Transcribed from the 1837 John Eddowes edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org

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MEMORIALS
OF
SHREWSBURY:

BEING A

CONCISE DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN

AND ITS ENVIRONS,

Adapted as

A General Guide

FOR THE

INFORMATION OF VISITORS AND RESIDENTS.

BY

HENRY PIDGEON.

ILLUSTRATED WITH THIRTY-SIX ENGRAVINGS.

“FLOREAT SALOPIA.”

Shrewsbury:
PRINTED BY JOHN EDDOWES, CORN-MARKET.

1837.

TO THE

Rev. William Gorsuch Rowland, M.A.

MINISTER AND OFFICIAL OF
THE ROYAL PECULIAR OF ST. MARY’S, SHREWSBURY,
AND PREBENDARY OF LICHFIELD,

AS A HUMBLE BUT SINCERE TESTIMONY OF RESPECT,
FOR HIS ZEALOUS AND MUNIFICENT EXERTIONS
IN RESTORING AND HEIGHTENING
THE BEAUTIES AND ARCHITECTURE OF SEVERAL OF THE
CHURCHES IN THIS TOWN,
AND FOR HIS
UNWEARIED ATTENTION TO MANY OF OUR
PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS,

The Memorials of Shrewsbury

ARE VERY RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED,

BY
HIS OBEDIENT SERVANT,

HENRY PIDGEON.

PREFACE.

A little Manual adapted to assist the enquiring stranger in his perambulation around Shrewsbury having been long required, an ardent attachment to his native place, and compliance with the wishes of many friends whose opinions demand respect, are circumstances that have induced the present writer to undertake the task, in which he has been materially assisted by the possession of several volumes of Salopian Annals, or memoranda of all the principal events that have occurred in the town for several past years, the collection whereof has afforded him a pleasing recreation in those scraps of time snatched from active professional avocations—periods wherein every one has his favourite pursuit, and in which any individual may, by prudently employing them for his own pleasure, not unfrequently render himself useful to others.

It may be further stated that the present design is purely patriotic; and whilst no expence has been spared in the numerous embellishments, candour and truth (combined with accuracy and conciseness) have been carefully observed throughout a more extensive field of local information and graphical illustration than has heretofore been cultivated in any previous work adapted as a Guide through the Metropolis of Shropshire,—many subjects being now classified and brought under general notice for the first time.

The Author would therefore hope that the Memorials of Shrewsbury will be found to afford a comprehensive and faithful illustration to the stranger of whatever may be important in this ancient and beautifully situated town, as well as useful and deserving the confidence of his fellow-townsmen in particular, to whom he offers them (to use the words of our great lexicographer) “in the spirit of a man that has endeavoured well,” and with the utmost sincerity for the best interests of his native place.

H. P.

High-street, 1836.

ILLUSTRATIONS,

FROM DRAWINGS MADE EXPRESSLY FOR THIS WORK.

CONTENTS.

Admir’d Salopia! that with venial pride
Eyes her bright form in Severn’s ambient wave;
Fam’d for her loyal cares in perils tried;
Her daughters lovely and her striplings brave.

Shenstone.

SITUATION.

“A precious stone set in silver.”

Shakspeare.

The Town of Shrewsbury stands nearly in the centre of the county of which it is the capital; it is situated on two gentle declivities, and is formed by the river Severn into a peninsula, somewhat in the shape of a horse-shoe, having an isthmus not more than three hundred yards across.

A variety of opinions have prevailed as to who made choice of the commanding situation and natural retreat which the town affords, as well as to the period of its foundation.

It has been stated to be of far prior date than the ancient Uriconium (the present Wroxeter), from the circumstances that it was the custom of the Romans to throw up stations, and to make roads parallel or adjacent to British camps. One thing however is certain, that no vestige of that imperial people has been discovered within its precinct.

The truth is conceived to be, that Shrewsbury was occupied or built some time in the fifth century, after the destruction of the Roman Uriconium, as a place where the fugitive Britons might find an asylum from the devastations of their Saxon invaders.

ETYMOLOGY.

The Britons gave the place the appellation of Pengwern, the Saxons Scrobbes-byrig; both are synonymous, importing a fenced eminence covered with shrubs. The ancient Welsh called it, and do so to this day, Ammwythig, signifying “The Delight.” The Normans Sciropesberie, and subsequently Salopesberie and Schrosbury, from whence is formed its present name Shrewsbury and Salop. The antiquary Leland thus beautifully accounts for its name:

Edita Pengwerni late fastigia splendent,
Urbs sita lunato veluti mediamnis in orbe,
Colle tumet modico; duplici quoque ponte superbit:
Accipiens patria sibi lingua nomen ab alnis.

which may be thus translated—

Built on a hill, fair Salop greets the eye,
While Severn like an eel curves gliding by:
Two bridges cross the bark-conveying stream,
And British alders gave the town a name.

ANCIENT HISTORY.

When the Britons had become somewhat settled in their new possessions, they built themselves a city, which (as has been already stated) was called Pengwern. After its destruction under Cynddylan, we find Pengwern inhabited by a King of Powis,—the capital of his kingdom, and ranking among the twenty-eight cities of Britain.

Brochwel Yscithrog, or the tusked, King of Powis, whom the Saxon Chronicle calls the Earlderman of the Britons, retained possession of a great part of Shropshire, and fixed his residence in Pengwern, about 617; his palace being where the ruins of Old St. Chad’s Church now stand.

Eliseg, his sixth descendant, recovered the portion of his “inheritance of Powis” from the Saxons, by the sword, during the reign of the Mercian King Offa, which continued from 755 to 794, but being unable to maintain it, he surrendered by treaty to the Saxons, whereby Pengwern lost the dignity of a metropolis.

Of the state of our town under its native princes we have no information: the arts of civil life, in which the Britons had improved, under their Roman masters, were probably lost during the almost constant warfare of three centuries. This we may reasonably conclude was the case, from the appellation given to it by the new possessors, Scrobbes-byrig, a fenced eminence, but overgrown with shrubs.

Nothing is related of the town during the period it formed a portion of the Mercian territory, though the place doubtless experienced the many revolutions of that kingdom.

In the reign of Alfred, Scrobbes-byrig was numbered among the principal cities of Britain. Ethelred the Unready, having been pursued by the Danes, kept his Christmas here in 1006, and in the next year resigned the government of Mercia unto his son-in-law Ædric, who made this town his occasional his occasional residence.

Under the Saxon monarchs the town must have been of importance to possess the privilege of a mint, which it retained for a considerable period, many coins of which are extant.

Ædric Sylvaticus, or the Forester, in conjunction with Owen Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales, laid siege to the town in 1068; but William the First sending two earls to the relief of the castle, the rebels burned a portion of the town and withdrew: the king however speedily revenged the insult with much slaughter.

The Saxons were removed from all places of trust by the Norman Conqueror, who rewarded his principal adherents with portions of their lands. He conferred upon his kinsman, Roger de Montgomery, the earldom of Shrewsbury, to which he added a grant of the town and ample domains in the county.

In 1138, the nation being divided as to Stephen’s right to the crown, that monarch laid siege to the castle. Fitz Alan, the governor, favouring the Empress Maud, fled, and Stephen, who had conducted the siege in his own person, was so exasperated at the obstinacy of the besieged, who resolutely held out nearly four weeks, that he put ninety-three of them to an ignominious death.

From the border situation of Shrewsbury to a hostile country, it was considered of much importance to our early monarchs, and consequently became the scene of many a negotiation and contest with the Welsh, whose frequent incursions were most harassing.

The Princes of North Wales having been long uneasy neighbours to the Kings of England, John thought it expedient to hold a council here to make a treaty with Llewelyn the Great, the then Prince of Wales. In the year 1202 the king gave Llewelyn his natural daughter Joanna in marriage; and, as if in gratitude to his father-in-law, he soon recommenced hostilities against him, and marched with a numerous body of his vigorous subjects from the Cambrian wilds to Shrewsbury, which he succeeded in taking without much resistance.

The town, however, did not long continue under the subjection or possession of its new masters, they being dispossessed by Henry III. who on more than one occasion kept his court here.

In 1234, Richard, Earl Marescall, being told that Henry intended to seize him when he repaired to parliament, fled to Llewelyn, and they both appeared before Shrewsbury with a powerful army, and burned part of the suburb of Frankwell, returning to the mountains laden with the spoil of the inhabitants, many of whom they had barbarously murdered.

