An Account of the Town of Wem. built of timber, and in a different position, one end of it facing the street. In 1677, a slight fabric of boards was set up, which for many years upbraided the town with its low condition. In 1702, the present market house was built with brick, quoined with stone, but it was not finished till 1728. It is a fine structure, thirty feet long, and twenty-five broad, supported towards the street by arches, and columns of free stone. In front there are two arches, two half, and three whole columns, each of one entire stone, about seven feet in length, between the chapiter and pedestal, and four feet three inches and a half in circumference. The lowest floor is paved, but has a border of free stone, and in the middle a flagged walk extending the whole length of it. On the south side is a handsome staircase leading to a spacious room above, which has nine windows, and serves for holding court-leets. In the midst of the roof which is covered with tile, there arises a large open cupola, very ornamental to it. Between the church-yard, and this street there was formerly a court-house, which had three shops under it. This building either decayed before, or perished in the fire. There was another court-house more ancient, which had been granted in the reign of Henry VIII. to Maurice David. Its situation appears to have been opposite to the present market hall, where after the fire Mr. Joseph Smith built a commodious house, now Mr. Green's. An Account of the Town of Wem. Various is the tenure that prevails in this street. Without the Bar there never were any burgages, all the lands and houses being copyhold, till the Jebbs, Cowpers, and others got their's made free by Onslow and Playters. Within the Bar the major part of the houses are borough-hold, but there are some freehold, and one copyhold. THE OLD CRIPPLE-STREET. Cripple-street had probably its name from the use that was made of it by cripples, who chose it for their station when they came to this town a begging on market days, or fairs. At the time of the survey in 1561, it began where the High-street ended, at the house of John Hinton, afterwards of Richard Peat, since of Thomas Chettoe, at present of Mrs. Higgins, now divided into two dwellings. To the west of them stood a messuage, formerly a burgage, which in the times of popery appertained to the service of the Virgin Mary in the church of Wem, but in 1st Edward VI. was given to the crown. Hence we may conjecture that the blessed Virgin had an altar in the said church, and that the rents of this, and other messuages and lands were applied to the buying of lights and lamps, and perhaps for the maintainance of a priest. After the fire Matthew Evans, mercer, built a large brick house on this An Account of the Town of Wem. ground, which on the decay of that family, was purchased by Robert Sandland, who made it two dwellings. The next burgage on the turn of the street two hundred years ago belonged to William Watkis; now the southern part of it is the property of Mr. Richard Allinson, bailiff of the manor, to whose candour and humanity I owe several lights, that have enabled me to traverse the dark paths of antiquity. On the other side of the street was the half bur gage of William Cowper, afterwards of Thomas Dean, barber and ale-seller, whose sign was the Castle. One of his sons was vicar of Ellesmere, and another a noted innkeeper in the High-street, at the sign of the White Horse. The next house westward before, and after the fire, belonged to William Lawrence Dier. Rowland Lacon, of Kinlet, esq. had several houses on both sides this street. The farm house at the west end of it, formerly called Lacon's hall, belonged to him; it came afterwards to the Goldisbroughs; to the Cottons, of Aston; and next to Mr. William Wicksteed, ironmonger and grocer, who at some distance from the street built a high tower of brick, for no visible purpose, as it can be of little, or no use; and therefore it is justly called Wicksteed's folly. Of his administrator this estate was purchased by sir Rowland Hill, of Hawkstone. It is freehold. An Account of the Town of Wem. THE NOBLE-STREET. Noble-street seems to have been so called from some imposition, or charge upon it, which amounted just to a noble. It is vulgarly called the Back-street, because it is behind, and as it were at the back of the High-street. At the entrance of it is the school house, belonging to the chief master; where once stood the house which boasted of the birth of sir Thomas Adams, founder of the school. At the survey in 1561, Rowland Lacon, esq. had several houses here; as also had Thomas Pontsbury, esq. particularly a burgage, which in the the civil war was the town prison for delinquents. The present house passed from the Ryecrofts to the Johnsons, and from them to the Sandlands. The next burgage eastwards was also the property of the said Pontsbury. Samuel Deakin has lately built a new house on the same ground. John Woodhouse was owner of the adjacent burgage, which continued in his family till my time, when it was sold to Mr. Lowe. He had two more on the other side of the street. Sambrook hall was then in the holding of Humphrey Jebb. It was burnt at the fire, and a mean building set up on the scite of it. This Mrs. Marrigold pulled down, and erected a finer hall in its place than Sambrooke's was. I can give no account of this Sambrooke, but there are lands in Wem that An Account of the Town of Wem. still go by his name, and the High-fields, and other estates in Edstaston belonged to him. Mr. Walford's is a neat, and pleasant habitation; much augmented, and improved by him. Two hundred years ago, Thomas Trentham, esq. had a burgage here; next to him Arthur Millward, alias Chamber, had two burgages on the same ground, which since belonged to Robert Hill, glover, and now to Robert Blakeway, barber. The Draw-well, and Mr. Astley's house are the remains of the old town before the fire. The former with a good estate passed from the Cowpers to the Higginsons, from them to Mr. Joseph Smith, who added much to the estate, from him to the Greens, of Stafford. The latter at the survey belonged to sir Andrew Corbet, afterwards to the Jebbs, now to Mr. Astley. On the other side the street stands the Presbyterian meeting-house, built in 1716, in Sarah Thornhill's garden, which the dissenters bought, together with the revenue of her houses after her decease. The charge of it was supported by subscriptions among themselves, added to above £60. of the high sheriff of the county, by orders of the lords of the treasury, being the valuation of the meeting-house, demolished by the mob. That which they have at present is built with brick, quoined with free stones, and covered with Madely tiles. Close by it their teacher has a convenient mansion, not long since erected Hh |