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tanding atop St. Martin's Gate, we pause awhile to look back and compare what we see with this fine view by Thomas Allom (1804-72) which was created before 1846 when the Holyhead railway cut across the scene and punched its way through the corner of the city walls. (see a picture of it here).

Ahead of us we can see the Goblin Tower and behind it, Bonewaldesthorne's Tower. To the right of this, the white building was Chester's first public baths and wash house, established here in 1849 and surviving until 1892. No trace remains of them today, nor of the canal basin to their right which has long since been filled in.
Opposite the baths, on the right of the picture, are the 18th century warehouses and administrative buildings of the canal company- that on the left is now a popular bar/restaurant and Chester's finest live music venue, Telford's Warehouse on Tower Wharf. Beyond, sailing ships may be seen on the canalised River Dee, making their way to and from the Old Port through a rural landscape down to the sea. In the background lie the Clwyd Hills of North Wales, of which more below.

The modern visitor may be disappointed to find that the spectacular view of 150 years ago has since been considerably curtailed by the many tall trees that now grow close to the city walls and that the woods and fields in the middle distance have been largely replaced by houses and the utilitarian structures of the Greyhound Retail Park. It remains nontheless a fascinating section of the City Walls where the ancient and the modern blend in a particularly dramatic manner.

Morgan's Mount
Descending from St. Martin's Gate, we enter the homeward stretch of our epic journey. Leaving the noisy inner ring road behind us, you will notice the wall's dramatic uphill incline which continues until we arrive back at our starting place, the Northgate- the highest point on the walls of Chester.

On our left we see a distictive square tower with steps leading to a platform on the top. This is known as Morgan's Mount, after one Captain Edward Morgan, a Royalist officer in charge of an important battery of guns said to have been stationed on top of the tower during the Civil War- though it is likely that this was situated on a small hill nearby, which disappeared during the construction of the canal, the tower itself being used as an observation platform to direct the fire.
Of this Captain Morgan we know little except that, during the conflict he was sometime resident at Wepre Hall near Connah's Quay in North Wales, and that he was later murdered- the unfortunate officer's body being later found in an unmarked grave at the edge of a marsh near Llanasa.

(The old hall has now gone, incidentally, replaced by the visitor centre of the excellent Wepre Park- Parc Gwepra in Welsh).

There is a little room within Morgan's Mount with a stone bench and windows fitted with iron bars. Early guide books wax lyrical regarding the views obtainable from this place, for example:
"From the summit we have a wide-spreading and enchanting prospect, which is seldom surpassed; exhibiting the windings of the Dee to its estuary, Flint Castle, the Jubilee Column on Moel Fammau (see below), the lighthouse on the Point of Air, the beautiful range of the Clwydian hills and the church and castle of Hawarden. Stretching away to our left is the Hundred of Wirral, the foreground dotted here and there with a handsome mansion or substantial farm house... the view embraces a rural district of more than a dozen miles in length".

wall before ring road Until recently, the visitor could ascend a flight of steps to the roof of Morgan's Mount, from where the best view could be obtained, but this is sadly no longer possible due to the recent imposition of a padlocked gate- the reason for whose presence is a mystery to us, except that mention has been made of the structure in connection with recent controversy regarding a perceived decline in the standard of maintainance of the City Walls due to funding shortages. However, as previously mentioned when we viewed Thomas Allom's view at the top of the page, the great increase in the height of surrounding buildings and trees has restricted the prospect considerably and none of the above mentioned being now visible except for those ice-carved hills- and the best view of them in Chester is still to be had from the rising section of wall approaching the Northgate, just a little way ahead of us.

Here we see an interesting view of the City Wall from Morgan's Mount before the entire section on the left of the picture vanished to make way for the Inner Ring Road and St Martin's Gate.

