Of the venerated and unmolested, Speke Hall is, perhaps, the oldest in South Lancashire that remains as an example of the "magpie," or black-and-white half-timbered style. It stands upon the margin of the estuary of the Mersey, a few miles above Liverpool, with approach at the rear by an avenue of trees from the water's edge. As with all the rest of its class, the foundations are of solid masonry, the house itself consisting of a framework of immensely strong vertical timbers, connected by horizontal beams, with diagonal bracings, oak in every instance, the interstices filled with laths upon which is laid a peculiar composition of lime and clay. The complexion of the principal front is represented in our drawing, but no pencil can give a perfect idea of the repose, the tender hues, antique but not wasted, the far-reaching though silent spell with which it catches and holds both eye and fancy. Over the principal entrance, in quaint letters, "This worke," it is said, "25 yards long, was wolly built by Edw. N., Esq., Anno 1598." The N. stands for Norreys, the surname of one of the primitive Lancashire families, still represented in the county, though not at Speke. A baronial mansion belonging to them existed here as early as 1350, but of this not a stone that can be recognised remains. A broad moat once surrounded the newer hall, but, as in most other instances, the water has long since given way to green turf. Sometimes, in Lancashire, the ancient moats have been converted into orchards. Inside, Speke is distinguished by the beauty of the corridors and of the great hall, which latter contains some carved wainscoting brought from Holyrood by the Sir Wm. Norreys who, serving his commander, Lord Stanley, well at Flodden, A.D. 1513, got leave to despoil the palace of the unfortunate monarch there defeated. The galleries look into a spacious and perfectly square central court of the kind usually pertaining to these old halls, though now very seldom found with all four of the enclosing blocks of building. The court at Speke is remarkable for its pair of aged yew trees; one of each sex, the female decked in autumn with its characteristic scarlet berries--a place for trees so exceptional that it probably has no counterpart. Everywhere and at all times the most imperturbable of trees, yews never fail to give an impression of long inheritance and of a history abreast of dynasties, and at Speke the association is sustained perfectly. [Illustration: SPEKE HALL] [Illustration: HALE HALL]