Chapter XIII: Part 13

For upwards of two hundred years the Welsh webs were brought to Oswestry, as the common market, and there bought by the Shrewsbury drapers. The Welsh wished to draw the trade more into their own country, but the English purchaser could not be persuaded to follow them, on account of the unsettled state of the Principality; and thus Oswestry was constituted an emporium of merchandise, in consequence of its contiguity to Wales. The “Company of Drapers” in Shrewsbury made a weekly visit to Oswestry to purchase the cloths. The peril attending these pilgrimages must have been considerable, if we may judge from an order appearing in the records of the Shrewsbury corporation, where, in the 25th of Elizabeth, 1583, it was ordered, that “no draper set out for Oswestry on Mondays before six o’clock, on forfeiture of 6s. 8d., and that they shall wear their weapons all the way, and go in company.” The corporation paid yearly the sum of £20 to the vicar of St. Alkmund for reading prayers; 6s. 8d. for the light; and 6s. 8d. to the clerk for ringing the bell on Monday mornings, before the drapers set out for Oswestry market. In 1621, it was agreed by the drapers to buy no more cloths in Oswestry. The then recorder of Oswestry regarded this withdrawment as inevitably ruinous, and says, “Oswestry flourished and was happy indeed by reason of the market of Welsh cottons. A thousand pounds in ready money was left in the town every week, sometimes more; but now, since the staple of cloth is removed to Shrewsbury, the town is much decayed and impoverished, Shrewsbury having engrossed the said market.” For the defence of the rights secured to the burgesses by the various municipal charters, the members of each trade formed themselves into a guild or company, whose duties it was to guard the monopolies of the brotherhood. Thus we have notices of the company of hatters, glovers, butchers, corvsers, bakers, hucksters, and ale sellers. The charter of Richard II. directs “that the bailiff should treat as well the poor as the rich, and that the burgesses within the town and liberty should be quit of tolls and stallage. That none but burgesses should buy any fresh hides or new cloth in the borough. That they should not be bound to keep any fugitive coming to the church or churchyard, except only for one day and one night next after such flight, within which time they should give notice to the bailiff of the hundred, who should take such fugitive into custody. That the burgesses should be discharged from all fees of the constable, usher, and door-keeper of the castle, for any felonies committed within the town, for which such burgesses might be imprisoned in the castle, except that the constable at the feast of St. Stephen should receive from every mansion of the burgesses one loaf, from every hall one penny, and from every cottage one halfpenny. That the penalty of 6s. 8d. should be imposed for selling Shrewsbury ale in the town, half of such fine to go to the burgesses, and half to the lord. That no such ale should be sold in the town of Chirkslound, Melverdeley, and Kinnardeley, except in the town of Chirk, under the like penalty. That none of the inhabitants of those lordships, or of Oswestry, Edgerley, and Ruyton, should take any cattle, corn, victuals, or other articles to any foreign fair or market, until the same had been exposed for sale in the town of Oswestry, under the penalty of 6s. 8d.” Philip, Earl of Arundel, in the year 1581, affected an uncommon concern for the well doing of the town, and in a charter of that date he states “that by the misconstruction of certain words of the charters theretofore given to the town, several acts which ought to have been passed by the common council, had been done and proceeded in by the general voice of all the co-burgesses, whereby contentions and suits of law were occasioned by such popular governments. Therefore for the quiet and better ordering of the said town,” he arbitrarily appoints the mode of election, directs an oath to be taken by all the burgesses to be loyal and faithful to the Queen’s Majesty, and to be loving and dutiful to the said earl and his heirs, grants them a number of privileges, which had been enjoyed, as he states, from time immemorial, and, with true baronial modesty, not till the close does he discover the secret of all this paternal affection, by the significant clause,—“In consideration of all which agreements, and to the intent that the said bailiffs and burgesses may show their loyalty and good will to the said noble earl, they do undertake to pay him one bundled pounds.”

In the year 1400 Oswestry was burnt during an insurrection of the Welsh. After a peaceable submission of upwards of a century, they made an attempt to regain their ancient independence under the renowned Owain Glyndwr. Lord Grey had unjustly seized upon some part of Glyndwr’s estates, which lay between Llangolen and Corwen. Owain sought satisfaction without having recourse to parliament, but he met with no redress. He, therefore, animated by his descent from the ancient line of British princes, caused himself to be proclaimed Prince of Wales on September 20th, 1400, and commenced his warlike career by attacking his enemy, Lord Grey, from whom he immediately recovered the lands which that nobleman had deprived him of. Relying on the valour of his soldiers and the inaccessible mountains of his country, he set at defiance the whole power of England. He assembled his forces at Oswestry, in order to join Lord Percy against the king. The Welsh chieftain sent off his first division of 4,000 men (an account of which has been noticed in a preceding page), and at the head of 12,000 men had the mortification of being obliged to remain inactive at Oswestry. Gough observes, that about two miles from Shrewsbury, where the Welshpool road diverges from that which leads to Oswestry, there stands an ancient decayed oak tree, of which there is a tradition, that Glyndwr ascended it to reconnoitre; but finding that the king was in great force, and that the Earl of Northumberland had not joined his son, Percy, he fell back to Oswestry, and immediately after the battle retreated precipitately into Wales. In 1409 Glyndwr made great devastations in the Marches, and the estates of Lord Powis suffered greatly. Several of the officers of the lords of the Marches, for the sake of preserving their country from the fury of the Welsh, by their own authority formed a truce with Glyndwr and his partizans. King Henry, highly indignant at these agreements, immediately issued writs to the lords of Knockin, Ellesmere, and other bordering manors, to cause such illegal compacts to be rescinded, and Glyndwr and his adherents to be pursued and attacked with the utmost vigour. Owain appears after this to have secured himself in the mountainous districts of Wales, and to have acted entirely upon the defensive. He died on the 20th of December, 1415.

