Bridgnorth, Shropshire
Historical Description
Bridgnorth, a market-town, municipal borough, the head of a poor-law union and of a county court district, and of three parishes and a township, comprising the municipal borough, in Salop. The town stands on the river Severn, 10 miles S by W of Shifnal, 13½ SW by W of Wolverhampton, 14 S by E of Wellington, 139 by road, and 150 by railway from London. The town was founded by Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great, and was anciently called Brugge or Bruges. A castle was built by Ethelfleda, the site of which is supposed to be in the adjoining parish of Oldbury. A new castle of great strength was erected in 1098 by Robert de Belesme, Earl of Shrewsbury, on the summit of a lofty and precipitous rock above the Severn. Henry I. speedily took the castle, and made it a royal fortress. Henry II. visited it, and Oliver Cromwell narrowly escaped death beneath its walls. Thomas a Beckett lodged in it. John made several visits, and conferred a charter on the town. It subsequently received visits from several kings. Charles I. came to it at the commencement of the great disasters of his reign, and pronounced the promenade, called the Castle Walk, connected with it, the finest walk in his kingdom. The Parliamentarians in 1646 laid siege to it, obtained possession of it at the end of three weeks by capitulation, and then dismantled it, and blew up its fortifications. Nearly the whole of the town was burned to the ground during the siege. Little remains, now of the castle except a tower 70 feet high, leaning out of the perpendicular at an angle of 13 degrees. Henry IV. is represented as saying, in reference to his rendezvous (just before the battle of Shrewsbury)-" On Wednesday next, Harry, you shall set forward; On Thursday, we ourselves will march; our meeting Is Bridgnorth: and Harry, you shall march Through Gloucestershire; by which account, Our business valued, some twelve days hence Our general forces at Bridgnorth shall meet."
Shakespeare, Henry IV., act iii. scene 2.
The town is divided by the Severn into two portions, called the Upper and the Lower. The upper portion is on the right bank, on the sides and summit of a red sandstone rock, rising 180 feet above the level of the river, and presents a remarkably picturesque appearance. The houses rest on the live rock, and in some instances cellars and cottages are hewn out of it; a hollow way, called the " Stoneway" 20 feet deep, goes down the slope of the rock to the river; and a railed terrace, cut along the front of the bluff, wenda above gardens and around the castle's site, and commands a splendid view. The High Street is spacious, and once had "rows" as at Chester. A handsome bridge, with seven arches, crosses the Severn. The town-hall, in the middle of High Street, was built in 1652, and is a half-timbered building supported by pillars; it is used for the transaction of municipal business, magistrates' meetings, and quarter sessions. It was restored and embellished with stained glass windows in 1887-88 as a memorial of the Queen's Jubilee. The agricultural hall, built in 1867, has a large room for concerts, public meetings, &c. The market-hall, erected in 1855, is now used for shops and offices, a warehouse, and a reading-room. The markets are held on Saturdays, stalls being erected in the High Street, and the space under the town-hall being used for the sale of butter, eggs, and poultry. A half-timbered house in Cart-way was the birthplace of Bishop Percy; it has been restored; there are several other ancient houses in the town. St Mary Magdalene's Church was originally founded at Quatford in the time of William Rufus, by Roger, Earl of Shrewsbury, but was soon removed to the castle at Bridgnorth, made collegiate for a dean and six prebendaries, exempted by King John from ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and constituted parochial in the time of Edward III. The present edifice is in the Ionic style, has a tower and cupola, and was erected in 1792 by Telfourd. St Leonard's Church is Early Decorated English, was restored in 1862, consists of nave, chancel, and north and south aisles, with a western pinnacled tower rebuilt in 1870; the nave with aisles is 91 feet wide; it contains a carved oak pulpit, a handsomely carved stone reredos, and several stained windows. There are Roman Catholic, Congregational, Wesleyan, Baptist, and Irvingite chapels. There is a good grammar school, founded in 1503 by the corporation, with three exhibitions, at Oxford, a blue-coat school, an hospital and almshouses, a literary institute, with reading-room, library, billiard-room, and school of art; a theological library, founded by Dean Stackhouse; a cemetery, a workhouse, and an infirmary and dispensary. The town is well drained and well supplied with water. It has a head post office, a station on the G.W.R., three banks, is a seat of petty