Henry III. with his forces again marched to Shrewsbury in 1241, where he remained a fortnight, when David relinquished all lands Llewelyn had seized from the late king in the war between him and his barons.

In 1256, Henry, wishing probably to attach himself in the favour of the burgesses, in order to make their town a bulwark against Wales, granted them two new charters on the same day; he likewise summoned his army here; and in 1260 great activity was evinced in fortifying the town, in consequence of a rupture which was speedily expected from the aggression of the Welsh Prince.

Edward the First resided here in 1277, whither he transferred some of the supreme courts of justice. In 1282 David joined Llewelyn, who again took up arms, which compelled Edward to return to Shrewsbury with his courts, where he had assembled his army, which remained some months.

David, the last of the princes of the Ancient Britons, having at length become a prisoner in the hands of Edward in 1283, was sent in chains to Shrewsbury, where a parliament was assembled to meet Sept. 30th, being “the first national convention in which the Commons had any share by legal authority.” Twenty cities and towns, Shrewsbury being one, were directed to send two deputies, and every high sheriff to send two knights. It is supposed they met in the chapter house, or refectory of the abbey, where David was tried and cruelly condemned to be dragged at a horse’s tail through the streets of Shrewsbury, and to be afterwards hung and cut down while alive, his heart and bowels burnt before his face, his body quartered, and his head sent to London to accompany that of his brother Llewelyn.

Revenge, it may be said, is sweet; but how often does it occur that the gratification of resentment over a fallen enemy transmits his encomium to posterity.

The town, being strongly fenced, was visited by Edward in 1322, where he was honourably received by the inhabitants, who went out to meet him clad in armour; he continued here for several days, about which time many of the nobility had assembled to witness a grand tournament.

Richard II. Jan. 29th, 1397–8, adjourned his parliament from Westminster to Shrewsbury, which was denominated the “Great Parliament,” from the important state affairs which were transacted in it. The cross of Canterbury was brought here, upon which the lords spiritual and temporal were sworn to observe and keep all the statutes which were then made. Chester was on this occasion made a principality, and several oppressive laws enacted, which afterwards formed some of the accusations against Richard by Henry of Bolingbroke, when he usurped the throne.

The revolution which placed Henry of Lancaster on the throne seems to have met the approbation of the inhabitants; for when the Duke ostensibly proceeded into Wales to please Richard, he was nobly received here.

After the death of Richard, Owen Glendower, concerning whose birth the muse of Shakespeare says—

“The frame and foundation of the earth
Shak’d like a coward”—

asserted his pretensions to the two ancient principalities of North Wales and Powis, and pursued his claim with undaunted courage, added to a strong resentment for the contumely with which his demands, public and private, had been treated by the successor of the unfortunate Richard, to whom he was a firm and unshaken friend. On the 20th of September, 1400, he boldly caused himself to be proclaimed Prince of Wales, and infested the Marches with a strong body of Welshmen, who maintained a warfare against the governing authorities. In this he was subsequently supported by the Earl of Northumberland, headed by his son, the valiant Henry Percy, surnamed Hotspur, who being assisted by the Earl of Worcester and a numerous force of Scottish troops under the command of Earl Douglas, agreed to meet Glendower at Shrewsbury. Henry, being made acquainted with their movements, hastened with all speed to secure this important town, and arrived here July 21st, 1403, just in time to hoist his banner on the walls, and thereby secure the stability of his crown, having but a few hours’ march of Percy and his advanced guard.

On the morning of the 22d, the memorable Battle of Shrewsbury commenced; the skirmishing began under the walls of the Castle Gates, but the principal scene of action was about three miles distant, at a place called Battlefield. The armies on both sides amounted, it is said, to 40,000, and the contest was severe and sanguinary. Fate, however, decided that the efforts of Henry against this powerful faction should be victorious—a faction, which, having contributed to place him on the seat of government, now sought to dethrone him. The king is recorded to have fought with an ardour worthy the crown he was defending, and the spear of his warlike son, the future hero of Agincourt, did wonders. In fact it was one of the most decisive battles recorded in early English history.

Upwards of 2000 nobles, knights, and gentlemen, and 6000 private soldiers, are said to have fallen in the engagement.

Most of the dead bodies were buried on the spot, over whom Henry, in gratitude for his victory, piously erected a college of secular canons to pray for the souls of the slain. The more distinguished were interred in the Dominican and Augustine Friaries of the town.

The gallant Hotspur was discovered among the slain covered with wounds, and dispatched to Shrewsbury, where Henry satiated his revenge by the ignominy of dismembering the lifeless remains, the head and quarters of which were exhibited over the gate at York, and afterwards delivered to his wife for interment. The Earl of Worcester, Sir Richard Vernon, &c. were beheaded.

Shakspeare, in his Henry the Fourth, has given vividness and immortality to this battle, and humourously peopled it with heroes of the most fanciful description.

The Cambrian chieftain, Glendower, with an army of 12,000 men, marched as far as Oswestry, and was by some means unable to arrive in time to join in the action; for had he reached ere the king’s forces were victorious, the result might have terminated very differently for the king and his valiant son. Gough states a tradition, that Glendower proceeded to Shelton, and ascended a lofty oak (the trunk of which is still remaining near the Oswestry road), from whence he might reconnoitre and gain the earliest intelligence of the event of the battle.

The royal blood of this noble Welshman was in no respect chilled by the defeat of his confederates, for in the next year he carried his ravages even to the gates of the Welsh Bridge, destroying much of the suburb of Frankwell and several townships in the vicinity.

In 1460, Edward IV. marched with an army of 23,000 men from this town to the battle of Mortimer’s Cross, and he chose this place for the residence of his queen, where she was delivered of her second and third sons, Richard and George Plantagenet.

On the landing of the Earl of Richmond, afterwards King Henry the Seventh, at Milford Haven, in August, 1485, he determined to march for Shrewsbury. On his arriving at the Welsh Bridge he found the place in a posture of defence, the gates closed against him, and the bailiffs within ready to give their answer. On his demanding admittance as their rightful king, a curious MS. records that the chief bailiff, Thomas Mytton, replied—“He knew no king but Richard, whose bailiffs he and his fellow were, upon which he swore that the earl should not enter there but over his belly.” On this, Richmond returned and passed the night at Forton Heath, where his army was encamped. He, however, succeeded the next morning; and Mr. Mytton, in order to conform with the letter of his oath, laid himself down on the ground, and permitted the earl to step over him, whereupon the portcullis of the bridge was drawn up, and the earl with his retinue were admitted, to the general joy of the inhabitants, notwithstanding it went against the stomach of the “stoute wyse gentilman, Maister Myttoon.”

In Shrewsbury Richmond was first proclaimed king, and raised soldiers, but left the bailiffs to pay them. He lodged in a house on the Wyle Cop (three doors below the Lion Inn), from whence he marched to Bosworth Field, where the engagement took place which deprived Richard III. of his throne and his life.

Henry VII. visited the town in 1490, with his queen, and son (Prince Arthur), and kept the feast of St. George in the collegiate church of St. Chad; they made another visit in 1495, and were sumptuously entertained by the corporation.

At the general dissolution of monasteries, in 1539, it appears to have been the intention of Henry VIII. to form thirteen new bishopricks, [10] one of which was to have been at Shrewsbury. Browne Willis states that John Boucher, Abbot of Leicester, was actually nominated “Bishop of Shrewsbury;”—hence the tradition, as our historians remark, so gratifying to the pride of every true Salopian, that their forefathers had the offer of having their borough converted into a city, but that they preferred inhabiting the FIRST OF TOWNS.

1551. The spring of this year was fatally distinguished by the commencement of a dreadful epidemic in this town, called the “sweating sickness.”

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Henry Sidney, President of Wales and Lord Deputy of Ireland, visited this town almost annually, and was always received with the highest respect; his celebrated son, Sir Philip, was educated at our Free Schools. Sir Henry, as Knight of the Garter, kept the feast of St. George here, in 1581, with great splendour. He marched in state from his residence, the Council House, to St. Chad’s Church, the stalls of which were decorated with the arms of the knights, divine service being “sung by note.” On the 1st of May, the four masters of the schools entertained his lordship with a costly banquet, and on the following day three hundred and sixty of the scholars assembled in the “Gay,” several of whom addressed him in speeches. He departed on the 8th, by water, “taking his bardge under the Castle,” when another pageant took place on the island near the Horse Ferry.

