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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..024e3dc --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #62621 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62621) diff --git a/old/62621-0.txt b/old/62621-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f250351..0000000 --- a/old/62621-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7935 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Memorials of Shrewsbury, by Henry Pidgeon - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Memorials of Shrewsbury - being a concise description of the town and its environs, adapted as - a general guide for the information of visitors and residents - - -Author: Henry Pidgeon - - - -Release Date: July 12, 2020 [eBook #62621] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMORIALS OF SHREWSBURY*** - - -Transcribed from the 1837 John Eddowes edition by David Price, email -ccx074@pglaf.org - - [Picture: Book cover] - - - - - - MEMORIALS - OF - SHREWSBURY: - - - BEING A - - CONCISE DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN - - AND ITS ENVIRONS, - - Adapted as - - A General Guide - - FOR THE - - INFORMATION OF VISITORS AND RESIDENTS. - - BY - - HENRY PIDGEON. - - ILLUSTRATED WITH THIRTY-SIX ENGRAVINGS. - - * * * * * - - “FLOREAT SALOPIA.” - - * * * * * - - Shrewsbury: - PRINTED BY JOHN EDDOWES, CORN-MARKET. - - 1837. - - TO THE - - Rev. William Gorsuch Rowland, M.A. - - MINISTER AND OFFICIAL OF - THE ROYAL PECULIAR OF ST. MARY’S, SHREWSBURY, - AND PREBENDARY OF LICHFIELD, - - AS A HUMBLE BUT SINCERE TESTIMONY OF RESPECT, - FOR HIS ZEALOUS AND MUNIFICENT EXERTIONS - IN RESTORING AND HEIGHTENING - THE BEAUTIES AND ARCHITECTURE OF SEVERAL OF THE - CHURCHES IN THIS TOWN, - AND FOR HIS - UNWEARIED ATTENTION TO MANY OF OUR - PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS, - - The Memorials of Shrewsbury - - ARE VERY RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, - - BY - HIS OBEDIENT SERVANT, - - _HENRY PIDGEON_. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -A little Manual adapted to assist the enquiring stranger in his -perambulation around Shrewsbury having been long required, an ardent -attachment to his native place, and compliance with the wishes of many -friends whose opinions demand respect, are circumstances that have -induced the present writer to undertake the task, in which he has been -materially assisted by the possession of several volumes of SALOPIAN -ANNALS, or memoranda of all the principal events that have occurred in -the town for several past years, the collection whereof has afforded him -a pleasing recreation in those scraps of time snatched from active -professional avocations—periods wherein every one has his favourite -pursuit, and in which any individual may, by prudently employing them for -his own pleasure, not unfrequently render himself useful to others. - -It may be further stated that the present design is purely patriotic; and -whilst no expence has been spared in the numerous embellishments, candour -and truth (combined with accuracy and conciseness) have been carefully -observed throughout a more extensive field of local information and -graphical illustration than has heretofore been cultivated in any -previous work adapted as a Guide through the Metropolis of -Shropshire,—many subjects being now classified and brought under general -notice for the first time. - -The Author would therefore hope that the MEMORIALS OF SHREWSBURY will be -found to afford a comprehensive and faithful illustration to the stranger -of whatever may be important in this ancient and beautifully situated -town, as well as useful and deserving the confidence of his -fellow-townsmen in particular, to whom he offers them (to use the words -of our great lexicographer) “in the spirit of a man that has endeavoured -well,” and with the utmost sincerity for the best interests of his native -place. - - H. P. - -_High-street_, 1836. - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS, - - - FROM DRAWINGS MADE EXPRESSLY FOR THIS WORK. - - PAGE. - 1. Vignette View of Shrewsbury — - 2. Gateway of Castle 15 - 3. Remains of Old St. Chad’s Church 28 - 4. New St. Chad’s Church 33 - 5. St. Mary’s Church, N.W. 38 - 6. Monument to Rev. J. B. Blakeway, and North 49 - Transept - 7. St. Julian’s and St. Alkmond’s Churches 59 - 8. The Abbey Church 67 - 9. St. Giles’s Church, N.W. 78 - 10. — Interior View 81 - 11. St. Michael’s Church, Castle-foregate 85 - 12. St. George’s Church, Frankwell 88 - 13. Trinity Church, Coleham 92 - 14. Royal Free Grammar School 99 - 15. Town Arms 105 - 16. The County Hall 112 - 17. Market House 117 - 18. Lord Hill’s Column 122 - 19. Howard-street Butter and Cheese Market 129 - 20. The Infirmary 131 - 21. Drapers’ Almshouses 138 - 23. Shearmen’s Hall 150 - 23. The Old Tower 153 - 24. Initial Letter of a Charter from Edw. III. to the 154 - Austin’s Friars - 25. The Welsh Bridge 156 - 26. Portal of Rowley’s Mansion 158 - 27. Gateway of Council House 161 - 28. Drapers’ Hall, Interior View 164 - 29. Ancient Timber House 167 - 30. The Grey or Franciscan Friary 174 - 31. The Waterlane Gateway 177 - 32. The New Theatre 182 - 33. The Royal Baths, Coton-hill 186 - 34. Stone Pulpit 194 - 35. The White Hall Mansion 198 - 36. Battlefield Church 209 - - - - -CONTENTS. - -Shrewsbury—Situation; foundation; etymology. - ANCIENT HISTORY. -State under the Britons; Stephen besieges the Castle; town 13 -taken by Llewelyn; Royal visits; Supreme Courts of Justice; -the Great Parliament; Battle of Shrewsbury; Owen Glendower; -Birth of Richard and George Plantagenet; Proclamation of -Henry VII.; Tradition of the phrase “Proud Salopians;” -Pageant in honour of Sir Henry Sidney; Council House the -residence of King Charles I.; King James II.; Loyally of the -Inhabitants; Visit of their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of -Kent and Princess Victoria. - THE CASTLE AND FEUDAL STATE. -Foundation and early account of the Fortress; Interior 18 -Gateway; General Description; Watch Tower; Prospect from the -Castle Mount; Gates and Towers; Feudal Picture of the Town. - PRESENT STATE OF THE TOWN. -Distant appearance; salubrity; Domestic architecture; Act 21 -for Improving Streets; Gas Company; Population, &c. - ECCLESIASTICAL BUILDINGS. -Prefatory observations; Saxon foundations, lands, 96 -possessions, &c.; cursory notice of the Conventual Churches, -Ancient Chapels, Chantries, and appropriate decoration of -the Sacred Buildings. - -OLD ST. CHAD’S CHURCH.—Fall and account of the ancient -edifice, dawning light of the Reformation, first exercise of -the Protestant Religion, Bishop’s chancel, present remains -of the fabric. - -NEW ST. CHAD’S.—Site, architectural description, chancel -window, monuments, bells, lecture, &c. - -ST. MARY’S.—Interesting variety of the architecture, south -portal, noble effect of the interior, genealogical window of -stained glass, stone organ screen, biographical notice of -the Rev. J. B. Blakeway, transepts, curious font, chantry -chapels, monuments, bells, flight from the spire, &c. - -ST. ALKMOND’S.—Demolition of the ancient church, modern -edifice, eastern window, elegance of spire, first mayor of -Shrewsbury, &c. - -ST. JULIAN’S.—Present fabric, stained glass, monument to -Archdeacon Owen, &c. free lecture. - -ST. MICHAEL’S PARISH WITHIN THE CASTLE.—Ancient history and -trial respecting, parochial limit, etymology of Derfald. - -THE ABBEY CHURCH.—General description, fine west window, -north portal, solemnity of the interior, armorial bearings -and figures in stained glass, organ screen, font, ancient -cumbent effigies, altar tombs and monuments, old painting of -the Crucifixion. - -ST. GILES’S CHURCH.—Antiquity of the structure, primitive -appearance of the interior, stained glass, sepulchral -stones, reflections and prospect from the cemetery. - -ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH.—Western view, consecration, stained -glass, &c. - -ST. GEORGE’S CHURCH.—Consecration, interior decoration, old -hospital, free chapel. - -TRINITY CHURCH.—Foundation and description. - -RELIGIOUS HOUSES.—Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene, Spel-cross. - -DISSENTING MEETING HOUSES.—Roman Catholic Chapel. - ROYAL FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL. -Endowment, its state and pre-eminence, present to Dr. Butler 104 -from his pupils, appointment of Dr. Kennedy, annual prizes, -royal visits, school buildings, chapel, library, -exhibitions, &c. - LOCAL GOVERNMENT, CHARTERS, &c. -Municipal Body; Ancient Seal; Sessions; Courts of Record and 111 -Request; Members of Parliament; Trading Companies; Merchant -Guild; Pageant of Shrewsbury Show. - PUBLIC BUILDINGS. -County Hall, Courts of Justice, Guild Hall and Exchequer, 130 -Market House and Statue of Richard Duke of York, Old Welsh -Bridge, Old East or Stone Bridge, English Bridge, Lord -Hill’s Column and fine panoramic prospect, Town and County -Gaol, Poultry Market, Butter and Cheese Markets. - CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. -Introduction; the Salop Infirmary, Eye and Ear Dispensary, 143 -St. Giles’s Hospital, St. John’s Hospital, Drapers’ -Almshouses, St. Chad’s Almshouses, House of Industry, Humane -Society; the Prison, Parochial, and Town Charities. - CHARITY SCHOOLS. -Bowdler’s or the Blue, Millington’s, Allatt’s, Public 147 -Subscription, Lancasterian, St. Mary’s and St. Michael’s, -St. Chad’s Ladies’, Infant, and Sunday Schools. - WALK WITHIN THE WALLS. -Introduction; Market Square, Mercers’ Hall, the Sextry, 169 -Shearmen’s Hall, Maypole Festivities, Occupation of -Shearmen, Wyle Cop, Residence of the early British Settlers -and the Saxons, Lion Hotel, Beeches Lane, Town Walls, the -Crescent, Ancient Tower, St. John’s Hill, the Austin Friars, -Initial Letter of a Charter from Edward III. the Welsh -Bridge, Quays and Warehouses, Mardol, Rowley’s Mansion, -Hill’s Lane, ancient Houses, the Bell Stone, Shutt Place, -Shoplatch, the Stalls, Ireland’s Mansion, Pride Hill, the -High Cross, Castle Street, St. Nicholas’s Chapel, the -Council House, Court of the Marches of Wales, Loyalty of -Thomas Lyster, Esq. Farquhar’s Recruiting Officer, -Character of Salopians, the Drapers’ Hall, Dogpole, Church -Street, Jones’s Mansion, view of an ancient timber House, -Butcher Row, Fish Street, Belmont, Judges’ House, ancient -College of St. Chad, Vaughan’s Place, Talbot Hotel. - LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS. -Natural History and Antiquarian Society, Subscription 171 -Library, Choral Society, Horticultural Society, Mechanics’ -Institution, Newspapers. - WALK WITHOUT THE WALLS. -Shrewsbury Quarry, Remains of Amphitheatre, Kingsland, 181 -Stury’s Close, Grey or Franciscan Friary, Site of Alderman -Jones’s Mansion, Dominican Friary, ancient Vineyard, the -Water Gate, account of the Entrance of the Parliamentary -Army, River-side Walk, Derfald, Shrewsbury Park, Murder of -Prince Alfhelm, Canal, Prospect from the Gaol Terrace, -Howard-street, Colossal Figure of Hercules, Dana Walk, -Breidden Hills, the Town Walls. - RECREATIVE. -The Drama, Theatre, Circus, Horse Races, Assembly Room, 185 -Salop Hunt, Angling, Aquatic Excursions. - THE SUBURBS—COTON HILL. -Water Works, Spring Water, the Royal Baths, Birth-place of 189 -Admiral Benbow, Coton Hill, Site of St. Catharine’s Chapel, -Berwick, Ancient Course of the Severn, View from Cross Hill. - CASTLE FOREGATE. -Linen Factory, Canal (communicating with London, Liverpool, 180 -&c), Coal Wharf. - SUBURB OF FRANKWELL. -Ancient Domestic Habitations, the Mount Fortification, Site 192 -of Cadogan Chapel and Cross, Monk’s Eye, Township of -Shelton, Glendower’s Oak. - THE ABBEY FOREGATE. -Merivale, Monastic Remains, Ancient Stone Pulpit, Monks’ 201 -Infirmary, Guest Hall or Hospitium, Site of Chapter House, -Earliest authorized Assembly of British Parliament, the New -Road, Reflections suggested by its formation, Abbey -Precinct, Destructive Fire, the White Hall, Race-ground, -Lord Hill’s Column, Sutton Spa, Analysis of the Water, -Anglo-Norman Church. - SUBURB OF COLEHAM. -Situation; Iron Foundry, notice of the Menai Bridge. 201 - TRADE AND MANUFACTURES. -Welsh Webs and Flannel, Communication between London and 207 -Dublin, Railway, Thread and Linen Yarns, Malting Business, -Restoration and Perfection of the ancient art of -Glass-staining, Shrewsbury Cakes, Brawn, eulogy of the Ale, -Markets, Fairs, and Navigation of the Severn. - THE ENVIRONS. -Variety of landscape scenery; Battlefield Church, Grinshill, 225 -Hawkstone, Haughmond Abbey, Haughmond Hill, Village of -Uffington, Albrighton, Albright Hussey, Meole, Ancient -Encampment at Bayston, Condover, Pitchford, Acton Burnell, -Atcham, Longner, Attingham, Wroxeter (the Roman Uriconium), -The Wrekin. - - [Picture: Vignette View of Shrewsbury] - - Admir’d SALOPIA! that with venial pride - Eyes her bright form in Severn’s ambient wave; - Fam’d for her loyal cares in perils tried; - Her daughters lovely and her striplings brave. - - SHENSTONE. - - - - -SITUATION. - - - “A precious stone set in silver.” - - SHAKSPEARE. - -THE Town of SHREWSBURY stands nearly in the centre of the county of which -it is the capital; it is situated on two gentle declivities, and is -formed by the river Severn into a peninsula, somewhat in the shape of a -horse-shoe, having an isthmus not more than three hundred yards across. - -A variety of opinions have prevailed as to who made choice of the -commanding situation and natural retreat which the town affords, as well -as to the period of its foundation. - -It has been stated to be of far prior date than the ancient Uriconium -(the present Wroxeter), from the circumstances that it was the custom of -the Romans to throw up stations, and to make roads parallel or adjacent -to British camps. One thing however is certain, that no vestige of that -imperial people has been discovered within its precinct. - -The truth is conceived to be, that Shrewsbury was occupied or built some -time in the fifth century, after the destruction of the Roman Uriconium, -as a place where the fugitive Britons might find an asylum from the -devastations of their Saxon invaders. - - - - -ETYMOLOGY. - - -The Britons gave the place the appellation of _Pengwern_, the Saxons -_Scrobbes-byrig_; both are synonymous, importing a fenced eminence -covered with shrubs. The ancient Welsh called it, and do so to this day, -_Ammwythig_, signifying “The Delight.” The Normans _Sciropesberie_, and -subsequently _Salopesberie_ and _Schrosbury_, from whence is formed its -present name Shrewsbury and Salop. The antiquary Leland thus beautifully -accounts for its name: - - Edita Pengwerni late fastigia splendent, - Urbs sita lunato veluti mediamnis in orbe, - Colle tumet modico; duplici quoque ponte superbit: - Accipiens patria sibi lingua nomen ab alnis. - -which may be thus translated— - - Built on a hill, fair SALOP greets the eye, - While Severn like an eel curves gliding by: - Two bridges cross the bark-conveying stream, - And British alders gave the town a name. - - - - -ANCIENT HISTORY. - - -When the Britons had become somewhat settled in their new possessions, -they built themselves a city, which (as has been already stated) was -called _Pengwern_. After its destruction under Cynddylan, we find -Pengwern inhabited by a King of Powis,—the capital of his kingdom, and -ranking among the twenty-eight cities of Britain. - -Brochwel Yscithrog, or the tusked, King of Powis, whom the Saxon -Chronicle calls the Earlderman of the Britons, retained possession of a -great part of Shropshire, and fixed his residence in Pengwern, about 617; -his palace being where the ruins of Old St. Chad’s Church now stand. - -Eliseg, his sixth descendant, recovered the portion of his “inheritance -of Powis” from the Saxons, by the sword, during the reign of the Mercian -King Offa, which continued from 755 to 794, but being unable to maintain -it, he surrendered by treaty to the Saxons, whereby Pengwern lost the -dignity of a metropolis. - -Of the state of our town under its native princes we have no information: -the arts of civil life, in which the Britons had improved, under their -Roman masters, were probably lost during the almost constant warfare of -three centuries. This we may reasonably conclude was the case, from the -appellation given to it by the new possessors, _Scrobbes-byrig_, a fenced -eminence, but overgrown with shrubs. - -Nothing is related of the town during the period it formed a portion of -the Mercian territory, though the place doubtless experienced the many -revolutions of that kingdom. - -In the reign of Alfred, Scrobbes-byrig was numbered among the principal -cities of Britain. Ethelred the Unready, having been pursued by the -Danes, kept his Christmas here in 1006, and in the next year resigned the -government of Mercia unto his son-in-law Ædric, who made this town his -occasional his occasional residence. - -Under the Saxon monarchs the town must have been of importance to possess -the privilege of a mint, which it retained for a considerable period, -many coins of which are extant. - -Ædric Sylvaticus, or the Forester, in conjunction with Owen Gwynedd, -Prince of North Wales, laid siege to the town in 1068; but William the -First sending two earls to the relief of the castle, the rebels burned a -portion of the town and withdrew: the king however speedily revenged the -insult with much slaughter. - -The Saxons were removed from all places of trust by the Norman Conqueror, -who rewarded his principal adherents with portions of their lands. He -conferred upon his kinsman, Roger de Montgomery, the earldom of -Shrewsbury, to which he added a grant of the town and ample domains in -the county. - -In 1138, the nation being divided as to Stephen’s right to the crown, -that monarch laid siege to the castle. Fitz Alan, the governor, -favouring the Empress Maud, fled, and Stephen, who had conducted the -siege in his own person, was so exasperated at the obstinacy of the -besieged, who resolutely held out nearly four weeks, that he put -ninety-three of them to an ignominious death. - -From the border situation of Shrewsbury to a hostile country, it was -considered of much importance to our early monarchs, and consequently -became the scene of many a negotiation and contest with the Welsh, whose -frequent incursions were most harassing. - -The Princes of North Wales having been long uneasy neighbours to the -Kings of England, John thought it expedient to hold a council here to -make a treaty with Llewelyn the Great, the then Prince of Wales. In the -year 1202 the king gave Llewelyn his natural daughter Joanna in marriage; -and, as if in gratitude to his father-in-law, he soon recommenced -hostilities against him, and marched with a numerous body of his vigorous -subjects from the Cambrian wilds to Shrewsbury, which he succeeded in -taking without much resistance. - -The town, however, did not long continue under the subjection or -possession of its new masters, they being dispossessed by Henry III. who -on more than one occasion kept his court here. - -In 1234, Richard, Earl Marescall, being told that Henry intended to seize -him when he repaired to parliament, fled to Llewelyn, and they both -appeared before Shrewsbury with a powerful army, and burned part of the -suburb of Frankwell, returning to the mountains laden with the spoil of -the inhabitants, many of whom they had barbarously murdered. - -Henry III. with his forces again marched to Shrewsbury in 1241, where he -remained a fortnight, when David relinquished all lands Llewelyn had -seized from the late king in the war between him and his barons. - -In 1256, Henry, wishing probably to attach himself in the favour of the -burgesses, in order to make their town a bulwark against Wales, granted -them two new charters on the same day; he likewise summoned his army -here; and in 1260 great activity was evinced in fortifying the town, in -consequence of a rupture which was speedily expected from the aggression -of the Welsh Prince. - -Edward the First resided here in 1277, whither he transferred some of the -supreme courts of justice. In 1282 David joined Llewelyn, who again took -up arms, which compelled Edward to return to Shrewsbury with his courts, -where he had assembled his army, which remained some months. - -David, the last of the princes of the Ancient Britons, having at length -become a prisoner in the hands of Edward in 1283, was sent in chains to -Shrewsbury, where a parliament was assembled to meet Sept. 30th, being -“_the first national convention in which the Commons had any share by -legal authority_.” Twenty cities and towns, Shrewsbury being one, were -directed to send two deputies, and every high sheriff to send two -knights. It is supposed they met in the chapter house, or refectory of -the abbey, where David was tried and cruelly condemned to be dragged at a -horse’s tail through the streets of Shrewsbury, and to be afterwards hung -and cut down while alive, his heart and bowels burnt before his face, his -body quartered, and his head sent to London to accompany that of his -brother Llewelyn. - -Revenge, it may be said, is sweet; but how often does it occur that the -gratification of resentment over a fallen enemy transmits his encomium to -posterity. - -The town, being strongly fenced, was visited by Edward in 1322, where he -was honourably received by the inhabitants, who went out to meet him clad -in armour; he continued here for several days, about which time many of -the nobility had assembled to witness a grand tournament. - -Richard II. Jan. 29th, 1397–8, adjourned his parliament from Westminster -to Shrewsbury, which was denominated the “GREAT PARLIAMENT,” from the -important state affairs which were transacted in it. The cross of -Canterbury was brought here, upon which the lords spiritual and temporal -were sworn to observe and keep all the statutes which were then made. -Chester was on this occasion made a principality, and several oppressive -laws enacted, which afterwards formed some of the accusations against -Richard by Henry of Bolingbroke, when he usurped the throne. - -The revolution which placed Henry of Lancaster on the throne seems to -have met the approbation of the inhabitants; for when the Duke ostensibly -proceeded into Wales to please Richard, he was nobly received here. - -After the death of Richard, Owen Glendower, concerning whose birth the -muse of Shakespeare says— - - “The frame and foundation of the earth - Shak’d like a coward”— - -asserted his pretensions to the two ancient principalities of North Wales -and Powis, and pursued his claim with undaunted courage, added to a -strong resentment for the contumely with which his demands, public and -private, had been treated by the successor of the unfortunate Richard, to -whom he was a firm and unshaken friend. On the 20th of September, 1400, -he boldly caused himself to be proclaimed Prince of Wales, and infested -the Marches with a strong body of Welshmen, who maintained a warfare -against the governing authorities. In this he was subsequently supported -by the Earl of Northumberland, headed by his son, the valiant Henry -Percy, surnamed Hotspur, who being assisted by the Earl of Worcester and -a numerous force of Scottish troops under the command of Earl Douglas, -agreed to meet Glendower at Shrewsbury. Henry, being made acquainted -with their movements, hastened with all speed to secure this important -town, and arrived here July 21st, 1403, just in time to hoist his banner -on the walls, and thereby secure the stability of his crown, having but a -few hours’ march of Percy and his advanced guard. - -On the morning of the 22d, the memorable BATTLE OF SHREWSBURY commenced; -the skirmishing began under the walls of the Castle Gates, but the -principal scene of action was about three miles distant, at a place -called BATTLEFIELD. The armies on both sides amounted, it is said, to -40,000, and the contest was severe and sanguinary. Fate, however, -decided that the efforts of Henry against this powerful faction should be -victorious—a faction, which, having contributed to place him on the seat -of government, now sought to dethrone him. The king is recorded to have -fought with an ardour worthy the crown he was defending, and the spear of -his warlike son, the future hero of Agincourt, did wonders. In fact it -was one of the most decisive battles recorded in early English history. - -Upwards of 2000 nobles, knights, and gentlemen, and 6000 private -soldiers, are said to have fallen in the engagement. - -Most of the dead bodies were buried on the spot, over whom Henry, in -gratitude for his victory, piously erected a college of secular canons to -pray for the souls of the slain. The more distinguished were interred in -the Dominican and Augustine Friaries of the town. - -The gallant Hotspur was discovered among the slain covered with wounds, -and dispatched to Shrewsbury, where Henry satiated his revenge by the -ignominy of dismembering the lifeless remains, the head and quarters of -which were exhibited over the gate at York, and afterwards delivered to -his wife for interment. The Earl of Worcester, Sir Richard Vernon, &c. -were beheaded. - -Shakspeare, in his Henry the Fourth, has given vividness and immortality -to this battle, and humourously peopled it with heroes of the most -fanciful description. - -The Cambrian chieftain, Glendower, with an army of 12,000 men, marched as -far as Oswestry, and was by some means unable to arrive in time to join -in the action; for had he reached ere the king’s forces were victorious, -the result might have terminated very differently for the king and his -valiant son. Gough states a tradition, that Glendower proceeded to -Shelton, and ascended a lofty oak (the trunk of which is still remaining -near the Oswestry road), from whence he might reconnoitre and gain the -earliest intelligence of the event of the battle. - -The royal blood of this noble Welshman was in no respect chilled by the -defeat of his confederates, for in the next year he carried his ravages -even to the gates of the Welsh Bridge, destroying much of the suburb of -Frankwell and several townships in the vicinity. - -In 1460, Edward IV. marched with an army of 23,000 men from this town to -the battle of Mortimer’s Cross, and he chose this place for the residence -of his queen, where she was delivered of her second and third sons, -Richard and George Plantagenet. - -On the landing of the Earl of Richmond, afterwards King Henry the -Seventh, at Milford Haven, in August, 1485, he determined to march for -Shrewsbury. On his arriving at the Welsh Bridge he found the place in a -posture of defence, the gates closed against him, and the bailiffs within -ready to give their answer. On his demanding admittance as their -rightful king, a curious MS. records that the chief bailiff, Thomas -Mytton, replied—“He knew no king but Richard, whose bailiffs he and his -fellow were, upon which he swore that the earl should not enter there but -over his belly.” On this, Richmond returned and passed the night at -Forton Heath, where his army was encamped. He, however, succeeded the -next morning; and Mr. Mytton, in order to conform with the letter of his -oath, laid himself down on the ground, and permitted the earl to step -over him, whereupon the portcullis of the bridge was drawn up, and the -earl with his retinue were admitted, to the general joy of the -inhabitants, notwithstanding it went _against the stomach_ of the “stoute -wyse gentilman, Maister Myttoon.” - -In Shrewsbury Richmond was first proclaimed king, and raised soldiers, -but left the bailiffs to pay them. He lodged in a house on the Wyle Cop -(three doors below the Lion Inn), from whence he marched to Bosworth -Field, where the engagement took place which deprived Richard III. of his -throne and his life. - -Henry VII. visited the town in 1490, with his queen, and son (Prince -Arthur), and kept the feast of St. George in the collegiate church of St. -Chad; they made another visit in 1495, and were sumptuously entertained -by the corporation. - -At the general dissolution of monasteries, in 1539, it appears to have -been the intention of Henry VIII. to form thirteen new bishopricks, {10} -one of which was to have been at Shrewsbury. Browne Willis states that -John Boucher, Abbot of Leicester, was actually nominated “BISHOP OF -SHREWSBURY;”—hence the tradition, as our historians remark, so gratifying -to the pride of every true Salopian, that their forefathers had the offer -of having their borough converted into a city, but that they preferred -inhabiting the FIRST OF TOWNS. - -1551. The spring of this year was fatally distinguished by the -commencement of a dreadful epidemic in this town, called the “sweating -sickness.” - -During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Henry Sidney, President of Wales -and Lord Deputy of Ireland, visited this town almost annually, and was -always received with the highest respect; his celebrated son, Sir Philip, -was educated at our Free Schools. Sir Henry, as Knight of the Garter, -kept the feast of St. George here, in 1581, with great splendour. He -marched in state from his residence, the Council House, to St. Chad’s -Church, the stalls of which were decorated with the arms of the knights, -divine service being “sung by note.” On the 1st of May, the four masters -of the schools entertained his lordship with a costly banquet, and on the -following day three hundred and sixty of the scholars assembled in the -“Gay,” several of whom addressed him in speeches. He departed on the -8th, by water, “taking his bardge under the Castle,” when another pageant -took place on the island near the Horse Ferry. - -Shrewsbury was a favourite retreat for Charles I. during the troublous -period of his reign, and he was frequently received by the inhabitants -with every feeling of loyalty and attachment. He established a mint -here, and kept his court at the Council House. In the year 1642, he drew -up his army on a spot afterwards called the “SOLDIER’S PIECE,” and which -is now used as a race ground, where he delivered an harangue to them and -the chief gentlemen of the county, who had in his time of need rendered -him pecuniary assistance and service. - -The town was taken by storm in 1644–5, under the command of Colonels -Mytton and Bowyer, of the parliamentary army, the inhabitants -experiencing all the vicissitudes of a siege, in the plunder of their -goods and destruction of property. An attempt was made, in 1654, to -surprise it, in favour of the restoration of monarchy, by Sir Thomas -Harries, but the scheme, although deeply planned, was frustrated. - -James II. in the month of August, 1687, kept his Court at the Council -House, and was attended by many of the nobility and gentry of the county, -on which occasion, it is said, “the conduits ran with wine,” and other -most liberal entertainments and rejoicings welcomed the royal guest. At -the same time he graciously received a purse of one hundred guineas, -which was presented to him by the munificence of the corporation. - -The inhabitants on many occasions have been thus foremost to testify -loyalty to their sovereign. - -In 1715 their adherence to the House of Hanover was strongly manifested -by voluntarily raising a body of horse and foot for the protection of the -town, and placing the walls and gates (then entire) in a position of -defence. - -At the time also apprehensions were entertained of the Pretender and the -Scottish invasion in 1745, a regiment of foot was raised here for the -service of government; and, subsequently, a militia and cavalry have been -embodied. - -In the year 1832, the most lively enthusiasm was displayed on the -entrance into Shrewsbury of Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent and -the Princess Victoria, heir presumptive to the British throne. - -From the foregoing cursory glance given to the leading events of our -ancient history, it may be necessary to remark that it would have been -less difficult to the writer could he have extended his observations as -to particular occurrences; but the nature of the work being a notice of -the _present_ rather than of the _past_ state of the place, brevity of -description in this, as in some other portions, will be indispensible. - -But the numerous features of historical and antiquarian interest which -the town affords, its BRITISH and SAXON state, the destiny of its NORMAN -EARLS, its SIEGE BY STEPHEN, the UNION OF WALES to the English Crown, the -Formation of Parliaments, the BATTLE OF SHREWSBURY and Fall of Hotspur, -the numerous VISITS OF ROYALTY, the Entrance and PROCLAMATION OF HENRY -VII. the Commencement of the CIVIL WAR in the Time of Charles I. and -Meetings of the COUNCIL OF THE MARCHES OF WALES, while forming -constituent parts of our national story, are especially connected with -this town, and will be found amply detailed in the valuable History of -Shrewsbury published by the late Reverend Messrs. Owen and Blakeway, -where everything difficult in civil and ecclesiastical localities is -explained in a scientific and masterly manner, and with the greatest -discrimination. - - - - -THE CASTLE. - - - “But time * * * - Has seen this ruin’d pile complete, - Big with the vanity of state.” - - DYER. - -The civil history of the town being somewhat connected with the Castle, a -notice of that edifice will properly occupy this place. - -After the Earldom of Shrewsbury had been given by William the Conqueror -to Roger de Montgomery, one of his first works was the building of a -stately Castle, or, rather, the enlargement of a previous one, which it -is certain existed here anterior to the Norman Conquest, on that narrow -isthmus where the town is undefended by the river. - -This is supposed to have taken place about the year 1070, on a site -previously occupied by fifty-one houses, and was a measure of necessity, -in order to restrain the hostile incursions of the Welsh, to which the -town, from its situation near the borders, was frequently exposed; and -having probably received injury from the siege two years previous, and -being also limited in size, was inadequate to the dignity of a wealthy -earl, who enjoyed the feudal supremacy of nearly the whole of Shropshire. - -The Castle, in succession, was possessed by the two sons of the founder, -until the reign of Henry I. when it became a royal fortress, under the -custody of a constable. - -Edward I. introduced a new style of castellated architecture; the -stronger portion, therefore, now remaining was probably erected by -direction of that monarch, being in the style generally adopted during -his reign. - -On the union of Wales it was no longer important as a place of defence, -and the building began gradually to decay, although in the civil war it -was repaired and garrisoned for the king, and afterwards escaped the -almost general demolition of royal fortresses by its surrender to the -parliamentary army in 1645. - -The Castle subsequently reverted to the burgesses, who resigned it to -Charles II. and that monarch presented it to Lord Newport. It is now the -property of the Duke of Cleveland, and is occupied by J. C. Pelham, Esq. -one of the members for the borough. - -The present remains have a picturesque effect, and are composed of a deep -red stone. They consist of the keep, the walls of the inner court, and -the great semi-circular arch of - - - -THE INTERIOR GATEWAY, - - -from which the last Norman Earl of Shrewsbury issued with the keys of the -gates to make submission to Henry I. Although the masonry of the jambs -of this noble gateway is singularly irregular, it has, through a period -of nearly 800 years, retained its strength unshaken amid the ravages of -time and war. It was formerly defended by a portcullis and towers. - -The keep consists of two large round towers, embattled and pierced, -connected by a square building of about 100 feet in length. - - [Picture: Gateway of Castle] - -The interior is much altered from its original appearance, and now forms -a handsome private residence, modern pointed windows having been placed -therein when it was repaired by Sir William Pulteney, about the close of -the last century. The drawing room is supposed to have been the guard -chamber in the time of Charles I. The castle still retains one mark of -its ancient dignity, for in the area of the inner court the knights of -the shire are nominated, and when the result of the election is declared, -are girt with their swords by the Sheriff. On the north-east side of -this court is a postern, built in the time of Charles I.; and the -battlements of the western wall have an interior platform, and are -curiously pierced with narrow eyelets for the convenience of the -cross-bowmen, around which time has wove its ivy mantling. - -On the south side within the court is a mount, {16} rising upwards of 100 -feet above the bed of the river. The summit is surrounded by a wall, and -crowned by a watch tower, which forms a bold and beautiful object. The -tower was rebuilt during the repair of the castle, from a design and -under the superintendance of the late Thomas Telford, Esq. who was then -residing with Sir William Pulteney. In this elevated tower Mr. Telford -wrote the beautiful poem to his countryman Burns, and thus alludes to its -site near the river Severn:— - - No distant Swiss with warmer glow - E’er heard his native music flow, - Nor could his wishes stronger grow - Than still have mine; - When up this ancient mount I go - With songs of thine. - -The sides of the mount are richly planted, and the summit commands a view -of unrivalled beauty, with the most extensive amphitheatre of mountains -of which perhaps the island can boast, inclosing within its wide sweep an -eminently fertile, finely wooded, and beautifully diversified champagne -country. ’Tis here that, after the eye has wandered from object to -object, from the foreground to the most extreme distance with delight, -that the words of _Cowper_ naturally occur, as if written upon such as -spot— - - “Oh, scene surpassing fable, and yet true!” - -It is now difficult to form an adequate idea of the original extent of -this fortress; but it is certain that the castle formerly occupied a much -larger space than is now marked out by its walls, the ballium (or outer -court) extending within the town probably as far as the water-lane. The -northern and north eastern sides were defended by a deep ditch or vallum -encompassing the base of the bold and natural elevation on which the -castle stands, having a communication with the river, but it is now -filled up and forms a thoroughfare. - -The remains of a duplicate rampart is distinguishable on the western -side; and other outworks and towers might have stood near the front of -the present county gaol, the Severn being a protection towards the east. - - In auncient tyme our elders had desire, - To buyld their townes on steepe and stately hill; - To shewe that as their hearts did still aspyre, - So should their works declare their worthie will. - - CHURCHYARD. - - - - -THE FEUDAL STATE - - -of Shrewsbury carries with it associations of imposing importance;—seated -upon a hill rising from a noble ambient river, it was thus doubly -fortified by nature; while art, with no unsparing hand, had raised an -almost impregnable rampart of stone, flanked by many towers and gates. -{18} - -The imagination will thus readily picture CAER PENGWERN: the woody -eminence, with its curiously wrought buildings and domestic mansions -ranged in irregular groups, surmounted by lofty spires and embattled -turrets, irradiated by the effulgence of the meridian sun, or catching -the last smiles of his departing ray,—a commanding castle on the narrow -isthmus, with its stately towers and formidable walls, frowning in august -pride high above the surrounding plain,—solitary convents, crested with -pinnacles and gables, in the verdant meadows on the margin of the rolling -stream, over which strongly fortified bridges with massive portcullis and -towers, afforded a defence from hostile invaders. - -This faint retrospect must kindle in the mind considerations of the -progress and fluctuations of science and taste,—the character, condition, -and habits of men in these times,—with the works done “in their days and -in the old time before them;”—while the contemplation thereof cannot fail -of exciting gratitude to the SUPREME GIVER, for the security we _now_ -enjoy, without the precaution of barbican and battlements. - - - - -PRESENT STATE. - - - “A lovely spot - For all that life can ask! Salubrious! mild! - Its hills are green; its woods and prospects fair; - Its meadows fertile!” - - COTTLE’S ALFRED. - -The hold situation of the town, girdled by the health-bearing breezes of -a beauteous river, with an eminence crown’d by aspiring temples, - - That upward cast their golden vanes, and shine - A bright tiara, - -gives a striking and majestic appearance to Shrewsbury. - -When seen from most parts of the adjacent country the town forms a -delightful object,—a gem encircled by a paradise;—new beauties and -charming views being continually produced by the pre-eminent spires and -towers; whilst the effect in the background is much heightened by an -extensive range of noble mountains, which diversify the prospect, and add -interest to the rich and picturesque landscape. - -The exterior of the town is in most parts separated from the river by a -portion of garden and meadow ground, skirted by a line of genteel houses, -which command delightful prospects of the adjoining country. - -As a place of residence Shrewsbury has long been considered highly -eligible, from its elevated and beautiful situation, the salubrity and -general healthfulness of its air, the natural dryness of the soil, the -agreeable drives and promenades by which it is surrounded, and (what is -equally important) the excellence and purity of its water. - -Many parts of the environs have been justly recommended as suitable to -valetudinarians who may visit Shrewsbury from North Wales and other -parts, to avail themselves of the able medical assistance which it -possesses, and who are, as it were, enticed by the agreeableness and -variety of the scenery to a salutary and necessary exercise. - -The interior of the town presents several curious and interesting -specimens of the domestic architecture of our ancestors; the projecting -bay windows, fanciful antique carving, mouldings, &c. display a singular -appearance in contrast with the more modern habitations, in many of which -the taste of their respective proprietors is effectively evinced. - -The streets, as in most other ancient towns, are irregularly formed, and -several of them, it must be admitted, are inconveniently narrow. Many -important alterations have however been made, under the provisions of an -act obtained in 1821, for removing obstructions, watching, lighting, and -the general improvement of the town, the powers of which are vested in -trustees, who must be persons occupying property rated at £50 per annum -to the street assessment, or worth £2000 above reprizes and resident -within the town, or resident and receiving rents to the amount of £80 per -annum, or non-resident and receiving rents from premises within the town -worth £100 per annum, from whom a committee of management of nine -individuals is selected, three of whom retire annually by rotation; and -it has been remarked by one of the first members of this committee, -“_that if judiciously chosen and faithful to their trust_, _our town may -in time assume its due place among the cities of the empire_.” - -In 1820 a company was established, with a capital of £8000, raised in 800 -shares of £10 each, to supply the town with gas. - - - - -POPULATION. - - -The following official return of the population of the five parishes in -Shrewsbury is according to the census ordered by government in 1831:— - - Parishes. Houses. Males. Females. Total. -St. Chad 1583 3496 4224 7720 -St. Mary 1080 3087 3033 6120 -St. Alkmond 356 820 958 1778 -St. Julian 676 1413 1583 2996 -Holy Cross 337 656 821 1477 -& St. Giles - Total population 20,091 - -ECCLESIASTICAL BUILDINGS. - - -The public structures devoted to the service of Religion are among the -first objects that excite the attention, whilst by many they are not -unfrequently looked upon with peculiar feelings of veneration and regard. - -If the source of this feeling were traced, it would be found connected -with those principles and associations which every one who acknowledges -an all-bountiful Creator, or wishes well to his country, would desire to -cherish. - -Shrewsbury, we learn, did not receive much improvement from its original -inhabitants, the Britons; yet what it lost in nominal consequence as the -metropolis of a kingdom it ultimately gained in external splendour and -real importance: this is evinced, among other proofs, by the erection of -five ecclesiastical foundations, all of which were anterior to the Norman -conquest, and originated in Saxon piety. - -Among the earliest of these may be mentioned SAINT CHAD’S, which is -ascribed to one of the Mercian kings, who is said to have converted the -palace of the kings of Powis into a church, about 780. - -A dean and ten prebendaries or secular canons, with two vicars choral, -under the patronage of the Bishop of Lichfield, are stated to have been -placed here at a very remote period. - -Under the Anglo-Saxon monarchs this college possessed twelve hides of -arable land, or as much as paid for 1440 acres to what would be now -called the land-tax; which, by proper cultivation, appears from the -Survey of Domesday to have increased more than double. Other estates -were subsequently added, which form now only insulated districts of the -parish. - -By the act of 1 Edward VI. 1547, the College was dissolved, the tythes -and profits at that time being of the clear yearly value of about £50. -The buildings and estates were leased out, reserving only the small -stipend of £4. 6s. 8d. for the parish minister, charged on the dean’s -prebendal estate at Onslow. - -Although a lease was granted of the tythes, yet only two years afterwards -the greater portion of them were appropriated by Edward VI. in aid of the -Free Grammar School. - -In 1579 Queen Elizabeth granted the remaining possessions of the deanery -to Sir Christopher Hatton; but the corporation and parish seem to have -presented to the living from 1583 until 1658–9, from which time the -patronage has rested with the crown. - -SAINT ALKMUND’S CHURCH owes its foundation to the piety of Ethelfleda, -daughter of Alfred the Great, soon after she succeeded to the sovereignty -of the Mercian territory in 912. - -Her great nephew, King Edgar, being of the race of the Northumbrian -Prince Alkmund, increased the original endowment, and (under the -direction of Archbishop Dunstan) appointed a dean and ten prebends. - -In the reign of Edward the Confessor, this College possessed eleven -manors, nine of which, containing upwards of 4000 acres, it retained at -the Norman survey. - -After experiencing many of the fluctuations common to property, sacred or -otherwise, during the dark ages and under lawless government, these -estates were at length alienated in 1147, at the particular request of -the Dean, Richard de Belemis, and with the consent of King Stephen and -Pope Eugenius III. to the monastery of Lilleshull, which the dean’s -brother, Philip de Belemis, had just commenced, the Prebendaries however -taking care to reserve to themselves a life interest in their several -stipends. - -The college being thus early dissolved and deprived of its valuable -estates, fell into a humble vicarage, which remained in the patronage of -the monks of Lilleshull until the dissolution, when it lapsed to the -crown, in whose hands it continued until 1628, when Rowland Heylin, Esq. -{23} of Pentreheylin, Montgomeryshire, purchased the advowson for the -“feoffees of St. Antholines,” a society instituted for founding -lectureships and augmenting small livings in populous towns. - -This society having been publicly denounced, and the orthodoxy of its -principles questioned, the ministers of King James, in 1663, directed its -suppression, when the living again reverted to the crown. - -THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF ST. MARY is considered to have been founded by -King Edgar, about the year 980; although, from the extensive limits of -the parish, it is probable this was only the renovation of an older -church destroyed by the ravages of the Danes, who, in revenging the -slaughter of their predecessors, not only exercised their warfare against -mankind, but even those works of ingenuity and labour which were -consecrated to devotion did not escape their desolating hand. - -In the time of Edward the Confessor, this college possessed an estate of -nearly 1300 acres, “for the maintenance of a dean, seven prebendaries, -and a parish priest,” which appears to have diminished in point of -cultivation and consequent value at the survey of Domesday, in which, -however, the “vill of Chorleton,” held in conjunction with the church of -St. Juliana, is unnoticed, having probably been acquired afterwards. - -At the suppression of colleges the revenue was £42, when Edward VI. -appropriated the greater part of the tithes of this, as he had done those -of St. Chad’s parish, to the bailiffs and burgesses, for the foundation -of a free school. - -This church from very remote times has been a “royal free chapel,” and -thereby exempt from the jurisdiction of the bishop. - -THE CHURCH OF ST. JULIANA.—Little is known of this, further than its -origin was Saxon, and that it held in the Norman survey “half a hide of -land in the city.” Soon after this period it became distinguished as a -rectory and royal free chapel, and was early united to the church of St. -Michael within the Castle, now destroyed. {24} - -In 1410, Henry IV. annexed both of these churches to his college at -Battlefield; and being thus deprived of its property, St. Julian’s became -no better than a curacy. - -THE CHURCH OF ST. PETER, called “_The Parish of the City_,” was a small -structure of wood, built about Edward the Confessor’s time, by Siward, a -Saxon nobleman, and stood on the site where Earl Roger de Montgomery -founded a large Benedictine Abbey in 1083, which was re-dedicated to St. -Peter, and endowed with a small portion of the vast possessions granted -by the Conqueror to the first Earl of Shrewsbury. - -This venerable warrior being seized with illness while residing in the -castle he had lately built here,—apprehensive, too, that his dissolution -might not be far distant,—and “to be sure of paradise,”—determined, with -the consent of his countess Adelissa, to retire from the world, and -become a monk within the confines of his own monastery. - -This resolution he acted upon July 14th, 1094: and dying three days -afterwards, obtained honourable interment in the “Lady Chapel” of that -pile he had zealously commenced, and, - - “By skill of earthly architect,” - -nearly completed, to the service and honour of his Maker. - -Hugh, his second son, surnamed Probus for his courage, and Goch (or the -Red) by the Welshmen from his complexion, succeeded to the earldom, and -in filial affection came with his barons to the abbey, to visit his -father’s tomb; when he confirmed all former endowments, and gave many -additional privileges, to which several of his barons added estates. {26} - -Scarcely a century had elapsed from its foundation, before the monastery -possessed “seventy-one distinct grants of manors or lands, twenty-four -churches, the tithes of thirty-seven parishes or vills,” besides many -extensive immunities of various descriptions, and an almost matchless -collection of unique relics, in addition to the remains of that popular -“martyr,” St. Wenefreda, which the monks procured, after many tedious -negociations, from the priests and inhabitants of Gwytherin, in the -county of Denbigh, in order to increase the celebrity of their house. -After their translation hither, they were enshrined with much pomp near -the high altar, and attracted multitudes of pilgrims, whose benefactions -greatly contributed to the emolument of the church. - -The abbot of this monastery had the honour of a seat in Parliament, and -the authority of a bishop within his house. Of the 608 monasteries that -existed in this kingdom at the time of the dissolution, it is recorded -“the Abbey of Shrewsbury was 34th in opulence.” - -According to the valor of 26th Henry VIII. the annual income was £572. -15s. 5d. a revenue considered equal to about £4750 of modern currency. - -The surrender of this abbey took place 24th January, 1539–40, when the -estates and buildings immediately passed into lay hands. - -ST. GILES’S CHURCH was built early in the reign of Henry I. for the -service of a hospital of lepers, which stood at the west end of the -present edifice. - -It is supposed to have become parochial about the middle of the fifteenth -century, on being united with the parish of Holy Cross within the -monastery, the abbot and convent, no doubt, having previously possessed -the patronage and appointment of master. - -Subsequent to these, were erected three large conventual churches and -eight smaller chapels, all of which shared the fate of the dissolution; -and of their remains the ceaseless operations of time and the hand of man -have spared but few traces. - -Several chantries, altars, &c. were also maintained by private donations -in these churches; and whether we consider the munificence, the piety, or -the superstition which raised them, we must respect the fervency towards -a good cause, and regret that so much zeal was blessed with such little -knowledge of the truths which, under our reformed religion, we now so -happily enjoy. - -From this cursory view of the piety of our forefathers, it may be justly -asserted, that in the present day there is no provincial town in the -kingdom, considering its extent, where so much has been done to promote -the cause of religion, and to give a suitable effect to buildings set -apart for Divine Worship, as in Shrewsbury. Those individuals, -therefore, whose taste and liberality have mainly contributed to the -accomplishment of this praiseworthy object, are deserving of the best -thanks of their cotemporaries; and to them posterity will owe a debt of -admiring gratitude, in those pleasing feelings of awe which insensibly -steal o’er the mind while contemplating the architectural beauties of -temples dedicated to HIM, whose greatness as far exceeds the capacity of -human thought as doth the immensity of space the smallest atom. - -Our survey of these interesting buildings will commence, in chronological -arrangement, with - - - -THE OLD CHURCH OF ST. CHAD. - - - [Picture: Remains of Old St. Chad’s Church] - - “In midst of towne fower Parish Churches are, - Full nere and close, together note that right: - For they doe seeme a true love knot to sight.” - -These quaint lines of our native poet Churchyard, with the illustrative -vignette, describe the situation which the spacious cruciform church of -Old Saint Chad occupied on the southern eminence of the town. - -The period of its early foundation has been already alluded to, and the -nearly total destruction of the fabric was occasioned by workmen having -very injudiciously commenced under-building (contrary to the advice of an -experienced architect,) one of the pillars that supported the large -central tower, which had shrunk considerably from graves having been -carelessly made too close to its foundations. The slight vibration -occasioned by the chimes proclaiming their matin tune at four o’clock, on -July 9th, 1788, caused the decayed pillar to give way, when the ponderous -tower rent asunder, and with the heavy peal of bells it contained, -falling on the roofs of the nave and transepts; crushed those parts of -the edifice into ruinous desolation, producing a scene of horrid -confusion more easily to be imagined than described. The masons had a -narrow but fortunate escape, and were only waiting at the adjoining house -of the sexton for the keys of the church, to pursue their misdirected -scheme of economy. - -The event excited a great consternation in the town, and the exemplary -vicar, the Rev. Thomas Stedman, addressed an affectionate pastoral letter -to his parishioners on the improvement that should be made of so -remarkable an interposition of Providence, which occurred at a time when -not a single person was within the reach of any injury from it. - -Before the church fell, apprehensions were entertained that some fatal -consequences might follow, from the appearances of decay in different -parts of the building; these fears, however, were comparatively slight, -and no immediate danger expected. But after the event took place it was -found that the shattered state of the edifice was such, that instead of -exciting surprise that it should fall when it did, there were just -grounds for amazement that it should have stood so long. Had the decayed -state of the building been thoroughly understood before it gave way, the -probable opinion would have been, that whenever the disaster happened, it -would be at a time when the effects of it might have been dreadful to -many;—as when the greatest weight was in the galleries, or when the tower -had been shaken by the motion of the bells. Only a month previous, 3000 -persons, it is considered, were assembled in the church to witness the -interment of an officer under military honours. - -The old church was a majestic edifice, erected in the reign of Henry III. -in the style when the round Norman arches were giving way to the -beautiful lancet style. In 1393 the roofs and tower, with the wooden -spire covered with lead, were destroyed by a calamitous fire, occasioned -by the negligence of a plumber while repairing the leads. The damage -being considerable, Richard II. granted to the inhabitants a remission of -their fee-farm rent, and certain other taxes, towards the re-edification. - -From the fragments of Saxon sculpture discovered in portions of the walls -after the fall of the late fabric, the edifice which preceded it must -have been considerably adorned. - -The dawning light of the Reformation in Shrewsbury first beamed in this -church in 1407, by William Thorpe, a priest and disciple of the doctrines -promulgated by Wickliff. This Salopian reformer, in a sermon before the -bailiffs on the third Sunday after Easter, boldly, preached against the -prevailing and favourite tenets of the Romish church; for his temerity he -was thrown into the prison of the town, by command of the local -authorities, where he remained about a month, and was afterwards removed -to Lambeth for examination before the archbishop, the bailiffs preferring -the charge of heresy and schism against him. - -The conduct of Thorpe before his spiritual superior was decent and -respectful, but at the same time he remained zealous in his vindication -of scripture, and firm in support of that which he considered the -truth,—thus intrepidly answering the archbishop, “I’ll tell you at one -word, I dare not from the dread of God submit unto you, notwithstanding -the tenure and sentence that you have rehearsed to me.” He was -accordingly sent back to prison: his subsequent fate is nowhere recorded, -but it is conjectured on good grounds he was liberated after the death of -the archbishop, so that what Fox has asserted of his having died a martyr -to hard usage is probably incorrect. - -The exercise of the Protestant religion in this town also began in this -church in 1573, under the direction of the Bishop of Lichfield and the -Lord President of the Marches, as special commissioners from Queen -Elizabeth. - -The portion of the ruins now remaining stood south of the choir, and -formed a chantry chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary; after the -Reformation it was called the Bishop’s Chancel, from the circumstance of -its being used at the visitations of the bishop and archdeacon. The two -wide semi-circular arches (now walled up) separated it from the transepts -and choir. On the outside north wall are three stone stalls having -pointed arches, the concaves of which are groined; these originally -adjoined the high altar, and formed the seats of the priest, deacon, and -sub-deacon, during a part of the high mass. The east and south sides -display two mullioned windows; one adjoining the newel staircase in the -south-west pier, which once led to the belfry is of an earlier design -than the rest, and was probably introduced when the building was repaired -in 1496; the others have elegant trefoiled tracery, and were erected in -1571, when the chapel was nearly rebuilt by Humphrey Onslow, Esq. to the -dilapidations of which he appears to have been liable by the lease -granted to him of the deanery when the dissolution of the college was -anticipated in 1542–3. - -The interior has an oak panelled ceiling, and contains a few monumental -tablets and hatchments, most of the ancient memorials having been removed -on the fall of the church to other places. - -This chapel is now used as a daily parochial school, and for reading the -burial service connected with the spacious cemetery in which it stands. - -Among the monuments is one to the memory of that excellent man, the Rev. -JOB ORTON, V.D.M. who “being dead, yet speaketh,” in the forcible -discourses and truly admirable writings he has left behind. He was the -friend and biographer of Doddridge, and died 16th July, 1783, aged 66. -His remains were interred at his request in the grave of the Rev. J. -Bryan, M.A. an ejected minister from this church. - -A humble gravestone near the railway leading towards Belmont records the -death of Capt. JOHN BENBOW, who was shot at the Castle, Oct. 16th, 1651, -for his attachment to the cause of King Charles the Second. - -Several members of ancient families and distinguished individuals -connected with the town and county, received interment in this church. -Among these may be mentioned those of CORBET, MYTTON, BURTON, OWEN, -LYSTER, and IRELAND. - -ROWLAND LEE, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, and Lord President of the -Marches, was buried here. He died Jan. 27th, 1542–3, at the College, the -residence of his brother, Sir George Lee, who was the last dean of the -church. - - - -THE NEW CHURCH OF SAINT CHAD - - -is erected on a beautiful site near the Quarry, and, considering the -disadvantages of form which preclude the possibility of much -architectural effect, it may be looked upon as an ornamental building. - - [Picture: New St. Chad’s Church] - -The church is formed by the intersection of two circles, with a tower and -portico attached; the smaller of the circles forming the grand staircase, -and the larger one the body, chancel, and side staircases leading to the -gallery. On each side of the tower is a square wing 24 feet by 19, -appropriated for a vestry and robing room. - -The exterior is divided into two stories, the lower one being rusticated, -and the upper springing from a moulding displaying a continued Ionic -entablature, supported by coupled pilasters of the same order; above the -cornice is a well-proportioned balustrade. - -The windows are circular headed in the upper, and square in the lower -story, and, with the exception of that in the chancel, are uniform; the -latter is Venetian, the divisions being formed with Corinthian pillars. - -The portico consists of four Roman Doric columns and entablature in full -order, and is considered a very fine specimen. - -The steeple is divided into three parts, and, like the body of the -church, is rusticated at the base, which is square; on this rests the -second division, or bell chamber, octangular in shape, and decorated with -Ionic pilasters, cornice, &c.; above rises eight elegant Corinthian -columns, surrounded with an iron railing, and surmounted by a dome and -cross. - -THE INTERIOR carries with it an air of importance, grandeur, and extent, -derived mainly from that form which in the exterior has so much shackled -the efforts of the architect: dazzled for a moment by the first -impressions, the detail is lost in the general effect; but from the whole -the eye is directed to those parts which constitute that whole, and here -defects may be discovered that will not stand the test of architectural -scrutiny. - -The seats are well constructed, every individual being able to see the -officiating minister. The gallery is not thrown too forward, but is in -every respect in unison with the size of the church; it is carried round -the whole area with the exception of the chancel, and is supported by a -double row of ill-proportioned Ionic columns, painted porphyry. A -continued balustrade finishes the front of the gallery, from which rises -slender fluted columns (surmounted with entablature) for the support of -the roof, the frieze being decorated with cherubs. - -The ceiling is enriched with a glory and cherubs in the centre, -surrounded by a wreath and other devices. - -The chancel, contrary to general custom, is towards the north, and is -separated from the body of the church by a handsome arch springing from -an entablature supported by coupled composite columns, elegantly -proportioned, the capitals of which are richly gilt. - -The altar-piece is plain oak wainscot, with panels inscribed according to -the canon of the church, above which is a Venetian window, containing a -painting in enamelled glass of the Resurrection of our Saviour, by the -elder Eginton. This window is shortly to be replaced by another, our -townsman, Mr. David Evans, having been directed by the munificence of the -Rev. Richard Scott, B.D. to exert his talents in the execution of a -splendid and faithful copy of the celebrated chef d’ouvre of Rubens, -painted for the cathedral church of Antwerp, THE DESCENT FROM THE CROSS, -with the VISITATION, and PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE. - -The pulpit and reading desk stand in the centre of the area in front of -the chancel. - -The organ is placed above the south or great entrance of the church; it -is in a mahogany case, with a small painting of David playing upon the -harp. The instrument was built by Gray, of London, and cost 400 guineas. - -Between the piers of the gallery-windows are hatchments; and the -building, although of modern date, contains several tasteful memorials -which indicate, - - “All that virtue, all that wealth e’er gave, - Await alike the inevitable hour— - The paths of glory lead but to the grave.” - -Among these may be mentioned a large panelled tablet, having a bust of -the deceased by Chantrey, within a recess, commemorative of Mr. John -Simpson, “who superintended the building of this church; the bridges of -Bewdley, Dunkeld, Craig, Ellachie, and Bonar; the aqueducts of -Pontcysyllte and Chirk; and the locks and basins of the Caledonian -Canal.” He died 1815. - -On each side of the entrance leading to the chancel are tablets, highly -enriched with sculpture, recording the decease of the Rev. George Scott, -of Betton Strange, in this parish, and of Ann Lucretia, his wife; also of -Richard Scott, of Peniarth Ucha, Merionethshire, and Underdale, in the -county of Salop. - -On the east wall of the chancel is a small tablet in memory of - - The Rev. THOMAS STEDMAN, M.A. - “Forty-two years Vicar of this Parish, during which period - his mind, his writings, and his discourse - were with deep humility devoted - to the glory of God, the happiness of mankind, - and the temporal and spiritual interests of his flock.” - He died Dec. 5th, 1825, in the 80th year of his age. - -On a large Grecian tablet is a Latin inscription to the memory of the -late Rev. Francis Leighton, M.A. who died Sept. 7th, 1813, aged 66 years. -{36} - -The body of the church is 100 feet in diameter, and the total length, -including the entrance and vestibule, 160 feet. The building is of fine -Grinshill stone, and was designed by Mr. George Steuart, of London. It -was commenced March 2d, 1790, and consecrated August 20th, 1792, and will -comfortably accommodate a congregation of about 2300 persons. The total -cost, including site, organ, bells, &c. was £19,352, of which £15,800 was -raised under act of parliament. - -The steeple is 150 feet in height, and contains a full and melodious peal -of twelve bells; the weight of the tenor being 2 tons 1 cwt. and measures -16 ft. 6 in. in circumference at the mouth. The balcony beneath the dome -commands a fine prospect of the town and immediate vicinity. - -In the vestry is a carved statue of St. Chad in his episcopal habit, -holding a bible in his right hand and a crosier in his left. It -originally stood upon the organ in the old church. - -St. Chad’s is considered the principal church of the town; it is used on -all public occasions, and is the place where the archdeacon holds his -visitations and probat court. - -A lecture is delivered here every Thursday evening, according to a -bequest of the late James Phillips, Esq. of London, who by his will -(dated 1661) devises, after the death of his wife, the rents of his -property in Three Crown Court, Southward, unto the mayor and aldermen of -this town for that purpose, and also for a lecture in the parish churches -of Oswestry, Ellesmere, and Whitchurch. This property now produces a -good revenue. - -On the east side of the church is a spacious cemetery. - -The living is a vicarage in the gift of the crown, being endowed in 1674, -by the benefaction of Nathaniel Tench, Esq. with “the tithes of corn and -hay of the grange of Crow Meole,” in commemoration of which the testator -directed that a sermon should be annually preached on the 6th of June. - -The parish comprises nearly one-half of the town, and extends several -miles into the country, having two chapels of ease,—St. George’s -(Frankwell), and Bicton, three miles distant. - - - -ST. MARY’S CHURCH - - -stands on a commanding situation, nearly one hundred feet above the level -of the river, on the north-eastern side of the town, and is one of the -most interesting ecclesiastical edifices in the county, displaying in its -construction almost every variety of ancient architecture, and affording -to the antiquary and man of taste a rich and unique field for -observation. - - [Picture: St. Mary’s Church, N.W.] - -It is a cruciform building, consisting of a nave, side aisles, transepts, -spacious chancel, two chantry chapels, and a lofty spire steeple. - -In common with our early churches we have no opportunity of ascertaining -the precise date of its erection on written testimony. The probable -period of foundation has been stated, page 24; the renovation and -subsequent addition is therefore presumptive, and our decision must be -governed by analogy of style with other edifices, whose origin is -authenticated. - -That the era of ancient buildings may be inferred from the internal -evidence they themselves afford of their respective antiquity admits of -little doubt; indeed, the amiable poet, Gray, who had much knowledge in -antiquarian pursuits, has said that “they constantly furnish, to the well -informed eye, arms, ornaments, and other indubitable marks by which their -several ages may be ascertained.” - -There will be little difficulty in appropriating the ancient portions of -this building to distinct ages, if we except the task of assigning a -correct criteria to the curious mixture displayed in the columns which -support the semi-circular arches of the nave, where the Norman and -pointed styles are singularly blended together, the union of which will -afford matter of interesting speculation to the experienced antiquary. - -William of Malmesbury has related an anecdote of the pious Wolstan, -Bishop of Worcester (from 1062 to 1095) praying, on his way to Chester, -in the _wooden church of St. Peter_, in this town, {39} and of the -“citizens asking him why he preferred it to the church which they called -St. Mary’s;”—a question we may reasonably conclude as shewing this was -then, in their opinion, from some circumstance, a church of no little -consequence. - -The superior taste and enlarged views of improvement manifested by the -Normans in the arts, caused the restoration of many important churches in -much less time than a century after they had obtained the conquest of our -island. - -St. Mary’s, no doubt, from its antiquity, required restoration, and -excited their early attention; but although destitute of positive data, -as before stated, from whence to ascribe a period to its re-edification, -the various improvements plainly evident in several parts of the fabric -will easily be discovered by the critical eye of the architectural -antiquary. - -It may be mentioned that three distinct styles are apparent,—the -Anglo-Norman of the 12th century, in the basement of the tower, nave, -transepts, and doorways; the early lancet style in the windows of the -transepts and chancel; the pointed and obtuse arch of the 15th and 16th -century in the side aisles, clere-story, chantry, chapels, &c. - -These shall be carefully examined by analysis, and the predominant -features appropriated with caution to their respective periods. - -The greater part of a new structure, it is therefore conjectured, was -raised on the site of a previous Saxon building, probably early in the -reign of Henry I. This is evident from the plain circular windows -inserted in the massive basement of the tower, which, like the lower -portion of the entire building, is of red stone, and flanked by broad -flat buttresses, similar to those on the lower part of the Abbey tower. - -The tower of St. Mary’s originally was probably not higher than the part -composed of red stone, and was terminated like the generality of Norman -towers, by a plain parapet. - -The struggle between the Norman and pointed styles sometimes occasioned -incongruous arches, and we may attribute the rude pointed doorway of the -tower having an internal arch nearly triangular, to the reign of Stephen. - -THE SOUTH PORCH of the nave is of the early Norman era, the outward arch -circular, having zigzag mouldings issuing from clustered columns, and an -inner rib, obtusely pointed; the windows on each side are curious as -early specimens of the rudiments of the mullioned window, introduced -about the time of Stephen; the arches of these windows rest on short -thick columns, and are bisected into two lights by a similar pillar as a -mullion, the capitals of which are all different; in the apex is a -quatrefoil, one of the simplest and most ancient kind of ornaments. - -The ceiling of the porch is also an example of the most ancient kind of -groined vault, having neither boss nor ornament; above this is a chamber -(entered from the church by a newel staircase), and lighted by a pointed -window. - -The inner doorway of the porch is an enriched round arch, with chevron, -lozenge, and foliated mouldings. That on the north side of the nave is -similar in style; and the doorways (now closed) in the north and south -transepts are very elegant specimens of the style which prevailed from -the Conquest to the time of Henry I.; the latter is decorated with -alternate lozenge panels filled with an embossed flower. - -A progressive movement of refinement and beauty took place in the science -of architecture during the reign of Henry III. when the heavy Norman was -succeeded by the slender lancet arch and its attendant ornaments. The -transepts of this church are fine specimens of this transition of the -styles, the north and south ends of which are terminated by beautifully -proportioned triple lancet windows enriched with slender shafts and -mouldings. - -About the close of the 15th century, a greater stateliness of character -and ornamental arrangement became the prevailing characteristic of -architectural display, and the general features of the building were -altered to the fashionable style. - -The walls of the side aisles previous to this time were much lower, which -is indicated by a slope in the stone work at the west end and a pier at -the south-west, on which the roof originally rested. When the walls were -raised, three mullioned windows were substituted on each side for -round-headed lights, which narrowed towards the exterior surface of the -wall, similar, no doubt, to that still remaining at the west end. - -The nave shortly afterwards received the addition of a clere-story, -lighted by a range of short windows with obtusely pointed arches, -extending the whole length of the nave and chancel. - -To render these important alterations of the fabric complete, the low -massy tower was raised, and large double pointed windows were placed on -each side, and the whole surmounted with an embattled parapet and -pinnacles, which (being much decayed) were judiciously restored in 1816. -From this tower rises an octagonal spire of noble proportions, which may -be ranked as equal in height to the _third loftiest spire_ in the -kingdom, and forms an interesting and prominent object from every part of -the rich and beautiful scenery which surrounds the town. - -The dimensions, as taken at the last repair in 1818, are—tower, 78 feet 4 -inches; spire, to the top of vane, 141 feet 10 inches; total height, 220 -feet 2 inches. - -The chapel south of the chancel has a remarkably lofty roof, and on the -south side four handsome pointed windows of Henry the Sixth’s time; each -window is divided by a buttress, on which rests a crocketed pinnacle. -The eastern end of this building was originally finished by a large -window, but within its space two lofty round-headed lights, with singular -canopies in the debased style, prevalent about the reign of Queen -Elizabeth, have been inserted. - -The chancel is terminated by a large window, divided by mullions into two -tiers of eight lights each, the apex being ramified into inelegant -tracery, introduced in repairing the damage which this window (and that -alluded to in the above chapel) sustained during an extreme tempest in -1579. - - -THE INTERIOR - - -of this church is strikingly noble, and calculated to inspire the mind -with awe; but although the purer light of later times has in some degree -eclipsed the adventitious aid intended to be conveyed to the feelings, -during the religious ceremonies of our forefathers, by the almost -mysterious effect produced from intermingled arches and clustered -columns, canopied niches, costly shrines, and the mellow reflection of -the storied pane shedding - - “The dim blaze of radiance richly clear,” - -in these august edifices of former ages, they still possess a power over -the imagination, and insensible must that mind be which is not -susceptible of appropriate religious influences,—subdued thoughts,—and, -inspiring conceptions of divine majesty, when beholding the “long drawn -aisle” and “high embower’d roof,” where all forms and differences of -opinion, it has been justly remarked, become “trivial for awhile, amidst -the sublimity of temples so well suited to the adoration of omnipotence.” - -The nave is separated from the side aisles by _four __semicircular -arches_, _resting on elegant clustered columns_, with capitals decorated -with foliage of different devices, from the rudest to the richest design. -The mouldings of these arches have bolder projections, but are less -massive than those of the early Norman, and more delicately finished, and -although the mouldings on the shafts are peculiar to the earliest pointed -style, they happily harmonize with the circular arches. - -At the eastern extremity of each side aisle, opening to the transepts, is -a semi-circular arch, resting on thick round pillars, with a regular base -and indented capital, ornamented with sculpture of the earliest Norman -era; similar arches lead to the chantry chapels. These arches, from -their general style, are evidently the oldest part of the fabric, and we -may venture to ascribe them to a period not later than the Conquest. In -removing the accumulations of colouring and plaister from the walls and -arches of this part, in 1828, the _distinguishing marks_ of the -_operative masons_ employed in working the stones were discovered, and -still are to be seen, being the same as those now used. {44} - -The choir and transepts are divided by three most beautiful pointed -arches, rising from piers similar to those described in the nave. - -The ceiling of the nave is of oak, the intersections of the beams being -formed into panels richly decorated with ornamented quatrefoils and -foliage, carved bosses, flowers, grotesque figures, &c. A beautiful -cornice of vine branches, grapes interspersed with masks, are placed -round the walls beneath the roof. The whole is in excellent -preservation, and supposed to be one of the finest specimens of the -ancient fretted ceiling in the kingdom. - -THE CHANCEL is elevated above the church by a double ascent, and the -ceiling, like that of both the transepts, is excellently painted, but -panelled in a style somewhat similar to that of the nave, and adorned -with some of the rich fret work removed from the wreck of the churches of -St. Chad and St. Alkmond. - -On the north side of the altar is a most beautiful triple lancet window, -with arches remarkably acute, and resting on isolated columns, whose -capitals are adorned with elegant foliage, &c. The window is filled with -three figures in ancient stained glass. - -Whilst these pages are passing through the press, a most important -improvement has been effected in the chancel, by removing the altar -screen, which, although a handsome Grecian design, obstructed not only -much of the eastern window, but was quite out of character with the -building. Another of a more appropriate description will be substituted. - -The eastern window contains the truly splendid glass that adorned the -chancel of old St. Chad’s, and which escaped the destruction that befel -the other parts of the fabric. It was carefully removed and presented to -this parish by the trustees for putting into execution the act for -rebuilding the new church. - -This glass, unequalled in point of beauty and colouring, represents THE -GENEALOGY OF CHRIST, from the root of Jesse. The patriarch occupies the -breadth of three bays of the window, being depicted as reclining in a -deep sleep, with his head resting upon an embroidered pillow, and -supported on his right hand. From his loins issues a VINE, the branches -of which, before its disarrangement, overspread the whole window, -inclosing within the ovals formed by its intersections a KING or PROPHET -of the ancestry of Joseph, the series of which is finished by the husband -of the Virgin Mary in a devotional posture at the feet of his progenitor. - -Many of the figures are depicted with their peculiar emblems. The ground -of the whole is varied and exquisitely vivid, on which the clusters of -grapes and the bright verdure of the vine leaves are displayed with great -effect. - -Two compartments contain figures of ancient knights vested in the hawberk -and bearing their square banners, and kneeling beneath foliated -tabernacles. They represent Sir John Cherleton, Lord of Powis, and his -son Sir Owen. From the following translation of an inscription on a part -of the window, - - “Pray for Monsieur John de Charlton, who caused this glazing to be - made, and for Dame Hawis his companion,” - -the date of its erection is ascertained to be about the middle of the -fourteenth century; it was originally placed in the church of the convent -of Grey Friars in this town, from whence it was removed to St. Chad’s at -the Dissolution. - -Many of the figures have been displaced in their change of situation; -their re-arrangement, however, is now in progress, and to complete the -genealogical line additional figures will be added, and the lower tier of -arches in the window, formerly filled with brick-work, have been opened -to their base. - -At the west end of the nave is a peculiarly rich and full-toned organ, -made by the celebrated builders Harris and Byfield, in 1729, which has -recently been improved by the addition of an octave and a half of pedal -pipes. - -This instrument stands upon a handsome stone screen, divided into three -compartments, formed by as many obtusely pointed arches, and divided by -buttresses of two stories, highly decorated with reticulated divisions, -containing an open flower in relief; around the inner recesses of the -arches are the following inscriptions:— - - Venite Domino exultemus - Rupi salutis jutilemus - Jehovam hymnis concinamus - Et grates illi persolnamus—Hallelujah. - - Jehovam virgints laudate - Senes et pueri celebrate - Psalmis ecclesia sanctorum - Extollat Dominum Dominorum. - - Laudate carminis clamore - Laudate buccinae clangore - Laudate organo sonoro - Laudate cymbalis et choro. - -Above is a series of smaller arches similar in style, having cinque-foil -heads, and filled with the like reticulated divisions and ornament, each -of the arches being divided by a small plain buttress; the string course -is charged with elaborately carved heads of angels, pateras, &c. and the -spandrils of the several arches throughout are enriched with elegant and -varied foliage, exquisitely sculptured. The whole forming a most -prominent and imposing feature to the main entrance of the nave, and will -be a permanent monument of the good taste and munificence of the donor, -the Rev. W. G. Rowland, M.A. - -The screen was designed by and executed under the superintendence of Mr. -John Carline, of this town, and is a work creditable to his professional -abilities. - - -THE NORTH TRANSEPT - - -has a rich and pleasing appearance on entering the church from the -eastern door, {48} through a porch which was once a chantry chapel, and -connected with the transept by a fine Norman arch. - -The triple windows of this and the corresponding transept are filled with -small full-length figures in stained glass, bearing their respective -insignia, and judiciously placed within ovals of chaste mosaic patterns. -The centre of the middle light has the arms of King George the Third, -with the following inscription: - - GEO. III. - REGUM • OPTIMUS • - GENTIS • BRITANNICAE • - OLIM • DELICIÆ • NUNC • DESIDERIUM • - MORTALITATEM • EXUIT • - MENS • JAN • DIE • 29 • A.D. 1820 • - ANNO • ÆTAT • 82 . REGNI • 60 . - -On a scroll at the top, - - _Among many Nations was there no King like him_.—Neh. xiii. 26. - -On another at the bottom, - - _His Heart was perfect with the Lord all his Days_.—1 Kings xv. 14. - -Above these arms is the figure of the Virgin Mary, and below is St. -Andrew. The dexter lancet window is occupied with the figures of St. -Philip, St. Bartholomew, and St. James the son of Zebedee, and the -sinister with St. Simon, St. Thomas, and St. Matthias. At the bottom is -the following inscription:—“IOANNES BRICKDALE BLAKEWAY, A.M. HUJUS -ECCLESIÆ JUDEX OFFICIALIS ET MINISTER INSIGNIA REGIA P. C. ANNO MDCCCXX. -RELIQUAM FENESTRÆ PARTEM EXORNAVIT EJUS VIDUA M.E.B. ANNO MDCCCXXIX.” - -The lower portion of the walls are ornamented with interstitial divisions -and monuments. - -Against the west wall is a most beautiful free-stone - - -MONUMENT -TO THE LATE REV. J. B. BLAKEWAY; - - - [Picture: Monument to Rev. J. B. Blakeway, and North Transept] - -which for elegance of design, beauty of execution, and general effect, -has perhaps rarely been surpassed in modern times. - -This beautiful Memorial was designed by Mr. John Carline, of this town, -and is upwards of 12 feet in length and 16 feet in height, and is divided -into three compartments by clustered buttresses, which sustain richly -crocketed pinnacles. The centre compartment comprises a large pointed -arch, cusped, canopied, and crocketed, the back of which is deeply -recessed, and contains the following inscription in ornamental Roman -capitals: - - To the Memory of the Reverend - JOHN BRICKDALE BLAKEWAY, M.A. F.A.S. - Thirty-one years Ordinary and Official - And Thirty-two years Minister of this Parish, - This Monument is erected - By the Voluntary Subscription of his Parishioners, - As a tribute of respect for his talents, - Esteem for his virtues, - And gratitude for his long and faithful services - As their Friend and Pastor. - He died the tenth day of March, MDCCCXXVI. - Aged sixty years. - -On each side of the above compartment is an elegant niche with a -cinquefoil head, octagonal back, and groined ceiling. These niches are -surmounted by acute-angled crocketed canopies formed of deep mouldings; -and resting on the head of each niche within the canopy is a cinquefoil -within a circle. In a similar situation in the centre compartment is a -shield containing the following arms:—Argent, on a bend engrailed sable, -three bezants; impaling argent, a fess vaire between three unicorns -passant, gules. - -The above divisions rest on an altar tomb, the front of which is divided -into twelve small niches with trefoil heads. These niches are separated -by small buttresses, with crocketed canopies and pinnacles. - -Mr. Blakeway was the son of Joshua Blakeway, Esq. of this town, and a -gentleman whose pleasing adaptation of manners and amiable walk through -life gained him the universal respect of his fellow townsmen. Neither -the church nor the state had a more faithful defender of its rights or -supporter of its dignity, nor the true interests of his native town a -more watchful guardian. - -As a scholar and a gentleman, united with the character of a true -christian, we shall perhaps “ne’er look upon his like again.” As a -preacher he was admired for his forcible illustration of holy writ, and -the valuable admonitions clothed in the language of affection which his -discourses generally contained, whilst his devoutness in the performance -of the sacred duties of the sanctuary must have impressed their -importance on all who heard them. In his personal appearance he was tall -and robust;—his face bore the line of thought, and his ample forehead -bespoke the mind that dwelt within. As an author he had written much and -published little, and was known only to the literary world previous to -1821 by a few sermons, controversial tracts, and critical notes in -Malone’s edition of Boswell’s Life of Johnson. His name, however, will -be immortalized in the valuable History of Shrewsbury which he commenced -in 1820, with the Venerable Archdeacon Owen, and just lived to see the -general history and ecclesiastical portions published in two quarto -volumes, which elaborate undertaking will obtain for him and his revered -friend and colleague the respect and gratitude of every true Salopian in -subsequent generations. - -Mr. Blakeway likewise shewed much attention and devotedness to the -antiquities of his native county, and the valuable mass of manuscripts he -left behind in illustration of its genealogical and topographical history -will remain also as a monument of his industry. {52} - -His last end was peace,—for he departed almost without a sigh, and nearly -without losing that benignant smile which was so peculiar to him. His -remains were interred on the right of the west entrance to the -church-yard. - -Three beautiful specimens of monumental sculpture, designed by the same -architect, occupy the north wall, and harmonize with the splendid -memorial just described, a detail of which would occupy too much space. -The lancet window in the west wall contains a fine ancient figure in -stained glass of St. John the Evangelist, arrayed in a robe which -displays a most splendid specimen of the ancient ruby glass of the old -masters; the hem of the garment is brilliantly studded with pearls. - -THE ANCIENT FONT stands in the centre of the area, and is very handsome. -The basin is octangular, each side having an ornamented quatrefoil, in -the centre of which is a large double rose. The angles have been adorned -with busts of angels bearing shields, and the pedestal is pierced into -gothic arches, divided by small shelving buttresses. - -In the north-eastern angle is an octangular turret, in which a small -doorway opens to a staircase leading to a chamber which was no doubt once -a chantry. It is lighted by a curious triangular window, with a trefoil -on the intrado of each arch, the mouldings of which are deeply recessed. -Below this is another chantry chapel, now used as a VESTRY, having at the -east end an early Norman light, and on the north a mullioned window of -the fifteenth century. Under a low pointed arch beneath this window is a -monumental tomb composed of alabaster, but sunk into the floor for -economy of space: it bears the figures of a warrior and his lady in the -act of devotion, supposed to represent Nicholas Stafford and his wife -Katherine. The former was bailiff of the town in 1458, and died in 1471. - - -SOUTH TRANSEPT. - - -The window of this transept contains the figures of our Saviour, St. -James the son of Alpheus, and St. Thaddeus; in the dexter compartments -are those of St. Matthew the Evangelist, St. Paul, and St. Mark; and in -the sinister those of St. John the Evangelist, St. Peter, and St. Luke. -Underneath this window is “GULIELMUS GORSUCH ROWLAND A.M. HUJUS ECCLESLÆ -JUDEX OFFICIALIS ET MINISTER HANC FENESTRAM FACIENDAM CURAVIT ANNO 1829.” - -The windows of this and the north transept were executed by Mr. D. Evans, -of Shrewsbury, and may be considered as some of the finest specimens of -the art in the kingdom, both as regards brilliancy and harmony of -colours, beauty of design, and exquisite workmanship, whilst the “dim -religious light” which they shed around, imparts an impressiveness of -character that at once bespeaks the sacred purpose of the place as the -House of Prayer. - -Below the south window of this transept is a bold composition of -monumental architecture, designed by Mr. J. Carline, consisting of three -acute-angled crocketed canopies, crowned with a finial. The labels of -the arches are enriched with foliage, and the interior sweep fashioned in -the ogee manner. From the lateral piers, and between each division of -the arches, springs an elegant crocketed pinnacle panelled and finished -by an open flower. - -It is much to be wished that the correct taste displayed in these and -other beautiful specimens of the decorated style of monumental -architecture, recently erected in this church, was more generally -manifested in the adaptation of monuments to the character of the -buildings in which they are to be placed, instead of the unsightly -tablets so commonly introduced, and which frequently contribute anything -but ornament to our ancient churches. - -From the south transept a fine Norman arch opens to the - - -TRINITY CHAPEL, - - -which also has a communication with the chancel by an arch in the pointed -style. - -This building (57 feet by 30) was at first of smaller dimensions, as is -evident from two lancet windows (beneath which are two very early loop -holes) in the wall next to the south aisle. Immediately above the -shelving portion still visible of the roof of the original chapel is a -peculiar circular window. - -The enlargement was effected by the Draper’s Company soon after their -incorporation in 1461, having therein a guild or fraternity to the Holy -Trinity. Within the south wall is the sedilia formerly used by the -officiating priests, and the remains of a piscina, all of which were once -overspread with elegant canopies. - -On the opposite side is a large pointed arch, now walled up. Under this -is an altar tomb, the sides of which are divided by small buttresses in -ornamental niches of the early decorated style. Above is a mutilated -recumbent figure of a cross-legged knight in linked armour, supposed to -represent one of the LEYBURNES LORDS OF BERWICK, in this parish, and who -died about the middle of the 14th century. The grave below was opened in -1816, and was composed of wrought masonry, when, after a little loose -rubbish had been removed, some leg and thigh bones were discovered. On -digging about three feet lower to the bottom of the tomb, a skeleton was -found wrapped in leather, but without a head. This is conjectured to be -the skeleton of Thomas Percy, Earl of Worcester, who was beheaded after -the battle of Shrewsbury, and his head sent to London, while his body -found an asylum in the tomb of a family which had become extinct. - -This church, in 1232, was the scene of an assemblage of legates, convened -by command of the Pope to hear charges which had been preferred against -Llewelyn for repeated infractions of treaties. This negociation was at -length left to six referees on the part of King Henry III. and four on -that of the Welsh Prince, by which peace was maintained for a season. - -When Charles the First visited this town in 1642, it is recorded he took -“a protestation and the sacrament upon it to defend the Protestant -religion established by Queen Elizabeth and his royal father,” which -solemn scene, it is supposed, took place within this edifice, being the -parish church of the mansion in which he was sojourning. King James the -Second, it is also said, attended divine service here in 1687, after -which he exercised the royal gift of healing by touching many persons for -the king’s evil. - -THE MONUMENTS of particular interest having been already noticed in their -proper situations, it need only be remarked that there are mural tablets -commemorative of individuals connected with the families of LYSTER, LLOYD -(of Rûg, &c.), MORHALL, BLAKEWAY, &c. on the walls of the chancel, and -several other memorials in the nave, transepts, and chapel; which the -extended description of this church, and the confined limits of the -present work, will not permit further to enumerate. - -The length of the building from east to west is 160 feet, breadth -(including side aisles) 50 feet. - -The tower contains a peal of ten bells, the harmony of which, it is -considered, cannot be excelled by that of any peal in the kingdom: weight -of tenor 21 cwt. 2 qrs. 17 lbs. - -On the west wall of the steeple is an inscription to the memory of Thomas -Cadman, who lost his life in a bold attempt to descend from the top of -the spire by means of a rope, which he had fixed to it and brought down -to the Gay meadow, on the other side of the river Severn. He fell near -the Water-lane gate, Feb. 2, 1739, aged 28, at a time when “the ground -was iron and the Severn glass,” owing, as the epitaph records, to - - “A faulty cord being drawn too tight.” - -The parish of Saint Mary extends several miles in detached parts of the -country, having within its boundaries five chapels of ease, viz. -Albrighton, Astley, Berwick, Clive, and St. Michael’s (Castle-foregate). - -The church is a royal peculiar, and the official court has probate of all -wills and cognizance of all other ecclesiastical matters arising within -the parish. The living is a perpetual curacy, and was, previous to the -late municipal act, in the presentation of the Corporation of Shrewsbury; -and in the choice of a minister, the son of a burgess, who has been -educated at the royal free grammar school, or (in case there be no -burgess’s son of that description) one born in the parish of Chirbury, -with a qualification similar to the foregoing, is to have the preference. - - - -SAINT ALKMUND’S CHURCH - - -is situate at a short distance from St. Mary’s, and its cemetery adjoins -that of St. Julian’s. - -The fine old cruciform church of this parish was inconsiderately -destroyed in 1794, under a mistaken apprehension of its stability. The -present building, with the exception of the tower and spire, which -fortunately escaped the fate of the old church, was opened for divine -service Nov. 8, 1795, at a cost of rather more than £3000. - -The new structure is of Grinshill stone, and in the style called modern -gothic, having six lofty pointed windows on each side, filled with -slender mullions of cast-iron; between the windows are graduated -buttresses. - -The interior is handsomely fitted up, and the general effect pleasing, -although not in strict conformity with a gothic building,—wanting that -sombre grandeur characteristic of this style of architecture. It is 82 -feet long by 44 feet wide, with a small chancel terminated by a pointed -window filled with enamelled glass emblematical of “EVANGELICAL FAITH,” -depicted in the character of a female figure in the attitude of kneeling -upon a cross, with her arms extended, and eyes elevated towards a -celestial crown which appears in the opening clouds. The countenance has -an interesting expression of adoration, and the motto, “Be thou faithful -unto death,” &c. is inscribed on an open volume. The window was painted -by the elder Egginton, and cost 200 guineas. - -At the west end is a capacious gallery, containing a small fine-toned -organ by Gray, of London, erected by a subscription in 1823. - -The principal entrance to the church is in the base of the tower, under -an elegant pointed arch recessed within a square aperture, on either side -of which are niches, most barbarously repaired in 1825; above is a bold -mullioned window in the style of the sixteenth century, when the tower -and spire were probably built. In this window are two ancient -escutcheons in stained glass, displaying England and France quarterly, -and the arms of Richard Sampson, Bishop of Lichfield, and Lord President -of the Marches from 1543 to 1548. - -The tower is finely proportioned, being flanked with double buttresses -gradually diminishing, and terminated with a crocketed pinnacle; an open -parapet of pointed arches surrounds the base of the spire, which, though -not remarkable for height, is considered by persons of good taste “to -possess singular elegance of form.” The tower contains eight musical -bells, recast in 1813, and is 70 feet high, the spire 114, making a total -of 184 feet from the ground. - -In a vault beneath this church are interred the remains of Thomas Jones, -Esq. who died in 1642. He was six times bailiff, and the FIRST MAYOR OF -SHREWSBURY; also those of Sir Thomas Jones, Lord Chief Justice of the -Court of Common Pleas, who died 1692, to whom and other members of this -ancient Shropshire family are several memorials. Other monumental -tablets also relieve the walls of the building. - -The old structure contained many curious brasses and monuments; the -former were sold, and the latter dispersed, on its unnecessary -demolition. - -The living is a vicarage in the gift of the Crown, and a weekly lecture -is preached in the church on Wednesdays. - - - -SAINT JULIAN’S CHURCH. - - - [Picture: St. Julian’s and St. Alkmond’s Churches] - -The church, dedicated to St. Juliana, occupies an elevated situation at -the top of Wyle Cop, and was erected 1749–50, from a design by Mr. T. F. -Prichard, of this town, on the site of an Anglo-Norman structure, which -had become ruinous. - -It is a plain oblong building of brick, and stone dressings, 83 feet by -48, with a small recess for the chancel. - -At the west end is the tower of the old church; the basement is of red -stone, and of a date far anterior to the superstructure, which is of the -16th century, and crowned by a handsome embattled parapet and eight lofty -pinnacles, restored in 1818, when the masonry of the tower was chipped -and repaired. The tower contains a peal of six bells, recast in 1706, -and an excellent clock, the dial of which is illuminated at night. - -In the south wall of the chancel is an ancient figure, probably intended -to represent St. Juliana. - -The interior is particularly neat, possessing an air of solemnity unusual -in the generality of modern churches. Four large Roman-Doric pillars -support the roof of the nave, which is coved and adorned with the -fret-work of the old church. Galleries occupy three sides of the -building. At the west end is an excellent organ, by Bowsher and -Fleetwood, of Liverpool, erected by a subscription in 1834, the exterior -of which is tasteful in design, and harmonizes with the internal -architecture of the edifice. - -The pulpit is handsome, and belonged to the old church. The altar-piece -and furniture of the chancel are in good taste; the former is of -wainscot, and presents a Roman Doric basement, supporting Ionic pilasters -and entablature with modillion cornice, from which springs a rich -architrave surrounding a Venetian window, in the centre light of which is -a figure in stained glass of ST. JAMES BEARING THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. The -side lights contain the royal arms, and those of the see of Lichfield, -impaling Cornwallis. - -In the windows of the south gallery are the armorial bearings of Queen -Elizabeth, the family of Bowdler, a fine ancient shield of the town arms, -and heads of St. Peter and St. Paul, surmounted by their emblems, the -keys and sword. On the north side are the arms of Prince, Bennett, -Astley, the Earl of Tankerville, and a figure of St. John. - -In the floor of the south aisle is an ancient gravestone, preserved from -the former church: round the edge is a Longobardic inscription to the -memory of Edmund Tromwyn, who is supposed to have died about the close of -the thirteenth century. - -There are several mural monuments in the aisles and chancel: on the north -side of the latter is a pedimented tablet set on a square table of -dove-coloured marble, with the following inscription:— - - Sacred to the Memory - Of the VENERABLE HUGH OWEN, M.A. F.R.S. - Archdeacon of Salop, - Prebendary of Salisbury and Lichfield, - One of the Portionists of Bampton, Oxfordshire, - Formerly Minister of this Parish, and afterwards of St. Mary, in - Shrewsbury. - He was the only son of Pryce Owen, M.D. and Bridget his wife, - And the lineal descendant of an Ancient British family. - Distinguished for the extent and accuracy of his Antiquarian - researches, - And knowledge of the principles of Ecclesiastical and Civil - Architecture, - By the judicious application of this talent, - Joined to a firm but mild execution of his official authority, - He greatly contributed to the decent and substantial restoration - Of many venerable fabrics within his Archdeaconry. - His “Account of the Ancient and Present State of Shrewsbury,” - Originally published in a single volume, - Was afterwards embodied in a complete History written by him, - In conjunction with the Rev. John Brickdale Blakeway. - He died Dec. 23d, 1827, aged 67 years. - Harriet, his wife, daughter of Edward Jeffreys, Esq. - Died April 3d, 1825, aged 59 years. - -In the south aisle, a plain tablet surmounted by a lion commemorates the -public spirit and unremitting exertions of Mr. ROBERT LAWRENCE, “in -opening the great road through Wales between the united kingdoms, and for -establishing the first mail coach to this town.” He died Sept. 3d, 1806, -aged 57 years. - -The living is a perpetual curacy in the presentation of the Right Hon. -the Earl of Tankerville, and the parish comprehends the Wyle Cop and the -suburb of Coleham, but isolated districts of it are intermixed with -several of the other parishes at different ends of the town. - -A Sunday evening lecture was commenced at this church, April 20th, 1828, -for the “free accommodation of the town at large,” the parishioners -having consented to lend their pews for the occasion. Several of the -clergy connected with the town preach alternately at this additional -service. - - - -THE PARISH OF -ST. MICHAEL WITHIN THE CASTLE. - - -It has been already stated (page 24) that the royal free chapel of St. -Juliana became at an early period appurtenant to the church of St. -Michael, the situation of which it has been shown was within the castle. - -It is uncertain whether a church existed here anterior to the Norman -conquest; however, in the survey called Domesday-book, compiled in 1085, -the churches of Shrewsbury are mentioned in the following order, and -their possessions enumerated: viz. St. Mary, St. Michael, St. Chad, St. -Alkmund, and St. Julian. And of St. Michael these particulars are given: - - “The Church of Saint Michael holds, of the Earl Roger, _Posseton_: - Chetel held it [in the time of the Confessor]: there is one virgate - of land: the land is half a carucate: one man renders therefore a - bundle of box on the day of Palms. The same church holds _Suletene_: - Brictric, a free man held it from the Confessor, when there was one - hide paying tax at the time of the Conquest: the land was one - caracute: there was also half a caracate: it was then worth five - shillings; now (the completion of Domesday) four pence less.” {63} - -It may be useful, therefore, in this place to relate some further -information respecting the parish of St. Michael, which has lately -excited the public attention, by the parish of St. Mary enforcing a -demand for the payment of poor-rates upon the tenant of the Castle, J. C. -Pelham, Esq. and which that gentleman resisted on the ground that the -Castle formed no part of the parish of St. Mary. The issue came on for -trial at the Summer Assizes, 1836, before Mr. Justice Patteson and a -special jury, when a verdict was obtained in favour of the plaintiff, Mr. -Pelham. - -1222.