The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-05-12 00:00:00

EASTHAM VILLAGE.

Thillage, or rather hamlet, though small and unobstru,
siverWeents to the lovers of rural quiet no small attraction
It has its antique church, its winding lanes, its little
shops, its inn, and its ale-house. I had almost omitted its
smithy, which is of rather classical construction, being
under the same roof with the postoffice, and having a stone
portico, with lonic columns ! The building appears to have
been intended for a lodge,—a gateway leading to Hooton
Park, the seat of Sir Thomas Stanley, Baronet, being
close to it. On entering the hamlet, from the ferry , the first
house on the left is that of the Venerable Archdeacon Clarke,
a quiet and comfortable domicile. Further on, on the same
side, stands a beaUtiful villa, with a pavillion roof, and a
rotunda to the road. There is a little lawn in front, bounded
by shrubberies and woods, and the whole is in the most beau-
tiful order. The village is principally composed of small
detached houses and cottages, most of which are raised afoot
or two from the ground, on the red freestone forming the
foundation. The doors and porches of several of them are
covered with ivy and honeysuckle ; the flower plots in front
are redolent of sweets, and the whole has an air of English
neatness, cleanliness, and comfort. • The high-road from
Chester to Liverpool passes through the village.
The church is worthy of a visit. It has an antique spire,
of that substantial sort which our forefathers delighted to
construct, not slightly tapering and becoming " beautifully
less," but one of those dread-nought, pyramidal structures,
which defy the storm of ages, and stand as a lasting land-
mark for the navigator. The lower story of the spire, just
above the tower, is rendered venerable by a coating of ivy,
now in full verdure, and it would seem wonderful whence it
derives its nourishment. The church has apparently been
enlarged, or doubled, by one building being placed parallel
with another, each with its steep, sloping roof. The win-
dows are Gothic ; those at the east end, or gables, differ from
each other in the shape and the mullions. There are strong
buttresses at the corners of the tower, and between the win-
dows on each side the church. The interior is roomy, with
pointed arches down the aisles, over each of which a text or
♦erse is inscribed within an oval. The pews are neatly
painted in oak.
In the church-yard there is a very venerable hollow yew
tree,. several yards in circumference, and forming a sort of
alcove. I here sheltered from a shower; and the grassy
mounds and humble headstones around me recalled the re-
miniscence, that here
" The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep."
At the east end of the church a stone is erected to the me-
mory of " John Linford," who, it is stated, " was a servant
of the Stanley Family for upwards of 80 years," and who
" died in August, 1831, aged 93." While I was ruminating
on the transitory joys of this life, amidst these mementos of
mortality, a beautiful little cottage girl, of about five years of
age, " just let loose from school," and neatly dressed in a
red cloak and hood, came running and laughing towards me.
I never saw a more engaging picture of innocence and joy :
she was " little red riding hood" herself. Seeing I was a
stranger, she was off again like a little fairy, running and
bounding among the tombs ! Here was food for the re-
flective mind.
There are several gardens and orchards in the hamlet, and
these, together with flowering shrubs and trees give the
whole a pleasing appearance. The weather being now cloudy
with showers, I returned home by the high road.
BROMBROW,
A. short distance to the north of Eastharn is a pretty hamlet
of considerable antiquity. At the south end is the gateway
and lodge, leading to the seat of Mr. Wainwaring. There
are here several old English mansions, with their orchards,
gardens, and shrubberies. The apple-trees were in full
blossom, and flowering shrubs were numerous. There is
here what was doubtless originally a market-place or square,
with a cross or rather dial, raised on dilapidated steps in the
centre. At the north end, within a shrubbery or garden,
stands the chapel, a comparatively modern erection of a
small size, built on the site of a church of, it is said, great
antiquity. The road thence to Rock Ferry, about two miles
and a half, is not so interesting to the pedestrian, from its
being nearly straight throughout the whole distance, and the
views presenting nothing very striking. Had it been other-
wise, the rain had now somewhat cooled my rambling ardour,
and I hastened by the first boat to the town. This short
sketch, which is little more than statistical, will merely serve
as a link to my future notices, of places less known, or more
generally interesting.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.-FRIDAY.