CHURCH STREET.
The half-timbered house, conspicuous by its gables, on the right hand side, formed a portion of Jones’s Mansion. It was erected by Thomas Jones, Esq., the first Mayor of Shrewsbury, son of Sir Thomas Jones, Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. It was the residence of the Duke of York in 1642, and of Prince Rupert “when he joined his uncle after the brilliant action of Worcester.” The Church a few yards further on is
ST. ALKMUND’S CHURCH,
which had its foundation early in the 10th century. St. Alkmund was the son of Alured, King of Northumberland. He was slain in the year 800 and buried at Lilleshall. The church dedicated to him is supposed to have been founded by Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great. Her nephew, King Edgar, a descendant of Alured, increased the original endowment. Like St. Mary’s it was collegiate, and in the time of Edward the Confessor had eleven manors, which, however, were transferred by King Stephen at the request of Richard de Belemis, one of the Deans, to the Abbey or monastery at Lilleshall. The college being thus both dissolved and impoverished was reduced into a vicarage and lapsed to the crown, in whose hands the living now remains. The church was destroyed in 1794 under a mistaken apprehension as to its stability, and the existing edifice erected in 1796. In a vault beneath it lie the remains of Sir Thomas Jones, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, who died in 1672; and of Thomas Jones, Esq., his son, to whom reference has already been made, who represented the town in Parliament, and died in 1715, and of whom it is said that his “strict piety, exemplary virtue, and extensive charity consigned him to a joyful resurrection!” A legend relates that in 1533, on twelve successive days, and while the priest was at high mass, the devil appeared in St. Alkmund’s Church, and that this preternatural visitation was accompanied with great darkness and tempest. Poor Trotty Veck in the Chimes thinks that the bells are full of life, that they are under the control of a goblin, and that innumerable little goblins play upon them, leap and fly from them, gambol in and round about them. Trotty is not far wrong: at least three centuries ago there was a goblin in St. Alkmund’s bells, and he tingled the wires of the clock, and he imprinted his claws on the fourth bell, and he carried away one of the pinnacles coolly esconsed under his arm, and, worse than all, he for a time stopped all the bells in Shrewsbury, so that there was no ringing, tolling, chiming or pealing! There can be no doubt about it. Retracing our steps through Church Street we come out upon
DOGPOLE,
or, as it used to be written, Doggepole, Dokepoll. “What an outlandish name!” cries the visitor. It is a strange name, but it expresses a natural fact. Two interpretations have been given to it—one that attributes it to the circumstance of a collection of water having existed in the neighbourhood centuries ago—another that discovers its derivation in Ducken, to bend or stoop, or Duick, to duck one’s head, to stoop, and poll, or summit. Dogpole is the head of a bank of steep descent—the Wyle Cop, which leads to the river. The neat structure on the right about half-way down is the Tabernacle of the Welsh Independents, built as a memorial of 1662 and adjoining it is the Shropshire Eve and Ear Hospital, an institution supported entirely by voluntary contributions, which is, however, soon to be supplanted by the extremely handsome structure now in course of erection as a new Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, in Murivance, opposite Allatt’s School. At the bottom of Dogpole we turn to the right and enter
HIGH STREET,
which formerly bore the name of Baker’s Row, probably because it had the honour of containing most of the baker’s shops. On the right is
S. JULIAN’S CHURCH.
It is uncertain when and by whom the church was built. It is only certain that it was erected during the Saxon period. It is distinguished in several reigns as a royal free chapel, and is styled “The Church of St. Juliana, the Virgin.” In 1223 Henry III. attached to it the chapel of Ford; but Henry IV. annexed its revenues, with those of St. Michael’s “in the Castle”—a foundation now destroyed—to the new college of Battlefield, “reserving only a small allowance for the minister.” The first structure was Anglo-Norman, but having become dilapidated, was, with the exception of the tower, taken down in 1748. The foundation stone of the present structure was laid in August of the same year. The first service was held in August, 1750. The exterior of the southern side was considerably altered and improved in 1846–47 through the generosity of the late Rev. R. Scott. Opposite St. Julian’s Church, at the entrance of Milk Street, is an old stone building which has seen remarkable changes of fortune. Anciently and originally it was the
HALL OF THE CLOTHWORKERS OR SHEARMEN,
a company which was incorporated in the reign of Edward IV. The feast day was on June 6th, and the apprentices up to the year 1588 used to set up a green tree “decked with garlands gay” before the hall, around which there was great rejoicing, coquetting, vowing, dancing and other festive proceedings. But in 1588 the custom ceased. The “green tree,” or Maypole was not enough. A bon-fire was added, and a disturbance ensued among the crowd. The Rev. Mr. Tomkies, a minister of St. Mary’s, appeared among the excited company, but his persuasions to peace only exasperated them. The Bailiffs were compelled to interfere, and henceforth the practice was discontinued. In the time of Elizabeth six hundred shearmen were employed here in dressing the wool on one side of a coarse material called Welsh webs, which were brought, chiefly from Montgomeryshire, to a market then held every week in the town. The process having been found to weaken the texture of the cloths, the occupation of the company was gone. From manufacturing purposes the hall was turned into a theatre, then converted to a Wesleyan place of worship, then secularized into an assembly room, then elevated into an assize court, then utilized into a shop, and, lastly, transformed into an auction mart. Proceeding up the street we presently see
OLD ST. CHAD’S CHURCH.