sessions, and publishes a weekly newspaper. Fairs are held on the third Monday of Jan., Feb., March, Aug., and Sept.; on the second Monday of June, July, and Dec., and on 1 May and 29 Oct. Much business is done in agricultural produce, and manufactures are carried on in carpets, yarn spinning, tanning, mailing, and brewing. The town was chartered by Henry II., sent two members to Parliament from the time of Edward I. till 1867, had its representation reduced in that year to one, and was disfranchised by the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885. It is governed by a mayor, four aldermen, and twelve councillors. It has a separate grant of quarter sessions, which are held by the recorder; the county court is held here every second month. The municipal borough includes the two town parishes, part of Quatford parish, and the township of Quatt Jervis in Quatt parish. Area of the municipal borough, 2998 acres; of the civil parish-St Leonard, 570; and St Mary Magdalene, 598; population of the municipal borough, 5865; and of the civil parish-St Leonard, 2821; and St Mary Magdalene, 2603. The two parishes are St Mary Magdalene or Low town parish and St Leonard or High town parish; population of ecclesiastical parish of St Leonard, 2809; of St Mary Magdalene, 2615. The livings are both rectories in the diocese of Hereford; gross value of St Mary Magdalene, £240 with residence; gross value of St Leonard, £280 with residence.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Salop | |
Hundred | Stottesden | |
Poor Law union | Bridgnorth |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Cemeteries
The Cemetery, located east of the Low town, was formed in 1855 at a cost of £2,455, and has an area of 8¼ acres laid out with considerable taste: it contains two mortuary chapels.
Church Records
Findmypast, in association with the Shropshire Archives have the Baptisms, Banns, Marriages, and Burials online for Bridgnorth
The register of St. Leonard's dates from the year 1551.
The register of St. Mary Magdalene dates from the year 1610.
Churches
Church of England
St. Leonard (parish church)
St. Leonard's Church, which overlooks the Severn, existed in the 13th century and is probably as old as this ancient borough: Leland (1522-52) speaks of it as the sole parish church, St. Mary Magdalene being the chapel of the castle, and Richard Symonds, in his "Diary of the Royal Army during the Great Civil War," notices the painted windows and altar tombs, all of which, however, were destroyed during the siege of Bridgnorth, when nearly the whole high town was consumed by fire: in 1860 the church, with the exception of the chancel, was largely restored, the south aisle being erected by J. Pritchard esq. in memory of his brother, and the north aisle added from traces of the ancient chapel still remaining: the galleries and ceiling were removed and the interior reseated at a total cost of £9,000: the church is now an edifice of stone in the Decorated English style, consisting of chancel, wide nave of six bays, aisles, a polygonal structure with high-pitched roof on the north-east containing the Stackhouse library, south porch and a western tower with spired turret pinnacles, rebuilt in 1870 and containing a clock with chimes and 8 bells: the width of the church is remarkable, the nave being 40 feet wide, or with the aisles 91 feet, dimensions attained by only four English cathedrals: the fine oak hammer-beam roof is of Caroline date, and was opened in 1860: the organ was built in 1885 at a cost of £1,300: the reredos, erected in 1882, is a memorial to the Rev. G. Bellett, for 35 years incumbent, who died in 1889: the stained east window is a memorial to the Rev. Thomas Rowley D.D. formerly head master of the Grammar school here, and there are other stained windows in the south aisle and porch: in the church is preserved the sword of Colonel Billingsley, commander of the town regiment in the service of Charles I. who fell in St. Leonard's churchyard March 31st, 1646: there are some quaint cast-iron tombstones, and a metal chalice and paten, probably of the 14th century, found in the hands of a skeleton, buried in the monastery of the Grey Friars; an oak arm-chair, formerly belonging to Bishop Heber, and a library of works on Divinity, mostly collected by the Rev. Richard Corner and the Rev. Hugh Stackhouse, formerly head master of the Grammar school, in the 17th and 18th centuries: carved oak choir stalls were erected in 1891 at a cost of £500: in the north aisle are memorial windows to Mr. R. C. Smith, d. Feb. 1, 1892, and to Mr. Thomas Whitefoot, d. 1900: in 1894 the font was presented as a memorial to John Pritchard esq. formerly M.P. for the borough: the south aisle was fitted up as a chapel in 1898, in memory of Mrs. Oldham, wife of the late Ven. A. L. Oldham M.A. rector here 1883-1905; it contains some exquisite wood carving, a triptych and metal work.
