Part 15

In the days of King Stephen, when the popular passion for relics had attained an unbounded extravagance, the monks of Shrewsbury determined not to be behindhand with their brethren in availing themselves of so fruitful a source of opulence; therefore, during the abbacy of Herbert, the third abbot, they commenced business on their own account. After ransacking the legends of Wales for a subject, they at length had the good fortune to pitch upon one sufficiently absurd for their purpose, in the bones of the martyred Virgin St. Wenefrede, which lay interred in the churchyard at Gwytherin, in Denbighshire. After much fruitless negotiation with the priest and the people of Gwytherin, the abbot of Shrewsbury procured an order from Henry I. for the translation of the sacred dust to his monastery. The Welshmen honoured their saint more than their king, and turned a deaf ear alike to entreaties and menace. The Salopian monks persevering in their purpose, held a chapter, in which Robert Pennant, their prior, a Denbighshire man, who is supposed to have fabricated the legend, was commissioned to make a pilgrimage to Gwytherin, and to leave no expedients untried for obtaining possession of the relics. Assisted by a priest in Wales, two clever monks of his abbey, and the prior of Chester, he practised on the credulity of the Welsh by pretended visions and divine warnings. The prize was given up, and the delegates returned with it in triumph to Shrewsbury, where it was enshrined with great pomp and solemnity, near the high altar of St. Peter and St. Paul. The speculation of the monks was completely successful; multitudes of pilgrims flocked with gifts to the shrine, and even nobles contended who should offer the richest donations. In addition to these treasured bones the monks in after times appear to have possessed a most extensive and varied assortment of other relics, doubtless of equal value and efficacy. In 1486 the abbot Thomas Mynde incorporated the devotees of St. Wenefrede into a religions guild or fraternity, founded by him in her honour. A great bell was also dedicated to her memory. One of the most remarkable persons this house produced was Robert of Shrewsbury, a monk, who was promoted to the see of Bangor, in the reign of Henry II. His influence in Wales excited the jealously of King John, who imprisoned him in his own cathedral, and for his ransom obliged him to pay three hundred hawks. This eminent prelate, it is said by his will, ordered his body to be buried, not in his cathedral church, but in the middle of the market place of Shrewsbury. At the various visits with which the English sovereigns honoured Shrewsbury, it is highly probable that they took up their residence in the abbey, and there can be little doubt that the parliament of Edward I., 1283, and that of Richard II., 1398, called the Great Parliament, were held within the monastery. At the dissolution of 1513, when the property and possessions of this monastery fell to the crown, the burgesses of Shrewsbury presented a petition that the abbey might be converted into a college or free school, to which request Henry refused to accede, alleging as a reason his intention of erecting Shrewsbury into a bishopric, the diocese of which was to include the counties of Salop and Staffordshire, and the endowments to consist of the monastic revenues. Dr. Bouchier, the last abbot of Leicester, was actually nominated Bishop of Shrewsbury, and hence it is said arose the appellation “Proud Salopians,” founded on the tradition that the inhabitants rejected the offer of having their borough converted into a city. The bailiffs and principal inhabitants of the city in vain petitioned their monarch to spare the buildings of the monastery. On the 22nd of July, 1546, Henry VIII. granted the site of the dissolved abbey to Edward Watson and Henry Henderson, who the next day conveyed the same to William Langley, a tailor, in whose family it continued for five generations, until 1701, when Jonathan Langley, Esq., devised it to Edward Baldwyn, Esq., and he in like manner in 1726 passed it to his sister Bridget, wife of Thomas Powys, Esq. In 1810 the premises were sold by the trustees of the wife of Thomas Jelf Powys, Esq., to Mr. Simon Hiles, in whose devisees they are now vested. The property with which the abbey had been endowed at various periods, comprised seventy manors, twenty-four churches, and the tithes of thirty-seven parishes, besides very extensive and valuable privileges and immunities of various kinds. In 26 Henry VIII., their possessions were found of the yearly value of £572. 15s. 5¾d., equal to £4700 in the present day. Pensions were assigned to the late abbot, Thomas Boteler, and the seventeen monks.