—This Chapel was of the donation of the Lord the King, and given to -William de Haverhul. - -The Chapel of the Forde was also of the gift of the King, and belonged to -this church of the Castle, and rendered three shillings, and was worth -one mark, which William de Haverhul then held. - -1235.—The Chapel of St. Michael was held by William de Battal, and was -worth yearly fourteen marks. - -1271.—The Rector of St. Michael proceeded to recover in law for services -due to him in right of his church. The entry commences thus: - - “Robert Corbet, of Morton, offered himself on the fourth day (fourth - day probably of the assizes at Shrewsbury) against Richard de Sarre, - Parson of the Church of St. Michael, of a plea that the same Robert - should do to the aforesaid Richard the accustomed and right services - which he ought to do to him for his frank tenement which he holds of - him in _Soleton_ and Lack.” - -1293.—The Chapel of St. Michael was worth yearly twelve marks, and Master -Adam de Malane held it of the gift of the King. - -1309.—King Edward the Second granted to his beloved clerk, Boniface de -Ledes, this Free Chapel, vacant by the resignation of Roger de Ledes. - -1318.—A similar Grant to Roger de Lysewy, of this Free Chapel of St. -Michael, being then vacant, &c. To this grant is appended an order from -the King to “Master Thomas de Cherlton,” then Constable of the Castle, to -induct this Roger into corporal possession thereof. - -1330.—A similar Grant of this Chapel, being vacant, to Walter de London. - -1330.—A subsequent Grant, in this year, of the said Chapel to Adam de -Overton. - -1342.—It appears that Adam D’Overton was Warden of this Free Chapel of -St. Michael. - -1343.—A Grant to John de Wynwyk of this Free Chapel, and an order to John -de Wyndsore, then the Constable, to induct him; also a Grant to the same -John de Wynwyk of the King’s Free Chapel of St. Julian, Salop. - -1344.—A Grant to John Fitz John Le Strange, of Blaunkmonstr, of this Free -Chapel. - -1347.—It appears that a suit was pending between John Fitz John Le -Strange, of Whitechurch, Parson of this Free Chapel, and certain persons -in the pleas mentioned. - -1395.—An Inquisition taken at Salop, on Wednesday next after the -Exaltation of the Holy Cross, before John de Eyton, Sheriff of Salop, by -virtue of a certain Writ to the said Sheriff directed, and to this -Inquisition annexed, by oath of William Banaster of Bromdon, and others, -who say upon their oath that William Tyrington, late Parson of this -Chapel, had committed waste, dilapidation, and destruction in this -Chapel, to wit, in throwing down, dilapidating, and destroying this -Chapel, to the value of one hundred pounds, through the defect of the -roofing, repairing, and supporting of this Chapel, that is, in lead, -stone, timber, and glass windows, and also in the carrying away one -chalice and divers entire vestments, with all the ornaments ordained for -the said chalice and vestments pertaining to the said Chapel, and by -destroying divers images lately being in the same Chapel, by reason of -his improvident custody of the said Chapel, and of his neglect of the -repairing of this Chapel, to the value aforesaid, beginning the defects -aforesaid in the Feast of Easter, in the 48th year of King Edward the -Third, till the death of this William Tyrington, so that this Chapel was -utterly destroyed and wholly thrown down and laid in ruins by this -William de Tyrington, late Parson of this Chapel, and so that two hundred -marks were not sufficient to amend and repair it, with the ornaments -lately being therein. - -1410.—A Grant by King Henry the Fourth, reciting, that whereas he had -granted to “Roger Yve, of Leeton, Rector of our Chapel of St. John the -Baptist at Adbrighton Husee,” “certain lands in fields called the -Batteleyfield, in which field the battle between us and Henry Percy, -deceased, and certain of our rebels, lately took place,” in order to -build “a certain Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene,” of which he was appointed -Warden, with power to choose five Chaplains to celebrate Divine Service -in the said Chapel every day. The Grant then proceeds to endow the said -Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene at Battlefield with various possessions, and -among others with the Advowson of “the King’s Free Chapel of St. Michael -within the Castle of Salop, to which the Chapel of St. Julian of Salop is -appurtenant or appendant.” - -1417.—John Repynton, then Warden of the said Chapel of Saint Michael, -surrendered the same to the King. - -1558.—John Halliwell took of Richard Burper, among other property, all -manner of tithes, oblations, obventions, fruits, profits, and emoluments, -of the Rectory, Church, and Chapel, of Saint Julian, and of “the Chapel -of Saint Michael.” - -1583.—Was a Fine, passing the same property. - -Queen Elisabeth having granted a lease of the Castle and its -appurtenances to Humphrey Onslow, Esq. at the yearly rent of 13s. 4d. -that gentleman’s lease expired in 1596, when the Castle and its -appurtenances came into the possession of the Corporation. - -In the records of the Corporation is the following entry: - -1605.—“Agreed that persons shall view the stones in the Castle belonging -to St. Michael’s Chapel, and take account thereof, and enquire what -stones are taken away.” - -There can be little doubt, however, but the Parish of St. Michael’s had -originally some connexion with St. Mary’s parish; for in the reign of -Henry II. it seems that Walter de Dunstanville, Rector of St. Michael’s, -sold a tract of land called Wogheresforlong and a moiety of Derefold to a -person named Gilbert, reserving to himself a rent of three shillings and -sixpence; and that John the son of Gilbert soon afterwards conveyed it to -one Nicholas le Poncer, who subsequently granted it to Haghmond Abbey, -free from all secular service, saving a rent of four shillings to be -annually paid (in lieu of the tithes of Derefold) to the parson of the -parish of the church of St. Michael within the Castle. - -This commutation is assented to and witnessed by the Dean and Chapter of -St. Mary’s, “for us and our successors for ever;” an attestation which -would appear as quite unnecessary, if this district had not once been -connected with their jurisdiction. - -The etymology of Derfald, or Deerfold, is an enclosure or park (which -will be noticed hereafter) for keeping deer, an appendage not unusual to -our early fortresses. This circumstance (and at a period when little -respect was shown to boundaries civil or ecclesiastical) might have -induced Roger de Montgomery, as feudal lord, to assign it as the -parochial limits of his church, although at the cost of the parish of St. -Mary. - - - -THE ABBEY CHURCH. - - - [Picture: The Abbey Church] - -THE ABBEY CHURCH is situated in the suburb to which it has given the name -of Abbey Foregate. It is built of a deep red stone. A noble simplicity -combined with a massive solidity characterizes the whole structure, to -which time has given a most venerable appearance; and, though marks of -mutilation are too evident throughout, it displays many curious features -of ancient Norman architecture combined with the earlier pointed style. - -It originally formed part of the richly endowed monastery founded in 1083 -by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, and when entire was a stately -cruciform building, equal in size to some of our cathedrals, having a -central and western tower, transepts, &c. The whole eastern portion, -two-thirds of the structure, was barbarously destroyed at the dissolution -of monasteries in the time of Henry the Eighth. The neglect of -after-times has contributed much to disfigure its external elevation, the -eastern portion of the upper clerestory having from decay fallen down -some time about the close of the 17th century. - -The present church consists of the nave, side aisles, and western tower -of the Abbey church, and owes its escape to the circumstance of the -western end having always been used as the church of the parish of HOLY -CROSS, the name it still retains. - -The west front is composed of the tower, flanked by the ends of the -Norman side aisles, and has a bold appearance. The tower is broad and -massive; the basement early Norman, surmounted by a well-proportioned -superstructure of the 14th century. The portal is a deeply recessed -round-headed arch, having a pointed doorway inserted within it; to -preserve uniformity, the exterior rib of the outward round arch springs -on each side from a Norman shaft with an indented capital, and the -combination displays much skill and ingenuity. - -Above this is one of the most magnificent windows in the kingdom, 46 feet -high by 23 feet wide; the intrado of the arch is enriched by a series of -small trefoil panels; the label rises high above it in the ogee form, -richly crocketed and terminated in a finial. The window is in the -decorated style, and divided horizontally by transoms, and -perpendicularly by six mullions, into seven compartments for the glass, -the lower division having blank panels which have never been pierced for -glazing. The arched head is gracefully pointed and filled with a -profusion of the most rich and delicate tracery. - -On each side of the window are the remains of a canopied niche, which -once contained statues, probably of Saint Peter and St. Paul, the tutelar -saints of the Abbey. - -The north and south-west angles of the tower are flanked by shelving -buttresses, having their sets-off worked into pedimented weatherings. -The bell chamber has two windows on each side, between those of the -western front is an elegant canopied niche containing the statue of an -armed knight, bearing in one hand a mutilated sword, the other appears to -have once projected from the body, but is now broken. The figure has a -conical basinet, encircled by a crown, fastened to a camail of mail, -which covers the neck, shoulders, and breast to the hips, and is finished -by an emblazoned jupon. The thighs and legs are encased in plate armour. -This statue is supposed to represent Edward the Third, in whose reign the -tower was probably built. - -On the north side of the church is a lofty and handsome porch, the -entrance to which is under a pointed arch resting on round columns, and -peculiarly recessed within a square aperture charged with shields; above -is a chamber (formerly in two stories) lighted by small mullioned windows -whose arches are nearly flat. On each side are niches, in one of which -is the remains of a figure. The ceiling of the porch is cylindrical, -without ornament, and the interior doorway a plain semi-circular arch -with round mouldings. - -The exterior of the side aisles displays a series of modern gables, each -of which contains a mullioned window. The eastern end of the church is -finished by a wall run up between the remains of the two western piers -that supported a central tower, in which a pointed window is inserted. -This, however, will soon be removed, and three elegant Norman lights -substituted by private munificence. - -On the south side the gables are at present miserably repaired with -brickwork, but it is to be hoped that ere long the public spirit and good -taste of the town will be exercised in such a manner as to assist the -parishioners in the proper restoration of this side of the church, which -presents so striking a feature from the new line of the London road. - -The south aisle is entered by a plain Norman arch, resting on slender -shafts, and which once communicated with the western wing of the -cloister; the approach from the opposite eastern wing was by a pointed -doorway; adjoining this is the ruined wall of the transept, in which are -two round arches, supposed to have formed portions of a side aisle, or -small chantry chapel west of the transept. - - -THE INTERIOR - - -presents a majestic appearance of solemnity, calculated to raise devout -and profound veneration towards that ALMIGHTY BEING to whose service and -honour the edifice is dedicated, as well as to enchain the attention to -the scriptural motto inscribed upon the north portal—“REVERENCE MY -SANCTUARY.” - -The nave is separated from the side aisles by five arches: two, which on -each side join the tower, are in the pure style of the 14th century, and -delicately lined with deep mouldings resting on clustered columns, and -exhibit very distinctly the taste which prevailed in engrafting the more -elegant pointed upon the massy Anglo-Norman style; the former, it will be -clearly seen, have been formed out of the original semi-circular arches, -similar to the three eastward, which rest on short thick round pillars -(16½ feet in circumference) of the plainest Norman character. Above -these is a story of smaller arches in the same style, now filled up, but -which evidently shew that it was the intention of the monastery to -assimilate them to the style adopted in the side windows of the tower and -western portion of the nave: the alteration, however, was not completed. - -The pointed arch opposite the north porch is partly filled by a skreen, -the remnant of a small chantry chapel which formerly occupied this -portion of the church. This skreen is adorned with a series of foliated -niches once enriched with sculpture. - -The ceiling of the church is painted in imitation of an oak ribbed roof, -ornamented with flowers, the intersections of the ribs being finished -with bosses, and the interstices with quatrefoils. A lofty beautiful -pointed arch, 52 feet high, springing from richly moulded imposts divides -the tower from the nave, by which the whole front of the great western -window is displayed. This window is filled with a series of armorial -bearings in stained glass, restored in 1814 at the expence and under the -direction of the Rev. W. G. Rowland, M.A. from a drawing in the Heralds’ -College. - -_First row_: 1. Beauchamp; 2. Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester; 3. -King Richard the Second; 4. John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster; 5. Edmund -of Langley, Duke of York; 6. Stafford. - -_Second row_: 7. Audley; 8. Clare; 9. B. a lion rampant O. (the arms of -the monastery); 10. Barry of twelve, A. and S. - -_Third row_: 11. Mortimer Earl of March; 12. Fitzalan and Warren. - -_Fourth row_: 13. Montague; 14. Boteler of Wem; 15. Ufford Earl of -Suffolk; 16. B. on a bend A. three escallops S. - -_Fifth row_: 17. Warren Earl of Surrey; 18, 19, 20. B. a lion rampant -within a bordure O. (probably intended for the three Norman Earls of -Shrewsbury); 21. Blundeville Earl of Chester; 22. Sir Philip de Burnell. - -_Sixth row_: 23. England and France quarterly; 24. John of Hainault; 25. -Strange of Blackmere; 26. Strange of Knockin; 27. Lisle; 28. Mortimer -Earl of March; 29. Arundel and Warren; 30. France semée and England; 31. -Arundel and Maltravers; 32. Corbet; 33. Albini; 34. Latimer; 35. Roger de -Montgomery; 36. Sir Simon de Burley impaling Stafford; which last -bearings will probably fix the date when the original window was put up, -viz. about the 12th of King Richard the Second. - -The whole extent of the tower is occupied by a spacious gallery, in which -is an excellent organ made by Gray, of London, and erected in 1806 at a -cost of 365 guineas. The front of the gallery is a gothic skreen of -three arches, divided by buttresses, and displays the armorial bearings -of the principal benefactors to the organ. - -The eastern window contains six resplendent figures in stained glass, -executed by Mr. David Evans, of Shrewsbury, viz. ST. JAMES, KING DAVID, -ST. JOHN, KING SOLOMON (as in the act of consecrating the Temple), ST. -PETER, and ST. PAUL, with their respective emblems. The figures were -placed in rich tracery work in 1836, but the window was originally set up -in 1820, with the following inscription:—AEDI . SANCTAE . CRUCIS . Post . -Annos . Viginti . Septem . In . SACRIS . EJUS . Administrandis . Impensos -. Dono . Dedit . Gvlielmvs . Gorsvch . Rowland . anno . salvtis . -MDCCCXX. - -Below this window is a series of highly-enriched Norman arches, forming -the altar skreen, erected from a design by Mr. Carline, and at the -expense of the Rev. Richard Scott, B. D. which has given a most imposing -feature to this part of the church. - -The north-east window was the gift of the late Lord Berwick, and -previously to the year 1820 stood over the altar. In the centre -compartment is a large figure of St. Peter, and the remainder of the -window is occupied by the arms of the See of Lichfield, those of the -munificent donor, and thirteen escutcheons of the incumbents from the -Reformation to 1804. A rich border lines the mullions, and at the bottom -is inscribed—MVNIFICENTIA • VIRI • PRAENOBILIS • THOMAE • NOEL • BARONIS -• BERWICK • DE • ATTINGHAM • HVJVS • ECCLESIAE • PATRONI • ANNO • SALVTIS -• MDCCCVI. - -Small windows divided by a single mullion are placed in the eastern -arches of the side aisles (which formerly opened with the transepts); -that on the north side has the arms of Mortimer, Fitzalan, Talbot, and -Berkeley, in stained glass. The corresponding window of the south aisle -has three ancient shields (originally in the great chamber of the abbey) -bearing the arms of France and England, Roger de Montgomery, and the -symbols of the Patron Saints, the key and sword, in saltire. - -In the south aisle is a beautiful mosaic window of stained glass, by Mr. -D. Evans, containing twelve shields of the armorial bearings of families -connected with the late Rev. John Rocke. Underneath is inscribed—MAJORVM -SVORVM INSIGNIA DEPINGI CURAVIT JOHANNES ROCKE, MDCCCXX. - -The western portion of the south aisle is walled from the church for a -vestry, near which, on a pavement of emblazoned tiles, stands the Font: -the pedestal is carved with zigzag mouldings, and supports a round basin, -ornamented with chevron work and small arched panels. This originally -belonged to the church at High Ercall. - -Another font, found some years since in the adjoining garden, is at the -eastern end of the north aisle. Its basin represents an open flower, -over which is festooned drapery supported from the mouths of grotesque -heads; the pillar on which it is fixed formed the upper part of the -ancient cross which formerly stood opposite the south door of St. Giles’s -church. On the sides are sculptured the Crucifixion, the Visitation, the -Virgin and Child, and a person in the act of devotion. - -Length of the church from east to west 123 feet, breadth (including -aisles) 63 feet; the tower is 104 feet in height, and contains a fine -mellow peal of eight bells. - - -MONUMENTS—SOUTH AISLE. - - -The oldest monument in the church is the mutilated cumbent figure of a -warrior clad in mail of the date of King John’s reign, and conjectured by -the heralds at the visitation in 1623 to be the effigy of the Founder of -the abbey, who died July 27th, 1094. It has been placed on a basement of -early pointed arches, by the Rev. W. G. Rowland, M.A. to whose taste this -church is mainly indebted for its interior beauty and interest. - -On the fall of St. Chad’s and the demolition of St. Alkmund’s church, -several ancient monuments found an habitation within the aisles of this -church. To enumerate all the inscriptions on these and other memorials -would far exceed the prescribed limits of these pages: a brief survey -must therefore suffice. - -Commencing at the eastern end of the south aisle, we find—a bust, under a -Roman arch, in alderman’s robes, representing John Lloyd, alderman of -this town, who died in 1647, aged 53. - -Near this is a handsome altar-tomb bearing two cumbent figures, an -alderman in his civic robes, with picked beard and bareheaded, and a lady -in a scarlet gown, finished after the stiff habit of the times, denoting -William Jones and Eleanor his wife; the former died in 1612, and the -latter in 1623. These were brought from St. Alkmund’s. - -An alabaster tomb from Wellington old church, described by Dugdale as “a -faire raised monument, whereon is cut the portraiture of a man in armour, -and by him his wife, with this inscription”— - - Hic jacet in Tumba corpus Will’mi Chorlton armigeri et Anne Uxor’ - ejus; que quidem Anna obiit vii die mensis Junii, Anno D’ni Mill’imo - cccccxxiiii. et dictas Will’ms obiit p’mo die mensis Julii anno d’ni - mill’imo cccccxliiii. quorum animab’ p’picietur Deus. - -On the sides of the tomb are a series of canopied niches, with figures of -angels and friars bearing shields, on which are emblazoned armorial -bearings of the families of _Charlton_, _Zouch_, and _Horde_; one of the -friars is remarkable, having a fox’s head peeping out from under his long -gown. - -In this part are handsome mural tablets with Latin inscriptions to the -memory of individuals of the families of ROCKE, PRINCE, BALDWIN, &c. &c. - -Near the south entrance is the cumbent figure of a cross-legged knight in -linked armour, with surcoat, sword in scabbard, gauntlets on his hands, -spurs on his heels, and his feet resting on a lion. It is considered to -be the effigy of _Sir Walter de Dunstanville_, Lord of Ideshale, and a -benefactor to Wombridge Priory, from whence the figure was brought. He -died 25th Henry III. - - -NORTH AISLE. - - -Resting on a basement is a curious ancient ridge-backed gravestone, on -which is cut a foliated cross; under this is a small figure clad as a -priest, close to whose head is attached the outline of a bell. On the -right side is a chalice, a book, and a candle; round the edge of the -stone is T: M: O: R: E: U: A, which is conjectured to mean Thomas More, -Vicarius Abbatiæ. It was removed from St. Giles’s. - -Among other ancient cumbent figures in this aisle, one is supposed to -represent a Judge who died in Shrewsbury, being robed to the feet, and -having a coif drawn close over his head, and tied under the chin. It is -of the date of Edward I. - -Another monumental statue clad in plate armour displays a long loose robe -as the surcoat, which is curiously disposed on one side to shew the -warlike character of the deceased, whose armour, belt, and dagger would -have been otherwise concealed. The head is wrapped in a close cowl. -From the peculiarity of the robe being thrown back, this effigy is -probably unique. Froissart asserts that a similar dress was worn in -battle, and that this kind of long loose drapery proved fatal to Sir John -Chandos, for he “wore over his armour a large robe which fell to ye -ground;” and as it appears, when he marched “entangled his legs so that -he made a stumble, and was killed by the enemy.” The costume of the -present figure (which originally stood on an altar-tomb in St. Alkmund’s -church) may be attributed to the close of the 14th century; but whom it -represents is now unknown. - -On the side walls are several neat tablets. An elegant canopied niche -with pinnacles commemorates Edward Jenkins, Esq. of Charlton Hill, co. -Salop, who ably distinguished himself in the first American war, being -then a lieutenant in the 60th regiment, and died May 1, 1820, in his 81st -year. - -At the eastern end is a large altar-tomb, on which are recumbent figures -of Richard Onslow, Esq. (Speaker of the House of Commons in the reign of -Elizabeth), and his lady Catherine; the former is dressed in his robes of -office, and the latter in the dress of the times. On the sides and ends -of the monument are small figures of his sons and daughters. He died in -1571, and was buried at St. Chad’s. - -Above this is a mural monument representing a gentleman and lady kneeling -opposite to each other under a rich Grecian entablature; the former is -clad in a ruff and long gown, and the latter has a long veil thrown back. -They represent Thomas Edwards, Esq. who died 1634, and Ann his wife, -daughter of Humfrey Baskerville, alderman of London. Over the -entablature is a lady in a richly-laced habit, and a little girl -kneeling, intended for Mary, wife of Thomas Edwards, Esq. and daughter of -Thomas Bonham Norton, Esq. who died in childbirth, 1641. - -In the vestry is an old painting of the Crucifixion, which was a century -ago “turned out of the church,” and occasioned at the time some strife -between the parson and his flock. - -The living is a vicarage, with St. Giles’s annexed, in the gift of the -Right Hon. Lord Berwick, who received it from the Crown in exchange for -three small livings in Suffolk. - -The ruins of the monastic buildings, which are now scattered over an -extent of about nine acres, are not considerable, and will be described -in a notice of the suburb of Abbey-foregate. - - - -SAINT GILES’S CHURCH. - - - [Picture: St. Giles’s Church, N.W.] - -Sacred edifices, under the invocation of this Saint, were generally -founded “without the city;” that in this town occupies a situation at the -eastern extremity of the suburb of Abbey-foregate. - -The structure is unquestionably as old as the early part of the twelfth -century; and while presenting an interesting picture of the work of -former times, has a tendency to lead the mind, under fit impressions, to -the hope of a less perishable, “greater, and more perfect tabernacle.” - -It consists of a nave, chancel, and north aisle, with a small turret at -the western end, in which a bell has lately been introduced. The -principal entrance is at the south, under a Norman arch. The north aisle -is separated from the nave by three pointed arches sustained on plain -round columns, formed (it appears) in the thickness of the wall, and -peculiarly flanked on the north side by square piers, having an upper and -lower narrow moulding adorned with recessed quatrefoils. These piers, it -is presumed, originally served as buttresses to strengthen the outward -wall of the fabric, which on receiving the addition of a north aisle -(evidently at a very early period), a communication was then opened with -the nave by perforating the wall into arches, which are of the era when -the Norman was giving way to the pointed style. It is not improbable but -this aisle was made for the accommodation of persons afflicted with -leprosy, to which they had access from the adjoining hospital by a -pointed doorway, and where they might hear the offices of religion -without endangering other worshippers with their contagious malady. At -the east end is a curious round-headed window with mullions. - -A fine pointed arch separates the nave from the chancel, which is -terminated by a flat-arched mullioned window, containing a noble -collection of stained glass, executed by Mr. David Evans, of Shrewsbury. -The four lower compartments have full-length figures of THE EVANGELISTS, -standing upon hexagonal pedestals, through the external circular arches -of which is exhibited the groined roof of a crypt supported by slender -pillars. Over each figure is a beautiful canopy of tabernacle work, and -in the intersections of the tracery are the symbols of the Evangelists, -each supporting a tablet, on which is respectively inscribed, in small -characters— - - Mattheus Christi stirpens et genus ordine narrat - Marcus Baptistam clamantem inducit eremo - Virgine pregnatum Lucas describit Jesum - Prodit Joannes verbi impenetrabile lumen. - -The three principal compartments in the upper division display fine -representations from ancient designs of THE SALUTATION, THE WISE MENS’ -OFFERING, and THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE, beneath each of which is a -Latin text: the first is taken from Luke i. 28; the second from Psalm -lxxii. 10; the third from Luke ii. 29, 30. At the bottom of the window, -GULIELMUS GORSUCH ROWLAND DONO DEDIT. - -The small Norman loop-hole on the north side contains a figure of St. -Giles, and is an exquisite imitation of ancient stained glass. - -On the south side of the chancel is a low pointed arch, the stone-work of -which projects outside the building, and was no doubt originally intended -to contain the remains of a master of the hospital. After the plaister -had been removed in 1826, which brought to view this archway, the ground -at its base was opened, when a stone grave cased with brick-work was -discovered, with part of the bones of two individuals. In 1685 it -appears to have been used for the interment of the individual whose name -is inscribed on the stone, and to prevent (if possible) that ejection of -himself which must have befallen the remains of a former tenant, it is -further added - - STVR NOT MY BONES - WHICH ARE LAYDE IN CLAYE - FOR I MVST RISE AT - THE RESVRRECTION DAY. - - - -THE INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH - - - [Picture: St. Giles’ Church—Interior View] - -Possesses much of its primitive character, being unencumbered with pews, -and until the last few years exhibited a still more rude appearance of -damp and neglect. Many important improvements, however, have been -effected within and around the building, especially in placing drains -around the exterior, which have not only rendered the interior free from -damp, but contributed also to the dryness of the cemetery. The -alterations in the nave consist in levelling and repairing the floor, -ceiling the roof, and appropriately colouring the walls and rafters; -removing the pulpit from the corner of the fine arch leading into the -chancel to the south-east corner of the nave, and placing stone tracery -of a bold design in the large pointed window of the south wall. The -windows of the north aisle are filled with fragments of stained glass -ingeniously disposed, so as to represent the outline of figures. {82} - -In feet, whoever has visited this ancient church during its former -wretched state will be astonished; it now truly looks - - “As though we own’d a God, adored his power, - Rever’d his wisdom, loved his mercy.” - -And its sacred walls will, it is to be hoped, no more echo with the -twittering of birds,—the sparrow find a place of security over the altar, -or the swallow be permitted to “build her brooding nest” above its -antique pulpit; altho’ these are striking resemblances of the -tranquillity and peace which the means of grace are to a christian, and -which seem to inhabit the house of the Deity. - -But the sentiment which this venerable place impressed was in some -measure checked by its disuse, divine service being only celebrated -within its walls twice a year. - -Since the foregoing account was written, the author of these Memorials -has the pleasure to record that regular service was commenced in this -church on Sunday, June 19, 1836, which will form a great convenience to -the increasing population of the neighbourhood. Nine new oak pews have -been subsequently erected within its walls, from a design by Mr. Carline, -and at the expence of the Reverend Richard Scott, B. D. who has also -contributed a sum that will, with the letting of the pews, further -increase the stipend of a minister. Much has been very justly said -against the deformity which the introduction of pews has rendered to -churches; those, however, placed in this structure meet every objection, -and are perfect models of what pews should be,—fixed forms having backs, -but without doors;—adapted for a devotional rather than a lounging -posture. On the outside partition of each is a small carved finial, and -the whole are in unison with the style of the church and ancient benches -still remaining on the south side. A new altar-piece has been placed -above the communion-table: the latter was presented by an inhabitant of -the parish, and the former by Mr. Scott. - -The dimensions of the church are—nave 45 feet by 36, chancel 20 feet by -15, total length 65 feet. The font is the upper portion of a Norman -pillar with the capital hollowed, and originally belonged to the Abbey -church. - -It may be mentioned, that after the monks of Shrewsbury had obtained -possession of the bones of St. Wenefrede in 1137, those precious relics -were deposited on the altar of this church, until a shrine worthy their -reception could be prepared in the Abbey. - -On the floor are several ancient stones bearing crosses, no doubt -denoting the interment of some of the masters of the old hospital of St. -Giles. - -A spacious cemetery surrounds the building, where the contemplative mind, - - “Free from noise and riot rude,” - -may resort, and, unmolested by the vulgar gaze of unsympathizing -intruders, pour the grateful tribute of a sigh, or embalm afresh the -memory of that departed spirit with whom he once took generous and -undesigning counsel; and renew in imagination, through time’s dim mist, -hours consecrated to friendship. - -In this silent repository are gravestones 200 years old, many inhabitants -of the town having selected it as their last resting place, from a -feeling similar to that inscribed upon a tomb in the south-west corner of -the church-yard: - - Ut Nemini noceret Mortuus, - Qui Unicuique pro re nata succurrere voluit Vivus, - Hic extra Urbem sese contumulandum præcipiebat, - CHENEY HART, M.D. - Warringtoni in agro Lancastriensi natus Nov. 17–28, 1726. - -A stone near the south window covers the remains of John Whitfield, -surgeon, on which is recorded an epitaph, the very quintessence of -chemical brevity— - - I. W. - COMPOSITA SOLVANTUR. - -Opposite the south door is the socket of an ancient stone cross, the -upper portion of which supports a font in the Abbey church. - -From hence likewise is an extensive view of the town, with the different -churches displayed to much picturesque advantage, the vale below being -watered by the meanderings of the Rea brook; while the more distant -prospect, chequered with mountains and woody knolls, verdant pastures and -rural habitations, presents a striking picture of - - “Life’s fair landscape, mark’d with light and shade.” - - - -SAINT MICHAEL’S CHURCH - - - [Picture: St. Michael’s Church, Castle-foregate] - -Stands on a pleasant site in the populous suburb of Castle Foregate. The -western side commands an interesting view of the town. The venerable -Castle with its towers and hoary walls, the Royal Free Grammar School, -and the lofty spires of St. Mary’s and St. Alkmund’s churches, combine to -form a most pleasing group; whilst the fine church of Saint Chad, backed -by distant mountains, stands prominent in the front. On the northern -side of the building is a picturesque dell, along which the majestic -Severn formerly poured its crystal stream. - -The church is a respectable building in the Doric style, composed of -brick. It was erected by subscription, and consecrated for divine -worship August 24th, 1830. - -In plan, it consists of a tower, nave, side aisles, and an elliptical -recess for the communion, with a vestry in the base of the tower. - -The tower is of three divisions, and rises to the height of 70 feet; the -basement is square, on which rests an octagonal belfry, crowned by a -similar division of smaller dimensions, having a cornice charged with -lions’ heads, the whole being surmounted by an angular lead roof and a -gilded cross. - -The body of the church is in length 70 ft. 6 in. and in breadth 40 ft. 6 -in. and has a stone plinth, cornice, and parapet. The windows throughout -are circular-headed, having unbroken stone dressings surrounding them. - -THE INTERIOR is approached by two entrances, north and south, beneath a -stone cornice sustained on pilasters; and, if not splendid in decoration, -it has that solemnity which becometh the House of God: it possesses, -however, one great advantage, in being capable of comfortably -accommodating a congregation of 800 persons, 620 of whom may possess free -sittings. On the floor are thirty-six pews, the other part being -entirely free. There are galleries over the north and south aisles, and -at the western end, the whole of which are free sittings. These -galleries are sustained on cast-iron columns, which are also continued -for the support of the roof. - -The ceiling has a good effect, being panelled in large square -compartments, and beautifully painted in imitation of oak. The pulpit -and reading desk are octagonal, and are placed on opposite sides of the -church. - -The eastern end is finished by three panels, inscribed with the -Decalogue, &c. Three windows of splendid stained glass decorate the -chancel. The subject of the centre one is the NATIVITY, from the -celebrated “La Notte” of Correggio, and is a most masterly production of -the art of glass-staining, especially in the management of light suitable -to the time and scene of the subject. Underneath is the inscription in -Roman capitals—“AND THEY CAME WITH HASTE, AND FOUND MARY, AND JOSEPH, AND -THE BABE LYING IN A MANGER.” - -The windows on each side of the above are designed from the ANNUNCIATION, -and the PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE, the former from a painting by Guido -in the chapel of the palace on the Monte Cavallo of Rome. The angel, a -beautiful figure arrayed in yellow drapery tastefully displayed, is in -the act of presenting to the virgin a lily, while his attitude and -countenance seem to bespeak the emphatic words of the motto inscribed -beneath—“HAIL! THOU THAT ART HIGHLY FAVOURED AMONG WOMEN; THE LORD IS -WITH THEE.” The other is from the celebrated picture at Antwerp, by -Rubens, and founded on the words of holy Simeon—“LORD, NOW LETTEST THOU -THY SERVANT DEPART IN PEACE: ACCORDING TO THY WORD.” - -These windows, perfect gems of the art, were executed by Mr. David Evans, -of Shrewsbury, and were the gift of the Rev. W. G. Rowland, M.A. Minister -and Official of St. Mary’s. - -There is a small but excellent organ in the west gallery, and the tower -contains a light peal of six bells, cast in 1830. The architect of the -church was Mr. J. Carline; and when it is considered that it was erected -at an expence of little more than £2000, criticism is disarmed in the -substantial appearance which it possesses. - -The cemetery surrounding the church is particularly neat; a gravel walk -extends along its sides, and the ground is laid out in divisions for -graves and vaults, which are numbered according to a plan kept with the -sexton. - -This church is in St. Mary’s parish, with the minister of which the -presentation is vested. - - - -SAINT GEORGES CHURCH. - - - [Picture: St. George’s Church, Frankwell] - -SAINT GEORGE’S CHURCH is situated at the upper end of the suburb of -Frankwell, and is dedicated to the tutelar saint of England, from its -proximity to the site of an ancient religious foundation called in old -writings “The free chapel of St. George.” - -The present church was consecrated January 30th, 1832, and is cruciform -in plan, having a small tower rising at the west end; it is built with -fine Grinshill stone, from a design by Mr. Haycock. The architecture -adopted throughout the building, with the exception of the tower, is of -the lancet or early pointed style. - -The west front is of three divisions guarded by projecting buttresses, -the centre portion forming the principal entrance, a pointed arch bounded -by a sweeping label; above this is a lancet light, succeeded by a panel -intended for a clock dial. From this part the tower shows itself above -the roof to the height of about 20 feet, and has mullioned windows in the -style of the 16th-century, surmounted by an embattled parapet and four -crocketed pinnacles crowned with finials. The flanks of the west end are -quite plain, having in their centre narrow blank loopholes. - -The nave has on each side four lancet windows, bounded by labels; and the -northern and southern extremities of the transepts, with the chancel or -eastern end, have triple lancet windows with recessed mouldings, resting -on grotesque carved heads. The transepts and chancel terminate with -gables, having on their apex a crocketed pinnacle. - -The extreme length of the church is about 84 feet, and 30 feet in width, -the transepts from north to south are 66 feet, and the tower to the -summit of the pinnacles 60 feet. - - -THE INTERIOR - - -possesses a very pleasing appearance. The basement of the tower forms -the vestibule, which is flanked on one side by the vestry, and on the -other by the stairs leading to the gallery. The aisles of the nave and -transepts are occupied by free benches, with a passage on either hand, -the pews being placed along the side walls of the entire building. - -The font is of free-stone, and placed on a pedestal in the area between -the transepts; the basin is octangular, having on its side compartments a -small quatrefoil sunk within a square panel. - -On each side of the communion table are two carved gothic chairs; and -nearly the whole extent of the eastern wall of the chancel is covered -with a handsome altar skreen. - -The three lancet windows are filled with splendid stained glass. - -The subject occupying the centre window is a full-length figure of -ISAIAH, in an attitude strikingly prophetic, and clothed in a brilliant -vest of purple, over which is thrown a green robe lined with ermine, -denoting his royal descent. - -The corresponding windows on each side have spirited figures of ST. -MATTHEW and ST. MARK. The former exhibits deep and serious meditation, -with a most benign countenance; in his right hand is a halbert, and in -his left a Greek manuscript. ST. MARK is a most venerable figure, whose -head appears covered with the frost of hoary years, and he is pointing to -an open gospel which he holds in his left hand. - -The figures stand on rich bases, which display an highly ornamented -quatrefoil, and are surmounted by canopies of the most elegant crocketed -tabernacle work, which have a truly pleasing effect. - -At the base of the window is a series of pointed arches in ruby glass, -beneath which is the following inscription: HANC • FENESTRAM • PICTURATAM -• AEDIS • SANCTI • GEORGII • DECORANDAE • ERGO • DONAVIT • RICARDUS • -SCOTT • SACRAE • THEOLOGIAE • BACCALAUREUS • ANNO • SALUTIS • -MDCCCXXXIII. - -The triple windows of the north and south transepts are also embellished -by the same benefactor with elegant mosaic patterns of elaborate -workmanship, vying in richness and mellowness of colouring with the -finest specimens of ancient stained glass. - -The taste displayed in the execution of these windows is highly -creditable to the talents of our townsman, Mr. David Evans, and will, we -trust, long remain as a noble example of private generosity. - -Attached to the west end is a deep gallery of free seats, which contains -a small organ, presented by the Rev. Richard Scott, B.D. in 1834. - -The church was erected by a public subscription and a grant from the -commissioners for building churches. The total cost, exclusive of the -site, was nearly £4000, of which sum, however, £400 has been vested in -the name of trustees as a fund for future repairs. - -There are 57 pews which will accommodate 290 persons, and 460 free and -unappropriated sittings. - -The right of presentation is in the vicar of St. Chad’s. - - * * * * * - -THE OLD HOSPITAL OF ST. GEORGE stood on a site eastward between the -present church and the Welsh bridge, which latter, as early as the reign -of Henry II. was called “Saint George’s Bridge.” About the year 1150, -the Bishop of Coventry, considering the great poverty of the brethren of -the Hospital of St. George, Salop, released to all who should contribute -to their necessities “thirteen days of penance enjoined them, and a share -of all the prayers and alms within his Bishoprick.” In 1418 the church -appears to have been in the gift of the Crown, and is supposed to have -been taken down early in the reign of Elizabeth. - - - -TRINITY CHURCH. - - - [Picture: Trinity Church, Coleham] - -The necessity of additional church accommodation for a population of 2200 -persons who inhabit the SUBURB OF COLEHAM having been generally -acknowledged, inasmuch as most of them were destitute of sittings in the -parish church, where many of the pews are freehold, and others let at -such rents as are beyond the means not only of the labouring poor (who -form the greater part of the township) but of the class immediately above -them, a meeting of the parishioners and others interested in the -spiritual welfare of this isolated district of the town, was therefore -held in the vestry of St. Julian’s church, Dec. 7th, 1835, when it was -resolved to be highly necessary to erect a chapel of ease in Coleham, -with free sittings for at least two-thirds of the number it may contain. - -A committee was formed for the purpose of carrying the proposed design -into execution, and of soliciting pecuniary assistance in all proper -quarters. No sooner was this announced than Salopian generosity was -immediately excited, and the town and neighbourhood by their -contributions, in co-operation with those of the parishioners, soon -raised one thousand pounds, which has been subsequently increased by a -grant of £600 from the Lichfield Diocesan Society for building churches, -and a further grant of £150 from the Incorporated Church Building -Society. - -The parishioners of St. Julian’s, desirous also of remedying the -inconvenient and crowded state resulting from repeated interments in the -cemetery adjoining their church during a period of one thousand years, -purchased an eligible piece of land in MEOLE ROAD, for the two-fold -purpose of erecting the new church and affording additional burial -ground. The foundations of the church were commenced in July, 1836, and -(under active management) the structure is now in rapid progress towards -completion, and will be dedicated to the Holy Trinity. - -The front elevation is sufficiently detailed in the foregoing vignette; -the body has four windows on each side, corresponding with those in the -front. The chancel is an elliptical recess, separated from the nave -internally by a circular arch. - -The interior is 72 feet by 46, and intended to afford 812 sittings, 500 -of which will be free, having a gallery over the principal entrance. - -Without further detail of the building, it may be observed that it -possesses one paramount advantage, viz. _usefulness_; and it is to be -hoped, that as the inhabitants of the suburbs of our town become -possessed of greater facilities for hearing the Word of God, they may -value the blessing, and support it practically by their influence and -example. - -The estimated cost is about £1835; builder, Mr. Stant. The appointment -of minister is vested with the incumbent of the parish church. - - * * * * * - -RELIGIOUS HOUSES or Chapels, in former times, stood at five different -approaches into Shrewsbury: of these St. Giles’s only remains. - -The chapel of St. Mary Magdalene appears from the following extract to -have occupied a site near Trinity church. Edward III. 5 June, 1356, -granted to his beloved in Christ _Roger_, Hermit of the Chapel of St. -Mary Magdalene, situated without Salop, a certain plat of waste called -Spelcrosse, contiguous to the said chapel, and containing an acre of -land: to hold the same to him and his successors, hermits there, for -their habitation, and to find a chaplain to pray in the chapel for the -king’s soul, &c. A deed also of 1634 mentions “The Hermitage lane -leading into Meole-field.” A tea-garden near the site of “Belle Vue” -was, in the recollection of many inhabitants, called “the Hermitage.” - - - - -DISSENTING MEETING HOUSES. - - -The first regular Presbyterian congregation formed in Shrewsbury was by -the Reverends John Bryan, M.A. and the learned Francis Tallents, who were -ejected by the Act of Uniformity in 1662 from the livings of St. Chad’s -and St. Mary’s. After experiencing the various alternations of suffering -and indulgence during the unsettled reign of Charles the First, and -assembling for some time in private houses, they at length built a -meeting house in the High-street, in 1691. But while they separated -themselves from the established church on account of her discipline, they -did not renounce the leading doctrines of the gospel as preserved in that -church, which is evident from the inscription set up in their new -building:— - - “This place was not built for a faction, or a party, but to promote - repentance and faith, in communion with all those who love our Lord - Jesus Christ in sincerity. - - “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” - -The year 1715 was particularly unfortunate for the Protestant Dissenters -in this and the adjoining counties: several of their places of worship -were destroyed by riotous mobs raised against the king and his -government. During the violence of these insurrections, the High-street -meeting house was demolished, in the night of July 6th, 1715, and the -pulpit publicly burnt. Government, however, speedily caused it to be -rebuilt; after which the royal arms were placed within the building. - -The good and pious Job Orton preached here for several years. On his -resignation in 1766, a difference of sentiment arose among the members of -the congregation in the choice of a minister. The building is now used -for worship by the Unitarians. It is 70 feet by 30, and fitted up in the -heavy style of the last century. - - - -THE INDEPENDENTS. - - -The place occupied by this denomination had its origin in consequence of -the schism in the High-street congregation, and is situated in a retired -area on Swan-hill. It is a substantial square edifice, with a neatly -finished interior. On a stone tablet in the front is the following -inscription: - - “This building was erected in the year 1767, for the Public Worship - of God, and in defence of the Rights of Majorities in Protestant - Dissenting Congregations to choose their own Ministers.” - -On the north-east side is a spacious vestry, containing portraits of the -Rev. Mr. Tallents and other ejected clergymen. The space adjoining three -sides of the building is used as a cemetery. - - - -BAPTISTS. - - -A society of this persuasion is stated to have existed in this town in -the time of the Commonwealth. The meeting house, in Claremont-street, -was opened in 1780, and enlarged in 1810. It contains a monument in -memory of Mr. Palmer, who was pastor of the congregation 27 years, and -died in 1823. - - - -THE SECOND BAPTISTS - - -Seceded from the above society in 1827, and built a place for worship in -Castle Foregate, which was opened April 9, 1830. They retain, however, -the doctrines of Particular or Calvinistic Baptists, as professed by the -former society. - - - -THE WESLEYAN METHODISTS - - -Assemble on St. John’s hill, in a building erected in 1804, and which was -enlarged and decorated in 1825. Galleries surround the interior, in -which is a small organ. The pulpit stands in the middle aisle. - -A small building erected at Spring Gardens, Castle Foregate (by the -proprietor of the land) was opened Feb. 26, 1826, in connexion with this -society. The service is free, and the place is used at certain hours on -the Sunday as a school. - - - -THE METHODIST NEW CONNEXION - - -appear to claim a mutual relationship to the founder of Methodism with -the Wesleyans, and retain the doctrines, ordinances, and general -discipline common to that body, from which they differ only in the form -of church government and professed dissent from the Church of England. -This society formed a congregation here in 1833, and in Jan. 1834, an -edifice for their service was commenced near the Old Tower, Murivance, -which was opened June 13 in the same year. - -The exterior is handsome, having two entrances with a Doric portico to -each, and is divided into three parts, viz. a centre and two wings, -formed with Corinthian pilasters, frieze, and cornice; the centre -terminates with a pediment, and the wings with a broken blocking and -Grecian tiles. The interior is without galleries, and arranged on rather -a novel plan; the middle is occupied by two rows of pews, with a row on -each of the sides which ascend gradually from the floor, and thereby -afford great economy of space. - -Two ends of the building being flanked by dwellings, light is admitted -from the side portions, but a good effect, notwithstanding, is produced -from the blank walls, which display arches and plain pilasters supporting -a frieze and cornice. - -The ground at the back declining considerably from the street, spacious -school-rooms, a vestry, and a house for the door-keeper, are formed -underneath the building, which is calculated to contain 700 persons, and -cost £1500. - - - -THE WELSH CALVINISTIC METHODISTS - - -meet in a neat structure in Hill’s Lane, erected by a subscription on a -portion of the site of a former edifice, and was opened for worship Dec. -25, 1826. The service is in the Ancient British language. - - - -THE PRIMITIVE METHODISTS - - -introduced themselves into this town in 1822, by preaching in the streets -and suburbs. The place originally built in Castle-court, Castle-street, -for the Sandemanian Baptists (a society in this town nearly extinct), was -purchased for them, and they commenced service there June 4th, 1826. - - - -THE QUAKERS - - -have a convenient meeting-house, fitted up with much simplicity, and -neatness, on St. John’s Hill, to which a small burial ground is attached. - - - -THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHAPEL - - -Is situated near the southern portion of the town walls. The exterior -exhibits a stuccoed pedimented front, surmounted by a plain cross. The -interior was enlarged in 1826, and is elegant in decoration, and -calculated to contain nearly 250 persons. - - * * * * * - - - - -ROYAL FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL. - - - [Picture: Royal Free Grammar School] - - “Learning is an addition beyond - Nobility of birth: honour of blood, - Without the ornament of knowledge, is - But a glorious ignorance.” - - SHIRLEY. - -This noble public institution for the education of youth was founded by -KING EDWARD THE SIXTH, in 1561, on the supplication of Hugh Edwards and -Richard Whitaker, and endowed with the greater portion of the revenues of -the two dissolved colleges of Saint Mary and Saint Chad.—QUEEN ELIZABETH -greatly augmented her brother’s donation in 1571, by adding the whole -rectory of Chirbury, in this county, with additional tithes and estates -in St. Mary’s parish, which now produce a considerable revenue. - -In 1798, the School having sunk into a state of comparative -insignificance, a bill was passed for the better government and -regulation of the Grammar School of King Edward the Sixth in this town, -by which the management of the revenues, and the removal or discharge of -the masters, is vested in the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry (as -visitor) and thirteen trustees or governors. The appointment of head and -second masters rests with the Fellows of St. John’s College, Cambridge. -The school is open for the gratuitous instruction of the sons of freemen, -and has maintained a character of high repute from its earliest -formation. We learn that under the care of its first master, Thomas -Ashton, there were 290 scholars, among whom were many of the sons of the -gentry of the county and from North Wales, as well as from the first -families in the kingdom. Camden, when he wrote, says, “it was the best -filled in all England, being indebted for their flourishinge state to -provision made by the excellent and worthie Thomas Ashton,” who was -instrumental in procuring the grant of augmentation from Elizabeth, and -contributed greatly to the school himself, and from whose exertions and -judicious regulations it preserved its usefulness for many generations. - -Many persons of eminence in by-gone days received their education in -Shrewsbury School. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth it sent forth one of -the most brilliant ornaments of her court, the gallant and accomplished -SYDNEY,—the “miracle of the age;”—and in the present day, under the able -management and profound learning of the late head-master, Dr. Butler, it -has maintained a pre-eminent rank among THE PUBLIC SEMINARIES OF SOUND -LEARNING AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION in this country, having produced -numerous individuals who have been distinguished for their eminent -classical attainments; whilst it is an acknowledged fact that scarcely -any gentleman can be pointed out who has sent so many pupils to the -Universities, the greater part of whom have risen into general notice and -estimation, mainly owing to the excellent manner in which their natural -capacities had been directed by the distinguished and successful talents -of their tutor. - -The affectionate interest manifested by Dr. Butler in the welfare of his -pupils remained nearest to his heart to the last. {101} And in retiring -from the duties of his scholastic station, in 1836, it appeared as his -greatest comfort and happiness to find that St. John’s College had given -a good earnest of its intention to uphold the character of the school -over which he had so long and so zealously presided, by the selection of -the Rev. Benjamin Hall Kennedy as has successor, an appointment (it will -be admitted by all) the most conducive to the future prosperity of the -school, and consequently beneficial to the town and neighbourhood; -inasmuch as it is stamped upon high and indubitable authority that Mr. -Kennedy is one of the most brilliant scholars which the learned editor of -Æschylus ever sent forth,—the brightest star in that galaxy of -distinguished pupils whose names adorn the boards of Shrewsbury school; -while from his experience of Dr. Butler’s system, both as a pupil and -assistant master in this seminary,—his subsequent practice as a lecturer -and private tutor at College, and as an assistant master for upwards of -six years at Harrow, as well as from his own unrivalled talents and high -literary distinctions,—from his fine taste and sound learning,—there is -not a shadow of doubt but that he will fully maintain the reputation -Shrewsbury School has already acquired. - -The following annual prizes are distributed— - -Pelham Prizes Latin Verse 20 guineas. - Greek Iambics 10 guineas. -Trustees’ Prize Latin Essay 20 guineas. -Assistant Master’s Prize Latin Translation 10 guineas. -Head Master’s Prizes For the First and Second Books. - in the Examination - -In 1832 this ancient and royal foundation was visited by three members of -the royal family within two months: by his Royal Highness the Duke of -Sussex, Sept. 5th; by their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Kent and the -Princess Victoria, Nov. 1st. - - - - -THE SCHOOLS - - -are situate near the Castle, and display a handsome spacious structure of -free-stone, built in the incongruous but fashionable style of -architecture which prevailed in the 16th and 17th century; wherein the -Grecian and pointed arches are fantastically mixed together. The -building occupies two sides of a quadrangle, with a square pinnacled -tower at the angle, partly rebuilt in 1831. - -The original school-room was of timber, to which the tower, chapel, and -library were added in 1595. In the year 1630 the wooden portion was -removed, and its site occupied by the present edifice, in the centre of -which is a gateway, having a Corinthian column on each side, upon which -are statues of a scholar and a graduate, bareheaded, in the dress of the -times. Above the arch is a Greek inscription from Isocrates, which -implies that a love of literature is necessary to the formation of a -scholar. Over this are the armorial bearings of Charles the First. - -The upper story of this part is occupied by the principal school-room, an -apartment 82 feet by 21, and in the basement is the head master’s school, -in which are several panels containing the names of gentlemen educated -here, and who have subsequently distinguished themselves at the -Universities. {103} The upper moulding of each panel contains one of the -following lines:— - - TV • FACITO • MOX • CVM • MATVRA • ADOLEVERIT • AETAS SIS • MEMOR • - ATQVE • ANIMO • REPETAS • EXEMPLA • TVORVM ET • TVA • TE • VIRTVS • - MAGNA • INTER • PRAEMIA • DVCET. - -The chapel forms the other wing of the building, and was consecrated -Sept. 10th, 1617, when a sermon was preached on the occasion by Sampson -Price, D.D. Chaplain in Ordinary to the King, from John x. 22, 23. It is -62 ft. long by 22 ft. wide, and contains a handsome pulpit and bible -stand, and is separated from the ante-chapel by a carved skreen, -displaying a series of interlaced arches resting on fluted Corinthian -columns. Prayers are read here twice on school days. - -Above the chapel, and of the same size, is the library, a noble room, -rebuilt in 1815. The ceiling is richly adorned, and panelled into Gothic -and ornamental compartments, on which are displayed the armorial bearings -of the first and subsequent trustees. It contains a valuable collection -of printed books and manuscripts, one side being occupied by the library -of the late Dr. Taylor, editor of Demosthenes. Among the portraits which -decorate the walls of this elegant apartment are those of the Bishop of -Lichfield (late head master), the Reverends John Lloyd and Leonard -Hotchkiss (formerly masters), Queen Elizabeth, King Henry VIII. Edward -VI. (the Founder), Locke, Judge Jefferies, &c. &c. - -At the south end of the room are four sepulchral stones found at -Wroxeter, near this town, three of which are fully described by Pennant, -in his North Wales. A small museum likewise contains other Roman -antiquities from the same place, with fossils and other curiosities. - -The windows are embellished with escutcheons of the arms of Edward VI. -Queen Elizabeth, St. John’s College, Cambridge, the See of Lichfield, and -the town, in stained glass. - -In front and at the back of the schools is a spacious area, used as a -promenade or play-ground for the scholars; contiguous to which are houses -for the head, second, and assistant masters, and ample halls for the -accommodation of boarders, who are numerous, and from all parts of the -kingdom. - -Several exhibitions of £70 and £80 a-year belong to this school, to which -the freemen’s sons are entitled for a certain number of years. At a -meeting of the trustees, held 23d May, 1836, it was resolved, in order -more fully to testify their own sense, and to perpetuate the memory, of -the unremitting assiduity and eminent ability with which Dr. Butler has -performed the duties of head-master of this school for a period of -thirty-eight years, restoring and augmenting by his energy and learning -the utility and celebrity of this ancient and royal foundation, to found -an additional exhibition of £100 per annum, to be called for ever “DR. -BUTLER’S EXHIBITION,” and to be tenable by the sons of freemen entering -at either University. - - - - -LOCAL GOVERNMENT, CHARTERS, &c. - - - [Picture: Town Arms] - -SHREWSBURY has received a succession of thirty-two royal charters from -the time of King William the First to the first year of the reign of -James the Second. The earliest charter preserved in the corporation -archives is dated Nov. 11, 1189, being the first year of King Richard the -First, which recites that a previous corporation had existed. - -The last governing charter of the town was granted the 16th of June, -1639, by Charles the First. - -The component parts of the corporation were a mayor, recorder, steward, -common clerk, twenty-four aldermen, forty-eight assistants or common -councilmen, two chamberlains, sword-bearer, serjeants at mace, &c. - -The mayor was elected annually by the majority of aldermen and -assistants, in council assembled, on the first Friday after the feast of -St. Bartholomew, and sworn into office the first Friday after -Michaelmas-day. Robert Burton, jun. Esq. was the last mayor chosen under -the old charter. - -The aldermen were elected by the mayor and aldermen from the assistants, -and the latter from the burgesses at large. - -Burgesses obtained their freedom by descent, or birth, or by serving a -bona fide apprenticeship of seven years within the ancient limits of the -borough to a freeman of one of the ancient incorporated companies. - -According to the Municipal Act, which received the royal assent in 1835, -the town was divided into five wards. {106} - -On the 26th of December, 1835, each of the wards returned six members to -form the new Town Council, who elected to their number, on the 31st, ten -aldermen, which constitutes the municipal body of the town, from whom -William Hazledine, Esq. was elected Mayor. To assist in the local -government, the Secretary of State has subsequently appointed eight -magistrates. Under the provisions of the above cited act, the annual -election of mayor is fixed for the 9th of November. - -The ancient COMMON SEAL of the municipal body is very curious, -representing a view of the town,—its churches, domestic habitations, -fortified gates and walls, beneath which the river is seen flowing under -a bridge; above the latter is a shield bearing the arms of England, and -on each side are similar shields charged with the cross of St. George and -the town arms,—Azure, three leopard’s faces Or. The inscription round -this seal is—Sigilin • commune • libertatis • ville • Salopesburie • -factu • ano • gre • m cccc xxv. - - - - -SESSIONS. - - -A petty sessions is held every Tuesday, and the mayor or some of the -magistrates sit most days for the determination of minor offences. - -A general court of QUARTER SESSIONS and gaol delivery for the town and -liberties is held by the recorder, John Bather, Esq. on the Wednesday -after the county sessions. - - - - -COURT OF RECORD. - - -This town possesses the privilege of a court of record, where actions for -debt (to any amount) and ejectment within the liberties, can be brought. -Judgment in a suit may be obtained in about six weeks, if the defendant -pleads the general issue. - - - - -COURT OF REQUESTS. - - -Small debts exceeding two shillings and under forty shillings, are taken -cognizance of by a Court of Requests, established in 1783. The court -meets every other Wednesday in the Town Hall, the commissioners of which -must be resident within the town, and possessed of freehold property of -thirty pounds per annum value, or a clear personal estate of £600 value. - - - - -MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT. - - -This town is a borough by prescription, and has sent two members to -parliament from the earliest assembling of that body. Previous to the -general reform act the right of election was in the burgesses inhabiting -within the ancient borough, paying scot and lot, and not receiving alms -or charity. The elective franchise is now extended to £10 householders -resident within the boundaries settled by act of parliament, July 15, -1832. - - - - -TRADING COMPANIES. - - -From a remote period several incorporated trading companies existed here, -{107} who exacted fines from what were termed “foreigners;” that is, -individuals who had not served an apprenticeship to a freeman, or who -were not the eldest sons of freemen, if they commenced business in the -“craft or calling” of any of these guilds; the chief of which were the -Drapers and Mercers: the former possessed a considerable property, and -were incorporated by Edward the Fourth, as were the latter in 1480 by the -same king. The Barber Chirurgeons were chartered by Edward the First in -1304, and incorporated by James II. in 1686, with the Wax and Tallow -Chandlers. The charter of the com-brethren of Painters, Booksellers, &c. -is dated May 8th, 19th of Edward IV. The Builders, &c. 19th Q. -Elizabeth, 1577. The composition of the Tailors, 1627, and recites a -more ancient grant. The Smiths, Armourers, &c. have a composition, 19th -James I. 1621. That of the Shoemakers is the most recent, being dated -1739. The Butchers have lost their charter, money, and records; and -several other “crafts” have only left a name behind. - -These fraternities comprehend in their incorporation many more trades -than have been specified. Their utility in the infancy of commerce, as -so many brotherhoods for the protection of different trading interests, -is evident; but having survived the original purpose of institution, -their advantage had been long questioned, and the powers which they -possessed became defunct under the recent Municipal Bill. It is not, -however, too much to suppose but they might, as SOCIAL BODIES, still -effect many good purposes, not the least of which would be the -aggregation of brotherly feeling and good fellowship. - - - - -SHREWSBURY SHOW. - - -This annual pageant is perhaps, with the exception of Coventry, the only -one of the kind in the kingdom. It originated in the celebration of the -splendid festival of Corpus Christi in the church of Rome, which was -observed with much pomp and solemnity by the masters and wardens of the -different trading companies, the members of the corporation, the -parochial clergy, and the religious fraternities of the town. - -The procession, so far back as the 27th of Henry VI. appears to have been -“tyme owt of mynde,” and which several of the guilds were obliged to -support. This is apparent from their “compositions,” or bye-laws, -containing regulations to that effect. That of the Weavers (anno 1444) -provides, that certain fines shall be applied to the “sustentacon and -encreece of the lyght of the seyd crafte of Wev’s, at the feast of Corpus -Xp’i daye.” The composition of the Mercers, Ironmongers, and Goldsmiths -directs that they shall provide “300 mede of wax yearly, to be burnt in -the p’cession of the feast of Corpus Xp’i.” - -After the Reformation, the religious part of the ceremony was set aside, -and as a substitute the second Monday after Trinity Sunday adopted as a -day of recreation and feasting on Kingsland, where each company had a -small enclosure, within which is a building called an “arbour,” -surrounded by trees, and where refreshment was accustomed to be liberally -provided by the respective trades. Only seven of the arbours now remain, -each of which had formerly the arms of the company carved or painted over -the entrance. - -The anniversary has often been anticipated by Salopians with feelings of -delight,—as affording an annual treat of hospitality and good cheer. The -town on the occasion has presented an appearance of lively interest, -conducive also to its trade; the bells of the different churches sent -forth their melodious and enlivening peals, while the incorporated -companies were passing to their places of muster; at noon they assembled -together at the Castle, from whence they proceeded through the streets to -Kingsland, accompanied by their respective flags, banners, and music of -all kinds, most of the companies having some character dressed in -personification of a king, or emblematical of their respective crafts, -and followed by a goodly array of com-brethren walking (as it were) hand -in hand together. The mayor and his friends followed afterwards on -horseback, and were wont to be entertained by the trading companies with -a dejeune in each arbour. - -Such was “Shrewsbury Show.” An attempt was made in 1823 to revive the -ancient pageantry; but during the last few years there has been a sad -falling off in the display, and it is to be feared that the manifold -changes of the present times, and the refined dispositions (probably) of -some modern minds, are causes that will soon hasten to a discontinuance -what remains of this ancient custom and lively picture of old English -manners. {110} - -The following extract from a scarce poem published in the year 1770, -entitled “Shrewsbury Quarry,” is probably the only authentic account -which will afford some idea of the “Show” at that period:— - - What friendly forms in social pomp draw near, - With thankful smiles to bless the bounteous year! - In glad procession, brotherhood, and bloom, - (Like _Flora’s_ festals near thy walls, oh Rome,) - The bands distinguished, yet harmonious move, - Their ensigns concord, and their leaders love; - To KINGSLAND’S Arbours once a year they go, - In ordered elegance serene and slow; - The Bodies Corporate in classes bright— - In different classes, but in one delight; - There blend with mutual hands the friendly bowls, - There blend their wishes and there blend their souls; - The yearly _Archon_ {111} over all presides, - Their state he governs, and their joy he guides, - There mixing jovial with each jovial band, - To each he gives his heart—to each his hand; - With each he quaffs the invigorating cheer, - To friendship sacred, and the hallow’d year; - There union, brotherhood, and mirth combine, - In every face these vital virtues shine. - The sun would gladly in his course delay, - And stretch beyond its lengthened bound the day, - To gaze with rapture, as each bosom glows, - On these rich blessings which his beam bestows; - His prone career, his cadence they behold, - His western stage in crimson clad, and gold, - They see his orb reluctant now go down, - Then march in happy order back to town; - There polish’d pleasures teem with new delight, - And balls and banquets crown the genial night. - - - - -THE COUNTY HALL. - - - [Picture: The County Hall] - -Architectural excellence has been said to consist in the judicious and -skilful adaptation of an edifice to its specific destination, and in the -appropriate and tasteful display of its interior and exterior ornaments, -and that public buildings should be distinguished by decisive and -apposite characteristic features of their purpose. How far this has been -exemplified in the Salop County Hall, the foregoing illustrative vignette -will in a great measure decide. The design is by Sir Robert Smirke, and -the style Italian; the main feature of the elevation being a bold cornice -resting on sculptured modillons. - -The principal front is divided into three divisions by projecting string -courses, and is 112½ feet in length; the portion facing High-street, 58 -feet; height to the top of parapet 54 feet. - -On examining the interior of the structure, it will be evident that the -architect has made the most of a very limited space of ground: the -different apartments are convenient, lofty, and well adapted to the -various purposes for which they are intended. The offices in particular, -although plain, are fitted up in a most substantial manner. - -The entrance hall is 22 feet 8 inches by 21½ feet, having on the right a -lobby leading to the crown court, and a room for the use of witnesses -waiting for examination in that court. On the left is a similar entrance -to the nisi prius court, and the mayor’s room (appropriated to counsel -during the assizes). Opposite the entrance door is the grand staircase, -spacious and of easy ascent; on the first landing are three doorways, the -centre one leading to the judges’ retiring room (which communicates with -the courts), and those on either hand to the magisterial bench in the -respective courts, which are of equal dimensions, 42 feet by 36 feet. -{114} - -The accommodation for the gentlemen of the bar was intended to have been -similar to that provided (under the direction of the same architect) in -the Court of King’s Bench and several other places; but objections being -made by the counsel on this circuit, and a petition sent to the -magistrates, this arrangement was altered, and the space immediately -before the judge is occupied by a large table, with sufficient seats for -twenty counsellors, having a row of seats behind for attornies. - -The bench is elevated 3½ feet above the floor, on each side of which is -accommodation for the magistrates. - -The ceiling of both courts is panelled and ornamented, and the walls are -lined with wood as high as the small side galleries, which are intended -for the use of the grand and special jurors. - -In each court is a gallery for the public, the two front benches of which -are partitioned off for jurymen in waiting. To these galleries are -separate entrances from the principal front, in order to prevent the -annoyance of a crowd in the vestibule of the hall, through which -admittance will be afforded for those persons who have business in the -courts. - -Under the public galleries are lock-up rooms for the jury. - -The nisi prius court is lighted by a lantern, which occupies a -considerable space in the ceiling; and beneath the public gallery of this -court is the waiting-room for witnesses. The first story is approached -by a broad flight of stairs: on the left is the grand jury room, 30 feet -by 18 feet, lofty and finished in a tasteful manner, having a -communication with the gallery in the crown court for the presentment of -bills. Attached to this apartment is a large room for witnesses -attending the grand jury; the floor is of stone, and forms the ceiling of -the entrance hall. To the right is the office of the clerk of -indictments. - -From this division of the building the staircase leads to the entrance of -the GREAT ROOM, adapted for a third court or other public purposes -requiring space. It is decorated with an enriched cornice and panelled -ceiling; the dimensions are 45½ feet by 32½ feet, and 19 feet high, -having a recess at one end; it is lighted by windows at the side and -back, and is well ventilated by means of tubes which pass from the -ceiling through the roof. - -By another ascent of steps the upper floor is gained. To the left are -offices for the clerk of the peace, with a fire-proof room as a -depositary for records. Similar rooms to the right are appropriated for -the town clerk. - -In the rear of the building is a house for the hall-keeper, resting over -an entrance intended as a passage for the cart conveying prisoners from -the gaol, where they are set down in an area having stairs leading to -spacious and airy cells; these, with cellars for other purposes, occupy a -considerable portion of the base of the building, which stands upon a -concrete foundation, 10 feet thick, rendered necessary (from the -insufficient state of the ground) to support the weight of a massive -structure. In excavating for this purpose, many curiosities were found; -and although the required depth was 19 feet below the level of the -street, the natural strata was not discovered, the whole bed being a -complete bog of peaty soil of unequal depth,—a sufficient cause for all -the fissures visible for several years past in the external and internal -walls of the former fabric, which was only completed in 1785, at a cost -of £11,000. - -In 1832, Thomas Telford, Esq. was requested to examine the nature of the -foundations, when it appeared that the oak sapling piles, or rather -stakes, on which the building rested were totally decayed, and become as -soft as the earth by which they were surrounded. To restore the walls to -a sound state was deemed a difficult and expensive undertaking, even if -practicable. A new building was therefore determined upon, Sir Robert -Smirke having guaranteed a sufficient foundation on the old site, by -taking out the whole of the soil, and replacing it by an artificial body -of concrete. His plan was adopted by the county magistrates, Jan. 28th, -1834, and in the month of April workmen commenced taking down the old -edifice, {116} and the new building progressed towards completion so as -to be ready by March, 1837. - -The foundations appear to have succeeded beyond the expectations of all -concerned, and the building does great credit to the contractors, Messrs. -Birch and Sons. The estimated cost is about £12,000, raised by a county -rate. - - - - -THE GUILD HALL AND EXCHEQUER - - -of the town is incorporated with the county hall, by an arrangement with -the county previous to the erection of the late edifice. - -The following portraits, presented to the late corporation, will decorate -the walls of the new building:—King Charles I. Charles II. William III. -George I. George II. George III. Queen Charlotte, Admiral Benbow (a -native of Shrewsbury), the Right Hon. Lord Hill (by Sir William Beechy), -and Admiral Owen (by R. Evans, Esq. a townsman). The two latter -portraits possess life and spirit in their execution, and are justly -esteemed most faithful resemblances of these illustrious heroes and -fellow-citizens. - - - - -THE MARKET HOUSE - - -is a spacious building, unequalled in point of ornamental decoration by -any similar structure in the kingdom. It not only gives a most prominent -feature to the area in front of the county hall, but is a general and -interesting object of attraction to strangers. - - [Picture: Market House] - -The principal front is to the west, over the portal of which are the arms -of Queen Elizabeth in high relief, and the date 1596. On each side of -this portal is an open arcade, consisting of three round arches, which -form the main building; above these is a series of square mullioned -windows, surmounted by a rich fanciful parapet consisting of curved -embrasures, which rise at certain distances into a kind of pinnacle. - -Above the northern arch is the following inscription, having on one side -the arms of France and England quarterly, and on the other those of the -town:— - - The xvth day of June was this building begun, - William Jones and Thomas Charlton, Gent. then - Bailiffs, and was erected and covered in their time. - 1595. - -Immediately over this is a tabernacled niche, containing a fine statue of -RICHARD DUKE OF YORK, in complete armour; one hand is supported on his -breast, and the other pointing below to a device of three roses carved on -a stalk. A tablet corresponding with the town arms, finely sculptured in -relief, on the left hand of the figure, records its removal from the -tower on the Welsh bridge, in 1791. In the same situation on the -corresponding end of the hall is the figure of an angel in a canopied -niche, bearing a shield of the arms of France and England quarterly. -This originally stood within the chamber of the Gate Tower at the Castle -Gates, from whence it was preserved when the remaining portion of that -ancient barrier gave way to modern houses in 1825. - -The basement of the Market House is 105 feet long by 24 feet wide, and is -used on Saturdays as the corn-market; at other times it forms an useful -promenade, especially in wet weather. - -The inscription on the north end has often excited surprise, how so large -and ornamental a building could have been completed within a period of -less than four months. The nature of the case would seem, that the -stone-work and timber-framing had perhaps previously been wrought, so -that no time might be lost, and the utmost endeavours used, in the -re-edification of a building which was almost indispensible at that -period,—when corn was for the most part brought to market in the _bulk_, -and not sold by _sample_ as in the present day. This conjecture is -somewhat confirmed by the following extract from a manuscript chronicle -in the possession of the writer:— - - “1595. In the month of January this year the old building in the - Corn Market Place was agreed to be taken down, and the timber-work - thereof was sold, and another with all speed was to be erected with - stone and timber in the same place, and a sumptuous hall aloft, with - a spacious market house below for corn was begun, the foundation and - fencing whereof was a quarter of a year before it was finished, and - the stone work was begun upon the 15th day of June following, and was - finished and almost covered in before the bailiffs of the said year - went out of their office the Michaelmas following.” - - - - -THE BRIDGES. - - -Two handsome stone bridges cross the river Severn nearly in a parallel -direction. These were preceded by very ancient structures, defended by -embattled towers, and were excellent specimens of the fortified bridges -necessary in former times for the protection of the town. Being -extremely narrow and dilapidated, they were taken down in the last -century; a brief notice, therefore, of their ancient state will be -sufficient. - - - - -THE OLD WELSH BRIDGE - - -was considered as the chief architectural ornament of the town, -consisting of seven arches, and situated a few yards higher up the stream -than the present structure. Its gates and towers at each end were of the -finest kind of castellated building, being richly decorated with shields -and sculpture; and their demolition is much to be regretted. - -Above one of the gates stood the armed statue of a knight, which was -removed in 1791, and placed in a niche on the front of the Market House. -This effigy was an important object of attraction to the Welshmen in -passing through the gate, from a tradition retained by them even to -modern times, that it represented Llewelyn Prince of Wales, or David, the -last of the British Princes, whom Roger Coke facetiously calls “King -Taffy,” but which recent antiquaries have, from its attendant -embellishments, more properly assigned to Richard Duke of York, father of -Edward IV. - - - - -THE OLD EAST OR STONE BRIDGE - - -consisted rather of two bridges (being divided by an island of 118 feet -broad), extending 864 feet in length, and comprising seventeen arches. -The thoroughfare over it in the widest part was only twelve feet, being -impeded by a range of thirty-three houses disposed on each side, after -the manner of London Bridge in former times. - -The further bridge from the town had eleven arches, and was properly -denominated: “THE ABBEY BRIDGE” for it extended to the precinct of the -monastery, and passed over none of the water of the Severn except in -times of flood, receiving only a small portion of a rivulet called Meole -Brook, the channel of which is still visible in the meadows opposite the -Council House. - -The narrow state of this bridge having been long matter of complaint and -inconvenience, a subscription was commenced in 1765 to widen it, towards -which Sir John Astley, Bart. gave £1000. - -The expediency of the undertaking was so apparent, from the liberal -subscriptions which came in from all parts of the county, that -encouragement was given to erect an entire new bridge, from a design -furnished by Mr. John Gwynn, architect, of London, and a native of -Shrewsbury. The first stone of the bridge was laid June 29th, 1769, by -the munificent promoter of the undertaking, Sir John Astley, Bart; and -the work was so far completed as to afford a passage (March 14th, 1774) -for the High Sheriff, John Owen, Esq. of Woodhouse, and a numerous body -of gentlemen on horseback who accompanied him to meet the judges of -assize, whom they escorted into town over the new bridge, since styled - - - - -THE ENGLISH BRIDGE, - - -which is a most substantial structure, 410 ft. in length, and composed of -seven arches, crowned by a bold balustrade; the primary object in its -construction was to contrive as much space as possible for the water -during floods, to accomplish which, the central arch (60 feet in -diameter) was raised double the height of the end arches, an elevation -perhaps not accordant with or agreeable to later opinions of ease and -convenience. With the exception of this defect, its elegance and beauty -of architecture is probably surpassed by few bridges in the kingdom, and -is in every respect an ornament to the town, and an equally noble -monument of the public spirit and generosity of the gentry of the county, -who so laudably exerted themselves to further its erection. - -The ornamental parts, though sparingly are yet tastefully disposed. The -keystone of the central arch on the north side is adorned with a fine -head of SABRINA, “goddess of the river,” while that on the opposite side -bears a spirited head of NEPTUNE, the “father of fountains.” On the -piers of this arch rest finely carved dolphins. The keystones of the -other arches are worked into a shell. The parapet of the bridge rises -into a pediment, in the centre of which (on each side facing the river) -is the town arms, and the date of the completion of the bridge, -MDCCLXXIV. - -The total cost, including the purchase of the houses which stood on and -near the bridge, acts of parliament, &c. was £15,710. 3s. 3d. - - - - -LORD HILL’S COLUMN. - - - [Picture: Lord Hill’s Column] - -This noble column, erected in honour of the VALOUR and VIRTUES of an -individual whose well-earned laurels have gained him a firm affection in -the hearts of his countrymen, and truly rendered him SALOPIA’S PRIDE and -ENGLAND’S GLORY, stands on a rising ground at the entrance of the town -from the London road, and forms an interesting object to the surrounding -country. It is said to be the largest Grecian Doric column in the world. - -The first stone was laid by the Salopian Lodge of Free and Accepted -Masons, on the 27th December, 1814. - -The pedestal is square, rising upon two steps, with a large pier at each -angle, on which are placed lions couchant, worked out of Grinshill stone -by Mr. Carline, of this town. - -The diameter at the base is 15 feet, and the other dimensions are as -follow:— - - ft. in. -Height of the pedestal 13 6 -Shaft and capital 91 6 -Pedestal for the figure 11 6 -Statue of his lordship 17 0 - Total height 133 6 - -The colossal statue of his Lordship on the summit is executed in -artificial stone by Messrs. Coade and Sealy, of London, modelled by -Panzetta. The original design for the column was by Mr. Haycock, of -Shrewsbury. - -The contractors were Messrs. Simpson and Lawrence; on the death of the -former, the work devolved upon Mr. Straphen, who completed it, and -erected the elegant staircase within the building at his own expense. - -The last stone was laid in 1816, on the anniversary of the memorable -battle of Waterloo. - -On the pedestal are the following inscriptions: - - - -ON THE SOUTH SIDE. - - - Civi • svo • Rolando - Domino • Baroni • Hill • ab • Almarez • et • Hawkstone - Popvlares • eivs • ex • agro • atqve • municipio • Salopiensi - Colvmnam • hancce • cvm • statva • P • C. - A • S • MDCCCXVI. - Is • in • re • militari • qvemadmodvm • se • gesserit - Testes • sint • Lvsitania • Hispania • Galliae - Narbonensis • ac • Belgica - Artvrivs • Dvx • a • Wellington - Sociorvm • et • qvidem • hostivm • exercitvs. - - - -ON THE NORTH SIDE. - - - To Lieutenant General Rowland Lord Hill, - Baron Hill of Almarez and Hawkstone, G. C. B. - Not more distinguished for his skill and courage in the field, - During the arduous campaigns in Spain and Portugal, - The South of France, and the memorable Plains of Waterloo, - Than for his benevolent and paternal care, - In providing for the comforts and supplying the necessities - Of his victorious countrymen, - And for that humanity and generosity - Which their vanquished foes experienced and acknowledged: - The inhabitants of the Town and County of Salop - Have erected this Column and Statue, - As a memorial of their respect and gratitude to an illustrious - contemporary, - And an incitement to emulation in the heroes and - patriots of future ages. - A. D. MDCCCXVI. - - - -ON THE EAST SIDE. - -Roleia Arroyo del Molinos Hillette -Vimiera Almarez Orthes -Corunna Vittoria Aire -Douro Pyrenees Tarbes -Talavera Nive Toulouse -Busaco Nivelle Waterloo. - -This splendid memorial is constructed of fine Grinshill stone; the total -expence, including the cottage and other incidentals, amounted to £5973. -13s. 2d. which was raised by a subscription throughout the county. - -Within the shaft is a staircase of 172 steps, forming a well in the -centre, each step having an iron baluster with a gilt letter inserted on -a small panel, which gives the following inscription:— - - “This staircase was the gift of John Straphen, the builder, as his - donation towards erecting this Column. The first stone of the - foundation was laid December 27th, 1814, and completed June 18th, - 1816, the anniversary of the glorious Battle of Waterloo.” - -The column may be ascended by a gratuity to the keeper, who resides in a -neat Doric cottage adjoining. - -From the railing at the top is a delightful panoramic view of the fertile -plain of Shropshire, to which the bold appearance of Shrewsbury, and its -once formidable Castle mantled with leafy verdure, forms a prominent -contrast. - -The surrounding distances are replete with interest, being composed of -fine undulating hills and mountains. Proceeding northward, the eye -ranges over the Nesscliff and Selattyn hills, the mountainous tract of -the Berwyn, the luxuriantly crowned summit of Pimhill, the wild and -romantic rock of Grinshill, and the gentler eminences of Hawkstone, whose -tasteful plantations and noble woods are seen at a distance of twelve -miles, among which rises the “Obelisk,” erected to the memory of Sir -Rowland Hill, the first Protestant Lord Mayor of London. - -In the foreground north-east is the plain, renowned in history, and -immortalized by Shakspeare in dramatic poetry, as the scene of the great -and important Battle of Shrewsbury, in 1403, in commemoration of which -Henry IV. piously founded a church, called to this day “Battlefield,” the -well-proportioned tower of which is easily distinguished. - -The turrets of the modern castellated mansion of Sundorne are -particularly striking, and remind us of the beautiful lines of Mrs. -Hemans— - - The stately Homes of England, - How beautiful they stand! - Amidst their tall ancestral trees, - O’er all the pleasant land. - -Further eastward are the venerable and truly picturesque ruins of -Haghmond Monastery, founded in the year 1100, for canons of the order of -St. Augustine. Near the remains of this once more noble pile is the -wooded ascent of Haghmond Hill, and its conspicuously placed Shooting -Tower, beneath which is the retired village of Uffington and its -primitive church. - -Direct east stands exalted in noble majesty the isolated WREKIN, the -_natural Heart of Shropshire_, in front of which appears the exuberant -foliage surrounding Longner Hall. Directing the eye southwards, is -Charlton Hill, bounded by the towering summit of the Brown Clee (1820 -feet in height), and the Lawley, Acton Burnell Park, Frodesley, and other -Shropshire hills, among which is the lofty Caerdoc, otherwise Caer -Caradoc, where Caractacus (the last of the original British princes) is -said to have displayed his patriotism and daring spirit against the -united efforts of the Roman forces. - -Onward in the horizon, beyond a remote cultivated country, is the -Longmynd with its straight outline, and the Stiperstones, topped by -rocks, similar to the august relics of castellated grandeur; these are -connected by the Bromlow and Long Mountain; and the panorama terminates -with the lofty mountains of Breidden, Cefn y Cayster, and Moelygolfa, -which, with more distant eminences, form a fine back-ground to a portion -of the town, while the middle distance all around is unequalled for -richness and fertility. - -Nor, whilst extolling the environs and distant scenes around, let us -forget the immediate vicinity of the Column: its verdant pastures, -sequestered lanes, stately trees, and rural scenery, are surpassed by -none so near a populous county town. - - - - -THE TOWN AND COUNTY GAOL - - -Is situated on a dry, beautiful, and salubrious eminence, a short -distance from the Castle. - -The front of the prison displays rather a bold appearance, having two -rusticated stone lodges and a gateway in the centre; over the latter is a -bust of the philanthropic HOWARD, by Bacon. - -The interior possesses every necessary convenience appropriate to its -purpose that sagacity and humanity can devise. It is spacious, airy, and -well supplied with water, by means of a pump worked by the prisoners. - -The governor’s house faces the gateway, and forms the southern front of -the building. The chapel stands in the centre of the whole, and is -lighted by a lantern surmounted by a gilt cross. It is octagonal, and -contrived that while all the prisoners may see the clergyman, every class -is so separated as to be hid from each other. - -The prison is further divided into eight principal courts, besides other -smaller ones; these are surrounded by cloisters with groined arches; -above these are the sleeping cells, the communication to which is by -railed galleries. A due regard to the gradations of vice is strictly -observed in the classification of the prisoners, most of whom are -occupied during the day in some little manufactory or useful employment, -by which habits of industry are acquired that may protect them from -temptations to plunder or misconduct when released from confinement. - -Executions take place on the roof of the porter’s lodge. - -The prison was begun in 1787, and completed (from a plan by Mr. Haycock) -in 1793, at an expense of about £30,000. The entire building is -surrounded by a strong brick wall, flanked with rusticated stone -buttresses. - - - - -THE BUTTER AND POULTRY MARKET, - - -on Pride-hill, was erected in 1819 by voluntary contributions amounting -to £2000. It is a building unworthy our town and the ample produce -brought to its weekly markets. In 1830 it was adjudged to be taken down -as being unsuitable and incommodious. A meeting was held to arrange for -a new building upon an improved plan, the money to be raised by shares of -£25 each, but circumstances prevented this desirable undertaking, which -is much to be regretted, as complaints have long been made of the -obstruction in the thoroughfare (which is often attended with delay and -danger) on market and fair days, by persons exposing their goods and -marketables for sale in the street. - - - - -THE CIRCUS BUTTER & CHEESE MARKET, - - -from its situation near the Welsh Bridge, possesses superior advantages -for the conveyance of goods and general trade. It was opened about the -year 1822 by Mr. H. Newton. - - - - -THE NEW BUTTER AND CHEESE MARKET - - -Is an elegant and commodious edifice situated in Howard-street, -Castle-foregate, and possesses every requisite convenience for the -disposal of butter, cheese, and other agricultural produce, and -merchandize. - - [Picture: Howard-street Butter and Cheese Market] - -The exterior consists of a centre and two wings, the centre forming the -portico and principal entrance, which is decorated with two Grecian -columns and entablature. The whole of the front is cemented, and -possesses an unity of parts and a boldness of proportion unusual in -buildings of this description. - -The interior is divided into two stories, the lower or basement being -vaulted with groined arches springing from brick piers, which afford an -equality of height in almost every part. The entrance to the basement is -on the north side, and (owing to the fall in the street) is of sufficient -height to admit a waggon. The canal is on the south side, and nearly -level with the floor of the basement, to which there is a communication, -affording a ready transit for goods. - -The upper or principal floor of the Market contains an area of 5400 feet; -the roof is supported by four rows of iron pillars; the centre part being -raised nine feet, has a range of windows on each side, by which a proper -ventilation is obtained as well as additional light. - -Attached to the upper end of the building is a second entrance, -communicating with an office for the clerk of the market. - -The first stone of the edifice was laid by Mr. W. H. Griffiths, May 28th, -1835, and was completed by that time in the next year, in a manner -creditable to the architects, Messrs. FALLOWS and HART, of Birmingham. - - - - -THE SALOP INFIRMARY. - - -Among the various channels through which the stream of christian -benevolence pursues its fertilizing course to the ocean of charity, those -Institutions which have for their express design the cultivation of the -mind and the alleviation of misfortunes which the casualties of life and -the infirmities of human nature render mankind alike heir to, afford -undoubtedly the safest application of real beneficence, being, in a -measure, free from that imposition with which an indiscriminate charity -has unfortunately so often to contend. - - [Picture: The Infirmary] - -From the most remote period the virtuous breast has cultivated the -sublime desire of mitigating, as far as possible, the pain and -wretchedness consequent upon disease and suffering,—hence we find that -the munificence which characterised our forefathers centuries ago was not -altogether confined to the erection of numerous places for Divine -Worship, and for which our town was early distinguished, but that the -pleasing pain of sympathy prompted them also to build and endow -“Hospitals” for the reception of the sick and diseased, and “Almshouses” -for the aged and infirm. The first record we possess of the existence of -such charitable institutions in Shrewsbury is as early as the time of -Henry the Second, beside an “Infirmary” founded by Earl Roger de -Montgomery, within the precinct of the “Abbey,” as an asylum for diseased -and superannuated monks, a fragment of which erection yet remains. - -The rapacity, however, which disgraced the dissolution of Monasteries and -whatever sustained the character of a “Religious House,” has, with a -solitary exception, rendered these ancient Hospitals defunct;—nor was it -until the commencement of the last century that the attention of the -public was particularly directed to the foundation of Hospitals or -Infirmaries, and which, from the number of hospitals erected in the -course of that period, will, no doubt, be a memorable age in the annals -of Medical Charities;—whilst it may be no mean compliment to our town and -county to mention that its inhabitants early caught the rising spark of -this generous flame, and had the distinguished honour of being the fifth -in the kingdom to form the way in establishing a Provincial Asylum, on -the basis of public benevolence,—THE SALOP INFIRMARY having commenced its -salutary operations April 25th, 1747. - -The building which preceded the present stately erection having been -originally designed for a private residence, and although repeatedly -enlarged and improved, being found to be insufficient for the -accommodation of the additional number of patients consequent upon an -increasing population, as well as inconvenient in many respects for the -purpose it was designed to fulfil, it was resolved, at a meeting held -Nov. 16, 1826, that a new Infirmary should be built on the site of the -old one, at the estimated cost of about £16,000. As there was, however, -much disinclination on the part of the subscribers present to take so -large a sum from the funds of the institution, a considerable portion of -which, having been bequeathed for its _support_, was therefore deemed -sacred, a subscription was resolved upon and commenced immediately, when -no less than £4,666 was subscribed by the noblemen and gentlemen then -present,—a truly noble example of SALOPIAN GENEROSITY. - -In the month of April, 1827, the patients were removed to a temporary -infirmary, arranged in the Shrewsbury House of Industry; upon which -workmen immediately commenced taking down the old building, and with such -speed that on the 19th of July, the anniversary of our late revered -monarch’s coronation, the ceremony of laying the first stone of the new -structure was performed by the Right Hon. Lord Hill, assisted by the late -Venerable Archdeacon Owen, some of the committee, with the contractors -and surveyor. - -The building thus auspiciously begun, proceeded rapidly to a completion -so as to be opened on September 16, 1830. It is of free-stone, and of a -plain Grecian character in design, 170 feet long by 80 feet high, having -a Doric portico in the centre, the ends projecting with pilasters at each -angle. At the top of the building, on a tablet, is the following -inscription:— - - SALOP INFIRMARY, - Established 1745, - Supported by Voluntary Subscriptions and Benefactions. - REBUILT 1830. - -The interior comprises four stories; in the basement story the offices, -to the number of twenty-two, are well arranged, having a convenient court -for coal, &c. and water supplied to the several apartments. The -principal floor is appropriated to the board room, dispensary, waiting -room for the patients, and admitting rooms for the faculty, with private -apartments for the house-surgeon and matron, and two wards for surgical -cases. - -The first floor is for male patients, and consists of seven wards, with a -day-room, scullery, and bath rooms: the upper floor, for female patients, -has the same accommodation, with the addition of a large and lofty -operation room, enclosed by two pair of folding doors, having wards on -each side; in the attics are four other wards, with nurses’ rooms, &c. -The ascent to these apartments is by staircases situated at each end of -the building, connected by spacious galleries, which afford the means of -free ventilation. - -In addition to the conveniences with which this elegant structure is -replete, _the patent hot-water apparatus_, erected for the purpose of -warming the Infirmary, must not be overlooked. The apparatus consists of -a boiler, placed in the basement floor of the building, from which, by -means of a pipe rising from its top, the water heated therein is conveyed -to the highest level required, from whence it descends (in its passage to -the boiler) to what are called the water stoves, situated in the several -galleries. By this mode of heating the several apartments, opportunity -is afforded not only of having a supply of hot water to each scullery, -bath, and floor, but nightly attendance to the fire is rendered -altogether unnecessary. - -Whilst the interior accommodations of the Infirmary are highly conducive -to the health and comfort of the inmates, the external arrangements are -so constructed that such of the patients as are able may possess every -benefit resulting from exercise and pure air, a spacious terrace having -been constructed, and extending beyond the length of the eastern front, -from which a most expansive and interesting view presents itself. In -short, the whole of the arrangements of the new Salop Infirmary are -admirably adapted for the purpose they are designed to fulfil, and whilst -the workmanship, the materials, and general construction are of the best -description, and reflect the highest credit on the several contractors, -the building it is to be desired will, from its site and general -formation, remain a lasting monument not only of Salopian liberality, but -of general usefulness. - -The building was designed by Messrs. Haycock, of this town, and the total -expence of its erection was £18,735. 18s. 10d. of which sum £13,044. 1s. -3d. was raised by public subscriptions and collections, the balance being -made up by the sale of a part of the capital stock of the institution. -The Infirmary is liberally supported by subscriptions and benefactions. -From its establishment to Midsummer, 1835, the sum of £164,220. 