Moel Fammau
Depending upon weather and light conditions, these Clwyd Hills can appear very close and dramatically beautiful, especially at sunset- or simply not be visible at all!
Some four hundred million yeas ago, a warm shallow sea covered this region and now prehistoric shales from that sea form the interior of a mountain range that was once higher than the (much younger) Rockies! The Clwyd hills we see today are mere shadows of their former selves, having been worn down over the aeons by the action of ice, rain and wind along the length of the Vale of Clwyd fault and glaciers cut out the cwms and valleys through which our modern roads now pass.
Regarding the name of the most prominent hill, which stands 1820 feet (554 m) above sea level, traveller and novelist George Borrow, writing in the 1850s, recalled, "As I stood gazing upon the hills from the wall, a ragged man came up and asked for charity. "Can you tell me the name of that tall hill?" said I, pointing. "That hill, sir," said the beggar, "is called Moel Vamagh; I ought to know as I was born at its foot". "Moel" said I, "a bald hill; Vamagh, maternal or motherly. Moel Vamagh, (now more usually spelt Fammau) the Mother Moel". "Just so, sir," said the beggar; I see you are a Welshman like myself" (Borrow was actually an Englishman from Norfolk and had taught himself Welsh as a young man)- "Moel Vamagh is the Mother Moel, and is called so because she is the highest of all the Moels".

(In his most famous- and still easily available- work, Wild Wales (1854) Borrow mentions "an old inn in Northgate Street". This was the Pied Bull which we visited in the Northgate chapter at the very start of our tour- and where we also read his unflattering description of the Cheshire cheese and ale served to him there!)
A note appended to Thomas Pennant's Tours of 1883 provides us with another interpretation of the mountain's name:
jubilee tower "The proper spelling is no doubt Moel Fammau- the Mother's Mountain- the ladies in question being of the divine Matres, once worshipped by the Celts, especially in Gaul. In Celtic mythology, fairies and goddesses were called mothers, hence 'Mother's Mountain': the mountain where the fairies live..."

Around 3500 years ago, the slopes of Moel Fammau were used as sacred burial grounds by the people of the Middle and Late Bronze Age: the 'Beaker People' who succeeded the Neolithic tribes. Indeed, for thousands of years, trade routes have followed the passes between the Clwyd hills and many ancient tribes have lived on the mountain slopes above the groves of oak and hazel that formerly grew there in great profusion.
(These have now largely given way to the great areas of conifers that make up the Clwydian Forest managed by the Forestry Commission)
In later centuries, the Roman occupants of Deva traded with local tribes for the lead which occurs abundantly in the limestone of the Clwyd hills.

The next-highest hill of the range is Moel Fenlli, named after a great Celtic warrior-king, Benlli Gawr, who was buried on nearby Goblin Hill at Mold, and from where was excavated his great Golden Cape- now the most celebrated exhibit in the British Museum's Celtic display.
At least thirty five hut circles have been found on this companion to Moel Fammau, together with ancient potsherds and Roman coins.

About a thousand yars to the west, on a spur at 1115 feet, is Moel y Gaer, an iron Age hillfort, on which a double circle of ramparts can clearly be seen, enclosing some six acres of hilltop.

The Jubilee Tower on top of Moel Fammau which was built in 1810 to commemorate the 50th year of the reign of George III, was designed by Thomas Harrison, the architect who was responsible for many of the best buildings we have seen during the course of our stroll, including the Grosvenor Bridge, Castle and the Northgate- which we are now approaching and from where the best view of the hill is obtained.
The design of Harrison's 'Egyptian-style' tower was disliked by many contemporaries; the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins described it as "An ugly and trumpery construction, make-believe massive, but so frail that it was blown over... it cumbers the hilltop and interrupts the view".
top of moel fammau

When the tower's foundation stone was laid by Lord Kenyon on 25th October 1810, around 5000 people made the arduous walk to the summit to attend the ceremony and commemorative sermons were preached at Mold and Ruthin before the clergy and gentry rode to the top on horseback "attended by musicians and beautiful women". Fat oxen and lambs were roasted and distributed to the poor of the district and the cwru da ('good ale') flowed freely all day...

