Chapter II: Part 2

During the mastership of Ashton the School acquired and has since maintained the most brilliant renown. The roll of illustrious students is a lengthy one. Ashton had among his scholars George Sandys, the well-known traveller, whose works obtained great commendation from Dryden and Pope: Sir Henry Sydney, ambassador to France from the court of Edward VI., President of the Welsh Marches, and Lord Deputy of Ireland, which country, says Spenser and Sir John Davies, he governed with great wisdom, and proved himself, according to Sir R. Naunton in the _Fragmenta Regalia_, a “man of great parts:” Sir Fulk Greville, Lord Brooke, an ingenious writer, a friend of Queen Elizabeth, and a poet of repute in his day: Sir Phillip Sidney, the noble and chivalrous soldier and poet whose bravery at the battle of Zutphen is one of the illustrious incidents in our history, and whose exquisite mind is manifested in _Arcadia_ the picturesque and in _Defence of Poesie_ the enchanting. Those were Ashton’s scholars, and besides them there have been educated here Sir Thomas Jones, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in the reigns of Charles II. and James II., whose answer to the last monarch’s remark that he could soon have twelve judges of Sir Thomas’s opinion as to his dispensation of power, “Twelve judges you may possibly find, sire, but not twelve lawyers,” is well known: Dr. John Taylor, Canon Residentiary of St. Paul’s, Chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln, and Archdeacon of Buckingham, a learned critic and philologist, who wrote a work entitled _Elements of the Civil War_, and published what were said to be excellent editions of Lysias, Demosthenes and Lycurgus: George Saville, Marquis of Halifax, of whose courageous opposition to the unconstitutional conduct of James II. Macaulay speaks, who, under that sovereign, was President of the Council, in the Convention Parliament was Speaker of the House of Lords, and under William and Mary was Lord Privy Seal: Edward Waring, the learned English mathematician and Lucasian Professor of mathematics at Cambridge in the middle of the last century: while among more recent celebrities there are Mr. Thomas Wright the antiquarian: Captain Richard Lloyd Edwards, an officer of the “brave and bold” six hundred who rode “into the jaws of death,” at Balaclava; and several Englishmen of note. May we not say that these are names of which we may justly boast? May we not, adopting Macaulay’s elegant eulogium on the famous students of Glasgow University, say that Shrewsbury School has sent forth men “whose talents and learning have not been wasted on selfish or ignoble objects, but have been employed to promote the physical and moral good of their species, to extend the empire of man over the material world, to defend the cause of civil and religious liberty against tyrants and bigots, and to defend the cause of virtue and order against the enemies of all divine and human laws.”

On the left of the Schools ST. NICHOLAS’S CHAPEL was recently observable. It was the only one in existence of eight similar structures. It was erected by Roger de Montgomery for the use of those of his retainers who resided in the outer court of the Castle. At a subsequent period it was appropriated for the accommodation of the President and Council of the Marches of Wales. On the site has been erected a handsome structure by the English Presbyterians, who have retained its ancient name, calling it

ST. NICHOLAS’ CHURCH.

Near St. Nicholas’s Church stands

THE COUNCIL HOUSE,

approached by a fine timber gateway. In Speed’s Map it is called “LORD’S PLACE,” and it appears to have been erected in 1502. It was the place of residence for the Kings and Lord Presidents of the Welsh Marches when they came to Shrewsbury. King James II. kept his court in it on August 25th, 1687. It has been the scene of many a “costly banquet.” Charles I., Sir Henry Sidney, the Earl of Arundel and other noblemen have been “nobly entertained here at the expense of the town.” From the Council House we stroll on into the street which is the main thoroughfare of the town,

CASTLE STREET.

On the right is the RAVEN HOTEL, where Farquhar wrote his comedy of _The Recruiting Officer_, the scene and characters of which are of local origin, and the preface to which acknowledges the loyalty and hospitality of the good people of Shrewsbury. At the termination of Castle Street, commences in a straight line

PRIDE HILL.

Pride Hill was anciently named, for a reason undiscovered and unknown, Corvisor’s Row, then in Speed’s map Shoemaker’s Row, and then finally, for ever, no doubt, Pride Hill, from the fact of it having been the residence of a family of the name of Pride. Directly opposite the spectator’s eye stands the NEW MARKET; but instead of going down to inspect the handsome building we turn to the left, pass the NEW GENERAL POST OFFICE, and reach

ST. MARY’S STREET.

Here, of course, the chief object is

ST. MARY’S CHURCH.

It is supposed to have been founded by King Edgar about 980. There were attached to it a Dean and seven Prebendaries, and the stipend of the priest amounted to £6 6s. 8d. In the reign of Edward the Confessor it had a Dean and nine Prebendaries, and was provided with a large estate for their maintenance. In the time of Henry VIII. the revenue was £32 4s. 2d., and the Dean received as his share £22 6s. 8d. In the early part of the reign of Edward VI. the revenue had increased to £42, the whole of which was absorbed by the Dean, “rich on forty pounds a-year.” The church was then collegiate, but upon the dissolution of colleges the greater part of its revenues was given by Edward VI. for founding the Shrewsbury Grammar School. The living was formerly in the presentation of the Mayor of Shrewsbury—a privilege which the Municipal Act extinguished. It is now vested in five trustees; and it is necessary to select a minister who is either the son of a burgess and has been educated at the Grammar School, or who has had the honour of being a native of Chirbury. It was directed that the stipend should be an adequate one—£20 a-year, and the regulation which fixed the amount contained the pleasing addition that it was not to be diminished.

