Whitfield Thomas, farmer
WELLINGTON
is a considerable parish and flourishing market town, pleasantly situated eleven miles E. from Shrewsbury, and 142 N.W. from London, and by railway 11 miles from Shrewsbury, 7½ miles S.W. from Newport, 31 miles from Birmingham, and seven miles W. by N. from Shiffnal. The parish contains the townships and hamlets of Arleston, Aston, Apley, Dothill, Hadley, Horton, Ketley, Lawley, Newdale, Walcott, Wellington, Wapenshall, and Lee Gomery, and part of Preston and Eyton, together embracing an area of 9,184a. 1r. 7p. of land. Gross estimated rental, £36,120. 19s. 3d. Rateable value, £32,656. 7s. 7d. The joint railway companies are rated at £776. 18s. The tithes have been commuted, and £1,484 awarded to St. John Chiverton Charlton, Esq., the impropriator, and to the vicar, £470. 6s. Population in 1801, 7,531; 1831, 9,671; and in 1841, 11,099. The township of Wellington contains 727a. 1r. 16p. of land; and in 1841 had a population of 6,084 souls, of whom 3,104 were males and 2,980 females; at the same period there were 1,181 inhabited houses, 101 uninhabited, and 18 houses building. Wellington is a well-built town, of considerable importance, and from its contiguity to the great seat of the iron and coal works in this county, it has a much frequented market. It is also the centre of a rich agricultural district, has ample communication by railway to all parts of the kingdom, and the Shropshire Union Canal, in its immediate vicinity, opens a water communication with the Severn and distant parts of the country. The town contains many good houses, with shops in all the different branches of the retail trade; there are also several good inns. The malting business is extensively carried on; the establishment of Mr. James Shepard is on a large scale. There are also an iron foundry, a tannery, and several establishments for the manufacture of nails; agricultural implements are also made. Hugh Burnel, in the reign of Edward I., obtained the grant of a market (to be held on Thursdays), and of two fairs in the year—the first to be held on the day after the feast of St. Barnabas, and the second on the eve, the day, and the day after the decollation of St. John the Baptist. The market is still held on the Thursday, and the fairs are held March 29th, June 22nd, September 29th, November 17th, Monday week before Christmas day, and the last Monday in each of the other months. At these fairs large quantities of farm and dairy produce, as also horses, horned cattle, and sheep, are usually sold. The magistrates of the county hold petty sessions monthly. William and Thomas Turner, Esqrs., are clerks to the magistrates. A Court of Record was formerly held for debts not exceeding £20, but this has been superseded by the New County Court Act. The lord of the manor holds a Court Leet annually in November, at which officers are appointed for the government of the town, and constables for the different townships within this division of the hundred.
The Church, dedicated to All Saints, a commodious and elegant structure of freestone, was erected, M,DCCXC., and consists of nave, side aisles, and bay, with a square tower crowned with a dome, gilt cross, and vane. The galleries are supported by cast-iron pillars. At the west end is a handsome and fine-toned organ, and over the bay is a glory. The roof is lofty, and the whole has a very beautiful and chaste appearance. At the east end of the south aisle is an elegant marble memorial, executed by Hollins, in memory of Martha Elizabeth Oliver, who died June 20th, aged 26 years. Another marble monument remembers Richard Emery, Esq., who died April 13th, 1839, aged 65 years, and several other members of that family. The interior of the church was painted, and the gas-fittings added, in the year 1847, chiefly at the expense of the vicar and St. John C. Charlton, Esq.; the cost was upwards of £300. In the tower of the church is a peal of six musical bells. The church is surrounded with a large burial ground, which, with the site of the church, contains upwards of three acres. It contains numerous tombs, some of which are of elaborate workmanship, and have been erected in memory of some of the principal families of the parish. The church formerly belonged to the abbey of Shrewsbury. The living is a vicarage annexed to the rectory of Eyton, valued in the king’s book at £9. 5s., in the patronage of Thomas Eyton, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Benjamin Banning, M.A., who resides at The Vicarage, a spacious and handsome residence, about a quarter of a mile south from the church. The house commands a fine view of the Wrekin, and is surrounded with pleasure grounds and shrubberies. In the 15th of Henry VI. the guild of the Holy Trinity and of the Virgin Mary in the church of All Saints, in Wellington, obtained a pardon from the king, for having acquired twenty messuages, ten acres of heath, and six acres of meadow in Wellington, without license.
The New Church is dedicated to our Saviour, and is pleasantly situated on elevated ground, at the southern outskirts of the town. It was built by subscription and grants from the church building societies, at a cost of £3,600. The structure is of white brick, with a lofty square tower, ornamented with four crocketted pinnacles. The interior consists of nave and side aisles, with spacious galleries. Over the side aisles and at the west end, upon the latter, is a small organ, erected at a cost of £170. On each side of the church are seven narrow windows, in the lancet style. The roof is of groined timber, and the pews are painted in imitation of oak, which gives the whole a neat and light appearance. There are 1,144 sittings: of which 744 are declared free and unappropriated for ever. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Wellington: incumbent, Rev. Charles Campe. The church is surrounded with a spacious cemetery; and on the west side is the Parsonage House—a neat brick structure, erected shortly after the Church was built.
The Particular Baptist Chapel, situated in King-street, is a neat brick structure, which will accommodate about 500 hearers. It was built in 1828, on the site of a former edifice, that had been erected about half a century. The Rev. William Keay has been the pastor of the congregation worshipping here for the last 30 years. The Rev. Henry Gabriel Granger has recently been appointed to assist Mr. Keay in the pastorate. A small burial ground adjoins the chapel.
The Wesleyan Methodist Chapel is a lofty brick fabric, situate in New street, and was built in 1836. It has galleries on three sides, and is capable of holding five hundred worshippers. A small organ was added in 1851, at a cost of £80. The Old Methodist Chapel, which stood in Chapel Lane, has been taken down. The Primitive Methodist Chapel, situate near the Tan Bank, was built in 1837.
The Catholic Chapel, a plain brick structure, has been built about fifteen years. It has a gallery at the end, and will hold about 400 persons. A painting of our Saviour is placed over the altar. There is no resident priest in Wellington at the present time, but the Rev. William Molloy, of Madeley, officiates at stated periods.
The Independent Chapel is a good brick structure, situate on the Tan Bank. The congregation worshipping here have no settled minister at the present time.
The National School is a spacious brick building on the north side of the churchyard. It is supported by voluntary subscriptions, charity sermons, and a small weekly charge from each scholar. One hundred and sixty-eight boys, and one hundred and twenty girls attend. The teacher receives £4. 0s. 10d. from the receiver of the Crown rents.