History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Shropshire [1851]

by Samuel Bagshaw

THE HUNDRED OF STOTTESDEN.

The hundred of Stottesden is bounded on the north by the Wenlock franchise, on the south by the hundred of Overs and the county of Worcestershire, on the east by the liberty of Bridgnorth and the county of Staffordshire, and on the west by the Wenlock franchise and the hundreds of Munslow and Overs. Farlow is a detached part of the hundred of Herefordshire, bounded by this hundred and an isolated part of Overs. The minerals found in this hundred are coal, ironstone, and limestone. On the western verge of the hundred is a range of hills, some of which rise to a considerable altitude; there are also considerable inequalities of surface, and bold swells in most parts of the hundred. The soil is various; the land which lies over the limestone is mixed with a calcareous gravel, and mostly fertile; the soil over the freestone produces good turnips and barley. The population in 1821, exclusive of the borough of Bridgnorth, was 12,160; and in 1841 there were 12,282 inhabitants, and 2,426 inhabited houses. At the latter period the liberty of the borough of Bridgnorth contained 1,231 inhabited houses, and a population of 6,198 souls. This hundred is divided into the Chelmarsh and Cleobury divisions.

The Chelmarsh division contains the parishes of Acton Round, Alveley, Astley Abbotts, Billingley, Chelmarsh, Chetton, Cleobury North, Deuxhill, Glazeley, Higley, Middleton Scriven, Morville, Neenton, Oldbury, Quatford, Quatt, Rudge Sheinton, Sidbury, Tasley, and Upton Cressett.

The Cleobury division contains Aston Botterell, Burwarton, Cainham, Cleobury, Mortimer, Coreley, Dowles, Hope Baggot, Hopton Wafers, Kinlet, Neen Savage, Stottesden, Wheathill and Farlow chapelry.

ACTON ROUND, OR ROUND ACTON,

in a parish and small village six miles north-east by east from Bridgnorth, which contains 1,940 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £1,447. At the census of 1841 there were 36 houses and 180 persons. Population in 1801, 200; and in 1831, 203. Sir John Acton, bart., is the principal landowner, and lord of the manor. The Church is an ancient edifice, situated on an eminence commanding extensive and varied prospects of the surrounding country. In the church are several monuments to the memory of deceased members of the Acton family. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Sir John Acton, Bart.; Rev. William G. Day is the incumbent.

Directory.—William Ainsworth, farmer; William Davies, farmer; Rev. William G. Day, perpetual curate; Margaret Duff, cow keeper; Thomas Embrey, farmer; Richard Evans, farmer; George Farmer, farmer; Samuel Littlewood, farmer; William Lowe, farmer; Jasper Madeley, farmer; Francis Powell, wheelwright; John Powell, bailiff; William Preen, farmer; Charles Rhodes, farmer; Richard Russell, farmer; Edward Tipton, farmer; Henry Wadlow, farmer, the Hall.

ALVELEY

is a considerable parish in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden hundred, which comprises the townships of Alveley, Nordley Regis, and Romsley Liberty. Population in 1801, 791; 1831, 949; 1841, 1,062; 1851, 1,041. The parish is bounded on the western side by the river Severn, on the south and east by the county of Stafford, and on the north by the parishes of Quatt and Claverley. The soil in this parish is variable; in some parts a red sand and loamy earth prevails, and in other parts it is light and sandy. The farms are generally large, and particular attention has been paid to draining and the improvement of the lands; the farm houses are mostly of brick, and have been greatly improved of late years. The village of Alveley is well built and pleasantly situated, six miles and a half south from Bridgnorth, and eight miles north from Bewdley. The township in 1841 contained 187 houses and 914 inhabitants; and has 5,147a. 2r. 37p. of land, 122a. 3r. 15p. of which are in woods and plantations. Rateable value, £5,601. Among the landowners are Miss Green; Mrs. Brittle; Mr. John Crowther; Mary Hayward; Rev. William Wakeley; Trustees of Claverley school; Mr. Edward Hughes; Christ Church College, Oxford; Mr. Richard Veal; Mr. Homer; Messrs. Tunnicliff; Mr. John Hall; Mr. William Wyer; Mr. John Stockall; Rev. Dr. Jenkins, dean and chapter of Bath and Wells; Thomas Beach, Esq.; William Beach, Esq.; Lord Standford; John Bacon, Esq.; the poor of Alveley; John M. Wingfield, Esq.; William Trow, Esq.; Mr. William Corser; Mrs. Hand; Mr. Thomas Feriday; Mr. William Bowen; and others.

The Church is an ancient structure, dedicated to St. Mary, and consists of nave, chancel, and side aisles, with a square tower, in which are six musical bells. The nave is divided from the side aisles by four semi-circular arches, and there are two side chapels belonging to the owner of the Coton estate. The tower was taken down and rebuilt in 1666, part of the chancel was rebuilt in 1585, and the south part was repaired in 1638. There are several neat tablets. The church will accommodate 416 hearers. At the east end of the church is a large stone coffin. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Edward G. Gatacre, Esq.; incumbent, Rev. Robert Augustus Wellesley Considine, M.A. The Parochial School, and residence for the teacher, are situated in the churchyard. It is endowed with certain lands, as will be seen on reference to the charities, from which the teacher receives £25 per annum, in consideration of which he teaches a limited number of scholars free; the rest pay a small weekly stipend; about fifty scholars attend. The feast is held on the first Sunday after the 15th of August. A court leet and baron is held for the manor every three years. Stone quarries near the village are worked to a considerable extent; immense blocks are raised and worked into grinding stones for gunsmiths and others.

Nordley Regis is a township with a few scattered houses in the parish of Alveley, pleasantly situated two miles north-east from the church. Coton is a small hamlet in Nordley Regis. Coton Hall and estate have recently been sold by E. L. Gatacre to the Rev. Mr. Wakeley. The house is a stuccoed mansion pleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, commanding some fine views of the adjacent country. The park comprises about eighty acres, and is pleasingly diversified with graceful undulations.

Romsley is a township and village situated about two miles east from Alveley, which at the census of 1841 contained 27 houses and 110 inhabitants; and has 1,900 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £1,334. 5s. 6d. Abraham Stephen Cresswell, Esq., is lord of the manor and the principal landowner. Dr. Jenkins is also a considerable owner; and John M. Wingfield, Esq., the Misses Cresswell, Mr. Richard Palmer, and Mr. Stephen Cresswell, are also freeholders.

Charities.—John Grove, by will, dated 10th of December, 1616, bequeathed a yearly stipend of £10 to the schoolmaster of Alveley, and a like yearly payment of £10, to have continuance for ever, to be distributed among five poor aged and impotent men. For the establishing of these yearly stipends, the executors purchased a messuage, with the appurtenances, called Longhurst, situated in Ledbury and Eastnor, in Herefordshire, which contained 74a. 2r. 4p. of land, and which was exchanged with Charles Lord Somers in the year 1793 for certain lands in Alveley parish, containing 111a. 0r. 27p. of land, which was held at the time the Charity Commissioners published their report at a rent of £73 per annum. The schoolmaster’s stipend was increased in 1800 to £20, and has since been augmented to £25, with a house rent free, and an allowance of two loads of coal; and five poor men of Alveley receive from this charity a yearly stipend of £6 each.

Thomas Grove, in 1743, left certain lands, comprising 31a. 3r. 0p., upon trust, that the annual rents and profits should be divided among the poor of the parish of Alveley. The land is let to several tenants, at a rent of £42 per annum.

This parish participates in the charity of Mr. William Seabright, who, by his will, dated 1620, gave certain premises, the rents thereof to be employed towards the relief of the poor of several parishes in Worcester, Stafford, and Salop, of which Alveley is one. The parish receives from the charity money wherewith to distribute fourteen pennyworth of bread every Sunday, which is given among the poor.

James Bowen, by will, dated 1st April, 1715, gave to the poor of Alveley the sum of £6, to be put forth at interest by the churchwardens, and the proceeds to be applied to the purchase of good books, to be distributed to the poor families of the parish. About thirty years ago this charity was lost, in consequence of the bankruptcy of the person in whose hands it was placed.

George Garbett, by will, dated 19th June, 1758, bequeathed £100, to be put out at interest, which was to be disposed of on the 1st of January every year to such poor persons of the parish of Alveley as should not receive parochial relief.

Humphrey Dovey, in 1700, left £20, the interest thereof to be distributed among the poor of the parish in bread. In respect of which forty-three penny loaves are distributed on Good Friday, and forty on St. Thomas’s day.

Arthur Arden left a piece of land, containing two acres and a half, the profits of which were to be expended in bell ropes (when required) for the use of the parish church. At the time the Charity Commissioners published their report the land was let at a rent of £6 per annum. It is said the land was given to the parish clerk on condition that he should find bell ropes, but the original conveyance, which had been kept in the church chest, was lost about fifty years ago; and it appears that for more than 100 years the rents of the land have been received by the parish clerk for his own use, and he has provided the bell ropes as they were wanted.

Thomas Russell, in 1842, gave the sum of £40, and directed the interest to be appropriated for the benefit of poor parishioners.

Post Office—At William Evans’s. Letters from Bridgnorth at 9.45 A.M., and are despatched at 3.30 P.M.

ALVELEY DIRECTORY.

Ameys Edmund, farmer

Ameys Thomas, farmer, Dunbolds

Bache William, farmer, Leekhouse

Bacon Jno., farmer, Hall Close

Brewer William, Gorton’s Flour Mills

Bridge James, farmer

Clarke John, butcher and shoemaker

Clarke Stephen, butcher and farmer

Considine Rev. Rbt. Agustus Wellesley, M.A.

Craig John, farmer

Crow Wm., farmer, Turley Green

Davies Henry, farmer

Doolittle Samuel, maltster

Evans George, stone mason and farmer

Evans John, farmer

Evans Thomas, farmer, Moor House

Evans William, postmaster

Fellows Michael, farmer, Pool Hall

Fereday Thomas, farmer

Fox John, farmer

Foxall Mary, farmer, Dod’s Green

Giles Thomas, vict., Bell Inn

Griffiths William, tailor and shopkeeper

Haines Joseph, blacksmith

Harris Rchd., farmer

Hayward John, farmer, The Butts

Hayward Mary, Little London farm

Head John, beer-retailer, Kitlands

Hick Thos., farmer, Hadleys

Higgs John, butcher

Hobbs William, victualler, Squirrel Inn

Hobbis Mary, vict., Three Horse Shoes

Jenning William, shoemaker

Jones James, Hollies farm

Lane John, quarry-master and farmer

Lane Thomas, quarry-master and mason

Lowe Thomas, farmer

Millward John, beerhouse-keeper and wheelwright

Powell Francis, shoemaker

Richards Thomas, farmer

Stockall John, farmer, Cookscroft

Taylor Job, farmer

Veal Rd., farmer, Langford

Walker Charles, butcher and farmer

Warder John, farmer, Hay farm

Webb Benjamin, carpenter

Wilks Jos., farmer, Turley Green

Williams Thos. quarry-mstr.

Wood James, stone mason

Wood James, quarry-owner

Wyer Wm., farmer, Cookscroft

Yates William, wheelwright

NORDLEY REGIS DIRECTORY.

Bache Thomas, Esq., Greenfield House

Berkin Geo., farmer, Astley

Bowen Thomas, farmer

Bowen William, farmer

Cox Thomas, miller, Alan Bridge

Crowther John, farmer, Bolthole

Edmonds William, farmer, High Barns

Edwards Martha, farmer, Hubbolds

Fereday Thomas, farmer, Tuck Hill

Hobbs Wm., farmer, Bird’s Green

Lowe Thomas, farmer, Perry House

Marston George, farmer, Barretts

Massey William, shopkeeper

Nicholls John, farmer

Page William, farmer

Webb Benjamin, shopkeeper, Bird’s Green

Wootton John, beer-retailer

ROMSLEY DIRECTORY.

Cox Thomas, miller and farmer, Alam Bridge

Cresswell Abraham Stephen, Esq.

Cresswell, Ezekiel, farmer, Pool House

Cresswell Nancy, gentlewoman, The Hall

Cresswell Sarah, farmer, The Hall

Cresswell Stephen, farmer

Doolittle Wm., beer-retailer

Edmonds John, farmer, Bowels farm

Foxall John, blacksmith

Foxall William, blacksmith

Gritton Jos., farmer, Harts Green farm

Hincks Wm., farmer, Ulet Hall

Leigh George, wheelwright

Winnell John, farmer, New House

ASTLEY ABBOTTS,

a parish and village in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden Hundred, two miles and a half north from Bridgnorth, contains 3,137 acres of land, intersected by the Broseley turnpike road and the Tasley and Linley streams, and is bounded on the eastern side by the river Severn. 193 acres are in woods, plantations, and water. The soil in some parts is a mixture of earth and sand, and in other places a strong loam. Rateable value £4,023. 1s. 2d. At the census in 1801 there were 740 inhabitants; 1831, 666; and in 1841, 657. At the latter period there were 139 inhabited houses. The situation of Astley Abbotts is pleasant and highly salubrious, and there are several handsome residences. The farms are mostly of considerable extent, and by a judicious outlay of capital in draining and other improvements have been brought to a state of great productiveness. The principal landowners are Thos. Charlton Whitmore, Esq.; Lady Tyrwhitt Jones; John Stephens, Esq.; Mr. John Ward; Miss Pilkington; Mr. John Bowen; Rev. C. Whitmore; Lord Forester; Mr. John Lee; Sir John Acton, Bart.; Mr. Thomas Yapp; and George Pritchard, Esq. The former is lord of the manor. There are also several smaller proprietors. The Church, an ancient fabric neatly pewed with oak sittings, has a groined roof, resting on hammer head projections, upon which are carved figures of the apostles. A neat tablet remembers Sir Tyrwhitt Jones, Bart., F.R.S. and M.P., who died in 1811. The same tablet also records the deaths of several other members of the family. An elegant tablet commemorative of Sir Thomas Jones, Knt., is dated 1782. A memorial of elaborate workmanship to Francis Billingsley, Esq., of Astley, an officer in the army of King Charles, is dated 1656. It also records the deaths of various other members of the Billingsley family. Upon a garland suspended from the sounding board hangs a pair of white kid gloves, and from an inscription we learn that Henry Phillips died in 1707 when presenting himself at the altar to be married. The lady to whom he was about to be united survived him but a short period. The reading desk and pulpit exhibit an exquisite specimen of carved workmanship. The living is a perpetual curacy, enjoyed by the rector of Stockton; officiating minister, Rev. John Wing, B.A. The lord of the manor is patron of the living. The tithes are commuted for £220. Astley Hall, the elegant mansion of Alfred Darby, Esq., is delightfully situated near the banks of the river Severn, and presents a beautiful specimen of the decorative style of the Elizabethan age. The house was originally built in 1642, but has been greatly enlarged and beautified at subsequent periods. The pleasure grounds are tastefully laid out, and the park is richly clothed with sylvan beauty. Astley Abbotts House is an ancient timbered mansion, the residence and property of George Pritchard, Esq. Albynes, a good house of modern erection, the residence and property of John Stephens, Esq., is pleasantly situated in a bold undulating district, and surrounded with park-like grounds. Dunvall House, the property and residence of Mr. John Bowen, is a place of great antiquity, and was formerly the seat of the Acton family. It is chiefly composed of massive timber and plaster, and is an interesting specimen of the domestic architecture of by-gone days.

Charities—John Huxley, Esq., in the year 1714, gave by his will a rent charge of 20s. per annum, to be distributed among twenty poor widows. A sum of £20, supposed to have been left by one Litttehales, was lent to a person named Bache, of Bridgnorth, and afterwards to William Bourne, a baker, of the same place, who used to send a monthly supply of bread to the amount of the interest. Shortly before the Charity Commissioners published their report Mr. Bourne became bankrupt, and the parish officers had not applied to prove this debt, from an idea that they had not the means of substantiating the claim. Mrs. Catherine Phillips, by will, 1815, gave to the incumbent and churchwardens of Astley Abbotts the sum of £300 stock in the three per cent. consols, in trust, to pay out of the yearly dividends the sum of 20s. among twenty poor widows on St. Thomas’s day, and the remainder to some proper person for teaching poor children to read and write, and for bringing them to church every Sunday in an orderly manner.

Baldwin William, block and pump maker, and vict., Fox and Hounds, Linley Brook

Bate William, beer-retailer and bricklayer

Bentley John, butcher, Cross Houses

Bowen John, farmer and maltster, Dunvall House

Bromley James, farmer, Frog Mill

Clutton Wm., farmer, Nordley Common

Clutton William, butcher

Cox John, farmer, Binnall

Craig Wm., farmer, Bowlings

Crowe John, farmer

Darby Alfred, Esq., Astley Hall

Downes Edw. farmer, Rhodes

Farmer Thomas, farmer

Hall John, farmer, Raven’s Nest

Jones Thos. market-gardener

Littlewood Jane, beer-retailer, Cross lane head

Lowe Launcelot, beer-retailer, Nordley

Morris Wm., farmer, Severn Hall

Nock Thomas, Severn Hall

Nock Thomas, farmer, Cross lane head

Phillips Richard, farmer

Pritchard Geo., Esq., Astley Abbotts House

Pugh Wm., farmer, Hoard’s Park

Reynolds Mrs., Weavers’ Coppice

Smith Caroline and Sarah, Cantern Bank

Stephens John, Esq., The Albynes

Ward John, farmer & brick maker

Wing Rev. John, B.A., curate

Yardley John, blacksmith

Yardley William, shopkeeper

ASTON BOTTEREL

is a parish and scattered village nine miles S.W. of Bridgnorth, containing 2,198a. 0r. 14p. of land, the rateable value of which is £1,960. 11s. 10d. Population in 1801, 247; 1831, 260, and in 1841 173. The principal landowner is the Duke of Cleveland. John W. Sparrow, Esq., John Hincksman, Esq., and Henry George Mytton, Esq., are also proprietors. The manor of Aston was formerly held under the Fitzalans Earls of Arundel, by the family of Botterels, from whom it received the addition of their name to distinguish it from the other Astons in the county. In the 48th of Henry III. Thomas Botterel had a grant of a market on Tuesday, and a fair at Michaelmas, and also the privilege of free warren. At the time of the commonwealth circular letters were sent to chose one hundred and four godly men to assist Cromwell in his government, and for this county the choice fell upon William Botterell, and Thomas Baker.

The Church, dedicated to St. Michael, is an ancient structure built of stone, having a square tower, in which are three bells. The interior contains nave, chancel, and south aisle, in which is a monument to the memory of John and Mary Botterel, supposed to have been erected about the year 1585. The side aisle is separated from the body of the church by three pointed arches. The church was enlarged and repaired in the year 1830, when one hundred and eight free sittings were provided, in addition to twenty formerly free. The registers of the parish commenced in the year 1559. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £7. 1s. 0½d. The tithes are commuted for the sum of £345. There are seventy acres of glebe land. Patron of the living, His Grace the Duke of Cleveland; rector, Rev. Forbes Smith, B.A.

Directory.—Rev. Forbes Smith, B.A., The Rectory; Thomas Beddoes, farmer, Moor Brook; Richard Bishop, farmer, Norton; William Bryan, tailor; Edward Davies, farmer, Norton; Richard Eddowes, farm bailiff, The Bould; John Hincksman, farmer, Charlcott; Francis Lawley, farmer and vict., The Fox; Mrs. Elizabeth Lowe, farmer, Aston Hall; George Meredith, farmer; William Meredith, farmer; Ann Miles, farmer, Charlcott; Joseph Wellings, blacksmith; Nathan Weatherall, farmer, Haywood.

BILLINGSLEY,

a parish in the Chelmarsh division of the hundred of Stottesden, six miles S. of Bridgnorth, is pleasantly situated on the Bridgnorth and Cleobury Mortimer turnpike road. It contains 1,285 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £900. 10s. In 1841 there were 29 houses and 149 persons; population in 1801, 320; 1831, 161. The Duke of Cleveland is the principal landowner. William Lacon Childe, Esq., and the rector are also proprietors. This place it is said was anciently called Biligesleague, and that an important congress was held here in 1055 between King Harold and Griffin Prince of Wales, in which they engaged to maintain peace and mutual good will. Dr. Thomas Hyde, the great linguist and librarian, was born at this place in 1638. The Church is a small structure containing nave, chancel, and has a turret, in which are two bells. The accommodation of this church was increased in 1836, by which means twenty additional sittings were obtained, and in consequence of a grant from the Incorporated Society fourteen of that number are declared free and unappropriated for ever. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £4. 13s. 4d., now £195. The Duke of Cleveland is patron of the living, and the Rev. Thomas Vaughan is rector.

Directory.—John Barker, blacksmith; Margaret Benbow, farmer, The Hall; William Birchley, farmer and vict., The Cape of Good Hope; John Green, shoemaker; Darius Griffin, farmer and carrier to Bridgnorth (every Saturday); Edward Humphries, farmer, The Oak; John Humphries, farmer, The Upper House; Rev. William Lewis Jones, curate; Samuel Jordin, farmer; Mary Lawley, farmer, The Bank; John Parry, farm bailiff, The Hall; Benjamin Reynolds, shoemaker.

BRIDGNORTH

is a populous and well built market town and borough, both corporate and parliamentary, having separate jurisdiction, and locally situated in the Stottesden hundred, 139 miles N.W. from London, twenty miles S.E. from Shrewsbury, thirteen miles S.W. from Wolverhampton, and eight miles S.E. from Much Wenlock. The town is situated on the banks of the Severn which divides it into two portions called the Upper and Lower towns. The Upper town is on the western bank of the river, on the sides and summit of a red sandstone rock which rises to the height of near two hundred feet above the level of the river. The appearance of this part of the town is remarkably picturesque, and the view is very fine, especially from that part where the remains of the castle stand, where a terrace walk has been laid out, overlooking the Lower town, the river, and a widely spreading country. This walk extends 622 yards, and was much admired by King Charles I. who was at Bridgnorth three times during the civil wars, and preferred it to all other terraces, in the kingdom. Persons visiting Bridgnorth universally consider it highly interesting, and are charmed with the beautiful scenery it opens to view. The town contains many good houses and handsome shops in the different branches of the retail trade, there are also some good family mansions and villa residences, which are ornamented with pleasure grounds tastefully laid out. Under the brow of the hill are many rude dwellings cut out of the sandstone rock, with several caves, over which the inhabitants have gardens, which gives the whole a very romantic appearance. The road from the Low town to the High town winds round the rock, but the nearer approaches for foot passengers are by several flights of steps, one of which called the Stoneway-steps formed by pebbles secured by a framing of ironwork, consists of 179 steps. The town comprises the two parishes of St. Mary Magdalene and St. Leonard, and at the census of 1801 had 4,408 inhabitants; 1831, 5,065; and 1841, 5,770. Rateable value of St. Mary’s parish, £7,402. 12s. 8d. Rateable value of St. Leonard’s parish, £7,635. 10s. 11d. The principal trade of Bridgnorth is an extensive establishment for the manufacture of carpets and rugs, malting, worsted spinning, and boat building. The town, however, derives its chief importance from its situation on the river, and is a thriving inland port. A large portion of the labouring class obtains employment in the navigation of the Severn, but the market and retail trade with the neighbourhood afford the principal source of profit to the inhabitants.

Bridgnorth is a place of great antiquity; it was originally called Brugia, or Bruges, and derived its name from a bridge erected over the Severn here. The first memorable transaction that we find of this town was in King Alfred’s days, A.D. 894, when the Danes being driven from Norfolk, were forced to leave their ships and spend the winter at Brug upon Severn, on the borders of Wales, where they built a strong fort. Whether the fort was destroyed by the chance of war we are unable to discover, but it is stated that Elfled, daughter of King Alfred, repaired both the town and castle, then fallen to decay. It subsequently underwent the common vicissitudes of the country, being harassed both by the Saxons and the Danes, till Roger de Montgomery having obtained a grant of the earldom of Salop, built a new castle here. Robert de Belesme, eldest son of the said Roger, in the time of Henry I. declared for Robert Curthose, and fortified his castle against the king, but after a siege of three weeks it was surrendered, and with the rest of his possessions annexed to the crown. In the 16th of Edward III. the out-liberties of the castle which anciently were held of the Norman earls of Shrewsbury by the annual service of ten marks, were incorporated with the town. The fee of the keeper of this castle in the time of Elizabeth was £9. 2s. 6d. The castle having not been a sufficient defence of the town without walls about it, therefore in the 11th of Henry III. an aid was granted for two years for the walling of the town, and six years after another aid was granted for the same purpose. The first charter of which any knowledge exists is of the 16th of King John, which grants to the burgesses of Bruges and their heirs, certain liberties and free customs, and freedom from toll throughout the kingdom, except within the liberties of London. The burgesses maintained a suit at law against the Salopians, who hindered them from bringing raw hides and flannel cloth in their market, both towns depending on the validity of their charters which were fully enquired into. In the 10th of Henry III. the grant of a fair was obtained to be held on St. Luke’s day, which subsequently became remarkable for the sale of hops, cheese, and walnuts. The burgesses had liberty in this reign of holding pleas in personal actions, and of erecting fraternities or guilds of tradesmen. In the 33rd of Edward III. the inhabitants obtained the grant of a fair to be held at the feast of the Translation of St. Leonard, and for the three days following. Fairs are now held on the third Thursday in February, third Tuesday in March, 1st May, third Tuesday in June, first Tuesday in August, third Tuesday in September, 20th October, and the first Tuesday after Shrewsbury December fair. The market is held on Saturday, and well supplied with butchers’ meat, butter, poultry, and other provisions of excellent quality. The corn market is numerously attended, and business to a considerable extent is usually transacted.