Shrewsbury was a favourite retreat for Charles I. during the troublous period of his reign, and he was frequently received by the inhabitants with every feeling of loyalty and attachment. He established a mint here, and kept his court at the Council House. In the year 1642, he drew up his army on a spot afterwards called the “Soldier’s Piece,” and which is now used as a race ground, where he delivered an harangue to them and the chief gentlemen of the county, who had in his time of need rendered him pecuniary assistance and service.

The town was taken by storm in 1644–5, under the command of Colonels Mytton and Bowyer, of the parliamentary army, the inhabitants experiencing all the vicissitudes of a siege, in the plunder of their goods and destruction of property. An attempt was made, in 1654, to surprise it, in favour of the restoration of monarchy, by Sir Thomas Harries, but the scheme, although deeply planned, was frustrated.

James II. in the month of August, 1687, kept his Court at the Council House, and was attended by many of the nobility and gentry of the county, on which occasion, it is said, “the conduits ran with wine,” and other most liberal entertainments and rejoicings welcomed the royal guest. At the same time he graciously received a purse of one hundred guineas, which was presented to him by the munificence of the corporation.

The inhabitants on many occasions have been thus foremost to testify loyalty to their sovereign.

In 1715 their adherence to the House of Hanover was strongly manifested by voluntarily raising a body of horse and foot for the protection of the town, and placing the walls and gates (then entire) in a position of defence.

At the time also apprehensions were entertained of the Pretender and the Scottish invasion in 1745, a regiment of foot was raised here for the service of government; and, subsequently, a militia and cavalry have been embodied.

In the year 1832, the most lively enthusiasm was displayed on the entrance into Shrewsbury of Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria, heir presumptive to the British throne.

From the foregoing cursory glance given to the leading events of our ancient history, it may be necessary to remark that it would have been less difficult to the writer could he have extended his observations as to particular occurrences; but the nature of the work being a notice of the present rather than of the past state of the place, brevity of description in this, as in some other portions, will be indispensible.

But the numerous features of historical and antiquarian interest which the town affords, its British and Saxon state, the destiny of its Norman Earls, its Siege by Stephen, the Union of Wales to the English Crown, the Formation of Parliaments, the Battle of Shrewsbury and Fall of Hotspur, the numerous Visits of Royalty, the Entrance and Proclamation of Henry VII. the Commencement of the Civil War in the Time of Charles I. and Meetings of the Council of the Marches of Wales, while forming constituent parts of our national story, are especially connected with this town, and will be found amply detailed in the valuable History of Shrewsbury published by the late Reverend Messrs. Owen and Blakeway, where everything difficult in civil and ecclesiastical localities is explained in a scientific and masterly manner, and with the greatest discrimination.

THE CASTLE.

“But time * * *
Has seen this ruin’d pile complete,
Big with the vanity of state.”

Dyer.

The civil history of the town being somewhat connected with the Castle, a notice of that edifice will properly occupy this place.

After the Earldom of Shrewsbury had been given by William the Conqueror to Roger de Montgomery, one of his first works was the building of a stately Castle, or, rather, the enlargement of a previous one, which it is certain existed here anterior to the Norman Conquest, on that narrow isthmus where the town is undefended by the river.

This is supposed to have taken place about the year 1070, on a site previously occupied by fifty-one houses, and was a measure of necessity, in order to restrain the hostile incursions of the Welsh, to which the town, from its situation near the borders, was frequently exposed; and having probably received injury from the siege two years previous, and being also limited in size, was inadequate to the dignity of a wealthy earl, who enjoyed the feudal supremacy of nearly the whole of Shropshire.

The Castle, in succession, was possessed by the two sons of the founder, until the reign of Henry I. when it became a royal fortress, under the custody of a constable.

Edward I. introduced a new style of castellated architecture; the stronger portion, therefore, now remaining was probably erected by direction of that monarch, being in the style generally adopted during his reign.

On the union of Wales it was no longer important as a place of defence, and the building began gradually to decay, although in the civil war it was repaired and garrisoned for the king, and afterwards escaped the almost general demolition of royal fortresses by its surrender to the parliamentary army in 1645.

The Castle subsequently reverted to the burgesses, who resigned it to Charles II. and that monarch presented it to Lord Newport. It is now the property of the Duke of Cleveland, and is occupied by J. C. Pelham, Esq. one of the members for the borough.

The present remains have a picturesque effect, and are composed of a deep red stone. They consist of the keep, the walls of the inner court, and the great semi-circular arch of

THE INTERIOR GATEWAY,

from which the last Norman Earl of Shrewsbury issued with the keys of the gates to make submission to Henry I. Although the masonry of the jambs of this noble gateway is singularly irregular, it has, through a period of nearly 800 years, retained its strength unshaken amid the ravages of time and war. It was formerly defended by a portcullis and towers.

The keep consists of two large round towers, embattled and pierced, connected by a square building of about 100 feet in length.

The interior is much altered from its original appearance, and now forms a handsome private residence, modern pointed windows having been placed therein when it was repaired by Sir William Pulteney, about the close of the last century. The drawing room is supposed to have been the guard chamber in the time of Charles I. The castle still retains one mark of its ancient dignity, for in the area of the inner court the knights of the shire are nominated, and when the result of the election is declared, are girt with their swords by the Sheriff. On the north-east side of this court is a postern, built in the time of Charles I.; and the battlements of the western wall have an interior platform, and are curiously pierced with narrow eyelets for the convenience of the cross-bowmen, around which time has wove its ivy mantling.

On the south side within the court is a mount, [16] rising upwards of 100 feet above the bed of the river. The summit is surrounded by a wall, and crowned by a watch tower, which forms a bold and beautiful object. The tower was rebuilt during the repair of the castle, from a design and under the superintendance of the late Thomas Telford, Esq. who was then residing with Sir William Pulteney. In this elevated tower Mr. Telford wrote the beautiful poem to his countryman Burns, and thus alludes to its site near the river Severn:—

No distant Swiss with warmer glow
E’er heard his native music flow,
Nor could his wishes stronger grow
Than still have mine;
When up this ancient mount I go
With songs of thine.

The sides of the mount are richly planted, and the summit commands a view of unrivalled beauty, with the most extensive amphitheatre of mountains of which perhaps the island can boast, inclosing within its wide sweep an eminently fertile, finely wooded, and beautifully diversified champagne country. ’Tis here that, after the eye has wandered from object to object, from the foreground to the most extreme distance with delight, that the words of Cowper naturally occur, as if written upon such as spot—

“Oh, scene surpassing fable, and yet true!”

It is now difficult to form an adequate idea of the original extent of this fortress; but it is certain that the castle formerly occupied a much larger space than is now marked out by its walls, the ballium (or outer court) extending within the town probably as far as the water-lane. The northern and north eastern sides were defended by a deep ditch or vallum encompassing the base of the bold and natural elevation on which the castle stands, having a communication with the river, but it is now filled up and forms a thoroughfare.

The remains of a duplicate rampart is distinguishable on the western side; and other outworks and towers might have stood near the front of the present county gaol, the Severn being a protection towards the east.

In auncient tyme our elders had desire,
To buyld their townes on steepe and stately hill;
To shewe that as their hearts did still aspyre,
So should their works declare their worthie will.

Churchyard.

THE FEUDAL STATE

of Shrewsbury carries with it associations of imposing importance;—seated upon a hill rising from a noble ambient river, it was thus doubly fortified by nature; while art, with no unsparing hand, had raised an almost impregnable rampart of stone, flanked by many towers and gates. [18]

The imagination will thus readily picture Caer Pengwern: the woody eminence, with its curiously wrought buildings and domestic mansions ranged in irregular groups, surmounted by lofty spires and embattled turrets, irradiated by the effulgence of the meridian sun, or catching the last smiles of his departing ray,—a commanding castle on the narrow isthmus, with its stately towers and formidable walls, frowning in august pride high above the surrounding plain,—solitary convents, crested with pinnacles and gables, in the verdant meadows on the margin of the rolling stream, over which strongly fortified bridges with massive portcullis and towers, afforded a defence from hostile invaders.

