PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE
Buildwas Abbey.—A beautiful ruin.
Bridgnorth.—A picturesque town, with a church and the remains of a castle; the bridge.
Kidderminster.—A town famed for its manufacture of carpets; church, Perpendicular.
Stourport.—An uninteresting town.
Ombersley.—A picturesque village; The Court, the residence of Lord Sandys.
Worcester.—A busy city; the cathedral and tomb of King John; the Edgar Tower; the Guildhall; the famous porcelain works.
Great Malvern.—A finely-situated watering-place; the abbey gateway; a Norman church, originally a priory church.
Ledbury.—Picturesque market town, with old market hall and several quaint houses; church, Norman, Early English, and Perpendicular; tower detached.
Hereford.—(See [p. 176].)
Loop 6. (NORTHERN PART INCLUDING SHREWSBURY).
Continued on [p. 239].
The route from Shrewsbury follows that to Uriconium for nearly a mile, when a bifurcation occurs, and the road to the right is chosen, passing through Sutton and Cound. The church at the latter place is chiefly of Early English architecture; it contains a carved early Norman font of great interest. The Wrekin, with Heaven's Gate Camp upon it, is a prominent feature in the distance, while the Severn indulges in sinuous windings by the side of the road. Buildwas Abbey is quite close to the road; it presents a beautiful aspect, and is one of the finest ruins in the county. The abbey was founded by Roger de Clinton, Bishop of Chester, in 1135, for Cistercians. Parts of it still remain roofed. Coalbrookdale is historically interesting as the cradle of the iron trade. It sprang into prominence when the Sussex ironfields had to be abandoned, owing to the shrinkage of the forests there. In 1700 members of the Darby family experimented upon iron ore smelted with coal and coke, and since then it has been a centre of the iron industry.
Ironbridge contains nothing of any particular interest. It is a town of foundries, forges, and furnaces, while hideous tiers of dirty cottages cluster on the steep hill-side. In the town is the iron bridge from which the place gains its name; it is a bridge of a single span, stretching 120 feet, and is the first on record. Its presence is due to the energy of Abraham Darby, of the Coalbrookdale Works, in 1779. From Ironbridge the road trends away from the Severn, passing through a well-wooded country, and eventually reaches
BRIDGNORTH
This picturesque town is reputed to have been founded by a daughter of Alfred the Great, and was fortified with walls and a castle by Robert de Belesme, Earl of Shrewsbury. Henry I. besieged it in 1102, and in the time of Henry II. it was dismantled. The walls suffered the same fate at the hands of the Parliamentary forces after a long siege in 1646. The upper town is built upon a steep rocky plateau, which rises abruptly from the river, crowned by the remains of the old castle, which deviate remarkably from the vertical. A bridge of fine design joins the upper to the lower town.
At Quatford a fortress was built by Ethelfleda, and subsequently a college by the wife of Roger de Montgomery, from a romantic remembrance of having first met her husband upon that spot. Slight indications of a keep still remain upon a rock overlooking the Severn. The church has the chancel arch and font of the Norman period, and the remainder is Decorated work of the fourteenth century.
The Forest of Morfe at one time covered the whole of this district. Dudmaston Castle is passed immediately before Quatt is reached, and then an undulating run eventually leads to
KIDDERMINSTER
The name of the town means the 'minster on the brow of the hill.' From the time of William the Conqueror down to c. 1135 it was a manor in possession of the Crown.
The Church.—This is dedicated to St. Mary, and is chiefly of the Perpendicular period. It contains a number of ancient monuments, and has recently undergone a restoration. The town is celebrated for its manufacture of carpets; a peculiar property of the River Stour is reputed to add to the brilliancy of the colouring. Dyeing, worsted-spinning, together with iron manufactures, are carried on in the town.
On leaving Kidderminster the road lies almost due south to Stourport, a rather uninteresting town, possessing, however, an iron bridge over the Severn. The church is of modern construction.
Ombersley is a village of uncommonly neat appearance, with many timbered houses effectively rendered in black and white. The Court was erected in the time of Queen Anne, and is the country residence of Lord Sandys. The church in the village is new.
