The country from Northwich to Chester is intirely sand, and very deep: a barren view; once a forest. They dig up the turf every where for fewel; which prevents for ever its being capable of cultivation, otherwise not impracticable: the oaks are all gone. Mid-way is the Chamber in the forest, as called, upon a very high hill of sandy stone. Here they say Edelfleda, the great Mercian princess, built a city; I rather believe, a fortress, and that probably one of the Romans originally, to guard this road. We can scarce affirm any thing of the Roman way is visible, except at first setting out from Northwich, and near Chester, where it falls into the original Watling-street, half a mile off the city, by the river side: but there can be no manner of doubt but that a Roman way was drawn here, to that we rode on before: how it was done by that people, I cannot guess; for it was impracticable to raise a bank; and it would be wholly vain in this sand, unless they dug it away to the bottom, which is impossible: I suppose it was by stones set on both sides at proper distances, for a direction only, which are since carried away, or buried by the sands; for now and then we saw a stone seeming to be milliary. There is a horse-race, with a very good course; which shows the turf is well consolidated, where not skimmed off for the purposes aforesaid. When we draw near to Chester, we see on the left the Welsh mountains: on one, which is a very steep precipice on all sides, stands Beeston castle: before us, they rise one above another, and leave the clouds below their summits. Mr. Gale gives us several instances of _Condate_, and the like words, signifying a place where is the union of some rivers: and such is the situation of Northwich, where the Dane and the Weaver meet at the town; and the Pever a little below it, by the salt-rock. At Tarvin, where the road passes over a river approaching to Chester, is Stanford, so called from it. DEVA. +Chester.+ This is a noble old city, the work of the victorious 20th Legion, the conquerors of these western regions. It is manifest at first sight, that they regarded, in the plan of it, the known form of their camps: it is a parallelogram set to the four quarters of the heavens; the longest side north and south: suburbs are extended eastward, and a new gate called the bars, where the Watling-street, and the road from Condate, enters: the Roman walls take in exactly the space of 10,000 foot, or two miles. The soil is sandy, upon rock of a red colour and sandy composure, with small pebbles intermixed. The soil has been more or less sandy ever since we left the Chiltern hills at Dunstable. [Illustration: 65·2ᵈ. _The outside_ Front _of the_ Roman Gate _of the_ Watling-street _call’d_ East Gate _at_ Chester, _as standing 2. Aug. 1725._ _The_ Ichnography. _Stukeley delin._ _Sturt sc._] [Sidenote: TAB. LXV]