Hawarden Church has a central tower, surmounted by a short spire; it was restored by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1857.  A window to the memory of Mr. Gladstone, by the late Sir Edward Burne-Jones, has just been placed in the west end.

[Illustration:  Photochrom Co., Ltd.

HAWARDEN CASTLE.

The home, until his death, of the Rt.  Hon. W.E.  Gladstone.]

YORK MINSTER

=How to get there.=—­Train from King’s Cross.  Great Northern Rly. =Nearest Station.=—­York. =Distance from London.=—­188-1/4 miles. =Average Time.=—­Varies between 3-3/4 to 5 hours.

1st    2nd      3rd
=Fares.=—­Single   27s.   ...   15s. 8d. 
Return   54s.   ...   31s. 4d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=—­“Harker’s York Hotel,” “Black Swan
  Hotel,” “Station Hotel,” etc.
=Alternative Routes.=—­Train from St. Pancras via Sheffield, Midland
  Railway.  Train from Liverpool Street, Great Eastern Railway.

The city of York is one of the most famous and interesting in the kingdom.  It was originally the Eborac of the British and the Eboracum of the Romans, who made it an imperial colony, and the capital of Maxima Caesariensis.  Later the place changed hands many times between Danes and Saxons until the time of William the Conqueror, who built the castle.  The whole city was burnt in 1137, with the cathedral and forty churches, and in the Wars of the Roses it was continually the scene of sanguinary conflicts between the rival parties.  It has been visited at various times by nearly all our kings, and numerous insurrections have been quelled within its walls.  The cathedral—­the chief glory of York—­dates from Saxon times.  The first church was founded by Edwin, the fifth king of Northumbria, but before it was finished he was slain, and the work thenceforward was carried out by his successor Oswald.  The present cathedral was mainly built in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.  Its chief features are a nave with the most magnificent side-aisles in the kingdom, two transepts, a choir, a lady chapel, a large central tower, two bell towers, and a wonderfully fine chapter-house.  During the last century it was twice nearly destroyed by fire, first by the act of a lunatic, and then by the carelessness of a workman.

The present structure takes rank with the finest specimens of Gothic architecture in the world.

Apart from the minster, the whole city teems with archaeological interest.  There are many fine old churches, and much mediaeval architecture, including the gates of the city, which are wonderfully well preserved, one of the best being Micklegate Bar, where Richard Duke of York’s head was exhibited.  The city walls built by Edward I. still remain in a remarkably good state of preservation.  Many of the towers, of which Leland stated there were forty, still exist.

[Illustration:  BOOTHAM BAR AND YORK MINSTER.]