Shrawardine
SHRAWARDINE, a township, in the parish of
Abberbury, hundred of Ford, union of Atcham, S.
division of Salop, 6½ miles (N. W.) from Shrewsbury.
Shrawardine (St. Mary)
SHRAWARDINE (St. Mary), a parish, in the
union of Atcham, hundred of Pimhill, N. division of
Salop, 6¾ miles (W. N. W.) from Shrewsbury; containing 196 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in
the king's books at £9. 12. 6.; net income, £380; patron, the Earl of Powis. Shrawardine Castle was built
by Alan, a follower of the Conqueror's, and ancestor of
the celebrated Fitz-Alans, which family held it under
the crown for many ages to check the invasions of the
Welsh. After having been the scene of many remarkable events, it was purchased in the reign of Elizabeth
by Lord Chancellor Bromley: the site and remains,
together with other estates in the parish, are now the
property of the Earl of Powis.
Shrawley (St. Mary)
SHRAWLEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Martley, Lower division of the hundred of Doddingtree, Hundred House and W. divisions of the county
of Worcester, 9 miles (N. N. W.) from Worcester, on
the road to Bewdley; containing 569 inhabitants. This
place belonged to Ralph de Todeni, who was standardbearer to William at the battle of Hastings, and whose
family held the lands till the time of Edward II., when
they passed to the family of Guy Beauchamp, Earl of
Warwick. After passing through other families, the
manor was sold to the Vernon family, of Hanbury Hall,
in 1720. The parish comprises 1830a. 3r. 10p., of
which 853 acres are arable, 529 pasture, and 447 woodland: the soil is gravelly, alternated with sand, and
some strong clay; the surface is hilly, the woods luxuriant, and here is one of the best fox covers in the
county. The river Severn passes by the parish on the
east. There are quarries of good stone. Immediately
below Shrawley Court, now a farmhouse, are some artificial mounds known by the name of the Court Hills, or
Oliver's Mound; they were raised to command a ford
over the river, and probably were occupied by a detachment of Cromwell's army immediately previous to the
battle of Worcester. The living is a rectory, valued in
the king's books at £9. 17. 1., and in the patronage of
Thomas Bo water Vernon, Esq.: the tithes have been
commuted for £355, and the glebe comprises 63 acres,
with a house. The church is rather an ancient structure
with a tower. A school is partly supported by the rector. Thomas Vernon, by will dated in 1711, bequeathed
the interest of £1000 to provide clothing and fuel for
the poor of Hanbury and Shrawley; the portion belonging to this parish was invested in 1768 or 1770 in the
purchase of an estate near Worcester, consisting of about
80 acres, now let for £100 per annum.
Shrewley
SHREWLEY, a chapelry, in the parish of Hatton,
union of Warwick, Snitterfield division of the hundred
of Barlichway, S. division of the county of Warwick,
4 miles (N. W. by W.) from Warwick; containing 322
inhabitants. It is situated near the road from Warwick
to Solihull; and comprises 1191a. 2r. 11p., whereof
816 acres are arable, 300 meadow and pasture, 46 woodland, and 28 in homesteads and gardens.
Shrewsbury
SHREWSBURY, a borough and market - town,
having separate jurisdiction,
locally in the liberties of
Shrewsbury, N. division of
Salop, of which it is the
chief town, 154 miles (N. W.)
from London; containing
18,285 inhabitants. This ancient borough is said to have
arisen from the ruins of Uriconium, now Wroxeter, a celebrated Roman station on the
line of the Watling-street, which road, passing through
the present town in a direction from east to west, divides
it into two nearly equal parts. On account of its situation on two hills, richly covered with shrubs and trees,
it obtained from the Britons the appellations of Pengweme and Smwithic or Y Mwythig, and was by the
Saxons called Scrobbes-byrig, from which its present
name is derived. How it obtained the appellation of
Salopesberie, as mentioned in some records, has not been
satisfactorily ascertained. During the heptarchy, it was
the capital of Powysland, which comprised a portion of
the Saxon and British frontier territories; and the
princes of Powys resided here till, in 778, Offa, King of
Mercia, expelled them from their possessions, and, to
secure his conquest, raised that stupendous barrier still
called Offa's Dyke. In the reign of Alfred the Great,
this place was numbered among the principal cities of
Britain. It had a mint, which it retained till the reign
of Henry III.; and there are still extant some of the
coins struck in the reigns of Athelstan, Edgar, Ethelred,
Canute, Edward the Confessor, and Harold II., besides
several between the years 1066 and 1272.
Arms.
When Canute was pursuing his conquests through
the northern parts of the country, the inhabitants of
Shrewsbury revolted in his favour and surrendered up
the town, which Edmund Ironside, in 1016, a short time
previously to the partition of the kingdom, recovered
from the Danes, inflicting signal vengeance on the townsmen for their treachery. At the time of the Conquest,
nearly the whole of the shire was bestowed by William
on his kinsman, Roger de Montgomery, whom he
created Earl of Shrewsbury, Chichester, and Arundel,
and who built here a formidable castle for his baronial
residence. In 1069, the town was besieged by Edric
Sylvaticus, and Owain Gwynedd, Prince of Wales; but
was relieved by King William, who advanced from York,
and defeated the assailants with great slaughter. In
1102, Robert de Belesme, son of Earl Roger, espoused
the cause of Robert, Duke of Normandy, and commenced
measures for raising him to the throne of England, in
opposition to his brother Henry I. The king accordingly marched against the town with an army of 60,000
men; and the earl, although he had previously fortified
it with a wall on each side of the castle, across the
isthmus formed by the river Severn, at once submitted,
acknowledged his treasonable conduct, and was banished
to Normandy. His estates were forfeited, and the castle
became a royal fortress.
The importance of Shrewsbury as a frontier town has
rendered it the scene of many and various transactions
of historical interest. In the year 1116, the nobles of
the realm are said to have assembled here to do homage,
and take the oaths of allegiance, to William, son of the
Empress Matilda; but some historians state that this
meeting took place at Salisbury. Stephen, in 1138, laid
siege to the castle, while Fitz-Alan, the governor, was
absent in forwarding the claims of the empress; and
having taken it by storm, he hanged several of the garrison. The frequent inroads of the Welsh induced John
to assemble a council here, in order to concert measures
for preventing them. In 1215, Llewelyn, who had
married Joan, natural daughter of that monarch, appeared before Shrewsbury with a numerous army, and
seized the town and castle. Henry III. soon dispossessed him of his capture, and drove him back to his
own territory; but in the war with the barons, Richard,
Earl of Pembroke, retired into Wales, and, being
assisted by Llewelyn, laid waste the intermediate district, and plundered and burnt the town after having
put many of the inhabitants to the sword. Simon de
Montfort, whilst prosecuting the war against Henry III.,
took the town, which he held for a short time. In 1267,
the same monarch assembled an army here for the invasion of Wales, but was diverted from his purpose by
the submission of Llewelyn, with whom he subsequently
concluded a treaty of peace. About this time the king
recommended the inhabitants to complete the fortifications of the place, of which only one side was defended; but, notwithstanding the aid of royal bounty, the
work was not accomplished in less than thirty years.
The continued incursions of the Welsh upon the English frontier induced Edward I., in 1277, to fix his residence in Shrewsbury, to which he removed the courts of
king's bench and exchequer. In 1283 he assembled the
parliament here: the king and his court were accommodated at Acton-Burnell, the seat of Bishop Burnell, the
lord high chancellor; the lords held their sittings in the
castle, and the commons, who for the first time had any
voice in the national councils, met in a building near the
castle. This monarch having sent a force against the
Welsh without success, took the field in person, at the
head of a numerous army, and an engagement occurred
at the foot of Snowdon, in which they were completely
routed, Llewelyn slain, and his brother Davydd, who had
instigated him to the insurrection, taken prisoner, and,
after a short confinement in Rhuddlan Castle, in Flintshire, brought to Shrewsbury. Here, being tried by the
parliament, he was executed as a traitor, with a degree
of degradation and severity previously unknown in this
country, and which, till a very late period, furnished a
precedent for the punishment of treason. Edward II.
was received in the town with the greatest pomp in
1322, and in the same year he celebrated a grand tournament, which was attended by a numerous assemblage
of knights and noblemen. In 1397, Richard II. adjourned the parliament from Westmorland to Shrewsbury, gave a splendid entertainment to the lords and
commons, and created several peers, who at this time
first assumed their seats in parliament. This assembly,
from the number of noblemen and others who attended
it, and from the importance of the state affairs transacted at it, was called the Great Parliament; but the
measures enacted, though ratified by the pope's bull,
were repealed during the following reign.
