Wrekin Sketches

Preface

. It was when taking a last look at the old church at Upping ton, before it was restored in 1885, that I first thought of committing to paper all that I know about the ancient village. I wrote without any idea of publishing my story, my sole idea being to leave behind me in simple manuscript some account of those bygone days, of which I had heard so much, and in which I had always been greatly interested. In searching for accounts of incidents among the few authentic documents within my reach, I was led to extend my researches to the history of the neighbourhood, and it will be seen that the strip of beautiful landscape stretching from the Wrekin to Shrewsbury teems with memories of interesting and touching events. I became intensely interested in the study of local names and their origin.

The tenacity with which names cling to lands and to families for so many generations and through all the per petual changes of time and circumstances is marvellous ; beyond this, I myself have no interest in pedigrees. My short sketches of the monasteries and religious houses in the neighbourhood, and of the lives of those who dwelt in them, may interest those who have neither time nor oppor-

PREFACE.

VIII tunities for studying more extensive details found in the works of more able writers. I have found much pleasure myself in tracing out those links which connect this small corner of Old Salopia with the great events of the past, and if some few others should be interested in reading my ' Sketches and Stories ' I shall be more than repaid. April, 1897. CONTENTS.

Chapter I

'AGE I. WREKIN SCENERY ------ 3 II. MONASTERIES - - - - - - II III. ANCIENT BRITAIN - - - - - 1Q IV. ancient Britain — Continued - - - 27 V. DRUIDS * - 35 VI. VILLAGES - - - - - - 41 VII. UrPINGTON - - - - - - - 44 VIII. uppington —Continued - - - - - 64 IX. UPPINGTON CHURCH - - - - 85 X. LORDS OF UPPINGTON ----- 106 XI. DISTINGUISHED MEN CONNECTED WITH UPPINGTON • 112 XII. WROXETER (URICONIUM) ----- 156 XIII. ATCHAM ------- 164 XIV. SHREWSBURY ------ 176 XV. RECORDS OK SHREWSBURY - . - - ' - - 197 XVI. LEGENDS AND OLD STORIES - 215 NOTES. Note i. — monasteries, abbots, tithes, vestments, church government - 244 Note 2. — julius cæsar ------ 277 Note 3. — penda ------- 280 Note 4. — llywarch hen - 2S3 CONTENTS X .■AGE Note 5. — the sparrow-hawk - - - - 288 Note 6. — personal names ----- 291 Mote 7. — bells ----- - 293 Note 8.— church chests - 296 Note 9. — iona and lindisfarne ; cuthbert - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE view of the wrekin from uppington - - Frontispiece VIEW OF THE WREKIN FROM THE SOUTH-WEST - - 40 THE OLD MANOR-HOUSE AT UPPINGTON - - -66 UPPINGTON CHURCH BEFORE IT WAS RESTORED, 1885 - 87 PRESENT CHURCH, UPPINGTON - - - - -91 I

CHAPTER I. WREKIN SCENERY.

Grey stones and heaped-up earth shall mark me to future times. . . It sends my soul back to the ages of old, to the days of other years.' Ossian. In these days of easy locomotion, travelling has a great attraction for all classes of people, and it may be that we Britons have inherited from our ancient forefathers their roving disposition and that love of adventure for which so many of them were distinguished. We have been called a nation of vagabonds, and it is true that we are ever on the move, spending our time and our money, seeking change of life and of scene in foreign countries, indifferent to or unconscious of the beauties and attractions of our native land. 'Oftentimes,' says Trench ('Study of Words '), 'we pass over fields of fame or through cities of ancient renown with a vacant eye and a careless mind, unmoved because utterly unaware of the lofty deeds which have been wrought, and of the great hearts which spent themselves there.

Wanting the knowledge and insight which would have served to kindle admiration, we are deprived of the pure and elevating instinct and excitement of the mind, and miss that manifold instruction which lies about our path.' i — During the Roman, Saxon, and Danish epochs, Shropshire was the scene of many great events. Here the last great battle for British independence was fought by Caractacus against the Romans. Edwin and Morcar, the unfortunate brother Earls of Mercia, were connected with this county. Here the greatest of the Conqueror's Norman barons became great landowners. Gerard de Tornai, Earl Godwin, and Roger Montgomerie were dwellers 'round the Wrekin.' Here was the home of Earl Godwin's children, Harold, and Edith, wife of Edward the Confessor. Most of the early Norman kings held their court at Shrewsbury and Bridge north, and there was a royal castle at Stretton, the moat and foundations of which can still be traced.

