Description
Bridgnorth, a market-town, municipal borough, the head of a poor-law union and of a county court district, and of three parishes and a township, comprising the municipal borough, in Salop. The town stands on the river Severn, 10 miles S by W of Shifnal, 13 1/2 SW by W of Wolverhampton, 14 S by E of Wellington, 139 by road, and 150 by railway from London. The town was founded by Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great, and was anciently called Brugge or Bruges. A castle was built by Ethelfleda, the site of which is supposed to be in the adjoining parish of Oldbury. A new castle of great strength was erected in 1098 by Robert de Belesme, Earl of Shrewsbury, on the summit of a lofty and precipitous rock above the Severn. Henry I. speedily took the castle, and made it a royal fortress. Henry II. visited it, and Oliver Cromwell narrowly escaped death beneath its walls. Thomas a Beckett lodged in it. John made several visits, and conferred a charter on the town. It subsequently received visits from several kings. Charles I. came to it at the commencement of the great disasters of his reign, and pronounced the promenade, called the Castle Walk, connected with it, the finest walk in his kingdom. The Parliamentarians in 1646 laid siege to it, obtained possession of it at the end of three weeks by capitulation, and then dismantled it, and blew up its fortifications. Nearly the whole of the town was burned to the ground during the siege. Little remains, now of the castle except a tower 70 feet high, leaning out of the perpendicular at an angle of 13 degrees. Henry IV. is represented as saying, in reference to his rendezvous (just before the battle of Shrewsbury)�
" On Wednesday next, Harry, you shall set forward; On Thursday, we ourselves will march; our meeting Is Bridgnorth: and Harry, you shall march Through Gloucestershire; by which account, Our business valued, some twelve days hence Our general forces at Bridgnorth shall meet." Shakespeare, Henry IV., act iii. scene 2.
The town is divided by the Severn into two portions, called the Upper and the Lower. The upper portion is on the right bank, on the sides and summit of a red sandstone rock, rising 180 feet above the level of the river, and presents a remarkably picturesque appearance. The houses rest on the live rock, and in some instances cellars and cottages are hewn out of it; a hollow way, called the "Stoneway," 20 feet deep, goes down the slope of the rock to the river; and a railed terrace, cut along the front of the bluff, wenda above gardens and around the castle's site, and commands a splendid view. The High Street is spacious, and once had "rows" as at Chester. A handsome bridge, with seven arches, crosses the Severn. The town-hall, in the middle of High Street, was built in 1652, and is a half-timbered building supported by pillars; it is used for the transaction of municipal business, magistrates' meetings, and quarter sessions. It was restored and embellished with stained glass windows in 1887-88 as a memorial of the Queen's Jubilee. The agricultural hall, built in 1867, has a large room for concerts, public meetings, &c. The market-hall, erected in 1855, is now used for shops and offices, a warehouse, and a reading-room. The markets are held on Saturdays, stalls being erected in the High Street, and the space under the town-hall being used for the sale of butter, eggs, and poultry. A half-timbered house in Cartway was the birthplace of Bishop Percy; it has been restored; there are several other ancient houses in the town. St Mary Magdalene's Church was originally founded at Quatford in the time of William Rufus, by Roger, Earl of Shrewsbury, but was soon removed to the castle at Bridgnorth, made collegiate for a dean and six prebendaries, exempted by King John from ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and constituted parochial in the time of Edward III. The present edifice is in the Ionic style, has a tower and cupola, and was erected in 1792 by Telfourd. St Leonard's Church is Early Decorated English, was restored in 1862, consists of nave, chancel, and north and south aisles, with a western pinnacled tower rebuilt in 1870; the nave with aisles is 91 feet wide; it contains a carved oak pulpit, a handsomely carved stone reredos, and several stained windows. There are Roman Catholic, Congregational, Wesleyan, Baptist, and Irvingite chapels. There is a good grammar school, founded in 1503 by the corporation, with three exhibitions, at Oxford, a blue-coat school, an hospital and almshouses, a literary institute, with reading-room, library, billiard-room, and school of art; a theological library, founded by Dean Stackhouse; a cemetery, a workhouse, and an infirmary and dispensary. The town is well drained and well supplied with water. It has a head post office, a station on the G.W.R., three banks, is a seat of petty sessions, and publishes a weekly newspaper. Fairs are held on the third Monday of Jan., Feb., March, Aug., and Sept.; on the second Monday of June, July, and Dec., and on 1 May and 29 Oct. Much business is done in agricultural produce, and manufactures are carried on in carpets, yarn spinning, tanning, mailing, and brewing. The town was chartered by Henry II., sent two members to Parliament from the time of Edward I. till 1867, had its representation reduced in that year to one, and was disfranchised by the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885. It is governed by a mayor, four aldermen, and twelve councillors. It has a separate grant of quarter sessions, which are held by the recorder; the county court is held here every second month. The municipal borough includes the two town parishes, part of Quatford parish, and the township of Quatt Jervis in Quatt parish. Area of the municipal borough, 2998 acres; of the civil parish�St Leonard, 570 ; and St Mary Magdalene, 598; population of the municipal borough, 5865 ; and of the civil parish�St Leonard, 2821; and St Mary Magdalene, 2603. The two parishes are St Mary Magdalene or Low town parish and St Leonard or High town parish; population of ecclesiastical parish of St Leonard, 2809 ; of St Mary Magdalene, 2615. The livings are both rectories in the diocese of Hereford ; gross value of St Mary Magdalene, £240 with residence ; gross value of St Leonard, £280 with residence.