The old corporation consisted of two bailiffs, a recorder, a deputy recorder, twenty-four aldermen, forty-eight common councilmen, two chamberlains, and two bridge masters, with a town clerk, sergeants at mace, and other officers. The bailiffs were justices of the peace, and justices of the court of record; the senior acted as coroner for the borough. The recorder held his office for life; his deputy whom he appointed was always a barrister, and the legal adviser of the corporation. The bailiffs were chosen every year on St. Matthew’s day, out of the twenty-four aldermen, in the following remarkable manner:—The court being met, the names of twelve aldermen, seniors of those then present, being separately written upon small bits of paper, all of them of the same size and rolled up close by the town clerk, were thrown into a large purse, which after being well tossed by the chamberlains was held betwixt them before the bailiffs, when each bailiff according to seniority took out a scroll; by these scrolls the callers were fixed, who immediately mounting the chequer, alternately called the jury out of such persons as are burgesses, and then presented them to the court to the number of fourteen; these being all sworn, (neither to eat nor drink till they, or twelve of them, had made choice of two fit persons, who have not been bailiffs before for three years), were locked up until they were agreed, a regulation which has sometimes occasioned long fasting. At the election in 1793, the jury fasted no less than seventy-four hours. By the new municipal act, Bridgnorth is governed by a bailiff, or mayor, four aldermen, and twelve councillors. A commission of the peace has been granted, and a court of quarter sessions and recorder appointed. The following is a list of the members of parliament, borough magistrates, and corporate body, for the year 1851:—

Members of Parliament: Thomas Charlton Whitmore, Esq., and Sir Thomas Pigot, Bart.

Borough Magistrates: Henry Slater Richards, Esq., mayor; William Jones, Esq., Henry George Mytton, Esq., Thomas Whitmore Wylde Brown, Esq., Edward Farrer Acton Esq., Joshua Sing, Esq., Farmer Taylor, Esq., Thomas Bangham, Esq., Wm Hallen, Esq., and John Stephens, Esq.

Mayor: Henry Slater Richards, Esq.

Aldermen: John Smalman, Esq., Thomas Nock, Esq., Edward Ridley, Esq., and Benjamin Boucher, Esq.

Councillors: Thomas Deighton, James Brown Grierson, Joseph Southwell, Joseph Minton Glase, Samuel Nicholls, James Henry Martin, Robert Harrison, Joshua Sing, Henry Slater Richards, James Edward Newall, Frederick Homfray, and William Jones. Recorder: Uvedale Corbet, Esq. Coroner: William Dones Batte, Esq. Town Clerk: John Jacob Smith, Esq. Clerk to Borough Magistrates: Edward William Hazlewood, Esq. Town Crier: George Evans.

The ruins of a Castle fortified by Robert de Belesme, the third Norman earl of Shrewsbury, are still standing. The edifice was erected on the site of a former structure, but a portion of the square tower now standing 17 degrees out of its perpendicular is almost the only relic of this baronial fortress left. A chapel within the walls of the castle was made collegiate, and had a dean and six prebendaries. When Robert de Belesme held this castle in rebellion in 1102, against Henry I., Ralph de Pitchford behaved himself so valiantly, that the king gave him the little Brugg near it to hold by the service of finding dry wood for the great chambers of the castle, against the coming of his sovereign. A romantic act of loyalty is related of Hubert de St. Clare, who with King Henry II. was besieging the castle of Bridgnorth, and seeing one of the enemy taking aim at his sovereign, stepped before him and received the arrow in his own breast, and therewith his death-wound. In the civil wars the castle was garrisoned for the King, who marched here from Shrewsbury to meet the parliamentary army; an engagement took place near to St. Leonard’s church wherein the royalists were defeated, the castle totally demolished, and the collegiate church so injured that it had to be taken down and rebuilt. The Gates and Walls of the town were thrown down in the civil wars. The north gate was afterwards rebuilt at the expense of the corporation, over which is a room now used for the Blue Coat School. A handsome and substantial stone Bridge crosses the Severn, and stands near the site of a former bridge erected by the Saxons. A portion of the Lower town is subject to be flooded by the Severn overflowing its banks. The Races have been discontinued for several years, but have been revived during the present year. The race-course is situate about a mile from Bridgnorth, in the parish of Tasley. There are Billiard Tables at the Raven Inn, Whitburne street, and the Star Inn, Underhill street. Mr. Edwards has generously granted the use of Trap-field for a Cricket Ground.

There is a Bowling Green at the Hundred House Inn, situated about a mile from Bridgnorth; Mr. George Jarratt is the proprietor. Baths were established in 1841 upon the premises of the South Shropshire Infirmary. The Society for the Promotion of Religious and Useful Knowledge hold their meetings annually in December. The depository for the Christian Knowledge Society is at Messrs. Wilmot and Brickley’s, Market street. The Mechanics’ Institution, situated in High street, is furnished with a library comprising 366 volumes. A reading room has also been established, which is furnished with periodicals, and some of the leading London and provincial journals; Joseph L. Whatmore, secretary. The Town Library is situated in Castle Terrace, and contains 3,037 volumes; John Pinkstone is the librarian. The Public Library in St. Leonard’s church-yard contains upwards of 4,000 volumes. There are also Circulating Libraries at Mr. Smith’s and Miss Partridge’s. The Stamp Office is at Mr. Southwell’s, West Castle street, and the Excise Office at the Castle Inn.

The Town Hall, situated in the centre of the market place, is an antique structure, built in 1682, and supported by pillars and arches. The large room is appropriated to the town’s business and magisterial purposes. The space under the hall is used for the sale of butter and poultry on the market days. No sessions were held in the town in 1646 by reason of the war. In this conflict the high town was burnt.

The Infirmary, in Listley street, is a handsome structure salubriously situated, and constructed with every attention to the convenience and convalescence of the inmates. This institution was established in 1841, and is chiefly supported by subscriptions, and a few small benefactions left by charitable individuals; the Rev. J. Purton is the treasurer.

The Water Works.—The town is supplied with water raised from the Severn, and forced by machinery through a four inch main into a tank, situated upon Castle Walk, which when full is capable of holding about 6,500 gallons. The funds for the support of the works are levied by a rate upon the inhabitants. These works being inefficient for the supply of the town, it is proposed to construct a capacious reservoir near Palmer’s Hospital, six feet above the present tank, and twenty feet above High street, capable of holding 14,000 gallons, and so to improve the hydraulic machinery, as to give the inhabitants an abundant supply of this pure beverage of nature; Mr. Thomas Corser is the superintendent.

The Gas Works, situated on the western banks of the Severn, were established in 1838, by Mr. Edward, of Wellington. There are two gasometers for the reception of the luminous vapour, and a charge of 8s. 6d. per cubic feet is made to the consumer; John Lloyd Whatmore, manager.

The Police Office is in East Castle street; Thomas A. Wilmot is the superintendent. The Lockup is in Whitburne street. The mayor and borough magistrates hold a court every alternate Monday for the trial of petty offences committed within the borough. The county magistrates hold quarter sessions and petty sessions every alternate Saturday, and the borough has continued to return two members to parliament since the time of Edward I. The places embraced within the jurisdiction of this borough are the parishes of St. Mary, St. Leonard, Quatford, Oldbury, Tasley, and Astley Abbots, and the townships of Quatt, Jarvis, and Eardington, and the liberty of Romsley. In the year 1850 there were 721 electors to vote in the choice of members to serve in parliament. Of this number 387 were freemen of the borough, and the rest electors in right of occupation. The principal freeholders in the parishes of St. Mary and St. Leonard are Lord Sudeley, Thomas C. Whitmore, Esq., Sir John Acton, Bart., Trustees of Christ Church, Oxford, Messrs. Grierson and Law, A. F. Sparkes, Esq., Mr. John Green, Joshua Sing, Esq., Earl of Shrewsbury, Robert Harrison, Esq., Messrs. F. and J. Oakes, Mr. John Reece, Mr. Thomas Southall, Mr. John Summers, and others, are also proprietors.

The County Court, St. Leonard’s place, for the recovery of debts, and in all pleas of personal action where the damage does not exceed £50, comprises the following parishes and townships, namely:—Alverley, Astley Abbotts, Acton Round, Aston Eyres, Billingsley, Burwarton, Chelmarsh, Chetton, Claverley, Cleobury North, Deuxhill, Ditton Priors, Eardington, Glazeley, Middleton Scriven, Monkhopton, Morville, St. Leonard’s, St. Mary Magdalene, Neenton, Oldbury, Quatford, Quatt, Romsley, Sidbury, Stanton Long, Tasley, Upton Cressett, and Worfield. Judge, Uvedale Corbett, Esq., Aston Hall. Clerk, Harry Childe, Esq. High Bailiff, Mr. John Lacon Bennett. Appraiser, George Evans. Treasurer, W. B. Collins, Esq.

The Bridgnorth Union House stands in an open and pleasant situation at the Innage, and was built in 1850, at a cost of £5,299. 17s. 8d., and will accommodate 200 inmates. The number at present on the books is 53. The union embraces an area of 68,076 acres of land, and a population of 15,805 souls. The parishes in the union are 29 in number, namely:—Acton Round, Alverley, Astley, Abbotts, Aston Eyres, Billingsley, Burwarton, Chelmarsh, Chetton, Claverley, Cleobury North, Deuxhill, Ditton Priors, Eardington, Glazeley, St. Leonard’s, St. Mary Magdalene, Middleton Scriven, Monk Hopton, Morvill, Neenton, Oldbury, Quatford, Quatt, Romsley, Sidbury, Stanton Long, Tasley, Upton Cressett, and Worfield. Chairman to the Guardians, Richard H. Gwyn, Esq. Vice Chairman, John Wilson, Esq. Clerk to the Guardians, Arndell Francis Sparkes, Esq. Surgeons, William P. Brookes, Charles Pothecary, William Thursfield, James H. Martin, and Thomas Haslehust. Chaplains, Rev. George Bellett, Rev. William K. Marshall, and the Rev. Robert A. W. Considine. Relieving Officers, George Griffin and William Wall. Master and Matron, Seth Bennett Barber and Mrs. Barber. Superintendent Registrar, James H. Martin. Deputy Registrar for Bridgnorth, William Roberts.

The Savings’ Bank is situated in Bank street, the capital stock of which on November 20th, 1850, amounted to £81,045. 2s. 3d., at which time there were 2,167 depositors; 60 charitable societies and 24 friendly societies had accounts with the bank. Of the depositors there were 1,161 whose respective balances did not exceed £20; 531 were above £20 and not exceeding £50; 290 were above £50 and not exceeding £100; 102 not exceeding £150; 59 not exceeding £200; and 24 exceeding the latter amount. The gross amount of capital invested by the charitable societies is £5,170. 16s. 1d., and of the friendly societies £2,672 19s.

The Church of St. Leonard, an ancient and venerable edifice, rebuilt in 1448, was nearly destroyed during the civil wars, but repaired soon after the restoration. It is built of red sandstone, in the Gothic style of architecture, and has a massive square tower, crowned with pinnacles, containing a peal of six bells, a clock, and sun-dial. The interior consists of nave, side aisles, and chancel, the latter of which underwent a complete reparation a few years ago. The south compartment is separated from the body of the church by three arches. The church is neatly pewed with oak, and in the gallery is a powerful and fine-toned organ. The roof is supported by a framework of oak, each beam of which is ornamented by a figure of one of the apostles. The window at the east end was restored by subscription, and beautified in memory of the late Thomas Whitmore, Esq., who by will gave the rectoral tithes of Bridgnorth, due to him as impropriator to the minister of this church, and also to that of St. Mary Magdalene. On the south side is a stained glass memorial window, “restored in 1847 in memory of Mr. Boulton, formerly of the grammar school, by a priest of the English church, as a poor offering of thankfulness to Almighty God for many means of grace and good instruction vouchsafed both in this church and at the adjoining grammar school.” This church had near it a college for the habitation of two chantry priests, appointed to pray for the rest of the soul of Thomas à Beckett, archbishop of Canterbury. It was destroyed, with most part of the high town and church, at the time the parliamentary forces took possession of Bridgnorth. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Thomas Charlton Whitmore, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. George Bellett. The tithes are commuted for £308. The parish of St. Leonard contained at the census of 1841, 627 houses and 2,997 inhabitants.

The Church dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene is a handsome edifice in the Grecian style of architecture, built in the year 1792, of white freestone, at an expense of £6,027. 11s. 9d. It has a tower, surmounted by a cupola, containing six bells, a clock, and four dials. The interior is spacious and handsome, and on the western gallery is a fine-toned organ. The altar is of oak, richly carved. The church is styled in ancient records, “Liberia regia capella;” that is, a free chapel of the kings, made exempt from episcopal jurisdiction by King John, who personally visited this town on his way to Worcester. It was made parochial in 4th Edward III. This church was a free collegiate chapel, founded by William the Conqueror, consisting of a dean and five prebends. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Thomas Charlton Whitmore, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. W. K. Marshall. The tithes are commuted for £268. There are thirteen and a half acres of glebe land. The parish of St. Mary Magdalene in 1841 contained 577 houses, and 2,773 inhabitants.

The Baptist Chapel, situated in West Castle street, is a brick structure, and will accommodate about 280 persons. It was built in the year 1704.

The Catholic and Apostolic Church, in West Castle street, is a commodious edifice, built of freestone in the year 1835. The building has Gothic windows, ornamented with stained glass. The interior has a beautiful appearance; the altar is of stone, and there are richly carved oak stalls and desks for the priests. The seats are all free. “The congregation is under the rule and government of the apostles, being in charge of an angel, who, with priests, assisted by deacons, fulfil their several duties clothed with appropriate vestments.”

The Independent Chapel, built of brick in the year 1711, will accommodate about 400 hearers. It is situated on the Stoneway Steps.

The Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, situated on St. Mary’s Steps, was erected in the year 1832, and has since been enlarged. It is now capable of seating 250 persons. A Sabbath school is connected with the chapel, where about seventy children attend.

The National and Infant Schools, situated on elevated ground in Listley street, were established in 1820. There is accommodation in these schools for 300 children: 150 boys and 50 girls attend. The schools are supported by annual subscriptions, donations, charity sermons, and small weekly payments from the scholars. The income for the year ending March 25th, 1851, amounted to £228. 14s. 3d.

The British School, in West Castle street, is held in a spacious and convenient room under the Baptist chapel: it is numerously attended. There is also a school taught in a room over the Independent chapel, where about sixty children are instructed.

St. Mary’s School, situated in the Low Town, is a commodious building of brick, erected by public subscriptions in 1847, at a cost of £756. Upwards of 100 children attend the school.

The Free Grammar School.—This school was founded more than three hundred years ago, by the bailiffs and burgesses, for the purpose of affording, free of expense, to “all comers,” instruction in literature and good learning, until they shall be capable to be sent to the universities of Oxford or Cambridge. For the better maintenance of the school, Sir Rowland Hayward, in 1624, gave a rent charge of £20 per annum; £4 a year was left by his son; £2 a year was left by Sir John Hayward for the usher; and £8 a year, called the king’s allowance, was also paid to the usher out of the audit money. In 1639, the lease of a house was granted by Sir William Whitmore, at an annual rent of 8s., for a residence for the master. In 1687 Sir William Whitmore renewed the lease, and by a covenant therein, bound his successors to continue the lease on the same conditions, as long as the school should continue to be a free school. It appears that the master of the free school has always received some allowance from the corporation, which in 1726 amounted to £10; in 1817 it was increased to £30; and it was further agreed to supply from the private funds of those members of the corporation who sent their sons to this school, as much money as, in addition to the several sources of emolument before particularised, would make up an annual salary of £100 for the master. For the last two years the grant from the corporation has been discontinued: it is hoped, however, the corporate body will see the propriety of renewing their grant. The various bequests to this school, and the exhibitions at Christ College, Oxford, will be found noticed with the following account of the general charities of Bridgnorth.

Charities.—Edward Careswell, by will dated 3rd February, 1689, left certain lands in the counties of Salop and Stafford, in all containing 1,075a. 2r. 23p. of land, chargeable with the maintenance of eighteen scholars in the college of Christ Church, in Oxford, four of the aforesaid scholars to be chosen from Shrewsbury Free Grammar School, three from Bridgnorth, four from Newport, three from Shiffnal, two from Wem, and two out of Donnington, in the parish of Wroxeter, who were to receive while undergraduates £18 each for four years, after he should have commenced bachelor of arts; £21 each for three years, until he should commence master of arts; and £27 yearly to each for three years after he should commence master of arts, and no longer. In the year 1813, a considerable surplus of the rents and profits having accrued, the sum of £1,500 was applied to the purchase of the rectoral tithes of the Walker’s Low and Walkham Wood farms: and in 1815 the further sum of £1,515. 7s. was laid out in the purchase of 26a. 0r. 38p. of land, with a new built brick and tiled barn in the parish of Quatford. This farm had previously gained an addition of 36a. 1r. 14p., under the Morfe Enclosure Act; and on the Priors Ditton enclosure, in 1813, an allotment of 10a. 1r. 2p. was awarded to the Sydnall Farm. The tenants of the land respectively hold from year to year, and the rents are varied from time to time, as circumstances are found to require. At the time the charity commissioners published their report, the annual rent was £1,191. 2s. From the surplus rents and profits there remained on 25th January, 1820, the amount of £9,394. 7s. 6d. three per cent. consols, and in cash the sum of £1,093. 18s. 1d.; the former sum affording an income of £281. 16s. 7½d., which, with the rents, make the sum of £1,472. 18s. 7½d. as the total annual income, which is subject to a charge of £308. 1s. 4d. for repairs, leaving for the objects of the charity the sum of £1,164. 17s. 3½d. By a codicil to the will of the aforesaid Edward Careswell, dated 24th February, 1689, he devised the sum of £10 to be annually paid to the minister of Bobbington, in augmentation of his salary, which sum was to be deducted out of the several allowances of the eighteen scholars, when the same shall become payable, by an abatement of 11s. 1½d. out of each of the said scholars’ allowance.

Arthur Weaver, Esq., by will, dated 27th February, 1709, gave to his son Anthony and his heirs the granary, and garden thereunto adjoining, in Bridgnorth, and £112. 12s. 6d. to be disposed of as follows:—First, he desired that it should be employed for keeping about 900 bushels of corn, to be bought when it was 2s. 6d. per bushel and sold when it was above 4s. per bushel, and that the residue of the building and garden should be employed towards the charge of looking after the corn. For perpetuating the stock, he desired that 2s. 6d. should be reserved out of each bushel sold, the residue to be given from time to time to the poor housekeepers having three or more young children of both the parishes of Bridgnorth only, as also the product of the stock when not laid up in the said granary, it being found after the testator’s death impossible to comply with those directions, the sum of £112. 12s. 6d. was placed out at interest and the interest, as also the rents of the granary, were distributed as directed by the will. In 1779, by an order, the aforesaid sum was directed to be invested in the three per cent. consols, and the interest is now distributed to poor housekeepers. The rents accruing from these charities are now applied in aid of a free school, called the Blue Coat School, in which thirty boys are instructed and clothed, and at the time of their leaving school a small sum is allowed to each scholar to apprentice him to some trade. The school is situated over the North Postern Gate.

The Almshouses—The earliest mention of the almshouses is contained in a document preserved among the archives of the corporation, which purports to be the presentment and verdict of a jury, impanelled at Bridgnorth, on the 2nd of September, in the 6th year of Charles I., under a commission of charitable uses, by which they presented that William Swanwicke gave to divers feoffees, on the 2nd of March, 2nd and 3rd of Philip and Mary, a tenement and three gardens for the use of the poor almsfolk residing within the almshouses in Church street of the said town. They further presented that Henry Taycock gave towards the relief of the poor almspeople aforesaid a certain close called Brown’s Croft, and seven acres and two selions of land; and William Sparry, by indenture, dated the 2nd of May, 26th Elizabeth, gave two acres of ground in Astley Abbotts, for 3,000 years, to the intent that the profits of one acre should redound to the use of the poor almspeople aforesaid, and the rent of the other acre to the use of the poor of St. Leonard’s parish.

The sum of £80 was vested by the bailiffs and burgesses in the year 1709, with other monies, in the purchase of an estate at Higley, of which we shall give an account when treating of St. Leonard’s parish. In respect of this, an annual sum of £4 is distributed by the churchwardens of St. Leonard’s among the twelve almswomen, together with 10s., which in some of the earlier entries in the parish books is termed “the interest of £10,” and in others, “the interest of late Milner’s money.”

In a common hall order, dated 18th of January, 1768, reciting that twenty elms, the property of the almshouses, were sold for £11, it was agreed that the corporation should take the money, and pay the almswomen 12s. yearly at Christmas for the same. The corporation likewise pays the sum of 20s. yearly for the interest of £25, which was left for the use of the poor people in the almshouses. The inmates have the interest of £100, left in 1838, by Mr. Milner, and of a sum of £37. 5s. 6d., the gift of Mrs. Bell in 1832. Each almswoman has 3s. 6d. weekly. They are appointed by the corporation.

Paul Bridgen, by will, dated 24th of February, 1769, gave to the corporation of Bridgnorth the sum of £24, for the poor women of the almshouses to have a shilling each paid to them on Good Fridays, and one upon the second day of March, it being the interest thereof.

Sarah Pardoe, in 1808, left the sum of £100, to be placed out at interest for the use of the almshouses. This donation was invested in the purchase of £156. 3s. 3d. consols, the dividends of which being £4. 12s. per annum, which sum, after deducting charges, is divided among the twelve poor women in January and July, in shares of 3s. 10d. each.

Mr. Clark left 10s. for a sermon on the 11th day of January, and three shillings to be given in bread the same day.

William Taylor, by will, dated 6th of February, 1735, directed that every person who should hereafter be an owner of his two freehold messuages, land, and premises, with the appurtenances, situated in High street, in the parish of St. Leonard’s, should yearly for ever provide a dinner on the 26th of December, for the poor persons called almshouse-women; or, in default, he ordered the sum of £10 to be divided between the aforesaid almswomen, the same to be chargeable yearly upon the said messuages and premises.

Mary Childe, by her will, dated 27th of August, 1817, and proved in November, 1819, gave the sum of £100, to be placed at interest on some good security, and to pay the interest, dividends, and produce thereof, in equal shares at Christmas, to the almswomen of Bridgnorth.

Bread Fund.—The almswomen also participate in the general distribution of bread from the parochial fund of St. Leonard’s, of which we shall give an account among the charities of that parish.

Walter Wrottesley, by will, proved in 1630, bequeathed to the poor people of Bridgnorth the sum of £100, to be disposed of by the magistrates of the town as they should think fit. It was resolved in 1633 to repair the conduit pipes of the town with the principal, and that £5 per annum as interest should be given to the poor of St. Leonard’s and St. Mary’s parishes; which sum they now receive.

William Pulley bequeathed a house and land, situated in Beauchamp Roothing, in Essex, on the 20th of December, 1640, to the inhabitants of Bridgnorth for ever, on condition that they should give £16 every year to two young men or women who should stand in need of it; and that those who had it one year should have it no more for the space of three years after.

The Rev. Francis Wheeler, by will, dated 8th of February, 1686, gave five meadows in St. Mary’s parish, containing 21a. 2r. 5p. of land, on condition that the sum of £10 should be given to the poor of Bridgnorth, as an annuity or rent charge; £10 per annum for a sermon to be preached by the minister of St. Leonard’s on the feast of St. James. And having further charged the lands with an annuity of 50s. yearly to the curate of Masemoor, and 10s. to the poor of Willey, he directed that if the rent of the premises should be improved, the increase of the rents should solely redound to the settled public preachers of Bridgnorth. The premises were let in 1818 for a rent of £102. 2s. 6d., which, after deducting the rent charges, left the sum of £44. 11s. 3d. to each of the two ministers, subject to occasional expenses for repairs.

The Spinners’ Money—It seems that the sum of £215 is in the hands of the corporation (which was left by Mr. Blakeway, Mr. Lamb, and Mr. Elliot, for the use of the spinners and carders), for which is paid the small sum of £3. 18s, 4d. yearly, as interest, which is divided among the poor of the town.—Bridge Lands: There are several tenements in Bridgnorth, the rents of which are applied to the repair of the bridge, but when and by whom left is unknown. The annual rents amount to £18. 7s. 2d.

Charities of the Upper Town.—Palmer’s Hospital.—The Rev. Francis Palmer, by will, dated 2nd September, 1680, bequeathed the sum of £800, to be laid out in the purchase of free lands in or near the county of Salop, of the clear yearly value of £30 per annum; and he also willed that his executors should cause to be erected an almshouse containing ten distinct rooms for ten several poor widows of the Upper Town, such as should frequent the church, and to allow each of them the sum of £3 per annum, save only repairs to be deducted. The executors purchased an estate in Hopton Wafers, containing 111a. 3r. 32p., which was let in 1807, at a rent of £93. 6s. per annum; by a valuation of premises made when the Charity Commissioners published their report it was found that the annual value was £119. 6s. 3d. From sales of timber in 1797 and 1810, and a donation of £200 in 1803 from the executors of the late Mr. Hawkins, the sum of £24 is paid to the charity as interest of the money, in addition to the rent of the land.

Mary Elton, by will, dated 24th of September, 1770, bequeathed the sum of £200, upon trust, to apply the interest for the use and benefit of the ten poor widows of Palmer’s Hospital.—Richard Adney bequeathed in 1805 the sum of £200, the interest thereof to be divided among the inhabitants of Palmer’s Hospital.

William Warter gave the sum of £20 to Palmer’s Hospital, in respect of which 20s. is paid from an estate at Rudge, which formerly belonged to the donor, on St. Thomas’s day, and distributed among the inmates.

Bread Fund.—The poor women of this charity also participate in the general distribution of bread in the parish of St. Leonard’s.

The Low Town.—Sir Robert Lee, Knt., in 1635, bequeathed £100, to be applied in the purchase of land, the rents and profits thereof to be given for the use of the poor residing in the Low Town of Bridgnorth. The money was applied in the purchase of a close containing about five acres of ground, situated in Oldbury Lordship, the annual rent of which amounts to about £21, which is distributed as the donor directed.