Modern farming has swept away the old winding green lanes as if they were among the crooked places that should be made straight ; turnips and grain flourish where once was a moated ruin or the more ancient barrows, those sepulchres of our early forefathers, of whose lives we have no history — ' dont l'anciennete est perdu dans la nuit des temps.' But every ancient village — and nearly every village is ancient — has its legends and its old stories. It is true that the old story-tellers, to whom the Domesday pronunciation of their native places had descended, are disappearing. None are left who could tell where the ghost was seen, where the stocks and the gibbet-post stood, and how the wake was kept up at the festival of the church for a whole week, when rich and poor mingled and made merry together.

The cross-roads, where once the sacred emblem was raised, are fast disappearing. The old wayside inns are few and far between. Many of these changes are good, no doubt, and that change of scene is, in moderation, good for us cannot be denied ; WREKIN SCENERY 5 doctors recommend it, railway facilities are tempting, and our beloved Queen sets us the example. Still, it is much to be regretted when our love of roving destroys our interest in the beauties and attractions which abound in every part of England, not the least among which are the memorials and relics of bygone times. There is not in the wide world a scene more lovely than that which may be viewed from the top of the Wrekin,* whence fifteen counties can be seen. It is a splendid panorama, extending on all sides to the horizon. That part of the glorious landscape which lies to the west is varied with all the eye delights to dwell upon and the mind to contemplate.

Here Nature and civilization mingle in rare perfection — rich land highly cultivated, over which are scattered stately oaks and graceful elms ■ here and there glimpses of the Severn, winding its way among the widespread woods on its banks. ' The stately homes of England ' are mingled with the ruined castles and abbeys of the olden times, and the towers of village churches are seen beside them in their tranquil beauty. A long mountain range stretches in an unbroken line from the Stretton hills, of which the Caradoc and the Lawley are the most picturesque, to the heights of Snowdon. The inhabitants of this county are called ' proud Salopians '; how they acquired this distinction we are not told, but of their scenery they may be justly proud. In a book published in 1745, 'A Short Way to Know the World,' it is said that James II. considered Shropshire the finest county in his kingdom — ' of good soil, beautiful air, * Wrekin, from British word brekken, wood or forest.

Uriconium is the Latinized form of the same word. and set full of fair towns.' He, like many of the early kings, frequently kept Court at Shrewsbury. The Wrekin is of an oval form, pointing nearly east and west, and seems to rise up alone upon the plain 2,200 feet above the Severn. (This river runs through the county in a circuitous course of from fifty to sixty miles. It takes its source from Plinlimmon, Montgomeryshire and enters the Bristol Channel.) It has the appearance of a huge whale in repose. The west end of the mountain is very precipitous ; the east end is easy to ascend, even on horseback. Looking at the Wrekin from the south-west, it seems to rise like a sugar-loaf, and is very picturesque. Leland, librarian to Henry VIII., who was sent by him to make search of England's antiquities and to peruse the libraries of all cathedrals, abbeys, colleges, etc., where records and secrets were kept, gives a quaint and interesting account of the mountain. ' The Wrekin,' he says, ' of some called Mount Gilbert, is the highest of all the ground of all the country thereabout, and standeth as a Pharos, barren of wood.

There is on the toppe of the hill a delicate plain ground, bearing fine, good grasse, and on the plaine a fayre fountaine.' ' Fine grasse ' still grows ' on the toppe,' but there is no ' fayre fountaine.' A may pole stood formerly on the highest spot, on the ' plaine ground,' but that has long since disap peared. The forests and woodlands round the Wrekin extended many miles in different directions. They were gradually cleared in the early part of the fourteenth century. Uriconium, ' the white town on the skirt of the wood,' is referred to by Llywarch Hen. WREKIN SCENERY 7 The Haye of Welinton (Heygate) extended to Watling Street. An ancestor of Lord Forester held the hereditary post of forester, and derived his name from his office. The term ' forest ' did not apply merely to an extensive wood, but to any territory subject to 'jurisdiction,' having sometimes for its object the preservation of game or the maintenance of woodland.

