been paying a visit to the Ketley Iron Works. The other was Richard Reynolds, one of the proprietors, and manager of the Coalbrookdale Works, at the time the first iron rails, to which we have alluded, were laid. As may be judged from the remark just quoted, he was a member of the Society of Friends — a Quaker, stern and uncom- promising in his conformity to discipline, when discipline was in accordance with conscience ; but deviating from the rules of the Society when, as in the case of music, he considered them opposed to sound reason. To say a man is a Quaker merely, now that the genuine dis- ciple of George Eox is in danger of being lost, and that cute men conjure up a spurious ideal, is to run the risk of being misunderstood. To give colouring to individual description^ it is not uncommon to find a THE SEVERN VALLEY. 147 Quaker thrown in for effect. He is in such cases a form- hating formalist^ thee-ing and thou-ing; or demure and stumpy^ given to the comforts of this life while professing to eschew them. Mr. Reynolds was not the Quaker of this school. The stamp of heaven^s nobility was visible in his face^ and the free and open features with which nature had endowed his person were not dwarfed by the uniform look and expression sometimes demanded by sects. Eyes of liquid blue^ full-orbed^ gave back the azure tint of heaven^ and lighted up a manly face^ fair and ruddy. To these indications of a Saxon type were added others^ such as light brown hair that in flowing curls fell upon the shoulders of a tall and full -developed figure. True to its design^ the face indexed its prototype^ the mind. He accumulated an immense fortune at the Ketley Iron Works_, and kept several almoners in London and elsewhere to distribute his bounty munificently. During one period of distress he gave £20^000 for distribution ; upon another occasion he placed £10^500 in the hands of trustees^ to be devoted to charitable institutions in Bristol^ to which also he contributed many additional sums^ and to which city he finally removed. He was known throughout England as Richard Reynolds^ the philanthropist. At his death Bristol went into mournings and Montgomery paid a fitting tribute to his memory in verses^ from which we extract the following : — " Kindness all his looks express'd, Charity was every word ; Him the eye beheld and bless'd, And the ear rejoiced that heard. l3 148 THE SEVERN VALLEY. " Like a patriarchal sage, Holy, humble, courteous, mild. He could bleud the awe of age "With the sweetness of a child." Abraham Darby and his brother^ the late Alfred Darby^ were men of this description. They became managers of the extensive and important works of Coalbrookdale^ Horsehay^ Lightmoor^ and the Castle, at critical periods of their history^ and when^ to main- tain their existence^ it was essential to do battle with lax discipline^ old customs^ and deep-rooted prejudices. They found men resting on their oars^ trusting to the prestige of a fame won by a former generation^ and standing still while others around them were advancing. They determined to prove themselves worthy of their predecessors by advancing to the front of the foremost in the race. Surrounding themselves by energetic agents^ intelligent operatives^ and introducing new modes of manufacture^ they succeeded. With clear views of political economy, they zealously aided in battering down barriers to a free exchange of the world^s productions, which misconceived interest had erected. Penetrated with a lofty sense of duty, and comprehending their position rightly, they pursued the even tenor of their way, sowing seed which now is ripening — scattering blessings which now refresh and brighten the scenes of their former labours. The little church built on the hill-side, and its sweet and silvery tinkling bells as their delightful music floats along the valley and over the wooded boundaries of the dale, tell of their large-hearted benevolence and open-handed munificence. Abraham Darby retired in the golden THE SEVERN VALLEY. 149 meridian of his age^ and now enjoys tlie fruit of his great wealth in quiet on his estate at Stoke Courts near Windsor. The two brothers worked incessantly in the laboratory^ — obtaining a knowledge of chemistry^ — in the works^ and at the books^ acquainting themselves with the detail and minutiae of their great undertaking. Order and regularity everywhere obtained^ they imbued others with a like spirit^ and trained a set of agents to succeed them. Two of these^ Joseph and Thomas Kobin- son — aided by the patronage of the Messrs. Darby — have^ in the space of a few years only^ risen from clerks in the Dale office to first-class merchant princes of the day. Joseph^ the elder brother^ is a partner in the extensive iron works of Ebw Vale^ purchased some time ago for .£360^000^ and now worth more than double that amount. Of Miss Darby, the Lady Bountiful of the Dale, and of Mr. Dickenson, who generously came forward with the princely sum of £100,000, to prevent the Shropshire bank from failing, diminishing thereby his annual income to the extent of several thousand pounds, we have scarcely room to speak. To do justice to their distinguished merits, as measured and understood by their neighbours, and those who have been participators in the beaefits they have conferred, would be to shock the delicacy of the parties themselves. It is not however as millionnaires, but as chiefs of labour, battling with difficulties — as remarkable for their great usefulness, and as filling responsible and honourable positions, that we wish to speak of them. Many have grappled with the difficulties of an obscure position and have overcome them, — have been faithful in 150 THE SEVERN VALLEY. the discharge of their duties^ and have done their best to bridge the gulf which marks the extremes of rich and poor. The present Richard Padmore^ M.P._, of Hen- wick Hall^ Worcester^ is an instance. Formerly a workman in the Shropshire coal-field_, he commenced life with such capital only as character^ acuteness^ and honest industry afforded him. The only patrimony he inherited was a fair name^ normal talent^ and sterling virtue ; while honourable aim and religious principles have through life been the guide-star of his course, and the secret of his success. Raised to the highest civic honour by the citizens of Worcester, where he has for some years been carrying on business as an iron- founder, the dignity he added to the office, and his singular munificence, induced the corporation to add his portrait to others of the town^s greatest benefactors, which adorn the Guildhall. While president of the Athenaeum, Mr. Padmore offered prizes for the three best essays on The Tendency of Mental Cultivation in Science and Religion to promote the Improvement of the Working Classes.^^ He has presented a town-clock, a public drinking fountain, and central gas-lamp to the city ; he has given j61,200 towards the erection of an Independent Chapel, and £500 to found a scholarship at the Independent College, at Birmingham. As a proof of the high estimation in which he is held, it may be added, that his fellow-citizens have honoured him by electing him to the proud position of representing them in the Commons House of Parliament. Dr. Johnson once said, the noblest prospect a Scotch- man ever sees is the high road that leads him to England ; and he might have added — particularly if THE SEVERN VALLEY. 151 there is a coal or iron mine at the end of it. Alexander Brodie used to tell, with pride, that he came to this country with a few pence only in his pockety his neces- sities requiring him to spend his first week^s wages be- fore he earned them. He accumulated a fortune^ at the Broseley Works^ of upwards of half a million of money. The late William Hazledine^ of Shrewsbury, who succeeded to the Calcutt Works, affords another in- stance of a wealthy ironmaster who has risen from the ranks of labour by industry and talent. The Menai Suspension Bridge, constructed by him under the super- intendence of Telford, is a standing memorial of his genius. In his youth he carried his dinner to his work in his wallet, at a riper age he drove his carriage, and at his death left considerable wealth behind him. John Bussell, formerly of Coalbrookdale, and a working- man, is now a large coal-owner in South Wales, and worth, it is said, property to the amount of half a million. The late G. B. Thorney croft, whom the town and corporation of Wolverhampton honoured by electing him their first mayor, was also of leathern-apron origin/^ and worked for weekly wages for John Wilkinson, of Willey, near Broseley. The Messrs. Botfield, too, reaped a golden harvest from the iron trade ; Mr. Botfield, of the Stirchley Works, in particular, having left great wealth behind him. The late George Jones, Esq., an eminent ironmaster of South Stafford- shire, who also realised a large fortune, was a native of Broseley, and a Severn Valley man. John Wilkinson was another, and one of the most remarkable of the iron-kings of the district. With Wilkinson there was 152 THE SEVERN VALLEY. nothing like iron. He had faith in iron^ and iron only ; he lived in the midst of iron^ thought about nothing but iron j he wrote his own epitaph^ setting forth his works and virtues while he livedo which he had cast in iron, and was buried in iron, at his own request, on his own estate, when he died. Wilkinson never wrote a letter but he mentioned iron ; he scarcely ever spoke a sentence but iron was at the beginning or the end. He believed iron to be the true philosopher's stone, the one marvel- working metal, capable of putting into the background all miracles of ancient or modern times. We read of a learned friar who aspired to make a creature in his own image, capable of speech, which did speak, and which uttered only three words — as the legend goes : Wilkinson made iron men to save the limbs of his colliers in getting the deeper coals ; but the men were jealous, and would not tend them. Wilkinson made the first iron barge, which he launched upon the river, amid the jeers of watermen, who did not believe it would swim. But it did swim : and] was the precursor of others upon the Severn, upon the Thames, and the Tyne, and of the Great Eastern steamship itself. Wilkinson lived long, built up an immense fortune, and when he died seven years^ litigation between the executors and his nephew — who sought to get possession of his entire property — scattered it to the winds. IRONBRIDGE. CHAPTER XII. Ironbridge— Madeley — Origin of Names — The Court House — The Church — King Charles — The Eev. John Fletcher — Broseley — Pipes and Pottery — Tessellated Tiles— Old Works at Caughley — Coalport Porcelain. HERE are nooks and corners along the Severn better known to strangers than to the inhabitants of the district^ and which they themselves may be said to have never seen. With eyes to watch the till^ to see their way along the beaten track of business^ men sometimes lose sight of plea- sures within their reach, and in their hurry to secure gain^ forget important items that go to 154 THE SEVERN VALLEY. swell the general sum of happiness — like Wordsworth's Peter Bell^ to whom " A primrose by a river's brim, A yellow primrose is to him, And it is nothing more/' They are insensible alike to pleasures that lie around them^ and to the life that is within them. There are no boundary walls, no bolts or bars^ to pleasures such as these^ and there need be " No calling left, no duty broke," in making ourselves acquainted with the wonders which surround us. Many are the visits made by those desirous of reading the Testimony of the Rocks/^ as it is revealed about Ironbridge ; and similar visits from those anxious to scan the beautiful will be multi- plied^ now that the Severn Valley Railway is complete. Ironbridge has no antiquities older than the bridge from which it takes its name^ no castle keep or moss-crowned ruins^ no monuments^ save such as nature furnishes. It is rich in these. Not a winding path threads the hills but leads you to memorials such as Sir R. Murchison has figured in his Siluria.^^ But^ however beautiful by day, Ironbridge assumes a character bordering upon the sublime when the hills begin to cast their shadows, and the river, gathering the evening rays of straggling light, gives them back in feeble pencils to the eye. At sun- set, when the cliffs are purple, and the god of day be- tween the gorge of Lincoln Hill a second time appears ; or by moonlight, when its rosy tints have given way to hues of misty grey, when familiar objects grow THE SEVERN VALLEY. 155 grotesque and queer — aerial pictures of quaint perspec- tive and soul-inspiring beauty present themselves. Madeley^ of which Ironbridge and Coalbrookdale are ecclesiastical divisions^ from its position and associations^ is also entitled to notice. It is one of those quiet villages^ with a touch alike of poetry and meaning in its name. Our ancestors^ taking possession of primeval lands and uncleared forests^ often set forth the features of a place in words^ many of which have come down to us but little altered. From shrubs came the name of Shrewsbury^ and from the brock, or badger^ once numer^ ous along the Severn^ came the name of Brocholes. Madeley Wood^ close by, was the wood bordering on the meadow ; whilst Madeley itself derived its name from mead, a term still used in poetical productions of the day. Madbrook, a little stream on the borders of the village, meandering through meadow land, was Mead, or Meadow-brook — as one of our smaller English rivers is called the Medway from like circumstances, and as Brockton-on-Madbrook was formerly Brook-town, the town or enclosure on the brook. A tolerable estimate of Madeley, as it appeared to the commissioners appointed to carry out the Domesday Survey, may be gleaned from the following : speaking of the Wenlock Priory it says — The same holds Madeley, and held it in the time of King Edward. Here is one hide (about 120 acres) not geldable (not liable to pay taxes), and three other hides geldable. In demesne are eleven ox teams and six villeins (those employed in ignoble service), and (there are) IIII. boors (peasants) with IIII. teams. Here are IIII. serfs (slaves of the lower class), and there might 156 THE SEVERN VALLEY. yet be VI. teams more here. There is a wood sufficient to fatten 400 swine. In the time of King Edward the manor was worth <£4 per annum ; now it is worth £5 per annum.^^ Such was Madeley in the olden time_, when men were goods and chattels^ subject to the rapacity and oppression of their owners ; when to kill wild animals was deemed a crime equal in enormity to that of killing one of our own species^ and was punished with the same rigour of the law ; when the right to hunt was in the hands of kings^ and those holding feudal tenure to whom they thought proper to delegate it. The park^ to which the modern names of Park^ Rough Park^ and Park Lane apply^ was enclosed from the wood or forest mentioned above. It appears that^ November 28^ 1283^ King Edward^ upon being informed that it would not be detrimental to his forest of Mount Gilbert for the Prior and Convent of Wenlock to cd close their Wood of Madeley (though within the limits of the forest) with a ditch and fence (haia)^ to make a park there/^ — allowed them to do so. The Court House^ formerly surrounded by this park^ near the station on the Great Western line now called by its name^ is an exceedingly interesting structure of fine freestone, and pleasing style of architecture. In 1167^ 1224, 1250, and 1255, mention is made of the manor; and again in 1739, when the estimated value of the pleas and perquisites of the court is entered at two shillings. The present building contains sub- stantial and roomy apartments, with solid trees, one upon the other, to form a staircase to the rooms above. Ascending these the visitor finds himself in the chapel, the ceiling of which is of oak, richly carved ; with the THE SEVERN VALLEY. 157 fleur-de-lys in several places^ in compartments. The arms of the Ferrers family over the doorway indicate the proprietorship^ at one time^ of that family ; it has also been the residence of Sir Basil Brooke^ fourth in descent from a zealous royalist in the time of Charles I. Several admirably carved figures^ representing members of this family^ in the costume of the period^ are to be seen in niches outside the present church. Ruthlessly driven from their positions in the old building by the builders of the new^ they are exposed to all weathers ; the stone has lost its outer coatings and in one^ the sculptor^ s art in tipping the nose and chin with a whiter material is disclosed. The inscription is as follows : Here lietli inter'd John Brooke^ Esquire^ the son of Robert Brooke^ Knight^ Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. He was a zealous and loyal subject to Queen Mary^ and assisted her in securing her rights in opposition to the violent faction of the time. He published an ex- cellent commentary on the English law^ in several volumes. After a life engaged in the study of juris- prudence and science^ being of an extensively liberal mind and universally beloved^ he made a pious and Christian-like end^ October the 20th^ in the year of our Lord 1598^ in the 62nd year of his age.^' The following is another : Here lieth the remains of Etheldreda^ the wife of Basil Brooke^ Knight. A woman not only well skilled in the knowledge of the Latin^ Italian^ French^ and Spanish languages^ and in the science of music^ but also exemplary for piety^ faith_, prudence^ courage^ chastity, and gentle manners. She left to lament her loss a husband with an only son named Thomas^ and five daughters^ namely^ Anne^ the 158 THE SEVERN VALLEY. wife of William Fitzlierbert^ Esquire^ the grandson of Henry^ Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas^ eminent for his commentary on our laws ; Mary, the wife of Thomas More^ Esquire^ a descendant of that renowned character Thomas More^ formerly Lord High Chancellor of England^ a man in his life and death universally esteemed ; Dorothy^ Agatha^ and Catherine, all of whom were persons of amiable dispositions. She died in the year of our Lord (the date is defaced). The original is in Latin. A notable entry in the church register informs us that on the 14th of Aprils 1645^ one William Caroloso was buried^ the church at the time being garrisoned by a parliamentary regiment, com- manded by Captain Harrington. Six years later^ the weak, vacillating monarchy Charles 11.^ after the battle of Worcester, where 3,000 of his army had been left upon the field, came a fugitive to Madeley. Having ridden in haste from Worcester, he found himself at the White Ladies, where he became eased of his royal locks. Having here been otherwise disguised, he set out in the direction of Madeley, with " a country fellow,^^ whose borrowed suit he travelled in. The latter is said to have consisted of a pair of ordinary grey cloth breeches, rather roomy in the slack, a leathern doublet, greasy about the collar, hose much darned, shoes that let in wet and dirt to the royal feet, and a sugar loaf hat, rain-proof by reason of grease, and turned up at the sides, the corners acting as water-spouts. It was a dark night, and the rain came down in torrents, as the king, guided by the rustling noise of his companion's calf-skin breeches, plunged through mud and mire, through ruts and swollen streams. Slamming THE SEVERN VALLEY, 159 the gate at Eveleth bridge^ brouglit out the miller^ who ordered them to stands and raised an outcry of ^rogues '/ Foot-sore and weary^ resolving sometimes to go no farther^ then plucking up spirits and trudging on^ the house of Mr. Wolfe^ having hiding holes for priests/^ at last was reached; but learning that the individual seeking his protection came from Worcester^ Mr. Wolfe looked shy upon his visitors^ remarking that he would risk his neck for no man less than the king himself. Matters^ however^ were soon arranged,, and his Majesty was accommodated with some straw in a barn close by^ now used as a malt-house ; but the object for which the king came to Madeley^ that of getting into Wales by crossing the Severn^ had to be abandoned^ the passage being guarded, Mrs. Wolfe having had recourse to walnut -juice for the purpose of deepening the tone upon the royal face^ the king set out for Boscobel. Charles^ at the Restoration^ presented to Mr. Wolfe a handsome silver tankard^ with the inscription — Given by Charles 11.^ at the Restoration^ to F. Wolfe^ of Madeley^ in whose barn he was secreted after the defeat at Worcester.^^ The tankard^ which is still in the possession of Mr.Rathbone^has on the cover a demi- wolf, supporting a crown^ and is a very handsome one. Madeley is celebrated as the scene of the labours of its famous vicar^ the Rev. John Fletcher, a notice of whose death appears in the church register as follows : — John Fletchere, clerk, died on Sunday evening, August . 14th, 1785. He was one of the most apostolic men of the age in which he lived. His abilities were extraor- dinary, and his talents unparalleled. He was a burning and a shining light j and as his life had been a common 160 THE SEVERN VALLEY. blessing to the mhabitants of this parish^ so the death of this great man was lamented by them as a common and irreparable loss. This little testimony was inserted by one who sincerely loved and honoured him.^^ Pil- grimages from long distances are often made to the resting-place of this holy man_, whose memory is much cherished in the neighbourhood^ where the results of his labours are yet visible. There was a combination of earnestness and singleness of purpose about the man^ which reminds one of the sublimated virtues and graces of the early Christians. Like Chrysostom^ and the old fathers^ he accommodated himself to his hearers^ suiting his exhortations to their modes of thought^ and seizing opportunities for imparting instruction^ so as to secure for both a favourable reception. His parish- ioners^ who at first bitterly opposed him^ soon began not only to perceive but to appreciate these excellent features of his character. Unmoved by storm and tumult, with a grace and sweetness that shone through every look and gave value to every action^ his visits and ministra- tions brought with them influences like the reviving breath of spring. On the opposite side the river is Broseley^ which^ ere the mines became exhausted_, was a place of much more importance than at present. Grimy ruins^ chimney stacks looking gloomily conscious of their uselessness_, and disjointed masses of masonry^ give a singular aspect to scenes formerly characterised by manufacturing activity. Grass-lands occupy the place of forge and furnace^ garden plots and game covers extend over old works, upon a surface beneath which the mines have long since been exhausted. Old pit-banks have THE SEVERN VALLEY; 161 had their angles lowered^ and vegetation^ year after year^ has bequeathed so much of its remains^ that they look like some Celtic or ancient British barrows. Cottages have been built over shafts long forgotten^ and the in- mates ere now have been surprised to find the floor give way^ as by the effects of some engulfing earth- quake. Its iron mines being exhausted^ Broseley is thrown back upon its clays. It is still celebrated for several branches of local manufactures — to which the richness and varieties of these coal-measure clays have given rise — more particularly for its pottery and its pipes. Give us a Broseley^^ may be heard^ in asking for two feet of baked clay^ for many miles around the Wrekin. When this branch of art was first introduced it is difficult to say^ but that it flourished soon after the in- troduction of tobacco^ appears evident from a collection of old pipes exhibited by Mr. Thursfield before the Archaeological Association^ consisting of 130 specimens of different patterns. One has the date 1687; another that of 1696 ; others have no dates^ and may be older. Anterior to the manufacture of pipes^ appears to have been that of pottery ; but of the early history of this branch of fictile art little is known. Prom specimens recently brought to light at Wroxeter^, and others in connection with mediaeval structures — such as those of Wen lock and Buildwas — indications are not wanting to show that these clays were used at a very early period. The oldest work of the kind is that at Haybrook^ called the Mugus/^ or Mug-house^ where some of these primitive-looking drinking vessels^ for- merly in use^ are still preserved. An ancient mode of M 162 THE SEVERN VALLEY. hiring consisted in giving mugs of beer ; the custom was called mugging/^ and an engagement so made stood good in courts of law. Beer-houses along the river^ where these primitive cups were used^ were called Mug-houses/^ as at Bewdley and Worcester^ and they are so spoken of in the Tatler.