Gore's General Advertiser of 3rd August, 1786, announces that D. Dale had removed from George's Coffee House in Castle Street (where Parr's Bank now stands), "to that spacious mansion, lately occupied by Thomas Tarleton, Esq. in Water Street, now the King's Arms Inn and Tavern" and soliciting a continuance of the favours of the public. In 1822 the Select Vestry of Liverpool took the King's Arms Inn and made use of it as the Parish Offices. Three views of this house by James Brierley exist, two in the Athenæum Library, one in the Public Library, Liverpool. One of the views in the Athenæum is of the house only; the other, dated 1830, shows part of the Talbot Hotel and the house, as does the one in the Public Library which is dated 1829.

In the superimposed plan of 1822 on the 1777 plan, the Talbot Hotel is shown as one of the buildings which has been set back, but not Mr. Tarleton's house. In Holwood's Plan of Liverpool in 1803 the same may be noticed; measurements of this house on both Gregson's Plan and Holwood's are the same, proving the accuracy of these plans. Holwood's Plan gives the exact site of each house, and the house west of the Talbot Hotel is the 15th house from the river, it will be remembered that the 15th assessment of 1708 was William Clayton's.

Brierley's view in the Public Library is entitled "A View of the Parish Offices, late King's Arms Inn, Water Street, Liverpool, 1829," the larger view of the two in the Athenæum is entitled "A View of the Parish Offices (late King's Arms Inn) and the Talbot Hotel, Water Street, 1830." The Public Library view measures 11 in. by 13 ins. and the Athenæum view, 20 in. by 13 in. The 1829 view shows the house, a small part of the Talbot Hotel, and the entrance to Fenwick Street, with two of the Water Street houses. The 1830 view shows the house with two ornamental pillars placed on the front of it, a larger portion of the Talbot Hotel, and it will be noticed that the

words WATER STREET have been removed from the left hand side of the house in this view. Both views show an arch above the doorway of the house which is divided by a large space with rough edges. The stone bearing the Clayton Arms came, I suggest, from this space over the door of Clayton's House, afterwards Tarleton's, afterwards the King's Arms Inn, afterwards the Parish Offices. In my opinion in 1786, when the house was turned into an hotel, the stone with the arms was removed by Thomas Tarleton to his property at Aigburth known as Mr. Bailey's barn. John Tarleton, the father of Thomas Tarleton, is given by Enfield in 1774 as being the owner of Aigburth Hall, which stood not very far from where the arms now are. They were afterwards, about 1850, placed by Mr. Moss on the Otterspool Farm, Church Lane, south of St. Ann's Church, Aigburth, where they may still be The stone on which they are carved is about three feet in height and about 2 feet wide. It is inserted in the north front of the gable at the east end of the farm. The arms are similar to those on the monument to Elizabeth Clayton, now in St. Nicholas's Church, Liverpool.

seen.

The stone shows the crest of Leigh above the arms, which are those of Clayton, Leigh (of Oughtrington), and Hawarden. The heraldry may be described as follows: Crest. A cubit arm erect, vested paley of six, or and sable, cuff argent, holding in the hand proper a broken tilting spear of the third; all on a wreath, on a helmet.

Arms. Argent, a cross engrailed sable between four torteaux (Clayton); impaling, Quarterly, 1 and 4 Or, a lion rampant Gules (Leigh of Oughtrington), 2 and 3 Argent. a bend lozengy sable (Hawarden, Ancient).

I therefore infer that the house on the south side of Water Street was built by William Clayton and his wife soon after their marriage in 1690, and remained standing until 1830-1833, when it was demolished by the Corporation for the widening of this part of Water Street. The Bank of Liverpool now stands on the site.

These arms and crest are a very interesting relic of old Liverpool, and with the arms of the Molyneux (Earl of Sefton's) family on their former house No. II, Lord Street, over the window above the entrance to Commerce Court, and the crest and arms of the Hockenhull family on the front of their house built about 1707, and now numbered 25, Union Street, are the only family arms of old Liverpool houses remaining. The Molyneux arms over Commerce Court are Azure, a cross moline, or. The house in Union Street, on the south side, is given in the Assessment of 1708, as Capt. Hockennall, a house, o 2 0." The crest and arms are those of the Hockenhulls of Prenton, Tranmere and Shotwick, in Wirral, so that Capt Hockennall would be of this family. They are as follows:Crest, an animal's head, a buck erased, pierced with an arrow barbed and flecked. Arms, an Ass's head erased.

I wish to thank the authorities of the Athenæum and Public Library, Liverpool, for their kind permission to take the photographs of the views and plans.