bridge were rebuilt, and the arch supplied with several new arch stones. The walls and foundations round the building were repaired, and portions on the west and east sides underpinned with new stone. The wall on the north side of the banqueting hall was entirely restored. The task of dealing with those portions of the main building which showed alarming signs of giving way, was a most precarious matter; and here the grand, massive way in which our forefathers built was fully shown, but the fact of the timber framing being corbelled over, whereby so much beauty and character are obtained, made it more difficult to deal with. Iron uprights, cased round with oak, firmly imbedded in cement concrete, were fixed in the entrance gateway and in the room over the oratory chapel. This was also done in other positions, so as to give perpendicular support to the walls of the upper storeys, and to which the oak uprights were bolted, to arrest as much as possible the bulging outwards. New oaken window frames were re-inserted, the original moulding and details being carefully observed. Several windows which had been built up were opened out again. New floors and panellings were supplied to several rooms; and some two hundred panes of lozenged glass were supplied, and the lights secured by oak fillets. Frequently I was present when the work was in progress, and noticed that pickaxes had to be used in removing portions of the walls and floors-woodwork which was probably more than three hundred years old!

THE OLD HALL.

I must now assume the rôle of cicerone to my readers. The old hall, as will be observed by the accompanying illustration, is a beautiful example of the Tudor and Jacobean periods, situate in the

midst of verdant meadow lands, and embowered in luxuriant foliage. Seen from the highway, its projecting upper storeys and quaint windows, its gabled: roofs and ivy-clad chimneys, its walls chequered in black and white, with trefoils, quatrefoils, and chevrons diapered all over it, give one the impression that it is some big, beautiful toy. Of uniformity there is none; but how picturesque is the irregularity! The whole is a perfect specimen of a half-timbered manor house, and is said to possess more sixteenth century character and features than any other existing example of equal antiquity.

Covering about an acre of land, this quaint dwelling is approached from the road by what was once a graceful avenue; tall old trees even to-day suggest that. An earth mound stands at the' south-west angle of the moat, similar to one once existing near Kinderton Old Hall. The moat is crossed on the south side by a bridge of one span, the arms of the Moreton family being carved on the centre panel. As you pass over this bridge, the massive oak of the gateway arrests your attention; also the old stone horse-block in the corner. A second double door in the gateway is worthy of inspection. Here are a curious old wooden lock and bolts, and a cunningly devised loop-door, where parleying with an intruder could be ventured upon. Entering the quadrangle, the picture is bewildering, and where to begin a description is a puzzle. Be it known that I have frequently noticed the intelligent stranger, as he crosses this threshold, invariably speaks in hushed tone, so deeply impressive and beautiful are the surroundings. Looking back at the gateway we have just passed through, there is some carving of special interest. The top of each side-post is surmounted with the figure of a soldier holding a partisan, and by the head-pieces of these figures

archæologists have arrived at the probable date when the gatehouse was built.

The windows of the quadrangle are the chief glories of Old Moreton Hall, the two great bays, which form five sides of an octagon, being of later date than the rest. These form two storeys, with the projecting roofs divided into small gables with carved pendants. The following words are seen round the upper tiers of the two great bays:—

GOD × IS X AL × IN × AL × THING × THIS × WINDOVS × WHIRE × MADE × BY x WILLIAM × MORETON × IN X THE X YEARE × OF × OURE × LORDE X MDLIX.

In a panel against the ground floor window is the maker's record, as follows:—

RYCHARDE × DALE × CARPEDER × MADE × THIES ×
BY X THE × GRAC X OF × GOD.

Beginning our inspection of the interior with the ground floor, the oratory chapel, adjoining the gate-house on the left hand, comes first in order. It occupies a portion of the eastern side of the quadrangle, and is said to be the oldest part of the building. The chapel, which has an independent entrance, stands east and west, is of one storey only, and measures sixteen feet either way. The chancel, of two storeys, is twelve feet long and nine feet wide. Until the work of restoring was commenced, this little sanctuary had fallen into a most dilapidated and ruinous state. pavement was broken up, the walls were whitewashed, and the inscriptions were defaced. What a blessed fact it is that to-day it has again been made fit for the sacred purposes originally intended. Architectural features are noticed on the doorway, where there are half-round and hollow mouldings of late perpendicular date. The apartment is lighted at the eastern end by a pointed window of five

The

lights, and on the south side by a square-headed window of four lights. New moulded uprights, and a gate in the chancel screen have been added. The roof is flat, and formed in panels. The walls bear ornamentation of renaissance character, and black-letter texts, not yet restored, of a date anterior to the Authorised Version. The holy table is now appropriately adorned with crucifix, candles, and flowers. The altar cloth is of dark crimson, richly embroidered with gold.

The Service of Reconciliation, by licence of the Bishop of Chester, which took place on the 17th of October, 1893, was conducted by the Rev. J. M. Egerton, then Rector of Old Rode, when the chapel was filled with a devout congregation. Services are now held regularly here on Saints' Days, when the clergy from Old Rode officiate. It is pleasant to mention that in this quaint little chapel the Rev. Thomas Brook-formerly Rector of Gawsworth, and subsequently minister of the old church of St. Peter at Congleton-preached his last sermons. He resided in Congleton from 1649 to 1661, when he was dispossessed for nonconformity. Mr. William Moreton, of Old Moreton Hall, was his friend and patron, and, after Brook's dismissal from Congleton, opened his own private chapel to him, where he preached until his death in 1664, at the age of seventy-one.

The great hall is a handsome, lofty apartment, thirty-four feet by twenty-one feet. Attention should be given to the elaborate carving which adorns the entrance to this room. Clustered and twisted pillars form the side-posts, and figures of dragons adorn the spandrels of the low, central principal, the tie-beam being relieved with running ornament. A double row of carved dwarf pillars support the cornice, with quatrefoils let into the spaces between. The projecting window, as seen in the illustration,