^^ At about three hundred yards from the Ironbridge station of the Severn Valley Railway_, partly in the parish of Benthall and partly in that of Broseley^ are situated the geometrical^ mosaic^ and encaustic tile works of Messrs. Maw and Company. The manufac- ture of these classical and mediaeval adjuncts of archi- tectural comfort and embellishment embrace encaustic tiles — the reproduction of an art limited in mediaeval times to church decoration^ but now having a much more extended application ; secondly^ the manufacture of tesserae^ used in the construction of geometrical mosaic pavements^ similar in character to those found in the mediaeval buildings of Italy; also moresque mosaics^ like those occurring in Roman remains in this country and on the continent. The materials employed in both are nearly identical^ and consist for the most part of the clays and marls of the Shropshire coal measures. These^ together with clays from the south of England^ form the red^ buff, and fawn-coloured tiles^ and in connection with different proportions of oxides of iron and manganese^ the blacky chocolate^ and grey ones. The white and richer tesserae are formed of a species of porcelain^ the white being left uncoloured^ and the blues and greens coloured with oxide of chrome and cobalt. The advantages these clays afforded^ led to the THE SEVERN VALLEY. 163 manufacture of porcelain at Caughley,, near Broseley^ about the middle of the last century. Earthenware appears to have been 'made at Jackfield as early as the year 1700 ; and a superior kind_, highly glazed^ about fifty years later. About the latter period a gentleman named Turner^ having visited France^ and engaged there a number of skilful artisans^ commenced the manufacture of porcelain at Caughley. The history of the work is interesting^ both on account of the excellency attained^ and also of its results ; that is^ in leading to the establishment of more important works on the banks of the Severn. Indeed^ the late Sir Henry De la Beche showed the utmost anxiety to secure for the Museum of Economic Geology speci- mens of the Caughley Works^ on account of the superiority of the make or potting, as it is called^ and the modelling or general outlines. The trade-mark appears to have consisted of the initial letter with S; or sometimes Salopian/^ stamped in full. The buildings have long since been razed to the ground ; but a class of clever men were educated there^ who have since done much to raise the art to its present state. Among them may be mentioned the late Herbert Minton^s father^ and the late John Rose^ who succeeded Mr. Turner; and who^ having purchased the works^ re- moved them to Coalport^ on the opposite bank of the Severn^ for the greater convenience the river and canal afforded for the transmission of goods. With these and other advantages^ the new establishment grew rapidly into importance. Having effected an improvement which secured for them the medal of the Society of Arts^ Mr. Rose and partners at once set M 2 164 THE SEVERN VALLEY. themselves zealously to work to bring up the character of their productions to an equality with those of Dres- den and Sevres. Since Mr. Rosens deaths his nephew_, Mr. W. F. Rose, and his partner, Mr. W. Pugh, have succeeded in restoring colours which had become lost to France after the revolution — as the Bleu turquoise, Bleu de Roi, and Rose du Barry, Indeed,, in some instances, in articles de luxe and of utility, the tables have been turned upon foreign rivals ; and for purity of glaze, smoothness of surface, beauty of painting, and richness of gilding, the productions of these works stand deservedly high. CHAPTER XIII. Waterfalls, Streams, and Dingles — The Willey Squire — " You all knew Tom Moody" — Tom's Exploits and Last Request — ''Bachelor's Hall" — Liuley Brook — Bone Bed — Darley Dingle and Frog Mill — Rookery Wood and Chestnut Coppice — Apley Hall and Park — View from the Terrace — Pat's- o'-the-Rock — Stanley Hall — Severn Hall— The Town Mills— The Cemetery. N leaving Coalport a cascade of spark- ling water may be seen trickling^ like liquid silver^ down the face of a deep red rock on the left. It has coated with a mass of travertine the rock from which the house close by derives its name^ and which^ with the greens and browns around^ has a pleasing aspect. Sutton Wood succeeds^ on the same side ; and on the rights a similar copse stretches for miles along the high ground_, inter- sected by a number of sweet sylvan dingles,, that stretch considerable distances at right angles from the river. The Severn, gliding through deep, smooth banks, is calm and noiseless excepting at the fords, affording a striking contrast to the brooks that come tumbling down through these narrow glens with continual murmurings and perpetual brawls. Many are of silvery brightness, always 166 THE SEVERN VALLEY. Sparkling; some after showers leave a milk-wliite sub- stance behind them, and others, again, give amber coatings to their channels. On the banks of one of these, whose water holding iron in solution has for ages been accumulating and forming beds of ochre, brilliant hues are met with; the chromatic scale including orange, crimson, and rich deep browns. Others, bubbling up from deep cracks and rents, hold carbonate of lime in solution, which, on reaching the surface, they spread over moss, and grass, and leaves, forming a stony tapestry of finest silvery gray, bordered by mossy velvet-looking banks, down which rills of purest water percolate. Some are celebrated for medicinal properties : old dames, ignorant on other matters, grow wise on their capabilities, — their remedial tendencies being ascribed to fairies, rather than to mineral qualities derived from earths in which they take their rise, or over which they flow. One contains a mineral oil, which, being lighter than the water, floats upon its surface ; it is unctuous to the touch, of a strong odour, and was formerly collected and largely exported for its medicinal properties. Beneath these local opinions and silly superstitions respecting water fresh from nature^s storehouse, there is hidden a something that reminds one of the ancients, with their water gods and water pipes; of the Romans, with their Tiber, their covered water-ways and aqueducts, of the Greeks, with their springs that gave memory and merriment, and of the Egyptians, who had a saying, that had Mahomet ever tasted of the Nile, he would have asked for immortality, if only to drink it for ever. To springs and streams these dingles along the Severn owe their beauty. They string with THE SEVERN VALLEY. 167 pearls their channel sides^ where blue-bells lift their graceful heads^ and forget-me-nots dot the pale green carpet; they leap from ledge to ledge, dance on little plat- forms^ and retiring into nooks^ utter their dulcet warblings — such as Keats and Wordsworth so well knew how to sing. From some thick bush upon their banks^ or from near its basket-looking nest^ hung among the segs^ the reed- sparrow may be heard; while on the tops of the willow and the ash the blackbird and thrush reply to each other^s challenge. Perhaps a wagtail upon a stone is busy with that graceful motion of its tail from which it derives its name^ and among the tufted grass close by^ rudely built of stubble and thinly lined with horse-hair^ may be its nest. But the great minstrel of these dingles is the night- ingale. It has been said^ by those who knew him not, that his superiority over other birds is fancied, and that it arises from the advantage he has in singing when other songsters are mute and still. But is it so ? We have listened at all hours to the feeble little fellow figured above, to those popular songsters the thrush and blackbird, when the sun has been going down red in the west, and they have put forth their fullest and mellowest notes after a summer shower, when the THE REED-SPARROW. 168 THE SEVERN VALLEY. woods around appeared to be tenantless ; and we have heard fair Philomel send forth her voice amid a wood- land concert in untouched notes^ and marvellous supremacy of inimitable music. Stilly the greatest treat is to hear her at nighty when the great minstrel timidly tries her notes preparatory to pouring forth her anthem ; and when^ as is not unusual amid these woods, rival birds meet on opposite sides of the stream. When_, as some old poet has said, " Far and near, In wood and thicket, over the wide grove, They censure and provoke each other's songs. With skirmish and capricious passagings, And murmurs musical, and swift jug-jug. And one low piping sound, more sweet than all. Stirring the air with such a harmony. That, should you close your eyes, you might almost Forget it was not day." Now that birds and flowers are being driven from so many old haunts and habitats, that blue-bells and violets, foxgloves and primroses, are disappearing from the hedge-rows, it is a source of pleasure to think there are these wastes that defy the plough, where the per- fume of flowers, the songs of birds, and the music of the breeze, may be still enjoyed. They are, too, beyond the sight and sound of human industry. Efforts have been made to mine, but Nature, as though jealous of her domain, has long ago uttered her fiat, '^Hiitherto shalt thou go, and no further indeed, she is every- where doing her best to restore, and to beautify, where attempts have been made to get the mines, by greening over the old mounds with moss and grass and weeds. They are primeval fragments never yet recovered by the THE SEVERN VALLEY. 169 plough^ where the fox finds a shelter^ and where the stoat still lingers. They formed the hunting-ground of the old Willey Squire^ and were the scene of Tom Moody^s exploits. Dibdin has immortalised the pair; but the song in honour of the latter is^ perhaps^ the most widely known : — " Yon all knew Tom Moody, the whipper-in, well. The bell that's done tolling was honest Tom's knell ; A more able sportsman ne'er followed a hound Through a country well known to him fifty miles round. No hovmd ever open'd with Tom near a wood. But he'd challenge the tone, and could tell if it were good ; And all with attention would eagerly mark, When he cheer'd up the pack, ' Hark ! to Rockwood, hark ! hark ! High ! — wind him ! and cross him ! Now, Rattier, boy ! Hark ! ' " It was a boyish tricky performed on the bare back of an ugly cob^ with a pig-bristled mane/^ by which Tom won his first spurs^ and gained the Squire^s favour; and when once promoted to the pack^ he never appeared in public but as a hero. Up hill and down dale/^ at the same neck-or-nothing speedy was Moody^s habit — never stopping for hedge or gate^ his horse snuffing^ snorting^ playing pranks^ and sending his master some- times on a career of half-a-dozen somersaults. Many tales are told of Tom taking company from the hall (when Shiff*nal was the nearest place to meet a coach) in the old squire^s chaise^ and of the narrow escapes of the guests. With his own wild favourite in the buff- coloured gig^ there were no risks he would not run ; fences were nothing^ pikes^' would be cleared without injuring the tongue of a buckle^ or the stitch of a strap. Ay^ ay^ sir/^ said our informant — the only man 170 THE SEVERN VALLEY. living that we know of who doffed his cap and gave the rattling view-halloo over Tom^s grave — ^^you should have seen him on his horse ; nobody else could ride him ; there was a sort of freemasonry between Tom and the animal he bestrode ; he could have rode him with his eyes shut^ savage as he was. I canH tell you his height^ but he was a big-un, Tom^ himself, was a little fellow^ and used to be on horseback all day long. If he got into the saddle in a mornings he never left it till nighty unless he was thrown^ which was not often. I remem- ber him being thrown once^ and it w^as very near being his last^ for he fell into a hole in which he was nearly smothered. He was lost and could not get out ; but he gave the view-halloo^ thrice tally-ho^ and the dogs knew his voice and led the way. Tom's horse would pass milestones as the clock measured minutes. But give him the green meadows^, and^ lor^ I have seen him whip along the turf like a flash of lightning. He was a winged Mercury that made light of stone walls^ or five- feet six-inch gates ; a regular centaur, for he and the horse seemed one ; and none like him could Rend the thin air, and with a lusty cry- Awake the drowsy echoes of the woods." Tom lived fast and drank hard. Upon finding his end approaching he requested the attendance of the Squire. He asked that his favourite horse^ Old Soul/^ might be permitted to follow his body to the church. Similar requests were made and complied with^ and " Six crafty earth stoppers, in hunter's green drest. Supported poor Tom to an earth made for rest. His horse, which he styled his * Old Soul,' next appear'd, On whose forehead the brush of his last fox was rear'd : THE SEVERN VALLEY. 171 Whip, cap, boots, and spurs, in a trophy were bound, And here and there followed an old straggling hound. Ah ! no more at his voice yonder vales will they trace ! Nor the welkin resound his burst in the chase ! With high over ! Now press him ! Tally-ho ! Tally-ho ! " Thus Tom spoke his friends ere he gave up his breath : * Since I see you're resolved to be in at the death, One favour bestow — 'tis the last I shall crave. Give a rattling view-halloo thrice over my grave ; And unless at that warning I lift up my head, My boys, you may fairly conclude I am dead ! ' Honest Tom was obeyed, and the shout rent the sky, For every one joined in the tally-ho cry ! Tally-ho ! Hark forward ! Tally-ho 1 Tally-ho I " A good old fellow was the Squire/^ said the vener- able man from whom we gleaned our information. The poor never wanted a friend while old George Forrester lived ; there were plenty of broken victuals to be had for the fetching^ and a tankard of good ale^ with bread and cheese^ or cold meat^ for all comers. He was one of the old sort^ but a right un. When there was once a bad harvest^ and no work for men, after one of them there war times^ and they were rioting, the old squire was the only man that could stop them.^^ Dibdin^s song of ^^Bachelor^s Hair^ represents theSquire^s doings at Willey, and affords a good picture of sporting life at that period : — " To Bachelor's Hall we good fellows invite, To partake of the chase which makes up our delight. We've spirits like fire, and of health such a stock That our pulse strikes the seconds as true as a clock. Did you see us you'd swear that we mount with a grace, That Diana had dubb'd some new gods of the chase. Hark away ! hark away ! all nature looks gay. And Aurora with smiles ushers in the bright day. 172 THE SEVERN VALLEY. " Dick Thickset came mounted upon a fine black, A finer fleet gelding ne*er hunter did back ; Tom Trig rode a bay full of mettle and bone ; And gaily Bob Buckson rode on a roan : But the horse of all horses that rivalled the day Was the Squire's Neck-or-Nothing, and that was a grev. Hark away 1 &c. " Then for hounds there was Nimble well would climb rocks, And Cocknose a good one at finding a fox ; Little Plunge, like Mole, who with ferret and search, And beetle-brow'd Hawk's-eye so dead at a lurch ; Young Sly-looks that scents the strong breeze from the south. And Musical Echo with his deep mouth. Hark away ! &c. " Our horses thus all of the very best blood,'' 'Tis not likely you'd easily find such a stud ; Then for fox-hounds, our opinion for thousands we'll back That all England throughout can't produce such a pack. Thus having described you our dogs, horses, and crew. Away we set oflP, for our fox is in view. Hark away ! &c. " Sly Reynard's brought home, while the horn sounds the call. And now you're all welcome to Bachelor's Hall ; The savoury sirloin gracefully smokes on the board. And Bacchus pours wine from his sacred hoard. Come on, then, do honour to this jovial place. And enjoy the sweet pleasures that have sprung from the chase. Hark away ! hark away ! while our spirits are gay. Let us drink to the joys of next coming day." From Willey a little stream^ called Linley Brook, conducts us past Linley, or Wren's Nest Station, on the Severn Valley Eailway, to the Severn. Just where the brook enters the river, the fisherman usually finds good sport, in pike, grayling, perch, and chub. If the reader is a geologist, desirous of fish of ancient date, he may find them petrified on their old feeding- THE SEVERN VALLEY. 173 ground close by^ where^ flowing over ancient sea-beds^, the brook brings down numerous relics of the old world^s fauna. On ground dry only in summer time^ on fords and natural weirs^ the old red sandstone may be seen^ exhibiting traces of the bone-bed so eloquently described by Hugh Miller. It contains a black mass of corrugated scales and sharply-pointed teeth. The latter may be traced into the Ludlow limestone^ close by^ where univalves and bivalves^ orthoceratites. THE CHUB. bellerophons^ turbos^ terebratulas^ orthoceras^ and trilo- bites^ may also be found. This limestone must not be mistaken for that singular freshwater bed which Sir Murchison describes as formed by hot-water springs^ like those of Avergne^ and which is found to occur between two seams of coal^ a short distance above the Station. The Dingle has two branches^, one having a rude and solemn aspect^ the other a more open look^ and 174 THE SEVERN VALLEY. the streams of both unite^ and expand into a grassy lake- let^ fringed by osiers^ ere they enter the Severn. Higher up, where the music of the one on the left grows louder^ and you hear the notes of woodlarks swelling sweetly on the hill/^ is Frog Mill/^ with its patchwork walls and many gables — bronzed by flour and lichens^ quite to the taste of sketchers^ and lovers of landscape scenery. It is mentioned in Domesday^ and^ in all probability^ it ground wheat or rye for the Saxon churl of Astley and the Norman lord of Linley. Below is Rookery Wood and Chestnut Coppice^ where the Severn Valley Railway^ running upon a slight embankment^ in front of a pleasant glade^ affords a good view of Apley House and Park. Apley is one of those sudden expansions of the valley for which nature has done so much in form and outline^ independent of its outer covering. Places^ very beautiful in summer^ sometimes lose their interest when the leaves fall from the trees^ and their harsher skeletons are disclosed^ but it is not so with Apley. Apley is always attractive — " In all seasons and all hours, Prom this, when Spring will soon walk forth at morn, Strewing the lane-side banks with tenderest flowers, Or green yonder fields with fresh young cover ; To that when Autumn's evenings heaven adorn, And roll o'er harvests ripe their golden light; Or hoary Winter weaves for bending thorn A frosty mantle, beautiful and bright." It is beautiful when the hardy yews^ which cling to its deep red rocks^ alone look green amid the winter's frosty when the lichened branches of others bear only a foliage of snow, and when the hoarse voices of the black THE SEVERN VALLEY. 175 and purple brawlers of Rookery Wood alone are heard. It is still more beautiful when a faint verdure begins to subdue the warm tints of the terrace^ and catkins in the hedges usher in the spring ; when the wild plum wreathes its sprays^ and the wild cherry comes out in snowy showers. But it may be said to be in its glory when oak and ash put forth their leaves^ when its grand old chestnuts bear high their pyramidal waxen flowers^ and the proud elms that crown the rising knolls close by are fully clad. As the woods separate into individual trees^ those with a never-fading livery come fully into view^ a few of which carry their flesh-coloured stems above the others^ and droop their tresses of bluisli green gracefully and condescendingly towards their meaner brethren. In front of these^ and nearer the river^ are some stern and storm-defying walnuts, one in particular^ throwing wildly its maimed and withered arms about. Then there are little grassy glades running up into tree- shadowed nooks_, whilst^ to relieve the great breadths of green^ the red rocks lend warmth to a picture^ excelling " Whate'er Lorraine light touch'd with softening hue, Or savage Rosa dash'd, or Poussin drew !'* On a gentle eminence^ thrown into relief by trees that form a sombre background^ is the mansion of the Whit- mores^ reminding one of the lines of Mrs. Hemans : " The stately homes of England ! How beautiful they stand, Amid their tall ancestral trees. O'er all the pleasant land ! The deer across their greensward bound. Through shade and sunny glen ; And the swan glides past them with the sound Of some rejoicing stream." 176 THE SEVERN VALLEY. But for the finest view of this splendid park the visitor should ascend its noble terrace^ and from Belle Vue look down upon the picture at his feet. The river^like a silver thready interweaves itself with the splendid carpet in the vale^ and the scene which unfolds itself is har- monious and soothing as a hymn. Fat pastures^ enclosed by woods^ are dotted with cattle^ while sprightly deer graze near patches of bright green fern. It is fearful to look down the precipice at your feet^ and over the tops of trees_, above one of Avhich a hawk is preparing to pounce on its prey. It is sublime to cast the eye over the sylvan slopes and cloud-shadowed sweeps into the distance^ where the Wrekin pierces the horizon. It is solemn and impressive to tarry here till evenings till the burning sun has set behind the hill^ and the moon is rising to take its place^ till the bird-voice of the woods beneath is still, and distant cottage fires peep out from the soft and shadowy gloom that steals o^er all. Below Apley the same undulating line of rocks con- tinues on the left, and excavations have here and there been made, which serve for human habitations. The one close by the river is called Pat's-o^-the-Rock/^ and the one above, Rock Cottage ; but unless the blue smoke happens to be curling up among the trees it will require more than a cursory glance to discover them. The former has a suite of rooms, just out of reach of floods, with weather-stained, ivy-festooned rocks above, for frieze, capital, and entablature. Places such as these, and others like Arlscote, Winscote, Burcote, and Swancote, picture rural life at a period when, however pleasant birds and brooks may have been as neighbours, the good old times had not dawned on tillers of the THE SEVERN VALLEY. 