SHREWSBURY: TOPOGRAPHY AND DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE To the middle of the seventeenth century. University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. SHREWSBURY; TOPOGRAPHY AND DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE,_ To the middle of the seventeenth century. J. T. SMITH, B.A. THESIS PRESENTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM - for - THE DEGREE OP M.A. 1953. "High the vanes of Shrewsbury gleam Islanded in Severn stream H . A.E. Housman -iv- PREFACE. This thesis began as an attempt to relate the topography and domestic architecture of an English town to its general history, to see, that is, how far the present street plan and surviving buildings reflected the various stages in growth from its origins to the time when, with the coming of the railway, distant influences suddenly became more powerful than the historic regional environment, Shrewsbury was chosen because it has both a wealth of old houses and extensive corporation records which it was hoped would throw light on the buildings, in particular on their dating. The examination of records of all kinds proceeded intermittently for about three years, paralleled by an exterior survey of most of the town's buildings. The intention was to date the bulk of the architecture in this way and then to assemble a few plans representative of the various periods. The discovery behind the Nag's Head public house of a ruinous medieval hall - a type of house not hitherto known to exist in the town - the revelation of the true character of the Old Mint , and the impossibility of finding elsewhere published plans of any town house analogous to those found in Shrewsbury gradually induced a change of purpose. -V- Henceforth plans and structure became the main consideration since so little was known about them, and to this end a much smaller number of houses had to be examined in greater detail. The extra work thus involved necessitated a further limitation in date which was clearly defined by the nature of the buildings; the change from timber-framing to brick is the biggest break in the continuity of architectural tradition in Shrewsbury, The close study of structure revealed in most cases a complexity which, it was felt, needed presentation in detail* An attempt has been made to convey the information about key buildings in such a way that the reader will have some opportunity of checking the conclusions independently. Detailed description backed up by copious illustration is the method employed. This situation, where an independent check can be made, is almost impossible to achieve without writing a series of short monographs on individual houses, and indeed it is highly desirable that such a series should be presented in archaeological periodicals so that by publication and discussion the main types of plan and structure may be established more securely than any other means allow. The work upon which the following study is based was nearly all done during the past three years. Some six weeks at most were available each year for all the fieldwork, so -vi- any inadequacies in treatment should be considered with that in mind. One further severe limitation involved in doing this kind of work alone is the impossibility of making measured drawings. Those here presented have mostly been based on whatever plans happened already to be available, supplemented by my own rough sketch plans. In a few cases friends assisted me to take enough measurements to ensure a higher degree of accuracy. The fact that any survey of this kind is largely dependent on the goodwill and co-operation of other people accounts for a lengthy list of acknowledgments, I thank Professor G.P. Webb, C.B.E., P.S.A., Secretary to the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), for granting the necessary research leave to enable the thesis to be completed; Mr, S.R.H. Loxton, O.B.E., Town Clerk of Shrewsbury, for permission to examine the Borough Records preserved in the Guildhall, sometimes on occasions when it must have been inconvenient to have visitors at all; Mr, P.R. Dinnis, A.M.I.C.E., formerly Borough Surveyor, for help of many kinds, including gaining access to certain buildings for me, the unrestricted use of the departmental office for consulting plans and drawings, and especially for permitting a member of his staff, Mr, W.C. Simpson, to take photographs for me; his successor Mr, - Morris, for similar help; and Mr, J.L. Hobbs, P.R.Hist,S,, Borough -Vll- Librarian, and his Deputy Miss E« Sladdin, for their help in making topographical material known to me and readily available. His Grace the Duke of Sutherland kindly gave permission to examine the Lilleshall Cartulary