Shiffnal,

anciently called Idesall, or Idsal, is a parish and market town the head of a division of the Brimstree hundred, eight miles south from Newport, ten miles north from Bridgnorth, and eighteen miles east by south from Shrewsbury. The town chiefly consists of one street upwards of a mile in length, with several minor streets diverging from it. The houses are irregularly built, and many of the cottage residences have a mean appearance; there are however several good inns and private houses, and a number of respectable shops in most of the branches of the retail trade. Though the situation of the town is low, it is built on a dry sandy soil, and by no means unpleasant. According to tradition Idesall was a place of more considerable note in former times, and the principal portion of the town stood westward of the church; foundations and traces of buildings have frequently been discovered which would seem to confirm this supposition. In the 9th of Edward II. Bartholomew de Badlesmere obtained for him and his heirs a market on Monday and Friday, and two fairs in the year, one on the eve of the day, and the day after the feast of the Holy Trinity, and the other on the eve, the day, and the morrow after Michaelmas, as also the liberty of free warren in his demesnes in Ideshall, Adderley, Sponley, Calverhall, and Shavington. He was one of those mutinous lords who took part in the battle of Boroughbridge, March 16th, 1322, where he was taken prisoner and afterwards executed at Canterbury. The possessions of Bartholomew Badlesmere were granted in the 15th of Edward II. to Edmund Earl of Arundel and the heirs male of his body, but that noble lord was in like manner attainted about four years after, and so we find Giles de Badlesmere, son of the said Bartholomew, restored to the inheritance of his family. In the 11th of Edward IV., John Earl of Shrewsbury had a grant of a market and two fairs at the Ville of Suffenhall. The market is still held on Tuesday, but is not of much consideration; formerly corn was sold to a considerable extent. Fairs are held on the first Monday in April, August 5th, and November 22nd. The great London and Holyhead road passes through the town, upon which there were formerly seventeen coaches passing and repassing daily, which, with other traffic, added much to the commercial importance and advantage of Shiffnal. Although the inhabitants have the facilities of railway communication and a station in a central part of the town, this has rather had a tendency to diminish the importance of Shiffnal, by diverting the attention of parties who formerly frequented the market here to places of more consideration at no great distance.

The parish contains 11,433 acres of land, of which 1,090 acres are in woods and plantations, 74a. 3r. 28p. in roads and waste, and there are 60 acres of glebe. Rateable value, £24,561. 16s. Population in 1801, 3,632; 1831, 4,779; 1841, 5,244; 1851, 5,616; of whom 2,820 were males, and 2,796 females; at the latter period there were 1,050 houses. The Marquis of Stafford is lord of the manor and a very considerable landowner. The parish comprises four divisions, viz.: that of Shiffnal, embracing the town and its suburbs; Hatton district, comprising the hamlets of Idsal, Hem, Wyke, Evelith, and Hinnington; Priors Lee, those of Snedshill, Haughton, and Woodhouse; and the division of Woodside, containing the hamlets of Crackley bank, Decker hill, the Lizzard, Aston, Stanton, Upton, and Coppice green. The parish is intersected by the London and Holyhead, Shiffnal and Bridgnorth, and the Albrighton and Newport turnpike roads, and is watered by the small streams of the Sal, Worfe, Cosford, and the Lizzard. The township of Shiffnal contains 188a. 2r. 10p. of land, and in 1841 had 412 houses and 1,872 inhabitants. Rateable value, £4,153. 4s. The principal freeholders are the Marquis of Stafford, W. H. Slaney, Esq., William Cope, Esq., Mr. Edward Cherrington, and Mr. Thomas Eaton Lander, besides whom there are between forty and fifty small freeholders. The tithes were commuted in 1839, when the rectoral tithes were apportioned as follows, viz: £923 to the Rev. John Brooke; £580 to Henry Sidney Herbert, Esq.; £105 to the Duke of Cleveland; and £26 to Messrs. John and George Pritchards. The vicarial tithes are commuted for £307. A considerable extent of land, the property of the Duke of Cleveland, Lord Forester, R. A. Slaney, Esq., Rev. John Brooke, and others, is tithe free, and other portions of the parish pay a small modus.