11s. 3d. -has been received for its support; 44,058 in-patients admitted, and -72,328 outpatients recommended as fit objects for its benefits. - -The average annual expence is about £2230, and the weekly number of -patients in the house 82; and 2429 outpatients were relieved in 1835. - -A treasurer is annually chosen, and the affairs of the house are managed -by eight directors, assisted by a secretary. The directors are chosen -from the trustees, who are subscribers of two guineas and upwards per -annum, of whom four retire from their office half-yearly. - -The domestic arrangements are under the care of a matron; and a surgeon -with a salary is resident in the house, so that medical aid may be always -at hand. - -The medical officers of the establishment gratuitously devote their time -and apply their skill in promoting the benevolent design of the -institution. - -The clergy of the town officiate by turns weekly as chaplains to the -house. And two weekly visitors from the resident subscribers go round -the wards, by which the patients have an opportunity of stating any -dissatisfaction that may exist, and having it reported to the board of -directors, who assemble every Saturday morning for the dispatch of the -ordinary business of the charity and the admission and discharge of -patients. - -Every patient must be recommended by a subscriber, except in the case of -casualties. - -The anniversary meeting is held in the Hunt week; when a numerous -assemblage of noblemen and gentlemen accompany the treasurer from the -Infirmary to St. Chad’s church, where a sermon is preached and a -collection made in aid of its funds, which always produces a sum truly -honourable to the county. - -Several tables of legacies and benefactions for the support of the -Infirmary are fixed on the walls of the board room; and the cornice is -adorned with a series of armorial bearings of all the noblemen and -gentlemen who have filled the office of treasurer to the institution. - -An auxiliary fund is attached to the hospital, for the purpose of -assisting convalescent in-patients in returning to their homes. - - - - -EYE AND EAR DISPENSARY. - - -It would be superfluous to offer any observations on the importance of -the two senses of Vision and Hearing, or on the prevalence of the various -disorders to which the organs of those senses are liable; and whilst a -general resource has been provided for the poor in the noble institution -just noticed, for such diseases and accidents as they might be afflicted -with, it has been thought expedient to form separate institutions for the -relief of such disorders or defects in the human frame as are found more -prevalent; since by directing medical and surgical skill to one -particular object, efficient results may be the more easily obtained. To -further this design, the Shropshire Eye and Ear Dispensary was -established in 1818. During seventeen years of its progress 3583 -patients have been admitted, and, as among these several have been -restored to the blessing of sight, the institution is deserving of public -support. - -The dispensary is held in Castle-street, under the care of a surgeon. -Annual subscribers of one guinea have, according to the original -resolution, the right of recommending two patients within the year; but -this is not in all cases strictly adhered to. - - - - -ST. GILES’S HOSPITAL, - - -it is considered, was originally established for the reception of persons -afflicted with leprosy—a disease much more common among the ancients and -in warmer climates than in Europe, into which it is said to have been -introduced by the Crusaders in the time of Henry the First. King Henry -the Second, if not the founder of this hospital, granted to it 30s. -yearly (equal to £80 of modern currency) of the rent which he received -from the sheriff of Shropshire for the county, towards the support of the -infirm or diseased occupants, as well as a small toll upon all corn and -flour exposed to sale in Shrewsbury, either on market days or otherwise. -The original grant of money is still paid by the sheriff to the Earl of -Tankerville, who, as “Master of the Hospital,” and holding certain lands -for its maintenance, nominates four hospitallers, who have each a -comfortable house and garden, adjoining St. Giles’s church-yard, with one -shilling and sixpence weekly, a small allowance for coal, and clothing -annually. - - - - -ST JOHN’S HOSPITAL, - - -although an asylum “for honest poverty and old age,” did not escape the -rapacity which characterised the dissolution of religious houses. It -stood in the suburb of Frankwell, near a place since called The Stew. -Speed notices its site in his map (1610); but not a fragment of the -building now remains. - - - - -THE DRAPERS’ ALMSHOUSES. - - - [Picture: Drapers’ Almshouses] - -The generally received opinion has been that these almshouses were -founded, in 1461, by Degory Watur, Draper, from the circumstance that he -lived himself in the centre house, or “almshouse hall,” among the poor -people, and whose practice (as a Manuscript Chronicle records) was to -attend them “dailye to our Lady’s Chirch, and to kneel with them in a -long pew in the quire made for them and himself.” - -The ancient records, however, of the Drapers’ Company show that a -building and endowment of almshouses by that company for poor people -existed long previous to the foundation attributed to Degory Watur, who -seems to have been only the founder in so far as their re-erection took -place, under his management, during his wardenship or stewardship of the -company, of which he was a member. - -The old almshouses extended along the whole of the west side of St. -Mary’s church-yard: and, being much dilapidated and very incommodious -dwellings, they were taken down in 1825. The present building, completed -in the above year, from a design by Mr. J. Carline, now consists of -eighteen comfortable habitations, of two chambers each; the front is in -the old English style of architecture, having in the centre a gateway -within an embattled tower; in the centre of the latter are the armorial -bearings of the Drapers’ Company, with the motto “Unto God only be honour -and glory.” - -This re-edification, including the purchase of the land, cost the -Drapers’ Company upwards of £3000, from whose funds each of the poor -people receive annually about six pounds. - - - - -ST. CHAD’S ALMSHOUSES - - -adjoin the cemetery of Old St. Chad’s, and were erected in 1409 by -Bennett Tipton, a public brewer, who lived in the College, and died in -1424. The allowance to the eleven poor occupants, “decayed old men and -women,” arises chiefly from a benefaction of £180 by David Ireland, -alderman of the town, and Catharine his wife; which is now commuted to a -rent charge of £8 on the Lythwood estate, the proprietor of which -nominates the alms-folk. Previous to the Reformation the poor people -received one penny a-week from the Mercers’ Company, since which time the -whole annual payment of the Company has been only two shillings and two -pence. - - - - -HOUSE OF INDUSTRY. - - -This spacious and well-built structure stands on an eminence rising from -the Severn, which forms a beautiful object beneath. The site is highly -salubrious, and the prospect delightfully variegated by many natural -beauties. The majestic Wrekin, with an extensive tract of country, is -seen to the right; while the front presents a very general view of the -town, skirted by genteel residences partly obscured by the foliage of The -Quarry trees, which, with the towers of the Castle, the lofty steeples of -the churches and their glittering vanes, unite in producing a scene -diversified and impressive, especially when the evening sun illumines the -landscape, and gives to it that variety of light and shadow which poets -have associated as only belonging to the scenes of enchantment and fairy -land. - -A fine terrace extends the whole length of the building, which was -erected (in 1760) for the reception of orphans from the Foundling -Hospital in London, at an expence of £12,000; but the funds of that -institution not proving adequate to the plan of sending children to -provincial hospitals, it was discontinued in 1774. It afterwards served -as a place of confinement for Dutch prisoners taken in the American war; -and in 1784 it was purchased under an act of parliament for incorporating -the five parishes of the town and that of Meole Brace in the liberties, -so far as concerned the maintenance of the poor, as a general House of -Industry for their admission and employment, under the management of a -board of directors. - -Various circumstances, however, have concurred to render the -establishment a complete failure, both as regards the principles on which -it was founded, the economy to be effected, and the advantages eventually -to result in favour of the united parishes, the select vestries of which -now send but a small proportion of their poor, and those are generally -infirm, who are maintained by a contractor, at a certain rate per head -per week; but “averages” are still paid by the several parishes, to keep -the extensive buildings in repair, for a salary to the chaplain, and -other purposes of the institution, which continues under the ostensible -government of directors. - -The dining hall is 115 feet in length, parallel with which is a chapel of -the same size, in which service is performed once every Sunday. - - - - -HUMANE SOCIETY. - - -A Humane Society existed in this town in the year 1786, but, having sunk -from notice, was resuscitated in 1824, for the purpose of preventing -those fatal accidents which have been of frequent occurrence during the -bathing season, and often in the winter time, when the river in a frozen -state affords the amusement of skaiting. The purpose of the society is -to render prompt assistance in the use of the most approved means for -restoring suspended animation, from whatever cause arising, and the -rewarding of persons whose humane and intrepid exertions have been -instrumental in saving life, or, although unsuccessful, such as to -entitle their endeavours to the thanks of society. - -To accomplish these objects, watchmen, prepared with every requisite -apparatus, are stationed on the banks of the river, where accidents at -any time may be expected to occur, and receiving houses are established, -where every facility is afforded to employ remedies for the restoring of -life in those cases which hold out the slightest hope of a recovery. - -It may be mentioned that many instances have occurred by which a just -estimate can be formed of the positive good resulting from the exertions -of this Society, in rescuing persons from drowning. - - - - -THE PRISON CHARITIES - - -were commenced about the year 1800, for the distribution of rewards to -promote the reformation and encourage the industry of criminals confined -within the prison walls; to relieve the wants of unfortunate debtors; and -to provide all those who are dismissed from prison with a small sum for -immediate maintenance, so as to prevent the great temptation of -committing crime for that purpose. - -The annual subscription is limited to one guinea; and the institution has -met with a laudable support, principally among the gentry of the county. - - - - -THE PAROCHIAL CHARITIES - - -of this town have at different times been largely endowed by the legacies -of individuals who, in bidding the world adieu, were piously moved to -leave portions of their substance to be expended in “bread to the poor,” -clothing and apprenticing poor children, annual gifts of money and -garments to decayed housekeepers, and the general improvement of all, by -directing commemorative sermons to be preached on particular -anniversaries. In St. Chad’s parish two hundred threepenny loaves are, -on the average, distributed weekly throughout the year. - - - - -THE TOWN CHARITIES - - -were bequeathed for purposes in many respects similar to the foregoing, -and were under the management of the old Corporation; but by the -provisions of the Municipal Act the distribution of them is vested in -trustees appointed by the Lord Chancellor. - -Several other charitable societies exist in the town, whose object is to -afford gifts of money, clothing, medical assistance, and religious -instruction, to the necessitous sick poor; as well as for the -distribution of the scriptures and the public formularies of the -established church, and for the propagation of christianity both at home -and abroad, the detail of which would exceed the prescribed limits of -this publication. - - - - -CHARITY SCHOOLS. - - - “TO LEARNING’S SECOND SEATS WE NOW PROCEED.” - - - -BOWDLER’s, OR THE BLUE SCHOOL, - - -Is situated in Beeches Lane, and is an oblong brick building, having in -the centre a glazed cupola, surmounted by a flying dragon. It was -founded in 1724, according to the will of Mr. Thomas Bowdler, alderman -and draper, for the instruction, clothing, and apprenticing poor children -of the parish of St. Julian. - -Eighteen boys and 12 girls receive their education here, and attend -service at St. Julian’s church on Sundays, to which church Mr. Bowdler -was a great benefactor.—The number of scholars, from the increased value -of the property belonging to the school, is about to be increased. - - - -MILLINGTON’s SCHOOL & HOSPITAL. - - -This excellent institution and monument of private munificence stands on -an eminence in the suburb of Frankwell, which commands an extensive -prospect of the town, its churches, public buildings, and more distant -views. - -The building consists of a handsome pedimented front, with a stone -portico, and two wings attached to the centre by a row of houses; the -summit is crowned by a bell turret. - -The chapel occupies the centre of the building, and contains a portrait -of the founder. Adjoining are residences for the master and mistress of -the school, and twelve houses for the resident hospitallers. - -The foundation was endowed by Mr. James Millington, a draper, of -Shrewsbury, and consists (according to his will) of a school-master and -mistress with liberal salaries, and a chaplain, whose duty it is to read -prayers every school day at nine o’clock in the morning. The scholars, -&c. attend St. George’s church on Sundays. - -Twelve poor men or women, chosen from the single parishioners living in -Frankwell, or from the part of Saint Chad’s parish nearest to it, have -each a comfortable dwelling consisting of two apartments, and a good -garden, with two gowns, or coats, three tons of coal and ten guineas -yearly, and two loaves of bread weekly. Gowns and coats, with £4 per -annum and two loaves weekly, are given to ten poor single housekeepers -resident in Frankwell, the four senior of which occupy two chambers each -above the school rooms, and are removed according to seniority into the -hospital when a vacancy occurs. - -The school rooms are in the rear of the building, in which twenty-five -boys and as many girls receive their education, with clothing twice -a-year. At the age of fourteen the boys are apprenticed, and £10 given -as a premium with each; previous to which they are well clothed, and on -producing a certificate of good behaviour during apprenticeship, £5 is -presented as a gratuity. The girls are allowed £3 for clothing on -leaving the school, and, on behaving well, at the expiration of three -years of their service receive £3 more. - -A Sermon is annually preached in St. Chad’s church, on the 12th of -August, according to the will of the founder, to commemorate his -birth-day. - -Two exhibitions of £40 a-year each are founded for students of St. Mary -Magdalene College, Cambridge, eligible to those who have been originally -scholars in the school and born in Frankwell, and educated at the Free -Schools. - -The charity is governed by fourteen trustees; and the revenues, by proper -management, are considerable. Well may it be said, after reading this -noble bequest— - - “Behold what blessing wealth to life can lend.” - - - -ALLATT’S SCHOOL - - -Is situated in Murivance, near St. Chad’s church, and was erected and -endowed pursuant to the will of JOHN ALLATT, Gent. The building is an -elegant free-stone structure, designed by Mr. Haycock in 1800, and cost -£2000. It consists of two excellent houses for the master and mistress, -which are connected with the schools by an arcade. - -Thirty boys and thirty girls are educated and clothed, and at a proper -age placed out as apprentices or servants.—Twenty-eight coats and 140 -stuff gowns are annually given to poor men and women from the funds of -the same charity. - -The management of the school and funds is under the direction of fourteen -trustees. - - - -PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION SCHOOL. - - -This school was begun by a subscription as early as the year 1708, for -the instruction and clothing of poor children, and is conducted on the -National system, in spacious school rooms near the east end of the -English bridge. A sermon is preached annually in aid of its funds at two -of the churches in the town. Nearly three hundred children receive daily -education here, and on Sundays they attend the worship of the established -church. - - - -THE LANCASTERIAN SCHOOLS - - -were erected in 1812, opposite the County Gaol, for the plan of education -suggested by the late Mr. Joseph Lancaster. They are supported by -subscriptions and donations, with a small weekly contribution from the -scholars. - - - -ST. MARY’S AND ST. MICHAEL’S SCHOOLS - - -are situated in the suburb of Castle Foregate, and were erected in 1832, -in the old English style of architecture, from a design by Mr. John -Carline. Two hundred and fifty boys and girls receive their daily -instruction, and are taken to St. Michael’s church twice on Sundays. - -The school is supported by private benefactions; and the National system -of education is adopted. - - - -ST. CHAD’S LADIES’ SCHOOL - - -is held in the remains of Old St. Chad’s church, and the mode of tuition -practised is that of the Madras system, which has been in operation in -this school since 1820. - -The number of girls educated is 154, under the care of visitors, whose -aim, as expressed in the report of the school, is “to be instrumental in -bringing up poor children in the fear of God, and in instilling into them -such religious principles as may lead them to do their duty, for -conscience sake, in that state of life to which it shall please God to -call them.” The girls are clothed annually, and the total expence of the -school is rather more than £100 a year, nearly one-half of which is -contributed by the children in the shape of earnings and a penny fund, -the remainder by subscriptions and donations. - - - -INFANT SCHOOLS - - -produce a wide field for useful exertion, by forming the disposition and -giving an early moral bias to the mind;—if, indeed, they do no more than -take young children from the debasing influence under which their -characters must otherwise be formed, and present an example of a better -kind, they are calculated to effect a good purpose. - -Schools having this object in view are established in the suburbs of -FRANKWELL, CASTLE FOREGATE, and COLEHAM, and are supported by -subscriptions under the direction of intelligent ladies. - - - -SUNDAY SCHOOLS. - - -There are several Sunday Schools connected with the established church -and the different congregations of dissenters, some of which have existed -nearly from the earliest formation of such institutions. - - - - -A WALK WITHIN THE WALLS. - - - “GO ROUND ABOUT HER, AND TELL THE TOWERS THEREOF. MARK WELL HER - BULWARKS, SET UP HER HOUSES, THAT YE MAY TELL THEM THAT COME AFTER.” - -HAVING noticed the principal Public Structures and Charitable -Institutions of Shrewsbury, we turn next to those objects and ancient -remains which do not admit of a regular classification. - -In adapting the present work, therefore, to assist the Stranger, it is -proposed to notice these and such other localities that may engage and -deserve attention, in the course of A WALK WITHIN THE WALLS of our town, -replete in subjects of antiquarian interest. - -In the survey of these matters we shall occasionally lose sight of the -refinement of modern times, and accommodate our thoughts and feelings to -the days of yore, by adding such historical remarks as may serve the -purpose of general as well as local information. - -Our perambulation will commence from the spacious area in front of the -County Hall, called the - - - -MARKET SQUARE, - - -from the vegetable market being held there, and from whence may be seen -several good specimens of the half-timbered houses of our forefathers, -terminating with lofty gables. - -Proceeding up HIGH STREET, anciently called “Bakers’ Row,” from the -number of that occupation which located there: on the left of the turning -towards Grope Lane is an old timbered house, now a grocer’s shop, but -formerly used as - - - -THE MERCERS’ HALL. - - -Several of the Incorporated Companies originally possessed Halls for -holding their meetings and the celebration of their feasts: the former -have of late years been held at the Town Hall, and the latter at some of -the inns. - -About the middle of the street, on the right, is the Unitarian Meeting -House (p. 95), where the poet Coleridge preached in 1798; {149} and a few -yards further is the “Sextry” passage, or (as it is called in our -provincialism) a “shut.” This originally communicated with St. Chad’s -church-yard by a covered passage, and derived its name from the sacristy -of the church, which is supposed to have stood within it. An old -building, now the “Golden Cross,” appears to have been a tavern as early -as the year 1495, for in the archives of the corporation is the charge of -13s. 2d. “for wine spent on the king’s gentlemen in the Sextrie.” Its -gloomy and confined situation proves how little our unpolished ancestors -regarded accommodation or prospect when they were enjoying the pleasure -of a jovial carouse. - -The ancient stone building at the extremity of the street was in times -past occupied as the - - - -SHEARMEN’S HALL; - - -since which it has been used as a theatre, a methodist chapel, an -assembly room, and a temporary assize court; and although now modernised -as a tea warehouse, the present remains convey much of the character of -the “city halls” of other days, associated with the good cheer, -inspirating feasts, and the social merriment of com-brethren in the olden -time. - - [Picture: Shearmen’s Hall] - -The period of its erection is not known; but before the front was altered -it presented (according to a drawing in the possession of the writer) a -bold pointed window in the style of the fifteenth century, the apex of -the gable being finished with an elegant finial. On the south-west side -a very curious octagonal chimney, crenelated at the top, still remains. - -The company of Shearmen were incorporated at least as early as the reign -of Edward the Fourth, and the extracts preserved from their records -afford many pleasing particulars of ancient customs and hospitality. The -setting up of a “green tree,” or May-pole, before their hall, “deck’d -with garlands gay,” was, according to an old MS. an usage practised by -the apprentices of this company on their feast-day (June 6th) previous to -the year 1588. The noisy revelry connected therewith, and of - - “Lads and lasses dancing round,” - -seems to have excited the displeasure of the puritans, and the custom -having been denounced by the “public preacher of the town,” {151} and -forbidden by the bailiffs, the MS. further says, that “in 1591 certain -young men for their disobedience were put into prison and indicted at the -sessions, but on their submission they were acquit of their disobedience, -and all further proceedings against them quashed, and it was determined -that the usual tree might be put up as heretofore, so that it be done -soberly and in good order, without contention.” The attempt to obstruct -this ancient festivity caused an angry cavilling and interchange of -written communications between the favourers of it and the bailiffs, so -as to raise an opposition at the annual passing of the town accounts, for -the expence incurred by the prosecution. - -In the reign of Elizabeth, six hundred shearmen or cloth-workers were -occupied (under the drapers) in dressing or raising the wool on one side -of a coarse kind of cloth called Welsh webs, which were brought from -Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire to a weekly market in this town. - -This manner of raising the wool having been found to weaken the texture -of the cloths, the avocation of the company became useless and was -discontinued. - -Leaving St. Julian’s Church (p. 59) on the left, we arrive at the WYLE -COP,—cop is the Saxon word for top, or head of any thing, and this part -is considered as the first portion of the town inhabited by the early -British settlers, being situated near the royal dwelling of Brochwel (the -site of Old St. Chad’s church). The Saxons, on their possession of the -town, continued (without doubt) for a time to occupy the huts abandoned -by the Britons. From hence the town extended itself northward in the -direction of the churches. Proceeding down the Wyle Cop, we pass the -LION HOTEL, four doors below is the house which formed the temporary -residence of King Henry the Seventh, who, although he left the bailiffs -to pay his soldiers, did not forget the favour conferred upon him by the -burgesses. From this place is a pretty distant view of the Wrekin, Lord -Hill’s Column, &c. At the foot of the Wyle, and turning to the right, we -leave on the left the precinct of the GREY FRIARS, and pass along -_Beeches Lane_, anciently _Bispestan_ and _Bushpestanes_, in which is the -Blue School and the Roman Catholic Chapel, and arrive at - - - -THE TOWN WALLS, - - -erected in the time of Henry the Third, to fortify the place against the -inroads of the Welsh, and towards the completion of which the burgesses -were materially assisted by the royal bounty. These walls, although now -deprived of their battlements, form an excellent footpath, and afford a -delightful view of the river and adjacent country. At the extremity of -the Walls is the _Crescent_; and a little beyond stands the only -remaining Tower of nearly twenty which formerly strengthened the ancient -ramparts that enclosed our town. - -It is square, and of three stories, embattled at the summit, and lighted -by narrow square windows; from the style of building, it is probably as -old as the reign of Henry the Fourth. - - [Picture: The Old Tower] - -Nearly adjoining the Tower is the Meeting-house of the Methodist New -Connexion; and further on to the right is _Swan Hill_, formerly called -_Murivance_, signifying before or within the walls. Passing Allatt’s -School, a chaste freestone building, the turning to the right leads to -_St. John’s Hill_, chiefly occupied by private individuals. Proceeding -onwards, St. Chad’s church breaks upon the view, having a terrace on the -south-west side which commands a fine prospect of the beautiful QUARRY -WALK. Leaving the principal entrance to this delightful promenade, a -broad thoroughfare leads to the handsome residences of _Claremont -Buildings_. Continuing our route to the end of this street, a narrow way -opens to St. Austin’s Friars and the river, on the margin of which once -stood an out-work, flanked by two round towers, erected by the -corporation at a remote period for the protection of the opposite ford. -In later times one of these towers was called the “Round House,” and was -demolished about forty years ago. Turning to the right, we observe the -remnant of the house of - - - -THE AUSTIN FRIARS, - - -of which little appears excepting the outer portion of a red stone -building, now used as a tan-house. The Friars Eremites of St. Augustine -are supposed to have located in this town about the middle of the -thirteenth century, and erected their house on a site which had been used -during the reign of John as a place of sepulture, interment in -consecrated ground having for a period been forbidden by that king. - -The following beautiful initial letter, affixed to a charter from Edward -the Third, in 1345, assigns to the friars of this convent the out-work -above alluded to, under certain conditions, with leave to have a postern -gate for ingress and egress towards their house and church. - - [Picture: Initial Letter of a Charter from Edw. III. to the Austin’s - Friars] - -The king is depicted as sitting upon his throne, holding a globe in his -left and a sceptre in his right hand, with two friars kneeling before -him, and a third presenting a book or charter. - -In the church of this Priory was a sanctuary, where a murderer could take -refuge, and thereby escape his merited punishment; and several knights -and men of rank, slain in the battle of Shrewsbury, were buried within -its walls. - -Previously to the dissolution, this house, like many others, fell -suddenly into a state of bankruptcy, and the church was stripped of its -furniture and vestments. On the site of the precinct which once -pertained to this friary, and extended to the Quarry walk, several good -houses have been erected. - -On the opposite side of the river is the suburb of Frankwell, bordered -with gardens; Millington’s Hospital crowning the eminence. - - - -THE WELSH BRIDGE - - -next attracts attention. It is a bold and substantial structure, -completed in 1795, from a design by Messrs. Tilley and Carline, of this -town, at a cost of £8000. It consists of five semi-circular arches, -surmounted with a balustrade, and is 266 feet in length and 30 in -breadth. - -It has been truly remarked, that while in cities of greater commercial -importance no public works of great extent have been carried on without -the exaction of tolls and contributions, the inhabitants of this town and -county have, to their immortal honour, erected two noble bridges, by -which the trade of the neighbouring districts has been released from the -burthen of a vexatious tax, at a total expence of full £30,000, the whole -of which was raised by voluntary contribution. - - [Picture: The Welsh Bridge] - -It is, however, matter of regret that too little attention has been shewn -to encroachments on the river, by which much of the beauty of our bridges -has been destroyed. - -Adjoining the Welsh bridge are quays and spacious warehouses, from whence -the barges and trows receive and discharge their cargoes. This end of -the town formerly displayed a scene of commercial importance, as being -the place where the London, Birmingham, and Manchester waggons arrived, -and from whence goods were forwarded to all parts of the kingdom; but -owing to the communication opened with the above-mentioned places by the -Shrewsbury canal, which terminates in the Castle-foregate, most of the -goods arrive there; this part, therefore, retains little more of its -former bustle than is occasioned by the arrival of waggons for the -dispatch of merchandize into North Wales, and what remains of the Severn -trade. - -From hence we proceed up the street called MARDOL; about half-way up, on -the right, is HILL’S LANE, where is situated - - - -ROWLEY’S MANSION, - - -said to be the first brick structure erected in Shrewsbury. It appears -to have been built in 1618 by William Rowley, draper, and the first of -his family who settled in this town, of which he was admitted a burgess -in 1594, and made an alderman in 1633, under the charter of Charles the -First. His grand-daughter and co-heiress married John Hill, Esq. who -lived in great hospitality in this mansion, from whom the street received -the appellation of _Hill’s Lane_, instead of Knuckin-street. He died in -1731, and the house was soon afterwards inhabited by the talented Dr. -Adams, incumbent of St. Chad’s from 1731 to 1775. - -The portal of this mansion is curious, and is accurately delineated by -the wood cut. The great chamber, or withdrawing room, remains nearly in -its original state, and is adorned with a basso relievo representation of -the Creation, and other devices in stucco, &c. The oak wainscot from the -other apartments has lately been removed. It is now used as a storehouse -for grain, and presents a striking picture of— - - “Some banquet Hall deserted, - Whose lights are fled, whose glory’s dead, - And all but it departed.” - - [Picture: Portal of Rowley’s Mansion] - -Retracing our steps to Mardol, at the top of the street is a pile of -ancient houses, decorated on the exterior with plaster and stone -ornaments, in the fantastical fashion of the time in which they were -built. The turning below these leads to _Claremont Street_, formerly -Doglane. On the left is a curious half-timbered house, built in 1613, -with a projecting porch. A little lower is the Baptist Meeting House. -Keeping to the left, is an old mansion, called - - - -THE BELL STONE, - - -from a large stone which formerly stood outside the wall that surrounded -the portion of the court not occupied by the buildings. The stone is now -removed to the area in front of the house, which before the recent -alteration was a good specimen of the smaller mansion of the reign of -Queen Elizabeth. It was erected by Edward Owen, Esq. a bailiff of the -town in 1582. - -Leaving the new Theatre on the right, we enter the street called -SHOPLATCH, a name supposed to be derived from SHUTT PLACE, the residence -of an ancient Shrewsbury family of the name of Shutt, the remains of -which are still to be traced in the massive walls of a stone edifice long -disused, however, for domestic purposes, and arrive at Mardol Head, -formerly called THE STALLS. At the corner leading to High-street is - - - -IRELAND’S MANSION, - - -once the town residence of the ancient family of Ireland, long seated at -Albrighton. It is a spacious half-timbered building, four stories high, -finished with gables, on the beams of which are the following armorial -bearings—Gules, three fleurs de lis, three, two, and one, Argent. The -front consists of four ranges of bay windows, the original entrance -having been in the centre under a Tudor arch. It is now divided into -three excellent dwellings. - -Passing up PRIDE HILL, formerly called Corvisors’ Row, we reach the High -Pavement, where, opposite the present Butter and Poultry Market, once -stood - - - -THE HIGH CROSS, - - -which was no doubt similar in design to the elegant structures at -Chichester and other places. It appears to have escaped the iconoclastic -zeal of the puritans; for we learn that the old stone cross was not taken -down until the year 1705. All general proclamations, as in former times, -are still made upon this spot, whilst the reminiscences connected with it -afford a melancholy picture of feudal severity. Here David, the last of -the British Princes, underwent his cruel sentence, for defending by force -of arms the liberties of his native country; and here the Earl of -Worcester and other distinguished noblemen, after the battle of -Shrewsbury, atoned for their rebellion by the loss of their heads. - -Continuing our course, we enter CASTLE STREET, which is terminated in a -picturesque manner by Laura’s tower on the Castle mount, and the -umbrageous foliage with which it is surrounded. At the extremity of this -spacious street stands - - - -ST. NICHOLAS’S CHAPEL, - - -the only one existing of eight similar structures. Its present -appearance proves it to be of Norman foundation, and built probably by -Earl Roger de Montgomery for the accommodation of such of his retainers -as resided in the _outer court_ of the castle within which it once stood. -It was subsequently appropriated for the accommodation of the President -and Council of the Marches of Wales. The west end displays a pointed -window divided by a mullion, and in the interior is a massive -semi-circular arch, which separated the nave from a chancel now -destroyed. In lowering the floor in 1825, several human skulls and bones -were discovered. The building is 50 feet long, by 19 wide, and is used -at present as a coach-house and stable. - - [Picture: Gateway of Council House] - -To the right of this edifice is a handsome timber gateway, erected in -1620, which leads to - - - -THE COUNCIL HOUSE, - - -or LORD’S PLACE, originally occupied as the residence of the Court of the -Marches of Wales; the Lords President and Council of which, in -assembling, - - “With temper’d awe to guide - An old and haughty nation proud in arms,” - -were frequently received here “righte royallie” by the corporation and -trading companies; the latter, no doubt, considering that the great -number of persons which this Court attracted to the town in its judicial -capacity, independent of the attendant pomp and feasting, was of no small -benefit to them in their respective crafts and occupations, by -multiplying the consumption of the necessaries of life, and imparting to -Shrewsbury somewhat of the importance of a second capital. - -In the early part of the rebellion, the Corporation sent an invitation to -Charles the First, stating that he should “have free access into the -town, and be entertained in the best manner these troublesome times -afford.” The unfortunate monarch accepted the loyal offer of his -Salopian subjects, and arrived here Sept. 20th, 1642, attended by his two -sons (the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York) and his nephew Prince -Rupert, where he resided for the space of six weeks. King James the -Second also kept his court here in 1687. - -In 1583 the Corporation granted to Richard Barker, Esq. town-clerk of -Shrewsbury, their interest in the council house and adjoining chapel, -reserving the use of it for the annual residence of her Majesty’s -Council. From him it passed to Thomas Owen, Esq. also town-clerk, in -whose family it remained until it was purchased by Richard Lyster, Esq. -to whose descendant, Henry Lyster, of Rowton Castle, Esq. it now belongs. -{162} - -The building stands on an eminence overhanging the river in the vicinity -of the castle, in what is supposed to have been the outer ballium of that -fortress. Its erection took place about the time of Henry the Seventh, -and it was soon afterwards considerably enlarged in all probability with -some of the materials from the castle and the adjoining convent of Black -Friars. On the extinction of the Court of the Marches in 1689, these -extensive buildings became ruinous, and their remains have been (during -the present century) converted into three good houses, which command -delightful prospects. The hall and great chamber above form a portion of -the residence of Dr. Du Gard, who has displayed a commendable taste in -preserving as far as possible the character of this part of the building. - -Returning along Castle Street, on the right is the Raven Hotel, where -Lieut. Geo. Farquhar (in 1704 or 1705) wrote his comedy of “The -Recruiting Officer,” the scene of which is laid in Shrewsbury; and while -it sufficiently demonstrates he was well acquainted with that gay scene -of life which forms the subject of his play, it is equally certain he had -“living originals in his eye.” The epistle dedicatory is “To all friends -round the Wrekin,” and states he was a perfect stranger to every thing in -Salop but its character of loyalty, the number of its inhabitants, and -their generous and hospitable reception of strangers,—an eulogium, it is -devoutly to be wished, may be retained by Salopians in every generation. - -Taking the direction of the street opposite the Raven, a pleasing view of -ancient and modern architecture presents itself, in St. Mary’s church and -the Infirmary. On the south-west side of the church-yard is - - - -THE DRAPERS’ HALL, - - - [Picture: Drapers’ Hall, Interior View] - -a half-timbered building, erected probably about the time of Elizabeth. -The interior is sufficiently described by the accompanying engraving, -presented by the liberality of the Drapers’ Company. The apartment is 28 -feet by 20, but was originally of larger dimensions. It is wainscotted -with fine old oak, and the floor was once rich in emblazoned tiles. At -the north end is the upper place, or “dais,” where the members “feasted -full and high;” and on the opposite side stands a fine old chest, with -richly carved ornaments; above which is a painting said to represent the -first steward of the company, Degory Watur, and his wife; this originally -stood on the front of the hall house occupied by Degory in the -almshouses. - -The east side is decorated with a portrait of Edward the Fourth, denoting -round the circumference his titles and decease in 1483. Beneath are the -following lines:— - - This Yeare fourth Edward York’s farre fam’d renowne - Circled his temples with great Albion’s crowne; - When over reading the memoriale - Of Salop’s Draper’s Ancient Hospitale, - Founded in honour of the sacred Deity, - He own’d and stiled them then, the blest Society; - And with his Parliament’s sage approbation - Deigned them his Charter for a Corporation, - Which to confirme Himself was pleas’d to be - The Royal Founder of their Companie, - Granting immunities of large extent, - Which stand his bounties gratefull monument. - - Edwardo 4º regi Anglorum - Gloriosissimo monumentum - Hoc posuit Pannariorum - Salopiensium grata Societas. - -Returning from this hall, which is the only one appropriated to its -original purpose, to the left is DOGPOLE (from Doke or Duck, to decline, -and Poll, the head or summit); the street having an abrupt descent -towards the river, to which there was formerly a communication. - -To the right is St. Mary’s Street and the Almshouses. This street was -very narrow until the year 1824, when several old buildings were taken -down. Pursuing our course along CHURCH STREET, we pass the site and -remnant of a half-timbered house, distinguished by gables, which formed a -portion of - - - -JONES’S MANSION, - - -in which the Duke of York resided when he accompanied his royal father to -this town in 1642. It was also the abode of “Prince Rupert, when he -joined his uncle after the brilliant action of Worcester.” This house -was built by Thos. Jones, Esq. whose burial is noticed in the account of -the adjoining church of St. Alkmond. Leaving that sacred edifice to the -left, and turning a few yards to the right, we arrive at the DOUBLE -BUTCHER ROW, a street chiefly occupied by butcher’s shambles, and where -is an - - - -ANCIENT TIMBER HOUSE, - - -considered to be one of the oldest and largest of this kind of buildings -of which our town displays so many specimens. - -The projecting stories are sustained by elegant brackets, and the angle -uprights enriched with small pointed arches, carved with trefoil and -other decorations. Along the front basement is a cloister of wooden -arches obtusely pointed.—This building, 60 feet in length, is now divided -into smaller habitations. History is silent as to the time, or by whom -this edifice was erected, nor have we any decided information of its -primary occupancy. - -From the appearance of the cloister, it has been conjectured that it was -a religious house, inhabited by the chauntry priests of the fraternity of -the Holy Cross in St. Alkmund’s church. But from its extent it is more -likely to have been the town mansion of the Abbot of Lilleshull, who had -a residence in this part of the parish, and to which monastery the -patronage of the church belonged. - - [Picture: Ancient Timber House] - -Continuing our route to the left of this house, we pass steps leading to -the churchyard, and the foundations of a stone building (which once -pertained to an _Oriel_ and the ancient college of St. Alkmond), into -Fish-street, occupied by shambles, and on market-days by the country -butchers. Crossing the top of High-street, we enter Milk-street, which -leads to Old St. Chad’s (page 28), and the street called BELMONT, in -which is situated - - - -THE JUDGES’ HOUSE, - - -purchased by the County of Salop in 1821, under an act for providing -suitable accommodation for the reception of his Majesty’s judges of -assize. At the south-west end of the opposite thoroughfare across the -church-yard is the remains of a red stone wall which formed part of - - - -THE COLLEGE OF ST. CHAD, - - -originally a large ancient building inclosing a quadrangular court, -separated from the street by a lofty wall and gateway, In 1549 Edward the -Sixth granted the college to Hugh Edwards, Esq. the individual who (in -1551) exerted himself in obtaining the foundation of our grammar school. -It continued in his family until 1752, when Lord and Lady Malpas disposed -of the buildings, which were soon afterwards converted into three -excellent houses, but so effectually modernized with brick as to display -none of the appearance of a “college,” although the name is still -retained. - -Westward is College Hill. Half-way down this street, a modern Gothic -front denotes - - - -VAUGHAN’S PLACE, - - -which, before its alteration and brick casing in 1795, was considered a -most curious specimen of the unembattled town mansion, erected (it is -conjectured) about the middle of the fourteenth century by Sir Hamo -Vaughan, whose daughter Eleanor married Reginald de Mutton. By this -alliance the house came into the possession of the Myttons of Halston, -several of whom represented this town in parliament; but little of its -original state now appears. The hall is approached from a passage near -the Corn-market by a flight of steps, and displays a deeply-recessed -pointed arch; a similar one is seen from the College-hill entrance. One -portion of the building forms the WATCH ROOM and POLICE STATION of the -town, and some of the spacious vaults beneath are used as a temporary -receptacle for midnight disorderlies. - -Nearly adjoining, in the street leading to the Corn-market, is the TALBOT -HOTEL, where the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria alighted on -their visit to this town in 1832, on which occasion the mayor and -corporation waited upon them with a congratulatory address. - - - - -LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS. - - -SHROPSHIRE AND NORTH WALES NATURAL HISTORY AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY. - - -At a meeting held at Shrewsbury on the 26th of June, 1835, it was -resolved to establish a Natural History Society for the county of Salop -and North Wales, and to found a central museum and scientific library. - -In order to secure the perpetuity of the institution, and to guard -against the possible dispersion of the museum at any future period, the -property of the society is vested in the lords lieutenant of the county -of Salop, and of the several counties of North Wales, as trustees, for -the permanent use and benefit of the district at large. - -The museum is principally designed to illustrate the Natural History of -the district, in its various branches of geology, mineralogy, zoology, -and botany, by the gradual formation of complete and systematic -arrangements of its productions, in each of these departments. It is -also open to other objects of scientific interest, and in particular is a -suitable repository for such remains of antiquity as are found within the -district, or illustrate its general history. But, in addition to these -more local objects, the museum will, it is anticipated, through the -liberality of the friends of science in various quarters, be enriched -with many specimens from distant places. - -The library consists of Books illustrative of Natural History and -Antiquities, and such works of reference as the funds of the society may -admit of being purchased, for the illustration of the objects in the -museum. The library, as well as the museum, is open to donations from -the members and friends of the institution. - -The society’s affairs are under the management of a council, consisting -of a president and other officers, elected annually. - -A house situated in Dogpole is at present the temporary repository for -the collections of the Museum, &c. - - - -THE SUBSCRIPTION LIBRARY - - -Is on St. John’s Hill, and contains an excellent collection of books in -the various departments of literature and science. Its affairs are -confided to a committee. Proprietary members pay two guineas admission, -and an annual subscription of one guinea and a half; and strangers, on -the introduction of a subscriber, have the privilege of consulting any of -the books during library hours. - - - -THE NEW CHORAL SOCIETY - - -Has for its design the cultivation of the delightful science of sacred -music, and was revived in 1834. It is under the management of a -secretary and committee, and is supported by a respectable number of -honorary members. - - - -THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY - - -was engrafted (in the year 1834) on a florists’ society planted in this -town in 1823. Its object is to promote the culture of the auricula, -polyanthus, pink, ranunculus, carnation, picotee, dahlia, gooseberry, &c. - - - -MECHANICS’ INSTITUTION. - - -This institution commenced in 1825, and in the year 1833 a building was -erected for their meetings in Howard-street, Castle-foregate. The -expences of the establishment are defrayed by subscriptions and -donations. - - - -NEWSPAPERS. - - -Two weekly newspapers are published here: viz. _Wednesday_, THE SALOPIAN -JOURNAL, by Mr. John Eddowes, Corn-market. _Friday_, THE SHREWSBURY -CHRONICLE, by Mr. John Watton, St. John’s-hill. - - - - -WALK WITHOUT THE WALLS. - - - “Scenes must be beautiful which daily view’d - Please daily, and whose novelty survives - Long knowledge and the scrutiny of years. - Praise justly due to those I now describe.” - - - -SHREWSBURY QUARRY. - - -On the south-western side of the town is one of the most celebrated -promenades in the kingdom, called The Quarry. - -It is formed in a tract of verdant meadow ground of twenty-three acres, -gradually sloping to the river Severn, along the banks of which are -planted a graceful avenue of lime trees, extending 540 yards in length, -whose lofty arching branches entwine themselves so as to resemble the -long aisle of some religious fane. - -Three other walks, planted in a similar manner, serve as approaches from -the town to this the principal promenade, which being enlivened with many -pleasing views, renders it in point of situation and beauty unrivalled. - -Here the inhabitant may inhale the refreshing breeze wafted from the -rippling river,—the invalid find a cool and sequestered retreat free from -the noise of a bustling town,—while the mind alive to the charms of -nature may enjoy its philosophic contemplations in the ever-changing -beauties of the seasons. - -A cluster of horse-chesnut and other trees growing in a dingle, and which -in autumn present a beautifully variegated mass of foliage, diversify -what otherwise might be considered a formal arrangement of these walks, -which were planted during the mayoralty of Henry Jenks, Esq. in 1719, and -derive their name from a red sandstone which was formerly procured from -this dingle. - -On the opposite side of the meandering river is a verdant eminence -fringed with luxuriant plantations. - -At the north-western end of the Quarry, near Claremont, is a sloping -bank, which originally formed an amphitheatre, called the “Dry Dingle,” -where religious mysteries (or miracle plays) were celebrated. Prince -Arthur, in 1494, attended one of these exhibitions, which were performed -on this spot, even after the Reformation, by the head-schoolmaster, Mr. -Ashton, and his pupils. - -Crossing the ferry, at the extremity of the walk leading from the remains -of this amphitheatre, and pursuing the footpath in the field to the left -of the Boat-house, we reach an eminence from whence a prospect opens to -the view combining water, hill, plain, and wood in charming variety. -Continuing from hence to the right of the House of Industry, we arrive at - - - -KINGSLAND, - - -or, as written in an early Norman grant, _Chingsland_. This is an -extensive piece of land, belonging to the ancient burgesses of -Shrewsbury, thirty of whom in rotation annually receive four shillings -and sixpence from its produce, in lieu of a “turn for their kine.” On -this place the festival of Shrewsbury Show (described page 109) is held, -and it commands a prospect which stretches to a considerable distance -over a beautiful and well-cultivated country, diversified with mountains -possessing form and interest. - -Returning to the front of the House of Industry, and pursuing the path -from the bank on which that building stands, we cross the Severn by means -of the ferry at the Can Office, and enter the pastures called “_Stury’s -Close_” where the Earl of Pembroke, Lord President of the Marches, -“mustered all the country, both of horsemen and footmen,” in 1588 (a year -memorable for the defeat of the Invincible Armada), and soon reach - - - -THE GREY OR FRANCISCAN FRIARY. - - - [Picture: The Grey or Franciscan Friary] - -The remnant illustrated by the wood cut comprises probably the refectory, -which was partly re-edificed as late as the reign of Henry the Eighth. - -This religious society, sometimes called Friars Minors, settled in this -town early in the thirteenth century. Hawis, wife to Charleton Lord of -Powys (born in 1291), and heir of the ancient Princes of Powys -Gwenwynwyn, was a great benefactress to this friary, if not its second -foundress. - -From the quantity of bones which have been found within the precinct of -this convent, it would seem that no unprofitable use was made of the -privilege granted to this order by the Pope of “_liberam sepulturam_.” -This and their reputed sanctity, as well as the popular belief that -whoever was buried in their cemetery or in the habit of a grey friar -would be secure from the attacks of evil spirits and find an easy -entrance into heaven, were circumstances doubtless of such importance as -to induce many persons to desire sepulture among such hallowed men. - -The splendid stained glass now in the eastern window of St. Mary’s -chancel is supposed to have originally decorated the church of this -friary, which was the burial place of the Lords of Powys. - -On the opposite side of the river is the foundry and the suburb of -Coleham. - -Passing under the arch of the English Bridge, to the left are some modern -dwellings on the site of a curious half-timbered mansion erected in the -reign of Elizabeth by William Jones, an alderman and opulent draper of -the town, and father of Thomas Jones, the first mayor of Shrewsbury. A -view and description of this curious building, communicated by the author -of these pages, will be found in vol. 99, part ii. of the Gentleman’s -Magazine. - -A few yards beyond stood - - - -THE DOMINICAN FRIARY, - - -which comprehended nearly the whole space now occupied by gardens between -the bridge and the water gate. {176} - -This order of mendicants took their name from their founder, and were -sometimes called “Preachers” from their office, and “Black Friars” from -their dress. - -The convent, like those of the Austin and Franciscan friars, was placed -on the margin of the river, outside the walls and adjacent to the -bridges. - -From the rich architectural remains, &c. which have occasionally been dug -up here, the church must have been a spacious and elegant building; but, -in common with the other convents, it shared the fate of the dissolution -of monasteries, and was sold by Henry the Eighth in 1543. The hand of -man, combined with the operations of time, had, previously to 1823, left -but few vestiges either of the convent where Richard and George -Plantagenet, two sons of Edward the Fourth, were born, or the more recent -fortifications erected on this interesting spot,—where several military -transactions were determined in various periods of our domestic history. - -The bank on which this friary stood was levelled in the above-mentioned -year, when the foundations of several walls were cleared to a -considerable extent, and numerous capitals, pieces of mullions, with -remains of stained glass, enamelled tiles, &c. were discovered by the -workmen employed in the construction of a new building and wharf. -Several stone graves were also brought to view, the masonry of which was -well finished, and formed so as nearly to fit the corpse. After clearing -the soil from these tombs, skeletons were found encased in red sand, but -without the least trace of any thing in which the body might have been -enveloped. The only remains of this once noble pile are the materials -used in the construction of a stable and the wall surrounding the -gardens. Adjoining is - - - -THE WATER-LANE GATE, - - - [Picture: The Waterlane Gateway] - -Through which the parliamentary army entered, Feb. 22d, 1644–5, and -captured the town. The means by which this was accomplished showed much -generalship and secrecy on the part of the Parliamentarians. It appears -a detachment of soldiers belonging to that party left Wem, and marched -under the shadow of night to the extremity of the Castle-foregate, where -the troopers halted at four o’clock in the morning, in order that the -foot soldiers might effect an entrance by stratagem. The infantry turned -off on the left to the river, being led by a puritanical minister of the -town, named Huson, a kinsman of the celebrated John Huson, who from a -cobbler rose to be a colonel and a member of the Barebones parliament. - -The dismounted troopers were under the command of Benbow, who, being a -native of Shrewsbury, was aware of the part most easily attacked. From -the end of Castle-foregate they advanced through the fields to the castle -ditch (now a thoroughfare), which was defended on the town side by strong -palisading and a breastwork of earth. A boat on the river contained -several carpenters and other persons, who commenced sawing down the -paling near the river to effect a passage for the soldiers. This was -soon accomplished, and by assisting one another over the ditch the -breastwork was gained. Having succeeded thus far, they seem to have -divided themselves into two divisions; the one party, headed by Benbow, -scaled the wall on the eminence between the Watch Tower and the Council -House, by means of light ladders. The main body, consisting of 350 men, -entered by the gate shewn in the engraving, to which a tower and outwork -was formerly attached. This, and a similar fort about the middle of the -lane where the town wall crossed, yielded without resistance by the -connivance of careless and treacherous sentinels, who are supposed to -have been intoxicated and privy to the design. The party who had scaled -the wall hastened to procure an entrance at the north or castle gate, -which was soon done, and having let down the draw-bridge, the horse, with -Colonels Mytton and Bowyer at their head, made the best of their way to -the main court of guard held in the Market-place, where they found their -comrades engaged with the royalists. The loss on both sides was -inconsiderable, amounting to only seven men and one captain. The castle -surrendered about noon, when the garrison was immediately marched off to -Ludlow, with the exception of thirteen poor Irishmen, who, being left to -the tender mercies of the parliamentary leaders, were hanged the same day -without trial. - -Continuing the walk by the side of the river, the most prominent object -is the tower on the castle mount, from whose lofty height a group of -majestic trees decline to the banks of the Severn, which in this part -bends gracefully over its gravelly bed. The pathway brings us to the -island where a pageant took place in honour of Sir Henry Sidney (noticed -page 11). A little beyond, on the opposite side of the river, is the -ferry for conveying horses across by which barges are towed up the -stream. {179} The meadows into which we have passed comprised a portion -of the ancient Derfald, or enclosure for the keeping of deer,—in other -words a park, which may not inaptly be called - - - -SHREWSBURY PARK, - - -for it belonged to our first Norman earl, and in all probability to some -of the Saxon monarchs. The situation of the ground, before it was -stripped of its timber, possessed every advantage of pasture, water, and -diversified surface.—According to the record of Domesday, it was the -custom, when the king resided here, for twelve of the better sort of -citizens to keep watch over him; and when he went out hunting, those -having horses protected him. This practice probably arose in consequence -of the murder of Alfhelm (an earl of the blood royal) in 1016, who, -having been invited here and hospitably entertained by Ædric Streona -(son-in-law to King Etheldred), was barbarously assassinated by a butcher -while hunting, whom the perfidious Ædric had engaged for that purpose. - -The boundaries of these pleasant fields bring us to the Shrewsbury canal, -which for some distance beyond passes above the banks of the river; while -from the canal towing-path numerous pleasing views may be obtained, -affording an agreeable half-hour’s walk to the picturesque village of -Uffington. - -Retracing our steps along the green banks of the Severn, we arrive at a -gentle ascent which leads to the promenade surrounding the prison. From -hence the long ridge of Haughmond Hill, linked as it were to the noble -Wrekin,—the stately character of the White Hall,—the patriotic Column in -honour of Lord Hill,—the venerable Abbey Church, standing like a -patriarch among its more modern compeers,—the Stretton Hills in the -distance, and close at hand the frowning walls of the Castle, clad by -nature’s hand with stains of sober hue, combine to attract the eye and -the mind. - -On a line with the front of the County Prison is - - - -HOWARD-STREET, - - -having at the top a fine colossal figure of Hercules, which was cast at -Rome from the Farnese Hercules, and is no inapt memorial of the labour -consequent upon the removal of upwards of 26,000 loads of soil in the -formation of the street. - -Passing to the DANA WALK, “where the huge castle hold its state,” the -prospect is bounded to the right by the eminences of Hawkstone, -Grinshill, Pimhill, Almond Park, and the plain of “Battlefield.” -Westward is Berwick House, embosomed in sylvan beauty, and beyond in the -horizon are a range of Cambrian mountains, gradually fading into the -clouds, which in point of colour they not unfrequently resemble. Among -these may be particularly distinguished those gigantic landmarks between -England and Wales,—the Breidden and Moelygolfa hills. The former rises -to the height of 1000 feet, and has on the summit a pillar erected to -commemorate the great victory obtained by Admiral Rodney over the French -fleet in the West Indies, 1782. - -By a modern archway opened through the wall abutting from the Castle at -the time this walk was formed, in 1790, we are again brought within the -walls. This part, however, of - - - -THE TOWN WALLS - - -extended in a line with the Castle Gates across the isthmus down to the -banks of the river, having a corresponding barrier on the other side of -the castle. It was erected by Robert de Belesme, third Norman Earl of -Shrewsbury, under the idea that his father’s fortifications were not of -sufficient strength to withstand a siege from the forces of Henry I. -which in 1102 marched against him (page 14). - -An additional rampart called Roushill, enclosing the space between the -wall of Earl Robert and the Welsh bridge, was added during the -Commonwealth. These walls for many years served as a communication -between the northern and western parts of the town; but in 1835 the more -modern portion was nearly buried in the formation of a new road. - - - - -RECREATIVE. - - -THE THEATRE. - - - [Picture: The New Theatre] - -WHEN man is contemplated in the character of a being, who can be -successfully addressed by an appeal to the passions and the -understanding, the Drama, under proper restrictions, may be rendered -serviceable. - - I have heard - That guilty creatures, sitting at a play, - Have, by the very cunning of the scene, - Been struck so to the soul, that presently - They have proclaim’d their malefactions. - - SHAKSPEARE. - -The old building used for the purpose of dramatic performance in this -town, is said to have formed part of a royal dwelling of the Princes of -Powys Land. Having long been ruinous, it was purchased by Mr. Bennett, -the manager, and taken down in 1833. The erection of the present theatre -on its site has been an important improvement to the thoroughfare leading -to St. John’s Hill and the Quarry, as well as an ornament to the town. -It forms a centre and two wings; the lower part consists of a rusticated -base, upwards of 100 feet in length, fitted up as shops, with a house for -the manager. Above is a continued string-course, from which rises two -pilasters in each wing, supporting a frieze and cornice. - -The windows are finished with architraves, and the front of the building -displays three niches, containing statues of the immortal bard SHAKSPEARE -and of the COMIC and TRAGIC MUSE, executed in compos by Mr. James Parry, -a native of this town. - -The interior of the theatre is conveniently arranged: in the centre is a -dome, and the ceiling richly decorated with appropriate devices. The -building is creditable to the taste of Mr. Bennett, whose spirited -undertaking in this public improvement will no doubt be appreciated by -the lovers of the drama. The new structure was opened Sept. 8th, 1834, -under the patronage of the Mayor. - - - -THE CIRCUS - - -is a large brick building near the Welsh bridge, in which equestrian -performances occasionally take place. It is used on fair days as a -butter and cheese market. - - - -THE HORSE RACES - - -are annually held in the third week of September, and continue for three -days. They are generally attended by the rank and fashion of the county, -and attract a considerable influx of visitors to the town. The king -contributes a plate of one hundred guineas. - - - -THE ASSEMBLY ROOM - - -was erected in 1777, at the back of the Lion Hotel, and is a commodious -and tastefully decorated apartment, where most of the balls are held. - - - -THE SHREWSBURY HUNT - - -takes place about the middle of November, and brings to the town a -respectable number of the nobility and gentry of the county, who pass a -week with a president annually chosen from the members, while a -fashionable ball gives additional hilarity to the meeting. - - - -ANGLING. - - -The Severn has long been celebrated for the excellency of its -fish—salmon, pike, grayling, trout, perch, and many others. The votaries -of the “Gentle Craft,” if not always gratified with excellent sport, or -the finny tribe should sometimes not be disposed “to bite,” may find -pleasure in the contemplation of the scenery around. - -It must however be mentioned, and with regret, that the fishing of the -river near the town has of late years been almost ruined by the daring -excess of poaching with illegal nets, so as to threaten, as it were, the -annihilation of the piscatory race, unless the laws are put in force for -their defence. Some of the lesser streams near the town, however, afford -a tolerable supply of good trout. - - - -AQUATIC EXCURSIONS. - - -Much pleasant exercise and amusement is afforded on the Severn during the -summer months. Several parties possess boats, and an emulation of skill -is frequently excited among the more experienced rowers. - -An annual gala is generally given by the young gentlemen of Shrewsbury -School in the month of June. - -Boats may be hired for the day at a moderate charge, and pic-nic parties -take an excursion up the river to the picturesque and woody banks at -Shelton, the shady groves near Berwick and the Isle, or downwards to the -rural villages of Uffington, Atcham, &c. On a summer’s evening, when all -is calm and serene, the sail is truly delightful. - - - -THE SUBURBS OF SHREWSBURY - - -comprise five separate districts, viz. Coton Hill, Castle Foregate, -Frankwell, Abbey Foregate, and Coleham, containing a population equal to -that within the walls. - -In noticing these, it is purposed to commence where our walk terminated -without the walls, viz. the Castle Gates, from whence the Castle Foregate -and Coton Hill diverge. Taking the latter thoroughfare, to the left we -enter Chester Street, into which a new line of road is opened, -communicating with Mardol, and carried over the ancient fosse and through -a portion of the wall erected by Robert de Belesme. A few yards further -are - - - -THE WATER WORKS, - - -which supply every house in the remotest part of the town with water for -domestic purposes, being raised from the river by means of a steam -engine, capable of throwing up 22,000 gallons in the hour. The Company -was established under an act of parliament in 1830. {186} - -Nearly opposite are - - - -THE ROYAL BATHS, - - - [Picture: The Royal Baths, Coton-hill] - -affording conveniences equal to any which are to be found in the -first-rate establishments of this kind in the kingdom, while the moderate -terms and strict attention to cleanliness and comfort will, no doubt, -ensure to them the patronage and support of the public. Hot air, vapour, -shower, warm, salt, medicated, and fresh water baths are in constant -readiness, and the pleasure bath is of sufficient dimensions to enable -persons to learn the art of swimming. - -The building is of a chaste design, the front being ornamented with a -portico, supported by two Ionic pillars and two pilasters. - -From the road, winding on the banks of the river, an imposing view of the -town may be obtained, with a considerable portion of the walls by which -it was formerly encompassed. A bold clump of trees on the right denotes - - - -BENBOW HOUSE, - - -where the gallant Admiral Benbow was born in 1650, whose distinguished -deeds in arms have rendered him an honour to our town and country. This -brave sailor not only stood against the enemy in the memorable action off -Carthagena, in August, 1702, until every hold was gone, but had to -encounter the unparalleled treachery of those under his command. The -operation of amputating his leg, which was shattered by a chain-shot in -the late engagement, added to the deep mental anxiety occasioned by the -base conduct of his captains, brought on a fever which terminated his -career of glory November 4th, in the same year, universally lamented. -His remains received the rites of sepulture in Kingston church, Jamaica. -{187} - -In the year 1828, a subscription was commenced in this town for the -purpose of erecting some memorial in St. Mary’s church (the parish in -which he was born) commemorative of this distinguished Salopian, towards -which our no less courageous townsman, Admiral Sir Edward Owen, K.C.B. -with that frankness and honourable feeling so characteristic of the true -British sailor, munificently contributed. - -We now arrive at - - - -COTON HILL, - - -where stood the suburban mansion of the Myttons of Halston, in which that -family resided after vacating their town house of Vaughan’s Place. -North-west of the turnpike was - - - -ST. CATHARINE’s CHAPEL, - - -in a pasture still called the Chapel Yard. {188} - -Coton appears at a remote period to have been connected with the Suburb -of Frankwell by a bank, which caused the river to spread over the meadows -called the “Purditches,” forcing its waters from thence under Hencot and -Cross Hill in a channel still strongly marked by its rising banks, and -discernible at all times, especially during floods, until the stream -found its way into the present channel near the Royal Baths. This is -particularly evident at the foot of Cross Hill, one mile on the Ellesmere -road, to the right of which a toll bar communicates with a pleasant lane, -the ancient road to Berwick. From the brow of this lane, the old course -of the Severn may be easily defined. From hence, also, the town unfolds -itself with peculiar beauty backed by the frontier of Salopian and -Cambrian mountains, increasing in variety and picturesque effect -throughout this delightful rural walk, until we arrive at Marshall’s -Factory, where a wooden bridge over the canal conducts again to the -suburb of - - - -THE CASTLE FOREGATE, - - -the point from which we at first diverged. This long street has become a -place of much traffic, owing to a communication having been opened, in -1835, with Birmingham, London, Liverpool, &c. by means of THE SHREWSBURY -CANAL, to and from which places goods are received into warehouses -erected on its banks. This canal was originally formed in 1797, for the -purpose of supplying the town and neighbourhood with coal, brought from -Hadley, Ketley, &c. in the eastern part of Shropshire. - -The canal terminates on the N.W. side of the County Prison, in a spacious - - - -COAL WHARF, - - -belonging to the Canal Company, where this indispensible necessary of -life may be obtained, of excellent quality, at fifteen shillings per ton. -Coal is also procured at the collieries of Welbatch and Uffington, three -miles distant from the town. - - - -THE SUBURB OF FRANKWELL, - - -anciently written _Frankville_, lies on the west side of the Welsh -bridge, and is a township within the parish of St. Chad. In former times -it suffered much from the ravages of the Welsh, being in the line of road -to the principality, as it is now the thoroughfare to Holyhead. - -The inquisitive eye of the antiquary will discover in this suburb many -curious specimens of the half-timbered dwellings of our ancestors, one in -particular, better known now as the “String of Horses,” appears, from -initials, &c. over the chimney piece, to have been erected at least as -early as 1576. To the left of this building is “New Street,” leading to -Millington’s Hospital, Kingsland, &c. Roads also branch off to the -village of Hanwood, and the mining districts of Pontesbury and Westbury. - -Passing onward to the right is St. George’s church (page 89), a short -distance from which is the “Mount,” so called from a strong outwork -erected during the civil wars, under the direction of Lord Capel, and in -which he planted several pieces of cannon to protect the town. The -garrison of this fort vigorously resisted the attacks of the -parliamentarians, even after the town and castle had been captured. In -the evening, however, of that day, they had no other alternative but to -surrender upon bare quarter. - -Near this fortification stood a religious house called Cadogan Chapel, -which, in the third year of Edward VI. passed into lay hands. In 1604 it -was remaining, though in a ruinous state, having been appropriated in -that year as the “Pest House.” {190} - -The precinct of this chapel probably extended as far as Millington’s -Hospital, the site of the latter being to this day called “The Chapel -Yard,” and in the gardens adjoining it skeletons have been found, while a -strong yew-tree hedge, still visible at the western end of Cadogan Place, -was no doubt its boundary in that direction, near which spot stood -“_Cadogan’s Cross_,” where sermons in other days were occasionally -delivered. The bailiffs’ accounts, for 1542, record the item of sixpence -for wine given to the Lord President’s chaplain, preaching at Cadogan’s -Cross on the Rogation day. The meadows below (on the banks of the -Severn), called “_Monks Eye_,” were granted by Reginald Pinzun to the -“Almonry” of Shrewsbury Abbey, in the reign of Henry III. previously to -which they bore the appellation of “_Crosfurlong_.” - -Extending our walk for one mile on the great Holyhead road (with the fine -woods of Berwick on the opposite side of the river) we reach the township -of SHELTON, where are some neat suburban villas which unite architectural -taste and rural decoration with beauty of situation and commanding -prospects. At this place stands - - - -GLENDOWER’S OAK, - - -famed from the tradition that Owen Glendower, in 1403, ascended its -branches to ascertain the event of the Battle of Shrewsbury, a -circumstance not unlikely when it is considered that the country was -probably more open at that time than at present. - -This champion of Welsh independence, it has been already shown, assembled -his forces at Oswestry, from whence, according to Holinshed, he sent off -only his first division, consisting of 4000 men, who behaved with spirit -in the day of action. The Welsh historians, however, have censured his -conduct on this occasion, and blame him for what it appears from some -cause he was unable to effect, viz. in neglecting to attack Henry after -the battle, when the royal forces had sustained a severe loss and were -overcome with fatigue, and when his own followers and the remainder of -the northern troops would have formed an army nearly double that of the -king’s. - -There are documents to prove that this oak was “_a great tree_” within -140 years after the Battle of Shrewsbury, and was an object of remark to -old people long before. It is now a chronicle to the eye of the passing -traveller, and to those who delight to be carried back into the depth of -antiquity. Long may it be preserved from injury, and viewed as the -natural historical monument of our vicinity; for Time has truly - - Hollowed in its trunk - A tomb for centuries; and buried there - The epochs of the rise and fall of states, - The fading generations of the world, - The memory of man. - -According to a recent measurement, the tree is 41½ feet in height; the -girth at the base is 44¼ feet, and at eight feet from the ground 27¼ -feet. - -The interior is hollow, consisting of little more than a shell of bark, -forming an alcove capable of holding a dozen individuals; and -notwithstanding the branches of this aged tree have borne the blast of -many a wintry storm, still it may be said— - - The Spring - Finds thee not less alive to her sweet force - Than the young upstarts of the neighbouring woods, - So much thy juniors, who their birth received - Half a millennium since the date of thine. - - - -THE ABBEY FOREGATE. - - -Passing over the English, or east bridge, from which there is a striking -prospect of the town and the tower on the Castle Mount, we reach a small -tract of ground, comprising a few houses, called - - - -MERIVALE, - - -or, _Murivale_, probably from its connexion with the walls. - -In reference to this it appears that in the early part of the 13th -century, the abbot consented that the two plats of ground between the -main road at the east end of the bridge should be left void for the -purpose of erecting defences in the time of war; hence Merivale -subsequently became matter of frequent contest between the Corporation -and the Abbey, as to the right of jurisdiction within it. This was not -finally settled until the dissolution of the monastery, when Henry VIII. -stating the “intimate affection” which he bears towards the town of -Salop, and his desire “to do and shew favour to the bailiffs and -burgesses,” grants that they and their successors may for ever enjoy all -the liberties, privileges, &c. within the limits of the Abbey Foregate, -including the hamlet of Merivale, in as ample manner as they were enjoyed -by the last abbot or his predecessors. - -Leaving the National School to the right, - - - -THE MONASTIC REMAINS - - -next claim our notice, and although now very inconsiderable, yet, like -most other Abbeys, they originally consisted chiefly of two quadrangular -courts of different dimensions, the conventual church, as was customary, -being towards the north. Situated on the other sides were the refectory, -almonry, chapter house, dormitory, locutory or parlour, infirmary, guest -hall or hospitium, kitchen, and other domestic offices. The abbot’s -house or lodging commonly formed one or more portions of the smaller -quadrangle, and consisted of a complete mansion. - -This Abbey, bereft of its endowments by the reforming spirit of Henry -VIII. shared the fate of other similar foundations in the rapine of the -dissolution; the buildings connected therewith were sold, and soon -afterwards despoiled of their constituent parts, chiefly for the value of -the materials, while portions were converted into dwellings and other -purposes, or left quietly to moulder into decay. - -Of the remains which have excited most attention is an elegant octagonal - - - -STONE PULPIT, - - - [Picture: Stone Pulpit] - -from which one of the junior monks was accustomed to read to his brethren -while seated at their meals. Its situation, one half resting on the -ruined wall of the Refectory, indisputably proves this; looking outward -of the site of that building it forms a small bay window, while the other -portion, once inside the hall, is supported on a moulded bracket, which -springs from a corbel originally carved as a head. From hence it -projects to the basement of the floor, twelve feet from which rises a -conical roof sustained on six narrow pointed arches, having trefoil -heads. - -The interior forms a beautiful oriel, the roof being vaulted on eight -delicate ribs, at the intersection of which in the centre is a boss of -comparatively large dimensions; on this is beautifully sculptured The -Crucifixion, with St. John and the Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross, -enclosed under a trefoil arch flanked by buttresses. The spaces of the -three northern arches, looking inwards, are filled with embattled stone -panels about three feet high, on which are enshrined several figures of -saints, &c. - -This interesting relic is approached from the garden by a flight of steps -through a small doorway worked originally, it is considered, within the -thickness of the wall of the refectory. - -The south wing of what is supposed to have been part of the monk’s -infirmary, chapel, &c. remains south-west of the church. It is now -appropriated as a malthouse, and may be distinguished by its lofty -gables. A similar building converted into dwellings stood near the -street, and was connected with the above by an embattled ruin flanked by -massive piers, between which were square windows divided by a transom. -This was an imposing feature to our monastic remains, and truly venerable -from its antiquity, having braved the storms and tempests of nearly one -thousand years, but was taken down without a feeling of forbearance in -1836, and the materials applied for the foundations of two houses -adjoining its site. - -The present Abbey house is supposed to have been the guest hall, or -hospitium, to the east of which three pointed arches, once forming part -of a groined ceiling, denote the abbot’s lodging. - -Of the chapter house, where the members of the monastery assembled to -transact their official business, not a relic is left; but in excavating -near its site, in 1836, a leaden seal was found, which had been once -appended to a bull from the Pope, whose name is thus inscribed on it, -INNOCENTIVS. PP. IIII. - -The monks of this Abbey, in the third year of Pope Innocent IV. i.e. -1246, obtained a bull, setting forth the injuries committed against their -lands, tithes, possessions, &c. by the monastery of Lilleshull, by which -the dean and precentor of Lichfield were directed to convoke the parties -and hear the cause. - -The dormitory was attached to the south-west side of the church, and was -cut through in the formation of a new line of road in 1836. - -What a train of reflections, loudly bespeaking the vicissitudes of life, -may be called forth during our walk along this new thoroughfare. Who is -there, it may be asked, with a mind to think and a heart to feel, that -can thoughtlessly pass over ground which has been distinguished in -history, without a momentary reflection upon its former importance? - -Within the Chapter House, which stood on a portion of this road, occurred -the earliest authorized assembly of that popular representation in the -constitution of this kingdom, to which, under Providence, Englishmen have -been indebted for all their subsequent prosperity,—all their energies, -and that noble independence which have characterized us as a people among -nations. {196} - -Here, too, Richard the Second gratified his fondness for magnificence, by -entertaining the members of his parliament with a sumptuous feast, and, -as if to dazzle by the splendour of monarchy, and to awe by military -display, he was attired in his royal robes, and attended by a numerous -guard of Cheshire men. - -The fervent orisons of a grateful heart have here been uplifted—divinity -and other important subjects discussed—and on this spot the nobility, -gentry, abbots, priors, deans, &c. of Shropshire, have frequently -congregated, and banished for a time the gloomy silence and sable garb of -the brotherhood, and exchanged the sober gravity of the refectory, and -its austere monkish repast, for wine and wassail, minstrelsey and song. - -Before quitting these scattered ruins, the present remains of the Abbey -church must excite feelings of regret in the breast of every admirer of -our ancient architecture, at the mistaken zeal which caused its partial -and barbarous demolition. - -An embattled wall encompassed the northern and eastern sides of the -precinct, beyond which is the FOREGATE, a respectable open street, nearly -one mile in length, and chiefly occupied by private residences. The -houses to the south have gardens which extend to the Reabrook, and -command delightful prospects of the adjacent country. This suburb (April -1st, 1774) suffered considerably from a fire, which destroyed 47 -dwellings, 16 barns, 15 stables, 4 shops, and several stacks of hay, -beside damaging other property. - -On the left, half way up the street, is - - - -THE WHITE HALL, - - -So called from a practice, during the last century, of occasionally -colouring its deep red walls. Our native poet (Churchyard) speaks of -this stone mansion in his usual quaint manner, as standing “so trim and -finely that it graceth all the soil it is in.” In front is a handsome -gatehouse; and the pointed gables, central cupola, and ornamental -chimnies, strongly characterise it as an interesting specimen of the old -English residence peculiar to the reign of Elizabeth, while its sombre -appearance is finely set forth by the vivid foliage of walnut and other -trees adjoining. The interior has been modernised, and forms a -comfortable habitation. The building was commenced in 1578 by Richard -Prince, Esq. a celebrated lawyer, and was his manorial residence. It now -belongs to the Right Rev. the Bishop of Lichfield, by purchase from Earl -Tankerville. - - [Picture: The White Hall Mansion] - -A few yards distant is - - - -THE RACE GROUND, - - -called the “Soldier’s Piece,” from the circumstance of Charles the First -having drawn up his army here (page 11). - -Situated within a very few minutes’ walk of the town, it may in most -points compete with all the secondary courses in the kingdom. It is one -mile and 185 yards in circumference, and in addition to a fine straight -run for coming-in of 500 yards, possesses the advantage of a sight of the -horses throughout the race, combined with an extensive panoramic view of -the adjacent richly diversified country; while the town, from so many -points picturesque, has from hence a most pleasing appearance. - -It may be remarked that this race course is formed on a plan, it is -believed, not previously adopted, the arrangement being such as to -provide for any distance, from half a mile to four miles, the different -lengths being conveniently fixed and marked with letters on short posts -inside the course; a reference to which is placed in the winning chair -for the information of the public. - -A footpath through the meadows near the Hall conducts to the east end of -Abbey-foregate, and the noble Column erected on the great London road in -commemoration of the military achievements of Lord Hill, who, on his -return to his native county, in 1814, was welcomed into Shrewsbury by his -countrymen with all the splendid honours attendant upon a triumphal hero. -The most enthusiastic rejoicings took place, and upwards of 20,000 -persons assembled to witness the festivities, &c. provided on the -occasion in the Quarry. - -Leaving the venerable church of St. Giles to the left, and proceeding -about one mile to the right, along a pleasant walk embellished throughout -by an interesting prospect, we reach the saline and chalybeate spring -called - - - -SUTTON SPA, - - -situated in a retired dell near the margin of the Reabrook, and the -property of the Right Hon. Lord Berwick. - -The spring issues from a rocky stratum of ash-coloured clay, or -argillaceous schistus. The water is colourless, and exhales a faint -sulphureous smell, much more perceptible in rainy weather. It has been -compared with the Cheltenham water, but in reality bears a stronger -affinity to sea water, possessing, however, an advantage over that in -containing iron. In those cases, therefore, for which sea water is -usually recommended it has been found most beneficial, and proves highly -serviceable in the treatment of glandular affections, scrofula, and other -diseases of the skin. A tumbler glassful operates as a brisk aperient. - -The following analysis of the water was recently read at one of the -scientific meetings of the Shropshire Natural History Society:— - - Eleven cubic inches of the water contain about half a cubic inch of - carbonic acid, partly free and partly in a combined state, a quarter - of a cubic inch of atmospheric air, and a trace of sulphuretted - hydrogen. - - Sixteen fluid ounces contain of— - - Iodine and bromine, each a trace - - Carbonate iron, about 0.7 grain - - — lime and siliceous earth, each a trace - - Anhydrous muriate magnesia, 8.8 grains - - — — lime, 30 grains - - — — soda, 121.3 grains. {200} - -The importance of this spring is generally acknowledged, and it is matter -of regret that proper accommodations for the advantageous use of the -water have not been more effectually provided. A stone cistern, within a -little shed, is the only receptacle for the water, the refuse from which, -after being confined within a covered drain for a few yards, flows into -the brook, and has produced an artificial morass, whose surface (from the -deposition of iron oxyd) is covered with an ochery scum. - -The care of the spring and baths is entrusted to the occupier of a -cottage on the spot. - -On an elevated situation in an adjoining meadow stands the primitive -parish church of Sutton, a characteristic specimen of the little Norman -churches erected in villages. The west front is crowned with a cupola, -and displays a modern window, but those on the other sides of the fabric -are of the earliest kind, narrowing towards the exterior surface of the -wall. The town may be regained by different routes over the meadows, -which lead to - - - -THE SUBURB OF COLEHAM, - - -situated on the southern banks of the river, where the Meole or Rea brook -joins the Severn. This was until the present century the lowest part of -the town, and consequently most liable to be inundated by floods; but of -late years the street has been raised about nine feet. - -The township is populous, and consists of two districts, called Longden -Coleham and Meole Coleham from their respective thoroughfares to those -villages. In the latter direction is Trinity Church, and in the former -the extensive foundry of Mr. Hazledine, where the iron-work used in the -construction of that surprising proof of human ingenuity, the “Menai -Bridge,” was cast, and proved by an engine whose pressure was calculated -at thirty-seven tons. - - - - -TRADE AND MANUFACTURES. - - -Our town for more than three centuries possessed almost exclusively the -trade with Wales in a coarse kind of cloth called Welsh webs, which were -brought from Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire to a market held here -weekly. In reference to this, Camden, in his “Britannia,” published in -1586, writes of Shrewsbury—“It is a fine city, well inhabited, and of -good commerce; and by the industry of the citizens and their cloth -manufacture and their trade with the Welsh, is very rich, for hither the -Welsh commodities are brought as to the common mart.” - -The termination of this branch of commerce is an event of too much -importance to be passed over. It is thus graphically alluded to by -Messrs. Owen and Blakeway: “Every Thursday the central parts of the town -were all life and bustle; troops of hardy ponies, each with a halter of -twisted straw, and laden with two bales of cloth, poured into the -Market-place in the morning, driven by stout Welshmen in their country -coats of blue cloth and striped linsey waistcoats.” - -At two o’clock the drapers, with their clerks and shearmen, assembled -under the Market-house, and proceeded up stairs (according to ancient -usage) in seniority. The market being over, drays were seen in all -directions conveying the cloths to the several warehouses, and more than -six hundred pieces of web have been sold in a day. The whole was a ready -money business; and as the Welshmen left much of their cash behind them -in exchange for malt, groceries, and other shop goods, the loss of such a -trade to the town may be easily conceived. This took place about the -year 1795, and was occasioned by individuals (not members of the -Shrewsbury fraternity of drapers) travelling into those parts where the -goods were made, from which the manufacturers soon learnt that they might -find a mart for their goods at home without the trouble and expence of a -journey to the walls of Amwythig. In March, 1803, the company -relinquished the great room over the market-hall, where they had for -nearly two centuries transacted their business, and though much traffic -in flannels was subsequently carried on in the town, the total extinction -of this branch of our local commerce is fast approaching, from the market -having diverged to Welshpool, Newtown, and Llanidloes, where the -advantages of machinery are now substituted for manual labour in its -manufacture. - -The cessation of the woollen market in this town has been ascribed to the -improvement of the roads in Wales, which opened a more free communication -to the interlopers of the Drapers’ company; and this again afforded some -compensation to the town for the loss of this branch of its trade. For -if Shrewsbury was no longer the emporium of North Wales, it was becoming -the centre of communication between London and Dublin; and the -agriculture of the neighbourhood and the trade of the town received a new -impulse from the vast increase of posting and stage coaches, but far -inadequate to the advantage which it derived from its trade in Welsh -woollens and the weekly visits of the Cambrian farmers. - -That Shrewsbury, however, may reap the full benefit of its central -situation as the great thoroughfare from whence all the roads into North -Wales diverge, and being also the general market of the surrounding -country, acknowledged to be one of the finest agricultural districts in -the kingdom, it is highly expedient that our town should possess the -advantage of a RAILWAY communicating with the great lines to Birmingham, -London, Liverpool, &c. - -Prospectuses have been issued showing the eligibility of the plan, and -the position in which the trade and general intercourse of the town will -be placed if unprovided with those facilities of cheap and expeditious -conveyance enjoyed by other large towns; and when it is considered that a -great portion of the provisions which supply the thickly-populated -neighbourhoods of Wolverhampton, Bilston, Birmingham, &c. are purchased -at our weekly markets and monthly fairs, and the deficient and expensive -means of transit on this line, a Railway would produce incalculable -benefit to the town by an increased traffic, and thereby contribute to -reinstate it in that important situation which it once held as THE -EMPORIUM OF NORTH WALES. - -The chief manufactories at present are the extensive concern of Messrs. -Marshall for thread and linen yarns, three iron foundries, and Messrs. -Jones and Pidgeon’s for tobacco and snuff. The vicinity being a good -barley country, the malting business is carried on to a considerable -extent, and divided among sixty maltsters. Glass-staining has been -brought to the highest state of perfection in this town, completely -disproving assertions made some few years since that the powers of this -ancient science had then extended almost beyond the hope of eventual -excellence. The gothic chain, however, which for so long a period had -confined the mystery of this beautiful art, once, indeed, considered as -entirely lost, has been effectively broken by our townsman, Mr. D. Evans, -of whose productions our churches and many other ecclesiastical buildings -and noblemen’s mansions in different parts of the kingdom afford -specimens, contending in effect with some of the finest works of the -ancient masters. - -Among the _delicacies_ for which our town is so deservedly celebrated may -be mentioned a most delicious CAKE, {204} of which but few strangers in -passing through fail to partake, especially if they have read the -encomium of the poet Shenstone: - - “For here each season do these cakes abide, - Whose honoured names th’ inventive city own, - Rend’ring through Britain’s isle Salopia’s praises known.” - -SHREWSBURY CAKES appear to have been presented to distinguished -personages on their visit to this town as early as the reign of -Elizabeth; and when their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Kent and the -Princess Victoria arrived here in 1832, they were graciously pleased to -accept a box of them from the Mayor. - -THE SIMNEL made here is much admired, and great quantities of this kind -of cake are prepared about the season of Christmas and Lent. The word is -supposed to have been derived from the Latin _simila_, signifying fine -flour; but the common tradition fixes its origin to a dispute between a -man named “Simon” and his wife “Nell.” One of them was desirous that the -plum pudding should be baked, while the other insisted that it should be -boiled: neither party being disposed to yield, it was therefore first -boiled and afterwards baked (the processes that it now undergoes), and -thus produced Sim-nell. The exterior crust, or shell (enclosing a -compound of fruit) is hard, and deeply tinged with saffron. - -THE SHREWSBURY BRAWN is unrivalled, and has lately been patronised by His -Majesty William the Fourth. Brawn is a Christmas dish of great -antiquity, and may be found in most of the ancient bills of fare for -coronations and other great feasts. “Brawn, mustard, and malmsey” were -directed for breakfast during the reign of Elizabeth; and Dugdale, in his -account of the Inner Temple Revels, states the same directions for that -society. It is prepared from the flesh of boars fattened for the -purpose. - -SHREWSBURY ALE has been commended from a remote period. _Iolo Goch_, the -bard of Owen Glendower, eulogises the profusion with which “Cwrw -Amwythig,” or Shrewsbury Ale, was dispensed in the mansion of his hero at -Sycarth, which he seems to have visited previously to the insurrection of -1400. - -In the last century the properties of this beverage were thus extolled:— - - “Hops, Water, and Barley, are here of the best, - Your March and October can well stand the test; - The body is plump, and the visage ne’er pale, - That imbibes, or is painted, with _Shrewsbury Ale_.” - - - - -MARKETS. - - -The market days are Wednesdays and Saturdays. The former is small, but -that on the latter day is well attended and abundantly supplied. In -fact, few towns enjoy the advantage of a better or cheaper supply of -meat, poultry, butter, vegetables, fruit, &c. But it must be confessed -that many places of far less importance than the capital of Shropshire -possess more suitable accommodations befitting the ample produce brought -from the surrounding districts to its markets. - -The space allotted for the sale of vegetables is in the spacious square -opposite the County Hall, commonly called the “Green Market;” that for -poultry, eggs, &c. on Pride Hill and in the Butter Cross. The shambles -for butchers’ meat is in a street called “the Double Butcher Row;” and in -Fish-street, near St. Julian’s church, are sheds and stands for the -country butchers. The corn mart is held under the old market house. - - - - -THE FAIRS. - - -The fair for the sale of horses, cattle, butter, cheese, &c. is held on -the second Wednesday in every month; and that for sheep and pigs on the -preceding day. It has long been in contemplation to form a proper -“Smithfield” for cattle, &c. which are now disposed of in the streets, -much to the annoyance of passengers. The wool fairs are in July and -August. - - - - -THE SEVERN. - - -This beautiful stream, the queen of rivers,—famed in British story and -noticed by classic historians,—the theme of poets and the admiration of -tourists, is next in importance to the Thames. - -It rises in Plinlimmon mountain, Montgomeryshire, and pursues its course -through that county, receiving in its meanderings numberless tributary -streams, and presenting to proud Salopia the richest variety of -picturesque scenery. After winding sixty or seventy miles through the -centre of Shropshire, passing Worcester, &c. it at length becomes “a -mighty river, potent, large,” and empties itself into the Bristol -Channel, fifty miles below Gloucester. - - - -THE NAVIGATION OF THE RIVER - - -is free for barges from thirty to eighty tons burden, during the whole of -its course throughout Shropshire, which are towed up the stream by horses -belonging to a company; but the navigation is liable to interruption from -high and rapid floods in winter, and occasional want of depth of water in -summer. - - - - -THE ENVIRONS OF SHREWSBURY - - -Present an agreeable variety of pleasant drives and interesting walks, -unfolding from most points some changing feature of landscape scenery, -insulated, or grouped in picturesque masses, and interspersed with lofty -hills, which afford an imposing back-ground to the town, producing a -succession of rich and varied prospects calculated to interest the lover -of nature, while the artist, the antiquary, the botanist, or the -geologist, may find an ample field for the cultivation of their -respective pursuits. - -The limited plan of the present work will only admit of a very brief -notice of some of those objects that might claim the attention of the -enquiring stranger, or present themselves in the course of a drive. - - - -BATTLEFIELD, - - -Three miles N.E. by N. of Shrewsbury. Perhaps few events, so recent and -of such importance in the annals of our country, have left so few local -traditions to awaken the dream of ancient chivalry as the Battle of -Shrewsbury. - -The site of this momentous conflict for the crown of England is no longer -unenclosed, but seems thriving with the culture of centuries of peace. -Some armour and military weapons occasionally turned up remind us of the -event, or, but for the Church piously founded by King Henry the Fourth, -in commemoration of his victory over Hotspur, Douglas, Worcester, and the -rebel army, we might rejoice that the breath of tranquillity has hushed -the tale of death. - -The many associations, however, connected with this event, are not easily -banished from the mind during a visit to this spot, particularly when it -is considered that it afforded matter for the classic pen of Shakspeare. - - - -BATTLEFIELD CHURCH, - - -According to the foundation of King Henry the Fourth, consisted of five -secular canons, and among other endowments possessed the churches of St. -Michael within the Castle of Shrewsbury, and also St. Julian’s, in the -same town. The clear annual revenues of the college at the dissolution -being £54. 1s. 10d. as stated by Tanner. - - [Picture: Battlefield Church] - -The fabric, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, stands in the centre of a -pasture field, and consists of a nave, chancel, and finely proportioned -tower, crowned with eight pinnacles and a richly decorated frieze and -parapet. The choral division, from the style of the windows, was -undoubtedly erected in the time of the founder, and the western portion -under the auspices of the Very Reverend Adam Grafton, Dean of the -Collegiate Church of St. Mary, Shrewsbury, Archdeacon of Salop, &c. &c. a -person of great eminence in his day, and who possessed much architectural -taste. His name is inscribed on the east side of the tower as warden of -the college in 1504. Length of the church, including the tower, 94 feet. - -The roof of the nave and chancel having fallen in from decay early in the -last century, the latter was restored and supported by four doric -pillars. The interior is neat. - -In the south wall is the piscina and the sedilia for the officiating -priests. In one of these is a curious wooden figure, called “Our Lady of -Pity.” It represents the Virgin seated and bearing on her knees a dead -Christ. - -The eastern window is of five divisions, and contains some remains of the -stained glass with which this church was once enriched. The other -portion having been taken down during a repair of the fabric some years -since, was either lost or destroyed, through the negligence of the person -to whom it was entrusted. - -The subjects comprised a history of the death of John the Baptist, with -various portraits of the knights who fell on the King’s side in the -battle at this memorable place. The crowned heads of King Henry the -Fourth and his Queen, the portraits of a bishop or abbot, and the head of -John the Baptist in a charger, may yet be distinguished, and are -tastefully pencilled. The red and yellow colours throughout are -particularly vivid. A beautiful border of foliage, with a mutilated -inscription, is at the base of the window. - -At the east end of the north wall is a handsome florid gothic monument to -the memory of the late John Corbet, Esq. of Sundorne, who died in 1817. -The basement is after the model of an ancient altar tomb, from whence -rises five panelled buttresses with mouldings supporting the canopy, -which consists of four pointed ogee arches crocketed and crowned with -finials. The interior is a richly groined vault, and at the angles are -small turrets. The whole is beautifully worked in grained free-stone -from the neighbouring quarry of Grinshill. - -The nave of the church is roofless: on each side are three elegant -mullioned windows, with tracery of different devices. In the walls are -corbels formed into grotesque heads, on which rested the timbers that -supported the roof. - -The shaft of the ancient font (sunk in the ground) stands at the -north-east angle of the pointed arch which separates the nave from the -tower. The second floor of the tower is singularly furnished with a -fire-place, having a chimney formed within the thickness of the wall and -opening outside beneath the belfry window. - -A tabernacled niche above the chancel window contains the crowned statue -of Henry the Fourth: the right hand once sustained a sword, and on the -same side also hangs the scabbard. - -The college stood at the east end of the church, the moat which -surrounded it being still visible. Near this part is a field called the -“King’s Croft,” in which were placed a portion of the royal army. The -troops of Hotspur appear to have been chiefly stationed on the north -side. - -On the south side of the church is a small cemetery, in which is -deposited the remains of the late Rev. Edward Williams, M.A. who for -nearly half a century was the Minister of this parish—loved and honoured -by his flock as a spiritual father, and the remembrance of whose virtues -and christian instruction still lingers like a lovely twilight. He died -January 3d, 1833, aged 70 years. {212} - - - -GRINSHILL - - -Is four miles distant from hence. The village is picturesquely -sequestered beneath the extensive stone quarries, of which great use has -been made in the bridges, churches, and public buildings of Salop. About -the year 1630 a large stone building was erected at this place for the -reception of the scholars under instruction at the Royal Free Grammar -School during the time any contagious disorder might prevail in the town. -It is now used as a private classical and commercial school. - - - -HAWKSTONE, - - -Being six miles further in this direction, is consequently beyond the -prescribed limit of my pen. I cannot forbear, however, to remark that -the scenery in the park is truly grand, and the objects which meet the -eye are varied and interesting, consisting of a succession of hills and -dales, rocks and caverns, connected together in a comparatively small -space. The walks are twelve miles round, and the obelisk erected on the -terrace of the park commands a prospect one hundred miles in diameter. - -Amid this beautiful natural scene, the hand of art has introduced many -interesting features calculated to interrupt for an interval the -associations of the mind, that it might return with renewed vigour and -fresh delight to the enjoyment of the more exalted feast of contemplative -wonder, which nature has so lavishly bestowed on this elysian spot. The -noble proprietor kindly permits visitors to gratify themselves with a -walk over the grounds. - - - -HAUGHMOND ABBEY, - - -Three miles north-east of the town, is approached from the Old Heath, by -a road full of picturesque beauty. The vale is watered by the Severn, -while swelling hills fill up the distance. - -This monastery was founded in the year 1100 by William Fitz Alan, for -canons regular of St. Augustine, and is situated on the side of a gentle -eminence. The ruins form a most imposing object, and are of sufficient -consequence to attract the steps of the pedestrian. Of the Abbey church -few remains exist. The door which opened into the cloister is an elegant -specimen of anglo-norman architecture. - -THE CHAPTER HOUSE is almost in a perfect state of preservation: the front -parallel with the cloister consists of a fine entrance through a circular -arch, with a window in the same style on each side, divided into small -lights. The shafts of these arches have canopied niches containing -mutilated statues; the angel Gabriel, St. Catharine, and St. John may yet -be distinguished. - -THE ABBOTT’S LODGING is in part standing, being beyond the cloister and -refectory southward. There is likewise the shell of a noble hall, having -very early mullioned windows, and a very large one at the west end, the -tracery of which is destroyed. At the extremity of this was the great -chamber, lighted by a beautiful bow window (probably a later addition), -and divided into an upper and lower story. - -On the north side of the Chapter House are two monumental stones: the -largest indicates the death of John Fitz Alan, Lord of Clun, -great-grandson of William, the founder of the monastery, and the least -that of his wife Isabel, daughter of Roger Mortimer, Lord of Wigmore. - -The revenues of this Abbey at the dissolution were, according to Speed, -£294. 