at Trentham, and his agent Mr, R.F. Allum, gave me every facility there, I thank also the tenants, too numerous to name individually, of the shops and houses described in the text for their kindness in permitting me to enter and examine their premises. Several people read and commented on drafts of one or more of the first four chapters, Mr. Philip Styles, M.A., F.S.A., read them all; Professor H.A. Cronne and Dr. P.T. Wainwright, F.S.A. read Chapter I; and Mr. J.L. Hobbs made many helpful comments on Chapter II. My father Mr. Thomas Smith undertook to complete the index; without the time and labour he devoted to the task, it could not have been provided at all. He also read the whole text in manuscript and frequently improved it. Nor are thanks any the less due to those whose assistance, though less direct, was essential to the completion of the work. Mr and Mrs. N, Coxon, wardens of Shrewsbury Youth Hostel, and Miss Sladdin and Miss Jancey at Riggs Hall, offered me hospitality on many occasions. -Vlll- Lastly, my father and mother have in many minor ways helped and encouraged me during the whole time this thesis has been in preparation. -IX- CQNTENTS. Acknowledgments for Illustrations,., ... .. .. xi " " Figures, ,.. ., .., ... ... xii List of illustrations... ... .., ,,, ,., ,,. ... Xlll n * Figures. .., ,,, ,., .,, ,,, ,.. ... .,, XXV Abbreviations used in Footnotes, ,,, ,,, ,,, ,,, xxviii I. Before the Norman Conquest,,, ,,. ... .,. 1 II, Topography from the Conquest to the Fourteenth Century,,, ,,, ,,, .,, ,,. ... 49 III. The Town Walls... ... .,, ,., ,.. ... ... 95 IV, Earlier Domestic Architecture.,., ... ... 148 V. The Economic Background from the Norman Conquest to the Fourteenth Century... ... 193 VI. Late Medieval Halls.. ... ... ... ... ... 218 VII, Late Medieval Town Houses.... ... ... ... ?59 VIII The Late Medieval Economic Background.... 304 IX. Elizabethan Architecture, ... ... ... ,,. 3*5 X. The Later Phases of Timber-Framed Architecture, ,,, ,., ,,, ,,, ,,, ,., ,,, 363 XI. A Miscellany of Buildings,.,, ,,, ,,. ,,. 398 XII, The Economic and Social Background from 1550 Onwards, .,, ,,, ,,. ,,, ,,, ... ... 418 XIII Notes on the Technique of Timber-Framed Building. ,,, ,., ,,, ,,, ,,, ,,, ,,, ,,. 437 XIV, Summary. .., ,,, ... ... ... ... ... ... 48? Appendix A: Some Late Medieval Halls ... 485 B: Medieval Houses in Shrewsbury. Page. Appendix C: Houses of Uncertain date and character,,, ,,, D: List of Houses referred to in Text, ,,, ,,, ,,, .,, , Addenda and Corrigenda Bibliography, ,,, ,,, Index,,,. ,,, ,,, ,,, -xi- ACKNOWLEDGfflENTS FOB ILLUSTRATIONS British Musem; photostats of drawings by Buckler; plates 6, 28-30, 35-40, 44-5, 47-8, 55, 151. photostats of drawings by Twopeny; plates 51-54. photograph of Burleigh map; plate 14. Victoria & Albert Museam; photograph, plate 7. National Buildings plates 46, 82-3, 95, 101, 105, 109, Record; 114-5, 117, l?0-3, 125-7, 129-30, 132, 148-9, 152, 154-60, 175, 180A, 182-6, 197-8, 209-11, 214, 231-8. Shrewsbury Public Library; plates 49, 50; frontispiece, Borough Surveyor, Shrewsbury; plates 135-7, 179. W.T. Jones Esq., A.R.P.S., plates 70, 72, 73, 187-8. "Wellington Journal 1*; plate 224, H.J. Gornall Esq.,; plate 102. Owen & Blakeway's "History of Shrewsbury" is the source of the photostats forming'plates 118-9, 134, 153. The remaining 157 plates are the work of Mr.W.C.Simpson, of the Borough Surveyor's Department, Shrewsbury. They form an excellent and probably unrivalled collection of details of timber-framed architecture; my thanks are due to Mr. Simpson for his readiness to experiment in difficult situations which has produced such admirable results. -XI1- ACkNQWLEDGMENTS FOR FIGURES. For plans upon which certain of the figures have been "based I have to thank the following:- Borough Surveyor; figs, 13, 15, 3?-34« County Architect; fig. 4« Westminster Bank and B.R. Saunders, Esq.. , F.R.I.B.A.,; . fig, 37, National Provincial Bank; fig,14, Messrs, Worthington; fig,31, Mr. Fred Pook; fig,2?, Royal Archaeological Institute; fig,4, -xiii- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Note: the exigencies of mounting necessitated some of the plates being placed out of numerical order; those which are thus moved will always be found quite near their proper place. Vol. I, Frontispiece: St. John f s Hill on the day of the wool sales, c.1890. Vol.11. Plates. 1* Saxon Cross slab in St.Mary's churchyard, 2. The Castle Motte from the bank of the Severn. 3. Gateway into the inner bailey of the Castle. 4. Belmont Bank, with the old church of St,Chad at the top, 5. Pish Street; St. Alkmund's church in the background. On 1-h. side, Phillips's grocery shop and "bastion". 6. The English Bridge, by J.C.