28 
Trent, formed a barrier between the English and Brit-Welsh 
peoples. The Brit-Welsh still held their ground as far to 
the east as the district round Leeds, which constituted the 
kingdom of Elmet, while the kingdom of Strathclyde ex- 
tended from Chester as far north as the valley of the Clyde.* 
The point which immediately concerns us is the time when 
that portion of the latter kingdom which comprises southern 
Lancashire fell under the sway of the English. 
The two kingdoms of Deira and Bernicia had united to 
form the powerful state of Northumbria at the beginning of 
the 7th century, under the greatest of her warriors, iEthel- 
frith. In the year 607 TEthelfrith advanced along the line 
of the Trent through Staffordshire, avoiding by that route 
the difficult country of Derbyshire and east Lancashire, and 
struck at Chester, which was the principal seat of the Brit- 
Welsh power in this district."f* There he fought the famous 
battle by which the power of Strathclyde was broken, and 
that is celebrated in song for the death of the monks of 
Bangor who fought against him with their prayers. By this 
decisive blow the English first set foot on the coast of the 
Irish Channel, and Strathclyde and Elmet on the one hand 
were cut asunder from Wales on the other. Chester was so 
thoroughly destroyed that it remained desolate for two cen- 
turies, until it was restored by iEthelred and ^Ethelflsed, the 
Lady of the Mercians, and the plains of Lancashire lay open 
to the invader. In all probability south Lancashire was 
occupied by the English at this time, and the nature of the 
occupation may be gathered from the treatment of the city 
of Chester. A fire, to use the metaphor of Gildas, went 
through the land, and the Brit-Welsh inhabitants were 
either put to the sword or compelled to become the bonds- 
men of the conquerors. It is impossible to believe that the 
* See Freeman, Norman Conquest, vol. i., p. 35 — map of Britain in 597- 
In this map Elmet is placed in Deira, although it did not pass away from the 
Brit-Welsh till 616 according to Nennius and the Annales Cambrise. 
t Bceda Fccles. Hist. Lib. II. c. ii. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a.d. 605-607. 
