DANIEL MORRIS DISCOVERS MORE ABOUT A PROJECT TO RESTORE CHURCH PANELS AT THE HISTORIC ESTATE THAT WAS ONCE HOME TO LEGENDARY JOHN ‘MAD JACK’ MYTTON.
Home to the legend of one of Shropshire’s most endearingly hedonistic rogues, the Halston Estate boasts a delicious wealth of historical intrigue as well as an abundance of physical charm.
Situated near Whittington, its proud grounds are home not only to its impressive manor, but also one of Shropshire’s most precious ecclesiastical treasures – a chapel that an exciting new project is now throwing into the spotlight.
Halston’s recorded history goes back to before the Norman Conquest. Known as ‘Holy Stone’ in medieval times, it was then one of many great estates held by the powerful Knights of St John – a brotherhood founded to protect pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land.
Today’s house of mellow brick embellished with attractive stonework was built in 1690, then modernised in the 1760s.
The influential Mytton family, whose lands included 32,000 acres in North Wales, moved to Halston in 1549, and lived there until after John ‘Mad Jack’ Mytton died, nearly 300 years later.
Halston’s most infamous son, ‘Mad Jack’ was born at the estate in 1796. He inherited a fortune worth about £500,000 a year by today’s standards, but died in a debtors’ prison at the age of 37.
“Squire Mytton gambled, drank six bottles of port a day and devoted his life to the robust pleasures of a country gentleman,” said current Halston owner, Rupert Harvey.
“He ‘invested’ £10,000 to become MP for Shrewsbury, but spent less than half an hour in the House of Commons.”
Madcap pranks reportedly made Mytton a legend in his own lifetime. A drunken friend was allegedly put to bed with two bulldogs and a bear. Mytton supposedly also went duck shooting by moonlight on Halston’s frozen lake, dressed in only his nightshirt. And, disguised as a highwayman, complete with his blazing pistols, he was also known to ambush departing guests on the Oswestry road.
Though ‘Mad Jack’ lost his money, he never lost his friends. Three thousand people attended his funeral. He is buried in the chapel at Halston.
One of only two timber-framed churches in Shropshire, experts believe that the chapel was built in the second half of the 15th century. Now, an important restoration project is under way to restore an important element of its glory – and it is in need of help.
The Friends of Halston Chapel is a charity that was recently set up in order to preserve and restore the chapel along with its fixtures and fittings, allow public access and to protect its usability as a place of worship.
Rupert is one of the trustees of the charity, and along with restoration director Annabelle Monaghan is spearheading a project to restore the chapel’s beautiful hatchments – the diamond-shaped tablets adorning it that display the heraldic components of the Mytton family’s coat of arms.
“There are seven hatchments in place within the chapel and are all listed in Summers and Titterton’s Hatchments in Britain,” said Rupert.
“In its introduction to Hatchments in Shropshire, it is stated that ‘the best family collection is the seven hatchments for the Mytton family at Halston Hall’.
“In the first instance, we have managed to raise some funds to allow us to start the restoration of these hatchments.
“Annabelle has done various restorations of churches and hatchments. So far, three of our seven hatchments are in her workshop and will be spending the next year with her.
“Sadly, we require further funding to ensure the refurbishment of the full set, and are doing our best to raise it.”
Halston Chapel’s beauty and significance to local heritage will no doubt inspire many people to want to support the project.
The chapel’s trusses are richly moulded, and a perfect microcosm of its grandeur. The spandrels of all the main trusses are carved in a bold coarse style with a variety of subjects including a lion, two horned beasts, a wyvern, a bearded face beneath a mitre and another similar face, and an otter with a fish in its mouth.
The chapel’s internal layout, with most of the seating arranged along the north and south walls, but with pews to north and south at the east, is presumably of the same age as its panelling – circa 1600.
A true gem of the county that has lived, breathed and preserved the history of the area for 600 years, Halston Chapel deserves to be made whole. We suspect that ‘Mad Jack’ would certainly feel the same.
Rupert hopes that with just a bit more support, the dream of bringing all of the treasured hatchments back to glory can be made a reality.
“Any help that anyone can give would be tremendously well received,” he added.
Outside of the hatchment restoration project, Halston also serves as a wonderful function venue, and anyone with any inquiries is encouraged to get in touch.
“Whether as a private or corporate party venue, for conferences and product launches or as a film location, you can be sure of a warm welcome at Halston,” said Rupert.
“The rooms – spacious and well-furnished – are bright with fragrant flowers fresh from the garden. You can recapture the peaceful atmosphere of days gone by, when horse-drawn carriages clattered up the drive.
“Tempting views of distant hills are a reminder that Halston makes an ideal base for exploring North Wales (the border is a ten-minute drive away) and Shropshire’s lovely ‘Lake District’ around Ellesmere.”
For more information on the Halston estate, visit www.halstonestate.co.uk/
Donations to the hatchment restoration project can be made at www.justgiving.com/charity/
