Then is a Coach to the Station three times a week, as above stated.
CARRIERS.
To STOKE and TUNSTALL, George Dawson, from the Royal Oak, Wed.
To WHITMORE, Adam Roden, from Little Drayton, daily.
CONVEYANCE BY WATER.
To all parts of the Kingdom, the Shropshire Union Railway and Canal Company, from the Old wharf—William Tomkinson, wharfinger; and from Victoria wharf, daily—Robert Johnson, wharfinger.
ELLESMERE AND NEIGHBOURHOOD.
Ellesmere is a market town and parish, in the hundred of Pimhill, 169 miles N.W. from London, 16 N.N.W. from Shrewsbury, and 12 from Wrexham; situate near the north-western extremity of the county, contiguous to Flintshire. The town is of Saxon origin, and supposed to derive its name from the water called Ailsmere, i.e. the greatest mere—being the most extensive lake in this part of the country; it covers about one hundred and sixteen acres, and is well stocked with fish. Its environs have two advantages superior to other lakes; a good town borders on one side, and the beautiful park of Oteley on the other. A mansion, in the Elizabethian style, erected by the owner of the property, Charles Kynaston Mainwaring, Esq., and a tower of considerable height immediately adjoining it (commemorative of the birth of his son and heir), form picturesque objects from the town: the park is also a fine one, strikingly diversified with hill and dale. Near the mere is a house of industry for the poor of five parishes, from which is a delightful prospect; and on the Castle-hill is one of the finest bowling-greens in the kingdom from which nine different counties may be seen. The green occupies the site of the keep of the ancient castle, a frontier fortress during the unsettled period which preceded the final subjugation of Wales, and was probably demolished about the close of the parliamentary war. Ellesmere formerly gave name to a hundred, which, with its dependencies, was annexed to that of Pimhill, in the 27th year of Henry VIII. Part of the manor of St. John of Jerusalem extends to the town and liberties of Ellesmere, which is exclusively governed by its bailiffs, chosen annually by a jury at a court-leet of the lord of the manor. The ancient hundred court for the recovery of small debts has been superseded by the new county court, in which claims are adjudicated to any amount not exceeding £50. The town has an aspect of respectability and comfort: it is gas-lighted, and the houses are in general neat and well constructed. In 1833 a handsome building was completed for a town-hall and market-house, the ground floor being for the accommodation of those who have butter, poultry, &c. for sale; while the upper portion is appropriated to public meetings and occasional assemblies. The principal trade of Ellesmere is malting; the barley of the neighbourhood being remarkably good, a corresponding demand for the malt is generally experienced; and the butter and cheese produced in this part of the country are of the finest description. There are several excellent inns, the chief of which is the Bridgewater Arms. This place is in some measure benefited by a navigation, called the Ellesmere canal, which forms a communication between the river Dee at Chester and the Severn at Shrewsbury, and by collateral branches to all parts of the kingdom. The canal was constructed, in pursuance of an act of parliament, in the 34th of George III.
The parish church of St. Mary is an ancient structure, in the decorative style of English architecture, with a lofty square tower in the centre, wherein is a ring of eight bells: the east window is a fine composition in the later style. The living is a vicarage, in the patronage of Lord Alford; the present vicar is the Rev. John David Day. The other places of worship are for Independents, and Primitive, Association, and Wesleyan Methodists. The chapelries of Cockshut, Dudlaston, and Penley (the last-named in the county of Flint), belonging to this parish, are all perpetual curacies. There are two schools for children of either sex, conducted upon the National plan. Ellesmere is the centre of an Union under the new Poor-Law, consisting of seventeen parishes, nine of which are in Salop, and the remainder in Flintshire. The population of the Union, at the last census, amounted to 15,226. The market is held on Tuesday, and the fairs on the Tuesday after the 2nd of February, the third Tuesday in April, Tuesday in Whitsun-week, the first Tuesday in July, the last Tuesday in August, the first Tuesday in October, the third Tuesday in November, and the first Tuesday in December. Ellesmere parish contained (including the chapelries before mentioned), in 1841, 6,603 inhabitants, and in 1851, 6,940.
POST OFFICE, Scotland-street, Andrew Bickley, Post Master.—Letters from all parts arrive (from Shrewsbury) every morning at ten minutes before seven, and are despatched at a quarter before six in the evening.