IM 



SHOTLEY-BRIDGE. 



SHROPSHIRE. 



530 



During 1853 there entered at the port 809 vessels of 91,535 tons, and 

 there cleared 366 vessels of 20,577 tons aggregate burden. 



Duiing the last few years much improvement has taken place in 

 the town. It is lighted with gas and paved. The church, dedicated 

 to St. Nicholas, is a large and elaborately-finished edifice of the 12th 

 ceutury. In the town are a Protestant Free Church and a chapel for 

 Wesleyan Methodists. The college of St. Nicholas, at Shoreham, is 

 a Grammar school for the education of youths of the middle classes. 

 It had 60 scholars in 1S54. Besides this school the college has St. 

 John's Middle Grammar school, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, which had 

 147 scholars in 1854, and St George's Military, Naval, and Engineering 

 echool, Leyton, with 18 pupils in 1854. At Shoreham are National 

 an 1 Infant schools, a museum and conservatory, and a theatre. 



The chief trade of Shorebam consists in the export of timber, 

 anil the import of coals, corn, timber, and Irish provisions ; and it is 

 a warehousiLg port for all descriptions of timber, and for colonial and 

 foreign produce. There is a custom-house. The oyster-fishery is 

 prosecuted with considerable success. Ship-building is carried on. 

 Several of the Shoreham boatmen act as pilots. A corn-market is 

 held every alternate Monday, and a fair ou July 25th. 



SHOTLEY-BRIDGE. [DURHAM.] 



SHKEVEPORT. [LOUISIANA.] 



SHREWSBURY, the county town of Shropshire, a market-town, 

 municipal and parliamentary borough, and the se.it of a Poor-Law 

 Union, is situated on the Severn, in 52' 43' N. lit., 2' 45' W. long., 

 distant 153 miles N.W. by W. from London by road, and 161 miles 

 by the North Western and Shrewsbury and Birmingham railways, via 

 Trent Valley. The borough is governed by 10 aldermen and 30 coun- 

 cillors, one of whom is mayor; and returns two members to the 

 Imperial Parliament. The population of the borough in ISjl was 

 . The livings are in the archdeaconry of Salop and diocese of 

 Lichfirld. Shrewsbury Poor-Law Union comprises six parishes, with 

 an area of 18,032 acres, and a population in 1851 of 23,104. 



It is supposed that a stronghold was established by the Britons at this 

 place, when they found Wroxeter (the Uriconium of the Romans) no 

 longer Unable against the Angles. The Welsh name was Pengwern. 

 On the conquest of the town by the Anglo-Saxons, it received the 

 name of .Scrobbes-Byrig, and of this name the modern Shrewsbury is 

 corruption. Ethd'Jeua. 'the la-ly of the Mercians,' daughter of 

 Alfred the Great, founded the collegiate church of St Alkmund; 

 Athelstane established a mint here, and it coon became the chief town 

 of the shire. 



The town wu included in the earldom of Shrewsbury, granted by 

 William the Conqueror to his kinsman Roger de Montgomery, who 

 erecUd a cattle at the entrance of the peninsula on which the town 

 tandi. The castle and town were surrendered to Henry I. by Robert 

 de Beloame, the third earl, who had risen in arnu in favour of Robert, 

 Henry's brother. After being hrld for several yean by the crown, 

 the earldom wu granted by Henry, in 1126", to bis second wife. 

 The town received a charter from Uenry II., but the earliest charter 

 extant is of Richard I. In 1215 the town was taken by the WeUh 

 under Llewellyn the Great, prince of North Wales, who had joined 

 the insurgent barons against John, but wu not held long by him. 