That dreadful scourge the plague raged in Oswestry in 1559, and continued throughout the principal part of the year, during which time upwards of five hundred persons were swept away. About half a mile from the town, on the Welshpool road, is CROES WYLAN, where a cross formerly stood, the base of which still remains. During the time of the plague, the market is said to have been held at this cross, lest the country people by coming into the town should be infected. The plague again appeared in Oswestry in 1585, which the parish register states began in March, and continued until July, when three score and four persons died. The market for the sale of the flannel webs was held at Knockin until the calamity abated. In 1542 there was a fire in the town, by which two long streets, with extensive property, were consumed. In 1567 a fire again broke out and burnt two hundred houses. The houses were then principally built of timber. Leland, who passed through Oswestry in the time of Henry VIII., says, “There be within the town X notable streates: the iii. most notable streates be the Cross streate, the Bayly streate, and Newgate streate. with barns for corn and hay to the number VII. score several barns. There is a castelle set on a mont, be likelihood made by hand, and ditched by south west, betwixt Beatrice streate and Willow gate, to which the wall commith. The towne standeth most by sale of cloth made in Wales. There goeth thro’ the towne by the Crosse a broke, comming from a place caullid Simon’s well, a bow-shot without the waulle by N.W. This broke commith in by the waulle betwixt Willow gate and New-gate, and so renning through the towne, goith out under the Black-gate. There be no towers on the waulles beside the gates. The towne is dicked about, and brokettes ren ynto it. The chirch of St. Oswalde is a very fair leddid church, with a great tourrid steple, and it standeth without the New-gate; so that no church is there within the towne.”

THE CASTLE.—The remains of the cattle consist only of an artificial mount on the north side of the town. It had a deep ditch extending to Beatrice gate on the one side and Willow gate on the other. According to Caradoc, the Welsh historian, the castle was founded in 1149, by Madoc, Prince of Powis. Leland says a tower went by the name of Madoc’s tower, which seems to confirm the account respecting the founder of the castle. The English historians, however, assign to it a more ancient date, and inform us that it was in being before the Norman conquest, and that Alan had the town and castle bestowed upon him by William the Conqueror soon after his accession. In the 15th of John, John, nephew of William Mareschall, Earl of Pembroke, being guardian of the Marches of Wales, was at that time constituted governor of the castles of Blancminster and Shrawarden, in the county of Salop. Llewellin, son of Griffin, son of Madoc, made his complaint to the archbishop of Canterbury against this constable of Oswestry, for disturbing him in the possession of the third part of the ville of Ledrot, and who had compelled him to send two young noblemen to be put to death in an ignominious manner, in derogation of their birth and extraction, which disgrace their parents would not have undergone for £300 sterling; also that the constable had twice imprisoned sixty of his men, for which they were forced to pay 10s. a man for their liberty; also that when the Welsh came to Oswestry fair, the constable would seize their cattle by driving them into the castle, and refusing to pay for the same. The castle and manor continued in the possession of the Fitzalans, with little interruption until the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The square now called Bailey-head was the _ballium_ or yard of the castle. A mount in the castle field outside the great ditch is the site of the Barbican, or the outer gate at which the halt and blind were usually relieved, and is still called the cripple gate. Within the precincts of the castle there stood a chapel, dedicated to St. Nicholas, wherein during troublous times religious services were performed. The castle was garrisoned for Charles I. in the beginning of the civil wars; a Colonel Lloyd was governor, Sir A. Shipman succeeded him, and continued in that post until the town and castle surrendered to the parliamentary forces under the Earl of Denbigh and General Mytton, the 22nd June, 1644. Gough, in his manuscript history of Middle, relates, in his own quaint manner, the assault and capture of Oswestry. “I will speak of some things that have happened here in my time. The governor of this town, when it was a garrison for the king, pulled down many houses that were without the walls, lest they might shelter an enemy; the church also being without the walls was pulled down, and the top of the steeple only leaving where the bell frame stood; the bells were brought into the town and the organs were embezzled after. The town was well fortified, and the castle, which is but small, yet very strong, built by a Prince of Wales, A.D., 1149. General Mitton, with parliament forces, came and besieged it; he planted his cannon near that part of the steeple which was left; he battered the gate, called Church gate in such sort, that the garrison of soldiers could not stay at it. General Mitton supposing it was so, but not being sure of it, sent George Cranage, a bold and daring young man, to see whether it were so, who took a hatchet in his hand and went to the drawbridge, and found that the soldiers were gone, and the gate was open, for the cannon had broken the doors, and this Cranage broke the chains of the draw bridge with the hatchet, and let it down, so that the soldiers made haste to enter the town, but those who were within made like haste to meet them, which Cranage perceiving, and seeing a box of drakes standing within the gate ready charged, he turned the box of drakes towards those in the town, and one of Cranage’s partners came with a fire lock and gave fire to them, which made such slaughter amongst the garrison that they retreated and fled to the castle. Cranage was well rewarded, and being well filled with sack, was persuaded by the general to hang a battau on the castle gate; now a battau is an iron shell as big as an iron pot; it was filled with powder and wild fire balls, and had a handle with a hole in it, by which it might be fastened with a nail to any place. Cranage takes this battau, with a cart nail and a hammer, and got from house to house into the house next the castle, and then stepping to the castle gate he fixt his battau, and stepping nimbly back again escaped without any hurt. The battau burst open the gate.” The inmates were granted quarter, but the royalists failed notwithstanding several attempts to regain the town. The castle was shortly afterwards demolished, and nothing is now to be seen of it but a lofty circular mount.

