CHESHIRE

1459; this was exemplified, in the almost equal division of the chief houses of the County under the banners of the respective "roses." Margaret, the Queen of Hen. VI. had no doubt enlisted a large portion of the gentry under her banners, by a previous visit.* Hall thus notices the battle in his CHRONICLE:-" In this battail, wer slain, xxiiij C. persons. But the greatest plague lighted on the Chesshire men, because one halfe of the shire, was on the one part, and the other on the other part, of whiche numbre wer Sir Thomas Dutton, Sir Jhon Dunne (Done) & Sir Hugh Venables. But § Earl of therles§ twoo sonnes, the one called Sir Jhon Nevel, and Salisbury's the other Sir Thomas, wer sore wounded, whiche soberly iorneng into the Northcountrey, thinking there to repose them selves, wer in their iorney aprehended by the Queen's frendes, and conveyed to Chester; but their kepers delivered them shortly, or elles the Marche Men had destroyed the Gayles. Such favor had the commons of Wales to the Duke of Yorkes band and his affinitie, that thei could suffre no wrong to be doen, nor evil word to be spoken of hym or his frendes."-In addition to those of Knightly estate, mentioned by Hall as being left dead on the field, were Sir Richard Molineux, Sir Wm. Troutbeck, Sir John Legh of Booths, and Sir John Egerton.-Drayton in the 22d song of his "Polyolbion," beautifully notices this fatal battle-with the conception of a Poet, he represents the conflict as partaking of the form of a duel, in which one relative falls a a sacrifice to the resentment of the other.-There is so much of FIGURATIVE in the lines, that there need no apology for quoting them :

There Dutton Dutton kills; a Done doth kill a Done;
A Booth a Booth; and Leigh by Leigh is overthrown:

Chester took a decided part on behalf of the unfortunate Henry VI. In 1445, his illustrious Queen visitted the City and several parts of the County, when she distributed to the King's partizans, WHITE SWANS, in silver, as cognizances of the House of Lancaster.

+ "From this circumstance (says a History of Macclesfield, published in 8vo. last year) the tradition doubtless originated, that the Men of Macclesfield distinguished themselves with so much ardor at the Battle of BoSWORTH, in the cause of the Earl of Richmond (Hen. VII.) that the major part of them fell: insomuch, that the survivors were obliged to petition the victorious Prince, to grant them the continuance of their Charter, though they could not muster a sufficient number of

Cheshire furnished a large number of men, for the army of the King in his Northern broils. At the battle of Flodden Field, so fatal to the Scots, great numbers of the Men of Cheshire fell. Amongst them Sir 1513. John Savage, Mayor of Macclesfield, and many of the Burgesses of that town.†-The son of Sir John Savage was subsequently knighted by the Earl of Hertford, after a victory over the Scots, at Leith, with nearly twenty other gentlemen of Cheshire.-From 1594, to 1598, large bodies of military passed through the County, to embark for Ireland, to quell the rebellion of Tyrone. The County appears to have enjoyed a state of quiet till the commencement of the civil wars between Charles I. and his Parliament; and of that unnatural conflict Cheshire largely partook.

So early as the autumn of 1642, the partizans of the Parliament had occupied and strengthened Nantwich : And in July 1643, Chester was first assailed. -Lord Grandison possessed himself of Nantwich by a coup-demain; but he withdrew his garrison with some precipitancy previous to the battle of Edge Hill. On the 23d Dec. 1642, a County Meeting was held at Bunbury, for the purpose of neutralizing the inhabitants in the existing war. Lord Kilmorey appears to have been Aldermen to constitute a Corporation."-It does not appear that Henry VII. granted any Charter to Macclesfield.

On the 18th August, 1642, Sir Wm. Brereton, who afterwards acted so conspicuous a part, tried the temper of the Citizens, by beating up for recruits for the Parliament.-The inhabitants, proverbial for their loyalty, immediately rose in a body, expelled the drummer and his party, and it was with great difficulty the Mayor (Wm. Ince, Esq.) saved Sir William himself from the popular fury. The County, however, was not so remarkable for its loyalty it is true it raised for the King a ship of 240 tons, and 96 men; but it also furnished in ONE year for the Parliamentary cause no less than £6944!