12s. 9d. The buildings were sold, and converted into a spacious -mansion. Haughmond demesne comprises about 1100 acres, within which is -situated the castellated MANSION OF SUNDORNE, the property of Mrs. -Corbet. - -South-east, clothed with masses of woody verdure, is - - - -HAUGHMOND HILL, - - -the etymology of which is derived from _haut mont_, the high mount. An -easy ascent from the abbey leads to the summit, from whence is a rich -panoramic prospect over a portion of the fertile vale of Shropshire, with -the lofty steeples of its ancient capital, and the blue mountains of -Cambria in the distance. - -A castellated turret is erected on a steep crag of the hill, down which -the Scottish Earl Douglas leaped with his horse, on being closely pursued -after his escape from the Battle of Shrewsbury, and received a severe -injury. He was taken prisoner, but the king, in admiration of his -valour, set him at liberty. - -At the foot of the hill is - - - -THE VILLAGE OF UFFINGTON, - - -which is delightfully situated, and affords many rural beauties. Here -for a time the lover of nature may enjoy that calm delight which moves -the soul to contemplation; and whilst the eye has been charmed with the -prospect enjoyed from the summit of the adjoining eminence, the heart -seems hushed to the noise of a populous town, and a feeling of -tranquillity imperceptibly steals upon the mind, for which a cause can -scarcely be assigned. - -Parties from the town are often tempted by the beauty of the situation to -make this place a holiday retreat, whose enjoyment is enhanced by the -accommodations of a good inn, attached to which, above the banks of the -Severn, is a pleasant bowling green. - -The church, overshaded by two venerable yews, possesses a primitive -simplicity, quite in character with the village. - - - -THE VILLAGE OF ALBRIGHTON, - - -distant three miles N.E. of the town on the Chester road, is a township -in the parish of St. Mary, Shrewsbury. The church, a small humble -structure, has been so effectually repaired by the modern goths with red -stone and brick, that no reasonable conjecture can now be formed as to -the period of its erection. A wooden loft issues from the west end, and -inside the building is a curious ancient font, that will admit of total -immersion, which has no doubt stood here for several centuries. - -The fine old mansion near the church was formerly the residence of the -ancient family of Ireland, who purchased this manor {215} on the -dissolution of Shrewsbury Abbey. - -A bridle road across a field leads to Albright Hussey and Battlefield. -The former was the moated mansion of the Husseys, Barkers, and Corbets, -but is now converted into a farm house. Here was a chapel, dedicated to -Saint John the Baptist, as appears by the grant of the land on which -Battlefield church stands from Henry IV. to Roger Ive, of Leaton, who is -there described as rector of the chapel of St. John the Baptist at -Albright Hussey, and which chapel was by the said grant for ever annexed -to the collegiate church of Battlefield; and Richard Hussey and his heirs -were to be perpetual patrons of the same. The only vestige of the chapel -is an old arch in a barn called the “chapel barn.” - - - -THE VILLAGE OF MEOLE, - - -otherwise Meole Brace, is one mile south of the town. {216} The church -stands on a little knoll above the Rea brook, and was erected on the site -of an ancient edifice in the year 1800. It is a plain cruciform -building, with a tower rising from the roof at the west end. - -From this place many agreeable walks branch off in the direction of -Kingsland, Sutton, and the Sharpstones. Near the latter place, at -Bayston Hill, is an earthwork of an irregular form, which seems to have -been surrounded on all sides but the east by two fosses, the abrupt -formation of the ground in that direction rendering such a protection -unnecessary. The entrance was no doubt from the Stretton road at the -west. The _double_ entrenchment admits a probability that it belonged to -the Anglo-Saxons, but it is difficult to distinguish between their -encampments and those of the Danes, both forming their camps nearly alike -and on elevated spots. The present site possesses every advantage for a -military post of observation to the adjoining country. The residents in -the vicinity designate it by the common appellation of the “Buries,” and -which appears to have escaped the notice of former topographers. - -Two miles beyond this spot is the pleasant - - - -VILLAGE OF CONDOVER. - - -The church is a spacious building, displaying examples of early Norman -architecture. It contains several handsome monuments in memory of the -ancient family of Owen, among which one from the chisel of Roubiliac is -considered a remarkably fine production. The adjoining mansion, a most -interesting specimen of the Elizabethan style of building, was erected by -Sir Thomas Owen, Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, who -died in 1598. Within the hall is the finest collection of paintings in -the county. This village was the birth-place of Richard Tarlton, the -earliest English comedian of celebrity, who for his surprisingly pleasant -extemporaneous wit, as an actor and jester, was the wonder of his time. -Fuller states, that “when Queen Elizabeth was serious and out of good -humour, he could undumpish her at his pleasure.” After a free and -eccentric life, it is said he died penitent in 1588. - - - -PITCHFORD, - - -six miles south-east of the town, takes its name from a kind of mineral -pitch, which exudes out of a red sand stone, from which an oil is -extracted called British oil. A similar substance is also found at this -place, floating on a spring of water. Pitchford Hall is a beautiful -specimen of the half-timbered mansion erected during the sixteenth -century, and is the property of the Right Hon. the Earl of Liverpool, a -descendant maternally of the Ottley family, one of whom purchased the -estate in 1473. - -The church, erected in the reign of Henry I. is a specimen of the lesser -Anglo-Norman edifices erected in villages. Its foundation throws some -light on the formation of our parochial establishments and the nature of -tithes. - -It appears that previously to its erection the inhabitants of the -lordship went to some of the surrounding churches to hear divine service -and receive the sacraments, and gave their tithes where they chose. Many -of them contributed their tithes to the dean and chapter of St. Chad, in -Salop, on condition that they found a chaplain and clerk, who should -perform service three times a week, and daily visit the sick and baptize -infants; but these duties being much neglected, one Ralph lord of -Pitchford, moved by “charity and zeal,” built a church at his own -expence, and formed a certain district as the boundary of the parish. - -At the distance of somewhat more than a mile is - - - -ACTON BURNELL. - - -The remains of the ancient castle, founded by Robert Burnell, Bishop of -Bath and Wells, consist of a large building, with a square tower at each -angle. To this place the parliament of Shrewsbury adjourned in 1283, -where were passed (and received the royal assent) certain legislative -regulations, and amongst these the act touching merchant debtors, called -“Statutum de Mercatoribus,” designated likewise the Statute of Acton -Burnell. The church is cruciform, and in the pointed style of the -fourteenth century, having a wooden tower in the centre. Near this -village is the seat of Sir Edward Joseph Smythe, Bart. and the grounds of -the park are beautiful and extensive. - - - -THE VILLAGE OF ATCHAM, - - -Three miles and a half east of the town, is delightfully seated on the -banks of the Severn, over which there is a handsome bridge of seven -arches, designed by Mr. Gwyn, a native of Shrewsbury. - -The etymology of the place seems to be derived from _Eatta_, a Saxon -saint to whom the parish church is dedicated. It was anciently called -Ettingeham and Attingesham. In the Saxon period it belonged to the -college of St. Alkmund, Shrewsbury; and when that church was annexed to -Lilleshull Abbey, the advowson of Atcham made part of the transfer. - -The present edifice consists of a nave without aisles; the predominant -styles of the windows may be attributed to the fifteenth century; some of -them are decorated with stained glass. The interior contains monuments -belonging to the family of Burton, of Longner, removed hither on the fall -of St. Chad’s church, Salop {219} - -The basement of the tower is early Norman, and flanked with broad shallow -buttresses. The portal at the west is a deeply recessed round arch, -resting on five slender pillars on each side; above is an early lancet -window, over which is another of smaller dimensions, bisected by a short -pillar into narrow lights. The superstructure of the tower (like many -others in the vicinity) is of the sixteenth century, and was once crowned -with eight pinnacles, the remains of which are now only visible above the -frieze of the battlements. - -The village is remarkable as being the birth-place of Ordericus, the -earliest Salopian historian. He was the son of Odelerius Constantius, of -Orleans, a chief councillor to Roger de Montgomery, born (as he informs -us) Feb. 16, 1075, “and on the Easter Sunday following was baptised by -Ordericus the priest at Ettingesham, in the church of St. Eatta the -Confessor,” and received the rudiments of his education under Siward the -priest, in the little church of St. Peter, Shrewsbury, on the site of -which the stately Benedictine abbey was afterwards built. Ordericus’s -great work is entitled an “Ecclesiastical History,” but is more properly -a record of the events of his own time. - -Atcham once had the privilege of a fair, and the inhabitants were styled -burgesses. - -Opposite the inn, a pleasant drive leads through the village of -Uffington, by which Shrewsbury may be regained. Continuing our course -for half a mile on the London road, we pass over TERN BRIDGE, below which -the river Tern fells into the Severn. On the left, ATTINGHAM HALL, the -elegant mansion of the Right Hon. Lord Berwick, with its lofty portico, -forms a bold and imposing object, and its beautiful situation near the -confluence of the rivers Tern and Severn, imparts an additional charm to -the surrounding scenery. To the right is - - - -WROXETER. - - -This village was the metropolis of the _Cornavii_, a tribe of Britons -settled in Shropshire and some of the adjoining counties at the period -when Julius Cæsar first invaded this island. On the subjugation of the -Britons this place became the flourishing Roman station of -Uriconium,—Wriconium, synonymous with the adjoining Wrekin, -{221}—subsequently Wrekincester, and by contraction Wroxeter. - -It is situated on a gentle eminence above the Severn, possessing those -advantages which the Romans generally kept in view, viz. dryness of soil, -extensive prospect, and the protection of a river. From the almost -impenetrable obscurity in which its early history is involved, no -adequate idea can now be formed of the pristine state of this interesting -place. - -The town was undoubtedly defended by a wall and ditch, the boundaries of -which are still to be traced throughout a circumference of three miles. - -According to the best writers, we find that the Romans entirely quitted -Britain about the middle of the fifth century, on which the Britons -continued to occupy this place (deserted by their former masters) until -they were ejected from it by the superior force of the Saxons sometime in -the following century, and obliged to find a retreat among “the alders -and willows which hid the foot and the thickets which crowned the summit -of the peninsular knoll, now covered by the capital of Shropshire.” - -How long the fugitives remained at Caer Pengwern unmolested it is now in -vain to enquire, but this appears certain, that they were soon followed -thither by the unsparing Saxons, and compelled to seek another refuge in -the mountain fastnesses of Wales. - -There can be no doubt but the fall of Wroxeter was, as Leland asserts, -“the cause of the erection of Shrewsbury;” and from the blackness of the -soil in some parts its destruction seems to have been by fire; many of -the coins also, and other remains discovered here, exhibit marks of their -having been subjected to that element: in fact, the savage ferocity of -the Saxon conquerors in their warfare, together with their ascendancy -over the Britons, was so determinate and effectual in the demolition of -those stations which they held, that little surprise need be excited so -few vestiges remain of the Roman provinces in this kingdom, or of the -many works of art which that nation doubtless left on their departure. - -The Saxons on their invasion wielded fire and sword unsparingly. It was -their practice, on gaining possession of a town or city, immediately to -level it with the ground; and it is recorded, that one of these -triumphant barbarians boasted that in three days after he has galloped -his horse without stumbling over the spot on which the captured station -stood. - -Wroxeter will be regarded by the antiquary with curious attention, as -affording matter of much investigation: indeed it is impossible, even in -imagination, to look upon its fruitful fields, teeming in the rich -luxuriance of culture,—once covered with a flourishing Roman town,—now -presenting only the ruined remnant of a wall, without sensibly feeling -the instability of human greatness, and exclaiming with Cowper— - - We turn to dust, and all our mightiest works - Die too. The deep foundations that we lay, - Time ploughs them up, and not a trace remains. - We build with what we call eternal rock:— - A distant age asks where the fabric stood; - And in the dust, sifted and search’d in vain, - The undiscoverable secret sleeps. - -The ruined wall still remaining is about 70 feet long and 28 feet high, -and is composed of layers of rough stones and large flat tiles at -alternate distances. It is arched, and the interior thickness is formed -with rubble and small pebbles thrown in with the cement or mortar, which -is become harder than stone. This venerable relic is thought to have -been a portion of the fortification of the town. Other conjectures are, -that it might have been connected with the Prætorium, or have been part -of a bath, which was discovered at no great distance from it; but after a -lapse probably of more than 1600 years, and where evidence is wanting to -guide us, its original purpose must remain in uncertainty. - -Tesselated pavements, sepulchral stones with inscriptions, urns, -skeletons in deep graves and encased in red clay, several moulds for -coining money, seals of different kinds, an Apollo (four inches in -length) elegantly cast in lead, with other figures, and many curious and -interesting remains of Roman manufacture, have been discovered whilst -excavating on this site. A stone altar, found near the vicarage in 1824, -is thus inscribed— - - BONO REI - PVBLICAE - NATVS. - -Great quantities of copper coins, and many of gold and silver, are -constantly turned up by the plough. The copper coins are chiefly of the -lower empire. - -The town was situated on the line of the Watling Street road, in the -direction towards Stretton. In the ford across the Severn the -foundations of a bridge may be discerned at low water. - -Near this spot a discovery was made at the end of the last century, which -no doubt denoted the burial-place of some family of distinction resident -at this colony. It consisted of an enclosure of large stones a little -below the surface of the ground, within which were deposited three large -urns composed of a beautiful transparent green glass, each having one -handle elegantly ribbed, and severally containing burnt bones and a glass -lachrymatory. Some earthen urns, an earthen lamp, and a few Roman coins, -were also found at the same place, the whole being covered with large -flat stones. - -The village church, on the accession of Henry II. was granted to the -canons of Haghmond Abbey, and is an edifice deserving of attention, -displaying in its construction several specimens of architecture between -the earliest Anglo-Norman and the incongruous reparations of the last -century. The building consists of a nave and chancel; in the latter is a -curious doorway, and the former seems to have had originally a south -aisle. The tower was probably erected in the reign of Henry the Eighth. - -In the church are three handsome altar tombs, bearing full-length cumbent -effigies of Lord Chief Justice Bromley, who died May 15, 1555, and Isabel -his wife; Sir Richarde Newporte, Knyghte (Queen’s Counsel in the Marches -of Wales), and Margaret his wife, only daughter of the Lord Chief -Justice; and John Berker, of Haghmond Abbey, Esq. and Margaret his wife, -second daughter of Sir Francis Newport, Knt. who died in 1618. - -In 1824 these were judiciously restored and beautified. In addition to -which there are mural monuments, with inscriptions, commemorative of -Francis, Viscount Newport and Earl of Bradford, who died Sept. 19, 1708; -also the Hon. Andrew Newport, his brother; and a tablet to the memory of -Andrew Newport, _utter_ barrister, who died in 1611. - -The vicinity of Wroxeter affords a delightful display of pastoral -beauty,—the bright river, with every other requisite for the finest -landscape scenery. - -Five miles distant is the famed Shropshire mountain, - - - -THE WREKIN, - - -the proud monarch of the plain, whose bold arching head rises to the -altitude of upwards of 1300 feet. A pathway from the London road leads -through plantations to its summit, from whence the admirer of nature may -luxuriate in the enjoyment of a magnificent prospect, whilst he -contemplates all that variety of hill and dale, wood, rock and stream, -studded with mansions and villages, stretched like a map throughout a -circumference of nearly 400 miles. - -This NATURAL HEART OF SHROPSHIRE forms a conspicuous feature in the -landscape from all parts of the surrounding country; while it is -universally regarded, from the king in his palace to the peasant in his -cottage, as the centre towards which the best wishes and affections of -the heart converge, in that well-known convivial sentiment which -possesses the advantage over other toasts,—in being old without age, -inasmuch as it is unchanged by time, and never out of place— - - “ALL FRIENDS ROUND THE WREKIN.” - - * * * * * - - * * * * * - - JOHN EDDOWES, PRINTER, SHREWSBURY. - - - - -ADDITIONS. - - -ST. MARY’S.—The patronage of this living has been vested by the Lord -Chancellor in the following Trustees:—The Lord Bishop of Lichfield, the -Viscount Clive, Sir A. V. Corbet, Bart. J. A. LLoyd, Esq. and R. A. -Slaney, Esq. The qualification for the Minister remains as before. - -ABBEY CHURCH.—The font, supported upon the upper part of an ancient cross -(page 74), has been lately removed to St. Giles’s Church. - -ST. GILES’S CHURCH.—Pews have been erected on the South side of this -edifice, to correspond with those on the North. - -ST. GEORGE’S.—A district has lately been assigned to this church, -comprising the township of Frankwell. - -COUNTY HALL.—Owing to a recent alteration in the arrangement of offices, -it will be necessary at page 115, line 13, to _dele_ to the left, and -read to the right; and, at line 15, for right read left; line 17, for -resting over, read towards High Street is an Entrance, &c. - - - - -ERRATA. {227} - - -Page 13, for SCOTT read DYER; p. 17, for Thomson read Cowper; p. 24, in -note, for opposite read towards; p. 47, l. 25, for munficence read -munificence; p. 58, l. 11, for surmounts read surrounds; p. 60, l. 13, -for carved read coved; p. 93, l. 27, for five read four; p. 99, for Henry -Edwards read Hugh Edwards; p. 127, for four read eight; p. 179, l. 15, -for Sir Philip read Sir Henry. - - - - -FOOTNOTES. - - -{10} Our ancestors petitioned the king for permission to convert the -monastery of Salop into “a college, or free school.” - -{16} This was an essential characteristic of the castellated structure -of the Danes, although subsequently adopted by the Normans. - -{18} The town had originally three principal gates, besides several -postern or smaller gates, and was from an early period encompassed with a -wall, strengthened by towers in those parts most liable to be attacked. -Within the last sixty years many parts of the walls have been built upon, -and the gates and towers, with one exception, fallen a prey, not so much -to the ruthless power of time, as to the less sparing enemy—modern -improvement. - -{23} Mr. Heylin appears to have been connected with this town, having -previously founded a lectureship in St. Alkmond’s church, to which he -afterwards added the tithe of Coton. In 1630 he was at the expence of -printing the Welsh Bible in octavo, a form more suitable for domestic -reading than the two former folio editions. - -{24} The site of St. Michael’s church cannot be satisfactorily stated. -Messrs. Owen and Blakeway consider that Speed’s map represents it as -standing near the river towards the area of the present county gaol; but -this must be a mistake, for Speed intended to shew the bastion tower of -the castle. The church being probably only a very small structure, and -designed by its founder (Roger de Montgomery) as a place of worship for -those who inhabited the keep, it doubtless stood, as its name implies, -WITHIN the walls (similar to the one at Ludlow Castle), and was taken -down about 1605, before Speed’s map was published. The present detached -part of St. Julian’s parish in the direction of Castle Foregate formed -its parochial boundary. - -{26} Earl Hugh was slain by an arrow in Anglesea, in the month of July, -1098, and received sepulture seventeen days after in the cloisters of -this abbey. Twenty years ago, a plain stone coffin was discovered near -the south-west door of the present church, which probably enclosed his -remains. - -{36} He was a gentleman of warm piety and extensive benevolence; as a -scholar and linguist he was scarcely surpassed by any of his -contemporaries. He meditated a History of Shropshire, which, had it been -completed, it is probable the world would have seen, from his diffusive -acquirements and general antiquarian knowledge, a very superior -topographical work. - -{39} Page 25. - -{44} About the close of the 12th century, companies of masons, -designers, or architects, as well as workmen, were incorporated under the -especial patronage of the Pope, and associated together as a fraternity -of free and accepted masons, under certain regulations and peculiar -privileges. - -{48} This is now a principal entrance to the church; the jambs of the -door-way are in the debased style prevalent during the last century, and -the obtuse arch seems originally to have formed the head of a window. - -{52} In 1831 was published Mr. Blakeway’s SHERIFFS OF SHROPSHIRE, -illustrated with their armorial bearings, and notices genealogical and -biographical of their families, edited with great judgment by a reverend -gentleman of this town, a particular friend of the deceased. It is -perhaps the first work in which what may be termed the genealogy and -biography of a county has been distinctly treated, and evinces in a high -degree the patient and diligent research of its talented author, whose -valuable life we have reason to deplore was not spared to publish a -History of the County of Salop, for which his talents and extensive local -knowledge rendered him so eminently qualified. - -{63} These possessions were about 150 acres. - -{82} A notice of the improvements in this church will be found in vol. -100, part II. of the Gent. Mag. communicated by the author of these -Memorials. - -{101} The scholars, in grateful remembrance of the kindness of their -preceptor, presented him (on his taking leave of the School, June 7th, -1836,) with a massive silver candelabrum, of three hundred guineas value, -raised by their united contributions,—the subject a vine branch with -Genii pressing the fruit, and bearing an appropriate inscription; in -acknowledging which Dr. Butler said, under your future head master and -his able coadjutor (the Rev. G. I. Welldon), and my long-tried and -much-valued friends, the assistant masters, may you pursue your career -with the same success as those who have gone before you; and to my best -wishes for your welfare and happiness, let me add, as my last official -words, “FLOREAT SALOPIA!” - -{103} Of the one hundred and twenty first-rate honours recorded here, -the present learned head master (Dr. Kennedy) claims more than -one-twelfth for his own individual share. - -{106} The old liberties of the borough extended a few miles round -Shrewsbury. A large part of this ancient boundary, possessing a property -of the annual value of fifty thousand pounds, and which formerly used to -contribute to the rates levied in connexion with the town, is now taken -from the liberties and annexed to the county. - -{107} A merchant guild is supposed to have been established as a -voluntary association as early as the year 1128; for, among other customs -granted by Henry III. there was one by which no person who was not a -member of the “merchant guild” could exercise merchandise in the borough -without the consent of the burgesses. - -{110} A more extended account of this pageant, by the author of -“Memorials of Shrewsbury,” will be found in the Gentleman’s Magazine for -July, 1833. - -{111} Mayor. - -{114} The former courts were 44 ft. 9 in. by 31 ft. - -{116} This structure was 111 feet by 51; its exterior feature was a bold -pediment, supported by four three-quarter columns of the Ionic order. - -{149} Vide Hazlitt’s Literary Remains. - -{151} An office instituted when preaching was not frequent, and granted -to the Minister of St. Mary’s in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. - -{162} On the visit of Charles the First to this venerable mansion, -Thomas Lyster (among other distinguished Shropshire loyalists) presented -that Prince with a purse of £500. His grandson, Richard Lyster, Esq. -represented this town and county in parliament for a period of forty-five -years, and was known among his countrymen by the familiar appellation of -‘THE SENATOR.’ The somewhat feudal cast of his establishment, and most -ample scale of ancient English hospitality, are pleasingly recorded in -the “Sheriffs of Shropshire.” - -{176} The sloping bank above this friary was given to and occupied by -the Monks of Shrewsbury Abbey, as a VINEYARD, as early as the reign of -Henry the Third. Its situation on the northern side of the river, -inclining southward and open to the east, renders it well adapted to the -purpose. - -{179} This ferry leads to a walk which commands a bold view of the -town, and communicates with the Abbey-foregate. It conducts also to the -Underdale Tea Gardens—a quiet rural retreat. - -{186} The town is supplied with most excellent water for drinking from a -spring called Broadwell, which rises near Kingsland, and is conveyed by -pipes under the river to a reservoir in one of the lodges at the -principal entrance to the Quarry Walk, being conducted from thence to -conduits placed in different parts of the town for the convenience of the -inhabitants. - -{187} A detail of the Admiral’s splendid services will be found in the -“Biographia Britannica,” and other similar works. - -{188} To the left of the turnpike is the Baschurch road, on which, at -the distance of one mile, are the beautiful Gates leading to Berwick -House; a short distance beyond is the neat structure of Berwick Chapel, -re-built at the close of the 17th century.—The town may be regained by a -walk through Almond Park, rich in sylvan beauty. - -{190} In 1604 a great plague began in Salop, on the 2d of June, and -raged until April following, in which time 657 persons had died of it in -the several parishes, and the streets were so little frequented as to be -covered with grass. The two bailiffs died.—MS. Chronicle. - -{196} Vide page 6. - -{200} Pure muriate of soda does not contain any water in its -crystallized state except what lodges in the interstices of the crystals, -therefore the weight of that, as it exists in the water, would not exceed -the weight above given; 30 grains muriate of lime indicate 51 grains -crystallized muriate, 8.81 grains muriate magnesia indicate 15½ grains. - -{204} “Why, brother Wilful of Salop, you may be as short as a SHREWSBURY -CAKE, if you please.”—Way of the World, 1735, by W. Congreve. - -{212} Mr. Williams possessed acquirements of no ordinary description, -and was an accomplished scholar. He had studied much of botany, was an -excellent draughtsman, and in early life devoted considerable attention -to the study of antiquities, particularly those connected with his native -county. His collection of materials relating to the History of -Shropshire were most extensive, and although he did not favour the world -with any publication shewing the result of his researches, he has, -nevertheless, left behind a surprising proof of his perseverance in -original drawings of all the churches, parochial chapels, monastic -remains, castles, monuments, and tablets, in Shropshire, besides sketches -of most of the mansions of the nobility and gentry in the same county. - -{215} Etbrighton, a Saxon manor in Domesday. - -{216} Mr. Thomas Barker, author of a work on angling, was born at this -village. From the singular vein of humour which runs through his book, -he appears to have been a good-humoured gossiping old man. In the -dedication he states, “I have written no more but my own experience and -practice, and have set forth the true ground of angling, which I have -been gathering these three-score years; having spent many pounds in the -gaining of it, as is well known in the place where I was born and -educated, which is Bracemeale, in the liberty of Salop, being a freeman -and burgess of the same city.”—‘Barker’s Delight, or the Art of Angling,’ -was published a few years after Izaak Walton’s Complete Angler (1659), to -which Mr. Barker appears to have contributed the greater part of what is -said on Fly Fishing. - -{219} Longner, the ancient seat of the Burtons, is about one mile N.W. -of this village, and forms part of the parish of St. Chad. In 1558 it -was the residence of Edward Burton, Esq. a zealous protestant, who -expired suddenly with Joy on hearing of the accession of Queen Elizabeth. -His body was refused interment in the church of St. Chad by the popish -priest, owing to some stipulations made either in his will, or by the -zeal of his surviving friends, that the popish service should not be -celebrated over his remains, which were in consequence buried in his own -garden, over which a plain altar has been erected, with a quaint poetical -inscription. - -{221} A great battle seems to have been fought near this hill; for in -1833 a quantity of spear heads and celts, formed of brass, or some other -composition of copper, and of rather elegant workmanship, were found near -the Wrekin Farm. - -{227} The errata has been applied to this transcription.—DP. - - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMORIALS OF SHREWSBURY*** - - -******* This file should be named 62621-0.txt or 62621-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/2/6/2/62621 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Memorials of Shrewsbury - being a concise description of the town and its environs, adapted as a general guide for the information of visitors and residents - - -Author: Henry Pidgeon - - - -Release Date: July 12, 2020 [eBook #62621] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMORIALS OF SHREWSBURY*** -</pre> -<p>Transcribed from the 1837 John Eddowes edition by David Price, -email ccx074@pglaf.org</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/cover.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Book cover" -title= -"Book cover" - src="images/cover.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<h1>MEMORIALS<br /> -<span class="GutSmall">OF</span><br /> -SHREWSBURY:</h1> -<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">BEING -A</span></p> -<p style="text-align: center">CONCISE DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN</p> -<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">AND ITS -ENVIRONS,</span></p> -<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">Adapted -as</span></p> -<p style="text-align: center"><b>A General Guide</b></p> -<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">FOR -THE</span></p> -<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">INFORMATION -OF VISITORS AND RESIDENTS.</span></p> -<p style="text-align: center"><span -class="GutSmall">BY</span></p> -<p style="text-align: center"><b>HENRY PIDGEON</b>.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"><span -class="GutSmall"><b>ILLUSTRATED WITH THIRTY-SIX -ENGRAVINGS.</b></span></p> - -<div class="gapshortline"> </div> -<p style="text-align: center"><span -class="GutSmall">“FLOREAT SALOPIA.”</span></p> - -<div class="gapshortline"> </div> -<p style="text-align: center"><b>Shrewsbury:</b><br /> -<span class="GutSmall">PRINTED BY JOHN EDDOWES, -CORN-MARKET.</span></p> -<p style="text-align: center">1837.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"><a name="pageiii"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. iii</span><span class="GutSmall">TO -THE</span></p> -<p style="text-align: center"><b>Rev. William Gorsuch Rowland, -M.A.</b></p> -<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">MINISTER AND -OFFICIAL OF</span><br /> -<span class="GutSmall">THE ROYAL PECULIAR OF ST. MARY’S, -SHREWSBURY,</span><br /> -<span class="GutSmall">AND PREBENDARY OF LICHFIELD,</span></p> -<p style="text-align: center">AS A HUMBLE BUT SINCERE TESTIMONY -OF RESPECT,<br /> -FOR HIS ZEALOUS AND MUNIFICENT EXERTIONS<br /> -IN RESTORING AND HEIGHTENING<br /> -THE BEAUTIES AND ARCHITECTURE OF SEVERAL OF THE<br /> -CHURCHES IN THIS TOWN,<br /> -AND FOR HIS<br /> -UNWEARIED ATTENTION TO MANY OF OUR<br /> -PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS,</p> -<p style="text-align: center"><b>The Memorials of -Shrewsbury</b></p> -<p style="text-align: center">ARE VERY RESPECTFULLY -INSCRIBED,</p> -<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">BY</span><br -/> -HIS OBEDIENT SERVANT,</p> -<p style="text-align: right"><i>HENRY PIDGEON</i>.</p> -<h2><a name="pagev"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -v</span>PREFACE.</h2> -<p>A little Manual adapted to assist the enquiring stranger in -his perambulation around Shrewsbury having been long required, an -ardent attachment to his native place, and compliance with the -wishes of many friends whose opinions demand respect, are -circumstances that have induced the present writer to undertake -the task, in which he has been materially assisted by the -possession of several volumes of <span class="smcap">Salopian -Annals</span>, or memoranda of all the principal events that have -occurred in the town for several past years, the collection -whereof has afforded him a pleasing recreation in those scraps of -time snatched from active professional avocations—periods -wherein every one has his favourite pursuit, and in which any -individual may, by prudently employing them for his own pleasure, -not unfrequently render himself useful to others.</p> -<p>It may be further stated that the present design is purely -patriotic; and whilst no expence has been spared in the numerous -embellishments, candour and truth (combined with accuracy and -conciseness) have been carefully observed throughout a more -extensive field of local information and graphical illustration -than has heretofore been cultivated in any previous work adapted -as a Guide through the Metropolis of Shropshire,—many -subjects being now classified and brought under general notice -for the first time.</p> -<p>The Author would therefore hope that the <span -class="smcap">Memorials of Shrewsbury</span> will be found to -afford a comprehensive and faithful illustration to the stranger -of whatever may be important in this ancient and beautifully -situated town, as well as useful and deserving the confidence of -his fellow-townsmen in particular, to whom he offers them (to use -the words of our great lexicographer) “in the spirit of a -man that has endeavoured well,” and with the utmost -sincerity for the best interests of his native place.</p> -<p style="text-align: right">H. P.</p> -<p><i>High-street</i>, 1836.</p> -<h2><a name="pagevi"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -vi</span>ILLUSTRATIONS,</h2> -<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">FROM -DRAWINGS MADE EXPRESSLY FOR THIS WORK.</span></p> -<table> -<tr> -<td></td> -<td></td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span -class="GutSmall">PAGE.</span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Vignette View of Shrewsbury</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">—</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">2.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Gateway of Castle</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page15">15</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">3.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Remains of Old St. Chad’s Church</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page28">28</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">4.</p> -</td> -<td><p>New St. Chad’s Church</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page33">33</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">5.</p> -</td> -<td><p>St. Mary’s Church, <span -class="GutSmall">N.W.</span></p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page38">38</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">6.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Monument to Rev. J. B. Blakeway, and North Transept</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page49">49</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">7.</p> -</td> -<td><p>St. Julian’s and St. Alkmond’s Churches</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page59">59</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">8.</p> -</td> -<td><p>The Abbey Church</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page67">67</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">9.</p> -</td> -<td><p>St. Giles’s Church, <span -class="GutSmall">N.W.</span></p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page78">78</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">10.</p> -</td> -<td><p>— Interior View</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page81">81</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">11.</p> -</td> -<td><p>St. Michael’s Church, Castle-foregate</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page85">85</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">12.</p> -</td> -<td><p>St. George’s Church, Frankwell</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page88">88</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">13.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Trinity Church, Coleham</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page92">92</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">14.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Royal Free Grammar School</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page99">99</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">15.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Town Arms</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page105">105</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">16.</p> -</td> -<td><p>The County Hall</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page112">112</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">17.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Market House</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page117">117</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">18.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Lord Hill’s Column</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page122">122</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">19.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Howard-street Butter and Cheese Market</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page129">129</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">20.</p> -</td> -<td><p>The Infirmary</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page131">131</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">21.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Drapers’ Almshouses</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page138">138</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">23.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Shearmen’s Hall</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page150">150</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">23.</p> -</td> -<td><p>The Old Tower</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page153">153</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">24.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Initial Letter of a Charter from Edw. III. to the -Austin’s Friars</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page154">154</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">25.</p> -</td> -<td><p>The Welsh Bridge</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page156">156</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">26.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Portal of Rowley’s Mansion</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page158">158</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">27.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Gateway of Council House</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page161">161</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">28.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Drapers’ Hall, Interior View</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page164">164</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">29.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Ancient Timber House</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page167">167</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">30.</p> -</td> -<td><p>The Grey or Franciscan Friary</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page174">174</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">31.</p> -</td> -<td><p>The Waterlane Gateway</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page177">177</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">32.</p> -</td> -<td><p>The New Theatre</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page182">182</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">33.</p> -</td> -<td><p>The Royal Baths, Coton-hill</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page186">186</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">34.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Stone Pulpit</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page194">194</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">35.</p> -</td> -<td><p>The White Hall Mansion</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page198">198</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">36.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Battlefield Church</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page209">209</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -</table> -<h2><a name="pagevii"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -vii</span>CONTENTS.</h2> -<table> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p><b>Shrewsbury</b>—Situation; foundation; -etymology.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">ANCIENT -HISTORY.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>State under the Britons; Stephen besieges the Castle; town -taken by Llewelyn; Royal visits; Supreme Courts of Justice; the -Great Parliament; Battle of Shrewsbury; Owen Glendower; Birth of -Richard and George Plantagenet; Proclamation of Henry VII.; -Tradition of the phrase “Proud Salopians;” Pageant in -honour of Sir Henry Sidney; Council House the residence of King -Charles I.; King James II.; Loyally of the Inhabitants; Visit of -their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Kent and Princess -Victoria.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page13">13</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">THE CASTLE AND -FEUDAL STATE.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Foundation and early account of the Fortress; Interior -Gateway; General Description; Watch Tower; Prospect from the -Castle Mount; Gates and Towers; Feudal Picture of the Town.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page18">18</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">PRESENT STATE OF -THE TOWN.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Distant appearance; salubrity; Domestic architecture; Act -for Improving Streets; Gas Company; Population, &c.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page21">21</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">ECCLESIASTICAL -BUILDINGS.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Prefatory observations; Saxon foundations, lands, -possessions, &c.; cursory notice of the Conventual Churches, -Ancient Chapels, Chantries, and appropriate decoration of the -Sacred Buildings.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">Old St. Chad’s -Church</span>.—Fall and account of the ancient edifice, -dawning light of the Reformation, first exercise of the -Protestant Religion, Bishop’s chancel, present remains of -the fabric.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">New St. Chad’s</span>.—Site, -architectural description, chancel window, monuments, bells, -lecture, &c.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">St. Mary’s</span>.—Interesting -variety of the architecture, south portal, noble effect of the -interior, genealogical window of stained glass, stone organ -screen, biographical notice of the Rev. J. B. Blakeway, -transepts, curious font, chantry chapels, monuments, bells, -flight from the spire, &c.</p> -<p><a name="pageviii"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -viii</span><span class="smcap">St. -Alkmond’s</span>.—Demolition of the ancient church, -modern edifice, eastern window, elegance of spire, first mayor of -Shrewsbury, &c.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">St. Julian’s</span>.—Present -fabric, stained glass, monument to Archdeacon Owen, &c. free -lecture.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">St. Michael’s Parish within the -Castle</span>.—Ancient history and trial respecting, -parochial limit, etymology of Derfald.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">The Abbey Church</span>.—General -description, fine west window, north portal, solemnity of the -interior, armorial bearings and figures in stained glass, organ -screen, font, ancient cumbent effigies, altar tombs and -monuments, old painting of the Crucifixion.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">St. Giles’s -Church</span>.—Antiquity of the structure, primitive -appearance of the interior, stained glass, sepulchral stones, -reflections and prospect from the cemetery.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">St. Michael’s -Church</span>.—Western view, consecration, stained glass, -&c.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">St. George’s -Church</span>.—Consecration, interior decoration, old -hospital, free chapel.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">Trinity Church</span>.—Foundation -and description.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">Religious Houses</span>.—Chapel of -St. Mary Magdalene, Spel-cross.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">Dissenting Meeting -Houses</span>.—Roman Catholic Chapel.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page96">96</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">ROYAL FREE GRAMMAR -SCHOOL.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Endowment, its state and pre-eminence, present to Dr. -Butler from his pupils, appointment of Dr. Kennedy, annual -prizes, royal visits, school buildings, chapel, library, -exhibitions, &c.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page104">104</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">LOCAL GOVERNMENT, -CHARTERS, &c.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Municipal Body; Ancient Seal; Sessions; Courts of Record -and Request; Members of Parliament; Trading Companies; Merchant -Guild; Pageant of Shrewsbury Show.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page111">111</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">PUBLIC -BUILDINGS.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>County Hall, Courts of Justice, Guild Hall and Exchequer, -Market House and Statue of Richard Duke of York, Old Welsh -Bridge, Old East or Stone Bridge, English Bridge, Lord -Hill’s Column and fine panoramic prospect, Town and County -Gaol, Poultry Market, Butter and Cheese Markets.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page130">130</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: center">CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.</p> -</td> -<td></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Introduction; the Salop Infirmary, Eye and Ear Dispensary, -St. Giles’s Hospital, St. John’s Hospital, -Drapers’ Almshouses, St. Chad’s Almshouses, House of -Industry, Humane Society; the Prison, Parochial, and Town -Charities.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page143">143</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center"><a -name="pageix"></a><span class="pagenum">p. ix</span>CHARITY -SCHOOLS.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Bowdler’s or the Blue, Millington’s, -Allatt’s, Public Subscription, Lancasterian, St. -Mary’s and St. Michael’s, St. Chad’s -Ladies’, Infant, and Sunday Schools.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page147">147</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">WALK WITHIN THE -WALLS.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Introduction; Market Square, Mercers’ Hall, the -Sextry, Shearmen’s Hall, Maypole Festivities, Occupation of -Shearmen, Wyle Cop, Residence of the early British Settlers and -the Saxons, Lion Hotel, Beeches Lane, Town Walls, the Crescent, -Ancient Tower, St. John’s Hill, the Austin Friars, Initial -Letter of a Charter from Edward III. the Welsh Bridge, Quays and -Warehouses, Mardol, Rowley’s Mansion, Hill’s Lane, -ancient Houses, the Bell Stone, Shutt Place, Shoplatch, the -Stalls, Ireland’s Mansion, Pride Hill, the High Cross, -Castle Street, St. Nicholas’s Chapel, the Council House, -Court of the Marches of Wales, Loyalty of Thomas Lyster, -Esq. Farquhar’s Recruiting Officer, Character of -Salopians, the Drapers’ Hall, Dogpole, Church Street, -Jones’s Mansion, view of an ancient timber House, Butcher -Row, Fish Street, Belmont, Judges’ House, ancient College -of St. Chad, Vaughan’s Place, Talbot Hotel.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page169">169</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">LITERARY AND -SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Natural History and Antiquarian Society, Subscription -Library, Choral Society, Horticultural Society, Mechanics’ -Institution, Newspapers.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page171">171</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">WALK WITHOUT THE -WALLS.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Shrewsbury Quarry, Remains of Amphitheatre, Kingsland, -Stury’s Close, Grey or Franciscan Friary, Site of Alderman -Jones’s Mansion, Dominican Friary, ancient Vineyard, the -Water Gate, account of the Entrance of the Parliamentary Army, -River-side Walk, Derfald, Shrewsbury Park, Murder of Prince -Alfhelm, Canal, Prospect from the Gaol Terrace, Howard-street, -Colossal Figure of Hercules, Dana Walk, Breidden Hills, the Town -Walls.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page181">181</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">RECREATIVE.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>The Drama, Theatre, Circus, Horse Races, Assembly Room, -Salop Hunt, Angling, Aquatic Excursions.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page185">185</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">THE -SUBURBS—COTON HILL.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Water Works, Spring Water, the Royal Baths, Birth-place of -Admiral Benbow, Coton Hill, Site of St. Catharine’s Chapel, -Berwick, Ancient Course of the Severn, View from Cross Hill.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page189">189</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center"><a -name="pagex"></a><span class="pagenum">p. x</span>CASTLE -FOREGATE.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Linen Factory, Canal (communicating with London, -Liverpool, &c), Coal Wharf.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page180">180</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">SUBURB OF -FRANKWELL.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Ancient Domestic Habitations, the Mount Fortification, -Site of Cadogan Chapel and Cross, Monk’s Eye, Township of -Shelton, Glendower’s Oak.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page192">192</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">THE ABBEY -FOREGATE.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Merivale, Monastic Remains, Ancient Stone Pulpit, -Monks’ Infirmary, Guest Hall or Hospitium, Site of Chapter -House, Earliest authorized Assembly of British Parliament, the -New Road, Reflections suggested by its formation, Abbey Precinct, -Destructive Fire, the White Hall, Race-ground, Lord Hill’s -Column, Sutton Spa, Analysis of the Water, Anglo-Norman -Church.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page201">201</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">SUBURB OF -COLEHAM.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Situation; Iron Foundry, notice of the Menai Bridge.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page201">201</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">TRADE AND -MANUFACTURES.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Welsh Webs and Flannel, Communication between London and -Dublin, Railway, Thread and Linen Yarns, Malting Business, -Restoration and Perfection of the ancient art of Glass-staining, -Shrewsbury Cakes, Brawn, eulogy of the Ale, Markets, Fairs, and -Navigation of the Severn.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page207">207</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p style="text-align: center">THE ENVIRONS.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Variety of landscape scenery; Battlefield Church, -Grinshill, Hawkstone, Haughmond Abbey, Haughmond Hill, Village of -Uffington, Albrighton, Albright Hussey, Meole, Ancient Encampment -at Bayston, Condover, Pitchford, Acton Burnell, Atcham, Longner, -Attingham, Wroxeter (the Roman Uriconium), The Wrekin.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page225">225</a></span></p> -</td> -</tr> -</table> -<p style="text-align: center"><a name="pagexii"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. xii</span> -<a href="images/pxiib.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Vignette View of Shrewsbury" -title= -"Vignette View of Shrewsbury" - src="images/pxiis.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<blockquote><p>Admir’d <span class="smcap">Salopia</span>! -that with venial pride<br /> - Eyes her bright form in Severn’s ambient -wave;<br /> -Fam’d for her loyal cares in perils tried;<br /> - Her daughters lovely and her striplings brave.</p> -<p style="text-align: right"><span -class="smcap">Shenstone</span>.</p> -</blockquote> -<h2><a name="page1"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1</span>SITUATION.</h2> -<blockquote><p>“A precious stone set in silver.”</p> -<p style="text-align: right"><span -class="smcap">Shakspeare</span>.</p> -</blockquote> -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> Town of <span -class="smcap">Shrewsbury</span> stands nearly in the centre of -the county of which it is the capital; it is situated on two -gentle declivities, and is formed by the river Severn into a -peninsula, somewhat in the shape of a horse-shoe, having an -isthmus not more than three hundred yards across.</p> -<p>A variety of opinions have prevailed as to who made choice of -the commanding situation and natural retreat which the town -affords, as well as to the period of its foundation.</p> -<p>It has been stated to be of far prior date than the ancient -Uriconium (the present Wroxeter), from the circumstances that it -was the custom of the Romans to throw up stations, and to make -roads parallel or adjacent to British camps. One thing -however is certain, that no vestige of that imperial people has -been discovered within its precinct.</p> -<p><a name="page2"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 2</span>The truth -is conceived to be, that Shrewsbury was occupied or built some -time in the fifth century, after the destruction of the Roman -Uriconium, as a place where the fugitive Britons might find an -asylum from the devastations of their Saxon invaders.</p> -<h2>ETYMOLOGY.</h2> -<p>The Britons gave the place the appellation of <i>Pengwern</i>, -the Saxons <i>Scrobbes-byrig</i>; both are synonymous, importing -a fenced eminence covered with shrubs. The ancient Welsh -called it, and do so to this day, <i>Ammwythig</i>, signifying -“The Delight.” The Normans -<i>Sciropesberie</i>, and subsequently <i>Salopesberie</i> and -<i>Schrosbury</i>, from whence is formed its present name -Shrewsbury and Salop. The antiquary Leland thus beautifully -accounts for its name:</p> -<blockquote><p>Edita Pengwerni late fastigia splendent,<br /> -Urbs sita lunato veluti mediamnis in orbe,<br /> -Colle tumet modico; duplici quoque ponte superbit:<br /> -Accipiens patria sibi lingua nomen ab alnis.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>which may be thus translated—</p> -<blockquote><p>Built on a hill, fair <span -class="smcap">Salop</span> greets the eye,<br /> -While Severn like an eel curves gliding by:<br /> -Two bridges cross the bark-conveying stream,<br /> -And British alders gave the town a name.</p> -</blockquote> -<h2>ANCIENT HISTORY.</h2> -<p>When the Britons had become somewhat settled in their new -possessions, they built themselves a city, which (as has been -already stated) was called <i>Pengwern</i>. After its -destruction under Cynddylan, we find Pengwern inhabited <a -name="page3"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 3</span>by a King of -Powis,—the capital of his kingdom, and ranking among the -twenty-eight cities of Britain.</p> -<p>Brochwel Yscithrog, or the tusked, King of Powis, whom the -Saxon Chronicle calls the Earlderman of the Britons, retained -possession of a great part of Shropshire, and fixed his residence -in Pengwern, about 617; his palace being where the ruins of Old -St. Chad’s Church now stand.</p> -<p>Eliseg, his sixth descendant, recovered the portion of his -“inheritance of Powis” from the Saxons, by the sword, -during the reign of the Mercian King Offa, which continued from -755 to 794, but being unable to maintain it, he surrendered by -treaty to the Saxons, whereby Pengwern lost the dignity of a -metropolis.</p> -<p>Of the state of our town under its native princes we have no -information: the arts of civil life, in which the Britons had -improved, under their Roman masters, were probably lost during -the almost constant warfare of three centuries. This we may -reasonably conclude was the case, from the appellation given to -it by the new possessors, <i>Scrobbes-byrig</i>, a fenced -eminence, but overgrown with shrubs.</p> -<p>Nothing is related of the town during the period it formed a -portion of the Mercian territory, though the place doubtless -experienced the many revolutions of that kingdom.</p> -<p>In the reign of Alfred, Scrobbes-byrig was numbered among the -principal cities of Britain. Ethelred the Unready, having -been pursued by the Danes, kept his Christmas here in 1006, and -in the next year resigned the government of Mercia unto his -son-in-law Ædric, who made this town his occasional his -occasional residence.</p> -<p>Under the Saxon monarchs the town must have been of importance -to possess the privilege of a mint, which it <a -name="page4"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 4</span>retained for a -considerable period, many coins of which are extant.</p> -<p>Ædric Sylvaticus, or the Forester, in conjunction with -Owen Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales, laid siege to the town in -1068; but William the First sending two earls to the relief of -the castle, the rebels burned a portion of the town and withdrew: -the king however speedily revenged the insult with much -slaughter.</p> -<p>The Saxons were removed from all places of trust by the Norman -Conqueror, who rewarded his principal adherents with portions of -their lands. He conferred upon his kinsman, Roger de -Montgomery, the earldom of Shrewsbury, to which he added a grant -of the town and ample domains in the county.</p> -<p>In 1138, the nation being divided as to Stephen’s right -to the crown, that monarch laid siege to the castle. Fitz -Alan, the governor, favouring the Empress Maud, fled, and -Stephen, who had conducted the siege in his own person, was so -exasperated at the obstinacy of the besieged, who resolutely held -out nearly four weeks, that he put ninety-three of them to an -ignominious death.</p> -<p>From the border situation of Shrewsbury to a hostile country, -it was considered of much importance to our early monarchs, and -consequently became the scene of many a negotiation and contest -with the Welsh, whose frequent incursions were most -harassing.</p> -<p>The Princes of North Wales having been long uneasy neighbours -to the Kings of England, John thought it expedient to hold a -council here to make a treaty with Llewelyn the Great, the then -Prince of Wales. In the year 1202 the king gave Llewelyn -his natural daughter Joanna in marriage; and, as if in gratitude -to his father-in-law, he soon recommenced hostilities against -him, and marched with a numerous body of his vigorous subjects <a -name="page5"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 5</span>from the -Cambrian wilds to Shrewsbury, which he succeeded in taking -without much resistance.</p> -<p>The town, however, did not long continue under the subjection -or possession of its new masters, they being dispossessed by -Henry III. who on more than one occasion kept his court here.</p> -<p>In 1234, Richard, Earl Marescall, being told that Henry -intended to seize him when he repaired to parliament, fled to -Llewelyn, and they both appeared before Shrewsbury with a -powerful army, and burned part of the suburb of Frankwell, -returning to the mountains laden with the spoil of the -inhabitants, many of whom they had barbarously murdered.</p> -<p>Henry III. with his forces again marched to Shrewsbury in -1241, where he remained a fortnight, when David relinquished all -lands Llewelyn had seized from the late king in the war between -him and his barons.</p> -<p>In 1256, Henry, wishing probably to attach himself in the -favour of the burgesses, in order to make their town a bulwark -against Wales, granted them two new charters on the same day; he -likewise summoned his army here; and in 1260 great activity was -evinced in fortifying the town, in consequence of a rupture which -was speedily expected from the aggression of the Welsh -Prince.</p> -<p>Edward the First resided here in 1277, whither he transferred -some of the supreme courts of justice. In 1282 David joined -Llewelyn, who again took up arms, which compelled Edward to -return to Shrewsbury with his courts, where he had assembled his -army, which remained some months.</p> -<p>David, the last of the princes of the Ancient Britons, having -at length become a prisoner in the hands of Edward in 1283, was -sent in chains to Shrewsbury, where a parliament <a -name="page6"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 6</span>was assembled -to meet Sept. 30th, being “<i>the first national convention -in which the Commons had any share by legal -authority</i>.” Twenty cities and towns, Shrewsbury -being one, were directed to send two deputies, and every high -sheriff to send two knights. It is supposed they met in the -chapter house, or refectory of the abbey, where David was tried -and cruelly condemned to be dragged at a horse’s tail -through the streets of Shrewsbury, and to be afterwards hung and -cut down while alive, his heart and bowels burnt before his face, -his body quartered, and his head sent to London to accompany that -of his brother Llewelyn.</p> -<p>Revenge, it may be said, is sweet; but how often does it occur -that the gratification of resentment over a fallen enemy -transmits his encomium to posterity.</p> -<p>The town, being strongly fenced, was visited by Edward in -1322, where he was honourably received by the inhabitants, who -went out to meet him clad in armour; he continued here for -several days, about which time many of the nobility had assembled -to witness a grand tournament.</p> -<p>Richard II. Jan. 29th, 1397–8, adjourned his parliament -from Westminster to Shrewsbury, which was denominated the -“<span class="smcap">Great Parliament</span>,” from -the important state affairs which were transacted in it. -The cross of Canterbury was brought here, upon which the lords -spiritual and temporal were sworn to observe and keep all the -statutes which were then made. Chester was on this occasion -made a principality, and several oppressive laws enacted, which -afterwards formed some of the accusations against Richard by -Henry of Bolingbroke, when he usurped the throne.</p> -<p>The revolution which placed Henry of Lancaster on the throne -seems to have met the approbation of the inhabitants; for when -the Duke ostensibly proceeded into Wales to please Richard, he -was nobly received here.</p> -<p><a name="page7"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 7</span>After the -death of Richard, Owen Glendower, concerning whose birth the muse -of Shakespeare says—</p> -<blockquote><p>“The frame and foundation of the earth<br /> -Shak’d like a coward”—</p> -</blockquote> -<p>asserted his pretensions to the two ancient principalities of -North Wales and Powis, and pursued his claim with undaunted -courage, added to a strong resentment for the contumely with -which his demands, public and private, had been treated by the -successor of the unfortunate Richard, to whom he was a firm and -unshaken friend. On the 20th of September, 1400, he boldly -caused himself to be proclaimed Prince of Wales, and infested the -Marches with a strong body of Welshmen, who maintained a warfare -against the governing authorities. In this he was -subsequently supported by the Earl of Northumberland, headed by -his son, the valiant Henry Percy, surnamed Hotspur, who being -assisted by the Earl of Worcester and a numerous force of -Scottish troops under the command of Earl Douglas, agreed to meet -Glendower at Shrewsbury. Henry, being made acquainted with -their movements, hastened with all speed to secure this important -town, and arrived here July 21st, 1403, just in time to hoist his -banner on the walls, and thereby secure the stability of his -crown, having but a few hours’ march of Percy and his -advanced guard.</p> -<p>On the morning of the 22d, the memorable <span -class="smcap">Battle of Shrewsbury</span> commenced; the -skirmishing began under the walls of the Castle Gates, but the -principal scene of action was about three miles distant, at a -place called <span class="smcap">Battlefield</span>. The -armies on both sides amounted, it is said, to 40,000, and the -contest was severe and sanguinary. Fate, however, decided -that the efforts of Henry against this powerful faction should be -victorious—a faction, which, having contributed to place -him on the seat of <a name="page8"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -8</span>government, now sought to dethrone him. The king is -recorded to have fought with an ardour worthy the crown he was -defending, and the spear of his warlike son, the future hero of -Agincourt, did wonders. In fact it was one of the most -decisive battles recorded in early English history.</p> -<p>Upwards of 2000 nobles, knights, and gentlemen, and 6000 -private soldiers, are said to have fallen in the engagement.</p> -<p>Most of the dead bodies were buried on the spot, over whom -Henry, in gratitude for his victory, piously erected a college of -secular canons to pray for the souls of the slain. The more -distinguished were interred in the Dominican and Augustine -Friaries of the town.</p> -<p>The gallant Hotspur was discovered among the slain covered -with wounds, and dispatched to Shrewsbury, where Henry satiated -his revenge by the ignominy of dismembering the lifeless remains, -the head and quarters of which were exhibited over the gate at -York, and afterwards delivered to his wife for interment. -The Earl of Worcester, Sir Richard Vernon, &c. were -beheaded.</p> -<p>Shakspeare, in his Henry the Fourth, has given vividness and -immortality to this battle, and humourously peopled it with -heroes of the most fanciful description.</p> -<p>The Cambrian chieftain, Glendower, with an army of 12,000 men, -marched as far as Oswestry, and was by some means unable to -arrive in time to join in the action; for had he reached ere the -king’s forces were victorious, the result might have -terminated very differently for the king and his valiant -son. Gough states a tradition, that Glendower proceeded to -Shelton, and ascended a lofty oak (the trunk of which is still -remaining near the Oswestry road), from whence he might -reconnoitre and gain the earliest intelligence of the event of -the battle.</p> -<p><a name="page9"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 9</span>The royal -blood of this noble Welshman was in no respect chilled by the -defeat of his confederates, for in the next year he carried his -ravages even to the gates of the Welsh Bridge, destroying much of -the suburb of Frankwell and several townships in the -vicinity.</p> -<p>In 1460, Edward IV. marched with an army of 23,000 men from -this town to the battle of Mortimer’s Cross, and he chose -this place for the residence of his queen, where she was -delivered of her second and third sons, Richard and George -Plantagenet.</p> -<p>On the landing of the Earl of Richmond, afterwards King Henry -the Seventh, at Milford Haven, in August, 1485, he determined to -march for Shrewsbury. On his arriving at the Welsh Bridge -he found the place in a posture of defence, the gates closed -against him, and the bailiffs within ready to give their -answer. On his demanding admittance as their rightful king, -a curious MS. records that the chief bailiff, Thomas Mytton, -replied—“He knew no king but Richard, whose bailiffs -he and his fellow were, upon which he swore that the earl should -not enter there but over his belly.” On this, -Richmond returned and passed the night at Forton Heath, where his -army was encamped. He, however, succeeded the next morning; -and Mr. Mytton, in order to conform with the letter of his oath, -laid himself down on the ground, and permitted the earl to step -over him, whereupon the portcullis of the bridge was drawn up, -and the earl with his retinue were admitted, to the general joy -of the inhabitants, notwithstanding it went <i>against the -stomach</i> of the “stoute wyse gentilman, Maister -Myttoon.”</p> -<p>In Shrewsbury Richmond was first proclaimed king, and raised -soldiers, but left the bailiffs to pay them. He lodged in a -house on the Wyle Cop (three doors below the Lion Inn), from -whence he marched to Bosworth Field, <a name="page10"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 10</span>where the engagement took place which -deprived Richard III. of his throne and his life.</p> -<p>Henry VII. visited the town in 1490, with his queen, and son -(Prince Arthur), and kept the feast of St. George in the -collegiate church of St. Chad; they made another visit in 1495, -and were sumptuously entertained by the corporation.</p> -<p>At the general dissolution of monasteries, in 1539, it appears -to have been the intention of Henry VIII. to form thirteen new -bishopricks, <a name="citation10"></a><a href="#footnote10" -class="citation">[10]</a> one of which was to have been at -Shrewsbury. Browne Willis states that John Boucher, Abbot -of Leicester, was actually nominated “<span -class="smcap">Bishop of Shrewsbury</span>;”—hence the -tradition, as our historians remark, so gratifying to the pride -of every true Salopian, that their forefathers had the offer of -having their borough converted into a city, but that they -preferred inhabiting the <span class="GutSmall">FIRST OF -TOWNS</span>.</p> -<p>1551. The spring of this year was fatally distinguished -by the commencement of a dreadful epidemic in this town, called -the “sweating sickness.”</p> -<p>During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Henry Sidney, -President of Wales and Lord Deputy of Ireland, visited this town -almost annually, and was always received with the highest -respect; his celebrated son, Sir Philip, was educated at our Free -Schools. Sir Henry, as Knight of the Garter, kept the feast -of St. George here, in 1581, with great splendour. He -marched in state from his residence, the Council House, to St. -Chad’s Church, the stalls of which were decorated with the -arms of the knights, divine service being “sung by -note.” On the 1st of May, the four masters of the -schools entertained his lordship with a costly <a -name="page11"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 11</span>banquet, and -on the following day three hundred and sixty of the scholars -assembled in the “Gay,” several of whom addressed him -in speeches. He departed on the 8th, by water, -“taking his bardge under the Castle,” when another -pageant took place on the island near the Horse Ferry.</p> -<p>Shrewsbury was a favourite retreat for Charles I. during the -troublous period of his reign, and he was frequently received by -the inhabitants with every feeling of loyalty and -attachment. He established a mint here, and kept his court -at the Council House. In the year 1642, he drew up his army -on a spot afterwards called the “<span -class="smcap">Soldier’s Piece</span>,” and which is -now used as a race ground, where he delivered an harangue to them -and the chief gentlemen of the county, who had in his time of -need rendered him pecuniary assistance and service.</p> -<p>The town was taken by storm in 1644–5, under the command -of Colonels Mytton and Bowyer, of the parliamentary army, the -inhabitants experiencing all the vicissitudes of a siege, in the -plunder of their goods and destruction of property. An -attempt was made, in 1654, to surprise it, in favour of the -restoration of monarchy, by Sir Thomas Harries, but the scheme, -although deeply planned, was frustrated.</p> -<p>James II. in the month of August, 1687, kept his Court at the -Council House, and was attended by many of the nobility and -gentry of the county, on which occasion, it is said, “the -conduits ran with wine,” and other most liberal -entertainments and rejoicings welcomed the royal guest. At -the same time he graciously received a purse of one hundred -guineas, which was presented to him by the munificence of the -corporation.</p> -<p>The inhabitants on many occasions have been thus foremost to -testify loyalty to their sovereign.</p> -<p><a name="page12"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 12</span>In 1715 -their adherence to the House of Hanover was strongly manifested -by voluntarily raising a body of horse and foot for the -protection of the town, and placing the walls and gates (then -entire) in a position of defence.</p> -<p>At the time also apprehensions were entertained of the -Pretender and the Scottish invasion in 1745, a regiment of foot -was raised here for the service of government; and, subsequently, -a militia and cavalry have been embodied.</p> -<p>In the year 1832, the most lively enthusiasm was displayed on -the entrance into Shrewsbury of Her Royal Highness the Duchess of -Kent and the Princess Victoria, heir presumptive to the British -throne.</p> -<p>From the foregoing cursory glance given to the leading events -of our ancient history, it may be necessary to remark that it -would have been less difficult to the writer could he have -extended his observations as to particular occurrences; but the -nature of the work being a notice of the <i>present</i> rather -than of the <i>past</i> state of the place, brevity of -description in this, as in some other portions, will be -indispensible.</p> -<p>But the numerous features of historical and antiquarian -interest which the town affords, its <span -class="smcap">British</span> and <span class="smcap">Saxon</span> -state, the destiny of its <span class="smcap">Norman -Earls</span>, its <span class="smcap">Siege by Stephen</span>, -the <span class="smcap">Union of Wales</span> to the English -Crown, the Formation of Parliaments, the <span -class="smcap">Battle of Shrewsbury</span> and Fall of Hotspur, -the numerous <span class="smcap">Visits of Royalty</span>, the -Entrance and <span class="smcap">Proclamation of Henry</span> -VII. the Commencement of the <span class="smcap">Civil War</span> -in the Time of Charles I. and Meetings of the <span -class="smcap">Council of the Marches of Wales</span>, while -forming constituent parts of our national story, are especially -connected with this town, and will be found amply detailed in the -valuable History of Shrewsbury published by the late Reverend -Messrs. Owen and Blakeway, where everything difficult in civil -and ecclesiastical localities <a name="page13"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 13</span>is explained in a scientific and -masterly manner, and with the greatest discrimination.</p> -<h2>THE CASTLE.</h2> -<blockquote><p>“But time * * *<br /> -Has seen this ruin’d pile complete,<br /> -Big with the vanity of state.”</p> -<p style="text-align: right"><span class="smcap">Dyer</span>.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The civil history of the town being somewhat connected with -the Castle, a notice of that edifice will properly occupy this -place.</p> -<p>After the Earldom of Shrewsbury had been given by William the -Conqueror to Roger de Montgomery, one of his first works was the -building of a stately Castle, or, rather, the enlargement of a -previous one, which it is certain existed here anterior to the -Norman Conquest, on that narrow isthmus where the town is -undefended by the river.</p> -<p>This is supposed to have taken place about the year 1070, on a -site previously occupied by fifty-one houses, and was a measure -of necessity, in order to restrain the hostile incursions of the -Welsh, to which the town, from its situation near the borders, -was frequently exposed; and having probably received injury from -the siege two <a name="page14"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -14</span>years previous, and being also limited in size, was -inadequate to the dignity of a wealthy earl, who enjoyed the -feudal supremacy of nearly the whole of Shropshire.</p> -<p>The Castle, in succession, was possessed by the two sons of -the founder, until the reign of Henry I. when it became a royal -fortress, under the custody of a constable.</p> -<p>Edward I. introduced a new style of castellated architecture; -the stronger portion, therefore, now remaining was probably -erected by direction of that monarch, being in the style -generally adopted during his reign.</p> -<p>On the union of Wales it was no longer important as a place of -defence, and the building began gradually to decay, although in -the civil war it was repaired and garrisoned for the king, and -afterwards escaped the almost general demolition of royal -fortresses by its surrender to the parliamentary army in -1645.</p> -<p>The Castle subsequently reverted to the burgesses, who -resigned it to Charles II. and that monarch presented it to Lord -Newport. It is now the property of the Duke of Cleveland, -and is occupied by J. C. Pelham, Esq. one of the members for the -borough.</p> -<p>The present remains have a picturesque effect, and are -composed of a deep red stone. They consist of the keep, the -walls of the inner court, and the great semi-circular arch of</p> -<h3>THE INTERIOR GATEWAY,</h3> -<p>from which the last Norman Earl of Shrewsbury issued with the -keys of the gates to make submission to Henry I. Although -the masonry of the jambs of this noble gateway is singularly -irregular, it has, through a period of nearly 800 years, retained -its strength unshaken amid the ravages of time and war. It -was formerly defended by a portcullis and towers.</p> -<p><a name="page15"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 15</span>The -keep consists of two large round towers, embattled and pierced, -connected by a square building of about 100 feet in length.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p15b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Gateway of Castle" -title= -"Gateway of Castle" - src="images/p15s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>The interior is much altered from its original appearance, and -now forms a handsome private residence, modern pointed windows -having been placed therein when it was repaired by Sir William -Pulteney, about the close of the last century. The drawing -room is supposed to have been <a name="page16"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 16</span>the guard chamber in the time of -Charles I. The castle still retains one mark of its ancient -dignity, for in the area of the inner court the knights of the -shire are nominated, and when the result of the election is -declared, are girt with their swords by the Sheriff. On the -north-east side of this court is a postern, built in the time of -Charles I.; and the battlements of the western wall have an -interior platform, and are curiously pierced with narrow eyelets -for the convenience of the cross-bowmen, around which time has -wove its ivy mantling.</p> -<p>On the south side within the court is a mount, <a -name="citation16"></a><a href="#footnote16" -class="citation">[16]</a> rising upwards of 100 feet above the -bed of the river. The summit is surrounded by a wall, and -crowned by a watch tower, which forms a bold and beautiful -object. The tower was rebuilt during the repair of the -castle, from a design and under the superintendance of the late -Thomas Telford, Esq. who was then residing with Sir William -Pulteney. In this elevated tower Mr. Telford wrote the -beautiful poem to his countryman Burns, and thus alludes to its -site near the river Severn:—</p> -<blockquote><p>No distant Swiss with warmer glow<br /> -E’er heard his native music flow,<br /> -Nor could his wishes stronger grow<br /> - - -Than still have mine;<br /> -When up this ancient mount I go<br /> - - -With songs of thine.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The sides of the mount are richly planted, and the summit -commands a view of unrivalled beauty, with the most extensive -amphitheatre of mountains of which perhaps the island can boast, -inclosing within its wide sweep an eminently fertile, finely -wooded, and beautifully diversified champagne country. -’Tis here that, after the eye has wandered from object to -object, from the foreground to the most <a -name="page17"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 17</span>extreme -distance with delight, that the words of <i>Cowper</i> naturally -occur, as if written upon such as spot—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Oh, scene surpassing fable, and yet -true!”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>It is now difficult to form an adequate idea of the original -extent of this fortress; but it is certain that the castle -formerly occupied a much larger space than is now marked out by -its walls, the ballium (or outer court) extending within the town -probably as far as the water-lane. The northern and north -eastern sides were defended by a deep ditch or vallum -encompassing the base of the bold and natural elevation on which -the castle stands, having a communication with the river, but it -is now filled up and forms a thoroughfare.</p> -<p>The remains of a duplicate rampart is distinguishable on the -western side; and other outworks and towers might have stood near -the front of the present county gaol, the Severn being a -protection towards the east.</p> -<blockquote><p>In auncient tyme our elders had desire,<br /> -To buyld their townes on steepe and stately hill;<br /> -To shewe that as their hearts did still aspyre,<br /> -So should their works declare their worthie will.</p> -<p style="text-align: right"><span -class="smcap">Churchyard</span>.</p> -</blockquote> -<h2>THE FEUDAL STATE</h2> -<p>of Shrewsbury carries with it associations of imposing -importance;—seated upon a hill rising from a noble ambient -river, it was thus doubly fortified by nature; while art, with <a -name="page18"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 18</span>no unsparing -hand, had raised an almost impregnable rampart of stone, flanked -by many towers and gates. <a name="citation18"></a><a -href="#footnote18" class="citation">[18]</a></p> -<p>The imagination will thus readily picture <span -class="smcap">Caer Pengwern</span>: the woody eminence, with its -curiously wrought buildings and domestic mansions ranged in -irregular groups, surmounted by lofty spires and embattled -turrets, irradiated by the effulgence of the meridian sun, or -catching the last smiles of his departing ray,—a commanding -castle on the narrow isthmus, with its stately towers and -formidable walls, frowning in august pride high above the -surrounding plain,—solitary convents, crested with -pinnacles and gables, in the verdant meadows on the margin of the -rolling stream, over which strongly fortified bridges with -massive portcullis and towers, afforded a defence from hostile -invaders.</p> -<p>This faint retrospect must kindle in the mind considerations -of the progress and fluctuations of science and taste,—the -character, condition, and habits of men in these -times,—with the works done “in their days and in the -old time before them;”—while the contemplation -thereof cannot fail of exciting gratitude to the <span -class="smcap">Supreme Giver</span>, for the security we -<i>now</i> enjoy, without the precaution of barbican and -battlements.</p> -<h2><a name="page19"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -19</span>PRESENT STATE.</h2> - -<blockquote><p> “A -lovely spot<br /> -For all that life can ask! Salubrious! mild!<br /> -Its hills are green; its woods and prospects fair;<br /> -Its meadows fertile!”</p> -<p style="text-align: right"><span class="smcap">Cottle’s -Alfred</span>.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The hold situation of the town, girdled by the health-bearing -breezes of a beauteous river, with an eminence crown’d by -aspiring temples,</p> -<blockquote><p>That upward cast their golden vanes, and shine<br -/> -A bright tiara,</p> -</blockquote> -<p>gives a striking and majestic appearance to Shrewsbury.</p> -<p>When seen from most parts of the adjacent country the town -forms a delightful object,—a gem encircled by a -paradise;—new beauties and charming views being continually -produced by the pre-eminent spires and towers; whilst the effect -in the background is much heightened by an extensive range of -noble mountains, which diversify the prospect, and add interest -to the rich and picturesque landscape.</p> -<p>The exterior of the town is in most parts separated from the -river by a portion of garden and meadow ground, skirted by a line -of genteel houses, which command delightful prospects of the -adjoining country.</p> -<p>As a place of residence Shrewsbury has long been considered -highly eligible, from its elevated and beautiful situation, the -salubrity and general healthfulness of its air, the natural -dryness of the soil, the agreeable drives and promenades by which -it is surrounded, and (what is equally important) the excellence -and purity of its water.</p> -<p><a name="page20"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 20</span>Many -parts of the environs have been justly recommended as suitable to -valetudinarians who may visit Shrewsbury from North Wales and -other parts, to avail themselves of the able medical assistance -which it possesses, and who are, as it were, enticed by the -agreeableness and variety of the scenery to a salutary and -necessary exercise.</p> -<p>The interior of the town presents several curious and -interesting specimens of the domestic architecture of our -ancestors; the projecting bay windows, fanciful antique carving, -mouldings, &c. display a singular appearance in contrast with -the more modern habitations, in many of which the taste of their -respective proprietors is effectively evinced.</p> -<p>The streets, as in most other ancient towns, are irregularly -formed, and several of them, it must be admitted, are -inconveniently narrow. Many important alterations have -however been made, under the provisions of an act obtained in -1821, for removing obstructions, watching, lighting, and the -general improvement of the town, the powers of which are vested -in trustees, who must be persons occupying property rated at -£50 per annum to the street assessment, or worth -£2000 above reprizes and resident within the town, or -resident and receiving rents to the amount of £80 per -annum, or non-resident and receiving rents from premises within -the town worth £100 per annum, from whom a committee of -management of nine individuals is selected, three of whom retire -annually by rotation; and it has been remarked by one of the -first members of this committee, “<i>that if judiciously -chosen and faithful to their trust</i>, <i>our town may in time -assume its due place among the cities of the -empire</i>.”</p> -<p>In 1820 a company was established, with a capital of -£8000, raised in 800 shares of £10 each, to supply -the town with gas.</p> -<h2><a name="page21"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -21</span>POPULATION.</h2> -<p>The following official return of the population of the five -parishes in Shrewsbury is according to the census ordered by -government in 1831:—</p> -<table> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: center">Parishes.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Houses.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Males.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Females.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Total.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>St. Chad</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1583</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">3496</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">4224</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">7720</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>St. Mary</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1080</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">3087</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">3033</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">6120</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>St. Alkmond</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">356</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">820</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">958</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1778</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>St. Julian</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">676</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1413</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1583</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">2996</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Holy Cross & St. Giles</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">337</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">656</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">821</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1477</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="4"><p style="text-align: right">Total population</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">20,091</p> -</td> -</tr> -</table> -<h2>ECCLESIASTICAL BUILDINGS.</h2> -<p>The public structures devoted to the service of Religion are -among the first objects that excite the attention, whilst by many -they are not unfrequently looked upon with peculiar feelings of -veneration and regard.</p> -<p>If the source of this feeling were traced, it would be found -connected with those principles and associations which every one -who acknowledges an all-bountiful Creator, or wishes well to his -country, would desire to cherish.</p> -<p>Shrewsbury, we learn, did not receive much improvement from -its original inhabitants, the Britons; yet what it lost in -nominal consequence as the metropolis of a kingdom it ultimately -gained in external splendour and real importance: this is -evinced, among other proofs, by the erection of five -ecclesiastical foundations, all of which were anterior to the -Norman conquest, and originated in Saxon piety.</p> -<p><a name="page22"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 22</span>Among -the earliest of these may be mentioned <span class="smcap">Saint -Chad’s</span>, which is ascribed to one of the Mercian -kings, who is said to have converted the palace of the kings of -Powis into a church, about 780.</p> -<p>A dean and ten prebendaries or secular canons, with two vicars -choral, under the patronage of the Bishop of Lichfield, are -stated to have been placed here at a very remote period.</p> -<p>Under the Anglo-Saxon monarchs this college possessed twelve -hides of arable land, or as much as paid for 1440 acres to what -would be now called the land-tax; which, by proper cultivation, -appears from the Survey of Domesday to have increased more than -double. Other estates were subsequently added, which form -now only insulated districts of the parish.</p> -<p>By the act of 1 Edward VI. 1547, the College was dissolved, -the tythes and profits at that time being of the clear yearly -value of about £50. The buildings and estates were -leased out, reserving only the small stipend of £4. 6s. 8d. -for the parish minister, charged on the dean’s prebendal -estate at Onslow.</p> -<p>Although a lease was granted of the tythes, yet only two years -afterwards the greater portion of them were appropriated by -Edward VI. in aid of the Free Grammar School.</p> -<p>In 1579 Queen Elizabeth granted the remaining possessions of -the deanery to Sir Christopher Hatton; but the corporation and -parish seem to have presented to the living from 1583 until -1658–9, from which time the patronage has rested with the -crown.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">Saint Alkmund’s Church</span> owes -its foundation to the piety of Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the -Great, soon after she succeeded to the sovereignty of the Mercian -territory in 912.</p> -<p>Her great nephew, King Edgar, being of the race of <a -name="page23"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 23</span>the -Northumbrian Prince Alkmund, increased the original endowment, -and (under the direction of Archbishop Dunstan) appointed a dean -and ten prebends.</p> -<p>In the reign of Edward the Confessor, this College possessed -eleven manors, nine of which, containing upwards of 4000 acres, -it retained at the Norman survey.</p> -<p>After experiencing many of the fluctuations common to -property, sacred or otherwise, during the dark ages and under -lawless government, these estates were at length alienated in -1147, at the particular request of the Dean, Richard de Belemis, -and with the consent of King Stephen and Pope Eugenius III. to -the monastery of Lilleshull, which the dean’s brother, -Philip de Belemis, had just commenced, the Prebendaries however -taking care to reserve to themselves a life interest in their -several stipends.</p> -<p>The college being thus early dissolved and deprived of its -valuable estates, fell into a humble vicarage, which remained in -the patronage of the monks of Lilleshull until the dissolution, -when it lapsed to the crown, in whose hands it continued until -1628, when Rowland Heylin, Esq. <a name="citation23"></a><a -href="#footnote23" class="citation">[23]</a> of Pentreheylin, -Montgomeryshire, purchased the advowson for the “feoffees -of St. Antholines,” a society instituted for founding -lectureships and augmenting small livings in populous towns.</p> -<p>This society having been publicly denounced, and the orthodoxy -of its principles questioned, the ministers of King James, in -1663, directed its suppression, when the living again reverted to -the crown.</p> -<p><a name="page24"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 24</span><span -class="smcap">The Collegiate Church of St. Mary</span> is -considered to have been founded by King Edgar, about the year -980; although, from the extensive limits of the parish, it is -probable this was only the renovation of an older church -destroyed by the ravages of the Danes, who, in revenging the -slaughter of their predecessors, not only exercised their warfare -against mankind, but even those works of ingenuity and labour -which were consecrated to devotion did not escape their -desolating hand.</p> -<p>In the time of Edward the Confessor, this college possessed an -estate of nearly 1300 acres, “for the maintenance of a -dean, seven prebendaries, and a parish priest,” which -appears to have diminished in point of cultivation and consequent -value at the survey of Domesday, in which, however, the -“vill of Chorleton,” held in conjunction with the -church of St. Juliana, is unnoticed, having probably been -acquired afterwards.</p> -<p>At the suppression of colleges the revenue was £42, when -Edward VI. appropriated the greater part of the tithes of this, -as he had done those of St. Chad’s parish, to the bailiffs -and burgesses, for the foundation of a free school.</p> -<p>This church from very remote times has been a “royal -free chapel,” and thereby exempt from the jurisdiction of -the bishop.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">The Church of St. -Juliana</span>.—Little is known of this, further than its -origin was Saxon, and that it held in the Norman survey -“half a hide of land in the city.” Soon after -this period it became distinguished as a rectory and royal free -chapel, and was early united to the church of St. Michael within -the Castle, now destroyed. <a name="citation24"></a><a -href="#footnote24" class="citation">[24]</a></p> -<p><a name="page25"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 25</span>In -1410, Henry IV. annexed both of these churches to his college at -Battlefield; and being thus deprived of its property, St. -Julian’s became no better than a curacy.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">The Church of St. Peter</span>, called -“<i>The Parish of the City</i>,” was a small -structure of wood, built about Edward the Confessor’s time, -by Siward, a Saxon nobleman, and stood on the site where Earl -Roger de Montgomery founded a large Benedictine Abbey in 1083, -which was re-dedicated to St. Peter, and endowed with a small -portion of the vast possessions granted by the Conqueror to the -first Earl of Shrewsbury.</p> -<p>This venerable warrior being seized with illness while -residing in the castle he had lately built -here,—apprehensive, too, that his dissolution might not be -far distant,—and “to be sure of -paradise,”—determined, with the consent of his -countess Adelissa, to retire from the world, and become a monk -within the confines of his own monastery.</p> -<p>This resolution he acted upon July 14th, 1094: and dying three -days afterwards, obtained honourable interment in the “Lady -Chapel” of that pile he had zealously commenced, and,</p> -<blockquote><p>“By skill of earthly architect,”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>nearly completed, to the service and honour of his Maker.</p> -<p>Hugh, his second son, surnamed Probus for his courage, and -Goch (or the Red) by the Welshmen from his complexion, <a -name="page26"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 26</span>succeeded to -the earldom, and in filial affection came with his barons to the -abbey, to visit his father’s tomb; when he confirmed all -former endowments, and gave many additional privileges, to which -several of his barons added estates. <a name="citation26"></a><a -href="#footnote26" class="citation">[26]</a></p> -<p>Scarcely a century had elapsed from its foundation, before the -monastery possessed “seventy-one distinct grants of manors -or lands, twenty-four churches, the tithes of thirty-seven -parishes or vills,” besides many extensive immunities of -various descriptions, and an almost matchless collection of -unique relics, in addition to the remains of that popular -“martyr,” St. Wenefreda, which the monks procured, -after many tedious negociations, from the priests and inhabitants -of Gwytherin, in the county of Denbigh, in order to increase the -celebrity of their house. After their translation hither, -they were enshrined with much pomp near the high altar, and -attracted multitudes of pilgrims, whose benefactions greatly -contributed to the emolument of the church.</p> -<p>The abbot of this monastery had the honour of a seat in -Parliament, and the authority of a bishop within his house. -Of the 608 monasteries that existed in this kingdom at the time -of the dissolution, it is recorded “the Abbey of Shrewsbury -was 34th in opulence.”</p> -<p>According to the valor of 26th Henry VIII. the annual income -was £572. 15s. 5d. a revenue considered equal to about -£4750 of modern currency.</p> -<p>The surrender of this abbey took place 24th January, -1539–40, when the estates and buildings immediately passed -into lay hands.</p> -<p><a name="page27"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 27</span><span -class="smcap">St. Giles’s Church</span> was built early in -the reign of Henry I. for the service of a hospital of lepers, -which stood at the west end of the present edifice.</p> -<p>It is supposed to have become parochial about the middle of -the fifteenth century, on being united with the parish of Holy -Cross within the monastery, the abbot and convent, no doubt, -having previously possessed the patronage and appointment of -master.</p> -<p>Subsequent to these, were erected three large conventual -churches and eight smaller chapels, all of which shared the fate -of the dissolution; and of their remains the ceaseless operations -of time and the hand of man have spared but few traces.</p> -<p>Several chantries, altars, &c. were also maintained by -private donations in these churches; and whether we consider the -munificence, the piety, or the superstition which raised them, we -must respect the fervency towards a good cause, and regret that -so much zeal was blessed with such little knowledge of the truths -which, under our reformed religion, we now so happily enjoy.</p> -<p>From this cursory view of the piety of our forefathers, it may -be justly asserted, that in the present day there is no -provincial town in the kingdom, considering its extent, where so -much has been done to promote the cause of religion, and to give -a suitable effect to buildings set apart for Divine Worship, as -in Shrewsbury. Those individuals, therefore, whose taste -and liberality have mainly contributed to the accomplishment of -this praiseworthy object, are deserving of the best thanks of -their cotemporaries; and to them posterity will owe a debt of -admiring gratitude, in those pleasing feelings of awe which -insensibly steal o’er the mind while contemplating the -architectural beauties of <a name="page28"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 28</span>temples dedicated to <span -class="smcap">Him</span>, whose greatness as far exceeds the -capacity of human thought as doth the immensity of space the -smallest atom.