to the abbot and convent, in whose possession it remained until the dissolution. It was granted by Elizabeth, by letters patent, in the twenty-second year of her reign, to William Glasior, Esq., and John Glasior, gentleman; by whom it was sold in 1710, and after several alienations, became, by purchase, together with the entire township, the property of the late Marquis of Westminster, who held a court-leet for the manor. The Chester and Ellesmere canal, which commences at the Tower wharf in Chester, and goes through the various townships in Wirral, of Caughall, Chorlton, Croughton, Stoke and Stanney,-pursuing its course through the Vale between the Hundreds of Wirral and Broxton, which is supposed to have been formerly filled with water,―enters the eastern corner of this township before its terminus in the Mersey, at a place generally called Ellesmere Port. A few years since, there were on the site of this commodious and flourishing little town, only one public house, three small cottages, a mere shed as a substitute for a warehouse, and one set of locks; now it has about two hundred houses, many of them of neat aspect and commodious interior, a Church, several schools, a splendid and most ample range of warehouses, erected on arches, by which branches of the canal are brought under them, and above all, a magnificent floating dock, containing upwards of sixty thousand yards of water space. The river approach to the port is by a good channel, which lays close to the shore, and has a depth of water amply sufficient for coasting vessels; two steam packets of forty horse power each, ply regularly between Whitby and Liverpool, leaving the latter at two hours before high water, and the locks as soon as the ebb tide commences, by which such vessels as do not use their sails are tugged up and down the river. Passengers are conveyed by the same conveyance. From the river, a walled entrance conducts to the outer or tidal bason from which are two sets of locks, one leading to the floating dock, appropriated to flats and barges, and the other into the large dock opened for coasters in Sept., 1843. The lock connected with this latter dock has fifteen feet water over the upper sill, so that vessels not drawing more, can enter and lay afloat there. The two docks are connected by three short cuts, one of which is uncovered to allow masted vessels to pass through; but the other two are arched over, and covered with three warehouses, branching at right angles from another of greater magnitude. This main warehouse is four stories in height, two hundred and twenty-five feet long, and fifty feet wide. There is a projection of the roof sufficient to shelter boats or flats while loading or discharging. The lowest floor is level with the quays of the docks just described, and its third floor level with the canal, thereby effecting both economy and expedition in the transit in and out of the same. Tho three branch warehouses have two floors each, their lower portions forming the arched passages for vessels. The smaller dock is connected with the canal by two sets of locks, one for canal boats and the other for river flats. By these means boats and flats can approach and lay along either front of the principal warehouse, or any of the transverse warehouses, and discharge or receive their cargoes perfectly protected from the weather. The total surface of the floors of these warehouses is about sixty-seven thousand superficial feet. Attached to the docks are extensive quays, on parts of which sheds, covering an area of twentytwo thousand feet, and other conveniences, are now constructing and nearly completed. Besides these there is an enclosed building with two slips in which cargoes can be transferred under cover, from one vessel to another, without approaching the principal warehouses. There is also a dock for guaging boats, and one of Morton's patent slips, capable of hauling up vessels of 200 tons burthen, and connected with this is a range of shipbuilders' workshops. The lighters are propelled on the canal by a small steam-boat, on the Archimedean principle. When first introduced, it was expected that the distance of nine miles might be accomplished in little more than an hour; but it is now found to require upwards of two; and as this canal is a dead level, without any locks, except at the extremities, none could be selected more favourable for this description of moving power. Had the anticipated speed of eight or ten miles per hour been obtained, great alteration would have taken place in the system of carriage by canal. The company of proprietors of this navigation obtained their act of parliament in 1793, and the canal was cut under the superintendence of the late Mr. Telford, of Shrewsbury. The recent improvements have been completed by Mr. W. A. Provis, from designs by Mr. William Cubit, at an expense of upwards of £100,000. The whole line, docks, warehouses, and the entire works, were leased, in 1843, from the proprietors, by Lord Francis Egerton, and are now worked under the direction of the Bridgewater trust. A very neat stone church has been erected at Ellesmere Port, by the voluntary contributions of the Marquis of Westminster, the Rev. Henry Raikes, and others. By the unwearied exertions of the Chancellor Raikes, schools also, with a dwelling-house for the teachers, have just been completed. Parish of Heswall. N the Parish of Heswell, situated on the bank of the Dee, are the townships of Heswall and Gayton, which together contain 1837 acres of land, valued in the county books at £1526. They are both situated on the shores of the Dee, to which they present a fertile tract of meadow land, which changes to a dreary moor as it advances inwards, and to the north-east rises into a