The abbey presents few features of its ancient grandeur, the chapter house, cloister, and refectory are entirely destroyed. In the stately chapter house occurred the early authorised assembly of that popular representation in the constitution of this kingdom, to which, under Providence, Englishmen have been indebted for much of their subsequent prosperity. From the important state affairs which were transacted here in 1307–8 it was denominated the Great Parliament. 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. Here too, Richard II., attended by a numerous guard of Cheshire men, entertained the members of his parliament with a sumptuous feast. The site of the abbey embraced upwards of ten acres, but it is no longer possible to trace the wide circuit of the ancient embattled walls. In 1836, on excavating near the site of the chapter house, a leaden seal was found, which had once been appended to a bull from the pope, whose name is thus inscribed on it:—INNOCENTUS. P.P. IIII. The most interesting portions of the ruins is a little octagonal structure, six feet in diameter, which is generally called the Stone Pulpit, the admiration of every antiquary and person of taste. Some broken steps lead to the interior through a narrow flat arched door on each side. The south part stands upon a portion of a ruined wall, and originally looked into one of the outer courts. The corresponding moiety projected considerably within the hall, and rests upon a single corbel, terminating in a head. From this point it gradually spreads, with a variety of delicately ribbed mouldings, until it forms the basement under the floor. The whole is crowned with a dome of stone work, at about eight feet from the base, supported on six narrow pointed arches, rising from pillars similar to the mullions of the windows. One of the remaining sides of the octagon is a solid blank wall, and the other contains the door. The roof within is vaulted on eight delicate ribs springing out of the wall, and adorned at their intersection in the centre, by a boss representing an open flower, on which is displayed a delicate sculpture of the crucifixion. The spaces between the divisions of the three northern arches, are filled up four feet above the base, with stone panels, over which they are entirely open, and the light thus introduced is productive of a beautiful effect. On the centre panel is a rich piece of sculpture designed to represent the annunciation. The right hand panel bears the images of St. Peter and St. Paul; that on the left St. Wenefrede and the abbot Beuno. The architecture of this interesting structure is referred to the time of Henry VIII. Much conjecture has arisen among antiquaries respecting its probable use, but there can be little doubt that it originally projected from the wall of the refectory, and was used as a pulpit, from which one of the junior brethren of the monastery, in compliance with the rule of the Benedictine order, daily read or recited aloud, during meal times, a subject of divinity to the monks during dinner. Southward from the pulpit is a range of red sand stone building, now incorporated with the abbey house. To the south east is the abbot lodge, of which the only remnant is a portion of the cloister, consisting of three pointed arches. The dormitory was cut through on the formation of a new line of road in 1836.

SHREWSBURY CASTLE.—The events which belong to the Castle are intimately connected with the history of the town, where they are more fully noticed. Its founder, Roger de Montgomery, made it his residence soon after the Conquest, and it became the chief seat of his baronial power. As his new possessions had been acquired by the sword, Earl Roger considered the inhabitants as his property; therefore, to afford an eligible site for his new buildings, he is stated to have destroyed fifty houses; a fifth part of the town at that period. After the fall of the great house of Montgomery, in the reign of Henry I., on the forfeiture of Earl Robert de Belesme, the Castle became a royal fortress. Its defence was entrusted to a constable, usually the sheriff, who maintained the prison of the county within its walls; and the vast possessions annexed to it were parcelled out among various knights, on the condition of their keeping castle-ward for a certain number of days during war. During the turbulent reign of Henry III. the castle fell into great dilapidation; but his son, Edward I., immediately on his accession, almost entirely rebuilt the structure. The stronger portion of the castle now remaining was probably erected by direction of that monarch, being in the style generally adopted during his reign.

