the command of the Danish King Anlaf or Olaf to invade England.  He had as his father-in-law, Constantine, King of the Scots, and many Welsh Chieftains supported him.  They made good their landing but were completely routed by King Athelstan, Grandson of Alfred, as stated above.

It is more than probable that Anlaf sailing from Dublin would come over to England by the usual route to the havens opposite, near the great roadstead of the Dee estuary.

One must not forget that the sea has made great ravages upon this coast, destroying much ground between Wallasey and West Kirby, though compensating for it in some measure by depositing the material in the estuary itself in the shape of banks of mud and sand.  Nor must one overlook the existence of the old forest of Wirral, which stretched, as the old saying ran—­

  From Blacon Point to Hilbre
    Squirrels in search of food
  Might then jump straight from tree to tree. 
    So thick the forest stood!

Chester was held by the king, for the warlike daughter of Alfred, Ethelfleda, had rebuilt it as a fort after it had been lying in waste for generations, and had established another at Runcofan, or Runcorn.  It was natural, therefore, for Anlaf to avoid the waters protected by Athelstan’s fleet and seek a landing perhaps at the old Roman landing-place of Dove Point, near Hoylake, or in the inlet now carved into the Timber Float at Birkenhead.  Norse pirates had made a settlement here beforehand, as the place names, Kirby, Calby, Greasby, and Thorstaston, seem to indicate.

Bromborough would be just the spot for a strategist like Athelstan to meet the invader, trying to force a way between the forest and the marshes about Port Sunlight.  This old port at Dove Point has been washed away, though many wonderful relics of Roman and earlier times have been found there, and are safely housed in the Chester Museum.  Once again it was used for the embarking of the army under William III, when he sailed for Ireland to meet the late king, James II, in battle.

When Chester began to lose its trade through the silting up of its harbour, about the reigns of the Lancastrian kings, it became necessary to sail from lower down the estuary, Parkgate being in the best position and possessing a quay, while Dawpool was also frequently used.  But a good port was necessary, because Ireland was frequently in rebellion, and troops were usually passed over the channel from this region.

Parkgate was most prosperous in the eighteenth century, but the construction of the great Irish road through Llangollen to Holyhead, and of a good coach road from Warrington to Liverpool, and the later development of railways caused its decline, until in our time it was only known for its shrimps and as the headquarters of a small coast fleet of fishing-boats.