A Ramble in West Shropshire. 355 



lias been very great, has in his collection some ancient wooden 

 spades of oak, and of a curious pattern. The handle was 

 evidently inserted in the hole which is represented in the 

 accompanying drawing, and tied to the short handle with 

 which each was furnished ; thus afford- 

 ing a tolerably effective implement 

 when iron was yet an expensive metal. 

 But lastly, Mr. More possessest wo 

 precious relics, which, as being com- 

 posed of far more perishable material, 

 are justly prized by him very much ; 

 they are two candles, apparently formed s P ade fouad in Roman mine 

 originally of tallow, but this has under- near Shelve> 



gone the change into adipocere, which frequently takes place 

 with fatty substances when exposed for a very long time to 

 certain atmospheric action, and by which it has become ex- 

 tremely hard and almost chalky in its nature. The form, 



Roman (?) Candle found in Soman mine near Shelve. 



however, of these candles is quite preserved ; they resemble 

 our ordinary " dips/' and a fracture in the side of one of 

 them reveals an inner core, which would arise from their 

 being formed by two successive dippings in the melted 

 tallow. The wicks of both of them are made of hemp, 

 cotton being then, of course, unknown. Both these and 

 the spades were found in one of the workings of the 

 Roman mine; and it is therefore possible that they date as 

 far back as the times of that people. But although, as Mr. 

 Wright informs me, there is good evidence that the Eomans 

 used candles, a candlestick having actually been found at 

 Wroxeter, it might not be easy to determine that these in- 

 teresting relics are of so ancient a date as this, since, indeed, 

 the mines from which they came seem to have been in constant 

 work down to the present day, when " Limited Liability" 

 projects, to enrich the fortunate shareholders, teem on every 

 hand. 



In his antiquities of Shropshire, Mr. Eyton says of Shelve, 

 that " it was famous in the twelfth and thirteenth century for 

 its lead mines. In 1182, the king seems to have had the lead 

 mines in his own hands. The sheriff had conveyed the king's 

 lead from Shrewsbury to Gloucester, at the cost of £3 8<s*. ( Jd., 

 as certified by William Fitz Simeon and Warin Fitz Alric. 

 He had further purchased 110 cart loads of lead for the king, 

 at the cost of £38 10s. This lead is expressed to be i ad 

 operationes ecclesie de Ambrcsb.'' This explains the whole 