The foundation is attributed to one of the Mercian kings who built it upon the site of a palace belonging to the Princes of Powis which was burned down by the Saxons. It was a collegiate church, and had a dean and ten prebendaries. It was partially destroyed by fire in 1393 through the negligence of one John Plomer, a workman, who carelessly left his fire while he was engaged in repairing the leads. Plomer, seeing the result of his thoughtlessness, endeavoured to make his escape, but in running near the Severn was drowned—as a judgment? In consideration of the damage thus sustained Richard II. graciously granted to the inhabitants a remission of their fee-farm rent, and exemption for three years from the payment of taxes upon the understanding that they should re-build the edifice. This they did. In 1547, by order of the bailiffs of the town, the pictures of Mary Magdalene and of St. Chad were removed from the church and burned in the Market Square. On July 9th, 1788, another disaster befell this unfortunate structure. Its decayed tower, shaken by the vibrations occasioned by the chimes, suddenly fell down, and crushed the nave and transepts into fearful desolation. Some masons who were at work upon it fortunately escaped. The church was restored in 1796. The interior, which contains a number of monuments, one to the memory of the celebrated Rev. Job Orton amongst others, has recently been improved and modernised. In the churchyard several members of well-known county families have received interment, such as Lyster, Vincent Corbett of Moreton Corbett, Hugh Owen, M.D., Mytton, Burton, Ireland, Dr. Rowland Lee, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry and Lord President of the Marches, and Captain Benbow, the officer who was shot in 1651. Benbow’s grave is at the end of the pathway adjacent to Belmont.
It was in this church that the dawning light of the Reformation first beamed in Shrewsbury. That light gleamed in the preaching of William Thorpe, an ardent follower of Wickliffe. He denounced the dogmas of the Romish Church with the fervour common to the early Reformers. For his preaching he was confined in the prison here, and then removed to London to be examined by the archbishop, who, it is conjectured, granted him his liberty.
At the south-east of the churchyard up to the year 1858, stood or rather were propped up and made to stand, St. Chad’s Almshouses—worn, ruinous cottages, which served admirably for the purposes of animated nature. They were founded in 1409 for old men and women by Bennet Tupton, a public brewer. The following story, relative to Mr. Tupton and his daughter, is interesting:—“This yeare, 1424, and in the second yeare of King Henry 6th, one Bennet Tupton, beere brewer, dyed, who dwellyd in a brue house in St. Chad’s Church Yard in Shrewsbury, which afterwards was, and now of late days is, called the Colledge,” and was buried in St. Chad’s Church. “He left behynd hym a daughter of his namy’d Blase Tupton, who came by chance to be a leper, and made the ‘oryell’ which goeth along the west syde of the sayde church yard, and so came aloft to hear service through a door made in the church wall, and so passed usually upon the leadder unto a glass window through which she dayly saw and dayly hurde servys as long as she lyvyd.” The houses were demolished in 1858.
From this church we turn down a passage on the right hand side of the street, called now Golden Cross Passage. Formerly it was denominated Sextry Passage, a corruption of Sacristy. The sacristy of the church is supposed to have been situated within it. The “Golden Cross” inn appears to have been a tavern in 1495, the proof being that in that year 13s. 2d. is said in the archives of the Corporation to have been expended “for wine on the king’s gentlemen in the sextrie.”
Emerging into High Street again we walk a few yards down, and on the left hand come to the Unitarian Chapel, which was formed on October 25th, 1691, by the Rev. John Bryan, M.A., ejected from St. Chad’s, and the Rev. Francis Tallents, ejected from St. Mary’s, in 1662, for the use of a Presbyterian congregation. One of the successors of the founders was the Rev. Job Orton, who ministered from 1741 to 1766, when he removed to Kidderminster. Shortly after his removal a secession took place, which resulted in the formation of the Independent Church, Swan Hill. That “divine madman,” Coleridge, preached in the High Street Chapel, and Hazlitt walked from Wem to hear him.
Further down the street, and on the right hand side, at the bottom of Grope Lane is what was once the Mercers’ Hall. A few paces beyond is a fine Elizabethan house now establishment of Mr. Springford, mercer, which for a long period prior to the present century was set apart as the Judges’ Lodgings. The large square opposite is the
MARKET SQUARE.
Conspicuous is the statute of Lord Clive, from a model by Baron Marochetti. As a work of art it has received high commendation; as a public monument it would be attractive if it were not bare—it would be an ornament if it were not destitute of all those auxiliaries which give to such objects a handsome finish. The magnificent stone building on the left is the County Hall, built at a cost of £12,000, and opened at the March assizes, 1837. This handsome edifice was unfortunately nearly completely destroyed by fire on the 17th November, 1880. Near it is the old Market House, a structure which presents a fine appearance, and which for ornamental decoration is not surpassed, if equalled, by any edifice of the same kind in any town in the kingdom. It was built in 1596, and the fact is recorded in an inscription above the front arch:—“The xvth day of June was this building begun, William Jones and Thomas Charlton, Gent, bailiffs, and was erected and covered in their time. 1596.” On the site there had stood five timber houses, two of which were erected in 1567 by Alderman John Dawes for “the saffe placinge of corn from wether, so that the owners thereof may stannd saffe and drye,” and the other three by Mr. Humphrey Onslow in 1571. Immediately over the inscription just quoted is a tabernacled niche containing a statue and arms. Various have been the conjectures as to the personage represented by the statue. Some say that it is the Black Prince; others that it is Llewellyn, Prince of Wales; others again that it is Llewellyn’s brother David, who was executed at the High Cross; others that it is Prince Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII. Roger Coke alludes to one of these opinions when, speaking of General Monk’s purpose to restore Charles II., he says, “and the end for which a free Parliament was called was interpreted by hanging out the king’s picture, which was no less gazed upon by the Londoners than by the Welshmen at King Taffey’s effigies on the Welsh gate, Shrewsbury.” The gate referred to stood on the old Welsh Bridge, over which, in a niche, was this identical statue, and when the tower which surmounted the gate was destroyed about 1770, the statue was removed to the Market Hall. The general belief is that the statue represents Richard, Duke of York, father of Edward IV. Vexed by all this uncertainty, has not the antiquarian reason to mournfully sigh,
“O that those lips had language.”
