W. H. Gladstone

“ Possessing as it does a greater depth of water over the bar than the Mersey, and provided with ample railway communication with the great industrial centres, it is probable that the Dee may ere long become a far more important river as a vehicle of commerce than heretofore. Of still more importance to Hawarden is the establishment of direct communication with Liverpool already referred to, in place of the present circuitous route by Chester and Runcorn. By the new Swing Railway Bridge across the Dee, direct access will be given to Birkenhead and Liverpool by the Mersey Tunnel across the Wirral ”

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

“ Be not unadvised, but think of your liberty, for I vow all hopes of relief are taken from you; and our intents are not to starve you but to batter and storm you and then hang you all, and follow the rest of that rebellious crewe. ”

“ The land is mainly arable; but little cheese being now made.
About one mile and a half from Hawarden on the road to Northop, lie ensconced in a wood the scant remains of the old Castle of Ewloe—the scene of a battle between the English and Welsh in 1157, in which the former were defeated by David and Conan, sons of Owen Gwynedd.
The district is rich in beds of coal and clay. The former have been worked from an early period when the coal was mostly sent to Chester ”

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

“ In 1752 Sir John built a new house at Broadlane, which has since been the residence of the family.
p. 12Though not the founder of the family, Sir John Glynne may fairly be considered the founder of the place, and of the estate in its modern sense. Though he sat for five Parliaments for the Borough of Flint, he devoted himself largely to domestic concerns and to the improvement of his property by inclosure, drainage, and otherwise. The present beauty of the Park is in a great measure due to his energy and foresight. ”

“ His son, Sir William Glynne, the first baronet, sat in Parliament for Woodstock, and died in 1721. It was not till 1723 that the Glynnes moved to Hawarden, from Bicester. An old stone records the building of a house in Broadlane in 1727. In 1732 Sir John Glynne, nephew of Sir William, married Honora Conway, co-heiress with her sister Catherine of the Ravenscrofts of Bretton and Broadlane, an old family connected with Hawarden for many generations. ”

“ The Living is what is termed ‘a Peculiar,’ and was formerly exempt from Episcopal jurisdiction. The Rectors granted marriage licenses, proved wills, and had their own consistorial Courts and Proctors. The Court was held in the Eastern Bay of the Chancel Aisle: the seal, still used, represents Daniel in the Lion’s Den, with the legend ‘Sigillum peculiaris et exemptæ jurisdictionis de Hawarden’. ”

“ At the advanced age he has now attained, it can hardly be expected that Mr. Gladstone can very frequently indulge in what has been his favourite recreation for the past twenty-five years. The present winter [34] however saw the fall of at least one large tree, in which he took a full share—a Spanish chestnut, measuring 10ft. at the top of the face, and those who were present can testify to the undiminished vigour with which the axe was wielded on that occasion.
p. 35Parish and District of Hawarden. ”

“ Hawarden, in Flintshire, lies 6 miles West of Chester, at a height of 250 feet, overlooking a large tract of Cheshire and the Estuary of the Dee. It is now in direct communication with the Railway world by the opening of the Hawarden and Wirral lines. ”

“ Upon the summit stands the Keep, towering some 50 feet above the main ward, and some 200 feet above the bottom of the ravine.
“The place presents,” says Mr. G. T. Clark, “in a remarkable degree the features of a well-known class of earthworks found both in England and in Normandy. This kind of fortification by mound, bank and ditch was in use in the ninth, tenth, and even in the eleventh centuries, before masonry was general. [13] The mound was crowned with a strong circular house of timber, such as in the Bayeaux tapestry the soldiers are attempting to set on fire. ”

“ Take each a keepsake ere ye quit the keep!
Come, every stranger, every guest draw nigh!
No peril waits you save from beauty’s eye.
p. 31Hard by the Castle and across the yard will be found Mrs. Gladstone’s Orphanage, containing from 20 to 30 boys. Close by is a little Home of Rest established by Mrs. Gladstone, for old and infirm women. The house in which the orphans are lodged is called Diglane, and was formerly the residence of the Crachley family. It was sold to Sir John Glynne in 1749. ”

“ It would appear, however, from the following story, derived, according to Willett’s History of Hawarden, from a Saxon MS., that in the tenth century the Welsh were in possession.
“In the sixth year of the reign of Conan, King of North Wales, there was in the Christian Temple at a place called Harden, in the Kingdom of North Wales, a Roodloft, in which was placed an image of the Virgin Mary, with a very large cross, which was in the hands of the image, called Holy Rood. About this time there happened a very hot and dry summer; so dry that there was not grass for the cattle ”

