edifice, built by government in 1806, at an expense of £10,000, and
intended as a depôt for containing the arms of the volunteer corps of
this and the adjoining counties. The principal building is 135 feet long
by 39 feet wide, divided into an upper and lower story, capable of
containing 25,000 stand of arms; at each angle is a small residence, and
within the enclosure are two magazines for ammunition. The arms having
been removed to Chester, the premises have remained unoccupied ever
since. The structure now presents a dilapidated appearance; it has
become by purchase the property of Lord Berwick.
THE COUNTY COURT OFFICES for the recovery of debts not exceeding £20 are
situate in Wyle Cop. The court contains within its jurisdiction the
following parishes and places, viz.:—Acton Burnell, Alberbury,
Albrighton, Astley, Atcham, Baschurch, Battlefield, Berrington,
Cardington, Cardiston, Church Preen, Church Pulverbatch, Church Stretton,
Condover, Cound, Cressage, Easthope, Eaton-under-Haywood, Eaton
Constantine, Fitz, Ford, Frodesley, Great Harwood, Great Ness, Habberley,
Hadnal, Harley, Haughmond Demesne, Hope Bowdler, Hughley, Kenley,
Leebotwood, Leighton, Little Ness, Longnor, Melverley, Meole Brace,
Middle, Minsterley, Montford, Petton, Pitchford, Pontesbury, Preston
Gubballs, Ruckley and Langley, Rushbury, Shineton, Shipton, Shrawardine,
Shrewsbury—viz.: St. Chad, St. Julian, St. Mary except Clive, and Holy
Cross and St. Giles, and Smethcott, Stapleton, Sutton, Uffington,
Uppington, Upton Magna, Westbury, Withington, Wolstaston, Wollaston and
Wroxeter.—_Judge_: Uvedale Corbett, Esq., Aston Hall.—_Clerk_: Joshua
John Peele, Esq., Murivance.—_High Bailiff_: Mr. Henry Bloxham, St.
Mary’s square.—_Bailiffs_: Edward Bury and Richard Prinn.
THE CATTLE MARKET or NEW SMITHFIELD, situated near the banks of the
Severn, on a plot of land called Raven Meadow, is approached from the
lower part of Mardol, and the Castle gates nearly opposite the railway
station. This market covers four acres of land, and is not surpassed by
any provincial market in England for the conveniences it affords, and its
adaptation to the purposes intended. It was opened on November 19th,
1850. The total cost has been £15,000, of which £2500 was expended in
raising the ground. A lofty brick wall surrounds the market, which is
capable of affording accommodation for 700 horses, 1400 cattle, 5000
sheep, and 1000 pigs, with suitable trial ground for the horses,
appropriate pens for the sheep and pigs, and a long range of sheds under
the north wall for the cattle. If the tolls are not sufficient to pay
the interest of the money borrowed for the formation of the market, the
act of parliament authorizes a rate upon the town to meet the deficiency.
The market or fair is held every alternate Tuesday, when stock of all
kinds is brought in very considerable quantities for sale.
FAIRS for cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, and fat stock are held every
alternate Tuesday. The following will be the dates for the year 1851,
viz.:—January 14, 28; February 11, 25; March 11, 25; April 8, 22; May 6,
20; June 3, 17; July 1, 15, 29; August 12, 26; September 9, 23; October
7, 21; November 4, 18; December 2, 16, 30.
BUTTER AND CHEESE FAIR is held on the Wednesday following the first fair
in each month.
THE WOOL FAIR takes place on July 1 and August 26.
THE ENGLISH BRIDGE is a substantial and elegant structure, 400 feet in
length, and composed of seven arches, crowned by a bold balustrade. It
was erected in 1774, at an expense of £15,710, of which £11,494 was
raised by voluntary subscriptions. The central arch is sixty feet in
width, and forty in height, which is double the height of the end arches,
and consequently disagreeably steep; the breadth of the thoroughfare is
also inconveniently narrow (only twenty-five feet) for the innumerable
carriages and passengers which are continually passing over it. The
object in its construction was to contrive as much space as possible for
the water during floods. With the exception of this defect, its
architectural beauty is surpassed by few bridges in the kingdom; it is
highly ornamental to the town, and an equally noble monument of the
public spirit of the gentry of the county. The keystone of the central
arch is adorned with a fine head of Sabrina, “goddess of the river,” and
that on the opposite side with a head of Neptune, the “father of
fountains.” The keystones of the other arches are worked into a shell;
on the central piers of the arches are finely carved dolphins.
