Mr. Bache, of Chesterton, left £5, the interest to be paid on New-year’s day to ten poor widows nominated by the heirs of the family. Mr. Thomas Bache gave £10, and directed the interest to be applied in the same manner. The interest of these two sums is now distributed by the representatives of Mr. Bache. There is no document respecting these benefactions, but they are considered as charged generally on the family estate.
Thomas Devey, in 1725, surrendered a croft to the use of his heirs, subject to the payment of 10s. yearly, which he directed to be distributed among poor widows of this parish. This seems to be the gift mentioned on the benefaction table, as a legacy of Mrs. Elizabeth Devey.
Thomas Smith, in 1726, charged two pieces of land called Uphill and Downhill, and the Fen lands with the payment of 30s. per annum, 16s. thereof to be paid to the schoolmaster of Worfield, and 14s. to be divided among seven poor persons, to be nominated by the possessors of the land.
Mrs. Mary Dolman left by will £40, the interest of £20 thereof to be given among the poor of Worfield, and the proceeds from the other £20 to be applied in buying bibles; one of her executors secured the payment of 40s. per annum on his estate at Ackleton.
Mrs. Arabella Davenport, in 1763, bequeathed £200 to the vicar and churchwardens, in trust, to be laid out in lands, and the rents to be distributed among poor widows and maidens of this parish. No purchase of lands has been made with this money, but it is placed in the hands of Mr. Smythe, and secured on bond dated 9th September, 1809, with lawful interest at four and a half per cent.
Mrs. Sarah Mason, in 1809, gave to the churchwardens of Worfield for the time being, an annuity of £5, to be divided among poor widows residing in this parish. The payment is charged upon the freehold and copyhold estates of the donor, to be paid on the 24th of June and 25th December, by equal portions.
It is stated on the table of benefactions that George Bromley, Esq., gave £120 to charitable uses, £30 of which had been laid out in a purchase of land at Brexley, and £90 remained in the hands of the trustees, which was laid out in 1730 in building a workhouse for the use of the parish.
The following benefactions appear on the tablet in the church, of which nothing further is now known. £50 given by William Rowley for a distribution of bread, £5, the gift of John Beech, and a legacy of £20 bequeathed by John Bradburne.
Ackleton is a small well-built village, and township in the parish of Worfield, two and a quarter miles north-east from the parish church. The acres and population of the several townships in Worfield are included in the general returns of the parish. The principal freeholders are the executors of the late Mr. Eykyn, Mr. Green, Mrs. Clarke, Mrs. Patrick, Mr. Thomas Priest, and Mr. John Richards. Ackleton House is a good residence occupied by Mrs. Eykyn. Allscott is pleasantly situated about a mile and a quarter north-west from Worfield; the land is the property of Thomas Charlton Whitmore, Esq. Barnsley township is situated two miles south-east from Worfield, and the freeholders are Mr. John Hoccom, Mr. William Hoccom, and Miss Hoccom. Bentley lies about two miles to the south-west of Worfield, and is the property of George Pritchard, Esq. Bentley House is a good brick residence beautified with tasteful pleasure grounds, and occupied by Mr. William Sing. The farm premises which are commodious are situate a short distance from the house. Bromley township is chiefly the property of Thomas Charlton Whitmore, Esq.; the village is situated about a mile to the south-west of Worfield. Bradney, or Bradley, a pleasantly situated township, half a mile east from Worfield, is intersected by the Wolverhampton turnpike road. Bradney House, the residence of Captain Brazier, is a beautiful modern erection with pleasure grounds tastefully laid out. Warner House, an ancient residence, is now occupied as a farm dwelling. Capt. James Brazier is the land owner. Burncote, or Burcot, is a small rural village and township situated on a gentle eminence; the principal freeholders are Mr. John Bell Hardwick, Mr. Richard Hardwick, Mr. Parkes, and Mrs. Bache; the township is bounded by the river Worf and the Shiffnal and Wolverhampton turnpike road. In 1809, a large semi-circular cave was discovered at Burcot, in which were found human bones, sculls, and the bones of several animals. The ancient name of Bourncote, which in the Saxon language means the cote or dwelling near to the river, of which this cave is within a few paces serves to show the probability of this having been the cote or dwelling, which may have given rise to the word Burcot, the present name of the township. It is presumed the bones found in this cave may have been those of persons who made this cave the place of their occasional residence, and that it was destroyed by a sudden convulsion of the rock, and downfall of the soil above it. Chesterton village is delightfully situated on a gentle eminence, commanding fine views over a country teeming with luxuriance. The residence of John Bache, Esq., is a handsome mansion, with pleasure grounds most beautifully laid out. The residence of Mrs. Marindin is also spacious and elegant. The landowners are John Bache, Esq., Mrs. Marindin, Mr. Thomas Wilson, and Mr. Samuel Marindin. Near to the village, which is about two miles N.E. from Worfield, are the remains of a Roman encampment, which is said to have covered an area of more than twenty acres. A small structure in this township prior to the reformation was used as a chapel, but since that period has been occupied as an humble dwelling; it was dedicated to St. John the Baptist. Cranmere, or Cranmere Heath, is situated about a mile and a half to the N.W. of Worfield. The land is the property of William S. Davenport, Esq., and Valentine Vickers, Esq. Catstree, another small township, anciently formed part of the demesnes of the Saxon lords of the manor of Worfield. The family of Catstree resided here till the year 1819. Thomas C. Whitmore, Esq., and W. S. Davenport, Esq., are the landowners. Ewdness, a pleasantly situated township on the Bridgnorth and Shiffnal turnpike road, two miles north from Worfield, contains 441 acres of land, which is the property of Thomas Charlton Whitmore, Esq. Rateable value, £490. 