166 
S H R O P 
If she smelled to the freshest nosegay, it would shrivel and 
wither as it had been blighted. Arbuthnot. 
To SHRI'VEL, v.a. To contract into wrinkles. 
When the fiery suns too fiercely play, 
And shrivel'd herbs on with’ring stems decay. 
The wary ploughman, on the mountain’s brow, 
U ndams his watery stores. Dry den. 
SHRIVENHAM, a village of England, in Berkshire ; 3| 
miles south-west of Great Farringdon. Population 639. 
SHRI'VER, s. A confessor. Not in use. 
The ghostly father now hath done his shrift, 
When he was made a -shriver ’twas for shift. Ska/cspeare. 
SHRI'VING, s. Shrift.—Better a short tale, than a bad 
long shriving. Spenser. 
SHROPHAM, a parish of England, in Norfolk; 4 miles 
north-by-west of East Harding. Population 400. 
SHROPSHIRE, or Salop, an inland county of England, 
on the borders of Wales, bounded on the north by Denbigh¬ 
shire, the detached part of Flintshire, and Cheshire, on the 
east by Staffordshire, on the south by Worcestershire and 
Herefordshire, and on the west by Radnorshire, Montgome¬ 
ryshire, and Denbighshire. It lies nearly within the parallels 
of 52° and 53° north latitude, and the meridians of 2° and 
3° west longitude. Its figure is that of an irregular parallelo¬ 
gram, somewhat approaching to an oval, and extending about 
44 miles in length from north to south, and 28 miles in 
breadth from east to west. Its circumference is 134 miles, 
and it contains 1403 square miles, or 898,000 acres, with 143 
inhabitants to each mile. It is divided into 14 hundreds, and 
222 parishes; contains 16 market towns, viz., Shrewsbury, 
Bishop’s Castle Bridgenorth, Ludlow, Wenlock, Church- 
Stretton, Cleobury, Drayton, Ellesmere, Madely, Newport, 
Oswestry, Shiffnal, Wellington, Wem, and Whitchurch; 
and sends 12 members to Parliament, two for the county, and 
two for each of the boroughs of Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Bridge- 
north, Wenlock, and Bishop’s Castle. Shropshire is an ex¬ 
tremely interesting county, from its note in history, its nu¬ 
merous remains of antiquity, the variety and beauty of its 
scenery, its richness in mineral productions, and its extensive 
system of inland navigation, which has contributed to render 
it a great emporium of the inland trade between Eng¬ 
land and Wales. The aspect of the country is greatly 
diversified, and comprehends every variety of picturesque 
landscape. From Shrewsbury northwards, extends with little 
interruption, over the whole breadth of the county, a vast 
plain, termed the plain of Salop, which, though flat com¬ 
pared with the surrounding hills, possesses yet a very varied 
surface. This low land extends also southward of Shrews¬ 
bury, nearly to Church Stretton, and also from Wellington, 
along the south-eastern boundary of the county, to Ludlow, 
leaving towards the south-west a district of high and moun¬ 
tainous land, being a lateral branch of the great range of 
mountains on the west. Many of these hills rise to a great 
height; and, accordingto the trigonometrical survey, Brown 
Cleehill is elevated 1805 feet above the level of the sea, Long- 
mynd 1674 feet, and the noted Wrekin, to the east of 
Shrewsbury, and south of Wellington, 1320 feet. The river 
Severn runs through the very middle of Shropshire, and is 
the great glory and ornament of the county, winding beau¬ 
tifully through deep romantic valleys, covered with wood. 
Entering from Montgomeryshire, as its confluence with the 
Vyrnwy, it runs eastward to Shrewsbury, and then bending 
towards the south, and passing Wroxeter, Colebrook Dale, 
and Bridgenorth, leaves the county near Bewdley, on the 
borders of Staffordshire and Worcestershire, Its course with¬ 
in Shropshire is estimated at nearly 70 miles in length, in 
every part of which it is navigable, except in the height of 
summer, for barges, trams, wherries, and boats, and is sup¬ 
plied with salmon, and various other kinds of fish. The 
contributary streams to this great river belonging to the 
county are the Camlet, the Vyrnwy, the Perry, the Meole 
Brook or Rea, the Tern, the Cund Brook, the Warf, the Mor- 
brook, the Bore Brook, and Dowles Brook, The other rivers 
SHIRE. 