Several notable incidents have occurred in the Market Square. In 1547 the pictures of Our Lady from St. Mary’s Church, of Mary Magdalene and of St. Chad from St. Chad’s Church, were publicly burned here because they were supposed to be coloured with Popery. In 1579, on the 18th of August, the assizes were held in this place, “open and in the face of day.” The judicial bench consisted of the scaffolding of some new building, and from this dignified seat justice was dispensed. On the 17th of July, 1584, the public were entertained with a play performed in the Square by a company belonging to the Earl of Essex. Six years later, in the month of July, 1590, there was more public acting. A platform was erected for feats of skill, and a Hungarian, with a number of the Queen’s players, succeeded in some extraordinary achievements in the way of tumbling, rope-dancing—achievements of such an astonishing sort that “the like had never before been seen in Shrewsbury.” In the latter part of December, 1740, a portion of the roof of the Market Hall fell down, destroying life and property to the enormous extent of two millers’ horses, which were so inconsiderate as to stand underneath the covering. Thus this central part of the town reveals to us the development of local history. Once it presented a proof of an apprehension of Popery which led to an act of bigotry, then it marked the administration of justice, then it afforded room for the histrionic art, and then it was the stage for introducing to the good folk of Shrewsbury some wonderful gymnastic games.
The immediate vicinity of the Square is rich in antique buildings. The Mercer’s Hall and the old Judges’ Lodgings have already been just glanced at. Now, in turning to the left opposite the latter another fine old structure presents itself. It is Ireland’s Mansion, erected about 1570 as the town residence of the ancient family of Ireland. It was, of course, one house only, but it is now divided into three. Still keeping to the left we find ourselves in front of
THE NEW MARKET,
a handsome and commodious building, designed by Mr. Robert Griffiths, of Stafford, and constructed by Mr. Barlow, of Stoke-upon-Trent. The foundation stone was laid in 1867 by Mr. John Thomas Nightingale, then mayor of the borough. The total cost reached a sum not far short of £50,000. The market supplies a great and long-felt want, and, architecturally, adds to the attractions of the town. The Market brings us into
SHOPLATCH
—another peculiar name. In the time of Edward II. the appellation was written Sheteplach, then Sotteplace and Soetteplace, probably pronounced in accordance with the usage of the period, Shottplace. The name was derived from that of the Salopian family of Soto who had their residence here, and whose house—a portion of which still remains in a passage on the left—formed the principal property in the street. One chronicler indulges the fancy that the origin of the first syllable, Shop, Sotte, may be found in sote, which Chaucer uses for sweet, and that the place may have been called Sotteplace from its situation or conveniences. Unfortunately we are bound to reject this poetic derivation of the name, and accept the more common-place and prosaic etymology.
A few steps from the termination of Shoplatch stands The Theatre, at the bottom of
ST. JOHN’S HILL.
It was formerly called Chorlton Hall, from the fact of it having been for several centuries the residence and property of the family of Chorlton, who were Lords of Powis. The exact time of its erection is unknown, but in the year 1326 it was held by John de Charlton, who, by the permission of Edward II., fortified it with an embattled stone wall. It fell into a ruinous state, and remained neglected until it was purchased about 1830 by Mr. Henry Bennett, who raised it, and then erected upon the site the existing theatre. The exterior, adorned in its three niches with statues of Shakespeare and of the comic and tragic muse, has a neat appearance, and the interior is admirably adapted for dramatic purposes.
By way of contrast to the theatre is the Wesleyan Chapel, which stands on the right about the centre of St. Johns Hill, and a few yards higher up is another building formerly a chapel, “hid from view” in a passage, built for the Quakers in 1746, but now used as a meeting place for the Atcham Board of Guardians. Leaving, however, an inspection of these we cross the road from the theatre and walk down
BELLSTONE,
in which is situated the National Provincial Bank. Why is the street called Bellstone? Some think that the denomination anciently was Ben Stone, that Ben was an abbreviation of Benedictine, and that the bank, which is an ancient building, was occupied by some members of the Benedictine order. Others say that the house used to be named The Bent Stone, from the bent appearance of the large stone which then, and now, lies near it. Others, again, conjecture that the stone at one time resembled a bell either in colour or shape, and for that reason the house, and subsequently the locality of the house, came to be called the Bell Stone, that is, the house at or near the Bell Stone. The hill on the left is called
CLAREMONT HILL,
anciently Claro Monte. On the top of it there was in the days of old, a gate, as an entrance to the town, which was often called Gatepoll, from poll, an obsolete word for summit, Claremont Hill being the highest part of the town walls.