This faint retrospect must kindle in the mind considerations of the progress and fluctuations of science and taste,—the character, condition, and habits of men in these times,—with the works done “in their days and in the old time before them;”—while the contemplation thereof cannot fail of exciting gratitude to the Supreme Giver, for the security we now enjoy, without the precaution of barbican and battlements.

PRESENT STATE.

“A lovely spot
For all that life can ask! Salubrious! mild!
Its hills are green; its woods and prospects fair;
Its meadows fertile!”

Cottle’s Alfred.

The hold situation of the town, girdled by the health-bearing breezes of a beauteous river, with an eminence crown’d by aspiring temples,

That upward cast their golden vanes, and shine
A bright tiara,

gives a striking and majestic appearance to Shrewsbury.

When seen from most parts of the adjacent country the town forms a delightful object,—a gem encircled by a paradise;—new beauties and charming views being continually produced by the pre-eminent spires and towers; whilst the effect in the background is much heightened by an extensive range of noble mountains, which diversify the prospect, and add interest to the rich and picturesque landscape.

The exterior of the town is in most parts separated from the river by a portion of garden and meadow ground, skirted by a line of genteel houses, which command delightful prospects of the adjoining country.

As a place of residence Shrewsbury has long been considered highly eligible, from its elevated and beautiful situation, the salubrity and general healthfulness of its air, the natural dryness of the soil, the agreeable drives and promenades by which it is surrounded, and (what is equally important) the excellence and purity of its water.

Many parts of the environs have been justly recommended as suitable to valetudinarians who may visit Shrewsbury from North Wales and other parts, to avail themselves of the able medical assistance which it possesses, and who are, as it were, enticed by the agreeableness and variety of the scenery to a salutary and necessary exercise.

The interior of the town presents several curious and interesting specimens of the domestic architecture of our ancestors; the projecting bay windows, fanciful antique carving, mouldings, &c. display a singular appearance in contrast with the more modern habitations, in many of which the taste of their respective proprietors is effectively evinced.

The streets, as in most other ancient towns, are irregularly formed, and several of them, it must be admitted, are inconveniently narrow. Many important alterations have however been made, under the provisions of an act obtained in 1821, for removing obstructions, watching, lighting, and the general improvement of the town, the powers of which are vested in trustees, who must be persons occupying property rated at £50 per annum to the street assessment, or worth £2000 above reprizes and resident within the town, or resident and receiving rents to the amount of £80 per annum, or non-resident and receiving rents from premises within the town worth £100 per annum, from whom a committee of management of nine individuals is selected, three of whom retire annually by rotation; and it has been remarked by one of the first members of this committee, “that if judiciously chosen and faithful to their trust, our town may in time assume its due place among the cities of the empire.”

In 1820 a company was established, with a capital of £8000, raised in 800 shares of £10 each, to supply the town with gas.

POPULATION.

The following official return of the population of the five parishes in Shrewsbury is according to the census ordered by government in 1831:—

ECCLESIASTICAL BUILDINGS.

The public structures devoted to the service of Religion are among the first objects that excite the attention, whilst by many they are not unfrequently looked upon with peculiar feelings of veneration and regard.

If the source of this feeling were traced, it would be found connected with those principles and associations which every one who acknowledges an all-bountiful Creator, or wishes well to his country, would desire to cherish.

Shrewsbury, we learn, did not receive much improvement from its original inhabitants, the Britons; yet what it lost in nominal consequence as the metropolis of a kingdom it ultimately gained in external splendour and real importance: this is evinced, among other proofs, by the erection of five ecclesiastical foundations, all of which were anterior to the Norman conquest, and originated in Saxon piety.

Among the earliest of these may be mentioned Saint Chad’s, which is ascribed to one of the Mercian kings, who is said to have converted the palace of the kings of Powis into a church, about 780.

A dean and ten prebendaries or secular canons, with two vicars choral, under the patronage of the Bishop of Lichfield, are stated to have been placed here at a very remote period.

Under the Anglo-Saxon monarchs this college possessed twelve hides of arable land, or as much as paid for 1440 acres to what would be now called the land-tax; which, by proper cultivation, appears from the Survey of Domesday to have increased more than double. Other estates were subsequently added, which form now only insulated districts of the parish.

By the act of 1 Edward VI. 1547, the College was dissolved, the tythes and profits at that time being of the clear yearly value of about £50. The buildings and estates were leased out, reserving only the small stipend of £4. 6s. 8d. for the parish minister, charged on the dean’s prebendal estate at Onslow.

Although a lease was granted of the tythes, yet only two years afterwards the greater portion of them were appropriated by Edward VI. in aid of the Free Grammar School.

In 1579 Queen Elizabeth granted the remaining possessions of the deanery to Sir Christopher Hatton; but the corporation and parish seem to have presented to the living from 1583 until 1658–9, from which time the patronage has rested with the crown.

Saint Alkmund’s Church owes its foundation to the piety of Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great, soon after she succeeded to the sovereignty of the Mercian territory in 912.

Her great nephew, King Edgar, being of the race of the Northumbrian Prince Alkmund, increased the original endowment, and (under the direction of Archbishop Dunstan) appointed a dean and ten prebends.

In the reign of Edward the Confessor, this College possessed eleven manors, nine of which, containing upwards of 4000 acres, it retained at the Norman survey.

After experiencing many of the fluctuations common to property, sacred or otherwise, during the dark ages and under lawless government, these estates were at length alienated in 1147, at the particular request of the Dean, Richard de Belemis, and with the consent of King Stephen and Pope Eugenius III. to the monastery of Lilleshull, which the dean’s brother, Philip de Belemis, had just commenced, the Prebendaries however taking care to reserve to themselves a life interest in their several stipends.

The college being thus early dissolved and deprived of its valuable estates, fell into a humble vicarage, which remained in the patronage of the monks of Lilleshull until the dissolution, when it lapsed to the crown, in whose hands it continued until 1628, when Rowland Heylin, Esq. [23] of Pentreheylin, Montgomeryshire, purchased the advowson for the “feoffees of St. Antholines,” a society instituted for founding lectureships and augmenting small livings in populous towns.

This society having been publicly denounced, and the orthodoxy of its principles questioned, the ministers of King James, in 1663, directed its suppression, when the living again reverted to the crown.

The Collegiate Church of St. Mary is considered to have been founded by King Edgar, about the year 980; although, from the extensive limits of the parish, it is probable this was only the renovation of an older church destroyed by the ravages of the Danes, who, in revenging the slaughter of their predecessors, not only exercised their warfare against mankind, but even those works of ingenuity and labour which were consecrated to devotion did not escape their desolating hand.

In the time of Edward the Confessor, this college possessed an estate of nearly 1300 acres, “for the maintenance of a dean, seven prebendaries, and a parish priest,” which appears to have diminished in point of cultivation and consequent value at the survey of Domesday, in which, however, the “vill of Chorleton,” held in conjunction with the church of St. Juliana, is unnoticed, having probably been acquired afterwards.

At the suppression of colleges the revenue was £42, when Edward VI. appropriated the greater part of the tithes of this, as he had done those of St. Chad’s parish, to the bailiffs and burgesses, for the foundation of a free school.

This church from very remote times has been a “royal free chapel,” and thereby exempt from the jurisdiction of the bishop.

The Church of St. Juliana.—Little is known of this, further than its origin was Saxon, and that it held in the Norman survey “half a hide of land in the city.” Soon after this period it became distinguished as a rectory and royal free chapel, and was early united to the church of St. Michael within the Castle, now destroyed. [24]

In 1410, Henry IV. annexed both of these churches to his college at Battlefield; and being thus deprived of its property, St. Julian’s became no better than a curacy.

The Church of St. Peter, called “The Parish of the City,” was a small structure of wood, built about Edward the Confessor’s time, by Siward, a Saxon nobleman, and stood on the site where Earl Roger de Montgomery founded a large Benedictine Abbey in 1083, which was re-dedicated to St. Peter, and endowed with a small portion of the vast possessions granted by the Conqueror to the first Earl of Shrewsbury.

This venerable warrior being seized with illness while residing in the castle he had lately built here,—apprehensive, too, that his dissolution might not be far distant,—and “to be sure of paradise,”—determined, with the consent of his countess Adelissa, to retire from the world, and become a monk within the confines of his own monastery.