Charities of St. Leonard’s.—Henry Bourne bequeathed in 1693 the sum of £50, the interest thereof to be given away to the poor of the parish in bread every Sunday, as the churchwardens and overseers should think fit.—Edward Jackson, who died in 1709, gave the sum of £100, the interest of which was to be given to the poor in bread every first Sunday in the month. In the year 1709 the bailiffs and burgesses of Bridgnorth purchased an estate at Highley for the sum of £390, which was made up of the following sums:—£50 of Henry Bourne’s legacy, £100 of Edward Jackson’s charity, £50 of John Lem’s legacy, the interest of which was left for the minister of the parish, together with a further sum of £10, said to be given for putting out apprentices, £80 of the almshouse money, and the residue, £110, was money belonging to the parish. This estate consists of 33a. 2r. 20p. of land, which produced in 1820 the sum of £70. 16s. 9½d., and after payment of £4. 10s. to the almspeople, has formed the basis of a general bread fund.

John Bennett, by will, dated 18th January, 1732, gave an annual rent charge of £5, clear of all reduction, to be paid out of his estate at Bobbington, to be laid out in bread and given to such poor as attended church on the days of Wednesday and Friday. He also gave 20s. yearly to the minister of St. Leonard’s for a sermon to be preached every 10th day of October. The £5 for bread forms one of the items in the general distribution.

John Guest, by will, dated 15th of December, 1773, gave to the bailiffs and burgesses of Bridgnorth for the time being the sum of £200, to be put out at interest, and he directed that the interest of £50, part of the said legacy, should be laid out in bread and distributed every 9th day of January, or the Sunday following, at each of the parish churches of Bridgnorth. This legacy was invested in the three per cent. consols, and produces the annual sum of £7. 17s. 6d., of which the sum of £1 is annually paid to the parish of St. Leonard’s, and forms part of the general bread fund, and £1 to the parish of St. Mary.—John Guest, the younger, by will, dated 10th December, 1780, gave £20 to the two parishes of Bridgnorth, in trust, to apply the interest annually for the use of the poor, to be distributed in bread.

William Guest, by will, dated 21st June, 1811, bequeathed £400, upon trust, to apply the interest thereof in the purchase of bread, to be distributed among the industrious poor of the parish.

Bread Fund.—A general distribution of bread is made every Sunday in the year by the churchwardens to such objects as appear to be most in need, from the charities of Wheeler, Bennett, John Guest, John Guest, jun., and William Guest, which in all amounts to £96. 19s. 10½d.

Edward Guest, by will, dated 13th March, 1797, bequeathed the sum of £300, upon trust, to place out the same at interest, and of the profits thereof to pay one-third part to the minister of the church of St. Leonard, and one-third part to the minister of St. Mary’s, and he gave to the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of each of the said parishes £50, to be by them placed out at interest, and the dividends distributed in bread at Christmas, to the poor of the said parishes.

The £2. 10s. which the parish of St. Leonard’s receives on account of Wrottesley’s charity, as stated in the report of the borough, has been hitherto improperly applied in aid of the poor’s rates.

Mrs. Law, by will, bequeathed the sum of £40, upon trust, to place the same out at interest, or purchase land with it, and yearly to buy as much cloth or linsey woolsey as the interest or rent would buy, and have the same made into ten women’s petticoats, and to give the same away at Christmas to ten poor widows, four of whom should be of the parish of St. Leonard’s and six of the parish of St. Mary’s. The benefactions to the minister, amounting to the sum of £65. 11s. 3d. annually, have been noticed in the preceding pages.

Mary Elton, whose bequest to Palmer’s Hospital has been already mentioned, further gave the sum of £100 towards augmenting the income of the minister of this parish. There is reason to believe that this sum formed part of a sum of £200, which the Rev. Thos. Littleton appears to have deposited in the year 1775 with the Governor’s of Queen Anne’s bounty, the remaining £100 being probably a benefaction of his own. This sum, with a like one advanced by the governors, was applied to the purchase of certain premises, containing, by estimation, about nine acres, in the parish of Eye, in Herefordshire.

The Earl of Thanet left a legacy of £200 in the year 1776, for the augmentation of the living of St. Leonard’s Church. The Governors of Queen Anne’s bounty having added a like sum, the amount was applied in 1777 to the purchase of certain premises at Tenbury, in Worcestershire, containing about ten acres of land, which produces a sum of £15 annually.

The rents of two houses and a garden have been long applied to the repairs of the church, but from what source they were derived is unknown. The annual rents amount to £25. 10s.

Charities of St. Mary’s Parish.—The Rev. David Llewellin, by his will, dated 25th of April, 1794, gave the sum of £50, on trust, to the minister, churchwardens, and overseers of the parish of St. Mary’s, to place the same out at interest, on good security, and to apply the interest thereof to the use of the poor, in such manner as they should direct.

Eleanor Church, by will, dated 1798, gave the sum of £20, the interest thereof to be distributed in bread the first Sunday after the 26th of May. John Guest bequeathed a legacy of £20 to this parish, which is mentioned in our report of St. Leonard’s parish. Sarah Medlicott gave the sum of £10 in the year 1780, the interest thereof to be laid out in sixpenny loaves, and given to twenty poor housekeepers of this parish, on every 14th day of February for ever. Bread Fund.—There is a general distribution of bread weekly, amounting in the whole to £10. 8s. per year. The distribution in September, 1819, appeared to have settled to the amount of four shillings worth of bread weekly, which was far short of the amount of the several charities for which the charity trustees were accountable. Richard Goodden, in 1806, assigned four pews in the church of St. Mary Magdalene to the minister and churchwardens, on trust, to pay and distribute the rents among poor persons not receiving parochial relief, in sums of not more than 5s. each. The rents amount to £3. 18s. annually.

Mrs. Law’s Charity; the particulars of which (the parish of St. Mary’s is entitled to six-tenths) have been given in the report of St. Leonard’s parish.

Paul Bridgen, by will, dated 1763, gave £10 to this parish to purchase a pew, or part of a pew, in the church, from the rent of which 5s. was to be given to the minister for preaching a sermon on Good Friday, and one shilling to the clerk to toll the bell on the said day, and the remainder to be given to the poor. The benefactions to the minister, amounting to £49. 1s. 3d., have been noticed in the preceding pages. William Hand, by will, in 1706, bequeathed to the minister of this parish and his successors, for ever, a messuage, which is let to weekly tenants at 2s. 6d. per week, which sum the minister now receives. Bridget Stackhouse, by will, in 1756, gave the sum of £131 to the minister of the parish of St. Mary Magdalene and his successors, for ever. This legacy was invested in the purchase of £145 South Sea annuities, the dividends of which, amounting to £4. 7s. per annum are duly received by the minister.

It appears that in the year 1811 and 1812 the Governors of Queen Anne’s bounty agreed to augment the curacy of St. Mary’s with five several sums of £200 each, out of grants made to them by parliament, and that, in the year 1816, they agreed further to augment the same with the sum of £300 out of the said grants, in conjunction with Thomas Whitmore, Esq., the patron, who gave the sum of £200, and paid the same to the treasurer of the said governors for the purpose of such augmentation, which said several sums, amounting together to the sum of £1,500, were ordered by the said governors to be laid out in the purchase of lands, tithes, or other hereditaments, to be settled for the perpetual augmentation of the curacy of the said parish. The sum of £1,150 was laid out in 1816 in the purchase of a dwelling-house, with appurtenances thereto, situated in Bridgnorth, together with a pew in the parish church of the said parish. The minister also receives the sum of £14, as interest on £350 (the residue of the said £1,500), which remains on their hands applicable to a further purchase.

Thomas Milner, by will, dated 1837, bequeathed £150, the interest thereof, to be distributed in bread on the first Sunday in every month, after divine service, to the poor of this parish. He also gave the sum of £100, the interest thereof to be applied towards clothing and educating boys of the Blue Coat School, and the sum of £100, the interest to be applied to the benefit of the poor widows of the almshouse of Bridgnorth.

Post Office—Mr. Charles Edward Macmichael’s, East Castle street. Letters from all parts arrive at 6.35 A.M., and are despatched at 5.30 P.M.

Acton Edward Farrer, Esq., Gateacre Park

Acton Sir John E. D., Bart., Aldenham Hall

Adams Mrs. Anne, West Castle street

Audsley Thomas, engineer, West Castle st

Ayre Rev. Legh Richmond, M.A., Newtown

Bache John, Esq., Chesterton

Backhouse Richard Onions, solicitor, Whitburne street

Baker John, Esq., Walsbatch

Baugham Benjamin, Esq., Oldbury Wells

Baugham Thomas, Esq., St. Leonard’s

Bank, Cooper, and Co., High street

Bank, Pritchards, and Co., Waterloo terrace

Bank Saving’s, Bank street

Barber Rev. John, Stoneway head

Barker Rev. John, West Castle street

Batte William, Esq., East Castle street

Batte William Jones, gent., West Castle st

Beeston Richard, van proprietor, The Lodge

Bellett Rev. George, St. Leonard’s Rectory

Bennett John Lacon, St. Mary’s street

Benwell Rev. John Fred., Neenton Rectory

Blathwayte Rev. Chas. W., Clelmarsh Rectory

Brazier Captain James, Bradney

Briggs Rev. Fred. Wm., Wesleyan minister

Brown Mrs. Sarah, St. Mary’s street

Brown Thomas Whitmore Wylde, Esq., Woodlands

Carr Rev. Edmund, M.A., Quatt Rectory

Childe Harry Joseph, solicitor, St. Leonard’s

Clarke Joseph and Brother, Listley street

Colley Miss, Mill street

Colley Mrs. Elizabeth, Cann Hall

Colley Mrs. Mary, St. John’s street

Corser Thomas, engineer, West Castle st

Cooper John Henry, Esq., Knowle sands

Curtis Mr. William Fitz Harry, St. Leonard’s

Darby Alfred, Esq., Stanley Hall

Dalton Thomas Wm., gent., East Castle st

Davenport Wm. S., Esq., Davenport House

Deeton Mrs. Mary, The Square

Deighton Thomas, Esq., Castle Terrace

Downes John, gentleman, High street

Dyer John, accountant, High street

Edmonds Edward, Esq., Tasley

Elson Thomas, inland revenue officer, St. Leonard’s Walk

Fernie Mrs. Mary, Whitburne street

Gabert Christopher, Esq., Claverley

Gabert Rev. G. H. B., Claverley Rectory

Gatacre Edward Lloyd, Esq., Gatacre Hall

Gillitlie George, inland revenue officer, Whitburne street

Gitton Miss E., High street

Gitton Thomas, solicitor, High street

Grierson and Law, worsted spinners, Spital

Grierson Thomas, gentleman, The Grove

Green Mr. George, Head’s Buildings

Greenstreet Rev. Frederick Wm., Low Town

Gwyn Richard Hodges, Esq., Astbury Hall

Hall J. Claude, land agent, East Castle st

Hall Mr. Joseph, West Castle street

Hallon Captain William, St. Mary’s steps

Hanbury Mr. George, West Castle street

Hardwicke Thomas Bell, solicitor, High st

Hardwicke T. H. P., Esq., Whitburne street

Harrison Robert, Esq., Mill street

Haslehurst Edwin Wm., solicitor, High st

Haslewood Edward W., gent., East Castle st

Haslewood John, gentleman, Tower House

Haynes Robert, Esq., Danesford

Herbert Rev. Richard, Chetton Rectory

Homfray Frederick, Esq., St. Mary’s steps

Jackson Thomas Austin, gent., Eardington

Jones Mr. Joseph, accountant, St. Mary’s st

Jones William, wine merchant, Underhill st

Kettle Geo. Mackenzie, Esq., Dalicot House

Law John, gentleman, Underhill street

Lea Mrs. Wolryche, Ludstone House

Leah Rev. Mr., curate of St. Mary’s

Leake Mr. Robert, High street

Leonard Wm. Henry, engraver, High street

Lewis Anne, wine merchant, High street

Lewis Miss Elizabeth, Chapel House

Lewis Miss Ann, High street

Lewis Misses Ann & Mary, Head’s Buildings

Llewyllan Mr. Thomas, St. Mary’s street

Lloyd Mrs. Ann, Mill street

Locke Miss, Head’s Buildings

Macmichael Charles Edward, West Castle st

Macmichael Elizabeth and Son, High street

Marshall Rev. William Knox, M.A., St. Mary’s Rectory

Martin Mr. James Henry, Mill street

Merriman Rev. Henry Gordon, M.A., Grammar School

Nicholls Samuel, gentleman, Mill street

Nock Thomas, gentleman, High street

Parkes Joseph, Esq., Wyken Hall

Parsons George, Esq., Whitburne street

Phillips John, gentleman, Whitburne street

Pilkington Miss Mary Ann, East Castle st

Pilkington Mr. Samuel, Head’s Buildings

Pinkstone Mr. John, Library steps

Postlethwaite Rev. John, Tasley Rectory

Potts and Nicholls, solicitors, Mill street

Pritchard George, Esq., Astley Abbots

Purton Rev. John, High street

Purton Thomas, gent., St. Leonard’s Cottage

Purton Thomas Pardoe, Esq., Faintree Hall

Reece John Smythyman, castrator, Newtown

Reece Mr. Edward, Severn side

Richards Henry Slater, Esq., St. Mary’s st

Ridley Edward Wm., Mill street

Ridley Messrs. Samuel and Edward, factors, Mill street

Ridley Mrs., Mill street

Robinson Mrs. Baths, Infirmary

Roby Mrs., The Lodge

Rowley Rev. Thomas, D.D., Middleton Scriven

Rowley Mr. William Jepson, High street

Sing Joshua, Esq., East Castle street

Smalman John, Esq., Quatford Castle

Smith Herbert, solicitor, St. Leonard’s

Smith John Jacob, Esq., St. James’s

Smith Wm. Henry Steedman, gentleman, Listley street

Southwell Fred., accountant, Whitburne st

Southwell Joseph, gentleman. East Castle st

Southwell Robert B. stamp office, West Castle st

Southwell Mr. William, Rock House

Sparkes Arndel Francis, sol., St. John’s st

Stephens John, Esq., Albynes

Strange William, M.D., High street

Stringer Mrs. Ann, Salop-road House

Stringer Mrs. Catherine, St. Leonard’s lane

Taylor Farmer, Esq., Chykenell

Tilly Rev. Alfred, Bap. min., East Castle st

Titler George, gentleman, East Castle street

Trevor John, Esq., The Vinery

Trevor Mrs., Bank street

Vickers Henry, Esq., East Castle street

Wall James, Esq., Severn Cliff

Wasley Rev. George Leigh, Knowle Sands

Watts Benjamin, gentleman, Listley street

Westhall Mr. John, St. Mary’s street

Whitcombe Thos., woolstapler, Underhill st

Whitmore Thomas Charlton, Esq., M.P., Apley Park

Whitmore Wm. Wolryche, Esq., Dudmaston Hall

Williams Charles, land agent, Morville Hall

Williams Mr. Edward Vaughan, Bank street

Wilmot Mr. Thomas Abel, superintendent of police, High street

Wilson John, estate agent, Aston Hall

Wilson Thomas, corn agent, High street

Wing Rev. John, Astley Abbots

Wylde Miss, Head’s Buildings

Wyllie James, inland revenue officer, High st

Academies.

Marked * receive Boarders.

* Barber Seth, Castle Terrace

* Barber Mrs., (ladies), Bank street

Blue Coat School, North Gate, William Bower

Brickley Anne, High street

British School, West Castle street

Dodd Samuel, Underhill st

* Grammar School, St. Leonard’s church yard; Rev. Henry Gordon Merriman, M.A., principal; Wm. Fitz Harry Curtis, second master

Independent School, Stoneway, Jane Akrigg

Infant School, Listley street

* Kirtlan Mary, Whitburne st

Moore Mary, St. Mary’s st

National, (boys and girls), Listley street, Mr. & Mrs. Trott, teachers

Nock Ann, St. Mary’s street

* Parker Harriett, St. Mary’s street

Roby Miss, Salop road

Saint Mary’s, St. John’s st., George Marsh

* Wase Mary Ann, (ladies), High street

Wigley Joshua, Commercial, Bank street

Accountants.

Bennett John, Lacon, St. Mary’s street

Jones Jos., bank, Waterloo Terrace

Pilkington Samuel, Head’s Buildings

Architects and Surveyors.

Griffiths Edward Francis, Quatford

Hall John Claude, (land), East Castle street

Penzer Ezer; office, Underhill street

Attornies.

Backhouse Richard Onions, Whitburne street

Batte William, East Castle st

Cox J., High street

Gitton Thomas, (and master in chancery), High street

Hardwicke Thomas Bell, High street

Haslewood Edward William, East Castle street

Nicholls Samuel, Mill street

Potts and Nicholls, Mill st

Smith John Jacob, St. Leonard’s

Sparkes Arndell Francis, St. John’s street

Vickers Henry, East Castle st

Auctioneers and Valuers.

Backhouse Richard Onions, Whitburne street

Nock and Wilson, High st

Perry and Phillips, Postern Gate

Bakers and Flour Dealers.

Birkmire William, Waterloo Terrace

Cureton Thomas, High st

Evans John, High street

Long Henry, High street

Ostin Benj., Bernard’s hill

Peters Ann, Listley street

Roberts Wm., St. John’s st

Weale George, Listley street

Wellings William, Mill st

Barge Owners.

Bradley Saml., Underhill st

Broadfield John Holloway, Underhill street

Brown Wm., Underhill st

Davies Thos., Bernard’s hill

Doughty Benj., Underhill st

Doughty Rd., Underhill st

Doughty Wm., Underhill st

Head Richard, Bernard’s hill

Jones Wm., Underhill street

Longmore Henry, Underhill street

Oakes William, Underhill st

Preece William, Cartway st

Reece Richard, Friar’s road

Reece Thomas, Underhill st

Ridley Messrs., Bridge-foot Wharf

Rutter Samuel, Listley st

Salt William, Spital street

Wilson Andrew, Mill street

Boat Builders.

Oakes William, Underhill st

Penzer Ezer, Underhill Wharf

Rushton George, Cartway st

Bankers.

Cooper & Purton, High st., (draw on Williams, Deacon, and Co., London).

Pritchard, Boycott, and Nicholas, Waterloo ter., (draw on Barnett, Hoare, and Co., London).

Savings’ Bank, Bank street, (open on Mondays and Saturdays from ten till one o’clock).

Basket Makers.

Gwynn Charles, Cartway st

Gwynn Edwin John, St. Mary’s street

Gwynn James, Salop street

Berlin Repository.

Williams Fanny, fancy stationer and drawing materials, High street

Blacksmiths.

Atcherley J. Rennell, shoeing forge, High street

Binnell Francis, Whitburne street

Bishop John, North gate

Phillips Walter, Bridge end

Pope Alexander & William, Mill street

Tunkiss John, Listley street

Wellings Benjamin, St. John street

Bookbinders.

Edkins Lousia, High street

Rowley Wm. Jepson, High st

Booksellers, Printers, and Stationers.

Edkin Lousia, High street

Gitton George Robt., High st

Partridge Charlotte, Waterloo Terrace

Rowley Wm. Jepson, High st

Boot and Shoemakers.

Those marked * are dealers

* Badham Henry, Listley st

Badham Joseph, East Castle street

Bagnall Sarah, St. Mary’s st

* Beman Richard, High st

Bright Samuel, St. Mary’s st

Davies Thomas

Felton John, High street

Gregory John, Oldbury road

Heighway Samuel, Whitburne street

Lloyd Fredk., St. John’s st

Lay Matthias, St. John st

Lewis William, High street

* Milner Wm., Waterloo ter.

Newall Henry, Underhill

Pinner Rd., West Castle st

Reynolds James, Newtown

Reynolds James, jun., Newtown

Reynolds Thos., Whitburne street

Smith Charles, East Castle st

* Whatmore John, High st

Winsley Thomas, Newtown

Braziers & Tin-plate Workers.

Broadfield Wm., Cartway st

Coley Thomas, Whitburn st

Edwards Geo., Whitburn st

Glase Jos. Minton, High st

Hill William Whitehouse, High street

Lee Charles, High street

Nicholas William, High st

Bricklayers & Masons.

Case James, Newtown

Elcock Edward, Newtown

Foxall Francis, West Castle st

Gower Thomas, Newtown

Hayward Michael, Bernard’s hill

Lewis James, Friar’s lane

Piper Thomas, West Castle st

Rogers John, Newtown

Brick & Tile Makers.

Doughty Wm., Underhill st

Evans George, Kingslowe

Penzer Ezer, Underhill Wharf

Builders.

Griffiths Edward Francis, Quatford Works

Holding William, East Castle street

Lewis Richard, North gate

Page William, Newtown

Penzer Ezer, Underhill st

Perry and Phillips, Postern gate

Powell Thomas, builder

Preece Benjamin, East Castle

Butchers.

Barker George, Whitburn st

Bowen Edward Farmer, Castle Terrace

Brawn Charles, High street

Brown Thomas, High street

Cureton Benjn., High street

Edwards George, Newtown

Giles Joseph, St. Mary’s st

Hall John, St. John’s street

Maun Thomas, Mill street

Miles Francis, Listley street

Reynolds John, High street

Roberts Thomas, Listley st

Rawley William, Underhill st

Smith Thos., West Castle st

Southwell Josiah, Bridge st

Townshend William, High st

Who attend the Market only.

Bill Jeremiah Fred., Broseley

Bentley John, Cross Houses

Cartwright James, Broseley

Cartwright J., sen., Broseley

Clutton George, Worfield

Clutton William, Nordley

Doughty Daniel, Madeley

Edgerley John, Norton

Edwards George, Neenton

Higgs John, Alveley

Jarratt James, Erdington

Mollineux James, Wyken

Poyner George, Beckbury

Reece Thos., Smithy Houses

Scoffham Henry Francis, Chelmarsh

Tasker Jeremiah, Morville

Wellings Benjamin, Ackleton

Yapp Henry, Tasley

Cabinet Makers.

Marked * are Upholsterers.

* Cartwright Richd., High st

* Edwards John, High street

Gower Edward, High street

* Jones Dodo Davies, High st

* Perry and Phillips, Theatre buildings

Carpet & Rug Manufacturers.

Southwells & Co., Friars’ rd. and Pendleston Mills

Carvers and Gilders.

Lingen Francis, Market street

Perry and Phillips, Theatre buildings

Cement and Plaster Dealer.

Penzer Ezer, Underhill Wrks

Chair Maker & Broker.

Colley James, Whitburne st

Charcoal Iron Manufacturer.

Foster James, Eardington

Cheese, Butter & Bacon Dealers.

Callant George, High street

Jefferies Henry, High street

Saloway Benjamin, Bridge st

Southwell Ellen, High street

Southwell Robt. Baker, West Castle street

Chemists & Druggists.

Coley William, Mill street

Fisher George, High street, and dealer in chemical manures

Leake Robert, (dispensing) High street

Macmichael & Son, High st

Steward William, (dispensing) Medical Hall

Clothes Dealers.

Bagnall Mary, Listley street

Dudley Richard, Listley st

Tonkiss Richd. Whitburne st

Coach Makers.

Botwood Thos., Cann bldgs

Pearce Frederick, North gate

Warner John, Newtown

Coal Dealers.

Bradley Samuel, Underhill st

Case James, Newtown

Jones Elizabeth, Severn side

Reece Edward, Severn side

Reece Thomas, Underhill st

Rutter Solomon, Listley st

Wilson Andrew, Mill street

Coal Merchants.

Doughty Wm., Underhill st

Evans George, Kingslow

Confectioners.

Birkmire William, Waterloo terrace

Lewis John, East Castle st

Long Henry, High street, and dealer in british wines

Roberts Wm., St. John’s st

Southwell George, High st

Coopers.

Gwynn Charles, and wood turner, Cartway street

Gwynn Edwin John, St. Mary’s street

Jones William, Mill street

Yardley Daniel, Whitburne st

Corn Factors & Seed Merchants.

Bangham Benjamin, Oldbury Wells

Bangham Thos., Granary steps

Nock & Wilson, warehouse, Underhill street

Ridley Edward Wm., Mill st

Ridley Messrs. Samuel and Edward, Severn warehouse

Cow keepers.

Barker Edward, Newtown

Barker George, Whitburn st

Jones John, Northgate

Newall Richard, Underhill st

Perry William, Salop road

Preece William, Mill street

Southwell George, High st

Cutlery Dealers.

Baker Jas. (working), Listley street

Doharty Martin, Listley street

Williamson Thos., Waterloo Terrace

Curriers and Leather Cutters.

Clarke Messrs, Listley street

Lello William, High street

Lewis Francis, Underhill st

M’Michael Charles Edward, West Castle street

Summers John, Underhill st

Dyers.

Lowe Edward (wool), Bernard’s Hill

Rogers Mary (silk), North gate

Engravers.

Broadfield Thos. Underhill st

Gower Jas. (stone), Newtown

Fish-tackle Dealers and Net Makers.

Ball Thomas, High street

Broadbent John, Underhill st

Williamson Thos., Waterloo Terrace

Farmers.

Adams John, Friars’ road

Ball Thomas, High street

Bishop William, Mill street

Garbett Thos., Oldbury road

Newell Richard, Willow Tree House

Nock Thos., Cross lane head

Ridley Saml. & Miss, Low town

Wiar John, Oldbury lane Villa

Fellmongers, Skinners, and Wool Dealers.

Milner William, Robert, and Thomas, Pound street

Wheeler Jos. (executors of) Newtown

Fire and Life Office Agents.