The long narrow street in a direct line from Bellstone is
BARKER STREET,
which in the infancy of our history bore the more aristocratic title of Romboldesham, Rumaldesham, and Romboldi, the three names being used indiscriminately in various reigns. The modern term is simply an equivalent for Tanners’ Street. We only take a look down Barker Street, and then turn to the right into
CLAREMONT STREET,
once known by the euphonious title of Doglane. Here we see on the left the oldest Baptist Chapel in Shrewsbury, built in 1780. A Baptist church, however, was formed in Shrewsbury as early as 1620. The chapel was enlarged in 1810, and modernised and renovated in 1867. From Claremont Street we reach
MARDOL,
or, as it was anciently written, Marlesford, Mardefole, and in the time of Henry VIII. Mardvole, from the name of the ford through the Severn, Mar, and Leas (or pastures), which is by interpretation, the ford at the marly pastures. There is no object of historical interest in this thoroughfare, but in the lane about half way down, called
HILL’S LANE,
on the left is a memorial of antiquity in the shape of an old structure known as Rowley’s Mansion, which is said to be the first brick building erected in Shrewsbury. It was built in 1618 by William Rowley, a draper, who was admitted a burgess of the town in 1594 and created an alderman in 1633. His granddaughter married John Hill, Esq., who lived in the mansion in splendid hospitality, and in honour of whom the name of the street was changed from Knockin Street to Hill’s Lane. It is now used as a general storehouse, and the moderns with their barbarous notions of utility have removed the curious portal, the devices in stucco from the great chamber, the oak wainscotting, and the mullions from the windows. Adjoining it is a chapel belonging to the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists.
Returning to Mardol we continue our observations by turning to the left. At the bottom of Mardol on the right is the comparatively new Smithfield Road, opened in 1850, as an ingress from the western portion of the county to the cattle market. It leads to the station, and to the suburbs of Coton Hill and Castle Foregate.
The Quay on the right was built by Mr. Rowland Jenks in 1607, and Mr. Jenks was ordered by the Corporation “to permit all manner of barges, of all persons, to load at the said Quay, taking for every barge load of wood or coal twelvepence, for a ton of other goods—off a burgess twopence, and off a foreigner fourpence.” A few yards beyond, but on the other side of the street, just as we enter Bridge Street, are St. Chad’s Parochial Schools, built and opened in 1865 at a cost of £3,230.
Of course, the principal object here is the
WELSH BRIDGE.
In the reign of Henry II. it was called St. George’s Bridge. Why? Because St. George’s Chapel, with the Hospital of St. John to which the chapel was annexed—both were taken down early in the time of Elizabeth—was situated near it, in that portion now distinguished by the exquisite appellation of The Stew. The name was altered to indicate its geographical position as the road which leads to North Wales. It is conjectured that St. George’s Bridge was built by Edward IV. It consisted of seven arches, and had a gate at each end. The gate at the Welsh or Frankwell end was secured by an outwork, and over it was the statue of a man in armour which has been referred to as having been transferred to the Market Hall. The gate at the Mardol end of the bridge was surmounted by a massive tower with a house and battlement. The tower was destroyed about 1770, and the bridge itself, damaged by the frequent floods, was demolished immediately after. A contribution was then started for the erection of a new one. The Corporation liberally gave £4,000, and in a short time the necessary sum of £8,000, was procured upon the voluntary principle. The stone was laid in 1793, and the structure completed in 1795. It has five semi-circular arches, a fine balustrade, is 266 feet in length, and 30 feet in breadth. At the end of the bridge we come into
FRANKWELL,
from Frankville, the villa, residence, or town of the Franks who, according to Domesday book, inhabited forty-five burgesses’ houses in this portion of the town. We glance to the right, and see a neat chapel belonging to the Welsh Presbyterians, usually called Frankwell Chapel. Our way, however, lies to the left, and we proceed until we reach on the right
ST. GEORGE’S CHURCH,
dedicated to the tutelar saint of England from the fact of its proximity to the Chapel of St. George. It was built in 1832 by public subscription. It is cruciform in plan, and has a small tower at the west end. The style, with the exception of the tower, is the lancet, or early-pointed. It will accommodate about 760 persons, and 460 of the sittings are free and unappropriated. From St. George’s Church we step back again into the main street, and instead of going on to the Mount where Cadogan’s Fort stood, we cross to the right by the “String of Horses,” a half-timbered gabled building erected in 1576. Proceeding on we pass Chapel Yard, so called from its having been the yard attached to Cadogan’s Chapel, and arrive at
MILLINGTON’S HOSPITAL,
a beautiful structure in a beautiful situation. It consists of a pedimented front, surmounted by an open cupola, and a portico, flanked by wings, forming dwellings for the poor. The Chapel, which is also used as a schoolroom, is in the centre. It contains a portrait of the founder, Mr. James Millington, draper, of Shrewsbury, who built and endowed it in 1734. After the death of Mr. Millington, who bequeathed his entire fortune to it, the landed estate was disputed in Chancery, and went to the heirs-at-law, the personal property being assigned to the support of the charity. There are a schoolmaster and schoolmistress who reside on the premises, and a chaplain who reads prayers daily. The resident hospitallers number twelve old men or women who are selected out of Frankwell, and who, in addition to the apartments, receive annual gratuities of gowns and coats, coals and money, and a weekly quantity of bread. A number of boys and girls receive their education at the hospital, and are afterwards apprenticed or sent out as servants. Both boys and girls receive gifts of money on their “entering into the business of life,” and rewards are given to those who can produce certificates of good conduct during a certain period of service.