In 1403, a battle was fought in the immediate vicinity,
between the forces of Henry IV. and those of the Earl
of Northumberland, who had rebelled against the king,
assisted by a considerable body of Scottish troops under
the command of Earl Douglas. After a severe and protracted conflict, the victory was decided in favour of
Henry: 2300 knights and gentlemen, among whom was
Hotspur, son of Earl Percy, and 6000 common soldiers,
were slain in the engagement. The dead were interred
on the spot, which has since been called Battlefield; and
a church was afterwards erected there by the king, in
memory of his victory. Owain Glyndwr, who had raised
an army to co-operate with the insurgents, marched
with his advanced guard to Shelton, two miles from
Shrewsbury, and on perceiving the battle terminated,
retreated into Wales.
During the contest between the houses of York and
Lancaster, the inhabitants embraced the cause of the
former; and on the defeat of Richard Plantagenet, Duke
of York, at the battle of Wakefield, in which he was
slain, his son Edward, Earl of March, afterwards Edward IV., levied in this town a powerful army, with
which he avenged the death of his father at the battle of
Mortimer's Cross. Edward, on his elevation to the
throne, selected Shrewsbury as an asylum for his consort during the agitation of the times; and in the convent of the Dominican friars, in which the queen resided,
the princes Richard and George were born. The latter
of these died in childhood; the former, with his elder
brother, Prince Edward, was inhumanly murdered in
the Tower of London, by their uncle, the Protector,
afterwards Richard III. The Earl of Richmond, on
landing at Milford Haven, proceeded to this town, where
he was proclaimed king; and having strengthened his
army with considerable reinforcements raised in the
neighbourhood, he advanced into Leicestershire, where
he gained the battle of Bosworth-Field, which terminated
in the death of Richard III., and his own elevation to
the throne under the title of Henry VII. This monarch
subsequently visited the town, with his queen and Prince
Arthur; and after celebrating the festival of St. George
in the church of St. Chad, granted the inhabitants several privileges, in acknowledgment of the alacrity with
which they had supported his claims to the crown.
On the breaking out of the parliamentary war, Charles
I. came to Shrewsbury, and was received with every
demonstration of loyalty by the inhabitants. He was
soon afterwards joined by Prince Rupert, Prince Charles,
the Duke of York, and several noblemen and gentlemen.
The king kept his court in an ancient building called
the Council-house; and on his establishing a mint for
the supply of his exigencies, the inhabitants liberally
presented their plate to be melted, and coined into
money: a considerable part of the funds thus raised
was expended in strengthening the fortifications of the
town. Colonel Mytton made two attempts to obtain
possession of the town and castle for the parliament,
and was repulsed in both; but having received a
reinforcement he made a third effort, in which he carried
the place by storm. In 1651, Charles II. summoned
it to surrender: on the refusal of the governor, he
marched to Worcester; and after the disastrous battle
there, took refuge in the Royal Oak at Boscobel, on the
confines of this county. During that monarch's retirement on the continent, a plan was formed by a party of
royalists to besiege the castle; but their scheme was
frustrated, and several of them were punished. James
II. visited the town in 1687, and, attended by the nobility
and gentry of the county, kept his court for several days at
the council-house. In this reign the castle was dismantled,
and all its ammunition and military stores removed.
The castle was originally of such extent and formidable strength, that to make room for its erection,
Earl Roger pulled down nearly one-fifth of the town.
It was a fortress of great importance till the final subjugation of Wales, after which it was entrusted to a
constable, generally the sheriff, who made it the county
prison. The castle was repaired during the civil war as
a garrison for the king; and after it came into the possession of the parliament, Cromwell erected an additional fort, called Roushill, which is among the most
entire of the remaining portions. The remains are
situated at the northern entrance into the town, on the
summit of a bold eminence overlooking the Severn, by
which they are nearly surrounded. They are composed
principally of the keep, a spacious modernised structure of red stone, consisting of two round embattled
towers connected by a quadrangular building 100 feet
in length; the walls of the inner court; and the great
arch of the interior gateway. These include a grassy
area, in which, though now private property, the knights
of the shire, according to immemorial usage, are girt
with their swords, on their election to serve in parliament. On the south side of the court is a lofty mount
rising abruptly from the river: the summit is surrounded with a wall, and in one angle of the inclosure
was a barbican, which has been converted into a summer-house, called Laura Tower, after the name of Miss
Pulteney, for whose use it was so perfected; it commands an extensive, varied, and picturesque view of the
surrounding country. The ramparts that environed the
town, together with the towers by which they were
defended, have, with the exception of one of the towers
on the south side of the town, been demolished. Adjoining the castle precinct, and formerly within its
walls, are the remains of the ancient council-house,
where the courts for the marches of Wales were occasionally held, and which afforded a temporary residence
to several of the English monarchs.
The town is pleasantly situated on two eminences
rising gently from the river Severn, which, by its windings, forms a peninsula. It consists of several streets
irregularly built, and, with some exceptions, inconveniently narrow; but various improvements have been
made under the provisions of an act obtained in 1821,
and others are in progress, for removing obstructions
arising from the style of building, and for widening the
approaches. The town is well paved, lighted with gas
by a company established in 1820, and supplied with
water from a remarkably fine spring called Bradwell,
about two miles distant, and also from the river Severn,
by a company formed in 1827. Over the river are two
bridges of stone. One of these, called the English
bridge, is a handsome structure of Grinshill freestone,
of seven circular arches, crowned with a balustrade;
it was built in 1774, at an expense of £16,000 defrayed
by public subscription, and connects the suburb of
Abbey Foregate with the town. The other, termed the
Welsh bridge, is a neat plain structure of five spacious
arches, erected in 1795, at a cost of more than £8000,
and affording a passage into Wales. Near the Abbey
Foregate is a brick edifice erected in 1806, from a design by Wyatt, at an expense of £10,000; it was discontinued as a military depôt several years since, and
the armoury removed to Chester Castle: the building
now belongs to Lord Berwick. At the entrance into
the town from London is a lofty column of the GrecianDoric style, rising from a base ornamented at the angles
with lions couchant, to the height of 132 feet, and supporting a well-executed statue of the late Lieut.-Gen.
Rowland, Lord Hill, in honour of whose achievements
in the continental war it was erected in 1814. There is
a public subscription library near St. John's Hill, containing more than 5000 volumes in various departments
of literature; and attached to it is a newsroom. A
mechanics' institute was formed in 1825; and a museum
a few years subsequently. The ancient theatre was
part of the palace of the princes of Powysland, of which
it retained some vestiges, though materially altered by
its appropriation to dramatic uses: a new theatre has
been lately built, with a neat front occupied by shops.
Assemblies are held monthly, during the season, in
a suite of rooms well fitted up; and races in September,
for three days, on a course adjoining Abbey Foregate.
The Severn, in addition to the salmon for which it is
celebrated, and with which it formerly abounded to a
much greater extent, produces trout, pike, perch, carp,
eels, shad, flounders, lampreys, &c. On the southwestern side of the town is a beautiful promenade called
the Quarry, comprising about twenty acres, and extending along the winding margin of the river for 500 yards:
it has a noble avenue of full-grown lime-trees, from which
diverge three other walks leading to the town. In the
vicinity also are numerous pleasant rides, through a
country abounding with picturesque scenery.
The trade, which was formerly of considerable importance, has been diminished by the growth of other
places; but the town has, notwithstanding, always
maintained a good share of internal commerce. Its
traffic in Welsh cloths and flannel was the principal
source of its opulence, and at present, though not restricted to the Drapers' Company as before, produces
no inconsiderable profit: the greater portion of the
cloths and flannel made in the counties of Montgomery
and Merioneth, and part of Denbighshire, is brought to
Shrewsbury. A manufactory for thread, linen-yarn,
and canvas, situated near the castle, adjoining the
suburb of Castle Foregate, affords employment to a large
number of persons; and on the banks of the river, in
Coleham, are iron-foundries, in which the immense
chains that support the stupendous bridge over the
Menai straits, and the iron-work in many similar erections, were cast. The town is also noted for its brawn,
and for a particular kind of sweet cakes named after
the place. The river affords a convenient transit for
goods of every description, to Worcester, Gloucester,
Bristol, and other towns; and considerable quantities
of grain in which the trade is extensive, and of lighter
manufactured articles, are forwarded by a junction
canal, opened some years since. The Shrewsbury canal,
which is the great medium of supplying the town with
coal, terminates near the Castle Foregate, where are
commodious wharfs for the use of persons connected
with the coal-works on the line of the canal: it was
constructed under an act obtained in 1793. An act
was passed in 1845 for a railway to Oswestry and Chester; and in 1846 acts were obtained for railways to
Stafford, to Hereford, and to Wolverhampton, respectively. The market-days are Wednesday and Saturday,
the latter for grain: the general market is held in a
stone edifice, built in 1819; and that for corn in the
area under a spacious building erected in 1595.
The town received a succession of charters of incorporation, from the time of
William the Conqueror to
the reign of James II.; the
earliest preserved in.the archives of the borough, is dated
November 11th, 1st of Richard I. The corporation now
consists of a mayor, ten
aldermen, and thirty councillors, under the act 5th
and 6th of William IV., cap.
