340 ST.AFFORD, STAFFORDSHIRE. (KELLY'S ~eputy chief constable's office is at the County Police .mains, and St. Leonard's, a lepers' hospital, .situated ita Depot, in Park street, formerly the Militia Barracks. the Lichfield road, with a cemetery near Spittle brook. His Majesty's Prison, in Gaol road, on the north side of The priory of St. Thomas the Martyr, formerly situated' the town, has been enlarged from time to time, and in 1878 to the east of the town, on the north bank of the river was transferred to the Government : it occupies an area Sowe, was founded in II8o by Richard Peche, Bishop or of 7 acres, and is now capable of receiving 8,30 prisoners, Lichfield (who was buried there in n82), for canons of' the average number being about 530. the Augustinian order: Robert de Ferrers, 8th and last' The Oounty Lunatic Asylum, behind the prison, is an Earl of Derby of that family, who died in 1278-g, was­ extensive structure of brick, with projecting wings, and is also buried there : its revenues in 26 Henry VIII ( 1534 •S)' appropriated solely to the receJ?tion of pauper lunatics : a were estimated in gross at £198 yearly : it was gTanted, large detached wing was added to the south-eastern side in 31 Henry VIII. (r539-4o), to Dr. Rowland Lee, bishop of r879 to hold about go J)atients, and in r884 the building Lichfield and Coventry, and passed from him to the Fow­ was further enlarged on the north-western side, at a co!!t ler family, who lived at St. Thomas's Hall for several of about £4o,ooo, the additions including workshops and Q"enerations, until the property was dividedt between the­ bakeries. The asylum will now hold about 870 persons. families of Fowler-Falconberg and Fitzgerald; it was sul1->­ The Coton Hill Institution for the insane, one mile from sequently dismantled, then became a cotton mill, and iif the Stafford railway station, and erected in r854 for now a corn mill : the wall of the north transept and it'&'­ private patients of the middle and higher classes, at a cost chapel, the monks' cemetery, the base of the- routll side­ of £42,ooo, was subsequently enlarged, and is a quadran­ of the cloister, parts of the priory gong, kitchen &c. may gular pile of white brick, with stone dressings, in the still be seen, as also a stone coffin by the river side. Elizabethan s~yle, the front exhibiting a central block with The monastery of the Austin Friars, the church or projecting wings: it stands on an eminence, commanding which is said to have been the grandest in Stafford, stood· extensive and picturesque views of beautiful woodland on the green, on a site given to the friars by Ralph, 2nd' scenery, and is surrounded by grounds tastefully laid out baron Stafford, about 1344; Edmund. 6th baron and stfi. with flower beds, shrubberies and plantations, traversed earl Stafford, who was killed at the battle of Shrewsbury, by winding walks ; there is also a large cricket ground, 22nd July, qo3, was burieu in the Austin Friars churcli;. lawn tennis court and golf links with nine holes : in the and on the suppression of tile Priory of Stone, the Staf­ grounds is a chapel, with an organ introduced in r884 as ford monuments in the church of that lion-se were brougHt' a memorial to the late John Dale Hewson M.D. medical hither ; no traces of the building are now known to exist. superintendent; the inmates number about 130, and there The house of the Franciscan or Grey friars, settled here­ are also two detached villas for the reception of special before 128r, was in Foregate street; a few remains may­ cases. In 1890 a theatre and recreation room was erected, still be traced. where concerts and dramatic performances are frequently Stafford Castle, on the Newport road, on a wooded knoll,. given: the sanitary arrangements were entirely re­ commanding an extensive view, was built in r810-15 by· modelled about r8g5, and four new blocks of buildings Sir George William Jerningham, 7th bart. and rst baron. erected at a cost of [4,000. Stafford (ob. 4 Oct. 1851), on the site of the ancient for­ The Royal Brine Baths, constructed by the Corporation tress, but was never completed, and is now partly ruinous;· in r.Sgr and enlarged in 1893, are situated near the centre the south front, which exhibits three stories with octa-· of the town, with frontage to the river and Greengate gonal towers, is imposing. street, and comprise first and second class brine baths, Rowley Park, r mile south-west of the town, and out-· with well-fitted dressing rooms and every convenience for side the limits