wild and rocky heath, immediately under which stands the parish church. HESWALL, OTHERWISE HESWALL-CUM-OLDFIELD. This township is situated about thirteen miles from Chester, and six from Birkenhead. In 1801 its population was 168; but the census of 1841 exhibits a return of 398. It contains 1167 acres, of the annual value of £868. In the Doomsday Book, Heswall, then called Eswelle, is noticed as being held by Robert de Rodelent, to whom were assigned the greater part of the lands on the eastern shores of the Dee. After the death of that powerful but turbulent baron, Heswall is not mentioned again until it became the property of Patrick de Haselwall, Sheriff of Cheshire in 1277, whose posterity remained in possession of the manor until the early part of the fourteenth century, when it was conveyed by the marriage of two sisters, co-heiresses, in moieties, to Robert de Calveley and William de Egerton. By the marriage of Katherine, the heiress of the Calveleys, to Arthur Davenport, who was slain at the battle of Shrewsbury, in 1403, their moiety of the manor became vested in his children, and it yet continues in the possession of their descendant, Edward Davies Davenport, Esq., of Calveley and of Capesthorne, recently High Sheriff of Cheshire. William de Egerton, who had obtained the other part of the manor, had a son, to whom a license was granted to build an oratory at the manor-house in 1398. It continued to be held by his successors until the year 1699, when it was sold to William Whitmore, of Thurstaston; and finally, upon the distribution of the Whitmore estates, under a decree in Chancery, in 1816, it became the property of James Okill, of Fron, in the county of Flint, Esq., to whom, at the same time, was awarded half of the adjacent hamlet of Oldfield. This place, which is a separate manor, was given by Patrick de Haselwall, on the marriage of his sister, in the reign of Henry III., to Guy de Provence, whose grandson assumed the name of Oldfield, and was the ancestor of the family of that name in Northwich Hundred. The church of Heswall contains a nave and chancel, but without side aisles; and it has a tower, which by frequent repairs with various materials, has now a curious appearance. Although by these repairs it has been entirely rebuilt, yet even the present structure is of considerable antiquity, and it may here be remarked that Heswall is the only church in Wirral, except Woodchurch, which has not belonged to some monastic institution. Not the slightest regard to the original style of architecture has been displayed in the repairs of the church, in which are several curious memorials of the Gleggs; among these is one identified by its date to be erected to the memory of John Glegg, the second son of William Glegg, Esq., who was buried at Heswall, in January, 1619. On a large brass plate, placed within a niche, decorated with the arms and quarterings of that family, is engraved a figure in a long gown, with a beard and moustachios, and a sword suspended to his side, kneeling before a desk, and appended to this engraving are the following singular lines:-— "I have no feelinge now of frende, Or frendshippes: 'tis all dead and gon: Goe, hast' to him, sad soule of mine, Get hense awaie, prisner to flesh and bone, Nearly opposite is a richly cut shield, bearing the arms of Whitmore and of Heswall, with the motto of the Whitmore family, "Either for ever," which is supposed to have been adopted from their frequently bearing either the arms of Heselwell, Argent a Chief, Azure, or of Whitmore, Vert Checquy, Or. Under the motto is suspended an oval medallion of white marble, representing a winged figure thrusting a lance into the mouth of a dragon, surrounded with a garter, bearing the inscription "Sigillum Willielmi de Hesel Welle." Two mural cenotaphs have just been erected, one in memory of Hugh Matthie, of Newhall in the adjacent township of Thornton, Esq., formerly an eminent merchant of Liverpool, and the other of his lady; they are of white marble, and remarkable for their elegant simplicity. The advowson has always been attached to the manor, which being now divided, the right of presentation is alternately exercised by the respective owners. The Rev. Mark Coxon, A. M., at present holds the rectory, the emoluments of which were returned, in the Clergy List of 1841, at £294 per annum. The rector was entitled to a tithe of the Sunday's fishery, on all parts of the Dee opposite to his parish, as was the lord of Gayton to all that taken upon Friday opposite to his manor. The parsonage house, at present rebuilding, adjacent to the church, is well screened from the village by some woods which skirt the grounds. These have been laid out with great taste, and they extend to within a few fields breadth of the river. A free school has recently been erected, and is supported by subscription, at which about sixty children are educated. GAYTON. The township of Gayton contains 670 acres, of the annual value of £658. Its population, which in 1811 was 115, occupying 15 houses, by the late census amounted to the number of 149. Gayton adjoins Heswall, and was included in the original grant to Robert de Rodelent. After his death it was resumed by the Earl, who conferred it upon Reginald de Tibermont, a Norman baron, who resigned it to the King, to enable him to increase the endowment of the Cistercian abbey of Vale Royal. The monks, dissatisfied with this distant manor, obtained permission to exchange it with Randle de Merton for other lands, and to facilitate the arrangement, Edward II. added the bailiwick of Caldy Hundred, the Earl's Eye, in Chester, and other property, to the acquirements of the new lord of Gayton. By the marriage of Guilbert Glegg, in 1330, to Joan, daughter |