 In the war of Henry III. with his barons, Shrewsbury was taken, in 

 y Simon de Montfort, the leader of the insurgent baron*, and 

 Llewellyn, grandson of Llewellyn the Great, prince of Wales ; but the 

 battle of Evesham, in 1265, restored it to the crown. In i 

 parliament wu assembled at Shrewsbury for the trial of David, the 

 last prince of Wales, who wu executed a* a traitor. In the reign of 

 Kicliard 1L a parliament wu held here, in 1307-93, at which the Earl 

 of Hen-ford (afterwards Henry IV.) brought a charge ef treason 

 gainst the Duke of Norfolk. In the early part of the rv.ign of 

 IV., in 1402, the king assembled an army here to march against 

 'Ivndwr, and the year after be fought the famous battle of 

 r-iii. *btiry gaiut the insurgent 1'cicies and their allies, when tho 

 iosurgeiiU w> re defeated with great laughter. In the war of the 

 Hoc a, Shrewsbury supported the Yorkists, and Edward IV. showed 

 much favour to the townsmen. His second son Richard, the younger 

 e two princes murdered in the Tower, wu born here. 



In the civil war of Charles I. the king came to Shrewsbury, where 

 he received liberal contributions of money and plate from the neigh- 

 bouring gentry, and largely recruited bis forces. The Earl of Denbigh 

 lonel MvttoD, the parliamentary commanders, having approached 

 KLn- WE bury (July. 1843), were repulsed by Sir Kulkc Hunkca, on officer 

 of the royalist garrison, of which Sir rrancii Ottlcy wu governor. 

 The towu was however surprised and taken by tho Parliamentarians 

 . u . r i , 1 ; 1 1 . Shrewsbury is a borough by prescription, and has 

 bent two members to Parliament since the 23rd Edward I. 



The town stands chiefly on a peninsula formed by the Severn. It 

 bu gradually extended beyond the Severn on the ea.it and west sides, 

 forming the suburbs of Abbey-Foregate and Coleham on the east, 

 and of Frankwell on the west ; and on the north extending 1 

 the i-tlimun or ueck occupied by the castle, forming the suburb of 

 the Cutle- Koregat. The town contains an usually Urge number of 

 que old half-timber houses, several of which are of a superior 

 character. '1 !i- street* are lighted with gns and paved; and the 

 town is supplied with water from the river, and from a "pring two 

 niles distant. There are two bridges over the Severn : the English 



cwoo. BIT. TOI. iv. 



bridge (built in 1774), a handsome freestone structure of seven semi- 

 circular arches, connects the Abbey-Foregate with the town ; and tho 

 Welsh bridge, a neat plain structure of five arches, connects it with 

 Frankwell. There are some remains of th^ caatle and of the ancient 

 walla. There are also remains of monasteries of the Augustiuian and 

 Franciscan friars, and of the Benedictine abbey founded by Roger de 

 Montgomery, in 1083. The Abbey church, a cruciform structure, was 

 in great part demolished at the dissolution ; the nare, western tower, 

 and north porch now constitute the church of Holy Cross parish. 

 St. Alkmund's church has been rebuilt in modern times, with the 

 exception of the tower and spire (184 feet high), which belonged to 

 the more ancient structure. St. Chad's has also been rebuilt ; it is a 

 Grecian structure, of circular form, with a tower 150 feet high. A 

 small part of the old church of St. Chad now remains, and is used as 

 a school. St. Julian's was rebuilt about the middle of the last 

 century ; but the tower, which is of Norman architecture, belonged 

 to the old church. St. Mary's ia an ancient large and fine cruciform 

 church, with a tower and spire 220 feet high. The church has been 

 in part restored, the rich antique etained windows have been repaired, 

 and new ones inserted. The Independents have two cluipeh ; the 

 Wesleyan, Primitive, and New Connexion Methodists, the Baptists, 

 Unitarians, Roman Catholic?, Quakers, Welsh Independents, and 

 Calvinistic Methodists, have each a place of worship. The Royal 

 Free school of Edward VI. has an income of 31001. a year, and 

 numerous exhibitions to both universities ; the number of scholars in 

 1S5U wu 105. There are also a British school, a Diocesan school, 

 the Blue Coat or Bowdler's Charity school, and several National and 

 Charity schools. There are a mechanics institute, the Shropshire 

 Agricultural society, and the Shropshire and North Wales Natural 

 History and Antiquarian society, with a museum aud library. The 

 hospitals and charitable institutions are numerous. Among them are 

 the tick man's charity ; the bouse of industry ; the lying-in hospital, 

 and the Salop infirmary, a plain Grecian structure with a Doric portico, 

 rebuilt in 1830 at a cost of nearly ly.oOof. 



