SALUSBURY 239 



William Salusbury, with the Welsh names of the plants, and a few 

 (very few) localities added. Mr. Roberts points out that the more 

 detailed localities are those nearest Llansannan and Llanrwst where 

 William Salusbury is known to have lived. Lleweni is thrice 

 mentioned, and both author and work must have been well known 

 to Sir John Salusbury : the names of plants localized by William 

 are printed below. 



John's mother was the celebrated Catherine Tudor of Beraine, 

 popularly known as ' Mam Cymru ' or Mother of Wales, celebrated 

 alike for her numerous descendants and her four marriages.^ 



Sir John has been stated to have had two thumbs on each hand. 

 His gardening is not remembered as well as is his huge strength. 

 The Denbighshire tradition that he used to ' tear up forest trees 

 by the roots ' is reminiscent less of his interest in botany than of 

 a fondness of displaying his physical powers.^ He married Ursula, 

 daughter of Henry 14th Earl of Derby, and left three sons and two 

 daughters, the eldest of whom, Sir Henry Salusbury, Bart, {d, 1633), 

 also wrote his name in the Herbal (in 1627), and entered notes 

 on two plants growing on the Chirk estate of his father-in-law, 

 Sir Thomas Myddleton (1550-1631).^ 



On a recent pilgrimage to Denbigh to visit the site of Sir John's 

 gardens at Lleweni, chance made me acquainted with Mr. A. 

 Foulkes-Roberts of Denbigh, himself a lineal descendant of 

 Catherine of Berain. He at once took the greatest interest in the 

 quest and drew attention to the fact that Sir John Salusbury 



^ Catherine of Berain was a great granddaughter of Henry VII and 

 therefore cousin to Queen Elizabeth, She m. i. Sir John Salusbury. 2. Sir 

 Richard Clough (and from this marriage was descended Mrs. Thrale, the friend 

 of Dr. Johnson). 3. Morris Wyn (as his third wife). 4. Edward Thelwall. 

 The story goes that after the funeral of her first husband she left the church 

 in the company of Mr. Wynn who then and there offered her marriage. 

 She declined on the ground that, on her way to church, she had promised 

 Sir Richard Clough ! 



"^ ' A popular tradition credits him with having killed a mythical and much 

 dreaded beast that had its lair in the cliffs below the castle, and having also slain 

 a great white lioness with his naked fist in the Tower of London, thus earning 

 for his estate the name of Lleweni, Llew being the Welsh for the king of beasts. 

 He also overthrew in a wrestling match a famous giant, Edward Shon David, 

 whose walking-stick was the axle-tree of a cart with a crow-bar driven through it. 

 Syr John, too, was accustomed to show off his strength, when he had no worthier 

 object for it, by tearing up forest trees by the roots.' — Bradley, North Wales. , 



^ Sir T. Myddleton was elected Lord Mayor of London on the same day 

 that his brother Hugh opened the New River Head. He had purchased the 

 estate of Chirk Castle in 1595. 



