said to be the first brick structure erected in Shrewsbury. It appears
to have been built in 1618 by William Rowley, draper, and the first of
his family who settled in this town, of which he was admitted a burgess
in 1594, and made an alderman in 1633, under the charter of Charles the
First. His grand-daughter and co-heiress married John Hill, Esq. who
lived in great hospitality in this mansion, from whom the street received
the appellation of _Hill’s Lane_, instead of Knuckin-street. He died in
1731, and the house was soon afterwards inhabited by the talented Dr.
Adams, incumbent of St. Chad’s from 1731 to 1775.
The portal of this mansion is curious, and is accurately delineated by
the wood cut. The great chamber, or withdrawing room, remains nearly in
its original state, and is adorned with a basso relievo representation of
the Creation, and other devices in stucco, &c. The oak wainscot from the
other apartments has lately been removed. It is now used as a storehouse
for grain, and presents a striking picture of—
“Some banquet Hall deserted,
Whose lights are fled, whose glory’s dead,
And all but it departed.”
[Picture: Portal of Rowley’s Mansion]
Retracing our steps to Mardol, at the top of the street is a pile of
ancient houses, decorated on the exterior with plaster and stone
ornaments, in the fantastical fashion of the time in which they were
built. The turning below these leads to _Claremont Street_, formerly
Doglane. On the left is a curious half-timbered house, built in 1613,
with a projecting porch. A little lower is the Baptist Meeting House.
Keeping to the left, is an old mansion, called