76, and the number of magistrates is eight; the
borough is divided into five wards, and the municipal boundaries are co-extensive with those for parliamentary purposes. The freedom is acquired by birth,
or obtained by apprenticeship to a member of one of
the Incorporated Companies, which were once sixteen
in number, the Drapers' being the principal. The borough has exercised the elective franchise from the 23rd
of Edward I., regularly returning two members to parliament: the right of election was extended by the act
2nd of William IV., cap. 45, to the £10 householders
of an enlarged district, comprising an area of 3080
acres: the mayor is returning officer. The recorder
presides at quarterly courts of session, for all offences
not capital, on the Monday previous to the county
quarter-sessions; and the mayor, assisted by some of
the other magistrates, holds a session every week, for
the determination of petty causes: the recorder, also,
has a court of record every Tuesday, for the recovery of
debts to any amount. A court leet occurs in May and
October, at the latter of which constables and other
officers for the town are appointed; and the assizes and
general quarter-sessions for the county are held here.
The powers of the county debt-court of Shrewsbury,
established in 1847, extend over the registration-districts of Shrewsbury and Atcham, and part of those of
Church-Stretton and Ellesmere. The old town and
shire hall, a handsome building of stone, erected in
1785, has been taken down, and a new edifice built from
a design by Mr. Smirke. The town and county gaol,
and house of correction, situated on the bank of the
Severn, were erected in 1793, at an expense of £30,000;
the entrance is through a freestone gateway, over which
is a bust of the celebrated Howard.
Corporation Seal.
Shrewsbury comprises the parishes of St. Alkmond,
containing 1642; St. Chad, 7625; Holy Cross, 1742;
St. Julian, 3252; and part of St. Mary, with 6684 inhabitants. The living of Sr. Alkmond's is a vicarage,
valued in the king's books at £6, and in the patronage
of the Crown; net income, £219. The church was
made collegiate by King Edgar, who endowed it for the
support of ten canons, one of whom acted as dean;
but the society was dissolved on the establishment of
Lilleshall Abbey, to which its revenue was appropriated.
The edifice, with the exception of the tower and spire,
which are 184 feet in height, was taken down, from an
apprehension of insecurity, and rebuilt in 1795; the
east window is embellished with a painting by Eginton,
in stained glass, emblematical of Faith.
The living of St. Chad's is a vicarage, in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £350. The church,
erected in 1792, at an expense of nearly £20,000, in
lieu of an edifice which fell down in 1788 while undergoing repair, is a handsome circular building in the
Grecian style, with a square rustic tower, above which
is an octagonal belfry, surmounted by a dome resting
on eight Corinthian pillars. The body of the church
forms a rotunda 100 feet in diameter, surrounded by
a range of duplicated Ionic pillars between the lofty
arched windows, these pillars rising from the basement,
and supporting a cornice surmounted by a balustrade.
The entrance is through a stately portico of four Doric
columns with a pediment. The interior has a rich and
pleasing effect: the galleries are upheld by Ionic pillars,
from which rise Corinthian pillars sustaining the roof;
the chancel is adorned with a painting of the Resurrection, in stained glass, by Eginton, from a design by
West, removed from Lichfield cathedral. A mural
monument was placed in the vestibule, in 1847, in commemoration of the brave men belonging to the 53rd or
Shropshire regiment, who fell during the late war in
India. The monument is about eight feet high, and is
of white marble set on a black ground, decorated with
military accoutrements, and bearing an appropriate inscription, which records the names of all the officers
and men who fell at Aliwal, at Sobraon, and at the relief
of Lodiana, on the Sutlej. The cost of this memorial
was defrayed by the surviving officers of the corps.
The remains of the ancient church, originally collegiate,
consist only of the south aisle of the chancel, containing portions in the Norman, early English, and decorated styles; it was fitted up for the performance of the
funeral service, and is at present appropriated to a charity school.
The living of the parish of Holy Cross is a vicarage, with the chapel of St. Giles, valued in the king's
books at £8; patron and impropriator, Lord Berwick:
the great tithes have been commuted for £110, and the
vicarial for £355. The church, occupying a low site in
the eastern suburb to which it gives name, and surrounded on the south and west by the river Rea, commonly called Meole brook, is part of the church of a
splendid abbey founded for Benedictine monks, by
Roger de Montgomery, in 1083. This abbey was dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and stood on the site of
a religious institution established prior to the Conquest,
with the revenue of which it was partly endowed. It was
a mitred abbey, and the abbots exercised episcopal authority in their house, beiug in some respects exempt from
the jurisdiction of the diocesan; at the Dissolution, in
1513, its revenue was estimated at £615. 4. 3. The
king intended to make Shrewsbury the seat of a diocese, and to raise the abbey church into a cathedral,
Dr. Bourchier, the last abbot of Leicester, being actually
nominated bishop; but pecuniary exigencies compelled
him to abandon the design. The abbey was distinguished
by the resort of many pilgrims to the shrine of St.
Winifred, whose remains had been removed hither from
Gwytherin, in Denbighshire. The walls of this establishment included an area of ten acres, and the buildings, chiefly in the Norman style, were as magnificent as
they were extensive; the remains are the western tower,
the north porch, and the nave and aisles of the church,
with some small portions of the conventual buildings.
The church retains several features of ancient grandeur,
though many alterations have been made, particularly
the introduction of a large window of seven lights, in the
later English style, of elegant tracery, and emblazoned
with armorial bearings in stained glass, over the west
doorway. The interior has a solemn effect; the roof is
finely vaulted, and supported on circular arches and
massive piers, while in other parts the slender clustered
column and the pointed arch prevail. The east window
is enriched with armorial bearings, including those of
Lord Berwick, by whom it was presented; and in the
central compartment are paintings of St. Peter and
St. Paul, in stained glass, by Mr. D. Evans, of Shrewsbury. There are various altar-tombs and monuments,
and within an arch, which formerly led to the south
aisle of the transept, is an ancient figure in armour,
conjectured to be that of Earl Roger, who died and was
buried at Shrewsbury. Among the ruins of the conventual buildings, is a fragment thought to be part of
the refectory, on which is an exquisitely beautiful octagonal structure of stone, resting partly on a corbel, and
supposed to have been the oratory or pulpit from which
one of the monks, according to their custom, read to his
brethren while at dinner. This fragment is an unrivalled specimen of the decorated English style, ornamented with lofty and finely-pointed windows, which
are divided by enriched mullions rising from the corbel,
and are crowned with trefoiled arches deeply moulded.
The spaces between the three northern arches are filled
up to the height of four feet with stone panels, in which
are enshrined figures; and the exterior is surmounted
by an obtuse dome almost concealed by the ivy which
has overspread the building. The interior is six feet in
diameter; the roof is elaborately groined, and adorned
in the centre, where the ribs unite, with an alto-relievo
of the Crucifixion. The chapel of St. Giles, which was
attached to the hospital belonging to the abbey church,
stands at the eastern extremity of the Abbey Foregate:
divine service is still performed in it. The building is
small, with a diminutive turret, and an elegant eastern
window of stained glass; and has been repewed and
fitted up at the expense of the Rev. Richard Scott.
The living of St. Julian's is a perpetual curacy;
net income, £159; patron and impropriator, the Earl
of Tankerville. The church, with the exception of the
tower, which is in the Norman style, was rebuilt of
brick in 1750; the interior is neatly arranged, and decorated with some relics of the old structure. In the
east wall of the chancel is a small female figure enshrined in rich tabernacle-work, probably representing
St. Juliana, the patroness; and in the ceiling is preserved a considerable portion of the ancient fret-work.
The east window is embellished with a painting of St.
James, in stained glass, brought from Rouen during the
French revolution of 1792, above which are some armorial bearings; and among the monuments is a slab of
coarse alabaster, inscribed with Longobardic characters.
The edifice was greatly improved in 1846-7, at the expense of the Rev. Richard Scott.
The living of St. Mary's is a perpetual curacy, in the
patronage of the Corporation, conjointly with the Bishop
of Lichfield and others; net income, £312: the impropriation belongs to the free grammar school. The
church is an ancient cruciform structure, partly Norman,
and partly in the early English style, with a western
tower surmounted by a lofty spire of beautiful proportions; the lower part of the tower, and the south porch,
are Norman. The interior, from its frequent enlargement and alteration, comprises specimens of various
styles; the east window is embellished with stained
glass formerly in the old church of St. Chad, representing the Genealogy of Christ from the root of Jesse, and
containing in each of the numerous oval compartments
a king, or patriarch.
A chapel dedicated to St. Michael has been built near
the Castle Foregate, in St. Mary's parish, by subscription, aided by a grant of £500 from the Incorporated
Society: the living is a perpetual curacy; net income,
£59; patron, the Incumbent of St. Mary's. A district
church, called St. George's, has been erected in Frankwell: the living is a perpetual curacy: net income,
£150; patron, the Vicar of St. Chad's. The church in
the suburb of Coleham, called Trinity church, was consecrated August 25th, 1837, having been built by subscription, aided by grants from the Diocesan and Incorporated Societies. The patronage is in the Incumbent
of St. Julian's, who also presents to the perpetual curacy
of the district church of Christ-Church, Bayston Hill.
