The inhabitants of Holt contribute with those of Ruthin and Denbigh, towards sending a member to parliament.

be murdered. Their inhumanity, so far from meeting its just reward, was freely pardoned by Edward, who came in for a share of the spoil. He confirmed to Warren the castle of Dinas Bran, and the lordship of Bromfield and Yale; to Mortimer he gave the property of Chirk; and the castle and demesnes of Caergwrle, or Hope, he reserved to himself. Warren and Mortimer immediately began to secure their possessions by erecting on them places of defence. The latter built Chirk castle, and the former commenced this fortress, but dying soon afterwards, it was finished by his son.

In the ninth year of Edward II., John earl Warren, the grandson of the founder, having no issue, gave this castle, with that of Dinas Bran, and the lordship of Bromfield, to the king. He was soon afterwards divorced from his wife, and he obtained a regrant of them to himself, and Matilda de Nereford, his mistress, for life, with remainders to his illegitimate children, and their heirs. Matilda was the last survivor, and therefore at her death, in the following reign, the property reverted to the crown. It was, not long afterwards, given to Edward Fitz Alan, earl of Arundel, who had married the sister of the late owner. In this family it remained for three generations; but on the execution of Richard it appears to have been forfeited to the crown.. When, in 1399, after this event, Holt castle was delivered to the duke of Hertford, there were found in it jewels to the value of two hundred thousand marks, and a hundred thousand marks in money. These had been deposited there, as a place of safe custody, by the unfortunate Richard II, previously to his expedition into Ireland.

The estates and title were restored in the succeeding reign, and they once again escheated to the crown. Henry VII. granted them to sir William Stanley; but on his execution resumed them, and took in this castle plate and money to the value of above forty thousand marks, which Stanley had obtained from the plunder of Bosworth Field.

The lordship of Bromfield and Yale afterwards became the property of Henry Fitzroy, duke of Richmond, the natural son of Henry VIII. and in the reign of Edward VI, of Thomas Seymour, brother to the protector

Somerset who formed here a magazine of military stores. On his execution it once more fell to the crown.

During the civil wars Holt castle was garrisoned for the king, but in 1643 was seized by the parliament. It was afterwards retaken, and in February 1645-6 was again besieged by the parliament's forces. The governor, sir Richard Lloyd, defended it for more than a month with the utmost bravery, but was at length compelled to surrender. Towards the end of this year Holt castle, with four others, was dismantled by order of the parliament.

The lordship of Bromfield and Yale is at present the property of the crown; and sir Watkin Williams Wynne, bart. is the steward.

CHAP. XXXV.

WREXHAM TO MOLD.

Romantic Glen-Caergwrle.-History of Caergwrle Castle.Mold.-Church-History of Mold Castle.-Account of · Maes Garmon, and the "Alleluia" Victory.

ABOUT five miles from Wrexham I passed through a romantic glen, which would have had considerable picturesque effect, had not this been destroyed by several white-washed cottages obtruding themselves on the sight from among the trees. A little beyond this scene I passed a neat bridge of a single arch, which appeared very beautiful, accompanied by the rustic cottages overshadowed with trees on the bank of the stream. The country I now journied through was somewhat mountainous; but beyond this vale it became again flat and uninteresting.

CAERGWRLE./

Caergwrle, like Holt, was once a flourishing town, but it is dwindled into an insignificant village. Its parish church is about a mile distant.

There is good reason for supposing that this was a Roman station, probably an outpost to Deva. Camden discovered here an hypocaust

hewn out of the solid rock, six yards, and a quarter long, five yards broad, and somewhat more than half a yard in height. On some of the tiles were inscribed the letters LEGIO XX., which seem to point out the founders. This is further corroborated by the name of the place. Caer gawr lle, the camp of the great legion; Gawr lle being the name by which the Britons distinguished the twentieth legion.

The castle stood on the summit of a high rock. Its present remains are very inconsiderable; they are, however, sufficient to indicate that it could never have been a fortress of any great importance*.

* The founder has not been ascertained; but from its construction it has been evidently of British origin.-In the reign of Edward I we find it possessed by the English crown, for that monarch bestowed it, along with the lordship of Denbigh, on David, the brother to prince Llewelyn. Whilst in his hands, Roger de Clifford, justiciary of Chester, cut down the adjacent woods, and endeavoured to wrest the castle from its owner: this, however, he was prevented from doing by the timely interference of the king.-When David, in 1282, insidiously took up arms with his brother against his former benefactor, he left a garrison of some strength in the castle; but it was besieged by a division of the English army, and was shortly afterwards surrendered to thein.

In the preceding account of Holt I have remarked that Caergwrle castle was excepted from the grant which was made to John earl of Warren of the property of one of the children of Madoc ap Griffith. Edward annexed it, with the tract of land in which it is situated, to Flintshire : it continued to form a part of this county till Henry VIII. separated, and added it to the county of Denbigh. It was, however, not long afterwards restored to its proper county.

Edward I. after the surrender of the garrison that David

MOLD

Is a small market town, consisting principally of one long and wide street.

The church is a neat building, ornamented all round the top of the outside walls with gothic carvings of animals. The body was erected in the reign of Henry VII., but the tower is of more modern date. The pillars in the interior are light and elegant, and its whole appearance was exceedingly neat. There is a good monument of Richard Davies, esq. of Llanerch, who died in the year 1728. He is represented in an upright attitude, but, unfortunately, the figure has lost its nose from an accidental stone thrown through the window.— The epitaph on Dr. William Wynne of Tower,

left in it, gave the castle to his consort, Eleanor, from whom it acquired the name of Queen Hope. She lodged here in her journey to Caernarvon; and either during her abode in the castle, or very shortly afterwards, it was by some accident set on fire, and burnt.

In the first year of the succeeding reign, this castle and manor were granted to John de Cromwell, on condition that at his own expence he should repair the castle.-Some years afterward they were given to sir John Stanley.

The town of Hope received its first charter from Edward the Black Prince, in the year 1351. By this charter it is directed that the constable of the castle for the time being should also be the mayor, and he was to choose annually from the burgesses two persons as bailiffs.-All the privileges which the inhabitants enjoyed from this charter were afterwards confirmed by Richard II-Caergwrle and Hope, in conjunction with Flint, Caerwys, Rhyddlan, and Overton, send a member to parliament.