"RO. WIGORN.

"Worcester, Aug. 5, 1665."

The Bishop was cousin of Richard Skynner, of Cofton Hackett, the eldest son of Edward Skinner, of Ledbury, who purchased that manor for him from the Dyneley family, upon his marriage with his first wife, Miss Dyneley; and of Dr. William Skynner, his brother, fellow of All Soul's, Oxford; 1612, LL.D. March 31; 1625, chancellor of Hereford, April 29, 1626; rector of Beckenham, Kent, 1628; and in 1650 deprived of his living by the Parliament in favour of John Soter, and never restored, as he died at Ledbury, 1657, aged 66. This Richard's will showed, by his selection of his executors, and the course pursued by them in the Civil Wars, how friendships were broken; two, his brother-in-law, Sir Edward Lyttleton, Baronet, and Sir Edward Sebright, Baronet, were fined by Parliament as Royalists, and one was Humphrey Salwey, also married to a Miss Lyttleton, whom he styles his dear brother Humphrey Salwey, and whose son sat as one of the judges on the trial of King Charles I, and was M.P. for Worcestershire in the Long Parliament. A younger son of the Bishop's, William, was by his father appointed rector of Hartlebury, and there is a monument to his memory in that church. There was also another member of the Ledbury family connected with this county, as having been a member of the Oxford circuit, the Right Hon. Sir John Skynner, Knight, Lord Chief Baron. He was grandson of Edward Skynner, of Ledbury, and Margaret, his wife. On the 15th March, 1757, he was one of the counsel present in court, at the Worcester Assizes, when, between two and three o'clock, p.m., as Sir Eardly Wilmot began to sum up in the last cause, a stack of chimneys fell through the roof, killing many. The counsel then in court, being five in number, saved themselves under the stout table, and of these, four—Aston, Nares, Ashurst, and Skynner—after became judges; the fifth dying a king's counsel. We find traces of this old Ledbury family in this county, for in Nash's History of Worcestershire, vol. 2, we read that in the east window of the south aisle of Little Malvern Church are the arms of John Alcock, who was Bishop of Worcester from 1476 to 1486, and, in the south part of the same window is written "Orate pro animabus Roberti Skinner et Isabellæ, uxoris ejus, et filiorum suorum et filiarum." Richard Skinner, of Cofton, served the office of sheriff of Worcestershire in the 4th of Charles I (1628), and Edmund Skinner, of Wichenford, in the 12th George I (1726). The arms of Skinner are "Sable, a chevron or, between three griffins' heads argent."

DODDINGTREE HUNDRED TWO CENTURIES AGO.

In Sir Thomas Winnington's library at Stanford is a bundle of manuscripts, being a survey of the parsonages and other church livings in the Doddingtree hundred of Worcestershire, date 1665, or returns made to a visitation by order of the Lord Protector Cromwell. These returns include thirty-three parishes or places, namely, Bockleton, Pensax, Knighton-on-Teme alias Kington, Lindridge, Alfrick, Suckley, Little Kyre, Hanley Child, Orleton, Hanley William, Eastham, Tenbury, Cotheridge, Edwyn Loach, Shelsley Walsh, Lower Sapey, Clifton-on-Teme, Acton Beauchamp, Great Witley, Shelsley Beauchamp, Abberley alias Abbotsley, Stanford, Kyre Wyard, Aka alias Rock, Bewdley, Ribsford, Stockton, Martley, Bayton, Mamble, Dodenham, Astley, and Shrawley. As an abstract of some of the details may be interesting, I here present them.

The warrant from the Commissioners, dated October 20th of the above year, required "fower or five sufficient inhabitants of every parrish to enquier by all good wayes and meanes to finde out the trueth and worth of the true value, by the yeare, of church lyvinges, and the qualityes of the severall incumbants," &c. Accordingly the presentments are signed by constables, churchwardens, and, as it is quaintly expressed in some instances, by "other knowinge men of the said parrish." The Commissioners were "the Right Worship'le Edward Pits, Esq., William Jeffreys, Esq., Nicholas Acton, Esq., John Lathum, Esq., Henry James, Gent."

Bockleton.—John Barneby, Esq., had recently obtained a lease of the parsonage house, glebe lands, and tithes, for the lives of his three sons, paying a yearly rent of £8 for the same to the treasurer of Hereford Cathedral. Mr. Timothy Harris was curate at £10 a year, paid by Mr. Barneby. "Hath a very spacious church and seaventy-three houses and ffamilyes within itt." Tithes worth about £50.

Pensax.—Church "supplied by Richard Wilkes, minister of gods holy word, who is an able pracher and doth for the most pte prach twise every Lords day; and hath for his sallary all the profits ecclesiasticall yssuing out of Pensax aforesaid wch doth amount unto eleven pounds p. ann. or thereaboute; and the reason why it is soe small is; because all the tyeth corne and graine (except home closses) formerly belonging to the Deane and Chapiter doth not come to the minister but is leased out to one Henry Pennell worth 20 pounds p. ann. or there aboute; and as for our minister we are very well contented wth him and he wth us and doe desire we may continue as we are, and wee desire the greate tythes may come in for the maintaineance of the minister when the leasse is expired. Item. Our church is scituate wth very great conveniency as neere as may be iudged about the midst of the p'ish where the congregation may come twise in the day in due and seasonable times to heare Gods word taught and prached and is an auncient place of buriall; and yf it should be united to any other church some of our congregation would have two miles and a halfe to the neerest church to us; or there aboute; and besides we have a populous congregation insoemuch that our church is very full upon most Lords dayes; and we have many aged many lame and impotent p'sons of our congregation; wch (yf our church should be annexed to any other p'ish) would be deprived of hearing the word of God the spirituall food of their soules wch is the onely ordinary meanes of salvation."

Knighton.—Chapel appendant to Lindridge; Dean and Chapter of Worcester, patrons; the tithes which came to the minister's share were £20 per ann. "Our mynister is Mr. Edward Shawe whoe preacheth and expoundeth constantly uppon the lords dayes." "The teyth corne and grayne are leased out to on Maior Inet for a terme yet endurynge at a c'teyne yearly rent wch goeth to pay augmentacon in this county as we are informed; the value is aboute thirty pounds a-yeare." "Our townshipp of Knighton and the villages thereunto belonginge are distant from Lindridge church about two myles and some pts thereof three myles and the wayes thereof verry fowle and deepe in the tyme of wynter neyther is the church of Lyndridge large enough to hould or conteyne the one half of Knighton and Lindridge prishioners as hath been heretofore c'tified to the p'liamt[4] by Mr. Jon. Gyles mynister of Lyndridge and div'rs others p'ishion'rs there. Moreover our chappell of Knighton hath all p'ochial rytes belonginge unto it and our chappell is larger then the church of Lyndridge and besydes we have a very fayre gallary therin. There are also in Knighton above threescore ffamylies and div'rs of them very aged, And furthermore Knighton by p'porcon (proportion) is the one half of a towne of oyer, And our chappell standeth neere aboute the middest of Knighton aforesaid and therefore we conceave that o'r chappell is fitt to be made a p'ish church in regard the place is very populous & large as aforesaid, And therefore we conceave if the teyth of corne and grayne might be annexed to the said chappell it would be a considerable meanes to mayteyne a preachinge mynister in regarde it goeth to pay augmentation to other places."

[4] "Parliament" probably.