Whitchurch Town Trail: Bark Hill

Clearly shown on the Town Map of 1761, this street is a short hill leading south-west from the point where Watergate becomes Dodington. At its summit is a crossroads where Alkington Road, Highgate and Rosemary Lane meet. Here, on the right, stands the British Telecom exchange building on land which was once an orchard. TC Duggan (History of Whitchurch, Shropshire, 1935) lists Bark Hill and Rosemary Lane among ‘streets with names whose origin is obscure’. The name may be connected with the oak bark used in tanning leather. The street has one Listed Building.

On entering the street, immediately on the left at a first floor window there is a small cast iron balcony, probably made at WH Smith and Co’s local foundry. Whitchurch formerly had a wealth of cast iron railings on its streets, mostly collected for their metal value during World War II.

A few yards further up, on the right hand side, is a terrace of seven houses, Numbers 13-27. The stone plaque in the centre of the terrace reads “EPT 1897” for EP Thompson, a 19th century benefactor of Whitchurch and owner of Pauls Moss, who had the houses built to accommodate members of his domestic staff.

- Edward Phillips Thompson: wealthy son of a Liverpool banker, with family connections in Whitchurch.

- Had Pauls Moss built as his magnificent town mansion, and Fountain House at the end of Dodington for his butler.

- Local Councillor, JP from 1903, died 1924.

- Endowed the Whitchurch Public Library, Reading Room, Art Gallery and Museum where the Caldecott Library stands today.

Shops and Trades

Early shoe-maker and clogger Richard Edge of Bark Hill (1653-67)

Sharpes Butchers at 31 High Street was a butcher’s shop for over 100 years. First family member mentioned in records is George Sharpes who had ‘a shop in Bark Hill 1877.’

Robert B Jones, founder and proprietor of The Whitchurch Herald (born 1818), may have been its first editor. Robert Furber, who succeeded him in 1881, ran a private school at No 26 Bark Hill, where the young Edward German was one of his pupils.

One of the last Whitchurch cabinet makers Thomas Peake and Sons occupied 1 Bark Hill during the late 1930s and1940s.

Find out more about the towns trades and services from
RB James: Shops and Shopkeepers of Whitchurch (WHAG, 1998)

Pubs - Past and Present

New Inn: The site of No 26 is shown in the 1797 Directory as occupied by Elizabeth Dawson. Occupation passed to Samuel Chesters (1822), owner of a malt kiln nearby, Richard Bradshaw (1835), Robert Boys (1850) and Samuel Yarwood (1869). Auction details of 1869 state that there was good stabling for 20 horses, but that is the last record of it.

Sign of the Cross Keys: At the bottom of the hill, first listed 1761 under Elizabeth Gorsuch, but apparently ceased to exist at some time between 1780 and 1790.

Plume of Feathers: First listed 1822, the building not dateable earlier than 1800. Offered accommodation for 6 lodgers and stabling for 3 horses (night) and 6 (day). Building demolished c.2003.

Find out more about Whitchurch’s alehouses and inns from
RB James: Old Inns of Whitchurch (WHAG, 1997)

Listed Buildings

The single Listed Building of Bark Hill
Number 28 (Bark Hill House)

Despite its 20th century stucco frontage, built between 1680 and 1700. It is timber-framed, front and rear, under a plain tiled roof with three gabled dormer windows, one larger than the other two.

English Heritage’s description (1951) comments that the interior has ‘many fixtures and fittings of c.1700’. The oak dog-leg staircase would be included in that category, possibly the outstanding feature of the house, with double-twisted open barley-sugar balusters. All its internal partitions are timber-framed.

Both end gables are of brick, like Ellesmere House at 28 Dodington, signalling the developing tendency to move from timber-framing to brick construction in Whitchurch. The overall plan and many design details of the two houses are very similar. English Heritage state:

This is a particularly interesting example of a late use of timber framing,
in a house in all other respects (except perhaps for the staircase) typical
of its date. No 28 Dodington is another example of late timber framing and
both buildings may be the work of the same builder.

Mrs Moran’s study corroborates this view.

Find out more about the construction and internal features of the house
from the English Heritage listing statement and from Madge Moran:
Vernacular Buildings of Whitchurch and Area (Logaston Press,1999)

The Title Deeds: Summary of some noteworthy findings

Deed of 24 September 1762: Duke of Bridgwater sells the house to ‘Thomas Jenks, gent., for the sum of £33.17s.10d.’

1775: Jenks sells it to ‘Richard Payne, a cheese factor, for £400.

1778: On Payne’s death, sold for £370 to Robert Clay, proprietor of The White Lion, Watergate, who let the house to tenants.

Deeds dated 1797 to 1820 mention a malt kiln several times, the Birmingham Fire Office insurance certificate being the most recent.

Major Charles Shirreff was one tenant, officer in charge of French prisoners of war quartered in Whitchurch during the Napoleonic Wars. He was also principally responsible for introducing freemasonry to the town.

1823: Mrs Elizabeth Mayow, owner of the house since 1818, purchases nearby farmyard, buildings and garden, bringing the house and adjacent land parcels under single ownership for the first time.

1915: House bought by Percy Williams, local builder, the first owner-occupier of the property. He carried out numerous remodelling works, including rendering the timber-framed walls.

c.1920: Bought by Dr Lee Abbot, then by Drs. Gerard and Evelyn Rogerson in 1939. Latest owners from 1988 are Mr and Mrs Martin Rogerson.

The Royal Seal: On 1st July 1789 a lawsuit heard in Court of Common Pleas for recovery of an inheritance by Thomas Williams against Robert Rider. At issue, ‘one garden, 40 acres of land, 30 acres of meadow, 20 acres of pasture for cattle with appurtenances in Dodington.’ Williams was successful and the confirming Exemption of Recovery document bears the appropriate Royal Seal.

Find out more in greater detail from Madge Moran, pp.67-70, in material researched and compiled by Joan Barton.