At Astley, Little Berwick, Bickton, and Clive, are other
incumbencies. There are places of worship for Baptists,
the Society of Friends, Independents, Wesleyans, Welsh
Methodists, Sandemanians, Unitarians, and Roman
Catholics.
The Royal Free Grammar School was founded by
Edward VI., in 1553. Its endowment, augmented by
Queen Elizabeth, produces an annual income of £2740;
and it is under the superintendence of the Bishop of
Lichfield, as visiter, and thirteen trustees, the mayor of
Shrewsbury, who presides at the several meetings, being
one. The establishment has for many years maintained
a distinguished rank among the public schools of the
country; and is conducted by a head master appointed
by St. John's College, Cambridge, a second master, an
usher, and a writing-master, besides assistants who are
paid by the chief master. Belonging to it are four exhibitions of £70 per annum each, and four of £15 per
annum each, to St. John's College, Cambridge; four of
£60 a year each, to Christ-Church College, Oxford; and
two of £25 a year each, and one of £23 per annum, to
either of the universities; four scholarships of £63 a
year each, and two of £40 each, in Magdalen College,
Cambridge; a by-fellowship in the same college, of
£126 per annum; and three contingent exhibitions. The
premises, in the later English style, occupy two sides of
a quadrangle, with a square turret crowned with pinnacles in the angles; and comprise spacious schoolrooms,
with residences for the masters contiguous, and a chapel,
over which is a fine library, rebuilt in 1815, at an expense of £1860. The library contains an extensive and
valuable collection of books and manuscripts, to which
is annexed a museum of antiquities from Wroxeter, and
of fossils peculiar to this part of the country. Among
the eminent persons who have received the rudiments of
their education in this school are, Sir Philip Sidney;
Sir Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke; Dr. John Thomas,
Bishop of Salisbury; Dr. John Taylor, a learned critic
and philologist; Dr. Waring, Lucasian professor of
mathematics in the university of Cambridge; William
Wycherley and Ambrose Philips, poets; and William
Clarke, a learned divine and antiquary.
John Allat, who had been chamberlain of the borough,
in 1792 bequeathed property amounting to upwards of
£13,000, a portion of it to be applied in clothing, instructing, and apprenticing children, and the remainder
in an annual distribution of coats and gowns among
aged men and women. Of the dividends on this property, amounting to £393 per annum, about one-third
is allotted to the supply of clothing to the adults, and
two-thirds to the purposes of a school. A handsome
freestone building was erected for the charity in 1800,
at an expense of £2000. St. Chad's almshouses were
founded in 1409, by Bennet Tupton, with a small endowment; there were originally thirteen, but for want of
funds two have fallen into decay. St. Mary's almshouses,
sixteen in number, were founded in 1460 by Degory
Watur, draper; the old houses were taken down in
1823, and a new building, consisting of 16 tenements,
each containing two rooms, was erected opposite St.
Mary's church. St. Giles's almshouses, four in number,
are inhabited by aged persons nominated by the Earl of
Tankerville. The building now forming the House of
Industry, situated on an eminence adjoining Kingsland,
on the south bank of the Severn, was erected in 1765,
at an expense of £12,000, by the Governors of the
Foundling Hospital in London, as a branch establishment. That design, however, was relinquished, and the
building was afterwards opened as a woollen manufactory for the employment of the children of the poor.
It was subsequently rented by government for the confinement of prisoners during the American war; and
on the incorporation of the parishes of Shrewsbury for
the maintenance of their poor, in 1784, it was purchased
by the guardians and appropriated to its present use.
The General Infirmary, established in 1745, was the
second institution of the kind formed in the kingdom,
that of Winchester being the first. The premises, constructed of brick, being found too small for the increased
population of the town and neighbourhood, were taken
down in 1827, and handsomely rebuilt of stone, upon a
much more extensive scale, at an expense of £18,735,
of which £13,044 were raised by subscription. In 1734,
James Millington bequeathed property now let for £1227
per annum, for the erection and endowment of an hospital in the suburb of Frankwell. The institution comprises schools for twenty-five boys and twenty-five girls,
natives of Frankwell; and provision for twelve resident,
and ten out, hospitallers, chosen from decayed housekeepers of Frankwell, or that part of the parish of St.
Chad which is contiguous: the latter, on vacancies
occurring, have the preference of appointment to a residence. There is a chaplain on the establishment, with
a stipend of £50 per annum. Two exhibitions of £40
per annum each to Magdalen College, Cambridge, were
given by the founder, to which boys educated in the
hospital have the first claim, and which, in default of
such, lapse to boys born in Frankwell, and educated in
the free grammar school. Shrewsbury is one of the
towns entitled to a share of the charities of Sir Thomas
White and Henry Smith; and a considerable sum, the
produce of various other bequests, is annually distributed
in coal and clothing, and in other relief.
Among the Monastic institutions anciently existing
here, were, a convent of Grey friars, founded in the
reign of Henry III., by Hawise, wife of John de Charleton, Lord of Powys, of which there are still some remains; a convent of Dominican friars, instituted by
Lady Genevile, of which not a vestige is to be seen, the
foundations having been lately dug up; and a convent
of Augustine friars, established by one of the family of
Stafford, of which some small portions are remaining.
Of the numerous chapels, the only one of which there
are any remains is that of St. Nicholas, situated near
the old Council-house, and now converted into a stable.
The eminent Natives of the town have been, Ralph of
Shrewsbury, Bishop of Bath and Wells; Robert, Bishop
of Bangor; Thomas Bower, and John Thomas, bishops
of Salisbury; Edward Wooley, Bishop of Clonfert;
Sneyd Davies; Lord Chief Justice Jones; Richard
Onslow, speaker of the house of commons; the Rev.
Job Orton; George Costard, a distinguished mathematician; Churchyard, the poet; Vice-Admiral Benbow;
Dr. John Taylor, already mentioned; Hugh Farmer, an
eminent divine; and Dr. Charles Burney, the musician.
Ordericus Vitalis, one of the best early English historians,
born at Atcham in 1074, was educated in the abbey.
Shrewsbury gives the title of Earl to the family of
Talbot.
Shrewton (St. Mary)
SHREWTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Amesbury, hundred of Branch and Dole, Salisbury
and Amesbury, and S. divisions of Wilts, 5¾ miles
(W. N. W.) from Amesbury; containing 571 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the
king's books at £8, and in the gift of the Bishop of
Salisbury: the impropriate tithes were exchanged for
land in 1798, and the vicarial have been recently commuted for £215; the glebe comprises 28 acres. There
are two places of worship for Baptists. Ann Estcourt,
of Newnton, in 1704 bequeathed a rent-charge now
amounting to £34. 9. 8., for apprenticing boys; and at
the inclosure in 1798, 10 acres, producing £15 per
annum, were allotted for the repair of the church.
Shrigley, Pott.—See Pott-Shrigley.
SHRIGLEY, POTT.—See Pott-Shrigley.
Shripney
SHRIPNEY, a tything, in the parish of South
Bersted, hundred of Aldwick, rape of Chichester,
W. division of Sussex; containing 90 inhabitants.
Shripple
SHRIPPLE, a tything, in the parish of Idmiston,
union of Amesbury, hundred of Alderbury, Salisbury
and Amesbury, and S. divisions of Wilts, 7 miles (E.
by N.) from Salisbury; containing 39 inhabitants.
Shrivenham (St. Andrew)
SHRIVENHAM (St. Andrew), a parish, and formerly a market-town, in the union of Farringdon,
hundred of Shrivenham, county of Berks, 5 miles
(S. W. by S.) from Farringdon; containing, with the
tythings of Beckett and Bourton, the hamlet of Fernham, the chapelry of Longcott, and the township of
Watchfield, 2353 inhabitants, of whom 814 are in the
town or village. The parish comprises 7205a. 3r. 13p.
The Wilts and Berks canal and the Great Western railway pass through it. William de Valence obtained a
charter, in 1257, for a market on Thursday, and a fair
on the festival of St. Mary Magdalene, which were confirmed by another charter in 1383, but both which have
been long disused. The living is a vicarage, valued in
the king's books at £20, and in the patronage of the
Crown; net income, £676; impropriator, Viscount
Barrington. A tithe rent-charge of £129 is paid to the
impropriator, and one of £224 to the vicar; the impropriate glebe consists of 170 acres, and the vicarial of 29
acres. The church is a very large structure, principally
in the Norman style, with a tower rising from the
centre, and contains a monument to Admiral Barrington,
by Flaxman. There is a separate incumbency at Longcott. Eight almshouses were founded in 1642 by Sir
Henry Marten, with an endowment, including an augmentation by Mrs. Elizabeth Sadler, amounting to about
£80 per annum. A chantry was founded here in 1336,
by John de Burghton and Agnes, his wife.
