is shown by a Roll preserved in the Public Record Office in London. The strategic importance of the fortress arises from its commanding the ancient ford across the estuary of the Dee. The first Constable was Gunecelm de Badelesmere, who held office in 1278. Sir Roger Mostyn is described as Governor of the Castle in 1643, when he defended the Castle on behalf of the Royalists during the civil war of the seventeenth century. The Castle was dismantled by the order of Parliament in 1646, and since that time has served as a quarry for building material. Fortunately the ruins are now carefully looked after by the present Constable, Captain P. P. Pennant, of Nantlys, who has placed a janitor in charge to see that no further damage is done.

The chief historical event which took place in Flint Castle was the meeting between King Richard II and Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, and afterwards King Henry IV, on the 19th of August 1399. The scene has been immortalised by Shakespeare in his play of King Richard II, Act III, Scene iii; and other accounts are given by Froissart in his Chronicle, and by Jean Creton, in French rhyme, in an illuminated MS. of the fifteenth century in the British Museum. (See Mr. Henry Taylor's Guide to Flint Castle.) It was here also that King Edward II met his favourite, Piers Gaveston, on his return from banishment in Ireland in 1321.

Through the courtesy of Mr. Henry Taylor we are enabled to give a plan and views of the Castle. (See also Buck's Views, vol. ii, pl. 391.)

Flint Town Hall.--After the Castle had been thoroughly examined a move was made for the Town Hall. Mr. Henry Taylor1 here pointed out the various improvements effected in the decorations of the Council Chamber in order to make it worthy of the ancient borough of Flint. The painted ceiling (presented by Mr. Ross Mahon, burgess; the artist being Mr. Josh. Hall, Town Councillor) is divided into fifteen panels containing the armorial bearings of the tribes of North Wales. Arranged round the walls are various pictures and other objects connected with the history of Flint. Amongst these are copies by the talented young Flintshire artist, Mr. Leonard Hughes, of the portrait of Richard II in Westminster Abbey; and of Colonel Roger Mostyn, the gallant defender of the Castle in 1643; a rubbing of the brass in Cobham Church, Kent, of Sir Nicholas Hauberk, Constable of the Castle, 1396-99; a water-colour painting of Edward the Black Prince; a case of seals relating to Flint; and Speed's Map of the County of Flint, dated 1610. On the table in the Council Chamber were displayed the Corporation and Church plate.

The etching here given of Col. Roger Mostyn is by Mr. Leonard Hughes, and has been kindly lent by Mr. H. Taylor.

The borough mace is of the time of William and Mary, and bears the initials W. M., R. R. (William and Mary, Rex et Regina); the

1 Much valuable information will be found in Mr. H. Taylor's Historic Notices of Flint.

loving cup is of silver-gilt, and was presented to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Flint by P. Ellis Eyton, Esq., M.P.; and the Mayor's chain is a very beautiful copy of an Etruscan original in the Vatican Museum at Rome, manufactured by Senor Neri, and presented by Jane, wife of Richard Muspratt, on her husband's ninth election to the civic chair in 1876.

The inscriptions on the church plate are as follow: on the cover of the chalice, "The gift of Griffith Balls Evans, 1690"; on the paten, "The gift of an unknown person to the Church of Flint, 1761"; and on the flagon, "The gift of old Thomas ap Evan of Boles, left for fflint church 1663."

In a frame on the wall of the Council Chamber is an autograph letter from Prince Albert Victor, which is as follows::

"To the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough

of Flint.

"Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen,

"I thank you heartily for your address of congratulation on the occasion of my attaining my majority. The ancient historical reminiscences which connect Flint with the Princes of Wales cannot but add greatly to the interest with which I receive your good wishes for my future.

The portraits on the walls are inscribed thus:

"ALBERT VICTOR."

:

"Colonel Sir Roger Mostyn, Knight and Bart., the gallant Defender of Flint Castle, 1643.-Presented to the Corporation of Flint by the Right Hon. Llewelyn Nevill, 3rd Baron Mostyn, Xmas 1887." "This copy of the celebrated picture of King Richard II, now in Westminster Abbey (the earliest known contemporary painting of an English Sovereign), was presented by the Right Honourable Lord Richard De Aquila Grosvenor, M.P. for the County of Flint, and John Roberts, Esq., M.P. for the Flint District Boroughs, having been painted by Mr. Leonard Hughes, a native of Holywell, Christmas 1885. King Richard II was made prisoner by Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, afterwards King Henry IV, in Flint Castle, on the 19th August 1399."