</p> -<p>Our survey of these interesting buildings will commence, in -chronological arrangement, with</p> -<h3>THE OLD CHURCH OF ST. CHAD.</h3> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p28b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Remains of Old St. Chad’s Church" -title= -"Remains of Old St. Chad’s Church" - src="images/p28s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<blockquote><p>“In midst of towne fower Parish Churches -are,<br /> -Full nere and close, together note that right:<br /> -For they doe seeme a true love knot to sight.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>These quaint lines of our native poet Churchyard, with <a -name="page29"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 29</span>the -illustrative vignette, describe the situation which the spacious -cruciform church of Old Saint Chad occupied on the southern -eminence of the town.</p> -<p>The period of its early foundation has been already alluded -to, and the nearly total destruction of the fabric was occasioned -by workmen having very injudiciously commenced under-building -(contrary to the advice of an experienced architect,) one of the -pillars that supported the large central tower, which had shrunk -considerably from graves having been carelessly made too close to -its foundations. The slight vibration occasioned by the -chimes proclaiming their matin tune at four o’clock, on -July 9th, 1788, caused the decayed pillar to give way, when the -ponderous tower rent asunder, and with the heavy peal of bells it -contained, falling on the roofs of the nave and transepts; -crushed those parts of the edifice into ruinous desolation, -producing a scene of horrid confusion more easily to be imagined -than described. The masons had a narrow but fortunate -escape, and were only waiting at the adjoining house of the -sexton for the keys of the church, to pursue their misdirected -scheme of economy.</p> -<p>The event excited a great consternation in the town, and the -exemplary vicar, the Rev. Thomas Stedman, addressed an -affectionate pastoral letter to his parishioners on the -improvement that should be made of so remarkable an interposition -of Providence, which occurred at a time when not a single person -was within the reach of any injury from it.</p> -<p>Before the church fell, apprehensions were entertained that -some fatal consequences might follow, from the appearances of -decay in different parts of the building; these fears, however, -were comparatively slight, and no immediate danger -expected. But after the event took place it was <a -name="page30"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 30</span>found that -the shattered state of the edifice was such, that instead of -exciting surprise that it should fall when it did, there were -just grounds for amazement that it should have stood so -long. Had the decayed state of the building been thoroughly -understood before it gave way, the probable opinion would have -been, that whenever the disaster happened, it would be at a time -when the effects of it might have been dreadful to many;—as -when the greatest weight was in the galleries, or when the tower -had been shaken by the motion of the bells. Only a month -previous, 3000 persons, it is considered, were assembled in the -church to witness the interment of an officer under military -honours.</p> -<p>The old church was a majestic edifice, erected in the reign of -Henry III. in the style when the round Norman arches were giving -way to the beautiful lancet style. In 1393 the roofs and -tower, with the wooden spire covered with lead, were destroyed by -a calamitous fire, occasioned by the negligence of a plumber -while repairing the leads. The damage being considerable, -Richard II. granted to the inhabitants a remission of their -fee-farm rent, and certain other taxes, towards the -re-edification.</p> -<p>From the fragments of Saxon sculpture discovered in portions -of the walls after the fall of the late fabric, the edifice which -preceded it must have been considerably adorned.</p> -<p>The dawning light of the Reformation in Shrewsbury first -beamed in this church in 1407, by William Thorpe, a priest and -disciple of the doctrines promulgated by Wickliff. This -Salopian reformer, in a sermon before the bailiffs on the third -Sunday after Easter, boldly, preached against the prevailing and -favourite tenets of the Romish church; for his temerity he was -thrown into the prison of the town, by command of the local -authorities, where he remained about a month, and was afterwards -removed to Lambeth <a name="page31"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -31</span>for examination before the archbishop, the bailiffs -preferring the charge of heresy and schism against him.</p> -<p>The conduct of Thorpe before his spiritual superior was decent -and respectful, but at the same time he remained zealous in his -vindication of scripture, and firm in support of that which he -considered the truth,—thus intrepidly answering the -archbishop, “I’ll tell you at one word, I dare not -from the dread of God submit unto you, notwithstanding the tenure -and sentence that you have rehearsed to me.” He was -accordingly sent back to prison: his subsequent fate is nowhere -recorded, but it is conjectured on good grounds he was liberated -after the death of the archbishop, so that what Fox has asserted -of his having died a martyr to hard usage is probably -incorrect.</p> -<p>The exercise of the Protestant religion in this town also -began in this church in 1573, under the direction of the Bishop -of Lichfield and the Lord President of the Marches, as special -commissioners from Queen Elizabeth.</p> -<p>The portion of the ruins now remaining stood south of the -choir, and formed a chantry chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary; -after the Reformation it was called the Bishop’s Chancel, -from the circumstance of its being used at the visitations of the -bishop and archdeacon. The two wide semi-circular arches -(now walled up) separated it from the transepts and choir. -On the outside north wall are three stone stalls having pointed -arches, the concaves of which are groined; these originally -adjoined the high altar, and formed the seats of the priest, -deacon, and sub-deacon, during a part of the high mass. The -east and south sides display two mullioned windows; one adjoining -the newel staircase in the south-west pier, which once led to the -belfry is of an earlier design than the rest, and was probably -introduced when the building was repaired in 1496; the others -have elegant trefoiled tracery, and were erected in <a -name="page32"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 32</span>1571, when -the chapel was nearly rebuilt by Humphrey Onslow, Esq. to the -dilapidations of which he appears to have been liable by the -lease granted to him of the deanery when the dissolution of the -college was anticipated in 1542–3.</p> -<p>The interior has an oak panelled ceiling, and contains a few -monumental tablets and hatchments, most of the ancient memorials -having been removed on the fall of the church to other -places.</p> -<p>This chapel is now used as a daily parochial school, and for -reading the burial service connected with the spacious cemetery -in which it stands.</p> -<p>Among the monuments is one to the memory of that excellent -man, the Rev. <span class="smcap">Job Orton</span>, V.D.M. who -“being dead, yet speaketh,” in the forcible -discourses and truly admirable writings he has left behind. -He was the friend and biographer of Doddridge, and died 16th -July, 1783, aged 66. His remains were interred at his -request in the grave of the Rev. J. Bryan, M.A. an ejected -minister from this church.</p> -<p>A humble gravestone near the railway leading towards Belmont -records the death of Capt. <span class="smcap">John -Benbow</span>, who was shot at the Castle, Oct. 16th, 1651, for -his attachment to the cause of King Charles the Second.</p> -<p>Several members of ancient families and distinguished -individuals connected with the town and county, received -interment in this church. Among these may be mentioned -those of <span class="smcap">Corbet</span>, <span -class="smcap">Mytton</span>, <span class="smcap">Burton</span>, -<span class="smcap">Owen</span>, <span -class="smcap">Lyster</span>, and <span -class="smcap">Ireland</span>.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">Rowland Lee</span>, Bishop of Lichfield -and Coventry, and Lord President of the Marches, was buried -here. He died Jan. 27th, 1542–3, at the College, the -residence of his brother, Sir George Lee, who was the last dean -of the church.</p> -<h3><a name="page33"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 33</span>THE -NEW CHURCH OF SAINT CHAD</h3> -<p>is erected on a beautiful site near the Quarry, and, -considering the disadvantages of form which preclude the -possibility of much architectural effect, it may be looked upon -as an ornamental building.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p33b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"New St. Chad’s Church" -title= -"New St. Chad’s Church" - src="images/p33s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>The church is formed by the intersection of two circles, with -a tower and portico attached; the smaller of the circles forming -the grand staircase, and the larger one the body, chancel, and -side staircases leading to the gallery. On each side of the -tower is a square wing 24 feet by 19, appropriated for a vestry -and robing room.</p> -<p>The exterior is divided into two stories, the lower one being -rusticated, and the upper springing from a moulding <a -name="page34"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 34</span>displaying a -continued Ionic entablature, supported by coupled pilasters of -the same order; above the cornice is a well-proportioned -balustrade.</p> -<p>The windows are circular headed in the upper, and square in -the lower story, and, with the exception of that in the chancel, -are uniform; the latter is Venetian, the divisions being formed -with Corinthian pillars.</p> -<p>The portico consists of four Roman Doric columns and -entablature in full order, and is considered a very fine -specimen.</p> -<p>The steeple is divided into three parts, and, like the body of -the church, is rusticated at the base, which is square; on this -rests the second division, or bell chamber, octangular in shape, -and decorated with Ionic pilasters, cornice, &c.; above rises -eight elegant Corinthian columns, surrounded with an iron -railing, and surmounted by a dome and cross.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">The interior</span> carries with it an air -of importance, grandeur, and extent, derived mainly from that -form which in the exterior has so much shackled the efforts of -the architect: dazzled for a moment by the first impressions, the -detail is lost in the general effect; but from the whole the eye -is directed to those parts which constitute that whole, and here -defects may be discovered that will not stand the test of -architectural scrutiny.</p> -<p>The seats are well constructed, every individual being able to -see the officiating minister. The gallery is not thrown too -forward, but is in every respect in unison with the size of the -church; it is carried round the whole area with the exception of -the chancel, and is supported by a double row of ill-proportioned -Ionic columns, painted porphyry. A continued balustrade -finishes the front of the gallery, from which rises slender -fluted columns (surmounted <a name="page35"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 35</span>with entablature) for the support of -the roof, the frieze being decorated with cherubs.</p> -<p>The ceiling is enriched with a glory and cherubs in the -centre, surrounded by a wreath and other devices.</p> -<p>The chancel, contrary to general custom, is towards the north, -and is separated from the body of the church by a handsome arch -springing from an entablature supported by coupled composite -columns, elegantly proportioned, the capitals of which are richly -gilt.</p> -<p>The altar-piece is plain oak wainscot, with panels inscribed -according to the canon of the church, above which is a Venetian -window, containing a painting in enamelled glass of the -Resurrection of our Saviour, by the elder Eginton. This -window is shortly to be replaced by another, our townsman, Mr. -David Evans, having been directed by the munificence of the Rev. -Richard Scott, B.D. to exert his talents in the execution of a -splendid and faithful copy of the celebrated chef d’ouvre -of Rubens, painted for the cathedral church of Antwerp, <span -class="smcap">the Descent from the Cross</span>, with the <span -class="smcap">Visitation</span>, and <span -class="smcap">Presentation in the Temple</span>.</p> -<p>The pulpit and reading desk stand in the centre of the area in -front of the chancel.</p> -<p>The organ is placed above the south or great entrance of the -church; it is in a mahogany case, with a small painting of David -playing upon the harp. The instrument was built by Gray, of -London, and cost 400 guineas.</p> -<p>Between the piers of the gallery-windows are hatchments; and -the building, although of modern date, contains several tasteful -memorials which indicate,</p> -<blockquote><p>“All that virtue, all that wealth e’er -gave,<br /> -Await alike the inevitable hour—<br /> -The paths of glory lead but to the grave.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="page36"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 36</span>Among -these may be mentioned a large panelled tablet, having a bust of -the deceased by Chantrey, within a recess, commemorative of Mr. -John Simpson, “who superintended the building of this -church; the bridges of Bewdley, Dunkeld, Craig, Ellachie, and -Bonar; the aqueducts of Pontcysyllte and Chirk; and the locks and -basins of the Caledonian Canal.” He died 1815.</p> -<p>On each side of the entrance leading to the chancel are -tablets, highly enriched with sculpture, recording the decease of -the Rev. George Scott, of Betton Strange, in this parish, and of -Ann Lucretia, his wife; also of Richard Scott, of Peniarth Ucha, -Merionethshire, and Underdale, in the county of Salop.</p> -<p>On the east wall of the chancel is a small tablet in memory -of</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">The Rev. <span -class="smcap">Thomas Stedman</span>, M.A.<br /> -“Forty-two years Vicar of this Parish, during which -period<br /> -his mind, his writings, and his discourse<br /> -were with deep humility devoted<br /> -to the glory of God, the happiness of mankind,<br /> -and the temporal and spiritual interests of his flock.”<br -/> -He died Dec. 5th, 1825, in the 80th year of his age.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>On a large Grecian tablet is a Latin inscription to the memory -of the late Rev. Francis Leighton, M.A. who died Sept. 7th, 1813, -aged 66 years. <a name="citation36"></a><a href="#footnote36" -class="citation">[36]</a></p> -<p>The body of the church is 100 feet in diameter, and the total -length, including the entrance and vestibule, 160 feet. The -building is of fine Grinshill stone, and was designed by Mr. -George Steuart, of London. It was commenced <a -name="page37"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 37</span>March 2d, -1790, and consecrated August 20th, 1792, and will comfortably -accommodate a congregation of about 2300 persons. The total -cost, including site, organ, bells, &c. was £19,352, of -which £15,800 was raised under act of parliament.</p> -<p>The steeple is 150 feet in height, and contains a full and -melodious peal of twelve bells; the weight of the tenor being 2 -tons 1 cwt. and measures 16 ft. 6 in. in circumference at the -mouth. The balcony beneath the dome commands a fine -prospect of the town and immediate vicinity.</p> -<p>In the vestry is a carved statue of St. Chad in his episcopal -habit, holding a bible in his right hand and a crosier in his -left. It originally stood upon the organ in the old -church.</p> -<p>St. Chad’s is considered the principal church of the -town; it is used on all public occasions, and is the place where -the archdeacon holds his visitations and probat court.</p> -<p>A lecture is delivered here every Thursday evening, according -to a bequest of the late James Phillips, Esq. of London, who by -his will (dated 1661) devises, after the death of his wife, the -rents of his property in Three Crown Court, Southward, unto the -mayor and aldermen of this town for that purpose, and also for a -lecture in the parish churches of Oswestry, Ellesmere, and -Whitchurch. This property now produces a good revenue.</p> -<p>On the east side of the church is a spacious cemetery.</p> -<p>The living is a vicarage in the gift of the crown, being -endowed in 1674, by the benefaction of Nathaniel Tench, Esq. with -“the tithes of corn and hay of the grange of Crow -Meole,” in commemoration of which the testator directed -that a sermon should be annually preached on the 6th of June.</p> -<p>The parish comprises nearly one-half of the town, and <a -name="page38"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 38</span>extends -several miles into the country, having two chapels of -ease,—St. George’s (Frankwell), and Bicton, three -miles distant.</p> -<h3>ST. MARY’S CHURCH</h3> -<p>stands on a commanding situation, nearly one hundred feet -above the level of the river, on the north-eastern side of the -town, and is one of the most interesting ecclesiastical edifices -in the county, displaying in its construction almost every -variety of ancient architecture, and affording to the <a -name="page39"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 39</span>antiquary and -man of taste a rich and unique field for observation.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p38b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"St. Mary’s Church, N.W." -title= -"St. Mary’s Church, N.W." - src="images/p38s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>It is a cruciform building, consisting of a nave, side aisles, -transepts, spacious chancel, two chantry chapels, and a lofty -spire steeple.</p> -<p>In common with our early churches we have no opportunity of -ascertaining the precise date of its erection on written -testimony. The probable period of foundation has been -stated, page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page24">24</a></span>; the renovation and subsequent -addition is therefore presumptive, and our decision must be -governed by analogy of style with other edifices, whose origin is -authenticated.</p> -<p>That the era of ancient buildings may be inferred from the -internal evidence they themselves afford of their respective -antiquity admits of little doubt; indeed, the amiable poet, Gray, -who had much knowledge in antiquarian pursuits, has said that -“they constantly furnish, to the well informed eye, arms, -ornaments, and other indubitable marks by which their several -ages may be ascertained.”</p> -<p>There will be little difficulty in appropriating the ancient -portions of this building to distinct ages, if we except the task -of assigning a correct criteria to the curious mixture displayed -in the columns which support the semi-circular arches of the -nave, where the Norman and pointed styles are singularly blended -together, the union of which will afford matter of interesting -speculation to the experienced antiquary.</p> -<p>William of Malmesbury has related an anecdote of the pious -Wolstan, Bishop of Worcester (from 1062 to 1095) praying, on his -way to Chester, in the <i>wooden church of St. Peter</i>, in this -town, <a name="citation39"></a><a href="#footnote39" -class="citation">[39]</a> and of the “citizens <a -name="page40"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 40</span>asking him -why he preferred it to the church which they called St. -Mary’s;”—a question we may reasonably conclude -as shewing this was then, in their opinion, from some -circumstance, a church of no little consequence.</p> -<p>The superior taste and enlarged views of improvement -manifested by the Normans in the arts, caused the restoration of -many important churches in much less time than a century after -they had obtained the conquest of our island.</p> -<p>St. Mary’s, no doubt, from its antiquity, required -restoration, and excited their early attention; but although -destitute of positive data, as before stated, from whence to -ascribe a period to its re-edification, the various improvements -plainly evident in several parts of the fabric will easily be -discovered by the critical eye of the architectural -antiquary.</p> -<p>It may be mentioned that three distinct styles are -apparent,—the Anglo-Norman of the 12th century, in the -basement of the tower, nave, transepts, and doorways; the early -lancet style in the windows of the transepts and chancel; the -pointed and obtuse arch of the 15th and 16th century in the side -aisles, clere-story, chantry, chapels, &c.</p> -<p>These shall be carefully examined by analysis, and the -predominant features appropriated with caution to their -respective periods.</p> -<p>The greater part of a new structure, it is therefore -conjectured, was raised on the site of a previous Saxon building, -probably early in the reign of Henry I. This is evident -from the plain circular windows inserted in the massive basement -of the tower, which, like the lower portion of the entire -building, is of red stone, and flanked by broad flat buttresses, -similar to those on the lower part of the Abbey tower.</p> -<p>The tower of St. Mary’s originally was probably not -higher than the part composed of red stone, and was <a -name="page41"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 41</span>terminated -like the generality of Norman towers, by a plain parapet.</p> -<p>The struggle between the Norman and pointed styles sometimes -occasioned incongruous arches, and we may attribute the rude -pointed doorway of the tower having an internal arch nearly -triangular, to the reign of Stephen.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">The South Porch</span> of the nave is of -the early Norman era, the outward arch circular, having zigzag -mouldings issuing from clustered columns, and an inner rib, -obtusely pointed; the windows on each side are curious as early -specimens of the rudiments of the mullioned window, introduced -about the time of Stephen; the arches of these windows rest on -short thick columns, and are bisected into two lights by a -similar pillar as a mullion, the capitals of which are all -different; in the apex is a quatrefoil, one of the simplest and -most ancient kind of ornaments.</p> -<p>The ceiling of the porch is also an example of the most -ancient kind of groined vault, having neither boss nor ornament; -above this is a chamber (entered from the church by a newel -staircase), and lighted by a pointed window.</p> -<p>The inner doorway of the porch is an enriched round arch, with -chevron, lozenge, and foliated mouldings. That on the north -side of the nave is similar in style; and the doorways (now -closed) in the north and south transepts are very elegant -specimens of the style which prevailed from the Conquest to the -time of Henry I.; the latter is decorated with alternate lozenge -panels filled with an embossed flower.</p> -<p>A progressive movement of refinement and beauty took place in -the science of architecture during the reign of Henry III. when -the heavy Norman was succeeded by the slender lancet arch and its -attendant ornaments. The <a name="page42"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 42</span>transepts of this church are fine -specimens of this transition of the styles, the north and south -ends of which are terminated by beautifully proportioned triple -lancet windows enriched with slender shafts and mouldings.</p> -<p>About the close of the 15th century, a greater stateliness of -character and ornamental arrangement became the prevailing -characteristic of architectural display, and the general features -of the building were altered to the fashionable style.</p> -<p>The walls of the side aisles previous to this time were much -lower, which is indicated by a slope in the stone work at the -west end and a pier at the south-west, on which the roof -originally rested. When the walls were raised, three -mullioned windows were substituted on each side for round-headed -lights, which narrowed towards the exterior surface of the wall, -similar, no doubt, to that still remaining at the west end.</p> -<p>The nave shortly afterwards received the addition of a -clere-story, lighted by a range of short windows with obtusely -pointed arches, extending the whole length of the nave and -chancel.</p> -<p>To render these important alterations of the fabric complete, -the low massy tower was raised, and large double pointed windows -were placed on each side, and the whole surmounted with an -embattled parapet and pinnacles, which (being much decayed) were -judiciously restored in 1816. From this tower rises an -octagonal spire of noble proportions, which may be ranked as -equal in height to the <i>third loftiest spire</i> in the -kingdom, and forms an interesting and prominent object from every -part of the rich and beautiful scenery which surrounds the -town.</p> -<p>The dimensions, as taken at the last repair in 1818, -are—tower, 78 feet 4 inches; spire, to the top of vane, 141 -feet 10 inches; total height, 220 feet 2 inches.</p> -<p><a name="page43"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 43</span>The -chapel south of the chancel has a remarkably lofty roof, and on -the south side four handsome pointed windows of Henry the -Sixth’s time; each window is divided by a buttress, on -which rests a crocketed pinnacle. The eastern end of this -building was originally finished by a large window, but within -its space two lofty round-headed lights, with singular canopies -in the debased style, prevalent about the reign of Queen -Elizabeth, have been inserted.</p> -<p>The chancel is terminated by a large window, divided by -mullions into two tiers of eight lights each, the apex being -ramified into inelegant tracery, introduced in repairing the -damage which this window (and that alluded to in the above -chapel) sustained during an extreme tempest in 1579.</p> -<h4>THE INTERIOR</h4> -<p>of this church is strikingly noble, and calculated to inspire -the mind with awe; but although the purer light of later times -has in some degree eclipsed the adventitious aid intended to be -conveyed to the feelings, during the religious ceremonies of our -forefathers, by the almost mysterious effect produced from -intermingled arches and clustered columns, canopied niches, -costly shrines, and the mellow reflection of the storied pane -shedding</p> -<blockquote><p>“The dim blaze of radiance richly -clear,”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>in these august edifices of former ages, they still possess a -power over the imagination, and insensible must that mind be -which is not susceptible of appropriate religious -influences,—subdued thoughts,—and, inspiring -conceptions of divine majesty, when beholding the “long -drawn aisle” and “high embower’d roof,” -where all forms and differences of opinion, it has been justly -remarked, become “trivial for awhile, amidst the sublimity -of temples so well suited to the adoration of -omnipotence.”</p> -<p>The nave is separated from the side aisles by <i>four </i><a -name="page44"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -44</span><i>semicircular arches</i>, <i>resting on elegant -clustered columns</i>, with capitals decorated with foliage of -different devices, from the rudest to the richest design. -The mouldings of these arches have bolder projections, but are -less massive than those of the early Norman, and more delicately -finished, and although the mouldings on the shafts are peculiar -to the earliest pointed style, they happily harmonize with the -circular arches.</p> -<p>At the eastern extremity of each side aisle, opening to the -transepts, is a semi-circular arch, resting on thick round -pillars, with a regular base and indented capital, ornamented -with sculpture of the earliest Norman era; similar arches lead to -the chantry chapels. These arches, from their general -style, are evidently the oldest part of the fabric, and we may -venture to ascribe them to a period not later than the -Conquest. In removing the accumulations of colouring and -plaister from the walls and arches of this part, in 1828, the -<i>distinguishing marks</i> of the <i>operative masons</i> -employed in working the stones were discovered, and still are to -be seen, being the same as those now used. <a -name="citation44"></a><a href="#footnote44" -class="citation">[44]</a></p> -<p>The choir and transepts are divided by three most beautiful -pointed arches, rising from piers similar to those described in -the nave.</p> -<p>The ceiling of the nave is of oak, the intersections of the -beams being formed into panels richly decorated with ornamented -quatrefoils and foliage, carved bosses, flowers, grotesque -figures, &c. A beautiful cornice of vine branches, -grapes interspersed with masks, are placed round the walls -beneath the roof. The whole is in excellent <a -name="page45"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 45</span>preservation, -and supposed to be one of the finest specimens of the ancient -fretted ceiling in the kingdom.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">The Chancel</span> is elevated above the -church by a double ascent, and the ceiling, like that of both the -transepts, is excellently painted, but panelled in a style -somewhat similar to that of the nave, and adorned with some of -the rich fret work removed from the wreck of the churches of St. -Chad and St. Alkmond.</p> -<p>On the north side of the altar is a most beautiful triple -lancet window, with arches remarkably acute, and resting on -isolated columns, whose capitals are adorned with elegant -foliage, &c. The window is filled with three figures in -ancient stained glass.</p> -<p>Whilst these pages are passing through the press, a most -important improvement has been effected in the chancel, by -removing the altar screen, which, although a handsome Grecian -design, obstructed not only much of the eastern window, but was -quite out of character with the building. Another of a more -appropriate description will be substituted.</p> -<p>The eastern window contains the truly splendid glass that -adorned the chancel of old St. Chad’s, and which escaped -the destruction that befel the other parts of the fabric. -It was carefully removed and presented to this parish by the -trustees for putting into execution the act for rebuilding the -new church.</p> -<p>This glass, unequalled in point of beauty and colouring, -represents <span class="smcap">The Genealogy of Christ</span>, -from the root of Jesse. The patriarch occupies the breadth -of three bays of the window, being depicted as reclining in a -deep sleep, with his head resting upon an embroidered pillow, and -supported on his right hand. From his loins issues a <span -class="smcap">Vine</span>, the branches of which, before its -disarrangement, overspread the whole window, inclosing within the -ovals <a name="page46"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -46</span>formed by its intersections a <span -class="smcap">King</span> or <span class="smcap">Prophet</span> -of the ancestry of Joseph, the series of which is finished by the -husband of the Virgin Mary in a devotional posture at the feet of -his progenitor.</p> -<p>Many of the figures are depicted with their peculiar -emblems. The ground of the whole is varied and exquisitely -vivid, on which the clusters of grapes and the bright verdure of -the vine leaves are displayed with great effect.</p> -<p>Two compartments contain figures of ancient knights vested in -the hawberk and bearing their square banners, and kneeling -beneath foliated tabernacles. They represent Sir John -Cherleton, Lord of Powis, and his son Sir Owen. From the -following translation of an inscription on a part of the -window,</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">“Pray for -Monsieur John de Charlton, who caused this glazing to be made, -and for Dame Hawis his companion,”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>the date of its erection is ascertained to be about the middle -of the fourteenth century; it was originally placed in the church -of the convent of Grey Friars in this town, from whence it was -removed to St. Chad’s at the Dissolution.</p> -<p>Many of the figures have been displaced in their change of -situation; their re-arrangement, however, is now in progress, and -to complete the genealogical line additional figures will be -added, and the lower tier of arches in the window, formerly -filled with brick-work, have been opened to their base.</p> -<p>At the west end of the nave is a peculiarly rich and -full-toned organ, made by the celebrated builders Harris and -Byfield, in 1729, which has recently been improved by the -addition of an octave and a half of pedal pipes.</p> -<p>This instrument stands upon a handsome stone screen, divided -into three compartments, formed by as many obtusely pointed -arches, and divided by buttresses of two <a -name="page47"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 47</span>stories, -highly decorated with reticulated divisions, containing an open -flower in relief; around the inner recesses of the arches are the -following inscriptions:—</p> -<blockquote><p>Venite Domino exultemus<br /> -Rupi salutis jutilemus<br /> -Jehovam hymnis concinamus<br /> -Et grates illi persolnamus—Hallelujah.</p> -<p>Jehovam virgints laudate<br /> -Senes et pueri celebrate<br /> -Psalmis ecclesia sanctorum<br /> -Extollat Dominum Dominorum.</p> -<p>Laudate carminis clamore<br /> -Laudate buccinae clangore<br /> -Laudate organo sonoro<br /> -Laudate cymbalis et choro.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Above is a series of smaller arches similar in style, having -cinque-foil heads, and filled with the like reticulated divisions -and ornament, each of the arches being divided by a small plain -buttress; the string course is charged with elaborately carved -heads of angels, pateras, &c. and the spandrils of the -several arches throughout are enriched with elegant and varied -foliage, exquisitely sculptured. The whole forming a most -prominent and imposing feature to the main entrance of the nave, -and will be a permanent monument of the good taste and -munificence of the donor, the Rev. W. G. Rowland, M.A.</p> -<p>The screen was designed by and executed under the -superintendence of Mr. John Carline, of this town, and is a work -creditable to his professional abilities.</p> -<h4>THE NORTH TRANSEPT</h4> -<p>has a rich and pleasing appearance on entering the church <a -name="page48"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 48</span>from the -eastern door, <a name="citation48"></a><a href="#footnote48" -class="citation">[48]</a> through a porch which was once a -chantry chapel, and connected with the transept by a fine Norman -arch.</p> -<p>The triple windows of this and the corresponding transept are -filled with small full-length figures in stained glass, bearing -their respective insignia, and judiciously placed within ovals of -chaste mosaic patterns. The centre of the middle light has -the arms of King George the Third, with the following -inscription:</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center"><span -class="smcap">Geo</span>. III.<br /> -<span class="smcap">Regum</span> • <span -class="smcap">Optimus</span> •<br /> -<span class="smcap">Gentis</span> • <span -class="smcap">Britannicae</span> •<br /> -<span class="smcap">Olim</span> • <span -class="smcap">Deliciæ</span> • <span -class="smcap">nunc</span> • <span -class="smcap">Desiderium</span> •<br /> -<span class="smcap">Mortalitatem</span> • <span -class="smcap">exuit</span> •<br /> -<span class="smcap">Mens</span> • <span -class="smcap">Jan</span> • <span class="smcap">Die</span> -• 29 • A.D. 1820 •<br /> -<span class="smcap">Anno</span> • <span -class="smcap">Ætat</span> • 82 . <span -class="smcap">Regni</span> • 60 .</p> -</blockquote> -<p>On a scroll at the top,</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center"><i>Among many Nations -was there no King like him</i>.—Neh. xiii. 26.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>On another at the bottom,</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center"><i>His Heart was -perfect with the Lord all his Days</i>.—1 Kings xv. 14.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Above these arms is the figure of the Virgin Mary, and below -is St. Andrew. The dexter lancet window is occupied with -the figures of St. Philip, St. Bartholomew, and St. James the son -of Zebedee, and the sinister with St. Simon, St. Thomas, and St. -Matthias. At the bottom is the following -inscription:—“<span class="smcap">Ioannes Brickdale -Blakeway</span>, A.M. <span class="GutSmall">HUJUS ECCLESIÆ -JUDEX OFFICIALIS ET MINISTER INSIGNIA REGIA</span> P. C. <span -class="GutSmall">ANNO MDCCCXX</span>. <span -class="smcap">Reliquam</span> <span -class="GutSmall">FENESTRÆ PARTEM EXORNAVIT EJUS -VIDUA</span> M.E.B. <span class="GutSmall">ANNO -MDCCCXXIX</span>.”</p> -<p>The lower portion of the walls are ornamented with -interstitial divisions and monuments.</p> -<p><a name="page49"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 49</span>Against -the west wall is a most beautiful free-stone</p> -<h4>MONUMENT<br /> -TO THE LATE REV. J. B. BLAKEWAY;</h4> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p49b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Monument to Rev. J. B. Blakeway, and North Transept" -title= -"Monument to Rev. J. B. Blakeway, and North Transept" - src="images/p49s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>which for elegance of design, beauty of execution, and <a -name="page50"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 50</span>general -effect, has perhaps rarely been surpassed in modern times.</p> -<p>This beautiful Memorial was designed by Mr. John Carline, of -this town, and is upwards of 12 feet in length and 16 feet in -height, and is divided into three compartments by clustered -buttresses, which sustain richly crocketed pinnacles. The -centre compartment comprises a large pointed arch, cusped, -canopied, and crocketed, the back of which is deeply recessed, -and contains the following inscription in ornamental Roman -capitals:</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">To the Memory of the -Reverend<br /> -JOHN BRICKDALE BLAKEWAY, M.A. F.A.S.<br /> -Thirty-one years Ordinary and Official<br /> -And Thirty-two years Minister of this Parish,<br /> -This Monument is erected<br /> -By the Voluntary Subscription of his Parishioners,<br /> -As a tribute of respect for his talents,<br /> -Esteem for his virtues,<br /> -And gratitude for his long and faithful services<br /> -As their Friend and Pastor.<br /> -He died the tenth day of March, <span -class="GutSmall">MDCCCXXVI</span>.<br /> -Aged sixty years.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>On each side of the above compartment is an elegant niche with -a cinquefoil head, octagonal back, and groined ceiling. -These niches are surmounted by acute-angled crocketed canopies -formed of deep mouldings; and resting on the head of each niche -within the canopy is a cinquefoil within a circle. In a -similar situation in the centre compartment is a shield -containing the following arms:—Argent, on a bend engrailed -sable, three bezants; impaling argent, a fess vaire between three -unicorns passant, gules.</p> -<p>The above divisions rest on an altar tomb, the front of which -is divided into twelve small niches with trefoil heads. <a -name="page51"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 51</span>These niches -are separated by small buttresses, with crocketed canopies and -pinnacles.</p> -<p>Mr. Blakeway was the son of Joshua Blakeway, Esq. of this -town, and a gentleman whose pleasing adaptation of manners and -amiable walk through life gained him the universal respect of his -fellow townsmen. Neither the church nor the state had a -more faithful defender of its rights or supporter of its dignity, -nor the true interests of his native town a more watchful -guardian.</p> -<p>As a scholar and a gentleman, united with the character of a -true christian, we shall perhaps “ne’er look upon his -like again.” As a preacher he was admired for his -forcible illustration of holy writ, and the valuable admonitions -clothed in the language of affection which his discourses -generally contained, whilst his devoutness in the performance of -the sacred duties of the sanctuary must have impressed their -importance on all who heard them. In his personal -appearance he was tall and robust;—his face bore the line -of thought, and his ample forehead bespoke the mind that dwelt -within. As an author he had written much and published -little, and was known only to the literary world previous to 1821 -by a few sermons, controversial tracts, and critical notes in -Malone’s edition of Boswell’s Life of Johnson. -His name, however, will be immortalized in the valuable History -of Shrewsbury which he commenced in 1820, with the Venerable -Archdeacon Owen, and just lived to see the general history and -ecclesiastical portions published in two quarto volumes, which -elaborate undertaking will obtain for him and his revered friend -and colleague the respect and gratitude of every true Salopian in -subsequent generations.</p> -<p>Mr. Blakeway likewise shewed much attention and devotedness to -the antiquities of his native county, and the <a -name="page52"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 52</span>valuable mass -of manuscripts he left behind in illustration of its genealogical -and topographical history will remain also as a monument of his -industry. <a name="citation52"></a><a href="#footnote52" -class="citation">[52]</a></p> -<p>His last end was peace,—for he departed almost without a -sigh, and nearly without losing that benignant smile which was so -peculiar to him. His remains were interred on the right of -the west entrance to the church-yard.</p> -<p>Three beautiful specimens of monumental sculpture, designed by -the same architect, occupy the north wall, and harmonize with the -splendid memorial just described, a detail of which would occupy -too much space. The lancet window in the west wall contains -a fine ancient figure in stained glass of St. John the -Evangelist, arrayed in a robe which displays a most splendid -specimen of the ancient ruby glass of the old masters; the hem of -the garment is brilliantly studded with pearls.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">The Ancient Font</span> stands in the -centre of the area, and is very handsome. The basin is -octangular, each side having an ornamented quatrefoil, in the -centre of which is a large double rose. The angles have -been adorned with busts of angels bearing shields, and the -pedestal is pierced into gothic arches, divided by small shelving -buttresses.</p> -<p>In the north-eastern angle is an octangular turret, in which a -small doorway opens to a staircase leading to a chamber which was -no doubt once a chantry. It is lighted by a curious -triangular window, with a trefoil on the intrado <a -name="page53"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 53</span>of each arch, -the mouldings of which are deeply recessed. Below this is -another chantry chapel, now used as a <span -class="smcap">Vestry</span>, having at the east end an early -Norman light, and on the north a mullioned window of the -fifteenth century. Under a low pointed arch beneath this -window is a monumental tomb composed of alabaster, but sunk into -the floor for economy of space: it bears the figures of a warrior -and his lady in the act of devotion, supposed to represent -Nicholas Stafford and his wife Katherine. The former was -bailiff of the town in 1458, and died in 1471.</p> -<h4>SOUTH TRANSEPT.</h4> -<p>The window of this transept contains the figures of our -Saviour, St. James the son of Alpheus, and St. Thaddeus; in the -dexter compartments are those of St. Matthew the Evangelist, St. -Paul, and St. Mark; and in the sinister those of St. John the -Evangelist, St. Peter, and St. Luke. Underneath this window -is “<span class="smcap">Gulielmus Gorsuch Rowland</span> -A.M. <span class="smcap">hujus eccleslæ judex officialis et -minister hanc fenestram faciendam curavit anno</span> -1829.”</p> -<p>The windows of this and the north transept were executed by -Mr. D. Evans, of Shrewsbury, and may be considered as some of the -finest specimens of the art in the kingdom, both as regards -brilliancy and harmony of colours, beauty of design, and -exquisite workmanship, whilst the “dim religious -light” which they shed around, imparts an impressiveness of -character that at once bespeaks the sacred purpose of the place -as the House of Prayer.</p> -<p>Below the south window of this transept is a bold composition -of monumental architecture, designed by Mr. J. Carline, -consisting of three acute-angled crocketed canopies, crowned with -a finial. The labels of the arches are enriched with -foliage, and the interior sweep fashioned <a -name="page54"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 54</span>in the ogee -manner. From the lateral piers, and between each division -of the arches, springs an elegant crocketed pinnacle panelled and -finished by an open flower.</p> -<p>It is much to be wished that the correct taste displayed in -these and other beautiful specimens of the decorated style of -monumental architecture, recently erected in this church, was -more generally manifested in the adaptation of monuments to the -character of the buildings in which they are to be placed, -instead of the unsightly tablets so commonly introduced, and -which frequently contribute anything but ornament to our ancient -churches.</p> -<p>From the south transept a fine Norman arch opens to the</p> -<h4>TRINITY CHAPEL,</h4> -<p>which also has a communication with the chancel by an arch in -the pointed style.</p> -<p>This building (57 feet by 30) was at first of smaller -dimensions, as is evident from two lancet windows (beneath which -are two very early loop holes) in the wall next to the south -aisle. Immediately above the shelving portion still visible -of the roof of the original chapel is a peculiar circular -window.</p> -<p>The enlargement was effected by the Draper’s Company -soon after their incorporation in 1461, having therein a guild or -fraternity to the Holy Trinity. Within the south wall is -the sedilia formerly used by the officiating priests, and the -remains of a piscina, all of which were once overspread with -elegant canopies.</p> -<p>On the opposite side is a large pointed arch, now walled -up. Under this is an altar tomb, the sides of which are -divided by small buttresses in ornamental niches of the early -decorated style. Above is a mutilated recumbent figure of a -cross-legged knight in linked armour, supposed <a -name="page55"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 55</span>to represent -one of the <span class="smcap">Leyburnes Lords of Berwick</span>, -in this parish, and who died about the middle of the 14th -century. The grave below was opened in 1816, and was -composed of wrought masonry, when, after a little loose rubbish -had been removed, some leg and thigh bones were discovered. -On digging about three feet lower to the bottom of the tomb, a -skeleton was found wrapped in leather, but without a head. -This is conjectured to be the skeleton of Thomas Percy, Earl of -Worcester, who was beheaded after the battle of Shrewsbury, and -his head sent to London, while his body found an asylum in the -tomb of a family which had become extinct.</p> -<p>This church, in 1232, was the scene of an assemblage of -legates, convened by command of the Pope to hear charges which -had been preferred against Llewelyn for repeated infractions of -treaties. This negociation was at length left to six -referees on the part of King Henry III. and four on that of the -Welsh Prince, by which peace was maintained for a season.</p> -<p>When Charles the First visited this town in 1642, it is -recorded he took “a protestation and the sacrament upon it -to defend the Protestant religion established by Queen Elizabeth -and his royal father,” which solemn scene, it is supposed, -took place within this edifice, being the parish church of the -mansion in which he was sojourning. King James the Second, -it is also said, attended divine service here in 1687, after -which he exercised the royal gift of healing by touching many -persons for the king’s evil.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">The Monuments</span> of particular -interest having been already noticed in their proper situations, -it need only be remarked that there are mural tablets -commemorative of individuals connected with the families of <span -class="smcap">Lyster</span>, <span class="smcap">Lloyd</span> (of -Rûg, &c.), <span class="smcap">Morhall</span>, <span -class="smcap">Blakeway</span>, &c. on the walls of the -chancel, and several other memorials in the nave, <a -name="page56"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 56</span>transepts, -and chapel; which the extended description of this church, and -the confined limits of the present work, will not permit further -to enumerate.</p> -<p>The length of the building from east to west is 160 feet, -breadth (including side aisles) 50 feet.</p> -<p>The tower contains a peal of ten bells, the harmony of which, -it is considered, cannot be excelled by that of any peal in the -kingdom: weight of tenor 21 cwt. 2 qrs. 17 lbs.</p> -<p>On the west wall of the steeple is an inscription to the -memory of Thomas Cadman, who lost his life in a bold attempt to -descend from the top of the spire by means of a rope, which he -had fixed to it and brought down to the Gay meadow, on the other -side of the river Severn. He fell near the Water-lane gate, -Feb. 2, 1739, aged 28, at a time when “the ground was iron -and the Severn glass,” owing, as the epitaph records, -to</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">“A faulty cord -being drawn too tight.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The parish of Saint Mary extends several miles in detached -parts of the country, having within its boundaries five chapels -of ease, viz. Albrighton, Astley, Berwick, Clive, and St. -Michael’s (Castle-foregate).</p> -<p>The church is a royal peculiar, and the official court has -probate of all wills and cognizance of all other ecclesiastical -matters arising within the parish. The living is a -perpetual curacy, and was, previous to the late municipal act, in -the presentation of the Corporation of Shrewsbury; and in the -choice of a minister, the son of a burgess, who has been educated -at the royal free grammar school, or (in case there be no -burgess’s son of that description) one born in the parish -of Chirbury, with a qualification similar to the foregoing, is to -have the preference.</p> -<h3><a name="page57"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 57</span>SAINT -ALKMUND’S CHURCH</h3> -<p>is situate at a short distance from St. Mary’s, and its -cemetery adjoins that of St. Julian’s.</p> -<p>The fine old cruciform church of this parish was -inconsiderately destroyed in 1794, under a mistaken apprehension -of its stability. The present building, with the exception -of the tower and spire, which fortunately escaped the fate of the -old church, was opened for divine service Nov. 8, 1795, at a cost -of rather more than £3000.</p> -<p>The new structure is of Grinshill stone, and in the style -called modern gothic, having six lofty pointed windows on each -side, filled with slender mullions of cast-iron; between the -windows are graduated buttresses.</p> -<p>The interior is handsomely fitted up, and the general effect -pleasing, although not in strict conformity with a gothic -building,—wanting that sombre grandeur characteristic of -this style of architecture. It is 82 feet long by 44 feet -wide, with a small chancel terminated by a pointed window filled -with enamelled glass emblematical of “<span -class="smcap">Evangelical Faith</span>,” depicted in the -character of a female figure in the attitude of kneeling upon a -cross, with her arms extended, and eyes elevated towards a -celestial crown which appears in the opening clouds. The -countenance has an interesting expression of adoration, and the -motto, “Be thou faithful unto death,” &c. is -inscribed on an open volume. The window was painted by the -elder Egginton, and cost 200 guineas.</p> -<p>At the west end is a capacious gallery, containing a small -fine-toned organ by Gray, of London, erected by a subscription in -1823.</p> -<p>The principal entrance to the church is in the base of the -tower, under an elegant pointed arch recessed within a square -aperture, on either side of which are niches, most <a -name="page58"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 58</span>barbarously -repaired in 1825; above is a bold mullioned window in the style -of the sixteenth century, when the tower and spire were probably -built. In this window are two ancient escutcheons in -stained glass, displaying England and France quarterly, and the -arms of Richard Sampson, Bishop of Lichfield, and Lord President -of the Marches from 1543 to 1548.</p> -<p>The tower is finely proportioned, being flanked with double -buttresses gradually diminishing, and terminated with a crocketed -pinnacle; an open parapet of pointed arches surrounds the base of -the spire, which, though not remarkable for height, is considered -by persons of good taste “to possess singular elegance of -form.” The tower contains eight musical bells, recast -in 1813, and is 70 feet high, the spire 114, making a total of -184 feet from the ground.</p> -<p>In a vault beneath this church are interred the remains of -Thomas Jones, Esq. who died in 1642. He was six times -bailiff, and the <span class="smcap">first Mayor of -Shrewsbury</span>; also those of Sir Thomas Jones, Lord Chief -Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, who died 1692, to whom and -other members of this ancient Shropshire family are several -memorials. Other monumental tablets also relieve the walls -of the building.</p> -<p>The old structure contained many curious brasses and -monuments; the former were sold, and the latter dispersed, on its -unnecessary demolition.</p> -<p>The living is a vicarage in the gift of the Crown, and a -weekly lecture is preached in the church on Wednesdays.</p> -<h3><a name="page59"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 59</span>SAINT -JULIAN’S CHURCH.</h3> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p59b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"St. Julian’s and St. Alkmond’s Churches" -title= -"St. Julian’s and St. Alkmond’s Churches" - src="images/p59s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>The church, dedicated to St. Juliana, occupies an elevated -situation at the top of Wyle Cop, and was erected 1749–50, -from a design by Mr. T. F. Prichard, of this town, on the site of -an Anglo-Norman structure, which had become ruinous.</p> -<p>It is a plain oblong building of brick, and stone dressings, -83 feet by 48, with a small recess for the chancel.</p> -<p>At the west end is the tower of the old church; the <a -name="page60"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 60</span>basement is -of red stone, and of a date far anterior to the superstructure, -which is of the 16th century, and crowned by a handsome embattled -parapet and eight lofty pinnacles, restored in 1818, when the -masonry of the tower was chipped and repaired. The tower -contains a peal of six bells, recast in 1706, and an excellent -clock, the dial of which is illuminated at night.</p> -<p>In the south wall of the chancel is an ancient figure, -probably intended to represent St. Juliana.</p> -<p>The interior is particularly neat, possessing an air of -solemnity unusual in the generality of modern churches. -Four large Roman-Doric pillars support the roof of the nave, -which is coved and adorned with the fret-work of the old -church. Galleries occupy three sides of the building. -At the west end is an excellent organ, by Bowsher and Fleetwood, -of Liverpool, erected by a subscription in 1834, the exterior of -which is tasteful in design, and harmonizes with the internal -architecture of the edifice.</p> -<p>The pulpit is handsome, and belonged to the old church. -The altar-piece and furniture of the chancel are in good taste; -the former is of wainscot, and presents a Roman Doric basement, -supporting Ionic pilasters and entablature with modillion -cornice, from which springs a rich architrave surrounding a -Venetian window, in the centre light of which is a figure in -stained glass of <span class="smcap">St. James bearing the Holy -Scriptures</span>. The side lights contain the royal arms, -and those of the see of Lichfield, impaling Cornwallis.</p> -<p>In the windows of the south gallery are the armorial bearings -of Queen Elizabeth, the family of Bowdler, a fine ancient shield -of the town arms, and heads of St. Peter and St. Paul, surmounted -by their emblems, the keys and sword. On the north side are -the arms of Prince, Bennett, Astley, the Earl of Tankerville, and -a figure of St. John.</p> -<p>In the floor of the south aisle is an ancient gravestone, <a -name="page61"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 61</span>preserved -from the former church: round the edge is a Longobardic -inscription to the memory of Edmund Tromwyn, who is supposed to -have died about the close of the thirteenth century.</p> -<p>There are several mural monuments in the aisles and chancel: -on the north side of the latter is a pedimented tablet set on a -square table of dove-coloured marble, with the following -inscription:—</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">Sacred to the Memory<br -/> -Of the VENERABLE HUGH OWEN, M.A. F.R.S.<br /> -Archdeacon of Salop,<br /> -Prebendary of Salisbury and Lichfield,<br /> -One of the Portionists of Bampton, Oxfordshire,<br /> -Formerly Minister of this Parish, and afterwards of St. Mary, -in<br /> -Shrewsbury.<br /> -He was the only son of Pryce Owen, M.D. and Bridget his wife,<br -/> -And the lineal descendant of an Ancient British family.<br /> -Distinguished for the extent and accuracy of his Antiquarian -researches,<br /> -And knowledge of the principles of Ecclesiastical and Civil<br /> -Architecture,<br /> -By the judicious application of this talent,<br /> -Joined to a firm but mild execution of his official authority,<br -/> -He greatly contributed to the decent and substantial -restoration<br /> -Of many venerable fabrics within his Archdeaconry.<br /> -His “Account of the Ancient and Present State of -Shrewsbury,”<br /> -Originally published in a single volume,<br /> -Was afterwards embodied in a complete History written by him,<br -/> -In conjunction with the Rev. John Brickdale Blakeway.<br /> -He died Dec. 23d, 1827, aged 67 years.<br /> -Harriet, his wife, daughter of Edward Jeffreys, Esq.<br /> -Died April 3d, 1825, aged 59 years.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>In the south aisle, a plain tablet surmounted by a lion -commemorates the public spirit and unremitting exertions of Mr. -<span class="smcap">Robert Lawrence</span>, “in opening the -great road through Wales between the united kingdoms, and for -establishing <a name="page62"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -62</span>the first mail coach to this town.” He died -Sept. 3d, 1806, aged 57 years.</p> -<p>The living is a perpetual curacy in the presentation of the -Right Hon. the Earl of Tankerville, and the parish comprehends -the Wyle Cop and the suburb of Coleham, but isolated districts of -it are intermixed with several of the other parishes at different -ends of the town.</p> -<p>A Sunday evening lecture was commenced at this church, April -20th, 1828, for the “free accommodation of the town at -large,” the parishioners having consented to lend their -pews for the occasion. Several of the clergy connected with -the town preach alternately at this additional service.</p> -<h3><span class="GutSmall">THE PARISH OF</span><br /> -ST. MICHAEL WITHIN THE CASTLE.</h3> -<p>It has been already stated (page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page24">24</a></span>) that the royal free chapel of St. -Juliana became at an early period appurtenant to the church of -St. Michael, the situation of which it has been shown was within -the castle.</p> -<p>It is uncertain whether a church existed here anterior to the -Norman conquest; however, in the survey called Domesday-book, -compiled in 1085, the churches of Shrewsbury are mentioned in the -following order, and their possessions enumerated: viz. St. Mary, -St. Michael, St. Chad, St. Alkmund, and St. Julian. And of -St. Michael these particulars are given:</p> -<blockquote><p>“The Church of Saint Michael holds, of the -Earl Roger, <i>Posseton</i>: Chetel held it [in the time of the -Confessor]: there is one virgate of land: the land is half a -carucate: one man renders therefore a bundle of box on <a -name="page63"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 63</span>the day of -Palms. The same church holds <i>Suletene</i>: Brictric, a -free man held it from the Confessor, when there was one hide -paying tax at the time of the Conquest: the land was one -caracute: there was also half a caracate: it was then worth five -shillings; now (the completion of Domesday) four pence -less.” <a name="citation63"></a><a href="#footnote63" -class="citation">[63]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p>It may be useful, therefore, in this place to relate some -further information respecting the parish of St. Michael, which -has lately excited the public attention, by the parish of St. -Mary enforcing a demand for the payment of poor-rates upon the -tenant of the Castle, J. C. Pelham, Esq. and which that gentleman -resisted on the ground that the Castle formed no part of the -parish of St. Mary. The issue came on for trial at the -Summer Assizes, 1836, before Mr. Justice Patteson and a special -jury, when a verdict was obtained in favour of the plaintiff, Mr. -Pelham.</p> -<p>1222.—This Chapel was of the donation of the Lord the -King, and given to William de Haverhul.</p> -<p>The Chapel of the Forde was also of the gift of the King, and -belonged to this church of the Castle, and rendered three -shillings, and was worth one mark, which William de Haverhul then -held.</p> -<p>1235.—The Chapel of St. Michael was held by William de -Battal, and was worth yearly fourteen marks.</p> -<p>1271.—The Rector of St. Michael proceeded to recover in -law for services due to him in right of his church. The -entry commences thus:</p> -<blockquote><p>“Robert Corbet, of Morton, offered himself -on the fourth day (fourth day probably of the assizes at -Shrewsbury) against Richard de Sarre, Parson of the Church of St. -Michael, of a plea that the same Robert should do to the -aforesaid Richard the accustomed and right services which <a -name="page64"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 64</span>he ought to -do to him for his frank tenement which he holds of him in -<i>Soleton</i> and Lack.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>1293.—The Chapel of St. Michael was worth yearly twelve -marks, and Master Adam de Malane held it of the gift of the -King.</p> -<p>1309.—King Edward the Second granted to his beloved -clerk, Boniface de Ledes, this Free Chapel, vacant by the -resignation of Roger de Ledes.</p> -<p>1318.—A similar Grant to Roger de Lysewy, of this Free -Chapel of St. Michael, being then vacant, &c. To this -grant is appended an order from the King to “Master Thomas -de Cherlton,” then Constable of the Castle, to induct this -Roger into corporal possession thereof.</p> -<p>1330.—A similar Grant of this Chapel, being vacant, to -Walter de London.</p> -<p>1330.—A subsequent Grant, in this year, of the said -Chapel to Adam de Overton.</p> -<p>1342.—It appears that Adam D’Overton was Warden of -this Free Chapel of St. Michael.</p> -<p>1343.—A Grant to John de Wynwyk of this Free Chapel, and -an order to John de Wyndsore, then the Constable, to induct him; -also a Grant to the same John de Wynwyk of the King’s Free -Chapel of St. Julian, Salop.</p> -<p>1344.—A Grant to John Fitz John Le Strange, of -Blaunkmonstr, of this Free Chapel.</p> -<p>1347.—It appears that a suit was pending between John -Fitz John Le Strange, of Whitechurch, Parson of this Free Chapel, -and certain persons in the pleas mentioned.</p> -<p>1395.—An Inquisition taken at Salop, on Wednesday next -after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, before John de Eyton, -Sheriff of Salop, by virtue of a certain Writ to the said Sheriff -directed, and to this Inquisition annexed, by oath of William -Banaster of Bromdon, and others, who say <a -name="page65"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 65</span>upon their -oath that William Tyrington, late Parson of this Chapel, had -committed waste, dilapidation, and destruction in this Chapel, to -wit, in throwing down, dilapidating, and destroying this Chapel, -to the value of one hundred pounds, through the defect of the -roofing, repairing, and supporting of this Chapel, that is, in -lead, stone, timber, and glass windows, and also in the carrying -away one chalice and divers entire vestments, with all the -ornaments ordained for the said chalice and vestments pertaining -to the said Chapel, and by destroying divers images lately being -in the same Chapel, by reason of his improvident custody of the -said Chapel, and of his neglect of the repairing of this Chapel, -to the value aforesaid, beginning the defects aforesaid in the -Feast of Easter, in the 48th year of King Edward the Third, till -the death of this William Tyrington, so that this Chapel was -utterly destroyed and wholly thrown down and laid in ruins by -this William de Tyrington, late Parson of this Chapel, and so -that two hundred marks were not sufficient to amend and repair -it, with the ornaments lately being therein.</p> -<p>1410.—A Grant by King Henry the Fourth, reciting, that -whereas he had granted to “Roger Yve, of Leeton, Rector of -our Chapel of St. John the Baptist at Adbrighton Husee,” -“certain lands in fields called the Batteleyfield, in which -field the battle between us and Henry Percy, deceased, and -certain of our rebels, lately took place,” in order to -build “a certain Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene,” of -which he was appointed Warden, with power to choose five -Chaplains to celebrate Divine Service in the said Chapel every -day. The Grant then proceeds to endow the said Chapel of -St. Mary Magdalene at Battlefield with various possessions, and -among others with the Advowson of “the King’s Free -Chapel of St. Michael within the Castle <a -name="page66"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 66</span>of Salop, to -which the Chapel of St. Julian of Salop is appurtenant or -appendant.”</p> -<p>1417.—John Repynton, then Warden of the said Chapel of -Saint Michael, surrendered the same to the King.</p> -<p>1558.—John Halliwell took of Richard Burper, among other -property, all manner of tithes, oblations, obventions, fruits, -profits, and emoluments, of the Rectory, Church, and Chapel, of -Saint Julian, and of “the Chapel of Saint -Michael.”</p> -<p>1583.—Was a Fine, passing the same property.</p> -<p>Queen Elisabeth having granted a lease of the Castle and its -appurtenances to Humphrey Onslow, Esq. at the yearly rent of 13s. -4d. that gentleman’s lease expired in 1596, when the Castle -and its appurtenances came into the possession of the -Corporation.</p> -<p>In the records of the Corporation is the following entry:</p> -<p>1605.—“Agreed that persons shall view the stones -in the Castle belonging to St. Michael’s Chapel, and take -account thereof, and enquire what stones are taken -away.”</p> -<p>There can be little doubt, however, but the Parish of St. -Michael’s had originally some connexion with St. -Mary’s parish; for in the reign of Henry II. it seems that -Walter de Dunstanville, Rector of St. Michael’s, sold a -tract of land called Wogheresforlong and a moiety of Derefold to -a person named Gilbert, reserving to himself a rent of three -shillings and sixpence; and that John the son of Gilbert soon -afterwards conveyed it to one Nicholas le Poncer, who -subsequently granted it to Haghmond Abbey, free from all secular -service, saving a rent of four shillings to be annually paid (in -lieu of the tithes of Derefold) to the parson of the parish of -the church of St. Michael within the Castle.</p> -<p>This commutation is assented to and witnessed by the Dean and -Chapter of St. Mary’s, “for us and our successors for -ever;” an attestation which would appear as quite -unnecessary, <a name="page67"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -67</span>if this district had not once been connected with their -jurisdiction.</p> -<p>The etymology of Derfald, or Deerfold, is an enclosure or park -(which will be noticed hereafter) for keeping deer, an appendage -not unusual to our early fortresses. This circumstance (and -at a period when little respect was shown to boundaries civil or -ecclesiastical) might have induced Roger de Montgomery, as feudal -lord, to assign it as the parochial limits of his church, -although at the cost of the parish of St. Mary.</p> -<h3>THE ABBEY CHURCH.</h3> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p67b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"The Abbey Church" -title= -"The Abbey Church" - src="images/p67s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p><a name="page68"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 68</span><span -class="smcap">The Abbey Church</span> is situated in the suburb -to which it has given the name of Abbey Foregate. It is -built of a deep red stone. A noble simplicity combined with -a massive solidity characterizes the whole structure, to which -time has given a most venerable appearance; and, though marks of -mutilation are too evident throughout, it displays many curious -features of ancient Norman architecture combined with the earlier -pointed style.</p> -<p>It originally formed part of the richly endowed monastery -founded in 1083 by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, and -when entire was a stately cruciform building, equal in size to -some of our cathedrals, having a central and western tower, -transepts, &c. The whole eastern portion, two-thirds of -the structure, was barbarously destroyed at the dissolution of -monasteries in the time of Henry the Eighth. The neglect of -after-times has contributed much to disfigure its external -elevation, the eastern portion of the upper clerestory having -from decay fallen down some time about the close of the 17th -century.</p> -<p>The present church consists of the nave, side aisles, and -western tower of the Abbey church, and owes its escape to the -circumstance of the western end having always been used as the -church of the parish of <span class="smcap">Holy Cross</span>, -the name it still retains.</p> -<p>The west front is composed of the tower, flanked by the ends -of the Norman side aisles, and has a bold appearance. The -tower is broad and massive; the basement early Norman, surmounted -by a well-proportioned superstructure of the 14th century. -The portal is a deeply recessed round-headed arch, having a -pointed doorway inserted within it; to preserve uniformity, the -exterior rib of the outward round arch springs on each side from -a Norman shaft with an indented capital, and the combination -displays much skill and ingenuity.</p> -<p><a name="page69"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 69</span>Above -this is one of the most magnificent windows in the kingdom, 46 -feet high by 23 feet wide; the intrado of the arch is enriched by -a series of small trefoil panels; the label rises high above it -in the ogee form, richly crocketed and terminated in a -finial. The window is in the decorated style, and divided -horizontally by transoms, and perpendicularly by six mullions, -into seven compartments for the glass, the lower division having -blank panels which have never been pierced for glazing. The -arched head is gracefully pointed and filled with a profusion of -the most rich and delicate tracery.</p> -<p>On each side of the window are the remains of a canopied -niche, which once contained statues, probably of Saint Peter and -St. Paul, the tutelar saints of the Abbey.</p> -<p>The north and south-west angles of the tower are flanked by -shelving buttresses, having their sets-off worked into pedimented -weatherings. The bell chamber has two windows on each side, -between those of the western front is an elegant canopied niche -containing the statue of an armed knight, bearing in one hand a -mutilated sword, the other appears to have once projected from -the body, but is now broken. The figure has a conical -basinet, encircled by a crown, fastened to a camail of mail, -which covers the neck, shoulders, and breast to the hips, and is -finished by an emblazoned jupon. The thighs and legs are -encased in plate armour. This statue is supposed to -represent Edward the Third, in whose reign the tower was probably -built.</p> -<p>On the north side of the church is a lofty and handsome porch, -the entrance to which is under a pointed arch resting on round -columns, and peculiarly recessed within a square aperture charged -with shields; above is a chamber (formerly in two stories) -lighted by small mullioned windows whose arches are nearly -flat. On each side are niches, in one of which is the -remains of a figure. The ceiling of <a -name="page70"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 70</span>the porch is -cylindrical, without ornament, and the interior doorway a plain -semi-circular arch with round mouldings.</p> -<p>The exterior of the side aisles displays a series of modern -gables, each of which contains a mullioned window. The -eastern end of the church is finished by a wall run up between -the remains of the two western piers that supported a central -tower, in which a pointed window is inserted. This, -however, will soon be removed, and three elegant Norman lights -substituted by private munificence.</p> -<p>On the south side the gables are at present miserably repaired -with brickwork, but it is to be hoped that ere long the public -spirit and good taste of the town will be exercised in such a -manner as to assist the parishioners in the proper restoration of -this side of the church, which presents so striking a feature -from the new line of the London road.</p> -<p>The south aisle is entered by a plain Norman arch, resting on -slender shafts, and which once communicated with the western wing -of the cloister; the approach from the opposite eastern wing was -by a pointed doorway; adjoining this is the ruined wall of the -transept, in which are two round arches, supposed to have formed -portions of a side aisle, or small chantry chapel west of the -transept.</p> -<h4>THE INTERIOR</h4> -<p>presents a majestic appearance of solemnity, calculated to -raise devout and profound veneration towards that <span -class="smcap">Almighty Being</span> to whose service and honour -the edifice is dedicated, as well as to enchain the attention to -the scriptural motto inscribed upon the north -portal—“<span class="smcap">Reverence my -Sanctuary</span>.”</p> -<p>The nave is separated from the side aisles by five arches: -two, which on each side join the tower, are in the pure style of -the 14th century, and delicately lined with deep mouldings -resting on clustered columns, and exhibit very distinctly <a -name="page71"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 71</span>the taste -which prevailed in engrafting the more elegant pointed upon the -massy Anglo-Norman style; the former, it will be clearly seen, -have been formed out of the original semi-circular arches, -similar to the three eastward, which rest on short thick round -pillars (16½ feet in circumference) of the plainest Norman -character. Above these is a story of smaller arches in the -same style, now filled up, but which evidently shew that it was -the intention of the monastery to assimilate them to the style -adopted in the side windows of the tower and western portion of -the nave: the alteration, however, was not completed.</p> -<p>The pointed arch opposite the north porch is partly filled by -a skreen, the remnant of a small chantry chapel which formerly -occupied this portion of the church. This skreen is adorned -with a series of foliated niches once enriched with -sculpture.</p> -<p>The ceiling of the church is painted in imitation of an oak -ribbed roof, ornamented with flowers, the intersections of the -ribs being finished with bosses, and the interstices with -quatrefoils. A lofty beautiful pointed arch, 52 feet high, -springing from richly moulded imposts divides the tower from the -nave, by which the whole front of the great western window is -displayed. This window is filled with a series of armorial -bearings in stained glass, restored in 1814 at the expence and -under the direction of the Rev. W. G. Rowland, M.A. from a -drawing in the Heralds’ College.</p> -<p><i>First row</i>: 1. Beauchamp; 2. Thomas of Woodstock, Duke -of Gloucester; 3. King Richard the Second; 4. John of Gaunt, Duke -of Lancaster; 5. Edmund of Langley, Duke of York; 6. -Stafford.</p> -<p><i>Second row</i>: 7. Audley; 8. Clare; 9. B. a lion rampant -O. (the arms of the monastery); 10. Barry of twelve, A. and -S.</p> -<p><a name="page72"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -72</span><i>Third row</i>: 11. Mortimer Earl of March; 12. -Fitzalan and Warren.</p> -<p><i>Fourth row</i>: 13. Montague; 14. Boteler of Wem; 15. -Ufford Earl of Suffolk; 16. B. on a bend A. three escallops -S.</p> -<p><i>Fifth row</i>: 17. Warren Earl of Surrey; 18, 19, 20. B. a -lion rampant within a bordure O. (probably intended for the three -Norman Earls of Shrewsbury); 21. Blundeville Earl of Chester; 22. -Sir Philip de Burnell.</p> -<p><i>Sixth row</i>: 23. England and France quarterly; 24. John -of Hainault; 25. Strange of Blackmere; 26. Strange of Knockin; -27. Lisle; 28. Mortimer Earl of March; 29. Arundel and Warren; -30. France semée and England; 31. Arundel and Maltravers; -32. Corbet; 33. Albini; 34. Latimer; 35. Roger de Montgomery; 36. -Sir Simon de Burley impaling Stafford; which last bearings will -probably fix the date when the original window was put up, viz. -about the 12th of King Richard the Second.</p> -<p>The whole extent of the tower is occupied by a spacious -gallery, in which is an excellent organ made by Gray, of London, -and erected in 1806 at a cost of 365 guineas. The front of -the gallery is a gothic skreen of three arches, divided by -buttresses, and displays the armorial bearings of the principal -benefactors to the organ.</p> -<p>The eastern window contains six resplendent figures in stained -glass, executed by Mr. David Evans, of Shrewsbury, viz. <span -class="smcap">St. James</span>, <span class="smcap">King -David</span>, <span class="smcap">St. John</span>, <span -class="smcap">King Solomon</span> (as in the act of consecrating -the Temple), <span class="smcap">St. Peter</span>, and <span -class="smcap">St. Paul</span>, with their respective -emblems. The figures were placed in rich tracery work in -1836, but the window was originally set up in 1820, with the -following inscription:—<span class="smcap">aedi</span> . -<span class="smcap">sanctae</span> . <span -class="smcap">crucis</span> . Post . Annos . Viginti . Septem . -In . <span class="smcap">sacris</span> . <span -class="smcap">ejus</span> . Administrandis . Impensos . <a -name="page73"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 73</span>Dono . Dedit -. Gvlielmvs . Gorsvch . Rowland . anno . salvtis . <span -class="smcap">mdcccxx</span>.</p> -<p>Below this window is a series of highly-enriched Norman -arches, forming the altar skreen, erected from a design by Mr. -Carline, and at the expense of the Rev. Richard Scott, B. D. -which has given a most imposing feature to this part of the -church.</p> -<p>The north-east window was the gift of the late Lord Berwick, -and previously to the year 1820 stood over the altar. In -the centre compartment is a large figure of St. Peter, and the -remainder of the window is occupied by the arms of the See of -Lichfield, those of the munificent donor, and thirteen -escutcheons of the incumbents from the Reformation to 1804. -A rich border lines the mullions, and at the bottom is -inscribed—<span class="smcap">mvnificentia</span> • -<span class="smcap">viri</span> • <span -class="smcap">praenobilis</span> • <span -class="smcap">thomae</span> • <span -class="smcap">noel</span> • <span -class="smcap">baronis</span> • <span -class="smcap">berwick</span> • <span class="smcap">de</span> -• <span class="smcap">attingham</span> • <span -class="smcap">hvjvs</span> • <span -class="smcap">ecclesiae</span> • <span -class="smcap">patroni</span> • <span -class="smcap">anno</span> • <span -class="smcap">salvtis</span> • <span -class="smcap">mdcccvi</span>.</p> -<p>Small windows divided by a single mullion are placed in the -eastern arches of the side aisles (which formerly opened with the -transepts); that on the north side has the arms of Mortimer, -Fitzalan, Talbot, and Berkeley, in stained glass. The -corresponding window of the south aisle has three ancient shields -(originally in the great chamber of the abbey) bearing the arms -of France and England, Roger de Montgomery, and the symbols of -the Patron Saints, the key and sword, in saltire.</p> -<p>In the south aisle is a beautiful mosaic window of stained -glass, by Mr. D. Evans, containing twelve shields of the armorial -bearings of families connected with the late Rev. John -Rocke. Underneath is inscribed—<span -class="GutSmall">MAJORVM SVORVM INSIGNIA DEPINGI CURAVIT JOHANNES -ROCKE</span>, <span class="GutSmall">MDCCCXX</span>.</p> -<p><a name="page74"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 74</span>The -western portion of the south aisle is walled from the church for -a vestry, near which, on a pavement of emblazoned tiles, stands -the Font: the pedestal is carved with zigzag mouldings, and -supports a round basin, ornamented with chevron work and small -arched panels. This originally belonged to the church at -High Ercall.</p> -<p>Another font, found some years since in the adjoining garden, -is at the eastern end of the north aisle. Its basin -represents an open flower, over which is festooned drapery -supported from the mouths of grotesque heads; the pillar on which -it is fixed formed the upper part of the ancient cross which -formerly stood opposite the south door of St. Giles’s -church. On the sides are sculptured the Crucifixion, the -Visitation, the Virgin and Child, and a person in the act of -devotion.</p> -<p>Length of the church from east to west 123 feet, breadth -(including aisles) 63 feet; the tower is 104 feet in height, and -contains a fine mellow peal of eight bells.</p> -<h4>MONUMENTS—SOUTH AISLE.</h4> -<p>The oldest monument in the church is the mutilated cumbent -figure of a warrior clad in mail of the date of King John’s -reign, and conjectured by the heralds at the visitation in 1623 -to be the effigy of the Founder of the abbey, who died July 27th, -1094. It has been placed on a basement of early pointed -arches, by the Rev. W. G. Rowland, M.A. to whose taste this -church is mainly indebted for its interior beauty and -interest.</p> -<p>On the fall of St. Chad’s and the demolition of St. -Alkmund’s church, several ancient monuments found an -habitation within the aisles of this church. To enumerate -all the inscriptions on these and other memorials would far -exceed the prescribed limits of these pages: a brief survey must -therefore suffice.</p> -<p><a name="page75"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -75</span>Commencing at the eastern end of the south aisle, we -find—a bust, under a Roman arch, in alderman’s robes, -representing John Lloyd, alderman of this town, who died in 1647, -aged 53.</p> -<p>Near this is a handsome altar-tomb bearing two cumbent -figures, an alderman in his civic robes, with picked beard and -bareheaded, and a lady in a scarlet gown, finished after the -stiff habit of the times, denoting William Jones and Eleanor his -wife; the former died in 1612, and the latter in 1623. -These were brought from St. Alkmund’s.</p> -<p>An alabaster tomb from Wellington old church, described by -Dugdale as “a faire raised monument, whereon is cut the -portraiture of a man in armour, and by him his wife, with this -inscription”—</p> -<blockquote><p>Hic jacet in Tumba corpus Will’mi Chorlton -armigeri et Anne Uxor’ ejus; que quidem Anna obiit vii die -mensis Junii, Anno D’ni Mill’imo cccccxxiiii. et -dictas Will’ms obiit p’mo die mensis Julii anno -d’ni mill’imo cccccxliiii. quorum animab’ -p’picietur Deus.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>On the sides of the tomb are a series of canopied niches, with -figures of angels and friars bearing shields, on which are -emblazoned armorial bearings of the families of <i>Charlton</i>, -<i>Zouch</i>, and <i>Horde</i>; one of the friars is remarkable, -having a fox’s head peeping out from under his long -gown.</p> -<p>In this part are handsome mural tablets with Latin -inscriptions to the memory of individuals of the families of -<span class="smcap">Rocke</span>, <span -class="smcap">Prince</span>, <span class="smcap">Baldwin</span>, -&c. &c.</p> -<p>Near the south entrance is the cumbent figure of a -cross-legged knight in linked armour, with surcoat, sword in -scabbard, gauntlets on his hands, spurs on his heels, and his -feet resting on a lion. It is considered to be the effigy -of <i>Sir Walter de Dunstanville</i>, Lord of Ideshale, and a -benefactor to Wombridge Priory, from whence the figure was -brought. He died 25th Henry III.</p> -<h4><a name="page76"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 76</span>NORTH -AISLE.</h4> -<p>Resting on a basement is a curious ancient ridge-backed -gravestone, on which is cut a foliated cross; under this is a -small figure clad as a priest, close to whose head is attached -the outline of a bell. On the right side is a chalice, a -book, and a candle; round the edge of the stone is T: M: O: R: E: -U: A, which is conjectured to mean Thomas More, Vicarius -Abbatiæ. It was removed from St. Giles’s.</p> -<p>Among other ancient cumbent figures in this aisle, one is -supposed to represent a Judge who died in Shrewsbury, being robed -to the feet, and having a coif drawn close over his head, and -tied under the chin. It is of the date of Edward I.</p> -<p>Another monumental statue clad in plate armour displays a long -loose robe as the surcoat, which is curiously disposed on one -side to shew the warlike character of the deceased, whose armour, -belt, and dagger would have been otherwise concealed. The -head is wrapped in a close cowl. From the peculiarity of -the robe being thrown back, this effigy is probably unique. -Froissart asserts that a similar dress was worn in battle, and -that this kind of long loose drapery proved fatal to Sir John -Chandos, for he “wore over his armour a large robe which -fell to ye ground;” and as it appears, when he marched -“entangled his legs so that he made a stumble, and was -killed by the enemy.” The costume of the present -figure (which originally stood on an altar-tomb in St. -Alkmund’s church) may be attributed to the close of the -14th century; but whom it represents is now unknown.</p> -<p>On the side walls are several neat tablets. An elegant -canopied niche with pinnacles commemorates Edward Jenkins, Esq. -of Charlton Hill, co. Salop, who ably distinguished himself in -the first American war, being then a <a name="page77"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 77</span>lieutenant in the 60th regiment, and -died May 1, 1820, in his 81st year.</p> -<p>At the eastern end is a large altar-tomb, on which are -recumbent figures of Richard Onslow, Esq. (Speaker of the House -of Commons in the reign of Elizabeth), and his lady Catherine; -the former is dressed in his robes of office, and the latter in -the dress of the times. On the sides and ends of the -monument are small figures of his sons and daughters. He -died in 1571, and was buried at St. Chad’s.</p> -<p>Above this is a mural monument representing a gentleman and -lady kneeling opposite to each other under a rich Grecian -entablature; the former is clad in a ruff and long gown, and the -latter has a long veil thrown back. They represent Thomas -Edwards, Esq. who died 1634, and Ann his wife, daughter of -Humfrey Baskerville, alderman of London. Over the -entablature is a lady in a richly-laced habit, and a little girl -kneeling, intended for Mary, wife of Thomas Edwards, Esq. and -daughter of Thomas Bonham Norton, Esq. who died in childbirth, -1641.</p> -<p>In the vestry is an old painting of the Crucifixion, which was -a century ago “turned out of the church,” and -occasioned at the time some strife between the parson and his -flock.</p> -<p>The living is a vicarage, with St. Giles’s annexed, in -the gift of the Right Hon. Lord Berwick, who received it from the -Crown in exchange for three small livings in Suffolk.</p> -<p>The ruins of the monastic buildings, which are now scattered -over an extent of about nine acres, are not considerable, and -will be described in a notice of the suburb of -Abbey-foregate.</p> -<h3><a name="page78"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 78</span>SAINT -GILES’S CHURCH.</h3> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p78b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"St. Giles’s Church, N.W." -title= -"St. Giles’s Church, N.W." - src="images/p78s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>Sacred edifices, under the invocation of this Saint, were -generally founded “without the city;” that in this -town occupies a situation at the eastern extremity of the suburb -of Abbey-foregate.</p> -<p>The structure is unquestionably as old as the early part of -the twelfth century; and while presenting an interesting picture -of the work of former times, has a tendency <a -name="page79"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 79</span>to lead the -mind, under fit impressions, to the hope of a less perishable, -“greater, and more perfect tabernacle.”</p> -<p>It consists of a nave, chancel, and north aisle, with a small -turret at the western end, in which a bell has lately been -introduced. The principal entrance is at the south, under a -Norman arch. The north aisle is separated from the nave by -three pointed arches sustained on plain round columns, formed (it -appears) in the thickness of the wall, and peculiarly flanked on -the north side by square piers, having an upper and lower narrow -moulding adorned with recessed quatrefoils. These piers, it -is presumed, originally served as buttresses to strengthen the -outward wall of the fabric, which on receiving the addition of a -north aisle (evidently at a very early period), a communication -was then opened with the nave by perforating the wall into -arches, which are of the era when the Norman was giving way to -the pointed style. It is not improbable but this aisle was -made for the accommodation of persons afflicted with leprosy, to -which they had access from the adjoining hospital by a pointed -doorway, and where they might hear the offices of religion -without endangering other worshippers with their contagious -malady. At the east end is a curious round-headed window -with mullions.</p> -<p>A fine pointed arch separates the nave from the chancel, which -is terminated by a flat-arched mullioned window, containing a -noble collection of stained glass, executed by Mr. David Evans, -of Shrewsbury. The four lower compartments have full-length -figures of <span class="smcap">the Evangelists</span>, standing -upon hexagonal pedestals, through the external circular arches of -which is exhibited the groined roof of a crypt supported by -slender pillars. Over each figure is a beautiful canopy of -tabernacle work, and in the intersections of the tracery are the -symbols of the Evangelists, <a name="page80"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 80</span>each supporting a tablet, on which is -respectively inscribed, in small characters—</p> -<blockquote><p>Mattheus Christi stirpens et genus ordine -narrat<br /> -Marcus Baptistam clamantem inducit eremo<br /> -Virgine pregnatum Lucas describit Jesum<br /> -Prodit Joannes verbi impenetrabile lumen.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The three principal compartments in the upper division display -fine representations from ancient designs of <span -class="smcap">The Salutation</span>, <span class="smcap">The Wise -Mens’ Offering</span>, and <span class="smcap">The -Presentation in the Temple</span>, beneath each of which is a -Latin text: the first is taken from Luke i. 28; the second from -Psalm lxxii. 10; the third from Luke ii. 29, 30. At the -bottom of the window, <span class="smcap">Gulielmus Gorsuch -Rowland dono dedit</span>.</p> -<p>The small Norman loop-hole on the north side contains a figure -of St. Giles, and is an exquisite imitation of ancient stained -glass.</p> -<p>On the south side of the chancel is a low pointed arch, the -stone-work of which projects outside the building, and was no -doubt originally intended to contain the remains of a master of -the hospital. After the plaister had been removed in 1826, -which brought to view this archway, the ground at its base was -opened, when a stone grave cased with brick-work was discovered, -with part of the bones of two individuals. In 1685 it -appears to have been used for the interment of the individual -whose name is inscribed on the stone, and to prevent (if -possible) that ejection of himself which must have befallen the -remains of a former tenant, it is further added</p> -<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">stvr not my bones</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">which are layde in claye</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">for i mvst rise at</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">the resvrrection day</span>.</p> -</blockquote> -<h4><a name="page81"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 81</span>THE -INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH</h4> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p81b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"St. Giles’ Church—Interior View" -title= -"St. Giles’ Church—Interior View" - src="images/p81s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>Possesses much of its primitive character, being unencumbered -with pews, and until the last few years exhibited a still more -rude appearance of damp and neglect. Many important -improvements, however, have been effected within and around the -building, especially in placing drains around the exterior, which -have not only rendered the interior free from damp, but -contributed also to the dryness <a name="page82"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 82</span>of the cemetery. The -alterations in the nave consist in levelling and repairing the -floor, ceiling the roof, and appropriately colouring the walls -and rafters; removing the pulpit from the corner of the fine arch -leading into the chancel to the south-east corner of the nave, -and placing stone tracery of a bold design in the large pointed -window of the south wall. The windows of the north aisle -are filled with fragments of stained glass ingeniously disposed, -so as to represent the outline of figures. <a -name="citation82"></a><a href="#footnote82" -class="citation">[82]</a></p> -<p>In feet, whoever has visited this ancient church during its -former wretched state will be astonished; it now truly looks</p> -<blockquote><p>“As though we own’d a God, adored his -power,<br /> -Rever’d his wisdom, loved his mercy.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>And its sacred walls will, it is to be hoped, no more echo -with the twittering of birds,—the sparrow find a place of -security over the altar, or the swallow be permitted to -“build her brooding nest” above its antique pulpit; -altho’ these are striking resemblances of the tranquillity -and peace which the means of grace are to a christian, and which -seem to inhabit the house of the Deity.</p> -<p>But the sentiment which this venerable place impressed was in -some measure checked by its disuse, divine service being only -celebrated within its walls twice a year.</p> -<p>Since the foregoing account was written, the author of these -Memorials has the pleasure to record that regular service was -commenced in this church on Sunday, June 19, 1836, which will -form a great convenience to the increasing population of the -neighbourhood. Nine new oak pews have been subsequently -erected within its walls, from a design by Mr. Carline, and at -the expence of the Reverend <a name="page83"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 83</span>Richard Scott, B. D. who has also -contributed a sum that will, with the letting of the pews, -further increase the stipend of a minister. Much has been -very justly said against the deformity which the introduction of -pews has rendered to churches; those, however, placed in this -structure meet every objection, and are perfect models of what -pews should be,—fixed forms having backs, but without -doors;—adapted for a devotional rather than a lounging -posture. On the outside partition of each is a small carved -finial, and the whole are in unison with the style of the church -and ancient benches still remaining on the south side. A -new altar-piece has been placed above the communion-table: the -latter was presented by an inhabitant of the parish, and the -former by Mr. Scott.</p> -<p>The dimensions of the church are—nave 45 feet by 36, -chancel 20 feet by 15, total length 65 feet. The font is -the upper portion of a Norman pillar with the capital hollowed, -and originally belonged to the Abbey church.</p> -<p>It may be mentioned, that after the monks of Shrewsbury had -obtained possession of the bones of St. Wenefrede in 1137, those -precious relics were deposited on the altar of this church, until -a shrine worthy their reception could be prepared in the -Abbey.</p> -<p>On the floor are several ancient stones bearing crosses, no -doubt denoting the interment of some of the masters of the old -hospital of St. Giles.</p> -<p>A spacious cemetery surrounds the building, where the -contemplative mind,</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">“Free from noise -and riot rude,”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>may resort, and, unmolested by the vulgar gaze of -unsympathizing intruders, pour the grateful tribute of a sigh, or -embalm afresh the memory of that departed spirit with whom he -once took generous and undesigning counsel; <a -name="page84"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 84</span>and renew in -imagination, through time’s dim mist, hours consecrated to -friendship.</p> -<p>In this silent repository are gravestones 200 years old, many -inhabitants of the town having selected it as their last resting -place, from a feeling similar to that inscribed upon a tomb in -the south-west corner of the church-yard:</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">Ut Nemini noceret -Mortuus,<br /> -Qui Unicuique pro re nata succurrere voluit Vivus,<br /> -Hic extra Urbem sese contumulandum præcipiebat,<br /> -CHENEY HART, M.D.<br /> -Warringtoni in agro Lancastriensi natus Nov. 17–28, -1726.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>A stone near the south window covers the remains of John -Whitfield, surgeon, on which is recorded an epitaph, the very -quintessence of chemical brevity—</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">I. W.<br /> -<span class="GutSmall">COMPOSITA SOLVANTUR.</span></p> -</blockquote> -<p>Opposite the south door is the socket of an ancient stone -cross, the upper portion of which supports a font in the Abbey -church.</p> -<p>From hence likewise is an extensive view of the town, with the -different churches displayed to much picturesque advantage, the -vale below being watered by the meanderings of the Rea brook; -while the more distant prospect, chequered with mountains and -woody knolls, verdant pastures and rural habitations, presents a -striking picture of</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">“Life’s -fair landscape, mark’d with light and shade.”</p> -</blockquote> -<h3><a name="page85"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 85</span>SAINT -MICHAEL’S CHURCH</h3> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p85b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"St. Michael’s Church, Castle-foregate" -title= -"St. Michael’s Church, Castle-foregate" - src="images/p85s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>Stands on a pleasant site in the populous suburb of Castle -Foregate. The western side commands an interesting view of -the town. The venerable Castle with its towers and hoary -walls, the Royal Free Grammar School, and the lofty spires of St. -Mary’s and St. Alkmund’s churches, combine to form a -most pleasing group; whilst the fine church of Saint Chad, backed -by distant mountains, stands <a name="page86"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 86</span>prominent in the front. On the -northern side of the building is a picturesque dell, along which -the majestic Severn formerly poured its crystal stream.</p> -<p>The church is a respectable building in the Doric style, -composed of brick. It was erected by subscription, and -consecrated for divine worship August 24th, 1830.</p> -<p>In plan, it consists of a tower, nave, side aisles, and an -elliptical recess for the communion, with a vestry in the base of -the tower.</p> -<p>The tower is of three divisions, and rises to the height of 70 -feet; the basement is square, on which rests an octagonal belfry, -crowned by a similar division of smaller dimensions, having a -cornice charged with lions’ heads, the whole being -surmounted by an angular lead roof and a gilded cross.</p> -<p>The body of the church is in length 70 ft. 6 in. and in -breadth 40 ft. 6 in. and has a stone plinth, cornice, and -parapet. The windows throughout are circular-headed, having -unbroken stone dressings surrounding them.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">The Interior</span> is approached by two -entrances, north and south, beneath a stone cornice sustained on -pilasters; and, if not splendid in decoration, it has that -solemnity which becometh the House of God: it possesses, however, -one great advantage, in being capable of comfortably -accommodating a congregation of 800 persons, 620 of whom may -possess free sittings. On the floor are thirty-six pews, -the other part being entirely free. There are galleries -over the north and south aisles, and at the western end, the -whole of which are free sittings. These galleries are -sustained on cast-iron columns, which are also continued for the -support of the roof.</p> -<p>The ceiling has a good effect, being panelled in large square -compartments, and beautifully painted in imitation <a -name="page87"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 87</span>of oak. -The pulpit and reading desk are octagonal, and are placed on -opposite sides of the church.</p> -<p>The eastern end is finished by three panels, inscribed with -the Decalogue, &c. Three windows of splendid stained -glass decorate the chancel. The subject of the centre one -is the <span class="smcap">Nativity</span>, from the celebrated -“La Notte” of Correggio, and is a most masterly -production of the art of glass-staining, especially in the -management of light suitable to the time and scene of the -subject. Underneath is the inscription in Roman -capitals—“<span class="smcap">And they came with -haste</span>, <span class="smcap">and found Mary</span>, <span -class="smcap">and Joseph</span>, <span class="smcap">and the Babe -lying in a manger</span>.”</p> -<p>The windows on each side of the above are designed from the -<span class="smcap">Annunciation</span>, and the <span -class="smcap">Presentation in the Temple</span>, the former from -a painting by Guido in the chapel of the palace on the Monte -Cavallo of Rome. The angel, a beautiful figure arrayed in -yellow drapery tastefully displayed, is in the act of presenting -to the virgin a lily, while his attitude and countenance seem to -bespeak the emphatic words of the motto inscribed -beneath—“<span class="smcap">Hail</span>! <span -class="smcap">thou that art highly favoured among Women</span>; -<span class="smcap">the Lord is with thee</span>.” -The other is from the celebrated picture at Antwerp, by Rubens, -and founded on the words of holy Simeon—“<span -class="smcap">Lord</span>, <span class="smcap">now lettest thou -thy servant depart in peace</span>: <span class="smcap">according -to thy word</span>.”</p> -<p>These windows, perfect gems of the art, were executed by Mr. -David Evans, of Shrewsbury, and were the gift of the Rev. W. G. -Rowland, M.A. Minister and Official of St. Mary’s.</p> -<p>There is a small but excellent organ in the west gallery, and -the tower contains a light peal of six bells, cast in 1830. -The architect of the church was Mr. J. Carline; and when it is -considered that it was erected at an expence of little <a -name="page88"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 88</span>more than -£2000, criticism is disarmed in the substantial appearance -which it possesses.</p> -<p>The cemetery surrounding the church is particularly neat; a -gravel walk extends along its sides, and the ground is laid out -in divisions for graves and vaults, which are numbered according -to a plan kept with the sexton.</p> -<p>This church is in St. Mary’s parish, with the minister -of which the presentation is vested.</p> -<h3>SAINT GEORGES CHURCH.</h3> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p88b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"St. George’s Church, Frankwell" -title= -"St. George’s Church, Frankwell" - src="images/p88s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p><span class="smcap">Saint George’s Church</span> is -situated at the upper end <a name="page89"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 89</span>of the suburb of Frankwell, and is -dedicated to the tutelar saint of England, from its proximity to -the site of an ancient religious foundation called in old -writings “The free chapel of St. George.”