The Church is a fine old structure dedicated to St. Michael, and consists of nave, chancel, and north aisle, the latter divided from the nave by pointed arches, and a broad obtuse arch; the chancel is divided from the body of the church by a handsome oak screen. The ceiling is carved, resting on strong oak brackets. The font is very ancient, and there are various monuments. Several of the windows are adorned with stained glass of antique workmanship, one of which was added at the expense of Richard Sheppard and Joanna his wife, in the time of Henry VII.; the beautiful decorations of the east window are of more modern date. The living is a rectory with the curacy of Broadstone annexed valued in the king’s book at £21. 15s. 2½d., now returned at £730, in the patronage and incumbency of the Rev. T. C. Powell. In the church-yard there is a singular building the uses of which are unknown. It consists of a roof supported by four oak pillars and arches of the same material; as it now stands it is raised little more three feet from the ground. There is a National School in the village which is supported by subscriptions and a small charge from each scholar.
Charities.—In the year 1795, the sum of £300, five per cent stock, was purchased with a legacy of £100 left to the poor of the parish of Munslow in 1762, by Major John More, and a legacy of £200 left by his sister Catharine More in 1792, the interest of which sum it was directed should be distributed annually to poor housekeepers within the said parish, at the discretion of the minister and churchwardens. When this stock was paid off, £328 stock was purchased in the new four per cents, which is now standing in the name of the rector. The dividends amounting to £13. 2s. 6d. per annum, are distributed to poor housekeepers in the parish by the rector.
Directory.—Arthur Bach, saddler and harness maker; William Bowley, butcher and shopkeeper; Thomas R. C. Downes, surgeon; Edward Edwards, farmer; Edward Evans, tailor; Edward Hughes, farmer; Edwin Keysell, maltster, corn dealer, and seedsman; Charles Pothecary, surgeon; William Power, surgeon; Rev. Thomas C. Powel, rector; David Pugh, builder; Obadiah Newnham, schoolmaster; John Roberts, farmer.
Aston, a small township in the parish of Munslow, at the census in 1841 had 31 houses and 164 inhabitants: the acres and rateable value of the several townships in this parish are returned with the parish of Munslow. John Francis Wright, Esq., is the principal landowner. The principal residents in the township of Aston are John Downes, Esq., Aston Hall; John Hince, plumber and glazier; Edward Mullard, blacksmith; Miss Ann Pearce, The White House; Samuel Preece, farmer; William Shirley, farmer; Benjamin Wall, wheelwright; William Wigmore, vict., The Hundred House.
Bach or Beach Mill, a hamlet in the parish of Munslow, at the census in 1841 had twelve houses and a population of forty eight souls. The landowner in the township is Herbert Cornewall, Esq. The principal residents are James Dyer, carpenter; Samuel Handcocks, blacksmith; Joseph Sankey, tailor and shopkeeper; Richard Sankey, tailor, and post office; John Stubbs, shopkeeper.
Broadstone, a township and tolerable village in Munslow parish, is pleasantly situated near the turnpike road from Munslow to Much Wenlock. There is a small Chapel of Ease at Broadstone, where divine service is performed once a month. In 1841 this township contained 42 houses and a population of 120 souls. The chief residents are William Bishop, cooper; John Blockley, farmer and maltster; Joseph Childe, wheelwright; Thomas Cocks, vict., Seven Stars; John Jones, shoemaker; Samuel Lewis, farmer; Thomas Lewis, bricklayer. Holloway Ville, situated in the parish of Munslow, consists of only one farm house, which is occupied by Walter Watkins.
Millichope, a township in the parish of Munslow, at the census of 1841 had fourteen houses and fifty-seven inhabitants. The land is chiefly the property of Charles Orlando Childe Pemberton, Esq., of Millichope Park, an elegant mansion in the Grecian style of architecture, beautified with tasteful pleasure grounds and surrounded with woody scenery. The house is a modern structure, built near the site of an antique mansion which was chiefly composed of timber and plaster, bearing the characteristics of the reign of Elizabeth, and was taken down about eight years ago. On the top of a rock facing the hall, a beautiful Cenotaph has been built in the Grecian style, in memory of two brothers of the name of More, one of whom was an officer in the 79th regiment, and the other in the British navy. It has been erected about seventy-five years. The small but very ancient manor house of Upper Millichope formerly belonged to the Prior of Wenlock; it consists of only one room on a floor. The walls are seven feet in thickness, and lighted by narrow slips of windows; the entrance is by an ornamented circular-headed doorway, to the right of which are some steps of an old stone staircase carried up in the solid wall to the upper chamber, the entrance to which is guarded by three doors, the centre one being secured by a massive wooden bar which passed through the wall of the room into the outer wall on the opposite side of the staircase. The structure now forms part of a farm residence. It is supposed by antiquaries that the lower compartment in the warlike times of former ages was used for the purpose of securing the cattle in times of danger, while the upper story formed the habitation of the family. The principal residents in Millichope are Charles Orlando Childe Pemberton, Esq., Millichope Park; Mr. William Cadwallader, Thomas Clifton, mason; Thomas Wall, blacksmith.
Thonglands is a township and small village in the parish of Munslow, which in 1841 contained fifteen houses and eighty-three inhabitants. C. O. C. Pemberton, Esq., of Millichope Park, and the Rev. Frederick Lakin, are the landowners. The chief residents are Joseph Edwards, beerhouse keeper; William Lello, farmer; and Thomas Wall, farmer. Topley Ville, comprising two houses and twelve persons, is in the parish of Munslow. Mr. John Price is the only resident farmer.
Poston Lower is a township in the parish of Munslow, situated six miles north from Ludlow, which comprises three houses and twenty-three inhabitants at the census of 1841. The land is the property of Archdeacon Corbet. John Kelly, blacksmith, and Richard Wellings, farmer, are the residents.