Part 3

By the charter of Charles I. granted in 1638, the corporation was new modelled changing the offices of bailiffs into that of a mayor, recorder, steward, town clerk, 24 aldermen, 48 assistants or common councilmen, two chamberlains, a sword bearer, serjeants at mace, &c. &c.; and that the mayor, bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, recorder, steward, 3 senior aldermen, and the alderman who last served the office of mayor, should act as Justices within the town and liberties of Shrewsbury. In this form it now exists. The right of electing the corporate officers is vested in the common council by whom the mayor is chosen annually on the Friday after St. Bartholomew. The general session is held quarterly by the justices of the peace for the borough; and the mayor or some of the aldermen and justices attend the Exchequer every Tuesday to transact public business. A court of requests, for the recovery of debts under the value of forty shillings, is held in the town hall every other Wednesday. The number of its commissioners is about 30, the eligibility for election to which office consists in residence in the town and the possession of freehold property of the value of £30 per annum, or a personal estate of £600 value clear of all deductions.

Notwithstanding the corporation is empowered to enact laws for the most effectual administration of the police of the town, this branch of internal government is in a very disorganized state; yet the many useful regulations which have been established, and the strict and impartial manner in which they are enforced, reflect the greatest credit on the magistrates and conduce to the peaceable demeanour of the inhabitants and the order and respectability of the town. But the most impartial observer will see that much remains to be done for the prevention of immorality; and though it is impossible that the most enlightened, active and persevering magistracy, aided by the continued exertions of the inhabitants can prevent individual delinquency, something may yet be achieved for the preservation of public morals, some plan devised which may foster the sparks of pure and proper feeling as an antidote to that national dereliction of manners in which Shrewsbury in common with most other large towns participates too much.

In addition to the Corporation here are sixteen chartered companies, consisting of various trades, to exercise any of which, within the liberties, no person is admitted who has not either served a legal apprenticeship or paid a sum of money, entitled, “a foreigner’s fine”, which is of various amount in the several fraternities.—An ancient ceremony, called the Show, used by these, deserves to be recorded, as perhaps, (with the exception of Coventry) it is the only one of the kind now existing in the kingdom. On the second Monday after Trinity Sunday the various companies assemble in front of the castle, with their wardens, flags, devices, &c. &c., each having at their head some person gaudily dressed; some in representation perhaps of the monarchs who granted their respective charters, whilst others display devices and insignia emblematical of the trades which they practise. The procession being arranged, moves over the Welsh bridge to a piece of ground, on the west side the river, and adjoining the town, called Kingsland, where each company has its arbour, in which is a cold dinner provided for the entertainment of the mayor and corporation, who visit the various arbours with their attendants, decorated in all “the pomp and circumstance” of office. After spending the evening in festivity and mirth, the several companies retire from Kingsland, much invigorated with the essence of barley corn, and return into town over the English bridge.

This ancient pageant is now fast approaching its dissolution. During the few last years, the master tradesmen have entirely ceased to walk in procession to the ancient spot, and the ceremony is now continued only by the apprentices of the chartered companies most numerous in the town. The custom originated in the celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi, one of the most splendid feasts of the Romish Church. After the reformation, the religious part of the ceremony was discontinued, but one day was still set apart for the express purpose of idleness, jollity and merriment.

The first return of Members of Parliament to represent the town of Shrewsbury appears to have been in the 26th of Edward the first. The right of election is vested in the resident burgesses, paying scot and lot, and not receiving alms: the mayor being the returning officer. The burgesses who polled at the contested election, in 1819, were 688 in number.—The freedom of Shrewsbury (with respect to voting) is acquired by serving seven years apprenticeship to a burgess residing within the liberties, or by birth within the liberties on paying the sum of £7 4s. 0d.; every male child of a burgess, who may be born after his father has been sworn in, can claim his burgesship on the payment of £1 6s., whether born in the town or not. Honorary freedoms may be also given by the body corporate. The members who represent the town of Shrewsbury in the British Parliament, are two in number.

Considered as a place of residence, Shrewsbury has the advantage of a salubrious air and mild temperature. At a short distance from the town in a N.E. aspect, a very accurate observer found the mercury in the thermometer down at 8° in January 1814.—By observations on the variations of the thermometer for one year, the same gentleman found that the mean temperature of the same year was 46°, and that the variations, during the course of the year amounted to 77°, varying from 8° to 83°. In South Carolina, the annual variation has extended to 83°. The winter of this year, it may be recollected, was much colder and the summer hotter than is common at Shrewsbury, and yet the highest degree to which the mercury rose was 85°. In the East Indies, the mercury is frequently at 104°. From accurate observation it appeared, that the medium of the daily variations was nearly regular in its increase till June, and from the close of that month till the end of December was again almost uniformly diminishing. The medium of the daily variations was no more than 6°, whereas in some places they reach 30°. From these statements it appears that we are free from those sudden changes of the atmosphere which generally very much affect, and often prove fatal to, the human frame.