A little further on are the new Barracks or Brigade Depôt, built at a very large cost, and opened in 1880.
In the extremity of Frankwell beyond Millington’s Hospital there is nothing worthy of our attention; and, therefore, keeping to the left, we hasten to the bottom of Port Hill where we call out “boat!” and are ferried across the Severn to land in
THE QUARRY,
One of the most pleasant walks in the kingdom. It consists of a tract of meadow ground, twenty-three acres in extent. Its situation, its surroundings, its scenery are extremely beautiful, and constitute it a most attractive and delightful promenade. The bank which skirts the Severn is adorned with a graceful avenue of lime trees, extending 450 yards in length, and forming in the intertwining of their lofty branches a natural arcade. The Quarry, which should be a thing of beauty and a joy for ever to the inhabitants, is resorted to, as a rule, only by a few of the residents, most of whom, from their familiarity with it, do not appreciate its charms, but from the stranger the spectacle of so enjoyable and poetic a spot always elicits expressions of admiration. The beauty that every day lies at our own door is often no beauty at all. The Quarry derives its name from a small quarry of red sandstone, formerly worked in what is now called the Dingle. The trees in the lower walk were planted by Mr. Henry Jenks, Mayor, in 1719. The three walks, graced in a similar manner, serve as approaches from the town. In 1569 the Quarry was leased to three burgesses for ten years at a nominal rent upon their undertaking to bring the water from near Crow Meole to Shrewsbury. They fulfilled the condition by laying down leaden pipes, and the work was completed in 1574, in which year Shrewsbury was first supplied with what is now popularly known as “conduit water.” In that year the conduits at Mardol Head, Market Square, High Street, and Wyle Cop were erected and opened. The Quarry has been used for various purposes. In the reign of James I. it was used “for agisting of cattle, for musters of soldiers, and other laudable exercises and recreations.” It is easy to infer from the brutal and coarse pastimes of the period what the “laudable exercises” were, but in truth, the uncertainty of inference is removed by the positiveness of fact, for in the same reign the Quarry was used for “bull-baitings, stage-plays, &c., by consent of the bailiffs,” who, of course, found in this corrupt and debased taste a source of profit to the borough revenue. The stage plays performed here—in that portion which is in the shape of an amphitheatre and is styled the Dingle—were of the nature of those common in the early age of the English theatre. They belonged to the class of Mysteries—a class of a low, vicious, profane, and often blasphemous character. Amongst others Julian the Apostate was performed here in 1565, and it is said that, notwithstanding its utter grossness, it was “listened to with admiration and devotion.” Two years later, in 1567, there was given a representation of the Passion and Crucifixion of Christ, and the actor who took the principal part was killed by being speared in the heart by mistake. An horrible barbarity was committed in the Dingle in 1647, when, on December 24th, a woman was burned to death for having poisoned her husband. Very considerable improvements have been recently made in the Quarry by the erection of a Band Stand, new Entrance Gates, and the transformation of the Dingle into a well ordered pleasure garden, with seats, grottos, ornamental water, &c., the cost of these great improvements has been mainly defrayed by the Horticultural Society whose annual fêtes are looked forward to with the “sweet pleasures of anticipation” by thousands.
The fine brick building on the eminence opposite the Quarry on the other side of the Severn is the new premises for Shrewsbury School, fronted by a wide terrace, and commanding an extensive landscape in both front and rear. The building which cost £12,000, was commenced in 1760, and opened in 1765 for the reception of orphans from the Foundling Hospital in London. It has been appropriated for different purposes from time to time. Becoming disused by the managers of the Foundling Hospital it was for some time uninhabited. A portion of it was then taken as a woollen manufactory, and while one section was thus devoted to business, another was let out in apartments to valetudinarians who in the summer months retired from the town to seek pleasure and health in this beautiful district. It was also used as a place of confinement for Dutch prisoners captured in the American war; and then, in 1784, it was converted to something approaching its original purpose by being purchased under an Act of Parliament for incorporating the town parishes and that of Meole Brace with the object of maintaining the poor. At the rear of the buildings is
KINGSLAND,
an extensive piece of ground, the property of the Corporation. It is supposed to have originally belonged to the Crown—hence its name—and to have been granted by the Crown to the Corporation. In 1529 it was let for pasture at £3 per year—a price which must make modern tenants wish that history might repeat itself. In 1586 it was ordered to be, and was, enclosed. It is a healthy and almost arcadian spot, “beautiful for situation.” There is no locality in the town so well adapted for villa residences.
Once a year, we are reminded, there was something else—Shrewsbury Show, a pageant which showed the degeneracy of the past. With the exception of the Coventry festival and the Preston guild it was the only one of its kind in the kingdom. What was the Show? It was the remnant of a feast religiously observed by the Romish Church, and styled Corpus Christi the feast of the body of Christ. It consisted of a solemn procession, in which the several incorporated companies of the town, preceded by the masters and wardens, attended by the bailiffs, aldermen, and commonalty, and accompanied by priests, who carried the Holy Sacrament under a gorgeous canopy, marched to old St. Chad’s Church, where mass was said amidst the richest and costliest treasures of the church. The religious part of the ceremony was abolished at the Reformation; but the members of the companies, though prohibited from attending mass, resolved to retain as much of the imposing custom as they could. They therefore continued the procession, which they determined upon having on the second Monday after Trinity Sunday. They possessed on Kingsland small parcels of land which the Corporation had allotted to and enclosed for them, and on which they had erected arbours as places of resort, of feasting, and of pastime. They therefore selected Kingsland as the destiny of the procession, and, arrived there, they entertained each other in almost princely style, and indulged in the recreations of the time. The anniversary until very recently was observed, but it was a sorry picture of the old festivities. The procession, which was made up of bands of music, flags, banners, ancient horses ridden by individuals dressed out as kings, queens, and other notabilities, followed by a number of artisans, was perhaps about the most ludicrous sight which the ingenuity of a buffoon could invent. It was a ridiculous travesty of the ancient spectacle; and its concomitants, its influence, and its results are best described in the (slightly altered) words of Hamlet:
The people wake to-day and take their rouse,
Keep wassail, and the swaggering up-spring reels;
And, as they drain their draughts of Rhenish down,
The kettle-drum and trumpet thus bray out
The triumph of their pledge.