About half a mile N.W. from the town of Oswestry is an insulated eminence of an oblong form, surrounded by two ramparts and fosses of great height and depth, which in former days was known by the name of _Caer Ogyrfan_ and _Hen Dinas_, but now recognized by the title of OLD OSWESTRY. This elevation bears the strongest marks of having been at some time a place of defence; the top is an extensive area containing 15A. 3R. 0P., and the fortifications which encompass it cannot be less than forty or fifty acres. A gentleman who visited this spot in 1797 says that a well and pavement had been discovered here. Some pieces of iron supposed to be armour had been dug up. The original entrance to this fortification appears to have been on the opposite side of the hill from the great Holyhead road. There is strong ground for the belief that this eminence was the original site of the town, which afterwards took and now bears the name of Oswestry, and that it was planted there by the ancient Britons at a very remote period. That it was known to the Britons will appear evident from the fact of both the names we have mentioned as having been applied to it being British or Welsh, Caer Ogyrfan signifying “The Field of Ogyrfan,” who was contemporary with King Arthur, and Hen Dinas signifying “The Old City.” It is evident that this magnificent work was not a sudden operation like that of a camp, but that it was a work of immense labour and ample security. The character of the elevation answers to the description given of the position of ancient British towns. They are said almost always to have been placed on a hill, and Speed tells us that the Britons “gave the name of townes to certain combersome woods which they had fortified with ramparts and ditches, whither they resort and retreat, to eschue the invasion of their enemies, which stand them in good stead, for when they have by felling trees mounted and fenced therewith a spacious plot of ground, there they build for themselves houses and cottages.” In 1767 as much timber was cut down from the ramparts as sold for £17,000.

THE CHURCH, dedicated to St. Mary, is a fine old fabric of considerable magnitude, ornamented with a massive square tower at the west end, in which are eight musical bells. The structure was enlarged and beautified in 1807, and since that period it has undergone great improvements. A handsome organ was erected by subscription in 1812; it is stated that the old organ, a fine toned instrument, is now in one of the churches in London. The chancel, commonly called St. Mary’s, was destroyed in 1616, and the tower and part of the body of the church were demolished in the civil wars of 1644. The vicarage house, which stood on a piece of ground adjoining the churchyard, with many other buildings, were burnt to the ground at the same period, in consequence of the town being besieged. The church contains many handsome tablets and monumental inscriptions, among which is a beautiful canopy of elaborate workmanship, and underneath it two figures in the attitude of prayer, in memory of Hugh Yale, alderman of this town, and Dorothy, his wife, whose bodies were interred within the chancel of this church, before its demolition in 1616. On the north side of the chancel is an elegant mural monument, with a latin inscription, commemorative of Richard Maurice, who died in 1700, and other members of the family who died at a subsequent period. A superb monument at the east end of the chancel remembers Robert Powell Lloyd, who died in 1769, aged five years; Sarah Lloyd, mother of the above, who died in 1790; and Robert Lloyd, Esq., the father, who died in 1793. A neat tablet at the same end records the death of the Rev. Thomas Trevor, in 1784, vicar of this parish 50 years, and of Rhuabon 15 years, chaplain to W. W. Wynne, Bart., and one of his Majesty’s justices of the peace for the counties of Salop and Denbigh. There are various other marble tablets, some of them beautifully executed, which our limits will not allow us to notice. The living is a vicarage valued in the king’s book at £23. 15s. 7½d., now returned at £507, in the patronage of the Earl of Powis, and incumbency of the Rev. Thomas Salway. The iron gates facing the town were put up in 1738 at the expense of the parish, at a cost of £46 1s. 4d. The churchyard was enlarged in 1817. The elm trees were planted between the years 1707 and 1713. The vicarial tithes upon 1,832A. 2R. 23P. of land in the town and liberties of Oswestry are commuted for £70 1s. 6d., and the rectorial for £211. £13s. 6d. There are 82A. 2R. 7P. of land tithe free. Earl Powis is the impropriator and lord of the manor. The principal landowners are Earl Powis, W. W. Wynn, Bart.; Earl of Bradford; Richard Jones Croxon, Esq.; William Ormsby Gore, M.P.; Mrs. Lloyd, Thomas L. Longueville, Esq.; and Mr. Williams, besides whom are several other proprietors.

TRINITY CHURCH, situate in the Salop road, a neat fabric built of free stone in the decorative style of English architecture, was erected in 1837; it consists of nave and chancel, and the roof is of groined timber, which gives it a very interesting appearance. There are 670 sittings, of which 400 are declared free and unappropriated for ever, in consequence of a grant from the Incorporated Society, for building and enlarging churches. There are 28 pews in the body of the church, 29 in the gallery, and the free sittings are open benches. The gallery contains a small organ, which was presented to the church, on the condition that the incumbent for the time being be allowed to receive the rent of the six pews in front of the communion table, in lieu of the pews in the gallery, partly taken up by the organ, and partly thrown open as free sittings. The chancel exhibits some fine chiselling and decorative workmanship; the east window is also richly adorned with stained glass. The living is a perpetual curacy returned at £450, in the gift of the vicar of Oswestry, and is enjoyed by the Rev. John Jones.

THE INDEPENDENT CHAPEL, situate in Arthur-street, is a commodious and well built brick structure, with stone finishings, and a portico of the Doric order, which gives it a chaste appearance. The pews are arranged in a semicircular form, and there is a gallery; it will accommodate about 600 hearers. There is a flourishing society and a Sunday school in connection with the chapel.

THE BAPTIST CHAPEL, situated in Smithfield, was built in 1805, and enlarged in 1818; it is provided with galleries, and will hold 300 persons.

THE METHODIST CHAPEL is a good brick structure, erected in 1811, in the Salop road, and will accommodate 400 worshippers.

THE PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL, built in 1801, and situated in Castle Fields, is a brick building cemented; it is neatly pewed and calculated to hold 600 hearers. There is a small burial ground annexed to the chapel, and a house has been built for the resident minister.

THE WELSH INDEPENDENT CHAPEL, a small fabric, is situated in Castle Fields. Divine service is performed in the Welsh language.

THE WELSH CALVINISTIC CHAPEL (ZION), a good building of brick with a stuccoed front, is situated in Gateacre place, and was erected in 1836. The interior arrangements have a neat appearance. The service of this chapel is also in the Welsh language.