Atlas—John Jacob Smith, solicitor, St. Leonard’s

Birmingham—Mrs. Macmichael & Son, High st

Crown—Richard Boycott, Waterloo Terrace

Horse and Cattle Insurance—Mrs. Macmichael & Son, High street

Legal and Commercial and British Guarantee Insurance—John Lacon Bennet, St. Mary’s street

Minerva—Clement Edkins, High street

Phœnix—Miss Partridge, Waterloo Terrace

Royal Exchange—Mr. Smith, Cantern Bank

Shropshire and North Wales—Clement Edkins, High street

Fishmonger & Dealer in Game.

Davies Edward (& fruiterer), High street

Flour Dealers.

Instone Thos., Whitburne st

Jones John, St. Mary street

Meredith Richard, High st

Norcop Henry, Listley street

Furniture Dealers and Paper Hangers.

Cartwright Richard, High st

Edwards John, High street

Jones Dodo Davies, High st

Norwood Samuel, High st

Perry & Phillips, Postern gt

Gardeners & Seedsmen.

Bromage Thos., Mill street

Maun John, Newtown Nursery

Smith Jas., West Castle st

Smith Thomas, Listley st

Thomason Thos., North gate

Woodhouse Wm., High st

Glass & China Dealers.

Brown Thomas, High street

Liner William, Bridge street

Meredith Sarah Broadfoot, High street

Glover.

Bower Wm., Underhill street

Grocers & Tea Dealers.

Callant George, High street

Callant Wm., St. Mary’s st

Coley William, Mill street

Cooke Richard, High street

Crockett George, High street

Fisher George, High street

Hall Thomas, Underhill st

Jeffries Henry, High street

Lewis Francis, Underhill st

Macmichael Elizabeth & Son, High street

Morris William, High street

Pearson Benjamin, Bridge st

Saloway Benjamin, Bridge st

Southwell Ellen, High street

Southwell Robert Baker, West Castle street

Yate Josh., Waterloo terrace Gun Maker

Williamson Thos., Waterloo terrace

Hair Dressers and Perfumers.

Botwood Beriah, Listley st

Botwood Benjamin, High st

Botwood Benjamin, Mill st

Brickley John, High street

Curtis Thomas, Bridge street

Evanson Edw., St. Mary’s st

Milner Thomas, Cartway st

Hatters.

Ellis Langslow, High street

Gething Thomas, High street

Whatmore Joseph Lloyd, High street

Wollatt John Thos., High st

Hop Merchants.

Deighton Thos., Castle terrace

Mapp Thomas, warehouse, Underhill street

Hosiers.

Edwards Matthew, High st

Whatmore Joseph Lloyd, High street

Hotels, Inns and Taverns.

Ball, James Lowe, East Castle street

Bandon Arms, Wm. Bishop, Mill street

Bear, Jno. Bishop, North gate

Bell, George Evans, High st

Bell and Talbot, Richard Evans, Salop road

Bird-in-Hand, Thomas Piper, West Castle street

Black Horse & Commercial Inn, John Maun, Bridge street, Low Town

Bricklayer’s Arms, Susan Piper, Listley street

Bull, Thomas Southwell, Bridge street

Bull’s Head, Elizabeth Matthews, Listley street

Castle Inn, Samuel Willcox, High street

Castle (Old), Richd. Pinner, West Castle street

Commercial, William Davies, Salop street

Cross Keys, John Reynolds, High street

Eagle, Francis Smith, St. Mary’s street

Falcon, Commercial & Posting house, William Preece, Mill street, Low Town

Fox, Elizabeth Rutter, St. John’s street

Friar, John Adams, Friars road

Golden Lion, Charles Austin, High street

Greyhound, Robert Milner, Listley street

Harp, John Price, High st

Hen & Chickens, John Hudson Munday, St. Mary’s street

King’s Head, and Railway Coach Office and Posting House, George Edwards, Whitburne street

Leopard, Joseph Mason, Salop road

Lion, James Cooper, West Castle street

New Inn, James Andrews, St. Mary’s street

New Inn, William Davies, Salop road

Pheasant, John Churns, High street

Plough, Mary Salt, St. John’s street

Prince of Wales, John Shipman, Friars road

Raven Hotel, Commercial Inn and Posting House, Thomas Whitefoot, Whitburne and Raven street

Red Lion, Henry Longmore, Underhill street

Rein Deer, Thos. Dallaway, North gate

Rose and Crown, Walter Phillips, Stoneway

Royal Oak, George Perry, High street

Royal Hotel and Crown Inn, Commercial and Posting House, Joseph Bateman, High street

Shakspere, Francis Foxall, East Castle street

Ship and Anchor, William Walford, Cartway street

Squirrel Inn & Commercial, Thomas Charles Burrows, Newtown

Star Inn and Commercial, Thomas Ross Southwell, Bridge street

Swan Inn, James Rennell Atcherley, High street

Tumbling Sailors, Thomas Reece, Underhill street

White Hart, John Martin, Cartway street

Woodman’s Inn, Ed. Elcock, Newtown

United Kingdom, Samuel Walters, Mill street

Vine Tavern, Thos. Maun, Mill street

Beerhouses.

Bennett James, Underhill st

Broadfield John Holloway, Underhill street

Brown Edmund, St. Mary’s st

Brown Wm., Underhill st

Brown Wm., Bernard’s hill

Collins Rd., Whitburne st

Evans Addison, Cartway st

Felton John, High street

Foxall James, Cartway st

Gower Thomas, Newtown

Hall Thos., Shiffnal road

Hayward Michael, Bernard’s hill

Jones Eliza Ann, Severn side

Jordan Edward, Underhill st

Lane Francis, St. John’s st

Lowe Edward, Bernard’s hill

Mason Joseph, Salop road

Page William, Newtown

Parker John, Whitburne st

Perry William, Salop road

Preece William, Cartway

Roberts Sarah, Listley st

Roberts Wm., Underhill st

Rutter Solomon, Listley st

Tench Edward, St. Mary’s st

Tipton Benj., St. John’s st

Wellings Elizabeth Hannah, West Castle street

Ironfounders.

Barker Hannah, Underhill st

Pope Alexander, Mill street

Pope William, Mill street

Irondealers.

Glase Jos. Minton, High st

Hill W. Whitehouse, High st

Lee Charles, High street

Pope Alexander and Son, Mill street

Ironmongers.

Glase Jos. Minton, High st

Hill William Whitehouse, High street

Lee Charles, High street

Joiners and Builders.

Andrew John, Newtown

Baker John, West Castle st

Gower Edward, High street

Hall Henry, St. John’s st

Holding Wm., East Castle st

Lewis John, West Castle st

Lewis Richard, High street

Moore John, for T. C. Whitmore, Esq.

Overton W., St. Mary’s steps

Page Wm., Yew Tree Cotge.

Penzer Ezer, St. Mary’s st

Perry & Phillips, Postern gt.

Pickard John, Whitburne st

Rea William, Listley street

Lacemen.

Edwards Matthew, High st

Nock Edwin, High street

Land and Estate Agents.

Hall, J. Claude, East Castle street

Parsons George, to Thomas Charlton Whitmore, Esq., Whitburne street

Linen Drapers and Silk Mercers.

Bowen Henry, High street

Bromwich & Oakes, High st

Grierson James Brown, Waterloo terrace

Pidduck William, High st

Locksmiths.

Binnall John, Whitburne st

Hardy John, Underhill street

Hardy John, Bernards hill

Piper Thomas, Cartway st

Livery Stable Keepers.

Bateman Josh., Royal Hotel

Edwards Geo., Kings Arms

Machine Makers.

Gittons Richard, Salop road

Perry William, Spital street

Maltsters and Dealers in Hops.

Boucher Benj., St. Mary’s st

Bowen John, High street

Deighton Thos., Postern gt

Edkins Clement, High st

Jones Wm., Underhill street

Lewis John, Listley street

Lewis John, East Castle st

Mapp Thomas, Cartway st

Maun John, Bridge street

Morris Richard, High street

Newell John, Whitburne st

Oakes Francis, Underhill st

Oakes John, Underhill st

Price John, High street

Ridley Samuel and Edward, Mill street

Salt William, Bernard’s hill

Southwell Josiah, St. Mary’s street

Summers John, Underhill st

Weston Elias, Mill street

Whitefoot Thos., Whitburne street

Market Gardeners.

Maun John, Newtown Nursy.

Power Edward, St. Mary’s st

Woodhouse Wm., High st

Millers.

Crowther John, St. Mary’s st

Ridley Messrs. S. and E., Steam Mill

Milliners and Dress Makers.

Baker Mrs. West Castle st

Edwards Mary, Newtown

Haines Hannah, St. Mary’s st

Lawley Ann, Bridge street

Maddocks Mary, West Castle street

Nock Harriett, High street

Onians Edith, The Square

Ree Elizabeth, Listley street

Rushton Susannah, Underhill street

Whatmore Sarah Ann, High street

Nail Makers.

Dodd Joseph, Underhill st

Hill William, High street

Oil and Faint Dealer.

Lee Charles, High street

Painters, Plumbers, and Glaziers.

Brown and Crump, Whitburne street

Corser Thos., West Castle st

Hughes Wm., Bridge street

Hunter Thomas, High street

Lees Charles, West Gate Cottage

Nicholas Henry, North gate

Patent Medicine Dealers.

Edkins Mrs., High street

Leake Robert, High street

Partridge Charlotte, Waterloo Terrace

Rowley Wm. J., High street

Yate Joseph, Waterloo Ter.

Pawnbroker.

Edwards Mary, St. Leonard’s lane

Physician.

Strange William, High st

Porter Agents.

Jones Wm., (Stone), Stoneway

Lewis Ann, High street

Whitefoot Thomas, Raven st

Post Horses. For Hire.

Boatman Joseph, High st

Edwards Geo., Whitburne st

Price John, High street

Southwell George, High st

Tench Edward, St. Mary’s st

Professors and Teachers.

Mercerot Wm., (dancing), Shiffnal road Villa

Sewell Wm., (music), St. Leonard’s lane

Williams Edward Vaughan, (astronomy), Bank st

Rope and Twine Makers.

Baker Joseph, Whitburne st

Roberts Thomas, Listley st

Saddlers and Harness Makers.

Clayton Charles, High st

Evans Henry, Listley street

Garbett Thos., Whitburne st

Giles John, Whitburne st

Jehu William, High street

Munday John Hudson, St. Mary’s street

Salt Dealers.
Fine and Agriculture.

Doughty Benjamin, Underhill street

Doughty Richard, Underhill street

Seed, Guano, & Tillage Dealers.

Ridley Samuel and Edward, Riddleford Mills

Shopkeepers.
Dealers in provisions & sundries.

Armstrong George, Newtown

Bates & Pearce, St. Mary’s st

Case James, Newtown

Cheese Mary, Bridge street

Cox John, Listley street

Foxall James, Cartway st

Garbett Maria, Whitburne st

Giles Joseph, St. Mary’s st

Hall John, Cartway street

Jenkins Mary, Whitburne st

Jones John, North Gate

Lawley John, Bridge street

Lay Thomas, Friars lane

Lee Richard, Underhill st

Matthews Thos., Listley st

Owen Thomas, Ebenezer pl

Page Wm., Whitburne st

Page Elizth., Whitburne st

Pearce Jane, St. Mary’s st

Phillips Ann, Friars lane

Ravenscroft Wm., Spital st

Sanders Alexander, West Castle street

Scott Gabriel, St. John’s st

Stowers Henry, Library steps

Townsend Thos., North gt.

Wellings William, Mill st

Whittingham Danl., Underhill street

Winsley Thomas, Newtown

Spirit Vaults.

Downes John, High street

Jones William, Stoneway

Lewis Ann, High street

Stay Maker.

Sharp Mary, Whitburne st

Stone Masons and Slaters.

Collins Rd., Whitburne st

Nuttall Thos., Whitburne st

Gower Thomas, Newtown

Gower William, Newtown

Straw Bonnet Makers.

Ball Mary Ann, High st

Nock Harriet, High street

Rogers Mary, North Gate

Southwell Maria St. Mary’s st

Surgeons.

Martin & Burleigh, Mill st

Mathias Alfred, Mill street

Newall James Edward, West Castle street

Phillips John, Whitburne st

Smith Steadman, Listley st

Thursfield Wm., High st

Surveyors.

Brown John, (road), St. Mary’s street

Hall Claude, (land), East Castle street

Taylor Richard, (land), Vine Cottage

Tailors.

Marked * are Woollen Drapers.

* Bache John, East Castle st

Brown Richard, Whitburne

Dudley Richard, Listley st

* Gething Thomas, High st

Hall George, High street

Hall Thos., Underhill street

* Hughes Wm., St. Leonard’s Walk

Lyster Thos., West Castle st

Pinner Ezekiah, West Castle street

Pursall Jas., West Castle st

Roberts Thos., St. Mary’s st

Sharpe Charles Jas., Whitburne street

Swayne James, Cartway st

Swayne Wm., Whitburne st

Tench John, West Castle st

* Tonkiss Richd., Whitburne street

Walford Wm., Cartway st

Walton John, Whitburne st

* Williams David, High st

Tallow Chandler.

Morris Benj., Listley street

Tanners.

Clarke Messrs. Joseph and Brother, Listley street

Sing Joshua, Mill street

Tea and Coffee Dealers.

Long Henry, High street

Macmichael Chas. Edward, West Castle street

Southwell George, High st

Timber Merchants.

Elcock Thomas, Newtown

Lewis Richard, North gate

Oakes William, Underhill st

Penzer Ezer, Underhill st

Perry & Phillips, Postern gt

Richard John, Whitburne st

Tobacco Pipe Makers.

Phillips Danl., The Foundry

Southern Thomas, Pound st

Toy & Fancy Repository.

Evanson Ed., St. Mary’s st

Wilmott & Bickley, High st

Veterinary Surgeons.

Atcherley James Rennell, High street

Bradshaw Henry Ainsworth, Castle Terrace

Churns John, High street

Pope John, West Castle st

Watch and Clock Makers.

Addison John, High street

Glase Thomas, High street

Pearson James M., (gilder and dentist), St. Mary’s street

Wharfingers.

Doughty Rd., Underhill st

Doughty Wm., Underhill st

Jones Wm., Underhill st

Ridley Messrs. J. and E., Underhill street

Wheelwrights.

Gittons John, Salop street

Lay Thomas, Friars lane

Lloyd John, Salop street

Pearce Wm., West Castle st

Perry John, Bernard’s hill

Preece Benj., East Castle st

Price Benjamin, Newtown

Whitesmiths & Bell hangers.

Binnall John, Whitburne st

Downes Jane, Underhill st

Lewis John, West Castle st

Wine and Spirit Merchants.

Downes John, (vaults) High street

Jones Wm., (vaults), Underlain street

Lewis Ann, High street

Wood Turners.

Gwynn Charles, Cartway st

Langford Ed., North gate

Langford Henry Thomas, North gate

Worsted Spinners.

Law & Grierson, Spital works

Wool Staplers.

Grierson & Law, Spital works

Grierson Thos., Grove house

Southwell Messrs. Josiah, William, and Joseph, Pendleston Mills

Whitcombe Thomas, Underhill street

Woollen Drapers.

Ball Thomas, High street

Brown Henry, High street

Bromwich & Oakes, High st

Gething Sophia, High street

Grierson James Brown, Waterloo house

Pidduck William, High st

Wager James, High street

Coaches.

To Birmingham—Ryl. Htl., at 7-45 A.M., dly., Sun ex.

To Shrewsbury—Ryl. Htl., Mon. Wed. & Fdy., 2-30 P.M.

Omnibuses.

To Shiffnal—Twice a day from the King’s Head

To Wolverhampton—From the Leopard Inn on Monday, Wednes., & Friday

Carriers.

The market carriers leave the several inns on Saturday afternoon, except when specified

To Billingsly—A van from the Ball

To Stottesden—A van from the Ball

To Stourbridge—Eliza Gough, from the Bell

To Much Wenlock—Wm. Clayton, from the Bell

To London, Birmingham, &c.—Crowley and Co., from the Cross Keys every Monday, Tuesday, Wed. and Friday, and to Ironbridge and Broseley on Tuesday and Friday; T, Moseley, agent

To London, Birmingham, &c.—Pickford and Co., from the Cross Keys daily

To Crofton—John Beddoes, from the King’s Head

To Stoke & Ludlow—T. Colton, from the King’s Head

To Corve Dale—Edward Hopkins, from the King’s Head

To Church Stretton—J. Jones, from the Bell

To Kidderminster—Saml. Hill, from the Black Horse

To Ludlow Hall—From the Squirrel, Monday

To Ludlow & Kidderminster—Samuel Breakwell, from the New Inn

To Munslow—J. Edwards, from the Raven

To Stottesden—Edward Bytheway, from the Ball

To Wolverhampton—Rd. Beeston, from the Fox, on Tuesday, Thurs., & Sat.

BURWARTON

is a parish and village in the Cleobury division of the Stottesden hundred, on the turnpike road from Bridgnorth to Ludlow, nine miles south-west from the former, and ten miles north-east from the latter. The parish contains 1,236 acres of land, and in 1801 there were 107 inhabitants; 1831, 112; and in 1841, 27 houses and a population of 151 souls. Rateable value, £1,115. 11s. 6d. The Hon. G. F. H. Russell is the principal landowner, and occasionally resides at Burwarton Hall, an elegant free stone mansion, in the Italian style of architecture, delightfully situated in a park richly clothed with sylvan beauty, and watered by several mountain streams. There are some fine lakes of water, and to the north-west of the park is the majestic Brown Clee Hill, which adds much to the picturesque beauty of the scenery. The pleasure grounds and shrubberies are laid out with a pleasing variety, and kept in the most admirable order. The Church, a small structure dedicated to St. Lawrence, has recently been repaired and beautified by the Hamilton family; the east window is ornamented with stained glass, and cost upwards of £50, which was defrayed by Lady Hamilton, who also presented the communion table. The pulpit and seats are of oak, elaborately carved, and there is accommodation for about ninety persons. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s book at £4. 6s. 8d.; gross income, £140; patron, Rev. John Churton; incumbent, Rev. T. Theodosius. The tithes have been commuted for £90. The Wesleyan Methodists have a small chapel at Burwarton. The Hamilton Russell Arms Hotel and posting house is a commodious inn, and the post office for a wide district. Letters arrive from Bridgnorth at 11 30 A.M., and are despatched at 3 P.M.

Directory.—Hon. G. P. H. Russell, Burwarton Hall; John Bradley, farmer; William Jones, vict., the Hamilton Russell Arms; James Prece, carpenter; Rev. John Rathbone, curate; John Reynolds, shoemaker.

CAINHAM

is an extensive parish and scattered village three miles south-east from Ludlow, comprising upwards of 3,040 acres of land. At the census of 1801 there were 711 inhabitants; 1831, 1,005; 1841, 973. Gross estimated rental, £3,730. Rateable value, £3,333. 5s. The principal landowners are Major Calcott, Hon. R. H. Clive, and Sir W. R. Broughton; the former is lord of the manor. Cainham Court, an elegant mansion surrounded by plantations and shrubberies, was formerly the residence of the Calcott family; it is now unoccupied. Not far from the above mansion is the site of an ancient castle, noticed by Leland, who observes, “Kainsham or Kensham Castle, clene down, stood within two miles of Ludloe, on a hill top.” The place is now known by the name of Castle Fields, in which is a deep and wide entrenchment. Tradition says that this was a depository of the military stores of Cromwell, during the siege of Ludlow Castle. In the neighbourhood of Cainham apples are extensively grown for making cider. The Church, a venerable structure, picturesquely situated, and dedicated to St. Mary, has a massive low tower containing three bells. It consists of nave, chancel, and north transept, the latter having been recently added at a cost of £140, of which sum the Hereford Diocesan Society contributed £60. The interior has a neat appearance. The beautiful altar was added at the expense of the late vicar. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £4. 13s. 4d., in the patronage of Charles K. Mainwaring, Esq.: incumbent, Rev. Charles Adams. There are upwards of 240 acres of glebe land. The Methodists have a small chapel here.

The District of St. Paul’s Knowbury is partly in this parish and partly in that of Bitterley. A considerable portion of the scattered district called Bennett’s End is in the former parish. In 1839 a church was erected at a cost of £1,200, which is dedicated to St. Paul. The structure is built in a simple style of architecture, and has a square tower. The living is a perpetual curacy; and the patronage is vested in the Bishop of Hereford: incumbent, Rev. Burleigh James. In connexion with the church, spacious schools have been erected, by the Hon. R. H. Clive, who also munificently supports the same: upwards of one hundred children are educated in them. The Methodists and Primitive Methodists have small meeting houses. The labouring population of this locality are chiefly employed in collieries and brick works. The chief landowners are the Hon. R. H. Clive, Sir W. R. Broughton, and William Poyser, Esq.

CAINHAM DIRECTORY.

Adams Rev. Charles, vicar

Bozwood Thos., wheelwright

Corbett Thomas, shoemaker

Gould Mary, farmer

Grosvenor William, farmer

Harding William, blacksmith

Langston Captain, Poughnill

Medlicott Sarah, farmer, Pervin

Morris Benjamin, farmer

Small Edward, farmer

Small Elizabeth, farmer

Small William, farmer

Swift George, farmer, Camp farm

Ricketts Gregory, farmer

Turley Benjamin, miller

Turley Samuel, farmer, Poughnill

KNOWBURY DIRECTORY.

Bate Wm., vict., Golden cross

James Rev. Burleigh, incmbt.

Lewis James, agent to Hon. R. H. Clive, and Sir W. R. Broughton

Meyrick Thos., vict., Crown

Meyrick Wm., vict., the Oak

Poyser William, coal & lime master, and manufacturer of bricks, tiles, drainage pipes and earthenware

Price, B. J., schoolmaster

CHELMARSH

is a parish and small village, pleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, four miles S.E. from Bridgnorth, which contains 3,126 acres of land, having a rich loamy soil in some parts, and in others a strong clay. There is a small colliery on the western side of the village, and free-stone is got from the quarries on the common. Rateable value of the parish, £3,660. At the census of 1801 there was a population of 411 souls; and in 1841, 104 houses and 495 inhabitants. Chelmarsh Common is an unenclosed piece of land, containing 119 acres. The principal landowners are Thomas Charlton Whitmore, Esq.; John Nicholls, Esq.; John F. Wylde, Esq.; Edward Hughes, Esq.; and Mr. Richard H. Gwyn; besides whom are several other smaller proprietors. Earl Edwin was lord of Chelmarsh before the Conquest, and for some ages afterwards it was the inheritance of the Mortimers. In the 49th of Edward III., Edmund Lord Mortimer gave the manor to the Abbey and Convent of Wigmore, to maintain a secular priest resident in the church of Lentwardine, to sing mass, and daily pray for the souls of himself, family, and ancestors. The Church is an ancient structure, consisting of nave, chancel, and north aisle, with a tower, in which is a peal of six musical bells. The aisle is separated from the nave by four pointed arches, and there is a gallery at the west end. The east window is beautified with stained glass. A tablet in the chancel, dated 1645, remembers John N. Minnis. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £6. 5s. 8d., now returned at £264; patron, Sir John Seabright; incumbent, Rev. Charles W. Blathwayt, B.A. The vicarial tithes are commuted for £237, and the rectoral for £369. 3s., of which £358 are paid to Sir John Seabright, and £11. 3s. to Edward Hughes, Esq. There are 24 acres of glebe land. The National School, a neat stone structure, built in the year 1850, has a residence for the teacher annexed. About fifty children attend. Chelmarsh Hall, an ancient structure, in the Elizabethan style of architecture, was formerly the residence of the Nicholl family. It is now the property of John Nicholl, Esq., but occupied as a farm house. Hempton’s Load is a small village in the parish of Chelmarsh, two miles south-east from the church, pleasantly situated on the banks of the Severn, which is here crossed by a ferry. Sutton is a small hamlet, about a mile south from the church.

Post Office—At George Dudley’s. Letters arrive at 9 A.M., and are despatched to Bridgnorth at 4.30 P.M.

Ball Thomas, woollen draper, tailor, & farmer

Barker Thomas, blacksmith

Bishop Francis, farmer, The Hall

Blathwayt Rev. Charles Welfitt, B.A., vicar, The Vicarage

Corfield William, farmer, Spadeley

Detton Richard, tailor, The Common

Detton William, tailor, Hempton’s Load

Dovey William, joiner and carpenter

Draper George, farmer, Hempton’s Load

Draper John, farmer, Sutton

Dudley George, postmaster and parish clerk

Evans John, beerhouse-keeper, The Common

Fellows Wm., blacksmith, Hempton’s Load

Gwyn Richard Hodges, Esq., Astbury Hall

Hughes Edward, farmer, Hempton’s Load

Jordin John, farmer

Jordin Thomas, shoemaker

Lewis Thomas, shoemaker, Hempton’s Load

Mapp Thos., maltster & hop merchant, Sutton

Mapp William, maltster and farmer, Sutton

Martin John, farmer and ferryman and vict., The Unicorn, Hempton’s Load

Page John, blacksmith

Page Thomas, corn miller

Perry John, beerhousekpr. & bricklayer, The Common

Powell Richard, wheelwright and carpenter

Radner William, beerhouse and shopkeeper, The Common

Scoffham Henry Francis, butcher and shopkeeper

Spare Mary, schoolmistress (national)

Weaver James, farmer, Hempton’s Load

Williams Richard, cooper, The Common

Wyer Richard, farmer, New House

Wylde John Fewtrell, Esq., The Uplands

Wylde Rev. Charles Edmund, The Uplands

CHETTON

is a parish and pleasantly situated village, four miles and a half S.W. of Bridgnorth, partly in the Chelmarsh and partly in the Cleobury divisions of the Hundred of Stottesdon. The parish contains 3291a. 1r. 12p. of land, the gross estimated rental of which is £4,495. 13s. 6d. Rateable value, £4,026. 18s. 0d. In 1841 there were 113 houses and 580 persons in the Chelmarsh division, and 19 houses and 113 persons returned as in the Cleobury division. Population in 1801, 526; in 1831, 627. The principal landowners are Lord Liverpool; John and George Pritchard, Esqrs.; Thomas Pardoe Purton, Esq.; John Baker, Esq.; John Dallewy, Esq.; and George Joseph Dallewy, Esq.; besides whom there are several smaller proprietors. The tithes are commuted at £569. 14s. 9d.