Civil War.

CHESHIRE

1645.

place, and their sole object was confined to the reduction of these important fortresses. A line of circumvallation was drawn round Chester, which was gradually contracted. Birket House in Wirral, occupied by the King's troops, merely for the sake of maintaining a communication with Liverpool and the opposite shore, was taken. In Nov. Beeston Castle was invested by the Nantwich forces; and military posts were placed by Sir Wm. Brereton, at Tarvin, Rowton, Huntington, Eccleston, Aldford, Upton, and Trafford: subsequently he established posts at Lache, Netherlegh, and Dodleston. Christleton was strongly fortified, and there the Parliament forces fixed their head-quarters. Jan. 18, the Royalists were repulsed in a smart action with the Parliament forces from Christleton,―but the particular details of the siege of Chester, I shall reserve for the local history of the City.

March 17, the Castle of Beeston was relieved by Prince Rupert, and Prince Maurice, after a siege of more than three months. There does not appear to have been much discipline in the contending armies at this period, for we find the soldiers of Prince Rupert setting fire to Beeston Hall, and also plundering the village of Beeston. On the departure of the Prince, the siege was resumed, and mounds thrown up in order to facilitate its operations. Towards the end of March, the head-quarters of the Parliament troops were removed to Netherlegh, near the Lach-eyes, about a mile and a half south-west of Chester.-Early in May, the Parliament commanders drew off their forces from the various posts they had established on the Chester side of the County, excepting, however, from Nantwich and Tarvin. This movement, was in consequence of the intelligence of the King's advance, with a powerful army.-May 20th, Sir William Brereton retreated from his position before Chester, to Nantwich, and on the 22d, the city was relieved.-Ridley Hall, in which was a small Parliamentary garrison, was suddenly but unsuccessfully attacked on the 4th of June, by a party from Beeston Castle.-On the 27th September, an end was put to the King's power in the County, by the fatal battle of Rowton and Hoole, in which the army of Sir Marmaduke Langdale was completely routed by the forces under General Poynton and Col. Jones.

man,

In this action fell the Earl of Lichfield, a gallant noblewho, with the Lord Gerard, had made a vain attempt to recover the day's fortune Burghall informs us, that the King himself was in this battle, at least in that part of it of which Hoole Heath was the scene. On the 28th September, the King left Chester, with an escort of 500 horse, and was accompanied to Denbigh by Sir Francis Gamull, Alderman Cowper, and Captain Thropp. Nov. 20, after nearly a year's siege, Beeston Castle surrendered to Sir Wm. Brereton.-Early in Dec. this Commander, having been joined by Colonel Booth's troops, and a strong reinforcement from Lancashire, removed his head-quarters to Dodleston-at this time, Chester was completely invested, but, notwithstanding the extremes of privation which it underwent, held out till the 3d February following, and then surrendered by capitulation, on very honorable terms.

:

The conquest of Chester, put an end to the war in Cheshire but in May, 1648, the Cheshire gentry, in the interest of the Commonwealth, possessed themselves of Chester, which they put in a strong posture of defence, and engaged to raise three regiments of foot, and one regiment of horse if necessary. This activity gained for them the thanks of Parliament.-A division of the retreating army of the Duke of Hamilton, after the battle of Preston, passing through the County, in August, was attacked in various places by the gentlemen of the County, and near 500 of them made prisoners.-The Scotch army under Charles II. were, in Aug. 1651, for a time quartered in Nantwich, previous to the memorable, but unfortunate battle of Worcester.-In the following month, a flying party of the King's horse, passing through Sandbach, on the market day, was assailed by the Country people, and 100 captured.—In June and July, 1655, a number of Cheshire Gentry, including Sir Richard Grosvenor, Peter Venables Baron of Kinderton, Mr. Warren, of Poynton, near Stockport, Mr. Massey of Puddington, were arrested, and lodged in Chester Castle, on suspicion of being disaffected to the Protector's Government-In August 1659, Sir G. Booth, under a commission from Charles II. appointing him Commander-in-Chief in Cheshire, Lancashire, and North Wales, assembled an army of 3000 men. Rowton Heath, rendered memorable by