The old English bridge, built probably by the abbots and burgesses
conjointly, was taken down on the completion of the present structure.
It was constructed on seventeen arches, and extended over the main
stream, also an arm of the river now filled up which flowed into the
Meole Brook; its length was 864 feet, and the breadth only 12 feet, being
greatly encumbered with houses. Near the eastern extremity was a gate
and a strong embattled tower, with chamber and portcullis, and beyond a
draw-bridge.
THE WELSH BRIDGE, so called on account of the road from Shrewsbury to a
considerable part of North Wales lying over it, is situated at the foot
of Mardol, and crosses the river into the populous suburb of Frankwell.
It is a bold and substantial structure, consisting of five arches, the
length being 266 feet and the breadth 30 feet, completed in 1795, at an
expense of £8000, raised by subscriptions. The old Welsh bridge taken
down on the erection of the above structure, was situated a few yards
higher up the stream than the present fabric. It was a most interesting
monument of antiquity, and consisted of seven arches, with massive gate
towers at each extremity, in the finest style of castellated building.
Leland, who visited Shrewsbury in 1539, in describing this bridge
says:—“It is the greatest, faynest, and highest upon the stream, having
six great arches of stone; it standeth on the west syde of the towne, and
hath at the one end of it a great gate to enter by into the towne; and at
the other end towardes Wales a mighty stronge towre to prohibit enemies
to enter on the bridge.” Above one of the gates stood an armed statue of
a knight, which was removed in 1791, and placed in a niche in front of
the Market-house. This effigy was an important object of attraction to
the Welshmen, from a tradition, that it represented Llewelyn, Prince of
Wales. Antiquaries, from its attendant embellishments, state it
represented Richard Duke of York. The tolls arising from marketable
goods over this bridge were abolished by the payment of £6000 to the
corporation, which sum was raised by public subscriptions.
THE RAILWAY VIADUCT over the Severn, situated a little east from the
station, consists of seven elliptical arches, forty-five span, and
thirty-six feet above the ordinary level of the river. The whole has a
bold, massive, and elegant appearance.—A BRIDGE of cast iron of
sixty-four feet span, crosses the Castle Foregate, and carries the four
lines of rails of the Chester and Shrewsbury railway.—A WOODEN BRIDGE,
consisting of two timber arches, eighty-five feet span each, on the bow
and spring principle, leads from the public walk called the Dana, over
the railway station, to the front of the county gaol.
TRADE AND MANUFACTURES.—The trade of this town was once esteemed of great
importance to the kingdom, and though its consequence has been eclipsed
by the subsequent increase of other places, yet it has never been
destitute of a considerable share of internal commerce. In early times
it was distinguished for its glove cloth, and shoe manufactories, but its
ancient traffic in Welsh woollens was in a great measure the cause of the
former opulence of Shrewsbury. Camden, in his account of the town in
1586, observes:—“It is a fine city, and of good commerce; and by the
industry of the citizens and their cloth manufacture, and their trade
with the Welsh, is very rich, for hither the Welsh commodities are
brought as to the common mart.” Pennant, who wrote more than half a
century ago, says:—“From very early days this place possessed almost
exclusively the trade with Wales, in a coarse kind of woollen cloth
called Welsh webs, which were brought from Merinoth and Montgomeryshire
to a market held here weekly on Thursday. They were afterwards dressed,
that is, the wool raised on one side, by a set of people called shearmen.
At the time of Queen Elizabeth the trade was so great, that not fewer
than 600 persons maintained themselves by this occupation. The cloth was
sent chiefly to America to clothe the negroes, or to Flanders, where it
is used by the peasants. At present the greatest part of this traffic is
diverted into other channels, and not more than four or five hundred
thousand yards are brought to the ancient mart.” The stout Welshmen were
accustomed to come to the market, with troops of hardy ponies, each with
a halter of twisted straw, and laden with bales of cloth.