of any consequence in the county are the Teme, the Shel- 
brook, the Elf Brook, the Weaver, the Clun, the Ony, and 
the Corve. Shropshire contains also various lakes, which, 
though none of them are of any great extent, still add con¬ 
siderable variety to its landscapes. Ellesmere, which is the 
largest, covers about 116 acres of land. The climate of 
Shropshire varies wiih the elevation of the county; but the 
air is every where salubrious. On the eastern side of the 
county, where the land is warm and flat, harvest frequently 
begins a fortnight sooner than near the middle of the county, 
where the vales are extensive, but the surface less light, and 
jthe bottom often clayey; and hay and grain are both 
gathered earlier there than on the western side, where the vales 
are narrow, and the high lands extensive. Easterly winds 
prevail most in the spring; those from the west in autumn. 
The soil and surface of Shropshire are exceedingly various, 
and have been also variously described; so that every ge¬ 
neral account of them must be taken with considerable limi¬ 
tation. According to Bishton’s Survey, on the north and 
north-east of the Severn a turnip soil chiefly prevails, inter¬ 
mixed with a tolerable proportion of meadow and pasture 
land. The banks of the Severn, which are often overflowed, 
produce hay in great plenty. On the south-west side of the 
Severn, from Alberbury, about eight miles wide, down to 
Cressage, the lands are in general pretty good, and contain 
pasture, wheat, arid turnip land, but very variable. From 
Cressage, about six miles wide, to Bridgenorth, and from 
thence to Cleobury and Ludlow, there is chiefly a mixed soil 
upon clay, and partly thin. The remainder of the county, 
more to the south-west, is very variable, mostly thin soil, on 
day or rock, with extensive tracks of hills and waste. On 
the whole, all sorts of land are to be found in the county, ex¬ 
cept phalk and flint. According to another account, in the 
hundred of Oswestry a deep loam and gravelly soil prevail; 
and in those of North Bradford and East Brimstree, a light 
or sandy loam. Pimhill hundred contains a mixture of boggy 
land and of sandy soil, with a greater proportion of sound 
wheat land. In the other hundreds, clays of different con¬ 
sistence form the most general soil; but there are numerous 
patches, both of deep and sandy loam, gravel, &c. Shrop¬ 
shire though no way remarkable for the excellence of its 
agriculture, is in general well cultivated, producing large 
uantities of grain of various kinds, much of which is sent 
own the Severn for exportation. Many cattle are fed in the 
level parts of the county; and much of the cheese sold under 
the name of Cheshire, is made here. The. hilly district is 
chiefly devoted to the pasture of sheep, whose wool is of fine 
quality, and. is employed in the manufactories of Wales. 
The neighbourhood of the Wrekin and Bridgenorth, and 
also that of Clun, are reckoned to yield wool equal to. that of 
Leinster. Farms are in general of a large size; a very few 
are held in leases for life, others for 7, 10, or 21 years, and 
many from year to year only. All the ordinary white and 
green crops are generally cultivated ; hops, hemp, flax, and 
cabbages, are also raised, but in small quantities, and the 
hops chiefly on the Herefordshire and Worcestershire border. 
The growth of hay, and the improvement of pasture lands, 
are rather neglected. Notwithstanding large annual falls of 
timber, there still remain in Shropshire some fine woods of 
oak, and a vast number of good hedgerow trees, chiefly ash 
and oak. In the south-west district, birches are common, 
both as trees and fences. There are also in the county many 
large tracts of coppice wood, which is in great demand at 
the iron-works, for charcoal; and several extensive modem 
plantations. Shropshire is comparatively free of waste lands. 
Most of the cultivated districts are enclosed, and the com¬ 
mons are every year decreasing. It contains several large 
mosses, and many small ones. The chief district of moor¬ 
land is that near Kinnersley. 
But it is its mineral riches, and the trade and manufactures 
to which they have given rise, by which Shropshire is chiefly 
distinguished. Coal is found in great abundance, and of ex¬ 
cellent quality, in different parts of the county. The prin¬ 
cipal coal fidd lies in the district near Colebrook Dale ex¬ 
tending about 8 miles in length, and 2 in breadth. Begin¬ 
ning 