Is it a custom?
Ay, marry, is’t;
But to my mind, though I am native here
And to the manner born, it is a custom
More honour’d in the breach than the observance.
This heavy-headed revel east and west
Makes us traduced and tax’d of other people:
They clepe us drunkards, and with swinish phrase
Soil our addition.
Leaving the scene of so much that is gay and festive, and that unites the present with the past, we re-cross the Severn, re-walk a portion of the Quarry, and ascend the magnificent centre avenue. The church before us is
NEW ST. CHAD’S,
built at a cost of £19,352, and consecrated on August 19th, 1792. It is considered the principal church of the town, is used on all public occasions, such as the assizes and the anniversary of the Infirmary, and is the place where the archdeacon holds his visitations, but being one of the most modern of the parish churches, it has the least historical interest. The general effect of the interior is imposing, the stained windows and monuments giving it a gorgeous appearance.
From here we take our course “right on,” turning neither to the right for the Quarry again nor to the left for St. John’s Hill, we enter upon Murivance, a name denoting before or within the walls. It is supposed that when the town was first fortified Murivance was selected as the place of parade for the military defenders of the town. On the left is
ALLATT’S SCHOOL,
founded and endowed by Mr. John Allatt, gentleman. It was built in 1800, and cost £2,000. There are two houses for the master and mistress. Forty boys and forty girls are educated and clothed here, and then sent out to situations, and coats and gowns are annually distributed among a number of poor men and women.
Opposite is the New Eye and Ear Hospital, a most ornate structure, and the entrance of the New Bridge to Kingsland.
Still on the left, at the turning for Swan Hill—so called from the Swan public-house which was formerly at the bottom—is the Independent Chapel, the oldest of the three Independent chapels in Shrewsbury. It was erected in 1766 by seceders from the High Street church, and has been re-built a few years ago. Further on, on the right is the chapel of the Methodist New Connexion, erected in 1834, at a cost of £1,500. In close proximity to this edifice is an antique tower, the only vestige that remains of twenty which formerly fortified the town walls. It is square, three storeys high, embattled at the summit, and lighted by narrow square windows. Those walls, which we now reach, were built by Henry III. to fortify the town against the inroads of the Welsh, and the cost was defrayed partly by the burgesses, and partly from the royal exchequer. On the left is the Roman Catholic Cathedral, built of freestone, in the style of the early decorated period. It consists of a nave, chancel, side aisles, chapel, &c., and is connected with the residence of the officiating priest by a cloister. At the termination of the walls begins
BEECHES LANE,
sometimes called the Back Lane. This singular appellation is a corruption of Bispetan, Bushpestanes, which may also be a corruption of Bishop’s Town, or Bishop’s Stone, Beeches Lane, having, it is conjectured, been either the residence or the property of the bishop of the diocese, who is said in Domesday book to have possessed sixteen dwelling-houses in Shrewsbury. The gradual change appears, from old deeds, to have been in this order—Bispetan, Bipstan, Biston’s Lane, Beeches Lane. On the left is
BOWDLER’S SCHOOL,
an oblong building, with a glazed cupola in the centre. It was founded in 1724, under the will of Mr. Thomas Bowdler, an alderman and draper of Shrewsbury, who left £1,000 to erect and endow the institution for the education of the poor children of the parish of St. Julian. The late Professor Lee was a schoolmaster of this foundation. Pursuing our walk in a straight route we arrive at the
ENGLISH BRIDGE,
a structure of great beauty. The first bridge which spanned the river here was probably erected by the founder of the Abbey, Roger de Montgomery. At any rate the abbots and the Corporation were continually disputing about the liability to the repairs of the bridge, and the contention was temporarily closed by the abbots consenting to repair the Abbey Foregate end, and the Corporation agreeing to repair the town end. Henry VIII. by a stroke of policy—by remitting some taxes—got the Corporation to relieve the abbots of all responsibility and to take the entire repairs into their own hands. About the middle of the last century, the bridge being considerably damaged, it was determined to take it down, and in 1765 a subscription was commenced to widen and strengthen it. In 1767, on the 9th of June, the first stone of the extension was laid by Edward Smythe, Esq., son of Sir Edward Smythe, of Acton Burnell. It was discovered, however, that beneath the causeway there was another causeway and channel, the lower part of the Wyle Cop which had been raised at some previous period. The plan of widening was therefore abandoned, and a new bridge was decided upon. In the next year, 1768, the old bridge was taken down, subscriptions flowed in abundantly, and on Thursday, 29th June, 1769, the first stone of the new bridge was laid in “a solemn manner,” amidst the presence of the munificent contributors, by Sir John Astley, Bart, who gave £1,000 towards the cost. The ceremony was supplemented by a dinner at the Raven Hotel. The total expense was nearly £16,000, the whole of which was raised, not by heavy taxation, not by burdensome rates, but by voluntary donations. Among the donors were Lord Clive, Thomas Hill, Esq., the principal gentry of the county, and numbers of public-spirited townsmen. The bridge consists of seven arches, is 410 feet in length, and 35 feet in breadth.
