. Vanishing England . the Brook it sang :— Men may come and men may go,But I flow on for ever. Mayor succeeded mayor, and burgess followed burgess,but the old guild hall lived on, the central mainspring ofthe boroughs life. Therein were stored the archives ofthe town, the charters won, bargained for, and grantedby kings and queens, which gave them privileges oftrade, authority to hold fairs and markets, liberty toconvey and sell their goods in other towns. Therein werepreserved the civic plate, the maces that gave dignity totheir proceedings, the cups bestowed by royal or noblepersonages or by
. Vanishing England . the Brook it sang :— Men may come and men may go,But I flow on for ever. Mayor succeeded mayor, and burgess followed burgess,but the old guild hall lived on, the central mainspring ofthe boroughs life. Therein were stored the archives ofthe town, the charters won, bargained for, and grantedby kings and queens, which gave them privileges oftrade, authority to hold fairs and markets, liberty toconvey and sell their goods in other towns. Therein werepreserved the civic plate, the maces that gave dignity totheir proceedings, the cups bestowed by royal or noblepersonages or by the affluent members of the guild intoken of their affection for their town and they assembled to don their robes to march inprocession to the town church to hear Mass, or in latertimes a sermon, and then refreshed themselves with afeast at the charge of the hall. The portraits of theworthies of the town, of royal and distinguished patrons,adorned the walls, and the old guild hall preached daily. Y**<A T^c The Town Hall, Shrewsbury 270 VANISHING ENGLAND lessons to the townsfolk to uphold the dignity and pro-mote the welfare of the borough, and good feeling andthe sense of brotherhood among themselves. We give an illustration of the town hall of Shrewsbury,a notable building and well worthy of study as a specimenof a municipal building erected at the close of the sixteenthcentury. The style is that of the Renaissance with theusual mixture of debased Gothic and classic details, butthe general effect is imposing ; the arches and parapet areespecially characteristic. An inscription over the arch atthe north end records :— The xvth day of June was this building begonne,William Jones and Thomas Charlton, Gent, then Bailiffes,and was erected and covered in their time, 1595. A full description of this building is given in CanonAudens history of the town. He states that underthe clock is the statue of Richard Duke of York, fatherof Edward IV, which was removed
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