History – Page 17 – TRAVEL WORDS

Thursday’s Special

The Ditherington Flax Mill is one of Shrewsbury’s most important buildings. Constructed in 1796 as the spinning works of Marshall, Benyon and Bage it later became the Maltings and as the first wholly iron-framed building in the world, is the great-grand-daddy of New York’s mighty skyscrapers.

Throughout the 1990s it was left empty and decaying, and various ideas for regeneration have been and gone, most failing due to a lack of private sector investment. Now it is in the hands of Historic England in partnership with Shropshire Council and Friends of the Flaxmill Maltings. Let’s hope its future is secure.

Paula’s (Lost in Translation) challenge this week is Traces of the Past

All Saints Church – Brightlingsea

After visiting the Beth Chatto gardens it was still too early to return to Mistley Thorn so we drove down to Brightlingsea, for no other reason than to see something of the Essex coast. However, if you look closely there is often something of interest to find. Brightlingsea has the distinction of being the only Cinque Port not within Kent or Sussex. It was not taken into the Confederation of the Cinque Ports until after 1353. As a thriving ship-owning port, in becoming a Limb of Sandwich it could contribute to that town’s ship-service quota.

The town has a history of shipbuilding and seafaring. In 1347 five ships and 51 men were sent to the siege of Calais. And ‘William of Brightlingsea’ was in Sir Francis Drake’s fleet which defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588.

On our way in to the town we noticed a rather lovely church so decided to have a look inside on the way back. Continue reading All Saints Church – Brightlingsea

Lost at Sea

Paula’s black and white Sunday this week is ‘Traces of the Past’.

This bronze by Jill Watson was commissioned by the people of Berwickshire to commemorate the women and children left by the East Coast Fishing Disaster of 1881.

The small bronze figures are the wives and children of Charles Purves, James and William Thorburn, three men lost at sea in 1881 from the fishing village of St Abbs. In total 189 men from the east coast of Scotland perished on that fateful day.

Thursday’s Special

The Severn Bridge Signal Box is often described as “a cathedral among signal boxes” by enthusiasts. Found just beyond Shrewsbury Station it was built in 1910 and one of the largest in Europe.

The massive Greek Doric column in the background is 133 feet 6 inches tall and towers over Abbey Foregate with a statue of Lord Hill (1772-1842) on top. Lord Hill was the Duke of Wellington’s right-hand man in the Peninsula Wars and at the Battle of Waterloo when his horse was shot from under him. He succeeded Wellington as Commander-in-chief of the army in 1828.

Paula’s (Lost in Translation) challenge this week is Traces of the Past

Scrobbesbyrig/Shrewsbury: Town Trail Part 2

Leave Bear Steps on Fish Street (1) via Grope Lane to exit onto the High Street. On the corner is the former Cross Keys Inn. (44)

(The medieval folk were quite apt to call ‘a spade a spade’, or in this instance, the heart of the red-light district was called Grope Lane (ahem… shortened from something even more unacceptable). These areas were often found in the centre of market towns, such as Shrewsbury, to please the visiting market tradesmen who came to the town and whose stalls were close by, as well as the locals. St Alkmund’s Place was used for the market until the thirteenth century. Most towns have renamed their streets to something more genteel, such as Grove or Grape or Grave – you get the picture. Shrewsbury has retained its name, but then with names like Mardol and Dogpole you can sort of see why!)

Opposite is the Square. From here you can see several important buildings: Owen’s Mansion (41), the former Plough Inn (40), Wolley’s House (39), the Old Market Hall (38), the former Music Hall (37), and the very interesting Alliance Assurance Company with its Flemish styled ornate building of pink banded brick and grey stone. Look at the top of this building and you will see the loggerheads (leopards or lions) the Salop coat of arms. Continue reading Scrobbesbyrig/Shrewsbury: Town Trail Part 2