St. Mary Magdalene, East Castle Street
The church of St. Mary Magdalene, East Castle street, erected in 1792, near the site of the old castle, on an eminence commanding a very extensive view of the surrounding country, is an edifice of white freestone, in the Classic style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles and a square tower relieved by columns and a projecting cornice, and surmounted by an octagonal clock chamber with dials, and a cupola; in the tower are 6 bells; in Sept. 1899, a new clock and chimes of 3 bells were presented to the church by William Henry Foster esq. in commemoration of his silver wedding: the chancel was enlarged in 1876 from designs by the late Sir A. W. Blomfield A.R.A., F.S.A. at a cost of £3,080, and contains three stained windows, two of which are memorials respectively to the late Colonel Wyndham and Mrs. Elizabeth Sparkes: the pulpit of carved oak was presented by Marianne Vickers in memory of her brother, Henry Vickers, who died Jan. 1887: in the same year a brass lectern was placed in the church by subscription; in 1882 a chancel screen of Bath stone with panels of Devonshire marble was erected in memory of Jane Walker, of Oldbury, d. 10 March, 1880: the present church occupies the site of a much earlier building, which stood within the Castle walls and was a collegiate church, with a dean and five prebendaries: it was originally founded at Qaatford by Robert de Belesme and thence transferred to Bridgnorth in the latter part of the reign of William Rufus: William of Wykeham was prebendary of Alveley in connection with the old church of St. Mary in the year 1360: in 1889 the two side galleries and old pews were removed and new oak seats were provided at a cost of £500.
Baptist
Baptist Chapel, West Castle Street
The Baptist chapel was first founded in 1700; the present building, erected in 1842, is in West Castle street, and will seat 400 persons.
Congregational
Congregational Chapel
There is a Congregational chapel, founded in 1666, with sittings for 450 persons
Methodist
Primitive Methodist Chapel
There is a Primitive Methodist chapel, adapted from a school building in 1873.
Roman Catholic
St. John's Catholic Church, Northgate
The Catholic church, in Northgate, dedicated to St. John, was erected in 1856: and rebuilt in 1899 on an adjoining site; the new church affords sittings for 400 persons: there is a residence for the priest, and attached schools.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Bridgnorth from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Bridgnorth)
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Shropshire (Salop) is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Bridgnorth are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Shropshire newspapers online:
- Bridgnorth Journal and South Shropshire Advertiser
- Shrewsbury Chronicle
- Wellington Journal
- Eddowes's Journal, and General Advertiser for Shropshire, and the Principality of Wales
- Ludlow Advertiser
- Salopian Journal
Poor Law
Bridgnorth was the head of a Poor Law Union, which was formed in 1836. It originally contained the following parishes:-Acton Round, Alveley, Astley Abbotts, Aston Eyre, Billingsley, Bridgnorth (St. Leonard), Bridgnorth (St. Mary Magdalene), Burwarton, Chelmarsh, Chetton, Claverley, Cleobury North, Deuxhill, Ditton Priors, Eardington, Glazeley, Middleton Scriven, Monkhopton, Morville, Neenton, Oldbury, Quatford, Quatt Jarvis, Quatt Malvern, Romsley, Sidbury, Stanton Long, Tasley, Upton Cressett, and Worfield.
For further detailed history of the Bridgnorth Union see Peter Higginbotham's excellent resource: Bridgnorth Poor Law Union and Workhouse.
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Shropshire, 1623 is available on the Heraldry page.
Workhouse
The Workhouse, a brick building in Innage Lane, was built about 1848 to hold 200 inmates.