Taylor William, farmer, Heathcote, Stoke
Topham John, farmer, Eaton
Walley Samuel, farmer, Stoke
Whitfield Richard, farmer, The Manor, Stoke
Williams Ann, shopkeeper, Ollerton
STANTON-UPON-HINE HEATH
is a considerable parish, which comprehends the townships of Booley, Harcourt, High Hatton, Moston, and Stanton-upon-Hine Heath, and comprises 5,490 acres of land, of which 263a. 2r. 3p. are in woods and plantations, and 35 acres in roads and waste. The soil for the most part is a mixture of sand and loam, in some parts highly fertile. The northern verge of the parish presents a bold undulating surface, and in some instances the hills rise to a considerable elevation, from which a fine view of the country is seen. The farm houses are in general well built, and provided with commodious out-premises. In 1801 the parish contained 579 inhabitants; 1831, 722; and in 1841 there were 127 houses and 669 inhabitants. The tithes are commuted for £258. 15s. The village of Stanton is pleasantly situated nine and a half miles N.E. by N. from Shrewsbury, and at the census of 1841 had 50 houses and 264 inhabitants. The township contains 1,698a. 3r. 28p. of land, of which 120a. 0r. 32p. are in plantations. Rateable value, £1,655. 2s. When the tithes were commuted for this township, £73 were apportioned to the vicar, £27. 15s. to Sir Andrew V. Corbet, Bart., and £8. to Rowland Hill. The Church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is an ancient Norman structure, with a square embattled tower at the west end, of later date, containing five bells; the pews are of oak, and have a very primitive appearance. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £5. 10s. l0d.; now returned at £205.; in the patronage of Viscount Hill, and enjoyed by the Rev. D. Holloway, B.A., who resides at the vicarage, a plain brick structure, near the outskirts of the village. The Woodlands, a delightfully situated mansion, surrounded with pleasure gardens and park-like grounds, is the residence of Mrs. F. Wood. Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet, Bart., is lord of the manor, and the principal landowner. Viscount Hill, John F. Wood, Esq., and the Rev. D. Holloway, are also proprietors. Stanton was the birth place of John Boydell, Esq., the liberal and spirited patron of talented engravers. His father was a farmer, and his son was intended for a land surveyor; when, however, about twenty years of age, he was put apprentice to an engraver, in which art he soon excelled, and from the profits derived from the sale of a book of 152 prints, engraved by himself, he began to encourage the best English engravers, and presented the public with a series of engravings of the works of the best masters, which soon laid the foundation of an ample fortune. He was elected an alderman in 1782, sheriff in 1785, lord mayor of London in 1790, and in the same year master of the Stationers’ Company. He was the greatest encourager of the art that this country ever had, and the English engravings, which before were considered much inferior to those of foreign nations, began from that time to be highly prized; and the exportation of them became a valuable branch of commerce. He also was a great encourager of the art of painting, and to this effect he undertook the superb edition of the Shakspeare gallery, the expense of which was enormous, and more perhaps than any individual had ever before embarked for such an object. Mr. Boydell, in a letter to Sir John Anderson, says, “I have laid out, with my brethren, in promoting the commerce of the fine arts, £350,000.” To the charitable and benevolent institutions he was a generous benefactor, and an attentive guardian. He died December 12th, 1804, and his remains were interred in great funeral state, in the church of St. Olave, Jewry.
Charities.—Stanton School was endowed with £5 per annum by Mrs. Baddiley, in 1721, who also left £40 towards the erection of the school house. The site was given by Sir Rowland Hill, and nine other persons subscribed towards the building of the school the sum of £14. 11s. 6d. About twenty children now attend. The £5 per annum is paid out of lands called Chealey Meadows and Chealey Wood, in Cheshire. Mrs. Baddiley left £2. 12s. per annum for a distribution of bread to the poor. The amount is paid out of the same land, and twelve penny loaves are given in the church every Sunday.
Richard Colley, in 1717, left £50; Joseph Smith left the interest of £20; Richard Smith, clerk of the parish, £2. 2s.; and Sir Andrew Corbet, in 1817, gave 25 guineas. These several sums, amounting to £98. 7s., together with £1. 13s. advanced from the poor rates, were placed in the hands of Sir Rowland Hill, who gave a promissory note for the amount to the churchwardens and overseers. Of the interest, £2 is laid out in bread, which is distributed every Sunday, in respect of Colley’s charity, 9s. is laid out on Christmas day, and the same sum on Good Friday, as the gifts of Richard and Joseph Smith. The remainder is given away in small sums on St. Andrew’s day.
Thomas Harper, in 1828, gave £150, upon trust, and directed the interest of £50 to be distributed among poor widows on St. Thomas’s day; the interest of £50 among poor men; and the profits of the remaining £50 to be paid to the master or mistress of the Sunday school at Stanton. This sum was placed in the hands of Sir John Hill, and secured by bond, bearing date September 29th, 1813. The interest is divided into three shares, and distributed according to the donor’s intentions.