“ There is a division in the roof between the chancel and the nave which has the appearance of a transept, but not extended beyond the line of the aisles. The axis of the chancel deviates from that of the nave.
In 1764 the nave and aisles were newly pewed in place of the old benches, and the floor flagged instead of being strewn with rushes. In 1810 a gallery was erected at the west end and an organ placed in it; the gallery was enlarged and a new organ purchased in 1836. ”

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

“ Though the unusual thickness of the walls of the Keep might be thought more in keeping with the Norman period, p. 18the general details, as already stated, the polygonal mural gallery and interior, and the entrance, evidently parts of the original work, are very decidedly Edwardian.
Of the subsequent history of the Castle, we have unfortunately nothing to record until we come to the Civil War between Charles the First and the Parliament. ”

“ Gladstone, deserves attention. It stands a few yards from the iron railing near the moat of the old Castle, and measures 17ft. 11 in. round. The sycamores at Hawarden are particularly fine. Nor should the visitor omit seeing the noble grove of beeches at the Ladies’ Fall.
The road which descends the steep hill under the Old Castle and crosses the brook, leads up through the Park to the Bilberry Wood. Twenty minutes’ walk through the wood brings one to the “Top Lodge” (13⁄4 miles from the Castle) . ”

“ W. E. Gladstone.
The land about Hawarden varies much in quality. The best lies towards the river and on Saltney, where are large and well cultivated farms. On the higher ground in Pentrobin the soil is poorer; here however are found holdings that have remained in the same family for generations. ”

“ The inclosures and the plantations on this portion of the estate, called the Warren, were made in 1798, and command some very fine views. The high road through Pentrobin and Tinkersdale offers a pleasant return route to Hawarden.
Everyone has heard of Mr. Gladstone’s prowess as a woodcutter, and to some it may even have been matter of surprise to see no scantiness of trees in the Park at Hawarden. It is true that he attacks trees with the same vigour as he attacks abuses in the body politic, [32b] but he attacks them on p. ”

“ The chief portion of Saltney, and the district of Buckley, have been recently separated from Hawarden for ecclesiastical purposes.
The Rector of Hawarden has also to provide for the management and support of eight National Schools, involving p. 36an annual expenditure of £1460. The requirements of the Education Act of 1870 involved an outlay of £4300 raised entirely from local sources.
The patronage of the living is vested in the Lord of the Manor. [36] The Rev. S. E. Gladstone, the present Rector, was appointed by the late Sir Stephen Glynne in 1872. ”

“ The Parish of Hawarden is a very extensive one, containing upwards of 17,000 acres, with a population, according to the census of 1871, of 7088. Sixteen townships are included in it; Hawarden, Broadlane, Mancot Aston, Shotton, Pentrobin, Moor, Rake, Manor, Bannel, Bretton, Broughton, Ewloe Wood, Ewloe Town, Saltney and Sealand. To provide for the spiritual wants of so large a district, four daughter churches have been built—viz.: S. Matthew’s, Buckley, [35a] in 1822, S. Mary’s, Broughton, [35b] in 1824, S. Johns, Penymynydd, [35c] in 1843, and S. Bartholomew’s, Sealand, in 1867. ”

“ He died in 1815 at the age of 35 years, and of his children Mrs. Gladstone alone survives. Sir Stephen, the last Baronet, died unmarried in 1874, surviving his brother the Rector only two years; and the Lordship of the Manor, together, by a family arrangement, with the estates, then devolved upon the present owner.
p. 13The Old Castle.
The Ruins of Hawarden Castle occupy a lofty eminence, guarded on the S. by a steep ravine, and on the other sides by artificial banks and ditches, partly favoured by the formation of the ground. The space so occupied measures about 150 yards in diameter. ”

“ The Tithes were in 1093, granted by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, to the Monks of S. Werburgh. In 1288 Pope Nicholas the 3rd, granted them to King Edward the 1st, for six years. They were then valued at £13 6s. 8d. At the Reformation they were estimated at £66 6s. 51⁄2d.
The Rectory was greatly enlarged by the Hon. George Neville Grenville, Rector from 1814 to 1834, and afterwards Dean of Windsor. The garden comprises nearly six acres and is charmingly laid out.
p. 26A list of Rectors of Hawarden is appended. Up to the middle of the 15th century exchanges were very frequent. ”