[Picture: Entrance to Council House, Shrewsbury]

The church is one of the most interesting ecclesiastical edifices in the county from the example it affords of all the architectural styles of the middle ages. It is impossible to give here a full description of it. It must suffice to say that it consists of nave, side aisles, transepts, choir, spacious chapel, two chantrey chapels, with a tower and lofty spire, the total height of which is 220 feet 2 inches. The Anglo-Norman style may be seen in the basement of the tower, the nave, transepts, and doorways; the transition from Norman to the early lancet in the beautiful transept windows; and the obtuse arch of a later period in the side aisles and chantry chapels. The interior presents a stately and magnificent appearance from the massiveness of its arches, from the gorgeousness and beauty of its windows, and from the number of its striking monuments. It has been graced with the presence of royalty, and it has been used as a judicial court. In 1232 a tribunal, composed of legates, was convened here by command of the Pope to hear the charges preferred against Llewellyn for violations of treaties. In 1642 Charles I., then in Shrewsbury, made within its walls a solemn protestation, and took “the Sacrament upon it,” to defend the Protestant religion. In 1687 James II. attended divine service, and afterwards exercised the superstitious and suppositious power of “touching for the evil.”

Some of the incidents in the records relating to the church are curious. Forms were first furnished for the worshippers in 1537. Prior to that there were neither seats nor benches. The floors were strewn with flowers and sweet herbs, upon which the people prostrated themselves.

Among the items of expenditure are some interesting entries. In 1553 it cost 4s. to ring in honour of Queen Mary being proclaimed, and in the same year 4s. for “setting up an altar before Sir Adam Mytton’s grave.” The repairing of chapels seems to have been an inexpensive affair: for we are told that “our Lady’s chapel was mended,” and a “paschal taper” bought for 4s.; while in 1554 the enormous sum of 2s. 6d. was paid for “making an altar in our Lady’s chapel,” and 3s. 5d. for “making Trinity altar.” With a firm adhesion to Protestantism and a stern condemnation of all appearance of Romanism it was ordered on May 12th, 1584, that three superstitious images and inscriptions in the north window be taken down by the churchwardens. In September of the same year it was ordered that the stone altar should be removed, “having been sometimes used to idolatry.”

The spire, too, has a history of incidents. In 1572 it was blown aside by the wind; in 1663 the cock was replaced by a new one and the steeple repaired at the cost of £72; in 1665 and again in 1686 the cock was blown down; in 1690 it was damaged by an earthquake; in 1739 the cock suffered again: in 1754 the spire was shattered by a violent hurricane; and in 1756 the part re-built in 1754 was blown on one side, and once more re-built. The mishap of 1739 one Thomas Cadman undertook to repair. Cadman who is described by Hutton as a “man of spirit and grisle,” succeeded in taking down and re-setting the cock on the summit of the spire. In celebration of his success he determined upon performing some exploits on a rope which he fixed from the top of the spire to a tree in the Gay Meadow, Abbey Foregate, on the other side of the Severn. The adventure was a fatal one. In sliding along he fell near the Water Lane Gate; and for the information of an unappreciative posterity and the gratification of the curious this inscription was placed on the wall over his grave by his admiring survivors:—

_Let this small monument record the name_
_Of Cadman_, _and to future times proclaim_
_How by an attempt to fly from this high spire_,
_Across the Sabrine stream_, _he did acquire_
_His fatal end_: ’_Twas not for leant of skill_
_Or courage to perform the task he fell_,
_No_! _No_! _a faulty cord being drawn too tight_
_Hurried his soul on high_, _to take her flight_,
_Which bid the body here beneath_, “_Good night_.”

[Picture: Shrewsbury, with the English and Coleham bridges]

Opposite the front of St. Mary’s Church are the

DRAPERS’ ALMSHOUSES,

better known as St. Mary’s Almshouses. They were founded in the reign of Edward IV., about 1461, by Degory Water, a draper of Shrewsbury, who was admitted a burgess in 1404 and lived in the “hall house” or centre house among the poor. He died in 1477. He made no respect of persons in St. Mary’s Church, but set an example almost in anticipation of the modern “open-pew” system by accompanying the poor people to church and kneeling among them in a “long pew in the quire.” The original almshouses were taken down in 1825, and the present comfortable buildings erected by the Drapers’ Company at a cost of upwards of £3,000.

On the south-west side of the churchyard is the DRAPERS’ HALL, which is supposed to have been erected about 1560. The interior is wainscotted with oak, and the floor was formerly rich in emblazoned tiles. The members of the Drapers’ Company feasted at the north end, and on the opposite side is a fine old chest, above which are portraits of the first steward of the company, Degory Water, and his wife. Edward IV. was a patron of the Company, and his patronage is gratefully recorded in some quaint lines under his portrait, which adorns the east side.

A little beyond the Drapers’ Hall is the

SALOP INFIRMARY,

an institution which is acknowledged to be one of the best conducted of its kind in the kingdom. It was formed in 1745, when a commodious house was purchased, fitted out, and opened for the reception of patients on the 25th of April, 1747. The present building, on the site of the former structure, was commenced in July, 1827, when Lord Hill laid the foundation-stone. It was completed and opened in September, 1830. The appurtenances and appointments of the institution are admirable. It is supported by voluntary contributions and benefactions. It possesses a large number of valuable legacies. It has been an inestimable blessing to thousands upon thousands. Returning from the Infirmary past the Draper’s Hall we cross the road to

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_.

[Picture: Shrewsbury, from Coton Hill]

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,