SHREW 
the county. It is beautifully situated on the banks of the 
Severn, in a kind of peninsula made by a bend of the river. 
The air is salubrious; and, standing on several gentle 
eminences, the town has a bold and commanding appear¬ 
ance, and from every approach presents a pleasing variety of 
view; the spires of two of the churches, and the massive 
towers of the castle, adding greatly to the beauty of the 
prospect. A margin of garden and meadow ground inter¬ 
poses between the buildings and the river, except at the 
points where it is crossed by the bridges. On the west of 
the town, between St. Chad’s new church and the river, 
is a very fine public walk, called the Quarry, along the 
banks of the Severn, overarched by magnificent lime-trees, 
which meet at their tops, and form a beautiful kind of Gothic 
vault. The exterior circle of the towu is lined with a con. 
tiiiued range of well built houses, which command in many 
places beautiful views of the adjacent country. The interior 
of the town is far from corresponding with its external ap¬ 
pearance. The streets are intricately arranged, many of 
them steep and narrow, and all indifferently paved. The 
houses present a strange mixture of ancient and modern 
building. The public buildings, however, are much more 
respectable and well deserving of attention, both for their 
architecture and antiquity. The castle, which stands on a 
narrow neck of land on the Severn, was greatly enlarged by 
Roger de Montgomery, the Norman, who cleared away 51 
houses for this purpose. Here he fixed one of the seats of 
his baronial power, and the castle continued in the pos¬ 
session of his sons, until the reign of Henry I. when it be¬ 
came by forfeiture a royal fortress. After the final submission 
of the Welsh, being no longer necessary as a military station, 
it gradually fell to decay. In the reign of James II. it was 
stripped of its cannon, musquets and ammunition ; and 
probably at the same time the outworks were demolished, 
together with its ancient chapel. From its present state little 
idea can be formed of its former extent and grandeur. The 
buildings of it now remaining consist of two round towers 
and a curtain, the work of Edward I., built perhaps on 
the site of the Norman keep; the walls of the inner court, 
now a garden; and the great arch of the interior gateway, 
18 feet high, the only remaining part of Roger de Montgo¬ 
mery’s work. These remains now form a handsome 
dwell in g-house, consisting of two round towers, embattled 
and pierced, and connected by an oblong building, about 
100 feet long, and about half that height. The castle was 
defended by ramparts of stone thrown across the peninsula, 
from the castle to the river. Ramparts and walls also de¬ 
fended the town on its southern and eastern sides, consi¬ 
derable traces of which remain. The shire-hall is a modern 
building, finished in 1786, and exhibits a handsome stone 
front. Here are held all meetings of the corporation and 
county ; also the courts of justice for the town and county. 
Of the churches, which are six in number, St. Giles’s is a 
small plain building, a part of which is of considerable an¬ 
tiquity. It consists of a nave, chancel and north aisle, &c. 
St. Chad’s church is of modern erection, having been built 
between 1790 and 1792, in lieu of the old collegiate church, 
which fell down in 1788, its repair having been too long 
neglected. It is built on a plan extremely novel, the body 
of the church being externally a circle 100 feet in diameter. 
Its appearance is very striking, the effect, however, being 
more owing to the fineness of the stone of which it is built, 
and the splendour of the ornaments, than the harmonious 
proportion and disposition of its parts. St. Mary’s church, 
which was likewise collegiate, stands at the north-eastern 
part of the town. It is a large venerable building, in the 
form of a cross, and consists of a nave, side aisles, transept, 
chancel, choir and chapels, with a western steeple. The 
exterior presents various styles of architecture, from the era 
of the Norman conquest, or earlier, to that of queen Eliza¬ 
beth. The nave is divided from the side aisles by semicir¬ 
cular arches; but'those separating it from the choir are lofty 
and pointed. The chancel, transepts and chapels, display 
chiefly the pointed style. At the extremity of the former 
is a spacious window, in the later pointed style, which is 
S B U R Y. 163 
nearly filled with stained glass, from the ruins of Old St. 