The Gothic edifice on the right is the Abbey Foregate New Church, belonging to the Independents, opened on the 31st of May, 1864. Adjoining it is the National School, for the instruction and clothing of poor children. It was commenced in 1708. Having proceeded a few yards we come to the
ABBEY CHURCH,
perhaps the most interesting ecclesiastical edifice in the county. On the site there stood in the eleventh century a timber church, built by Siward, a Saxon nobleman, and dedicated to St. Peter. In the last quarter of that century Odilirius, “a lover of justice,” who had possession of the humble structure, counselled Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, to build a monastery. The Earl consented, and in 1083 the monastery or abbey was built, and consecrated to St. Peter and St. Paul. St. Paul, however, was served rather scurvily, for the Earl gave the whole of the suburb—then denominated Before Yette—to “the blessed Peter.” The abbey was splendidly endowed by the Earl and by Siward, and in consideration of the endowments the monks were “to diligently pray for their souls, and for the souls of their ancestors and heirs.” These endowments were added to from time to time by several other benefactors, with the same object. Thus Warine, the sheriff of the county gave several hides of land for the salvation of his soul; and after his death, lest he should be in jeopardy, his widow gave her house for his effectual security. Warine’s brother, Reginald, gave a village; Herbert de Ferches a farm; Gerrard de Tourney a village; Randulph de Gernon, Earl of Chester, two houses; and Hugh Pantulf his mills at Sutton “for the salvation of his soul, the soul of his wife, and each of their souls.” These benefactions vastly increased the riches of the abbey, and in consequence of its revenue the abbots were mitred and elevated to the privilege of a seat in the Upper House of Parliament. The value of the monastery was, according to Dugdale, £132 4s. 10d., to Speed £615 4s. 3d. In the twenty-sixth year of Henry VII. the annual income was £572 15s. 5d., a revenue equal to about £4,750 of modern currency. At the time of the dissolution of the monasteries the abbey was suppressed, and the estates and buildings passed into lay hands. Some were sold for the value of the materials, and others were converted into dwellings. Odericus Vitalis, one of the earliest and best of English historians, was educated at this monastery, whither he was sent by his father, priest at Atcham, where he was born in 1074.
In 1728 an incident capable of a modern application occurred here. The clergyman of the parish presented a petition to the bishop praying for the removal out of the church of a picture representing the Saviour upon the cross. The petitioners presented a counter petition; but their memorial failed, and the bishop ordered the picture to be removed. This dispute between the vicar and his flock caused a great sensation, and gave occasion to a number of lampoons. The parishioners attacked the vicar in this style:
The Parson’s the man
Let him say what he can
Will for gain leave his God in the lurch;
Could Iscariot do more
Had it been in his power
Than to turn his Lord out of the church.
The clerical party replied with a good argument:—
The Lord I adore
Is mighty in power,
The one only living and true;
But that Lord of yours
Which was turned out of doors,
Had just as much knowledge as you.But since you bemoan
This God of your own,
Cheer up my disconsolate brother:
Though it seems very odd,
Yet if this be your God
Mr. Burley [51] can make you another.
At the suppression of monasteries in the time of Henry VIII, the entire eastern portion, which constituted two-thirds of the structure, was destroyed. There are remains, however, sufficient to indicate its massiveness and majesty. The most prominent of these is the broad western tower which presents a stately, dignified appearance. There are also the nave and the side aisles; and these with the tower form the present church, which, though with evidences of mutilation, has a venerable aspect, and is characterised by “a noble simplicity combined with a massive solidity.” The three windows are all at present of the Perpendicular style; but there are prints of older date which show the two smaller to have been of a different character. The portal is a deeply recessed semicircular arch, terminating in a pointed doorway. The bellchamber has two windows on each side; between those of the western front, in a canopied niche, is the statue of an armed knight, having a conical basinet encircled by a crown. This figure is with good reason supposed to represent Edward III. in whose reign the tower was probably begun. The south doorway is plain Norman in character, resting on slender shafts, and adjoining is the ruined wall of the transept. The choir having been destroyed the eastern end now terminates in a wall run up between the remains of the two western piers, which supported the central tower. Of course, in the interior the altar stands here, above which are placed Norman windows, containing six figures in stained glass of kings and apostles. They are deep and brilliant in colour, and the drawing is good. Below is a reredos, forming a series of five Norman arches.
The interior of the Abbey is a fine specimen of solid Norman work. The whole is in the massive Norman style except what is beyond the three semicircular arches westward, where there is a very wide pier, on the eastern and western extremities of which are half columns of the arcades, and in the middle is attached a flat pilaster. From hence the nave displays the commencement of a different style, and the Norman gives place to pure Gothic of the fourteenth century. This terminates in a beautiful pointed arch, which divides the tower from the nave, and by the removal of the organ gallery and screen the whole extent of the great western window is now displayed, which certainly imparts a very striking appearance to that portion of the building. The entire window is filled with a series of armorial bearings of some of England’s ancient peerage, as well as a few very modern. It is, in fact, a perfect study of heraldry. There are several monuments of interest, but the most singular is one which stands on the north side of the altar, which at the first view presents the appearance of two tombs, but on examination proves to be only one, the double appearance being given by a centre buttress, which is not carried over the ledge, upon which rest two figures, the head of the one at the feet of the other. They are supposed to represent the “same” individual who had abandoned the military for the eremitical life, but there is not the slightest clue to his name.