177 soil. Everything wears tlie same quiet look^ the same calm smile^ it did a thousand years ago ; the march of ages^ working fitful revolutions elsewhere^ has left no traces here; everything is primitive^ like the grassy flats on either side^ the uncontrolled creation of the river_, now gently caressing them as it glides smoothly by^ and the rocks^ which rise precipitately from the Severn^ in rents of which the badger is sometimes seen. Stanley Hall, to which there is an interesting drive through the same undulating sandstone on the right, is a fine old mansion, with tov/ers and turrets of the Elizabethan period; but, like Astley House, and the village of Astley Abbots near it, it is hid from view. On the flat to the right both of the river and the railway, we pass Severn and Little Severn Hall. The former, called Sabrina Hall, has some dark asso- ciations but little in harmony with the poetry of the name ; one of its tenants, Simon de Sabrina, having been guilty of an offence against the king, whilst a later occupant sufl*ered the highest penalty of the law for a more serious crime. On the same side is another quaint old building, called Hoard Park ; it is three stories high, each story narrower than the one below it : and higher up is Dunvale House, a timbered mansion, formerly the seat of the Acton family^ but now the property and residence of Mr. Bowen. On the left bank of the river a castellated structure occupies the place where Pendleton Mills once stood, which Henry III. gave to the burgesses of Bridgnorth^ and out of the proceeds of which he made the provisions we have noticed for the anchoret of Mount St. Gilbert » N 178' THE SEVERN VALLEY. The High Rocks overlook the mill, the river, and the valley, and forms a prominent feature in the land- scape. Below it is an opening where the inhabitants of Bridgnorth have formed their Cemetery. It is a sunny nook, sheltered by rocks, and trees whose sombre foliage accords well with the character of the place — one where groups of mourning friends often come to take a turn on Sabbath-eve ; and just such a spot as may have suited Allan Cunningham, who, when offered by Chantrey a place in the elaborately executed mausoleum he had prepared for himself, replied, " No, 1^11 be buried where the wind can blow, and the daisy can bloom o^er my grave when Vm dead.^^ And here, in the lap of mother earth, in graves gilt by the rays of the evening sun, rest eyes grown dim, cheeks turned pale, hearts which once beat with life's full tide of health — men stricken by the blast, uprooted in their prime, or wasted like leaves in autumn ; young and old, some with stones to tell their virtues, others with no record, save in the Lam Vs Book of Life.^^ BRTDGNORTII. CHAPTER XIV. Bridgnorth — A still-life Picture of an English Town— Hopes of its Inhahitants — Ancient Relics — Churches, Friaries, Mansions — New Red Sandstone everywhere visible — Quatford Castle — Quatford and the Danes — Quatford and the Normans — Legend respecting the Church — Camp Hill — Eardington and the More — Singular Tenure — Dudmaston and Quatt — Chelmarsh, Biilingsley, Highley, Stanley, and Arley. ^ RIDGNORTH is a still-life picture of ^l an English town. It has even lost much of the activity of its former self. The ringing horn^ the merry clatter upon its pebble pavements that an- nounced the Hibernia^ FHirondelle,, and other fast Worcester^ Cheltenham^ and Liverpool coaches^ bringing out white-aproned grocers, hurley tapsters, and hosts of ostlers, porters, and booking-clerks, have long ago disappeared, without N 2 180 TUE SEVERN VALLEY. leaving behind those compensating advantages other towns enjoy. Its river wharves are no longer ani- mate with imports and exports ; staple trades have been lost^ or keep up a lingering existence only ; whilst the population^ as shown by the last census^ has materially diminished. The hopes of the town now centre upon the railway, which, by affording means of communi- cation with its neighbours, is expected to do some- thing towards infusing new life and. energy. Whether the shrill whistle of the iron horse will rouse it into greater activity or not, will now be seen. It is not without some advantages in itself, being the centre of a wide agricultural district, which looks to it as the natural outlet for its produce, and which supplies its wants by means of the merchandise it offers in return. It has others, arising from its position, its salubrity, its historical associations, and the beauty of its surrounding scenery. Its approach on both sides, by rail, will be by a panorama of sombre woods and sunny fields, of undulating knolls and pleasant hamlets, of noble parks, and winding river, with many minor objects that stud those interesting banks, between which^ " Slow, and in soft murmurs, Nature bade it flow." The station at the southern termination of the tunnel is a chaste building, of fine freestone, and may be considered an additional ornament to the town. It occupies a position such as cannot fail to gratify the traveller, by affording him a glimpse of the Low Town, as it is called, lying peacefully in the valley by the Severn side ; and of the High Town, dotting the ter- raced sides, and crowning the bold impending rocks that THE SEVERN VALLEY, 181 give it such an Eastern aspect. Caverned in the hill may be seen, at many stages from its foot^ wretched holes — ]]appily now no longer nsed^ excepting in very few instances indeed — where the first settlers crowded when the ruthless Dane perched himself, like a famished eagle, on the rocks of Quatford. There stand, too, the time-worn relics of its castles, to which, next to nature, the little colony was indebted for protection from the fierce and threatening foe. The Severn then ran nearer to its frowning clifi*, which Leland, the travelling archaeologist of his day, described as surrounded by ravines on three sides, and by the river on its fourth. The discriminating eye of the outlawed Belesme de- tected the advantages nature gave it when he sought to raise it into a fortress that should shield him from the wrath of his royal master ; and Florence of Worcester gives us an insight of his haste, when he tells us that ^'^he carried on the works night and day, exciting Welshmen to the speedy performance of his wishes by awarding them horses, asses, lands, and all sorts of gifts.^^ Assisted by the advantages of its site, the Norman erected a castle that held out three weeks against a force marshalled by an able warrior, and which at last was surrendered rather than taken. Leland conveys an idea of its importance in his day, where he says : It standeth on the south part of the town, and is fortified by east by a profound valley instead of a ditch. The w^all of it be of .great height. I count the castle to be more in compass than a third part of the town. There is one mighty gate by the north, and a little postern made by force to enter into the castle.^^ Its stout stone walls have often shook beneath attacks. 182 THE SEVERN VALLEY, It stood a siege when Stephen aspired to rule ; and when Henry II. was saved by the devotion of a gallant knight^ who received an arrow aimed at his sovereign_, and died at his feet. The disturbances of the Welsh along the borders frequently brought royalty to the castle. King John was here on several occasions : once with a splendid retinue^ of which the Bishops of Lincoln and Hereford^ the Earls of Essex^ Pembroke^ Chester^, Salisbury^ Hereford^ Lancaster, and Warwick^ formed part^ when the entertainment is said to have cost^ for the three days it lasted, a sum equal to j62,000 of modern currency. Prince Edward came here after the battle of Evesham ; and the Second Edward too, the first time at the head of his army^ and the second time as a fugitive, crossing the Severn in a small boat at nightfall. Henry IV. was here — On Wednesday next, Harry, thou shalt set forward ; On Tuesday, we ourselves will march. Our meetiug; is Bridgnorth ; and, Harry, you Shall march through Gloucester ; by which account Our general forces at Bridgnorth shall meet." Charles I. arrived here from Shrewsbury, October 1642, he remained three days, and gave expression to the eulogium^ which townsmen quote for the benefit of strangers, respecting the beauty of the castle walk. On the 12th September^ 1645^ a detachment of the parliamentary forces from the Shrewsbury garrison sur- prised the defenders of the town, and the final struggle for its capture took place the March following, when it was stormed by three divisions. The fight waxed hottest near the north gate, and in the old churchyard^ where the leader of the royalists fell. That the THE SEVERN VALLEY. 183 adherents of the king were not ^^all on one side^^ would appear from the fact that the town^s defenders were pelted, when retiring to the castle, by the inha- bitants ; and they would seem to have been deserving of such treatment, judging from their conduct afterwards, for they set fire to the town, bombarded St. Leonardos, burnt the adjoining buildings, and drove the wretched population to seek such shelter as woods and rocks aiSForded. Silent chronicles are those reclining old walls : " Would they had tongues the deeds of yore to tell, "What pageants sported in the midday sun ; "What knight, who in the lists could all excel, The envied laurel wreath of victory won." We have taken the light legitimate of history for our guide in giving the principal events connected with this proud old fortress ; but if we accept the aid circum- stantial facts and scattered incidents afford, the old grassy mound by the station is replete with reminis- cences of earlier times. Tradition ascribes its creation to Cromweirs forces ; but from dates, chronicles, and other evidence, it seems clear that it was the site of a castle older than the one whose ruins overlook it, if not the key to the history of the town itself. An old deed, fixing the boundary of a piece of land, at the time Bridgnorth Castle was garrisoned and in condition, speaks of the Old Castle ^' by the roadside leading to Oldbury, a name signifying Old Borough ; and it is supposed that here Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred, projected, in the year 913, a castle, giving to Oldbury privileges usually accompanying foundations of the kind. Emblems of past and present, handsome halls and public schools, timbered mansions and warlike erections. 184 THE SEVERN VALLEY. achievements of peace and signs of troubled times^ jostle each other in the streets ; whilst rows of clustering shops and good-looking residences occupy what were once fortified approaches to a stronghold^ now no longer a defence^ but an antiquarian relic. At the foot of the hill_, near the old sign of the Preaching Friar/^ is the chapel of the Grey Friars^ now converted into a store- room; and close by are the cells of the brethren^ abodes so wretched that the corporation now refuse to allow any one to live in them. On the brow of the hill^ above the Friary^ is the old church of St. Leonard^ built of the soft new red sandstone upon which it stands ; it had gone very much to decay, and is now being restored,, and to a large extent rebuilt. A singular sarcophagus^ with black-letter characters^ and several stone coffin lids^ were found over the chancel arch, on taking down the wall. From the tower of this fine old church, a good view of the windings of the Severn along the valley, and of the wooded clumps in the direction of the high rocks, is obtained. At the other extremity of the hill is St. Mary^s. It for- merly stood within the castle walls : the soldier-priest Rivalis, committed to the Tower for the murder of the Earl of Pembroke, also the celebrated William of Wykeham, were amongst its deans. Among interesting buildings of a domestic character, is an old half- timbered mansion in which Dr. Percy, Bishop of Dromore, was born. It stands in the Cartway, and over one of the doors, as you enter, is the following inscription : Except the Lord bvild, the, owse, the LABOURERS, THEREOF, EVAIL, NOTHING. ERECTED, BY, R. FOR.^' THE SEVERN VALLEY. 185 The old sayings ^*^A11 one side^ like Bridgnorth election/* applied to anything awry^ is a provincialism indicative of a political state of things which for years existed in the borough. The number of electors is large compared with the population, there being nearly one of the former to eight of the latter, or four times the propor- tion found in many other corporate towns. Parties are now more equally balanced ; but party feeling between liberal and conservative, churchmen and dissenters, until very recently has been as strong, and as harshly de- fined, as when the partisans of Charles and Cromwell met face to face on the Castle Hill. But a more healthy state of things is springing up ; and the erection of new national schools and the market hall, both exceed- ingly handsome structures, also the manner in which sanatory reform and the local interests of the town generally are looked to, manifest growing tendencies in a right direction. Among relics of past ages worthy the attention of visitors to this ancient and interest- ing town is the Hermitage, on Hermitage Hill, once the residence of a Saxon prince ; and which in the reign of Edward III. appears to have been under the patronage of the crown. For particulars of this and other religious establishments, hospitals, &c., we refer our readers to Mr. Bellett^s interesting work on The Antiquities of Bridgnorth.^^ On leaving Bridgnorth, the same red-stone rocks prevail, their singular projections and quaint lines being curved^ inclined^ and interlaid with smooth,, white pebbles, many of which, having been liberated from their matrix by the action of water, meet you everywhere — by the wayside^ on the river banks, in 186 THE SEVERN VALLEY. wood and fields in copse and dell. Curiously hiero- glypliical, they come before ns with messages borne through the deep solitudes of ages^ informing us of some sea bed or ocean beach^ over which the wild waves rolled^ or on which the gentle ripple played. The cliffs of Hawkstone and Grinshill^ the rocks of Bridgnorth and Kidderminster^ are the same. We recognise them everywhere^ by their positions^ their colours^ their stratifications^ their minerals^ and their remains — as the uplifted bed of the new red sandstone and permian seas. Rocks and clays mark successive epochs of dis- turbance and repose^ whilst rain-drops and footmarks indicate the rising beach^ the latter being those of birds^ and amphibious creatures suited to conditions to which newly-formed land^ liable to be submerged by floods^ may be supposed to be subject. With geologists these sand-heaps constitute a formation which is divided into groups; formerly into two^ but now more commonly into three^ the upper or saliferous marls forming the great subterranean storehouse of salt — the reservoir from whence the brine springs of two neighbouring counties take their rise. To agriculturists they are known along a wide district as forming a sharp sandy soil called the Ryelands^ and to lovers of natural scenery as forming those pleasing undulations which in tone and outline add so much to the natural landscape. Prom river^ road^ andrail^ they are visible : in the Mill-in-the-hole^ crossed by the viaduct^ in the deep cutting of the Knoll Sands^ and in projecting ridges and wave-like sweeps on the opposite bank of the river^ advancing and receding as far as the eye can reach. THE SEVERN VALLEY. 187 From one wooded clump the modern^ deep red towers of Quatford Castle are seen above the trees; and against the same advancing^ undulating ridge the village of Quatford is found to nestle. On the bluff rock presenting a precipitous front to the river^ scarped and protected by a fosse^ the Danes perched themselves when seeking to retrieve upon the banks of the Severn^ the losses they had sustained on those of the Thames. The passage of the river close by^ which they are supposed to have crossed for the purposes of plunder — led by the sound of Saxon bells^ sounds that came and went in fitful whispers over moor and forest glade — is still called Daneford. Born in a forest and cradled on the ocean^ they were familiar with cold and hard- ship ; and that they fortified themselves^ and spent the winter here^ are facts confirmed by ancient authors, by Florence of Worcester, Matthew of Westminster^ and Simeon of Durham ; also by an ancient Saxon Chronicle^ which says that, despairing of their ships, they came with their wives and children to Cwatbridge, by the Severn, where they entrenched themselves and passed the winter and by Speedy who adds that they built a castle here. These wooded heights, too, formed the favourite hunting-ground of the first Norman Earl of Shrews- bury. Over a wide extent^ probably eight miles by six^ where the ploughshare now cleaves the sandy soil, the wild boar roamed at will, the red deer leaped^, and the ringing laugh of lords and ladies, of bishops and their clergy, was heard. Tradition says the church stands on the spot where, during one of these excursions, the earl first met his second wife. The legend is that 188 THE SEVERN VALLEY. during a stormy passage from France^ Adeliza^ the earFs second wife^ made a vow in consequence of a dream revealed by a priest in her train^ that if permitted to see her husband she would build a church on the spot where she met him. The legend adds that the place specified in the dream was one near a hollow oak^ where the wild swine sheltered. The vow^ as tradi- tion states^ was fulfilled by the earl, to whom the story was related ; and an old oak tree above the church is pointed out as the spot where the meeting took place. By extreme age the trunk has divided^ and two trees^ rather than one^ grow there. That the old church was of Norman architecture is clear^ but of the original building only a portion of the chancel,, including a fine old Norman arch, remains. This, however, is singu- larly interesting, from the fact of its being built of tufia or travertine, a substance still in the course of formation at Coalport, and other places on the river, where water percolating through strata containing lime deposits a porous substance upon reaching the surface. It is what is commonly called petrifaction, and, in many instances, retains the impressions of lichens, leaves, or sticks upon which it happens to fall. The general im- pression is, that the material was brought here from Gloucestershire ; this may be so, or it may have been procured in the county, where much of it is still to be found. It is singular that although so fragile at first, it has outlasted the solid stone ; and in the rebuilding of the present church has again been used to a con- siderable extent, especially in the basement. Am.ong the several endowments of the church is one from a source unknown, of a piece of land, the proceeds of THE SEVERN VALLEY. 189 wliich defray the expenses of ferrying parishioners attending church across the river. The old man at the ferry is a fisherman^ and will tell you where to look for PERCH AND GUDGEON. roach or dace_, perch or gudgeon^ or if a salmon or stray sevin has been seen in the lake : one of the latter recently caught here weighed more than twenty pounds. In the parish of Quatford^ on the opposite bank of the river^ is Eardington^ where immense heaps of char- coal are being used up in the manufacture of superior iron for guns^ for wire^ and for horse -nails ; the works^ which^ like those of Hampton^s Load_, belong to W. O. roster^ Esq.^ M.P.^ are said to be the largest of the kind in the kingdom. Parochially and manorially combined with Earding- ton is the More^ an ancient tenure of which indicates the manufacture of a superior kind of iron here at a very early period. It required the tenant to appear 190 THE SEVERN VALLEY. yearly in the Exchequer^ with a hazel rod of a year's growth^ and two knives^ the treasurer and barons being present. The tenant was to attempt to sever the rod with one of the knives ; the other knife was to do the same work at one stroke^ and then be given up to the king^s chamberlain. The custom was continued till quite recently. Adjoining the parish of Quatford is that of Quatt ; and between the two villages, in the parish of the latter, is Dudmaston_, the residence of Captain Lloyd. The mansion is surrounded by a richly wooded park, by pleasure-grounds, gardens, and ornamental terraces ; as Charles Mackay has said of LuUingsworth — " It is an ancient house, Tour hundred years ago Men dug its basements deep, And roof 'd it from the wind ; And held within its walls The joyous marriage feast, The christening and the dance. " It still lifts its gables quaint ; And in the evening sun Its windows, as of yore, Still gleam with ruddy light. Reflected from the west." It was held by Hugh de Dudmaston, parson of Quatt, in the reign of Edward I. ; it passed from the Dud- mastons to the Wolryches, and from them to the Whit- mores. It was the seat of the late Wolryche Whitmore — a man in advance of his neighbours on nearly all the great social questions which have stirred society for the past half century, and who by his pen^ by his influence^ and by his speeches in and out of parlia- THE SEVERN VALLEY. 191 ment during that period^ did much to aid their solu- tion. A writer of an opposite creed^ in the Quarterly Review for October_, 1861^ speaking of these unwearied exertions in and out of parliament^ says^ They have entitled him to a more widely-spread fame than in this forthsetting age falls to the lot of merit when clogged with modesty and an unselfish indifference to applause. Whatever merit may be claimed for opposition to the Corn Laws, that merit is due to Mr. Whitmore beyond all others. More than twenty years before their repeal he published his first pamphlet in favour of free trade. He was scouted as a visionary by statesmen of all parties, and by none more contemptuously than by the leaders of the Whigs. His annual motion on the subject had no effect but to lower his reputation as a statesman, and to send the House to dinner. Free trade was at last established, and no tribute was paid to its (we may almost say) only consistent and disin- terested champion/^ And we may add that, to the last, he was a staunch liberal and an advanced agri- culturist, a friend to his tenantry, a pattern to his neighbours, a father to the poor, and a real Old English gentleman. The South-eastern Shropshire District Industrial School, in connection with the unions of Bridgnorth, Cleobury Mortimer, and Madeley, was founded chiefly by him, and a few enlightened indi- viduals who had sufficient courage to attempt to break in upon the old system of pauperism and pauper treat- ment. The institution receives the children of in-door recipients of relief, gives them a sound education, similar to that received in our National Schools, con- nected with one of industrial trainings suited to their 192 THE SEVERN VALLEY. mental and tlieir physical requirements^ and calculated especially to fit them for becoming useful members of society. A farm has been established and stocked for the use of the boys^ who attend to the cultivation of the land, the feeding of pigs^ to the management of cows^ and other duties. Habits of industry^ the in- culcation of honest principles^ and the cultivation of knowledge^ are in this manner combined. The plan meets with opposition from members of Boards^ chiefly farmers^ and has been the subject of much ridicule from those content to tread the worn ruts of the past; but at the time at which we write the buildings are being enlarged^ preparatory to the reception of children from foreign unions/^ such as are willing to supply children at a certain rate of payment^ now that regulations as to distance have been modified. The lads look intelligent^ active, and happy ; if they were not so^ as the master remarked^ we should hear of some running away^ as they have plenty of opportunities of doing so. The warm-hearted patron of the school now sleeps with his kindred^ over whom sumptuous monuments in marble have been raised in Quatt Churchy on the opposite side of the way. Many of these mural memorials have ancient dates^ but one plain slab, near the communion rails_, is older stilly and is as follows : — In memory of Master Thomas Tonkys, inducted Nov. 1488, and who died 1495.'^ He is said to have been the last Roman Catholic Rector. A rare old relic was discovered some years ago, upon rebuilding the church. The walls were painted with figures representing the Day of Judgment, and the Seven Charities, and on a piece of vellum, nailed THE SEVERN VALLEY. 