This resolution he acted upon July 14th, 1094: and dying three days afterwards, obtained honourable interment in the “Lady Chapel” of that pile he had zealously commenced, and,

“By skill of earthly architect,”

nearly completed, to the service and honour of his Maker.

Hugh, his second son, surnamed Probus for his courage, and Goch (or the Red) by the Welshmen from his complexion, succeeded to the earldom, and in filial affection came with his barons to the abbey, to visit his father’s tomb; when he confirmed all former endowments, and gave many additional privileges, to which several of his barons added estates. [26]

Scarcely a century had elapsed from its foundation, before the monastery possessed “seventy-one distinct grants of manors or lands, twenty-four churches, the tithes of thirty-seven parishes or vills,” besides many extensive immunities of various descriptions, and an almost matchless collection of unique relics, in addition to the remains of that popular “martyr,” St. Wenefreda, which the monks procured, after many tedious negociations, from the priests and inhabitants of Gwytherin, in the county of Denbigh, in order to increase the celebrity of their house. After their translation hither, they were enshrined with much pomp near the high altar, and attracted multitudes of pilgrims, whose benefactions greatly contributed to the emolument of the church.

The abbot of this monastery had the honour of a seat in Parliament, and the authority of a bishop within his house. Of the 608 monasteries that existed in this kingdom at the time of the dissolution, it is recorded “the Abbey of Shrewsbury was 34th in opulence.”

According to the valor of 26th Henry VIII. the annual income was £572. 15s. 5d. a revenue considered equal to about £4750 of modern currency.

The surrender of this abbey took place 24th January, 1539–40, when the estates and buildings immediately passed into lay hands.

St. Giles’s Church was built early in the reign of Henry I. for the service of a hospital of lepers, which stood at the west end of the present edifice.

It is supposed to have become parochial about the middle of the fifteenth century, on being united with the parish of Holy Cross within the monastery, the abbot and convent, no doubt, having previously possessed the patronage and appointment of master.

Subsequent to these, were erected three large conventual churches and eight smaller chapels, all of which shared the fate of the dissolution; and of their remains the ceaseless operations of time and the hand of man have spared but few traces.

Several chantries, altars, &c. were also maintained by private donations in these churches; and whether we consider the munificence, the piety, or the superstition which raised them, we must respect the fervency towards a good cause, and regret that so much zeal was blessed with such little knowledge of the truths which, under our reformed religion, we now so happily enjoy.

From this cursory view of the piety of our forefathers, it may be justly asserted, that in the present day there is no provincial town in the kingdom, considering its extent, where so much has been done to promote the cause of religion, and to give a suitable effect to buildings set apart for Divine Worship, as in Shrewsbury. Those individuals, therefore, whose taste and liberality have mainly contributed to the accomplishment of this praiseworthy object, are deserving of the best thanks of their cotemporaries; and to them posterity will owe a debt of admiring gratitude, in those pleasing feelings of awe which insensibly steal o’er the mind while contemplating the architectural beauties of temples dedicated to Him, whose greatness as far exceeds the capacity of human thought as doth the immensity of space the smallest atom.

Our survey of these interesting buildings will commence, in chronological arrangement, with

THE OLD CHURCH OF ST. CHAD.

“In midst of towne fower Parish Churches are,
Full nere and close, together note that right:
For they doe seeme a true love knot to sight.”

These quaint lines of our native poet Churchyard, with the illustrative vignette, describe the situation which the spacious cruciform church of Old Saint Chad occupied on the southern eminence of the town.

The period of its early foundation has been already alluded to, and the nearly total destruction of the fabric was occasioned by workmen having very injudiciously commenced under-building (contrary to the advice of an experienced architect,) one of the pillars that supported the large central tower, which had shrunk considerably from graves having been carelessly made too close to its foundations. The slight vibration occasioned by the chimes proclaiming their matin tune at four o’clock, on July 9th, 1788, caused the decayed pillar to give way, when the ponderous tower rent asunder, and with the heavy peal of bells it contained, falling on the roofs of the nave and transepts; crushed those parts of the edifice into ruinous desolation, producing a scene of horrid confusion more easily to be imagined than described. The masons had a narrow but fortunate escape, and were only waiting at the adjoining house of the sexton for the keys of the church, to pursue their misdirected scheme of economy.

The event excited a great consternation in the town, and the exemplary vicar, the Rev. Thomas Stedman, addressed an affectionate pastoral letter to his parishioners on the improvement that should be made of so remarkable an interposition of Providence, which occurred at a time when not a single person was within the reach of any injury from it.

Before the church fell, apprehensions were entertained that some fatal consequences might follow, from the appearances of decay in different parts of the building; these fears, however, were comparatively slight, and no immediate danger expected. But after the event took place it was found that the shattered state of the edifice was such, that instead of exciting surprise that it should fall when it did, there were just grounds for amazement that it should have stood so long. Had the decayed state of the building been thoroughly understood before it gave way, the probable opinion would have been, that whenever the disaster happened, it would be at a time when the effects of it might have been dreadful to many;—as when the greatest weight was in the galleries, or when the tower had been shaken by the motion of the bells. Only a month previous, 3000 persons, it is considered, were assembled in the church to witness the interment of an officer under military honours.

The old church was a majestic edifice, erected in the reign of Henry III. in the style when the round Norman arches were giving way to the beautiful lancet style. In 1393 the roofs and tower, with the wooden spire covered with lead, were destroyed by a calamitous fire, occasioned by the negligence of a plumber while repairing the leads. The damage being considerable, Richard II. granted to the inhabitants a remission of their fee-farm rent, and certain other taxes, towards the re-edification.

From the fragments of Saxon sculpture discovered in portions of the walls after the fall of the late fabric, the edifice which preceded it must have been considerably adorned.

The dawning light of the Reformation in Shrewsbury first beamed in this church in 1407, by William Thorpe, a priest and disciple of the doctrines promulgated by Wickliff. This Salopian reformer, in a sermon before the bailiffs on the third Sunday after Easter, boldly, preached against the prevailing and favourite tenets of the Romish church; for his temerity he was thrown into the prison of the town, by command of the local authorities, where he remained about a month, and was afterwards removed to Lambeth for examination before the archbishop, the bailiffs preferring the charge of heresy and schism against him.

The conduct of Thorpe before his spiritual superior was decent and respectful, but at the same time he remained zealous in his vindication of scripture, and firm in support of that which he considered the truth,—thus intrepidly answering the archbishop, “I’ll tell you at one word, I dare not from the dread of God submit unto you, notwithstanding the tenure and sentence that you have rehearsed to me.” He was accordingly sent back to prison: his subsequent fate is nowhere recorded, but it is conjectured on good grounds he was liberated after the death of the archbishop, so that what Fox has asserted of his having died a martyr to hard usage is probably incorrect.

The exercise of the Protestant religion in this town also began in this church in 1573, under the direction of the Bishop of Lichfield and the Lord President of the Marches, as special commissioners from Queen Elizabeth.

The portion of the ruins now remaining stood south of the choir, and formed a chantry chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary; after the Reformation it was called the Bishop’s Chancel, from the circumstance of its being used at the visitations of the bishop and archdeacon. The two wide semi-circular arches (now walled up) separated it from the transepts and choir. On the outside north wall are three stone stalls having pointed arches, the concaves of which are groined; these originally adjoined the high altar, and formed the seats of the priest, deacon, and sub-deacon, during a part of the high mass. The east and south sides display two mullioned windows; one adjoining the newel staircase in the south-west pier, which once led to the belfry is of an earlier design than the rest, and was probably introduced when the building was repaired in 1496; the others have elegant trefoiled tracery, and were erected in 1571, when the chapel was nearly rebuilt by Humphrey Onslow, Esq. to the dilapidations of which he appears to have been liable by the lease granted to him of the deanery when the dissolution of the college was anticipated in 1542–3.

The interior has an oak panelled ceiling, and contains a few monumental tablets and hatchments, most of the ancient memorials having been removed on the fall of the church to other places.

This chapel is now used as a daily parochial school, and for reading the burial service connected with the spacious cemetery in which it stands.

Among the monuments is one to the memory of that excellent man, the Rev. Job Orton, V.D.M. who “being dead, yet speaketh,” in the forcible discourses and truly admirable writings he has left behind. He was the friend and biographer of Doddridge, and died 16th July, 1783, aged 66. His remains were interred at his request in the grave of the Rev. J. Bryan, M.A. an ejected minister from this church.