Shropham (St. Peter)
SHROPHAM (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of
Wayland, hundred of Shropham, W. division of Norfolk, 10 miles (E. N. E.) from Thetford; containing
513 inhabitants. This parish, which gave name to the
hundred, and anciently included a town of some importance, comprises, with 485a. 2r. 14p. tithe-free in the
merged parish of Little Breccles, 2678a. lr. 38p., of
which 1641 acres are arable, 817 pasture and meadow,
120 wood, and a portion fen and common. The living
is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at
£8. 13. 9.; patrons and impropriators, Trustees appointed under the Municipal act. The vicarial tithes
have been commuted for £270, and the glebe consists of
45 acres: in lieu of the impropriate tithes, a certain
estate has been allotted. The church is chiefly in the
later English style, and comprises a nave, chancel, and
north aisle, with a square embattled tower. The hamlets of Broadcar and Little Breccles had formerly distinct parish churches. There is a place of worship for
Primitive Methodists. At the inclosure, 59 acres were
awarded to the poor for fuel.
Shropshire
SHROPSHIRE, an inland county, bounded on the
north by Cheshire and a detached portion of the Welsh
county of Flint, on the east by Staffordshire, on the
south-east by Worcestershire, on the south by Herefordshire, and on the south-west, west, and north-west,
respectively, by the counties of Radnor, Montgomery,
and Denbigh, in Wales. It extends from 52° 20' to
53° 4' (N. Lat.) and from 2° 17' to 3° 14' (W. Lon.), and
comprises an area of upwards of 1341 square miles,
or about 858,240 statute acres. Within its limits are
47,208 houses inhabited, 2086 uninhabited, and 293 in
course of erection; and the population amounts to
239,048, of which number 119,355 are males.
The name has been corrupted from the Saxon Scrobscire, a contraction of Scrobbes byrigscyre, meaning the
shire of Scrobbes-byrig, the Saxon appellation for Shrewsbury. The aboriginal inhabitants of this district were
of the tribes called the Cornavii and the Ordovices, the
former occupying the country on the north-eastern side
of the Severn, the latter the opposite shores of that
river, and the south-western tracts. Little is known of
the Cornavii; but the Ordovices joined with the Silures,
under Caractacus, in defending their territories against
the Roman invaders: and it is thought by some that
the battle in which the Britons under that leader were
finally defeated, by Ostorius Scapula, was fought within
the limits of this county. Gough supposes it to have
been at the hill called Caer Caradoc, or the Gaer, near
the junction of the small rivers Clun and Teme, on the
point of which are the remains of a very large and
strongly-fortified camp. The annals of Tacitus place
the camp of Caractacus at the Breyddin Chain, where in
all probability that celebrated leader had his last fatal
conflict with the Romans. Shropshire was now included
in the division called Flavia Cæsariensis.
After the Romans had abandoned Britain, the county
was the theatre of numerous sanguinary contests between the Britons and the Saxons, the former of whom
held it as part of the kingdom of Powysland, of which
Shrewsbury, called by them Sengwerne, was the capital.
The British princes long disputed the possession of this
territory, but they were ultimately obliged to retreat; in
777 their seat of royalty was transferred to Mathrafael,
among the mountains of Powys, and Shropshire became
part of the kingdom of Mercia. They still, however,
made frequent inroads; and the warlike Saxon monarch,
Offa, partly to avert the evils attendant upon these hostilities, caused a deep dyke and rampart to be made,
which extended 100 miles along the mountainous border
of Wales, from the Clwyddian hills to the mouth of the
Wye, crossing the westernmost parts of Shropshire. In
the ninth century, when the Danes invaded the island,
this part of Mercia, although it suffered less than some
others, experienced much calamity, and its chief city,
Uriconium, was destroyed. Shrewsbury then sprang up;
and Alfred, having subdued the Danish ravagers, ranked
it among his principal cities, and gave its name to the
shire. In 1016, Shrewsbury was taken by Edmund
Ironside, who severely punished the inhabitants for
having taken part with Canute, in opposition to his
father Ethelred. The Welsh continued their incursions
both before and after this event with great fierceness,
particularly in the time of Edward the Confessor, under
their prince Grufydd. Harold, afterwards king of England, undertook an expedition against this prince, both
by land and sea, and harassed the Welsh so much, that
they sent him the head of their chief in token of subjection. He subsequently endeavoured to secure the
advantages thus gained, by a decree forbidding any
Welshman to appear on the eastern side of Offa's dyke,
on pain of losing his right hand.
At the period of the Norman Conquest, nearly the
whole of Shropshire, together with extensive possessions
in other parts of England, was bestowed on Roger de
Montgomery, a relation of William's, and one of his
chief captains. But the hostilities of the Welsh disturbed this warrior in the enjoyment of his good fortune;
and in 1067, Owain Gwynedd, their prince, in alliance
with Edric Sylvaticus, or Edric the Forester, the Saxon
earl of Shrewsbury, laid siege to that town, with a force
so formidable as to require the presence of the Conqueror, who repulsed the assailants with great slaughter,
and bestowed the title of earl of Shrewsbury upon Roger
de Montgomery.
The county was frequently the scene of contest, or of
preparation for military enterprise, so long as the ancient
inhabitants of Wales maintained their independence.
William the Conqueror, and his more immediate successors, for the purpose of subduing these resolute Britons, issued grants to certain noblemen of all the lands
they should be able to wrest from them; and hence
originated the seignories and jurisdictions of the lords
marchers. The precise extent of the territory designated as the Marches it is difficult to determine, the
word meaning, in a general sense, the borders between
the Welsh and the English: but the western border of
Shropshire certainly formed a principal portion. The
tenure by which the lords marchers held under the king
was, in case of war, to serve with a certain number of
vassals, to furnish their castles with strong garrisons
and with sufficient military implements and stores for
defence, and to keep the king's enemies in subjection.
To enable them to perform this, they were allowed in
their respective territories to exercise absolute power.
For their better security they fortified old castles and
built new ones, garrisoning them with their own retainers; and thus it was that the greater part of the
numerous castles on the Welsh border were erected.
They had particular laws in their baronies, by which all
suits between them and their tenants were commenced
and determined; but if a question arose concerning the
barony and its title, it was referred to the king's courts.
There was also a lord-warden of the marches, whose
jurisdiction resembled that of a lord-lieutenant.
Shropshire is at present included in the several dioceses of Hereford, Lichfield, and St. Asaph, in the province of Canterbury. It comprises the deaneries of
Burford, Clun, Ludlow, Marchia, Newport, Pontesbury,
Salop, Stottesden, and Wenlock; and the number of
parishes is 214. For purposes of civil government, it is
divided into fifteen hundreds or districts, viz., the hundreds of North Bradford, comprising the Drayton and
Whitchurch divisions; South Bradford, comprising the
Newport and Wellington divisions; and Brimstree,
comprising the Hales-Owen and Shiffnall divisions; the
hundreds of Cherbury, Condover, Ford, Munslow, Oswestry, Overs, Pimhill, Purslow (with which that of Clun
has been incorporated), and Stottesden; the liberty of
Shrewsbury; and the franchise of Wenlock. It contains the borough and market towns of Shrewsbury,
Bridgnorth, Ludlow, and Wenlock; and the markettowns of Bishop's-Castle, Broseley, Cleobury-Mortimer,
Clun, Drayton-in-Hales, Ellesmere, Newport, Oswestry,
Shiffnall, Church-Stretton, Wellington, Wem, and Whitchurch. By the act of the 2nd of William IV., cap. 45,
the county was divided into the Northern and Southern
divisions, each sending two members to parliament; and
two representatives are returned for each of the boroughs.
Shropshire is included in the Oxford circuit, and the
assizes and general quarter-sessions are held at Shrewsbury.
The form of the county is an irregular parallelogram.
The surface presents almost every variety of fine scenery;
bold and lofty mountains; woody and secluded valleys;
fertile and widely-cultivated plains; a majestic river
which divides it into two nearly equal portions; and
sequestered lakes. Though no part is absolutely flat,
yet the north-eastern districts are comparatively so, as
contrasted with the hills on the southern and western
borders, approaching the Welsh mountains. These districts form an important part of the immense plain, or
vale, which includes Cheshire and the southern part of
Lancashire, and is bounded on the east by the hills of
Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and the western borders of
Yorkshire; and on the west by the mountains of North
Wales, and by the sea. The plain of Salop is about 30
miles long from north to south, or from Whitchurch to
Church-Stretton, and 28 miles broad, from Oswestry to
Colebrook-dale; and is divided into two very unequal
portions by the Severn. The Wrekin mountain, celebrated for its magnificent prospects, rises singly out of
the plain, to the height of nearly 1200 feet above the
level of the Severn, near which it is situated: north of
it are excrescences of rock, and partial swells. To the
south-west of the plain the hills are frequent; and on
the western and south-western borders of the county is
a striking succession of mountainous elevations, divided
by beautiful valleys. Some of the highest ground in the
county is considered to be the summits of the hills in
the vicinity of Oswestry.
