The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-06-23 00:00:00

SKETcHES OF LIVERPOOL AND -ITS VICINITY,
NO. VIM
(Written for the Liverpool Standard.)

RUNCORN AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD CONTINUED.-HAL-
TON, HALTON CASTLE, &C.
Halton Castle is the most conspicuous object in the envi-
rons of Runcorn, and lies to the eastward of it, about a mile
and a half distant. The few ruins that remain of this once
stately edifice are situated on the top of a conically shaped
hill, round which, at about half its height, and at the base or
spring of the steeper part of the hill, the village of Halton
forms a circle or belt, chiefly of detached houses, farm-steads
and cottages. From the extensive views which are obtained
from the site of the castle, it is the frequent resort, during
the summer months, of visitors not only from Runcorn, but
from Warrington, Manchester, Liverpool, Chester, and other
towns in its neighbourhood.
There are several roads from Runcorn to Halton, but the
most direct is by the lane running from the outskirts of the
town, for some distance close to the Duke of Bridgewater's
canal, leaving the windmill (which is remarkable for two
white and two brown sails) on the right. The visitor will
thence see the castle before him, and may proceed by the
same road to Halton village; but about three quartets of a
mile further on, near a brook, the pedestrian may strike into
a pleasant and more direct footpath on the right hand. The
Castle-hill is accessible on every side by the several roads
to Halton from Preston Brook, Warrington, Runcorn, Frod-
sham, and Chester, via Rock Savage, &c. The bill slopes
all round up to the village in an easy acclivity, affording pleas-
ing views from every point, after which it rises more abruptly,
and in some parts precipitously. Orchards and gardens in
the village, and steep grassy banks, and trees even to the top
of the hill above it, give it an appearance of verdure and
warmth seldom found on isolated hills of such height in this
country. In this and in other respects Halton Castle greatly
resembles its more northern neighbour, Hoghton Tower,
once also a place of strength and importance, and presenting,
too, an enviable site for the modernized mansion of some
" good old English gentleman," or distinguished family, de-
voted to the enjoyment of refined pleasures, and the hospita-
lities of the " olden times."

Bavt,, with an eatansiva park, finely wooded, The mansion
is a spacious modern building, with pediment tilling over the
projecting centre, and two wings on each side to correspond ; the
whole of white stone, and enlivened by numerous windows ;
it commands extensive views of the Mersey, Halton, &c. The
priory of Norton, on the site of which it stands, was a place of
great antiquity. It was suppressed by Henry VIII., in whose
reign the manor was purchased by an ancestor of the present
baronet.

There is here, too, an ancient Hall, which was beseiged.by
the Royalists in 1643 ; and it is said that a portion of the
original monastic building, in which there is a door of Saxon
architecture, forms part of the cellars of the present edifice.
The Duke of Bridgewater's canal winds through part of the
grounds, and a good view of the Priory may thence be ob-
tained in passing it. On the rising grounds east from it there
are several handsome seats, including High Cliffe.
Casting the eye northward, the valley of the Mersey ex-
tends far into the interior, and its nearer waters are visible,
winding like a streak of silver through the lower meadows.
Warrington, with the smoke hanging over it, is distantly
visible. More to the north, the Lancashire shore, thickly
wooded, expands to view, the conspicuous objects in the dis-
tance being the tall chimney at Newton, the works of St.
Helens, Farnworth, &c. _

At the north-east corner of the green, the principal ruins of
Halton Castle commence, and sweep round the hill until
they close upon the inn at the south west. A portion of the
village sweeps round the base of the hill at this corner, and
from immediately below may be heard the busy hammers of
a wheelwright and a blacksmith. The hill itself is covered
with grass and gardens to the top. Thence two portions of
the Duke's canal, and, near to the river, the Mersey and
Irwell Navigation Canal may be seen gleaming at intervals
amongst rows of trees. The ruins are here, and also west-
ward, much broken, and afford numerous peep-holes from
• which the Mersey, and the prospect beyond it in both the
contiguous counties that border it, may be seen. There are
ivy-lined arbours here and there, and on the north-west side
of the green a considerable space is occupied by a shrubbery,
chiefly of lilac, with winding walks, and a garden. At this
side, facing Runcorn, are the loftiest and finest remains of
the old castle, in the examination of which the antiquarian
may, in the absence of historical record, find food for specula-
tion. Through a large broken-topped window, Runcorn,
its immediate vicinity, and miles beyond it, to the north-
west, form the vista. .
In the same angle or projection, but further on, there is a
larger Gothic pointed window, 12 or 13 feet in height, with
the mullions nearly all gone, whence is seen Weston Point,
Frodsham, the Helsby Hills, the Mersey, and the Welsh
mountains. There are also smaller windows or apertures in
the masonry, some of them resembling port-holes or loop-
holes for tire-arms. This portion of the building is supposed
by some, from the ecclesiastical appearance of the windows,
to have been a part of the chapel. The highest peaks of the
ruins may be not more than from 40 to 45 feet ; yet, from
their altitude on the hill, they are distinctly seen many miles
round. Amongst the irregular angular ruins at the north-
west corner, are two square doors. From one of these a
view may be obtained, through the thick wall, of the country
opening out between Runcorn and Weston Point. One re-
cess in the walls appears to have been a portion of a staircase,
and another a private closet. Further on the visitor may
emerge from the ruins by a hole or archway, hewn out by the
inexorable chisel of time, and take his stand on a grassy spot,
on the same level, bounded by a steep wall, from which the
little chapel of Halton is seen close on the west, and an ex-
tended prospect to the northward and westward. The re-
maining ruins run up to the inn, and are of less interesting
character.

The afternoon had now far advanced, and as I purposed to
return to Liverpool that night, I reluctantly quitted Halton,
and retraced my steps to Runcorn. The evening was beau-
tiful, mild, and sunny. As there was no steam-boat, or
other direct conveyance, until the following day, I hastened
to the place of embarkation at the " Gap.' The tide being
down, the water was shallow, and reduced to two streams
with a sand-bank intervening. In a few minutes a boat came
to the side, in which I embarked with several otheis. We
landed on the bank, and re-embarking in another boat, were
wafted across the seoond stream, and set down in Lancashire,
for the small charge of two pence. The town and the coun-
try around looked truly lovely, as the sun began to throw his
declining ruddy rays upon every prominent object, and to
gild the now still waters of the Mersey. Turning a romantic
rocky point of land a little to the west of the landing place, I
took my way by footwalks and green lanes, as I best could,
through Ditton marsh, and thence to Tarbuck and through
Wavertree to Liverpool, which, from not knowing the nearest
road, I did not reach until a late hour, pleased with my ex-
cursion, and with no other regret than that the daylight did
not last to the end of my journey through a country, which
presents many features of interest.