</p> -<p>The present church was consecrated January 30th, 1832, and is -cruciform in plan, having a small tower rising at the west end; -it is built with fine Grinshill stone, from a design by Mr. -Haycock. The architecture adopted throughout the building, -with the exception of the tower, is of the lancet or early -pointed style.</p> -<p>The west front is of three divisions guarded by projecting -buttresses, the centre portion forming the principal entrance, a -pointed arch bounded by a sweeping label; above this is a lancet -light, succeeded by a panel intended for a clock dial. From -this part the tower shows itself above the roof to the height of -about 20 feet, and has mullioned windows in the style of the -16th-century, surmounted by an embattled parapet and four -crocketed pinnacles crowned with finials. The flanks of the -west end are quite plain, having in their centre narrow blank -loopholes.</p> -<p>The nave has on each side four lancet windows, bounded by -labels; and the northern and southern extremities of the -transepts, with the chancel or eastern end, have triple lancet -windows with recessed mouldings, resting on grotesque carved -heads. The transepts and chancel terminate with gables, -having on their apex a crocketed pinnacle.</p> -<p>The extreme length of the church is about 84 feet, and 30 feet -in width, the transepts from north to south are 66 feet, and the -tower to the summit of the pinnacles 60 feet.</p> -<h4>THE INTERIOR</h4> -<p>possesses a very pleasing appearance. The basement of <a -name="page90"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 90</span>the tower -forms the vestibule, which is flanked on one side by the vestry, -and on the other by the stairs leading to the gallery. The -aisles of the nave and transepts are occupied by free benches, -with a passage on either hand, the pews being placed along the -side walls of the entire building.</p> -<p>The font is of free-stone, and placed on a pedestal in the -area between the transepts; the basin is octangular, having on -its side compartments a small quatrefoil sunk within a square -panel.</p> -<p>On each side of the communion table are two carved gothic -chairs; and nearly the whole extent of the eastern wall of the -chancel is covered with a handsome altar skreen.</p> -<p>The three lancet windows are filled with splendid stained -glass.</p> -<p>The subject occupying the centre window is a full-length -figure of <span class="smcap">Isaiah</span>, in an attitude -strikingly prophetic, and clothed in a brilliant vest of purple, -over which is thrown a green robe lined with ermine, denoting his -royal descent.</p> -<p>The corresponding windows on each side have spirited figures -of <span class="smcap">St. Matthew</span> and <span -class="smcap">St. Mark</span>. The former exhibits deep and -serious meditation, with a most benign countenance; in his right -hand is a halbert, and in his left a Greek manuscript. -<span class="smcap">St. Mark</span> is a most venerable figure, -whose head appears covered with the frost of hoary years, and he -is pointing to an open gospel which he holds in his left -hand.</p> -<p>The figures stand on rich bases, which display an highly -ornamented quatrefoil, and are surmounted by canopies of the most -elegant crocketed tabernacle work, which have a truly pleasing -effect.</p> -<p>At the base of the window is a series of pointed arches in -ruby glass, beneath which is the following inscription: <span -class="GutSmall">HANC • FENESTRAM • PICTURATAM • -AEDIS • SANCTI • GEORGII • </span><a -name="page91"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 91</span><span -class="GutSmall">DECORANDAE • ERGO • DONAVIT • -RICARDUS • SCOTT • SACRAE • THEOLOGIAE • -BACCALAUREUS • ANNO • SALUTIS • -MDCCCXXXIII</span>.</p> -<p>The triple windows of the north and south transepts are also -embellished by the same benefactor with elegant mosaic patterns -of elaborate workmanship, vying in richness and mellowness of -colouring with the finest specimens of ancient stained glass.</p> -<p>The taste displayed in the execution of these windows is -highly creditable to the talents of our townsman, Mr. David -Evans, and will, we trust, long remain as a noble example of -private generosity.</p> -<p>Attached to the west end is a deep gallery of free seats, -which contains a small organ, presented by the Rev. Richard -Scott, B.D. in 1834.</p> -<p>The church was erected by a public subscription and a grant -from the commissioners for building churches. The total -cost, exclusive of the site, was nearly £4000, of which -sum, however, £400 has been vested in the name of trustees -as a fund for future repairs.</p> -<p>There are 57 pews which will accommodate 290 persons, and 460 -free and unappropriated sittings.</p> -<p>The right of presentation is in the vicar of St. -Chad’s.</p> - -<div class="gapspace"> </div> -<p><span class="smcap">The Old Hospital of St. George</span> -stood on a site eastward between the present church and the Welsh -bridge, which latter, as early as the reign of Henry II. was -called “Saint George’s Bridge.” About the -year 1150, the Bishop of Coventry, considering the great poverty -of the brethren of the Hospital of St. George, Salop, released to -all who should contribute to their necessities “thirteen -days of penance enjoined them, and a share of all the prayers and -alms within his Bishoprick.” In 1418 the church -appears to have been in the gift of the Crown, and is supposed to -have been taken down early in the reign of Elizabeth.</p> -<h3><a name="page92"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -92</span>TRINITY CHURCH.</h3> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p92b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Trinity Church, Coleham" -title= -"Trinity Church, Coleham" - src="images/p92s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>The necessity of additional church accommodation for a -population of 2200 persons who inhabit the <span -class="smcap">Suburb of Coleham</span> having been generally -acknowledged, inasmuch as most of them were destitute of sittings -in the parish church, where many of the pews are freehold, and -others let at such rents as are beyond the means not only of the -labouring poor (who form the greater part of the township) but of -the class immediately above them, a meeting of the parishioners -and others interested in the spiritual welfare of <a -name="page93"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 93</span>this isolated -district of the town, was therefore held in the vestry of St. -Julian’s church, Dec. 7th, 1835, when it was resolved to be -highly necessary to erect a chapel of ease in Coleham, with free -sittings for at least two-thirds of the number it may -contain.</p> -<p>A committee was formed for the purpose of carrying the -proposed design into execution, and of soliciting pecuniary -assistance in all proper quarters. No sooner was this -announced than Salopian generosity was immediately excited, and -the town and neighbourhood by their contributions, in -co-operation with those of the parishioners, soon raised one -thousand pounds, which has been subsequently increased by a grant -of £600 from the Lichfield Diocesan Society for building -churches, and a further grant of £150 from the Incorporated -Church Building Society.</p> -<p>The parishioners of St. Julian’s, desirous also of -remedying the inconvenient and crowded state resulting from -repeated interments in the cemetery adjoining their church during -a period of one thousand years, purchased an eligible piece of -land in <span class="smcap">Meole Road</span>, for the two-fold -purpose of erecting the new church and affording additional -burial ground. The foundations of the church were commenced -in July, 1836, and (under active management) the structure is now -in rapid progress towards completion, and will be dedicated to -the Holy Trinity.</p> -<p>The front elevation is sufficiently detailed in the foregoing -vignette; the body has four windows on each side, corresponding -with those in the front. The chancel is an elliptical -recess, separated from the nave internally by a circular -arch.</p> -<p>The interior is 72 feet by 46, and intended to afford 812 -sittings, 500 of which will be free, having a gallery over the -principal entrance.</p> -<p>Without further detail of the building, it may be <a -name="page94"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 94</span>observed that -it possesses one paramount advantage, viz. <i>usefulness</i>; and -it is to be hoped, that as the inhabitants of the suburbs of our -town become possessed of greater facilities for hearing the Word -of God, they may value the blessing, and support it practically -by their influence and example.</p> -<p>The estimated cost is about £1835; builder, Mr. -Stant. The appointment of minister is vested with the -incumbent of the parish church.</p> - -<div class="gapshortline"> </div> -<p><span class="smcap">Religious Houses</span> or Chapels, in -former times, stood at five different approaches into Shrewsbury: -of these St. Giles’s only remains.</p> -<p>The chapel of St. Mary Magdalene appears from the following -extract to have occupied a site near Trinity church. Edward -III. 5 June, 1356, granted to his beloved in Christ <i>Roger</i>, -Hermit of the Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene, situated without -Salop, a certain plat of waste called Spelcrosse, contiguous to -the said chapel, and containing an acre of land: to hold the same -to him and his successors, hermits there, for their habitation, -and to find a chaplain to pray in the chapel for the king’s -soul, &c. A deed also of 1634 mentions “The -Hermitage lane leading into Meole-field.” A -tea-garden near the site of “Belle Vue” was, in the -recollection of many inhabitants, called “the -Hermitage.”</p> -<h2><a name="page95"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -95</span>DISSENTING MEETING HOUSES.</h2> -<p>The first regular Presbyterian congregation formed in -Shrewsbury was by the Reverends John Bryan, M.A. and the learned -Francis Tallents, who were ejected by the Act of Uniformity in -1662 from the livings of St. Chad’s and St. -Mary’s. After experiencing the various alternations -of suffering and indulgence during the unsettled reign of Charles -the First, and assembling for some time in private houses, they -at length built a meeting house in the High-street, in -1691. But while they separated themselves from the -established church on account of her discipline, they did not -renounce the leading doctrines of the gospel as preserved in that -church, which is evident from the inscription set up in their new -building:—</p> -<blockquote><p>“This place was not built for a faction, or -a party, but to promote repentance and faith, in communion with -all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.</p> -<p>“Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven -and earth.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The year 1715 was particularly unfortunate for the Protestant -Dissenters in this and the adjoining counties: several of their -places of worship were destroyed by riotous mobs raised against -the king and his government. During the violence of these -insurrections, the High-street meeting house was demolished, in -the night of July 6th, 1715, and the pulpit publicly burnt. -Government, however, speedily caused it to be rebuilt; after -which the royal arms were placed within the building.</p> -<p>The good and pious Job Orton preached here for several -years. On his resignation in 1766, a difference of -sentiment arose among the members of the congregation in the -choice of a minister. The building is now used for <a -name="page96"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 96</span>worship by -the Unitarians. It is 70 feet by 30, and fitted up in the -heavy style of the last century.</p> -<h3>THE INDEPENDENTS.</h3> -<p>The place occupied by this denomination had its origin in -consequence of the schism in the High-street congregation, and is -situated in a retired area on Swan-hill. It is a -substantial square edifice, with a neatly finished -interior. On a stone tablet in the front is the following -inscription:</p> -<blockquote><p>“This building was erected in the year 1767, -for the Public Worship of God, and in defence of the Rights of -Majorities in Protestant Dissenting Congregations to choose their -own Ministers.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>On the north-east side is a spacious vestry, containing -portraits of the Rev. Mr. Tallents and other ejected -clergymen. The space adjoining three sides of the building -is used as a cemetery.</p> -<h3>BAPTISTS.</h3> -<p>A society of this persuasion is stated to have existed in this -town in the time of the Commonwealth. The meeting house, in -Claremont-street, was opened in 1780, and enlarged in 1810. -It contains a monument in memory of Mr. Palmer, who was pastor of -the congregation 27 years, and died in 1823.</p> -<h3>THE SECOND BAPTISTS</h3> -<p>Seceded from the above society in 1827, and built a place for -worship in Castle Foregate, which was opened April 9, 1830. -They retain, however, the doctrines of Particular or Calvinistic -Baptists, as professed by the former society.</p> -<h3>THE WESLEYAN METHODISTS</h3> -<p>Assemble on St. John’s hill, in a building erected in -1804, and which was enlarged and decorated in 1825. -Galleries <a name="page97"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -97</span>surround the interior, in which is a small organ. -The pulpit stands in the middle aisle.</p> -<p>A small building erected at Spring Gardens, Castle Foregate -(by the proprietor of the land) was opened Feb. 26, 1826, in -connexion with this society. The service is free, and the -place is used at certain hours on the Sunday as a school.</p> -<h3>THE METHODIST NEW CONNEXION</h3> -<p>appear to claim a mutual relationship to the founder of -Methodism with the Wesleyans, and retain the doctrines, -ordinances, and general discipline common to that body, from -which they differ only in the form of church government and -professed dissent from the Church of England. This society -formed a congregation here in 1833, and in Jan. 1834, an edifice -for their service was commenced near the Old Tower, Murivance, -which was opened June 13 in the same year.</p> -<p>The exterior is handsome, having two entrances with a Doric -portico to each, and is divided into three parts, viz. a centre -and two wings, formed with Corinthian pilasters, frieze, and -cornice; the centre terminates with a pediment, and the wings -with a broken blocking and Grecian tiles. The interior is -without galleries, and arranged on rather a novel plan; the -middle is occupied by two rows of pews, with a row on each of the -sides which ascend gradually from the floor, and thereby afford -great economy of space.</p> -<p>Two ends of the building being flanked by dwellings, light is -admitted from the side portions, but a good effect, -notwithstanding, is produced from the blank walls, which display -arches and plain pilasters supporting a frieze and cornice.</p> -<p>The ground at the back declining considerably from <a -name="page98"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 98</span>the street, -spacious school-rooms, a vestry, and a house for the door-keeper, -are formed underneath the building, which is calculated to -contain 700 persons, and cost £1500.</p> -<h3>THE WELSH CALVINISTIC METHODISTS</h3> -<p>meet in a neat structure in Hill’s Lane, erected by a -subscription on a portion of the site of a former edifice, and -was opened for worship Dec. 25, 1826. The service is in the -Ancient British language.</p> -<h3>THE PRIMITIVE METHODISTS</h3> -<p>introduced themselves into this town in 1822, by preaching in -the streets and suburbs. The place originally built in -Castle-court, Castle-street, for the Sandemanian Baptists (a -society in this town nearly extinct), was purchased for them, and -they commenced service there June 4th, 1826.</p> -<h3>THE QUAKERS</h3> -<p>have a convenient meeting-house, fitted up with much -simplicity, and neatness, on St. John’s Hill, to which a -small burial ground is attached.</p> -<h3>THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHAPEL</h3> -<p>Is situated near the southern portion of the town walls. -The exterior exhibits a stuccoed pedimented front, surmounted by -a plain cross. The interior was enlarged in 1826, and is -elegant in decoration, and calculated to contain nearly 250 -persons.</p> - -<div class="gapshortline"> </div> -<h2><a name="page99"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 99</span>ROYAL -FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL.</h2> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p99b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Royal Free Grammar School" -title= -"Royal Free Grammar School" - src="images/p99s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<blockquote><p>“Learning is an addition beyond<br /> -Nobility of birth: honour of blood,<br /> -Without the ornament of knowledge, is<br /> -But a glorious ignorance.”</p> -<p style="text-align: right"><span -class="smcap">Shirley</span>.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>This noble public institution for the education of youth was -founded by <span class="smcap">King Edward the Sixth</span>, in -1561, on the supplication of Hugh Edwards and Richard Whitaker, -and endowed with the greater portion of the revenues of the two -dissolved colleges of Saint Mary and Saint Chad.—<span -class="smcap">Queen Elizabeth</span> greatly augmented her -brother’s donation in 1571, by adding the whole rectory of -Chirbury, in <a name="page100"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -100</span>this county, with additional tithes and estates in St. -Mary’s parish, which now produce a considerable -revenue.</p> -<p>In 1798, the School having sunk into a state of comparative -insignificance, a bill was passed for the better government and -regulation of the Grammar School of King Edward the Sixth in this -town, by which the management of the revenues, and the removal or -discharge of the masters, is vested in the Bishop of Lichfield -and Coventry (as visitor) and thirteen trustees or -governors. The appointment of head and second masters rests -with the Fellows of St. John’s College, Cambridge. -The school is open for the gratuitous instruction of the sons of -freemen, and has maintained a character of high repute from its -earliest formation. We learn that under the care of its -first master, Thomas Ashton, there were 290 scholars, among whom -were many of the sons of the gentry of the county and from North -Wales, as well as from the first families in the kingdom. -Camden, when he wrote, says, “it was the best filled in all -England, being indebted for their flourishinge state to provision -made by the excellent and worthie Thomas Ashton,” who was -instrumental in procuring the grant of augmentation from -Elizabeth, and contributed greatly to the school himself, and -from whose exertions and judicious regulations it preserved its -usefulness for many generations.</p> -<p>Many persons of eminence in by-gone days received their -education in Shrewsbury School. In the reign of Queen -Elizabeth it sent forth one of the most brilliant ornaments of -her court, the gallant and accomplished <span -class="smcap">Sydney</span>,—the “miracle of the -age;”—and in the present day, under the able -management and profound learning of the late head-master, Dr. -Butler, it has maintained a pre-eminent rank among <span -class="smcap">the Public Seminaries of sound Learning and -Religious Education</span> in this country, having produced -numerous individuals who have been distinguished <a -name="page101"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 101</span>for their -eminent classical attainments; whilst it is an acknowledged fact -that scarcely any gentleman can be pointed out who has sent so -many pupils to the Universities, the greater part of whom have -risen into general notice and estimation, mainly owing to the -excellent manner in which their natural capacities had been -directed by the distinguished and successful talents of their -tutor.</p> -<p>The affectionate interest manifested by Dr. Butler in the -welfare of his pupils remained nearest to his heart to the last. -<a name="citation101"></a><a href="#footnote101" -class="citation">[101]</a> And in retiring from the duties -of his scholastic station, in 1836, it appeared as his greatest -comfort and happiness to find that St. John’s College had -given a good earnest of its intention to uphold the character of -the school over which he had so long and so zealously presided, -by the selection of the Rev. Benjamin Hall Kennedy as has -successor, an appointment (it will be admitted by all) the most -conducive to the future prosperity of the school, and -consequently beneficial to the town and neighbourhood; inasmuch -as it is stamped upon high and indubitable authority that Mr. -Kennedy is one of the most brilliant scholars which the learned -editor of Æschylus ever sent forth,—the brightest -star in that galaxy of distinguished pupils whose names adorn the -boards of Shrewsbury school; while from his experience of Dr. -Butler’s system, both as a pupil and assistant master in -this seminary,—his subsequent <a name="page102"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 102</span>practice as a lecturer and private -tutor at College, and as an assistant master for upwards of six -years at Harrow, as well as from his own unrivalled talents and -high literary distinctions,—from his fine taste and sound -learning,—there is not a shadow of doubt but that he will -fully maintain the reputation Shrewsbury School has already -acquired.</p> -<p>The following annual prizes are distributed—</p> -<table> -<tr> -<td><p>Pelham Prizes</p> -</td> -<td><p>Latin Verse</p> -</td> -<td><p>20 guineas.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td></td> -<td><p>Greek Iambics</p> -</td> -<td><p>10 guineas.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Trustees’ Prize</p> -</td> -<td><p>Latin Essay</p> -</td> -<td><p>20 guineas.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Assistant Master’s Prize</p> -</td> -<td><p>Latin Translation</p> -</td> -<td><p>10 guineas.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Head Master’s Prizes</p> -</td> -<td><p>For the First and Second in the Examination</p> -</td> -<td><p>Books.</p> -</td> -</tr> -</table> -<p>In 1832 this ancient and royal foundation was visited by three -members of the royal family within two months: by his Royal -Highness the Duke of Sussex, Sept. 5th; by their Royal Highnesses -the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria, Nov. 1st.</p> -<h2>THE SCHOOLS</h2> -<p>are situate near the Castle, and display a handsome spacious -structure of free-stone, built in the incongruous but fashionable -style of architecture which prevailed in the 16th and 17th -century; wherein the Grecian and pointed arches are fantastically -mixed together. The building occupies two sides of a -quadrangle, with a square pinnacled tower at the angle, partly -rebuilt in 1831.</p> -<p>The original school-room was of timber, to which the tower, -chapel, and library were added in 1595. In the year 1630 -the wooden portion was removed, and its site occupied by the -present edifice, in the centre of which is a gateway, having a -Corinthian column on each side, upon which are statues of a -scholar and a graduate, bareheaded, in the dress of the -times. Above the arch is a Greek inscription <a -name="page103"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 103</span>from -Isocrates, which implies that a love of literature is necessary -to the formation of a scholar. Over this are the armorial -bearings of Charles the First.</p> -<p>The upper story of this part is occupied by the principal -school-room, an apartment 82 feet by 21, and in the basement is -the head master’s school, in which are several panels -containing the names of gentlemen educated here, and who have -subsequently distinguished themselves at the Universities. <a -name="citation103"></a><a href="#footnote103" -class="citation">[103]</a> The upper moulding of each panel -contains one of the following lines:—</p> -<blockquote><p><span class="GutSmall">TV • FACITO • MOX -• CVM • MATVRA • ADOLEVERIT • AETAS SIS -• MEMOR • ATQVE • ANIMO • REPETAS • -EXEMPLA • TVORVM ET • TVA • TE • VIRTVS -• MAGNA • INTER • PRAEMIA • DVCET.</span></p> -</blockquote> -<p>The chapel forms the other wing of the building, and was -consecrated Sept. 10th, 1617, when a sermon was preached on the -occasion by Sampson Price, D.D. Chaplain in Ordinary to the King, -from John x. 22, 23. It is 62 ft. long by 22 ft. wide, and -contains a handsome pulpit and bible stand, and is separated from -the ante-chapel by a carved skreen, displaying a series of -interlaced arches resting on fluted Corinthian columns. -Prayers are read here twice on school days.</p> -<p>Above the chapel, and of the same size, is the library, a -noble room, rebuilt in 1815. The ceiling is richly adorned, -and panelled into Gothic and ornamental compartments, on which -are displayed the armorial bearings of the first and subsequent -trustees. It contains a valuable collection of printed -books and manuscripts, one side being occupied by the library of -the late Dr. Taylor, editor of Demosthenes. Among the -portraits which decorate the <a name="page104"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 104</span>walls of this elegant apartment are -those of the Bishop of Lichfield (late head master), the -Reverends John Lloyd and Leonard Hotchkiss (formerly masters), -Queen Elizabeth, King Henry VIII. Edward VI. (the Founder), -Locke, Judge Jefferies, &c. &c.</p> -<p>At the south end of the room are four sepulchral stones found -at Wroxeter, near this town, three of which are fully described -by Pennant, in his North Wales. A small museum likewise -contains other Roman antiquities from the same place, with -fossils and other curiosities.</p> -<p>The windows are embellished with escutcheons of the arms of -Edward VI. Queen Elizabeth, St. John’s College, -Cambridge, the See of Lichfield, and the town, in stained -glass.</p> -<p>In front and at the back of the schools is a spacious area, -used as a promenade or play-ground for the scholars; contiguous -to which are houses for the head, second, and assistant masters, -and ample halls for the accommodation of boarders, who are -numerous, and from all parts of the kingdom.</p> -<p>Several exhibitions of £70 and £80 a-year belong -to this school, to which the freemen’s sons are entitled -for a certain number of years. At a meeting of the -trustees, held 23d May, 1836, it was resolved, in order more -fully to testify their own sense, and to perpetuate the memory, -of the unremitting assiduity and eminent ability with which Dr. -Butler has performed the duties of head-master of this school for -a period of thirty-eight years, restoring and augmenting by his -energy and learning the utility and celebrity of this ancient and -royal foundation, to found an additional exhibition of £100 -per annum, to be called for ever “<span class="smcap">Dr. -Butler’s Exhibition</span>,” and to be tenable by the -sons of freemen entering at either University.</p> -<h2><a name="page105"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -105</span>LOCAL GOVERNMENT, CHARTERS, &c.</h2> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p105b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Town Arms" -title= -"Town Arms" - src="images/p105s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p><span class="smcap">Shrewsbury</span> has received a -succession of thirty-two royal charters from the time of King -William the First to the first year of the reign of James the -Second. The earliest charter preserved in the corporation -archives is dated Nov. 11, 1189, being the first year of King -Richard the First, which recites that a previous corporation had -existed.</p> -<p>The last governing charter of the town was granted the 16th of -June, 1639, by Charles the First.</p> -<p>The component parts of the corporation were a mayor, recorder, -steward, common clerk, twenty-four aldermen, forty-eight -assistants or common councilmen, two chamberlains, sword-bearer, -serjeants at mace, &c.</p> -<p>The mayor was elected annually by the majority of aldermen and -assistants, in council assembled, on the first Friday after the -feast of St. Bartholomew, and sworn into office the first Friday -after Michaelmas-day. Robert Burton, jun. Esq. was the last -mayor chosen under the old charter.</p> -<p>The aldermen were elected by the mayor and aldermen from the -assistants, and the latter from the burgesses at large.</p> -<p>Burgesses obtained their freedom by descent, or birth, or by -serving a bona fide apprenticeship of seven years within the -ancient limits of the borough to a freeman of one of the ancient -incorporated companies.</p> -<p><a name="page106"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -106</span>According to the Municipal Act, which received the -royal assent in 1835, the town was divided into five wards. <a -name="citation106"></a><a href="#footnote106" -class="citation">[106]</a></p> -<p>On the 26th of December, 1835, each of the wards returned six -members to form the new Town Council, who elected to their -number, on the 31st, ten aldermen, which constitutes the -municipal body of the town, from whom William Hazledine, Esq. was -elected Mayor. To assist in the local government, the -Secretary of State has subsequently appointed eight -magistrates. Under the provisions of the above cited act, -the annual election of mayor is fixed for the 9th of -November.</p> -<p>The ancient <span class="smcap">Common Seal</span> of the -municipal body is very curious, representing a view of the -town,—its churches, domestic habitations, fortified gates -and walls, beneath which the river is seen flowing under a -bridge; above the latter is a shield bearing the arms of England, -and on each side are similar shields charged with the cross of -St. George and the town arms,—Azure, three leopard’s -faces Or. The inscription round this seal -is—<b>Sigilin • commune • libertatis • ville -• Salopesburie • factu • ano • gre • m -cccc xxv</b>.</p> -<h2>SESSIONS.</h2> -<p>A petty sessions is held every Tuesday, and the mayor or some -of the magistrates sit most days for the determination of minor -offences.</p> -<p>A general court of <span class="smcap">Quarter Sessions</span> -and gaol delivery for the town and liberties is held by the -recorder, John Bather, Esq. on the Wednesday after the county -sessions.</p> -<h2><a name="page107"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -107</span>COURT OF RECORD.</h2> -<p>This town possesses the privilege of a court of record, where -actions for debt (to any amount) and ejectment within the -liberties, can be brought. Judgment in a suit may be -obtained in about six weeks, if the defendant pleads the general -issue.</p> -<h2>COURT OF REQUESTS.</h2> -<p>Small debts exceeding two shillings and under forty shillings, -are taken cognizance of by a Court of Requests, established in -1783. The court meets every other Wednesday in the Town -Hall, the commissioners of which must be resident within the -town, and possessed of freehold property of thirty pounds per -annum value, or a clear personal estate of £600 value.</p> -<h2>MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT.</h2> -<p>This town is a borough by prescription, and has sent two -members to parliament from the earliest assembling of that -body. Previous to the general reform act the right of -election was in the burgesses inhabiting within the ancient -borough, paying scot and lot, and not receiving alms or -charity. The elective franchise is now extended to -£10 householders resident within the boundaries settled by -act of parliament, July 15, 1832.</p> -<h2>TRADING COMPANIES.</h2> -<p>From a remote period several incorporated trading companies -existed here, <a name="citation107"></a><a href="#footnote107" -class="citation">[107]</a> who exacted fines from what were -termed “foreigners;” that is, individuals who had not -served an apprenticeship to a freeman, or who were not <a -name="page108"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 108</span>the eldest -sons of freemen, if they commenced business in the “craft -or calling” of any of these guilds; the chief of which were -the Drapers and Mercers: the former possessed a considerable -property, and were incorporated by Edward the Fourth, as were the -latter in 1480 by the same king. The Barber Chirurgeons -were chartered by Edward the First in 1304, and incorporated by -James II. in 1686, with the Wax and Tallow Chandlers. The -charter of the com-brethren of Painters, Booksellers, &c. is -dated May 8th, 19th of Edward IV. The Builders, &c. -19th Q. Elizabeth, 1577. The composition of the Tailors, -1627, and recites a more ancient grant. The Smiths, -Armourers, &c. have a composition, 19th James I. 1621. -That of the Shoemakers is the most recent, being dated -1739. The Butchers have lost their charter, money, and -records; and several other “crafts” have only left a -name behind.</p> -<p>These fraternities comprehend in their incorporation many more -trades than have been specified. Their utility in the -infancy of commerce, as so many brotherhoods for the protection -of different trading interests, is evident; but having survived -the original purpose of institution, their advantage had been -long questioned, and the powers which they possessed became -defunct under the recent Municipal Bill. It is not, -however, too much to suppose but they might, as <span -class="GutSmall">SOCIAL BODIES</span>, still effect many good -purposes, not the least of which would be the aggregation of -brotherly feeling and good fellowship.</p> -<h2><a name="page109"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -109</span>SHREWSBURY SHOW.</h2> -<p>This annual pageant is perhaps, with the exception of -Coventry, the only one of the kind in the kingdom. It -originated in the celebration of the splendid festival of Corpus -Christi in the church of Rome, which was observed with much pomp -and solemnity by the masters and wardens of the different trading -companies, the members of the corporation, the parochial clergy, -and the religious fraternities of the town.</p> -<p>The procession, so far back as the 27th of Henry VI. appears -to have been “tyme owt of mynde,” and which several -of the guilds were obliged to support. This is apparent -from their “compositions,” or bye-laws, containing -regulations to that effect. That of the Weavers (anno 1444) -provides, that certain fines shall be applied to the -“sustentacon and encreece of the lyght of the seyd crafte -of Wev’s, at the feast of Corpus Xp’i -daye.” The composition of the Mercers, Ironmongers, -and Goldsmiths directs that they shall provide “300 mede of -wax yearly, to be burnt in the p’cession of the feast of -Corpus Xp’i.”</p> -<p>After the Reformation, the religious part of the ceremony was -set aside, and as a substitute the second Monday after Trinity -Sunday adopted as a day of recreation and feasting on Kingsland, -where each company had a small enclosure, within which is a -building called an “arbour,” surrounded by trees, and -where refreshment was accustomed to be liberally provided by the -respective trades. Only seven of the arbours now remain, -each of which had formerly the arms of the company carved or -painted over the entrance.</p> -<p>The anniversary has often been anticipated by Salopians with -feelings of delight,—as affording an annual treat of <a -name="page110"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 110</span>hospitality -and good cheer. The town on the occasion has presented an -appearance of lively interest, conducive also to its trade; the -bells of the different churches sent forth their melodious and -enlivening peals, while the incorporated companies were passing -to their places of muster; at noon they assembled together at the -Castle, from whence they proceeded through the streets to -Kingsland, accompanied by their respective flags, banners, and -music of all kinds, most of the companies having some character -dressed in personification of a king, or emblematical of their -respective crafts, and followed by a goodly array of com-brethren -walking (as it were) hand in hand together. The mayor and -his friends followed afterwards on horseback, and were wont to be -entertained by the trading companies with a dejeune in each -arbour.</p> -<p>Such was “Shrewsbury Show.” An attempt was -made in 1823 to revive the ancient pageantry; but during the last -few years there has been a sad falling off in the display, and it -is to be feared that the manifold changes of the present times, -and the refined dispositions (probably) of some modern minds, are -causes that will soon hasten to a discontinuance what remains of -this ancient custom and lively picture of old English manners. <a -name="citation110"></a><a href="#footnote110" -class="citation">[110]</a></p> -<p>The following extract from a scarce poem published in the year -1770, entitled “Shrewsbury Quarry,” is probably the -only authentic account which will afford some idea of the -“Show” at that period:—</p> -<blockquote><p>What friendly forms in social pomp draw near,<br -/> -With thankful smiles to bless the bounteous year!<br /> -In glad procession, brotherhood, and bloom,<br /> -(Like <i>Flora’s</i> festals near thy walls, oh Rome,)<br -/> -<a name="page111"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 111</span>The -bands distinguished, yet harmonious move,<br /> -Their ensigns concord, and their leaders love;<br /> -To <span class="smcap">Kingsland’s</span> Arbours once a -year they go,<br /> -In ordered elegance serene and slow;<br /> -The Bodies Corporate in classes bright—<br /> -In different classes, but in one delight;<br /> -There blend with mutual hands the friendly bowls,<br /> -There blend their wishes and there blend their souls;<br /> -The yearly <i>Archon</i> <a name="citation111"></a><a -href="#footnote111" class="citation">[111]</a> over all -presides,<br /> -Their state he governs, and their joy he guides,<br /> -There mixing jovial with each jovial band,<br /> -To each he gives his heart—to each his hand;<br /> -With each he quaffs the invigorating cheer,<br /> -To friendship sacred, and the hallow’d year;<br /> -There union, brotherhood, and mirth combine,<br /> -In every face these vital virtues shine.<br /> -The sun would gladly in his course delay,<br /> -And stretch beyond its lengthened bound the day,<br /> -To gaze with rapture, as each bosom glows,<br /> -On these rich blessings which his beam bestows;<br /> -His prone career, his cadence they behold,<br /> -His western stage in crimson clad, and gold,<br /> -They see his orb reluctant now go down,<br /> -Then march in happy order back to town;<br /> -There polish’d pleasures teem with new delight,<br /> -And balls and banquets crown the genial night.</p> -</blockquote> -<h2><a name="page112"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 112</span>THE -COUNTY HALL.</h2> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p112b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"The County Hall" -title= -"The County Hall" - src="images/p112s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p><a name="page113"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -113</span>Architectural excellence has been said to consist in -the judicious and skilful adaptation of an edifice to its -specific destination, and in the appropriate and tasteful display -of its interior and exterior ornaments, and that public buildings -should be distinguished by decisive and apposite characteristic -features of their purpose. How far this has been -exemplified in the Salop County Hall, the foregoing illustrative -vignette will in a great measure decide. The design is by -Sir Robert Smirke, and the style Italian; the main feature of the -elevation being a bold cornice resting on sculptured -modillons.</p> -<p>The principal front is divided into three divisions by -projecting string courses, and is 112½ feet in length; the -portion facing High-street, 58 feet; height to the top of parapet -54 feet.</p> -<p>On examining the interior of the structure, it will be evident -that the architect has made the most of a very limited space of -ground: the different apartments are convenient, lofty, and well -adapted to the various purposes for which they are -intended. The offices in particular, although plain, are -fitted up in a most substantial manner.</p> -<p>The entrance hall is 22 feet 8 inches by 21½ feet, -having on the right a lobby leading to the crown court, and a -room for the use of witnesses waiting for examination in that -court. On the left is a similar entrance to the nisi prius -court, and the mayor’s room (appropriated to counsel during -the assizes). Opposite the entrance door is the grand -staircase, spacious and of easy ascent; on the first landing are -three doorways, the centre one leading to the judges’ -retiring room (which communicates with the courts), and those on -either hand to the magisterial bench <a name="page114"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 114</span>in the respective courts, which are -of equal dimensions, 42 feet by 36 feet. <a -name="citation114"></a><a href="#footnote114" -class="citation">[114]</a></p> -<p>The accommodation for the gentlemen of the bar was intended to -have been similar to that provided (under the direction of the -same architect) in the Court of King’s Bench and several -other places; but objections being made by the counsel on this -circuit, and a petition sent to the magistrates, this arrangement -was altered, and the space immediately before the judge is -occupied by a large table, with sufficient seats for twenty -counsellors, having a row of seats behind for attornies.</p> -<p>The bench is elevated 3½ feet above the floor, on each -side of which is accommodation for the magistrates.</p> -<p>The ceiling of both courts is panelled and ornamented, and the -walls are lined with wood as high as the small side galleries, -which are intended for the use of the grand and special -jurors.</p> -<p>In each court is a gallery for the public, the two front -benches of which are partitioned off for jurymen in -waiting. To these galleries are separate entrances from the -principal front, in order to prevent the annoyance of a crowd in -the vestibule of the hall, through which admittance will be -afforded for those persons who have business in the courts.</p> -<p>Under the public galleries are lock-up rooms for the jury.</p> -<p>The nisi prius court is lighted by a lantern, which occupies a -considerable space in the ceiling; and beneath the public gallery -of this court is the waiting-room for witnesses. The first -story is approached by a broad flight of stairs: on the left is -the grand jury room, 30 feet by 18 feet, lofty and finished in a -tasteful manner, having a communication with the gallery in the -crown court for the presentment of bills. Attached to this -apartment is a large room for witnesses <a -name="page115"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 115</span>attending -the grand jury; the floor is of stone, and forms the ceiling of -the entrance hall. To the right is the office of the clerk -of indictments.</p> -<p>From this division of the building the staircase leads to the -entrance of the <span class="smcap">Great Room</span>, adapted -for a third court or other public purposes requiring space. -It is decorated with an enriched cornice and panelled ceiling; -the dimensions are 45½ feet by 32½ feet, and 19 -feet high, having a recess at one end; it is lighted by windows -at the side and back, and is well ventilated by means of tubes -which pass from the ceiling through the roof.</p> -<p>By another ascent of steps the upper floor is gained. To -the left are offices for the clerk of the peace, with a -fire-proof room as a depositary for records. Similar rooms -to the right are appropriated for the town clerk.</p> -<p>In the rear of the building is a house for the hall-keeper, -resting over an entrance intended as a passage for the cart -conveying prisoners from the gaol, where they are set down in an -area having stairs leading to spacious and airy cells; these, -with cellars for other purposes, occupy a considerable portion of -the base of the building, which stands upon a concrete -foundation, 10 feet thick, rendered necessary (from the -insufficient state of the ground) to support the weight of a -massive structure. In excavating for this purpose, many -curiosities were found; and although the required depth was 19 -feet below the level of the street, the natural strata was not -discovered, the whole bed being a complete bog of peaty soil of -unequal depth,—a sufficient cause for all the fissures -visible for several years past in the external and internal walls -of the former fabric, which was only completed in 1785, at a cost -of £11,000.</p> -<p>In 1832, Thomas Telford, Esq. was requested to examine the -nature of the foundations, when it appeared that the oak sapling -piles, or rather stakes, on which the building <a -name="page116"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 116</span>rested were -totally decayed, and become as soft as the earth by which they -were surrounded. To restore the walls to a sound state was -deemed a difficult and expensive undertaking, even if -practicable. A new building was therefore determined upon, -Sir Robert Smirke having guaranteed a sufficient foundation on -the old site, by taking out the whole of the soil, and replacing -it by an artificial body of concrete. His plan was adopted -by the county magistrates, Jan. 28th, 1834, and in the month of -April workmen commenced taking down the old edifice, <a -name="citation116"></a><a href="#footnote116" -class="citation">[116]</a> and the new building progressed -towards completion so as to be ready by March, 1837.</p> -<p>The foundations appear to have succeeded beyond the -expectations of all concerned, and the building does great credit -to the contractors, Messrs. Birch and Sons. The estimated -cost is about £12,000, raised by a county rate.</p> -<h2>THE GUILD HALL AND EXCHEQUER</h2> -<p>of the town is incorporated with the county hall, by an -arrangement with the county previous to the erection of the late -edifice.</p> -<p>The following portraits, presented to the late corporation, -will decorate the walls of the new building:—King Charles -I. Charles II. William III. George I. -George II. George III. Queen Charlotte, Admiral -Benbow (a native of Shrewsbury), the Right Hon. Lord Hill (by Sir -William Beechy), and Admiral Owen (by R. Evans, Esq. a -townsman). The two latter portraits possess life and spirit -in their execution, and are justly esteemed most faithful -resemblances of these illustrious heroes and fellow-citizens.</p> -<h2><a name="page117"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 117</span>THE -MARKET HOUSE</h2> -<p>is a spacious building, unequalled in point of ornamental -decoration by any similar structure in the kingdom. It not -only gives a most prominent feature to the area in front of the -county hall, but is a general and interesting object of -attraction to strangers.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p117b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Market House" -title= -"Market House" - src="images/p117s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>The principal front is to the west, over the portal of which -are the arms of Queen Elizabeth in high relief, and the date -1596. On each side of this portal is an open arcade, -consisting of three round arches, which form the <a -name="page118"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 118</span>main -building; above these is a series of square mullioned windows, -surmounted by a rich fanciful parapet consisting of curved -embrasures, which rise at certain distances into a kind of -pinnacle.</p> -<p>Above the northern arch is the following inscription, having -on one side the arms of France and England quarterly, and on the -other those of the town:—</p> -<blockquote><p>The xv<sup>th</sup> day of June was this building -begun,<br /> -William Jones and Thomas Charlton, Gent. then<br /> -Bailiffs, and was erected and covered in their time.<br /> - - -1595.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Immediately over this is a tabernacled niche, containing a -fine statue of <span class="smcap">Richard Duke of York</span>, -in complete armour; one hand is supported on his breast, and the -other pointing below to a device of three roses carved on a -stalk. A tablet corresponding with the town arms, finely -sculptured in relief, on the left hand of the figure, records its -removal from the tower on the Welsh bridge, in 1791. In the -same situation on the corresponding end of the hall is the figure -of an angel in a canopied niche, bearing a shield of the arms of -France and England quarterly. This originally stood within -the chamber of the Gate Tower at the Castle Gates, from whence it -was preserved when the remaining portion of that ancient barrier -gave way to modern houses in 1825.</p> -<p>The basement of the Market House is 105 feet long by 24 feet -wide, and is used on Saturdays as the corn-market; at other times -it forms an useful promenade, especially in wet weather.</p> -<p>The inscription on the north end has often excited surprise, -how so large and ornamental a building could have been completed -within a period of less than four months. The nature of the -case would seem, that the stone-work and <a -name="page119"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -119</span>timber-framing had perhaps previously been wrought, so -that no time might be lost, and the utmost endeavours used, in -the re-edification of a building which was almost indispensible -at that period,—when corn was for the most part brought to -market in the <i>bulk</i>, and not sold by <i>sample</i> as in -the present day. This conjecture is somewhat confirmed by -the following extract from a manuscript chronicle in the -possession of the writer:—</p> -<blockquote><p>“1595. In the month of January this -year the old building in the Corn Market Place was agreed to be -taken down, and the timber-work thereof was sold, and another -with all speed was to be erected with stone and timber in the -same place, and a sumptuous hall aloft, with a spacious market -house below for corn was begun, the foundation and fencing -whereof was a quarter of a year before it was finished, and the -stone work was begun upon the 15th day of June following, and was -finished and almost covered in before the bailiffs of the said -year went out of their office the Michaelmas -following.”</p> -</blockquote> -<h2>THE BRIDGES.</h2> -<p>Two handsome stone bridges cross the river Severn nearly in a -parallel direction. These were preceded by very ancient -structures, defended by embattled towers, and were excellent -specimens of the fortified bridges necessary in former times for -the protection of the town. Being extremely narrow and -dilapidated, they were taken down in the last century; a brief -notice, therefore, of their ancient state will be sufficient.</p> -<h2><a name="page120"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 120</span>THE -OLD WELSH BRIDGE</h2> -<p>was considered as the chief architectural ornament of the -town, consisting of seven arches, and situated a few yards higher -up the stream than the present structure. Its gates and -towers at each end were of the finest kind of castellated -building, being richly decorated with shields and sculpture; and -their demolition is much to be regretted.</p> -<p>Above one of the gates stood the armed statue of a knight, -which was removed in 1791, and placed in a niche on the front of -the Market House. This effigy was an important object of -attraction to the Welshmen in passing through the gate, from a -tradition retained by them even to modern times, that it -represented Llewelyn Prince of Wales, or David, the last of the -British Princes, whom Roger Coke facetiously calls “King -Taffy,” but which recent antiquaries have, from its -attendant embellishments, more properly assigned to Richard Duke -of York, father of Edward IV.</p> -<h2>THE OLD EAST OR STONE BRIDGE</h2> -<p>consisted rather of two bridges (being divided by an island of -118 feet broad), extending 864 feet in length, and comprising -seventeen arches. The thoroughfare over it in the widest -part was only twelve feet, being impeded by a range of -thirty-three houses disposed on each side, after the manner of -London Bridge in former times.</p> -<p>The further bridge from the town had eleven arches, and was -properly denominated: “<span class="smcap">the Abbey -Bridge</span>” for it extended to the precinct of the -monastery, and passed over none of the water of the Severn except -in times of flood, receiving only a small portion of a rivulet -called Meole Brook, the channel of which is still visible in the -meadows opposite the Council House.</p> -<p>The narrow state of this bridge having been long matter of -complaint and inconvenience, a subscription was <a -name="page121"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 121</span>commenced -in 1765 to widen it, towards which Sir John Astley, Bart. gave -£1000.</p> -<p>The expediency of the undertaking was so apparent, from the -liberal subscriptions which came in from all parts of the county, -that encouragement was given to erect an entire new bridge, from -a design furnished by Mr. John Gwynn, architect, of London, and a -native of Shrewsbury. The first stone of the bridge was -laid June 29th, 1769, by the munificent promoter of the -undertaking, Sir John Astley, Bart; and the work was so far -completed as to afford a passage (March 14th, 1774) for the High -Sheriff, John Owen, Esq. of Woodhouse, and a numerous body of -gentlemen on horseback who accompanied him to meet the judges of -assize, whom they escorted into town over the new bridge, since -styled</p> -<h2>THE ENGLISH BRIDGE,</h2> -<p>which is a most substantial structure, 410 ft. in length, and -composed of seven arches, crowned by a bold balustrade; the -primary object in its construction was to contrive as much space -as possible for the water during floods, to accomplish which, the -central arch (60 feet in diameter) was raised double the height -of the end arches, an elevation perhaps not accordant with or -agreeable to later opinions of ease and convenience. With -the exception of this defect, its elegance and beauty of -architecture is probably surpassed by few bridges in the kingdom, -and is in every respect an ornament to the town, and an equally -noble monument of the public spirit and generosity of the gentry -of the county, who so laudably exerted themselves to further its -erection.</p> -<p>The ornamental parts, though sparingly are yet tastefully -disposed. The keystone of the central arch on the north -side is adorned with a fine head of <span -class="smcap">Sabrina</span>, “goddess <a -name="page122"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 122</span>of the -river,” while that on the opposite side bears a spirited -head of <span class="smcap">Neptune</span>, the “father of -fountains.” On the piers of this arch rest finely -carved dolphins. The keystones of the other arches are -worked into a shell. The parapet of the bridge rises into a -pediment, in the centre of which (on each side facing the river) -is the town arms, and the date of the completion of the bridge, -<span class="GutSmall">MDCCLXXIV</span>.</p> -<p>The total cost, including the purchase of the houses which -stood on and near the bridge, acts of parliament, &c. was -£15,710. 3s. 3d.</p> -<h2>LORD HILL’S COLUMN.</h2> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p122b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Lord Hill’s Column" -title= -"Lord Hill’s Column" - src="images/p122s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p><a name="page123"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 123</span>This -noble column, erected in honour of the <span -class="GutSmall">VALOUR</span> and <span -class="GutSmall">VIRTUES</span> of an individual whose -well-earned laurels have gained him a firm affection in the -hearts of his countrymen, and truly rendered him <span -class="smcap">Salopia’s Pride</span> and <span -class="smcap">England’s Glory</span>, stands on a rising -ground at the entrance of the town from the London road, and -forms an interesting object to the surrounding country. It -is said to be the largest Grecian Doric column in the world.</p> -<p>The first stone was laid by the Salopian Lodge of Free and -Accepted Masons, on the 27th December, 1814.</p> -<p>The pedestal is square, rising upon two steps, with a large -pier at each angle, on which are placed lions couchant, worked -out of Grinshill stone by Mr. Carline, of this town.</p> -<p>The diameter at the base is 15 feet, and the other dimensions -are as follow:—</p> -<table> -<tr> -<td></td> -<td><p style="text-align: center">ft.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: center">in.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Height of the pedestal</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">13</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">6</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Shaft and capital</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">91</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">6</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Pedestal for the figure</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">11</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">6</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Statue of his lordship</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">17</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right">Total height</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">133</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">6</p> -</td> -</tr> -</table> -<p>The colossal statue of his Lordship on the summit is executed -in artificial stone by Messrs. Coade and Sealy, of London, -modelled by Panzetta. The original design for the column -was by Mr. Haycock, of Shrewsbury.</p> -<p>The contractors were Messrs. Simpson and Lawrence; on the -death of the former, the work devolved upon Mr. Straphen, who -completed it, and erected the elegant staircase within the -building at his own expense.</p> -<p>The last stone was laid in 1816, on the anniversary of the -memorable battle of Waterloo.</p> -<p><a name="page124"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 124</span>On -the pedestal are the following inscriptions:</p> -<h3>ON THE SOUTH SIDE.</h3> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">Civi • svo • -Rolando<br /> -Domino • Baroni • Hill • ab • Almarez • -et • Hawkstone<br /> -Popvlares • eivs • ex • agro • atqve • -municipio • Salopiensi<br /> -Colvmnam • hancce • cvm • statva • P • -C.<br /> -A • S • <span class="GutSmall">MDCCCXVI</span>.<br /> -Is • in • re • militari • qvemadmodvm • -se • gesserit<br /> -Testes • sint • Lvsitania • Hispania • -Galliae<br /> -Narbonensis • ac • Belgica<br /> -Artvrivs • Dvx • a • Wellington<br /> -Sociorvm • et • qvidem • hostivm • -exercitvs.</p> -</blockquote> -<h3>ON THE NORTH SIDE.</h3> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">To Lieutenant General -Rowland Lord Hill,<br /> -Baron Hill of Almarez and Hawkstone, G. C. B.<br /> -Not more distinguished for his skill and courage in the field,<br -/> -During the arduous campaigns in Spain and Portugal,<br /> -The South of France, and the memorable Plains of Waterloo,<br /> -Than for his benevolent and paternal care,<br /> -In providing for the comforts and supplying the necessities<br /> -Of his victorious countrymen,<br /> -And for that humanity and generosity<br /> -Which their vanquished foes experienced and acknowledged:<br /> -The inhabitants of the Town and County of Salop<br /> -Have erected this Column and Statue,<br /> -As a memorial of their respect and gratitude to an illustrious<br -/> -contemporary,<br /> -And an incitement to emulation in the heroes and<br /> -patriots of future ages.<br /> -A. D. <span class="GutSmall">MDCCCXVI</span>.</p> -</blockquote> -<h3>ON THE EAST SIDE.</h3> -<table> -<tr> -<td><p>Roleia</p> -</td> -<td><p>Arroyo del Molinos</p> -</td> -<td><p>Hillette</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Vimiera</p> -</td> -<td><p>Almarez</p> -</td> -<td><p>Orthes</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Corunna</p> -</td> -<td><p>Vittoria</p> -</td> -<td><p>Aire</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Douro</p> -</td> -<td><p>Pyrenees</p> -</td> -<td><p>Tarbes</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Talavera</p> -</td> -<td><p>Nive</p> -</td> -<td><p>Toulouse</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Busaco</p> -</td> -<td><p>Nivelle</p> -</td> -<td><p>Waterloo.</p> -</td> -</tr> -</table> -<p><a name="page125"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 125</span>This -splendid memorial is constructed of fine Grinshill stone; the -total expence, including the cottage and other incidentals, -amounted to £5973. 13s. 2d. which was raised by a -subscription throughout the county.</p> -<p>Within the shaft is a staircase of 172 steps, forming a well -in the centre, each step having an iron baluster with a gilt -letter inserted on a small panel, which gives the following -inscription:—</p> -<blockquote><p>“This staircase was the gift of John -Straphen, the builder, as his donation towards erecting this -Column. The first stone of the foundation was laid December -27th, 1814, and completed June 18th, 1816, the anniversary of the -glorious Battle of Waterloo.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The column may be ascended by a gratuity to the keeper, who -resides in a neat Doric cottage adjoining.</p> -<p>From the railing at the top is a delightful panoramic view of -the fertile plain of Shropshire, to which the bold appearance of -Shrewsbury, and its once formidable Castle mantled with leafy -verdure, forms a prominent contrast.</p> -<p>The surrounding distances are replete with interest, being -composed of fine undulating hills and mountains. Proceeding -northward, the eye ranges over the Nesscliff and Selattyn hills, -the mountainous tract of the Berwyn, the luxuriantly crowned -summit of Pimhill, the wild and romantic rock of Grinshill, and -the gentler eminences of Hawkstone, whose tasteful plantations -and noble woods are seen at a distance of twelve miles, among -which rises the “Obelisk,” erected to the memory of -Sir Rowland Hill, the first Protestant Lord Mayor of London.</p> -<p>In the foreground north-east is the plain, renowned in -history, and immortalized by Shakspeare in dramatic poetry, as -the scene of the great and important Battle of Shrewsbury, in -1403, in commemoration of which Henry IV. piously <a -name="page126"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 126</span>founded a -church, called to this day “Battlefield,” the -well-proportioned tower of which is easily distinguished.</p> -<p>The turrets of the modern castellated mansion of Sundorne are -particularly striking, and remind us of the beautiful lines of -Mrs. Hemans—</p> -<blockquote><p>The stately Homes of England,<br /> - How beautiful they stand!<br /> -Amidst their tall ancestral trees,<br /> - O’er all the pleasant land.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Further eastward are the venerable and truly picturesque ruins -of Haghmond Monastery, founded in the year 1100, for canons of -the order of St. Augustine. Near the remains of this once -more noble pile is the wooded ascent of Haghmond Hill, and its -conspicuously placed Shooting Tower, beneath which is the retired -village of Uffington and its primitive church.</p> -<p>Direct east stands exalted in noble majesty the isolated <span -class="smcap">Wrekin</span>, the <i>natural Heart of -Shropshire</i>, in front of which appears the exuberant foliage -surrounding Longner Hall. Directing the eye southwards, is -Charlton Hill, bounded by the towering summit of the Brown Clee -(1820 feet in height), and the Lawley, Acton Burnell Park, -Frodesley, and other Shropshire hills, among which is the lofty -Caerdoc, otherwise Caer Caradoc, where Caractacus (the last of -the original British princes) is said to have displayed his -patriotism and daring spirit against the united efforts of the -Roman forces.</p> -<p>Onward in the horizon, beyond a remote cultivated country, is -the Longmynd with its straight outline, and the Stiperstones, -topped by rocks, similar to the august relics of castellated -grandeur; these are connected by the Bromlow and Long Mountain; -and the panorama terminates with the lofty mountains of Breidden, -Cefn y Cayster, and <a name="page127"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 127</span>Moelygolfa, which, with more distant -eminences, form a fine back-ground to a portion of the town, -while the middle distance all around is unequalled for richness -and fertility.</p> -<p>Nor, whilst extolling the environs and distant scenes around, -let us forget the immediate vicinity of the Column: its verdant -pastures, sequestered lanes, stately trees, and rural scenery, -are surpassed by none so near a populous county town.</p> -<h2>THE TOWN AND COUNTY GAOL</h2> -<p>Is situated on a dry, beautiful, and salubrious eminence, a -short distance from the Castle.</p> -<p>The front of the prison displays rather a bold appearance, -having two rusticated stone lodges and a gateway in the centre; -over the latter is a bust of the philanthropic <span -class="smcap">Howard</span>, by Bacon.</p> -<p>The interior possesses every necessary convenience appropriate -to its purpose that sagacity and humanity can devise. It is -spacious, airy, and well supplied with water, by means of a pump -worked by the prisoners.</p> -<p>The governor’s house faces the gateway, and forms the -southern front of the building. The chapel stands in the -centre of the whole, and is lighted by a lantern surmounted by a -gilt cross. It is octagonal, and contrived that while all -the prisoners may see the clergyman, every class is so separated -as to be hid from each other.</p> -<p>The prison is further divided into eight principal courts, -besides other smaller ones; these are surrounded by cloisters -with groined arches; above these are the sleeping cells, the -communication to which is by railed galleries. A due regard -to the gradations of vice is strictly observed in <a -name="page128"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 128</span>the -classification of the prisoners, most of whom are occupied during -the day in some little manufactory or useful employment, by which -habits of industry are acquired that may protect them from -temptations to plunder or misconduct when released from -confinement.</p> -<p>Executions take place on the roof of the porter’s -lodge.</p> -<p>The prison was begun in 1787, and completed (from a plan by -Mr. Haycock) in 1793, at an expense of about £30,000. -The entire building is surrounded by a strong brick wall, flanked -with rusticated stone buttresses.</p> -<h2>THE BUTTER AND POULTRY MARKET,</h2> -<p>on Pride-hill, was erected in 1819 by voluntary contributions -amounting to £2000. It is a building unworthy our -town and the ample produce brought to its weekly markets. -In 1830 it was adjudged to be taken down as being unsuitable and -incommodious. A meeting was held to arrange for a new -building upon an improved plan, the money to be raised by shares -of £25 each, but circumstances prevented this desirable -undertaking, which is much to be regretted, as complaints have -long been made of the obstruction in the thoroughfare (which is -often attended with delay and danger) on market and fair days, by -persons exposing their goods and marketables for sale in the -street.</p> -<h2>THE CIRCUS BUTTER & CHEESE MARKET,</h2> -<p>from its situation near the Welsh Bridge, possesses superior -advantages for the conveyance of goods and general trade. -It was opened about the year 1822 by Mr. H. Newton.</p> -<h2><a name="page129"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 129</span>THE -NEW BUTTER AND CHEESE MARKET</h2> -<p>Is an elegant and commodious edifice situated in -Howard-street, Castle-foregate, and possesses every requisite -convenience for the disposal of butter, cheese, and other -agricultural produce, and merchandize.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p129b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Howard-street Butter and Cheese Market" -title= -"Howard-street Butter and Cheese Market" - src="images/p129s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>The exterior consists of a centre and two wings, the centre -forming the portico and principal entrance, which is <a -name="page130"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 130</span>decorated -with two Grecian columns and entablature. The whole of the -front is cemented, and possesses an unity of parts and a boldness -of proportion unusual in buildings of this description.</p> -<p>The interior is divided into two stories, the lower or -basement being vaulted with groined arches springing from brick -piers, which afford an equality of height in almost every -part. The entrance to the basement is on the north side, -and (owing to the fall in the street) is of sufficient height to -admit a waggon. The canal is on the south side, and nearly -level with the floor of the basement, to which there is a -communication, affording a ready transit for goods.</p> -<p>The upper or principal floor of the Market contains an area of -5400 feet; the roof is supported by four rows of iron pillars; -the centre part being raised nine feet, has a range of windows on -each side, by which a proper ventilation is obtained as well as -additional light.</p> -<p>Attached to the upper end of the building is a second -entrance, communicating with an office for the clerk of the -market.</p> -<p>The first stone of the edifice was laid by Mr. W. H. -Griffiths, May 28th, 1835, and was completed by that time in the -next year, in a manner creditable to the architects, Messrs. -<span class="smcap">Fallows</span> and <span -class="smcap">Hart</span>, of Birmingham.</p> -<h2><a name="page131"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 131</span>THE -SALOP INFIRMARY.</h2> -<p>Among the various channels through which the stream of -christian benevolence pursues its fertilizing course to the ocean -of charity, those Institutions which have for their express -design the cultivation of the mind and the alleviation of -misfortunes which the casualties of life and the infirmities of -human nature render mankind alike heir to, afford undoubtedly the -safest application of real beneficence, being, in a measure, free -from that imposition with which an indiscriminate charity has -unfortunately so often to contend.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p131b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"The Infirmary" -title= -"The Infirmary" - src="images/p131s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>From the most remote period the virtuous breast has cultivated -the sublime desire of mitigating, as far as possible, the pain -and wretchedness consequent upon disease and -suffering,—hence we find that the munificence which -characterised our forefathers centuries ago was not altogether -confined to the erection of numerous places for Divine Worship, -and for which our town was early distinguished, <a -name="page132"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 132</span>but that -the pleasing pain of sympathy prompted them also to build and -endow “Hospitals” for the reception of the sick and -diseased, and “Almshouses” for the aged and -infirm. The first record we possess of the existence of -such charitable institutions in Shrewsbury is as early as the -time of Henry the Second, beside an “Infirmary” -founded by Earl Roger de Montgomery, within the precinct of the -“Abbey,” as an asylum for diseased and superannuated -monks, a fragment of which erection yet remains.</p> -<p>The rapacity, however, which disgraced the dissolution of -Monasteries and whatever sustained the character of a -“Religious House,” has, with a solitary exception, -rendered these ancient Hospitals defunct;—nor was it until -the commencement of the last century that the attention of the -public was particularly directed to the foundation of Hospitals -or Infirmaries, and which, from the number of hospitals erected -in the course of that period, will, no doubt, be a memorable age -in the annals of Medical Charities;—whilst it may be no -mean compliment to our town and county to mention that its -inhabitants early caught the rising spark of this generous flame, -and had the distinguished honour of being the fifth in the -kingdom to form the way in establishing a Provincial Asylum, on -the basis of public benevolence,—<span class="smcap">the -Salop Infirmary</span> having commenced its salutary operations -April 25th, 1747.</p> -<p>The building which preceded the present stately erection -having been originally designed for a private residence, and -although repeatedly enlarged and improved, being found to be -insufficient for the accommodation of the additional number of -patients consequent upon an increasing population, as well as -inconvenient in many respects for the purpose it was designed to -fulfil, it was resolved, at a meeting held Nov. 16, 1826, that a -new Infirmary should be built on the site of the old one, at the -estimated cost of <a name="page133"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -133</span>about £16,000. As there was, however, much -disinclination on the part of the subscribers present to take so -large a sum from the funds of the institution, a considerable -portion of which, having been bequeathed for its <i>support</i>, -was therefore deemed sacred, a subscription was resolved upon and -commenced immediately, when no less than £4,666 was -subscribed by the noblemen and gentlemen then present,—a -truly noble example of <span class="smcap">Salopian -Generosity</span>.</p> -<p>In the month of April, 1827, the patients were removed to a -temporary infirmary, arranged in the Shrewsbury House of -Industry; upon which workmen immediately commenced taking down -the old building, and with such speed that on the 19th of July, -the anniversary of our late revered monarch’s coronation, -the ceremony of laying the first stone of the new structure was -performed by the Right Hon. Lord Hill, assisted by the late -Venerable Archdeacon Owen, some of the committee, with the -contractors and surveyor.</p> -<p>The building thus auspiciously begun, proceeded rapidly to a -completion so as to be opened on September 16, 1830. It is -of free-stone, and of a plain Grecian character in design, 170 -feet long by 80 feet high, having a Doric portico in the centre, -the ends projecting with pilasters at each angle. At the -top of the building, on a tablet, is the following -inscription:—</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">SALOP INFIRMARY,<br /> -Established 1745,<br /> -Supported by Voluntary Subscriptions and Benefactions.<br /> -<span class="smcap">Rebuilt</span> 1830.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The interior comprises four stories; in the basement story the -offices, to the number of twenty-two, are well arranged, having a -convenient court for coal, &c. and water <a -name="page134"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 134</span>supplied to -the several apartments. The principal floor is appropriated -to the board room, dispensary, waiting room for the patients, and -admitting rooms for the faculty, with private apartments for the -house-surgeon and matron, and two wards for surgical cases.</p> -<p>The first floor is for male patients, and consists of seven -wards, with a day-room, scullery, and bath rooms: the upper -floor, for female patients, has the same accommodation, with the -addition of a large and lofty operation room, enclosed by two -pair of folding doors, having wards on each side; in the attics -are four other wards, with nurses’ rooms, &c. The -ascent to these apartments is by staircases situated at each end -of the building, connected by spacious galleries, which afford -the means of free ventilation.</p> -<p>In addition to the conveniences with which this elegant -structure is replete, <i>the patent hot-water apparatus</i>, -erected for the purpose of warming the Infirmary, must not be -overlooked. The apparatus consists of a boiler, placed in -the basement floor of the building, from which, by means of a -pipe rising from its top, the water heated therein is conveyed to -the highest level required, from whence it descends (in its -passage to the boiler) to what are called the water stoves, -situated in the several galleries. By this mode of heating -the several apartments, opportunity is afforded not only of -having a supply of hot water to each scullery, bath, and floor, -but nightly attendance to the fire is rendered altogether -unnecessary.</p> -<p>Whilst the interior accommodations of the Infirmary are highly -conducive to the health and comfort of the inmates, the external -arrangements are so constructed that such of the patients as are -able may possess every benefit resulting from exercise and pure -air, a spacious terrace having been constructed, and extending -beyond the length of the eastern front, from which a most -expansive and <a name="page135"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -135</span>interesting view presents itself. In short, the -whole of the arrangements of the new Salop Infirmary are -admirably adapted for the purpose they are designed to fulfil, -and whilst the workmanship, the materials, and general -construction are of the best description, and reflect the highest -credit on the several contractors, the building it is to be -desired will, from its site and general formation, remain a -lasting monument not only of Salopian liberality, but of general -usefulness.</p> -<p>The building was designed by Messrs. Haycock, of this town, -and the total expence of its erection was £18,735. 18s. -10d. of which sum £13,044. 1s. 3d. was raised by public -subscriptions and collections, the balance being made up by the -sale of a part of the capital stock of the institution. The -Infirmary is liberally supported by subscriptions and -benefactions. From its establishment to Midsummer, 1835, -the sum of £164,220. 11s. 3d. has been received for its -support; 44,058 in-patients admitted, and 72,328 outpatients -recommended as fit objects for its benefits.</p> -<p>The average annual expence is about £2230, and the -weekly number of patients in the house 82; and 2429 outpatients -were relieved in 1835.</p> -<p>A treasurer is annually chosen, and the affairs of the house -are managed by eight directors, assisted by a secretary. -The directors are chosen from the trustees, who are subscribers -of two guineas and upwards per annum, of whom four retire from -their office half-yearly.</p> -<p>The domestic arrangements are under the care of a matron; and -a surgeon with a salary is resident in the house, so that medical -aid may be always at hand.</p> -<p>The medical officers of the establishment gratuitously devote -their time and apply their skill in promoting the benevolent -design of the institution.</p> -<p><a name="page136"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 136</span>The -clergy of the town officiate by turns weekly as chaplains to the -house. And two weekly visitors from the resident -subscribers go round the wards, by which the patients have an -opportunity of stating any dissatisfaction that may exist, and -having it reported to the board of directors, who assemble every -Saturday morning for the dispatch of the ordinary business of the -charity and the admission and discharge of patients.</p> -<p>Every patient must be recommended by a subscriber, except in -the case of casualties.</p> -<p>The anniversary meeting is held in the Hunt week; when a -numerous assemblage of noblemen and gentlemen accompany the -treasurer from the Infirmary to St. Chad’s church, where a -sermon is preached and a collection made in aid of its funds, -which always produces a sum truly honourable to the county.</p> -<p>Several tables of legacies and benefactions for the support of -the Infirmary are fixed on the walls of the board room; and the -cornice is adorned with a series of armorial bearings of all the -noblemen and gentlemen who have filled the office of treasurer to -the institution.</p> -<p>An auxiliary fund is attached to the hospital, for the purpose -of assisting convalescent in-patients in returning to their -homes.</p> -<h2>EYE AND EAR DISPENSARY.</h2> -<p>It would be superfluous to offer any observations on the -importance of the two senses of Vision and Hearing, or on the -prevalence of the various disorders to which the organs of those -senses are liable; and whilst a general resource has been -provided for the poor in the noble institution just noticed, for -such diseases and accidents as they <a name="page137"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 137</span>might be afflicted with, it has been -thought expedient to form separate institutions for the relief of -such disorders or defects in the human frame as are found more -prevalent; since by directing medical and surgical skill to one -particular object, efficient results may be the more easily -obtained. To further this design, the Shropshire Eye and -Ear Dispensary was established in 1818. During seventeen -years of its progress 3583 patients have been admitted, and, as -among these several have been restored to the blessing of sight, -the institution is deserving of public support.</p> -<p>The dispensary is held in Castle-street, under the care of a -surgeon. Annual subscribers of one guinea have, according -to the original resolution, the right of recommending two -patients within the year; but this is not in all cases strictly -adhered to.</p> -<h2>ST. GILES’S HOSPITAL,</h2> -<p>it is considered, was originally established for the reception -of persons afflicted with leprosy—a disease much more -common among the ancients and in warmer climates than in Europe, -into which it is said to have been introduced by the Crusaders in -the time of Henry the First. King Henry the Second, if not -the founder of this hospital, granted to it 30s. yearly (equal to -£80 of modern currency) of the rent which he received from -the sheriff of Shropshire for the county, towards the support of -the infirm or diseased occupants, as well as a small toll upon -all corn and flour exposed to sale in Shrewsbury, either on -market days or otherwise. The original grant of money is -still paid by the sheriff to the Earl of Tankerville, who, as -“Master of the Hospital,” and holding certain lands -for its maintenance, nominates four hospitallers, who have each a -comfortable <a name="page138"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -138</span>house and garden, adjoining St. Giles’s -church-yard, with one shilling and sixpence weekly, a small -allowance for coal, and clothing annually.</p> -<h2>ST JOHN’S HOSPITAL,</h2> -<p>although an asylum “for honest poverty and old -age,” did not escape the rapacity which characterised the -dissolution of religious houses. It stood in the suburb of -Frankwell, near a place since called The Stew. Speed -notices its site in his map (1610); but not a fragment of the -building now remains.</p> -<h2>THE DRAPERS’ ALMSHOUSES.</h2> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p138b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Drapers’ Almshouses" -title= -"Drapers’ Almshouses" - src="images/p138s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>The generally received opinion has been that these almshouses -were founded, in 1461, by Degory Watur, Draper, from the -circumstance that he lived himself in the centre house, or -“almshouse hall,” among the poor people, and whose -practice (as a Manuscript Chronicle records) was to attend them -“dailye to our Lady’s Chirch, and to kneel with them -in a long pew in the quire made for them and himself.”</p> -<p><a name="page139"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 139</span>The -ancient records, however, of the Drapers’ Company show that -a building and endowment of almshouses by that company for poor -people existed long previous to the foundation attributed to -Degory Watur, who seems to have been only the founder in so far -as their re-erection took place, under his management, during his -wardenship or stewardship of the company, of which he was a -member.</p> -<p>The old almshouses extended along the whole of the west side -of St. Mary’s church-yard: and, being much dilapidated and -very incommodious dwellings, they were taken down in 1825. -The present building, completed in the above year, from a design -by Mr. J. Carline, now consists of eighteen comfortable -habitations, of two chambers each; the front is in the old -English style of architecture, having in the centre a gateway -within an embattled tower; in the centre of the latter are the -armorial bearings of the Drapers’ Company, with the motto -“Unto God only be honour and glory.”</p> -<p>This re-edification, including the purchase of the land, cost -the Drapers’ Company upwards of £3000, from whose -funds each of the poor people receive annually about six -pounds.</p> -<h2>ST. CHAD’S ALMSHOUSES</h2> -<p>adjoin the cemetery of Old St. Chad’s, and were erected -in 1409 by Bennett Tipton, a public brewer, who lived in the -College, and died in 1424. The allowance to the eleven poor -occupants, “decayed old men and women,” arises -chiefly from a benefaction of £180 by David Ireland, -alderman of the town, and Catharine his wife; which is now -commuted to a rent charge of £8 on the Lythwood estate, the -proprietor of which nominates the alms-folk. Previous <a -name="page140"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 140</span>to the -Reformation the poor people received one penny a-week from the -Mercers’ Company, since which time the whole annual payment -of the Company has been only two shillings and two pence.</p> -<h2>HOUSE OF INDUSTRY.</h2> -<p>This spacious and well-built structure stands on an eminence -rising from the Severn, which forms a beautiful object -beneath. The site is highly salubrious, and the prospect -delightfully variegated by many natural beauties. The -majestic Wrekin, with an extensive tract of country, is seen to -the right; while the front presents a very general view of the -town, skirted by genteel residences partly obscured by the -foliage of The Quarry trees, which, with the towers of the -Castle, the lofty steeples of the churches and their glittering -vanes, unite in producing a scene diversified and impressive, -especially when the evening sun illumines the landscape, and -gives to it that variety of light and shadow which poets have -associated as only belonging to the scenes of enchantment and -fairy land.</p> -<p>A fine terrace extends the whole length of the building, which -was erected (in 1760) for the reception of orphans from the -Foundling Hospital in London, at an expence of £12,000; but -the funds of that institution not proving adequate to the plan of -sending children to provincial hospitals, it was discontinued in -1774. It afterwards served as a place of confinement for -Dutch prisoners taken in the American war; and in 1784 it was -purchased under an act of parliament for incorporating the five -parishes of the town and that of Meole Brace in the liberties, so -far as concerned the maintenance of the poor, as a general House -of Industry for their admission and employment, under the -management of a board of directors.</p> -<p>Various circumstances, however, have concurred to <a -name="page141"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 141</span>render the -establishment a complete failure, both as regards the principles -on which it was founded, the economy to be effected, and the -advantages eventually to result in favour of the united parishes, -the select vestries of which now send but a small proportion of -their poor, and those are generally infirm, who are maintained by -a contractor, at a certain rate per head per week; but -“averages” are still paid by the several parishes, to -keep the extensive buildings in repair, for a salary to the -chaplain, and other purposes of the institution, which continues -under the ostensible government of directors.</p> -<p>The dining hall is 115 feet in length, parallel with which is -a chapel of the same size, in which service is performed once -every Sunday.</p> -<h2>HUMANE SOCIETY.</h2> -<p>A Humane Society existed in this town in the year 1786, but, -having sunk from notice, was resuscitated in 1824, for the -purpose of preventing those fatal accidents which have been of -frequent occurrence during the bathing season, and often in the -winter time, when the river in a frozen state affords the -amusement of skaiting. The purpose of the society is to -render prompt assistance in the use of the most approved means -for restoring suspended animation, from whatever cause arising, -and the rewarding of persons whose humane and intrepid exertions -have been instrumental in saving life, or, although unsuccessful, -such as to entitle their endeavours to the thanks of society.</p> -<p>To accomplish these objects, watchmen, prepared with every -requisite apparatus, are stationed on the banks of the river, -where accidents at any time may be expected to occur, and -receiving houses are established, where every facility is -afforded to employ remedies for the restoring of <a -name="page142"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 142</span>life in -those cases which hold out the slightest hope of a recovery.</p> -<p>It may be mentioned that many instances have occurred by which -a just estimate can be formed of the positive good resulting from -the exertions of this Society, in rescuing persons from -drowning.</p> -<h2>THE PRISON CHARITIES</h2> -<p>were commenced about the year 1800, for the distribution of -rewards to promote the reformation and encourage the industry of -criminals confined within the prison walls; to relieve the wants -of unfortunate debtors; and to provide all those who are -dismissed from prison with a small sum for immediate maintenance, -so as to prevent the great temptation of committing crime for -that purpose.</p> -<p>The annual subscription is limited to one guinea; and the -institution has met with a laudable support, principally among -the gentry of the county.</p> -<h2>THE PAROCHIAL CHARITIES</h2> -<p>of this town have at different times been largely endowed by -the legacies of individuals who, in bidding the world adieu, were -piously moved to leave portions of their substance to be expended -in “bread to the poor,” clothing and apprenticing -poor children, annual gifts of money and garments to decayed -housekeepers, and the general improvement of all, by directing -commemorative sermons to be preached on particular -anniversaries. In St. Chad’s parish two hundred -threepenny loaves are, on the average, distributed weekly -throughout the year.</p> -<h2>THE TOWN CHARITIES</h2> -<p>were bequeathed for purposes in many respects similar to the -foregoing, and were under the management of the old <a -name="page143"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -143</span>Corporation; but by the provisions of the Municipal Act -the distribution of them is vested in trustees appointed by the -Lord Chancellor.</p> -<p>Several other charitable societies exist in the town, whose -object is to afford gifts of money, clothing, medical assistance, -and religious instruction, to the necessitous sick poor; as well -as for the distribution of the scriptures and the public -formularies of the established church, and for the propagation of -christianity both at home and abroad, the detail of which would -exceed the prescribed limits of this publication.</p> -<h2>CHARITY SCHOOLS.</h2> -<blockquote><p><span class="GutSmall">“TO LEARNING’S -SECOND SEATS WE NOW PROCEED.”</span></p> -</blockquote> -<h3>BOWDLER’s, <span class="GutSmall">OR THE</span> BLUE -SCHOOL,</h3> -<p>Is situated in Beeches Lane, and is an oblong brick building, -having in the centre a glazed cupola, surmounted by a flying -dragon. It was founded in 1724, according to the will of -Mr. Thomas Bowdler, alderman and draper, for the instruction, -clothing, and apprenticing poor children of the parish of St. -Julian.</p> -<p>Eighteen boys and 12 girls receive their education here, and -attend service at St. Julian’s church on Sundays, to which -church Mr. Bowdler was a great benefactor.—The number of -scholars, from the increased value of the property belonging to -the school, is about to be increased.</p> -<h3>MILLINGTON’s SCHOOL & HOSPITAL.</h3> -<p>This excellent institution and monument of private munificence -stands on an eminence in the suburb of Frankwell, which commands -an extensive prospect of the town, its churches, public -buildings, and more distant views.</p> -<p><a name="page144"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 144</span>The -building consists of a handsome pedimented front, with a stone -portico, and two wings attached to the centre by a row of houses; -the summit is crowned by a bell turret.</p> -<p>The chapel occupies the centre of the building, and contains a -portrait of the founder. Adjoining are residences for the -master and mistress of the school, and twelve houses for the -resident hospitallers.</p> -<p>The foundation was endowed by Mr. James Millington, a draper, -of Shrewsbury, and consists (according to his will) of a -school-master and mistress with liberal salaries, and a chaplain, -whose duty it is to read prayers every school day at nine -o’clock in the morning. The scholars, &c. attend -St. George’s church on Sundays.</p> -<p>Twelve poor men or women, chosen from the single parishioners -living in Frankwell, or from the part of Saint Chad’s -parish nearest to it, have each a comfortable dwelling consisting -of two apartments, and a good garden, with two gowns, or coats, -three tons of coal and ten guineas yearly, and two loaves of -bread weekly. Gowns and coats, with £4 per annum and -two loaves weekly, are given to ten poor single housekeepers -resident in Frankwell, the four senior of which occupy two -chambers each above the school rooms, and are removed according -to seniority into the hospital when a vacancy occurs.</p> -<p>The school rooms are in the rear of the building, in which -twenty-five boys and as many girls receive their education, with -clothing twice a-year. At the age of fourteen the boys are -apprenticed, and £10 given as a premium with each; previous -to which they are well clothed, and on producing a certificate of -good behaviour during apprenticeship, £5 is presented as a -gratuity. The girls are allowed £3 for clothing on -leaving the school, and, on behaving well, at the expiration of -three years of their service receive £3 more.</p> -<p><a name="page145"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 145</span>A -Sermon is annually preached in St. Chad’s church, on the -12th of August, according to the will of the founder, to -commemorate his birth-day.</p> -<p>Two exhibitions of £40 a-year each are founded for -students of St. Mary Magdalene College, Cambridge, eligible to -those who have been originally scholars in the school and born in -Frankwell, and educated at the Free Schools.</p> -<p>The charity is governed by fourteen trustees; and the -revenues, by proper management, are considerable. Well may -it be said, after reading this noble bequest—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Behold what blessing wealth to life can -lend.”</p> -</blockquote> -<h3>ALLATT’S SCHOOL</h3> -<p>Is situated in Murivance, near St. Chad’s church, and -was erected and endowed pursuant to the will of <span -class="smcap">John Allatt</span>, Gent. The building is an -elegant free-stone structure, designed by Mr. Haycock in 1800, -and cost £2000. It consists of two excellent houses -for the master and mistress, which are connected with the schools -by an arcade.</p> -<p>Thirty boys and thirty girls are educated and clothed, and at -a proper age placed out as apprentices or -servants.—Twenty-eight coats and 140 stuff gowns are -annually given to poor men and women from the funds of the same -charity.</p> -<p>The management of the school and funds is under the direction -of fourteen trustees.</p> -<h3>PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION SCHOOL.</h3> -<p>This school was begun by a subscription as early as the year -1708, for the instruction and clothing of poor children, and is -conducted on the National system, in spacious school rooms near -the east end of the English bridge. A sermon is preached -annually in aid of its funds <a name="page146"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 146</span>at two of the churches in the -town. Nearly three hundred children receive daily education -here, and on Sundays they attend the worship of the established -church.</p> -<h3>THE LANCASTERIAN SCHOOLS</h3> -<p>were erected in 1812, opposite the County Gaol, for the plan -of education suggested by the late Mr. Joseph Lancaster. -They are supported by subscriptions and donations, with a small -weekly contribution from the scholars.</p> -<h3>ST. MARY’S AND ST. MICHAEL’S SCHOOLS</h3> -<p>are situated in the suburb of Castle Foregate, and were -erected in 1832, in the old English style of architecture, from a -design by Mr. John Carline. Two hundred and fifty boys and -girls receive their daily instruction, and are taken to St. -Michael’s church twice on Sundays.</p> -<p>The school is supported by private benefactions; and the -National system of education is adopted.</p> -<h3>ST. CHAD’S LADIES’ SCHOOL</h3> -<p>is held in the remains of Old St. Chad’s church, and the -mode of tuition practised is that of the Madras system, which has -been in operation in this school since 1820.</p> -<p>The number of girls educated is 154, under the care of -visitors, whose aim, as expressed in the report of the school, is -“to be instrumental in bringing up poor children in the -fear of God, and in instilling into them such religious -principles as may lead them to do their duty, for conscience -sake, in that state of life to which it shall please God to call -them.” The girls are clothed annually, and the total -expence of the school is rather more than £100 a year, -nearly one-half of which is contributed by the children in the -shape of earnings and a penny fund, the remainder by -subscriptions and donations.</p> -<h3><a name="page147"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -147</span>INFANT SCHOOLS</h3> -<p>produce a wide field for useful exertion, by forming the -disposition and giving an early moral bias to the mind;—if, -indeed, they do no more than take young children from the -debasing influence under which their characters must otherwise be -formed, and present an example of a better kind, they are -calculated to effect a good purpose.</p> -<p>Schools having this object in view are established in the -suburbs of <span class="smcap">Frankwell</span>, <span -class="smcap">Castle Foregate</span>, and <span -class="smcap">Coleham</span>, and are supported by subscriptions -under the direction of intelligent ladies.</p> -<h3>SUNDAY SCHOOLS.</h3> -<p>There are several Sunday Schools connected with the -established church and the different congregations of dissenters, -some of which have existed nearly from the earliest formation of -such institutions.</p> -<h2><a name="page148"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 148</span>A -WALK WITHIN THE WALLS.</h2> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">“<span -class="GutSmall">GO ROUND ABOUT HER, AND TELL THE TOWERS -THEREOF. MARK WELL HER BULWARKS, SET UP HER HOUSES, THAT YE -MAY TELL THEM THAT COME AFTER</span>.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>HAVING noticed the principal Public Structures and Charitable -Institutions of Shrewsbury, we turn next to those objects and -ancient remains which do not admit of a regular -classification.</p> -<p>In adapting the present work, therefore, to assist the -Stranger, it is proposed to notice these and such other -localities that may engage and deserve attention, in the course -of A <span class="smcap">Walk within the Walls</span> of our -town, replete in subjects of antiquarian interest.</p> -<p>In the survey of these matters we shall occasionally lose -sight of the refinement of modern times, and accommodate our -thoughts and feelings to the days of yore, by adding such -historical remarks as may serve the purpose of general as well as -local information.</p> -<p>Our perambulation will commence from the spacious area in -front of the County Hall, called the</p> -<h3>MARKET SQUARE,</h3> -<p>from the vegetable market being held there, and from whence -may be seen several good specimens of the half-timbered houses of -our forefathers, terminating with lofty gables.</p> -<p><a name="page149"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -149</span>Proceeding up <span class="smcap">High Street</span>, -anciently called “Bakers’ Row,” from the number -of that occupation which located there: on the left of the -turning towards Grope Lane is an old timbered house, now a -grocer’s shop, but formerly used as</p> -<h3>THE MERCERS’ HALL.</h3> -<p>Several of the Incorporated Companies originally possessed -Halls for holding their meetings and the celebration of their -feasts: the former have of late years been held at the Town Hall, -and the latter at some of the inns.</p> -<p>About the middle of the street, on the right, is the Unitarian -Meeting House (p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page95">95</a></span>), where the poet Coleridge preached -in 1798; <a name="citation149"></a><a href="#footnote149" -class="citation">[149]</a> and a few yards further is the -“Sextry” passage, or (as it is called in our -provincialism) a “shut.” This originally -communicated with St. Chad’s church-yard by a covered -passage, and derived its name from the sacristy of the church, -which is supposed to have stood within it. An old building, -now the “Golden Cross,” appears to have been a tavern -as early as the year 1495, for in the archives of the corporation -is the charge of 13s. 2d. “for wine spent on the -king’s gentlemen in the Sextrie.” Its gloomy -and confined situation proves how little our unpolished ancestors -regarded accommodation or prospect when they were enjoying the -pleasure of a jovial carouse.</p> -<p>The ancient stone building at the extremity of the street was -in times past occupied as the</p> -<h3>SHEARMEN’S HALL;</h3> -<p>since which it has been used as a theatre, a methodist chapel, -an assembly room, and a temporary assize court; and although now -modernised as a tea warehouse, the present remains convey much of -the character of the “city halls” <a -name="page150"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 150</span>of other -days, associated with the good cheer, inspirating feasts, and the -social merriment of com-brethren in the olden time.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p150b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Shearmen’s Hall" -title= -"Shearmen’s Hall" - src="images/p150s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>The period of its erection is not known; but before the front -was altered it presented (according to a drawing in the -possession of the writer) a bold pointed window in the style of -the fifteenth century, the apex of the gable being finished with -an elegant finial. On the south-west side a very curious -octagonal chimney, crenelated at the top, still remains.</p> -<p><a name="page151"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 151</span>The -company of Shearmen were incorporated at least as early as the -reign of Edward the Fourth, and the extracts preserved from their -records afford many pleasing particulars of ancient customs and -hospitality. The setting up of a “green tree,” -or May-pole, before their hall, “deck’d with garlands -gay,” was, according to an old MS. an usage practised by -the apprentices of this company on their feast-day (June 6th) -previous to the year 1588. The noisy revelry connected -therewith, and of</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">“Lads and lasses -dancing round,”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>seems to have excited the displeasure of the puritans, and the -custom having been denounced by the “public preacher of the -town,” <a name="citation151"></a><a href="#footnote151" -class="citation">[151]</a> and forbidden by the bailiffs, the MS. -further says, that “in 1591 certain young men for their -disobedience were put into prison and indicted at the sessions, -but on their submission they were acquit of their disobedience, -and all further proceedings against them quashed, and it was -determined that the usual tree might be put up as heretofore, so -that it be done soberly and in good order, without -contention.” The attempt to obstruct this ancient -festivity caused an angry cavilling and interchange of written -communications between the favourers of it and the bailiffs, so -as to raise an opposition at the annual passing of the town -accounts, for the expence incurred by the prosecution.</p> -<p>In the reign of Elizabeth, six hundred shearmen or -cloth-workers were occupied (under the drapers) in dressing or -raising the wool on one side of a coarse kind of cloth called -Welsh webs, which were brought from Merionethshire and -Montgomeryshire to a weekly market in this town.</p> -<p>This manner of raising the wool having been found to <a -name="page152"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 152</span>weaken the -texture of the cloths, the avocation of the company became -useless and was discontinued.</p> -<p>Leaving St. Julian’s Church (p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page59">59</a></span>) on the left, -we arrive at the <span class="smcap">Wyle Cop</span>,—cop -is the Saxon word for top, or head of any thing, and this part is -considered as the first portion of the town inhabited by the -early British settlers, being situated near the royal dwelling of -Brochwel (the site of Old St. Chad’s church). The -Saxons, on their possession of the town, continued (without -doubt) for a time to occupy the huts abandoned by the -Britons. From hence the town extended itself northward in -the direction of the churches. Proceeding down the Wyle -Cop, we pass the <span class="smcap">Lion Hotel</span>, four -doors below is the house which formed the temporary residence of -King Henry the Seventh, who, although he left the bailiffs to pay -his soldiers, did not forget the favour conferred upon him by the -burgesses. From this place is a pretty distant view of the -Wrekin, Lord Hill’s Column, &c. At the foot of -the Wyle, and turning to the right, we leave on the left the -precinct of the <span class="smcap">Grey Friars</span>, and pass -along <i>Beeches Lane</i>, anciently <i>Bispestan</i> and -<i>Bushpestanes</i>, in which is the Blue School and the Roman -Catholic Chapel, and arrive at</p> -<h3>THE TOWN WALLS,</h3> -<p>erected in the time of Henry the Third, to fortify the place -against the inroads of the Welsh, and towards the completion of -which the burgesses were materially assisted by the royal -bounty. These walls, although now deprived of their -battlements, form an excellent footpath, and afford a delightful -view of the river and adjacent country. At the extremity of -the Walls is the <i>Crescent</i>; and a little beyond stands the -only remaining Tower of nearly twenty which formerly strengthened -the ancient ramparts that enclosed our town.