The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-04-20 00:00:00

SEA-MARK, GRANGE, CHESHIRE

The ceremony of laying the foundation-stone of a column,
which is to be sixty feet high, to be erected on the site of the
Old Mill, at Grange Farm, in Cheshire, took place on Friday
last, the 16th instant. The day was propitious, and the at-
tendance on the occasion highly interesting. The ceremony
was performed in a truly workmanlike manner by John Shaw
Leigh, Esq., the owner of the land, who has not only granted
the site on which the column is to be placed at a merely no-
minal rent, but most munificently given the stone for its
erection from the quarry adjoining. Among the company
present were Sir Edward Cust, Bart., and his amiable and
interesting lady, several ladies and gentlemen from their re-
sidences in the neighbourhood, the Rev. Vicar of West
Kirby, a deputation from the Dock Committee, consisting
of Mr. Thomas Holt, Mr. Thomas Tobin, Mr. Henry
Holmes, and Mr. Thomas Ripley, attended by Mr. Hartley,
the dock surveyor, Mr. Lord, the marine surveyor, and the
Secretary. The scenery from the spot on which the column
will stand is highly picturesque, the estuary of the Dee flow-
ing calmly at the foot of the Welsh hills in the distance ; the
sea, to the westward, stretching out to the horizon ; and in-
land, on the Cheshire side, all the variety of hill and valley,
wood and plain. There are many interesting circumstances
connected with the " Grange Hall" estate, as it was " in the
olden time," which it would be interesting to record, were
there space to detail them. One may be mentioned. The
whole of the low laud to the westward was formerly a " Swan-
nery," where numbers of that noble bird used to feed and
fly. Alas! they are all now flown off. There still remains,
in the stable-yard, an immense stone cistern, which, from its
dimensions, cannot weigh less than ten or eleven tons, and
which, in former times, was used to steep their malt.
After the stone had been laid, the party were most politely
invited, by the worthy proprietor, to partake of a cold colla-
tion he had most liberally provided to celebrate the occasion,
where, with appetites sharpened by the breezes from the sea
and the fresh country air, the guests did ample justice to the
abundant supply of " boiled and roast," with all the necessary
accompaniments, washed down with richly-flavoured wines.
Toasts were drank, and several interesting addresses were
delivered on the occasion. Mr. Leigh came out in splendid
style, showing, not so much what he does in that way, as
what he can do, if he likes.
The afternoon was spent in the most pleasant and agreeable
manner, and the company broke up and separated about
four p.m.
The column is a plain design, with a ball at the top, and is
intended to act as a sea-mark, in conjunction with other
marks upon the shore, in lieu of the Old Mill, which was
blown down in the gale of January, 1839. Its height, sixty
feet, will make it a conspicuous object from the surrounding
district, and, whilst it will be an ornament to the estate on
which it will stand, it will afford to the mariner a distinct
object on which to cast his eye from seaward to measure his
distance, and enable him to ascertain his true position with
reference to the banks he is approaching, and so guide his
ship in safety through the channels to the desired haven.
The following inscription will be cut in a block of granite,
and built into the column, in the course of its erection, at a
suitable elevation from the ground, namely :
This Column
was erected by the
Trustees of the Liverpool Docks,
by permission of
John Shaw Leigh, Esquire,
owner of the land,
who also granted the stone for its erection,
Auno Domini 1811,
as
BEACON FOR MARINERS
frequenting the
River Mersey and its Vicinity.

The Foundation-stone was laid by
.TORN SHAW LEIGH, Esq.,
April ltith, 1841.

HARD SWEARING.-At the Pontefract sessions, on Wed-
nesday last, Sir Gregory Lewin, in addressing the jury on
the improbability of the prosecutoridentifying a quantity of
hay, which had been stolen, said that some men's consci-
ences allowed them to go so far, that a witness in America
once distinctly swore to a goose's leg after it had been made
into a giblet pie and cooked.—Doncaster Chronicle.

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