A humble gravestone near the railway leading towards Belmont records the death of Capt. John Benbow, who was shot at the Castle, Oct. 16th, 1651, for his attachment to the cause of King Charles the Second.

Several members of ancient families and distinguished individuals connected with the town and county, received interment in this church. Among these may be mentioned those of Corbet, Mytton, Burton, Owen, Lyster, and Ireland.

Rowland Lee, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, and Lord President of the Marches, was buried here. He died Jan. 27th, 1542–3, at the College, the residence of his brother, Sir George Lee, who was the last dean of the church.

THE NEW CHURCH OF SAINT CHAD

is erected on a beautiful site near the Quarry, and, considering the disadvantages of form which preclude the possibility of much architectural effect, it may be looked upon as an ornamental building.

The church is formed by the intersection of two circles, with a tower and portico attached; the smaller of the circles forming the grand staircase, and the larger one the body, chancel, and side staircases leading to the gallery. On each side of the tower is a square wing 24 feet by 19, appropriated for a vestry and robing room.

The exterior is divided into two stories, the lower one being rusticated, and the upper springing from a moulding displaying a continued Ionic entablature, supported by coupled pilasters of the same order; above the cornice is a well-proportioned balustrade.

The windows are circular headed in the upper, and square in the lower story, and, with the exception of that in the chancel, are uniform; the latter is Venetian, the divisions being formed with Corinthian pillars.

The portico consists of four Roman Doric columns and entablature in full order, and is considered a very fine specimen.

The steeple is divided into three parts, and, like the body of the church, is rusticated at the base, which is square; on this rests the second division, or bell chamber, octangular in shape, and decorated with Ionic pilasters, cornice, &c.; above rises eight elegant Corinthian columns, surrounded with an iron railing, and surmounted by a dome and cross.

The interior carries with it an air of importance, grandeur, and extent, derived mainly from that form which in the exterior has so much shackled the efforts of the architect: dazzled for a moment by the first impressions, the detail is lost in the general effect; but from the whole the eye is directed to those parts which constitute that whole, and here defects may be discovered that will not stand the test of architectural scrutiny.

The seats are well constructed, every individual being able to see the officiating minister. The gallery is not thrown too forward, but is in every respect in unison with the size of the church; it is carried round the whole area with the exception of the chancel, and is supported by a double row of ill-proportioned Ionic columns, painted porphyry. A continued balustrade finishes the front of the gallery, from which rises slender fluted columns (surmounted with entablature) for the support of the roof, the frieze being decorated with cherubs.

The ceiling is enriched with a glory and cherubs in the centre, surrounded by a wreath and other devices.

The chancel, contrary to general custom, is towards the north, and is separated from the body of the church by a handsome arch springing from an entablature supported by coupled composite columns, elegantly proportioned, the capitals of which are richly gilt.

The altar-piece is plain oak wainscot, with panels inscribed according to the canon of the church, above which is a Venetian window, containing a painting in enamelled glass of the Resurrection of our Saviour, by the elder Eginton. This window is shortly to be replaced by another, our townsman, Mr. David Evans, having been directed by the munificence of the Rev. Richard Scott, B.D. to exert his talents in the execution of a splendid and faithful copy of the celebrated chef d’ouvre of Rubens, painted for the cathedral church of Antwerp, the Descent from the Cross, with the Visitation, and Presentation in the Temple.

The pulpit and reading desk stand in the centre of the area in front of the chancel.

The organ is placed above the south or great entrance of the church; it is in a mahogany case, with a small painting of David playing upon the harp. The instrument was built by Gray, of London, and cost 400 guineas.

Between the piers of the gallery-windows are hatchments; and the building, although of modern date, contains several tasteful memorials which indicate,

“All that virtue, all that wealth e’er gave,
Await alike the inevitable hour—
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.”

Among these may be mentioned a large panelled tablet, having a bust of the deceased by Chantrey, within a recess, commemorative of Mr. John Simpson, “who superintended the building of this church; the bridges of Bewdley, Dunkeld, Craig, Ellachie, and Bonar; the aqueducts of Pontcysyllte and Chirk; and the locks and basins of the Caledonian Canal.” He died 1815.

On each side of the entrance leading to the chancel are tablets, highly enriched with sculpture, recording the decease of the Rev. George Scott, of Betton Strange, in this parish, and of Ann Lucretia, his wife; also of Richard Scott, of Peniarth Ucha, Merionethshire, and Underdale, in the county of Salop.

On the east wall of the chancel is a small tablet in memory of

The Rev. Thomas Stedman, M.A.
“Forty-two years Vicar of this Parish, during which period
his mind, his writings, and his discourse
were with deep humility devoted
to the glory of God, the happiness of mankind,
and the temporal and spiritual interests of his flock.”
He died Dec. 5th, 1825, in the 80th year of his age.

On a large Grecian tablet is a Latin inscription to the memory of the late Rev. Francis Leighton, M.A. who died Sept. 7th, 1813, aged 66 years. [36]

The body of the church is 100 feet in diameter, and the total length, including the entrance and vestibule, 160 feet. The building is of fine Grinshill stone, and was designed by Mr. George Steuart, of London. It was commenced March 2d, 1790, and consecrated August 20th, 1792, and will comfortably accommodate a congregation of about 2300 persons. The total cost, including site, organ, bells, &c. was £19,352, of which £15,800 was raised under act of parliament.

The steeple is 150 feet in height, and contains a full and melodious peal of twelve bells; the weight of the tenor being 2 tons 1 cwt. and measures 16 ft. 6 in. in circumference at the mouth. The balcony beneath the dome commands a fine prospect of the town and immediate vicinity.

In the vestry is a carved statue of St. Chad in his episcopal habit, holding a bible in his right hand and a crosier in his left. It originally stood upon the organ in the old church.

St. Chad’s is considered the principal church of the town; it is used on all public occasions, and is the place where the archdeacon holds his visitations and probat court.

A lecture is delivered here every Thursday evening, according to a bequest of the late James Phillips, Esq. of London, who by his will (dated 1661) devises, after the death of his wife, the rents of his property in Three Crown Court, Southward, unto the mayor and aldermen of this town for that purpose, and also for a lecture in the parish churches of Oswestry, Ellesmere, and Whitchurch. This property now produces a good revenue.

On the east side of the church is a spacious cemetery.

The living is a vicarage in the gift of the crown, being endowed in 1674, by the benefaction of Nathaniel Tench, Esq. with “the tithes of corn and hay of the grange of Crow Meole,” in commemoration of which the testator directed that a sermon should be annually preached on the 6th of June.

The parish comprises nearly one-half of the town, and extends several miles into the country, having two chapels of ease,—St. George’s (Frankwell), and Bicton, three miles distant.

ST. MARY’S CHURCH

stands on a commanding situation, nearly one hundred feet above the level of the river, on the north-eastern side of the town, and is one of the most interesting ecclesiastical edifices in the county, displaying in its construction almost every variety of ancient architecture, and affording to the antiquary and man of taste a rich and unique field for observation.

It is a cruciform building, consisting of a nave, side aisles, transepts, spacious chancel, two chantry chapels, and a lofty spire steeple.

In common with our early churches we have no opportunity of ascertaining the precise date of its erection on written testimony. The probable period of foundation has been stated, page [24]; the renovation and subsequent addition is therefore presumptive, and our decision must be governed by analogy of style with other edifices, whose origin is authenticated.

That the era of ancient buildings may be inferred from the internal evidence they themselves afford of their respective antiquity admits of little doubt; indeed, the amiable poet, Gray, who had much knowledge in antiquarian pursuits, has said that “they constantly furnish, to the well informed eye, arms, ornaments, and other indubitable marks by which their several ages may be ascertained.”

There will be little difficulty in appropriating the ancient portions of this building to distinct ages, if we except the task of assigning a correct criteria to the curious mixture displayed in the columns which support the semi-circular arches of the nave, where the Norman and pointed styles are singularly blended together, the union of which will afford matter of interesting speculation to the experienced antiquary.

William of Malmesbury has related an anecdote of the pious Wolstan, Bishop of Worcester (from 1062 to 1095) praying, on his way to Chester, in the wooden church of St. Peter, in this town, [39] and of the “citizens asking him why he preferred it to the church which they called St. Mary’s;”—a question we may reasonably conclude as shewing this was then, in their opinion, from some circumstance, a church of no little consequence.