It was a practice of the drapers and shearmen to assemble at the
Market-house at two o’clock, and according to ancient usage proceed up
stairs in seniority. The traffic was a ready money business, and as the
Welshmen left much of their cash behind them, in exchange for groceries,
malt, and other commodities, the loss of such a trade may easily be
conceived, when it is said that more than six hundred pieces of web have
been sold in one day. The Welsh flannels were formerly made by the rural
population, and the small farmers employed their female domestics at
leisure hours in this business. These seldom made more than four or five
pieces during the year, and those from the wool of their own flocks. The
principal manufacturers were farmers, who maintained servants solely for
that purpose, and hired weavers by the year. They produced forty or
fifty pieces annually at market, each measuring from 100 to 150 yards;
and, as it was a ready money trade, many of them made considerable sums.
At present, chiefly from the introduction of spinning mills and the power
loom, this ancient domestic manufacture is almost swept away. The
market, formerly held here every Thursday, is now removed to Welshpool,
Newton, and Llanidloes, which has nearly caused the total extinction of
this branch of local commerce. There are now only two flannel merchants
in the town, and they visit the different localities in which the
flannels are manufactured to purchase their goods.
The general trade and prosperity of Shrewsbury are said to have been very
much injured by the exactions of its guilds or incorporated companies,
the most considerable of which are the drapers and the mercers. The
former were incorporated by Edward IV., and united with an ancient guild
or fraternity of the Holy Trinity, founded in the church of St. Mary.
Their company is recognised by several subsequent acts of parliament.
They have now a considerable estate, originally purchased by the
voluntary contributions of the members, which is expended in the support
of the inmates of St. Mary’s almshouses, in liberal subscriptions to the
charitable institutions of the town, and in relief to widows and families
of deceased members. On the south-west side of St. Mary’s church is the
Drapers’ Hall, a curious half-timbered building, erected, probably, about
the time of Elizabeth. The large room, finely wainscotted with old oak,
contains two massive oak tables, and a fine old chest, with richly carved
ornaments. Portraits of the royal founder of the company, and of Degory
Watur and his spouse, decorate the wainscot. Among the records of the
Drapers’ Company are the following:—“25 Elizabeth, 1583, ordered that no
draper set out for Oswestry on Monday before six o’clock, on forfeiture
of 6s. 8d., and that they should wear their weapons all the way, and go
in company. Not to go over the Welsh Bridge before the bell tolls
six.”—“27 of Elizabeth, 1585, a market was held at Knocking, and a
halfpenny paid by the drapers for every piece of cloth bought.”—“1621,
agreed to buy no more cloth in Oswestry.”
The Mercers were incorporated by Edward IV., on condition that they
should maintain a priest to sing at the altar of St. Michael in the
collegiate church of St. Chad; that they should give a penny a week to
thirteen poor men, to pray for the good estate of the king, his family,
and themselves; and also find a wax taper to be carried before the holy
sacrament on the procession of Corpus Christi, on the celebration of
which day it was customary for all the companies to unite as their grand
anniversary, and preceded by their masters and wardens, ornamented with
colours and curious devices they attended the bailiffs and members of the
corporation, who, with the friars of the convents and the parochial
clergy, followed the holy sacrament, which was borne by priests under a
rich canopy of velvet, to a stone cross without the town (probably that
now called the Weeping Cross). Here all joined in bewailing their sins,
and in chanting forth petitions for a plentiful harvest; they then
returned in the same order to the church of St. Chad, when a grand mass
was celebrated. Three days of unbounded jollity and recreation followed
this magnificent festival. These were held on a piece of ground called
“KINGSLAND,” where each company had its “arbour,” and the several
incorporated communities, accompanied by bands of music, flags, and
devices emblematical of their craft, preceded by a “King” or some other
principal personage, assembled at their respective arbours and spent the
time with much festivity. After the reformation the religions ceremony
was abolished, but one day of entertainment is still observed under the
denomination of the SHREWSBURY SHOW, now held on the second Monday after
Trinity Sunday. Each company has still its arbour or pavilion, adorned
with the arms of the company, in which refreshments are provided. These
are visited by the mayor and corporation, who used formerly to wear their
robes of office upon this occasion. The following is an entry from the
