[As Kathy notes in a comment to this article, a recent post on the Facebook Memories of Shropshire group indicates substantial recent damage to the stone as shown in a photograph there. I’ve no information on what might have happened to it, though the photograph below does suggest previous repair. DH, 1st August 2016]
To be found in The Quarry, Shrewsbury, a stone’s throw from the Dingle. My wife thinks that we should demand ‘our’ bit of the park back.
It reads:
This small boulder is said to be the anchor stone of the last surviving grazing allotment in The Quarry. This belonged to the Harley family. Livestock were tied to the stone by a leash of no more than 16 yards in length. These ‘circular’ allotments once made use of ‘the entire herbage’, ensuring that the grass was kept short throughout the year.
However, I’ve no evidence of a direct family link with the Harley family of Rossall, Bicton, who apparently refused to sell their grazing allotment when the Corporation was acquiring land in the Quarry in the 18th century. So I guess we won’t be keeping a sheep just yet. No grass on the patio. [As it happens, we’re now living in the West Country, but we still don’t have a large enough lawn to keep a sheep.]
There is one family connection apart from the name, though. My niece tells me that this is where her fiancé (now her husband) proposed to her. I’m sure he doesn’t only want her for our property. 😉
David Harley
Small Blue-Green World
ESET Senior Research Fellow
Shropshire Blues 