SALOP, or SHROPSHIRE, an inland county of England. It is bounded on the north by Cheshire, and the Welsh counties of Flint and Denbigh; on the west by the Welsh counties of Denbigh, Montgomery, and Radnor; on the south by Herefordshire and Worcestershire; and on the east by Staffordshire. It is of an oblong figure, extending from north to south, and contains a variety of projections and indentations. Its greatest length is about 46, and its greatest breadth 37 miles. Its superficial contents are 1341 square miles, or 854,240 statute acres.
This county is divided into fifteen districts, or hundreds, of which five are on the north-east side of the river Severn, three extend to both banks of that river, and the remainder are on its south-west side. The ecclesiastical divisions of the county are into the diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, extending over 114 churches,—of Hereford over 127,—of Worcester over 3,—and of St Asaph over 12,—besides which there are 6 in the peculiar jurisdiction of Bridgenorth, making in the whole 262 churches, of which 229 are parochial.
The population of this county has increased at a much less ratio, between the census of 1811 and that of 1821, than that of any other of the English or Welsh counties; the average increase of the kingdom being 16 per cent. and that of Shropshire only 5 per cent. By the latter enumeration, the number of individuals was 206,153; of whom 102,056 were males, and 104,097 females. The number of families were 41,636; of whom 18,414 were chiefly employed in agriculture, 17,485 in trade, manufactures, or handicraft, and 5737 were not comprised in either of those classes. The number of houses were 38,663 inhabited, 179 building, and 1012 uninhabited.
The face of the country is much diversified. On the western side it has the wild appearance of the adjoining principality of Wales. Throughout the
rest of the county the land is rather undulating, tolerably wooded, and with many beautiful rivulets meandering along the different valleys. The whole tract of country, from Wellington to the termination of the county between Oswestry and Chirk, exhibits the mild beauties of a fertile and cultivated district, inclosed by well formed hedges into fields, of dimensions well calculated for advantageous husbandry; and ornamented with several domains of noblemen and gentlemen, which present a most pleasing succession of pictures to the traveller.
That singular insulated mountain, the Wrekin, rising from a plain to the height of 1100 feet, exhibits its sugar-loaf form over the tops of the smaller elevations in its vicinity, and increases the interest of the scenery. In the southern division of the county, the Brown Clee Hill, and the Titterson Clee Hill, rise to greater elevations than the Wrekin, and produce much picturesque variety.
In a county of such extent, the soil must be very varied. On the eastern side, the valleys are flat and warm, and the soil generally of a sandy nature. In the middle part, the soil is more tenacious, and the bottoms of the wider valleys have frequently a stiff but rich clay. On the most western parts, the soil is very shallow, resting upon rocks of varied descriptions; and is better calculated for sheep pasture than for producing grain. There are some moor lands, but inclosures and drainage have considerably diminished their extent. A very great portion of the soil rests on a limestone subsoil; and almost the whole of the plains are easy to work with light ploughs, and two or three horses. The easterly winds generally prevail in the spring, and the westerly in autumn; the former are more remarkable for their regularity than the latter. The whole of the county enjoys a salubrious air; but on the hills, on the western side, the cold of winter is most intensely felt.