To the east of the Wrekin, and near the eastern border of the county, is the coal-district of Colebrook-dale,
which extends from north-east to south-west, about six
miles in length, and two in breadth, and which is considerably above the level of the plain of Shropshire.
South-west of the Severn, a limestone ridge of hills,
which commences at Lincoln Hill in Colebrook-dale,
proceeds past Wenlock towards Church-Stretton, near
which place it turns southward from the hills around
Hope-Bowdler, and descends almost in a direct line to
Ludlow, on the southern border of the county. Westward is a vale about two miles broad, and nearly fifteen
in length, from Colebrook-dale to the Stretton valley.
Its western side is bounded by a line of low hills ranging,
without any intermediate valley, along the base of a
much more elevated ridge, of which the Wrekin forms
the northern extremity: this elevated chain is continued
on the south-western side of the Severn, in a line with
the Wrekin, and constitutes the Acton-Burnell hills, the
Frodesley hills, the Lawley, Caer Caradoc, and the HopeBowdler hills; all which have craggy summits, ascend
abruptly from the plain at an angle of about 60°, and
command remarkably fine prospects. The vale in which
Church-Stretton is situated separates from these the
singular mass of hills called the Longmynd, which ascends gradually from the plain to a height much superior
to that of the Wrekin, and then stretches, with a level
and unvaried summit for several miles, towards Bishop'sCastle.
Following the mountainous line that forms the boundary of the plain of Salop, a high and rocky district
occurs between the high road from Shrewsbury to
Bishop's-Castle, and the vale of Montgomery. The most
elevated peak of this assemblage of lofty hills is called
the Stiperstones, its summit being extremely craggy,
and overspread with enormous loose blocks of quartz,
which at a distance look like the ruins of some great
fortress. This hill is somewhat higher than the Wrekin,
and forms the abrupt termination of a line of mountains
that hence extends south-westward into Radnorshire.
From the Stiperstones a range of low hills stretches in
a north-eastern direction as far as Shrewsbury, under
the names of Lyth Hill, Baystone Hill, and the Sharpstones. In the southern parts of the county, the Clee
hills, like the Wrekin, have their bases projecting towards
the low lands which accompany the course of the Severn:
the Brown Clee Hill, and the Titterston Clee Hill, are
amongst the highest in Shropshire; they have flat tops,
but very irregular sides, and are marked with vestiges of
ancient fortifications. Of the Berwyn mountains only a
small portion, the slate mountain of Selattyn, is within
the boundary of Salop. The views obtained from many
of the heights are remarkably grand and beautiful. The
lakes, though neither numerous nor of great extent,
form a variety in the landscape rarely met with in the
midland counties; that adjoining Ellesmere covers 116
acres, and there are several others in the neighbourhood,
but of smaller extent.
The variations of soil are as great as those of surface;
and the different kinds are so intermingled as to render
it difficult to define the limits of each. There is nearly
an equal quantity of wheat and turnip land, the former
somewhat preponderating; the other crops most common are barley, oats, and peas. In the southern part of
the county, bordering on Worcestershire, are about 250
acres of hop plantations. The principal artificial grasses
are the broad-leafed clover, Dutch clover (both red and
white), trefoil, and rye-grass. In the vales of the southwestern parts, the grass-lands are very good: the pasture lands are not, however, on the whole, of the richest
kind. The county has been cleared at different times of
much of its timber, great supplies having been sent to
Bristol, for ship-building; but it still retains more fine
woods of oak than most other counties, there being sufficient for the home consumption, and a considerable surplus for exportation. The coppice-woods are extensive,
and consist chiefly of oak. The county has many modern
plantations, generally of various kinds of fir and pine,
intermingled with different deciduous trees: indeed,
there are few trees which do not flourish in the soil.
Exclusively of the heathy mountainous tracts, which are
chiefly sheep-walks, are some flat open heaths in the
north-eastern part of the county, and in the parishes of
Worfield and North Cleobury, in the vicinity of Bridgnorth. Clun Forest contains above 12,000 acres, and is
a fine sheep-walk of smooth turf, with every variation of
swelling banks and retired dingles. A part of the Longmynd has been inclosed. There are several large mosses,
and a great number of smaller ones: the most extensive
district of swampy moorland surrounds the village of
Kinnersley.
The mineral productions are various and considerable; the principal are coal, iron, lead, and stone of different kinds. The coal-district of Colebrook-dale commences on the south-western side of the Severn, in the
parishes of Barrow and Much Wenlock, and runs across
that river through Broseley, Madeley, Little Wenlock,
Wellington, Dawley, Malins-Lea, Shiffnall, Lilleshall,
and some other places. From the combination of coal
and iron-ore in the district, and from the advantages of
water-carriage, Colebrook-dale contains some of the
most extensive iron-works in the kingdom, which consume by far the greater part of the coal raised there.
In the Clee hills, from 20 to 30 miles southward, are
other coal-works, where the strata consist also of both
coal and ironstone, and dip towards the centre of the
hills. There are coal-fields at Billingsley, two or three
miles north-eastward of these, where a stratum of
spathose iron-ore has been found; and valuable coalworks lie southward of the Clee hills, some of which
produce cannel coal: coal is also found in most other
parts of the hundred of Stottesden. Some miles westward of the first-mentioned coal-district, pits have been
sunk with success; indeed, out of the fifteen civil divisions of the county, ten are known to produce this valuable mineral: it is chiefly the south-western districts
that are deficient of it. Nearly parallel with the Welsh
border is a bank of coal strata, extending from the Dee
to the Severn, the coal having the caking quality of the
Newcastle coal, and yielding a powerful heat; the principal works are near Chirk bridge.
There are mines of lead-ore of a good quality adjoining the Stiperstones, and in their vicinity, in the western
part of the county. The veins are in argillaceous schistus,
and produce sulphuret of lead, both galena and steel-ore
(which latter contains silver), carbonate of lead crystallized, red lead-ore, and blende or black-jack (sulphuret
of zinc). The Bog mine has been worked to the depth of
150 yards, and a ton of the ore raised here yields 15 cwt.
of pure lead: the ore of the White grit-mine does not
yield so much. At Snailbach is a vein in some parts
four yards in width, which has been worked to the depth
of 180 yards: calamine (carbonate of zinc) is here met
with. Ancient tools, judged to be Roman, have been
found in these mines. The lead-ore is reduced at Minsterley and other places near the mines, whence it is
sent by land-carriage to Shrewsbury, to be shipped,
together with the raw calamine, in barges, for Bristol.
There are appearances both of lead and copper in different other parts of the county. The various beds of
stone are exceedingly numerous, and the county affords
throughout a singularly rich field of inquiry for the
mineralogist.
The stores of iron and lead ores, coal, and stone; the
increasing manufactures; and the agricultural improvements of the district, have raised Shropshire to a high
position in the scale of national importance; while its
inland navigation has rendered it the emporium of the
trade between England and Wales. The chief manufacture is that of iron, and the number of blast-furnaces
for this metal between Ketley and Willey, in the great
eastern coal-district, in a space of about seven miles,
exceeds the number in any other tract of equal extent in
the kingdom. The quantity of coal annually raised is
nearly 300,000 tons: in Colebrook-dale, coked coal was
first employed, on an extensive scale, as a substitute for
charcoal, in the manufacture of iron. Various branches
of the flannel manufacture are pursued near Shrewsbury;
and there are mills at different places for dyeing woollencloth. A considerable manufacture of gloves is carried
on at Ludlow, chiefly for the London market; paper is
also made there. Near Coalport, on the Severn, coloured
china of all sorts is made, of exquisite taste and beauty;
and at the same newly-formed town is a manufacture of
earthenware in imitation of that made at Etruria, commonly called Wedgwood ware. Glass is made at Donnington; earthenware, pipes, bricks and tiles, and nails,
at Broseley. At Coalport are manufactures of ropes and
chains for the mines. There is a manufacture of carpets
at Bridgnorth: paper, and horse-hair seating, are made
at Drayton; and at nearly all the towns in the county
the malting business is carried on to a very considerable extent. The staple trade of Shrewsbury is in
fine flannels and Welsh webs, but it has very much
declined.
The Severn, which, among British rivers, is next in
magnitude and importance to the Thames, runs nearly
through the centre of the county, in an irregular bending course of between 60 and 70 miles, and in a general
direction of from north-west to south-east. During the
whole of its course through Shropshire, it is navigable
for barges of from 20 to 80 tons' burthen, which are
towed up to it; and in the lower part of its course, for
vessels called trows, which are larger. By far the greater
number of the barges are employed in exporting the produce of the mines near Colebrook-dale. Wines, groceries, &c., are brought up the Severn, for the consumption of this county, the county of Montgomery, and
others; and besides the exports of coal and iron by
means of it, are those of lime, lead, flannel, grain, and
cheese, with some others of minor importance. The fish
found in the river, within the limits of Shropshire, are
salmon, flounders, a few pike, trout, graylings, perch,
eels, shad, bleak, gudgeons, chub, roach, and dace (in
great abundance), carp, a few lampreys, and ruff. The
fishermen commonly use a kind of canoe, a very short
wide boat, made of osiers covered with hides, and worked
with a paddle, answering exactly to the description of
the boats of the Britons in the time of Cæsar, and called
a coracle: this bark is so light that the fisherman, on
quitting the river, carries it upon his back, one end being
pulled over his head, in the manner of a large basket.