It was at this time considered rather as a place of great consequence in protecting the country from the invasions of the Welsh, than as a royal or baronial residence. By the union with Wales all apprehensions on this ground vanished, and the importance of the castle as a fortress ceased. In the time of Henry VIII. it seems to have been rapidly hastening to decay. Leland, who then saw it, observes that it had been a “stronge thynge, but now much in mine.” In the reign of Elizabeth, a grant was made of its site and buildings to Richard Onslow, Esq., who subsequently transferred his interest in it to the corporation.

During the civil war, in the reign of Charles I., the Castle resumed some share of its former importance, and was garrisoned for the royal party. The dilapidated walls were repaired, and its gates strongly fortified. After its surrender to the parliamentary forces, in 1645, it escaped the destruction that fell upon many other castles, owing to the circumstance of its being entrusted by the House of Commons to the government of Colonel Mitton, a native of the county, who, displeased with the virulent persecution of the king, soon after resigned his commission. Colonel Mackworth was then appointed governor, and he was succeeded by Colonel Hunt. On the restoration of Charles II., the property of the Castle returned to the burgesses, who in 1663 surrendered it to the king. That monarch shortly afterwards presented it to Viscount Newport, afterwards Earl of Bradford. The garrison at this time consisted of two companies with their officers; the daily expenses of which, as given in an old record, are stated at £8. 17s., or £3,230. 5s. per annum. The Castle continued in a fortified state, and had a large magazine of arms, which was not removed till the reign of James II. It is probable that the out-works were in a great measure destroyed, and its ancient chapel demolished, about this period. The part still remaining was leased by the Earl of Bradford to Mr. Gosnell. About the year 1730, this gentleman converted it into a gloomy habitation, in which state it remained until Sir William Pulteney repaired and greatly improved it. The outer walls of the Castle are now undergoing a complete reparation by the present proprietor, the Duke of Cleveland.

The Castle stands boldly elevated on a considerable eminence on the narrow isthmus formed by the windings of the Severn, which in every other part, by surrounding Shrewsbury, formed a portion of its defence. It has undergone so many changes, and has suffered so much from the dilapidations of time, that it is not easy to form any correct notion of its original state. Its appearance does not convey an adequate idea of the size, stateliness, or the strength of a great baronial fortress, placed in so important a position as Shrewsbury was once esteemed. The present buildings are of red free stone, and consist of the keep, the walls of the inner court, and the great arch of the interior gate. How far the original fortifications extended cannot now be absolutely determined. It is probable that the usual appendages of feudal castles, the outer court or ballium, with its strong gate, portcullis, and towers, once made part of the fortress, and extended, perhaps, beyond the Council House. The keep is a square building of great strength, connected with two round towers, embattled and pierced, and originally consisted of one great apartment on each of the upper floors. The interior as well as the exterior has been greatly altered. In the vestibule is a statue of the founder, Roger de Montgomery. A handsome stone staircase, of modern construction, leads from the vestibule to the principal apartments. The drawing room, a spacious and handsome apartment, was used as a guard chamber in the time of Charles I. A narrow stone staircase within the wall, lighted by chinks, leads to an apartment in the western tower, in which was a recess, with a strong groined ceiling, and small sharp pointed windows. This building does not appear older than the time of Henry III.; the beams are of an immense size, and the walls are ten feet in thickness. The battlements of the walls are pierced with narrow cruciform openings, called loops or oilets, which were intended for the convenience of the cross-bowmen. The noble arch of the gateway is the only existing part of the original Norman fortress of Roger de Montgomery. It is eighteen feet high, semi-circular, and with plain round facings; and its walls appear to have sustained a tower, from which hung the portcullis. On the east side of the court is a postern, built probably in the time of Charles I., when the fortress was restored; and near it are the massive foundations of an ancient tower. 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 from time immemorial have been girt with their swords by the sheriff.