4s. 10d. The tithes have been commuted, and £74 apportioned to the impropriator, and £22 to the vicar of Worfield. Ewdness House is a commodious Elizabethan structure, with bay windows; the interior contains some fine specimens of antique oak carving. The house is occupied by Mr. Richard M. Barker. Fenn Gate, a hamlet two miles from Worfield, has only one farm. The land is the property of T. C. Whitmore, Esq. Hilton is a pleasantly situated village and township on the turnpike road from Bridgnorth to Wolverhampton, four and a half miles N.E. from the former place. A small stream here called Hilton Brook is crossed by a stone bridge erected in 1814, with funds raised by subscriptions, and from the Bridgnorth turnpike trust. The principal landowners are Mr. Samuel Ridley, Mr. Kettle, Mr. Thomas Smythe, Mrs. Hammond, and Mrs. Smythe, besides whom are several other proprietors. Hilton House, the residence of George Smith Dorset, Esq., is a handsome residence with grounds tastefully laid out, besides which there are several other good houses in the village. Hoccom, or Hockham, is a small hamlet about two miles N.E. from Bridgnorth; the landowners are Mr. John Meredith and Mr. William Sing. Hallon is a hamlet adjoining Worfield, situated on a bold eminence. Hallon House, a beautiful modern erection of considerable extent, is the residence of James Farmer, gentleman. The freeholders are William S. Davenport, Esq., and Valentine Vickers, Esq. Hartleberry is situated N.W. from Worfield, about a mile and a quarter from the church. Thomas Charlton Whitmore, Esq., is the landowner. Kingslow is a small hamlet delightfully situated, three miles N.E. from Worfield. The freeholders are Lord Lewisham and Mrs. Devey. Kingslow House is a good residence occupied by John Farmer, gentleman. Stanlow House is occupied as a farm residence by Mr. Thomas Wilson. The hamlet of Little Gane lies about three miles from Worfield; the freeholders and residents are Samuel and Edward Ridley, gentlemen. Oldington township is situated two miles N.W. from Worfield, and is the property of Thomas C. Whitmore, Esq. Newton, situated near to Oldington, is also the property of the same gentleman. Roughton is a well built and respectable village on the Bridgnorth and Wolverhampton turnpike road, two and a half miles from the former place; there are several genteel residences embosomed in foliage, and beautified with tasteful pleasure grounds. The landowners are John and George Pritchard, Esq., Mrs. Fletcher and Mrs. Stokes. Riddleford, or Rhuddleford, is of British derivation, and signifies the Red Ford. It is a small township about two miles E. of Bridgnorth, which formerly belonged to the family of the Walkers, a branch of the Walkers, of Burncote and Roughton, who disposed of it to the Colley family, and they to the late William Hardwicke, Esq., of Burncote, who married Miss Mary Purton, by whom he had two children, John Role Hardwicke, Esq., deceased, and William Hardwicke, Esq., of Bridgnorth, an eminent antiquary and genealogist, whose widow is the present proprietor. Rowley is another small hamlet nearly a mile from Worfield, where William S. Davenport and Mrs. Martha Johnson are the landowners. Stanmore is a village and township on the Stourbridge road, two miles E. from Bridgnorth. John and George Pritchard, Esqrs., W. S. Davenport, Esq., and T. C. Whitmore, Esq., are the landowners. Stanmore Grove, the residence of R. Pigott, Esq., is a good house, pleasantly situated. Stableford, or Stapleford, is a small hamlet two miles N. from Worfield, not far from which runs the Cosford Brook. The freeholders are Mr. Jasper, and the executors of the late Richard Taylor. Swancote is situated about a mile and a half to the N.E. of Bridgnorth. George Pritchard, Esq., is the proprietor of the land. Swancote House, a commodious residence pleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, and ornamented with pleasure grounds neatly laid out, is occupied by William Sing, Esq. Wheel Green is a hamlet on the Bridgnorth and Northampton turnpike road, three and a half miles N.E. from the former place, and near to the river Worf. Winscote is situated two miles from Worfield, and the land is the property of T. C. Charlton, Esq. Wyken, derived from Wycke, (Saxon, “Place and Residence,” and Hen, British, “Old, or the Old Place”), is a small township and manor within the parish and manor of Worfield, situated about three miles N.E. of Bridgnorth. This manor was granted, together with the church of Worfield, and chapel of Chesterton, in the same parish, by King Edward II., in the 11th year of his reign, to the dean of Lichfield, in exchange for the manor of Greenford, in Middlesex. In the 2nd Edward VI., Richard William, then dean of Lichfield, with the chapter conveyed this manor with the advowson of the vicarage of the parish church of Worfield, and most of the great tithes of that parish, to Sir John Talbot, Knight, of Albrighton, which manor and tithes are now vested in William Sharrington Davenport, Esq., of Davenport House, in Worfield parish. The chief landowner in this township is Joseph Parkes, Esq., (in right of his wife Anna, the only child of the late John Bache, Esq.,) who resides at Wyken House, situated on the Streetford Brook, which has its confluence with the Worf below; Mr. Nicholas and Mr. J. Mollineux are also proprietors in this township.