ABDON
is a small parish and village in the Lower division of the Munslow hundred, ten miles south-east from Much Wenlock, which contains 710 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £609. At the census in 1801 the parish had a population of 134 souls; 1831, 170; and in 1841 there were 36 houses and 155 inhabitants. Sir Sidney Herbert is the principal landowner and lord of the manor. The Church is a small structure dedicated to St. Margaret, and consists of nave and chancel. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £3. 6s. 8d., now returned at £147; patron, Sir Sidney Herbert; incumbent, Rev. John Sheppard. A commodious school, with a residence for the teacher, has recently been built by the lord of the manor, at a cost of upwards of one thousand pounds; it is also munificently supported by the founder. About thirty children attend.
Directory.—George Bradley, farmer; Thomas Bradley, farmer; Cheswick Cooper, farmer; Rev. John Sheppard, rector; Robert Williams, schoolmaster.
ACTON SCOTT, OR ACTON-ON-THE-HILL,
a parish in the upper division of the Munslow Hundred, three miles and a half S.S.E. from Church Stretton, is bounded on the western side by the Shrewsbury and Ludlow turnpike road, and that from Wenlock to Bishop’s Castle passes through it. It is divided into the townships of Acton Scott and Alcaston, and contains 1,889 acres of hilly land, moderately fertile, resting on sand-stone, in some places rich in fossil shells, and watered by the Quenny and Marbrook streams. At the census of 1801, the parish contained 164 souls; 1841, 34 houses and 204 inhabitants. Rateable value, £1,727. On an eminence, above the Shrewsbury road, called the Castle Hill, it is supposed a fortification once existed; and in a field, adjoining the church-yard, some remains of a tower were standing in the memory of some of the old inhabitants, but all traces of it are now gone. In the year 1817, in straightening a road, some remains of a Roman ville were discovered, consisting of hypocausts, tiles, &c. Several eastern coins were also found, which is remarkable as being the only instance in which these coins have been found in Roman stations in England. On some of the tiles were impressions of the sandals of the Roman soldiers, made before the clay had been burned; there were also the foot-marks of dogs and other animals. These remains were found within a mile of the Roman road which runs from Wroxeter, by Church Stretton, to Shenchester. The name of Acton is derived from Ac (the Saxon for oak) and ton (a town), and that of Scott from a family who were very early settled here, and about the 12th century ceased to use their original name and adopted this of their residence only. At the time of the Doomsday survey the manor belonged to Rainald, the Sheriff, and it afterwards passed to the Fitzalans. In the year 1290, an inquest was held to determine the boundaries of the royal forests in Shropshire, when Acton Scott, Henly, and Alcaston, were declared to be without the limits, though Shetton, Minton, and Rushbury, were found to be within them, and subject to all the grievances of forest laws. The present lord of the manor is Edward William Wynne Pendarves, Esq., of Pendarves, in Cornwall, one of the representatives in parliament for that county, who succeeded to the property in 1835, on the death of his brother, who inherited this and other estates in right of his mother, the only daughter of Edward Acton, Esq., of Acton Scott, the last male representative of the elder branch of the family, who died in 1775, Sir John d’Albery Acton, Bart., being descended from a younger branch. The mansion house of Acton Scott is of the Elizabethan period, with projecting gables and bay windows, and stands in a commanding situation near to the church. It is at present occupied by Mrs. Stackhouse Acton. The whole of the township of Acton Scott is the property of E. W. W. Pendarves, Esq.
The Church, dedicated to St. Margaret, though devoid of architectural beauty, is remarkably neat, and contains a few monuments, chiefly to the Acton family, and a brass tablet, of the date of 1579, to the memory of Elizabeth Mytton. The tower is of much older date than the body of the church, and was probably an appendage to the church to which the bishop of Hereford inducted Hugh de Pentone (by lapse of time) in 1276. In the tower are three bells, on two of which are inscribed in old letters:—“Ave Maria in gratia plena dominus tecum,” and on the other, “Marie eternis et bonis resonet campana.” The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s book at £5. 10s.; patron, the lord of the manor; incumbent, Rev. Walter Corbett, chancellor of the diocese; curate, Rev. George Magee. The Rectory is a neat residence, pleasantly situated, and there are 40 acres of glebe land. The tithes are commuted for £230.
Charities.—John Monsell devised four parcels of land, containing, by estimation, 60 acres, in the parish of Mainstone, upon trust, to pay thereout the following sums on the 1st March, viz.:—20s. to the parish of Morvill; 10s. to the poor of Wistanstow; 10s. to buy Bibles for poor children of Bishop’s Castle; and 5s. to the poor of Acton Scott. The above sums had all been regularly paid when the Charity Commissioners published their report, except the yearly sum of 5s. to Acton Scott, which the owner of the estate agreed for the future to pay. In the parliamentary returns of 1786 three donations are mentioned as given for the benefit of poor housekeepers of this parish. To the two first, amounting to £36, no names are given as the donors thereof; the third, being £20, is attributed to Edward Acton. Interest on the sum of £56 is now paid, which is laid out in fuel by the resident curate, which he distributes to the poor.
Alcaston, a small village and township in the parish of Acton Scott, comprises 527 acres of land, and is situated about a mile south from the parish church. Rateable value, £381. 14s. Alcaston was at an early period taken out of the manor of Acton Scott; it consists of three farms, belonging respectively to Thomas Dunne, Esq., G. M. Benson, Esq., and the Rev. Mr. Hill; the latter gentleman being of the same family as the Hills of Hawkestone. This branch was settled here in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and occupied a curious old timber mansion, a great part of which was taken down about ten years ago. Mr. Benson’s farm house also bears marks of antiquity; it is of brick, and has been moated, but it has lost much of its ancient character by modern repairs. A portion of the long line stone ridge, known as Wenlock Edge, stretches into this township.
Directory.—The residents in Acton Scott are Mrs. Stackhouse Acton, The Hall; Rev. George Magee, curate; John Monsell, farmer, Henley; Robert Morgan, farmer, Church Farm; Joseph Hotchkiss, blacksmith; Mary Keep, farmer; Thomas Parker, farmer. The residents of Alcaston are Benjamin Martin, farmer; Richard Edwards, farmer; Thomas Lewis, farmer.