On the south side of the court is a lofty mount, which rises abruptly from the Severn, the summit of which is crowned with ruinous walls, and an ancient watch tower for the purpose of descrying an enemy at a distance. This was rebuilt about thirty years ago, and converted into a beautiful summer room, commanding a fine panoramic view, and now called Laura’s Tower. From the above mount there is also a view of uncommon grandeur and beauty—the sides of the mount are richly clothed with foliage, the Severn winds majestically below—the eye of the spectator beholds in succession, the town, with its spires and turrets, its beautiful suburbs, and a wide sweep of finely wooded and diversified country, with the most extensive amphitheatre of mountains of which perhaps the island can boast. The majestic Wrekin is connected by the hills of Acton Burnell and Frodesley with the towering heights of the Lawley and Caradoc, from whence the Long Mynd, Stiperstones, and Long Mountain, form an uninterrupted chain, with the bold and precipitous cliffs of Kefn-y-Castyr and Breddyn;—thence the horizon is bounded by the stupendous Berwin range, losing its blue summit in the clouds,—while the northern prospect is terminated by the humbler eminences of Grinshill, Pymhill, Hawkstone, and Haughmond.

When the frontier situation of Shrewsbury is considered, and that for four centuries it was, perhaps, the most important station on the marches of Wales, it is extraordinary that, though it has several times fallen into the enemies’ power by treachery and surprise, yet it never sustained more than two sieges, and those in rather early periods of its history. This circumstance may partly be attributed to the slender hopes an adverse army must have entertained of reducing by regular approaches a place so strongly fortified both by nature and art; for it was not only defended by its castle, but by the river, and a wall which completely surrounded it.

THE TOWN WALLS.—The following account of the ancient walls of Shrewsbury is chiefly taken from Phillip’s history of the town:—The walls were built across the isthmus, from the castle down to the river on each side, by Robert de Belesme, son of Roger de Montgomery. The other part of the walls surrounding the town was built in the reign of Henry III., who earnestly pressed the inhabitants to fortify and strengthen their borough, lest the enemy should surprise them unawares. This part of the wall was thirty-two years in building; it was finished in 1252, to defray the charge of which the king, at sundry times, granted the burgesses leases of the tolls of the town, and other favours; among which, every barge laded with merchandise upon the river had to pay the charge of fourpence. That part from the north end of the above-mentioned wall to the Welsh bridge, called Roushill, was built by Oliver Cromwell in the year 1645, the stone of which was brought from Shrawardine Castle. The more accessible parts of the town walls, particularly on the south and south-western sides, were formerly strengthened by towers, which are now demolished, excepting one, situated near the Murivance; it is square, embattled, and of two stories high, lighted by narrow loop holes, the entrance of the upper story being from the top wall. The only portions of the ancient walls now left standing are those on the north side of the town, extending from the Castle gates towards the Welsh bridge, and on the south-west side, where they stretch to a considerable distance. Although reduced in height, and stripped of the battlements, they form an agreeable walk to the inhabitants of the town.

GATES AND POSTERNS.—In an exchequer manuscript, without date, several gates or posterns are mentioned, to the keepers of which the coroners of the town delivered bolts and locks for their security. Those at Shepelache and at Kaymeplace no traces of the names remain. That called Bulgerlode was under the place formerly called the Gulph, at the bottom of the Wyle Cop, and Cleremont, on the top of Claremont Hill. There were also gates in Milk Street, Barker Street, and Water Lane. The latter only remains, and is memorable as the avenue through which the parliamentary forces were treacherously admitted into the town, at the siege of Shrewsbury, on February 22nd, 1644.

STREETS, &c. The following are some of the ancient names of the principal streets given in Phillips’ History of Shrewsbury, many of which have become obsolete.

_Mardol_, anciently written Marlesford, Mardefoie, and Mardvoll. It had the name of Marlesford from the ford through the Severn at the bottom of the street, near the welsh bridge.

_Chepynges-street_.—An ancient name probably of the street leading from the Corn Market to Murivance.

_Stalles_.—The street leading from Mardol head to High-street.

_High-street_, formerly called Baxter’s-row, also Barker’s-row.