books kept by the bailiffs, dated 1521:—“Wine to the Bishop of Coventry
and Lichfield, president of our lord the king’s council in the marches of
Wales at the general procession of Corpus Christi, 3s. 8d.” The show was
revived and kept up with much pageantry in 1850. The ancient _Tailors’
Hall_ formerly stood on College Hill; the _Weavers’ Hall_ on Wyle Cop;
the _Cloth Workers’ Hall_ in High-street, and the _Mercers’ Hall_ in the
King’s Head Shutt. The chief manufactories at the present time in
Shrewsbury are the extensive establishment of Messrs. Marshall and Co.,
for flax spinning and the manufacture of linen thread, where upwards of
800 operatives are employed. The factory is a spacious and lofty
building, situated in St. Michael-street; the aggregate amount of steam
power employed is equal to 116 horses. Linen was formerly extensively
manufactured here; a linen and flax mill was taken down about fifteen
years ago; there are now only about half a dozen hands employed in
weaving linen. The cotton manufacture was introduced into Shrewsbury in
1790, when several factories were built at Coleham, and the trade was
carried on in a spirited manner. In 1817 the proprietor, in consequence
of a great depression in trade, declined business, since which the mills
have been closed, and some portion of them converted into cottage
tenements. _Malting_ is very extensively carried on, as will be seen in
reference to the trades’ list, which will show thirty different firms.
_Glass Staining_ has been brought to the highest state of perfection by
Mr. David Evans, whose ingenious talents and consummate skill have raised
the art to a degree of perfection unequalled in modern times. The
beautiful specimens visible in the restorations of Winchester and
Lichfield cathedrals, in most of the churches of Shrewsbury, and in
churches almost in all parts of the kingdom, will compare with some of
the finest works of the ancient masters, and speak his merits more
forcibly to the refined taste than whole volumes of feeble encomiums.
There are several _Iron-founderies_, and the manufacture of _Agricultural
Implements_ is carried onto a considerable extent, with _Tanning_ and
other branches of trade as will be seen on reference to the trades’
directory. Among the delicacies for which the town is noted is the
_Shrewsbury Cake_, a delicious sweet cake, which the poet Shenstone
speaks of as “Rend’ring through Britain’s isle Salopian’s praises known.”
The _Simnel Cake_ is also much admired, and great quantities are made
about the season of Christmas. It consists of an exterior crust or shell
deeply tinged with saffron, enclosing a compound of rich fruit. _The
Shrewsbury Brawn_ is highly celebrated among the connoisseurs of this
ancient Christmas dish.
THE QUARRY.—This fine public promenade occupies a rich sloping meadow of
about twenty acres, on the west side of the town, and derives its name
from a disused stone quarry nearly in the centre, which supplied a
considerable part of the red sand stone visible in the older portions of
the walls and churches of Shrewsbury. An avenue of lofty lime trees,
more than five hundred yards in length, follows the windings of the
Severn; to the middle and at each end of which, three other shaded walks
lead from various parts of the town. “The still retirement and pleasing
gloom of this delightful grove, from which the noise of the busy town,
and even a prospect of its buildings, are almost entirely excluded—the
refreshing coolness of its shade—the rich verdure which ever clothes its
meadow—the fine sweep of its umbrageous arch—and the majestic flow of the
river, which here combine to render it the favourite and constant resort
of the inhabitants, and a principal attraction to the stranger.” The
opposite bank of the Severn rises abruptly, and is crowned with the House
of Industry, an extensive and handsome building, and some modern
plantations, contribute greatly to embellish the scene, and render it one
of the finest public walks in the kingdom. The ground was planted and
laid out during the mayoralty of Henry Jenks, Esq., in the year, 1719,
previous to which it was a waste plot of land, where the inhabitants were
used to indulge in feats of wrestling, tilting and other sports. In a
place called the Dingle, planted with a clump of magnificent trees, are
the remains of a rude amphitheatre, with ascending seats cut in the bank,
where the friars of the adjacent convent entertained the Salopians with
those ancient, sacred dramas, called mysteries or Whitsun plays, so
famous in the days of our ancestors. Here, also, during the reign of
Elizabeth, many plays were exhibited, in which the scholars of the free
school sustained the principal characters; among which, in 1565, was a
play called Julian the Apostate, and two years afterwards was exhibited
the passion of Christ. It is said that the Queen herself intended to
have honoured the last with her presence, and had even arrived as far as
Coventry on her way, but hearing that it was over she returned to London.