By the statute 30th of Charles II., cap. 9, the conservancy of the Severn within the county is vested in the
county magistrates, with power to appoint one or more
under-conservators. The smaller streams are numerous,
and the waters of almost all of them finally reach the
Severn; its most important tributaries are, the Camlet,
the Vyrnwy, the Tern, the Clun, the Ony, and the
Teme.
The want of a navigable canal for conveying the produce of the more remote coal and iron mines of the
eastern districts to the river Severn was long experienced,
owing to the peculiar unevenness of the surface over
which it must pass, and the impossibility of obtaining a
sufficient quantity of water for lockage. At length, the
remedy for these obstacles was supplied by a canal from
the neighbourhood of the Oaken gates to the iron-works
at Ketley, a distance of about a mile and a half, with a
fall of 73 feet, in which, instead of lockage, an inclined
plane was formed. An act of parliament was then obtained for the Shropshire canal, which was finished in
1792. Immediately after the completion of this, the
Shrewsbury canal was projected, for supplying that town
with coal, which was previously conveyed thither by an
expensive land-carriage of about fourteen miles. The
Ellesmere canal, or rather system of canals, which unites
the Severn, the Dee, and the Mersey, crosses the river
Ceiriog into the north-western parts of Shropshire, by
an aqueduct 200 yards in length and 65 in height. At
Frankton Common, a branch strikes off eastward, which,
after passing close by the town of Ellesmere, proceeds
by Welsh-Hampton to Fensmoss, where it divides, one
branch leading to the town of Whitchurch, the other
terminating at Prees Heath, near the village of Prees.
At Hordley also is a branch from the Ellesmere canal in
a south-western direction, joining the Montgomeryshire
line. The canal formed by the late Duke of Sutherland
commences at Donnington-Wood, and proceeds on a
level to Pavé-lane, near Newport, a distance of seven
miles; there is a branch from this to his grace's limeworks at Lilleshall. Iron tramways, to convey heavy
articles, have been adopted to a considerable extent in
the county; the whole of Colebrook-dale is intersected
by tramways leading from the coal-works to the different
foundries and wharfs.
The relics of antiquity are numerous and diversified. Remains of encampments, supposed by antiquaries
to be of early British formation, are to be seen in Brocard's Castle, near Church-Stretton; Bury Ditches, on
Tongley Hill, near the village of Basford; on the Clee
hills; on the hills called Caer Caradoc, two miles and a
half from Church-Stretton, and the Caer Caradoc, or
Gear, near Clun; at Old Port, near Oswestry; and on
the Wrekin. The principal Roman stations were, Uriconium or Viroconium, now Wroxeter, which was a chief
city of the Cornavii, fortified by the Romans; and
Rutunium, fixed by some at Rowton: there were also
Bravinium at Rushbury; Sariconium, at Bury Hill; and
Usacona, at Sheriff- Hales. Mediolanum is by some placed
near Drayton, but by others with more probability at
Meivod, in Wales. Vestiges of Roman encampments
and fortifications are found in the Bury Walls, near
Hawkstone; the Walls, near Chesterton; and in the
vicinity of Wroxeter. A great Roman road enters
Shropshire on the east between Crackley Bank and
Weston, and passes through it in a bending line, near
Church-Stretton (which derives its name from it), to
Leintwardine, in Herefordshire, on the southern border
of the county. Part of Offas Dyke may be traced in
the south-west of Shropshire, which it enters from
Knighton in Radnorshire, and quits for Montgomeryshire between Bishop's-Castle and Newton. It is again
visible in this county near Llanymynech, on the western
border, whence it proceeds across the race-course near
Oswestry, and descends to the river Ceiriog, the northwestern boundary of the county, near Chirk, where it
again enters Wales. There are remains of a Danish
camp near Cleobury-Mortimer. A singular cave, containing human bones, was discovered in 1809, in digging
at the bottom of a rock, at Burncote, near Worfield:
Kynaston's Cave, in the almost perpendicular side of
Nesscliffe Rock, and the traditions connected with it are
also worthy of notice.
The number of Religious Houses, including collegiate
establishments and hospitals, was about 47. The remains of some of them are interesting either for beauty
or antiquity; the principal are those of the abbeys of
Buildwas, Haughmond, Lilleshall, Wenlock, Shrewsbury, and White Abbey near Alberbury; and of the
priories of Bromfield, Chirbury, and White Ladies. Of
the ancient Castles, the great number of which has
already been accounted for, some of the most remarkable that still remain, wholly or in part, are those of
Acton-Burnell; Alberbury; Bridgnorth, which was
founded so far back as the year 912, by Ethelfleda,
daughter of Alfred the Great; Caus; Clun; Hopton;
Ludlow, so long the seat of the lords president of the
Marshes; Middle; Moreton-Corbet; Oswestry; Red
Castle; Shrewsbury; Sibdon; Stoke; Wattlesborough;
and Whittington. Among the ancient Mansions are
Boscobel, where Charles II. was concealed after the
battle of Worcester; White Hall; and Bellstone House:
Shrewsbury Council-house is also remarkable for its
antiquity. The more modern residences of the gentry
number considerably more than a hundred.
Shropshire contains numerous medicinal springs of
various properties. At Kingley Wick, about two miles
to the west of Lilleshall Hill, is a strong spring of impure brine, from which salt was formerly made. There
are medicinal springs of different qualities at Smeithmore and Moreton-Say, in the hundred of North Bradford; at Broseley; and at Admaston, near Wellington;
besides others near Ludlow, between Welbatch and
Pulley Common, in the vicinity of Wenlock, and on
Prolley Moor. That best known, however, is Sutton
Spa, about two miles to the south of Shrewsbury, and
close to the village of Sutton, the waters of which are
saline and chalybeate, and somewhat resemble those of
Cheltenham. Near Colebrook-dale is a bituminous
spring of fossil tar. Numerous fossils are found among
the strata of the county, particularly in the Colebrookdale district. The reseda luteola, or dyers' weed, which
affords a beautiful yellow dye, grows wild in many parts;
and the berberis vulgaris, or common barberry, is occasionally found in a similar uncultivated state.
Shroton, in the hundred of Redlane, and county of Dorset.—See Iwerne-Courtney.
SHROTON, in the hundred of Redlane, and county
of Dorset.—See Iwerne-Courtney.
Shuckburgh, Lower (St. John the Baptist)
SHUCKBURGH, LOWER (St. John the Baptist),
a parish, in the union of Southam, Burton-Dassett
division of the hundred of Kington, S. division of the
county of Warwick, 5 miles (E.) from Southam; containing 154 inhabitants. The parish comprises 959
acres, and is intersected by the Oxford canal and the
road from Warwick to Daventry. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed, with that of Priors'-Marston, to
the vicarage of Priors'-Hardwick: the tithes were commuted for land in 1778.
Shuckburgh, Upper (St. John the Baptist)
SHUCKBURGH, UPPER (St. John the Baptist),
a parish, in the union of Southam, Southam division
of the hundred of Knightlow, S. division of the county
of Warwick, 5 miles (S.) from Rugby; containing 46
inhabitants. The parish comprises 1167 acres, and is
bounded on the east and south by the river Leam, which
separates it from Northamptonshire. The surface is
generally elevated, and on the western boundary is Beacon Hill, commanding fine views of the surrounding
country, and in clear weather of the Wrekin mountain
and the Malvern Hills. Here is Shuckburgh Park, the
seat of the ancient family of Shuckburgh. Dugdale
supposes that William de Shuckburgh, in the time of
King John, was the first who assumed the name; in
subsequent reigns several of the family held offices of
great trust and authority in the county, and in 1660 the
title of baronet was bestowed upon John de Shuckburgh
by Charles II. The mansion is a spacious and elegant
structure, in an extensive park, abounding in deer, but
whose woodland recesses do not possess their former
beauty, much of the timber having been felled. The
living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £30; patron,
Sir F. Shuckburgh, Bart. The church contains some
finely-executed monuments to the Shuckburgh family;
the chancel window is embellished with a figure of St.
John, painted by Mr. Eginton, of Birmingham.
Shudy-Camps (St. Mary)
SHUDY-CAMPS (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Linton, hundred of Chilford, county of Cambridge, 4¼ miles (E. S. E.) from Linton; containing
402 inhabitants, and comprising by measurement 2200
acres. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in
the king's books at £9; patrons and impropriators, the
Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge.
