Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/477

SHEEWSBUBY. 465 SHROPHAM. an ornamented wooden gateway and two timber build- ings, the one called Ireland's Mansion, and the other probably used as the guild house by the fraternity of the Holy Cross, the Clothworkers' Hall, Bellestono House, and Whitehall, are also interesting. A plot of ground 20 acres in extent, and about a mile from the town, was purchased in 1855 at a cost of 4,000, and has been laid out as a general parochial cemetery. The charitable institutions of the town include the Shrop- shire infirmary, a Grecian building, with a Doric por- tico ; the eye and ear dispensary ; the Salop peni- tentiary, established in 1844 ; the county lunatic asylum, at Bicton Heath, a structure in the Eliza- bethan style ; St. Giles's and St. Millington's hos- pitals ; a lying-in hospital ; St. Mary's, St. Chad's, and Evans's almshonses, and the Holy Cross hospital, a building erected and endowed by private subscrip- tion, and with five dwellings for the reception of respectable females. The house of industry, for the poor of the six parishes of Shrewsbury, stands on the 8. bank of the Severn, and was furnished for a found- ling hospital in 1765 ; it cost 12,000. The free gram- mar school, already alluded to as having been founded by Edward VI., was much enlarged by Queen Eliza- beth. Owing, however, to some defects in the original ordinances and rules, it had fallen into decay previous to the close of the last century, but an Act was passed in 1798 vesting the management in the Bishop of Lich- field and Coventry, and 13 trustees, and the scnool has again attained a high celebrity. The house, which was built in 1630, on the site of a more ancient wooden structure, is of freestone, and forms two sides of a court, the library and chapel occupying the third. Shrews- bury received many royal charters, the chief being from Richard I. and Charles I. It is divided into five wards, and is governed by 10 aldermen and 30 councillors, of whom one is the mayor. It is a borough by prescrip- tion, and has sent two members to parliament since the reign of Edward I., the right of election, down to the passing of the Reform Act, being in burgesses paying scot and lot, and not in receipt of alms or charity. The electoral limits were enlarged by the Boundary Act ; con- stituency 1505, in 1805. It is also a polling- place for the southern division of the county. Assizes and quarter sessions for the county are held here, andquarterand petty sessions for the town, under a recorder, who decides actions for debt to any amount, and for ejectment within the liberties. It is the head of Salop archdeaconry, in the bishopric of Lichfield, North Salop, and comprises six parishes. It is also the head of an excise collection. The town was formerly of considerable importance as a lace for the sale of Welsh flannels and webs, the market aving been removed to it from Oswestry in 1621, but this branch of trade is now very much reduced. It has, however, important manufactories of thread, linen, and canvas. There is a large factory for spinning flax, be- sides smaller factories, fulling mills, and an extensive iron foundry at Colehain, the whole employing many hundred persons. Glass-staining is brought to great perfection, and malting is much practised, as the neigh- bourhood grows prime barley. Markets are held on Wednesday and Saturday of each week ; fairs for horses, cattle, and sheep, on each alternate Tuesday, and for butter and cheese on the second Wednesday of each month. Wool fairs are held on July 2nd and August 14th, and the great annual horse fair in March. The fair green is 3J acres in extent. Shoes are largely manu- i rod, and the town is celebrated for its brawn and Shrewsbury cakes. The Severn supplies a valuable salmon fishery. It is here navigable for boats of from 30 to 40 tons, and the Shrewsbury canal, which is 17 miles long, terminates near Castle Foregate in extensive and convenient wharves, and opens up a communication with the Staffordshire collieries. The town is connected by railway with Chester, Manchester, Birmingham, and II ir;l'ord. From its situation, afld the many objects of interest in it and the immediate neighbourhood, it is much resorted to by persons of small income, who have retired from business, and who find the markets p h well supplied with all the necessaries of life at a mode- rate cost. Four banking companies have offices here, and there are five local newspapers. About half a mile from the town, at Monkmoor, an oval racecourse is laid ofl'. On the second Monday after Trinity a ceremonial known as Shrewsbury Show takes place, in which the twelve corporate trading companies go in procession, attended by the mayor and other members of the corporation, in their municipal capacity. SHREWTON, a par. in the hund. of Branch, co. Wilts, 6 miles N.W. of Amesbury, and 11 N. of Salis- bury. Devizes is its post town. The village is situ- ated on Salisbury Plain, and is chiefly agricultural. Great damage was done to this village in 1841 by an inundation caused by excessive rains. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Sarum, val. 230, in the patron, of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, was rebuilt in 1854. The parochial charities produce about 34 per annum, which is devoted to edu- cational purposes, also 15 from enclosed land for the repairs of the church. There is a National school, also a Dissenting chapel. C. Wansbrough, Esq., is lord of the manor. SHRIPNEY, a tythg. in the par. of South Bersted, hund. of Aldwick, rape of Chichester, co. Sussex, 2 miles N. of Bognor, near the Arundel and Portsmouth canal. SHRIPPLE, a tythg. in the par. of Idmiston, hund. of Alderbury, co. Wilts, 3 miles E. of Idmiston, and 6 N.E. of Salisbury. SHRIVENHAM, a hund. in the co. of Berks, con- tains the pars, of Buscot, Coleshill, Compton-Beauclwinp, Eaton-Hastings, Shrivenham, Uflington, and parts of Ashbury, Great Farringdon, and Sparsholt, comprising an area of 34,490 acres. SHRIVENHAM, a par. in the above hund., co. Berks, 5 miles S.W. of Farringdon, and 2 from Long- cott. It is a station on the Great Western railway. The parish, which is of large extent, is situated on the Wilts and Berks canal, and a branch of the river Cole. It comprises the chplries. of Becket, Bourton, Fernhain, and Longcott, and the tnshp. of Watchfield. The vil- lage, which is large and well built, was formerly a market town, under a charter obtained by William do Valence in 1257. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment under an Enclosure Act in 1789. The living is a vie.* with the cur. of Watchfield an- nexed, in the dioc. of Oxford, val. 550, in the patron, of the lord chancellor. The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is a cruciform structure, with a tower rising from the centre ; it formerly had a chantry, founded by John de Burghton in 1336. It contains a monument to Admiral Barrington, by Flaxman. There is also a district church at Longcott, the living of which is a per- pet. cur., val. 300. The parochial charities produce about 108 per annum, of which 84 go to the alms- houses, founded in 1642 by Sir Henry Marten. There are National schools for both sexes. Backett House, the principal residence, is situated in White Horse Valley. Viscount Barrington, M.P., is lord of the manor. SHRONELL, a par. in the bar. of Clanwilliam, co. Tipperary, prov. of Munster, Ireland, 3 miles S.W. of Tipperary, its post town. The greater part of the surface is arable land of medium quality. The living is a rect. and vie. in the dioc. of Emly, val. 106, in the patron, of the bishop. The church was built in 1808, and the tower was subsequently added by means of a loan from the late Board of First Fruits. SHROPHAM, ahund. in the co. of Norfolk, contains the pars, of Attleborough, Besthorpe, Brettenham, Bridg- ham, Old and New Buckenham, Eccles, Great Klling- ham, Hargham, Hockham, Illington, Kilverston, Larling, Rockland, Rondham, Shropham, Snetterton, Wilby, and East and West Wretham, comprising an area of 49,010 acres. SHROPHAM, a par. in the above hund., co. Norfolk, 3 miles N.W. of Eccles Road railway station, 4 N.W. of East Uarling, and 10 N. of Thetl'ord. The village, which is of small extent, is chiefly agricultural. It was formerly a market town, and gave name to the hundind.