The royal Forest of Brewood existed then in Shropshire, also Bishop's Wood. These extended to Albrighton and Chillington. Eastward and westward of the Severn were primæval forests. The river did not then wind as it now does through cultivated valleys, and in many parts navigation would be difficult from obstruction caused by the falling of huge trees. Morf Forest was on the east of the Severn. The Danes in the time of Alfred sought refuge here in the winter, and endeavoured to construct a fleet to enable them to return to their own country. This failing, the Vikings made their way westward over the Severn. Danesford indicates the spot where they crossed the river. Shipley took its name from its being a great sheep-pasture. Oaks extending over a space of one furlong in length and breadth are mentioned in Domesday.

A monk named Blethesus is mentioned as dwelling in 1 1 70 in the Forest of Botwood (Lee-botwood). The monks of Haghmond changed his hermitage into an oratory or chapel. The Long Forest included all that part of the county between Wenlock Edge and the Longmynd and Lyth Hill, a distance of fifteen miles. This part was cleared very slowly ; the land being hilly, it was not of much value for agriculture, but later a vast number of sheep were kept on these hills. The greater part of this forest was cleared in the reign of Edward I. The Forest of Shirlot, near Wenlock, on the west side of the river, near Morville and Chelton, was about twelve miles long and five wide. Here the Saxon kings are said to have dispensed a rude but unbounded hospitality. Clee Forest is now in the parish of Chelton. In Saxon times it belonged to the Manor of Ditton.

At the Conquest this parish became a palatine, and afterwards oneof the royal forests. Wyre Forest extended to Bewdley and Wyrecæster, a Roman station, from which the name Worcester is derived. Clun Forest was a great sheepwalk — about 12,000 acres, a fine extent of smooth turf, with every variety of swelling banks and retired nooks. The Saxon Chronicle tells us that ' at Oldbury, which is to the south of Bridgenorth, is an ancient earthwork, called the Old Castle ' ; this relic of British times existed before Bridgenorth, and here was a wood to fatten one hundred swine. These were the forests and woods which immediately sur rounded the Wrekin, until the fourteenth century. They have now entirely disappeared, but the Wrekin itself is no longer ' barren of wood,' as described by Leland. It was planted in the early part of this century.

Until that time a great number of sheep were reared upon the hill, and the Shropshire people were great wool-merchants. Nothing could surpass the beauty of the shaded walks when the trees had grown up. A broad road, which was covered with a soft greensward, was left bare along the whole WREKIN SCENERY 9 length at the top • and the trees as they grew were kept lopped at intervals, in order that the lovely views should not be obstructed. At the eastern end there were two very pretty cottages. During the summer months it was a favourite resort for picnics ; there was a large room in the upper cottage where neighbouring families, who sent their own refreshments, invited their friends to meet them at a hospitable tea, after their rambles on the hill. Railway excursionists have now changed all that, and the pretty cottage has become a kind of restaurant.

The masque of 'Comus,' written by Milton at Ludlow Castle, commemorates an incident which occurred in Hey wood Forest, Herefordshire. At this time the Earl of Bridgewater lived at Ludlow Castle. His two sons, with Lord Brockley, Mr. Egerton, and Lady Alice Egerton,. were benighted in the forest, Lady Alice being for a time lost. On their arrival at the castle, Milton, who was staying there, wrote the masque, and Mr. Henry Lawes, who gave music lessons to the Earl's daughters, composed the music ; and it was acted in the castle on Michaelmas night, the two brothers, Lawes, and Lady Alice, taking parts in it. William the Conqueror made great deer-chases, and enacted laws that 'whoso slew hart or hind should be blinded. So much he loved the high game, just as if he were their father. Also he appointed, concerning the hares, that they should go free.' It is further added that ' he ruled over England with such craftiness, and so looked it through, that there was not one hide within it that he learnt not who had it or what it was worth, and then he set it in his written book; and he took from his men many a merk of gold, and more hundred pounds of silver.