That this is a fact may be inferred from the similar temperature of Shrewsbury with that of Sidmouth, in Devonshire, one of the most healthy places perhaps in this kingdom: In the year 1814, the mean temperature was 47°, only one degree above that of Shrewsbury. This observation is also supported by the tables published by Dr. Price, on Reversionary Payments, in which he proves, from the Bills of Mortality that out of 1000 persons born, there were alive

_Age_ _London_. _Northampton_. _France_. _Vaud_, _Shrewsbury_. _Switzerland_. 18 334 459 621 618 555 54 125 218 406 367 326 85 7 13 36 17 41

The relative degrees of vitality are thus shewn in a more perspicuous manner than by any other method and from the above table it is evident that the temperature of Shrewsbury is in most instances nearly equal, and in some superior, to the warm climates of France and Switzerland, and extremely favourable to longevity.

The elevation of the town, together with the purity of its atmosphere and the excellence of its water, renders its situation extremely salubrious. Contagious diseases are very rare. The scarlet fever, measles, hooping cough, &c. are usually very mild. The residents in the immediate vicinity of the Severn are most liable to illness, and in these cases the inflammatory symptoms generally run high. Many parts of the town and its environs may justly be recommended as eligible residences for invalids, who visit Shrewsbury from Ireland, Wales, and various parts of the United Kingdom, to avail themselves of the able medical assistance which the town affords.

Shrewsbury is built on two hills, of easy ascent, which for the most part gently slope to the river Severn; by this stream the ground on which the town stands is formed into a peninsula, the castle being judiciously placed on the isthmus, and thus commanding the entrances to the town.

Like most ether places not of Roman origin, its streets are extremely irregular; nor had its buildings, until within these few years, any claim to superiority, the ancient houses being chiefly built with projections into the public streets—an inconvenience very properly remedied by the elegance of modern erections. Its suburbs have of late years very much increased, and, in conjunction with this, many excellent improvements have been made in removing obstructions from the entrances to the town: but, notwithstanding the natural advantages it possesses, the bad state of its pavement and the filthy picture continually presented by its streets, is a source of poignant regret.

The plain of Shropshire, in which the town is situated, is of considerable extent, divided by the Severn into two unequal portions, and though flat, when compared with the surrounding hills, of a very varied surface. Its greatest length from N. to S. is about 30 miles, comprehending the space between Whitchurch and Church Stretton; its breadth from Oswestry to Coalbrookdale, is about 28 miles. Shrewsbury, when viewed from any of its adjacent eminences, presents a beautiful and interesting scene, and the eye of the spectator is led to survey the most extensive amphitheatre of mountains which perhaps the island can boast. The Wrekin is connected by the gentle hills of Acton Burnel and Frodesley, (over which the gigantic summit of Brown Clee is conspicuous,) with the Lawley and Coredock, generally called the Stretton Hills, from whence the Longmynd, Stiperstones, and Long Mountain, from an uninterrupted chain, with the bold and precipitous cliffs of the Kefn y Castyr, Moel y Golfa, and Breyddin, surmounted by an obelisk in honour of the late gallant Lord Rodney; thence the horizon is bounded by the stupendous Berwin range, losing their blue summits in the clouds; while the northern view is terminated by the humbler but beautiful eminences of Grinshill, Pymhill, Hawkstone, Haughmond, &c., round to the Wrekin. The whole of this vast circle incloses a finely wooded and beautifully diversified champaign country, of gentle hill and dale, studded with numerous gentlemen’s seats—watered with various streams—eminently fertile in arable, meadow, and pasture; and amply justifying the eulogium of an ancient British poet, who, after gazing, as he tells us, on the plain of Shropshire, from the height of Charlton Hill, calls it the paradise of _Cymru_. {33} The glittering rays of the Sun gilding the lofty spires of the town—the bold and ancient appearance of its ivy-mantled castle—the lovely pleasure and garden grounds which nearly surround it and gently slope from the mouldering ruins of its once warlike walls to the majestic Severn, which, fringed with lofty tufts of trees of various foliages, “proudly rolls its crystal stream along;” altogether form one of the most picturesque and enchanting prospects any where to be met with. Added to this, the well known salubrity of its air, and the many agreeable promenades which on every side of the town present themselves; and the compiler thinks he will not be esteemed too vain in asserting, that his native town is not surpassed, (though, for aught he knows, it may be equalled,) in point of situation, wholesomeness, and picturesque scenery, by any place of equal size in Great Britain.