Salop. 1000, Ca. 17, and 1000. The chief river is the Severn, which runs through the whole extent of the county from north-west to south-east. It is navigable at all seasons to the Bristol Channel downwards, and in wet seasons upwards to Welshpool, in Montgomeryshire. The navigation is, however, at all times, impeded by many obstructions. In dry weather, the fords are only passable with difficulty, and in very wet weather the floods cover the banks, and extend so far over the level land on both sides, that the barges cannot be drawn up, from wanting a path on which the men who draw them can securely walk. It is one of the singularities of this navigation, that men are employed instead of horses, as on other rivers, to draw the vessels against the stream. Imperfect as this navigation is, it is, however, the chief source of the wealth of the country, as affording the means of conveying to good markets the various heavy productions which it yields. The fish found in the Severn, in its course through Shropshire, are salmon, pike, flounders, grayling, and eels. There are also some lampreys in the Shropshire part of the Severn, but they are less abundant than in the lower parts of the river. The principal tributary rivers are the Camlet, the Vyrnwy, the Tern, the Clun, the Ony, and the Teme. There are, besides, innumerable rivulets and streams, which adorn and fertilize the country. The lakes of Shropshire, though neither numerous nor extensive, form a variety in its landscapes rarely to be seen in the midland counties of England. Adjoining the town of Ellesmere is a beautiful lake of 116 acres, with some others smaller near it. On the western side of the county is Marton Pool, of 45 acres. On the north of the Severn are Fennyere, Llynclyspool, and Ancot; and at Shrawardine is a fine lake of 40 acres. That side of the county which most abounds in running streams has few or no lakes. The canals of this county, if not equal in extent to those in some others, yield to none in their construction, or the obstacles they have surmounted, or in the beneficial consequences by which they have been followed. The first canal was a private undertaking by a Mr Reynolds, completed in 1788, for the conveyance of his iron-stone and coals. It was a short canal, but a descent of seventy-three feet was conducted by a well contrived inclined plane, and double railroad, by means of which the loaded boat passing down drew up another with a load, nearly equal to one-third of its own weight. This contrivance was found to be applicable to similar purposes, upon a larger scale, and was speedily adopted by a company who, under the power of an act of Parliament, soon constructed the Shropshire Canal, which passes through the most considerable iron and coal works, till it reaches the Severn. The Ellesmere Canal is a most important undertaking, as by it a communication is opened between the Severn and all the great canals and rivers in the north of England. Bristol and Liverpool are thus become connected by inland navigation, and the rivers Severn, Dee, Mersey, Trent, and Humber, are united for the purposes of conveyance. In districts where the inequalities of the surface would not admit of canals, iron railways have been constructed, on which heavy goods are conveyed, in appropriate waggons, with a great saving in the expence of carriage.
Salop. Agriculture. There are few counties in which the agricultural business is, on the whole, better conducted than Shropshire. The land is very well adapted for the turnip cultivation, and the large flocks of sheep which are commonly fed on that valuable root a great part of the year, supply abundance of manure for the due cultivation of the different kinds of grain. The most prevailing breed of sheep are the Southdown, but many of the New Leicesters are to be seen, and in the hilly parts of the county are many of the fine-woolled Welsh sheep. The meadows on the banks of the Severn, and on the flat lands contiguous to the smaller streams, afford pasturage for numerous cows, whose milk, when converted into cheese, is commonly sold under the denomination of Cheshire. The corn generally cultivated is either wheat, barley, oats, or pease, and the crops, on an average, equal in productiveness those of the best districts of the kingdom. Hops are grown in small quantities on that part of the county which adjoins to Herefordshire. Some small portions of land are appropriated to the growth of hemp and flax. The cultivation of potatoes has been very much extended of late years, and now furnishes a large proportion of the aliment of the labouring part of the population. The growth of hay, and the cultivation of artificial grasses, are more neglected than any other branch of rural economy. On the flat lands, the deposits from the overflowing of the streams sufficiently enriches them without any artificial manure; but from the embankments being neglected, the hay produced on such situations is liable to be much injured by the floods that frequently occur in summer.