193 to an oak boards was tlie figure of the Saviour rising fvom the sepulchre^ with these words : Saynt Gregory and other popes and byshops grantes sex-and-twenty thousand yere of pardony thirth dayes to alle that saies devoutly kneelying afor yis is ymage fife paternoster, fife aves^ and a cred/^ The edifice contains an ancient pulpit^ with the date 1629, and^ like the reading desk and altar, is of oak, beautifully carved. Returning to the right bank of the river, the rail- way passes Chelmarsh, Billingsley, the meeting-place of Harold and Griffith, and the village of Highley, one of those green nooks recovered from the great forests of the district, and formerly celebrated for its orchards and its cider. A change of strata now occurs : the traveller per- ceives along the hill sides a set of coal measures again rising from beneath the new red sandstone to the surface^ and their resemblance to the wealth-producing beds of the iron districts has tempted many to sink both shafts and fortunes in eflbrts to make them remunerative. At Stanley, formerly, considerable works were carried on, as indicated by grass-grown mounds, and workmen^s cottages^, now in ruins. There are usually three seams of coal, the upper one useless, the second from twenty- two inches to two feet thick, and the lower one_, which is very impure, from one to four feet thick. Between Kinlet Park and High Green, four seams^ in the follow- ing order, have been found : — Sandstone and shale^ thickness variable; first coal, three feet ; clods and iron- stone, three feet; second coal, sometimes sulphurous, one foot six inches ; clod and iron-stone, three feet six inches. The third coal thins out, in some places, to one o 194 THE SEVERN VALLEY. foot six inches. Four feet of shale next occurs^ and then a measure of two feet conducts to the fourth coal^ also two feet in thickness. The quality of these thin seams of carboniferous fuel is very inferior ; they contain sulphur to a large amount^ but are much sought after for drying hops and burning lime. Many^ laudably desirous of turning to account the resources of the district^ or of adding to the value of their estates^ have impoverished themselves greatly^ while others have been completely ruined by speculations of the kind. A coal-field^ five feet in thickness^ has been worked here^ and the fields altogether^ extends over a surface something like six miles by five. One of the shales exposed in the cuttings of the Severn Valley Eailway^ of a yellowish grey colour^ contains numerous specimens of fossil ferns^ one a new species, collected by Mr. Roberts, which has been named Woodwardites Robertsii, Arley^ Alveley, Stanley, and other places, are cele- brated for their grindle stones, and stone for building purposes. From the latter place the stone used for locks and weirs on the Severn, lower down, has been supplied. From Alveley to Upper Arley, and Bewdley, quarries of excellent stone for building occur. That of which Arley Castle is built was quarried on the spot ; and at Kinlet Park Mr. Childe has opened quarries, from which a beautiful variety, equal to the best in the kingdom, has been abstracted in large blocks. At Arley, the Severn Valley Railway, after continuing from Shrewsbury along the right bank of the river, crosses by a bridge, with an arch of two hundred feet span, to the left. The village appears, formerly, to have been of greater note than at present ; for Leland calls THE SEVERN VALLEY. 195 it a good uplandish town/^ The parish is a singular intrusion of the county of Stafford between those of Worcester and Shropshire^ across the Severn^ four miles long^ and half a mile wide^ bounded on the south by Stottesden_, on the north by Alveley^ and on the east by Kidderminster and Wolverley. Sheltered from the north and open to the south^ it has a sunny aspect, and the vine was formerly cultivated with so much suc- cess that wine was manufactured, scarcely to be dis- tinguished, Dr. Plott tells us, from the best French, even by the most experienced judges. We learn from the same authority that from its warm situation it was formerly celebrated for producing great quantities of apples, more especially the Jennet. It is one of the sweetest bits of rural scenery we remember to have met with, and is worth a pilgrimage of many miles to see. We passed it first in the evening twilight, when the dull outline only of the wooded hills against which it nestles, and the dancing lights of wood fires on cottage hearths alone, were visible from the river, and when the chimes of the castle clock sounded over empty lanes and untended fields with a clear ringing sound. We sought it next day, when the joyous sun had lighted up its pleasant features, its garden plots and cottages, and its little orchards, radiant with ruddy autumnal fruit. There is a glowing warmth and freshness about its cottage homes upon the hill side, or retiring, half hidden, behind some grassy knoll, calling to mind some country ballad or simple fireside story. On an eminence above the village is the church. Its oldest monument is a raised altar tomb, with a recumbent, cross-legged warrior, and a lion — the emblem of prowess o 2 196 THE SEVERN VALLEY. — at his feet. The estate was held by the great Lord Lyttelton ; the old hall was rebuilt by Dame Lyttelton in 1550, and still stands in striking contrast with the modern castellated building by its side. The castle has four lofty towers^ two of which are named Barbican and Valentia^ and the others after members of the family of Earl Mountnorris. A fifths or central tower^ a hundred and twenty feet high^ commands a magnificent sweep of country. From the foreground^ varied by gardens^ fountains^ and trees that follow the inequalities of the surface^ as it rises into graceful swells or declines into dingles^ the eye wanders over fields^ rich pastures^ and woods^ with a vegetation acquired through centuries, whilst the Severn windings like a thing of life, through the deep curving vale, makes up a scene of inspiring beauty. The grounds present a rare variety of shrubs and trees, imported by Earl Mountnorris, and collected by him during the many years he spent abroad. Cedar trees, magnolias, and others, were found to have flourished in this retired spot, which have since been introduced as novelties by others. The estate, which consists of about 3,000 acres, has been purchased by Robert Woodward, Esq., a Liverpool merchant, who makes it his residence. A kindly feeling lingers in the village towards the family of the former proprietor, and stories are told of touching condescension and kindness towards the poor by Lady Valentia, who retired to a cottage on the estate. Earl Mountnorris, we were told, was never better pleased than when he saw men enjoying themselves, and did much to en- courage persons to visit the grounds and castle. The THE SEVERN VALLEY. 197 present proprietor does the same. He has caused a tent to be erected on the green-sward by the Severn- walk^ and fitted up for the use of pic-nics and strangers. Availing themselves of this privilege^ family groups^ cosy pic-nics^ and larger bodies^ make a point of visiting Arley in the summer months. From towns and villages along the river banks they often come in boats^ with bands and flags ; men and women in holiday attire^ glad to pause a day from labour^ and pairing couples^ who find sympathy in cooing doves and singing birds. The valley of the Severn then looks gay^ as barge and boat convey their freights between the river banks ; and many thus spend a day with nature^ who^ but for the peculiar charms these grounds aff'ord^ would not think of doing so ; and verily^ as old Milton says^ It were an injury and suUenness against Nature not to go out and see her riches^ and partake in her rejoicings/^ — the more so that^ since the author of Comus sang the Genius of the Severn^ men have been more shut out from the face of nature. The weary spirit may pant for the fields^ may wish to wing its flight with the lark^ to join in the melody that goes pealing through the cathedral of the woods ; but^ caged by demands of the hour^ the attention has to be kept intent upon the shop^ the counter, or the machine. The spirit of spring wakes the clods into life, wreathes the twigs with green and white, and gives to the trees their livery ; but men, immured in dust and smoke, know little of the rejoicings of the woods. Nevertheless, proof positive that a love of nature never dies out, may be found in simple customs still lingering among us. In the iron district, where the surface is 198 THE SEVERN VALLEY. one great ink-blotchy and clouds of dust obscure the day^ the quickening influences that renew creation are felt, and men take a part in the festival of the year. When the sap has risen in the tree, when the south winds stir the leaves^ when the blackbird has taken his place in the bush, and the note of the cuckoo is heard, they proclaim a play-day in honour of his arrival ; and when the merry, merry month, no longer celebrated for its floral shows and games, as formerly, arrives, the May-bush still is cut and placed over the village smithy, over shed and engine-house, tall black chimney stacks, and on the heads of horses, as ignorant of green fields as those who drive them. Yes , early on the first of May, the more youthful of the industrial army of the mines preface the day^s labour by cutting and carrying with them these symbols of the season. The birch is invariably selected for the purpose ; but why the Lady of the Woods,^^ with its silvery bark and delicate foliage, is thus honoured, excepting that it is for its beauty, we cannot tell : if so, the exceeding gracefulness of its branches, bending to the breathings of the wind, and the trembling motion of its leaves, well commend the choice. The meaning of the custom, and the selection of the birch for its observance, may be hid amid the debris of observances, but the custom itself is at least an indication that the master chord which binds the universe vibrates amongst us. The Severn Valley line of railway will enable town- imprisoned students, and those whose brains are at the same time heated laboratories of thought, to refresh themselves by rambles along these banks, so primitive, so purely the work of nature^ and of nature in such. THE SEVERN VALLEY. 199 varied moods^ that every new position gives a picture^ and every fresh view a painter^s study. Indications of man are few^ and thinly sown ; cottages and country buildings — the few that do occur — peep out so slyly^ or stand out so conspicuously from swelling knolls^ that they form essential features in the landscape. There is^ too^ that wide range of subject,, that magical effect of light and shade^ which^ like melody of sound^ leads " From grave to p;ay; from lively to serene." The terms sublime or grand do not apply. There are no rugged mountains or illimitable plains^ no boundless moors or morasses ; but gentle sweeps^ undulating out- lines^ quiet tones of light and shade^ and sweet har- monies of colouring that refresh and please. It is not the green fertility^ springing from the busy doings of man^ so much as the handiwork of the Creator^ that is apparent ; and that beneath the gilding of an unclouded sun^ and the clear light of an untainted atmosphere. Claude would have revelled amid the quiet colours^ tones^ and undertones^ of those warm upstanding rocks^ where the waters go brawling and bubbling into foam at the ford^ and which are smoothed into harmony by foliage thrown out^ as if to break their harsher outlines. And what materials for a foreground ! The red brown rocks at the water^s edge deepen into Vandyke brown^ only a little too warm for blacky and are brightened by the fretting waters at their base^ or the delicate coatings woven by the industrious family of lichens on their top. Then^ above Arley^ there is a little bush-covered island in the river^ the light and feathery foliage of its willowS; rustling in the breeze^ displaying those silvery 200 THE SEVERN VALLEY. tints Gaspar Poussin knew so well how to transfer to canvas. There are many nooks within a few minntes^ walk of Arley Station^ where the lover of a quiet ramble^ in search of a day's recreation on the Severn^ may enjoy himself ; the more so if he happen to be a patron of the gentle art/^ and has an eye to fish, as well as scenery. For five centuries this favourable breeding-place has yielded fish in all the finny varieties the noble Severn boasts. A jury, empannelled for the purpose of esti- mating the value of Arley manor upon the death of one of its proprietors, gave the yearly rental of its fishery at 6s. Sd.y — a large sum in comparison with the value of sixty acres of land, stated to have been 10^., or of the rent of the ferry, which was put down at sixpence. There must have been fine fishing then. Trout were plentiful, so were salmon ; there were no locks or artificial weirs to obstruct the attempts of fish — true to the instinct of their ancestors — to beat the tide in an upward summer excursion in the direction of its source. The document states that the part of the river so valued, abounded in fish and, no doubt, it will do so again, when anything like the same care is taken to protect the river as there is to preserve game. We trust that under the new regulations, the police will be equally on the alert, and equally instructed to protect the people^s river, and to see that the present laws are more strictly enforced for preventing at improper seasons that wicked destruction of spawn, which anni- hilates in the most wanton manner such a large amount of the people^ s food, and deprives of the innocent pleasure of angling, disciples of old Izaak still left THE SEVERN VALLEY. 201 along the banks. Much to be preferred are the joys of angling — " Following the stream in its course through the dell, Where every wild flower is blooming in pride, And the blackbird sings with his mate by his side," — to many of the amusements sought by the youth of the day. An old fisherman has said^ A more harmless amusement cannot be found on this side of heaven ; and adds^ Not a single angler is to be found in the Newgate calendar.^^ Hear^ too^ the poet of the lake^ a fisherman himself, on old Izaak : — " Sage benign, Whose pen the mysteries of rod and line Unfolding, did not fruitlessly exhort To reverent watching of each still report. That Nature utters from her rural shrine ! " And the poet speaks truly. Notwithstanding the sneer of Dean Swift^ the angler at the head of a lake^ or tail of a ford, watching the tenants of the stream^ hooking a trout^ or a fresh-run salmon, has fine oppor- tunities for observation ; and he watches^ as he would not be inclined to do without some such object, the rippling current bubbling over the pebbles, running round the little bay, carrying some stray stick, or coquettishly lifting itself up, that little flowers may dip their maiden heads in its limpid, flowing wave. A man can scarcely be a fisherman and not be fond of flowers j we seem to have lost some poetry, since our grandsires carried these in their waistcoats, instead of short dusky pipes in their mouths. " A thing of beauty is a joy for ever," 203 THE SEVERN VALLEY. it has been said by one happy in giving popular expres- sion to a general feeling ; and are there any objects in nature more beautiful than those found by a river — say a kingtisher_, watching by the water side^ on a spray^ that his red waistcoat and his true turquoise coat may bring some admiring member of the finny tribe to the surface? With' the warm traits of rock and sand and surrounding flowers^ and the bright colours of earth and sky converg- ROACH AND DACE. ing to one pencil of purest blue^ can there be a more beautiful object in nature ? Did any one but a fisherman ever find their nest ? They love solitude^ and here they find it ? Fishing parties often come down or up the river^ now that its banks are blue over with forget-me- nots^ and troll for pike^ or use the fly for trout. The crooked bends and creeks^ caused by the broken ground upon the banks near the brooks that here empty them- selves into the river_, are the favourite resorts of trout. THE SEVERN VALLEY. 203 On a summer^ s day they may be seen on sandy bottoms and along pebbly fords, with open mouth and vibrating gills; or np the brooks, enjoying the lazy luxury of the sun, where they may be caught with the hand. Dace, samlet, roach, and pike, are sometimes netted by — and not unfrequently cooked on — the island in the river, by aquatic excursionists so unsportsman- like as to prefer this, the surest wa.y of securing a fry. Either way, if the visitor prefer the snug fire-side of a little country inn, to partake of the feast his rod and line or net has provided, he may find pleasant quarters at the Good Intent,^' or the little public-house lower down. Here, having finished his fish, let him inquire for one of the Darks — the family have been fishermen for ages — or for our old friend Joe Crow. If he is so fortunate as to find him, we promise him an hour^s amusement, and an insight of the doings and customs of the past. Old Joe knows every crow that flies, — or rook rather, — and can tell by its caw from what rookery it comes. What is more, he can imitate its peculiar note. It is not, however, of crows, but of sports and pastimes of the past, our hero discourses. He can tell where fat trout lie, and what kind of bait will catch a grayling, or hook a pike ; but he grows most eloquent on fights. He knew the great breeders, assisted at burning the feathers,^^ and casting spells at mains of cocks, when that gentlemanly sport was at a premium. He picked up the feathers when a lad at a main in Worcester, where Lord Spiker and Pre- bend Shirkum fought out a disputed battle of their favourites. He knew all the great cockers,^^ feeders, and fighters of the time; and could cast spells, and 204 THE SEVERN VALLEY. raise the devil/^ with any of them. Old Crow will tell who has won the belt, and who boasted the championship of England, for half a century past ; of the fight at Deuxhill, and of how Tom Brown, the Bridgnorth hero, won, and how he sold his backers at Bishop's-wood. BEWDLEY. CHAPTER XV. From Areley to Bewdley — Woods and former Forests — Cots, Villages, and Towns — Bewdley, its Privileges and Aspects — Villas and Suburban Resi- dences — Winterdyne — Ribbesford —The Blackstone and Redstone Hermits, their Privileges and Patrons. j^NTERESTING glimpses of river scenery are obtained in following the footpath along the valley^ from Areley to Bewdley. The cattle-laden ferry slowly crossing the bay^ and a group of loungers^ who had moored their boat at The Rocks/^ and lay listening to the music of the ford^ are among recollections of our first ramble along this portion of the Severn banks. Now the railway bridge^ with its noble arch^ spans the river^ 206 THE SEVERN VALLEY. and if we take the embankment^ more comprehensive views are obtained. The line runs near an old encamp- ment^ supposed to have been Roman^ and within sight of wide woodland patches^ remnants of a forest formerly unbroken^ excepting by the Severn. Misty, as the fogs that creep along the valley and hang npon its wooded wilderness, is its early history ; and only a few scattered facts are found, to enable the mind to make out its features. Clearings were made in its primeval e^atanglements ; fields were won from its flooded wastes, and quiet cottages rose, one by one, two by two, till clusters grew in friendly greeting, and smiled mutual recognitions across solitudes reclaimed; but many of the villages that brighten now the river side, and towns whose towers and steeples speak of hallowed spots, had scarcely risen when feudal turrets first began to frown along the south, where Ofl^'a, in an earthern mound, has written his name from the Mersey to the Wye. Bewdley appears to have been one of these. Leland, who visited Bewdley, remarks : — By the distance of the parish church (at Ribbesford) I gather that Beaudley is a very new towne, and that of ould time there was but some poore hamlett, and that upon the building of a bridge thereupon the Severne, and resort of people nnto it, and commodity of the pleasant site, men began to inhabit there; and because the plott of it seemed fayre to the lookers, it hath a French name, Beaudley.^^ The laws of the Lords Marchers lingered long after the necessity for them had ceased ; and Bewdley formed one of those sanctuaries, of which there were a number in the kingdom, for delinquents, when feudal courts gave to Areley and other manors THE SEVERN VALLEY. 207 jurisdiction of life and deaths with right of gallows to hang all Welshmen found within their boundaries. It had the privilege^ too^ of imposing taxes^ as appears from the fact that^ in the thirteenth of Henry IV. ^ the men of Bristow and Gloucester petitioned parliament that they might be permitted to navigate the Severn without being subject to pay a tax levied by the men of Bewdley. The charter of incorporation dates from an early period^ and has in different reigns been subject to €onsiderable alterations. The original deed^ for instance^ renewed by James^ was surrendered to Charles TI., and replaced by another from his successor^ which was declared illegal on the succession of Anne^ and became the cause of contention^ producing a long and expensive law-suit^ ending by confirmations of the original charter. The borough includes Ribbesford^ Ribbenhall^ Hoar- stone^ Blackstone^ Netherton, Lower Milton^ and Lick- hill^ and returns a liberal member. Viewed from the railway , the aspect of the town is much the same as the quaint old antiquary described it three centuries since ; where he says, — The towne selfe of Beaudley is sett on the syde of a hill ; soe comely a man cannot wish to see a towne better. It riseth from Severne banke by east, upon the hill by west ; soe that a man standing on the hill trans pontem by east, may discerne almost every house in the towne^ and at the risinge of the sunne from the east, the whole towne glittereth as it were of gold.'^ The town nestles in a natural cleft, which divides at the upper end, so as to represent the letter Y, the horns pointing towards Ribbesford and the forest^ and the foot in the direction of the river ; where it is united to Wribbenhall^ through which the Severn 208 THE SEVERN VALLEY. Valley line of railway passes^ by means of a neat stone bridge. Upon surrounding slopes on either side the Severn^ are villas commanding good prospects^ as indi- cated by their names — Mount Pleasant^ Spring Grove^ Summer Hill^ Sandbourne^ and Winterdyne. The latter — situated above rocks that meet us on the right — is surrounded by walks that command magnifi- cent prospects^ the view from the Fort beings perhaps,, the most romantic. Three quarters of a mile lower down^ is Ribbesford^ formerly the residence of Sir Henry Herbert^ master of the revels in the reign of King James^ and brother of the celebrated Lord Herbert of Chirbury. The hall is situated on the flat^ a very short distance from the river^ and beyond the gardens is the churchy with what has variously been taken for a salmon^ a beaver, and a seal over its doorway. Both are screened by lofty wood- clothed ridges^ that command delightful and extensive views. Indeed^ it would be impossible to depict the quiet beauty that here distinguishes the banks of the river; their slopes and cliffs combine to form a scene which Mr. Griffith^ long resident near the spot^ apostrophises and thus describes : — " Yes, lovely Kibhesford, loveliest spot on earth ! For years of toil thou art an ample fee ; — "When Nature shared her spots of greatest worth, She thought of Albion's isle, and smiling gave thee birth. Here, on this seat, sheltered by this old oak, "What fairy landscapes meet the ravished eye ! How every spot around aims to provoke Supremacy in foliage, shape, and dye, And the poor pen or pencil's powers defy." Weather-worn cliffs^ toned into harmony with the foliage THE SEVERN VALLEY. 