"This rubbing of the brass monument in Cobham Church, co. Kent, of Sir Nicholas Hauberk, Constable of the Castle of Flint, and Sheriff and Raglor of the county, 19th December 1396-2nd November 1399, was presented to the Mayor and Corporation of Flint by Philip Bryan Davies-Cooke of Gwysaney, A.D. 1888."

"Richard Muspratt, Esquire, Mayor of Flint, 1857, 62, 3, 5, 6, 74, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 80, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.--Presented by the present and past Members and Officials of the Corporation of Flint, by the Borough Justices, and by others associated with them, in recognition of his public and private worth, and in testimony of their appreciation of the deep interest he took in the welfare of Flint and its inhabitants. "Midsummer 1886. LEONARD HUGHES pinxit."

The presentation of the rubbing of the monumental brass of Sir Nicholas Hauberk is thus described in the Flintshire Observer for February 8, 1888:—

"The Town Clerk (Mr. Henry Taylor, F.S.A.), on behalf of Mr. P. B. Davies-Cooke of Gwysaney, Mold, offered for the acceptance of the Corporation a handsome drawing of the celebrated monumental brass of Sir Nicholas Hauberk, Knight, Cobham Church, Kent. It is the same size as the original brass; indeed, it is a rubbing from the brass, made by Mr. Davies-Cooke himself, the armorial bearings being emblazoned by an heraldic artist, under the supervision of the authorities at the British Museum. The frame is of oak, and it is panelled at the back. It measures 8 ft. 6 in. by 3 ft. 8 in.

"Sir Nicholas was appointed for life, Constable of Flint Castle, and therefore Mayor of the borough and Sheriff of the County, and also to the Ragloria, or Stewardship of the County, on the 19th Dec. 1396, in the reign of King Richard II. This appointment was afterwards confirmed by King Henry IV on November 2nd, 1399. It is recorded that Sir Nicholas kept the Castle in some state; that he maintained there at least four men-at-arms and twelve archers; and that he spent no less than £146 a year, a sum equal to about £1,750 per annum of our money.

"Sir Nicholas married Joan, the granddaughter and heiress of John de Cobham, third Lord Cobham. This lady married no less than five times, viz., 1st, Sir Robt. Hemengdale; 2nd, Sir Reginald Braybrooke; 3rd, Sir Nicholas Hauberk; 4th, Sir John Oldcastle, the leader of the Lollards; and 5th, Sir John Harpeden.

"The following reference to Sir Nicholas and this fine brass will be found in volume xi of the Journal of the Kent Archæological Society (of which Mr. Arnold, solicitor, Rochester, is the Secretary), in a very able paper read before that Society, in 1877, by Mr. J. G. Waller, on the Lords of Cobham, the monuments, and the church: "Sir Nicholas Hauberk was probably a soldier of fortune, for we hear of no family of that name; indeed, as we know, he appears to have been the only one who ever bore it. The name itself is but a sobriquet derived from the interlaced mail-tunic,-a fitting one for a soldier. In fact, it is easily paralleled as belonging to the same class as Shakespeare, Breakspear, Longspear, and Fortescue. He may have been one of the many free companions of whom the time was but too prolific, to whom war was a trade, and who amassed fortunes out of plunder, or from the ransom of their prisoners.

"Hauberk had evidently some esteem at the Court of Henry IV, or he would not have been selected as one of the six knights who formed part of the train of Queen Isabella, widow of Richard II, on her return to France in June 1401; nor of escort when the King went to Cologne, in 1402, to marry his eldest daughter, Blanche, to Louis Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria. There is good mention of him in the jousting held at Smithfield in 1393, where, John Stow tells us, 'certain Lords of Scotland came into England

to get worship by force of arms. The Earl of Mare challenged the Earl of Nottingham to joust with him; and so they rode together certain course, but not the full challenged, for the Earl of Mare was cast, both horse and man, and two of his ribs were broken with the fall; so that he was conveyed out of Smithfield, and so towards Scotland, but died by the way at Yorke. Sir William Darell, Knight, the King's banner-bearer of Scotland, challenged Sir Pierce (Peter) Courtnay, the King's banner-bearer of England, and when they had run certain courses, gave over without conclusion of victory. Then Cookeborne, Esquire of Scotland, challenged Sir Nicholas Hauberk, Knight, and rode five courses; but Cookeborne was borne over horse and man,' etc.

"In Cobham Church chancel still hang two fine specimens of tilting helmets of this time, and it can scarcely be doubted that they belonged to Sir Reginald Braybrooke and Sir Nicholas Hauberk. Hauberk's helmet may be identified, as his peculiar crest, a a fish within a ring or garland (as shown in the drawing), required special means of attachment, which may be seen in the four staples in the apex.

