Page 1 of 2 Ledbury I rest awhile on Dog Hill Wood And view the scene where Masefield stood To write his poems of renown Down there below in Ledbury Town.
John Abel's Market House I see Built there in sixteen sixty-three; A house on props - a room above, A favourite haunt of cooing dove And flying pigeons near Church Lane To all and sundry to proclaim That surely this - this Market Place Should think awhile and just retrace The history of a former day Near to the church where locals pray. Where Roundhead fought with Cavalier And yeoman swilled their daily beer, Where Bye Street's widow did abide And tanners beat the stinking hide, Where sheep and ox and swine were sold And bears were baited, we are told, Where colts from Wales were chopped and changed While in the High Street stalls were ranged And butchers bought and sold their meat And let the blood run down the street Until it reached an open stream Where slops were thrown - t'was most unclean. And smelly straw and muck were thrown Where prowling cur ate rotting bone; And nearby stood the Feathers Inn Next to the Chapel of St. Katherine, That noble saint and servant Mabel (Some say she once lived at the Hazel) Rested here to end her times Attracted by the belfry's chimes. At Upper Hall lived Squire Skipp Who ruled the town and used the whip To quell the mob and make them pay The tolls imposed on Market Day. Then came the Martins, Biddulphs, Skinners To rid the town of whores and sinners Until we come to present day And see the church and hope and pray, That Ledbury Town will ever be A home, a rest of sanctity, Where streets are clean and flowers grow And filthy streams no longer flow, Where people live bereft of strife And live a long and prosperous life.
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