The Savings Bank was established in 1819, and is situated in New-street Terrace. The capital stock of the bank on November, 20th, 1850, amounted to £15,198. 3s. 2d., at which period there were 469 separate accounts; of which nine were charitable societies, and three friendly societies. Of the respective balances, 260 did not exceed £20, 108 were above £20 and not exceeding £50, 46 did not exceed £100, 30 were above £100 and not exceeding £150, and the deposits of 13 were above the latter amount and under £200. The amount received from depositors from November 20th, 1849, to November 20th, 1850, was £2,204. 14s. 8d. The payments during the same period were £2,275. 4s. 7d. Mr. Thomas Eaton Lander, Treasurer; and Mr. Peter Osborne, Secretary. The bank is open every alternate Tuesday from ten till one o’clock.
The Shiffnal Union House, a brick structure, situated a short distance from the town, was partly built in 1817, at the expense of the ratepayers. In the year 1840, additional buildings were erected by the guardians of the union, at a cost of about £800, which will accommodate about one hundred and fifty inmates. The interior arrangements are well contrived for the comfort, convenience, and cleanliness of the inmates, the number of whom is usually about sixty. The union comprises an area of sixty-seven square miles, and embraces the parishes of Albrighton, Badger, Beckbury, Boninghall, Donington, Kemberton, Ryton, Shiffnal, Stockton, Sutton Maddock, and Tong, in the county of Salop; and the parishes of Blymhill, Pateshull, Sheriff Hales, and Weston-under-Lizard, in the county of Stafford. There are twenty guardians appointed for the several parishes, who meet at the board-room every alternate Monday. The Rev. John Brooke is the chairman; Mr. Peter Osborne, clerk and superintendent registrar; John Fielding, deputy-registrar; Mr. William Roden, of Haughton, registrar of births and deaths for the Shiffnal district; Mr. John Totty, registrar for the Albrighton district; surgeons, Mr. Thomas Eaton Lander and Messrs. Bennett and Orwin; relieving officer, Mr. Richard Venables; master, Mr. George Bailey; matron, Mrs. Bailey; schoolmistress, Hannah Maria Thomason.
The Gas Works, situated in High street, were established by a company of shareholders, with a capital stock of £2,300. The premises are conveniently adapted for the purposes intended, and there is a gasometer for the reception of the luminous vapour, which will hold 10,000 cubic feet. A charge of 7s. 6d. per 1,000 feet is made to the consumer.
The Railway Station, situate in the Market place, near the centre of the town, presents a beautiful pile of buildings, in the Italian style, and is approached by a flight of fifty-seven steps. The railway is carried over the town, and crosses the Birmingham, Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, and Newport turnpike roads, at an elevation of sixty feet above the level of the ground. This noble viaduct comprises twenty brick arches, of thirty-seven feet span each; and at the turnpike roads, which are eighty feet wide, are six semi-circular metal arches, resting on brick abutments, with stone capitals. The embankment extends for several miles. The metal viaduct and its battlements were cast at the Horseley Iron Works, Tipton, in the year 1848, and the railway was opened on the 12th of November, 1849. Twelve trains leave the station daily for Shrewsbury and Birmingham. Mr. George Augustus Frederick Hill is station-master and resident manager. Mr. Charles Lloyd, station-clerk. Omnibuses leave the railway station daily for Bridgnorth and Ironbridge.
Shiffnal was the birth-place of Dr. Thomas Beddoes, a physician of considerable eminence and a talented author, whose works are characterized by much acuteness of observation. He died in 1808. In a field contiguous to Shiffnal is a military station; the mound was circumscribed by a ditch, which may still be traced.
Aston Hall, a handsome mansion, the property of Major Moultrie, is the residence of Uvedale Corbet, Esq., J.P., and Judge of the County Court. The house is delightfully situated about half a mile east from Shiffnal. Crackley Bank is a hamlet, about two miles north from Shiffnal. Here the Wesleyan Methodists have a small chapel. Deckerhill Hall, a spacious stuccoed mansion, delightfully situated, is the residence of Mrs. Botfield. The pleasure grounds and shrubberies are of considerable extent, and laid out with great taste. Coppice Green and Lizard are hamlets north east of Shiffnal. Burlington, three miles north of Shiffnal. Stanton, a hamlet, a mile and a half east from the parish church, is noted as the residence of Mr. Henry Wadlow, a celebrated race-horse trainer. Stanton Farm, the residence of John Eyke, Esq., land-agent to Lord Stafford, comprises upwards of one thousand acres. Mr. Eyke is noted for having extensive flocks of superior bred sheep.