The celebrated Wheatland hounds, belonging to John Baker, Esq., are kennelled in this parish. The country over which they hunt embraces the Wrekin and surrounding district. The hounds have been in the possession of the present proprietor for eight years, and were principally bred from the packs of Lord Yarborough, the Belvoir, the Shropshire, and Mr. Hellier’s. There is a small colliery and also a brick manufactory in this parish.

The Church, dedicated to St. Giles, is a stone structure, with square tower, containing six bells, recast in 1829, at which time the tower was rebuilt. The interior consists of nave, chancel, and gallery, on which is a small organ. The church has a chaste appearance, and has been recently repaired at the joint expense of the parish and the late Venerable Archdeacon Vickers, formerly rector of Chetton. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s book at £11, in the patronage of T. W. Wylde Browne, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Richard Herbert. The National School is a neat brick building, erected in 1820. The average attendance of boys and girls is about forty. Mrs. Ann Adams is schoolmistress. Faintree, Favon-tree, or Fanonia-tree, is a township in Chetton parish, five miles S.W. of Bridgnorth. The name signifies the western town. The township is situated on elevated ground, facing the west, or Favonian wind, and hence its name. This manorial estate was formerly the property of the Briggs family, from whom it was purchased by the ancient family of the Pardoes of Cleeton, in Bitterley parish, whose descendant, Thomas Pardoe, Esq., died, leaving an only child, Esther, with whom this manor passed in marriage to John Purton, Esq., of Eudon Burnall, in whose family it now continues, Thomas Pardoe Purton, Esq., being its present proprietor, who resides at Faintree Hall, a neat brick residence, erected in the year 1802, upon the site of an ancient edifice. Eudon Burnall and Eudon George are small townships situated about a mile from the church.

Charities.—Dorothy Holland, by will, dated 1723, bequeathed to the poor of this parish the sum of £20, in trust, to be placed out at interest, and distributed to twelve poor people of the parish in bread, on Easter days and Christmas days.

Richard Pardoe, by will, dated 1760, bequeathed the sum of £100, to be placed out at interest, which was to be divided into forty parts, one of which should be paid in bread every week to the poor and indigent persons of the parish, in the months of January, February, March, April, May, June, July, November, and December, for ever.

Henry Aston, who died in 1736, bequeathed the sum of £20, the interest thereof to be applied in teaching the poorest children in the parish to read.

Thomas Pardoe, by will proved in 1802, gave the sum of £50, the interest thereof to be applied in the teaching of poor children to read whose parents were not rated either to the church or poor.

Sarah Pardoe also gave the sum of £50 in the year 1805, the interest to be disposed of in the same manner as the preceding charity.

Loughton is a chapelry and village in the parish of Chetton, nine miles north-east from Ludlow, which contains 851a. 3r. 14p. of land, the rateable value of which is £635. 1s. At the census of 1801 there were 130 inhabitants; 1831, 112; and in 1841, 19 houses and a population of 113 souls. The duke of Cleveland and Viscountess Boyne are the principal landowners. The chapel is a small fabric of free stone of unpretending appearance, exhibiting the style of architecture prevalent in the sixteenth century. The living is a curacy, subordinate to the rectory of Chetton.

Adams James, gardener

Adams Ann, schoolmistress

Baker John, Esq., Walsbatch

Broom George, shoemaker, Eudon Gorge

Corfield Cornelius, farmer, Eudon Gorge

Corfield Thomas, farmer and cider shop, Tedstill

Dallewy John, Esq., Lower House

Davies James, farmer, Hollicott and Cockshutt

Edmonds Joseph, farmer, Down House

Farmer Thomas, farmer, Lower Faintree

Fletcher Benjamin, farmer, The Bush

Foxall Harry Smith, farmer, Lower Faintree

Gordon Alexander, farmer, Eudon Burnall

Gratton John, miller, Eudon Gorge

Griffin Geo., relieving officer

Hall Edward, jun., farmer, The Drales

Harley Edw., farmer, Eudon Gorge

Herbert Rev. Richard, rector, The Rectory

Hinsley John, farmer, Little Cockshutt

Jones Thomas, shopkeeper

Jones William, shoemaker and beerseller, Old Field

Porter William, farmer and beerseller, Down

Porter William, wheelwright, Down

Purton Thos. Pardoe, Esq., banker, Faintree Hall

Reece Harriet, farmer, Criddon

Reynolds Wm., shoemaker and vict., Old Inn

Rudd John, farmer, Scotland

Smith James, farm bailiff, Tedstill

Taylor Thomas, farmer, Upper House

Wallace William, farmer, Hill Farm

Wall Thos., farmer, Archley

Walters Thos., miller, Down Mill

Yeardley Wm., blacksmith and farmer, Down

Loughton Directory.

Blakemore Jesse, farmer

Chatham William, farmer

Evans John, shoemaker

Hall Richard, farmer

Kitson Mary, farmer

Lawley John, farmer

Noakes Thomas, shopkeeper

CLEOBURY MORTIMER

is parish and market town in the Cleobury division of the hundred of Stottesden, situated 137 miles N.W. of London, thirty-three miles S.S.E. of Shrewsbury, eleven miles E. of Ludlow, and eight miles W. of Bewdley. It is divided into four quarters, viz.: Cleobury Town Liberty, West Foreign Liberty, East Foreign Liberty, and Doddington Liberty, which together contain 7,671 acres of land, of which 738 acres are in woodlands, 104a. 0r. 14p. of public roads, 2a. 2r. water, and 619a. 2r. 3p. in common lands and waste. Rateable value of the parish, £7,300. At the census in 1841 there were 364 houses and 1,730 inhabitants; population in 1801, 1,368; and in 1831, 1,716, William Lacon Childe, Esq., is lord of the manor. The principal landowners are the Earl of Craven; Sir Edward Blount, Bart.; W. L. Childe, Esq.; Charles Wickstead, Esq.; Mrs. Lucy Botfield; Beriah Botfield, Esq.; John Downes, Esq.; Richard and Henry Backhouse, Esq.; Trustees of Cleobury School; George James Compson, Esq.; Thomas Foxhall, Esq.; and Thomas Pardoe Purton, Esq., besides whom are a number of smaller freeholders. The tithes are commuted for £676. 12s. 6d., of which £602. 10s. is apportioned to the vicar of the parish, £34. 10s. to the Earl of Craven, and 12s. 6d. to William L. Childe, Esq.

The name of Cleobury Mortimer is said to be derived from its situation in a district abounding with clay, and from the Saxon word Byrig, a town, and the adjunct by which it is distinguished from North Cleobury is obtained from its ancient possessor, Ralph de Mortimer, who held it at the time of the general survey. The town principally consists of one long street extending from east to west, and contains several family mansions and good shops, in all the different branches of the retail trade. The labouring population are chiefly engaged in agricultural pursuits. There were formerly extensive ironworks in the vicinity, but these have now disappeared. There are two paper mills in the adjoining parish of Neen Savage, carried on by Mr. T. L. Hall. The Clee Hill collieries, about three miles west of the town, have of late been little wrought, though they contain extensive fields of good coal, ironstone, and limestone. This town is generally thought to have been the birth place of Robert Langlande, author of the “Vision of Pierce the Ploughman,” which was published in the year 1369. A strong castle which formerly stood in this place was entirely destroyed in the wars between Henry II. and his rebellious barons; it was built by Hugh de Mortimer.

The Church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is an ancient and venerable structure, built of rubble stone, probably about the 14th century. Hugh de Mortimer settled this church for part of the endowment of the Abbey of Wigmore, about the time of Henry II. The square tower, containing a peal of six musical bells, a clock, and two dials, is surmounted by an octagonal spire of wood painted white. The interior consists of nave, chancel, and side aisles, the latter is separated from the nave by five pointed arches on each side. The chancel is separated from the body of the church by a pointed arch. The western gallery contains a fine-toned organ, built by subscriptions about seven years ago, at a cost of £250. On the south side is a stained glass window, with the representation of Christ and the emblems of the crucifixion, and underneath are the words, “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd.” On the north side is a beautiful stained glass window in memory of Mary Ann, the wife of John Lynn Priest; and also a stained glass window containing figures of St. Anne and St. Mary the Virgin, erected in memory of Ann Golderby, who died in 1849. There are several marble tablets and tombs within the church, to the memory of deceased members of the various families in the neighbourhood. Within the entrance of the porch is the following epitaph to the memory of Honor Evans.

My days, alas! my mortal days, were short and wretched too:
Evil and few, the patriarch says, and well the patriarch knew
That death, like overflowing stream, sweeps all away; life’s but a dream,
An empty tale, a morning flower, cut down and withered in an hour.
Remember, Lord, man’s mortal state; how frail is life, how short the date,
Where is the man that draws his breath, safe from disease, secure from death,
For man, weak man is born to die, made up of guilt and vanity.
Thy dreadful sentence, Lord, is just; return ye sinners to your dust.

The living of the church is a vicarage, valued in the king’s books at £12. 10s. 10d., in the patronage of William Lacon Childe, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Edward George Childe, M.A.

The Wesleyan Methodists have a small chapel in High street, built of brick. The Roman Catholics have also a chapel near Mawsley Hall, in this parish.

The Free School was founded and endowed by Sir Lacon William Childe, knt., in the year 1714, for the education of the youth of Cleobury Mortimer; for which purpose he gave by will, dated 28th of October, 1714, all his personal estate, undisposed of, to be put out at interest or to be invested in land for the maintenance of a master, to whom he gave £30 for ever to teach and instruct the children of the parish. By an order of the court of exchequer, dated 19th of June, 1735, it was ordered that £200 should be laid out in the building or purchasing a school and schoolhouse, and that the residue of the trust money should be laid out in the purchase of lands, the rents and profits thereof to be applied to the payment of £30 a year to the schoolmaster, buying English books for the scholars, repairing the school and schoolhouse, and putting out six or more poor children of the parish to husbandry, as the trustees should think fit. By a further order it was directed that the securities should be called in, and the money invested in the South Sea Annuities, which produced in 1742 the sum of £2,475. 6s. which with an outstanding mortgage of £100 constituted the whole of the testator’s personal estate. In 1751, the sum of £2,700 was expended in the purchase of 348a. 3r. 36p. of land, in the parish of Cleobury Mortimer, which is now let at a yearly rent of £343. There is also funded property consisting of £1,700 south sea annuities; £1,600 three per cent. consols; and a sum of £600 composed of surplus income, and £198. 16s. received for return of property tax. Of this fund £1000 three per cents were bequeathed to the trustees in 1810 by Mr. John Winwood, of Bristol, towards paying an usher to assist in teaching. The interest of these funds with the rents of land beforementioned amount to the sum of £463. 1s. 5d. per annum. Upwards of 160 children are now educated in the school, of whom twelve boys and twelve girls are annually clothed, and a fee is given yearly for the apprenticing of six or more poor scholars to some mechanical or agricultural pursuit. The head master is appointed by William Lacon Childe, Esq., of Kinlet, as representative of the founder, and receives £60 per annum, besides other perquisites; especially an allowance of 30s. per head for copy books, &c. The Rev. Henry Kemp, B.A. is the head master: James Birchall, second master.

The County Court for the recovery of debts, and in all pleas of personal action where the damage does not exceed £50, is held monthly at the Town’s Offices, in the Lower town. The several parishes and places within the jurisdiction of the court are Aston Botterel, Bayton, in Worcestershire, Cleobury Mortimer, Coreley, Farlow, in Herefordshire, Highley, Hopton Wafers, Kinlet, Loughton, Mamble, Milson, Neen Savage, Neen Solars, Rock, in Worcestershire, Silvington, Stottesden, and Wheathill. Judge, Uvedale Corbett, Esq., Aston Hall: Clerk, Samuel Phillips Southam, Esq.; Assistant Clerk, William Nichols: High Bailiff, William Cooke: Bailiff and Appraiser, William Farmer.

Cleobury Mortimer Union House is situated half a mile north-west of the church. The union comprises the following parishes, viz.:—Aston Botterel, Coreley, Farlow, Highley, Hopton Wafers, Kinlet, Loughton, Milson, Neen Savage, Neen Solars, Silvington, Stottesden and Wheathill, in the county of Salop; and Bayton, Rock and Mamble, in the county of Worcestershire. The union comprehends an area of upwards of 50,000 acres, or 88 square miles, and a population of 8,632 souls. Chairman to the Guardians, Sir Edward Blount, Bart.: Clerk, William Cooke, Esq.: Surgeon, Henry Vevers: Relieving Officer, Mr. William Wainwright: Master, Isaac Alfred Read: Matron, Sarah Read: Schoolmistress, Sarah Jones.

The Market Hall, situated near the church, is a modern erection of stone, in which the weekly market is held on Wednesday. Fairs are held on April 21st, May 2nd, first Monday after Whitsuntide, and October 27th, which are well attended. There is also a feast held the first Sunday after the 15th of August.

The Petty Sessions are held on the third Tuesday in each month, at the Towns Offices, in the lower town. There is a Lock-up in Church street, which was built of freestone in 1836; it is a small structure, containing two cells: Richard Roberts, police constable. The Excise Office is held at the Talbot Inn, where there is also a reading room, supported by annual subscription. There is a Circulating Library in Market street, of which Joseph Wainwright is the proprietor.

Cleobury Mortimer township and liberty contains 947a. 1r. 27p. of land, of which 315 acres are woodlands, 31a. 3r. 35p. are public roads, and 2a. 2r. are water. The soil is fertile and productive, and is watered by numerous fine springs, as well as the River Rea, which intersects the township, and is crossed by a bridge a short distance east of the village. At the census of 1851 the liberty contained 211 houses and 1,122 persons. The rent charge payable to the vicar is £131. William Lacon Childe, Esq., is lord of the manor, and holds a court leet and baron, at the Talbot Inn annually, in November; Mr. James Boucher is the steward.

Doddington liberty, situated two miles west of the parish church, at the census of 1851 had 87 houses and a population of 383 souls. It contains 2,878a. 6r. 19p. of land, of which 35a. 0r. 16p. are public road, and 619a. 2r. 3p. are moor, common, and waste, being part of the Clee Hill. The tithes are commuted, and £172 apportioned to the vicar of Cleobury Mortimer and £34. 10s. to the Earl of Craven. William Lacon Childe Esq., is lord of the manor.

The District Church, situated on the side of Clee Hill, was founded and endowed by the late Thomas Botfield, Esq., and his widow, Mrs. Lucy Botfield, of Hopton Court, who has invested the sum of £1,000 for the endowment, erected a parsonage house near the church, and given five acres of land. The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and built of stone, with a square tower, the site and building of which cost about £4,000. The living is a perpetual curacy in the patronage of Mrs. Botfield, and incumbency of the Rev. Henry Brown, M.A. There are several coal works on the Clee Hill in this township, carried on by Beriah Botfield, Esq. The townships in this liberty are Catherton, Ditton, Dudnell, Hill Houses, and Woodhouses, an extra parochial liberty, situated two miles from Cleobury.

The East Foreign Liberty, situated three miles from Cleobury Mortimer, contains 1,878a. 1r. 39p. of land, of which 17 acres are public roads, and 132 acres woods and plantations. The vicarial tithes are commuted for the sum of £121. W. L. Childe, Esq., is lord of the manor. The liberty contains the townships of Mawley and Weston.

Mawley Manor House, situated one mile S.E. of Cleobury Mortimer, is the seat and residence of Sir Edward Blount, Bart. The mansion is a commodious and handsome brick structure, with stone facings and mullions, and surrounded by a richly wooded park.

West Foreign Liberty, situated two miles from Cleobury, contains 1,312a. 1r. 24p. of land, of which 291 acres are woods and coppices, 20 acres public roads. The rent charge amounts to £122. 2s. 6d., of which the sum of £121. 10s. is apportioned to the lord of the manor. William Lacon Childe, Esq. This liberty, with that of East Foreign, contains 48 houses and a population of 242 souls.

Charities.—Sir William Lacon Childe, the founder of the free school previously noticed, also gave by will the sum of £100, the interest thereof to be distributed to the poor in bread every Sunday.

Richard Walker, gave by will, dated 1666, the sum of 1s. every Lord’s day and 2s. every Christmas day, to be distributed in bread to the poor of the parish of Cleobury Mortimer. This gift is paid out of certain lands in the parish.

It is stated on a tablet in the church that Benjamin Bateman, clerk, left £20, and Mrs. Joyce Cumber left £5, for teaching poor children to read. From a copy of part of the will of Mr. Bateman in the parish book it appears that the £20 given by him was to be disposed of by the vicar of Cleobury Mortimer and one Mr. Read in such a manner as they should think fit.

Henry Fox, by deeds of lease and release, dated 1743, reciting that his sister, Mary Fox, had by her will given £50, which she intended should be laid out in land, and the rents applied to teaching poor girls to read, conveyed to the vicar a field containing one acre, in trust, that he should raise yearly the sum of 54s., and pay the same to a poor woman of the parish to teach ten poor girls to read. Also German Fox, in 1775, bequeathed £50, the interest thereof to be applied towards teaching poor boys to read.

Near to Cleobury Mortimer is a large school room and school house annexed, usually called the Old School Premises, but now uninhabited and in complete decay. From an indenture dated 1727 it appears that these buildings were erected upon a piece of land belonging to John Meysey, Esq., by means of contributions raised among the neighbouring gentry, for the purpose of a school for the benefit of the children of the parish of Cleobury Mortimer.

The Post Office.—Mr. William Jeffries, postmaster, Church street. Letters arrive from Bewdley at 7-45 A.M., and are despatched at 4-30 P.M.

Adams George, carrier, High street

Ashwood Thomas, gardener, Market place

Baker Slade, Esq., Sandbourne

Birchall James, second master of Free School, Market street

Blount Sir Edward, Bart., Mawley Hall

Boucher James, Esq., Church street

Bourne James, Esq., Mawley town

Bourne James, Esq., The villas

Botfield Lucy, gentlewoman, Hopton court

Brown Rev. William Henry, M.A., Doddington Parsonage

Childe Rev. Ed. Geo., M.A., The Vicarage

Childe Wm. Lacon, Esq., Kinlet Park

Childe William Lacon, Esq., junr., Kinlet

Cocks Rev. Charles Richard Somers, M.A., Neen Savage Rectory

Cocksey Mr. Charles, Market street

Colerick William, inland revenue officer, High street

Cooke Mr. William, junr., High street

Crump Thomas, Esq., Chorley

Crump Thomas, Esq., jun., The Hall

Dorrell Benjamin, miller and farmer

Farmer Wm., parish clerk & perpetl. overseer

Hall Thomas Lambert, paper manufacturer

Hardwicke Rev. Thos., D.D., Milson Rectory

Harris Sarah, school teacher

Hayton Rev. John, Market street

Hulme Rev. Benjamin, Mawley

Jefferies William, postmaster, Church street

Jones James, carrier, Market street

Jones Sarah, school teacher

Jones William Weaver, gentleman, Market st

Kemp Rev. Henry, B.A., Grammar School

Lowe Arthur Charles, Esq., Court of Hill

Marcy Wm. Nicholls, solicitor, and agent to Shropshire Fire Office, Bewdley

Mytton Henry George, Esq.

Nichols Wm., county court clerk, Market st

Pardoe George, Esq., Nash court

Pope Benjamin David, Market place

Pope Thomas, gentleman, Market street

Read Isaac Alfred, M.A., Union house

Reynolds Mrs. Elizabeth, Church street

Roberts Richard, county police officer, Lower town

Southam Samuel Phillip, Esq., Market st

Tongue Mary, school teacher, Free School

Vevers Henry, gentleman, Lower town

Wainwright William, relieving officer

West Margaret, carrier, High street

Whatmore John, town crier, Church street

Whitcombe Edmund Bancks, gentleman, High street

Wickstead Charles, Esq., Skakenhurst

Woodward Mrs., Lower town

Woodward Rev. Thomas, M.A., Hopton Rectory

Academies.

Free School, Rev. Henry Kemp, principal; Birchall James, second master; Sarah Harris, mistress

Infant, Mary Tongue

Attorneys.

Backhouse Richard Onions, Lower town

Marcy William Nicholls, Lower town

Pope Benj. David, Market place

Southam Samuel Phillips, master extraordinary in chancery, coroner for the southern district of Shropshire, and clerk to the county court

Auctioneers and Valuers.

Backhouse Richard Onions, Lower town

Hill William, Lower town

Jones Lloyd, Lower town

Baker and Flour Dealer.

Price James, Market street

Blacksmiths.

Harris Thomas, Church st

Hay John, (& ironmonger), Market street

Potter Edward, Lower town

Webb Thomas, High street

Boot and Shoemakers.

Bodenham John, Market st

Breakwell Thos., The Hurst

Whatmore John, (& leather cutter), Church street

Wheeler James, Church st

Butchers.

Bright Edward, High street

Lloyd Thomas, (& farmer), Market place

Williams Thos., (& grazier) Market place

Coopers.

Knott John, High street

Simmonds Wm., Market pl

Chemist and Druggist.

Wainwright Joseph, Market place

Grocers and Tea Dealers.

Downes John, High street

Downes Thomas, (& provision dealer), Lower town

Eaton Robert, High street

Jefferies Wm., (& chandler), Church street

Wainwright Joseph, Market place

Williams Elizth., Church st

Yapp Thomas, Market pl

Hair Dresser.

Griffiths John, Lower town

Hotels, Inns, and Taverns.

Bell, Jas. Lane, Lower town

Crown, James Wm. Smith, High street

Fountain, Elizth. Williams, Church street

Fox Inn, Thomas Farmer, High street

King’s Arms, commercial inn and spirit vaults, Benjamin Taylor, Church st

Lion, Thomas Worrall, Church street

Plough, Jas. Wood, High st

Swan, Benjamin Dorrell, Church street

Talbot Hotel, and commercial inn & posting house, Wm. Dorrell, Market pl

Beer and Cider Retailers.

Eaton Robert, High street

Wadeley James, Lower town

Whetstone Wm., High st

Butter and Cheese Dealer.

Yapp Thomas, (& dealer in corn), Market place

Joiners and Builders.

Hare Thomas, High street

Hardy Edwin, (upholsterer and & bell hanger), Church street

Smith John, High street

Land Agents.

Boucher James, Church st

Bourn James, junr., Mawley town

Linen and Woollen Drapers and Silk Mercers.

Downes Wm., Market place

Mytton James, Market pl

Maltsters.

Beddoe Charles, (and hop merchant), Church street

Wheeler Wm., (and corn miller), Lower town

Milliners and Dressmakers.

Dallow Jane, (fancy repository and hosiery), Market place

Wright Elizth., Church st

Paper Manufacturer.

Hall Thomas Lambert, Neen Savage

Painters, Plumbers, & Glaziers.

Hume Benjamin and Sons, (& paperhanger), Market place

Hume Benj., Lower town

Hume James, Union road

Napper William, High st

Saddlers and Harness Makers.

Littler Wm., Market place

Palmer Samuel, Market pl

Shopkeepers and Dealers in Groceries and Sundries.

Allen Rebecca, High street

Beddoe Ann, High street

Farmer Thomas, High st

Keysall Edward, Market pl

Whetstone William, High st

Skinner and Woolstapler.

Dallow James, High street

Stone Masons.

Haberley Wm., Lower town

Hare Thomas, High street

Potter James, Lower town

Surgeons.

Jones Wm. Weaver, Markt. st

Pope Thomas, Market pl

Vevers Henry, Lower town

Whitcombe Edmund Bancks, High street

Surveyors.

Dallow Wm. Aloysius, (land and road), Mortimer pl

Hill William, (land), Lower town

Tailors.

Mytton James, Market st

Pennington George, Lower town

Potter George, Lower town

Tinman and Brazier and Ironmonger.

Evans John, Market street

Watch and Clock Maker.

Stockall Thomas, Market st

Wheelwrights.

Merrick John, Lower town

Williams Thos., Market st

Carriers.

To Birmingham—From the King’s Arms (Cleobury Mortmr.), passing through Bewdley, Kidderminster, and Hales Owen, to the Swan with Two Necks, Birmingham, every Monday, Benjamin Taylor, proprietor

To Bewdley—James Jones, Mondays and Saturdays

To Kidderminster—Geo. Adams, Saturdays

To Ludlow—Margt. West, Mondays

CLEOBURY NORTH

is a small village in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden hundred, on the turnpike road from Bridgnorth to Ludlow, eight miles south-west from the former, and eleven miles north-east from the latter. The parish contains 1,560 acres of land, of which 461 acres are in waste and commons. At the census of 1801 there were 136 inhabitants; 1831, 187; and in 1841, 33 houses and a population of 176 souls. Rateable value, £1,001. 14s. 6d. The principal landowners are the Rev. J. Knight, H. G. Mytton, Esq., the Earl of Powis, and Mr. John Hinksman; and the Corporation of Ludlow are also proprietors. The Church is dedicated to St. Peter, and consists of nave, chancel, and south aisle, with a short tower in which are two bells. The windows exhibit the style of architecture which prevailed during the reign of Henry VII.: in other parts are traces of the Norman character. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s book at £5. 12s. 3d., in the patronage of the Mytton family; incumbent, Rev. John R. Webb. The tithes are commuted for £149. 9s.; and there are 75 acres of glebe land, of the annual value of £60. The rectory is a good residence, almost surrounded with water, and has a very picturesque appearance, not far from which are the towering heights of the Brown Clee Hill. The church has recently been restored and beautified, at the expense of the landowners and the principal residents. A fine toned organ has been added, at a cost of £120, which was raised by the interest and exertions of the present incumbent. Cleobury Hall, the residence of Henry George Mytton, Esq., and the Misses Mytton, is a handsome mansion of free stone, erected by the grandfather of the present proprietor; it is beautified with pleasure grounds and shrubberies, and surrounded with fine scenery.

