Arthur Mainwaring, in 1690, gave four butts of ground lying in Churchfield and Wykefield, within the parish of Shiffnal, to Mary, his wife, and Ann, his daughter, and their heirs for ever, on trust, to pay 20s. yearly on the feast of St. Andrew, to forty poor old people belonging the parish.
Vincent Latham gave £20 for the use of the poor. In respect of this gift there is now a rent charge of 20s. per annum, issuing out of a certain tenement in High-street, which is divided among the poor on the feast of St. Andrew.
William Smith, in 1713, gave £10 to the poor of Shiffnal, and directed the interest to be distributed among poor widows who do not receive parochial relief.
Edward Revell, by deed, 1693, assigned to certain trustees a bond which had been made to him for the payment of £200, with lawful interest, in trust, for the benefit of the poor. The bond which was thus assigned appears to have been discharged in 1698, and £100 of the money, after passing successively through several hands at interest, was in 1847 given to Humphrey Pitt, Esq. John Revell, in 1723, gave £100 for charitable uses; this, it appears, eventually also came into the hands of Mr. Pitt, and at his death in 1769 it was found necessary to institute a suit against his representatives for the recovery of the money due from his estate. An arrangement afterwards took place, by which it was agreed that the sum of £312 should be paid to the trustees, in full of all principal and interest then due, of which £12 was immediately distributed among the poor, and the remaining £300 was placed out at interest. The other £100 left by Edward Revell, above mentioned, after being held by the Phillip’s family, came into the possession of George Appleby, Esq., in whose hands the above £300 was also placed, and who paid interest at the rate of five per cent. for the same till the year 1804, when the principal was transferred to George Brooke, Esq., who gave a promissory note for the security of the same, and pays interest at the rate of five per cent. This money, with other charities previously noticed, produces a yearly income of £25. 3s. 4d., which, with other monies furnished by voluntary contributions, is distributed at Christmas in small sums among the poor.
Reginal Piper, in 1659, granted to the churchwardens of Shiffnal a rent charge of 10s. issuing out of his messuage in the Sheep market, and directed the same to be disposed of among twenty poor old people.
Henry Green, in 1702, granted to trustees a rent charge of 20s. per annum, to be disposed of on Good Fridays and Christmas-days among poor widows.
Frances Moreton, in 1781, devised to her nephew, John Brooke, a piece of land, called Aston Croft, in trust, to permit the vicar of the parish to dispose of the rents and profits among poor housekeepers. By indenture, dated 5th of May, 1788, reciting the abovementioned will, and that the said Frances Moreton had no power to devise the said land, the same descending to Sarah Atkis, as heir-at-law of Robert Moreton, deceased; the said Sarah Atkis conveyed to trustees the plot of land called Aston Croft, to permit the vicar to take the rents thereof, and during the life of Mary Stockwell, to apply a part, and after her decease, the whole of the profits amongst decayed housekeepers. The land, about the year 1806, was exchanged for 3a. 3r. 12p. situate at Aston, in the parish of Shiffnal, which now produces a rent of £12 per annum. The amount is distributed at Christmas eve among poor widows or other indigent persons, in sums varying from 4s. to 10s. each, according to their several necessities.
Sir Humphrey Briggs, by a deed, dated 9th of November, 1652, charged the tithes of Shiffnal with the payment of £1. 6s. 8d. to the clerk or deacon of the parish. Francis Mallard and Elizabeth, his wife, in 1587, left an annuity of 16s. for the benefit of the poor. This gift has long been lost to the poor.
Post Office—At Miss Frances Adams’s, New street. Letters arrive at 5.30 A.M., and are despatched at 7.30 P.M.
Adams Miss Frances, New street