The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-09-11 00:00:00

THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

E:JUItSIONS IN THE DISTRICr.

a urday last was spent by the members of the
s'»ve. Association in visiting various places of in-
te :est in the Midlands, and we give below a few
U)tes of ext;ursioni made in this neighbourhood,

DUDLEY.
The excursion to Dudley on Satur lay was a' tenied
ty a party of upwards of 300 persons. The Ca 3 le
SA as first visited and the memhe-s of the aFEO ia`ion
v. ere piloted through the extensive ruins by Mr. C.
TyndA Wright,. the chief ini ling agent of the E irl
of Dudley. Under the competent guidance of Mr.
Wright, the party traversed the celebrated Silu dam
ca7orna beneath the Castle Hill. 'rhey were lu
minated with thousands of candles, and presented
a r ;mark ible frect. The Clay Croft open wcy:lt-
trigs were also visited and Mr. John Hug es noted
as einductor. The programme also included a walk
to tilt: Wren's Nest, Which was the favourite haunt
of Sir Roderick Murehinson, Hugh Miller, Professor
J tikes, and ther famous pioneers of geological
r,search. Mr. Madeley, secretary of the Mi ‘land
Geological Society, acted as guide. The party were
afterwards provided with tea in a marques erected
in the Castle courtyard.
Air. W. Carruthers thanked the Countess of
Dudley, the Geological Society, Mr, C. Tyadel
Wright, and Mr. Madeley, on behalf of tle visitors
Mr. Wright, in replying, said the party had been
taken to what was absolutely au unequalled sight.
The cavAna, which were of such imposing extent,
had been worked by the hand of man, and the
material employed in making South Staffordshire
iron. They had seen, too, the coal which was the
best in England for ironworking, and they had seen
the irons :on', which was aDo unequalled. The two
together made South Staffordshire iron, which was
unsurpassed throughout the ‘vorld—(applans.).
Mr. Amphletc, president of the Midland Geologi-
cal Society, and Mr. Madeley, secretary, acknow•
ledged the vote of thanks.
The party returned to Birmingham by the Eight
o'clock train.

The following additional notes oa Dudley Castle
and its surrouni!ings will be read with inte.est :
Dudley Castle, it is stated, was foundcd by Dude,
Prince of Alercit, in the year- 700, and used as a
fortress, and was afterwards held by L-)ofric, Earl
of Mereia, in right of the beautiful and ‘irtueus
Lady Godiva, his eonso:t As tin time of the Nor-
man Conquest the Castle was Secured by Fl zansculf
and in 1138 Ralph Paganel is stated to have held the
Castle in the interests of the Empress Maud against
the forces of Stephen, Through Elgauel's daughter
the Castle passed into the hands of the De Someties
The Castle subsequently passed by marriage into the
hands of the Sutton 8, who, in the ra„,011 of Edward
111. were styled Lords of Dudley. The Suttons
held Dudley until it passed a4aiu by marriage into
the hands of the Ward family, the heiress of tee
Suttons having wed Mast r H amble Ward, the an.

