The North Staffordshire. 259 



southward,, virtually to Market Drayton and Eccles- 

 hall. Some idea of their extent may be given by 

 noting that two of them, Burnt Wood and Bishop^s 

 Wood, in themselves are said to attain to about eight 

 hundred and eleven hundred acres respectively. Mrs. 

 Meynell has a large estate at and near Willow bridge, 

 in which the woods of Astley Heath and part of Burnt 

 Wood are included. The manor of Madeley (the 

 residence of Mr. Stanyer) is very rough and hilly, and 

 has many large coverts. Maer Hall (Mr. Davenport's) 

 adjoins with similar woods. Swinnerton Old Park is 

 an enormous tract of ground nearly all spread over 

 with covert (shrub, heather, and bilberry bushes), and 

 is part of the Swinnerton Hall property — the Hall 

 itself, where Mr. Fitzherbert resides, being at some 

 little distance. These woods are — thanks to their 

 owners — very well off for foxes of the best and 

 strongest kind ; and, it is needless to say, form exten- 

 sive and valuable ground, not only as a schoolroom for 

 foxhounds, but as a nursery for foxes. The Duke of 

 Sutherland's home coverts at Trentham range along 

 steep hillsides to join the chain ; and swarm with 

 foxes. All the immediate neighbourhood of the 

 Kennel is, in a word, broken, hilly and woodland. 



Below Swinnerton again — i.e., between Eccleshall 

 and Sandon, in the south — is a nice country, much 

 flatter, and having as coverts only some few osier beds 

 and gorses. Plough and grass intermix here ; and 

 both are rather deep as the neighbourhood of Stafford 

 is approached. 



Crossing over the Trent, we find another line of hills 

 running nearly north and south between Longton and 



