Roleia Arroyo del Molinos Hillette
Vimiera Almarez Orthes
Corunna Vittoria Aire
Douro Pyrenees Tarbes
Talavera Nive Toulouse
Busaco Nivelle Waterloo.
This splendid memorial is constructed of fine Grinshill stone; the total
expence, including the cottage and other incidentals, amounted to £5973.
13s. 2d. which was raised by a subscription throughout the county.
Within the shaft is a staircase of 172 steps, forming a well in the
centre, each step having an iron baluster with a gilt letter inserted on
a small panel, which gives the following inscription:—
“This staircase was the gift of John Straphen, the builder, as his
donation towards erecting this Column. The first stone of the
foundation was laid December 27th, 1814, and completed June 18th,
1816, the anniversary of the glorious Battle of Waterloo.”
The column may be ascended by a gratuity to the keeper, who resides in a
neat Doric cottage adjoining.
From the railing at the top is a delightful panoramic view of the fertile
plain of Shropshire, to which the bold appearance of Shrewsbury, and its
once formidable Castle mantled with leafy verdure, forms a prominent
contrast.
The surrounding distances are replete with interest, being composed of
fine undulating hills and mountains. Proceeding northward, the eye
ranges over the Nesscliff and Selattyn hills, the mountainous tract of
the Berwyn, the luxuriantly crowned summit of Pimhill, the wild and
romantic rock of Grinshill, and the gentler eminences of Hawkstone, whose
tasteful plantations and noble woods are seen at a distance of twelve
miles, among which rises the “Obelisk,” erected to the memory of Sir
Rowland Hill, the first Protestant Lord Mayor of London.
In the foreground north-east is the plain, renowned in history, and
immortalized by Shakspeare in dramatic poetry, as the scene of the great
and important Battle of Shrewsbury, in 1403, in commemoration of which
Henry IV. piously founded a church, called to this day “Battlefield,” the
well-proportioned tower of which is easily distinguished.
The turrets of the modern castellated mansion of Sundorne are
particularly striking, and remind us of the beautiful lines of Mrs.
Hemans—
The stately Homes of England,
How beautiful they stand!
Amidst their tall ancestral trees,
O’er all the pleasant land.
Further eastward are the venerable and truly picturesque ruins of
Haghmond Monastery, founded in the year 1100, for canons of the order of
St. Augustine. Near the remains of this once more noble pile is the
wooded ascent of Haghmond Hill, and its conspicuously placed Shooting
Tower, beneath which is the retired village of Uffington and its
primitive church.
Direct east stands exalted in noble majesty the isolated WREKIN, the
_natural Heart of Shropshire_, in front of which appears the exuberant
foliage surrounding Longner Hall. Directing the eye southwards, is
Charlton Hill, bounded by the towering summit of the Brown Clee (1820
feet in height), and the Lawley, Acton Burnell Park, Frodesley, and other
Shropshire hills, among which is the lofty Caerdoc, otherwise Caer
Caradoc, where Caractacus (the last of the original British princes) is
said to have displayed his patriotism and daring spirit against the
united efforts of the Roman forces.
Onward in the horizon, beyond a remote cultivated country, is the
Longmynd with its straight outline, and the Stiperstones, topped by
rocks, similar to the august relics of castellated grandeur; these are
connected by the Bromlow and Long Mountain; and the panorama terminates
with the lofty mountains of Breidden, Cefn y Cayster, and Moelygolfa,
which, with more distant eminences, form a fine back-ground to a portion
of the town, while the middle distance all around is unequalled for
richness and fertility.
Nor, whilst extolling the environs and distant scenes around, let us
forget the immediate vicinity of the Column: its verdant pastures,
sequestered lanes, stately trees, and rural scenery, are surpassed by
none so near a populous county town.