THE WELSH METHODISTS meet for worship in a room near the Welsh walls. The society contemplate building a chapel in a short period.

THE PLYMOUTH BRETHREN assemble for worship in a large room on the premises of Mrs. Macdongall, in Bailey street.

THE INDEPENDENT METHODISTS have a small chapel in Castle Terrace, built in 1848, which will hold about 150 hearers.

THE NATIONAL SCHOOL, situate at Pentrepoeth, is a handsome building, in the Elizabethan style of architecture, with a convenient residence for the teacher. The centre of the building is occupied by the girls, and the wings on each side are for the accommodation of the boys and the infants. The school is pleasantly situated, has a play ground attached, and the whole is enclosed by a wall. The institution is supported by subscription, and a small charge from each scholar.

THE BRITISH SCHOOL, a substantial and commodious building in Arthur Street, was built by subscription and a grant from the School Society. The building is ornamented with stone quoins and cornices; the upper room is occupied by the girls, and the lower room by the boys.

THE YOUNG MEN’S INSTITUTE was established in October, 1850, with the object of extending the moral and intellectual culture of the young men of the town of Oswestry. We are happy to observe that many of the young men in the town have enrolled themselves as members, a library has been established, and the news room is furnished with papers, and some of the most popular periodicals of the day. The ordinary members pay 1s. 6d. per quarter, honorary members pay an annual subscription of 10s. 6d., or a donation of £10 or upwards. The corporation have kindly granted a room in the Council Hall for the accommodation of the members.

THE SAVINGS BANK, in Bailey Square, was established in 1818. The capital stock of the bank on November 20th, 1850, amounted to £50,973. 6s. 1d., at which time there were 1463 separate accounts; of which 23 were charitable societies, having deposits amounting to £851. 8s. 10d., and 31 friendly societies, with deposits amounting to £5,884. 0s. 8d. Of the individual depositors, there were 697 whose respective balances did not exceed £20; 442 were above £20, and not exceeding £50; 180 were above that sum, and not exceeding £100; 62 above £100, and less than £150; 26 did not exceed £200, and two accounts were above that sum. The bank is open on Wednesdays, from twelve to two o’clock. Thomas L. Longueville, Esq., is treasurer, and Mr. John Hughes, secretary.

THE HOUSE OF INDUSTRY is an extensive range of building, composed of brick, pleasantly situated about a mile from the town. It was erected by the joint subscription of the town and parish of Oswestry, the several parishes of Whittington, West Felton, St. Martin’s, Chirk, Selattyn, Knockin, Kinnerley, Ruyton, Llansilin, Llanyblodwell, and the township of Llwytidman, in the parish of Llanymynech. The house will accommodate 600 inmates; the average number is about 190. It was built under Gilbert’s Act. The respective parishes appoint the officers, who collect the rates, and pay the out-poor. The board days are every Monday. Richard Nightingale Broughton, Esq., is the chairman, Mr. John Hughes, clerk, Mr. Thomas Morris, governor, Mr. Thomas Davies, relieving officer, and Edward and Ann Jones, schoolteachers.

THE DISPENSARY, in Lower Brook Street, under the superintendence of Mr. Hales, is supported by annual subscriptions and donations. It is worthy of increased support from the charitable and humane; for since its establishment hundreds have partaken of the healing benefits of this Samaritan institution, the object of which is to check, and ameliorate suffering humanity, in whatever form it is found.

THE TOWN HALL is situated near the site of the Castle, and forms one side of the square called Bailey-head. It is a plain stone building, comprising a large room (where the sessions and public affairs of the town are transacted) and offices for the clerks, &c. The front is enclosed by an iron palisade. Near the centre of the building is a figure of King Oswald, carved in stone. At the back of the hall is the police establishment, built in 1830, and residence of Mr. Jacob Smith, clerk of the market and superintendent of police.

THE BOROUGH GAOL, in Castle Fields, is a brick structure, erected in 1826, which contains three cells and two airing yards. It is now used as a lock-up, under the control of the borough and county magistrates.

THE COUNTY COURT OFFICE adjoins the Town Hall, at Bailey-head. The jurisdiction of the court embraces the following parishes and places, viz.:—Knockin, Ruyton of the Eleven Towns, West Felton, Kinnerley Llanymynech, except Carreghova township, Llansilin, part of Soughton township, part of Selattyn, Llanblodwell, Oswestry town and liberties, St. Martin’s, Chirk, Ellesmere, except Penley, Welsh Hampton, and Hordley. Judge: Edward Lewis Richards, Esq. Clerk: William Simons, Esq. Assistant Clerk: Thomas Askew Davies. High Bailiff: Mr. Charles Scarlett Andrews. Bailiff; Mr. Ellis Hughes. Broker: Mr. Edward Evans.

THE POWIS MARKET HALL forms one side of the spacious area of the Bailey Square, and is a plain stone building, with a high clock turret. The front part of the structure was formerly used as the Guild Hall, at the back of which additional erections have been made of brick, chiefly through the instrumentality of P. Cartwright, Esq., and a few other resident gentlemen. It is a spacious structure, partly covered with glass. Here the corn market is held on Wednesdays, and is very numerously attended by the farmers in the surrounding district.

THE FAIRS at Oswestry are held on the first Wednesday in each month, for the sale of butter, cheese, and other commodities, which take place in the Powis Market Hall. The North Shropshire and North Wales yeomen are justly proud of their fine dairies of cheese and butter, and the market is unrivalled in Shropshire for the extent of business that is transacted in these commodities. The day preceding the above is for the sale of cattle, sheep, and pigs, which takes place in the Smithfield Market.

