Whittingham Samuel, Esq., Haybridge

Worrall Timothy, shopkeeper and shoemaker

HORTON,

a small township and scattered village in the parish of Wellington, comprises 354a. 1r. 15p. of land, which is principally the property of Mrs. Icke. The village is situated about three miles north from Wellington, and in 1841 there were 27 houses and 117 inhabitants. Rateable value, £706. 6s. St. John Chiverton Charlton, Esq., is the impropriator of the large tithes, which are commuted for £81. 18s.; the vicarial tithes are commuted for £15. 2s.

The chief residents in Horton are James Barge, maltster; Thomas Barker, black smith and vict., Horse Shoe Inn; Thomas Blest, boot and shoemaker; Thomas Chilton, bricklayer; John Doody, tailor; John France, farmer; Richard Griffiths, carpenter and joiner; Elizabeth Icke, farmer; Samuel Middleton, shopkeeper

KETLEY

is a township and populous district in the parish of Wellington, situated in the great Prœtorian road of the Romans called the Watling Street, two miles east from Wellington. The township contains 774a. 3r. 2p. of land, which is chiefly the property of the Duke of Sutherland; the Rev. Thompson Stoneham, and others, are also proprietors. At the census of 1841, there were 498 houses, and 2,642 inhabitants, most of whom are employed in the extensive iron works, collieries, and ironstone mines, situated in this and the adjoining townships. Rateable value, £3,033, 4s. St. John Chiverton Charlton, Esq., is the impropriator of the large tithes, which are commuted for £92; the vicarial tithes are commuted for £31. 10s. The commercial intercourse of Ketley is facilitated by the Shropshire union canal, and the railway in the immediate vicinity, by which the valuable mineral productions with which this locality abounds are conveyed to distant parts. The Ketley Company (Messrs. Lawley, Ogle, Williams, Hombersley, Cope and Cope) have an extensive establishment for the manufacture of pig and bar iron, and are also the proprietors of extensive collieries, which are held in lease under the Duke of Sutherland. The Church, dedicated to St. Mary, a neat cruciform structure, exhibiting the lancet style of architecture, was built and endowed in 1838, by his grace George Granville, Duke of Sutherland. Upon the organ is an inscription, from which we learn that the inhabitants of Ketley and the neighbourhood, “under a deep sense of gratitude, have caused the organ to be erected as a thank offering to Almighty God, for having thus disposed the heart of his servant.” The situation of the church is judiciously chosen, elevated and central, and the churchyard commands most extensive views of the surrounding counties. The home views embrace a fine extent of the fertile plains of Shropshire, the celebrated Wrekin, and the far-famed iron works of the neighbourhood. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Lichfield, and patronage of the Duke of Sutherland; incumbent, Rev. Thompson Stoneham, M.A., who resides at the Parsonage, a good and commodious residence, also the gift of his grace. The Parochial Schools, situated near the church, were built by his grace the Duke of Sutherland, by whose liberality they are also chiefly supported. There is an average attendance of about one hundred and fifty scholars. The Wesleyan Methodists have a small chapel, built in 1823; there is also a commodious Wesleyan Chapel at Ketley Bank, built in 1823. Ketley Bank is a scattered but populous district, partly in this township and partly in the parish of Wombridge. The Wesleyan chapel above mentioned is in the latter parish. Many interesting varieties of fossils and petrifactions are found in this neighbourhood.

Post Office.—At Mrs. Ann Williams’. Letters arrive at 7 A.M., and are dispatched at 6 P.M.

Marked 1 are in Ketley Bank, 2 in Ketley Sands, and the rest in the village of Ketley.

Adams Geo., cabinet maker