The Church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is a large interesting cruciform structure, exhibiting various styles of architecture, with a handsome square tower rising from the centre and supported by four pointed arches resting on massive pillars with ornamented capitals. The side aisles are separated from the nave by four semi circular arches, and terminated by side chapels. The chancel is spacious, and was re-roofed a few years ago at the expense of the late vicar, the Rev. John Brooke. The ceiling is of oak, and varnished, which gives the venerable structure a very interesting appearance. On the gallery at the west end is a fine toned organ; a noble old window at the east end is beautifully foliated. The altar is remarkably fine. Among the numerous memorials is a magnificent altar tomb, having a full length figure in a recumbent position, with the hands joined and uplifted in prayer, in memory of Oliver Briggs, who died 20th November, 1596. Another alabaster tomb of beautiful workmanship, with the figure of a knight and his lady, remembers Humphrey Briggs, Esq., and Ann, his wife, dated 1622. In a niche in the wall is a full length figure of Thomas Forester, some time prior of Wombridge, warden of Tong, and vicar of Idesall, dated 1526. A splendid white tablet has been erected to the memory of Dame Magdalene Briggs, who died September 15th, 1698. There are also handsome tablets to the Slaneys, Corbets, Pitts, Jackson, Charltons, and Brookes. The memorial to George Brooke, Esq., of Haughton, who died in 1776, is beautifully executed in free stone. A neat marble tablet has been erected to the memory of Mary Bagott, daughter of Ralph Clayton, of Sheffield, in the county of Yorkshire; she died July 27th, 1748, aged 88 years. From the inscription on the tablet to William Wakley, we learn that he was baptised at Idsal, May 1st, 1590, and was buried November 28th, 1714, aged 124 years. He lived in the reigns of eight kings and queens, viz., Elizabeth, James I., Charles I., Charles II., James II., William and Mary, Anne, and George I. Mary, wife of Joseph Yates, who died August 7th, 1776, aged 127 years; she is stated to have married a third husband at the age of 92, and to have been hearty and strong when 120 years old. Besides which are recorded in the church yard many instances of extreme longevity, for which this parish is peculiarly eminent. The advowson of the church in early times was granted to the abbey of Shrewsbury; in the 24th of Henry VI. the impropriation was annexed to the college of Battlefield, near Salop. The living is now a vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £15. 6s. 8d.; now returned at £492.; in the patronage of the Rev. John Brooke, of Haughton Hall; incumbent, Rev. Townshend Brooke, M.A. The Vicarage is a handsome residence pleasantly situated a short distance from the church.

The Baptists have a neat chapel situated on the Salop road, built in 1843, and another chapel in Aston street. The Wesleyan Methodist Chapel is situate in the Back lane. The National Schools are situated in the Innage. Seventy-five boys and about seventy girls attend. It is supported by endowments and annual subscriptions, together producing about £40 per annum. The endowments of the schools will be found noticed with the charities. The Christian Knowledge Society have a branch depository for the circulation and sale of religious books, situated in High street; Mr. Cornelius Bennet is the librarian.

The Mechanics’ Institution was established in 1849, and is under the management of a president, vice-president, and committee of proprietary members. The general object of the institution is for the establishment of classes for the study of most of the branches of a liberal education, the formation of a library, and affording the members facilities for hearing lectures on literary and scientific subjects. A Reading-Room has been established, which is furnished with many of the leading newspapers, and some of the most popular periodicals of the day. President: Rev. J. Brooke, Haughton Hall. Vice-President: W. Cope, Esq. Secretary and Librarian: Mr. B. L. Beddow. The Town Hall, situated in High street, was built in the year 1840. The Petty Sessions are held here on the first Friday in each month. The officiating magistrates are Thomas Charlton Whitmore, Esq., M.P., Uvedale Corbet, Esq., Robert Henry Cheney, Esq., and George Holyoake, Esq. Mr. Peter Osborne is clerk to the magistrates. In 1850, a Lock-up and residence for the constable was erected adjoining the Town Hall. The Stamp Office is at Mrs. Ann Edmunds, Market-place. The Excise Office is at the Bell Inn.

The Savings Bank was established in 1819, and is situated in New-street Terrace. The capital stock of the bank on November, 20th, 1850, amounted to £15,198. 3s. 2d., at which period there were 469 separate accounts; of which nine were charitable societies, and three friendly societies. Of the respective balances, 260 did not exceed £20, 108 were above £20 and not exceeding £50, 46 did not exceed £100, 30 were above £100 and not exceeding £150, and the deposits of 13 were above the latter amount and under £200. The amount received from depositors from November 20th, 1849, to November 20th, 1850, was £2,204. 14s. 8d. The payments during the same period were £2,275. 4s. 7d. Mr. Thomas Eaton Lander, Treasurer; and Mr. Peter Osborne, Secretary. The bank is open every alternate Tuesday from ten till one o’clock.

