214 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 7, 1876. 



tiful blue flowers. Some of the species are said to possess 

 medicinal properties, and are of service in case of fevers. The 

 kinds most commonly met with in cultivation are E. alpinum, 

 E. Bourgati, and E. amethystina. There are others of this 

 interesting family which ought to be brought into general eul- 



Fig 27.— Erjngium maritimum. 



tivation, and which conld not fail to give satisfaction to the 

 cultivator of them. — N. 



WORSLEY HAiL. 



This princely residence of the Earl of Ellesmere is about 

 six miles from Manchester and one and a half from Worsley 

 station. Worsley and its neighbourhood are celebrated for 

 engineering difficulties that have been overcome in days gone 

 by. From the terrace walk in front of the mansion you can 

 see the railway trains rushing over the Chat Moss, a " Slough 

 of Despond " that almost baffled the skill and patience of George 

 Stephenson to lay his railway over it when he was engaged 

 in constructing the first line from Manchester to Liverpool. 

 Worsley itself is equally celebrated for the engineering skill 

 displayed by Messrs. James Brindley, John Gilbert, and the 

 Duke of Bridgewater, who in the year 1754 gave himself up 

 to a life of unremitting work; and the purpose to which he 

 devoted his life and his fortune was the development of the 

 mineral wealth of the estate. Mr. Brindley supplied the brain 

 power and the Duke found the money; the engineer being paid 

 the small sum of 2s. 6d. per day for his wages. Other trans- 



actions took place between the Duke and Mr. Brindley. The 

 following modest bill for work and expenses has been copied 

 from a photographic copy of the original. It is worthy of 

 notice as showing the frugality of the man, and as affording 

 a striking contrast with the "professional" charges of the 

 present day. 



Expenses for His Grace the Duke of Bridgwater to pay for traveling 

 charges by James Brindley : — £ s. d. 



IS Novem., 1761. IS No. Mesuring a Cross from Danham 

 to Warbuton, Mosely, and Thalwal. Dunham for 

 2 dinners, Is. Srf., for the man Is.; at Thalwall Is. 2d. 

 All night Worington, 3s. lid 7 4 



19 Novem. Set out from Chester for London, and returned 

 back. Going to London, and at London, then hack to 



Worsley, charges Hors and myself 4 8 



9 December, coming hack from Hamston ; charges at 



Wilderspool all night 8 



At Worington, to meet Mr. ABhley. dining 4 2 



10 do., Chaind the Turnpike Rode, 2s. 6d. t and again on ye 



12 ye Eode, Ss. Bd. 6 



21 Decern,, To inspect ye flux and reflux at Hamston, 2 days 



charges 6 6 



£6 00 



26 Deer., 1761, Reed, the contents of the above bill by the hand of John 

 Gilbert, Esq. James Beindley. 



Brindley's great work was the underground canals, the 

 opening to which the visitor passes on the way to the Hall 

 from the railway station, and will not fail to notice the 

 peculiar-looking boats or barges floating in the basin. Through 

 this tunnel the mineral wealth of the estate is carried in these 

 deep narrow boats. The canals or tunnels extend to a length 

 of forty miles. The boats are propelled by means of staples 

 fixed in the roof, and three men can work thirty-two boats 

 chained together and extending over a quarter of a mile. The 

 Duke also made a canal from Manchester to Runcorn in one 

 direction, and to Bedford Leigh in another, which the railways 

 have not yet done away with. All the works of the late Duke 

 are still in active operation, and are carried on by the Bridge- 

 water trust. In " the yard there are three hundred persons 

 employed, and about £60,000 worth of timber is annually 

 brought to the yard to be used in the manufacture and repair 

 of boats and barges and colliery appliances. In the yard is a 

 square tower of tasteful construction, which contains a clook 

 made by direction of. the Duke. On one occasion he found 

 one of the workmen late, and on inquiring the cause the 

 man said he did not hear the clock, as it struck only once. 

 This was speedily altered, and the clock was made to strike 

 thirteen." 



At that time the house built by the Duke was a plain red- 

 brick erection, not a flower nor ornament of any kind was to 

 be seen. Only the directly useful was tolerated. 



The eccentric Duke selected as his heir Lord Francis Leveson 

 Gower, who was but three years of age at his death, and it 

 was not until 1833 that he took possession of the estate. He 

 changed his surname, and was better known as Lord Francis 

 Egerton, and ultimately as the first Earl of Ellesmere. His 

 lordship, in conjunction with hie amiable lady, sought at once 

 to improve the moral and spiritual condition of their depen- 

 dants. Schools were erected and maintained in Worsley and 

 Walkden Moor, and ultimately churches were erected in their 

 vicinity. One of them faces the principal entrance to the 

 grounds. It is a fine building with a magnificent spire, and 

 is worthy of its noble founder. 



The kitchen garden is reached from this point by following 

 round the outer wall and entering, as I was told, at the fourth 

 gate. I was fortunate to find Mr. Upjohn at home. His 

 cottage has been built on the margin of the Chat Moss, and 

 part of the garden walls have been built on that insecure 

 foundation, and even the mass of solid concrete underneath 

 them has failed to keep them all in an upright position , the 

 west wall leaning heavily outward. Everything about these 

 gardens is of the most substantial character. The residence 

 of the head gardener is both comfortable in appearance and. 

 elegant in design, and is also beautiful for situation. The 

 kitchen gardens are about ten acres in extent. The ground is 

 well and judiciously cropped, the Chat Moss soil appearing to 

 answer for most vegetable crops. The walks are very wide, 

 that round the outer walls being 14 feet, and it is very con- 

 venient for carting manure, as it admits oi its being brought 

 close to the gates. 



The crops outside the walls are very good, vegetables of all 

 sorts being in excellent order. I find that the Potatoes have 

 not started to make a second growth, aB they are doing almost 

 everywhere in the neighbourhood of London, the haulm at 