Minerals. A great portion of the wealth of this county consists in the mineral productions, which are most profusely found beneath its surface. The chief of these are lead, iron, limestone, freestone, pipe-clay, and coals. The lead is procured in considerable quantities chiefly from the mines of the Hope and Snailbeach. The matrix of the ore is crystallized quartz, sulphate and carbonate of barytes, and carbonate of lime. The iron ore is found contiguous to the coal, and frequently close to it. This is especially the case about Colebrook Dale, a division peculiarly rich in those minerals. This district is about eight miles long and two broad, on the banks of the Severn, on the western side of the Wrekin, and running parallel with it, from north-east to south-west. The whole, but especially the southern part of the coal district, is considerably above the plain of Shropshire, so that at one part the height is 500 feet above the Severn. The works of the Dale supply both ore and coal, as well as limestone, in great quantities; and every part of the process, from digging the ore to the completion of the manufacture, including the conversion of the coal into coke, is performed on the spot. Arthur Young, describing this part of the county, says, "Colebrook Dale is a winding glen, between two immense hills, which break into various forms, being all thickly covered, and forming most beautiful sheets of hanging woods. The noise of the forges, mills, furnaces, &c., with all their vast machinery; the flames bursting from the furnaces, with the burning coal, and the smoke of the limekilns, are altogether horribly
sublime." A bridge of cast iron, the first, we believe, constructed in this kingdom, thrown over the Severn, gives to the whole scenery a most romantic appearance. Soon after it was ascertained that iron might be made with coals, reduced to the state of coke, as well as from wood, the operation of coking was begun here by Lord Dundonald, with a view to obtain the fossil tar in the course of the process. This operation led to the discovery of that gas, extracted from coal, whose brilliant light now serves to illuminate so many of our streets and public buildings. In this dale was discovered, in opening a coal mine, a copious spring of fossil tar. It yielded, at first, very plenteously, but the quantity diminished in a few years, and though it still runs, its produce is but of small amount. Though the iron-works in this dale were the first begun, on a large scale, they are by no means confined to it; for in many other parts of the county, they are carried on to an extent that is unequalled in any other country but Great Britain.
Besides the process of separating the iron from its ore, and bringing it into the state of bar-iron and pig-iron, the other steps in the application of that mineral to general purposes are made within this county. The larger kind of iron goods, whether cast or wrought, are prepared, and most of the iron bridges which have been erected in different parts of the kingdom have been formed here into such a state as only to require to be put together in the places where they were destined to be ultimately fixed. Some of the largest establishments for making porcelain have been formed here, especially that for iron-stone china in Colebrook Dale, which has lowered the price of that beautiful commodity so as to bring it within the reach of a greater number of consumers than could formerly afford it. Manufactures of a coarser kind of earthenware, and of tobacco-pipes, are carried on at Broseley and other places. The raw materials of which these articles are formed are almost all found near the spots where they are converted to those useful and profitable purposes. The manufacture of cotton has been recently introduced into this county, and establishments formed at Coleham and some other places, which rival the largest factories in the county of Lancaster. Many branches of the linen trade have been long, though not extensively, carried on in the northern part of the county. Some of the coarser kinds of woollens are made in different districts; but none of the establishments for their fabrication are upon an extensive scale. The trade in Welsh flannels centres in a great degree in Shrewsbury. The merchants of that town repair to the markets of Welshpool and Oswestry, and make their purchases of the small country weavers, who bring their goods in an unfinished state; and the pieces are rendered fit for the markets to which they are destined by the Shrewsbury traders. A coarser kind of woollens, called Welsh webs, are prepared in the same manner, and are exported to the West Indies for clothing the negroes.
Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, from its vicinity to Wales, in which the towns are few, and from its distance from any other large town, has ever
been considered as a kind of provincial capital. It is situated on a circular peninsula, of considerable elevation, formed by the curvatures of the Severn. It presents, at every approach, a pleasing variety of views; and the noble sweep of the river, which seems to embrace it, heightens at every turn the charm of the scenery. The exterior ranges of houses command the rich and beautiful landscapes of the surrounding country. The stately spires of two venerable churches, and the massive towers of the castle, give that imposing grandeur to the whole which is commonly felt in contemplating the works of antiquity. The walks between the river and the town are finely shaded by an avenue of lofty trees, and furnish an agreeable promenade to the inhabitants. The interior of the town by no means corresponds with its external beauty. The streets are intricately dispersed, many of them steep and narrow, and all badly paved. They exhibit a strange contrast of ancient and modern buildings, and are as uncouth in their names as in their appearance. This town, as well as many other parts of the county, exhibits now many interesting remains of antiquity. Among these is the castle, placed on the narrow neck of land, by which the only entrance to the town can be gained without passing a bridge. The remains consist of the keep, a square building of 100 feet, connected with two towers; the walls of the inner court; and the great arch of the interior gate. The keep is the most perfect of the whole mass of building. The walls of this building are ten feet in thickness, and its beams of very large dimensions. It is stated to have been built by Roger de Montgomery, the Norman, as a feudal hold; but being forfeited to the crown in the reign of Henry I., was used as a royal fortress in subsequent periods, to check the incursions of the less civilized Welsh. The remains of the abbey, erected by the same founder as the castle, rewards the lover of antiquities for the inspection of them. The most perfect of the remains of this edifice is an octagonal structure six feet in diameter, usually called the Stone Pulpit, standing upon a portion of the ruined wall. It is crowned by an obtuse dome of stone-work at about eight feet from the base, supported on six narrow pointed arches rising on pillars. The ancient Church of St Chad, which fell down in 1788, presents an interesting group of ruins. That of St Mary, founded by Edgar, as well as St Alkmunds, founded by Queen Elfleda, daughter of Offa, King of Mercia, have received such alterations in more recent periods, that they exhibit the architectural taste of several successive ages. The charitable institutions of Shrewsbury, consisting of hospitals, infirmary, schools, and other establishments, rather exceed the proportion to be found in other places of equal population, and do much credit to the liberality of the natives.