The superior taste and enlarged views of improvement manifested by the Normans in the arts, caused the restoration of many important churches in much less time than a century after they had obtained the conquest of our island.

St. Mary’s, no doubt, from its antiquity, required restoration, and excited their early attention; but although destitute of positive data, as before stated, from whence to ascribe a period to its re-edification, the various improvements plainly evident in several parts of the fabric will easily be discovered by the critical eye of the architectural antiquary.

It may be mentioned that three distinct styles are apparent,—the Anglo-Norman of the 12th century, in the basement of the tower, nave, transepts, and doorways; the early lancet style in the windows of the transepts and chancel; the pointed and obtuse arch of the 15th and 16th century in the side aisles, clere-story, chantry, chapels, &c.

These shall be carefully examined by analysis, and the predominant features appropriated with caution to their respective periods.

The greater part of a new structure, it is therefore conjectured, was raised on the site of a previous Saxon building, probably early in the reign of Henry I. This is evident from the plain circular windows inserted in the massive basement of the tower, which, like the lower portion of the entire building, is of red stone, and flanked by broad flat buttresses, similar to those on the lower part of the Abbey tower.

The tower of St. Mary’s originally was probably not higher than the part composed of red stone, and was terminated like the generality of Norman towers, by a plain parapet.

The struggle between the Norman and pointed styles sometimes occasioned incongruous arches, and we may attribute the rude pointed doorway of the tower having an internal arch nearly triangular, to the reign of Stephen.

The South Porch of the nave is of the early Norman era, the outward arch circular, having zigzag mouldings issuing from clustered columns, and an inner rib, obtusely pointed; the windows on each side are curious as early specimens of the rudiments of the mullioned window, introduced about the time of Stephen; the arches of these windows rest on short thick columns, and are bisected into two lights by a similar pillar as a mullion, the capitals of which are all different; in the apex is a quatrefoil, one of the simplest and most ancient kind of ornaments.

The ceiling of the porch is also an example of the most ancient kind of groined vault, having neither boss nor ornament; above this is a chamber (entered from the church by a newel staircase), and lighted by a pointed window.

The inner doorway of the porch is an enriched round arch, with chevron, lozenge, and foliated mouldings. That on the north side of the nave is similar in style; and the doorways (now closed) in the north and south transepts are very elegant specimens of the style which prevailed from the Conquest to the time of Henry I.; the latter is decorated with alternate lozenge panels filled with an embossed flower.

A progressive movement of refinement and beauty took place in the science of architecture during the reign of Henry III. when the heavy Norman was succeeded by the slender lancet arch and its attendant ornaments. The transepts of this church are fine specimens of this transition of the styles, the north and south ends of which are terminated by beautifully proportioned triple lancet windows enriched with slender shafts and mouldings.

About the close of the 15th century, a greater stateliness of character and ornamental arrangement became the prevailing characteristic of architectural display, and the general features of the building were altered to the fashionable style.

The walls of the side aisles previous to this time were much lower, which is indicated by a slope in the stone work at the west end and a pier at the south-west, on which the roof originally rested. When the walls were raised, three mullioned windows were substituted on each side for round-headed lights, which narrowed towards the exterior surface of the wall, similar, no doubt, to that still remaining at the west end.

The nave shortly afterwards received the addition of a clere-story, lighted by a range of short windows with obtusely pointed arches, extending the whole length of the nave and chancel.

To render these important alterations of the fabric complete, the low massy tower was raised, and large double pointed windows were placed on each side, and the whole surmounted with an embattled parapet and pinnacles, which (being much decayed) were judiciously restored in 1816. From this tower rises an octagonal spire of noble proportions, which may be ranked as equal in height to the third loftiest spire in the kingdom, and forms an interesting and prominent object from every part of the rich and beautiful scenery which surrounds the town.

The dimensions, as taken at the last repair in 1818, are—tower, 78 feet 4 inches; spire, to the top of vane, 141 feet 10 inches; total height, 220 feet 2 inches.

The chapel south of the chancel has a remarkably lofty roof, and on the south side four handsome pointed windows of Henry the Sixth’s time; each window is divided by a buttress, on which rests a crocketed pinnacle. The eastern end of this building was originally finished by a large window, but within its space two lofty round-headed lights, with singular canopies in the debased style, prevalent about the reign of Queen Elizabeth, have been inserted.

The chancel is terminated by a large window, divided by mullions into two tiers of eight lights each, the apex being ramified into inelegant tracery, introduced in repairing the damage which this window (and that alluded to in the above chapel) sustained during an extreme tempest in 1579.

THE INTERIOR

of this church is strikingly noble, and calculated to inspire the mind with awe; but although the purer light of later times has in some degree eclipsed the adventitious aid intended to be conveyed to the feelings, during the religious ceremonies of our forefathers, by the almost mysterious effect produced from intermingled arches and clustered columns, canopied niches, costly shrines, and the mellow reflection of the storied pane shedding

“The dim blaze of radiance richly clear,”

in these august edifices of former ages, they still possess a power over the imagination, and insensible must that mind be which is not susceptible of appropriate religious influences,—subdued thoughts,—and, inspiring conceptions of divine majesty, when beholding the “long drawn aisle” and “high embower’d roof,” where all forms and differences of opinion, it has been justly remarked, become “trivial for awhile, amidst the sublimity of temples so well suited to the adoration of omnipotence.”

The nave is separated from the side aisles by four semicircular arches, resting on elegant clustered columns, with capitals decorated with foliage of different devices, from the rudest to the richest design. The mouldings of these arches have bolder projections, but are less massive than those of the early Norman, and more delicately finished, and although the mouldings on the shafts are peculiar to the earliest pointed style, they happily harmonize with the circular arches.

At the eastern extremity of each side aisle, opening to the transepts, is a semi-circular arch, resting on thick round pillars, with a regular base and indented capital, ornamented with sculpture of the earliest Norman era; similar arches lead to the chantry chapels. These arches, from their general style, are evidently the oldest part of the fabric, and we may venture to ascribe them to a period not later than the Conquest. In removing the accumulations of colouring and plaister from the walls and arches of this part, in 1828, the distinguishing marks of the operative masons employed in working the stones were discovered, and still are to be seen, being the same as those now used. [44]

The choir and transepts are divided by three most beautiful pointed arches, rising from piers similar to those described in the nave.

The ceiling of the nave is of oak, the intersections of the beams being formed into panels richly decorated with ornamented quatrefoils and foliage, carved bosses, flowers, grotesque figures, &c. A beautiful cornice of vine branches, grapes interspersed with masks, are placed round the walls beneath the roof. The whole is in excellent preservation, and supposed to be one of the finest specimens of the ancient fretted ceiling in the kingdom.

The Chancel is elevated above the church by a double ascent, and the ceiling, like that of both the transepts, is excellently painted, but panelled in a style somewhat similar to that of the nave, and adorned with some of the rich fret work removed from the wreck of the churches of St. Chad and St. Alkmond.

On the north side of the altar is a most beautiful triple lancet window, with arches remarkably acute, and resting on isolated columns, whose capitals are adorned with elegant foliage, &c. The window is filled with three figures in ancient stained glass.

Whilst these pages are passing through the press, a most important improvement has been effected in the chancel, by removing the altar screen, which, although a handsome Grecian design, obstructed not only much of the eastern window, but was quite out of character with the building. Another of a more appropriate description will be substituted.

The eastern window contains the truly splendid glass that adorned the chancel of old St. Chad’s, and which escaped the destruction that befel the other parts of the fabric. It was carefully removed and presented to this parish by the trustees for putting into execution the act for rebuilding the new church.

This glass, unequalled in point of beauty and colouring, represents The Genealogy of Christ, from the root of Jesse. The patriarch occupies the breadth of three bays of the window, being depicted as reclining in a deep sleep, with his head resting upon an embroidered pillow, and supported on his right hand. From his loins issues a Vine, the branches of which, before its disarrangement, overspread the whole window, inclosing within the ovals formed by its intersections a King or Prophet of the ancestry of Joseph, the series of which is finished by the husband of the Virgin Mary in a devotional posture at the feet of his progenitor.

Many of the figures are depicted with their peculiar emblems. The ground of the whole is varied and exquisitely vivid, on which the clusters of grapes and the bright verdure of the vine leaves are displayed with great effect.