This he took by right and unright of his people, and for little need.' Henry I. cut down woods and sold land at is. per acre. The following document gives an idea of the customs with regard to game and forest regulations in the year 1283 : 12 Edward I., December 15 Acton Burnell. Secure for Robert Burnell, Bishop of Bath and Wells, Chancellor, and his heirs, to make a deer-leap in his park at Acton Burnell, within the bounds of the forests of Salop, and to take deer of any kind, which enter in by the said deer-leap.* Several lakes add to the beauty of Shropshire scenery. One called Beaumere, a few miles from Shrewsbury, is a small but beautiful sheet of water. West of the Severn is Marton Lake, which is about forty acres. At Shrawardine there is one about the same size. Near Whitchurch are two meres ; Ellesmere, which is the largest, is 1 16 acres. A little to the north are three others : Fennymere, Ancot, and Llynchyspool. * Patent Rolls, 12 Edward I., membrane 20, Record Office.

Chapter II. Monasteries

* 'Antiquities give posterity a view of Time and Fortune.' Of the four monasteries round the Wrekin, Wenlock is the oldest. It was founded by St. Milburg, daughter of Mere wald (who founded Leominster Priory), niece of Wolfhere, King of Mercia, and grand-daughter of Penda, pagan King of Mercia. It was destroyed by the Danes, and rebuilt 1S0 years after by Leofric, King of Mercia. About 1080 Earl Roger Montgomerie restored and remodelled it. The remains of St. Milburg having been found, they were brought to Wenlock, and placed in their final resting-place in front of the high altar. May 26 being the date on which her remains were found, that day was named St. Milburg's or St. Mildred's Day, and was observed with great reverence. Miraculous cures are said to have been made by the dust from her bones.

Wenlock was Benedictine, and an affilia tion of Cluny. Walter Fitzalan, Steward of Scotland, 1163, wishing to found a Cluniac priory at Paisley, came to Wenlock. Thirteen monks returned with him to Scotland, and organized the priory at Paisley. This was an affiliation of * See Note 1, 'Monasteries, Abbots,' etc. Wenlock, as was also Dudley Priory. Little Wenlock was dedicated to St. Milburg. Buildwas, a Cistercian house, was founded by Roger de Cludon, Bishop of Chester, 1135. He joined the Crusades and died at Antioch. King Stephen, 1139, gave and con firmed to God and the church of St. Ceadde, and to the abbots and monks, their estate, as Roger, Bishop of Chester, had given it, and granted them immunities and divers stones of great value. Walter de Dunstanville and Robert Corbett were benefactors.

It was valued at 13s. 7d. Hugh, Bishop of Coventry, gave the monks of Buildwas an inn for their reception when they came thither. Haghmond, an Augustinian monastery, was founded 1100 by William Fitzalan. In 1332 Nicolas, Abbot, allotted certain revenues for the maintenance of the kitchen, and twenty hogs yearly for bacon. Pope Boniface IX. granted indulgences to those who should visit this church yearly, on certain days, they ' being truly penitent and confess.' Lilhshall, also an Augustinian house, was founded 1154 by William Fitzalan, from the prebendal estate of St. Alcmond's, Shrewsbury. The charter of Theobald, Arch bishop of Canterbury, is among the muniments of the Duke of Sutherland at Trentham. There is said to have been an earlier foundation here by Ethelfleda, Queen of Mercia, and dedicated to St. Alcmond, afterwards much amplified by King Edgar, and endowed with ten prebends.

Dugdale, speaking of the monks of Lilleshall, says : ' By reason of their situation on the highway called Watling Street, they are impoverished by the continuous conflux of guests and travellers, who eat up their provisions.' MONASTERIES 13 Besides these four monasteries round the Wrekin, we have Battlefield, near Shrewsbury, where Henry IV. defeated Percy and the rebel army. The battle, which was doubt less watched by many eager eyes from the Wrekin, was fought on the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, July 22, 1403. An ill feeling had arisen between King Henry IV. and the Earl of Northumberland, who, it is said, was not satisfied with the return the King had made to him for the great part he had taken in placing him upon the throne, and Henry had become jealous of the Earl's power. Northumberland therefore liberated Earl Douglas, whom he had taken prisoner in battle against the Scots, and made an alliance with him.