_Ickeslode_.—A lane that went from Dogpole to the Walls.

_The Sextry_ was the Shutt from the passage from Kiln-lane to High-street.

_Frankwell_, anciently Frankvill; the Frank’s Vill, probably inhabited by the Franks, for in Doomsday book it is recorded that a part of the town containing 45 Burgase were inhabited by those people, who are there called _Francigence_.—This place seems to have been regarded as unconnected with the other part of the town; they had a strong work erected there for their defence, which at the time Shrewsbury was taken by the parliamentary forces surrendered upon bare quarter; and in the year 1640, when the plague began there, the inhabitants made an attempt to come into the town, but were beaten back by the bailiffs and townsmen.

_Cheddelode_.—A lane that went to the Severn, by Stury’s Close.

_Bulgerlode_.—A place at the bottom of the Wyle Cop, taken down in 1766.

_Murivance_.—A name of French extraction signifying before the walls, or within the walls.

_Murivance-lane_, led from the town wall down to the river.

_Sheteplace_, in old records written Sotteplace, and Soetteplace, is now called Shoplatch. _Behind the Walls_, from its situation behind the walls, now the Quarry.

_Priest’s-lane_, led from the walls near the tower, to Murivance, now inclosed.

_Romboldesham_, now called Barber-street.

_The Bailey_.—That part of the town which lies before the castle.

_Hound-street_.—A street leading from the playhouse to Barber-street.

_Grope-lane_.—A narrow “shutt” leading from High-street to Fish street.

_Corvisor’s-row_.—The same as that which is now called Pride-hill.

_Shoemakers’-row_.—In Speed’s map the lower part of Pride-hill.

_Hawmon-strete_.—Probably that now called Castle-street, or Raven-street.

_Merival_.—At the east end of the New bridge. Early in the 16th century, Merival was separated from the jurisdiction of the corporation, and considered a hamlet within the liberty of the town.

_Altus Vicus_.—The high pavement, near the Cross made in 1570.

ANCIENT MANSIONS.—THE COUNCIL HOUSE, was so called from having been the residence of the Council of the Marches of Wales, during their occasional visits to Shrewsbury. It is situated in the precincts of the Castle, on a bold acclivity which rises abruptly from the Severn, and commands a most delightful prospect of the surrounding country. The house has been modernized, and divided into several tenements; that portion which comprises the hall and the great chamber over it, includes nearly the whole of the building which retains any resemblance of its original features. It was built about the year 1501. The unhappy Charles I. resided here for six weeks, upon the commencement of his troubles in 1642. James II. on his visit to the town 24th August, 1687, held his court here. These once magnificent apartments have been subdivided and despoiled of their rich furniture and beautiful stained glass. A fine old porch, and the entrance hall with other relics have been carefully preserved. The present proprietor, William James Clement, Esq., has furnished several of the apartments with antique oak furniture, elaborately carved. The gateway of the council house is an interesting specimen of the style of architecture which prevailed in the early part of the 15th century.

THE WHITE HALL, situated near the Abbey Foregate, is a stately mansion, and exhibits a fine specimen of the Elizabethan style of architecture. It is a lofty structure with numerous pointed gables; the roof is adorned with ornamental chimnies, and crowned with a central octagonal turret. At the back of the mansion is a magnificent walnut tree, probably coeval with the house. It was formerly the manorial seat of Richard Prince, Esq., by whom it was built in 1758.

ROWLEY’S, on HILL’S MANSION, said to have been the first brick building erected in Shrewsbury, was built in 1618, by William Rowley, Esq. He amassed great wealth by fortunate speculations in Barbadoes. His son, Roger Rowley, Esq., was the first person in this town who kept his carriage. The daughter and heiress of the latter married John Hill, Esq., who lived in this mansion, from whom the street received the appellation of _Hill’s-lane_, instead of Knuckin-street. The house has been unoccupied some time, it now presents a dilapidated appearance.