14 
VISIT TO CHIRK. 
armorial coats of some baronets, as in the case of Sir Thomas 
Holte, of Aston Hall, which may be seen in a window in 
Aston Church, thus originated. Two hundred baronets were 
created by James I. on payment of £1,000 each, ostensibly 
for the relief of Ulster, but really for his personal aggrandise¬ 
ment, and they were therefore allowed to place upon their 
coats of arms the open red hand, or the “ bloody hand,” 
borne by the O’Neiles, whose estates had been seized by the 
King. They were called “ Ulster baronets.” The “ bloody 
hand ” was often, in the popular mind, associated with some 
deed of blood, supposed to have been perpetrated by the 
individual in whose arms it was placed. Thus, Sir Thomas 
Holte was said to have murdered his cook some 250 years 
ago, and when pardoned by King James was ordered to bear 
a “ bloody hand ” ever afterwards on his coat of arms, when 
the sole reason was, as we have shown, that he had paid into 
the King's exchequer a thousand pounds for a mere title. 
On leaving the railway a pleasant walk of an hour was 
taken by the excursionists into the valley of the Ceiriog, to 
view the aqueduct and viaduct which cross that river. The 
aqueduct which carries the Ellesmere Canal was designed by 
Telford ; it is 690 feet long, and 65 feet above the river ; the 
viaduct is 100 feet above the bottom of the valley. The 
view was especially fine, and the botanists of the party found 
abundant occupation in their favourite pursuit. The church 
was next inspected. It is an ancient structure, but calls for 
no especial remark, as it was some years ago restored, at an 
expense of upwards of £2,000. It contains some monuments 
and stiff effigies of the Myddelton family. The oak roof over 
the older part of the church is in good preservation. Tra¬ 
dition has it that Dr. Saclieverell w r as once rector of this 
church, from which he was suspended for three years, and 
two objectionable sermons preached in it by him were burned 
by the common hangman. This, however, is a mistake, as it 
was a neighbouring parish over which he presided. The aged 
yews in the churchyard are particularly fine, and well accord 
with the solemnity of the place. 
After a substantial luncheon at the hotel, a walk of some 
two miles or so through pretty and diversified scenery brought 
the visitors to the castle. Chirk Castle is a quaint structure, 
partaking of the features of both castle and mansion, with 
the angles strengthened by four exceedingly clumsy bastion¬ 
like towers, each of which is surmounted by a small turret. 
The present structure was built by Edward I., though a castle 
had stood upon the -same site two centuries earlier. It was 
in 1595 the property of Sir Thomas Myddelton, who after- 
