Parkes soon removed to Shrewsbury, where he established, in a house called ‘The Franciscan Friars,’ a school for the mercantile classes, which obtained some repute, and subsequently was transferred to larger premises in Castle Street.
He spent his leisure in travelling about Shropshire, making innumerable drawings of antiquities and picturesque objects.
Parkes was a frequent contributor to the ‘Gentleman's Magazine,’ and was a well-known and prominent citizen at Shrewsbury.
Of his sons, James Parkes (1794–1828), born in 1794, practised as a drawing-master in Shrewsbury and assisted his father in his archæological drawings.
Twelve etchings by him of views of monastic and other remains in Shropshire were published posthumously in 1829.