“ST. ASAPH. SPIRITUALITIES. DEANERY OF MARCHIA. _Church of Oswalstræ_: £. s. d. Rectory 26 13 4 Vicarage 8 13 4 “From this it is evident that the vicarial endowment of Oswestry must be of a date prior to 1291; and in all probability, therefore, so ancient as to preclude the expectation of its being extant, “The Church of Oswestry was, in early times, given to the Monastery of Shrewsbury, and afterwards appropriated thereto, and the rectory and tithes converted to the uses of the said monastery. They continued to belong to the monastery until, as one of the great religious houses, Shrewsbury was, by force of the statute of 31 Henry VIII., dissolved, when its tithes and other possessions came into the hands of the crown.” The tithes of Oswestry afterwards became the property of the Earl of Arundel, Lord of Oswestry, and then of the Earl of Powis, who sold them in 1819 (excepting the liberties of Oswestry town and Middleton township) to Mr. W. Lloyd, of Aston, Mr. T. N. Parker, of Sweeney, the Hon. T. Kenyon, of Pradoe, and others. Within the tower of the church are eight silver-toned bells, whose joyous peals on occasions of festivity give hilarity to all who hear them. A new clock was substituted for an old one in 1836, the cost of which was paid by public subscription. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. A new organ was erected by subscription in 1812; and the organist, by the adoption of effective sacred music, and the choir, by its able execution of the beautiful psalmody selected, contribute much to the solemnity and effect of public worship in this venerable church. The present Organist is Mr. Edward Eyeley. It is stated that the old organ, a fine-toned instrument, is fixed in one of the metropolitan churches. The interior of the church, especially on a Sabbath morning, when a numerous congregation generally assembles, presents a most delightful spectacle. The place where, for ages past, divine worship has been held, and the footsteps of grandsires and great-grandsires have led them to bow before the “throne of the heavenly grace,” cannot fail to exhibit an affecting scene to all who understand the frailty and brevity of human life.