The walls of the nave, with the pillars and arches, were, in 1855, cleared of their plaster covering; but such a state of dilapidation was developed as to necessitate a thorough restoration, which has been carefully and effectually carried out. It may be proper to mention that on the fall of St. Chad’s, and the demolition of St. Alkmund’s, the walls of which “were in such a sound state as to require a very great amount of labour to remove them,” several ancient monuments found a place within the walls of the Abbey.
Of the monastic remains there are only “few and far between.” On the south-west of the church is a malthouse which is supposed to have been part of the monks’ infirmary and chapel. A similar building which stood near the street, and a dormitory attached to the south-west side of the church were taken down in 1836 for the formation of a new line of road. The most striking of the remains is the elegant octagonal Stone Pulpit, in a yard on the right. It is thought to have stood within the refectory, and to have been used as the lectern by the junior monks to read from while the elder brethren were enjoying meals in the dining-room. The interior forms an oriel, the roof being vaulted on eight delicate ribs.
From hence we take the road upwards, and call to mind in our walk two notable but not pleasant incidents. The first goes as far back as 1582, in which year, on February 4th, one John Prestige “was hanged upon a gibbet, erected on the green, by the water side, near the Abbey Mill, and opposite his own house, for the murder of his wife, by throwing her over the Stone (the English) Bridge in the Severn: he hung there three days.” The second brings us down to 1774 when, on Good Friday, April 1st, a disastrous fire broke out in the Abbey Foregate by which forty-seven houses, sixteen barns, fifteen stables, four shops, and several stacks of hay were utterly destroyed. This serious conflagration led to the purchase by the Worshipful Company of Drapers of a fire engine, a quantity of buckets and fire hooks, and to the erection of fire plugs for the use of the town. These disagreeable memories are relieved by the sight of
LORD HILL’S COLUMN,
built with Grinshill stone, and said to be the largest Grecian-Doric column in the world. The first stone was laid on the 27th December, 1814, and the last on June 18th, 1816. The total height of the column is 133 feet 6 inches. The colossal statute on the summit was executed from a model by Panzetta. The inscriptions on the pedestal relate the skill and courage displayed by Lieutenant-General Rowland Lord Hill in Spain, Portugal, the South of France, and on the memorable plains of Waterloo. Admission to the Column is obtained by means of a gratuity to the keeper who resides in the adjacent pretty Doric cottage on the left, and from the top a splendid panoramic view of Shropshire rewards the ascender of the winding staircase. To the right of the Column is
ST. GILES’S CHURCH,
built early in the reign of Henry I. for the use of a Hospital of Lepers which stood north-west of the existing edifice, and which was founded by King Henry II. It became parochial about the middle of the fifteenth century when it was united with the parish of Holy Cross within the monastery. It is said that in the reign of Stephen, when the monks obtained the bones of that popular martyr, St. Wenefreda, those relics were deposited on the altar of this church until a shrine worthy of their reception could be prepared within the Abbey. A few yards beyond is the old Militia Depôt, erected in 1806.
Having seen all that is to be seen at this end of the town we return to the Abbey Foregate. About half-way down we diverge to the right and come to
WHITEHALL,
a fine Elizabethan building erected in 1582, by Richard Prince, Esq., a celebrated lawyer. Churchyard speaks of it “so trim and finely that it graceth all the soil it is in.” At a little distance is the Race Course on which Charles I. drew up his army in 1642.
Hastening back towards the town we may turn to the left at the end of the English Bridge for the suburbs of Coleham, Belle Vue, and Meole, where we may see Trinity Church, a plain modern structure, raised in 1837: Belle Vue Cemetery, opened in 1852 for the use of Nonconformists; and the General Parochial Cemetery, opened and consecrated in 1856. Or we may re-cross the bridge, descend the steps on the right, take the pathway on the banks of the Severn, pass under the railway viaduct, inspect the exterior of the County Prison, glance at the British School, All Saints’ Church and Schools, and the Gas Works, thence enter the suburb of Castle Foregate, where a few minutes will suffice to make acquaintance with St. Mary’s and St. Michael’s Schools, with St. Michael’s Church, a neat Doric building erected in 1830. Then we return up Castle Foregate, turn to the right by the railway bridge, and enter the suburb of Coton Hill. In the Royal Baths on the right we may have a refreshing plunge if the weather is warm. Beyond the Baths we see on the right a clump of sycamore trees, denoting the site of the house where Admiral Benbow was born in 1650. In 1698 Admiral Benbow visited Shrewsbury, and was entertained by the Corporation.
It may be mentioned here that in 1606 a considerable portion of Coton Hill was burnt down, “the houses being set on fire by John Tench’s wife.”
We return by way of Chester Street to the station, where our run through the town commenced and where it now ends, after having viewed places and objects which vividly bring to mind events of the past, which present numerous and radical changes in the habits and conditions of society, and which, manifesting in a marked degree the variations of taste, and the definite progress of manners, art, and religion exhibit the relation of modern to ancient times, both in physical sciences and in customs of life.