Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 2.djvu/351

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THE

Archaeological Journal.


DECEMBER, 1845.


ON THE ANCIENT PARLIAMENT AND CASTLE OF ACTON BURNELL.

Archaeological Journal, Volume 2, 0351.png

ACTON BURNELL NORTH SIDE, SHEWING THE WINDOWS OF THE HALL

The little village of Acton Burnell, picturesquely placed near the foot of the northernmost Caer Caradoc in Shropshire, and contiguous to a Roman road originally connecting Wroxeter with Church Stretton, is remarkable both for its early history and its architectural remains. The latter illustrate the Ecclesiastical and Domestic styles of the Early English period, whilst the former offers equal inducements for investigation, since the Parliament assembled here in the thirteenth year of the reign of Edward I. (October 2, 1283), has given rise to a discussion on the formation of our ancient national conventions, that still admits of consideration.

The situation of this village upon the Watling Street, and its contiguity to another Roman thoroughfare, called the Devil's Causeway[1], renders it not improbable that at

  1. See Salopia Antiqua, pp. 134—148.