cestor of the -present Earl. In the Parliamentary
• wars Colonel Leveson held tho Caste of the kiag,
and although ie orated by Cron well's forces iu a
ba tle fought on Caw.,ey Hill, did not surrender
the stronghold until 161.3. The Castle was then
used as a private dwelling and assumed consider-
able dimensions ; and if one may judge from the
appearance of the ruins must have been a princely
real leace. An old docimient states, "Be it ever
remembered that Dudley Castle was on fiee on St.
James' Fair Day, 1750, an! was burning the 25th
en I 26th July. Tee folks woul I net go near,it on no-
count of the powder said to be in the armoury. The
eastern parts of the roofs being mestly lead it ran
down the hill red hot, an I set fire to th 3 long
grass, which for a time 'Joked as though the whole
hill was on fire, and sadly feared the to ,vne.dir,"
The rajas stand on a beawifully-wooled hill, per-
forated with ceverns from which limestone has
I een got f r eomniercial purposes. The Wren's
Nest Hid his also btea workel for limestone, and
Icig wo ;del, like the C.istle Hill, the tugge I cliffs
and tunnels made II the limestone miners ere.•eat
a most roriantie app arence. The ruins of the
ancient Clugniac Pri ry stand between the Cis Is
Hill aid the P, iory Ball, which is the residence of
the E Lrl of D l!ey's mining aeent. The Priory is
said ti hive been founded 1.4 y Gervase Pagauel in
1161, was described as a priory mid convent in
1312, was grantel to Sir John Dadleeein 1540, and
on his atLaiuder teased by the giant of Queen Mary
ti Ede aid Sut`on, Lord of Dudley. There are in
the ruins several monuments of the Someries and
the Suttons, and several portions of stone coffins.
To scientific men. perhaps no spot could be more
interesting than Dudley. Those who love histori-
- cal research will find entertaining object of stuly in
the remains of the old Castle Keep, the tripple gate-
way, the watch tower. the Norman archway, and
the more molten parts termed the "new work,"
net to mention the many traditions which may be
unfolded by those versed in cm le lore. Then the
limestone formations are replete with animal anti
vegetable remains of the Silurian era. Of these,
the most noticeable is the trilobite or "Dudley
locust,' which is emblazoned on the arms of the
boiough. The great perforations made in the
Castle and :Wr-ni's Nest Hills by the Ear) of
, Dudley's limestone miners afford a splendid oppor-
tunity of studying these things, -Of the Wren's
Nest Hugh Miller writes :—"I came upon its grey
lines of sloping precipice and found them so thickly
charged with their sepulchral tablets and pictorial
epitapns that like the wall of some Egyptian street
of tombs almost every square yard bears its own
lengthened inscription." In the caverrs under-
neath the castle may be seen the throne on which,
on account of his sum ssful researches, Sir Rode-
rick :Hutchison was crowned King of Siluria by the
, Bishop of Oxford. The panoramic view of the
surrounding country visible on a clear day from the
Castle Keep embraces an area of 300 miles, includ-
ing portions of Staffordshiret Worcestershire
Salop, II erefordsh ire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire,
Derbyshire, Radnorshire, and B-ecknockshire. In
the ruins of the Priory may be seen some very in
ter esting relies of a bygone time. Very little of
the building is now left standing, but from what re-
mains it appears to have been an erection of great
• beauty. In the eastern end is a Gothic window
which appears to have been profusely. decorated, a
finely carved lid of a stone coffin beitieng the effigy
of a monk in the attitude of prayer is placed
against one of the walls, and near it is a stone
cetfio seven feet long outside and five feet seven
inches inside Many p-ara ago a 'stone coffin
measuring eight feet inside was fcuud in the ruins.
Several stones bearing heraldic and other devices
are also to be seen in the now ivy clad ruins No
doubt meny interesting relics in and about this old
Priory have been destroyed and carried away by
the Goths and Vandals of a century back, for it is
recorded that ire 1776 the premises were fitted up
as a tannery. Still later they were occupied by a
thread manufacturer, and in 1815 Benson's fender
and fire-iron works were situated in the midst of
the ruins.
STOURBRIDGE AND ENVILLE,

The beautiful grounds of Envi;leHnll were visited

by about seventy members of the Association on
Saturday, atnung,t
,the party being Professor
Macalister, Dr. Donald Mac). lister, and Profess .;r
Adams. The leaders were Messrs. George King
I.ln,rrison and Charles Williams. The party in—
spected Mr. Harrison's fire-clay works, afterwards
visiting Euville Church, over which they were con—
ducted by the Rev. J. C. Cox, L L.D., the curate
in charge. By the permission of the Countess of
Stamford the memberd walked through the gardens
of Enville Hall, and wee delighted with the floral
wealth there exhibited. Subsequently they partook
of tea in the hall, and returned to Birmingham by
the eight o'clock train,
HALESONVEN, CLENT, AND HAGLEY.

The party to Halesowen, Clent, and Hagley
numbered sixty, the leadership being undertaken
by Mr. Thomas Anderton. Amongst those present
were the Rev. Canon Hayes' Colonel Prance, the
Rev. J. C. Bell, Mr. R. S. Plobbs, Dr. Mecklejohn
Dr. Strong, Mr. R. Warmington, F.R.S.,&c.
Halesowen Church, and St. Kenelm's Church,
Halesoweu Abbey, and Hagley Hall and Park were
inspected. The party were met at the Abbey by
Lord Lyttelton, who afterwards entertained them
in the Hall.