209 surrounding them^ rise precipitously from the river^ im- peding navigation^ but adding exceedingly to tlie beauty of the landscape. Hardy trees cling fast by bare roots to their fissured sides^ and wild festoons of plants^ in ever varying variety^ hang about their impending fronts^ which appear to multiply their forms by reflec- tions in the water. Among them are the Blackstone E/Ocks^ which^ like those of Redstone^ lower down^ have been caverned^ and used by that class of anchorets, more common in less stirring times of the world^s his- tory than the present. Somehow^ these old monks had the knack of hitting upon favoured spots for their cells, and of securing both privileges and patrons. To the brotherhood of Blackstone, navigators of the river were wont to pay tribute of fruit, or of such merchandise as they carried ; whilst that of Redstone, as shown by armorial carvings in the cells, was honoured by the patronage of noble personages, such as those of the Mortimer and Beauchamp families. The latter her- mitage was famous for a literary monk named Layamon, who in the reign of John composed a chronicle, em- bracing that mythical period between Brute and Cad- wallader. At Hartlebury, too, in a field belonging to the glebe land, is another cell belonging to one of these recluses of the middle ages, who shrunk at once from the duties and pleasures of the world. It is called ArdwicVs Cell, and consists of three apartments, a sitting-room, sleeping-room, and chapel. Indeed, in Norman and early Saxon times, and stretching far back into early British history, this wild and wooded district appears to have been regarded with peculiar favour ; like the high ground around the lofty ridges p 210 THE SEVERN VALLEY. of the Clee Hills^ wliicli the Druids considered holy. To it/' Mr. Eoberts says^ in his little book on the Habberley Valley^ ^^men retired who were wearied by the clang of the worlds laying down honours and mitres^ and even crowns on its outskirts. Here^ in caves hewn out of the rocks^ they dwelt as hermits^ illumining their last days with the rays of the future^ and assisting^ both by bodily refreshment and spiritual counsel, the traveller and wayfaring man ; for this being the high road to what was once the stronghold of British Christianity^ there was a constant stream of fugitives from the souths flying to a haven where they could enjoy their ancient faith.^^ CHAPTER XVI. Areley Kings— Mouth of the Stour— Mills on the Stour— Brindley's Creed and Water- Way — Rapid Rise of Stourport — Hartlebury Common — Hartlebury Village — Hartlebury Church — Hartlebury Castle — The Mitre Oak — Shrawley — Holt Castle — Bevere Island, &c. ELOW Eibbesford is Areley Kings^ and j| on the opposite bank^ connected by a handsome iron bridge^ is Stourport. This busy town^ near the mouth of the river from which it derives its name^ less than a century since had no existence. Only a few scattered cottages and an alehouse — the latter widely known among navigators of the river^ by whom its sparkling lights were often welcomed on winter nights — were found there. Higher up^ where the Stour turned_, and doubled^ and divided^ as though unwilling to sink its individuality in its confluence with the Severn^ were corn mills^, their quaint tall gables dashed with flour^ and their roofs bronzed with rich tints of moss. The stillness of the scene was rarely broken but by their under-shot wheels^ churning the water into foam^ and the click and crunching sounds of their machinery. Here p 3 212 THE SEVERN VALLEY. and there worn-out stones and decrepid wheels stood at ease — propping up dilapidated outbuildings^ forming fences^ or serving still some other useful purpose. Often on winter evenings^ as the wood fire burnt brightly at the little inn called the Stour^s Mouth/^ and the light flashed and fell upon the dresser shelves^ producing curious fanciful forms on pewter plates and huge round dishes^ that shone like ancient shields^ the little settle in the chimney-corner would be occu- pied by millers^ and barge-men of the Severn^ met to enjoy a mug of ale^ and to discuss with the landlord the more popular topics of the day. It was curious to listen to the laugh that shook the fat sides of the chief spouter — a grinder of his neighbours^ batches ; to watch as " The slow, wise smile that round about His dusty forehead drily curl'd, Seem'd half within and half without. And full of dealings with the world,'* while listening to propositions just then made to rob him of his stream — to make the Stour do more than turn the lazy wheels of drowsy mills. Schemes were broached^ abandoned^ and often brought forward again^ to make the river Stour navigable to Kidderminster ; and others to tap the mineral districts of Staffordshire^ and open communications with important towns by putting in locks and weirs. Just then^ while the millers of Mitton were discussing these matters under the influence of beer at the Stour^s Mouth/^ the millwright of Macclesfield_, his man, John Gilbert^ and their master^ the Duke of Bridgewater^ at the village THE SEVERN VALLEY. 213 inn of Worsley^ were contemplating a sclieme to supersede rivers altogether. Brindley^s creed^ as stated before a committee of the House of Commons^ was, that rivers were made to become feeders to canals ; and having successfully carried out the Bridgewater scheme, he undertook to run one of his great water- ways of traffic to the Severn, without interfering with the Stour, except to take advantage of the natural valley it had made ; and thereby to give the important and wealth-producing iron districts an outlet to the sea. Prior to this, Bewdley and Wribbenhall had been the chief depots, between which traffic had been carried on by means of pack-horses, a hundred or two of which hardy animals would sometimes be stabled there at one time. The good people of those places laughed, then trembled for their traffic, as great basins were hollowed out to receive the vessels of the Severn. The result more than equalled their fears, whilst it sur- passed the most sanguine expectations of the promo- ters ; the traffic having gradually increased between the canal and Gloucester to eleven-twelfths of the entire trade upon the Severn. Houses, warehouses, and inns — places to supply articles in demand with a busily employed population — sprang up as if by magic, the magic which wealth-creating industry usually gives ; and iron-foundries, vinegar works, tan-yards, spinning mills, carpet manufactures, and boat-building estab- lishments have since been added. The impetus given to trade led to improvements in the Severn ; the noise of the fords have been hushed ; evils arising from inequalities of the river^s bed have been mitigated ; and strong steam-tugs drag fleets of barges fully laden over 214 THE SEVERN VALLEY. an even and peaceful lake^ where strings of men toiled tard to bring an empty vessel. Along the windings of the Stour^ and by the road leading from Stonrport to Hartlebury^ are a series of sand and sand-rock eminences^ commanding magnifi- cent views of the Abberley, and other ranges of hills. Some are crowned or belted round with trees; on others^ tufts of gorse^ of heathy or lichens^ struggle for existence ; whilst^ here and there^ in moist and marshy hollows^ the tall cotton grass^ the marsh violet^ the bog-bean^ and other plants delight the eyes of botanists. Mr. Lees^ speaking of a botanical visit he paid to these mounds^ in his Pictures of Nature/' says : Where the sandy ground rises to the terrace-like ridge on the eastern side^ it is covered with white wiry reindeer lichen^ interspersed with dense brittle masses of the sad^ brown^ and dark-looking Cornicularia; and quantities of white-woollj moss {Trichostomum lanffinosum) i^vesenis itself ; giving^ in conjunction with the dense masses of heather or ling [calluna vulgaris) that cover the glacis and top of the sandy ridge^ quite a sub-alpine aspect to the scene.^^ He adds^ that ^^the larger club-moss grows amongst the heather^ and that the Alpine club- moss [Lycopodium Alpinum) has been gathered here/^ If the reader extends his ramble as far as Hartlebury^ he will be struck^ as Mr. Lees remarks, by the wave- like aspect of these sand ridges ; evidently reduced to their present form by that inland strait, of which so many traces are met with along the valley. He will find much that is pleasing, too, in the rural simplicity of the wayside scenery beyond the common — in cottages that look as though they had grown like the trees along THE SEVERN VALLEY. 215 the lanes^ and wliich^ with, their strips of garden^ their paddocks^ and their orchards^ wear an air of comfort and contentment contrasting strongly with the wretched cells sometimes met with in country places. The churchy which stands on an eminence^ and is surrounded by goodly-looking trees and houses of a superior class^ with its simple tablets^ and tales of virtue simply told^ completes the village picture. An avenue of noble limes^ planted^ it is said^ by Bishop Stillingfleet^ lift their interlacing branches high above the drive that leads to the castle^ in front of which are shaven lawns^ and beyond which are woods that give relief to its many-gabled outlines. A portion of the moat that once protected the building has been con- verted into flower gardens that enliven with gay colours the pale green slope ; whilst another, south of the building, is still a deep, dark lake, the very emblem of quiet and seclusion. It is partially hid by overlapping rocks and overhanging trees : its placid surface being scarcely ever wrinkled, excepting by the leap of some fat trout escaping from a monster pike, or wild fowl that shelter in the thicket by. Hartlebury is said to have been given to the diocese of Worcester by one of the kings of Mercia, and the first palace is supposed to have been commenced in the year 850. Like other fortified places, the castle fell a heap of ruins during the civil wars; but when the Restoration came, with bonfires, may-poles, cudgel- playing, and wrestling, it was restored. In the large hall we discerned, among the portraits, those of Bishops Prideaux, Stillingfleet, Hurd, Hough, Sands, Perry, Pope, Allen, and others. In returning to the Severn 216 THE SEVERN VALLEY. we pass within sight of noble woods^ familiar to lovers of nature residing in the district ; to lovers of trees^ as studies in themselves^, whispering to the passing breeze^ or as delighting the eye in groups and groves. One, the Mitre Oak/^ from its great age, its wide circum- ference, its giant arms, and the unyielding struggle it maintains against the tendencies of decay, is an object of interest to travellers along the public road from Kidderminster to Worcester. From Lincomb Weir to Holt Fleet the valley is finely wooded, and midway, where Dick Brook comes down to join the Severn, the right bank is densely clothed with trees and underwood. The grove-like appearance these present, as they undulate and open, is said to have sug- gested the Saxon name from which the present one of Shrawley is derived. At the southern termination of Shrawley Wood is a singular elevation, apparently arti- ficial, but the origin and meaning of which is conjectural; and beyond the bed of the river, Holt Bridge, Holt Weir, and Holt Castle come into view. One square tower of this old feudal fortress, bailt by an early mem- ber of the Beauchamp family, alone remains ; but the domestic mansion, close by, erected by Lord Chancellor Bromley, is standing. The church has many points of interest ; its chancel arch, its Norman doorways, and its sculptured font, being well worthy the attention of archaeologists. A mile and a-half below Holt Castle is the village of Grimley, in the vicinity of which Prince Lucien Buonaparte had his residence; lower down, the River Salwarp and the Droitwich Canal enter the Severn, on the opposite side ; and lower stilly the island of THE SEVERN VALLEY. 217 Severe divides the stream. Twice^ it is said^ this little island gave shelter to the inhabitants of Worcester; firsts when refusing to pay Dane-gelt^ secondly^ when escaping from a still worse infliction^ the plague. Pleasantly situated mansions now present themselves at Bevere^ in the direction of Hallow^ and Claines^ and indications that we are approaching some town or city of importance grow more numerous. WORCESTER. CHAPTER XVII. Worcester — Aspect of the City from the River — Open Streets — Public Buildings — Edgar's Tower — The Cathedral — Great Men and their Monuments — Cromwell and his Troopers — The Guildhall — Old Armour — The Scold's Bridle — The Corporation Hall — Fiscal Changes and Staple Trades — Worcester Porcelain. LEASING views of Worcester are obtained by taking a boat at Bevere^ and allowing yourself to float with the stream. You pass the water- works of the city on the left^ and the growing clusters of suburban residences at Henwick on the right ; and here^ where the old monks once had rights of weir^ the river is now unrufiled as a lake. As the boat sweeps round the race- ground — the scene ere now of sterner contests THE SEVERN VALLEY. 219 • — the towers^ and spires^ and bridges_, of the first city on the Severn^ come pleasingly into view^ relieved by a swelling amphitheatre of hills. The city has an inviting aspect^ and a closer acquaintance is by no means disap- pointing. Open streets^ and buildings indicative of wealth and taste^ are seen ; churches and charities^ in busiest thoroughfares^ bring before you the munificence of past ages ; whilst works and institutions more modern show that the present citizens are not unmind- ful of the wants of the times in which they live. Whether the place was originally Roman or early British^ and whether the modern name of Worcester is one slightly changed from Wyre-Cestre — a term im- plying some fortified position on the Borders^ or within the boundaries of the great forest — is now a matter of conjecture. One thing is certain^ its frontier position formerly rendered it subject to unceasing conflicts; but of the stout old fortress that so often defended it^ only a fine old relic^ called Edgar^s Tower^ a portion of what was once its entrance^ now remains. It stands on College Green, where it is sometimes mistaken for a part of the ecclesiastical buildings near it. The cathe- dral it defended has been partially restored and, now that the wretched buildings that crowded round it have been removed, wears an air of greater majesty than before. It is a treat to look up at its fine old tower, to walk its cloisters, to saunter along its nave and choir, to scan its arches, and to read the inscriptions upon its monuments. In its tombs repose the dust of men whose portraits we had looked upon in the episcopal palace at Hartlebury, — of men who, in troubled periods of the world^s history, had stern work to do, and who well 220 THE SEVERN VALLEY. fulfilled their mission. One is that of Bishop Wnlstan, who^ when Robert de Belesme burnt the suburbs^ in- duced his townsmen to make a sally that compelled him to abandon the siege ; and who^ upon the ruins of a former structure^ raised the cathedral of the eleventh century^ which^ sharing the vicissitudes of the town^ also fell^ and was succeeded by the present structure. The tomb of the good old bishop^ whose piety raised him to the calendar of saints, is by the side of that of St. Oswald^ on the right of the entrance to the Lady Chapel, and the virtues of both are further perpetuated by memorials on each side the choir. Among the monu- ments is the chef d'ceuvre of Roubilliac's, raised in honour of Bishop Hough, and others of Howe^ Parry, Stillingfleet, Fleetwood, and Tliornborough. Here, too, is the tomb of John, who signed Magna Charta, of Lyttelton, the father of English law, and of Prince Arthur, in white marble, in the chapel called by his name. Here are the tombs of others eminent for piety, learning, or bravery, of cavaliers, crusaders, and authors. The general plan of the structure is one that well dis- plays its architecture, its carvings, and decorations, which are rich and interesting. When Cromwell ob- tained his crowning mercy his troops stabled their horses, lighted their fires, committed mutilations in the building, and appear to have understood as little of its meaning, or of the lessons it was designed to teach, as a group of excursionists from the black country, whom we saw wander about quite bewildered by its magnitude. From the cathedral. High Street leads us to the Guildhall, one of the most handsome brick-fronted THE SEVERN VALLEY. 221 public structures in the kingdom. Its chief entrance is adorned by composite columns^ open pediments^ and the city arms. Statues of Charles 1.^ Charles 11.^ and Queen Anne, together with the arms of Eng- land^ trophies^ and emblematical statues of Justice^ Plenty^ Industry^ and Chastisement^, decorate the front. Inside is a collection of armour^ chiefly gleaned from the battle-fields of Worcester_, and one of those odd instruments of punishment designed in olden time for scolds^ which city entries show occasionally to have been used.* In the corporation hall are portraits of men who have distinguished themselves by services rendered to the town, of men whom their fellow-citizens delighted to honour. The last addition is that of the present member for the city. Alderman Padmore, M.P. It is perhaps a significant fact, that in this clerical and cathedral city a dissenter should have been chosen to this distinguished honour. The election of the worthy alderman was not unopposed ; another candidate, backed by men of influence, was in the field, but an unpresuming man who came to Worcester a working mechanic, and who had been twice chosen to the highest civic office, was by his fellow-citizens elevated to the still higher dignity of representing them in Parliament, Like cathedral cities generally, Worcester has a large number of churches, some very ancient, and possessing many features of architectural interest. Within the * 3 625. — "For mending the stocks at the Grass Crosse, for whipping of divers persons and carting of other some, and for hailing the goome stoole to the houses of scouldinge people." — (From "Worcester in the Olden Time," by Mr. Noake.) 222 THE SEVERN VALLEY. memory of the present inliabitants great changes have been wrought within and without the city : suburban residences have spread over what were green slopes a quarter of a century since, and railways that radiate through hop and fruit-producing districts are carried by noble arches and viaducts through its centre » Fiscal changes have produced revolutions in its staple trades ; but whilst many of these still struggle for an existence^ others have grown into an importance that has made the name of Worcester famous. The manufacture of porcelain still maintains its sway. Of the several works of the kind those of Messrs. Kerr and Binns — formerly those of Flight and Barr — are perfect examples of completeness^, whilst the excellencies of their produc- tions have revived the fame the early manufacturers had gained. Worcester porcelain has long been famous^ and old specimens are valued by connoisseurs^ equally with those of Derby^ and of Chelsea; it has the advantage soft pastes usually possess_, that of retaining the freshness and brilliancy of its colouring. Worcester was fortunate in having for one of its early potters a chemist^ who by a judicious mixture of materials for a paste^ did for China what Wedgwood had done for earth- enware. Finding that nature had furnished no simple clay for porcelain^ as for coarser productions of the plastic art^ he succeeded^ with common bones collected from the dust heap^ common flints picked up on the coast^ and decomposed granite derived from the Cornish hills^ in finding a compound which art now fashions into graceful shapes, and decorates with lovely colours. The process by which these materials_, next to useless in themselves, are compounded and converted into THE SEVERN VALLEY. 223 finished forms of highest value^ and the manipulations the clay undergoes^ are highly interesting. Near these works is Diglis Basin_, where neat steam trows lie at anchor^ their outlines^ probably^ set off by some square old dredger. Here too^ is the mouth of the "Worcester and Birmingham Canal^ which appears to hide itself in the suburbs^ as if conscious that its slow means of transit had brought it into disrepute. Below, on the opposite side, the Teme winds and doubles along the flat. It is navigable as far as Powick, the church of which is seen between the trees ; beyond, at favourable falls, are mills ; and along its banks, for twenty miles, are hop-yards, orchards, wooded nooks and glades, parks, and pleasant mansions. It comes down from the Kerry Hills, in Radnorshire, round which the Severn winds on the opposite side, and is joined by the Onny, the Clun, and the Corve. These, again, are made up of innumerable streams, which, seeking through their several channels an outlet in the Severn, tumbling rather than running in its direction, seem to say, — " We are but children to these and to thee, Thou beautiful daughter of mountain and sea." Feeders, too, like the Droitwich, and Worcester and Birmingham canals, which capital has opened up by cuttings, aqueducts, and embankments, run through inland districts to collect its traffic. Increased in importance by its weirs, and assuming a greater majesty from confluence with the Teme, it now weaves its way through carpets of richest green, through cattle pastures and hay-producing fields, enriching the soil, connecting distant wealth-producing districts, 224 THE SEVERN VALLEY. transporting their products to the sea, causing agri- culture to feel its influence, and commerce to bear witness to its sway. Straight as an arrow it sweeps onward, along the beautiful reach of Kempsey Lake. Kempsey, the village from which it takes its name, from its pleasant situation, and proximity to Wor- cester, has many handsome residences in its vicinity. Formerly the Bishop of Worcester had his palace here; and here Henry III., when a captive in the hands of the barons, was imprisoned. It had a monastery at an early period ; and, from remains found near the church, appears at one time to have been occupied as a military position, probably by the Romans. At the bend of the Severn, below the lake, is Pixham Ferry, an ancient passage where Simon de Montfort passed with his army to the battle of Evesham ; and lower still, where the river takes a second sweep in the direction of the Malvern hills, is another, called MalvernFerry. Between these is a dark fringe of firs, where a whimpering stream comes down from Madresfield, the ancient seat of the Beauchamp family, and an old deeply-moated mansion, where Charles II. slept before the battle of Worcester. At the Bhydd, where red clifls rise from the river side, the very pleasant mansion of Sir E. Lechmere, Bart., shows itself amid embowering woods ; and near it, also in part concealed by trees, is Severn End. On the opposite side, lower down, is the rural hunting-box, and higher up on the hill the seat, of the Earl of Coventry. It would be difficult to overrate the beauties of the river^s banks at the places we have named ; to many accustomed to the sports of the field, or others who come down occasionally for the purpose of angling, THE SEVERN VALLEY. 