Town Plan No. 8—Worcester.
WORCESTER
is sheltered by the Malvern Hills on the south-west, and by other picturesque eminences. A Roman road originally traversed the city, and as early as the year 680 Worcester was surrounded by lofty walls and fortifications, which, by existing records, appear to have compared favourably with other towns.
The Cathedral.—(Open on weekdays 9.30 to 6, but closed at 5.30 between October and March 31 [or dusk]. 6d. each charged for entering the Choir, Lady Chapel, and other special portions.) When Mercia became an independent kingdom a church was raised, and subsequently another built by Oswald in the tenth century a little north-east of the present building. Wulfstan found Oswald's church in ruins, the handiwork of Hardicanute's soldiers. He began a new cathedral in 1084, but two fires subsequently ruined it. Re-erected, it was reconsecrated in 1218. The cathedral suffered but little at the Reformation, but very much during the Civil War. It is not a grand building so far as massiveness is concerned, but possesses a variety of styles which harmonize in a remarkable degree, and a sense of unity pervades the whole building. The tower is a beautiful specimen of Perpendicular work, and has recently been thoroughly renovated. The chief objects of interest in the interior are the stalls, with their miserere seats, dating from 1397, formerly in Worcester Priory; the cloisters, chapterhouse, and remarkable Norman crypt, with King John's tomb in the choir. There are picturesque remains of the old Guesten Hall, the refectory and dormitory.
The Edgar Tower stands near the entrance to the cathedral cloisters. It was originally the entrance to Worcester Castle, but the monks converted it into a monastery gateway.
The Guildhall dates from 1721, and is an impressive building, containing some objects of interest from the battlefield of Worcester.
The Commandery.—This is a hospital founded in 1085; the great refectory and Guesten Hall, with beautiful roofs and stained glass, should be seen.
There are a number of old timbered houses remaining in the city, especially in Friar Street, near the city gaol, and in Lich Street. In the Corn Market is King Charles's House, built 1577, in which Charles II. took refuge in 1651 after the Battle of Worcester. It has the inscription, 'Fear God; honour the King,' over the doorway. In the Trinity, not far off, is an interesting Elizabethan house with an open gallery. The Royal Porcelain Works, founded in 1751, are in Severn Street, near the cathedral. (Open 9.30 to 12.30, 2.15 to 5. Admission 6d.)
Loop 6 (Part of Second Portion).
SHREWSBURY TO HEREFORD.
Continued from [p. 230].
Continued on [p. 241].
GREAT MALVERN
Malvern is a watering-place, situated in a beautiful district on the eastern slope of the hills of the same name, and is much frequented by reason of its fine air, its healthy surroundings, and its mineral springs. A Benedictine priory was founded here shortly after the Conquest, and one of the buildings, the Abbey Gateway, dating from 1083, still remains.
The Church is of Norman work, with Perpendicular additions, dating from the time of Henry VII.; it originally formed the Priory Church, and was purchased by the inhabitants at the Dissolution, and made parochial. The recumbent effigies in it are of considerable interest.
Between Malvern and Ledbury lie the Malvern Hills; in crossing them one has to negotiate a hill of 1 in 11. One is reminded of Touraine in the quantities of mistletoe growing on the trees as the quaint old town of Ledbury is neared.
Loop 6 (Last Portion). LEDBURY TO HEREFORD.
Continued from [p. 239].
LEDBURY
The main street is full of charm in its possession of several old houses and a market-house standing on chestnut pillars. The upper portion has been much restored, but the wooden supports are those of the building believed to have been put up by John Abell in Elizabethan times.
The most notable feature of the church is the detached Early English tower, now crowned with a modern spire. Of the original Norman church the western doorway remains in the Perpendicular nave. Besides the tombs of the Biddulphs the stained glass in the north chapel should be examined. These windows are of the Decorated period, and the chapel is dedicated to the local St. Catherine, who lived at the beginning of the fourteenth century. During the Civil War there was a hot fight in Ledbury in the year 1645 between Prince Rupert and a body of Roundheads. Marks of bullets can be seen on the church doors and elsewhere in the town.
(For Hereford, see [p. 176].)