The corporation in the year 1569 leased the quarry to three persons for
ten years, for the consideration of a red rose yearly, on condition that
they should bring the water from Broadwell, near Crow Meole, in leaden
pipes as high as it would run into the town of Shrewsbury. By this means
the water was first brought into the town; the work was completed in the
year 1574, and then the conduits were first opened.
THE HORSE RACES are held annually in the second week in May, and continue
for two days; they attract a considerable influx of visitors to the town,
but are not so celebrated as they were in former times. The race course
is situated a quarter of a mile N.N.E. from the Abbey Church, on the road
leading to Monk Moor. It also bears the name of “the soldiers’ piece,”
and is pointed out by tradition as the spot on which the unfortunate
Charles I., when at Shrewsbury in 1642, drew up his army and addressed
the assembled gentry of the county on the subject of his distresses.
THE ASSEMBLY ROOM was erected in 1777, at the back of the Lion Hotel; the
room is commodious and suitably decorated, and the balls are usually
attended by the rank and fashion of the county.
THE BILLIARD ROOMS are situated in the Market-square; the third story of
the Music Hall has been divided into convenient apartments, which are now
occupied as billiard rooms, of which Mr. Edward Vaughan is the
proprietor.
AQUATIC EXCURSIONS.—Much pleasure and healthy exercise is afforded on the
Severn during the summer months, and an emulation of skill is frequently
excited among the rowers. Boats may be hired at a moderate charge, and
pleasure parties frequently take an excursion up the river to the
picturesque and shady banks of Berwick and the Isle, or to the rural
village of Uffington. The Severn also affords much pleasure to the
votaries of the “gentle craft,” the river being celebrated for the
excellency of its salmon, besides which trout, pike, grayling, perch, and
many other sorts of fish are caught.
KINGSLAND is a plot of ground covering twenty-seven acres on the south
west side of the town, the common property of the burgesses, thirty of
whom in rotation receive annually 4s. 6d. from its produce, in lieu for a
“turn for their kine.” It is studded with small enclosures and
“arbours,” to which the several incorporated trading companies of the
town annually resort in procession on the Monday after Trinity Sunday,
accompanied by bands of music and devices emblematical of their craft; a
more particular account of which has been noticed with the various
guilds.
MONASTIC FOUNDATIONS.—_The Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul_, which stood
on the eastern banks of the Severn, in the suburb which still bears its
name, owes its foundation to Roger de Montgomery, the first Norman Earl
of Shrewsbury. In the time of the Saxons it is said a church stood on or
near this spot, and a community of monks was in all probability united to
it. The Danes, during their ravages in the ninth century, plundered and
depopulated monastic institutions, and this it is conjectured fell with
the rest. The kingdom becoming more settled under the reign of Edgar,
many of the abbey churches which had till then laid desolate were taken
possession of by secular priests, who, swerving from the strictness of
monastic life, engaged in the active concerns of society. Such,
apparently, was the state of the monastery of Shrewsbury at the time of
the Norman invasion. The church, then a rude edifice of wood, was
governed by Odelirius, a priest, who as archpresbyter, presided over a
college of married secular clergy. Its district was called the parish of
the city. From the fact that the portion of each prebend, at the death
of the incumbent, should revert to the monks of a new abbey, there can be
no doubt that at this period it was collegiate. This was the cause of
much litigation, it being customary for ecclesiastical livings to descend
as by inheritance to the next of blood. These claims were, however,
abolished during the reign of Henry I. In the seminary belonging to this
ancient church, a priest named Seward is mentioned as an eminent teacher,
and to him the historian Ordericus Vitalis owed his education.