225 they are familiar. The green strips of pasture land between which the river winds^ the seclusion of the surrounding woods^ groves^ and parks^ that have been growing around paternal homes famous from the old feudal times as those of men of note and influence^ combine to form a picture truly English. If you brave the woods^ and follow the stream to the old moated court of Madresfield, on one side^ or the winding path from Severn Stoke to Crome Court on the other^ you meet with enchanting views^ embracing wide sweeps of wood^ open uplands^ church towers half hid, and hills — some bold^ others mingliug their faint outlines with the sky. In the direction of Upton, is Blackmore Park, and Hanley Castle, the latter once the residence of the Nevilles, dukes of Warwick, where now — " Not one stone remains to claim the sigh Of passing man, save where the hollow winds Bending the nightingale's head, or nettle rank, Disclose some sculptured fragments green and damp, And half immured in earth.' ' Q CHAPTER XVIII. Upton — Uckingshall — Ripple — Primitive Institutions — The Ripple Giant — Curious Carvings — Prom Worcester to Gloucester — Geological Features — Valleys of the Avon and the Severn — Ancient Remains — The British Woad — The Mythe — Tewkeshury — Old Theocus — The Abbey Church — Gothic Architecture — Ancient Buildings — Rival Bellmen — The Avon and the Severn — Deerhurst — The Deerhurst Dragon — Deerhurst Church and Priory— From Deerhurst to Gloucester. HE town of Upton-Tipon- Severn is situated at tlie termination of tlie beantifuUy wooded vale noticed in our last chapter^ and at the foot of the great Malvern Chace^ twelve miles south of Worcester. From its position upon the Severn^ and its being in the centre of a fruit-producing country^ it is the great depot for cider^ which is brought down to its wharf, and shipped to all parts of England. The old stone bridge — where CromwelFs forces crossed to attack Massey^s position — for some time a nuisance to the county^ has been taken down^ and a swing one^ admitting vessels of the Severn^ has been substituted by the Commissioners under the Severn Navigation Act : and since weirs and locks have been introduced^ the islands and sandbanks in the river_, which formerly impeded navigation^ have also disap- peared. Beyond the town is Upton Ham^ a grassy flat^ THE SEVERN VALLEY. 227 level as a bowling-green^ and extending a considerable distance along the right bank of the river ; like similar alluvial creations higher np^ it is dotted with the purple flowers of the meadow saflron^ and in marshy hollows^ at PURPLE SAPFRON. its extremities^ with the water violet^ the frog-bit water- lily, and other plants. A long, low, marly clifl', from which the Severn in times of flood has derived much of its material for deposits, similar to that of the Ham Q 2 228 THE SEVERN VALLEY. opposite^ extends from Upton^ along the left bank of the river^ to an ancient ford or passage bearing the name of Saxon^s Lode^ where still a little ferry plies between its banks. From the rising ground along this marly ridge^ and from similar elevations in the direction of the rural hamlet of Uckingshall^ pleasing views are obtained on looking back across the river. First comes a green expanse of meadow-land^ then the stately man- sions of Ham Court and Pull Courts thrown into relief by a rich^ dark background of trees and wooded elevations^ stretching in the direction of Longdon and Bushley ; whilst to the rights beyond the little town of Upton ^ which now appears to occupy a trifling elevation^ the stately range of the purple Malvern hills is seen. Cottle^ describing the appearance the country here presents in springs says — " Many stately trees, and many cots And villages, o'erspread the country round, And orchards, with their odoriferous breath. That scent the air, and to the eye present One sheet of blossoms. They are villages^ too^ of the true old English type : little rural vignettes^ set in wide margins of green, stand- ing by the side of broad meadows^ or in the bosom of surrounding woods^ with rutted lanes^ one half of which^ in some instances, seem given back to nature. Ripple, on the side of what was once the old coach-road from Worcester to Tewkesbury^ is one of these ; it lies more than half concealed by fruit and other trees^ the latter old^ but not in foliage^ casting their trembling shadows upon your path^ their branches silvered o^er^ to their very tips^ by lichens. Where the cross roads meet at THE SEVERN VALLEY. 229 TJckingsliall^ we passed a broken cross^ and^ higher up the shady lane^ the village pinfold. Next came the neat but straggling village^ linked to its churchyard by an elegant octagonal cross^ denuded of its limbs^ and those primitive institutions, the parish stocks and public whipping-post_, overlooked by good-looking alms- houses^ bearing the name of their founder. To the right is the rectory, almost concealed by ivy, with grounds tastefully laid out ; and in front, also concealed by trees, is the quaint old church. The graveyard con- tains near its entrance the ruins of a third stone cross, and one upon which Puritan iconoclasts are also sup- posed to have laid their mutilating hands. Among head- stones which record the death or doings of village elders, is one commemorative of a village giant, who having fallen a victim to his folly by over-exerting him- self in mowing, is supposed to caution the reader against a similar indiscretion, thus — "As you pass by, behold my length, But never glory in your strength.'* The length indicated by the distance between the stones is seven feet four inches ; but whether the village sexton exaggerated the proportions of the individual we cannot say. The church, which contains some curious inscrip- tions, has also some quaint carvings, representing the agricultural and domestic occupations of threshing, dig- ging, harrowing, reaping, mending fences, feeding pigs, cooking, &c. ; and is an interesting structure, chiefly of the style of architecture prevailing at the commence- ment of the thirteenth century. The living was once held by the notorious Bishop Bonner. The parish includes 230 THE SEVERN VALLEY. the hamlet of Holdfast^ and the chapelry of Queenhill^ on the opposite side of the river. In the chapel of the latter is the following epitaph : — If any aske who lies within this tombe, Tell him Nick Barnes hath taken up ye room, Who godly dyde, and lived a honest life. And so did prove to kindred, friends, and wife. His body rests, — his soule still dayly sings Glory and praise unto ye King of kings." Crossing the little brook that comes murmuring past Ripple churchyard_, we leave behind us by a single step the county of Worcester^ and enter that of Gloucester ; and as we do so^ the bright blue marl the plough turns up bespeaks a change in the underlying strata. We pass from the New Red sandstones which had accom- panied us from Bridgnorth^ with trifling interruptions, to the coarse Keuper sandstones. Of the brick -like stones of the latter we imagine the church of Ripple to have been built. In following the Severn from its source, old churches, like old walls, along the valley, afford tolerable indications of the strata of the district in which they are found — from the dark grey and yellow Silurians, to the pale freestone of the coal-measures, the bright warm tints of the New Red ; and from these to the Keuper, and the Lias, which now begins to show itself in churches and handsome mansions along the banks of the river. Thus, anomalous as it may appear, as we descend the river we rise from the lower to the higher formations. That the Keuper and the Lias now struggle to be uppermost is evident from newly turned soils and river-side cliffs, which display their charac- teristic fossils. Taking a zig-zag course, from Ripple, we THE SEVERN VALLEY. 231 strode across fields containing clumps of yellow gorse^ looking first down upon the soft flowing Avon/^ and then upon the Severn^ as the two rivers hasten to meet each other below the Mythe. As the high ground be- tween the two diminishes to a narrow tongue^ the views obtained increase in interest. At Mythe Tute^ where it forms an impending cliff' above the Severn^ remains are met with which Leland described as early British^ and which he says were then overgrown with juniper trees. The woad with which our British ancestors were wont to stain their bodies grows there. Like that of Sarn Hill — a term applied to an elevation on the opposite bank of the Severn — the word Toot^ or Tute^ has proved a puzzle to antiquarians; some supposing it to have been a place of Druidical worship^ others that it was formerly a Roman station. It is probable that the woad flourished there in Leland^ s time^ as it may have done many centuries previous. Independent of its associations, the Mythe is in- teresting and romantic. It affords a fine view, on one side, of the Severn^ and of the wooded acclivities of Bushley and Forthampton ; on the other, of the valley of the Avon, stretching into the vale of Evesham^ with its fields, its farms, and its orchards, undulating up to the sloping side of the Cotswold range of hills ; whilst before you the vale of Gloucester, with its loamy soils, its hop-yards and fruit trees, goes curving to the south, far as the eye can reach. The terminating brow of the Mythe is crowned by handsome mansions ; on the right, as we descend, is the Mythe Bridge^ and at the foot of the hill the town of Tewkesbury spreads itself out before us. 233 THE SEVERN VALLEY. Tewkesbury is familiar to the reader from several accidental associations ; from Shakespeare^ s allusion to its mustard^, and from the decisive battle fought here between the rival houses of York and Lancaster. Sir R. Atkyns^ in his History of Gloucestershire/^ compared its site to that of Eden^ from the circum- stance that here four rivers meet — the Avon^ the Severn^ the Carron^ and Swagate — from as many dif- ferent points ; and tradition^ accounting for its name,, ascribes it to a recluse named Theocus^ who at the confluence of these streams is said to have pitched his tent as early as the seventh century. On ground the old monk made sacred by his prayers^ a monastery was reared by the Saxon brothers Dodo and Odo^ to which a church was afterwards added by Robert Fitz Hamon^ a Norman^ who^ from the wealth he lavished upon the Abbey was considered its second founder. Of this monument of early piety^ muni- ficence^ and taste — wont^ as William of Malmesbury tells us^ to ravish the eyes of monks^ and to excite the charity of visitors — the fine old abbey church yet remains^ and among the richly -painted windows that still throw a glowing light upon its massive columns and pointed arches^ are two in which are figures that repre- sent its Norman founder. Imagination is left to picture the outlines and the aspect the whole must have pre- sented Avhen its tall central spire^ which long ago has disappeared^ rose as a landmark along the vales^ and when on the broad waters of the Severn the sound of its vesper bell was carried far^ and listened to reverently by the early navigators of the river^ by fishermen upon the Avon,, and peasants upon the hilly slopes surround- THE SEVERN VALLEY. 233 ing it. Looking at the fragmentary clumps of solid masonry that yet cling aronnd the present edifice, one INTERIOR OP TEWKESBURY ABBEY, is reminded of the lines of Byron_, where^ speaking of a similar Norman structure^ he says — 234 THE SEVEJtlN VALLEY. " It stood embosom'd in a happy valley, Crown'd by high woodlands, where the Druid oak Stood like Caractacus in act to rally His host, with broad arms 'gainst the thunder- stroke : And from beneath his boughs were seen to sally The dappled foresters — as day awoke The branching stag swept down with all his herd. To quaff a brook which murmur'd like a bird. A glorious remnant of the Gothic pile (While yet the Church was Rome's) stood half apart In a grand arch, which once screened many an aisle ; These last had disappear'd — a loss to art ; The first yet frown'd superbly o'er the soil, And kindled feelings in the roughest heart Which mourn'd the power of time's or tempest's march, In gazing on that venerable arch," Mr. Petit^ a well-known authority upon ecclesiastical structures of the kind^ speaking of the choir and chancel of the churchy says^ — In their present state,, with their deep recesses forming the most striking contrast of light and shade^ their rich assemblage of monumental remains^ their fine vaultings^ and the occasional glimpses they afford of the magnificent painted windows which surround the choir^ I know of few architectural compositions equal in solemnity to the eastern aisles of Tewkesbury Church.^^ The first architects and sculptors of modern times have been enraptured with its internal decorations ; and casts of its carvings have been taken with scrupulous care, for the Crystal Palace at Syden- ham^ and also for the Victoria Tower of the new Houses of Parliament. Under the patronage of the Abbey^ Tewkesbury rose rapidly into importance ; the manor passed^ through several noble proprietors^ to the crown^ and was sold by James I. to the corporation^ whose charter dates from THE SEVERN VALLEY. 235 the seventeenth of Elizabeth. The Tewkesbury abbots were amongst the few summoned to parliament in the reign of King J ohn^ and the monastery was honoured by being chosen as the depository of one of the seven copies of Magna Charta. The town_, which consists of three principal streets^, is distinguished by a number of ancient-looking half-timbered buildings^ with curious projections^ gables^ and carvings. Since the failure of one of the members for the borough — whose doings excited a good deal of interest at the time — the town appears to have suffered severely in its trade ; a fine tall stack_, however_, has just risen, and a company has recently been formed for the purpose of employing the population in working a new patent obtained for stocking-weaving. Political feeling appears to run high in Tewkesbury. If a tory tradesman has old stock on hand^ he would keep it a prey to moths rather than pocket the money obtained by an opposition bell- man crying it in the street ; and a radical tradesman who fails^ would feel it a greater thorn in his side to know that a tory town crier had called attention to the sale of his goods^ than the thought that he had cheated his creditors. One of these officials^ we observed^ has Independent town crier/^ written up over his door^ and a decently-painted figure of Justice ; the other^ the one appointed by the corporation^ has a painting of the same blind goddess^ the artist having taken the liberty of dressing her in yellow cap^ red bodice, and blue petticoats^ with a red cow in the back- ground; whilst underneath is the following : — The best price gave for rags^ bones^ iron^ copper^ brass^ pewter^ lead^ horse-hair^ and whalebone. 236 THE SEVERN VALLEY. Tewkesbury is one of the points at which locks and weirs have been erected on the Avon and the Severn ; the accumulation of mud and sand_, consequent upon the confluence of so many streams^ having necessarily impeded navigation. The Avon^ from the marly banks through which it flows^ comes down charged with a considerable quantity of sediment^ which settles as the current becomes checked near its mouth. From this^ or from some deleterious ingredient it contains^ salmon^ and several other fish common to the Severn^ rarely THE YELLOW WATER-LILY. find their way into its waters ; and old fishermen are heard to declare that if put there_, they will immediately turn tail and make for the Severn. The Avon is navi- gable along the vale of Evesham^ where its banks are fringed by pollards^ flowering rushes^ forget-me-nots^ and flowers similar to those found on the banks of the Severn^ with the addition of the yellow water-lily^ which we do not remember to have witnessed along the banks of the latter. The locks and weirs introduced keep the river bank fuU^ for purposes of navigation^ as far as THE SEVERN VALLEY. 237 Stratford-on-Avon^ for wliich^ as well as for intermediate places^ Tewkesbury is now the most convenient port. Having visited the Bloody Meadow, as it is called^ the place where the slaughter was greatest^ in the battle which secured the crown to Edward IV. ^ we passed the Lower Lode Ferry^ and skirting the river_, through a sticky kind of mud^ we soon found ourselves at the village of Deerhurst. According to Leland the name is compounded of two terms^ dur and herst ; the former British, signifying water, and the latter Saxon, meaning wood. The former, we can readily understand, for the water left by a recent flood yet lay in the ditches outside the village, whilst the brown mud left upon the hedges lay by the roadside, the water having been from twelve to eighteen inches deep in the lanes, where it had cut off communication between the cottages. Leland says that when the Severn much riseth, the water cometh almost about the town adding that, it is supposed that of old time it was less subject to waters.^^ Now it comes quite up, and we question whether the tendency of the weirs, recently introduced upon the Severn, is not to cause a greater accumulation of silt in the channel, by checking the current which otherwise would sweep it away ; the Severn Commissioners, how- ever, say otherwise. Deerhurst appears to have been a market town and a place of considerable importance in former times. A curious tradition is current here, that seems like another edition of the Wantley Dragon. It is to the effect that an enormous serpent formerly haunted the woods, destroying both men and cattle ; an old man whose mind seemed stored with traditions of the place. 238 THE SEVERN VALLEY. told US tlie story^ and pointed ont the spot where it is said to have been killed. Sir R. Atkyns says that he ^^was of such prodigious bigness_, and so great a grievance to the country round/^ that a proclamation was issued offering an estate on Walton Hill^ to any one who succeeded in the perilous task of killing it ; adding that a labourer named Smith succeeded^ and that the Smiths were then in possession of the estate. From particulars added by our informant_, it would appear that the Deerhurst hero did not meet the enemy in fair^ open fight^ but that having ingratiated himself by taking large pans of milk to the monster, he was allowed to approach^ and having on one occasion found him napping, he chopped off his head. Over the entrance, in the old church tower, is a large but muti- lated head, carved in stone, intended to represent that of a serpent; but whether chiseled from the head of the defunct monster or not, tradition does not say. The windows of the church contain ancient specimens of stained glass, with figures, one of which represents St. Catherine and her wheel ; also a modern memorial window erected by the friends of the late H. E. Strick- land, who met with his death, while engaged in geolo- gical observations, on a railway. The church was originally surrounded by a monastery, erected at a very early period, which is said to have been destroyed by the Danes ; one of the monks, named Werstanus, it is added, fled to Malvern, where he was murdered by the unconverted natives — a tradition which receives some support from a series of subjects representing incidents in the life of the saint, which now adorn the windows of the abbey church. Portions of the old priory axe THE SEVERN VALLEY. 239 incorporated with a respectable looking farm-house close by^ and the surrounding land bears evidence of having been the site of extensive buildings. On leaving Deerhurst^ and keeping along the high ground^ good views are obtained of villages on the opposite side — of Chaseley^ Turley^ Hasfield^ and Ash- elworth. Like Deerhurst^ the latter lies near the river side^ and the tall and graceful spire of its church rising from the plain_, has a pleasing effect when viewed from Wainload Hill. Round the latter^ the Severn now winds to meet the Chelt^ and then divides to form the Isle of Alney — the scene^ it is said^ of the famous duel between Edmund Ironsides and Canute the Dane. CHAPTER XIX. Gloucester— Early Phases and Pleasant Features— Inns, Hostelries, and Ancient Houses— The old Peg Tankard— Shakespeare's Jug and Cane- Old Churches— Bishop Hooper's Tomb— The Cathedral— Richness of Gothic Architecture. Gloucester, with its cathedral, its railways, its warehouses, its docks, and its fleets of vessels, is now before us. 1$ The latter, no longer confined to the tight-rigged craft of the Severn, include vessels that brave the deep, and that bring the flags of nations within its walls ; whilst custom-houses, sea stores, and merchandise are met with, that give it the aspect of a sea-port rather than that of an inland town. Present and past strangely mingle: grey ruins and railway sidings are seen together, and locomotives glide in and out where surpliced priests once performed the services of the Church. Although long the outlet of an extensive district to the sea, its activity and prosperity have been doubled by the means of quickened transit, which modern times have intro- duced. But notwithstanding its commercial aspect, its distinguishing features are the same ; and, viewed from one of the wooded hills surrounding it, it is what its old name implies — and what some ancient Briton, THE SEVERN VALLEY. 241 leaning on his bow^ may be supposed to have pronounced it^ — The fair city by the stream/' Of its early phases^ of what it was before the Roman eagle came down upon it with a swoop^ nothing is known^ and we can only conjecture from its name ; but of later times^ Romanised Britisb^ Saxon^ and Norman relics are found, that throw some light upon its features. Wooden piles and blocks of stone show where its first conquerors formed their quay by the Severn^ and tessellated pavements, hypocausts, &c._, where they raised their buildings ; whilst legitimate history, from the point at which it commences, shows that Gloucester has shared largely in honours and favours, to which it seldom failed to make good its claim. Its position and importance caused it to be coveted by succes- sive masters of the island, and made it no less desirable as an ally in the great struggles which, at times, disturbed the nation. When the reigning power was itself divided, Gloucester took the side of the weak against the strong ; it espoused the cause of the Empress Maud against the usurper Stephen, and that of the parliamentary party, on the breaking out of the civil war, in the seventeenth century. As a local poet has said, — " Gloucester, 'twas thine of civil war the scale To turn, when Charles, with conquest-flushed array, Per weeks before thy frail defences lay ! But they were manned by hearts that might not quail, Men who with watching and with huns^er pale Could to that king-commanded host gainsay Admittance; honour, then, to that ihy day And generation, queen of Severn's vale." R 242 THE SEVERN VALLEY. Miicli that then made it formidable has disappeared^ its stout walls were destroyed by the government^ and its old castle has long ago been taken down; stilly ancient names^ and interesting specimens of domestic and ecclesiastical architecture present themselves in the streets. These are chiefly four^ meeting at right angles^ out of which run many minor ones; and out- side pleasant walks studded with modern and elegant suburban buildings. In the former you come upon quaint old inns and hostelries, where grave monks slaked their thirsty and dusty pilgrims refreshed them- selves. Also upon heavy-timbered^ many-gabled houses^ nodding to each other across narrow passages^ and which a writer some time ago described as leaning their heads on their neighbours^ shoulders^ and almost drop- ping their chins upon the passengers. Gloucester possesses^ among other relics^ the old peg-tankard^ the introduction of which is attributed to the Danes; and an elegant jug and cane which^ we were assured by Mrs. Fletcher^ had belonged to the immortal Shakespeare. Mrs. Fletcher is a collateral descendant of the bard of Avon^ who gave them^ she says^to his sister Joan. The jug is of cream-coloured earthenware^ and evidently is one of a class of articles manufactured about that period. It contains figures in relief, representing Jupiter^ Juno^ Bacchus/ Diana^ Mercury^ Apollo^ and Mars. Of old churches^ we turned aside to notice two — that of St. Nicholas^ erected by ancient navigators of the Severn^ and that of St. Mary de Lode_, which takes its name from a former passage of the river. The latter has been restored^ or^ rather^ rebuilt^ and a THE SEVERN VALLEY, 243 monument has recently been erected in its graveyard to commemorate the place where Bishop Hooper suf- fered martyrdom. Near the latter^ on a spot hallowed by prayer for ST. MARY DE LODE, WITH BISHOP HOOPER'S MONUMENT. seventeen centuries pa&t^ the cathedral lifts its stately tower — a masterpiece of symmetry and art^ suggestive of the thought that — " They dreamt not of a perishable house Who thus could build." R 2 244 THE SEVERN VALLEY. On approaching the southern side^ with its buttresses,, niches^ mutilated statues^ and acutely pointed windows^ the porch strikes you at once as a gem of Gothic art^ and a concentration of its highest triumphs. To a feeling of admiration is added one of veneration^ upon going inside^ where ponderous columns^ cushioned capitals^ and THE SEVERN VALLEY. 