Nooks and Corners of ShropshireTimmins, H. Thornhill (Henry Thornhill)
History
Nooks and Corners of Shropshire
Timmins, H. Thornhill (Henry Thornhill)
Shropshire (England) -- Description and travel
From the Terrace, here, as we look towards the east, a large farmhouse
is seen, standing by itself amidst a grove of trees. This is Ewdness, a
fine old brick-and-stone, oak panelled residence of the Tudor period,
deriving its name from the ancient family of d'Eudinas, mentioned in
Domesday Chronicle. Walter d'Eudinas, in 1221, held the estate direct
from the King. Long afterwards it passed into the hands of a Mr.
Fletcher, by whom the existing mansion was erected. Fletcher's daughter
espoused Colonel Berkeley, sometime M.P. for Shrewsbury, who commanded a
troop of horse in the Parliamentary wars. Ewdness now forms part of the
Apley estate.
Near Ewdness lived, once upon a time, a damsel named Sally Hoggins,
daughter of a local market-gardener. Growing aweary of her patronymic,
Miss Hoggins played her matrimonial cards to such purpose, that she
lived to style herself Sarah, Marchioness of Exeter.
Beyond Ewdness lies Stockton village, with its interesting Norman
church, dedicated to St. Chad. Half-a-mile farther on, on the Shiffnal
road, is the hamlet of Norton, where, opposite the Hundred House Inn,
beneath a big elm tree, stand the ancient stocks and whipping-post,
which our artist has drawn for us at the end of the present chapter. In
Edward the Third's reign, it will be remembered, the Commons petitioned
the King to establish stocks in every village in the realm.
Taking a giant's-stride across the Severn, we come to Astley Abbots, a
secluded village composed of about half a score cottages, and pleasant,
rural residences of the gentry-folk.
St. Calixtus's church, rising a short distance west of the village, is
our next objective; an unobtrusive edifice, topped by a small wooden
steeple above its western gable. Founded in 1138, it is of the Norman
and Decorated styles, and has been reasonably renovated in modern times.
The chancel, rebuilt in 1633, has a little painted glass in its eastern
window; and the Norman font and richly carved Jacobean pulpit are worth
a passing glance. Suspended in a corner of the north aisle we notice a
'Lover's Garland,' a memorial to Hanna Phillips, of this parish, who
died on the eve of wedlock in 1707.
[Illustration: Dunvall.]
Upon leaving the church, a meadow path soon brings us to Dunvall, a
remarkable old timbered mansion of the Elizabethan era. Its massive oak
beams display great variety of treatment, and are entirely guiltless of
ironwork, being joined together by long wooden pegs; while many of them
are scored on the surface with curious lines and hatchings, private
marks of the craftsmen who fashioned them, perhaps.
The hall with its open staircase, oak panelling and wide, lattice-paned
windows, has a delightfully old-world appearance, and probably remains
much as originally built.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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