He also entered into a treaty with Glendower, a celebrated Welsh Prince, and was about to lead his partisans to arms; but being taken suddenly ill at Berwick, his son, Percy Hotspur, took the command of the troops, and marched to Shrewsbury before Glendower had time to join him Percy fell in the fierce battle, and 2,300 knights and 26,000 men were slain. Worcester, younger brother of Northumberland, was taken prisoner, and beheaded at Shrewsbury, at the High Cross, the Monday following the battle. He was taken in flight on Haghmon Hill. Prince Henry, the future hero of Agincourt, fought bravely at the side of his father for the crown, which was more than once near being lost. He was wounded in the face, and the King had a horse killed under him. The royal standard had been three times cast down and raised when Hotspur fell.

Several brave soldiers, habited like the King, had loyally fought and perished, some of them, it is said, by the hand of Douglas. The King forgave Northumberland in consideration of former obligations, and believing he had been sufficiently punished in the deaths of his son and younger brother. After the battle Prince Henry sat at Shrewsbury to grant pardon in the name of the King to all that came to ask for it. The prisoners of distinction taken in flight were, however, executed. Local tradition says that the Queen watched the battle from the hill close by, and that on hearing the shouts of victory she turned her horse, and said, ' Amen, the battle is won.' This hill was afterwards called Amen Hill, corrupted into Haghmon, and now Haughmond. Henry IV. built and endowed a collegiate church upon the spot where the victory was won, and gave this place the name of Battlefield.

The church was dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. Roger Ive, Rector of Albright Husee, gave to this collegiate church, by his will, dated October 30, 1444 (Henry VI.), 'three chalices, silver and gilt, one Paxbrede, silver gilt, two Phials, silver, three Bells in the steeple, three Crosses, gilt, with several vestments and books for Church Services, and divers household goods, and increased the stipends of the five chaplains from eight to ten marks per an., conditionally that they pray in a more special manner for the souls of King Henry IV., King Henry V., founders, for Richard Husee, and the souls of the faithful slain in battle.' A letter written by Prince Henry, in his father's absence, tells of his expedition into Wales against Glendower. It concludes with the words : Given under our Seal, At Shrewsbury, 1 8th day of May, 1401.

MONASTERIES 15 This letter, written in French, is preserved in the Cot tonian Museum. From 1 40 1 the youthful Prince was engaged in warfare. He was born at Monmouth, August, 1387. His glorious career was ended in 1422 through the unskilful treatment of his doctors. He left an infant son, Henry VI., but before he reached manhood the French, under Joan of Arc, had won back all his father's conquests in that country. The following is a description of Prince Henry, given by a Benedictine monk : ' His hair was brown and straight, forehead spherical, nose Grecian, face oblong, complexion florid, eyes large, bright and hazel — sweet as the dove's when tranquil, when excited flashing like the lion's — dimpled chin, cheeks mingling the rose and the lily. Whole frame well built and held together.' He was a kind and indulgent master and a generous friend, but very impulsive.

An exemplification of these special characteristics is found in the well-known story of his striking Judge Gascoigne when he refused to release one of the Prince's favourite servants who had been brought before him for forging money. Our mountains are the only unchanged objects in the landscape ; in their silent majesty and in their ancient traditions they speak to us of the past. During long ages they must have had the same attractions, and from their heights our forefathers must have gazed on many a scene of carnage and destruction which history has not recorded. They themselves have been the silent witnesses of all that has been enacted around them — all that for good or evil man's devices have sought out and performed. In the olden times hermits dwelt on the Wrekin. An account is given of one named Nicolas Denton, Heremite of Mount Gilbert, who lived there in the reign of Henry III., 1216-1272. 'King Henry granted this Heremite six quarters of corn out of Pendleton Mill to give him leisure for holy exercise as long as he lived.' Hermits lived excluded and austere lives ; their food was such as they found in the wilderness — herbs, vegetables and fruit.

They spent their time in prayer, reading and meditation. We are not told that they took irrevocable vows when they ex cluded themselves from the world. After having found consolation, or perhaps weariness, in retirement, some of them probably returned to the outer life. Goldsmith tells us of a ' long-lost Edward dear ' who, driven from the world by the cruelty of his Angelina, had become a hermit — 'While his passion touched her heart, She triumphed in his pain.' But, like many another cruel maiden, Angelina repented, and sought her lover in disguise ' Through wilds immeasurably spread,' where, meeting with a ' gentle hermit,' she confessed her sin and her repentance. He, discovering in her his cruel Angelina, ' clasp'd her to his breast. The wondering fair one turned to chide : 'Twas Edward's self that prest.' And they lived happily together ever after on the banks of the Tyne, where dwelt her noble father.