Directory.—Henry George Mytton, Esq., Cleobury Hall; The Misses Mary Ann, Harriette, Ann, and Frances Mytton, Cleobury Hall; Launcelot Dixon, joiner; Thomas Green, farmer and corn miller; John Minton, yeoman; John Miles farmer; William Powell, farmer; Jeremiah Sambrook, farmer; Rev. John R. Webb, the Rectory.

CORELEY

is a parish and small village four and a half miles N.N.E. from Tenbury, containing 2,173a. 3r. 9p. of land, of which 877a. 2r. 6p. are common lands. The rateable value of the parish is £2,266. 10s.: gross estimated rental, £2,624. 3s. 6d. At the census of 1841 there were 112 houses, and 525 souls; population in 1801, 458; and in 1831, 553. The principal landowners are the Earl of Craven, John Pritchard, Esq., W. S. Davenport, Esq., Mrs. Lucy Botfield, and Miss Compson; besides whom there are several smaller proprietors. There are coal works in this parish, carried on by Beriah Botfield, Esq. The Church, dedicated to St. Peter, is built of brick, and has a square tower, surmounted by a spire of wood. The interior is neatly pewed with oak. The pulpit is carved, and has the date of 1648. On the south wall is a tablet to the memory of William Coling, of Coreley, dated 1657. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s books at £5. 5s. 8d.; patron and incumbent, Rev. Walter Haliburton, M.A. The tithe is commuted for £168. There are 65 acres of glebe land in the parish.

Directory.—William Adams, farmer, Hince; William Bishop, blacksmith; Samuel Brown, wheelwright; Benjamin Bytheway, shoemaker and shopkeeper; George Corfield, farmer, Brick House; James Davies, Esq., banker, Church stile; William Davies, farmer; Rev. Walter Haliburton, M.A., rector, the Rectory; William Honeybourn, vict., the Poplar; Jeremiah Jeffries, farmer; John Kay, farmer; Edwin Wall, vict., the Colliers Arms; John Webb, shoemaker; Richard Wyer, farmer, New Barn.

DEUXHILL

a small parish in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden hundred, contains 683 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £471. The principal landowners are the Rev. Mr. Haden, Mrs. Deenton, and the Rev. Richard Herbert; besides whom there are a few smaller proprietors. At the census in 1801 there were 30 inhabitants; and in 1841, eight houses and a population of 45 souls. The village is pleasantly situated on the Bridgnorth end Cleobury Mortimer turnpike road, four and a half miles S.S.W. from the former town. The Church is a small structure, consisting of nave and chancel, with a small turret, in which is one bell. Over the porch is the date 1668. A neat tablet remembers John Lewis, who died in 1804, and his wife Frances, who died in 1809. The living is a rectory, annexed to that of Chetton: incumbent, Rev. Richard Herbert.

The principal residents are Charles Birkin, farmer; Mary Ann Birkin, farmer; Mary Jenkins, schoolmistress; Thomas Stonyer, corn miller, Horsford.

DOWLES,

a small parish in the Cleobury division of the hundred of Stottesden, situated one mile north of Bewdley, contains 1080 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £1130. 10s., and gross estimated rental £1300. In 1841 there were nine houses and eighty persons; population in 1801, fifty-seven; 1831, sixty-two. The Misses Taylors are ladies of the manor and the principal landowners, Mr. James Taylor, Rev. Joseph Fletcher, and others are also proprietors. The word Dowles comes from the British Dôl, which signifies a bottom surrounded with hills, or perhaps from the Saxon Doelar, to divide, as it is on the extreme border of the county, a small brook dividing it from Worcestershire. It is situated on the bank of the river Severn and surrounded with beautiful scenery. The Bewdley Gas Works are in this parish, and the manufacture of bricks and tiles is carried on extensively here.

The Church, dedicated to St. Andrew, stands in a sequestered situation near the Severn. It is built of brick and has a small turret; the interior consists of nave and chancel and the fittings are neat and appropriate. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £4, in the patronage of the Misses Taylor, and incumbency of the Rev. J. Fletcher, B.A. The tithes are commuted for £120. There are two acres of glebe land.

Charities.—An old parish book records benefactions to the poor between the year 1636 and 1710 to the amount of £13. 10s., which in the year 1786 was applied towards the rebuilding of the church, the rent of one of the pews thereof being given to the poor in consideration of this sum, which was regularly distributed till the year 1800, when a new minister of the parish opposed the further letting of any pews and ordered them to be thrown open to the public.

Directory.—Samuel Hill Crocket, farmer; William Downing, farmer; Rev. Joseph Fletcher, B.A., The Parsonage; Benjamin Jeffries, parish clerk and overseer and inspector of the Bewdley police; James Lawley, farmer; William Meredith, farmer; and Thomas Perry, farmer.

GLAZELEY

is a parish and village situated on the Bridgnorth and Ludlow turnpike road, three and a half miles S.S.W. from the former town. This parish is in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden hundred, and contains 636 acres of land. At the census in 1801 there were 31 inhabitants; 1831, 47, and in 1841 eight houses and 38 souls. Thomas Whitmore Wylde Browne, Esq., is lord of the manor and owner of the land. Adjoining the church-yard is a mound or tumulus. The Church is a small unpretending structure of brick, consisting of nave and chancel, and will accommodate about eighty persons. In the chancel is a tablet in memory of Edmund Wylde, Esq., who died in 1695. On the floor is brass, in a good state of preservation, with two full length figures and six children, commemorative of Thomas and Elizabeth Wylde and their children; it is dated 1599. The living is a rectory annexed to that of Chetton, enjoyed by the Rev. Richard Herbert. The parsonage house is a neat brick residence on the south side of the church-yard. The Woodlands, a handsome stone mansion, the seat and property of T. W. Wylde Browne, Esq., is surrounded by a finely timbered park, and commands extensive views of the surrounding country.

The principal residents are Thomas Whitmore Wylde Browne, Esq., J.P., Woodlands; and Edward Brown, farmer.

HIGHLEY

is a parish and pleasant rural village near the western bank of the Severn, seven miles S.S.E. of Bridgnorth, situated on an eminence commanding fine views of the surrounding country, and noted for its extensive orchards and the excellency of its cider, which is made to a considerable extent in this locality. There are several quarries of superior stone in the parish. At the census of 1841 there were 88 houses and 360 inhabitants; population in 1801, 274, and in 1831, 404. Highley contains 1,527a. 1r. 7p. of land, of which 780 acres are arable, 570 acres meadow and pasture, and 40 acres are woodlands, the rateable value of which is £1,128. 3s. 4d; gross estimated rental, £1,929. 18s. 6d. The tithes are commuted for £225. 1s. 6d. William Jordin, Esq., is lord of the manor and principal landowner, besides whom Mr. John Crane, Rev. Samuel Du Pre, Mr. Easthope, Mr. Thomas Fenn, Mr. J. H. Windle, Mr. Daniel Jordin, Mr. Levi Jordin, Mr. Thomas Jordin, and Mr. George Peplow, are proprietors.

The Church, dedicated to St. Mary, is built of free stone, with square tower, in which is four bells. It consists of nave, chancel, and has a gallery on which is placed a small organ. The Rev. Samuel Burrows is the patron, and the Rev. Samuel Du Pre, incumbent. The living is a vicarage valued in the king’s book at £5. 19s. 2d. Some portion of the land is tithe free, the rest has been commuted and apportioned as follows:—To the vicar the sum of £115. 10s.; to Mr. Jordin, £89. 11s.; to the Rev. P. Haslewood, £19, and to Thomas Lowe, £1. The vicar has 89a. 3r. 2p. of glebe land.

Charities.—Richard Lowe gave the sum of £10 by will in 1579; George Harris, in 1607, gave £1. 6s. 8d.; and Giles Rawlins, by will, in 1677, gave £5, to be employed for the use and benefit of the poor of the parish of Highley. With this money land was purchased containing two acres, on which two cottages have been built, and the rents have been given to the poor of the parish in bread every Sunday. Thomas Getton, Esq., in 1808, gave £5. 10s., the interest thereof to be distributed in bread to the poor of the parish on Christmas day.

Directory.—Decimus Burrows, farmer, Church Hill; William Burrows, farmer, Rea Farm; John Davies, shopkeeper; Rev. Samuel Du Pre, The Vicarage; William Easthope, farmer, Haylewells; William Evans, builder; Thomas Fenn, farmer, Dustley; George Gough, shopkeeper; William Thomas Homer, schoolmaster; Martha Hughes, beer and cider retailer; Daniel Jordin, miller and farmer; Levi Jordin, farmer; Thomas Jordin, farmer, Netherton House; William Jordin, Esq., New House; William Jordin, farmer, Highley House; William Kirk, shopkeeper and quarry owner; John Kirkham, vict., The Ship; William Lloyd, shoemaker; John Oakley, farm bailiff; William Pritchard, blacksmith; Richard Tomlinson, farmer, The Heath; William Walford, shoemaker; Benjamin Williams, tailor.

HOPE BAGGOT,

a small parish five miles east by south of Ludlow, containing 650 acres of land, in 1841 had 21 houses and 75 inhabitants; population in 1801, 94; 1831, 62. The tithes of this parish have been commuted for £75. In the 22nd of Richard II., William de Hulle held half a knight’s fee here under the Earl of March, which was formerly possessed by Robert Baggard, from whom this place took its name. The principal landowners are Benjamin Giles, Esq., Mrs. Lucy Botfield, Mrs. J. Hooley, and Mr. Richard Bray. The Church, dedicated to St. John, is a small stone edifice, capable of accommodating 63 persons. The interior consists of nave and chancel, in the latter of which is a tablet to the memory of Benjamin Giles, Esq., dated 1795, and another to the memory of Benjamin Giles, Esq., dated 1813. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s books at £3. 6s. 8d., now returned at £90; in the patronage of the Duke of Cleveland, and incumbency of the Rev. David Jones. Directory.—Richard Bray, farmer; Edward Downes, shoemaker; Benjamin Giles, Esq., Hope Court; Mrs. Jemima Hooley; Rev. David Jones, the Rectory; and James Geo. Lewis, Esq., Hope Villa.

HOPTON WAFERS

is a parish and pleasantly situated village on the Cleobury Mortimer and Ludlow turnpike road, 9 miles from the latter place. It contains 1,610a. 3r. 26p. of land, of which 22a. 3r. 18p. are roads; 236a. 3r. 26p. common; and 60a. are in woods and plantations. In 1851 there were 94 inhabited houses, 20 uninhabited, and 444 inhabitants; population in 1801, 392; 1841, 481. There were formerly three paper mills in this parish. Hopton Wafers is remarkable as giving a singular instance of longevity in William Hyde, who resided in this place, and lived to the advanced age of 106 years, and at the time of his decease in 1798, had sons upwards of eighty years old. The principal landowner is Mrs. Lucy Botfield, who is also lady of the manor; the trustees of Ludlow charities, trustees of Palmer’s charities, and the rector are also proprietors. Rent charge, £186. 12s. There are 83a. 1r. 21p. of glebe land. The Church is a fine gothic structure, built of free stone, having a square tower with pinnacles at the angles. In consists of north and south aisles and chancel, and has a gallery, in which is a small organ. On the altar is represented in statuary a Bible opening to the Ten Commandments, and on each side of the window are marble scrolls with the Creed and Lord’s Prayer engraved thereon. The church is dedicated to St. Mary, and the patronage is vested in Mrs. Lucy Botfield, incumbent, Rev. Thomas Woodward. The Primitive Methodists have a chapel, built in the year 1837.

Directory.—Joseph Allen, blacksmith; Mrs. Lucy Botfield, Hopton Court; John Bishop, farmer, Bank House; John Caldwell, tailor; Thomas Caldwell, tailor; John Dolphin, farmer and beer retailer; William Edwards, schoolmaster; William Farr, blacksmith; Richard Hatton, wheelwright; William Highfield, farmer; Eliza Hyde, schoolmistress; Thomas Hyde, shoemaker; William Hyde, shoemaker; William Jones, farmer, Little Shote; Thomas Page, farmer, Roch Head; William Radnor, farmer, Sproseley; Thomas Ree, farmer, White House; William Steed, stone mason; William Thatcher, farmer, Great Shote; John Whitehead, vict., the Crown and farmer; Rev. Thomas Woodward, M.A., the Rectory.

KINLET

is a parish in the Cleobury division of the Stottesden hundred, embracing the townships of Kinlet and Earnwood, and contains 6,692 acres of land, of which 1,079 are in woods, plantations and water; and 30 acres in public roads. Population in 1801, 602; 1831, 532; 1841, 480; at the latter period there were 98 houses. Rateable value, £5,760. 19s. 8d. The soil is various; in some parts a strong loam, and in other places a light soil prevails. The meadow land produces a rich herbage. William Lacon Childe, Esq., is lord of the manor, and the principal landowner. John White, Esq., Rev. Edward George Childe, Esq., George Crump, Esq., and Mr. William Rudd are also proprietors. The village of Kinlet is delightfully situated in a luxuriant district, five miles north from Cleobury Mortimer, and eight miles south from Bridgnorth. The township is intersected by the Bridgnorth, Cleobury Mortimer, and Bewdley turnpike roads, and a portion of the land stretches to the Severn side. This locality is richly timbered, and the high grounds commands some fine views of the surrounding country. At the census of 1841 there were 45 houses, mostly scattered, and a population of 227 souls, within the bounds of this township.

The Church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a venerable cruciform structure, situated near the mansion in Kinlet Park: it has a lofty square tower containing six bells. The interior has a very chaste and elegant appearance, and the Saxon or early Norman arches of the nave bespeak its antiquity. The structure was repaired and beautified in the year 1814, when the east window was restored, at the sole expense of Mr. Childe; it is richly adorned with armorial bearings and figures in stained glass. The altar is of oak exquisitely carved. On the south side of the church is an altar tomb, with the figures of a knight and two ladies in a recumbent position; the male figure is in steel armour, and remembers Sir William Childe, Knight; his feet rest on a lion couchant. On the north side is a tomb with two full length figures, in memory of Sir William Childe and his lady, dated 1678. There is also a beautiful marble tomb, with a rich canopy, having the figures of a knight and his lady, in a kneeling position, with those of a boy and a girl between them; it has the date of 1584. There is also the figure of a knight in a recumbent posture, in memory of George Blount, formerly lord of Kinlet, who died in 1581. Several elegant marble tablets, some of which are very chastely designed, have been erected to the memory of various members of the Childe family, of Kinlet Hall. The living is a vicarage valued in the king’s book at £8. 2s. 4d., now returned at £360 in the patronage of William Lacon Childe, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Edward George Childe, M.A.; officiating minister, Rev. Edward Prest, M.A. The tithes have been commuted, and £322 apportioned to the vicar, and £3. 7s. 6d. to the impropriator, the lord of the manor. There are 45a. 0r. 16p. of glebe land. A neat school and residence for the teachers was built in the year 1844, by William Lacon Childe, Esq., by whose munificence and that of the incumbent it is entirely supported.

Kinlet Park, the seat and property of William Lacon Childe, Esq., J.P., is a stately mansion of considerable extent, built in 1789, near the site of a former mansion, which was taken down. It stands on a gentle eminence in a delightful park, commanding views of great diversity and beauty. The pleasure grounds are tastefully laid out, and kept in the most admirable order, and the park is well timbered and beautifully picturesque. A magnificent avenue stretches across the grounds. The park contains 456 acres of land, besides which there are 1,076 acres covered with woods, plantations, and water. W. L. Childe, Esq., at the present time has upwards of 4,000 acres of land in his own hands. A feast is held at Kilnet on the first Sunday after Midsummer day. Cider is made to a considerable extent in this neighbourhood.

Childe Wm. Lacon, Esq., J. P., Kinlet Park

Barker Henry, farmer, Winnell

Beach Henry, farmer, Rotton row

Boucher James, Esq., steward & land agent

Chappell John, butler

Childe Rev. Edward George, The Hall

Childe William Lacon, Esq., junr.

Deverell Mr. William, farm steward

Elcock John, farmer, Winwoods

George George, farmer, Fastings

Hall John, farmer, Severn lodge

Jones William, Tip house

Jones William, farmer, Tip house

Lawley James, farmer, Norton’s end

Lawley John, farmer, Birch

Lawley Joseph, farmer, Button bridge farm

Lawley Thomas, blacksmith

Okey Edward, farmer

Pearson John, forrester and gardener

Pitt Hannah, school mistress

Pountney Charles, farmer, Catsley hall

Pountney Richard, farmer, Tilley grove

Prest Rev. Edward, The Vicarage

Reynolds Thomas, farmer, Braidley

Rhodes Richards, farmer and vict., Eagle and Serpent Inn

Rolf John, coachman

Rudd William, farmer, Hall of Hammons

Ward John, wheelwright

Whitehead John, park and gamekeeper

MIDDLETON SCRIVEN

is a parish and small rural village, in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden Hundred, five miles S.W. from Bridgnorth. The parish contains 786a. 0r. 16p. of land, the soil mostly a strong marl, producing wheat, barley, and turnips. The village is watered by two small streams, and in 1801 contained 80 inhabitants; 1831, 99; 1841, 108: at the latter period there were twenty houses. The principal landowners are the Rev. Thomas Rowley, D.D., and the Rev. F. S. Bolton; the former is lord of the manor. There are also several smaller freeholders. Gross estimated rental of the parish, £903. 16s.; rateable value, £827. 9s. The Church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was almost entirely rebuilt in 1845 by the present worthy rector. It consists of nave and chancel, and is neatly fitted up with oak sittings; several of the windows are beautified with stained glass, which gives the interior a very chastened and pleasing appearance. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £4. 6s. 8d., now returned at £150 in the patronage and incumbency of the Rev. Thomas Rowley, D.D. The rectory is a good residence a little south from the church.

Directory.—The Rev. Thomas Rowley, D.D., The Rectory; Joseph Brown, farmer, The Vicarage House; Richard Giles, joiner; Thomas Hall, junr., farmer, The Cave; Richard Lane, wheelwright; James Lock, draining contractor; John Tongue, farmer and shopkeeper; Silas Webley, farmer; William Wellings, blacksmith.

MORVILLE

is a parish in the Chelmarsh division of the hundred of Stottesden, three miles N.W. of Bridgnorth, and five miles S.E. of Much Wenlock. At the Doomsday survey it was written Membrefelde, and was granted by William the Conqueror to Roger de Montgomery. The parish contains 2,778 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £4299. 5s. 2d. The principal landowners are Sir John E. D. Acton, Bart., and Lord Sudeley; Mrs. Thursby, Lord Forester, and Thomas C. Whitmore, Esq., M.P., are also proprietors. At the census of 1841 Morville contained eighty houses and 412 inhabitants; population in 1801, 415; in 1831, 517. The parish is intersected by the Bridgnorth and Much Wenlock turnpike road, and watered by the Mar brook.

The Church, dedicated to St. Gregory, was rebuilt in the year 1118, on an old Saxon foundation, and formed a part of the possessions of Salop abbey. The interior contains nave, chancel, and side aisles, the latter is separated from the body by three arches on each side. The structure is neatly pewed, and will accommodate 294 persons. In the family seat of the Acton’s is a tablet to the memory of Sir Edward Acton, Bart., who departed this life September 28th, 1716, aged 64 years. The living is a perpetual curacy in the patronage of Lord Sudeley, and incumbency of the Rev. George Leigh Wasey, M.A. The chapelry of Aston Eyre is annexed to this church. The tithes have been commuted, and £645 apportioned to Lord Sudeley, and £21 to Sir John E. D. Acton.

The Roman Catholics have a neat chapel near Aldenham Hall, which was built about the year 1836 by Lady Granville, and will accommodate near 200 persons. The interior has a chaste and elegant appearance. The east window is of stained glass, having a beautiful representation of our Saviour. In the chapel is a marble tablet to the memory of Sir Richard Ferdinand Acton, Bart., who died at Paris, January 31st, 1837, aged 35 years. The Rev. Francis Ruiz is the priest.

Aldenham Hall, a handsome stone mansion, the seat and property of Sir John E. D. Acton, Bart., situated four miles north-east from Bridgnorth, was built in the year 1691. It is approached by a fine avenue of lofty elms, and surrounded by a park of 170 acres. The owner of the mansion and estate is now a minor

Charities.—Thomas Burte, by will, dated 30th January, 1631, gave the sum of £100 to Walter Acton, Esq., of Morville, to the intent that he should add thereto the like sum of £100, and should lay out the whole £200 in the purchase of land for the use of the poor people of the parish of Morville. The money was expended in the year 1635 in the purchase of fifteen acres of land in the parish of Claverley, to which was added 2a. 1r. 19p. of land in 1812 on the Enclosure of the common of Morfe. The whole of the land is now let at a yearly rent of £20, one half of which is paid to the perpetual curate of Morville, and the other half is distributed among the poor

On the benefaction table it is stated that John Mousall gave 10s. per annum to the poor of Morville, to be expended in the purchase of Bibles, which sum is charged upon an estate at the Reilth, in the parish of Mainstine.

It is further stated on the benefaction table that Arthur Weaver gave to the poor at Morville on every Sunday sixpenny loaves, which is charged upon an estate in this parish, which formerly belonged to that family.

John Guest, by will, dated 1,773, directed his son and executor, John Guest, junr., to distribute the interest of £10 to such of the poor of the parish of Morville as he should think the greatest objects of charity. The interest of this sum, with another sum of £5 said to have been left by Richard Geary, and £20 left by the aforesaid John Guest, in 1797, has been regularly distributed in bread to the poor of the parish.

Aston Eyre, a chapelry in the parish of Morville, four miles N.E. of Bridgnorth, contains 1,200 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £1,111. At the census of 1841 it had 23 houses and 130 inhabitants; population in 1801, 106, and in 1831, 120. The landowners in this chapelry are Sir John E. D. Acton, Bart., Lord Sudeley, and St. John C. Charlton, Esq. The chapel was built in the year 1147, and endowed by Robert Fitz Aber, with sixty acres of land, the title deeds of which are still extant. Over the door on entering the chapel is a tympanum of antique workmanship, representative of our Saviour entering Jerusalem on an ass. The chapel is built of stone, and contains nave and chancel, which is separated from the body by a pointed arch. There is accommodation for 76 persons. The living is subordinate to that of Morville.

Acton Sir John E. D., Bart., Aldenham Hall

Backhouse Henry O., farmer & auctioneer

Braithwaite John, farmer, Haughton

Brown Mary & Sons, blacksmith

Brown Sarah, farmer, The Croft

Bryant Michl., miller & gardener, Aldenham

Clarke John, farmer, The Croft

Cureton Thomas, farmer, Bridgwalton

Downes John, farmer, and wine & spirit mer

Dutertre Rev. Peter, (Catholic), The Priory

Elcock Wm., miller & farmer, Ley mill

Fortel Rev. Thomas, (Catholic), The Priory

Green John, miller and farmer, Harpswood

Henbury Charles, farmer, The Hurst

Meredith James, farmer, Underton

Oliver William, farmer, Bridgwalton

Panter Charles, farm bailiff, Croft

Reece Edwin, farmer, Harpsford

Reynolds Joseph, farmer, Underton

Richards Rev. Fred., B.A., curate, Morville Hall

Rudd The Misses, farmers, The Croft

Ruiz Rev. Frances, O.M.C., (Catholic), The Priory

Russell Thomas, farm bailiff

Taylor Thomas, farmer & vict., Acton’s Arms

Trudeau Rev. Alex., (Catholic), The Priory

Wadlow Charles, farmer, The Hurst

Wasey Rev. George Leigh, M.A., incumbent, The Knowle Sands

Wall Francis, shoemaker and shopkeeper

Williams Charles, steward to Sir J. E. D. Acton, Bart., Morville Hall

Willis Joseph, farmer, Morville Hall

Aston Eyre Directory.

Beddoes Mr. George, Aston Cottage

Corser William, farmer

Embrey William, farmer

Gittings Richard, farmer

Taylor Thomas, farm bailiff

Wall Hercules, farmer

NEEN SAVAGE

is a parish in the Cleobury division of the hundred of Stottesden, one mile north-west from Cleobury, situated in a sequestered valley watered by the River Rea. It contains 3,690 acres of land, and had at the census of 1841, 99 houses and 490 inhabitants; population in 1801, 469; 1831, 450. The landowners in the parish are the Rev. Charles Richard Somers Cocks, M.A.; William Lacon Childe, Esq.; C. B. Ogle, Esq.; Robert Hinckesman, Esq.; and a few smaller proprietors. There are two paper mills in this parish, in the occupancy of Mr. Thomas Lambert Hall. The tithe of this parish is commuted for £420. The Church is an ancient gothic edifice of stone, consisting of nave and chancel, and will accommodate 300 persons. It was appropriated to the Abbey of Wigmore, by Hugh de Mortimer, immediately after the finishing of that abbey. It is rated in the king’s books at £6. In 1630, the advowson of Neen Savage, now worth £445, was sold for only £80. On the 19th of January, 1825, the wooden spire of the church was struck with lightning and burnt to the tower; the roof was much injured, and the bells were melted and fell to the bottom of the tower, and but for the exertions of the surrounding inhabitants, the whole edifice would soon have been in ruins. There are seven acres of glebe land in the parish. The Lord Chancellor is patron of the living; and the Rev. Charles R. Somers Cocks, M.A., is the vicar.

Charities.—Richard Edwards, by will, gave the sum of £400, in trust, that the same should be laid out in land, and the rents and profits thereof paid to some good schoolmaster to teach twenty poor boys of the parish of Neen Savage. In 1732 the sum of £285 was applied in the purchase of 17 acres of land in Stottesden parish, which is now let at a rent of £35. The remainder of the money was placed out at interest until some opportunity may offer of making an advantageous purchase in land.

