142 A TOPOGRAPHICAL 



factory of superfine narrow woollen cloth, the printing of calicoes, a 

 linen manufactory, and several tanneries and ale-breweries. In 

 1801 the population of this town, in the Staffordshire division, was 

 1123 persons, of whom 642 were employed in handicraft trades and 

 manufactures. 



According to the return made to parliament in 1811, the popu- 

 lation of Tamworth amounted to : males 1258 ; females 1581 ; 

 total 2839 : but whether this return was made for the Staffordshire 

 division, or the whole town, is not expressed. 



The Church, dedicated to St. Editha, is very spacious, and has 

 undergone material alterations and repairs at different periods. 

 It is adorned by a tower, the stair-case of which is mentioned by 

 the wonder-loving Plott as a great curiosity in architecture. The 

 image of St. Editha was destroyed at the commencement of the 

 Reformation. After the Dissolution, this Church, which had been 

 collegiate, came to the possession of Edward VI. and the right of 

 patronage descended to Queen Elizabeth, who, in the 23d year of 

 her reign, by her letters-patent, granted the right of patronage to 

 Edward Downing and Peter Aysheton, and their heirs for ever. 

 This right being transferable, has gone through different hands into 

 the family of Repington. 



There are also several meeting-houses for Dissenters in Tam- 

 worth. 



In the year 1588, Queen Elizabeth restored to the town the free 

 grammar-school, and granted an annuity for the salary of the 

 schoolmaster. This excellent seminary is now in a flourishing 

 condition. 



In 1678, Thomas Guy, citizen and stationer, of London, erected 

 and endowed an alms-house in this town, for six men and six 

 women. 



The Right Hon. Lord Viscount Weymouth settled upon two 

 schools in Tamworth a yearly sum of five pounds each ; one to 

 teach poor children on the Staffordshire side, and the other poor 

 children on the Warwickshire side of the town, to read English. 



Thomas Guy, the celebrated bookseller and stationer, who built 

 the noble hospital in Southwark, which bears his name, was a great 

 benefactor to Tamworth ; for, besides the alms-house already men- 

 tioned, he, in the year 1701, rebuilt the town-hall, which stands in 

 Warwickshire. 



The moat-house is a curious mansion, situated on the north 

 bank of the river Tame, in the county of Stafford, at the extre- 