</p> -<p><a name="page153"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 153</span>It is -square, and of three stories, embattled at the summit, and -lighted by narrow square windows; from the style of building, it -is probably as old as the reign of Henry the Fourth.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p153b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"The Old Tower" -title= -"The Old Tower" - src="images/p153s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>Nearly adjoining the Tower is the Meeting-house of the -Methodist New Connexion; and further on to the right is <i>Swan -Hill</i>, formerly called <i>Murivance</i>, signifying before or -within the walls. Passing Allatt’s School, a chaste -freestone building, the turning to the right leads to <i>St. -John’s Hill</i>, chiefly occupied by private -individuals. Proceeding onwards, St. Chad’s church -breaks upon the view, having a terrace on the south-west side -which commands a fine prospect of the beautiful <span -class="smcap">Quarry Walk</span>. Leaving the principal -entrance to this delightful promenade, a broad thoroughfare leads -to the handsome residences of <i>Claremont Buildings</i>. -Continuing our route to the end of this street, a narrow way -opens to St. Austin’s Friars and the <a -name="page154"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 154</span>river, on -the margin of which once stood an out-work, flanked by two round -towers, erected by the corporation at a remote period for the -protection of the opposite ford. In later times one of -these towers was called the “Round House,” and was -demolished about forty years ago. Turning to the right, we -observe the remnant of the house of</p> -<h3>THE AUSTIN FRIARS,</h3> -<p>of which little appears excepting the outer portion of a red -stone building, now used as a tan-house. The Friars -Eremites of St. Augustine are supposed to have located in this -town about the middle of the thirteenth century, and erected -their house on a site which had been used during the reign of -John as a place of sepulture, interment in consecrated ground -having for a period been forbidden by that king.</p> -<p>The following beautiful initial letter, affixed to a <a -name="page155"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 155</span>charter -from Edward the Third, in 1345, assigns to the friars of this -convent the out-work above alluded to, under certain conditions, -with leave to have a postern gate for ingress and egress towards -their house and church.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p154b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Initial Letter of a Charter from Edw. III. to the Austin’s -Friars" -title= -"Initial Letter of a Charter from Edw. III. to the Austin’s -Friars" - src="images/p154s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>The king is depicted as sitting upon his throne, holding a -globe in his left and a sceptre in his right hand, with two -friars kneeling before him, and a third presenting a book or -charter.</p> -<p>In the church of this Priory was a sanctuary, where a murderer -could take refuge, and thereby escape his merited punishment; and -several knights and men of rank, slain in the battle of -Shrewsbury, were buried within its walls.</p> -<p>Previously to the dissolution, this house, like many others, -fell suddenly into a state of bankruptcy, and the church was -stripped of its furniture and vestments. On the site of the -precinct which once pertained to this friary, and extended to the -Quarry walk, several good houses have been erected.</p> -<p>On the opposite side of the river is the suburb of Frankwell, -bordered with gardens; Millington’s Hospital crowning the -eminence.</p> -<h3>THE WELSH BRIDGE</h3> -<p>next attracts attention. It is a bold and substantial -structure, completed in 1795, from a design by Messrs. Tilley and -Carline, of this town, at a cost of £8000. It -consists of five semi-circular arches, surmounted with a -balustrade, and is 266 feet in length and 30 in breadth.</p> -<p>It has been truly remarked, that while in cities of greater -commercial importance no public works of great extent have been -carried on without the exaction of tolls and contributions, the -inhabitants of this town and county have, to their immortal -honour, erected two noble bridges, by which the trade of the -neighbouring districts has been <a name="page156"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 156</span>released from the burthen of a -vexatious tax, at a total expence of full £30,000, the -whole of which was raised by voluntary contribution.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p156b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"The Welsh Bridge" -title= -"The Welsh Bridge" - src="images/p156s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>It is, however, matter of regret that too little attention has -been shewn to encroachments on the river, by which much of the -beauty of our bridges has been destroyed.</p> -<p><a name="page157"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -157</span>Adjoining the Welsh bridge are quays and spacious -warehouses, from whence the barges and trows receive and -discharge their cargoes. This end of the town formerly -displayed a scene of commercial importance, as being the place -where the London, Birmingham, and Manchester waggons arrived, and -from whence goods were forwarded to all parts of the kingdom; but -owing to the communication opened with the above-mentioned places -by the Shrewsbury canal, which terminates in the Castle-foregate, -most of the goods arrive there; this part, therefore, retains -little more of its former bustle than is occasioned by the -arrival of waggons for the dispatch of merchandize into North -Wales, and what remains of the Severn trade.</p> -<p>From hence we proceed up the street called <span -class="smcap">Mardol</span>; about half-way up, on the right, is -<span class="smcap">Hill’s Lane</span>, where is -situated</p> -<h3>ROWLEY’S MANSION,</h3> -<p>said to be the first brick structure erected in -Shrewsbury. It appears to have been built in 1618 by -William Rowley, draper, and the first of his family who settled -in this town, of which he was admitted a burgess in 1594, and -made an alderman in 1633, under the charter of Charles the -First. His grand-daughter and co-heiress married John Hill, -Esq. who lived in great hospitality in this mansion, from whom -the street received the appellation of <i>Hill’s Lane</i>, -instead of Knuckin-street. He died in 1731, and the house -was soon afterwards inhabited by the talented Dr. Adams, -incumbent of St. Chad’s from 1731 to 1775.</p> -<p>The portal of this mansion is curious, and is accurately -delineated by the wood cut. The great chamber, or -withdrawing room, remains nearly in its original state, and is -adorned with a basso relievo representation of the Creation, <a -name="page158"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 158</span>and other -devices in stucco, &c. The oak wainscot from the other -apartments has lately been removed. It is now used as a -storehouse for grain, and presents a striking picture -of—</p> -<blockquote><p> “Some banquet Hall -deserted,<br /> -Whose lights are fled, whose glory’s dead,<br /> -And all but it departed.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p158b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Portal of Rowley’s Mansion" -title= -"Portal of Rowley’s Mansion" - src="images/p158s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>Retracing our steps to Mardol, at the top of the street is a -pile of ancient houses, decorated on the exterior with <a -name="page159"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 159</span>plaster and -stone ornaments, in the fantastical fashion of the time in which -they were built. The turning below these leads to -<i>Claremont Street</i>, formerly Doglane. On the left is a -curious half-timbered house, built in 1613, with a projecting -porch. A little lower is the Baptist Meeting House. -Keeping to the left, is an old mansion, called</p> -<h3>THE BELL STONE,</h3> -<p>from a large stone which formerly stood outside the wall that -surrounded the portion of the court not occupied by the -buildings. The stone is now removed to the area in front of -the house, which before the recent alteration was a good specimen -of the smaller mansion of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It -was erected by Edward Owen, Esq. a bailiff of the town in -1582.</p> -<p>Leaving the new Theatre on the right, we enter the street -called <span class="smcap">Shoplatch</span>, a name supposed to -be derived from <span class="smcap">Shutt Place</span>, the -residence of an ancient Shrewsbury family of the name of Shutt, -the remains of which are still to be traced in the massive walls -of a stone edifice long disused, however, for domestic purposes, -and arrive at Mardol Head, formerly called <span -class="smcap">The Stalls</span>. At the corner leading to -High-street is</p> -<h3>IRELAND’S MANSION,</h3> -<p>once the town residence of the ancient family of Ireland, long -seated at Albrighton. It is a spacious half-timbered -building, four stories high, finished with gables, on the beams -of which are the following armorial bearings—Gules, three -fleurs de lis, three, two, and one, Argent. The front -consists of four ranges of bay windows, the original entrance -having been in the centre under a Tudor arch. It is now -divided into three excellent dwellings.</p> -<p><a name="page160"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -160</span>Passing up <span class="smcap">Pride Hill</span>, -formerly called Corvisors’ Row, we reach the High Pavement, -where, opposite the present Butter and Poultry Market, once -stood</p> -<h3>THE HIGH CROSS,</h3> -<p>which was no doubt similar in design to the elegant structures -at Chichester and other places. It appears to have escaped -the iconoclastic zeal of the puritans; for we learn that the old -stone cross was not taken down until the year 1705. All -general proclamations, as in former times, are still made upon -this spot, whilst the reminiscences connected with it afford a -melancholy picture of feudal severity. Here David, the last -of the British Princes, underwent his cruel sentence, for -defending by force of arms the liberties of his native country; -and here the Earl of Worcester and other distinguished noblemen, -after the battle of Shrewsbury, atoned for their rebellion by the -loss of their heads.</p> -<p>Continuing our course, we enter <span class="smcap">Castle -Street</span>, which is terminated in a picturesque manner by -Laura’s tower on the Castle mount, and the umbrageous -foliage with which it is surrounded. At the extremity of -this spacious street stands</p> -<h3>ST. NICHOLAS’S CHAPEL,</h3> -<p>the only one existing of eight similar structures. Its -present appearance proves it to be of Norman foundation, and -built probably by Earl Roger de Montgomery for the accommodation -of such of his retainers as resided in the <i>outer court</i> of -the castle within which it once stood. It was subsequently -appropriated for the accommodation of the President and Council -of the Marches of Wales. The west end displays a pointed -window divided by a mullion, and in the interior is a massive -semi-circular arch, which separated the nave from a chancel now -destroyed. In lowering the floor <a -name="page161"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 161</span>in 1825, -several human skulls and bones were discovered. The -building is 50 feet long, by 19 wide, and is used at present as a -coach-house and stable.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p161b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Gateway of Council House" -title= -"Gateway of Council House" - src="images/p161s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>To the right of this edifice is a handsome timber gateway, -erected in 1620, which leads to</p> -<h3>THE COUNCIL HOUSE,</h3> -<p>or <span class="smcap">Lord’s Place</span>, originally -occupied as the residence of <a name="page162"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 162</span>the Court of the Marches of Wales; -the Lords President and Council of which, in assembling,</p> -<blockquote><p> “With -temper’d awe to guide<br /> -An old and haughty nation proud in arms,”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>were frequently received here “righte royallie” by -the corporation and trading companies; the latter, no doubt, -considering that the great number of persons which this Court -attracted to the town in its judicial capacity, independent of -the attendant pomp and feasting, was of no small benefit to them -in their respective crafts and occupations, by multiplying the -consumption of the necessaries of life, and imparting to -Shrewsbury somewhat of the importance of a second capital.</p> -<p>In the early part of the rebellion, the Corporation sent an -invitation to Charles the First, stating that he should -“have free access into the town, and be entertained in the -best manner these troublesome times afford.” The -unfortunate monarch accepted the loyal offer of his Salopian -subjects, and arrived here Sept. 20th, 1642, attended by his two -sons (the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York) and his nephew -Prince Rupert, where he resided for the space of six weeks. -King James the Second also kept his court here in 1687.</p> -<p>In 1583 the Corporation granted to Richard Barker, Esq. -town-clerk of Shrewsbury, their interest in the council house and -adjoining chapel, reserving the use of it for the annual -residence of her Majesty’s Council. From him it -passed to Thomas Owen, Esq. also town-clerk, in whose family it -remained until it was purchased by Richard Lyster, Esq. to whose -descendant, Henry Lyster, of Rowton Castle, Esq. it now belongs. -<a name="citation162"></a><a href="#footnote162" -class="citation">[162]</a></p> -<p><a name="page163"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 163</span>The -building stands on an eminence overhanging the river in the -vicinity of the castle, in what is supposed to have been the -outer ballium of that fortress. Its erection took place -about the time of Henry the Seventh, and it was soon afterwards -considerably enlarged in all probability with some of the -materials from the castle and the adjoining convent of Black -Friars. On the extinction of the Court of the Marches in -1689, these extensive buildings became ruinous, and their remains -have been (during the present century) converted into three good -houses, which command delightful prospects. The hall and -great chamber above form a portion of the residence of Dr. Du -Gard, who has displayed a commendable taste in preserving as far -as possible the character of this part of the building.</p> -<p>Returning along Castle Street, on the right is the Raven -Hotel, where Lieut. Geo. Farquhar (in 1704 or 1705) wrote his -comedy of “The Recruiting Officer,” the scene of -which is laid in Shrewsbury; and while it sufficiently -demonstrates he was well acquainted with that gay scene of life -which forms the subject of his play, it is equally certain he had -“living originals in his eye.” The epistle -dedicatory is “To all friends round the Wrekin,” and -states he was a perfect stranger to every thing in Salop but its -character of loyalty, the number of its inhabitants, and their -generous and hospitable reception of strangers,—an -eulogium, it is devoutly to be wished, may be retained by -Salopians in every generation.</p> -<p>Taking the direction of the street opposite the Raven, a -pleasing view of ancient and modern architecture presents <a -name="page164"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 164</span>itself, in -St. Mary’s church and the Infirmary. On the -south-west side of the church-yard is</p> -<h3>THE DRAPERS’ HALL,</h3> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p164b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Drapers’ Hall, Interior View" -title= -"Drapers’ Hall, Interior View" - src="images/p164s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>a half-timbered building, erected probably about the time of -Elizabeth. The interior is sufficiently described by the -accompanying engraving, presented by the liberality of the <a -name="page165"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -165</span>Drapers’ Company. The apartment is 28 feet -by 20, but was originally of larger dimensions. It is -wainscotted with fine old oak, and the floor was once rich in -emblazoned tiles. At the north end is the upper place, or -“dais,” where the members “feasted full and -high;” and on the opposite side stands a fine old chest, -with richly carved ornaments; above which is a painting said to -represent the first steward of the company, Degory Watur, and his -wife; this originally stood on the front of the hall house -occupied by Degory in the almshouses.</p> -<p>The east side is decorated with a portrait of Edward the -Fourth, denoting round the circumference his titles and decease -in 1483. Beneath are the following lines:—</p> -<blockquote><p>This Yeare fourth Edward York’s farre -fam’d renowne<br /> -Circled his temples with great Albion’s crowne;<br /> -When over reading the memoriale<br /> -Of Salop’s Draper’s Ancient Hospitale,<br /> -Founded in honour of the sacred Deity,<br /> -He own’d and stiled them then, the blest Society;<br /> -And with his Parliament’s sage approbation<br /> -Deigned them his Charter for a Corporation,<br /> -Which to confirme Himself was pleas’d to be<br /> -The Royal Founder of their Companie,<br /> -Granting immunities of large extent,<br /> -Which stand his bounties gratefull monument.</p> -<p>Edwardo 4º regi Anglorum<br /> -Gloriosissimo monumentum<br /> -Hoc posuit Pannariorum<br /> -Salopiensium grata Societas.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Returning from this hall, which is the only one appropriated -to its original purpose, to the left is <span -class="smcap">Dogpole</span> (from Doke or Duck, to decline, and -Poll, the head or summit); the street having an abrupt descent -towards the river, to which there was formerly a -communication.</p> -<p><a name="page166"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 166</span>To -the right is St. Mary’s Street and the Almshouses. -This street was very narrow until the year 1824, when several old -buildings were taken down. Pursuing our course along <span -class="smcap">Church Street</span>, we pass the site and remnant -of a half-timbered house, distinguished by gables, which formed a -portion of</p> -<h3>JONES’S MANSION,</h3> -<p>in which the Duke of York resided when he accompanied his -royal father to this town in 1642. It was also the abode of -“Prince Rupert, when he joined his uncle after the -brilliant action of Worcester.” This house was built -by Thos. Jones, Esq. whose burial is noticed in the account of -the adjoining church of St. Alkmond. Leaving that sacred -edifice to the left, and turning a few yards to the right, we -arrive at the <span class="smcap">Double Butcher Row</span>, a -street chiefly occupied by butcher’s shambles, and where is -an</p> -<h3>ANCIENT TIMBER HOUSE,</h3> -<p>considered to be one of the oldest and largest of this kind of -buildings of which our town displays so many specimens.</p> -<p>The projecting stories are sustained by elegant brackets, and -the angle uprights enriched with small pointed arches, carved -with trefoil and other decorations. Along the front -basement is a cloister of wooden arches obtusely -pointed.—This building, 60 feet in length, is now divided -into smaller habitations. History is silent as to the time, -or by whom this edifice was erected, nor have we any decided -information of its primary occupancy.</p> -<p>From the appearance of the cloister, it has been conjectured -that it was a religious house, inhabited by the chauntry priests -of the fraternity of the Holy Cross in St. Alkmund’s -church. But from its extent it is more likely to have been -the town mansion of the Abbot of Lilleshull, who <a -name="page167"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 167</span>had a -residence in this part of the parish, and to which monastery the -patronage of the church belonged.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p167b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Ancient Timber House" -title= -"Ancient Timber House" - src="images/p167s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>Continuing our route to the left of this house, we pass steps -leading to the churchyard, and the foundations of a stone -building (which once pertained to an <i>Oriel</i> and the ancient -college of St. Alkmond), into Fish-street, occupied by shambles, -and on market-days by the country butchers. Crossing the -top of High-street, we enter Milk-street, which leads to Old St. -Chad’s (page 28), and the street called <span -class="smcap">Belmont</span>, in which is situated</p> -<h3><a name="page168"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 168</span>THE -JUDGES’ HOUSE,</h3> -<p>purchased by the County of Salop in 1821, under an act for -providing suitable accommodation for the reception of his -Majesty’s judges of assize. At the south-west end of -the opposite thoroughfare across the church-yard is the remains -of a red stone wall which formed part of</p> -<h3>THE COLLEGE OF ST. CHAD,</h3> -<p>originally a large ancient building inclosing a quadrangular -court, separated from the street by a lofty wall and gateway, In -1549 Edward the Sixth granted the college to Hugh Edwards, Esq. -the individual who (in 1551) exerted himself in obtaining the -foundation of our grammar school. It continued in his -family until 1752, when Lord and Lady Malpas disposed of the -buildings, which were soon afterwards converted into three -excellent houses, but so effectually modernized with brick as to -display none of the appearance of a “college,” -although the name is still retained.</p> -<p>Westward is College Hill. Half-way down this street, a -modern Gothic front denotes</p> -<h3>VAUGHAN’S PLACE,</h3> -<p>which, before its alteration and brick casing in 1795, was -considered a most curious specimen of the unembattled town -mansion, erected (it is conjectured) about the middle of the -fourteenth century by Sir Hamo Vaughan, whose daughter Eleanor -married Reginald de Mutton. By this alliance the house came -into the possession of the Myttons of Halston, several of whom -represented this town in parliament; but little of its original -state now appears. The hall is approached from a passage -near the Corn-market by a flight of steps, and displays a -deeply-recessed pointed arch; a similar one is seen from the -College-hill entrance. One portion of the building forms -the <span class="smcap">Watch Room</span> and <a -name="page169"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 169</span><span -class="smcap">Police Station</span> of the town, and some of the -spacious vaults beneath are used as a temporary receptacle for -midnight disorderlies.</p> -<p>Nearly adjoining, in the street leading to the Corn-market, is -the <span class="smcap">Talbot Hotel</span>, where the Duchess of -Kent and the Princess Victoria alighted on their visit to this -town in 1832, on which occasion the mayor and corporation waited -upon them with a congratulatory address.</p> -<h2>LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS.</h2> -<h3>SHROPSHIRE AND NORTH WALES NATURAL HISTORY AND ANTIQUARIAN -SOCIETY.</h3> -<p>At a meeting held at Shrewsbury on the 26th of June, 1835, it -was resolved to establish a Natural History Society for the -county of Salop and North Wales, and to found a central museum -and scientific library.</p> -<p>In order to secure the perpetuity of the institution, and to -guard against the possible dispersion of the museum at any future -period, the property of the society is vested in the lords -lieutenant of the county of Salop, and of the several counties of -North Wales, as trustees, for the permanent use and benefit of -the district at large.</p> -<p>The museum is principally designed to illustrate the Natural -History of the district, in its various branches of geology, -mineralogy, zoology, and botany, by the gradual formation of -complete and systematic arrangements of its productions, in each -of these departments. It is also open <a -name="page170"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 170</span>to other -objects of scientific interest, and in particular is a suitable -repository for such remains of antiquity as are found within the -district, or illustrate its general history. But, in -addition to these more local objects, the museum will, it is -anticipated, through the liberality of the friends of science in -various quarters, be enriched with many specimens from distant -places.</p> -<p>The library consists of Books illustrative of Natural History -and Antiquities, and such works of reference as the funds of the -society may admit of being purchased, for the illustration of the -objects in the museum. The library, as well as the museum, -is open to donations from the members and friends of the -institution.</p> -<p>The society’s affairs are under the management of a -council, consisting of a president and other officers, elected -annually.</p> -<p>A house situated in Dogpole is at present the temporary -repository for the collections of the Museum, &c.</p> -<h3>THE SUBSCRIPTION LIBRARY</h3> -<p>Is on St. John’s Hill, and contains an excellent -collection of books in the various departments of literature and -science. Its affairs are confided to a committee. -Proprietary members pay two guineas admission, and an annual -subscription of one guinea and a half; and strangers, on the -introduction of a subscriber, have the privilege of consulting -any of the books during library hours.</p> -<h3>THE NEW CHORAL SOCIETY</h3> -<p>Has for its design the cultivation of the delightful science -of sacred music, and was revived in 1834. It is under the -management of a secretary and committee, and is supported by a -respectable number of honorary members.</p> -<h3><a name="page171"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 171</span>THE -HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY</h3> -<p>was engrafted (in the year 1834) on a florists’ society -planted in this town in 1823. Its object is to promote the -culture of the auricula, polyanthus, pink, ranunculus, carnation, -picotee, dahlia, gooseberry, &c.</p> -<h3>MECHANICS’ INSTITUTION.</h3> -<p>This institution commenced in 1825, and in the year 1833 a -building was erected for their meetings in Howard-street, -Castle-foregate. The expences of the establishment are -defrayed by subscriptions and donations.</p> -<h3>NEWSPAPERS.</h3> -<p>Two weekly newspapers are published here: viz. -<i>Wednesday</i>, <span class="smcap">The Salopian -Journal</span>, by Mr. John Eddowes, Corn-market. -<i>Friday</i>, <span class="smcap">The Shrewsbury -Chronicle</span>, by Mr. John Watton, St. John’s-hill.</p> -<h2><a name="page172"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 172</span>WALK -WITHOUT THE WALLS.</h2> -<blockquote><p>“Scenes must be beautiful which daily -view’d<br /> -Please daily, and whose novelty survives<br /> -Long knowledge and the scrutiny of years.<br /> -Praise justly due to those I now describe.”</p> -</blockquote> -<h3>SHREWSBURY QUARRY.</h3> -<p>On the south-western side of the town is one of the most -celebrated promenades in the kingdom, called The Quarry.</p> -<p>It is formed in a tract of verdant meadow ground of -twenty-three acres, gradually sloping to the river Severn, along -the banks of which are planted a graceful avenue of lime trees, -extending 540 yards in length, whose lofty arching branches -entwine themselves so as to resemble the long aisle of some -religious fane.</p> -<p>Three other walks, planted in a similar manner, serve as -approaches from the town to this the principal promenade, which -being enlivened with many pleasing views, renders it in point of -situation and beauty unrivalled.</p> -<p>Here the inhabitant may inhale the refreshing breeze wafted -from the rippling river,—the invalid find a cool and -sequestered retreat free from the noise of a bustling -town,—while the mind alive to the charms of nature may -enjoy its philosophic contemplations in the ever-changing -beauties of the seasons.</p> -<p>A cluster of horse-chesnut and other trees growing in a -dingle, and which in autumn present a beautifully variegated <a -name="page173"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 173</span>mass of -foliage, diversify what otherwise might be considered a formal -arrangement of these walks, which were planted during the -mayoralty of Henry Jenks, Esq. in 1719, and derive their name -from a red sandstone which was formerly procured from this -dingle.</p> -<p>On the opposite side of the meandering river is a verdant -eminence fringed with luxuriant plantations.</p> -<p>At the north-western end of the Quarry, near Claremont, is a -sloping bank, which originally formed an amphitheatre, called the -“Dry Dingle,” where religious mysteries (or miracle -plays) were celebrated. Prince Arthur, in 1494, attended -one of these exhibitions, which were performed on this spot, even -after the Reformation, by the head-schoolmaster, Mr. Ashton, and -his pupils.</p> -<p>Crossing the ferry, at the extremity of the walk leading from -the remains of this amphitheatre, and pursuing the footpath in -the field to the left of the Boat-house, we reach an eminence -from whence a prospect opens to the view combining water, hill, -plain, and wood in charming variety. Continuing from hence -to the right of the House of Industry, we arrive at</p> -<h3>KINGSLAND,</h3> -<p>or, as written in an early Norman grant, -<i>Chingsland</i>. This is an extensive piece of land, -belonging to the ancient burgesses of Shrewsbury, thirty of whom -in rotation annually receive four shillings and sixpence from its -produce, in lieu of a “turn for their kine.” On -this place the festival of Shrewsbury Show (described page <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page109">109</a></span>) is held, -and it commands a prospect which stretches to a considerable -distance over a beautiful and well-cultivated country, -diversified with mountains possessing form and interest.</p> -<p>Returning to the front of the House of Industry, and <a -name="page174"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 174</span>pursuing -the path from the bank on which that building stands, we cross -the Severn by means of the ferry at the Can Office, and enter the -pastures called “<i>Stury’s Close</i>” where -the Earl of Pembroke, Lord President of the Marches, -“mustered all the country, both of horsemen and -footmen,” in 1588 (a year memorable for the defeat of the -Invincible Armada), and soon reach</p> -<h3>THE GREY OR FRANCISCAN FRIARY.</h3> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p174b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"The Grey or Franciscan Friary" -title= -"The Grey or Franciscan Friary" - src="images/p174s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p><a name="page175"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 175</span>The -remnant illustrated by the wood cut comprises probably the -refectory, which was partly re-edificed as late as the reign of -Henry the Eighth.</p> -<p>This religious society, sometimes called Friars Minors, -settled in this town early in the thirteenth century. -Hawis, wife to Charleton Lord of Powys (born in 1291), and heir -of the ancient Princes of Powys Gwenwynwyn, was a great -benefactress to this friary, if not its second foundress.</p> -<p>From the quantity of bones which have been found within the -precinct of this convent, it would seem that no unprofitable use -was made of the privilege granted to this order by the Pope of -“<i>liberam sepulturam</i>.” This and their -reputed sanctity, as well as the popular belief that whoever was -buried in their cemetery or in the habit of a grey friar would be -secure from the attacks of evil spirits and find an easy entrance -into heaven, were circumstances doubtless of such importance as -to induce many persons to desire sepulture among such hallowed -men.</p> -<p>The splendid stained glass now in the eastern window of St. -Mary’s chancel is supposed to have originally decorated the -church of this friary, which was the burial place of the Lords of -Powys.</p> -<p>On the opposite side of the river is the foundry and the -suburb of Coleham.</p> -<p>Passing under the arch of the English Bridge, to the left are -some modern dwellings on the site of a curious half-timbered -mansion erected in the reign of Elizabeth by William Jones, an -alderman and opulent draper of the town, and father of Thomas -Jones, the first mayor of Shrewsbury. A view and -description of this curious building, communicated by the author -of these pages, will be found in vol. 99, part ii. of the -Gentleman’s Magazine.</p> -<p>A few yards beyond stood</p> -<h3><a name="page176"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 176</span>THE -DOMINICAN FRIARY,</h3> -<p>which comprehended nearly the whole space now occupied by -gardens between the bridge and the water gate. <a -name="citation176"></a><a href="#footnote176" -class="citation">[176]</a></p> -<p>This order of mendicants took their name from their founder, -and were sometimes called “Preachers” from their -office, and “Black Friars” from their dress.</p> -<p>The convent, like those of the Austin and Franciscan friars, -was placed on the margin of the river, outside the walls and -adjacent to the bridges.</p> -<p>From the rich architectural remains, &c. which have -occasionally been dug up here, the church must have been a -spacious and elegant building; but, in common with the other -convents, it shared the fate of the dissolution of monasteries, -and was sold by Henry the Eighth in 1543. The hand of man, -combined with the operations of time, had, previously to 1823, -left but few vestiges either of the convent where Richard and -George Plantagenet, two sons of Edward the Fourth, were born, or -the more recent fortifications erected on this interesting -spot,—where several military transactions were determined -in various periods of our domestic history.</p> -<p>The bank on which this friary stood was levelled in the -above-mentioned year, when the foundations of several walls were -cleared to a considerable extent, and numerous capitals, pieces -of mullions, with remains of stained glass, enamelled tiles, -&c. were discovered by the workmen employed in the -construction of a new building and wharf. Several stone -graves were also brought to view, the masonry of which was well -finished, and formed so as nearly to fit the corpse. After -clearing the soil from these tombs, skeletons <a -name="page177"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 177</span>were found -encased in red sand, but without the least trace of any thing in -which the body might have been enveloped. The only remains -of this once noble pile are the materials used in the -construction of a stable and the wall surrounding the -gardens. Adjoining is</p> -<h3>THE WATER-LANE GATE,</h3> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p177b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"The Waterlane Gateway" -title= -"The Waterlane Gateway" - src="images/p177s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>Through which the parliamentary army entered, Feb. 22d, -1644–5, and captured the town. The means by which -this was accomplished showed much generalship and secrecy on <a -name="page178"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 178</span>the part of -the Parliamentarians. It appears a detachment of soldiers -belonging to that party left Wem, and marched under the shadow of -night to the extremity of the Castle-foregate, where the troopers -halted at four o’clock in the morning, in order that the -foot soldiers might effect an entrance by stratagem. The -infantry turned off on the left to the river, being led by a -puritanical minister of the town, named Huson, a kinsman of the -celebrated John Huson, who from a cobbler rose to be a colonel -and a member of the Barebones parliament.</p> -<p>The dismounted troopers were under the command of Benbow, who, -being a native of Shrewsbury, was aware of the part most easily -attacked. From the end of Castle-foregate they advanced -through the fields to the castle ditch (now a thoroughfare), -which was defended on the town side by strong palisading and a -breastwork of earth. A boat on the river contained several -carpenters and other persons, who commenced sawing down the -paling near the river to effect a passage for the soldiers. -This was soon accomplished, and by assisting one another over the -ditch the breastwork was gained. Having succeeded thus far, -they seem to have divided themselves into two divisions; the one -party, headed by Benbow, scaled the wall on the eminence between -the Watch Tower and the Council House, by means of light -ladders. The main body, consisting of 350 men, entered by -the gate shewn in the engraving, to which a tower and outwork was -formerly attached. This, and a similar fort about the -middle of the lane where the town wall crossed, yielded without -resistance by the connivance of careless and treacherous -sentinels, who are supposed to have been intoxicated and privy to -the design. The party who had scaled the wall hastened to -procure an entrance at the north or castle gate, which was soon -done, and having let down the draw-bridge, the horse, with <a -name="page179"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 179</span>Colonels -Mytton and Bowyer at their head, made the best of their way to -the main court of guard held in the Market-place, where they -found their comrades engaged with the royalists. The loss -on both sides was inconsiderable, amounting to only seven men and -one captain. The castle surrendered about noon, when the -garrison was immediately marched off to Ludlow, with the -exception of thirteen poor Irishmen, who, being left to the -tender mercies of the parliamentary leaders, were hanged the same -day without trial.</p> -<p>Continuing the walk by the side of the river, the most -prominent object is the tower on the castle mount, from whose -lofty height a group of majestic trees decline to the banks of -the Severn, which in this part bends gracefully over its gravelly -bed. The pathway brings us to the island where a pageant -took place in honour of Sir Henry Sidney (noticed page <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page11">11</a></span>). A -little beyond, on the opposite side of the river, is the ferry -for conveying horses across by which barges are towed up the -stream. <a name="citation179"></a><a href="#footnote179" -class="citation">[179]</a> The meadows into which we have -passed comprised a portion of the ancient Derfald, or enclosure -for the keeping of deer,—in other words a park, which may -not inaptly be called</p> -<h3>SHREWSBURY PARK,</h3> -<p>for it belonged to our first Norman earl, and in all -probability to some of the Saxon monarchs. The situation of -the ground, before it was stripped of its timber, possessed every -advantage of pasture, water, and diversified -surface.—According to the record of Domesday, it was the -custom, when the king resided here, for twelve of the better sort -of citizens to keep watch over him; and when he went out hunting, -those having horses protected him. This practice <a -name="page180"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 180</span>probably -arose in consequence of the murder of Alfhelm (an earl of the -blood royal) in 1016, who, having been invited here and -hospitably entertained by Ædric Streona (son-in-law to King -Etheldred), was barbarously assassinated by a butcher while -hunting, whom the perfidious Ædric had engaged for that -purpose.</p> -<p>The boundaries of these pleasant fields bring us to the -Shrewsbury canal, which for some distance beyond passes above the -banks of the river; while from the canal towing-path numerous -pleasing views may be obtained, affording an agreeable -half-hour’s walk to the picturesque village of -Uffington.</p> -<p>Retracing our steps along the green banks of the Severn, we -arrive at a gentle ascent which leads to the promenade -surrounding the prison. From hence the long ridge of -Haughmond Hill, linked as it were to the noble Wrekin,—the -stately character of the White Hall,—the patriotic Column -in honour of Lord Hill,—the venerable Abbey Church, -standing like a patriarch among its more modern -compeers,—the Stretton Hills in the distance, and close at -hand the frowning walls of the Castle, clad by nature’s -hand with stains of sober hue, combine to attract the eye and the -mind.</p> -<p>On a line with the front of the County Prison is</p> -<h3>HOWARD-STREET,</h3> -<p>having at the top a fine colossal figure of Hercules, which -was cast at Rome from the Farnese Hercules, and is no inapt -memorial of the labour consequent upon the removal of upwards of -26,000 loads of soil in the formation of the street.</p> -<p>Passing to the <span class="smcap">Dana Walk</span>, -“where the huge castle hold its state,” the prospect -is bounded to the right by the eminences of Hawkstone, Grinshill, -Pimhill, Almond Park, <a name="page181"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 181</span>and the plain of -“Battlefield.” Westward is Berwick House, -embosomed in sylvan beauty, and beyond in the horizon are a range -of Cambrian mountains, gradually fading into the clouds, which in -point of colour they not unfrequently resemble. Among these -may be particularly distinguished those gigantic landmarks -between England and Wales,—the Breidden and Moelygolfa -hills. The former rises to the height of 1000 feet, and has -on the summit a pillar erected to commemorate the great victory -obtained by Admiral Rodney over the French fleet in the West -Indies, 1782.</p> -<p>By a modern archway opened through the wall abutting from the -Castle at the time this walk was formed, in 1790, we are again -brought within the walls. This part, however, of</p> -<h3>THE TOWN WALLS</h3> -<p>extended in a line with the Castle Gates across the isthmus -down to the banks of the river, having a corresponding barrier on -the other side of the castle. It was erected by Robert de -Belesme, third Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, under the idea that his -father’s fortifications were not of sufficient strength to -withstand a siege from the forces of Henry I. which in 1102 -marched against him (page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page14">14</a></span>).</p> -<p>An additional rampart called Roushill, enclosing the space -between the wall of Earl Robert and the Welsh bridge, was added -during the Commonwealth. These walls for many years served -as a communication between the northern and western parts of the -town; but in 1835 the more modern portion was nearly buried in -the formation of a new road.</p> -<h2><a name="page182"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -182</span>RECREATIVE.</h2> -<h3>THE THEATRE.</h3> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p182b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"The New Theatre" -title= -"The New Theatre" - src="images/p182s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p><span class="smcap">When</span> man is contemplated in the -character of a being, who can be successfully addressed by an -appeal to the passions and the understanding, the Drama, under -proper restrictions, may be rendered serviceable.</p> - -<blockquote><p> <a -name="page183"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 183</span>I have -heard<br /> -That guilty creatures, sitting at a play,<br /> -Have, by the very cunning of the scene,<br /> -Been struck so to the soul, that presently<br /> -They have proclaim’d their malefactions.</p> -<p style="text-align: right"><span -class="smcap">Shakspeare</span>.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The old building used for the purpose of dramatic performance -in this town, is said to have formed part of a royal dwelling of -the Princes of Powys Land. Having long been ruinous, it was -purchased by Mr. Bennett, the manager, and taken down in -1833. The erection of the present theatre on its site has -been an important improvement to the thoroughfare leading to St. -John’s Hill and the Quarry, as well as an ornament to the -town. It forms a centre and two wings; the lower part -consists of a rusticated base, upwards of 100 feet in length, -fitted up as shops, with a house for the manager. Above is -a continued string-course, from which rises two pilasters in each -wing, supporting a frieze and cornice.</p> -<p>The windows are finished with architraves, and the front of -the building displays three niches, containing statues of the -immortal bard <span class="smcap">Shakspeare</span> and of the -<span class="smcap">Comic</span> and <span class="smcap">Tragic -Muse</span>, executed in compos by Mr. James Parry, a native of -this town.</p> -<p>The interior of the theatre is conveniently arranged: in the -centre is a dome, and the ceiling richly decorated with -appropriate devices. The building is creditable to the -taste of Mr. Bennett, whose spirited undertaking in this public -improvement will no doubt be appreciated by the lovers of the -drama. The new structure was opened Sept. 8th, 1834, under -the patronage of the Mayor.</p> -<h3>THE CIRCUS</h3> -<p>is a large brick building near the Welsh bridge, in which <a -name="page184"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 184</span>equestrian -performances occasionally take place. It is used on fair -days as a butter and cheese market.</p> -<h3>THE HORSE RACES</h3> -<p>are annually held in the third week of September, and continue -for three days. They are generally attended by the rank and -fashion of the county, and attract a considerable influx of -visitors to the town. The king contributes a plate of one -hundred guineas.</p> -<h3>THE ASSEMBLY ROOM</h3> -<p>was erected in 1777, at the back of the Lion Hotel, and is a -commodious and tastefully decorated apartment, where most of the -balls are held.</p> -<h3>THE SHREWSBURY HUNT</h3> -<p>takes place about the middle of November, and brings to the -town a respectable number of the nobility and gentry of the -county, who pass a week with a president annually chosen from the -members, while a fashionable ball gives additional hilarity to -the meeting.</p> -<h3>ANGLING.</h3> -<p>The Severn has long been celebrated for the excellency of its -fish—salmon, pike, grayling, trout, perch, and many -others. The votaries of the “Gentle Craft,” if -not always gratified with excellent sport, or the finny tribe -should sometimes not be disposed “to bite,” may find -pleasure in the contemplation of the scenery around.</p> -<p>It must however be mentioned, and with regret, that the -fishing of the river near the town has of late years been almost -ruined by the daring excess of poaching with illegal nets, so as -to threaten, as it were, the annihilation of the piscatory race, -unless the laws are put in force for their <a -name="page185"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -185</span>defence. Some of the lesser streams near the -town, however, afford a tolerable supply of good trout.</p> -<h3>AQUATIC EXCURSIONS.</h3> -<p>Much pleasant exercise and amusement is afforded on the Severn -during the summer months. Several parties possess boats, -and an emulation of skill is frequently excited among the more -experienced rowers.</p> -<p>An annual gala is generally given by the young gentlemen of -Shrewsbury School in the month of June.</p> -<p>Boats may be hired for the day at a moderate charge, and -pic-nic parties take an excursion up the river to the picturesque -and woody banks at Shelton, the shady groves near Berwick and the -Isle, or downwards to the rural villages of Uffington, Atcham, -&c. On a summer’s evening, when all is calm and -serene, the sail is truly delightful.</p> -<h3>THE SUBURBS OF SHREWSBURY</h3> -<p>comprise five separate districts, viz. Coton Hill, Castle -Foregate, Frankwell, Abbey Foregate, and Coleham, containing a -population equal to that within the walls.</p> -<p>In noticing these, it is purposed to commence where our walk -terminated without the walls, viz. the Castle Gates, from whence -the Castle Foregate and Coton Hill diverge. Taking the -latter thoroughfare, to the left we enter Chester Street, into -which a new line of road is opened, communicating with Mardol, -and carried over the ancient fosse and through a portion of the -wall erected by Robert de Belesme. A few yards further -are</p> -<h3>THE WATER WORKS,</h3> -<p>which supply every house in the remotest part of the town with -water for domestic purposes, being raised from the <a -name="page186"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 186</span>river by -means of a steam engine, capable of throwing up 22,000 gallons in -the hour. The Company was established under an act of -parliament in 1830. <a name="citation186"></a><a -href="#footnote186" class="citation">[186]</a></p> -<p>Nearly opposite are</p> -<h3>THE ROYAL BATHS,</h3> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p186b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"The Royal Baths, Coton-hill" -title= -"The Royal Baths, Coton-hill" - src="images/p186s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p><a name="page187"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -187</span>affording conveniences equal to any which are to be -found in the first-rate establishments of this kind in the -kingdom, while the moderate terms and strict attention to -cleanliness and comfort will, no doubt, ensure to them the -patronage and support of the public. Hot air, vapour, -shower, warm, salt, medicated, and fresh water baths are in -constant readiness, and the pleasure bath is of sufficient -dimensions to enable persons to learn the art of swimming.</p> -<p>The building is of a chaste design, the front being ornamented -with a portico, supported by two Ionic pillars and two -pilasters.</p> -<p>From the road, winding on the banks of the river, an imposing -view of the town may be obtained, with a considerable portion of -the walls by which it was formerly encompassed. A bold -clump of trees on the right denotes</p> -<h3>BENBOW HOUSE,</h3> -<p>where the gallant Admiral Benbow was born in 1650, whose -distinguished deeds in arms have rendered him an honour to our -town and country. This brave sailor not only stood against -the enemy in the memorable action off Carthagena, in August, -1702, until every hold was gone, but had to encounter the -unparalleled treachery of those under his command. The -operation of amputating his leg, which was shattered by a -chain-shot in the late engagement, added to the deep mental -anxiety occasioned by the base conduct of his captains, brought -on a fever which terminated his career of glory November 4th, in -the same year, universally lamented. His remains received -the rites of sepulture in Kingston church, Jamaica. <a -name="citation187"></a><a href="#footnote187" -class="citation">[187]</a></p> -<p>In the year 1828, a subscription was commenced in this town -for the purpose of erecting some memorial in <a -name="page188"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 188</span>St. -Mary’s church (the parish in which he was born) -commemorative of this distinguished Salopian, towards which our -no less courageous townsman, Admiral Sir Edward Owen, K.C.B. with -that frankness and honourable feeling so characteristic of the -true British sailor, munificently contributed.</p> -<p>We now arrive at</p> -<h3>COTON HILL,</h3> -<p>where stood the suburban mansion of the Myttons of Halston, in -which that family resided after vacating their town house of -Vaughan’s Place. North-west of the turnpike was</p> -<h3>ST. CATHARINE’s CHAPEL,</h3> -<p>in a pasture still called the Chapel Yard. <a -name="citation188"></a><a href="#footnote188" -class="citation">[188]</a></p> -<p>Coton appears at a remote period to have been connected with -the Suburb of Frankwell by a bank, which caused the river to -spread over the meadows called the “Purditches,” -forcing its waters from thence under Hencot and Cross Hill in a -channel still strongly marked by its rising banks, and -discernible at all times, especially during floods, until the -stream found its way into the present channel near the Royal -Baths. This is particularly evident at the foot of Cross -Hill, one mile on the Ellesmere road, to the right of which a -toll bar communicates with a pleasant lane, the ancient road to -Berwick. From the brow of this lane, the old course of the -Severn may be easily defined. From hence, also, the town -unfolds itself with peculiar beauty backed by the frontier of -Salopian and Cambrian <a name="page189"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 189</span>mountains, increasing in variety and -picturesque effect throughout this delightful rural walk, until -we arrive at Marshall’s Factory, where a wooden bridge over -the canal conducts again to the suburb of</p> -<h3>THE CASTLE FOREGATE,</h3> -<p>the point from which we at first diverged. This long -street has become a place of much traffic, owing to a -communication having been opened, in 1835, with Birmingham, -London, Liverpool, &c. by means of <span class="smcap">The -Shrewsbury Canal</span>, to and from which places goods are -received into warehouses erected on its banks. This canal -was originally formed in 1797, for the purpose of supplying the -town and neighbourhood with coal, brought from Hadley, Ketley, -&c. in the eastern part of Shropshire.</p> -<p>The canal terminates on the N.W. side of the County Prison, in -a spacious</p> -<h3>COAL WHARF,</h3> -<p>belonging to the Canal Company, where this indispensible -necessary of life may be obtained, of excellent quality, at -fifteen shillings per ton. Coal is also procured at the -collieries of Welbatch and Uffington, three miles distant from -the town.</p> -<h3>THE SUBURB OF FRANKWELL,</h3> -<p>anciently written <i>Frankville</i>, lies on the west side of -the Welsh bridge, and is a township within the parish of St. -Chad. In former times it suffered much from the ravages of -the Welsh, being in the line of road to the principality, as it -is now the thoroughfare to Holyhead.</p> -<p>The inquisitive eye of the antiquary will discover in this -suburb many curious specimens of the half-timbered dwellings of -our ancestors, one in particular, better known now as the -“String of Horses,” appears, from initials, &c. -<a name="page190"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 190</span>over the -chimney piece, to have been erected at least as early as -1576. To the left of this building is “New -Street,” leading to Millington’s Hospital, Kingsland, -&c. Roads also branch off to the village of Hanwood, -and the mining districts of Pontesbury and Westbury.</p> -<p>Passing onward to the right is St. George’s church (page -<span class="indexpageno"><a href="#page89">89</a></span>), a -short distance from which is the “Mount,” so called -from a strong outwork erected during the civil wars, under the -direction of Lord Capel, and in which he planted several pieces -of cannon to protect the town. The garrison of this fort -vigorously resisted the attacks of the parliamentarians, even -after the town and castle had been captured. In the -evening, however, of that day, they had no other alternative but -to surrender upon bare quarter.</p> -<p>Near this fortification stood a religious house called Cadogan -Chapel, which, in the third year of Edward VI. passed into lay -hands. In 1604 it was remaining, though in a ruinous state, -having been appropriated in that year as the “Pest -House.” <a name="citation190"></a><a href="#footnote190" -class="citation">[190]</a></p> -<p>The precinct of this chapel probably extended as far as -Millington’s Hospital, the site of the latter being to this -day called “The Chapel Yard,” and in the gardens -adjoining it skeletons have been found, while a strong yew-tree -hedge, still visible at the western end of Cadogan Place, was no -doubt its boundary in that direction, near which spot stood -“<i>Cadogan’s Cross</i>,” where sermons in -other days were occasionally delivered. The bailiffs’ -accounts, for 1542, record the item of sixpence for wine given to -the Lord President’s chaplain, preaching at Cadogan’s -Cross on the Rogation day. <a name="page191"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 191</span>The meadows below (on the banks of -the Severn), called “<i>Monks Eye</i>,” were granted -by Reginald Pinzun to the “Almonry” of Shrewsbury -Abbey, in the reign of Henry III. previously to which they bore -the appellation of “<i>Crosfurlong</i>.”</p> -<p>Extending our walk for one mile on the great Holyhead road -(with the fine woods of Berwick on the opposite side of the -river) we reach the township of <span -class="smcap">Shelton</span>, where are some neat suburban villas -which unite architectural taste and rural decoration with beauty -of situation and commanding prospects. At this place -stands</p> -<h3>GLENDOWER’S OAK,</h3> -<p>famed from the tradition that Owen Glendower, in 1403, -ascended its branches to ascertain the event of the Battle of -Shrewsbury, a circumstance not unlikely when it is considered -that the country was probably more open at that time than at -present.</p> -<p>This champion of Welsh independence, it has been already -shown, assembled his forces at Oswestry, from whence, according -to Holinshed, he sent off only his first division, consisting of -4000 men, who behaved with spirit in the day of action. The -Welsh historians, however, have censured his conduct on this -occasion, and blame him for what it appears from some cause he -was unable to effect, viz. in neglecting to attack Henry after -the battle, when the royal forces had sustained a severe loss and -were overcome with fatigue, and when his own followers and the -remainder of the northern troops would have formed an army nearly -double that of the king’s.</p> -<p>There are documents to prove that this oak was “<i>a -great tree</i>” within 140 years after the Battle of -Shrewsbury, and was an object of remark to old people long -before. It is now a chronicle to the eye of the passing -traveller, and <a name="page192"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -192</span>to those who delight to be carried back into the depth -of antiquity. Long may it be preserved from injury, and -viewed as the natural historical monument of our vicinity; for -Time has truly</p> - -<blockquote><p> Hollowed -in its trunk<br /> -A tomb for centuries; and buried there<br /> -The epochs of the rise and fall of states,<br /> -The fading generations of the world,<br /> -The memory of man.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>According to a recent measurement, the tree is 41½ feet -in height; the girth at the base is 44¼ feet, and at eight -feet from the ground 27¼ feet.</p> -<p>The interior is hollow, consisting of little more than a shell -of bark, forming an alcove capable of holding a dozen -individuals; and notwithstanding the branches of this aged tree -have borne the blast of many a wintry storm, still it may be -said—</p> - -<blockquote><p> The -Spring<br /> -Finds thee not less alive to her sweet force<br /> -Than the young upstarts of the neighbouring woods,<br /> -So much thy juniors, who their birth received<br /> -Half a millennium since the date of thine.</p> -</blockquote> -<h3>THE ABBEY FOREGATE.</h3> -<p>Passing over the English, or east bridge, from which there is -a striking prospect of the town and the tower on the Castle -Mount, we reach a small tract of ground, comprising a few houses, -called</p> -<h3>MERIVALE,</h3> -<p>or, <i>Murivale</i>, probably from its connexion with the -walls.</p> -<p>In reference to this it appears that in the early part of the -13th century, the abbot consented that the two plats of ground -between the main road at the east end of the bridge should be -left void for the purpose of erecting defences in <a -name="page193"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 193</span>the time of -war; hence Merivale subsequently became matter of frequent -contest between the Corporation and the Abbey, as to the right of -jurisdiction within it. This was not finally settled until -the dissolution of the monastery, when Henry VIII. stating the -“intimate affection” which he bears towards the town -of Salop, and his desire “to do and shew favour to the -bailiffs and burgesses,” grants that they and their -successors may for ever enjoy all the liberties, privileges, -&c. within the limits of the Abbey Foregate, including the -hamlet of Merivale, in as ample manner as they were enjoyed by -the last abbot or his predecessors.</p> -<p>Leaving the National School to the right,</p> -<h3>THE MONASTIC REMAINS</h3> -<p>next claim our notice, and although now very inconsiderable, -yet, like most other Abbeys, they originally consisted chiefly of -two quadrangular courts of different dimensions, the conventual -church, as was customary, being towards the north. Situated -on the other sides were the refectory, almonry, chapter house, -dormitory, locutory or parlour, infirmary, guest hall or -hospitium, kitchen, and other domestic offices. The -abbot’s house or lodging commonly formed one or more -portions of the smaller quadrangle, and consisted of a complete -mansion.</p> -<p>This Abbey, bereft of its endowments by the reforming spirit -of Henry VIII. shared the fate of other similar foundations in -the rapine of the dissolution; the buildings connected therewith -were sold, and soon afterwards despoiled of their constituent -parts, chiefly for the value of the materials, while portions -were converted into dwellings and other purposes, or left quietly -to moulder into decay.</p> -<p>Of the remains which have excited most attention is an elegant -octagonal</p> -<h3><a name="page194"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -194</span>STONE PULPIT,</h3> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p194b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Stone Pulpit" -title= -"Stone Pulpit" - src="images/p194s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>from which one of the junior monks was accustomed to read to -his brethren while seated at their meals. Its situation, -one half resting on the ruined wall of the Refectory, -indisputably proves this; looking outward of the site of that -building it forms a small bay window, while the other portion, -once inside the hall, is supported on a moulded bracket, which -springs from a corbel originally carved as a head. From -hence it projects to the basement of the floor, twelve feet from -which rises a conical roof sustained on six narrow pointed -arches, having trefoil heads.</p> -<p>The interior forms a beautiful oriel, the roof being vaulted -on eight delicate ribs, at the intersection of which in the -centre is a boss of comparatively large dimensions; on this is -beautifully sculptured The Crucifixion, with St. <a -name="page195"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 195</span>John and -the Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross, enclosed under a -trefoil arch flanked by buttresses. The spaces of the three -northern arches, looking inwards, are filled with embattled stone -panels about three feet high, on which are enshrined several -figures of saints, &c.</p> -<p>This interesting relic is approached from the garden by a -flight of steps through a small doorway worked originally, it is -considered, within the thickness of the wall of the -refectory.</p> -<p>The south wing of what is supposed to have been part of the -monk’s infirmary, chapel, &c. remains south-west of the -church. It is now appropriated as a malthouse, and may be -distinguished by its lofty gables. A similar building -converted into dwellings stood near the street, and was connected -with the above by an embattled ruin flanked by massive piers, -between which were square windows divided by a transom. -This was an imposing feature to our monastic remains, and truly -venerable from its antiquity, having braved the storms and -tempests of nearly one thousand years, but was taken down without -a feeling of forbearance in 1836, and the materials applied for -the foundations of two houses adjoining its site.</p> -<p>The present Abbey house is supposed to have been the guest -hall, or hospitium, to the east of which three pointed arches, -once forming part of a groined ceiling, denote the abbot’s -lodging.</p> -<p>Of the chapter house, where the members of the monastery -assembled to transact their official business, not a relic is -left; but in excavating near its site, in 1836, a leaden seal was -found, which had been once appended to a bull from the Pope, -whose name is thus inscribed on it, INNOCENTIVS. PP. IIII.</p> -<p>The monks of this Abbey, in the third year of Pope <a -name="page196"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 196</span>Innocent -IV. i.e. 1246, obtained a bull, setting forth the injuries -committed against their lands, tithes, possessions, &c. by -the monastery of Lilleshull, by which the dean and precentor of -Lichfield were directed to convoke the parties and hear the -cause.</p> -<p>The dormitory was attached to the south-west side of the -church, and was cut through in the formation of a new line of -road in 1836.</p> -<p>What a train of reflections, loudly bespeaking the -vicissitudes of life, may be called forth during our walk along -this new thoroughfare. Who is there, it may be asked, with -a mind to think and a heart to feel, that can thoughtlessly pass -over ground which has been distinguished in history, without a -momentary reflection upon its former importance?</p> -<p>Within the Chapter House, which stood on a portion of this -road, occurred the earliest authorized assembly of that popular -representation in the constitution of this kingdom, to which, -under Providence, Englishmen have been indebted for all their -subsequent prosperity,—all their energies, and that noble -independence which have characterized us as a people among -nations. <a name="citation196"></a><a href="#footnote196" -class="citation">[196]</a></p> -<p>Here, too, Richard the Second gratified his fondness for -magnificence, by entertaining the members of his parliament with -a sumptuous feast, and, as if to dazzle by the splendour of -monarchy, and to awe by military display, he was attired in his -royal robes, and attended by a numerous guard of Cheshire -men.</p> -<p>The fervent orisons of a grateful heart have here been -uplifted—divinity and other important subjects -discussed—and on this spot the nobility, gentry, abbots, -priors, deans, &c. of Shropshire, have frequently -congregated, and banished for a time the gloomy silence and sable -garb of the brotherhood, <a name="page197"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 197</span>and exchanged the sober gravity of -the refectory, and its austere monkish repast, for wine and -wassail, minstrelsey and song.</p> -<p>Before quitting these scattered ruins, the present remains of -the Abbey church must excite feelings of regret in the breast of -every admirer of our ancient architecture, at the mistaken zeal -which caused its partial and barbarous demolition.</p> -<p>An embattled wall encompassed the northern and eastern sides -of the precinct, beyond which is the <span -class="smcap">Foregate</span>, a respectable open street, nearly -one mile in length, and chiefly occupied by private -residences. The houses to the south have gardens which -extend to the Reabrook, and command delightful prospects of the -adjacent country. This suburb (April 1st, 1774) suffered -considerably from a fire, which destroyed 47 dwellings, 16 barns, -15 stables, 4 shops, and several stacks of hay, beside damaging -other property.</p> -<p>On the left, half way up the street, is</p> -<h3>THE WHITE HALL,</h3> -<p>So called from a practice, during the last century, of -occasionally colouring its deep red walls. Our native poet -(Churchyard) speaks of this stone mansion in his usual quaint -manner, as standing “so trim and finely that it graceth all -the soil it is in.” In front is a handsome gatehouse; -and the pointed gables, central cupola, and ornamental chimnies, -strongly characterise it as an interesting specimen of the old -English residence peculiar to the reign of Elizabeth, while its -sombre appearance is finely set forth by the vivid foliage of -walnut and other trees adjoining. The interior has been -modernised, and forms a comfortable habitation. The -building was commenced in 1578 by <a name="page198"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 198</span>Richard Prince, Esq. a celebrated -lawyer, and was his manorial residence. It now belongs to -the Right Rev. the Bishop of Lichfield, by purchase from Earl -Tankerville.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p198b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"The White Hall Mansion" -title= -"The White Hall Mansion" - src="images/p198s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>A few yards distant is</p> -<h3>THE RACE GROUND,</h3> -<p>called the “Soldier’s Piece,” from the -circumstance of Charles the First having drawn up his army here -(page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page11">11</a></span>).</p> -<p>Situated within a very few minutes’ walk of the town, <a -name="page199"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 199</span>it may in -most points compete with all the secondary courses in the -kingdom. It is one mile and 185 yards in circumference, and -in addition to a fine straight run for coming-in of 500 yards, -possesses the advantage of a sight of the horses throughout the -race, combined with an extensive panoramic view of the adjacent -richly diversified country; while the town, from so many points -picturesque, has from hence a most pleasing appearance.</p> -<p>It may be remarked that this race course is formed on a plan, -it is believed, not previously adopted, the arrangement being -such as to provide for any distance, from half a mile to four -miles, the different lengths being conveniently fixed and marked -with letters on short posts inside the course; a reference to -which is placed in the winning chair for the information of the -public.</p> -<p>A footpath through the meadows near the Hall conducts to the -east end of Abbey-foregate, and the noble Column erected on the -great London road in commemoration of the military achievements -of Lord Hill, who, on his return to his native county, in 1814, -was welcomed into Shrewsbury by his countrymen with all the -splendid honours attendant upon a triumphal hero. The most -enthusiastic rejoicings took place, and upwards of 20,000 persons -assembled to witness the festivities, &c. provided on the -occasion in the Quarry.</p> -<p>Leaving the venerable church of St. Giles to the left, and -proceeding about one mile to the right, along a pleasant walk -embellished throughout by an interesting prospect, we reach the -saline and chalybeate spring called</p> -<h3>SUTTON SPA,</h3> -<p>situated in a retired dell near the margin of the Reabrook, -and the property of the Right Hon. Lord Berwick.</p> -<p>The spring issues from a rocky stratum of ash-coloured <a -name="page200"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 200</span>clay, or -argillaceous schistus. The water is colourless, and exhales -a faint sulphureous smell, much more perceptible in rainy -weather. It has been compared with the Cheltenham water, -but in reality bears a stronger affinity to sea water, -possessing, however, an advantage over that in containing -iron. In those cases, therefore, for which sea water is -usually recommended it has been found most beneficial, and proves -highly serviceable in the treatment of glandular affections, -scrofula, and other diseases of the skin. A tumbler -glassful operates as a brisk aperient.</p> -<p>The following analysis of the water was recently read at one -of the scientific meetings of the Shropshire Natural History -Society:—</p> -<blockquote><p>Eleven cubic inches of the water contain about -half a cubic inch of carbonic acid, partly free and partly in a -combined state, a quarter of a cubic inch of atmospheric air, and -a trace of sulphuretted hydrogen.</p> -<p>Sixteen fluid ounces contain of—</p> -<p>Iodine and bromine, each a trace</p> -<p>Carbonate iron, about 0.7 grain</p> -<p>— lime and siliceous earth, each a trace</p> -<p>Anhydrous muriate magnesia, 8.8 grains</p> -<p>— — lime, 30 grains</p> -<p>— — soda, 121.3 grains. <a -name="citation200"></a><a href="#footnote200" -class="citation">[200]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p>The importance of this spring is generally acknowledged, and -it is matter of regret that proper accommodations for the -advantageous use of the water have not been more effectually -provided. A stone cistern, within a little shed, is the -only receptacle for the water, the refuse from which, after being -confined within a covered drain for a few yards, <a -name="page201"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 201</span>flows into -the brook, and has produced an artificial morass, whose surface -(from the deposition of iron oxyd) is covered with an ochery -scum.</p> -<p>The care of the spring and baths is entrusted to the occupier -of a cottage on the spot.</p> -<p>On an elevated situation in an adjoining meadow stands the -primitive parish church of Sutton, a characteristic specimen of -the little Norman churches erected in villages. The west -front is crowned with a cupola, and displays a modern window, but -those on the other sides of the fabric are of the earliest kind, -narrowing towards the exterior surface of the wall. The -town may be regained by different routes over the meadows, which -lead to</p> -<h3>THE SUBURB OF COLEHAM,</h3> -<p>situated on the southern banks of the river, where the Meole -or Rea brook joins the Severn. This was until the present -century the lowest part of the town, and consequently most liable -to be inundated by floods; but of late years the street has been -raised about nine feet.</p> -<p>The township is populous, and consists of two districts, -called Longden Coleham and Meole Coleham from their respective -thoroughfares to those villages. In the latter direction is -Trinity Church, and in the former the extensive foundry of Mr. -Hazledine, where the iron-work used in the construction of that -surprising proof of human ingenuity, the “Menai -Bridge,” was cast, and proved by an engine whose pressure -was calculated at thirty-seven tons.</p> -<h2>TRADE AND MANUFACTURES.</h2> -<p>Our town for more than three centuries possessed almost -exclusively the trade with Wales in a coarse kind of cloth called -Welsh webs, which were brought from Merionethshire and -Montgomeryshire to a market held here <a name="page202"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 202</span>weekly. In reference to this, -Camden, in his “Britannia,” published in 1586, writes -of Shrewsbury—“It is a fine city, well inhabited, and -of good commerce; and by the industry of the citizens and their -cloth manufacture and their trade with the Welsh, is very rich, -for hither the Welsh commodities are brought as to the common -mart.”</p> -<p>The termination of this branch of commerce is an event of too -much importance to be passed over. It is thus graphically -alluded to by Messrs. Owen and Blakeway: “Every Thursday -the central parts of the town were all life and bustle; troops of -hardy ponies, each with a halter of twisted straw, and laden with -two bales of cloth, poured into the Market-place in the morning, -driven by stout Welshmen in their country coats of blue cloth and -striped linsey waistcoats.”</p> -<p>At two o’clock the drapers, with their clerks and -shearmen, assembled under the Market-house, and proceeded up -stairs (according to ancient usage) in seniority. The -market being over, drays were seen in all directions conveying -the cloths to the several warehouses, and more than six hundred -pieces of web have been sold in a day. The whole was a -ready money business; and as the Welshmen left much of their cash -behind them in exchange for malt, groceries, and other shop -goods, the loss of such a trade to the town may be easily -conceived. This took place about the year 1795, and was -occasioned by individuals (not members of the Shrewsbury -fraternity of drapers) travelling into those parts where the -goods were made, from which the manufacturers soon learnt that -they might find a mart for their goods at home without the -trouble and expence of a journey to the walls of Amwythig. -In March, 1803, the company relinquished the great room over the -market-hall, where they had for nearly two centuries transacted -their business, and though much traffic in flannels was -subsequently <a name="page203"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -203</span>carried on in the town, the total extinction of this -branch of our local commerce is fast approaching, from the market -having diverged to Welshpool, Newtown, and Llanidloes, where the -advantages of machinery are now substituted for manual labour in -its manufacture.</p> -<p>The cessation of the woollen market in this town has been -ascribed to the improvement of the roads in Wales, which opened a -more free communication to the interlopers of the Drapers’ -company; and this again afforded some compensation to the town -for the loss of this branch of its trade. For if Shrewsbury -was no longer the emporium of North Wales, it was becoming the -centre of communication between London and Dublin; and the -agriculture of the neighbourhood and the trade of the town -received a new impulse from the vast increase of posting and -stage coaches, but far inadequate to the advantage which it -derived from its trade in Welsh woollens and the weekly visits of -the Cambrian farmers.</p> -<p>That Shrewsbury, however, may reap the full benefit of its -central situation as the great thoroughfare from whence all the -roads into North Wales diverge, and being also the general market -of the surrounding country, acknowledged to be one of the finest -agricultural districts in the kingdom, it is highly expedient -that our town should possess the advantage of a <span -class="smcap">Railway</span> communicating with the great lines -to Birmingham, London, Liverpool, &c.</p> -<p>Prospectuses have been issued showing the eligibility of the -plan, and the position in which the trade and general intercourse -of the town will be placed if unprovided with those facilities of -cheap and expeditious conveyance enjoyed by other large towns; -and when it is considered that a great portion of the provisions -which supply the thickly-populated neighbourhoods of -Wolverhampton, Bilston, Birmingham, &c. are purchased at our -weekly markets and <a name="page204"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -204</span>monthly fairs, and the deficient and expensive means of -transit on this line, a Railway would produce incalculable -benefit to the town by an increased traffic, and thereby -contribute to reinstate it in that important situation which it -once held as <span class="smcap">the Emporium of North -Wales</span>.</p> -<p>The chief manufactories at present are the extensive concern -of Messrs. Marshall for thread and linen yarns, three iron -foundries, and Messrs. Jones and Pidgeon’s for tobacco and -snuff. The vicinity being a good barley country, the -malting business is carried on to a considerable extent, and -divided among sixty maltsters. Glass-staining has been -brought to the highest state of perfection in this town, -completely disproving assertions made some few years since that -the powers of this ancient science had then extended almost -beyond the hope of eventual excellence. The gothic chain, -however, which for so long a period had confined the mystery of -this beautiful art, once, indeed, considered as entirely lost, -has been effectively broken by our townsman, Mr. D. Evans, of -whose productions our churches and many other ecclesiastical -buildings and noblemen’s mansions in different parts of the -kingdom afford specimens, contending in effect with some of the -finest works of the ancient masters.</p> -<p>Among the <i>delicacies</i> for which our town is so -deservedly celebrated may be mentioned a most delicious <span -class="smcap">Cake</span>, <a name="citation204"></a><a -href="#footnote204" class="citation">[204]</a> of which but few -strangers in passing through fail to partake, especially if they -have read the encomium of the poet Shenstone:</p> -<blockquote><p>“For here each season do these cakes -abide,<br /> -Whose honoured names th’ inventive city own,<br /> -Rend’ring through Britain’s isle Salopia’s -praises known.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><span class="smcap">Shrewsbury Cakes</span> appear to have -been presented <a name="page205"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -205</span>to distinguished personages on their visit to this town -as early as the reign of Elizabeth; and when their Royal -Highnesses the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria arrived -here in 1832, they were graciously pleased to accept a box of -them from the Mayor.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">The Simnel</span> made here is much -admired, and great quantities of this kind of cake are prepared -about the season of Christmas and Lent. The word is -supposed to have been derived from the Latin <i>simila</i>, -signifying fine flour; but the common tradition fixes its origin -to a dispute between a man named “Simon” and his wife -“Nell.” One of them was desirous that the plum -pudding should be baked, while the other insisted that it should -be boiled: neither party being disposed to yield, it was -therefore first boiled and afterwards baked (the processes that -it now undergoes), and thus produced Sim-nell. The exterior -crust, or shell (enclosing a compound of fruit) is hard, and -deeply tinged with saffron.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">The Shrewsbury Brawn</span> is unrivalled, -and has lately been patronised by His Majesty William the -Fourth. Brawn is a Christmas dish of great antiquity, and -may be found in most of the ancient bills of fare for coronations -and other great feasts. “Brawn, mustard, and -malmsey” were directed for breakfast during the reign of -Elizabeth; and Dugdale, in his account of the Inner Temple -Revels, states the same directions for that society. It is -prepared from the flesh of boars fattened for the purpose.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">Shrewsbury Ale</span> has been commended -from a remote period. <i>Iolo Goch</i>, the bard of Owen -Glendower, eulogises the profusion with which “Cwrw -Amwythig,” or Shrewsbury Ale, was dispensed in the mansion -of his hero at Sycarth, which he seems to have visited previously -to the insurrection of 1400.</p> -<p><a name="page206"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 206</span>In -the last century the properties of this beverage were thus -extolled:—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Hops, Water, and Barley, are here of the -best,<br /> -Your March and October can well stand the test;<br /> -The body is plump, and the visage ne’er pale,<br /> -That imbibes, or is painted, with <i>Shrewsbury -Ale</i>.”</p> -</blockquote> -<h2>MARKETS.</h2> -<p>The market days are Wednesdays and Saturdays. The former -is small, but that on the latter day is well attended and -abundantly supplied. In fact, few towns enjoy the advantage -of a better or cheaper supply of meat, poultry, butter, -vegetables, fruit, &c. But it must be confessed that -many places of far less importance than the capital of Shropshire -possess more suitable accommodations befitting the ample produce -brought from the surrounding districts to its markets.</p> -<p>The space allotted for the sale of vegetables is in the -spacious square opposite the County Hall, commonly called the -“Green Market;” that for poultry, eggs, &c. on -Pride Hill and in the Butter Cross. The shambles for -butchers’ meat is in a street called “the Double -Butcher Row;” and in Fish-street, near St. Julian’s -church, are sheds and stands for the country butchers. The -corn mart is held under the old market house.</p> -<h2>THE FAIRS.</h2> -<p>The fair for the sale of horses, cattle, butter, cheese, -&c. is held on the second Wednesday in every month; and that -for sheep and pigs on the preceding day. It has long been -in contemplation to form a proper “Smithfield” for -cattle, &c. which are now disposed of in the streets, much to -the annoyance of passengers. The wool fairs are in July and -August.</p> -<h2><a name="page207"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 207</span>THE -SEVERN.</h2> -<p>This beautiful stream, the queen of rivers,—famed in -British story and noticed by classic historians,—the theme -of poets and the admiration of tourists, is next in importance to -the Thames.</p> -<p>It rises in Plinlimmon mountain, Montgomeryshire, and pursues -its course through that county, receiving in its meanderings -numberless tributary streams, and presenting to proud Salopia the -richest variety of picturesque scenery. After winding sixty -or seventy miles through the centre of Shropshire, passing -Worcester, &c. it at length becomes “a mighty river, -potent, large,” and empties itself into the Bristol -Channel, fifty miles below Gloucester.</p> -<h3>THE NAVIGATION OF THE RIVER</h3> -<p>is free for barges from thirty to eighty tons burden, during -the whole of its course throughout Shropshire, which are towed up -the stream by horses belonging to a company; but the navigation -is liable to interruption from high and rapid floods in winter, -and occasional want of depth of water in summer.</p> -<h2><a name="page208"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 208</span>THE -ENVIRONS OF SHREWSBURY</h2> -<p>Present an agreeable variety of pleasant drives and -interesting walks, unfolding from most points some changing -feature of landscape scenery, insulated, or grouped in -picturesque masses, and interspersed with lofty hills, which -afford an imposing back-ground to the town, producing a -succession of rich and varied prospects calculated to interest -the lover of nature, while the artist, the antiquary, the -botanist, or the geologist, may find an ample field for the -cultivation of their respective pursuits.</p> -<p>The limited plan of the present work will only admit of a very -brief notice of some of those objects that might claim the -attention of the enquiring stranger, or present themselves in the -course of a drive.</p> -<h3>BATTLEFIELD,</h3> -<p>Three miles N.E. by N. of Shrewsbury. Perhaps few -events, so recent and of such importance in the annals of our -country, have left so few local traditions to awaken the dream of -ancient chivalry as the Battle of Shrewsbury.</p> -<p>The site of this momentous conflict for the crown of England -is no longer unenclosed, but seems thriving with the culture of -centuries of peace. Some armour and military weapons -occasionally turned up remind us of the event, or, but for the -Church piously founded by King Henry the Fourth, in commemoration -of his victory over Hotspur, Douglas, Worcester, and the rebel -army, we might rejoice that the breath of tranquillity has hushed -the tale of death.</p> -<p><a name="page209"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 209</span>The -many associations, however, connected with this event, are not -easily banished from the mind during a visit to this spot, -particularly when it is considered that it afforded matter for -the classic pen of Shakspeare.</p> -<h3>BATTLEFIELD CHURCH,</h3> -<p>According to the foundation of King Henry the Fourth, -consisted of five secular canons, and among other endowments -possessed the churches of St. Michael within the Castle of -Shrewsbury, and also St. Julian’s, in the same town. -The clear annual revenues of the college at the dissolution being -£54. 1s. 10d. as stated by Tanner.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p209b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Battlefield Church" -title= -"Battlefield Church" - src="images/p209s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>The fabric, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, stands in <a -name="page210"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 210</span>the centre -of a pasture field, and consists of a nave, chancel, and finely -proportioned tower, crowned with eight pinnacles and a richly -decorated frieze and parapet. The choral division, from the -style of the windows, was undoubtedly erected in the time of the -founder, and the western portion under the auspices of the Very -Reverend Adam Grafton, Dean of the Collegiate Church of St. Mary, -Shrewsbury, Archdeacon of Salop, &c. &c. a person of -great eminence in his day, and who possessed much architectural -taste. His name is inscribed on the east side of the tower -as warden of the college in 1504. Length of the church, -including the tower, 94 feet.</p> -<p>The roof of the nave and chancel having fallen in from decay -early in the last century, the latter was restored and supported -by four doric pillars. The interior is neat.</p> -<p>In the south wall is the piscina and the sedilia for the -officiating priests. In one of these is a curious wooden -figure, called “Our Lady of Pity.” It -represents the Virgin seated and bearing on her knees a dead -Christ.</p> -<p>The eastern window is of five divisions, and contains some -remains of the stained glass with which this church was once -enriched. The other portion having been taken down during a -repair of the fabric some years since, was either lost or -destroyed, through the negligence of the person to whom it was -entrusted.</p> -<p>The subjects comprised a history of the death of John the -Baptist, with various portraits of the knights who fell on the -King’s side in the battle at this memorable place. -The crowned heads of King Henry the Fourth and his Queen, the -portraits of a bishop or abbot, and the head of John the Baptist -in a charger, may yet be distinguished, and are tastefully -pencilled. The red and yellow colours throughout are -particularly vivid. A beautiful border of <a -name="page211"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 211</span>foliage, -with a mutilated inscription, is at the base of the window.</p> -<p>At the east end of the north wall is a handsome florid gothic -monument to the memory of the late John Corbet, Esq. of Sundorne, -who died in 1817. The basement is after the model of an -ancient altar tomb, from whence rises five panelled buttresses -with mouldings supporting the canopy, which consists of four -pointed ogee arches crocketed and crowned with finials. The -interior is a richly groined vault, and at the angles are small -turrets. The whole is beautifully worked in grained -free-stone from the neighbouring quarry of Grinshill.</p> -<p>The nave of the church is roofless: on each side are three -elegant mullioned windows, with tracery of different -devices. In the walls are corbels formed into grotesque -heads, on which rested the timbers that supported the roof.</p> -<p>The shaft of the ancient font (sunk in the ground) stands at -the north-east angle of the pointed arch which separates the nave -from the tower. The second floor of the tower is singularly -furnished with a fire-place, having a chimney formed within the -thickness of the wall and opening outside beneath the belfry -window.</p> -<p>A tabernacled niche above the chancel window contains the -crowned statue of Henry the Fourth: the right hand once sustained -a sword, and on the same side also hangs the scabbard.</p> -<p>The college stood at the east end of the church, the moat -which surrounded it being still visible. Near this part is -a field called the “King’s Croft,” in which -were placed a portion of the royal army. The troops of -Hotspur appear to have been chiefly stationed on the north -side.</p> -<p>On the south side of the church is a small cemetery, in which -is deposited the remains of the late Rev. Edward Williams, M.A. -who for nearly half a century was the <a name="page212"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 212</span>Minister of this parish—loved -and honoured by his flock as a spiritual father, and the -remembrance of whose virtues and christian instruction still -lingers like a lovely twilight. He died January 3d, 1833, -aged 70 years. <a name="citation212"></a><a href="#footnote212" -class="citation">[212]</a></p> -<h3>GRINSHILL</h3> -<p>Is four miles distant from hence. The village is -picturesquely sequestered beneath the extensive stone quarries, -of which great use has been made in the bridges, churches, and -public buildings of Salop. About the year 1630 a large -stone building was erected at this place for the reception of the -scholars under instruction at the Royal Free Grammar School -during the time any contagious disorder might prevail in the -town. It is now used as a private classical and commercial -school.</p> -<h3>HAWKSTONE,</h3> -<p>Being six miles further in this direction, is consequently -beyond the prescribed limit of my pen. I cannot forbear, -however, to remark that the scenery in the park is truly grand, -and the objects which meet the eye are varied and interesting, -consisting of a succession of hills and dales, rocks and caverns, -connected together in a comparatively small space. The -walks are twelve miles round, and the <a name="page213"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 213</span>obelisk erected on the terrace of -the park commands a prospect one hundred miles in diameter.</p> -<p>Amid this beautiful natural scene, the hand of art has -introduced many interesting features calculated to interrupt for -an interval the associations of the mind, that it might return -with renewed vigour and fresh delight to the enjoyment of the -more exalted feast of contemplative wonder, which nature has so -lavishly bestowed on this elysian spot. The noble -proprietor kindly permits visitors to gratify themselves with a -walk over the grounds.</p> -<h3>HAUGHMOND ABBEY,</h3> -<p>Three miles north-east of the town, is approached from the Old -Heath, by a road full of picturesque beauty. The vale is -watered by the Severn, while swelling hills fill up the -distance.</p> -<p>This monastery was founded in the year 1100 by William Fitz -Alan, for canons regular of St. Augustine, and is situated on the -side of a gentle eminence. The ruins form a most imposing -object, and are of sufficient consequence to attract the steps of -the pedestrian. Of the Abbey church few remains -exist. The door which opened into the cloister is an -elegant specimen of anglo-norman architecture.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">The Chapter House</span> is almost in a -perfect state of preservation: the front parallel with the -cloister consists of a fine entrance through a circular arch, -with a window in the same style on each side, divided into small -lights. The shafts of these arches have canopied niches -containing mutilated statues; the angel Gabriel, St. Catharine, -and St. John may yet be distinguished.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">The Abbott’s Lodging</span> is in -part standing, being beyond the cloister and refectory -southward. There is likewise the shell of a noble hall, -having very early mullioned <a name="page214"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 214</span>windows, and a very large one at the -west end, the tracery of which is destroyed. At the -extremity of this was the great chamber, lighted by a beautiful -bow window (probably a later addition), and divided into an upper -and lower story.</p> -<p>On the north side of the Chapter House are two monumental -stones: the largest indicates the death of John Fitz Alan, Lord -of Clun, great-grandson of William, the founder of the monastery, -and the least that of his wife Isabel, daughter of Roger -Mortimer, Lord of Wigmore.</p> -<p>The revenues of this Abbey at the dissolution were, according -to Speed, £294. 12s. 9d. The buildings were sold, and -converted into a spacious mansion. Haughmond demesne -comprises about 1100 acres, within which is situated the -castellated <span class="smcap">Mansion of Sundorne</span>, the -property of Mrs. Corbet.</p> -<p>South-east, clothed with masses of woody verdure, is</p> -<h3>HAUGHMOND HILL,</h3> -<p>the etymology of which is derived from <i>haut mont</i>, the -high mount. An easy ascent from the abbey leads to the -summit, from whence is a rich panoramic prospect over a portion -of the fertile vale of Shropshire, with the lofty steeples of its -ancient capital, and the blue mountains of Cambria in the -distance.</p> -<p>A castellated turret is erected on a steep crag of the hill, -down which the Scottish Earl Douglas leaped with his horse, on -being closely pursued after his escape from the Battle of -Shrewsbury, and received a severe injury. He was taken -prisoner, but the king, in admiration of his valour, set him at -liberty.</p> -<p>At the foot of the hill is</p> -<h3>THE VILLAGE OF UFFINGTON,</h3> -<p>which is delightfully situated, and affords many rural -beauties. <a name="page215"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -215</span>Here for a time the lover of nature may enjoy that calm -delight which moves the soul to contemplation; and whilst the eye -has been charmed with the prospect enjoyed from the summit of the -adjoining eminence, the heart seems hushed to the noise of a -populous town, and a feeling of tranquillity imperceptibly steals -upon the mind, for which a cause can scarcely be assigned.</p> -<p>Parties from the town are often tempted by the beauty of the -situation to make this place a holiday retreat, whose enjoyment -is enhanced by the accommodations of a good inn, attached to -which, above the banks of the Severn, is a pleasant bowling -green.</p> -<p>The church, overshaded by two venerable yews, possesses a -primitive simplicity, quite in character with the village.</p> -<h3>THE VILLAGE OF ALBRIGHTON,</h3> -<p>distant three miles N.E. of the town on the Chester road, is a -township in the parish of St. Mary, Shrewsbury. The church, -a small humble structure, has been so effectually repaired by the -modern goths with red stone and brick, that no reasonable -conjecture can now be formed as to the period of its -erection. A wooden loft issues from the west end, and -inside the building is a curious ancient font, that will admit of -total immersion, which has no doubt stood here for several -centuries.</p> -<p>The fine old mansion near the church was formerly the -residence of the ancient family of Ireland, who purchased this -manor <a name="citation215"></a><a href="#footnote215" -class="citation">[215]</a> on the dissolution of Shrewsbury -Abbey.</p> -<p>A bridle road across a field leads to Albright Hussey and -Battlefield. The former was the moated mansion of the -Husseys, Barkers, and Corbets, but is now converted into a farm -house. Here was a chapel, dedicated to Saint <a -name="page216"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 216</span>John the -Baptist, as appears by the grant of the land on which Battlefield -church stands from Henry IV. to Roger Ive, of Leaton, who is -there described as rector of the chapel of St. John the Baptist -at Albright Hussey, and which chapel was by the said grant for -ever annexed to the collegiate church of Battlefield; and Richard -Hussey and his heirs were to be perpetual patrons of the -same. The only vestige of the chapel is an old arch in a -barn called the “chapel barn.”</p> -<h3>THE VILLAGE OF MEOLE,</h3> -<p>otherwise Meole Brace, is one mile south of the town. <a -name="citation216"></a><a href="#footnote216" -class="citation">[216]</a> The church stands on a little -knoll above the Rea brook, and was erected on the site of an -ancient edifice in the year 1800. It is a plain cruciform -building, with a tower rising from the roof at the west end.</p> -<p>From this place many agreeable walks branch off in the -direction of Kingsland, Sutton, and the Sharpstones. Near -the latter place, at Bayston Hill, is an earthwork of an -irregular form, which seems to have been surrounded on all sides -but the east by two fosses, the abrupt formation of the ground in -that direction rendering such a protection unnecessary. The -entrance was no doubt from the Stretton road at the west. -The <i>double</i> entrenchment admits a probability that it -belonged to the Anglo-Saxons, but it is <a -name="page217"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 217</span>difficult -to distinguish between their encampments and those of the Danes, -both forming their camps nearly alike and on elevated -spots. The present site possesses every advantage for a -military post of observation to the adjoining country. The -residents in the vicinity designate it by the common appellation -of the “Buries,” and which appears to have escaped -the notice of former topographers.</p> -<p>Two miles beyond this spot is the pleasant</p> -<h3>VILLAGE OF CONDOVER.</h3> -<p>The church is a spacious building, displaying examples of -early Norman architecture. It contains several handsome -monuments in memory of the ancient family of Owen, among which -one from the chisel of Roubiliac is considered a remarkably fine -production. The adjoining mansion, a most interesting -specimen of the Elizabethan style of building, was erected by Sir -Thomas Owen, Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, who -died in 1598. Within the hall is the finest collection of -paintings in the county. This village was the birth-place -of Richard Tarlton, the earliest English comedian of celebrity, -who for his surprisingly pleasant extemporaneous wit, as an actor -and jester, was the wonder of his time. Fuller states, that -“when Queen Elizabeth was serious and out of good humour, -he could undumpish her at his pleasure.” After a free -and eccentric life, it is said he died penitent in 1588.</p> -<h3>PITCHFORD,</h3> -<p>six miles south-east of the town, takes its name from a kind -of mineral pitch, which exudes out of a red sand stone, from -which an oil is extracted called British oil. A similar -substance is also found at this place, floating on a spring of -water. Pitchford Hall is a beautiful specimen of the -half-timbered <a name="page218"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -218</span>mansion erected during the sixteenth century, and is -the property of the Right Hon. the Earl of Liverpool, a -descendant maternally of the Ottley family, one of whom purchased -the estate in 1473.</p> -<p>The church, erected in the reign of Henry I. is a specimen of -the lesser Anglo-Norman edifices erected in villages. Its -foundation throws some light on the formation of our parochial -establishments and the nature of tithes.</p> -<p>It appears that previously to its erection the inhabitants of -the lordship went to some of the surrounding churches to hear -divine service and receive the sacraments, and gave their tithes -where they chose. Many of them contributed their tithes to -the dean and chapter of St. Chad, in Salop, on condition that -they found a chaplain and clerk, who should perform service three -times a week, and daily visit the sick and baptize infants; but -these duties being much neglected, one Ralph lord of Pitchford, -moved by “charity and zeal,” built a church at his -own expence, and formed a certain district as the boundary of the -parish.</p> -<p>At the distance of somewhat more than a mile is</p> -<h3>ACTON BURNELL.</h3> -<p>The remains of the ancient castle, founded by Robert Burnell, -Bishop of Bath and Wells, consist of a large building, with a -square tower at each angle. To this place the parliament of -Shrewsbury adjourned in 1283, where were passed (and received the -royal assent) certain legislative regulations, and amongst these -the act touching merchant debtors, called “Statutum de -Mercatoribus,” designated likewise the Statute of Acton -Burnell. The church is cruciform, and in the pointed style -of the fourteenth century, having a wooden tower in the -centre. Near this village is the seat of Sir Edward Joseph -Smythe, Bart. and the grounds of the park are beautiful and -extensive.</p> -<h3><a name="page219"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 219</span>THE -VILLAGE OF ATCHAM,</h3> -<p>Three miles and a half east of the town, is delightfully -seated on the banks of the Severn, over which there is a handsome -bridge of seven arches, designed by Mr. Gwyn, a native of -Shrewsbury.</p> -<p>The etymology of the place seems to be derived from -<i>Eatta</i>, a Saxon saint to whom the parish church is -dedicated. It was anciently called Ettingeham and -Attingesham. In the Saxon period it belonged to the college -of St. Alkmund, Shrewsbury; and when that church was annexed to -Lilleshull Abbey, the advowson of Atcham made part of the -transfer.</p> -<p>The present edifice consists of a nave without aisles; the -predominant styles of the windows may be attributed to the -fifteenth century; some of them are decorated with stained -glass. The interior contains monuments belonging to the -family of Burton, of Longner, removed hither on the fall of St. -Chad’s church, Salop <a name="citation219"></a><a -href="#footnote219" class="citation">[219]</a></p> -<p>The basement of the tower is early Norman, and flanked with -broad shallow buttresses. The portal at the west is a -deeply recessed round arch, resting on five slender pillars on -each side; above is an early lancet window, over which is another -of smaller dimensions, bisected by a short pillar into narrow -lights. The superstructure of the tower (like <a -name="page220"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 220</span>many others -in the vicinity) is of the sixteenth century, and was once -crowned with eight pinnacles, the remains of which are now only -visible above the frieze of the battlements.