245 half-circular arches bespeak the Norman builder. The choir rises to a greater elevation than the nave^ and is perhaps still more calculated to produce a profound sen- sation in the popular mind^ by the redundancy of orna- ment that distinguishes it. The delicate tracery which covers the entire ceiling with its stone-work embroidery^ is considered one of the most complete examples of its kind. The south and north sides of the nave^ with their elaborate decorations^ the arch of entrance to the cloisters^ with its niches^ pinnacles, and foliage, and the cloisters themselves, with their clustering columns, their overarching and interlacing branches, show the extent to which temple decorators of the period revelled in their art. The silent grandeur of the lofty pile, the evidence it affords of long years of labour, and the immense cost at which it was erected, bring vividly before us the zeal and munificence of early times : — " Give all thou canst ; high heaven rejects the lore Of nicely-calculated less or more ; So deemed the man who fashioned for the sense Those lofty pillars, spread that branching roof Self-poised, and scooped into ten thousand cells, Where light and shade repose, where music dwells Lingering — and wandering on as loath to die : Like thoughts, whose very sweetness yieldeth proof That they were born for immortality." The city boasts numerous public buildings, many valuable institutions and a public spa, the springs of which are similar to those of Cheltenham, with pump- room, hot and cold baths, &c., surrounded by terraced walks, grounds, and promenades, but which are by no means patronised to the extent they deserve. « CHAPTER XX. The Gloucester and Berkeley Canal — " The Old Road " — Minsterworth — Framilode — Fisheries — The Great Horseshoe — Neap Tides — Westbury — Newnham — Historical Associations — The Forest of Dean — Ancient Mines, Iron Works, Customs, &c. |ITH its COD verging railways_, and its great ship canal^ Gloucester^, in a com- mercial point of view^ now feels itself independent of the Severn. Stilly the Old Road/^ as the trowmen call it^ is by no means abandoned; on the con- trary^ by taking advantage of the rise and rush of spring tides^ the traffic at those times is considerable. With a good tide and a wind not unfavourable^ trows leaving King Road come up to Gloucester in a day ; and when through adverse winds they cannot manage the whole at a tide^ they go into recesses or bays of the river^ and wait for the next. Traffic upon the Severn costs less than upon any other river in the kingdom^ and much that leaves its waters at Sharpness Point to go through the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal^ is again transferred to its barges at Gloucester^ or locked into the river to go higher up. Although of such importance as to be considered the second in the kingdom^ and possessing the advantage THE SEVERN VALLEY: 247 of a more direct communication^ by means of the Bristol Channel^ with the Atlantic Ocean than any other^ nothing material has ever been done to improve more than fifty out of the hundred and sixty miles for which it is navigable. As a class_, the navigators of the river have generally been opposed to improvements ; and 248 THE SEVEKN VALLEY. men still living remember how, ^*^wlien George IIT. was king/^ they shouted themselves hoarse^ and tossed their hats in honour of victory over the defeat of the first attempts to improve the channel. Bnt although no longer of importance as one of the great waterways of traffic below Gloucester^ yet^ augmented by the upper Avon^ the Chelt^ and other streams^ and having again collected its waters^ upon completing by means of its two branches the circuit of the Isle of Alney^ it becomes a striking feature along the vale^ which it continues to beautify as it flows. *' Queen of the western rivers, Severn, hail ! The boast of Gloucester, glory of her vale ; Long may thy broad expanse of waters sweep In rolling volumes to the kindred deep." Passing the pleasing eminence of Hempstead^ it flows south-east^ then in a south-westerly direction^ but again changes its course before reaching Minsterworth, where it has formed an alluvial flat^ called Minsterworth Ham^ and continues to increase in width until it reaches Framilode. This is another of those old passages of the Severn^ as indicated by the Saxon term lode, and one of those reaches formerly celebrated for its fisheries, which the monks of Gloucester and Winchcomb shared between them. This lower division of the Severn is still famous for its fish^ and proprietors of the soil, on either side, obtain large sums by letting portions out to persons who rent them. In addition to salmon and shad, which formerly found their way a hundred and fifty miles farther up, eels and other fish in great numbers are caught. Stalwart men and boys are seen putting down or taking up putchins^ mending nets, or THE SEVERN VALLEY. 249 dropping them as the boat curves inward to the shore, leaving a line of floating corks behind them ; or you see the bright silvery-sided fish struggling to escape, as the net is drawn out upon the bank. On leaving Eramilode, near which it receives the river Frome, and the Stroudwater Canal, the Severn curves considerably, forming the Great Horseshoe, which, during the agitation for improved Severn navi- gation, the commissioners, sent down by the Lords of the Admiralty, proposed to cut through, with the twofold object of diminishing the distance by six miles, and of recovering some thirteen hundred and sixty acres of land. This singular semicircle, formed by the wanderings of the stream, is situated at a point at which the low or neap-tides of the Bristol Channel cease to flow, excepting in the case of a south-east wind, which sends them a mile or two higher up. The difiference of level in the natural bed of the river, between here and Gloucester, is about seven feet, and the total fall from Welshpool two hundred and twenty, in a distance of one hundred and forty miles, the point from where it first becomes navigable. The sandy- bottomed Severn^^ is a term expressive of the real characteristics of the river, as it now hastens to its estuary. Wide-spreading sandbanks, known by the names of Arlingham, the Noose, and others highly dangerous to navigation, rise up here and there, forming shallows and causing lakes and pools. They are constantly shifting, unexpectedly accumulating in one place and disappearing from another. A large portion of the parish of Arlingham consists of river deposits, and has to be protected by sea walls from the cutting 250 THE SEVERN VALLEY. action of the tides ; it is a marshy tract within the Horseshoe^ nearly insulated^ and which^ tradition states^ was formerly entirely encircled by the Severn. Across the narrow neck extending from Hock Ditch to Framilode Lock^ high tides are known to have found their way^ and notwithstanding the embankments THE SEVERN VALLEY. 251 raised^ flood tides sometimes lay this marshy belt under water. Pleasing glimpses of the village of Westbury are obtained from elevations along the river. It is seen to advantage from Broad Oak^ near which the accom- panying view is taken^ and stands at the outer edge of the curve. On the same side of the Horseshoe^ and at a distance of two miles south-west of Westbury^ is the little town of Newnham^ from which a ferry crosses to Arlingham. To a ridge of rocks^ and a bed of sand^ that once assisted in making the river fordable^ the town is supposed to be indebted for its origin. It was the meeting place of Henry II. and the Earl Strongbow^ of Chepstow^ when the latter returned from his Irish conquests. It was fortified by the Normans^ and during the civil war of the seventeenth century was garrisoned for the king^ upon which occasion twenty of the royalists were slaughtered in the church. It stands conspicuously upon a cliff*^ between the Severn and the South Wales Railway^ and commands fine views of the river^ which^ from its windings beneath projecting banks^ presents the appearance of a series of beautiful lakes. On gaining the higher grounds adjoining the forest, still more extensive views are obtained; the Upper Vale^ with the spires and towers of Gloucester^ is seen on one side^ and the Lower Vale^ extending into that of Berkeley_, on the other. There are also many pleasing openings in the direction of the forest^ where you come upon undulating sweeps^ adorned by stout oaks^ wide- spreading beeches^ silvery birches^ and underAVOods of hawthorn^ honeysuckles^ and flowers that seem to 252 THE SEVERN VALLEY. flourish in the shade. Much of this fine forest has disappeared^ and imagination is left to picture what it must have been wlien Druids worshipped in its glades^ when the Normans hunted amid its wild entangle- ments^ or when Spain thought it worth employing special emissaries for its destruction. Human habita- THE SEVERN VALLEY. 253 tions then were few^ and tliinly scattered ; it was the resort of outlaws^ who^ when pursued^ would seek the sanctuary of some neighbouring churchy to one of which — that of Dean Magna — a subterranean passage has been found. The antlered deer^ however^ has long disappeared from its savage wilds^ and^ instead of end- less wood^ villages and towns^ called into existence by its mines, are to be seen^ and the peaceful influences of trade and intercourse have had their effect of changing the primitive habits of a people heretofore shut out from the world. It is a singular mineral tracts cut off from the South Wales coal-field^ and which, having been rolled into a basin, has been preserved from that denudation which has wasted other portions of the same great tract. Prior to the civil wars, our English kings jealously guarded its mines, and carried on its works. An old record shows that James I., under very strict provisions, demised them to two persons, named Harris and Challoner, for a ])eriod of twenty-one years ; and an old book, 1664, containing Miners^ Customs in the Forest of Deau,'^ shows that it was strictly enjoined, clause thirty, that no stranger of what degree soever he be, but only that have been born and abiding within the Castle of St. BriavelFs and bounds of the forest (that is^ from Chepstowe to Gloucester Bridge), as is aforesaid, shall come within the mine to see and to know the privities of our sovereign lord the king in his said mine.^^ Their importance is further shown by a patent granted in the ninth of King James to the Earl of Pembroke, of all the king^s iron- works in the forest, including the iron ore and corwood to make charcoal^ 254 THE SEVERN VALLEY. for the annual sum of £2^433 6s. 8d./' a sum of money which for those days shows the high estimation in which they were held. The ore^ unlike others along the river higher up^ is a singular accumulation of peroxide of iron, mixed with a calcareous deposit, ranging in variable quantities in the same geological position. 1^ CHAPTER XXI. Lydney — Etymology of the Name — Wiatonr's Leap — Roman Remains — Alviugton — Berkeley and Berkeley Castle — Tiddenham — OfFa's Dyke — Beachley— Aust Cliff— The Meeting Place of Edward and Llewellyn- Ancient Apologue of the Severn, the Wye, and the Rheidol. NE of the great outlets for the mineral wealth we have described^ is Lydney^ where vessels may be seen loading or crossing the river in the direction of the Berkeley Canal; and which^ like other towns and villages bordering upon the great forest^ has its traditions^ and its historical associations. Etymologists^ in accounting for its name^ say that it means a watery situation ; and the inhabitants affirm that although the river is at present but half a mile in width^ whilst it is a mile and three quarters at Frampton Lake above^ and two and a half below^ it was formerly much wider than at present^ and that a large tract has been recovered from its bed. Lydney was formerly the seat of Sir William "Wintour^ to whom it was given by Queen Elizabeth^ on account of services rendered as Vice-Admiral of England^ in defeating the Armada; and also of Sir John^ a de- scendant of Sir William^ who appears to have made it the plague of the forest. During the civil wars, he 256 THE SEVERN VALLEY. appears to have adhered to the royal cause till it became hopeless^ when^ being compelled to quit his stronghold^ he set fire to his house^ and only escaped r VIEW OF LYDNEY BARGES. his pursuers by leaping, as tradition states^ down the precipitous rocks of Tiddenham into the Wye^ at a place still called Wintour^s Leap. THE SEVERN VALLEY. 257 Within Lydney Tark are traces of encampments^ supposed to have been Roman^ where tessellated tiles, baths, urns, and coins, have been found, the latter including those of Hadrian and Antoninus. Beyond Lydney, two or three streams come down from the forest to the Severn, near one of which is Alvington Court ; whilst on the opposite bank of the river is Berkeley, and Berkeley Castle, the former the birth- place of J enner, the latter still the home of the family by which it was founded. It is a fine specimen of an old feudal fortress, its stout walls, strong buttresses, and dark chambers, being suggestive of scenes they have witnessed. The cruel confinement of Edward II. in its noisome dungeon, is thus painted by Marlowe : — " Weep'st thou already ? list awhile to me, And then thy heart, were it as Giirney's is, Or as Matrevis, hewn from the Caucasus, Yet will it melt, e'er I have done my tale, This dungeon where they keep me, is the sink, Wherein the filth of all the castle falls. And there in mire and puddle have I stood This ten days' space ; and, lest that I should sleep. One plays continually upon a drum. They give me bread and water, beinsj a king : So that, for w^ant of sleep and sustenance, My mind 's distemper'd, and my body 's numb'd. And whether I have limbs or no, I know not. Oh ! would my blood drop out from every vein. As doth this water from my tattered robes. Tell Isabel, the Queen, I looked not thus. When for her sake I ran at tilt in France, And there unhors'd the Duke of CleremontT Some idea may be formed of the state in which the 258 THE SEVERN VALLEY. barons of Berkeley lived from the fact that one is said to have sheared^ annually^ at Beverstone and his estates in that neighbourhood nearly six thousand sheep ; to have kept twelve knights to wait on him^ each knight having two servants and a page_, with horses for all; to have kept twenty-four esquires^ each of whom had an under servant and horses ; with a family amounting to about three hundred in number^ besides bailiffs^ hinds^ &c. ; and to have expended one hundred quarters of oats yearly for his dogs^ and for his hawks in proportion/^ Several miles lower down on the same side is the palatial^ but incomplete^ castle of Thornbury^ erected by the Duke of Buckingham. He was the rival of the great Cardinal Wolsey^ to whose resentment he fell a victim^ and the grand architectural designs he had entertained remained incomplete. Although unfinished^ the building in its dilapidated state presents many interesting features of Gothic architecture^ and the well- known emblem of the family^ the Stafford knot,, is in many places observable. Through the grasping selfish- ness of Charles^ who lost both his crown and his head^ the family were deprived of their inheritance ; and their fall was so rapid that the great grand- daughter of the once powerful duke was married to a joiner at Shiffhal^ where her son afterwards followed the trade of a cobbler. The river now expands into a wide open lake^ where a bank of sand at low-water divides it into two channels ; but after having attained a width of nearly two miles and a half, it is again narrowed by means of rocks and shoals at Aust Head^ to one at high^ and half a mile at low^ water. Opposite this wide expanse is Tidden- THE SEVERN VALLEY. 259 liam^ a parish bounded by the Severn and the Wye ; the two rivers being now but a mile and a half apart. Here we find OflVs Dyke — the identity of which is singularly confirmed by an ancient Saxon charter — again coming down from the hills to the river^ and ter- minating at Beachley. This remarkable peninsula must have been of considerable importance in former times^ the more so that from the Old Passage^ between Beachley and Aust Head^ the cliff narrows down the river for upwards of a mile. This rocky point contains traces of earthworks raised to defend a passage where Ostorious Scapula is supposed to have crossed with his legions^ in his expedition against the Silures. It was also the meeting place between Edward I. and Llewellyn_, when the latter did homage to the English king. Amid these rocks and sandbanks the sister rivers meet^ after taking widely diff'erent courses and travel- ling long distances. Of the Severn^ the Wye^ and the Rheidol^ each of which has its rise in Plinlimmon^ the Welsh have an interesting apologue^ called The Three Sisters. Justly proud of their rivers and their hills^ and not insensible to the influences they create, they frequently personify both^ and generally introduce the fable to which we allude by the remark that there was a time when all nature had a voice. In that early period of the world's history Father Plinlimmon^ it is said_, had three daughters^ who^ in modern language^ may be termed nymphs of the three rivers^ and to whom he promised^ by way of dowry_, as much territory as they could compass in a day^s journey to the sea^ where they were to meet their suitors. The proposal s 2 260 THE SEVERN VALLEY. having been accepted^ the three agreed to start next morning. The Naiad of the Severn^ being a prudent maiden^ and finding her fortune to depend upon herself^ rose with the first streak of morning lights and, whilst her sisters slept, descended the eastern side of the hill. Making choice of the richest meadows and the most THE SEVERN VALLEY. 261 fertile tracts,, turning only to escape a barren hill^ and winding but to embrace some verdant vale^ she reached the borders of Powis-land — the ancient paradise of the Cymri — when^ discovering that her sister was preparing to descend^ she laughingly turned to the south^ and tarried not till she reached the sea. Vaga^ the goddess of the Wye^ perceiving the advantage taken, chose a shorter course, and, having made a tolerable selection, came up with her sister ere she reached the sea. Rhea, the father^s pet, rose not till roused by old Plinlim- mon^s chiding ; when, indignant at the treatment she received, she madly bounded over rock and precipice, and in glittering foam reached her destination first. Hence the proverb, There is no impossibility,^^ saith Rheidolyn, to the maiden who hath a fortune to lose or a husband to win.^^ CHAPTER XXII. Chepstow High Tides — Chepstow Salmon — Chepstow Castle — Piercefield and Wyndcliffe — Village of Matherne — Caerwent — Roman Remains — Port- skewet — Ravages of the Severn — Former Aspects of the Severn — Caldecot Castle — New Passage — Anecdote of Charles I, — The English Stones — Termination of the Severn — Geological Features and Physical Peculiarities of the Severn — The Severn Bore — Former Estuaries of the Severn. EOS SING the Wye, we pass from the county of Gloucester to that of Mon- mouth. The bridge which unites the two was cast at one of the Broseley ironworks ; it consists of five arches, and was considered a fine piece of workman- ship at the time of its erection. At this bridge the tide is found to rise higher than in any other part of England, if not of Europe; a circumstance due to the rocks at Aust Head and Beachley — " Where twice a day the Severn fills, The salt sea water rushes by And hushes half the bubbling Wye, Aud makes a silence on the hills." THE SEVERN VALLEY. 263 Protruding into the channel on either side^ the rocks check the upward flow of the tide^ impelling it with increasing rapidity into the mouth of the Wye^ so that steamers having to combat this deep-rolling river, take advantage of its upward rush, and upon missing it generally wait for its return. 264 THE SEVERN VALLEY. Like the Severn^ the Wye is famous for its fish — " Yew other rivers such fine salmon feed, Nor Taff, uor Tay, nor Thames, nor Trent, nor Tweed and the author^ the Rev. E. Davies^ adds — " Unlike the flabby fish in London sold, A Chepstow salmon 's worth his weight in gold." The Chepstow bridges afford pleasing glimpses of the banks of the Lower Wye^ with its red and yellow cliffs, diversified by slopes and green mantling woods. From both, too, the town presents a pleasing group of objects to the eye, and among them the old wall is seen thread- ing its way, till it terminates in the outworks of the castle, the grey ruins of which appear to advantage against a background of goodly hills. Time has dealt leniently with this feudal home of the border lords, the walls and battlements of which are suggestive of a state of things long since passed away. It rises from a cliff, extending some distance along the river, and consists of courts and towers with rooms, some of which are kept in repair and used as a residence. The grand entrance is by a Norman arch, beneath which a massive oaken door, with heavy bars and bolts, formerly defended by double portcullises, still grates on its hinges. It is flanked by circular towers, which, like the other embattled portions of the building, look sullen and defiant. Built to defend possessions taken from the Welsh, which the Conqueror gave to his relative Fitz- Osborne, Earl of Hereford, it was viewed with jealousy by the former, and its defenders, sometimes drawn by a THE SEVERN VALLEY. 265 ruse from their stronghold, had to sustain some fierce attacks ; as that an old bard describes, when the Earls GATEWAY, CHEPSTOW CASTLE. of Arundel, Gloucester, Harcourt, and others, came against the men of Gwent : — " From Chepstow towers at dawn of morn, Was heard afar the bugle horn ; And forth in banded pomp aad pride. Stout Clare and fiery Neville ride ! " The Welsh first flee before these able warriors and their followers to the mountains, then turn upon the 266 THE SEVERN VALLEY. Normans^ who^ whilst retreating^ are intercepted by tlie sons of Llewellyn Breum. " The sun arose. And Rymney's wave with crimson glows ; Por Clare's red banner floating wide, Roird down the stream to Severn's tide ! " The trampled green Show'd where hot Neville's charge had been ; In every sable hoof-tramp stood, A Norman horseman's curdling blood ! " Chepstow Castle is celebrated for the gallant defence made by its slender garrison against an overwhelming force in Oliver CromwelFs time^ when the royalists fell a sacrifice to their bravery. The keep^ which occupies the first courts became the prison^ at the Restoration^ of a stern republican^ whose crime consisted in having been one of the judges of Charles I. Southey says— " For thirty years, secluded from mankind. Here Marten lingered." But he appears to have been mistaken in saying he " Never saw the sun's delightful beam. Save when through yon high bars he pour'd a sad And broken splendour," as^ according to the local history of the place, the prisoner was wont to visit and feast with the neighbour- ing gentry at their houses. The great hall, sometimes called the chapel, is a fine old Norman room, in part remodelled in an early English form, with windows similar to those of Tintern Abbey. Next to these old ruins in point of interest is the conventual church of Chepstow, which, although THE SEVERN VALLEY. 