the defeat of Langdale and the Royalists a few years before,§ was the rendezvous of this force, and there a declaration was published, stating that the cause of their assembling in arms, was to obtain a free Parliament, and deliver the nation from the intolerable slavery unIder which it labored.* The Parliament soon took alarm at this hostile movement, and General Lambert being dispatched with a sufficient force, came up with Booth's troops at Winnington Bridge, near Northwich. An action took place on the 16th August; but it was not long doubtful the new league was soon dispersed, Sir G. Booth with great difficulty escaping from the field in disguise. Being taken soon after at Newport Pagnell, he was sent prisoner to the Tower. The Parliamentarians, again triumphant, marched to Chester, then under the Government of Colonel Croxton, and they no sooner appeared before the walls, than the City surren

dered.-Previous to the Revolution of 1688, the son of

Sir Geo. Booth, Henry Lord Delamere, who had long been suspected of partiality to the Royal cause, and had undergone a trial before the execrable Jefferies, but was acquitted, having heard of the landing of the Prince of Orange, soon mustered a strong force in this County and Lancashire, declared his determination to support his cause, and marched to meet him. Chester in the interim was taken possession of for the King, by the Lords Molineux and Aston: but the abdication of James speedily following, the County once more was restored to a state of Peace.-About 60 years after this, the "clarion of war" again disturbed the county with its terrific sound. On the 1st December, Cheshire was ininvaded by the Scotch army under the command of

* Sir Geo. Booth was supported and accompanied in this affair by the Earl of Derby, the Lords Cholmondeley and Kilmore, and a great number of other gentlemen of the county.

The History of Macclesfield, before alluded to, says, in speaking of this irruption, "Though undiciplined and boisterous, they did not injure the persons, nor destroy the property of the inhabitants, except in the article of food, of which they took a supply. They amounted to some thousands of men, chiefly of the Highland Clans, led by their Chieftains.They were mostly armed with the broad sword and targe, a kind of shield. A small proportion of them were musketeers, and besides their general, Prince Edward, they were commanded by several Scotch noblemen of distinction, particularly the [gentleman named Drummond, calling himself the] Duke of

Charles Edward Stuart, commonly called the "Young Pretender," and on the same day, this adventurer, the last military scion of an unfortunate house, entered Macclesfield at the head of his troops, by way of Jordan Gate. They remained but two days, and then marched in the direction of Leek, on their projected journey to London. The circumstances of their speedy retreat, on hearing of the advance of the Duke of Cumberland, need not be recited here :† but the alarm it created, at least in the breasts of some individuals, may not be unworthy of record. Several disposed of their property, and actually removed to distant places where they imagined greater security was to be found.-To exemplify this fact, the following deed of bargain is adduced as authentict-it will serve to show the value of property in those days:

now

now all men by these presents, that I, John Swindells, of Raynor, in the Parish of Prestbury, and County of Chester, gent. have, in consideration of the sume of sixty-five pounds of lawful money of Great Brittaine, to me in hand paid at and before the sealing and delivery of these presents, by my Mother-in-law, Sarah Dearneley, now of, or in Raynor, in the parrish and county aforesaid, widow, the receipt whereof I do fully acknowledge, and myself fully therewith satisfied, have bargained, sold, and by these presents doo bargain and sell unto the said Sarah Dearneley, six cowes, four year old calves, two mares, one cart and wheels, one plow, and all other husbandry geire implements; and all the goods, household stuff, implements of house

Perth, the Duke of Athol, the Marquis of Dundee, the Marquis of Montrose, the Earl of Cromartie, and Eleven other Scottish Noblemen, and Thirteen Knights, mostly Highland Chiefs who were knighted by the Prince, prrticularly Sir James Mackenzie, Sir Hector M'Lean, Sir Wm. Gordon, Sir David Murray, Sir Hugh Montgomery, Sir Geo. Witherington, Sir Wm. Dunbar, &c. The troops were indifferently cloathed, yet they appeared to be in high spirits. They marched under the banners of their respective Chiefs, to the music of the Highland Pipes, and the drum." On the retrogade movement made by Prince Edward, the whole of his force was compelled to cross the River Mersey at a ford, in consequence of the Bridge at Stockport being destroyed to impede his retreat.