Among other buildings may bo mentioned the town- and shire-hall, 

 a spacious and handsome stone building ; the Public Rooms, a fino 

 Grecian structure, including the post-office, music-hall, and subscription 

 news-room, erected in 1849; the ancient market-bouse of the age of 

 Elizabeth ; a spacious butter-market, built by the corporation in 

 1844; the towu and county jail and house of correction; the mili- 

 tary depot, a handsome brick building near the Abbey-Foregate; tho 

 lunatic uylum ; the public baths ; the circus ; the column in honour 

 of Lord Hill, at the entrance of the town from London; the public 

 t ubftcription library ; the theatre ; aud the assembly-rooms. Of the 

 ancient edifices of the town, the white-hall, aud the council house, 

 with its richly-ornamented wooden gateway, are worthy of notice. 

 Un the south-west side of the towu is ' the Quarry,' believed to be 

 the site of a Roman theatre, which has been formed into a handsome 

 public walk planted with lime-trees; it comprises about 20 acres, 

 nt nding along the bank of the .Severn. 



The trade of the town is considerable, especially in Welsh cloths 

 and flannel ; thread, linen-yarn, and canvas are manufactured, aud 

 there are iron-works at Colehatu. The town has long been famous 

 for brawn and 'Shrewsbury cakes.' There is an excellent salmon 

 fishery in the Severn. Tho river is navigable for boats of 30 or 

 40 tons, and there is a canal to near Wellington, which opens a com- 

 munication with the Staffordshire collieries. On tho banks of the 

 river are extensive quays and warehouses. The town is connected 

 by railway with Chester, Birmingham, and Hereford. Markets are 

 held on Wednesday and Saturday, the latter for grain. Cattle markets 

 are held monthly. Races arc held in the second week of May. Tho 

 county assizes, sessions for thj county and town, and a county court, 

 aro held in Shrewsbury. 



SHREWSBURY. [NEW JEBSBV.] 



SHKIYENUAM. [BKUUUBI.] 



SHROPSHIRE, or SALOP, a county in tho west of England, is 

 bounded N. by Cheshire, E. by Staffordshire, 8. by the counties of 

 Worcester and Hereford, and W. by tho Welsh counties of Radnor, 

 Montgomery, and Denbigh. It lies between 52 18' and 53 0' N. lat., 

 2 14 and 3 12' W. long. Its greatest length from north to south is 

 48 miles; from east to west, 40 miles. The area of the county is 

 1291 square miles, or 826,055 statute acres. The population in 1&51 

 was 229,311. 



Surface, Hydrography, anil Conti^unicationt. Shropshire contains 

 every variety of surface, from tho rugged mountain to the feitilc and 

 cultivated valley. Tho river Severn separates tho county into two 

 nearly equal divisions, and forms a boundary between th inoro 

 elevated districts of tbo weit and south, and an extensive level ou tho 

 north and north-east, which extends into Cheshire and Stafford.- hii.. 

 Ou the west various chains of Welsh mountains extend into Shrop- 

 shire. Tho Berwyn range, which traverses Montgomeryshire, termi- 

 nates within the north-western boundary of Shropshire, in Selattvu 

 Hill, which is 1300 feet above the level of the sea. The Breiddiu 

 Hills, remarkable for their picturesque forms, are situated on the right 

 bank of the Severn, near where that river enters Shropshire. Tho 

 greater portion and highest parts of these hills lie in Montgomeryshire, 

 but their north-eutern extremities extend four miles into this county. 

 A long range of elevations, commencing in Radnorshire, extends into 



