Sitting outside the picturesque pub in Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, my gaze is taken by a large wooden carving of a hand. The pub sign depicts a red bloodied hand. There isn’t an abundance of pubs and hotels that are named the Hand Hotel, yet I’ve been to Llangollen and Chirk today and each one has a ‘Hand Hotel’.
Many people offer the same explanation to the origin of the name, with just a little variation. They state that the Hand refers to the red hand seen on the Myddeltons of Chirk Castle’s Coat of Arms. They talk of a dying Lord with male twins as heirs and a question of inheritance. In order to determine who inherits the estate, a race is held and the winner is determined by the first brother whose hand crosses the finishing line. The race nears its conclusion and the trailing twin, aware that his fortune is disappearing, chops off his hand and throws it across the line in a desperate attempt to be first and to secure his inheritance.
However, the true story of the origin of the bloodied red hand on the Myddelton’s Coat of Arms is a little less dramatic.
Sir Thomas Myddelton I (1550-1631) bought Chirk Castle in 1595 and the castle would become the seat to the Myddelton estate.
Sir Thomas Myddelton II (1586-1666) was a Sergeant Major General of the Parliamentary Forces in North Wales and was prominent in battles against Royalist forces during the Civil War. However, he disagreed with putting King Charles I on trial and became disillusioned with Cromwell’s military dictatorship. He changed allegiances, becoming a Royalist and joined George Booth’s Cheshire Rising proclaiming Charles II as King at Wrexham in 1659. He would outlive his son also named Thomas.
Sir Thomas Myddleton III (1624-1663) became Governor of Chirk Castle in 1646 and held Chirk Castle on behalf of Charles II even after George Booth’s defeat in 1659. Due to the Myddeltons’ support of Charles II, the younger Thomas Myddelton was rewarded with a Baronetcy on the 4th July 1660, after Charles II’s ‘Glorious Restoration’
The Baronetcy awarded to Thomas Myddelton in 1660 is central to this story , because with the Baronetcy came the right to incorporate the ‘arms of Ulster’ or the ‘bloodied hand’ into the Myddleton Coat of Arms
The hereditary Order of Baronets in England was established by James I in 1611. Baronetcies in the early 17th century could be purchased by gentlemen of ‘good birth’ and who earned more than £1000 a year for a fee equivalent to three year’s salary of 30 soldiers (£1095). The objective was to raise money for troops to be sent to ‘defend and secure the Kingdom of Ireland, but more importantly the Province of Ulster.’ Those who were awarded the Baronetcy were allowed to display ‘the Red Hand of Ulster’ – the arms of the ancient ‘Kings of Ulster’ within their own Coat of Arms..
Although the story of the twins and their inheritance is engaging, the reason why there are pubs and hotels called The Hand in the Ceiriog and Dee valley and at one time in Wrexham is simple. The Myddeltons of Chirk Castle were prominent landowners in the area and the hand was a reference to their Coat of Arms. The ‘Bloodied Hand’ celebrated Sir Thomas Myddelton III being awarded the Baronetcy in 1660.
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