</p> -<p>The village is remarkable as being the birth-place of -Ordericus, the earliest Salopian historian. He was the son -of Odelerius Constantius, of Orleans, a chief councillor to Roger -de Montgomery, born (as he informs us) Feb. 16, 1075, “and -on the Easter Sunday following was baptised by Ordericus the -priest at Ettingesham, in the church of St. Eatta the -Confessor,” and received the rudiments of his education -under Siward the priest, in the little church of St. Peter, -Shrewsbury, on the site of which the stately Benedictine abbey -was afterwards built. Ordericus’s great work is -entitled an “Ecclesiastical History,” but is more -properly a record of the events of his own time.</p> -<p>Atcham once had the privilege of a fair, and the inhabitants -were styled burgesses.</p> -<p>Opposite the inn, a pleasant drive leads through the village -of Uffington, by which Shrewsbury may be regained. -Continuing our course for half a mile on the London road, we pass -over <span class="smcap">Tern Bridge</span>, below which the -river Tern fells into the Severn. On the left, <span -class="smcap">Attingham Hall</span>, the elegant mansion of the -Right Hon. Lord Berwick, with its lofty portico, forms a bold and -imposing object, and its beautiful situation near the confluence -of the rivers Tern and Severn, imparts an additional charm to the -surrounding scenery. To the right is</p> -<h3>WROXETER.</h3> -<p>This village was the metropolis of the <i>Cornavii</i>, a -tribe of Britons settled in Shropshire and some of the adjoining -counties at the period when Julius Cæsar first invaded this -island. On the subjugation of the Britons this place <a -name="page221"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 221</span>became the -flourishing Roman station of Uriconium,—Wriconium, -synonymous with the adjoining Wrekin, <a -name="citation221"></a><a href="#footnote221" -class="citation">[221]</a>—subsequently Wrekincester, and -by contraction Wroxeter.</p> -<p>It is situated on a gentle eminence above the Severn, -possessing those advantages which the Romans generally kept in -view, viz. dryness of soil, extensive prospect, and the -protection of a river. From the almost impenetrable -obscurity in which its early history is involved, no adequate -idea can now be formed of the pristine state of this interesting -place.</p> -<p>The town was undoubtedly defended by a wall and ditch, the -boundaries of which are still to be traced throughout a -circumference of three miles.</p> -<p>According to the best writers, we find that the Romans -entirely quitted Britain about the middle of the fifth century, -on which the Britons continued to occupy this place (deserted by -their former masters) until they were ejected from it by the -superior force of the Saxons sometime in the following century, -and obliged to find a retreat among “the alders and willows -which hid the foot and the thickets which crowned the summit of -the peninsular knoll, now covered by the capital of -Shropshire.”</p> -<p>How long the fugitives remained at Caer Pengwern unmolested it -is now in vain to enquire, but this appears certain, that they -were soon followed thither by the unsparing Saxons, and compelled -to seek another refuge in the mountain fastnesses of Wales.</p> -<p>There can be no doubt but the fall of Wroxeter was, as Leland -asserts, “the cause of the erection of Shrewsbury;” -<a name="page222"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 222</span>and from -the blackness of the soil in some parts its destruction seems to -have been by fire; many of the coins also, and other remains -discovered here, exhibit marks of their having been subjected to -that element: in fact, the savage ferocity of the Saxon -conquerors in their warfare, together with their ascendancy over -the Britons, was so determinate and effectual in the demolition -of those stations which they held, that little surprise need be -excited so few vestiges remain of the Roman provinces in this -kingdom, or of the many works of art which that nation doubtless -left on their departure.</p> -<p>The Saxons on their invasion wielded fire and sword -unsparingly. It was their practice, on gaining possession -of a town or city, immediately to level it with the ground; and -it is recorded, that one of these triumphant barbarians boasted -that in three days after he has galloped his horse without -stumbling over the spot on which the captured station stood.</p> -<p>Wroxeter will be regarded by the antiquary with curious -attention, as affording matter of much investigation: indeed it -is impossible, even in imagination, to look upon its fruitful -fields, teeming in the rich luxuriance of culture,—once -covered with a flourishing Roman town,—now presenting only -the ruined remnant of a wall, without sensibly feeling the -instability of human greatness, and exclaiming with -Cowper—</p> -<blockquote><p>We turn to dust, and all our mightiest works<br /> -Die too. The deep foundations that we lay,<br /> -Time ploughs them up, and not a trace remains.<br /> -We build with what we call eternal rock:—<br /> -A distant age asks where the fabric stood;<br /> -And in the dust, sifted and search’d in vain,<br /> -The undiscoverable secret sleeps.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The ruined wall still remaining is about 70 feet long <a -name="page223"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 223</span>and 28 feet -high, and is composed of layers of rough stones and large flat -tiles at alternate distances. It is arched, and the -interior thickness is formed with rubble and small pebbles thrown -in with the cement or mortar, which is become harder than -stone. This venerable relic is thought to have been a -portion of the fortification of the town. Other conjectures -are, that it might have been connected with the Prætorium, -or have been part of a bath, which was discovered at no great -distance from it; but after a lapse probably of more than 1600 -years, and where evidence is wanting to guide us, its original -purpose must remain in uncertainty.</p> -<p>Tesselated pavements, sepulchral stones with inscriptions, -urns, skeletons in deep graves and encased in red clay, several -moulds for coining money, seals of different kinds, an Apollo -(four inches in length) elegantly cast in lead, with other -figures, and many curious and interesting remains of Roman -manufacture, have been discovered whilst excavating on this -site. A stone altar, found near the vicarage in 1824, is -thus inscribed—</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">BONO REI<br /> -PVBLICAE<br /> -NATVS.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Great quantities of copper coins, and many of gold and silver, -are constantly turned up by the plough. The copper coins -are chiefly of the lower empire.</p> -<p>The town was situated on the line of the Watling Street road, -in the direction towards Stretton. In the ford across the -Severn the foundations of a bridge may be discerned at low -water.</p> -<p>Near this spot a discovery was made at the end of the last -century, which no doubt denoted the burial-place of some family -of distinction resident at this colony. It consisted of an -enclosure of large stones a little below the surface of the -ground, within which were deposited three <a -name="page224"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 224</span>large urns -composed of a beautiful transparent green glass, each having one -handle elegantly ribbed, and severally containing burnt bones and -a glass lachrymatory. Some earthen urns, an earthen lamp, -and a few Roman coins, were also found at the same place, the -whole being covered with large flat stones.</p> -<p>The village church, on the accession of Henry II. was granted -to the canons of Haghmond Abbey, and is an edifice deserving of -attention, displaying in its construction several specimens of -architecture between the earliest Anglo-Norman and the -incongruous reparations of the last century. The building -consists of a nave and chancel; in the latter is a curious -doorway, and the former seems to have had originally a south -aisle. The tower was probably erected in the reign of Henry -the Eighth.</p> -<p>In the church are three handsome altar tombs, bearing -full-length cumbent effigies of Lord Chief Justice Bromley, who -died May 15, 1555, and Isabel his wife; Sir Richarde Newporte, -Knyghte (Queen’s Counsel in the Marches of Wales), and -Margaret his wife, only daughter of the Lord Chief Justice; and -John Berker, of Haghmond Abbey, Esq. and Margaret his wife, -second daughter of Sir Francis Newport, Knt. who died in -1618.</p> -<p>In 1824 these were judiciously restored and beautified. -In addition to which there are mural monuments, with -inscriptions, commemorative of Francis, Viscount Newport and Earl -of Bradford, who died Sept. 19, 1708; also the Hon. Andrew -Newport, his brother; and a tablet to the memory of Andrew -Newport, <i>utter</i> barrister, who died in 1611.</p> -<p>The vicinity of Wroxeter affords a delightful display of -pastoral beauty,—the bright river, with every other -requisite for the finest landscape scenery.</p> -<p><a name="page225"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 225</span>Five -miles distant is the famed Shropshire mountain,</p> -<h3>THE WREKIN,</h3> -<p>the proud monarch of the plain, whose bold arching head rises -to the altitude of upwards of 1300 feet. A pathway from the -London road leads through plantations to its summit, from whence -the admirer of nature may luxuriate in the enjoyment of a -magnificent prospect, whilst he contemplates all that variety of -hill and dale, wood, rock and stream, studded with mansions and -villages, stretched like a map throughout a circumference of -nearly 400 miles.</p> -<p>This <span class="smcap">Natural Heart of Shropshire</span> -forms a conspicuous feature in the landscape from all parts of -the surrounding country; while it is universally regarded, from -the king in his palace to the peasant in his cottage, as the -centre towards which the best wishes and affections of the heart -converge, in that well-known convivial sentiment which possesses -the advantage over other toasts,—in being old without age, -inasmuch as it is unchanged by time, and never out of -place—</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">“ALL FRIENDS -ROUND THE WREKIN.”</p> -</blockquote> - -<div class="gapspace"> </div> - -<div class="gapshortline"> </div> -<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">JOHN -EDDOWES, PRINTER, SHREWSBURY.</span></p> -<h2><a name="page227"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -227</span>ADDITIONS.</h2> -<p><span class="smcap">St. Mary’s</span>.—The -patronage of this living has been vested by the Lord Chancellor -in the following Trustees:—The Lord Bishop of Lichfield, -the Viscount Clive, Sir A. V. Corbet, Bart. J. A. LLoyd, Esq. and -R. A. Slaney, Esq. The qualification for the Minister -remains as before.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">Abbey Church</span>.—The font, -supported upon the upper part of an ancient cross (page <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page74">74</a></span>), has been -lately removed to St. Giles’s Church.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">St. Giles’s -Church</span>.—Pews have been erected on the South side of -this edifice, to correspond with those on the North.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">St. George’s</span>.—A -district has lately been assigned to this church, comprising the -township of Frankwell.</p> -<p><span class="smcap">County Hall</span>.—Owing to a -recent alteration in the arrangement of offices, it will be -necessary at page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page115">115</a></span>, line 13, to <i>dele</i> to the -left, and read to the right; and, at line 15, for right read -left; line 17, for resting over, read towards High Street is an -Entrance, &c.</p> -<h2>ERRATA. <a name="citation227"></a><a href="#footnote227" -class="citation">[227]</a></h2> -<p>Page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page13">13</a></span>, for <span -class="smcap">Scott</span> read <span class="smcap">Dyer</span>; -p. <span class="indexpageno"><a href="#page17">17</a></span>, for -Thomson read Cowper; p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page24">24</a></span>, in note, for opposite read towards; -p. <span class="indexpageno"><a href="#page47">47</a></span>, l. -25, for munficence read munificence; p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page58">58</a></span>, l. 11, for -surmounts read surrounds; p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page60">60</a></span>, l. 13, for carved read coved; p. -<span class="indexpageno"><a href="#page93">93</a></span>, l. 27, -for five read four; p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page99">99</a></span>, for Henry Edwards read Hugh -Edwards; p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page127">127</a></span>, for four read eight; p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page179">179</a></span>, l. 15, for -Sir Philip read Sir Henry.</p> -<h2>FOOTNOTES.</h2> -<p><a name="footnote10"></a><a href="#citation10" -class="footnote">[10]</a> Our ancestors petitioned the king -for permission to convert the monastery of Salop into “a -college, or free school.”</p> -<p><a name="footnote16"></a><a href="#citation16" -class="footnote">[16]</a> This was an essential -characteristic of the castellated structure of the Danes, -although subsequently adopted by the Normans.</p> -<p><a name="footnote18"></a><a href="#citation18" -class="footnote">[18]</a> The town had originally three -principal gates, besides several postern or smaller gates, and -was from an early period encompassed with a wall, strengthened by -towers in those parts most liable to be attacked. Within -the last sixty years many parts of the walls have been built -upon, and the gates and towers, with one exception, fallen a -prey, not so much to the ruthless power of time, as to the less -sparing enemy—modern improvement.</p> -<p><a name="footnote23"></a><a href="#citation23" -class="footnote">[23]</a> Mr. Heylin appears to have been -connected with this town, having previously founded a lectureship -in St. Alkmond’s church, to which he afterwards added the -tithe of Coton. In 1630 he was at the expence of printing -the Welsh Bible in octavo, a form more suitable for domestic -reading than the two former folio editions.</p> -<p><a name="footnote24"></a><a href="#citation24" -class="footnote">[24]</a> The site of St. Michael’s -church cannot be satisfactorily stated. Messrs. Owen and -Blakeway consider that Speed’s map represents it as -standing near the river towards the area of the present county -gaol; but this must be a mistake, for Speed intended to shew the -bastion tower of the castle. The church being probably only -a very small structure, and designed by its founder (Roger de -Montgomery) as a place of worship for those who inhabited the -keep, it doubtless stood, as its name implies, <span -class="GutSmall">WITHIN</span> the walls (similar to the one at -Ludlow Castle), and was taken down about 1605, before -Speed’s map was published. The present detached part -of St. Julian’s parish in the direction of Castle Foregate -formed its parochial boundary.</p> -<p><a name="footnote26"></a><a href="#citation26" -class="footnote">[26]</a> Earl Hugh was slain by an arrow -in Anglesea, in the month of July, 1098, and received sepulture -seventeen days after in the cloisters of this abbey. Twenty -years ago, a plain stone coffin was discovered near the -south-west door of the present church, which probably enclosed -his remains.</p> -<p><a name="footnote36"></a><a href="#citation36" -class="footnote">[36]</a> He was a gentleman of warm piety -and extensive benevolence; as a scholar and linguist he was -scarcely surpassed by any of his contemporaries. He -meditated a History of Shropshire, which, had it been completed, -it is probable the world would have seen, from his diffusive -acquirements and general antiquarian knowledge, a very superior -topographical work.</p> -<p><a name="footnote39"></a><a href="#citation39" -class="footnote">[39]</a> Page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page25">25</a></span>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote44"></a><a href="#citation44" -class="footnote">[44]</a> About the close of the 12th -century, companies of masons, designers, or architects, as well -as workmen, were incorporated under the especial patronage of the -Pope, and associated together as a fraternity of free and -accepted masons, under certain regulations and peculiar -privileges.</p> -<p><a name="footnote48"></a><a href="#citation48" -class="footnote">[48]</a> This is now a principal entrance -to the church; the jambs of the door-way are in the debased style -prevalent during the last century, and the obtuse arch seems -originally to have formed the head of a window.</p> -<p><a name="footnote52"></a><a href="#citation52" -class="footnote">[52]</a> In 1831 was published Mr. -Blakeway’s <span class="smcap">Sheriffs of -Shropshire</span>, illustrated with their armorial bearings, and -notices genealogical and biographical of their families, edited -with great judgment by a reverend gentleman of this town, a -particular friend of the deceased. It is perhaps the first -work in which what may be termed the genealogy and biography of a -county has been distinctly treated, and evinces in a high degree -the patient and diligent research of its talented author, whose -valuable life we have reason to deplore was not spared to publish -a History of the County of Salop, for which his talents and -extensive local knowledge rendered him so eminently -qualified.</p> -<p><a name="footnote63"></a><a href="#citation63" -class="footnote">[63]</a> These possessions were about 150 -acres.</p> -<p><a name="footnote82"></a><a href="#citation82" -class="footnote">[82]</a> A notice of the improvements in -this church will be found in vol. 100, part II. of the Gent. Mag. -communicated by the author of these Memorials.</p> -<p><a name="footnote101"></a><a href="#citation101" -class="footnote">[101]</a> The scholars, in grateful -remembrance of the kindness of their preceptor, presented him (on -his taking leave of the School, June 7th, 1836,) with a massive -silver candelabrum, of three hundred guineas value, raised by -their united contributions,—the subject a vine branch with -Genii pressing the fruit, and bearing an appropriate inscription; -in acknowledging which Dr. Butler said, under your future head -master and his able coadjutor (the Rev. G. I. Welldon), and my -long-tried and much-valued friends, the assistant masters, may -you pursue your career with the same success as those who have -gone before you; and to my best wishes for your welfare and -happiness, let me add, as my last official words, “<span -class="smcap">Floreat Salopia</span>!”</p> -<p><a name="footnote103"></a><a href="#citation103" -class="footnote">[103]</a> Of the one hundred and twenty -first-rate honours recorded here, the present learned head master -(Dr. Kennedy) claims more than one-twelfth for his own individual -share.</p> -<p><a name="footnote106"></a><a href="#citation106" -class="footnote">[106]</a> The old liberties of the borough -extended a few miles round Shrewsbury. A large part of this -ancient boundary, possessing a property of the annual value of -fifty thousand pounds, and which formerly used to contribute to -the rates levied in connexion with the town, is now taken from -the liberties and annexed to the county.</p> -<p><a name="footnote107"></a><a href="#citation107" -class="footnote">[107]</a> A merchant guild is supposed to -have been established as a voluntary association as early as the -year 1128; for, among other customs granted by Henry III. there -was one by which no person who was not a member of the -“merchant guild” could exercise merchandise in the -borough without the consent of the burgesses.</p> -<p><a name="footnote110"></a><a href="#citation110" -class="footnote">[110]</a> A more extended account of this -pageant, by the author of “Memorials of Shrewsbury,” -will be found in the Gentleman’s Magazine for July, -1833.</p> -<p><a name="footnote111"></a><a href="#citation111" -class="footnote">[111]</a> Mayor.</p> -<p><a name="footnote114"></a><a href="#citation114" -class="footnote">[114]</a> The former courts were 44 ft. 9 -in. by 31 ft.</p> -<p><a name="footnote116"></a><a href="#citation116" -class="footnote">[116]</a> This structure was 111 feet by -51; its exterior feature was a bold pediment, supported by four -three-quarter columns of the Ionic order.</p> -<p><a name="footnote149"></a><a href="#citation149" -class="footnote">[149]</a> Vide Hazlitt’s Literary -Remains.</p> -<p><a name="footnote151"></a><a href="#citation151" -class="footnote">[151]</a> An office instituted when -preaching was not frequent, and granted to the Minister of St. -Mary’s in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.</p> -<p><a name="footnote162"></a><a href="#citation162" -class="footnote">[162]</a> On the visit of Charles the -First to this venerable mansion, Thomas Lyster (among other -distinguished Shropshire loyalists) presented that Prince with a -purse of £500. His grandson, Richard Lyster, Esq. -represented this town and county in parliament for a period of -forty-five years, and was known among his countrymen by the -familiar appellation of ‘<span class="smcap">The -Senator</span>.’ The somewhat feudal cast of his -establishment, and most ample scale of ancient English -hospitality, are pleasingly recorded in the “Sheriffs of -Shropshire.”</p> -<p><a name="footnote176"></a><a href="#citation176" -class="footnote">[176]</a> The sloping bank above this -friary was given to and occupied by the Monks of Shrewsbury -Abbey, as a <span class="smcap">Vineyard</span>, as early as the -reign of Henry the Third. Its situation on the northern -side of the river, inclining southward and open to the east, -renders it well adapted to the purpose.</p> -<p><a name="footnote179"></a><a href="#citation179" -class="footnote">[179]</a> This ferry leads to a walk -which commands a bold view of the town, and communicates with the -Abbey-foregate. It conducts also to the Underdale Tea -Gardens—a quiet rural retreat.</p> -<p><a name="footnote186"></a><a href="#citation186" -class="footnote">[186]</a> The town is supplied with most -excellent water for drinking from a spring called Broadwell, -which rises near Kingsland, and is conveyed by pipes under the -river to a reservoir in one of the lodges at the principal -entrance to the Quarry Walk, being conducted from thence to -conduits placed in different parts of the town for the -convenience of the inhabitants.</p> -<p><a name="footnote187"></a><a href="#citation187" -class="footnote">[187]</a> A detail of the Admiral’s -splendid services will be found in the “Biographia -Britannica,” and other similar works.</p> -<p><a name="footnote188"></a><a href="#citation188" -class="footnote">[188]</a> To the left of the turnpike is -the Baschurch road, on which, at the distance of one mile, are -the beautiful Gates leading to Berwick House; a short distance -beyond is the neat structure of Berwick Chapel, re-built at the -close of the 17th century.—The town may be regained by a -walk through Almond Park, rich in sylvan beauty.</p> -<p><a name="footnote190"></a><a href="#citation190" -class="footnote">[190]</a> In 1604 a great plague -began in Salop, on the 2d of June, and raged until April -following, in which time 657 persons had died of it in the -several parishes, and the streets were so little frequented as to -be covered with grass. The two bailiffs died.—MS. -Chronicle.</p> -<p><a name="footnote196"></a><a href="#citation196" -class="footnote">[196]</a> Vide page <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page6">6</a></span>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote200"></a><a href="#citation200" -class="footnote">[200]</a> Pure muriate of soda does not -contain any water in its crystallized state except what lodges in -the interstices of the crystals, therefore the weight of that, as -it exists in the water, would not exceed the weight above given; -30 grains muriate of lime indicate 51 grains crystallized -muriate, 8.81 grains muriate magnesia indicate 15½ -grains.</p> -<p><a name="footnote204"></a><a href="#citation204" -class="footnote">[204]</a> “Why, brother Wilful of -Salop, you may be as short as a <span class="smcap">Shrewsbury -Cake</span>, if you please.”—Way of the World, 1735, -by W. Congreve.</p> -<p><a name="footnote212"></a><a href="#citation212" -class="footnote">[212]</a> Mr. Williams possessed -acquirements of no ordinary description, and was an accomplished -scholar. He had studied much of botany, was an excellent -draughtsman, and in early life devoted considerable attention to -the study of antiquities, particularly those connected with his -native county. His collection of materials relating to the -History of Shropshire were most extensive, and although he did -not favour the world with any publication shewing the result of -his researches, he has, nevertheless, left behind a surprising -proof of his perseverance in original drawings of all the -churches, parochial chapels, monastic remains, castles, -monuments, and tablets, in Shropshire, besides sketches of most -of the mansions of the nobility and gentry in the same -county.</p> -<p><a name="footnote215"></a><a href="#citation215" -class="footnote">[215]</a> Etbrighton, a Saxon manor in -Domesday.</p> -<p><a name="footnote216"></a><a href="#citation216" -class="footnote">[216]</a> Mr. Thomas Barker, author of a -work on angling, was born at this village. From the -singular vein of humour which runs through his book, he appears -to have been a good-humoured gossiping old man. In the -dedication he states, “I have written no more but my own -experience and practice, and have set forth the true ground of -angling, which I have been gathering these three-score years; -having spent many pounds in the gaining of it, as is well known -in the place where I was born and educated, which is Bracemeale, -in the liberty of Salop, being a freeman and burgess of the same -city.”—‘Barker’s Delight, or the Art of -Angling,’ was published a few years after Izaak -Walton’s Complete Angler (1659), to which Mr. Barker -appears to have contributed the greater part of what is said on -Fly Fishing.</p> -<p><a name="footnote219"></a><a href="#citation219" -class="footnote">[219]</a> Longner, the ancient seat of the -Burtons, is about one mile N.W. of this village, and forms part -of the parish of St. Chad. In 1558 it was the residence of -Edward Burton, Esq. a zealous protestant, who expired suddenly -with Joy on hearing of the accession of Queen Elizabeth. -His body was refused interment in the church of St. Chad by the -popish priest, owing to some stipulations made either in his -will, or by the zeal of his surviving friends, that the popish -service should not be celebrated over his remains, which were in -consequence buried in his own garden, over which a plain altar -has been erected, with a quaint poetical inscription.</p> -<p><a name="footnote221"></a><a href="#citation221" -class="footnote">[221]</a> A great battle seems to have -been fought near this hill; for in 1833 a quantity of spear heads -and celts, formed of brass, or some other composition of copper, -and of rather elegant workmanship, were found near the Wrekin -Farm.</p> -<p><a name="footnote227"></a><a href="#citation227" -class="footnote">[227]</a> The errata has been applied to -this transcription.—DP.</p> -<pre> - - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMORIALS OF SHREWSBURY*** - - -***** This file should be named 62621-h.htm or 62621-h.zip****** - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/2/6/2/62621 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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@@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Flame Breathers, by Ray Cummings - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Flame Breathers - -Author: Ray Cummings - -Release Date: June 4, 2020 [EBook #62621] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FLAME BREATHERS *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - The Flame Breathers - - By RAY CUMMINGS - - Vulcan was a doom-world. One expedition had - mysteriously disappeared, and now another was - following in its path--searching for the unknown - menace that stalked Vulcan's shadowed gorges. - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories March 1943. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -I write this narrative, not with the idea of contributing any -additional scientific data to the discovery of Vulcan, but to put upon -the record the real facts of our truly-amazing space voyage. - -The newscasters have hailed me as a modern Columbus. Surely I would not -want to appear ungracious, unappreciative of all the applause that -has been heaped upon me. But I do not deserve it. I did my job for my -employers. The Society sent me to make a landing upon Vulcan--if the -little planet existed. I found that it does exist; it was exactly where -I was told it ought to be. I carried out my instructions, returned and -made my report. There is no great heroism in that. - -So I am writing the facts of what happened. Just a bald, factual -account, without the imaginative trimmings. The real hero of the -discovery of Vulcan was young Jan Holden. He did his job--did it -well--and he did something just a little extra. - -I'm Bob Grant, which of course you have guessed by now. Peter -Torrence--the third member of our party--is in the Federal Prison up -the Hudson. I had to turn him in. - -We were given one of the smaller types of the Bentley--T-44--an alumite -cylindrical hull, double-shelled, with the Erentz pressure-current -circulating in it. It was a modern, well-equipped little spaceship. -In its thirty-foot length of double-decked interior we three were -entirely comfortable.... The voyage, past the orbit of Venus and -then Mercury as we headed directly for the Sun--using the Sun's full -attraction--was amazingly swift and devoid of incident beyond normal -space-flight routine. Much of our time was spent in the little forward -control turrent--the "green-house," where below, above and to the sides -the great glittering abyss of the firmament is spread out in all its -amazing glory. - -Vulcan, if it existed, would be almost directly behind the Sun now. -We had no possible chance of sighting it, we knew, even when, heading -inward, we cut the orbit of Mercury. Torrence, almost from the start of -the trip, figured we should follow into the attraction of Mercury which -was then far to one side. - -"From that angle we'll see Vulcan just that much sooner," he argued. - -"They told me to head straight in, to twenty-nine million miles," I -said. "And that's what I'm doing--obeying orders." - -I held our plotted course. Torrence never ceased grumbling about it, -and I must admit there was a lot of sense in his argument. He is a big -fellow--burly, heavy-set and about my own height, which is six feet -one. He had close-clipped hair and a square, heavy face. He's just -turned thirty, I understand. That's five years older than I--and I was -in charge. Perhaps that irked him. He is unquestionably a headstrong -fellow; self-confident. But he obeyed orders, though with grumbling. -And as a mechanical technician--no one could do better. He knew the -technical workings of the little ship inside out. - -"We follow orders?" young Jan Holden said. "And when we reach -twenty-nine million miles from the Sun--then we're on our own?" - -"Yes," I agreed. - -"Then, when we head off to round the Sun, if Vulcan is where they think -it is we ought to sight it in a few days?" - -"I certainly hope so, Jan." - -"I wonder if it's inhabited. I wish it would be." His dark eyes were -shining. His thin cheeks, usually pale, were flushed with excitement. -He was just eighteen--only a month past the legal minimum age for -Interplanetary employment. A slim, romantic-looking boy, he was willing -and eager to help in every way. A good cook, expert in handling his -cramped quarters and preparing the many synthetic foods with which we -were equipped. - -"You hope it's inhabited, Jan?" I asked. - -"I sure do." - -I grinned at him. "Well, if it is, you'll be disappointed to find I'll -be doing my best to keep away from whatever living creatures are there. -That's a job for a larger expedition than ours." - -"Yes, I suppose it is." - - * * * * * - -Jan often sat with me through our long vigils up there in the -green-house. Sometimes he wouldn't speak for an hour--just sitting -there dreaming. Sometimes he would talk of the ill-fated Roberts and -King Expedition--the only exploratory flight which ever had headed in -this close to the Sun. That was five years ago. Roberts and King, with -a crew of eight, had never been heard from since. - -"I just think they found Vulcan," Jan said once, out of one of his long -silences. - -"They were told to return after a routine landing," Torrence put in. - -"Well then, suppose they crashed their ship," Jan said. "Suppose they -can't get back--" - -"What we ought to do is sight Vulcan, round it and go home," Torrence -said. "To the devil with orders to land. I'd go back and tell them that -in my judgment--" - -"We'll land," I said. "Determine gravity--meteorological -conditions--secure samples of soil, vegetation--what-nots--you know the -specifications, Torrence." - -If indeed there was any Vulcan. If a landing upon what might be a fiery -surface were physically possible.... - -Another day passed. And then another and another. We were all three -tense, expectant. There was little apparent motion in the great starry -cyclorama spread around us--just the slow dwindling of Earth and Venus, -the monstrous Sun shifting slowly to the right with the starfield -behind it progressively becoming visible. - -"We're chasing a phantom," Torrence said, on the fourth day, with -the Sun now almost abreast of us and some twenty-four million miles -distant. "This damned heat! They sent us out for a salary that's a mere -pittance--and give us inadequate equipment. No wonder there's been no -exploration so close in here." - -Bathed in the full, direct Sun-rays our interior air had heated into a -torrid swelter. Stripped to the waist, with the sweat glistening on us, -we sat in the shrouded green-house.... And then at last I saw Vulcan! A -little round, lead-colored blur. Just a dot, but in a few hours it was -clear of the intervening Sun. No question of its identity. Vulcan. The -new world. - -"We did it!" Jan murmured. "Oh, we did it." - - * * * * * - -It was a busy time, for me especially, those next ninety-six hours. -I was soon enabled to calculate, at least roughly, that Vulcan was a -world of some eight hundred miles diameter, with an orbit approximately -eighteen million miles from the Sun. - -"It has an atmosphere?" Jan murmured anxiously. - -"Yes, I think so." We kept away from the Sun for a time; and then at -last we were able to head directly for Vulcan. - -The atmosphere presently was visible. No need for us to use the -pressure-suits. I envisaged at first that upon such a little world -gravity would be very slight. But now the heavy, metallic quality of -its rock-surface was apparent. A world, doubtless much denser than -igneous Earth. - -It was my plan to land on the side away from the Sun. - -We rounded Vulcan at some two million miles out. The clouds were -fairly dense in many places; sluggish, slow-moving. There were fires -on the Sun side--a temperature there which would make it certainly -uninhabitable to any creatures resembling humans.... - -It was the ninth day after the sighting of Vulcan that quite by chance -I discovered its _allurite_. We were now fairly close over the dark -hemisphere, with the Sun occulted behind it. At a thousand miles of -altitude, we were dropping slowly down upon the spreading dark disc -which now occupied most of our lower firmament. I had been making a -series of routine spectro-color-graphs to file with my reports. - -Jan heard my muttered exclamation and came crowding to gaze over my -shoulder at the dripping little color spectrograph. - -"What is it, Bob? Something important?" - -"That bond-line there--see it? That's a metal on Vulcan--shining of its -own light--radioactive type-A." - -That much, I could determine. Then Jan and I looked it up in the -Hughson list of Identified Spectrae. It was _allurite_. - -"That's valuable?" Torrence murmured. "Pure _allurite_--" - -I laughed. "It certainly would be, if we could find any sizable -deposits here. On Earth, it takes some seventeen tons of the very -richest _allurium_ to get maybe a grain of pure _allurite_. We'll take -a look around, try and get a sample of the ore here. If it pans out -rich enough, they can send a well-equipped mining expedition." - -"We ought to get a bonus for this," Torrence said. "If you don't tell -'em so, I will." - - * * * * * - -The descent upon Vulcan took another twenty-four hours. Then at last we -had passed through a cloud-bank and, at some twenty thousand feet, the -new world stretched dark and bleak beneath us. It certainly looked--to -Jan's intense disappointment--wholly uninhabited. It was a tumbled, -rocky landscape, barren and forbidding. Beneath us there were black -ravines and canyons, little jagged peaks and hill-top spires, some of -them sharp as needle-points. Off at one of the distant horizons the -tiered land, rising up, stretched into the foothills of serrated ranks -of mountain peaks which loomed over the jagged dark horizon line. - -A great metal desert here. In the fitful starlight, and the mellow -light of little crescent Mercury which hung over the mountains like a -falling, new moon, the metallic quality of the rock was obvious--sleek, -bronzed metal ore, in places polished by erosion so that it shone -mirror-like. In other places it was mottled with a greenish cast. - -"Well," Jan murmured, "not very hospitable-looking, is it? Don't you -suppose there's any moisture, or any vegetation?" - -There was no sign of any living creatures beneath us as we drifted -diagonally downward. But presently, at lower altitude, I could see -gleaming pools of water in the rock-hollows. The remains of a rainstorm -here. Then we saw what looked like a great fissure--an open scar -rifted in a glistening, polished metallic plateau. Grey-black steam -was rising, condensing in the humid night-air. The hidden fires of -the bowels of the little planet seemed close at this one point. As -we stared, a red glow for a moment tinged the steam with a red and -greenish reflection of some subterranean glare, far down. - -Nothing but metal desert. But presently, as we slid forward, no more -than a few thousand feet above the rocky surface now, Jan murmured -suddenly, - -"Look off there. Like a little oasis, isn't it?" - -There was a patch of what seemed to be rocky soil. Just a few hundred -acres in extent, set in a cup-like depression with little buttes and -needle-spires and the strewn boulders of the metal waste surrounding -it. A clump of tangled vegetation covered it--a fantastic miniature -jungle of interlaced, queerly shaped little trees, solid with air-vines -and pods and clumps of monstrous, vivid-colored flowers. It was an -amazing contrast to the bleakness of the bronze desert. - -"Well, that's more like it," Jan exclaimed. "Not all desert, Bob. See -that?" - -Torrence, with his usual efficient practicality, had been busy -getting our landing equipment in order. He paused beside me in the -green-house, where I sat at the rocket-stream controls which now were -in operation for this atmospheric flight. - -"Where you figure on landing?" he asked. "Somewhere about here? You -want to locate that _allurite_?" - -"Yes," I agreed. - - * * * * * - -It is not altogether safe, handling even so small a space-flight ship -as ours, in atmosphere at low altitudes. Especially over unknown -terrain. It seemed my best course now to make the landing here, secure -my rock-samples and make my routine observations. I did not need -Torrence to tell me that we were not equipped for extensive exploration -of an unknown world. A trip on foot of perhaps a day or two, using the -spaceship as a base, would suffice for my records. - -"There's a better chance of finding sizable deposits of allurium here -than anywhere else?" Torrence suggested. "Don't you think so?" - -With that, too, I agreed. He prepared us for a night and a few meals of -camping--a huge pack for himself, which with a grin he declared himself -amply able to carry; a smaller one for Jan; and my instruments and -electro-mining drills for me. - -We dropped down within an hour or two, landing with a circular swing -into a dim, cauldron-like depression of the desert where the polished -ground was nearly level and free of boulders. - -That was a thrill to me--my first step into the new world--even though -I have experienced it several times before. Laden with our packs, we -opened the lower-exit pressure porte. The night air, under heavier -pressure than we were maintaining inside, oozed in with a little -hiss--moist, queer-smelling air. It seemed at first heavy, oppressive. -The acrid smell of chemicals was in it. - -The night-temperature was hot--sultry as a summer tropic night on -Earth. With the interior gravity shut off as we opened the porte, at -once I felt a sense of lightness. But it was not extreme. Despite -Vulcan's small size, its great density gives it a gravity comparable to -Earth's. - -In a little group we stood on the rocky ground with a dark, immense -heavy silence around us--a silence that you could seem to hear--and -yet a silence which seemed pregnant with the mystery of the -unknown. Somehow it made me suddenly think of weapons. Besides our -utility-knives, we each had a small, short-range electro-flash gun. I -saw that Torrence had his in his hand. - -"Put it away," I said. "There's nothing here." - -With a grin, he shoved it back into his belt. "Which way?" he demanded. -"What will the ore of _allurium_ look like? Green and red spots in -sand-colored streaks of rock, that Hughson book says." - -I figured that I could recognize it, though I am far from a skilled -geologist. Certainly I agreed with Torrence that our most important -job was to find some sizable lodes of _allurium_, measure its probable -extent, and take average samples of it back with us. - - * * * * * - -We climbed out of the little cauldron. In the tumbled darkness we -picked our way among the crags. An Earth-mile, then another. Little -Jan, like an eager hound was generally ahead of us, with his tiny -search-glare sweeping the jagged rocks. We crossed a narrow winding -canyon, inspected a slashed cliff-face. It was arduous going. Despite -the sense of lightness and our tropic black-drill clothes of short -trousers, thin jackets and shirts, we were panting, bathed in sweat -within an hour. Silently, Torrence plodded at my side. It was my -first trip with him; and I could see he did not altogether trust my -efficiency. - -"You can find the way back to the ship?" he demanded once. "To get lost -in a place like this--" - -I had marked it; little twin spires above the cauldron. They were -visible now, looming against the dark sky behind us. - -I showed him. "I saw them," he said. "I could lead us back. My idea is, -if we cover about ten miles and then camp--" - -A cry from Jan interrupted us. He was standing on a little ridge of -rock like a bronze metal wave frozen into solidity. Against the deep -purple sky his slim figure was a silhouette of solid black. He was -staring off into the distance; his arm waved with a gesture as he -called to us. - -"Something off there! Something lying on the rocks--come look!" - -We ran to join him. About a quarter mile distant there was a broad -gully. A dark blob was visible lying at the bottom of it--a sizable -blob, something forty or fifty feet long. We picked our way there; -climbed down into the ragged, thirty-foot ravine. It was a spaceship -lying here--with its sleek alumite hull resting on its side with one of -its rocket-stream fins bent and smashed under it. - -"The Roberts-King ship," Torrence exclaimed. "So they got here. Cracked -up in the landing." - -There seemed no doubt of it. This was unquestionably the Roberts-King -vehicle--an older version of our own vessel. We stood staring at it -blankly--at its little bow pressure port which was wide open, a narrow -rectangle with the interior blackness behind it. - -Then I saw that here on the rocks near the doorway, a litter of tools -and mechanisms were strewn; and a section of one of the gravity plates -which had been disconnected and brought out here. - -"Trying to repair it," I said to the silently staring, awed Torrence. -"Five years ago. Now what do you suppose--" - -A startled cry from Jan interrupted me. - -The body was lying on the rocks, just beyond the bow of the ship. It -was Jonathan Roberts--stocky, middle-aged leader of the expedition. -Clad in a strange costume of thin brown material, seemingly animal -skin, he lay crumpled. I had never met him, but from his published -portraits I could recognize him at once. In the starlight here his dead -face with staring eyes goggled up at us. - -"Why--why--" Torrence gasped. "Five years--" - -There was no great look of decay about the body. Roberts had died -here, certainly not five years ago. I was bending down over the body; -I shoved at one of the shoulders and turned it over. Stricken Jan, -Torrence and I stared numbed. A thin bronze sliver of metal--fin-tipped -like a metal arrow--was buried in Roberts' back! - -Again the alert Jan was gazing at the dim, fantastic night-scene around -us. Abruptly his hand gripped my arm as he gasped, - -"Why--good Lord--what's that? Over there--" - -In the blackness down the gully, perhaps a hundred feet from us, a -little spiral of fire had appeared. A tiny wisp of red-green flame. It -seemed to hover in the air a few feet above the rocky gully floor. Like -a phantom wraith of fire, it silently leaped and twisted. - -"My God--it's coming toward us!" Torrence suddenly gasped. - -In the darkness the silent wisp of fire had swayed sidewise, and then -came along the edge of the gully, a disembodied conflagration in -mid-air, as though wafted by a rush of wind we could not feel. - - - II - -For a moment of startled horror we stood motionless. The floating -little flame seemed bounding now, just over the rocks. Bounding? -Abruptly I seemed to see a dark shape of solidity under it--something -almost, but not quite invisible in the blackness. A tangible thing? A -creature--burning? Thoughts are instant things. I recall that in that -second, I had the impression of a four-legged thing like a huge dog, -bounding toward us over the rocks. The flame in which it was enveloped, -had spread--it was a blob of flame, but solidity was there. - -All in a second. My little electro-gun was in my hand. And then from -beside me, Torrence fired--his flash with a whining sizzle splitting -the blackness of the gully with its pencil-point of hurled electrons. -His hasty aim quite evidently was wild. I saw the little splash of -colored sparks where his charge hit the rocks. Too high. - -My gun was leveled. But in that split-second, the oncoming blob of -fire abruptly had been extinguished. There was only the faint blurred -suggestion of the dog-like thing. It had stopped short, and then -suddenly was retreating. My shot, and Jan's, followed it. In another -few seconds there was no possibility of hitting it. Silently it had -vanished. There was only the black silent gully around us, with the -blurred crags standing like menacing dark ghosts. - -My instinct then, I must admit, was for us to retreat at once to our -ship. In the heavy empty silence we stood blankly gazing at each other. -Torrence was grim; Jan was shaking with excitement and the fear all of -us felt. - -"You heard that whistle?" I murmured. - -"I heard it," Jan exclaimed. "Something--somebody--human--" There were -weird, hostile inhabitants on Vulcan--no question of that now! And -here was Roberts' body with a metal sliver of arrow in its back, mute -evidence of what we were facing. And already our presence here had been -discovered. I stared around at the rocky darkness, every blurred crag -now seeming to mask some unknown menace. - -"That whistle," Torrence murmured, "calling off that flaming -thing--started at our shots. Something is around here, watching us now, -undoubtedly." - -The yawning dark doorway of the wrecked spaceship was near us. -Something seemed lying just beyond its threshold. - -"You two stay here," I told Torrence and Jan. "Don't let them surprise -us again. We'll have to get back to our ship--" - -The port doorway led into a little pressure chamber. On its dark -sloping floor, as the wrecked ship lay askew, I stood with my -flashlight illumining so ghastly a scene that my blood chilled in my -veins. It was a bloody shambles of horror. For a moment I gazed; and -as I turned away, sickened, I found Jan at my elbow. He too, had been -staring. He clutched at me, white and shaken, and I turned away my -light. - -"The rest of them," he murmured. - -"Yes. Looks that way. All of them--" - -The bodies were strewn, clothing and flesh ripped apart so that here -were only the bones of men, with pulpy crimson-- - -"No humans did that, Jan." - -"No," he shuddered. "That Thing in flames that came at us--" - - * * * * * - -His words died in his throat. Outside there was a scream--a shrill, -eerie human cry. The high-pitched scream of a woman! Gun in hand, with -Jan close behind me, I ran outside. The dimness of the rocky gully -seemed empty. The cry had died away. - -"Torrence! You Torrence--what in the devil--" - -My low vehement words wafted away. There was no Torrence. Cautiously I -ran around the bow of the wrecked ship, gazed down its other side. - -"Torrence--Torrence--" - -The nearby rocks seemed to echo back my words, mocking me. - -"Why--why--" Jan gasped, "I left him right out here. He was just -standing, looking down at Roberts' body with the arrow in it. I just -thought I'd go inside with you for a minute." - -I pulled him down to the ground. We crouched, close against the side of -the ship. "That scream," I whispered, "wasn't far away. A few hundred -feet down the gully." - -"It sounded like a girl. It did, didn't it? Bob, if they got Torrence -that quickly--an arrow in him--" - -I peered, tense. The rock shadows were all motionless. In the heavy -blank silence there was only my startled breathing, and Jan's; and the -thumping of my own heart against my ribs. Had this weird enemy gotten -Torrence so swiftly, so silently? Something not human, that had so -quickly seized him and dragged him away? Or one of those metal arrows -in his back, so that his body was lying around here somewhere, masked -by the darkness. Jan and I had certainly not been inside the ship more -than a minute or two-- - -A sharp clattering ping against the alumite side of the wrecked ship -struck away my thoughts. A metal arrow! It bent against the hull-plate -and dropped almost beside me! The still-hidden sniper had seen us, that -was evident, for the arrow had whizzed only a foot or so over our heads. - -"Jan--lower--" - -We almost flattened ourselves against the bulge of the hull, with a -little pile of boulders in front of us. My gun was leveled, but there -was nothing to shoot at. Then from diagonally across the gully again -there came a sharp human cry! A girl's voice? It was soft this time, a -bursting little cry, half suppressed. - -Thoughts are instant things. I was aware of the cry and with it there -was another whizz. Another arrow. This one was wider of the mark; it -hit far to one side of us, up near the bow of the ship. - -"Jan! Wait!" His little flash gun was up in the crevice of the rocks -in front of us. In another second he would have fired. I saw his -target--two dim blobs across the gully. For just that second they were -visible as they rose up out of a hollow. A man; and the slighter -figure with him seemed that of a girl. Her hair, glistening like spun -metal in the dim light, hung over her shoulders. - -The two figures were struggling. There was the sound of the girl's low -cry, and a grunt from the man.... My low admonition stopped Jan from -firing and in another second the shapes across the gully had vanished. - -"That girl," I murmured. "She tried to keep him from killing us. Seemed -that way, don't you think?" - -"Well--" - - * * * * * - -We waited. From across the gully there was no sound. I could see now -that there was a little ridge in the broken, littered gully floor, -behind which the two figures had vanished. A lateral depression was -there, with the ragged, broken cliff-wall some ten feet behind it. - -"Do you suppose there's only one of them?" Jan whispered. "One man--and -that girl--" - -"And that--that Thing in flames--" - -There was no sign of the animal-like creature. For another moment we -crouched tense, peering, listening. A loose stone the size of my fist -was here beside us. I picked it up. It was weirdly heavy for its size. -Then I flung it out into the gully to the right of us. It fell with a -clatter. - -Our enemy was there all right. An arrow whizzed in the darkness and -struck near where the stone had fallen. - -Jan laughed with contempt. "Dumb enough--that fellow. Bob, listen, -we've got flash-guns. That fellow with no brains--and just with -arrows--" - -True enough. "You stay here," I whispered. - -"What's the idea?" - -"You wait a couple of minutes. Then throw another stone off to the -right--about the same place. Understand?" - -"No, I don't." - -"Well, you do it, anyhow." - -There seemed a line of shadow to the left of us, a shadow which -extended well out into the gully. The ground dropped down in that -area--a slope strewn with crags, broken with little crevices. Crouching -low, I crept to the bow of the ship, to the left away from Jan; sank -down, waited. There was no sound; evidently I had not been seen. I -started again, picking my way down the slope. - -A minute. I was well out into the gully now, ten feet or so down, so -that I could not see the wrecked ship where Jan was crouching. From -here the opposite cliff-wall showed dark and ragged. Occasionally it -yawned with openings, like little cave-mouths. The place where the -figures had been crouching should be visible from here. The broken, -lower side of the little ridge behind which they had dropped was in -view to me now. It was dark with shadow, but there seemed nothing there. - -Slowly, cautiously, I crossed the gully. Two minutes since I had left -Jan? I melted down beside a rock, almost at the edge of the cliff-wall. -And then, out in the gully, far to the right, I heard the stone clatter -as Jan threw it. - -There was no answering arrow-shot this time.... One can be very -incautious, usually at just the wrong moment. I recall that I stood -up to see better, though I flattened myself against a boulder. And -suddenly, close behind me, I was aware of a padding, thudding rhythmic -sound on the rocks. I whirled. I had only a second's vision of a dark -bounding animal shape coming at me. My sizzling little flash went under -it as it rose in one of its bounding leaps. - -I had no time to fire another shot. Frantically I pulled the -trigger-lever, but the gun's voltage had not yet rebuilt to firing -pressure. Futilely I flung the gun into the creature's face as it bore -down upon me. - -The impact of the dark oblong body knocked me backward so that I fell -with it sprawling, snarling upon me. In the chaos of my mind there was -only the dim realization of a heavy body as big as my own; spindly -legs, like the legs of a huge dog. There seemed six or eight legs, -scrambling on me. - -Wildly I fought to heave it off. There was a face--a ring of glaring -green eyes; fang-like jaws of a long pointed snout which opened, -snarling with a gibbering, gruesome cry. I shoved my left forearm into -the jaws as they came at my face. They closed upon my arm, ripping, -tearing. - - * * * * * - -But somehow I was aware that I had lunged to my feet. And the Thing -reared up with me. It was a Thing almost as heavy as myself. My left -arm had come loose from its jaws and as its scrambling weight pressed -me I went down again. A Thing of rubber? It seemed boneless, the shape -of it bending as I seized it. A gruesomely yielding body. My flailing -blows bounded back from it. Then I knew that I was gripping it by the -head, twisting it. The snarling, snapping jaws suddenly opened wide -with a scream--a scream that faded into a mouthing gibber, and in my -grip the Thing went limp. I cast it away and it sank to the rocks, -quivering. - -For an instant I stood panting, trembling with nausea sickening me. -On my hands the flesh of the weird antagonist was sticking like -viscous, gluey rubber. Hot and clinging. Hot? I stared at my hands -in the dimness. For a second I thought it was phosphorescence. Then -yellow-green wisps of flame were rising from my hands. Frantically I -plunged them into my jacket pockets. The tiny flames were extinguished. -I stripped off my jacket, flung it away and it lay with a little smoke -rising from it where the weird stuff was trying again to burst into -flame. - -The skin of my hands was seared, but the contact with the flames had -been only momentary and the burns were not severe. It had all happened -in a minute or two. I recall that I was standing trembling, staring -at the yawning mouth of a cave entrance which was nearby in the -cliff-face. A movement in there? A moving blob? Then I was aware that -there was a light behind me. Off across the gully there was a blob of -light-fire. A red-green blob, swirling, scrambling. And the sound of a -distant, gibbering snarl.... - -The singing whizz of an arrow past my head made me turn again. My human -adversary! I saw him now. He was coming at a run from the mouth of the -cave--a wide-shouldered, grotesquely-shaped man with a brown hairy -garment draped upon him. He swayed like a gorilla on thick bent legs. -In one hand he held what seemed an arrow-sling. In the other he carried -a long narrow segment of rock, swinging it like a club. He was no more -than ten feet from me. In the dimness I could see his huge round head -with tangled, matted blank hair. As I whirled to meet him, his voice -was a bellow of guttural roar, like an animal bellowing to intimidate -its enemy. - -I turned, jumped sidewise. And abruptly from a rock-shadow another -shape rose up! Slim, small white body, brown-draped with long, gleaming -tawny hair. The girl! Her voice gasped, - -"You run! He kill you! In here--this way--" - -The bellowing savage had turned heavily in his rush and was charging -us. In her terror and confusion the girl gripped me, shoving me toward -the cave. As we ran I flung an arm around her, lifting her up. She -weighed hardly more than a child. Then we were in the blackness of a -tunnel-passage. I set her down. - -"Lie down. Be quiet," I whispered vehemently. She understood me; she -crouched back against the side wall. There seemed a little light here, -a glow which I realized was inherent to the rocks, like a vague, faint -phosphorescence. But it was brighter outside. The charging savage had -evidently paused at the entrance. As I stared now, his bulky figure -loomed there, grotesque silhouette. Then doubtless he saw me. With -another bellow he came charging in. - -I stood waiting, like a Toreador, in front of a heavily charging bull. -It was something like that, for as he rushed me, swinging his club and -plunging with lowered head of matted hair, nimbly I jumped aside. I had -seized a rock half as big as my head. He had no time to turn and poise -himself as I jumped on him, crashing the rock at the side of his broad -ugly face as he straightened and swung around. - -Ghastly blow. His face smashed in as the rock seemed to go into it. -For a second his hulking body stood balanced upon the crooked legs and -broad flat bare feet. Gruesome dead thing with the face and top of the -head gone, it balanced on legs suddenly turned rigid. Then it toppled -forward and thudded against the passage wall, sliding sidewise to the -ground where it lay motionless. - - * * * * * - -In the phosphorescent dimness, I dropped beside the girl. She was -panting with terror, shuddering, with her hands before her face. - -"It's all right," I murmured. "Or at least, maybe it isn't all right -with you, but he's dead, anyway." - -Utterly incongruous, the delicately formed bronze-white girl--and that -hulking, grotesque, clumsy savage. - -"Oh--yes," she murmured. "Dear--yes--" - -"You speak English--strange, here on Vulcan--" - -"But from your Captain Roberts--he was the fren' of mine--of all the -Senzas--" - -"He's dead. An arrow in him--lying over there by his wrecked ship--the -rest of them, dead inside--" - -"Yes. I know it. That was these Orgs. I was caught--just the last time -of sleep. Tahg--surely it seems it must be Tahg who sent this Org to -take me from my father's home--" - -A captive! And she had fought with her savage captor to stop him from -sending an arrow into me. Then, in his absorption as he tried to stalk -me, she had broken loose from him. - -"Just this one Org?" I murmured. "Is he the only one around here? He -and that--animal-thing which I killed?" - -"That--a female _mime_--you--you--" - -She was huddling beside me, clinging to me, still shuddering. "Two Orgs -there were," she whispered. "And another mime--a fire-male--" - -The flame-creature! Queerly, it was not until that instant that I -thought of Jan. Out there across the gully, that swirling swaying blob -of light-fire! Those snarling sounds! Jan had been attacked by another -of the savages, and by the weird flaming creature! The mime fire-male, -as the girl called it. - -I jumped to my feet. "What--what you do?" she demanded. - -"You stay here. What's your name?" - -"Ama. Daughter of Rohm, the Senza. He my father. He very good fren' of -the Captain Roberts--good fren' of all the Earthmen. Like you? You are -Earthman?" - -"Yes. Now Ama, listen--I came here with another Earthman--with two -others, in fact. One of them is over there by the Roberts' ship.... You -wait here--" - -"No!" she gasped. I had dashed toward the tunnel entrance, but I found -her with me. "No--no, I stay with you." - -From the entrance the gully showed dim and silent. Over the little rise -of ground, just the top of the Roberts' spaceship was visible. - -Ama clung to me. "I stay with you," she insisted. - -Cautiously we picked our way across the gully, up the small ascending -slope. No sound; nothing moving. But now there was a pungent, acrid -chemical smell hanging here in the windless air. - -"The fire-mime!" Ama whispered. "You smell the fire? Then he was angry, -ready to fight--" - -"He fought," I retorted grimly. "I saw it--" - -"Look! Look there--" - - * * * * * - -Her slim arm as she gestured tinkled with metal baubles hanging on -it.... I saw, up the slope, the blob of something lying on the rocks. -Jan! My heart pounded. But it wasn't Jan. The body of one of the weird -oblong animals was lying there. Lying on its side, with its six legs -stiffly outstretched. Ugly hairless thing, like a giant dog which had -been skinned. I could see now that the grey-green flesh had a greasy, -pulpy look. What strange organic material was this? Certainly nothing -like it existed on Earth. Impervious to heat, as the human stomach -tissue is impervious to the action of its own digestive juices. -Evidence of the thing's flaming oxidation was here. Wisps of smoke were -rising from the ground about the slack body. - -Had Jan killed it? The ring of eyes above the long muzzle snout bulged -with a glassy, goggling dead stare. The jaws were open, with a thick, -forked black tongue protruding, and green, sticky-looking froth still -oozing out. The teeth were long and sharp, fangs like polished black -ivory protruding from the jaw. The cause of its death was obvious. A -knife-slash had ripped, almost severed its throat in a hideous wound -where green-black viscous ooze was still slowly dripping, with smoky -vapor rising from it. - -For a moment, with little Ama clinging to me, I must have stood -appalled at the weird sight of the dead fire-mime. If Jan had fought -and killed it--then where was he now? And where was that other Org, -companion of the clumsy savage I had killed when it had tried to -attack me? - -And where was Torrence? - -"Your fren'--he did this?" Ama was murmuring. - -"Yes, I guess so." I raised my voice cautiously. "Jan--Oh, Jan, where -are you?" - -The dark shadowed rocks mocked me with their muffled, blurred echo of -my call. There seemed nothing here alive, save Ama and me. The wrecked -spaceship lay broken and silent on the rocks, with the gruesome, strewn -bodies of the Earthmen in it. And the body of Roberts still lay here -outside, near the bow. - -"Jan--Jan--" - -Then Ama abruptly gasped, "The Orgs! See them--up there!" - -The cliff which was the gully wall, at this point was some fifty -feet high. I stared up to a patch of yellow light which had appeared -there in the darkness. A band of the murderous Orgs! Carrying flaming -torches, a dozen or more of the gargoyle savages stood above us on the -cliff-brink. One stood in advance of them, pointing down at us. He was -the other one, doubtless, who had originally been down here with Ama. -Around them, half a dozen of the huge greenish mimes bounded, whining -with gibbering cries of eagerness. - -And in that instant, an arrow came down. I saw one of the savages sling -it from a flexible, whip-like contrivance. The whizzing metal shaft -sang past our heads and clattered on the rocks. - -Ama was clutching me. "You come! Oh hurry--they kill us both." - -There was no argument about that. I flung a last look around with the -vague thought that I would see Jan lying here. Then I let Ama guide -me. At a run, we headed back down the declivity and diagonally across -the gully. A rain of arrows came down, clattering around us, but in a -moment most of them were falling short. - -"Which way, Ama? Where we go?" - -"My people--my village--not too far." - -"Which way?" - -"Through this cliff. There are passages into the lower valley." - -"You know the way?" - -"Yes, oh yes." - -A dark opening in the opposite cliff presently was before us. The Orgs -were coming down the other cliff now; their bellowing voices and the -whining cries of the mimes were a blended babble. - -"A storm is coming," Ama said suddenly. - -The distant sky over the lower end of the gully was shot now with weird -lurid colors. In the heavy dark silence here around us, a sudden sharp -puff of wind plucked at us, tossing Ama's long tawny hair. - -"This way--" she added. - -My arm went around her as another wind-blast thrust us sidewise, almost -knocking her off her feet. Then clinging together, fighting our way -in a rush of wind which now abruptly was a roar, we plunged into the -depths of the yawning tunnel. - - - III - -I must recount now what happened to Jan, as he told it to me when after -a sequence of weird events, he and I were together again. When I left -him crouching there close against the hull of the wrecked Roberts' -ship, he lost sight of me almost in a moment. There was just the faint -blob of me sliding into a shadow; and then the lowering ground down -which I went hid me. Tensely he crouched, peering across the gully, -listening to the heavy silence. - -Two minutes, I had said; and then he must throw the rock. His hand -fumbled around, found a sizable rock-chunk. He understood my purpose, -of course--to divert our adversary across the gully at a moment when I -might be close to jump him from the other direction. - -Jan was excited, apprehensive, just an inexperienced boy. Was the -crouching savage with the girl still there across the gully? There was -no sound, no movement. Was it two minutes now? - -He flung the stone at last and raised himself up a little with his -gun leveled. The stone clattered off to the right. But it provoked -no whizzing arrow. No sound of me, jumping upon my adversary.... -Nothing.... But what was that? Jan stiffened. Distinctly he heard the -sizzling puff of a flashgun shot. My gun! He knew it must be; it was to -the left, out in the gully. And following it there was a low gibbering -snarl. Faint in the distance, but in the heavy silence plainly audible. - -I had been attacked! Jan found himself on his feet, with no thought -in his mind save to dash to me.... He had taken no more than a few -scrambling leaps on the rocks. He reached the brink of the descent. -Far down and out in the gully it seemed that he could see the blur of -something fighting. - -His low incautious movement had betrayed him. From behind him there was -a low whistling. A signal! An eager whining snarl instantly resounded -to it. Jan had no more than time to whirl and face the sounds when a -great bounding grey-green shape was on him! - -Jan's shot missed it, and the next second the lunging oblong body -struck him. The impact knocked him backward. His gun clattered away. -Then the huge, hairless dog-like thing sprawled upon him, its slavering -jaws snapping. They found his shoulder as he lunged and the fang-like -teeth sank in.... - -A miracle that Jan could have kept his wits so that he fumbled for -his knife as he fell. But suddenly he got it out, stabbed and slashed -wildly with it as he rolled and twisted on the ground with the snarling -creature on top of him.... And suddenly he was aware that the thing had -burst into flame! - -It could have been only a few seconds during which Jan fought that -weird living fire. It was a wild chaos of horror.... Licking, oozing -flames exuding like an aura from the sticky viscous flesh that horribly -sprawled upon him. Monstrous ghastly adversary, with flesh that seemed -now like burning bubbling rubber, stenching with acrid gas-fumes.... - -Just a few seconds, then Jan realized that somehow he had broken loose -from the jaws that gripped his shoulder. He tried to scramble to his -feet. The flames searing his face made him close his eyes. He was -holding his breath, choking. His clothes were on fire.... - - * * * * * - -Then the sprawling, lunging body knocked him down again. He was still -wildly, blindly slashing with his knife. Vaguely he was aware, over -the chaos of snapping snarls, that a human voice nearby with guttural -shouts was urging the animal to dispatch its victim. But suddenly--as -Jan's knife-blade ripped into its throat--the snarls went into a -ghastly, eerie animal scream of agony--a long scream that died into a -gurgle of gluey, choking blood-fluid.... - -Jan was aware that the creature had fallen from him with its flames -dying. On the rocks he rolled away from it, with his scorched hands -wildly brushing his clothes to extinguish them. Then he was on his -feet, staggering, choking, coughing. But his knife, its blade dripping -with an oozing flame, still wildly waved. - -And then he was aware that twenty feet away, a heavy, grotesque -man-like shape was standing with a club and arrow-sling. But with his -flame-creature dead and the sight of the staggering, triumphant Jan -waving his flaming knife-blade--the watching savage suddenly dropped -his club and let out a cry of dismay and fear. And then he ran. - -For a moment Jan, wildly, hysterically laughing, went in pursuit. But -in the rocky darkness the fleeing savage already had vanished.... - -Then reaction set in upon Jan. His burned face and hands stung as -though still fire was upon him. He was still gasping, choking from the -fumes of his smoldering clothes. His eyes, with lashes singed, smarted, -watering so that all the vague night-scene was a swaying blur.... He -found himself sitting down on the rocks.... - -And then suddenly he remembered me. Where had I gone? What had -happened?... - -Vaguely Jan recalled that I had left him and gone across the gully.... -Where was I now?... Then he seemed dimly to recall that he had heard my -shot.... - -In the dimness suddenly it seemed to Jan that he saw me, far up the -gully to the right, up on the cliff-top. For just a moment he was -sure that it was the shape of me, silhouetted against the sky.... The -sight gave him strength. Still staggering, he ran wildly forward.... -A quarter of a mile; certainly it seemed that far. He had crossed the -gully by now. The figure up above had vanished.... Queer. What was I -doing up there? Chasing the savage?... - -Jan climbed the little cliff, which was ragged, and lower here than -elsewhere. It led him to the undulating, upper plateau, crag-strewn, -dim under a leaden sky. But there was enough light so that he could -see the distant figure. It was only two or three hundred yards away, -plodding on, apparently not looking back.... - -Jan ran after it. And then he was calling: - -"Bob! You Bob--" - -The figure turned. Started suddenly back, and called: - -"Is that you? Jan?" - -It was Torrence! He came back at a lumbering run now--Torrence, -bare-headed, gun in hand. But he obviously hadn't had any encounter. -His jacket was buttoned across his shirt; he looked just as he had when -Jan had last seen him, out there at the bow of the wrecked spaceship -when Jan had gone inside to join me. - -Torrence stared at the burned Jan. "Why--good Heavens," he gasped. -"You--I saw that thing killing you. I was up here--I started down, but -too late--" - -"Where's Bob?" - -"Bob? Why--he was killed. Burned--like you. I tried to help him--too -late--the damned things--" - - * * * * * - -The lameness of it was lost on the still-dazed Jan at that moment. I -had been killed! It struck him with a shock. And as he stood wavering, -trembling, Torrence drew him to a rock. - -"Too bad," Torrence murmured sympathetically. - -"Where--where were you?" Jan said at last. "We came out of the -ship--couldn't find you." - -"I was attacked by one of those cursed Things. Like the one that nearly -got you--like the one that killed Bob. I chased it; shot at it when I -got up here. But I shouldn't have come up--then I saw you and Bob--too -late to get back to you. So I was starting for our ship. It's off this -way, not so very far." - -For a little time Jan sat there numbed, and Torrence sat -sympathetically, silently beside him. - -"When we get back," Torrence murmured at last, "you can put in your -report with mine. We did our best--but there isn't any use now, us -tackling this thing." - -Jan must have been wholly silent, thinking of me, dead, burned, back -there in the darkness of the gully. - -"You all right now, lad?" - -"Yes," Jan said. "Yes--I'm all right." - -"When we get back, we ought to get a bonus," Torrence said. "Don't -worry, Jan--I'll see you get plenty. Your report and mine--to tell them -the hazards of this trip--" - -"We should go back?" Jan said. - -"Yes, certainly we should. Get back to Earth as fast as we can. No -chance of doing anything else--" - -Torrence gazed apprehensively around them in the darkness. That much -at least--the reality of his apprehension as they sat there on the -open plateau--that was authentic enough. And Jan also felt that at any -moment one of the flaming creatures might attack them. - -"You strong enough to start now?" - -"Yes, sure I am," Jan agreed. - -They started, picking their way along. Jan tried to remember how far we -three had come from our own ship until we had discovered the Roberts' -vessel.... For ten or fifteen minutes now he and Torrence clambered -over the rocks. - -"You think you know the way?" Jan asked at last. - -"Yes--or I thought I did." Torrence's tone was apprehensively dubious. -And that, too must have been authentic. Certainly it would be a -desperate plight to be lost here on Vulcan. "It was Bob who was sure he -knew the way back--" - -"I think we are all right," Jan agreed. "That big rock-spire off -there--I remember it." - -As they progressed, Jan was aware now that the sky behind them was -brightening. They turned and stared at it. - -"Weird--" Torrence muttered. - -"Yes--some sort of storm. If it's bad--you suppose we ought to take -shelter? It's pretty open up here." - -The sky was certainly weird enough--a swirl of leaden clouds back -there, shot now with lurid green and crimson. And suddenly there came -a puff of wind. Then another. Stronger, it whined between the nearby -naked crags. In a little nearby ravine it caught an area of loose -metallic stones, whirled them before it with a tinkling clatter. - -"We came through that ravine, coming out this way," Jan said suddenly. -"I'm sure of it." - -Torrence remembered it also. Another blast of wind came; and with -it blowing them, they scurried into the ravine. The lurid storm-sky -painted it with a crimson and green glare, so that the narrow cut in -the rocky plateau was eerie. To Jan it seemed suddenly infernal. He -clutched at the larger, far more bulky Torrence as they hurried along -with the wind blasting them. - -Loose metallic stones were blowing around them now with a clatter. -Then suddenly the sky seemed riven by a darting, jagged red shaft of -lightning. And then red rain was pelting them. - -"Got to find some place," Torrence panted. He had to shout it above the -roar as the wind tore at his words and hurled them away. - -"Over there?" Jan gestured. "Looks like a cave." - -The sides of the ravine were rifted in many places with vertical -crevices. They headed toward a wider slit of opening which seemed -to lead well back underground. A place of shelter until this storm -passed.... - - * * * * * - -To Jan, what happened then was weirdly terrifying. He suddenly realized -that as they approached the opening, they were being pulled at it. Into -it! A suction, as though somewhere down underground this storm had -created a partial vacuum--a far lesser pressure so that the air of the -little ravine was rushing into it! - -Terrified, both of them now were fighting to keep away. But it was no -use. Like wind-blown puffs of cotton they were sucked into the yawning -opening. A sudden chaos of roaring horror. Jan felt that he was still -clutching at Torrence. Then both of them fell, sliding, sucked forward -as a plunger cylinder is sucked through a pneumatic tube. The ground -here in the passage felt smooth as polished marble. - -For how long they plunged forward Jan had no conception. Roaring, -sucking darkness. Then it seemed that there was a little light. An -effulgence; a pallid, eerie glow, like phosphorescence streaming from -the rocks. The narrow passage was steadily widening; and then abruptly -they were blown out into emptiness. - -It was a vast grotto, with smooth metallic floor almost level. The -effulgence here was brighter, so that an undulating, vaulted ceiling -glistened far overhead. For a moment the nearer wall was visible, -smooth, burnished metal rock. Eroded by the winds of centuries, all the -rock here was burnished until it shone mirror-like. - -The huge pallid interior roared and echoed with the tumbling -wind-torrents seething in it. A lashing cauldron jumbled with eddying -blasts. Jan and Torrence tried to get to their feet. They could see now -that they were far out from the wall--sliding, buffeted, desperately -clinging together, hurled one way and then another. Bruised from head -to foot, panting, gasping in the swiftly changing pressures, Jan felt -his senses leaving him. A numbed vagueness was on him, so that there -was only the suck and roar of the winds and the feel of Torrence to -whom he was clinging. They were lying prone now-- - -"Easing up a little--" He heard Torrence's voice as though from far -away. And then he came to his senses to find that he and Torrence had -hit against a wall of the grotto and were clinging to a projection of -rock. - -Easing up a little.... The storm outside lessening.... Jan must have -drifted off again; and after another interval he was conscious that -there was only a tossing, crazy breeze in here. It whined and moaned, -echoing from one wall to another so that the pallid, silvery half-light -seemed filled with a myriad gibbering little voices. - -And Jan could see now that he and Torrence had been blown into a recess -of the grotto--a smaller cave. The rock formation here was as though -this were the heart of a monstrous crystal--vertical facets of strata -that glistened pallidly. - -"We'll have to try and cross back," Torrence said, and in the confined -space his words weirdly echoed, split and duplicated so that there -seemed many little whispering replicas of his words. "Find that passage -where we came in--" - -They were on their feet now--suddenly to Jan there was around them a -vast vista of pallid dimness. A glowing, limitless abyss stretching off -into shadowy nothingness, everywhere he looked. - -"Why--why," he murmured, "this place--so large--" - -Torrence still had his flash cylinder. He fumbled in his jacket pocket, -brought it out. Amazing thing! As he snapped it on, its tiny white beam -showed mirrored in a hundred places of the paneled, crystalline walls! -The blurred image of Torrence and Jan standing holding each other with -their light-shaft before them, duplicated so that there were a hundred -of them everywhere they looked! And countless other hundreds smaller -and smaller in the myriad backgrounds! - - * * * * * - -With a startled curse Torrence took a few steps into what seemed pallid -emptiness, and then suddenly his image was coming at him! Lost! To Jan -came the rush of horror that they might, wander in here, balked at -every turn.... - -Another startled cry from Torrence stuck away Jan's thoughts. Neither -he nor Torrence had time to make a move. There was suddenly everywhere -the duplicated image of a thick, swaying, gargoyle savage, standing -like a gorilla on thick bent legs, with one crooked arm holding a -flaming torch over his head. A myriad replicas of him everywhere! Was -he close to them, or far away? And in which direction? - -In that stricken second the questions stabbed into Jan's tumultuous -mind. Then he was aware of something whirling in the air over his -head--something crashing on his skull so that all the world seemed -to go up into a splitting, blinding roar of light. He felt his legs -buckling under him. There was only Torrence's fighting outcry and the -sound of a guttural echoing voice as Jan fell and his senses slid off -into a blank and black, empty silence.... - - - IV - -I go back now to that moment when Ama and I, pursued by the roaming -band of Orgs, plunged into a tunnel passage that led from the gully, -near the wrecked Roberts' spaceship. It was quite evident that Ama was -aware of the dangers of the wind-storms of her little world. There was -a swift air-current sucking into this passage. But it was not powerful -enough to do more than hurry us along. Once, where the tunnel branched, -there seemed an open grotto up a little subterranean ascent to the -right. It glowed with a brighter pallid light than was here in the -passage. I turned that way with an interested gaze, but at once she -clutched at me. - -"No--no. In times of the storm, very bad sometimes in places under the -ground." - -There seemed no sign of pursuit behind us. "The Orgs--they run heavy," -Ama said when I mentioned it. In the pale opalescent glow of the -tunnel, I could see her faint triumphant smile as she gazed up at me -sidewise. Strange little face, utterly foreign so that upon Earth, by -Earth standards one would have been utterly baffled to identify her. -But it was an appealing face, and now, with her terror gone, the sly -glance she flung at me was wholly feminine. - -"Those fire-mimes," I said. "Couldn't they rush ahead of their masters, -trailing us?" I explained how on Earth dogs would do that, following -their quarry by the scent. She looked puzzled, and then she brightened. - -"I remember. The Captain Roberts told us about that. The mimes are -different. The male and female both--they follow what it is they see, -nothing else." - -Then she told me about the weird, dog-like creatures. The male, exuding -a scent--if you could call it that--a vapor which in the air bursts -into spontaneous combustion as it combines with the atmospheric oxygen. - -How long we ran through what proved to be a maze of passages in the -honey-combed ground, I have no idea. Several Earth-miles, doubtless. -Several times we stopped to rest, with the breezes tossing about us as -I listened, tense, to be sure the Orgs were not coming. Then at last we -emerged; and at the rocky exit I stood staring, amazed. - -It was a wholly different looking world here. The pallid underground -sheen was gone; and now again there was the dim twilight of the -interminable Vulcan night. From where we stood the ground sloped down -so that we were looking out over the top of a wide spread of lush, -tangled forest. Weird jungle, rank and wild with spindly trees of -fantastic shapes, heavy with pods and exotic flowers and tangled with -masses of vines. Beyond it, far ahead of us there seemed a line of -little metal mountains at the horizon; and to the left an Earth-mile or -so away, the forest was broken to disclose a winding thread of little -river. It shone phosphorescent green in the half light. The storm was -over now, but still the colors lingered in the cloud sky--a glorious -palette of rainbow hues up there that tinted the forest-top. - -Ama gestured toward the thread of river. "The Senzas--my people and my -village--off that way beyond the little water. We go quickly. But we be -careful, until we get beyond the water." - -"Swim it?" - -"We can. But I think I remember where there is a Senza boat hidden on -this side." - - * * * * * - -She had already told me more of what happened to her. The Senzas, -primitive obviously, yet with an orderly tribal civilization, were the -dominant race here on little Vulcan. The savage Orgs--a far lower, more -primitive type both mentally and physically--in nomadic fashion, roamed -the metal deserts and little stunted forests which lay beyond the -barren regions. They were, at times of religious frenzy, cannibalistic, -with weird and gruesome festival rites which Ama only shudderingly -sketched. - -For the most part, the clumsy Orgs and their weird mime-creatures were -kept from the Senza forests. But occasionally they raided, stealing -the Senza women, and roaming the lush forests for food. There had -been, in the Senza village, one Tahg, a wooer of Ama. An older man, -but somehow well liked by the Senza tribal leader. Repulsed by Ama, he -had threatened her--and then he had vanished from the village; gone -hunting, and the Senzas considered that the Orgs might have killed him. - -"But I think it was Org blood in him," Ama said. "I told the Captain -Roberts that--I remember just before he and his men left us to finish -the repairs of their ship--and then we found later that the Orgs had -killed them all." - -Tahg, Ama thought, had become the tribal leader of this group of the -Orgs--indulging with them in their gruesome rites.... Then, just a few -hours ago, two Orgs had crept upon Ama as she slept--with extraordinary -daring for an Org, had successfully seized her and carried her off. -Taking her into the Org country, past the Roberts' spaceship, where -they had come upon me, and Torrence and Jan.... - -"We be careful now," she was telling me as we stood gazing out over the -forested slope. "After a storm it is when the Orgs mostly roam--the -hunting here is better when the little creatures are out after the -water." - -The little creatures! Best of the animal foods here on Vulcan.... The -red-storm quite evidently had emptied torrential rain on the forest. -The fantastic trees were heavy with it. Soddenly it dripped from the -overhead branches. And now as we started down the slope, I saw the -little creatures. Insect or animal, no one could have said. A myriad -sizes and shapes of them, from a finger-length to the size of a cat. -Before our advance they scurried, on the ground, scattering with -weird little outcries. Some flew clumsily into the leaves overhead; -others ran up there on the vines, peering down at us as we passed. We -came suddenly upon a pool of rain-water. Greedily a hundred little -orange-green things, seemingly almost all head and snout, were crowding -at the pool, sucking up the water. With eerie, maniacal little voices -they rolled and bounced away at our approach. - -This weird forest! Abruptly I was aware that there were places where -the rope-like vines and leafy branches of the underbrush shrank away -from us as we advanced--slithering and swaying little vines in sudden -movement before us. Sentient vegetation. There are plants on Earth -which shrink and shudder at a touch. Others which snap and seize an -unwary insect enemy. But here it was far more startling than that. I -saw a vine on the ground rise up upon its myriad little tendrils; the -pods, like a row of heads upon it were quivering, puffing. The extended -length of it, like a snake slithered from my threatening tread. - -"It fears every human," Ama said. "A strange thing to you Earthmen?" - -"Well, slightly," I commented. "Suppose it--some of this vegetation got -angry--" Fantastic thought, but the reality of it--a looping, swaying -vine over our heads, as thick as my arm--that was a stark reality. -"Would a thing like that attack us, Ama?" - -She shrugged. "There is talk of it. But I think no one is ever truthful -to say it really happened." - -We were in the depths of the forest now. In the humid, heavy darkness -it was sometimes arduous going. That thread of river--we could not see -it now, but I judged it still must be half an Earth-mile away. Once -we sat down in a little open glade to rest. In the thick silence the -throbbing voice of the forest, blended of the scurrying life and the -rustling vines, was a faint steady hum. Then suddenly I saw that Ama -was tense, alert, sitting up listening. She looked startled, abruptly -frightened. - -"What is it?" I whispered. - -"Off there--the vines, they are frightened. You hear?" - - * * * * * - -It seemed that somewhere near us, the vine-rustling had grown louder. -A scurry, mingled with little popping sounds from the pods. Someone -coming? I recall that the startled thought struck me. Then from a -thicket near at hand a group of little creatures came dashing. They -saw us, wheeled and scurried sidewise. I was on my feet, peering into -the shadowed leafy darkness. I thought I heard a low, guttural voice. -Whether I did or not, the whizz of an arrow past me was reality enough. - -A wandering band of the Orgs were stalking us! At the whizz of the -arrow I made a dash sidewise. My gun was gone; I jerked out my knife. -Ama was up, and another arrow barely missed her--an arrow that came -from a totally different direction so that I knew we must be already -surrounded. - -"Ama--lie down! Down--" - -A woman under some circumstances can be a terrible handicap. She didn't -drop to the ground; she stood gazing around her in terror, and then she -came running at me, clutching me so that I was futilely struggling to -cast her off. Another arrow sang past our heads, and then from several -directions, the Orgs were bursting into the glade. - -I tore loose from Ama, but it was no use. Whatever effective fight I -might have put up, it could have brought a rain of arrows which might, -probably would, have killed the girl. - -"Quiet," I murmured. "They've got us. No chance to fight." - -I stood trying to shield her as in the dimness the Orgs crowded around -us. Ten or more of them, jabbering at us, seizing me and presently -shoving us off through the forest. - -Two or three others seemed to join us in a moment; and abruptly Ama -gasped: - -"Tahg! There is Tahg--" - -The renegade Senza, quite obviously a leader here, shoved past his -jabbering, triumphant men and confronted us. He was seemingly startled, -and then triumphant at seeing Ama here. Then his gaze swept to me. He -was a big, muscular, but slender fellow. He was clad in a brief brown -drape; but his aspect was wholly different from the heavy, misshapen, -clumsy-looking Orgs. His thick dark hair fell longish about his ears, -framing his hawk-nosed, thin-lipped face. And his narrow dark eyes -squinted at me as he frowned. - -"Well," he said, "Earthman? New one?" His English was evidently less -fluent than Ama's, but it was understandable enough. - -"Yes," I agreed. "Friendly--like all Earthmen." - -He had signaled to the Orgs, and two of them had shuffled forward and -taken Ama from me. - -"Jus' good time," Tahg said ironically. "Org gods pleased tonight to -have Earthmen--" - -Earthmen! The plural! I had little opportunity to ponder it. Roughly -I was shoved onward through the forest, back to where it thinned into -a stretch of metal desert--and beyond that into a new terrain of -stunted, gnarled trees and rope vines on a rocky ground. To me it was -an exhausting march. Ama, with Tahg beside her, usually was behind -me. Once we stopped and food and water were given me. When we started -again, I saw that, at Tahg's direction, one of the savages had hoisted -Ama to his back, carrying her in a rope-vine sling. Occasionally other -small bands of Orgs joined us, until there were fifty or more of them, -triumphantly returning to their village. Their torches were burning -now, and a little ahead of us a pack of the huge green-grey mimes were -leaping. - -Then Tahg came toward me. "Good-bye," he said. "You look more good to -me when I see you next time. The gods prepare you now." - - * * * * * - -He turned and was lost in the darkness. My ankles had been fettered -with a two-foot length of rope; my wrists were crossed and lashed -behind me. No one was with me now but my two captors who urged me -forward, impatient at my little jerky steps. The village and its -jabbering turmoil and lights was in a moment hidden by a rise of the -rocky ground. Then I saw before me a fairly large, square building of -stone, flat-roofed, with a cone-shaped stone-pile on top like a crude -church spire. - -An Org temple. It was windowless; some twenty feet high from ground to -its roof. A narrow, rectangular slit of doorway was in front, where -two huge torches, like braziers one on either side, were burning. An -Org stood between them, with the torchlight painting him--an aged -savage in a long, white skin drape which was fantastically ornamented. -He was thin and bent, his round brown skull almost hairless, his -body shriveled, parched with age. His skinny arms were upraised, -outstretched to welcome me. - -But my startled gaze turned from him, for on the ground just at the -edge of the swaying torchlight, I saw that two figures were lying. Two -men, roped and tied into inert bundles. - -They were Jan and Torrence! - - - V - -There was a time when, roped and tied like Jan and Torrence, I was -laid beside them while in the torchlight, alone with his pagan gods, -the ancient Org priest stood intoning his prayers and incantations. It -was then that Jan was able to tell me what had happened to him. He was -lying between Torrence and me. I had little chance to talk to Torrence. -Nor any great desire, for I considered him then merely a craven fellow -who had deserted us at the very first of the weird attacks. - -Human emotions work strangely. It was obvious now, as we lay there in -the darkness, with the aged savage in the torchlight near us--obvious -enough that we were doomed to something horrible which at best would -end in our death. Yet Jan and I--each having considered the other -dead--were for a brief time at least, pleased that we were here. No -one yet alive, can normally quite give up hope of escaping death. I -recall that in the darkness I was furtively trying to loosen my bonds, -twisting and squirming. - -"You needn't bother," Torrence muttered. "I've tried all that. And -those two damned Orgs who carried you here--they're still watching us." - -"Going to take us inside, I guess," Jan whispered. "Inside this temple -to--to--" - -His shuddering imagination supplied no words. But his idea was right, -for presently the old priest was finished with his incantations. His -cracked voice called a command and the two savages who had brought me -here came from nearby. One by one, they picked us up and carried us -inside. - -I was the last to go in. The place was a single stone square room. It -was lurid with a swaying torchlight. Carved gargoyle images, crude -and hideously ugly--grotesque personification of the pagan Vulcan -gods--where ranged along the walls. The old priest was standing now on -a little dais, between the two interior torches. His arms were upraised -toward me as I was carried in; behind him there was a quick stone -altar, with a line of smaller images on it. His voice rose, quavering, -as I was slowly carried past him; and his hands over me might have been -purifying me for the coming rite. - -In the center of the room, raised some five feet above the floor, there -was a broad stone slab, with a big, grinning, pot-bellied stone image -mounted up there. Then I saw that the slab had a broad, cradle-like -depression in front of the image. Still bound, lying there side by -side, with the belly of the huge image projecting partly over them, -were Jan and Torrence. And now the two savages hoisted me up and rolled -me among them. - -The sacrificial altar. Heaven knows, I could not miss the realization -now. There was a weird, acrid, nauseous smell clinging here from former -ceremonies. And as I was hoisted up, I saw that the smooth sides of -the altar were seared, blackened by the heat of flames which so many -times before must have been here. - -And the heat--the fire? Within a moment after I was rolled into the -saucer-like depression of the alter--with Torrence muttering despairing -curses and Jan pallid and grim beside me--outside the temple there -sounded a weird gibbering chorus of baying. Ghastly, familiar sound! -The mimes--the giant fire-males! Released at the temple doorway, they -came bounding in--blobs of leaping red-green flame! A dozen or more -of the weird creatures, all of these much larger than the male Jan -had killed near the Roberts' spaceship. Fire-males trained for this -ceremony. Enveloped in their lurid flames they rushed at the altar, -circling it, swiftly running one behind the other so that we were -encircled with a ring of leaping flames. - -I heard Torrence mutter, "To roast us! Just to roast us slowly--" - - * * * * * - -The shoulders and heads of the running, circling fire-mimes were nearly -as high as the altar slab on which we were lying. The flames of them -swirled two or three feet higher--blobs of fire which merged one with -the other. A circular curtain of mounting flame walling us in. Through -it the temple interior was blurred, distorted. Vaguely the figure of -the aged priest was visible. He was now on his knees, turned partly -away from us as he faced his little row of god-images, supplicating -them. - -Curtain of swirling fire. Within a moment the heat of it was searing -us. Heat slowly intensifying. It was bearable now; but the confined -circle of air here was mounting in temperature; the big gargoyle -image over us, the metallic-rock slab beneath us both were slowly -heating. The smoke and the swirling gas-fumes would choke us into -unconsciousness very quickly, I knew. And then the mounting heat would -at last make this a sizzling griddle, on which we would lie, slowly -roasting.... - -A chaos of confused phantasmagoria blurred my mind in those first -horrible moments.... I saw the old priest, so solemnly, humbly -supplicating his gods as he officiated at this gruesome pagan -ceremony ... then I could envisage us being carried off, back to the -Org village where the people, not worthy of being here in the sacred -temple, were so eagerly awaiting us ... then the orgy--sacred feast, -endowing its participants with what future virtues and panaceas they -conceived their gods would give them.... - -The end, for us.... Already Jan was pitifully coughing.... But what -was this? I felt a shape stir beside me; a small, slender figure with -dangling hair; I felt trembling fingers fumbling at my bonds. - -Ama! She had crept from a little recess under the giant bulging statue -of the gargoyle god, here on the altar. Ama, who had found a chance to -slip away from the wooing Tahg, and had preceded us here--hiding up -here so that she might try and release us.... - -But it was too late now. So obviously too late! She had accomplished -nothing, save to immolate herself here with us! - -Into my ear her terrified voice was whispering, "I thought that the -fire-males would not come so soon." - -In the blurring, blasting heat and smoke, she had untied us, but of -what use? "No--no chance to try and jump," she stammered. "As we fell -they would leap upon us--kill us in a moment--" - -The sizzling, crackling of the flames--the gibbering baying of the -fire-mimes mingling with the incantations of the old priest--it was -all a blurred chaos.... Then suddenly I was aware that Jan, coughing, -choking, had struggled half erect on the slab. There was just an -instant when I saw his contorted face, painted lurid by the flames. -Wild despairing desperation was stamped there. But there was something -else. An exaltation.... - -"You--run--" he gasped. - -And then he jumped. A wild, desperate leap, upward and outward.... It -carried him through the curtain of flame and out some ten feet to the -temple floor. The thud of his crashing body mingled with the gibbering -yelps of the fire-mimes as they whirled and pounced upon him--all of -them in a second, merged into a great blob of flame out there on the -temple floor where they fought, scrambling over him, ripping--tearing-- - -Gruesome horror.... I knew in that second that already Jan was dead.... -And then I was aware that the other side of the altar, behind the -gargoyle image, was momentarily completely dark. All the flaming -creatures were fighting over Jan's body. Torrence, too, had realized -it. I saw him stagger up and jump into the darkness. I shoved at Ama; -rolled and tumbled her off the slab. We fell in a heap and scrambled -erect. The pawing, snarling group of fire-mimes, twenty feet away with -the big altar slab intervening, intent upon their scattering fragments, -for that moment did not heed us. On his little dais by the wall, the -old priest had turned and was standing numbed, confused. There was no -one else in the sacred temple. The single doorway was a vertical slit -of darkness. Already Torrence was running for it. I clutched at Ama and -we ran. - - * * * * * - -Out into the rocky blackness. I recall that I had the wits to turn us -away from where the Org village lay nearby, behind the hillock.... -Then, suddenly, from behind a crag, a dark figure rose up. Tahg! Tahg, -who had been crouching here, evidently impatient for his feast so that -he would be the first to see us as we were brought from the temple.... - -He stood gasping, startled; and in that same second I was upon him, my -fist crashing into his face so that he went backward and down. With -desperate haste I caught up a rock from the ground--pounded it on -his head--wildly pounding until his skull smashed.... Then I was up, -clutching Ama. Torrence already was ten or twenty feet ahead of us in -the darkness. We ran after him; he heard us coming and waited. - -"Which way?" he gasped. "She ought to know. Our spaceship--that would -be best--" - -At the door of the temple the old priest now was standing screaming. -From behind the little hill, answering shouts were responding.... - -"Is it closer to your village, or to our ship?" I demanded of Ama. - -"Why--why to your ship, I think." - -"You know the way?" - -"Yes--yes, I think so. Not to where you landed--that I do not know. But -to the Roberts' ship--" - -And the Orgs doubtless would consider that we would head into the Senza -country. The forests in that direction would be full of roaming Orgs -hunting us.... - -She and I and Torrence ran, plunging wildly forward in the rocky -darkness, with the lights and the turmoil behind us presently fading -away into the heavy blank silence of the Vulcan night.... - - * * * * * - -I think that there is little I need add. It was a long, arduous -journey, but we reached our little spaceship safely. And in a moment, -with the rocket-streams shoving downward and with the lower-hull -gravity plates in neutral, slowly we were rising into the cloudy -darkness. - -"You will take me to my people?" Ama said anxiously. "You did promise -me--" - -"Yes, of course, Ama--we'll land you near your village--" - -Queerly enough, it was not until that moment after all the tumultuous -events which had engulfed us, that suddenly I remembered the deposits -of _allurite_ which we had hoped to locate upon Vulcan. If I could -take back samples of the ore--to my sponsors that doubtless would -be considered the major success--the only success indeed--of my -expedition.... It occurred to me then that we could land at the Senza -village, and for a little time, prospect from there.... - -But even that plan was doomed to frustration. I mentioned it to -Torrence. "We should head for Earth," he said dogmatically. "I have had -enough of this." - -It was then, before we had gone far toward the Senza country, that -I noticed the rocket streams were acting queerly. A seeming lack of -power.... Torrence had gone down into the hull; he came back presently -to the turret. - -"The Pelletier rotators are slowing," I said. "What's the matter?" - -He shook his head. "I noticed it," he said. "Haven't found out yet. You -want to come and look?" - -I locked the controls, left Ama and went down into the hull with -Torrence. In the dim mechanism cubby, as I bent over the Pelletier -mechanisms, suddenly Torrence leaped on me! It came as quickly, -unexpectedly as that. The culmination of his brooding, murderous, -cowardly plans. His heavy face was contorted, his eyes blazing. In his -hand he held a sliver of metal arrow. It was bent, doubled over, so -that all this time he had been able to keep it hidden in his clothes. -The arrow he had taken from Roberts' body, as it lay there near the -bow of the wrecked spaceship! The little light in the mechanism cubby -gleamed on it now; glistened on the green and red spots of the sleek, -sand-colored metal. _Allurite!_ The precious substance--not an alloy, -not a low-grade _allurium_ ore, but _allurite_ in its pure state! On -Earth this single bent little arrow could be worth a fortune! - -And the frenzied Torrence was gloating: "See it, you damn fool--your -_allurite_--right under your nose all the time! And now it's mine--" -In that second he would have plunged the needle-sharp arrow-point like -a stilletto into my heart. But his own frenzied, murderous hysteria -defeated him. My fist struck his wrist, knocked his stab-thrust away, -with the arrow clattering to the floor. And then I had him by the -throat, strangling him until he yielded and I tied him up.... - -As you who read this, of course, already know from the news reports, I -dropped Ama near the edge of the Senza village. I recall now how she -stood in the Vulcan night, in the torchlight with the excited crowd of -her people behind her; the last I saw of Vulcan was the little figure -of her waving at me as I rose into the leaden sky and headed back for -Earth.... Maybe--just maybe--I'll return someday to that land where Jan -gave his life that his friends might live. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Flame Breathers, by Ray Cummings - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FLAME BREATHERS *** - -***** This file should be named 62621.txt or 62621.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/6/2/62621/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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