THE MARKET held on Wednesdays for butter, poultry, and butchers’ meat, is very numerously attended. The meat and provisions brought to the market are abundant in quantity and excellent in quality. Considerable quantities of poultry (geese, ducks, as well as the small Welsh mutton) are brought here weekly for sale. The shambles are in Willow Street and Bailey Street; and the butter and poultry market is conveniently arranged and covered in.

THE GAS WORKS, situated near Gallows Tree Gate, on the Salop road, were established in 1842. The premises are conveniently arranged, and from 8s. to 10s. are charged per 1,000 cubic feet for the luminous vapour. Mr. Robert Roberts is the proprietor.

THE THEATRE, a small building in Willow Street, is usually open for a few weeks in the year by a company of comedians.

THE RACES are held at Cen-y-bwch, a beautiful piece of ground situated on an eminence to the west of the town. The races of late years have not commanded that attention and support which they formerly did, and they were altogether discontinued last year. It is expected, however, they will again take place during the present year about the usual time, in the autumn of the year.

THE RAILWAY STATION is situated on the north-east side of the town. There are ten trains arrive and depart during the day to Gabowen, where the branch from Oswestry joins the trunk line of the Shrewsbury and Chester railway. Mr. E. Jones is the station-master. THE ASSEMBLY ROOM and BOWLING GREEN are at the Wynstay Arms. The STAMP OFFICE is in Willow Street. THE EXCISE OFFICE is at the Cross Keys Inn. THE NEWS ROOM is at the Court House, Bailey Square. THE CRICKET GROUND is in Lower Brook Street. _The Oswestry Advertiser_, a small publication which makes its appearance on the first Wednesday in each month, is extensively patronised as an advertising medium, and is worthy of support for the interesting local information which it furnishes. Mr. John A. Roberts is the publisher and proprietor.

CHARITIES.—THE FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL is pleasantly situated on the west side of the town. It was founded as early as the reign of Henry IV. by David Hobech, who granted, for the maintenance of a schoolmaster, and the reparation of the school-house there, certain lands in Sweeney, Treflach, Maesbury, and Crickheath. By an inquisition, under a commission of charitable uses, taken at Oswestry, and dated 10th April, 1634, it is stated that although the bailiffs of Oswestry had the ordering and disposing of the school and the school lands, they had done the same without any just authority, and that if they had been trusted they had manifestly abused the trust, in making leases at an under value and for secret rewards for themselves. The said commissioners therefore decreed, that the bailiffs of the said town should be for ever discharged and excluded from any trust or intermeddling with the school lands, that the schoolmaster for the time being should let the premises in possession, and not in reversion, for the term of seven years, with the consent of the bishop and chancellor of the diocese. The commissioners further ordered that the schoolmaster should have an usher, to be allowed £10 a year; and the master for the time being to keep the school premises in repair.

The property now held by the master consists of 34A. 3R. 18P. of land at Crickheath, let for £30 per annum; three closes of land in Treflach, containing 23A. 1R. 7P., producing a yearly rental of £36; land in the township of Sweeney, containing altogether 68A. 3R. 10P., let for £134 per annum. There was also a small piece of land in Sweeney, of about half an acre, of which the master had lost possession. It was surrounded by property belonging to Sir W. W. Wynne, and had in fact been sold by him. The master having established his title thereto, a small piece of land adjoining the school premises was given up to him in lieu thereof. Four closes of land in Weston Cotton, containing 19A. 2R. 9P., producing £40 per annum; and an allotment in the same township of 1A. 2R. 9P., let for £3 yearly; land in the township of Maesbury consisting of 16A. 0R. 18P. producing an annual sum of £24; and the yearly sum of £1. 6s. 8d. as a free farm rent, issuing out of a corn mill in Maesbury. The rents of the above premises amount in the whole to £271. 10s. 2d., and are received by the master of the school. In addition to the premises already noticed, there is a school and school-house, and seven acres of land in the town of Oswestry, held under lease from Sir W. W. Wynne, bearing date 22nd September, 1815, for 10,000 years, at the clear yearly rent of £12. The school now existing was built by Dr. Donne, the expenses of which amounted to about £1,400. The school is open to all boys born in the parish of Oswestry, for instruction in English, Latin, and Greek; but it is expected that they should be able to read before they are admitted. No payment is demanded of the scholars, except 7s. 6d. for entrance, and 2s. a-year for fire money. The course of instruction in the school is chiefly classical; but algebra, geometry, history, and writing are also taught. For the latter a separate charge is made. In addition to the scholars on the foundation, the master takes a limited number of boarders. We cannot but observe on the inconveniences that have occurred, and are likely to occur, for want of trustees. It is true that Dr. Donne recovered possession of a great part of the school property, or an equivalent for it, at his own expense; but few persons in his situation would have undertaken the same risk; and the necessity for such proceedings was probably owing to the reluctance felt by former masters to involving themselves in litigation with the tenants. The Rev. Stephen Donne, M.A., is the head master.

_Thomas Owen_, in 1713, left £20 for the use of the charity school. _Daniel Poole_, in 1716, left the interest of £20 for the same use. In 1737, £32 was laid out on the poor house in Church street, which sum was paid out of the above legacies; and it was ordered at a vestry that a yearly sum of 40s. should be paid towards the support of the charity school. Nothing, however, has been paid in respect of these charities for many years. The poor house in Church street has been sold, and the produce applied to the general purposes of the town.

THE ALMSHOUSES.—_Dame Ellen_, widow of Sir Francis Eure, by will bearing date 20th August, 1626, devised six tenements in William street, to the bailiffs and burgesses of Oswestry, and their successors, to be used and employed for the habitation of six poor men and six poor women, to be appointed by the said bailiffs and their successors. _Jane Owen_, in 1732, bequeathed to the twelve poor persons, inmates of the almshouse commonly called Porkington almshouses, the sum of 18s., to be paid to them yearly for ever; and she ordered her executor to charge her real and personal estate with the payment thereof. It does not appear that this gift was ever in any way settled to the use of the almspeople, _Mrs. S. Ormsby_, by her will in 1805, requested her daughter (now the wife of W. Ormsby Gore, Esq.), and those who should succeed her in the Porkington estate, would pay, “as she had done,” the poor people in the almshouse for ever. _Mrs. Gore_ distributes £3 among the inmates on Christmas day, that being the sum her mother had previously given. The almshouses are kept in repair by Mrs. Gore, and she appoints the inmates.

