—another peculiar name. In the time of Edward II. the appellation was written Sheteplach, then Sotteplace and Soetteplace, probably pronounced in accordance with the usage of the period, Shottplace. The name was derived from that of the Salopian family of Soto who had their residence here, and whose house—a portion of which still remains in a passage on the left—formed the principal property in the street. One chronicler indulges the fancy that the origin of the first syllable, Shop, Sotte, may be found in _sote_, which Chaucer uses for sweet, and that the place may have been called Sotteplace from its situation or conveniences. Unfortunately we are bound to reject this poetic derivation of the name, and accept the more common-place and prosaic etymology. A few steps from the termination of Shoplatch stands THE THEATRE, at the bottom of ST. JOHN’S HILL. It was formerly called Chorlton Hall, from the fact of it having been for several centuries the residence and property of the family of Chorlton, who were Lords of Powis. The exact time of its erection is unknown, but in the year 1326 it was held by John de Charlton, who, by the permission of Edward II., fortified it with an embattled stone wall. It fell into a ruinous state, and remained neglected until it was purchased about 1830 by Mr. Henry Bennett, who raised it, and then erected upon the site the existing theatre. The exterior, adorned in its three niches with statues of Shakespeare and of the comic and tragic muse, has a neat appearance, and the interior is admirably adapted for dramatic purposes. By way of contrast to the theatre is the WESLEYAN CHAPEL, which stands on the right about the centre of St. Johns Hill, and a few yards higher up is another building formerly a chapel, “hid from view” in a passage, built for the Quakers in 1746, but now used as a meeting place for the Atcham Board of Guardians. Leaving, however, an inspection of these we cross the road from the theatre and walk down BELLSTONE, in which is situated the National Provincial Bank. Why is the street called Bellstone? Some think that the denomination anciently was Ben Stone, that _Ben_ was an abbreviation of Benedictine, and that the bank, which is an ancient building, was occupied by some members of the Benedictine order. Others say that the house used to be named The Bent Stone, from the bent appearance of the large stone which then, and now, lies near it. Others, again, conjecture that the stone at one time resembled a bell either in colour or shape, and for that reason the house, and subsequently the locality of the house, came to be called the Bell Stone, that is, the house at or near the Bell Stone. The hill on the left is called CLAREMONT HILL, anciently Claro Monte. On the top of it there was in the days of old, a gate, as an entrance to the town, which was often called Gatepoll, from _poll_, an obsolete word for summit, Claremont Hill being the highest part of the town walls.