The quiet little town of Market Drayton, some eighteen miles to the
north-east of Shrewsbury, contains many interesting timber houses.
There is still an old-fashioned air about the place of which the
footsore pe
[Pg 191]
destrian stumbling over the cobble stones soon becomes conscious.
The quaint overhanging gables in the narrow streets are rich with
ornamental carvings. One long range of buildings at the corner of
Shropshire and Cheshire Streets is a fine specimen of "magpie"
architecture. Let us hope the row of antiquated shops on the
basement will remain content with their limited space; for so far those
imposing modern structures, which have a way of throwing everything
out of harmony, are conspicuous by their absence. Nor has the
demon electric tram come to destroy this quiet peaceful corner of
Salop, as, alas! it has to so many of our old towns. One dreads to
think what England will be like in another fifty years. Farther along
Shropshire Street we find a little antiquated inn, the "Dun Cow," with
great timber beams and thick thatch roof, and the "King's Arms"
opposite bearing the date 1674 upon the gable abutting upon the
roof, which does not say much for the sobriety of the person who set
it up. Hard by is a good Queen Anne house standing a little back, as
if it didn't like to associate with such neighbours. It looked deserted, and was "To Let"; and we couldn't help thinking how this compact little house would be picked up were it only situated in Kensington or
Hampstead.