Our limits do not admit of lengthened descriptions of the numerous remains of ancient architecture which are still existing in this county. The most remarkable are Haugmond Abbey, about four miles from Shrewsbury; the walls of Wroxeter, of British and Roman construction; the Abbey of Buildwas, founded in 1135 by Roger, Bishop of Chester, for monks of the Cistercian order;
the Monastery of Wenlock, founded in 680, destroyed by the Danes, and afterwards re-established; the Roman Camp called the Walls at Quatford; the Castle of Ludlow, celebrated for its splendour in the reigns of Henry VIII. and of Elizabeth;—during the latter period the residence of the Sidneys, and in the reign of Charles I. immortalized as the place where Milton composed some of his works; Wannington Castle, near Oswestry, a house of strength before the Norman Conquest; Lilleshall Abbey, near Newport, with one of the most highly adorned Norman arches in the kingdom; and Boscobel House, with the oak in the grounds near it which served as a shelter to Charles II. when, after the battle of Worcester, he was closely pursued by the victorious party.
Shropshire returns to Parliament two members for the county, and two each for the boroughs of Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Wenlock, Bridgenorth, and Bishop's Castle.
The titles of peers derived from the county are—Earl of Shrewsbury, and Barons Hill and Forrester. As there are fewer titles derived from this county, so the seats of peers are much fewer than in any other of the same extent. The most remarkable residences of noblemen and gentlemen are the following: Walcot Hall, Earl Powis; Hardwicke, Lord Hill; Ross Hall and Willey Park, Lord Forrester; Apley Park, Thomas Whitmore, M. P.; Dudmaston, William Whitmore, M. P.; Pitchford, Honourable C. C. C. Jenkinson, M. P.; Hodnett, Reginald Heber, M. P.; Hawkstone, Sir Richard Hill, Bart. M. P.; Kinlet Hall, W. C. Childe, Esq. M. P.; Stanley Hall, Sir T. Tyrwhit Jones, Bart.; Altingham, Lord Berwick; Manor House, Sir G. Jerningham, Bart.; Pradoc, Honourable Thomas Kenyon; Pentrepant Hall, Honourable F. West; Orlaton Hall, William Cludde, Esq.; Downton Castle, Richard Payne Knight, Esq.; Oakley Park, Honourable Robert Clive; Plowden Hall, Edward Plowden, Esq.; Audlim, Lady Cotton.
By the census of 1821, the population of the towns was as follows: Shrewsbury, 21,695; Wenlock, 17,265; Wellington, 8390; Haies Owen, 8187; Ellesmere, 6056; Bridgenorth, 4345; Ludlow, 4820; Oswestry, 3910; Newport, 2343; Bishop's Castle, 1880.
See Plymley's Survey of Shropshire; Aikin's Tour; Telford's Account of the Inland Navigation of Shropshire; Antiquities of Shrewsbury, by the Rev. Hugh Owen; and Beauties of England and Wales. (w. w.)