"Sir Nicholas was twice married, his first wife's name being Matilda. She was living Henry IV (1390-1400), but nothing is known of her parentage. He died at Cowling Castle, October 9th, 1407, leaving, by a deed made on the 6th, all his goods and chattels, excepting one hundred shillings of silver, which he reserved, to Sir Hugh Lutterel, Sir Arnold Savage, William Cobham, Esq., and John Giffard, as it would appear in trust, by whom they were confirmed to Joan Lady Cobham, his widow, the same year. His son by her, named John (perhaps after Lord Cobham), died an infant.

"The brass to Sir Nicholas may be considered as about the finest of English military brasses of the time. It is similar in design to that of Sir Reginald Braybrooke, who died 20th September 1405 (he was with Richard II in Ireland in 1399, and perhaps also at Flint Castle), last described, excepting that his has in addition figures of the Virgin and Child on the right side of the Trinity, and St. George on the left. At his feet is a small figure on a pedestal, on which is inscribed 'Hic jacet Johñes fil's eor'.' The arms are pendent on the shafts of the canopy. His own are of an unusual and remarkable blazon, namely, checky argent and gules, a chief chapourné gules and or; i.e., a silver and red check having the part of the shields red, edged with gold. On the sinister side the same coat impales that of Cobham. His arms had in both shields been wilfully defaced, as if by heralds in officious exercise of their craft. Hauberk by them was evidently not considered entitled to bear them. His head lies on a helmet and crest, as above described, which was destroyed. The Latin inscription, translated into English, runs thus: Here lies [the body of] Lord Nicholas Hauberk, Knight, formerly the husband of the Lady Ioan, Lady of Cobham, heiress of Lord John of Cobham, founder of this College; which

certain Nicholas died at Cowling Castle on the 9th day of October A.D. 1407. To whose soul may God be gracious. Amen.'

"This handsome present, as a work of art, as a historical subject connected with Flint, is a distinct and valuable addition to the collection. Mr. Davies-Cooke is a member of an old Flintshire family of ancient Welsh descent, the members of which have for several hundred years taken a prominent part in the affairs of the county; and we are sure it is very pleasing to the inhabitants of Flint Borough to find that the members of the real old Flintshire families recognise that the old county and borough town is the right place to be the depository of these works of art and reminders of the traditions and past history of the county. This is the second gift Mr. Davies-Cooke has made to the borough, Mr. Davies-Cooke having previously presented the case of official seals, in connection with Flint now hung on the walls of this room."

The improvements in the decoration of the Council Chamber, projected by Mr. H. Taylor, were completed in 1886. The stained glass windows were designed by Mr. Drewitt, and executed by Messrs. Shrigley and Hunt of Lancaster, the subjects being

First window,-arms of Edward I, Sept. VIII, MCCLXXXIV (the date of the first charter to the borough). George Roskell, Mayor, 1836-7. By his daughter, Elizabeth Harnett.

Second window,―Edward III, Dec. VII, MCCCXXVII (the date of the second charter). James Eyton, Town Clerk, 1836-54; P. Ellis Eyton, Town Clerk, 1854-74; M.P., 1874-78. By their daughter and sister, Anne Parry Charles.

Third window,-Edward the Black Prince, Earl of Chester and Fflynt, xxth Sept. MCCCLXI (the date of the third charter). Arms of the Prince as Prince of Wales at this date. Henry Taylor appointed Town Clerk, 1874.

Fourth window,-Richard II, Nov. XxIxth, MCCCXCV (the date of the fourth charter). Arms of the King at this date. Richard Muspratt, seventeen times Mayor. By his daughter, Florence F. Muspratt. Fifth window, ---Philip and Mary, Nov. 5th, MDLV (the date of the fifth charter). Thomas Lockwood, Architect, 1885.

Sixth window,-William III, XIX Dec. MDCC (the date of the sixth charter). Thomas Lewis, Mayor, 1857, 1866, 1867.

The Fifteen Welsh Tribes, whose arms are painted on the panelled ceiling of the Council Chamber, are

1st.-Hwfa ap Cynddelw, the first of the Fifteen Tribes, lived in the time of Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales. His office of Steward, by inheritance, was to bear the Prince's coronet, and to put it upon his head when the Bishop of Bangor anointed him. Many of the gentlemen of Anglesey hold lands from him by lineal descent. Sir Howel y Pedolau was a famous man in his time, and descended from him. Sir Howel's mother was King Edward II's nurse, and he being the King's foster-brother was in great favour with him, who knighted him. He was a very strong man, and could break or straighten horse-shoes with his hands. The arms, as represented on the panel, are, gules, between three lioncels rampant, a chevron or.