The great tithes have been commuted for £295. 8.,
and the vicarial for £175. 12.; there are 5 acres of impropriate glebe, and 3 belonging to the vicar. The
church is an ancient structure. A national school is
supported.
Shugborough
SHUGBOROUGH, a township, in the parish of
Colwich, S. division of the hundred of Pirehill,
union, and N. division of the county, of Stafford;
containing 53 inhabitants. Shugborough, the beautiful
seat and demesne of the Earl of Lichfield, is situated at
the conflux of the rivers Trent and Sow, and four miles
(N. W. by W.) from Rugeley. The family of Anson have
been seated in the county for many generations. William Anson having purchased the manor in the reign of
James I., made it his principal seat; and here, in 1697,
was born the distinguished admiral and circumnavigator, George, Lord Anson, who was raised to the peerage,
by the title of Lord Anson, in 1747. The eminent
architect, James Stuart, known as Athenian Stuart from
his being the author of a History of Athens, enlarged and
beautified the mansion of Shugborough, and ornamented
the grounds with buildings and statues. Many improvements have since taken place. The principal front presents a noble centre with two semicircular wings; the
demesne is a rich plain of several hundred acres, finely
wooded, and the gardens and shrubberies are laid out
in exquisite taste. The vale of Shugborough owes many
of its beauties to the late Viscount Anson, father of the
present peer, who was elevated to the rank of Earl of
Lichfield in September 1831.
Shurdington, Great (St. Paul)
SHURDINGTON, GREAT (St. Paul), a parish, in
the union of Cheltenham, Upper division of the hundred of Dudstone and King's-Barton, E. division of
the county of Gloucester, 3 miles (S. W.) from Cheltenham; containing 198 inhabitants. It comprises
about 500 acres; the soil is gravelly, alternated with
loam, the surface flat, and generally in pasture. The
village is situated on the new road from Cheltenham,
through Painswick and the vale of Rodborough, to Bath;
and the surrounding scenery is pleasingly diversified.
The living is annexed to the vicarage of Badgeworth:
the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £509. 10.,
and the vicarial for £339. 13.; the glebe comprises 30
acres. The church has a very handsome steeple, and a
north aisle called the Hatherly aisle. On opening a
large tumulus here, a stone coffin was found at the depth
of sixteen feet; it contained the body of a man, with a
helmet almost consumed by rust.
Shurdington, Little
SHURDINGTON, LITTLE, a hamlet, in the parish
of Badgeworth, poor-law union of Cheltenham,
Upper division of the hundred of Dudstone and King'sBarton, Eastern division of the county of Gloucester; containing 247 inhabitants.
Shurford
SHURFORD, a hamlet, in the parish of Wilton,
union of Taunton, hundred of Taunton and TauntonDean, W. division of the county of Somerset; containing 149 inhabitants.
Shurlach
SHURLACH, a township, in the parish of Davenham, union and hundred of Northwich, S. division of
Cheshire, 1¾ mile (E. S. E.) from Northwich; containing 159 inhabitants. It comprises 298 acres, of a
clayey soil. The Grand Trunk canal passes in the
vicinity of Shurlach, and immediately on the west flows
the river Dane.
Shurton
SHURTON, a tything, in the parish of Stogursey,
union of Williton, hundred of Cannington, W. division of Somerset; containing 131 inhabitants.
Shustock (St. Cuthbert)
SHUSTOCK (St. Cuthbert), a parish, in the union
of Meriden, Atherstone division of the hundred of
Hemlingford, N. division of the county of Warwick
2¾ miles (E. N. E.) from Coleshill; containing, with the
chapelry of Bentley, 644 inhabitants, of whom 378 are
in the township of Shustock with Blyth. The parish is
nearly nine miles in length, and comprises by measurement 3788 acres of rich land, in equal portions of arable
and pasture; in the township are about 2000 acres.
The Derby railway, the river Blyth, and a stream called
the Bourne, intersect the parish. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 7.,
and in the patronage of the Crown; impropriator, Lord
Leigh. The great tithes have been commuted for £408,
and the vicarial for £243; the glebe comprises 24 acres,
and a new glebe-house has been erected. The church
is an ancient structure. Thomas and Charles Huntbach,
in 1714, gave certain houses and some land for the endowment of a school, and an almshouse for six persons:
in another school, 20 children are instructed at the expense of a lady. Blyth Hall was the residence of the
celebrated antiquary, Sir William Dugdale, who purchased that manor of Sir Walter Ashton, in the 1st of
Charles I., and here compiled The Antiquities of Warwickshire; he died on the 10th of February, 1685, and
was buried in the parish church.
Shute (St. Michael)
SHUTE (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of
Axminster, hundred of Colyton, Honiton and S. divisions of Devon, 2 miles (N.) from Colyton; containing
683 inhabitants. The living is annexed, with that of
Monkton, to the vicarage of Colyton; the tithes have
been commuted for £300 payable to the Dean and Chapter of Exeter, and £180 to the incumbent. The church
contains a memorial of Charles Bickford Templer, Esq.,
who was lost in the wreck of the Halsewell East Indiaman, in 1786.
Shutford, East
SHUTFORD, EAST, a chapelry, in the parish of
Swalcliffe, union and hundred of Banbury, county
of Oxford, 5 miles (W. by N.) from Banbury; containing 31 inhabitants. The chapel is dedicated to St. Martin, and is a small structure, principally of early English
character, and very unpretending; the walls present
extensive remains of early paintings. It forms a chapel
of ease to the church at Swalcliffe.
Shutford, West
SHUTFORD, WEST, a township, in the parish of
Swalcliffe, union and hundred of Banbury, county
of Oxford, 5½ miles (W.) from Banbury; containing
418 inhabitants. The tithes were commuted for land
and a money payment in 1765.
Shuttington
SHUTTINGTON, a parish, in the union of Tamworth, Tamworth division of the hundred of Hemlingford, N. division of the county of Warwick,
3 miles (E. by N.) from Tamworth; containing 190 inhabitants. It is situated near the northern extremity of
the county, bordering on Staffordshire, and comprises
1355 acres of good arable and pasture land in nearly
equal portions. The river Anker and the Coventry
canal intersect the parish. The living is a perpetual
curacy; net income, £318; patron, the Earl of Essex;
impropriators, certain Trustees. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1804; the glebe
comprises 144 acres. The church is an ancient structure; the porch forms a beautiful Norman arch in a
very perfect state. There are some remains of Alvecote
Priory, now converted into a farmhouse, on the left
bank of the river.
Shuttlehanger
SHUTTLEHANGER, a chapelry, in the parish of
Stoke-Bruerne, union of Towcester, hundred of
Cleley, S. division of the county of Northampton,
2¾ miles (E. N. E.) from the town of Towcester; containing 372 inhabitants, and comprising an area of about
1250 acres, of which 72 are common or waste land.
There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists in
the chapelry.
Shuttleworth
SHUTTLEWORTH, an ecclesiastical parish, in the
parish and poor-law union of Bury, hundred of Salford, Southern division of Lancashire, 3½ miles (N.)
from Bury; containing 2360 inhabitants. It lies on the
road from Bury to Haslingden and Burnley, and comprises 2689 acres, whereof 200 are arable, 100 woodland, and the remainder pasture. The surface is hilly,
rising from the banks of the river Irwell, which bounds
the district on the west; the soil is principally a stiff
yellow and black clay. On the hills are several coal-pits,
whence the factories in the neighbourhood are supplied;
and stone, also, abounds in the parish, a hard kind being
much used for building, and a blue kind for flagging and
gravestones. There are eleven cotton-factories, a large
paper-mill, a corn-mill, and some bleach-works, established on the rivulets that run from the mountain side
by which the parish is bounded on the east. The East
Lancashire railway passes through. Whittle Pike, in
the parish, is one of the most lofty eminences in the
county, and was a chief station of the Ordnance surveyors. On another high hill is a tower, called Grants'
Tower, built about twenty years ago, measuring fifty
feet in height from its plinth of hewn stone, and observable at a considerable distance; it contains several
rooms, and in the summer season is much visited by
parties desirous of viewing the surrounding country
from its top, which is capacious enough to accommodate
fifty persons. Nearly the whole parish of Shuttleworth
belongs to the Earl of Derby.
The district was constituted in August, 1845, under
the act 6th and 7th Victoria, cap. 37; and on the consecration of the church Feb. 12th, 1848, it became a
parish. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Crown and the Bishop of Manchester, alternately; net income, £152, with a house. The church
is a substantial edifice of hewn stone, in the style of the
14th century, and has 129 sittings in pews, and 284
free seats; it was erected at a cost of £1900, on a site
presented by the Earl of Derby, who also gave the sites
for a parsonage and some schools. This was one of the
first churches consecrated by the bishop of the new diocese. There is a place of worship for Independents,
called Park Chapel, with a small endowment and a
house for the minister; also a place of worship for
Wesleyans, called Patmos Chapel.