_Margaret Godolphin_, in 1748, gave a messuage and shop, and other premises to the use of the vicar of Oswestry for the time being, provided he should live in the said house; and if the vicar should not reside in the said dwelling, the same should be let yearly, and the rents paid to the churchwardens, to be applied in placing out poor fatherless children apprentices. The premises above were exchanged in the year 1823, for other premises situate in Brook street. Before this exchange took place the house originally devised was not occupied by the vicar, but was let by the overseers, and the rent improperly carried to the general account of the poor’s rate. _Owen Morgan_, in 1604, gave certain property to the Haberdashers’ Company, London, subject to the payment of £20 yearly, for the relief of the poor people of the parish of Oswestry, to be distributed where most need should appear, by the parson, curate, and the churchwardens of the said parish. The yearly sum of £20 is received from the Haberdashers’ Company, through the Oswestry bank. This forms part of a general fund, which is distributed as hereafter mentioned.

_Hugh Yale_, by his will bearing date 2nd January, 1605, gave a messuage and garden adjoining the churchyard of Oswestry, with a croft near the Chapel Fields, and the reversion of a house and garden adjoining the school, in trust, to bestow the rents among the necessitous poor of the town; and he directed that if any preacher, lawfully licensed, should upon that day preach in the Welsh tongue in the parish church of Oswestry, he should receive 6s. 8d. out of the rents. The property belonging to Yale’s charity consists of a field called the Poor’s Croft, let for £8 per annum; two small tenements in Upper Brook street, producing a rental of £5 yearly; two plots of ground near the churchyard, demised to Richard Price for a term of 99 years, from 1st May, 1809, at a yearly rent of £2. 12s. 6d.; a piece of ground near the churchyard, let on lease in 1808 for a term of 99 years, to Thomas Davies, Esq., for 20s. per annum; two small cottages adjoining the churchyard, one let for £2 a year, and the other for £3 a year. A garden, for which a yearly rent of 2s. 6d. from the year 1688 till 1825 was received, when the party holding it disputed the right of the claim; the churchwardens, however, intended to take proceedings for possession of the land. In 1782, 10s. is entered as received of Thomas Griffith, for one year’s rent for a yard and a saw-pit adjoining the Lawn House. The same rent was afterwards paid by the Rev. Mr. Maurice, and, in 1804, by John Bonner, Esq., who succeeded to Mr. Maurice’s property. Nothing, however, has been paid since 1806, and the piece of ground could not be satisfactorily identified when the charity commissioners published their report. The income of this charity is added to the general fund, disposed of as hereafter mentioned. There seems to have been great negligence in the management of this charity, in admitting tenants who were unable to pay the rent; in not keeping up the boundaries of the land; and in not preserving the counterparts of those leases which appear to have been granted.

_John Morris_ gave an annual payment of £1. 10s., issuing out of lands at Crickheath, for the use of the poor of the town of Oswestry. The amount is paid by the agent of W. Eyton, Esq., as the owner of the land upon which the payment is charged.

_Richard Witcherley_ gave a parcel of land in Beatrice street, and directed 1s. per week to be expended in bread out of the rent thereof, and the overplus to be applied in apprentice fees. The premises consist of a croft, containing 1A. 2R., let at a yearly rent of £7.

_Mrs. Dorothy Southey’s Charity_.—A yearly sum of £2. 12s. is paid from a field in the liberties of the town of Oswestry, as the gift of _Mrs. Southey_, for a distribution of bread.

_William Gough_, in 1669, left a rent charge of £5. 6s. 8d., charged on certain lands in Trevlach, and directed £5 per annum to be applied in placing out poor children apprentice, born in the parish of Oswestry, and the remaining 6s. 8d. to be paid to the minister for a sermon on St. Stephen’s day.

A donor unknown gave a small plot of land for the use of the poor of Oswestry. A yearly payment of 5s. is made by _William Ormsby Gore_, _Esq._, out of a piece of land near Llwyn gate, in respect of this charity. There is also a yearly payment of 5s. issuing out of a house and premises in Cross street, the property of D. O. Cooper, which is distributed in bread among the poor.

_Winifred Matthews_, in 1709, left a yearly sum of £2. 10s., payable out of a piece of land in Trefonen, called Maes-y-Benglog, towards putting apprentice one poor child of the town of Oswestry one year, and the next year from Trefonon, Treflach, Sweeney, or Trever clawdd. The property from which this payment is made belongs to Sir W. W. Wynne, and the amount is paid by his agent.

_Mary Lloyd_, in 1727, bequeathed £100, and directed the yearly interest thereof to be laid out in woollen cloth for the poor of the town of Oswestry, and apprenticing a poor boy of the said town alternately. _Mrs. Peacock_, in 1732 gave £5, the interest to be distributed among poor decayed housekeepers. These two sums are laid out upon the security of the tolls of the turnpike road leading from Oswestry to Selattyn, called the Willow Gate Trust; and £5. 5s. is paid as the interest.

_Thomas Turner_, by his will, 1777, bequeathed £20, the interest thereof to be distributed among the poor of the parish of Oswestry.

The produce of the eleven charities last mentioned, amounting to £55. 11s., are brought to one account, kept by the churchwardens appointed for the town of Oswestry, and disposed of for the benefit of the poor of the town, exclusive of the rest of the parish. Six shillings worth of bread is given away in the church every alternate Sunday, and the residue is given away at different times of the year, in bread, clothing, or shoes, according to the discretion of the churchwardens for the time being. As it appeared the churchwardens had frequently selected for distribution such articles as they themselves dealt in, the charity commissioners strongly recommended that some regular mode of distributing these charities should be adopted, and that the directions of the respective donors should be followed as far as they could be ascertained, and circumstances would admit.