The general character and manners of the inhabitants of Shrewsbury, as they assume no characteristic sufficient to distinguish them from those of other towns similarly circumstanced and situated, will not long detain the attention of the visitor. He will not often be disgusted with the petty assumptions of office clothed with a “little brief authority,” nor will he be displeased in perceiving, in a large majority of the inhabitants, a considerable portion of civility, hospitality, social intercourse, and liberality of opinion; and if great refinement of manners do not characterise them in the aggregate, the stranger will have employed his leisure to little advantage, who does not soon discover in the town a very extensive share of that frankness, benevolence, and warmth which is a prominent feature in the old-British character. Numbers in the different ranks of society are to be met with whose lives are adorned with the honours due to industry, integrity and virtue; and if we add the munificence with which the various public charities are supported by Salopians in general—who

— Learn the luxury of doing good,

in the diffusion of a part of these superfluities with which a benignant Providence has crowned their labours, the writer thinks he is not saying too much when he observes that benevolence is strongly marked in the general portrait. The different churches and chapels are, on the whole, well attended; and in few towns of equal size is there a more decent and orderly observance of the Sabbath. It is, however, to be regretted that many of its residents are destitute of that urbanity and politeness which should ever be displayed to strangers; but it is probable this circumstances to be attributed chiefly to the pride of nobility and ancestry, which looks down with half averted eyes on supposed inferiority; and to the want of an enlarged commixture with mankind, producing a generosity of disposition, and moderation of principle which are the natural results of extensive commercial pursuits.

Difference of opinion on the actions of public men,—on the measures pursued by persons holding the first political situations in the state, and on religious subjects; are compatible with the purest loyalty and most fervent patriotism, and will be readily acknowledged by those who possess any share of liberality add reflection.

To the infinite credit of Shrewsbury, its population has not been led to the perpetration of any of those acts of violence and atrocity which have disgraced other places, and which are caused by the difference of religious opinion, of the political effervescence of the times in which such outrages may have taken place. This observation, however, is not intended to impute to the inhabitants any thing like a state of passive obedience or wilful ignorance—far otherwise. This judicious conduct by which the welfare and good order of the town have been so essentially promoted, is perhaps rather attributable to the candour and prudence of the leaders of the various political parties, or to the virtue of mutual forbearance happily exercised by the inhabitants at large.

On subjects, however connected with the safety and prosperity of the British Empire, and the welfare of the illustrious house of Brunswick, Shrewsbury has ever been among the foremost in displaying its patriotic spirit and affectionate attachment. The loyalty of the inhabitants has long been pre-eminent, so much so, that it is celebrated by the elegant pen of Shenstone.

Admir’d Salopia, that with venial pride Eyes her bright form in Severn’s ambient wave; Fam’d for her cares in loyal perils try’d, HER DAUGHTERS LOVELY AND HER STRIPLINGS BRAVE.

As early as the year 1715, this town displayed its consequence and attachment to the present royal family in a very spirited manner. A considerable body of horse and foot was raised by Lord Newport, Sir C. Lloyd, Bart., W. Kynaston, T. Gardner, and J. Fownes, Esquires, for the protection of Shrewsbury; the walls were put in a state of defence, new gates, &c. made, and brigadier Dormer’s regiment, then lying in this town, received orders to march to Preston, Shrewsbury being deemed secure from the strength of its _own_ garrison. In 1745, also, the earl of Powis raised a regiment here, for the service of the state, into which many gentlemen of the town and neighbourhood entered as volunteers. During the war with the French republic two regiments were raised in Shrewsbury, one by colonel Cuyler, (the present 86th) and the other by colonel, now general Williams, and the inhabitants contributed very liberally towards the crusade against French revolutionary principles.

The maturer efforts of Shrewsbury have not been unworthy the zeal of its youth. When the tocsin of invasion was sounded through the vast dominions of France, and the existence of Britain as an independent nation, was threatened with extinction, the inhabitants of Shrewsbury stepped forward with a noble enthusiasm, in defence of their lives, their liberty and, laws:

Types of a race, who shall th’ invader scorn As rocks resist the billows round their shore: Types of a race who shall to time unborn Their country leave unconquer’d as of yore.