As early as the second century societies were formed for MONASTERIES 17 the purpose of living together under discipline and religious rule. Some of them, finding this life too distracting, with drew, secluding themselves entirely, living in the most inaccessible solitude. Wanderers sometimes left their soli tude to go on missions to their fellow-men. At a later time itinerant monks travelled about, taking an ass to carry their books for service. Warriors and huntsmen sometimes lived in caves on mountains and in forests, but their habits and lives differed much from those of the hermits. The story of ' Ronan's Cave,' told by Ossian, describes their manner of life : ' One day, when tired of the chase, and mist had con cealed their friends, Comal and the daughter of Conloch met in the cave of Ronan.

It was the wonted haunt of Comal. Its sides were hung with his arms. A hundred shields were there, a hundred helms of shining steel. ' " Rest here," he said, " my love ! Galbina, thou light of the cave of Ronan ! A deer appears on Mora's brow. I go, but will soon return." ' " I fear," she said, "dark Grumal, my foe. He haunts the cave of Ronan." ' " I will soon come back, my love.' ' In his absence, to try his love, she clothed herself in his armour, and strode forth from the cave to meet him. He thought it was his foe. He drew his bow. The arrow flew. Galbina fell in blood. He ran with wildness in his steps, calling the daughter of Conloch, but no answer came. And then he discovered that the fatal arrow had killed her : he sunk upon her breast. " Oh, Conloch's daughter ! is it thou ?" ' The hunters found the hapless pair.

He afterwards walked the mountain ; but weary and silent were his steps round the dark dwelling of his love. He fought, but who could kill the mighty Comal ? Then he threw away his shield. An arrow pierced his heart.' These caves were used sometimes for rendezvous, some times for concealment ; but their inhabitants had none of the hermit's pity for ' the flocks that ranged the mountain's side.' It is from these simple stories that we learn much about the habits and lives of our forefathers.

Chapter III. Ancient Britain

How manie great ones may remembered be, "Which in their daies most famouslie did florish, Of whom no word we heare nor signe now see But as things wipt out with a sponge to perish.' Spenser : Ruins of Time. There are many traditions relating to the roads which traverse the vale beneath the Wrekin. Paved roads were first made by the Romans, and were objects of wonder to the Britons. The road from Craven Arms to Bishop's Castle is said to have been the first paved road made in Britain, ' very long ago, to cross the sea.' Watling Street,* which runs along the vale parallel with the Wrekin, part of which still gives its name to a street in London, near St. Paul's, is said to have been made by a British King, named Watla, who gave it his own name. The present road, however, was made by the Romans, and might have taken its name from being fenced on either side by stakes interwoven with smaller wood.

These fences were called ' wattling,' and are still in use. On our coasts such fences are frequently used as breakwaters. But if the Britons knew not the art of paving until they learnt it from the Romans, they used chariots, and must have had roads. * Sbteet= stratum ; hence Stretton. 2 — Good well-made roads were not general in England until the present century.* We might therefore infer from this fact that, except in the construction of the great high roads, the British method was more usually followed than that of the Romans. In the present day, those who drive in Cornwall will know that if it is needful to leave the main roads, which are the best in England, being paved with granite, anything but walking, or riding a safe horse, is dangerous. It has been the custom of many historians to represent the Britons, when they were conquered by the Romans, as little better than barbarians ; but accounts gathered from the ancient records of the Tyrian mariners, who visited our shores long ages before that time, give us a very different impression.

One of our local historianst says that ' many years before the Roman invasion Britain was noted for the fertility of her soil, the industry of her population, and bore the character of an agricultural community. And the in vigorating climate is said to have always been favourable to the inventive faculties. The natives were probably in many respects less advanced than their conquerors ; but they had cultivated their natural talents, and were, no doubt, as civilized in their peaceful isolation with the learned Druid priests who instructed them as were other Europeans of this time. The fact that they were skilled in war is proved by their having brought great forces into action when they drove back the invaders from our shores, and Queen Boadicea raised enormous armies to meet in battle the foes who had succeeded in landing. * See Sir W. Pulteney's 'Visit to Uppington,' 17S4. t Botfield.