There are documents to prove that this oak was “_a great tree_” within 140 years after the Battle of Shrewsbury, and was an object of remark to old people long before. It is now a chronicle to the eye of the passing traveller, and to those who delight to be carried back into the depth of antiquity. Long may it be preserved from injury, and viewed as the natural historical monument of our vicinity; for Time has truly Hollowed in its trunk A tomb for centuries; and buried there The epochs of the rise and fall of states, The fading generations of the world, The memory of man. According to a recent measurement, the tree is 41½ feet in height; the girth at the base is 44¼ feet, and at eight feet from the ground 27¼ feet. The interior is hollow, consisting of little more than a shell of bark, forming an alcove capable of holding a dozen individuals; and notwithstanding the branches of this aged tree have borne the blast of many a wintry storm, still it may be said— The Spring Finds thee not less alive to her sweet force Than the young upstarts of the neighbouring woods, So much thy juniors, who their birth received Half a millennium since the date of thine. THE ABBEY FOREGATE. Passing over the English, or east bridge, from which there is a striking prospect of the town and the tower on the Castle Mount, we reach a small tract of ground, comprising a few houses, called MERIVALE, or, _Murivale_, probably from its connexion with the walls. In reference to this it appears that in the early part of the 13th century, the abbot consented that the two plats of ground between the main road at the east end of the bridge should be left void for the purpose of erecting defences in the time of war; hence Merivale subsequently became matter of frequent contest between the Corporation and the Abbey, as to the right of jurisdiction within it. This was not finally settled until the dissolution of the monastery, when Henry VIII. stating the “intimate affection” which he bears towards the town of Salop, and his desire “to do and shew favour to the bailiffs and burgesses,” grants that they and their successors may for ever enjoy all the liberties, privileges, &c. within the limits of the Abbey Foregate, including the hamlet of Merivale, in as ample manner as they were enjoyed by the last abbot or his predecessors. Leaving the National School to the right, THE MONASTIC REMAINS