of the borough, is an estate covering BD> the comfort and treatment of patients suffering from area of upwards of 140 acres of well-wooded upland; the rheumatism, gout, sciatica and neuralgic complaints ; the home portion includes the Hall, a large mansion of stone, baths were honoured by a visit in March, 1895, from with 6o acres of park; the remaining 8o acres are laid' H.R.H. the late Duchess of Teck; the brine is supplied out for residential purposes, and have some good villa• from a well on the common; there are also Turkish, residences : a triangular plot of about 2' acres in extent, nePdle, slipper and fresh and salt water swimming baths. lying before the terrace, has been laid out as an ornamen-­ The Charity Organization Society was established in tal pleasure ground, and COID!prises tennis lawns and bowl-­ 1887, in order to investigate the cases of all persons re­ ing greens ; the whole is in charge of trustees for the­ siding in the district and applying at or referred to the owners, who appoint their own surveyor, at present Mr .. office, and to relieve or recommend for relief all who are C. J. Nevitt C.E. of Stafford. deserving. The office is at 2 Church lane, and is open Stafford O:lmmon, lying notthward of the town, is the from 5 to 6 p.m. ~ole remnant of the large tracts of common land, inclosea The Staffordshire County Industrial Home for dis­ by Act of Parliament in 18oo, and consists of 134 acres of charged female prisoners and friendless women, situated pasture land, held by the householders of the town, and in the Sandon road, -vvas erected in 1878, at a cost of managed under rules adopted in I 803, by a committee of £g,ooo, raised by subscription, and will hold 42 women, householders, annually elected on the ISt Tuesday in exclusive of the staff, which is under the direction of the March. About 6 acres at the sou\hern end were sold to­ Horbury Sisters. A steam laundry, with all the latest the Stafford and Uttoxeter (now the Great Northern) improvements in machinery, was erected and fitted in Railway Co. in 1866, and the proceeds have been applied' March, 1895, and opened by H.R.H. the late Duchess of in purchasing other 15 acres of pasture land closely adjoin­ Teck. The home is maintained by subscriptions and ing, in the Stone road. A pleasant promenade, orna­ earnings from the laundry and other work. mented with trees, has been formed between the Marstoll! The General Infirmary for the county,in Foregate street, and Stone roads. Stone Flat, a portion of the common,.. erected in 1766, and subsequently enlarged, is a large is used as a recreation ground. structure of brick, and in 1897 was completely restored and Coton Field, lying north-east of the town, and corn· enlarged: it is supported entirely by voluntary subscrip­ prising r8o acres, is one of the commons over which,. tions, benefactions and donations, and is controlled by a anciently, the Stafford Burgesses held the right of com­ board of governors and subscribers, who meet every mon. Since 1705 it has been held under the terms of 1r Friday at II a.m. lease then granted, subject to a rent of £12, paid to the· The poor of Stafford have many bequests, amounting to lord in fee, and [28 to the Stafford Almshouses: but about [276 yearly, which are distributed at various this is .!!Uperseded by an Act, passed during the session of periods, in bread, clothes, coals and money; Izaak Wal­ 188o, providing for the absolute transfer of 70 acres to-­ ton's charity, dated June, 1672, provides a yearly sum of the Freemen, which should be under the government of [10 for apprenticing two poor boys• of Stafford, and £5 12 trustees appointed by them: this is now formed into- as a marriage portion to some poor maiden of twenty-one 401 garden allotments, which are assigne~ to resident years of age, who, out of the total number of candidates, Freemen or their widows by seniority, a small rent being­ has remained longest in one situation; it also furnishes charged ~o cover the cost of maintenance, tithes and rates. a quantity of coal for annual dil;tribution. The church­ Under the Act of r88o the Corporation effected certain wardens of St. Mary's parish receive annually £14 from purchase~, exchanges and sales of land and laid out the­ Henry Smith's charity, through the hands of Eiul Ferrers, residue of Coton Field as a building estate. Nearly the­ for the aged or infirm poor. whole of the land has been sold, and it is now almost There are ancient alrnshouses, called "The College," in covered with artisans' dwellings.