Two compartments contain figures of ancient knights vested in the hawberk and bearing their square banners, and kneeling beneath foliated tabernacles. They represent Sir John Cherleton, Lord of Powis, and his son Sir Owen. From the following translation of an inscription on a part of the window,

“Pray for Monsieur John de Charlton, who caused this glazing to be made, and for Dame Hawis his companion,”

the date of its erection is ascertained to be about the middle of the fourteenth century; it was originally placed in the church of the convent of Grey Friars in this town, from whence it was removed to St. Chad’s at the Dissolution.

Many of the figures have been displaced in their change of situation; their re-arrangement, however, is now in progress, and to complete the genealogical line additional figures will be added, and the lower tier of arches in the window, formerly filled with brick-work, have been opened to their base.

At the west end of the nave is a peculiarly rich and full-toned organ, made by the celebrated builders Harris and Byfield, in 1729, which has recently been improved by the addition of an octave and a half of pedal pipes.

This instrument stands upon a handsome stone screen, divided into three compartments, formed by as many obtusely pointed arches, and divided by buttresses of two stories, highly decorated with reticulated divisions, containing an open flower in relief; around the inner recesses of the arches are the following inscriptions:—

Venite Domino exultemus
Rupi salutis jutilemus
Jehovam hymnis concinamus
Et grates illi persolnamus—Hallelujah.

Jehovam virgints laudate
Senes et pueri celebrate
Psalmis ecclesia sanctorum
Extollat Dominum Dominorum.

Laudate carminis clamore
Laudate buccinae clangore
Laudate organo sonoro
Laudate cymbalis et choro.

Above is a series of smaller arches similar in style, having cinque-foil heads, and filled with the like reticulated divisions and ornament, each of the arches being divided by a small plain buttress; the string course is charged with elaborately carved heads of angels, pateras, &c. and the spandrils of the several arches throughout are enriched with elegant and varied foliage, exquisitely sculptured. The whole forming a most prominent and imposing feature to the main entrance of the nave, and will be a permanent monument of the good taste and munificence of the donor, the Rev. W. G. Rowland, M.A.

The screen was designed by and executed under the superintendence of Mr. John Carline, of this town, and is a work creditable to his professional abilities.

THE NORTH TRANSEPT

has a rich and pleasing appearance on entering the church from the eastern door, [48] through a porch which was once a chantry chapel, and connected with the transept by a fine Norman arch.

The triple windows of this and the corresponding transept are filled with small full-length figures in stained glass, bearing their respective insignia, and judiciously placed within ovals of chaste mosaic patterns. The centre of the middle light has the arms of King George the Third, with the following inscription:

Geo. III.
Regum • Optimus •
Gentis • Britannicae •
Olim • Deliciæ • nunc • Desiderium •
Mortalitatem • exuit •
Mens • Jan • Die • 29 • A.D. 1820 •
Anno • Ætat • 82 . Regni • 60 .

On a scroll at the top,

Among many Nations was there no King like him.—Neh. xiii. 26.

On another at the bottom,

His Heart was perfect with the Lord all his Days.—1 Kings xv. 14.

Above these arms is the figure of the Virgin Mary, and below is St. Andrew. The dexter lancet window is occupied with the figures of St. Philip, St. Bartholomew, and St. James the son of Zebedee, and the sinister with St. Simon, St. Thomas, and St. Matthias. At the bottom is the following inscription:—“Ioannes Brickdale Blakeway, A.M. HUJUS ECCLESIÆ JUDEX OFFICIALIS ET MINISTER INSIGNIA REGIA P. C. ANNO MDCCCXX. Reliquam FENESTRÆ PARTEM EXORNAVIT EJUS VIDUA M.E.B. ANNO MDCCCXXIX.”

The lower portion of the walls are ornamented with interstitial divisions and monuments.

Against the west wall is a most beautiful free-stone

MONUMENT
TO THE LATE REV. J. B. BLAKEWAY;

which for elegance of design, beauty of execution, and general effect, has perhaps rarely been surpassed in modern times.

This beautiful Memorial was designed by Mr. John Carline, of this town, and is upwards of 12 feet in length and 16 feet in height, and is divided into three compartments by clustered buttresses, which sustain richly crocketed pinnacles. The centre compartment comprises a large pointed arch, cusped, canopied, and crocketed, the back of which is deeply recessed, and contains the following inscription in ornamental Roman capitals:

To the Memory of the Reverend
JOHN BRICKDALE BLAKEWAY, M.A. F.A.S.
Thirty-one years Ordinary and Official
And Thirty-two years Minister of this Parish,
This Monument is erected
By the Voluntary Subscription of his Parishioners,
As a tribute of respect for his talents,
Esteem for his virtues,
And gratitude for his long and faithful services
As their Friend and Pastor.
He died the tenth day of March, MDCCCXXVI.
Aged sixty years.

On each side of the above compartment is an elegant niche with a cinquefoil head, octagonal back, and groined ceiling. These niches are surmounted by acute-angled crocketed canopies formed of deep mouldings; and resting on the head of each niche within the canopy is a cinquefoil within a circle. In a similar situation in the centre compartment is a shield containing the following arms:—Argent, on a bend engrailed sable, three bezants; impaling argent, a fess vaire between three unicorns passant, gules.

The above divisions rest on an altar tomb, the front of which is divided into twelve small niches with trefoil heads. These niches are separated by small buttresses, with crocketed canopies and pinnacles.

Mr. Blakeway was the son of Joshua Blakeway, Esq. of this town, and a gentleman whose pleasing adaptation of manners and amiable walk through life gained him the universal respect of his fellow townsmen. Neither the church nor the state had a more faithful defender of its rights or supporter of its dignity, nor the true interests of his native town a more watchful guardian.

As a scholar and a gentleman, united with the character of a true christian, we shall perhaps “ne’er look upon his like again.” As a preacher he was admired for his forcible illustration of holy writ, and the valuable admonitions clothed in the language of affection which his discourses generally contained, whilst his devoutness in the performance of the sacred duties of the sanctuary must have impressed their importance on all who heard them. In his personal appearance he was tall and robust;—his face bore the line of thought, and his ample forehead bespoke the mind that dwelt within. As an author he had written much and published little, and was known only to the literary world previous to 1821 by a few sermons, controversial tracts, and critical notes in Malone’s edition of Boswell’s Life of Johnson. His name, however, will be immortalized in the valuable History of Shrewsbury which he commenced in 1820, with the Venerable Archdeacon Owen, and just lived to see the general history and ecclesiastical portions published in two quarto volumes, which elaborate undertaking will obtain for him and his revered friend and colleague the respect and gratitude of every true Salopian in subsequent generations.

Mr. Blakeway likewise shewed much attention and devotedness to the antiquities of his native county, and the valuable mass of manuscripts he left behind in illustration of its genealogical and topographical history will remain also as a monument of his industry. [52]

His last end was peace,—for he departed almost without a sigh, and nearly without losing that benignant smile which was so peculiar to him. His remains were interred on the right of the west entrance to the church-yard.

Three beautiful specimens of monumental sculpture, designed by the same architect, occupy the north wall, and harmonize with the splendid memorial just described, a detail of which would occupy too much space. The lancet window in the west wall contains a fine ancient figure in stained glass of St. John the Evangelist, arrayed in a robe which displays a most splendid specimen of the ancient ruby glass of the old masters; the hem of the garment is brilliantly studded with pearls.

The Ancient Font stands in the centre of the area, and is very handsome. The basin is octangular, each side having an ornamented quatrefoil, in the centre of which is a large double rose. The angles have been adorned with busts of angels bearing shields, and the pedestal is pierced into gothic arches, divided by small shelving buttresses.

In the north-eastern angle is an octangular turret, in which a small doorway opens to a staircase leading to a chamber which was no doubt once a chantry. It is lighted by a curious triangular window, with a trefoil on the intrado of each arch, the mouldings of which are deeply recessed. Below this is another chantry chapel, now used as a Vestry, having at the east end an early Norman light, and on the north a mullioned window of the fifteenth century. Under a low pointed arch beneath this window is a monumental tomb composed of alabaster, but sunk into the floor for economy of space: it bears the figures of a warrior and his lady in the act of devotion, supposed to represent Nicholas Stafford and his wife Katherine. The former was bailiff of the town in 1458, and died in 1471.