267 much modernised^ still presents interesting features of Norman architecture. Chepstow belongs to the Wye rather than to the Severn^ but the rambler by the latter would miss much if he failed to visit this ancient town and the romantic eminences of Piercefield and Wyndcliffe^, which command magnificent views of this now majestic river. Unlike the sportive streamlet we followed down the steep sides of Plinlimmon^ the Severn steals slowly through the mazes of the quiet vale^ a wide liquid lake hemmed in by hills^ that mingle with the haze^ or^ like an inland sea — " But in the majesty of distance, now Set off, and to our ken appearing fair Of aspect, with aerial softness clad." Unable to float a boat larger than a walnut at its source^ it now carries leviathans of the deep ; fishing boats shoot from side to side, and screw and paddle steamers, whilst pounding its water into foam, obscure the atmo- sphere with their smoke as they pick their way between the rocks. Returning from the heights of Wyndcliffe to the Severn, we scarcely know which to admire most — the magnificent view the hill commands, or the quiet pic- ture the peaceful valley presents. Visitors by steamer and excursionists by railway are no doubt familiar with many of the features we would describe — indeed, who is not ? Brothers of the rod, of the gun, of the hammer, and those claiming fellowship on the ground of sym- pathy in some particular pursuit, have from time to time visited these banks of the Severn. Views on the Severn/^ and on the Wye,^^ views of rocks, dingles, 268 THE SEVERN VALLEY. glens^ and ruins^ by amateurs of tlie pencil and pro- fessors of the art^ are found on the walls of our exhi- bitions; but every one who has made his pilgrimage in person to these rivers^ and derived inspiration from their presence^ knows how powerless the highest efforts of landscape-art are to portray their charms. Genius may paint in words or forms^ in poems or in pictures, but there lacks that nature-power of expression so elo- quent in actual life, in the whispering of leaves, the VILLAGE OF MATHERNE. bending of buttercups, and the nodding of trees. Here, for instance, on the right bank of the Wye, is a little rural picture set in green ; it is the pretty village of Matherne, with the ruins of the episcopal palace of the former bishops of Llandaff. The name is said to have been derived from a recluse of the sixth century, who relinquished a kingdom in Glamorgan- THE SEVERN VALLEY. 269 shire that he might live in quietude on the banks of the Severn ; and tradition adds, that being afterwards reluctantly induced to quit his hermitage^ and to com- mand an army^ he fell mortally wounded^ and dying, requested his son to build a church upon the spot. When roads were few^ and houses or hostelries far between^ and when deep, dark forests spread in one unbroken mantle to the Severn, it was not unusual for men to lay by their crowns, and raise a small chapel or hermitage as a resting place for travellers, or that they might hold a torch at some perilous passage of a river. Here, too, still farther to the right, Rome^s imperial legions have left their imprints; and the crumbling ruin, the mouldering wall, the unmistakable coin^ and the tessellated floor come before us as faithful documents or faded photographs of the lights and shadows of still earlier times. Caerwent — a name de- rived from one originally meaning the city of Gwent- land — occupies a pleasing eminence in a rich valley^ bounded by hills : it was the Vent a Silurium of the Romans. Its fortifications appear to have occupied a parallelogram, five hundred yards by three hundred and fifty, and a Roman causeway is known to have run parallel with the high road to Chepstow,, inter- secting the enclosure^ and passing through its eastern and western gates. A writer^ half a century since^ in describing the place, says : — " The circuit of the rampart, which may still be traced^ is a mile in extent ; in most places it is surrounded by a deep moat ; the wall is formed of grout-work^ faced with squared lime- stone^ but most of the facings have been removed. A fragment of the wall^ nearly twenty feet in length and 270 THE SEVERN VALLEY. twelve feet higli^ has fallen imshattered near the southern angle. This spot^ once crowded with palaces and temples^ presents only the church and parsonage^ a farm-house^ a public-house,, and a few scattered cottages; but ancient foundations, projecting above the levels CAERWENT CHURCH. appear in many places, and elegant columns, tessellated pavements, and coins, are continually met with in ploughing and digging/' Tessellated pavements of stone, and of stone and clay, similar to those of THE SEVERN VALLEY. 271 Wroxeter^ have been found ; one twenty-six feet in length by eighteen in widths of blue^ white^ yellow^ and red^ bordered by a scroll. The church is exceedingly primitive in appearance^ with one of those tall towers having something of a military aspect; it appears to have been built on the site and of the materials of some Roman edifice. Well squared stones^ and rude ones of rubble have been used^ as in the south side of the nave^ where the supply of the former having been exhausted^ the builders probably availed themselves of a commoner material to complete their work. Here_, too^ not far off^ is a mound_, supposed to be Koman^ standing upon the Verge of a cliff rising from the Severn Sea/^ and formed^ it is supposed^ for the purpose of protecting the landing of Roman vessels. Close by is the village of Portskewet, which we find described in the Cambrian Traveller's Guide/^ half a century since^ as being situated nearly a mile from the shore/^ but which was once^, it is added^ ^'^ washed by the sea^ and probably the port to Caerwent^ as its name seems to imply.'' If this was so^ it affords a striking instance of the changes wrought by the action of the waves^ seeing that they are at present under- mining the soft New Red sandstone cliff, which^ with the remains of some ecclesiastical building at its edge^ are likely to share the same fate as a portion of the adjoining grounds. These and other features of the valley enable us to reconstruct the panorama of the past ; reminding us how much to this princely river were due the prosperity and wealth early visible on its banks ! In its abandoned 272 THE SEVERN VALLEY. beds^ its carvings in the solid rocks^ its bends and windings^ it has left traces of its history, of periods when^ in consequence of slips of land from higher levels^ and rafts of timber swept into narrow gorges by storms^ a chain of lakes were formed that served as fishing stations to the rude inhabitants upon its banks. The . canoe Caesar so well described^ such as fishermen now use^ of osiers and oil-cloth^ light_, fragile^ and portable^ was the highest kind of craft in use. The forest spread its sombre mantle for many many miles along the river^s course : the beaver and the badger were found upon its banks^ the wolf made its incur- sions upon the fold^ the bittern boomed along the moor^ and the heron may have been seen fishing in the marsh. Gradually the supremacy of nature gave way to that of man. The treacherous swamp and pathless wood decreased before the Roman axe^ and the crooked plough^ with an eight-feet beam^ described by Virgil; whilst cultivation so extended as to give colouring to the encomium of the Roman orator^ that Britain was matchless — a land so stored with corn^ so flourishing in pasture^ so rich in variety of mines^ so profitable in its tribute^ on all its coasts so furnished with con- venient harbour^ and so immense in circuit and extent. Evidences along the Severn of mining_, smelt- ing^ and culture at an early period show that the Roman spoke not vaguely. It is impossible to follow the course of this queen of rivers and not be reminded how much it must have contributed to the develop- ment of mineral wealth along its banks^ and to the early civilisation and happiness of the inhabitants. Wandering through meadow flats of its own creation^ THE SEVERN ' VALLEY. 273 increased by minor streams that yield the tribute of their waters^ and laying bare rich mineral beds that have called industrial armies into beings it became the great outlet of their produce to the sea. Clustering villages sprang up^ mines of lead and iron^ quarries of stone and clay were opened; towns became store- houses^ giving^ receivings and distributing over inland districts articles of trade and commerce. Barges^ laden with minerals^ made voyages to the coast^ opening up markets for hay and corn^ and fruit and wine^ bring- ing timber and groceries in return; the Severn thus became the grand highway of internal commerce, when roads were wretched^ when canals and railroads — the great arteries of modern circulation and communication — were unknown. One interesting feature we have passed, in order to speak of Portskewet in connection with Caerwent, is the interesting ruin of Caldecot Castle; its walls of light-coloured stone have a pleasing eflPect, festooned here and there with ivy, and thrown into relief by the dark foliage of the trees. Its history is obscure, but it is supposed to have been commenced by Harold, and to have been completed under the Normans ; its architec- ture, however, is Gothic, chiefly Decorated, and does not bear out this supposition. Grooves within the portal indicate where portcullises have been, and holes are seen in the arch, intended, it is imagined, for harassing the besiegers with scalding water or molten lead. A pleasant walk of two miles now takes us to New Passage, near the confluence of the Severn and the Wve, where the Lewises of St. Pierre have held the T 274 THE SEVERN VALLEY. right of ferry for many generations past. During a long trials in which this right was disputed by the Duke of Beaufort^s guardians^ a well-authenticated anecdote was told of a trick played by the boatmen upon a number of republican troops^ that caused the ferry to be suspended by Cromwell. It was said that Charles I. being hotly pursued on the Monmouthshire side^ THE SEVERN VALLEY. 275 escaped by this ferry to Chisel Pill on the Gloucester- shire shore; and that npon the return of the boat^ about sixty of the parliamentary army who followed as far as the Black Rock^ compelled the men with drawn swords to take them across. They were conveyed to the reef near the opposite bank^ which may be easily reached at low water^ but the tide then rapidly running in^ the approach to the shore was cut off^ and^ as the boatmen anticipated^ the republicans were drowned. At the English Stones our task terminates^ they form the mouth of the river_, and mark the lower extremity of the Severn Proper. Below this singular ledge of rocks^ the waters of the Severn enter a marine estuary^ and become identified with those of the Bristol Channel. They form a natural bar at the entrance to the river^ and consist of hard limestone^ which^ unlike the soft^ red marls and sandstones at Portskewet — and those stretch- ing from Undy to Matherne — has resisted the action of tidal influences. The same red marls and sandstones based upon the carboniferous limestone^ and capped by lias^ reappear higher up^ and continue from Aust Cliff to Berkeley on one side^ and Lydney on the other^ where the Old Red sandstone and silurian rocks come in^ and narrow the channel. On both sides Old Passage^ fair sections of these are exposed by the river^ exhibiting firsts gvej limestone^ containing ostrea^ two species of plagiostoma modiola ; secondly^ marls^ and argilla- ceous lias limestone;, with modiola and terebratula^ saurian and fish remains, bones, scales, coprolites, &c. ; and thirdly, the New Bed sandstone series, consisting of marls, grey and red, with strings and beds of gypsum. These rest upon carboniferous limestone^ T 2 376 THE SEVERN VALLEY. and the same series continue with trifling interruption to the Avon^ where we noticed them in speaking of Ripple. The occurrence of this series of rocks/ and their extension up to the point indicated, and near to the foot of the Malvern hills^ are highly interesting and instructive^ bringing before us abrasions and accumulations similar to those now occurring along the estuary of the Severn. The extent to which modern accumulations have taken place^ is evident by sandbanks and alluvial crea- tions that are found on either side of the estuary lower down ; and the efi*ect of currents and tidal in- fluences in cutting down the rocks in the instance we have mentioned in speaking of Portskewet and other places^ where the less dense materials of the banks have fallen victims to the fury of the waves. A constant battle appears to be going on between the river and the sea ; the former endeavouring to create a delta^ and the latter to carry its estuary higher up. One of the most remarkable phenomenon known in connection with the river^ is that vast extension of the tidal wave known as the Severn Bore ; which is chiefly due to the ridge of rocks we have alluded to^ and the physical peculiarities of the channel^ which gradually narrows from the Foreland to the English Stones in the form of a funnel. From New Passage to Aust Head — a distance of two miles — the estuary tapers from a width of two miles to one at high water^ and to five furlongs at low water ; whilst from the latter point to Oldbury Pill — a further distance of eight miles — it again ex- pands to a width of two miles and three furlongs^ and for the next seven miles and a half^ to Sharpness Pointy THE SEVERN VALLEY. 277 it diminislies from two miles to about one-fourth that width. Through a narrow chasm of the former rocks^ called the shoots/^ the water — the first of the flood and the last of the ebb tides — rushes with great velocity. Making a dash at the estuary^ with twenty feet spring at starting^ the sea wave rushes along the funnel-like channel of the river^s mouthy gaining in momentum as the neck growls narrower^ till checked by the rise of the bed of the river^ or obstructions it meets with in its passage^ it breaks and falls over_, like the sea- surf upon the beach. It outstrips the tide^ and obtains an immense velocity ; hence its British name Bur, a term signifying violence or tumult. When acted upon by a south-west wind^ it will attain a rate of fifty miles an hour at starting^ thirty at King Road^ fifteen or sixteen at Sharpness Pointy and twelve at Gloacester — a distance of ninety-two miles from the Foreland ! That the ocean waves once reached higher up^ — not occasionally^ but regularly^ — that the wider vales of Gloucester^ Malvern^ Worcester^ and Shrewsbury^ were estuaries^ and^ prior to that_, portions of a marine strait^ is shown by shingle beds above the river's reach^ by shells of marine species retiring waves had left^ and by salt marshy-loving plants, which yet linger along their ancient habitats. Recent, geologically speaking, as was this last change, it was ancient when compared with what we deem antiquity in the history of the race, being anterior to the accumulation of those peat beds along the same line of country in which such primitive remains as flint knives, stone axes, and canoes hollowed out by fire or some blunt instrument, have been found. 278 THE SEVERN VALLEY. It was a period lying beyond the earliest limits of the human epoch. Like the dodo of the Mauritius and the moa of New Zealand_, animals indigenous to the country have become extinct within the period^ as the mammoth^ the hippopotamus and rhinoceros_, whose remains are found in local drift ; also the hyena^ the gigantic elk^ the wild ox^ the brown bear^ and the beaver. Later^ before the advancing influences put in motion by man^ the wild boar has disappeared from the forest^ the wolf from the fold^ the badger from the hill side^ the cygnet from the stream^ the bustard from the plain^ the bittern from the moor, and the eagle from its nest on the cliff*. During that period the river has been creat- ing a delta, burying with its mud animal and vegetable matters carried down by its stream, and laying the basis of a geological formation not dissimilar to others it had been instrumental in destroying. Seeds of wheat, blades of grass, stems of trees, plants indigenous to districts extending over 6,000 square miles, and culti- vated along its banks, or those of its tributaries, animals — aquatic or otherwise — as rats, dogs, sheep, salmon, trout, and pike, — have been covered up and buried ; the whole, probably, after being submerged for centuries, to be upheaved as consolidated strata, to become cultivated land, to excite the interest and reward the researches of geologists in some future age ! How appropriate the language of Cuvier : — When the traveller passes over those fertile plains, where the peaceful waters preserve, by their regular course, an abundant vegetation ; and the soil of which is crowded by an extensive population, and enriched by flourishing cities, which are never disturbed but by the ravages of THE SEVERN TALLEY. 279 war^ or the oppression of despotism ; he is not inclined to believe that nature has also had her intestine war^ and that the surface of the globe has been overthrown by various revolutions and catastrophes. But his opinions change as he penetrates into that soil at present so peaceful ; or as he ascends the hills which bound the plains. His ideas expand^ as it were^ with the prospect^ and as soon as he ascends the more elevated chains^ or follows the beds of those torrents which descend from their summits^ he begins to comprehend the extent and grandeur of the physical events of ages long past. Or if he examines the quarries on the sides of the hills^ or the cliffs which form the boundaries of the ocean^ he there sees^ in the displacement and con- tortion of the strata^ and in the layers of water- worn materials teeming with the remains of animals and plants^ proofs that those tranquil plains^ those smooth downs^ have once been at the bottom of the deep^ and have been lifted up from the bosom of the waters ; and everywhere he will find evidence that the sea and the land have continually changed their place.^^ THE END. EREATA. In speaking of Robert Owen's grave at Newtown, we have said that it remains nninscribed ; but, as these sheets are going through the press, we find that an inscribed memorial is being raised under the superin- tendence of a committee of gentlemen in Manchester. On page 60, line 12, instead of ^' are" read have ; and on line 22, read Cefn instead of " Cerfn." On page 103, line 14, instead of and that" read and a. On page 111, line 22, instead of which" read hut. On page 214, line 18, read lanuginosiim instead of "langinosum." On page 220, line 17, read Littleton instead of " Lyttelton." On page 222, line 13, read Chamberlain instead of " Flight & Barr." ADVERTISEMENTS. ROYAL POECELAIN WORKS. KERR &, CO., WORCESTER. ADVERTISEMENTS. COALBROOKDALE COMPANY, MANUFACTURERS OF BRICKS, TILES, AND ORNAMENTAL WORKS IN €txn CONSISTING OF FIL(DW]EIR F(Df§, ETC. ETC. LIGHTMOOE WORKS, NEAR COALBROOKDALE. ADVERTISEMENTS. EICHARD DOUGHTY, UNDERHILL STREET, BRIDGNORTH, WHOLESALE DEPOT FOR COALS, BKICKS, TILES, DRAINma PIPES, LATHS, CEMENTS, ETC. CHTJRCH STREET, MADELEY, SALOP. J. W. WILLCOX, dispensing anb Jjamilji €\nmi anb grnggist. WAX, SPERM, AND COMPOSITE CANDLES. French Colza, and other Lamp Oils ; Pure Russian Isin2:]ass and Gelatine ; Spices of all kinds ; Fish Sauces and Pickles ; Ratafia, and other Flavours, tor Jellies, Custards, and Blanc-mange ; Cough, Voice, Delectable, and other Lozenges ; Sardines, Anchovies, and Potted Bloaters ; an Assortment of Choice Perfumes, &c. TRUSSES, ELASTIC STOCKINGS, KNEE CAPS, AND BANDAGES. HORSE AND CATTLE MEDICINES. HENRY WEAVER, GENERAL AGEICULTURAL AGENT, AND MACHINIST, EARDINGTON, BEIDGNORTH. STEAM THRESHING MACHINES, PLOUGHING TACKLE, AND SAWING MACHINERY ALWAYS FOR HIRE. *'THE TIME AND THE HOUR." JAMES HANNY, CLOCK AND WATCH MAKER, OPPOSITE THE LION HOTEL, WYLE COP, SHREWSBURY. Clocks and Watches in great variety, and warranted worhmansMp, Barometers, Thermometers, Spectacles, Gold Wedding Rings, &c. ADVERTISEMENTS. By Her Majesty's Royal Letters Patent, EDWIN SOUTHOUN, TOBACCO PIPE MAMUFACTURER, BROSELEY, SHROPSHIRE. Crests and any other Designs can now be Printed in Colours upon these Pipes by the Patent Process. The BSOSELEY PATENT NARGHILE, which renders Smoking non-irjurious, is recommended to Gentlemen. Lists of sorts and prices may be had on application. EDDOWES'S SHREWSBURY JOURNAL, AND ADVERTISER FOR SHROPSHIRE AND THE PRINCIPALITY OF WALES. PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY MORNING. PiiiCE : Unstamped, 3d. ; Stamped, 4d. OFFICES, MARKET SaUAEE. THE JOURNAL has now obtained a circulation amongst Capitalists, Solicitors, Auctioneers, Merchants, Land Agents, and Traders, throughout the County of Salop and the whole Principality of Wales, and also an advertising patronage SUPERIOR, TO THAT OF ANY OTHER NEWSPAPER published in the District. It also circulates extenijively in the neighbouring Counties, and will be found at the principal Hotels and Com- mercial Offices in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, and other important Towns. It is thus rendered DECIDEDLY THE BEST MEDIUM FOR ADVERTISING, affording, as it does, safe and widely-spread means of publicity amongst all those classes most likely to be useful to Advertisers. Upwards of 100 Marble and Stone Chimney-pieces, MONUMENTS, TOMBS, HEAD-STONES, EONTS, FOUNTAINS, YASES, &c., May be inspected at R. DODSON'S MARBLE AHD STONE WOEKS, ST. MAEY'S PLACE, CASTLE STEEET, SHREWSBURY. Designs forwarded for inspection. Masonry executed in all its branches. ADVERTISEMENTS. Established 1772. THE SHREWSBURY CHRONICLE. qiHE great increase in the CIUCULATION of this old-established J- Newspaper, since its reduced price to 2|d., has placed it FOREMOST among the leading Provincial Journals of the kingdom, its issue equalling the bona fide sale of all its local com- petitors put together. The advantages of its circulation, as an ADVERTISING MEDIUM, are so well known as to render further comment unnecessary. PUBLISHED EVEKY FRIBAY MOENINa, PEICS 2id. If delivered by Country Newsmen, 3d. By Post, 3^d. Annual Subscription: STAMPED, with Postal privileges . . . .17s. Do. paid in advance 15s. UNSTAMPED I3s. Do. paid in advance lis. One Halfpenny per Copy, or 2s. per annum, extra, if delivered in Country by Newsmen. Proprietor-JOHN WATTON, St. John's Hill, Shrewsbury. JOHN MORGAN, Market Square, Shrewsbury, GUANO, SEED, AND COAL MERCHANT, Agent for Lawes' Patent Super-Phosphate of Lime, DEALER IN LIME, SALT, LINSEED CAKE, BANGOR SLATE, BROSELEY TILE, &c. DEPOTS : Shrewsbury and Chester Wharf, Castle Foregate; and Shrewsbury and Hereford Wharf, Colehara, Shrewsbury. All the Stations on the Shrewj^buiy and Hereford, Craven Arms and Knighton, Shrewsbury and Welshpool, and Severn Valley Railways. THE WORCESTER NEWS, and GENERAL PROVINCIAL ADVERTISER : a cheap Family Newspaper. Established January, 1861. Forty Columns. Price THREE-HALF-PENCE. PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY MORNING, By T. M. Allgood, at his Offices, 4Y, Broad Street, Worcester, and to be had of all Book- sellers and Newsvendors. ADVERTISEMENTS. BRIDGNORTH. CEOWN HOTEL, FAMILY, COMMERCIAL, AND POSTING HOUSE. Every attention paid to the comfort and convenience of Visitors. Servants charged in the Bill. Omnibus to and from each Train. POST HORSES AND CARRIAGES ; also REFRESHMENT ROOM AT STATION. T. WHITEFOOT, Proprietor. N.B.— RAILWAY PARCELS OFFICE. IMPERISHABLE TESSELLATED PAVEMENTS, Combining a highly decorative and economical substitute for ordinary floors, or their perishable coverings. MAW & OO.'S PATTERN-BOOK, DESIGNED BY M. DIGBY WYATT, ESQ., Together with a special design and estimate of cost, adapted to any given dimensions of hall, passage, conservatory, verandah, frieze, &c., will be sent on application to BENTHALL WORKS, RROSELEY, SALOP. JAMES S. VIETUE, PRINTEE, CITY EOAD, LONDOIf. / GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE 3 3125 01360 1584