The grand jury room is decorated with portraits of George I. given by Mr. Edward Elisha; of George II. given by Thomas Wingfield, esq.; of George III. and queen Charlotte, given by sir Thomas Jones, bart.; and one of the gallant and celebrated admiral Benbow, given by his sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Hind.
Immediately adjoining is
The Market House.
From an inscription over the northern arch it appears that
“The XVth day of June was this building begun, William Jones and Thomas Charlton, Gent. then Bailiffs, and was erected and covered in their time 1595.”
It is built entirely of free stone, and is one of the largest of similar erections in the kingdom. In the centre of the principal front, which faces the west, is a spacious portal, over which are the arms of queen Elizabeth in high relief. Attached to the imposts of the great arch are pillars, supporting each the figure of a lion bearing a shield on its breast. Above are two stories, with large square mullioned windows. On each side this portal is an open arcade, consisting of three spacious round arches, which form the main building, over which is a range of square windows with mullions, and a very rich parapet, consisting of a series of embrazures carved like the Ionic volute, between which at alternate distances, are a kind of grotesque pinnacles in the same style. At the north and south ends are large open arches, the whole edifice being finished above by sharp pointed gables.
The ground floor of this building is appropriated to the corn market, and is 105 feet long by 24 feet wide. A room over of similar size was formerly rented by the company of drapers, and used by them for a flannel market on Thursdays; but the sale of that staple article of Welsh manufacture having been removed to Welsh Pool, it has been rented of late as an ironmonger’s warehouse. Over the northern arch is placed the statue of Richard duke of York, removed hence from the old bridge in 1791, as appears by the inscription at his right hand: on his left are the arms of the town finely sculptured in relief.
Its spacious area is a useful promenade for the inhabitants in bad weather, and its architecture is a fine specimen of the fantastic style of the 16th century.
Lord Hill’s Column.
The splendid achievements of the British army in Spain and Portugal from 1808 to 1814, together with the disastrous retreat of Napoleon from his Russian campaign, and the subsequent occupation of France by the allied troops, having produced a general peace, a proposition appeared in the Shrewsbury Chronicle of December the 17th, 1813, by the Proprietor of that paper, to erect some suitable memorial of the prominent part lord Hill had acted throughout the whole of those eventful campaigns.—At a meeting in the News Room on the following day, nearly £400 was subscribed to carry this intention into effect. Subsequently, however, it was determined to extend the original plan, a meeting of the inhabitants of the town was called, and it was resolved to solicit subscriptions generally from all who participated in the triumphs of their country, or who felt any respect for the brilliant and varied services of the gallant general.