This unusual view of the summit- photographed from a microlight aircraft by your guide, showing the remants of the Jubilee Tower on top of Moel Fammau and the eroded network of footpaths leading to it.

The fine watercolour of the Jubilee Tower above is by Moses Griffith (1747-1819).
The 115 foot high tower was never finished and collapsed during a great storm (some say earthquake) on 1st November 1862. Half-hearted rebuilding attempts were made in 1863 and 1887 but never completed, but in 1970- Conservation Year- some restoration of the surviving tower base was undertaken, including the addition of a series of plaques indicating the various distant places which may be seen from this wonderful observation platform- weather allowing, it is possible to see the Isle of Man, and much of the North West of England such as Liverpool, Manchester, Winter Hill, Blackpool Tower and Cumbria.
Four years later, in 1974, the entire mountain was designated a Country Park, covering 2000 acres and permanently open to the public, and today the nipple-like appearance of the remaining tower stump atop the smooth hill continues to remind us of the 'motherly' aspect of its ancient Celtic name.
Two Welsh counties share claim to the peak of Moel Fammau since the border between Denbighshire and Flintshire runs through the middle of it.

1818 Thomas Harrison restored part of the south transept and added the corner turrets to the Cathedral. All Chester's houses were numbered and the lanes were then called streets. Seller Street was laid out by Alderman Seller. Eastgate, Northgate and Bridge Streets, and St. Peter's Church were lit by gas.
1819 A dreadful fire at the Dee Mills; one life lost and the whole fabric, with its contents consumed at estimated cost of £40,000.
1820 George III, after a reign of 60 years, died and the Prince Regent came to the throne as George IV. As General Grosvenor was driving home from an electioneering meeting in Chester, his political opponents cut his horse's harness as he approached the Dee Bridge, and threw the carriage over the parapet into the river. The General escaped injury and was taken by his friends to the Bear and Billet Inn.
1821 Old Lamb Row, in Bridge Street, collapsed into the road, but nobody was injured. It had been built as the home of Randle Holme but then became a tavern under the sign of the lamb. A Roman altar was unearthed in Boughton (on land later known as the 'Cherry Orchard') inscribed "To the Nymphs and Fountains- XXth Legion, the Invincible and Victorious". It was placed by the Marquis of Westminster in a specially-built 'temple' in the grounds of Eaton Hall. You can see a picture of it Here. Population of Britain: 20.8 million. Population of US: 9.6 million
1822 June 29th. The steam boiler belonging to Mr Boult, a tobacco manufacturer in Cuppin-street, burst. The explosion was terrific; a considerable portion of the premises were laid in ruins, and the windows of adjoining houses were shattered. Mr. Boult and three of his men were so dreadfully injured that they all died in a few days afterwards.
1823 Feb 24th. The coach manufactory of Mr. Parry, in Foregate Street, for the third time with all its contents, completely destroyed by fire. The Monroe Doctrine closes American continent to colonial settlement by European powers. Mexico becomes a republic
1824 Batenham records that the streets were still pebblestoned and "a most intolerable grievance". June 7th. Mr. Sadler ascended in his balloon from the castle yard and descended near Utkinton. June 28th. A party witnessing a regatta at the Lower Ferry on the Dee, being somewhat elated with liquor, ran their boat violently against another vessel. The boat instantly upset and thirteen of the party were drowned. Sept 2nd. Mr. Parry's coach manufactory destroyed by fire for the fourth time... RSPCA founded in London
1825 June. The Act for erecting the new bridge over the Dee passed by both houses of Parliament. The Grosvenor Bridge Commission paid £4,000 for old St. Briget's Church and its site, which was demolished to make way for a new access road- today's Grosvenor Street. St. Briget's was rebuilt in St.Martin's Ash, Nicolas Street the following year- but in turn was demolished to make way for the inner ring road in the 1960s. Horse-drawn buses in London...