Richard Hinckesman, Esq., by will, dated 1780, charged certain lands in this parish with the payment of 6s. 8d. annually, for a sermon; and 13s. 4d. to be given to 10 poor widows annually.

John Longmore, by will, dated November 7th, 1835, gave the sum of £500, to be invested in government securities; the interest, dividends, and produce thereof to be expended in bread, and distributed to the most deserving poor of the parish every Sunday morning after Divine service. The aforesaid £500 was invested on the eighth day of March, 1839, in the purchase of £538. 7s. 2d. in the three per cent. consols, in the name of the vicar and churchwardens.

Bluck Samuel, farmer, Stepple Hall

Cleeton William, farm bailiff, Stone House

Cocks, Rev. Charles Richard Somers, vicar, the Vicrge.

Corbett Michael, farmer, Nethercott

Dallow John, castrator

Dorrall James, farmer, Wyer

Edmonds John, farmer, Wall Town

Hall Thomas Lambert, jun., paper manufacturer

Meredith Joseph, farmer, Rea Side

Minton Josh, farmer, Upper Beavney

Moore Thomas, blacksmith

Nisbett, Rev. Mr.

Preece John, farmer

Reynolds Thomas, farmer, Upper Beavney

Stephens Francis, farmer, Bank Top

Ward William, schoolmaster

Ward Elizh., schoolmistress

Weston Thomas, farmer

Wheeler George, farmer

Wheeler Joseph, miller

Whooton Thomas, farmer, the Lodge

Worrall John, farmer, Nash

Worrall Thomas, farmer, Elcott

NEENTON

is a parish and township in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden hundred, situated on the western bank of the River Rea, near the foot of the Brown Clee Hill, and six and a half miles south-west from Bridgnorth. The parish contains 1,000 acres of land, and is intersected by the Ludlow and Bridgnorth turnpike road. The land has mostly a strong soil, tolerably productive. In 1801 there were 120 inhabitants; 1831, 130; and in 1841, 29 houses and a population of 144 souls. The principal landowners are Henry Lyster, Esq.; John Minton, Esq.; Rev. J. F. Benwell, and Mr. T. Edwards; besides whom there are several smaller freeholders. The Church is an inconsiderable structure of brick, consisting of nave and chancel, with a turret in which are two bells. The living is a vicarage, rated in the king’s book at £5. 3s. 6½d., now returned at £196: patron and incumbent, Rev. John Frederick Benwell. The Vicarage is a neat brick residence, situated a short distance from the church.

Directory.—James Amiss, wheelwright; Rev. John Frederick Benwell, The Vicarage; William Childs, farmer, The Park; Richard Cleeton, wheelwright and beerhouse keeper; Richard Dodd, farmer, The Hay; George Edwards, butcher; George Edwards, farmer; Edward Hall, farmer, The Hall; John Hodnett, tailor and vict., New Inn; William Massey, farmer, The Bank; John Medlicott, farmer.

OLDBURY

is a parish and village in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden hundred, situated about a mile S.S.W. from Bridgnorth. The village is on a gentle eminence, and contains some respectable family residences, and is surrounded by scenery of the most picturesque and romantic character. The parish comprises upwards of 1,400 acres of land, and is bounded on the east by the River Severn, and intersected by the Bridgnorth, Ludlow, and Cleobury Mortimer turnpike roads. At the census in 1801 there were 107 inhabitants; 1831, 126; and in 1841, 28 houses, and a population of 142 souls. The Church is a plain structure, dedicated St. Nicholas, consisting of nave and chancel, with a tower partly composed of wood. The interior is neatly pewed, and the nave is separated from the chancel by a carved oak screen. The Rev. Joseph Woolley, rector of this place 51 years, is remembered on a neat tablet dated 1728. There are also tablets to members of the families of Dethic, Beech, Hincksman, and others. The living is a rectory, rated in the king’s book at £5, now returned at £254, in the patronage of the Lord Chancellor: incumbent, Rev. John Purton, M.A. There are 16½ acres of glebe land. Sir John E. D. Acton, Bart. is the principal landowner, and lord of the manor. Mr. Nicholas Edwards and the Rev. John Purton are also proprietors. The Rectory is a good residence, situated near the church.

Charities.—Mrs. Mary Harris left by her will £5 for the poor of the parish. The time of this bequest is not mentioned; but in April, 1770, it appears that the principal and interest then amounted to £10. No application of this legacy seems to have been made to the use of the poor for a period of upwards of fifty years. About thirty years ago the principal and interest were paid over by Mr. Thomas Farmer, and invested in the stock; the money so invested produced a sum of £57. 12s. stock in the three per cent. consols; the dividends of which are yearly distributed among the poor.

The Rev. Thomas Littleton, by his will, dated 17th September, 1792, gave to the minister and churchwardens or Oldbury the sum of £10, upon trust, to pay the interest among the poor who frequent the service of the church. The personal property of Mr. Littleton passed into the hands of his executor, Richard Green, and eventually into those of his brother, Jonathan Green, who became embarrassed in his circumstances. The property had been sold when the Charity Report was published, and it was expected that this, with other claims, would soon be liquidated.

Directory.—John Bentley, butcher, Crosshouses; Samuel Bentley, farmer; Edmund F. Bowen, farmer and beerhouse keeper; Mr. James Brawn; William Brown, blacksmith; Miss Edwards; Nicholas Edwards, farmer, Westwood; John Green, farmer and corn miller; Mrs. Sophia Elizabeth James, The Cottage; Richard Jerrett, farmer and vict., The Hundred House; Margaret Wynne Jones, gentlewoman, The Lodge; Mrs. Mary Longmore, The Villa; Rev. John Purton, M.A., The Rectory; Miss Spalding; John Warden, farmer; Edward Welding, wheelwright; Mary Wheatley, gentlewoman, Oldbury House; Mr. Wright

QUATFORD,

a small parish and village on the banks of the river Severn, about a mile and a half south from Bridgnorth, derives its name from Coed and Forda (British), signifying the Wood at the Ford—originally within the Forest of Morfe. The parish contains 1,773 acres of land, and includes the lordships of Hay and Eardington, which are situated on the opposite side of the river Severn. The parish in 1801 contained 417 inhabitants; 1831, 492; 1841, 553. Rateable value, £3,586, 18s. 3d. The township of Quatford comprises 514 acres of land, and in 1841 had 44 houses and a population of 204 souls. The manor belongs to the corporation of Bridgnorth, and the mayor for the time being is lord of the manor. John Smalman, Esq., is the principal landowner; George Pritchard, Esq., W. W. Whitmore, Esq., Henry Vickers, Esq., Mary Jones, Mr. Thomas Hudson, Lord Sudeley, Mr. William Hughes, Mr. Thursfield, and others, are also proprietors. In this township stands the castellated residence of John Smalman, Esq., J.P., called Quatford Castle. It stands within sight of the rock where stood the castle erected by Ethelfleda Countess of Mercia (the wife of Ethelred, the first Earl Palatine of Mercia), prior to the year 919. Mr. Smalman is descended from an ancient family long seated at Wilderhope Hall, in the parish of Rushbury. The castle is built on a prominent hill, surrounded by plantations overlooking the beautiful river Severn for several miles, and only approached by an artificial road on its eastern side. This enchanting spot, from its varied views and pleasurable walks, is the constant attraction of families resident in the town and neighbourhood of Bridgnorth, who are welcomed by its liberal and much respected proprietor.

The Church, a venerable structure, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, has a square tower, surmounted with pinnacles, and contains three bells. The interior of the church has a handsome appearance; the altar is elaborately carved, and the floor of the chancel is covered with encaustic tiles. There are several neat monumental tablets, one of which remembers Thomas Crump, who died in 1718; another is erected to the memory of Joseph Corbet, Esq., who died in 1790. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Lord Sudeley, and enjoyed by the Rev. George Leigh Wasey, M.A. Mr. Cox has the following account of Quatford:—“The manor of Quatford, belonging to Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, he built a church here, upon this occasion: Adaliza, his wife, coming out of Normandy, there happened so great a storm at sea that nothing but shipwreck was expected by the mariners; but her chaplain being wearied with much watching, fell fast asleep, and as he lay at rest a venerable matron appeared to him, and said: ‘If your lady will make a vow to build a church to St. Mary Magdalene, in the place where she first meets the earl, her husband, in England, she shall be preserved from the danger of this tempest.’ This vision being told his lady, she presently vowed accordingly, and got safe to shore; from whence, going towards her husband at Shrewsbury, she met him in this place a hunting, and telling him the vision, he willingly fulfilled her vow, and built this church at Quatford, and dedicated it to St. Mary Magdalene, endowed it with ample possessions, and gave it to his collegiate chapel, in the Castle of Bridgnorth. Robert de Belesme, his eldest son, coming to his father’s inheritance in England (by the death of his younger brother, Hugh), removed from this town of Quatford,—but whither, we find not.”

The Wesleyan Methodists have a small chapel in the village. There is also a School here, a decorated structure, built in the year 1847, by subscription; about thirty children attend. A Library for the use of the parish is kept in the church vestry.

Charities.—John Corfield, in 1718, directed six twopenny loaves to be distributed the first Sunday in every month in the year. This annuity is paid out of land in Stottesden. Arthur Weaver, Esq., in 1709, bequeathed out of the several tithes of Morville, Aston Eyre, and Quatford, to the curates of each yearly; the bequest to the curate of Quatford being £3. 13s. 4d.

It appears that in the years 1767 and 1769, Arthur Weaver granted two rent charges of £7 each, towards the augmentation of this curacy, and that the Governors of Queen Ann’s Bounty, in conjunction with the said Isaac Weaver, agreed to augment the curacy with two several sums of £200 each, having previously agreed to augment the same with a like sum of £200 by lot. In pursuance of this agreement, in the year 1784, the sum of £600 was laid out in the purchase of a certain messuage and about seven acres of land, situated at Eardington, which were conveyed to the then curate, to hold to him and his successors for ever.

Church Lands.—The following premises have been appropriated to the repairs and uses of the church for a long period, but from what source they were originally derived we have been unable to discover:—A parcel of land, called Paradise, containing four acres and three-quarters, producing £10 per annum. A house and garden let for 10s. a-year, also rendering the service of rowing over the parishioners at all times free to the parish church on the other side of the river. There are also several other plots of land, comprising upwards of 14 acres, which, with the above sums, produce an annual rent of £20. 1s. 11d. In the year 1810, timber was sold from the church land for £100. 12s. 6d., part of which was laid out for a new boat, and there remained a sum of £70 in the Bridgnorth Bank.

William Nicholls, in 1846, bequeathed £150 to the minister of Quatford, upon trust, to dispose of the interest thereof among the most deserving poor of the parish.

The sum of £20, left by Thomas Spencer in 1722, for the benefit of the curate of Quatford, and £10, left by Elizabeth Oldburg in 1730, have long been lost.

Directory.—John Smalman, Esq., The Castle; John Clayton, Esq., Quatford House; John Davies, beerseller; Robert Griffiths, timber merchant, architect, builder, quarry-master, and dealer in tiles, bricks, slates, &c., Chantrey House; Thomas Hudson, beerseller; Mary Lambert, school-teacher; William Martin, victualler, Red Lion Inn; Thos. Owen, shopkeeper, and foreman to Mr. Griffiths; John Thomas Poole, farmer, The Bank; The Misses Shepherd, The Grove; John Sing, Esq., The Hall; Richard Turley, parish clerk and ferry-house keeper; Stephen Wolryche, Esq., The Villa.

EARDINGTON

is a township and pleasantly situated village, in the parish Quatford, one mile south from Bridgnorth, which contains 1,259a. 0r. 7p. of land, the rateable value of which is £2,727. 13s. Gross estimated rental, £2,997. 18s. The principal landowners are Mrs. Mary Oldbury; Mr. William Baldwin; The Devisees of the late Thomas Duppa, Esq.; Lord Liverpool; and Lord Sudeley; besides whom there are several other small freeholders. In Doomsday Book we find this place written Ardintone, and though annexed to the mother church of Quatford (on the opposite side of the river Severn) in ecclesiastical matters, yet in all other respects is virtually a parish of itself. About three miles below Bridgnorth, on the western bank of the Severn, is the Eardington Forge, a charcoal iron manufactory, celebrated for making the best charcoal wire, horse nail, and gun iron. The works are carried on by James Foster, Esq., of Stanton Castle, in Worcestershire, under the able management of Mr. Thomas Austin Jackson, and are the largest of the kind in the kingdom. The National School is a neat brick structure, which will accommodate about fifty children. It was erected in the year 1837. This township in 1801 had a population of 328 souls; 1831, 325; 1841, 349. At the latter period there were 71 inhabited houses.

Angeworth William, farmer, Hay Farm

Baker Thomas, farmer

Cooper John Henry, Esq., banker, The Knowle Sands

Cole George, stock taker, The Forge

Crowder John, corn miller

Duppa Mrs. Georgiana Elizb.

Fryer John, blacksmith

Garbett Francis, shoemaker

Harrison Mr. Samuel

Hudson William, victualler, The Crown

Jackson Mr. Thomas Austin, manager, Eardington Forge

James David, beerhouse

Jarratt James, butcher

Lloyd Thomas, shoemaker

Miles Thos., vict., Red Lion

Minshull John, miller

Noakes Samuel, farmer

Oldbury Mrs. Mary, farmer, Eardington House

Oldbury The Misses Anne and Margaret

Pitt James, engineer

Powell Martha, shopkeeper

Simkiss John, manager of Coal and Buck’s Works

Summers Samuel, farmer

Wasey Rev. Geo. Leigh, M.A. incumbent of Quatford and Morville Knowle Sands

Weaver William, maltster, and farmer

QUATT,

an extensive parish, anciently within the forest of Morfe, is intersected by the Bridgnorth and Kidderminster turnpike road, and bounded on the western side by the river Severn, which is crossed at several places by ferry boats. The parish comprehends the hamlets of Quatt Malvern, Quatt Jarvis, Mose, Wooton, and Dudmaston, and contains 2,674a. 1r. 11p. of land, of which 238a. 0r. 14p. are in woods and plantations, 33a. 3r. 36p. water, 23a. 1r. 4p. public roads, and 66a. 2r. 26p. in the demesne and grounds of Dudmaston Hall. The soil is for the most part highly fertile. Rateable value, £3,514. 4s. 5d. Population in 1801, 300; 1831, 328; 1841, 365; part of the population is included within the limits of the borough of Bridgnorth. The township of Quatt Malvern at the census of 1841 is returned as containing 29 houses and 141 inhabitants. The tithes are commuted for £415. 9s. 8d. Thomas Charlton Whitmore, Esq., M.P., is the principal landowner and lord of the manor; John Sing, Esq., Thomas Bowen, and others, are also freeholders. The village of Quatt is scattered, but pleasantly situated, four miles S.E. from Bridgnorth; it contains some good residences, and the surrounding country is beautifully picturesque and romantic. In Leland’s time there were to be seen here the ruins of the manor house of Robert de Montgomery. About four miles from Quatt Malvern are the remains of a Roman camp called The Walls. The form of it is nearly quadrangular, and there have been four gates into it; one in the middle of the north front, another in the middle of the west, a third in the south-east, and a fourth at the north-east corner. The odd position of the two last take advantage of declivities in the rock. Besides these a sloping way is cut through the bank, and down the rock in the middle of the south face, to the water. The west side has been doubly fortified with a deep trench cut out of the solid rock between two ramparts. To the north it has only one bank. It embraces an area of more than twenty acres, but no coins or antiquities have been found there. Not far from the Severn an ancient sword was discovered, differing in form and metal to any hitherto found in Great Britain. Similar have been found in Ireland.

The Church is a venerable fabric, dedicated to St. Andrew, partly composed of free stone, and partly of brick. It consists of nave, chancel, side chapel, and north aisle, the latter separated from the nave by three arches resting on octagonal pillars; the tower contains four bells. The pulpit and reading desk are beautifully carved, and dated 1629. The font is very ancient, and there is a gallery at the west end, upon which is placed an organ. The altar is of oak, exquisitely carved. On the floor is a remarkable inscription, with some curious tracery, dated 1387 and 1495. On a pillar are remembered some of the ancient family of Wolryches. In the side chapel is a black marble tomb in memory of Sir Francis Wolryche, who died in 1668, near to which is an elaborate monumental tomb with figures in black marble, in bold relief set in a block of alabaster. There is also a fine figure in alabaster, exquisitely carved, in memory of Dame Marie Wolryche, dated 1628. Another tomb of fine workmanship has the figures of a knight and his lady, and remembers Francis Wolryche, Esq., and Margaret, his wife, and is dated 1614. There are also some neat tablets in the church which our limits will not allow us to notice in detail. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £14. 15s., now returned at £415. 4s. 8d., in the patronage of W. W. Whitmore, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Edmund Carr, M.A. The rectory is a handsome and spacious residence situated near the church. On rebuilding the church of Quatt in 1763 were found a number of figures painted on the walls, representing the Seven Charities and the Day of Judgment; and on a piece of vellum nailed to an oak board the figure of our Saviour rising from the sepulchre, underneath the figure were the following lines:—“Saynt Gregory and other popes and byshops grantes sex and twenty thousand zere of pardonz thirtti dayes to alle that saies devoutlye knelyng afor yis is ymage fife paternosters, fife aves, and a cred.”

The South Eastern Shropshire District School has been established for the reception of children belonging to the several unions of Bridgnorth, Cleobury Mortimer, Madeley, and Seisdon. The object of the institution is not only to give a sound healthy education, but so to improve both the physical and mental powers as shall break the thread of pauperism, and enable this hitherto unhappy class to establish themselves in after life as independent labourers. The experiment has proved most satisfactory, and even more successful than was expected, not only in giving a good healthy education combined with labour to the children, but yielding such a return in money as altogether prevented any additional cost to the ratepayers, and even paid a portion of the former expenses. The actual profits of the four acres of land cultivated having amounted to between £60 and £70 per annum. The question of profit, though of importance, is trifling when compared with the benefits derived by the children, who are here removed from scenes of inferiority and degradation and brought up in habits of industry, and a knowledge of gardening combined with the inculcation of honest principles and religious knowledge, are blessings of incalculable amount. The house is capable of accommodating 170 children, and the boys are employed in the cultivation of the land, in the management of cows, pigs, and a pony; the girls are employed in the house and dairy work. Henry Garland is the governor, and Mrs. Garland matron.

Dudmaston Hall, the seat and property of W. W. Whitmore, Esq., J.P., is a handsome brick mansion, situated near the Bewdley and Bridgnorth turnpike road. It stands in an extensive and richly wooded park, and is beautified with tasteful pleasure grounds and choice shrubs. Dudmaston is a manor within the manor of Quatt, and was in early times the residence of Dudmastons, from whom it passed in marriage to the Wolryches, and they devised it to their maternal relation, William Whitmore, Esq., whose descendant now inherits the estate and mansion.

Charities.—By an indenture, dated September 17th, 1687, the churchwardens and two parishioners of this parish devised, for a term of 99 years, to Richard Gough, a piece of land in St. Leonard’s parish, in consideration that the said Richard Gough should, within five years, erect thereon a bay of building with brick and stone; and also should pay, during the term, the annual rent of five shillings, for the benefit of the poor of Quatt. It does not appear to what source the parish was indebted for this land, but in an old corporation book belonging to the corporation of Bridgnorth, there is an entry, purporting to be an extract from the will of Thomas Dovey, dated 13th of February, 1601, whereby he gave to the parish of Quatt £5 for the use of the poor for ever. In 1788, the former lease having expired, a new lease of the premises was granted for the like term, and at the same rent; the sum of £12 being paid as a fine for renewal.

This parish appears also to have enjoyed for many years the property of a house and land, in the parish of Worfield, of the origin of which we have not been able to discover any trace. The earliest notice that we find of it is in the year 1759, when it appears in the occupation of a tenant at the rent of £2. 10s. per annum. In 1802 the premises were sold for £110, and the amount was placed in the bank of Bates and Jones, at Bridgnorth, which subsequently failed. A dividend of 4s. in the pound was afterwards paid, and this sum, amounting to £22. 13s. 2d. was placed in the Stourbridge bank. The interest is carried to the poor rates.

Directory.—William Wolryche Whitmore, Esq., Dudmaston Park; Miss Elizabeth and Ellen Bowen; Thomas Bowen, farmer, Wooton; Rev. Edmund Carr, M.A.; Thomas Clare, farmer, Mose; William Clare, maltster and farmer; Wm. Coupar, farmer, Hoult; John Craig, farmer, Wooton; Henry Garland, governor of Union School; William L. Loundes, Esq., The Lodge; Samuel Minor, farmer, Mose; George Pool, farmer, Morfe; John Sayce, farmer, Lye Hall; Robert Sayce, farmer, The Hall Farm and Harles Farm; William Spence, agent to W. W. Whitmore, Esq.; John Warder, farmer, Morfe.

RUDGE

is a sequestered village and township in the parish of Pattingham, situated seven miles east of Wolverhampton, and eight miles south by west of Bridgnorth, bordering on the county of Staffordshire, from which it is separated by a small stream of water. This township has no connexion with the mother parish except for church assessments, all other parochial rates being raised by a collection from the resident holders of property. In 1841 there were 19 houses and 101 persons. There are 1,567 acres of land here, of which 40 acres are woodlands, 10a. 2r. 18p. roads, 166a. 2r. 25p. of meadow or pasture, 894 acres arable, and 455a. 3r. 14p. common and waste, which is now being enclosed by Thomas Boycott, Esq., who gives employment to a number of the labouring population. The Wolverhampton and Bridgnorth turnpike road crosses Rudge Heath. Rateable value of the township, £1,792. 1s. The tithes were commuted in 1839 for £199. 10s. 10d. to the impropriator, and £75. 15s. to the vicar of the parish. Thomas Boycott, Esq. is lord of the manor, and the principal landowner. Rudge Hall, the seat and property of Thomas Boycott, Esq., is pleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, commanding most beautiful prospects of the surrounding country. It is built of brick, and stuccoed. The park grounds are of considerable extent, and richly wooded.

Directory.—Thomas Boycott, Esq., Rudge Hall; Rev. William George Greenstreet, M.A., The Vicarage; James Bentley, machine maker; John Bentley, carriage builder and smith; Thomas Edwards, farmer; Robert Francis, farmer; James Herbert, shopkeeper; Benjamin Hithcock, gardener; George Jones, jun., farmer; George Jones, farmer; Sarah Jones, dressmaker; William Jones, farmer; Richard Keysell, coachman; Charles Lakin, farmer and vict., New Inn; William Lyndon, farmer; Alexander Mac Donald, gardener; Richard Morris, butler; William Nash, farmer; Thomas Pound, blacksmith, Hobston; James Tomkiss, grocer and provision dealer; Robert Turnbull, farm bailiff; Benjamin Waklam, beerhouse keeper.

SHEINTON, OR SHINETON,

a parish and small rural village in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden hundred, picturesquely situated in a romantic district, 2¾ miles N.N.W. from Much Wenlock, contains 967a. 3r. 4p. of land, bounded on the north by the river Severn. Gross estimated rental, £1,428. 14s. Rateable value, £1,352. 17s. Population in 1801, 163; 1831, 133; 1841, 154; at the latter period there were 36 houses. The principal landowners are the Duke of Cleveland, Sir George Harnage, Francis Benthall, Esq., and the devisees of the late Walter Moseley, Esq. The family of Sheynton were seated here at a very early period. William de Sheynton held one knight’s fee in this manor in the 22nd of Richard II. Hugh de Sheynton had the grant of free warren here in the time of Edward II. The land is for the most part fertile in this parish, and produces good turnips and barley: the low lands have been improved by draining. The Church consists of nave and chancel, with a tower, in which are three bells. It is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and has an ancient appearance. There are no memorials worthy of notice. Some of the curious carving in oak is of great antiquity. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s book at £6. 9s. 2d., now returned at £360; in the patronage and incumbency of the Rev. H. Bagnall. Ann Lacon bequeathed a rent charge of £5 per annum for the benefit of the poor. The amount is received by the overseers, who distribute it in equal shares of 25s. each, among four poor widows of the parish. They are appointed by the minister and churchwardens, and continue to enjoy the charity during their respective lives.

The principal residents are the Rev. Henry Bagnall, rector; Charlotte Adney, farmer; Andrew Dodson, farmer; John Young, vict., The Rising Buck.

SIDBURY

is a parish and small village, six miles S.W. by S. from Bridgnorth, in the Chelmarsh division of the hundred. It is situated on a slight eminence in a bold undulating district, and contains 1248 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £966. 14s. 6d. In 1841 the parish had 14 houses and 94 souls; population in 1801, 92; in 1831, 103. The parish of Sidbury formerly belonged to the family of the Cresswells, whose ancestor was Richard the faithful servant of Charles I., who was in attendance on the king when he took the fatal step of escaping from the University of Oxford. This was one of those villes that Edmund de Mortimer separated from the hundred of Stottesden in the time of Edward I. The landowners in this parish are William Henry Cresswell, Esq., Thomas Crump, Esq. and Mr. Barnard Acres.

The Church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, consists of nave, chancel, and north side chapel, the latter built by the Cresswell family; it contains a tablet to the memory of Richard Cresswell, Esq., dated 1705. The church is built of stone, with a small turret in which is one bell. On the south wall is a tablet to the memory of Jacob Smith, Esq., dated 1795, and also one to the memory of George Smith, Esq., who died in 1802. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £4. 13s. 4d., now returned at £227.; patron, the Earl of Shrewsbury; incumbent, Rev. R. Maddox. There are 34 acres of glebe land. Sidbury Hall is a good stone residence, in the occupancy of Mr. James Pugh, farmer.

Directory.—Barnard Acres, farmer, Oxwood; John Corfield, farmer, Lower House; Rev. William Lewis Jones, curate; Joseph Massie, farmer, The Batch; William Powell, farmer, The Rectory; Samuel Pritchard, farmer, New Barn; James Pugh, farmer, Sidbury Hall; Jane, Catharine, and Harriet Snow, farmers, The Upper House.