A regiment of foot, called the Shrewsbury Volunteers, was formed. It consisted of seven companies of eighty men each, chiefly tradesmen, clothed at an expence of about £3,000, raised by voluntary contribution in the town. Besides this corps, which was commanded by Sir Charles Oakley, Bart., two companies were raised in the town by B. Benyon, and J. Sutton, esq.’s which were attached to that fine regiment the Shropshire Volunteers, under the command of colonel Kynaston Powell, M.P.; and three troops of Cavalry commanded by the honourable William Hill. And had an allwise Providence permitted the invader to set his unhallowed foot on the shores of Britain, there is no doubt but each individual was determined that the spot on which he contended in defence of the noble institutions of his country should have been the throne of his triumph or his grave.

The promptitude with which these associations and others of the same nature throughout the empire, united in the hour of public danger—the fatigues they underwent in acquiring a knowledge of the use of arms—the readiness evinced in the abandonment of their private concerns for the public safety—and the inconveniences and expenses which they incurred on the occasion, surely demanded some other reward than to have their ardour damped by the change in the system of national defence; for to whom in the hour of battle could the protection of their homes and their families, the independence of their country, the sepulchres of their fathers, and the sanctuary of their God, be better entrusted than to those whose courage was animated and strengthened by the most endearing recollections? But such sacrifices, even when the necessity of them was superseded, will not be forgotten—the remembrance of them will live in the minds of their grateful and admiring countrymen, and their services will form a splendid, monument on the page of history.

Nor have the inhabitants been insensible to the miseries attendant on those whose relatives have fallen sacrifices to the heroism and devotion which they displayed during the sanguinary battles of the last twenty years, having very largely contributed to alleviate the wants of their widows and orphans.

The affection and loyalty of the inhabitants of Shrewsbury to their venerable Sovereign was most conspicuously displayed on the National Jubilee, the 25th of October, 1809, the fiftieth anniversary of his Majesty’s accession to the crown. On this occasion, liberal subscriptions were entered into for the purpose of discharging the debts of persons in the court of conscience—for relieving the distresses of the sick poor, &c. &c. Joy beamed in every countenance, and gratitude filled every heart. A congratulatory address had been previously voted unanimously, in a general meeting of the inhabitants convened by the mayor.—We give the following abridged account of the celebration of the day from the SHREWSBURY CHRONICLE of October 27:—

Never, perhaps, has any national occurrence taken place which can afford in retrospect so rich and amiable a gratification as that of Wednesday last. If we contemplate that a general amnesty was proclaimed to all delinquents in our army—that a national banquet was ordered for the brave fellows in our navy—that the prisons in many places were thrown open to the debtors—that there was no such thing, perhaps in the land, as an hungry honest man—and, lastly, that our places of worship were thronged by a people, who, like sons and daughters, had assembled to give thanks to the Almighty for the preservation of the life of their political parent: scarcely could the imagination conceive a happier variety of circumstances from which the mind may derive such sublime enjoyment. How conspicuous on this event has been the attribute of Englishmen—GENEROSITY! And let us also reflect, how much good had been omitted to be done, and how much evil had been produced, if the sums voluntarily subscribed by the people of this kingdom had been squandered in acts of sensuality, and riotous illuminations. Instead of which, the hungry have been filled, the moneyless relieved, and the captive set free.

In deeds of this description, the inhabitants of THIS TOWN have never been deficient. The subscriptions amount to between £400 and £500, and the committee has been indefatigable in proposing, and in executing, the best plans in the distribution of it.

The mode of distribution, fixed upon at a Meeting of the Subscribers, is as follows:—A sum not exceeding 50 Guineas to be applied in the discharge of persons now in the court of conscience, under the direction of a committee.—The like sum to be applied by the same committee in discharging or compounding debts of other poor persons within the town.—A like sum to be applied in the relief of poor sick persons within the town, under the direction of a committee.—The distribution of these sums to take place on or before the 25th of December next.—The Directors of the House of Industry to be recommended to make what addition they shall think proper, on the 25th instant, to the ordinary allowance of the poor and aged people under their care.—Five Guineas to be given to the ringers; and 7_s._ to each housekeeper in St. Chad’s, St. Mary’s, and St. Giles’s almshouses.—The remainder given on Tuesday evening (the 24th) to proper persons—one half to St. Chad’s parish, and the remaining half in the other four parishes.—Each subscriber to have a right to recommend two persons for each guinea subscribed.