_Sir John Swinnerton_, by will 1616, charged his lands with the payment of £5. 4s. for bread, which, by the sale of the lands, was increased to £7. 4s. per annum. The money for which the land was sold was in the hands of T. Kynaston, Esq., nearly fifty years, and subsequently of Mr. Lloyd, for which interest was regularly paid till 1781, when this money was called in, for the purpose of enabling the town to purchase and repair certain premises near the churchyard, intended for a workhouse. The money was probably applied accordingly; but in 1808 this workhouse was sold for £280, by the directors of the Oswestry house of industry, under the powers of an act of parliament, passed 31 George III. We are informed, however, that the produce of this sale was not added to the funds of the house of industry, but was applied in obtaining an act of parliament for lighting and paving the town of Oswestry. It appears, therefore, the inhabitants of the town of Oswestry have appropriated to their own use a sum of £120 applicable to charitable uses, without making the poor any compensation in lieu thereof.

_Richard Muckleston_, in 1638, gave 40s. per annum to be distributed in bread to the poor of Oswestry, charged on premises in the parish of Kilgurran, and at Llandrau. The amount is expended in bread and distributed on Good Friday.

_Francis Shore_, in 1691, charged his mansion house in Oswestry, with the payment of 20s. yearly, to be distributed among the poor. Mr. Jones, the owner of the house, gives 20s. yearly among poor persons, according to his own discretion, on St. Thomas’s day.

_Margaret Lloyd_, by will 1694, charged her house and croft in the parish of Oswestry, with the annual payment of 20s., to be given among twenty poor labourers or decayed tradesmen.

_Elizabeth Williams_, in 1703, left to poor housekeepers 40s. per annum, to be distributed by the churchwardens on Palm Monday, for ever, which money was to be paid out of the Mixen Hall estate.

_Rebecca Lloyd_, by will 1733, gave £20, which was afterwards secured on premises in Cross street. The amount is paid by Mr. Penson, the owner of a house and garden in Cross street, and distributed by the churchwardens among forty poor persons on New Year’s day.

_Sir William Williams_, by his will, 7th September, 1734, bequeathed £200, the annual produce thereof to be distributed among poor persons of the town and parish of Oswestry. This money is in the hands of Sir Watkin W. Wynne, whose agent pays the yearly sum of £10 as the interest thereof. One half of this money is distributed by the churchwardens of the town, in sums of 6d. and 1s. each. The other half is divided between the upper and lower divisions of the parish.

_Sir Nathaniel Lloyd’s Charity_.—In the will of Sir Nathaniel Lloyd, bearing date All Souls day, 1740, there is the following clause:—“I give to some of the meaner inhabitants of Oswestry and Whittington a yearly benefit, equally among them, as shall arise out of my South Sea Stock and old annuities; the first putting in of such persons to be in the heir of Aston, of the family of my grandfather, Andrew Lloyd, Esq., and the nomination to any vacancy to be in the bishop of that diocese and the heir of Aston alternately.” Soon after the death of the testator, proceedings were instituted in the Court of Chancery, and by a decree made 14th November, 1743, it was referred to the master to inquire of what South Sea Stock and Old South Sea annuities the testator died possessed; to appoint trustees, to whose names the same should be transferred, and to approve of a scheme for the application of the charity; and it was declared that the bequest to the meaner inhabitants of Oswestry and Whittington was a perpetual charity, and ought to be distributed among the meaner inhabitants, who should not receive alms. The master, by his report, made 15th May 1745, certified that the testator was possessed of £660. 16s. 9d. South Sea Stock, and £2,623. 16s. Old South Sea annuities; and he approved of a scheme, whereby it was provided that the charity should be extended to the whole town and liberty of Oswestry; and that three-fifths of the dividends should be paid among the meaner inhabitants, not receiving alms, and two-fifths among the like persons in Whittington; and that twelve persons of the town and liberty of Oswestry, and eight persons of Whittington, be nominated alternately by the heir of Aston, and the bishop of St. Asaph, should be allowed £4 each yearly, by quarterly payments. That a power should be vested in seven trustees thereinafter named, to make orders for the better management of the charity; and that on the death of any of the trustees, the survivors should within six weeks appoint another. The master’s report was confirmed, and the stock and annuities duly transferred into their names. The dividends, amounting to £97 19s. 8d. per annum, are received by Messrs. Child, and £50 is transmitted every Christmas, and £45 every Midsummer, to Mr. Lloyd, who pays to twenty poor persons of the parishes of Oswestry and Whittington, £4. 10s. per annum, by half-yearly payments. No persons are appointed unless at the time they reside in one of the parishes above mentioned; but if they afterwards cease to reside there, the allowance is not taken away from them. The parties receiving the charity are generally such as have been reduced from better circumstances.

OSWESTRY DIRECTORY

A LIST OF STREETS, COURTS, SQUARES, AND PLACES IN THE BOROUGH OF OSWESTRY

Albert place, Beatrice street

Albion hill, Bailey head

Arthur street, Bailey head

Bailey head, Bailey street

Bailey street, Cross street

Bailey square, Bailey head

Beatrice street, Legge street

Black gate, Legge street

Borough gaol, Bailey head

Brook st., Lower, Pool road

Brook st., Upper, Church st.

Butter market, Cross street

Butter and cheese mart, Powis hall

Castle buildings, Willow st.

Castle fields, Up. Bailey sq.

Castle street, Castle fields

Castle terrace, Beatrice street

Church street, Cross street

Church st., Upper, Pool road

Clawddu street, Willow street to Cross street

Coney green, Salop road

Corn market, Powis market hall

County court, Bailey square

County hall, Bailey square

Cross street, Church street

Croxon’s square, Smithfield road

Dispensary, Lower Brook st.