STOTTESDEN

is an extensive parish in the Cleobury division of the hundred to which it gives name, situated five miles north of Cleobury Mortimer, containing the townships of Bardley and Harcourt, Chorley, Duddlewick, Hinton, Kingswood and Button, Oak, Newton, Ingwardine and Lowe, Oreton, Overton, Prescott, Walton and Bagginswood, Picton, Stottesden, Walkerslowe, Wricton and Northwood, which together comprehend an area of 12,074a. 2r. 27p. of land, the rateable value of which is £8,796. 16s. 8d. At the census of 1841 there were 259 houses and 1,217 persons in the Shropshire portion of the parish, part of it extending into the Wolphy hundred of the county of Hereford. The tithes have been commuted for £987. 17s. 1d. The Duke of Cleveland is lord of the manor, and a considerable landowner. The farms in the parish are generally large, excepting on the south-western side, adjoining the Clee Hill, where are collieries and ironstone mines, which give employment to a number of the labouring population, but the principal part are engaged in agricultural pursuits. There is a considerable portion of clayey soil in the parish, other parts are of a more light and sandy nature, and in some places a fertile loam prevails. Stottesden is a pleasant village, 13 miles north-east by east of Ludlow, five miles north of Cleobury Mortimer, and eight miles south-west by south of Bridgnorth. The township contains 987a. 2r. 19p. of land, the rateable value of which is £1,216. 4s. 7d.; and at the census of 1841 there were 53 houses and 215 inhabitants. The principal landowners in the township are Mrs. Oldbury; Rev. Charles J. Maddison; Rev. Mr. Wakefield; Mr. Edward Bytheway; Mrs. Jones; Mrs. Waterhouse; Mr. Frier; Mr. Pope; Mr. Edward Cleeton; Mr. Turner, and Mrs. Howard. The vicarial tithes are commuted for £42. 3s. There are 27a. 3r. 4p. of glebe land. The manor of Stottesden was the possession of Edwin, Earl of Mercia, (at the time of Edward the Confessor), who rebelled against that monarch, in consequence of which it was given to Roger de Montgomery, in whose family it remained till a failure of male heirs. On the 28th of Henry III., John de Plessitis had a grant of a market here on a Tuesday, and a fair on the eve, the day, and the day after the assumption of the Blessed Virgin. There is a feast held the first Sunday after Michaelmas day.

The Church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient edifice, built of rubble stone, having been covered with three roofs, supported on each side of the interior by five semicircular arches of equal size, rising from four slender pillars, and from a pillar on each side. From these latter spring two small arches, slightly pointed, and adjoining to the rector’s chancel; the one is connected with and opening into the Stottesden chancel, which is still kept apart by its ancient oak screen. The other semicircular arch served as an opening to admit the staircase leading up to the ancient rood loft, which no doubt stood under an arch between the church and the communion chancel. The rood loft was swept away at the reformation, and the arch probably about the period of the civil wars. At the west end of the north and south aisles are still to be seen the Norman pilasters, decorated with mouldings, and carried up with the walls in the interior; probably the oldest part of the fabric. The elegant part of the exterior of this mouldering pile has been most sacrilegiously destroyed; its parapets and battlements, with its lead roof, have entirely disappeared. The north wall has been lowered, and the windows cut through, having removed the upper or traceried part to within five feet six inches of the surface of the cemetery. The fine mullioned windows in the rectory and Wrickton chancels, as well as on the south side of the church, afford a beautiful display of architectural taste. The eastern window of the former had twelve figures of its ancient lords and their connections, with their armorial bearings, including that of the sovereign of the day, and the royal arms displayed on shields, exhibited upon their breasts: five only of these now remain, in a very mutilated state. The upper or traceried compartments are still ornamented with stained glass. In the south wall is still to be seen the piscina or sink for the reception of any impurity falling into the elements. In the same wall appear the canopied seats of the priest, deacon, and sub-deacon, in their beautifully ornamented niches; and near to these is an ancient oilet or loophole window, with exquisitely fine mouldings, all of which savour much of the reign of Edward I. The circular stone font at the west end is of large dimensions, well adapted for the ancient practice of immersion; it is most elaborately carved, having a beautiful cordage twisted with much taste around the verge of the upper extremity: it is greatly ornamented, having eight compartments, the one exhibiting the Agnus Dei, the others those of Griffins, Cockatrices, and Centaurs, and is altogether a beautiful and rare specimen of an inimitable chisel of its day, probably as early as the reign of Henry III. The pulpit exhibits much ancient carving, beautifully executed, and put up with a sounding board in 1675. The desk, also much ornamented with carving, was set up in 1583. The entrance of the porch to the south is under a semicircular arch of great antiquity, probably introduced from a former porch. This, the principal approach into the interior of the edifice, is under an ancient arch of the pointed style; that on the north side is of a very early period, as well as that into the chancel. This latter is singular and rare, exhibiting an unusual display of fine chiselling. The entrance out of this chancel into the vestry is under a stone arch of the florid style, executed by a tasteful und scientific artist. The tower is lofty, and standing on a commanding eminence is a beautiful land mark in the country: the lower part to the second string course is built like the church with rubble material, but from that course upwards, including its battlements, is of good Ashler stone. It was rebuilt in 1583, and contains a peal of five musical bells, and clock and sun dial. Over the doorway leading from the tower to the church is an ancient and curious tympanum. The church was repaired in the year 1840, by which means 268 additional sittings were obtained, of which 215 are declared free and unappropriated for ever, in consequence of grants from the Incorporated and Hereford Diocesan Societies. The living is a vicarage, to which the curacy of Farlow is annexed, valued in the king’s books at £5. 10s. 10d., now returned at £676; in the patronage of the Duke of Cleveland, and incumbency of the Rev. Charles John Maddison. The Wesleyan Methodists have a small chapel here built of stone in the year 1849. The National School, supported by donations and subscriptions, will accommodate 80 children; about 53 is the average number that attend.

Bardley is a township in Stottesden parish, two and a half miles south-east by east of the parish church. It contains, with the township of Harcourt, 1,800a. 0r. 20p. of land, of which 760 acres are arable, 774a. 3r. 34p. pasture, and 170a. 1r. are woodlands. William Lacon Childe, Esq. is lord of the manor, and the principal landowner. Thomas Crump, Esq., Mr. Hyde, Miss Smith, John and Robert Lateward, Esqrs., Mr. Kyer, Messrs. Jones, Thomas Gregory, Richard Porter, and others are also proprietors. This township contained at the census of 1841, 38 houses and 178 persons. The tithes are commuted for £232. 9s. 0d., of which £92. 15s. 6d. to the vicar of Stottesden; £48. 16s. 6d. to William Lacon Childe, Esq.; £40 to Mr. John Humphries; £14. 16s. 6d. to John and Robert L. Lateward, Gents.; to Mr. Jones, £11. 6s.; to the Duke of Cleveland, £10. 3s. 6d.; to Mr. Hyde, £8. 16s. 6d., of which £5 yearly is paid to the rector of Dowles; to Mr. Compson, £5. 8s., and 16s. 6d. to Thomas Crump, Esq.

Chorley is a township pleasantly situated one and a half mile north-east by north of Stottesden, containing with Northwood 1,210a. 2r. 17p. of land, the rateable value of which is £1,402. 7s. 5d. In 1841 there were in this township 21 houses and 114 inhabitants. The tithes were commuted in 1847 for £63. 14s. 7d., and the sum of £50. 8s. 7d. was apportioned to the vicar of Stottesden, £12 to Mr. Hincksman, and £1. 6s. to the Duke of Cleveland, Thomas Crump, Esq., is lord of the manor, and principal landowner. Lord Sudeley, Mr. John Hinckesman, W. L. Childe, Esq., Mr. John Gittins, and several others are also proprietors.

Duddlewick is a small township one mile north west by west of Stottesden, which in 1841 had 4 houses and 36 inhabitants, and contains, with the township of Hinton, 932a. 0r. 6p. of land. The tithes are commuted for £127. 10s. The Duke of Cleveland is the principal landowner. Thomas Crump, Esq., is also a proprietor.

Harcourt is a township 1½ mile south east by east of the parish church, containing, with Bardley, 1,800a. 0r. 20p. of land, the rateable value of which is £2,004. 0s. 2d. The tithes are commuted for £232. 19s., of which £83 7s. 8d. is apportioned to the vicar of Stottesden, and £140. 3s. 6d. to the impropriators. There are six houses and 34 inhabitants in this township. W. L. Childe, Esq., is lord of the manor and sole landowner.

Hinton, a small township one mile north west of the church, contains, with Stottesden and Duddlewick, 1,916a. 2r. 3p. of land, of which 1,070a. 2r. 25p. are arable: 823a. 0r. 19p. meadow and pasture: and 22a. 3r. 33p. are roads and waste. The tithes are commuted for £169. 13s., of which £84 is apportioned to the vicar of Stottesden; £64 to the respective landowners; £12. 13s. to the Duke of Cleveland, and £9 to William Whitesides, Esq. The Duke of Cleveland is sole proprietor of this township.

Ingwardine is a small township three miles north west by west of Stottesden, containing 4 houses and 20 souls. The tithes are commuted and apportioned to the vicar of the parish for £110. This township, with that of Lowe, contains 652a. 0r. 34p. of land, the freeholders of which are the Rev. G. D. Pardoe and Mr. Johnson.

Kingswood is a rural village with twenty-three houses and ninety-seven inhabitants, situated six miles south west by south of Stottesden, from which place it is separated by the parishes of Kinlet and Neen Savage intervening. It contains, with the hamlet of Button Oak, 1,392a. 1r. 31p. of land, a great portion of which is woodland, of which 524a. 2r. 2p. are woods belonging to Lord Ward, and 588a. 2r. 29p. belonging to Sir Edward Blount, bart., who are the principal landowners. Mrs. Elizabeth Doolittle, Mr. Frier, Mr. Joseph Mole, Mr. Thomas Trow, the Misses Lewis, and Mr. Boycott are also proprietors. The tithes have been commuted for £22. 14s, 10.

Lowe township, situated 2½ miles north west by west of Stottesden, contained at the census of 1841 one house and 10 persons, and with the township of Ingwardine, has 652a. 0r. 34p. of land, of which Mrs. Goulder is sole proprietor.

Newton is a township 2 miles north of the parish church, which in 1841 had three houses and 23 souls, and contains, with the townships of Wrickton, Overton, and Walkers Lowe, 2,186a. 1r. 17p. of land, of which 125a. 3r. 26p. are arable: 904a. 3r. 17p. pasture, and 21a. 2r. 14p. are roads and waste. The tithes of these townships have been commuted for £180. 10s., of which the vicar of Stottesden receives £95, and the remainder is paid to several impropriators. George Peach Aston, Esq., is the sole proprietor of Newton.

Northwood is a small township 1½ mile north west of Stottesden, which had, at the census of 1841, three houses and 16 persons. It contains, with the township of Chorley, 1,210a. 2r. 17p. of land, the principal proprietors of which are Thomas Crump, Esq., Mr. John Hincksman, and Lord Sudeley. The vicarial tithes are commuted for £18. 4s. 6d., and the rectorial for £12.

Oreton is a township two miles south of the parish church, containing 68 houses and 275 inhabitants. It contains 580a. 1r. 37p. of land, of which upwards of 300 acres are in common and waste. In this township are extensive lime works and stone quarries. The tithes are commuted for £100. 5s. 8d., of which £38. 10s. are apportioned to the vicar of Stottesden, and £61. 15s. 8d. to the Duke of Cleveland. George Compson, Esq., is lord of the manor and principal landowner. Rev. G. D. Pardoe, Mr. John Page, Mr. Edward Wyer, Mr. Wm. Page, Mrs. Page, Mr. Preston, and Mr. Wm. Wheeler are also small proprietors.

Overton is a township and small village 2¾ miles north of the parish church, containing 3 houses and 22 souls. It has, with the townships of Wrickton, Newton, and Walkers Lowe, 2,186a. 1r. 17p. of land. The tithes are commuted for £24. 10s. 11d. Hamilton Tennant, Esq., is sole proprietor of this township.

Pickthorn is a township, one mile north-west of the parish church, containing 560a. 0r. 37p. of land, and had at the census of 1841 four houses and 16 inhabitants. The tithes are commuted for £61, of which £19 is apportioned to the Vicar of Stottesden, and £42 to William Henry Cresswell, Esq.

Prescot township, situated two miles south of Stottesden, contains, with the townships of Walton and Bagginswood, 804a. 2r. 34p. of land. The tithes are commuted for £47, of which £44. 19s. is apportioned to the vicar, and £2. 1s. to Mrs. Botfield. Mrs. Scott and Mrs. Botfield are the principal landowners.

Walton is a township, one mile and a half south-east of the church, containing 804a. 2r. 34p. of land, with the townships of Prescot and Bagginswood, and had at the census of 1841 one house and 12 inhabitants. The tithes are commuted for £47. The Duke of Cleveland is the principal freeholder; W. L. Childe, Esq., is also a proprietor.

Wrickton is a scattered township, two miles and a half north-west by west from the parish church, having at the census of 1841, 21 houses and 123 inhabitants. It contains, with the townships of Walkerslowe, Overton, and Newton, 2,186a. 1r. 17p. of land. The tithes are commuted for £95. 1s. 4d., namely, from Wrickton township, £33 18s.; Walkerslowe, £26. 14s.; Overton, £24. 10s. 11d.; and Newton, £9. 18s. 5d. The principal freeholders are Mrs. Haynes; Mr. Thomas Lowe; Panton Gardner, Esq.; and Mr. John Maddocks.

Charities.—There was formerly a sum of £30. 6s. 8d. in this parish, called the poors’ stock, the origin of which is unknown, and which, with some additions raised by subscription, made the sum of £45, which was lent to the trustees of the turnpike road from Bewdley to Prescott, and secured by a mortgage on the tolls in the year 1763, at an interest of four per cent., in respect of which two pounds five shillings are annually paid and distributed to the poor of Stottesden on St. Thomas’s day. Thomas Morris, by will, in 1723, bequeathed to the poor of the parish of Stottesden the sum of 20s. yearly, issuing out of his estate at Bardley, in this parish. George Rushbury and Richard Rushbury, in 1703, granted to trustees a piece of land in Stottesden, containing one acre or thereabouts, in trust, for the erection thereon of an almshouse to lodge some of the poor impotent persons of the said parish. An almshouse was accordingly erected, the expense of which, amounting to £35, was defrayed from the poor rates and contributions from the parishioners. The house consists of five distinct dwellings, with a garden to each, which are inhabited by the poor belonging to the parish. James Rushbury, by will, dated 1717, gave the sum of £100, to be laid out by his executor in the purchase of land, the yearly rents and profits thereof to be distributed in the following manner, viz.: £3 yearly towards maintaining an orthodox parson at Wombridge, who should read divine service and preach yearly on the day of the testator’s death; 20s. yearly to the poor of the parish of Wombridge; and 20s. yearly to the poor of the parish of Stottesden. The Rev. Samuel Meredith, by will, dated 1756, devised all his messuages, lands, tenements, and hereditaments whatsoever and wheresoever, to his godson Charles Hinckesman, his heirs and assigns, he and they paying thereout (among other things) the sum of £120 to the minister, churchwardens, and overseers of the poor of the parish of Stottesden, upon trust, that they should place the same out at interest, and apply it in educating and teaching poor children of the said parish to read. This legacy has never been received, the present proprietor of the estate alleging that it is void under the statute of mortmain.

STOTTESDEN DIRECTORY.

Alltree John, farmer, New House

Bytheway Edw., shoemaker, shopkeeper, carrier, and parish clerk

Bytheway John, butcher and farmer

Brookes Joseph, farmer, Woodhouse

Cleeton Edward, farmer

Cleeton Emma, farmer, Hardwick

Elcock John, farmer

Gittins John, farmer, maltster, and wheelwright

Hancox John, joiner

Hyde Mrs., The Hall

Hyde Thomas, farmer, The Hall

Jones Dorothy, blacksmith and victualler, The Cock

Jones John, blacksmith

Jones Mrs.

Lane William, wheelwright

Maddison Rev. Chas. John, The Vicarage

Millichap Richard, farmer

Nott Henry, cooper

Page Thomas, farmer

Price John, beerhouse and shopkeeper

BARDLEY DIRECTORY.

Beach James, shoemaker

Deverell William, farmer, Knowle Bays

Edwards Richard, farmer

Gittins William, wheelwright

Gregory Thomas, shoemaker

Lateward John, farmer, The Hall Orchard

Lateward Mr. Robt., Lambert

Millington Thomas, farmer, Headcroft

Nuth William, schoolmaster

Pugh John, farmer, Ribbly

Smith Thomas, farmer, The Lower Farm

BUTTON OAK DIRECTORY.

Bevan Edward, beer retailer

Giles John, farmer and vict., Button Oak Inn

CHORLEY DIRECTORY.

Those marked * reside at High Green.

Birkin Benjamin, farmer

Birkin Sarah, farmer

* Cooke Thos., beer retailer

* Corfield William, engineer and blacksmith

Crump Thomas, Esq., The Hall

* Downes Henry, shoemaker

Jordin Joseph, farm bailiff

Page John, farmer

Powell William, farmer

* Richards Thos., shopkeeper

Wall Richard, wheelwright

DUDDLEWICK DIRECTORY.

Dorrell William, farmer, The Hall

Hyde Thomas, farmer

Meredith John, miller and farmer

Pugh John, farmer

HARCOURT DIRECTORY.

Benbow Edward, farmer

Deverell William, farm bailiff

HINTON DIRECTORY.

Hyde John, farmer

INGLEWARDINE DIRECTORY.

Amies Edward, farmer

Pardoe Rev. G. D., The Hall

KINGSWOOD DIRECTORY.

Band Richard, miller and farmer

Doolittle James, farmer

Doolittle Samuel, maltster

Doolittle William, farmer

Mole Joseph, farmer

Parkes Thomas, farmer

LOWE DIRECTORY.

Bishop William, farmer

NEWTON DIRECTORY.

Fletcher John, farmer

NORTHWOOD DIRECTORY.

Brown William, farmer

Medlicott William, farmer

ORETON DIRECTORY.

Boddy George, blacksmith

Chatham George, saddler

Clayton Samuel, lime and quarry master

Davies John, farmer, Lower House

Haycocks James, beerhouse and shopkeeper

Jones John, farmer, Middle House

Martin Mary, wheelwright

Martin John, wheelwright

Page Mrs., Stocking House

Page Wm., farmer, Upper House

Page Wm., farmer, Stocking Farm

Preston Thos., lime master and farmer

Trow Edward, beer retailer and shopkeeper

OVERTON DIRECTORY.

Baker William, farmer

Fletcher Thomas, farmer

FICKTHORN DIRECTORY.

Fletcher Thomas, farmer

PRESCOTT DIRECTORY.

Gittins Elizabeth, farmer

Preeton Thomas, miller and farmer

WALKERSLOWE DIRECTORY.

Colebach George, farmer

Wyer Richard, farmer, Manor House

WALTON DIRECTORY.

Farmer George, farmer, The Hall

Oakley Richard, farmer

Page John, farmer, The Heath

WRICKTON DIRECTORY.

Cox John, farmer, The Hall

Haynes Mrs., The New House

Maddocks John, miller and farmer

Passey George, farmer

Wellings Humphrey, blacksmith

TASLEY

is a parish and scattered village in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden hundred, two miles N.W. from Bridgnorth, which contains 1,120 acres of land, and at the census of 1841 had 18 houses and 83 inhabitants. Rateable value, £1,243. 13s. Gross estimated rental, £1,328. 7s. The land has an undulating surface, and in some parts a strong soil, which produces tolerable crops of grain; the meadow land is generally of an inferior quality, and cold. The Earl of Shrewsbury is the most considerable landowner, the other principal proprietors are Edward Farrer Acton, Esq.; the Earl of Liverpool; the Executors of the late William Clayton; Mr. Newell; Thomas C. Newport, Esq.; and Edward Edmonds, Esq. Edward Farrer Acton is lord of the manor. In the 18th of Edward II. Reginald de la Leigh gave lands in Tasseley towards the endowment of a chantry in Bruges. The Bridgnorth race course is situated in this parish. The Leasows, the property and residence of Captain Edward Edmonds, is a handsome modern erection of brick, pleasantly situated, and surrounded by rural scenery. The Church is a small structure rebuilt in 1840, consisting of nave and chancel, with a turret in which are two bells. There is a gallery, the front of which is ornamented with antique oak carvings, and there is a beautiful screen which separates the chancel from the nave. The font is very ancient, and there is a small organ upon the gallery. The living is a rectory in the patronage of Edward Farrer Acton, Esq.; incumbent, Rev. John Postlethwaite. The tithes have been commuted for £212, and there are 8a. 2r. 37p. of glebe land. When the church was rebuilt 115 additional sittings were added to the original number, and in consequence of a grant from the Incorporated Society for building and enlarging churches, 62 of that number were declared free and unappropriated for ever. A handsome tablet remembers Rowland Hill, Esq., who died in 1766. There is also a neat tablet in the chancel in memory of the Rev. William Moore, M.A., late rector, who died in the year 1848.

Directory.—Samuel Arthur, farmer and vict., Boar’s Head; William Clayton, farmer, Henley; Mr. William Cleaton, Tasley Cottage; John Corbet, farmer; Robert Corbet, farmer, Race-course; Edward Edmonds, Esq., The Leasows; Joseph Giles, farmer, Church Farm; Enoch Gwynn, basket maker; Thomas Lees, farmer, Hundred House; Henry Yapp, butcher.

UPTON CRESSETT

is a parish and village pleasantly situated on an acclivity four miles and a half W.W. by S. from Bridgnorth. The family of Cressett, of ancient and honourable distinction, gave name to the place, and were seated at Cressett Hall, an ancient mansion in the Elizabethan style, built in the year 1580; it was formerly surrounded with a moat, traces of which are still to be seen; several of the rooms are wainscotted with oak. In the old lodge, now converted into a granary, is a spiral stair case, with blocks of solid oak. The parish contains 1,300 acres of land, which is the property of Mrs. Thursby. At the census of 1841 there were 53 inhabitants; 1831, 43, and in 1841 ten houses and a population of 56 souls. The Church is a small antique structure consisting of nave, chancel, and side chapel, with a small spiral turret in which is two bells; an arch of Norman character separates the nave from the chancel. In the side chapel is a brass memorial in memory of Richard Cressett, his wife, two sons and three daughters, dated 1640. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £4 15s. 2½d., now returned at £125; incumbent, Rev. Henry Burton, M.A.

Directory.—Thomas Bishop, farmer, Upper House; Martha Churms, farmer, New House; William Corser, farmer, The Hall; George Giles, farmer, Upton Park; Richard Howells, farmer, Stapeley; Edward Morris, gamekeeper, The Rectory; Richard Porter, farmer, The Lodge.

WHEATHILL

is a small parish and retired village nine miles N.E. by E. of Ludlow, containing 1,094a. 2r. 16p. of land, the rateable value of which is £861. 6s. 5d., and gross estimated rental, £1,179. 12s. 6d. At the census of 1841 there were 24 houses and 140 souls; in 1801, 152, and in 1831, 123 inhabitants. The landowners in the parish are Viscountess Boyne, Mrs. Lucy Botfield, Mr. Richard Haynes, John Onions, Esq., and John Whitefoot, Esq. Wheathall appears to have been a place of importance in former times, for on the 28th of Edward I. Walter Hakett obtained a grant for a market on a Thursday, and of a fair on the eve and feast of the Holy Trinity, and the day after. These have long been obsolete. The Church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is a small stone edifice consisting of nave and chancel, in which is a tablet of stone to the memory of Henry Holland, gentleman, dated 1684. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £7. 5s. 7½d., now returned at £277., and enjoyed by the Rev. Bernard Churton.

Directory.—Samuel Breakwell, shopkeeper, farmer, and carrier to Bridgnorth; Harriett Bradnee, farmer, Townsend; John Bradnee, farmer, Townsend; Thomas Bytheway, beerhouse and blacksmith; Rev. Bernard Churton, The Rectory; Edward Duce, farmer, Weathall Green; William Griffiths, farmer, Lower Bromden; Richard Haines, farmer, Duns Living; John Hardwick, farmer, Wheathill House; Edward Hodnett, farmer, Besam; Richard Sambrook, farmer; and Thomas Thomas, farmer.

FARLOW

is a detached portion of the county of Hereford, but a chapelry annexed to the church of Stottesden, situated three miles S.W. of the parish church. In 1841 here were 301 persons, and in 1831 345 inhabitants. The township contains 1,419a. 3r. 35p. of land, and 20 acres of public roads. The Duke of Cleveland is the lord of the manor. The Church is an ancient edifice built of stone, with a tower in which are two bells. The living is a perpetual curacy annexed to Stottesden, in the patronage of the vicar, and incumbency of the Rev. David Williams, B.A. The tithes are commuted for £127. 14s. 11½d. There are three acres of glebe land. The Parsonage House, a short distance south of the church, is a modern erection, built of brick, in the year 1847, at the sole expense of the late Thomas Botfield, Esq., of Hopton Court, who also bequeathed by will the sum of £800 the interest to be invested in the three per cents., the interest thereof to be applied towards the augmentation of the salary of the curate of Farlow, on condition that there should be divine service performed twice every Sunday in the church.

Directory.—Thomas Bowen, wheelwright; Joseph Dolphin, farmer and vict., Maypole Inn; James Hauslow, blacksmith; William Harris, beerhouse keeper; George Hancox, shopkeeper and wheelwright; Charlotte Humphry, farmer; William Jones, farmer and corn miller; Mary Jordin, shoemaker; James Lane, farmer; Rev. John David Williams, B.A., curate, The Parsonage House.