The Shiffnal Union House, a brick structure, situated a short distance from the town, was partly built in 1817, at the expense of the ratepayers. In the year 1840, additional buildings were erected by the guardians of the union, at a cost of about £800, which will accommodate about one hundred and fifty inmates. The interior arrangements are well contrived for the comfort, convenience, and cleanliness of the inmates, the number of whom is usually about sixty. The union comprises an area of sixty-seven square miles, and embraces the parishes of Albrighton, Badger, Beckbury, Boninghall, Donington, Kemberton, Ryton, Shiffnal, Stockton, Sutton Maddock, and Tong, in the county of Salop; and the parishes of Blymhill, Pateshull, Sheriff Hales, and Weston-under-Lizard, in the county of Stafford. There are twenty guardians appointed for the several parishes, who meet at the board-room every alternate Monday. The Rev. John Brooke is the chairman; Mr. Peter Osborne, clerk and superintendent registrar; John Fielding, deputy-registrar; Mr. William Roden, of Haughton, registrar of births and deaths for the Shiffnal district; Mr. John Totty, registrar for the Albrighton district; surgeons, Mr. Thomas Eaton Lander and Messrs. Bennett and Orwin; relieving officer, Mr. Richard Venables; master, Mr. George Bailey; matron, Mrs. Bailey; schoolmistress, Hannah Maria Thomason.

The Gas Works, situated in High street, were established by a company of shareholders, with a capital stock of £2,300. The premises are conveniently adapted for the purposes intended, and there is a gasometer for the reception of the luminous vapour, which will hold 10,000 cubic feet. A charge of 7s. 6d. per 1,000 feet is made to the consumer.

The Railway Station, situate in the Market place, near the centre of the town, presents a beautiful pile of buildings, in the Italian style, and is approached by a flight of fifty-seven steps. The railway is carried over the town, and crosses the Birmingham, Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, and Newport turnpike roads, at an elevation of sixty feet above the level of the ground. This noble viaduct comprises twenty brick arches, of thirty-seven feet span each; and at the turnpike roads, which are eighty feet wide, are six semi-circular metal arches, resting on brick abutments, with stone capitals. The embankment extends for several miles. The metal viaduct and its battlements were cast at the Horseley Iron Works, Tipton, in the year 1848, and the railway was opened on the 12th of November, 1849. Twelve trains leave the station daily for Shrewsbury and Birmingham. Mr. George Augustus Frederick Hill is station-master and resident manager. Mr. Charles Lloyd, station-clerk. Omnibuses leave the railway station daily for Bridgnorth and Ironbridge.

Shiffnal was the birth-place of Dr. Thomas Beddoes, a physician of considerable eminence and a talented author, whose works are characterized by much acuteness of observation. He died in 1808. In a field contiguous to Shiffnal is a military station; the mound was circumscribed by a ditch, which may still be traced.

Aston Hall, a handsome mansion, the property of Major Moultrie, is the residence of Uvedale Corbet, Esq., J.P., and Judge of the County Court. The house is delightfully situated about half a mile east from Shiffnal. Crackley Bank is a hamlet, about two miles north from Shiffnal. Here the Wesleyan Methodists have a small chapel. Deckerhill Hall, a spacious stuccoed mansion, delightfully situated, is the residence of Mrs. Botfield. The pleasure grounds and shrubberies are of considerable extent, and laid out with great taste. Coppice Green and Lizard are hamlets north east of Shiffnal. Burlington, three miles north of Shiffnal. Stanton, a hamlet, a mile and a half east from the parish church, is noted as the residence of Mr. Henry Wadlow, a celebrated race-horse trainer. Stanton Farm, the residence of John Eyke, Esq., land-agent to Lord Stafford, comprises upwards of one thousand acres. Mr. Eyke is noted for having extensive flocks of superior bred sheep.

Hatton is an extensive district, in the parish of Shiffnal, comprising 3,982a. 0r. 3p. of land, the soil of which in many parts is a strong fertile loam, producing good crops of barley, wheat, and turnips. Rateable value, £5,761. 12s. The township of Hatton, situated two miles and a half south from Shiffnal, at the census of 1841 was returned as containing 108 houses and 542 inhabitants. The principal landowners are Robert Aglionby Slaney, Esq., M.P., Lord Forester, Michael Goodall, Esq., The Duke of Cleveland, Thomas Eaton Lander, Esq., Rev. George Burder, Mrs. Ann Turner, and the Rev. Townshend Brooke; besides whom there are several smaller proprietors. This is a pleasantly situated district, with a fine undulating surface, containing many good family mansions and farm residences; the houses are mostly built of brick, and the farms are of considerable extent. Hutton Grange, a handsome brick mansion, the residence of William Henry Slaney, Esq., barrister-at-law, is delightfully situated in a sequestered part of the country, three miles south-east from Shiffnal. The park grounds are beautifully studded with timber, and the gardens and pleasure grounds are of considerable extent, and laid out with great taste. Evelith Manor, a beautiful modern mansion, situated a mile and a half south from Shiffnal, is the residence of Michael Goodall, Esq. Hem is a hamlet, a mile and a half south-west from Shiffnal. Idsal contains several rural villas, and forms a southern suburb to the town of Shiffnal. Hinnington, a hamlet south of Shiffnal; and Wyke is situated about a mile to the south-west.