English Walls, Smithfield rd

Excise office, Legge street

Gatacre place, Welsh walls

Horse fair, Castle fields

Kent place, Salop road

Legge street, Salop road

Londonderry, Upper Willow street

Love lane, Church street

Middleton road, Salop road

Oswell’s place, Pool road

Paradise row, Salop road

Pentropoath, Pool road

Police office, Bailey head

Poultry and fruit market, Clawddu street

Pool road, Church street

Porkington terrace, Willow street

Post office, Willow street

Powis market hall, Castle fields

Quadrant place, Legge street

Race course, two miles W.W by N. of the borough

Railway station, Lower Beatrice street

Salop road, Legge street

Shambles, Willow street

Shoe and merchandise market, Bailey square

Smithfield road, Salop road

Smithfield beast, sheep, and pig market, English walls

Stamp office, Willow street

Theatre, Upper Willow street

Union place, Beatrice street

Victoria place, Smithfield rd

Warrington place, Upper Willow street

Welsh walls, from Brook street to Willow street

Willow street, Cross street

Willow street, Upper, Welsh walls

ALPHABETICAL DIRECTORY OF NAMES, PROFESSIONS, TRADES, AND RESIDENCES OF THE INHABITANTS OF OSWESTRY.

Allen Thomas, market gardener, Kent place

Andrews Charles Scarlett, Esq., high bailiff

Arthur Evan, provision dealer, Cross street

Asterley Catherine, seminary, Castle buildings

Aubrey Mrs., Broom hall

Barnett Henry, surgeon, Willow street

Barrett James, vict., Coach and Horses, Legge street

Basnett Miss, Salop road

Bassett Joseph, solicitors’ clerk, Salop road

Bate Mrs. Mary, Salop road

Batchelor and Grindley, maltsters, Beatrice street

Batten William, veterinary surgeon, Upper Brook street

Batterbee William, brazier and glazier, Legge street

Baverstock John, tailor, Salop road

Bayley Charles, glass and china dealer, Cross street

Beard Hannah Jemima, dress maker, Willow street

Beckett James, vict., Fighting Cocks, Beatrice street

Bentley John, parish clerk, Upper Church street

Bennion and Meredith, surgery, Welsh walls

Bickerton George Morrel, hardware dealer, Willow street

Bill Mrs. Jane, Bailey street

Blaikei Robert, surgeon, Church street

Bowen John, painter, Legge street

Bowyer Thomas, cooper, Beatrice street

Brayne Mrs. Elizabeth, maltster, Beatrice st.

Brayne Thomas, accountant, Beatrice street

Breese John, vict., Victoria, Willow street

Bridden Mary, confectioner, Albion hill

Brocklehurst Rev. T. H., Brook street

Buffey Mr. Samuel, Brook street

Bull Mrs. Elizabeth, Kent place

Bull William Isaac, solicitor, Church street

Cadwallader Thos., basket maker, Salop road

Carry Mrs. Mary Ann, Kent place

Cartwright Peploe, Esq., Church street

Cash Thomas, slater, Beatrice street

Churchill Benjamin, Esq., Lime house

Churton Joseph, provision dealer, Beatrice street

Clayton Thomas, boot and shoe maker, Upper Brook street

Collier Henry, teacher of dancing, Coney green cottage

Cooke Ann, dress maker, Pool road

Coombs Samuel, boot and shoe warehouse, Church street

Cooper George, bank manager, Willow st.

Corken Archibald, watch and clock dealer, Cross street

Corney William, confectioner, Cross street

Corney and Jones, wine merchants, Church street

Cowdell John, book stationer, Legge street

Cross Thomas, bird and animal preserver, Brook street

Croxon Mrs., Church street

Croxon Richard Jones, Esq., Church street

Davies Mrs. Catherine, Beatrice street

Davies David Christopher, tin plate worker, Legge street

Davies Edward, mail contractor, Coney green

Davies Edward, lets post horses, Salop road

Davies Edward, cheese factor, Church street

Davies Edward, confectioner, Cross street

Davies Elizabeth, straw bonnet maker, Cross street

Davies Ellen, confectioner, Cross street

Davies Francis, blacksmith, Willow street

Davies Henry, solicitor, Willow street

Davies James, beerhouse, Bailey street

Davies John, vict., Three Tuns, Bailey head

Davies John, mercer & draper, Cross street

Davies John, saddler and harness maker, Bailey street

Davies John, tailor, Cross street

Davies Mary, confectioner, Albion hill

Davies Richard and William, mercers and drapers, Cross street

Davies Robert, beerhouse, Upper Brook st.

Davies Sarah, straw bonnet maker, Church st.

Davies Susannah, shopkeeper, Willow street

Davies Thomas, vict., Red Lion, Bailey head

Davies Thomas, plumber and glazier, Albert place

Davies Thomas, glazier, Beatrice street

Davies Thomas, machine maker, Bailey sq.

Davies Thomas Askew, county court clerk, Cross street

Davies William Morris, mercer and draper, Cross street

Dempster Thomas, upholsterer, Legge street

Dicker Philip, surgeon, Arthur street

Dodd Edward, vict., The Eagles, Bailey sqre.

Donne Rev. Stephen, Brook street house

Doughty William, baker, &c., Willow street

Edmunds Griffith, tailor and draper, Albion hill

Edmunds John, Esq., Porkington terrace

Edmunds Mrs. Martha, Union place

Edwards Mr. David, Beatrice street

Edwards David, basket maker, Brook street

Edwards Edward, vict., Unicorn, Albion hill

Edwards Edward, butcher, Willow street

Edwards Edward, vict., Five Bells, Willow street

Edwards George, boot and shoe dealer, Cross street

Edwards John, boot and shoe maker, Croxon’s square

Edwards John, butcher, Bailey street

Edwards James, Esq., Upper Brook street