Chad’s church. From the tower, which is very large, 
and 74 feet high, rises a lofty and beautiful spire, which 
forms a conspicuous object from the surrounding country, 
and a great ornament to the town. It is elevated 138 
feet above the tower. St. Alkmund’s church was formerly 
collegiate; but the college was dissolved in the reign 
of king Stephen. The old church was taken down in 1793, 
and the present building raised in its stead. It presents a 
most wretched imitation of the ancient pointed architecture. 
Lastly, St. Julian’s church is a plain substantial building, 
rebuilt in 1750. Besides these churches, and the Abbey 
church not yet described, Shrewsbury contains a Roman 
Catholic chapel, and meeting-houses for Presbyterians, 
Unitarians, Baptists, Methodists, and Quakers. Of the 
charitable institutions of Shrewsbury, the infirmary is one 
of the oldest provincial establishments of the kind in Eng¬ 
land, having been opened in 1747. The house is a plain 
but respectable brick building, with stone corners. It stands 
in a healthy situation, and in respect of internal arrange¬ 
ments, is equal to any other of the kind in the kingdom. 
The house of industry was originally a foundling hospital, 
and was only converted to its present uses in 1784. It is 
governed by directors chosen from among the inhabitants 
of the town. About 275 persons are at an average main¬ 
tained in the house. The internal arrangements are ex¬ 
tremely judicious. The town contains also an hospital, 
founded by Mr. James Millington, draper, in 1734, together 
with several alms-houses. The free grammar school was 
founded and endowed by Edward VI., and afterwards 
augmented by queen Elizabeth. This institution having 
declined, an act of parliament was passed in 1798, for its 
improvement and better government. Its management was 
by this act committed to the bishop of Lichfield and 
Coventry, as visitor, and to 13 trustees or governors, of 
whom the mayor is one. The school is a large, lofty and 
substantial building of freestone, forming two sides of a square 
court. Several of the masters have been distinguished for 
their talents and learning; and many celebrated characters 
have been educated here. Bowdler’s charity school was 
founded in 1724; Allatt’s charity school in 1798, 
and the subscription charity school in 1708. The 
town and county jail and bridewell now form one building, 
which stands near the castle. Its situation is healthy and 
beautiful; and though it cannot boast of much elegance in 
its external appearance, it is spacious and airy, and every 
way adapted for its intended purposes. It is on the plan of 
Howard, a bust of whom, by Bacon, stands on a freestone 
arched gateway in front of the building. The market-house 
is one of the largest and most magnificent buildings of the 
kind in England. It was erected in the reign of queen 
Elizabeth, in the year 1595. It is built entirely of freestone. 
The principal front is towards the west; and in the centre, 
over a spacious portal, are the arms of queen Elizabeth, in 
high relief, under a rich canopy. On each side of this 
portal is an open arcade of three large circular arches, sup¬ 
ported by columns. The north and south ends of the 
building are also ornamented with large open arches, over 
one of which stands a statue of Richard, duke of York. Ad¬ 
joining the market-place is a conduit, which supplies great 
part of the town with water. The market-cross was a 
strong building of brick and stone, having a reservoir over 
it. It was taken down in 1819, the reservoir removed back¬ 
wards, and a handsome new market-house erected by sub¬ 
scription. The theatre is part of the palace that formerly 
belonged to the barons of Powis. It is tolerably fitted up 
within. There are two bridges over the Severn at Shrews¬ 
bury, the Welsh bridge and the English or East bridge, both 
of them of recent erection, and in the place of older ones 
which had gone to decay, and from their narrowness were 
extremely incommodious. The Welsh bridge consists of 
five elegant arches, about 266 feet in the whole length, 20 
feet high, and 30 broad. Adjoining to it is a quay, with 
warehouses. The English bridge extends 400 feet in length, 
and consits of seven semicircular arches, built of fine free¬ 
stone. 
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