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
On the brow of a hill two miles away to the eastward stands the
diminutive village of Kenley, the birthplace of Sir Archibald Alison,
the historian, whose father was incumbent of this parish. The road
thither leads past Acton Burnell Hall, a large, white, stone-built
mansion, vastly fine with porticoes and pediments, such as our ancestors
loved, and seated in a broad, tree-shaded park, very pleasant to behold.
[Illustration: Kenley Church.]
The little church of Kenley is ancient and interesting, having an
aisle-less nave, south porch, and broad, low, western tower, with walls
thick enough for a fortress, and narrow, deeply-splayed loops by way of
windows. The lofty old pulpit, with its sounding-board and curiously
carved oak panels, is a pretty feature of the interior; and the chancel
window, we notice, is of rather uncommon character, having elegant
flowing tracery, and minute sculptured heads outside at the springings
of the hoodmould.
Out in the churchyard grows a gnarled old yew tree of immense girth; and
from beneath its sombre branches we obtain a glorious prospect over a
wide stretch of picturesque, broken country towards the west, with many
a familiar Salopian height belted with woods and pastures, and the wild
Welsh hills, cloud-capped and blue, rising far away beyond all.
Returning to Acton Burnell, we now put the best foot foremost, and push
on again in a southerly direction through a hilly-and-daley country.
Just outside the village our attention is arrested by a pair of
patriarchal oaks rising close beside the roadway, excellent specimens of
the 'Shropshire weed,' which, the rustics will tell you, date from just
after the Deluge! Anon we coast beside a belt of woodland all flushed
with the shimmery blue of wild hyacinths; and then pause at the crest of
the bank for a glance at the distant hills, and the steeples of Salop
rising from the vale beneath.
[Illustration: The Old Gate House. Langley.
Deserted Chapel at Langley, Shropshire.]
A turn to the left, and yonder is Langley Chapel, standing ruinous and
deserted in the midst of a weedgrown meadow, its weather-stained walls
and broken roof presenting such a lamentable spectacle of neglect and
desecration, that the very genius loci must shed tears, one would
suppose, to behold its sorry plight. The exterior is simple, not to say
severe, a crazy wooden bell-cot above the western gable alone relieving
the skyline of the solid old stone-tiled roof, while wooden shutters,
all awry, obscure the ancient windows.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account