Hatton is an extensive district, in the parish of Shiffnal, comprising 3,982a. 0r. 3p. of land, the soil of which in many parts is a strong fertile loam, producing good crops of barley, wheat, and turnips. Rateable value, £5,761. 12s. The township of Hatton, situated two miles and a half south from Shiffnal, at the census of 1841 was returned as containing 108 houses and 542 inhabitants. The principal landowners are Robert Aglionby Slaney, Esq., M.P., Lord Forester, Michael Goodall, Esq., The Duke of Cleveland, Thomas Eaton Lander, Esq., Rev. George Burder, Mrs. Ann Turner, and the Rev. Townshend Brooke; besides whom there are several smaller proprietors. This is a pleasantly situated district, with a fine undulating surface, containing many good family mansions and farm residences; the houses are mostly built of brick, and the farms are of considerable extent. Hutton Grange, a handsome brick mansion, the residence of William Henry Slaney, Esq., barrister-at-law, is delightfully situated in a sequestered part of the country, three miles south-east from Shiffnal. The park grounds are beautifully studded with timber, and the gardens and pleasure grounds are of considerable extent, and laid out with great taste. Evelith Manor, a beautiful modern mansion, situated a mile and a half south from Shiffnal, is the residence of Michael Goodall, Esq. Hem is a hamlet, a mile and a half south-west from Shiffnal. Idsal contains several rural villas, and forms a southern suburb to the town of Shiffnal. Hinnington, a hamlet south of Shiffnal; and Wyke is situated about a mile to the south-west.
PRIORS LEE
is a chapelry, township, and populous district, situated three miles N.W. from Shiffnal, and four and a half miles N.E. from Wellington, intersected by the Shrewsbury and Birmingham railway, and the Shiffnal and Wellington turnpike road. This is a flourishing district, the inhabitants of which are busily engaged in the coal and iron-stone mines, and the extensive iron works, with which this part of the county abounds. The houses are irregularly built, and chiefly occupied by a labouring population; the cottage property in this township is scattered over an area of 86 acres. At the census of 1801 there were 1,589 inhabitants; 1831, 2,130, and in 1841 there were 480 houses and a population of 2,470 souls. This portion of the parish comprises 3,077 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £9,045. On the eastern side is an extensive farming district, the land of which is broken into bold undulations. The Marquis of Stafford, the Rev. John Brooke, W. H. Slaney, Esq., and others, are landowners. The Lilleshall company are also considerable holders of leasehold property. At Oakengates, adjoining Priors Lee, there is a railway station. The Episcopal Chapel is a brick structure in the decorative style, with a square tower containing one bell. It was rebuilt in 1836, when it was enlarged; the interior consists of nave, chancel, and side aisles, and contains 415 sittings, 210 of which are free and unappropriated, in consequence of a grant from the Incorporated Society for building and enlarging churches. The living is a perpetual curacy endowed with £600 private benefaction, £600 royal bounty, and £1,400 parliamentary grant, in the patronage of the vicar of Shiffnal; incumbent, Rev. James Thomas Matthews, B.D.; clerk, James Astbury. The Wesleyans have a chapel which will hold about 300 hearers. The National School has an attendance of seventy boys and fifty girls. Priors Lee Hall, the residence of John Horton, Esq., is pleasant situated a short distance from the village. The offices of the Lilleshall company are at the hall. There are several good residences in the village.
Haughton is a pleasantly situated village in a secluded vale about a mile W. from Shiffnal, watered by the small stream of the Sal, and crossed by the Newport and Priors Lee turnpike road. There are several neat villa residences here, beautified with tasteful gardens. Haughton Hall, a spacious and elegant mansion, is the residence of the Rev. John Brooke. The edifice is of brick, and stuccoed, and being situated on a gentle eminence commands some fine views of the surrounding country. The gardens and pleasure grounds are beautifully laid out, and the park is richly wooded with fine timber.