STANTON LACY
is a considerable parish in the lower division of the Munslow hundred, comprising the townships of Downton, Hayton Lower, Hayton Upper, part of Henley, part of Hopton, Rock, Stanton Lacy, and Wooton, and the hamlets of East and West. In 1801 there were 905 inhabitants; 1831, 1,467; 1841, 1,540. Acres, 7,765; rateable value, £11,008. 5s. The township of Stanton Lacy has 2,393 acres of land; at the census of 1841 it contained 141 houses and 724 inhabitants, of which 146 persons are returned as in the Ludlow Union Workhouse. The village is pleasantly situated three and a half miles N.N.W. from Ludlow, near the eastern bank of the Corve. The Earl of Craven is the principal landowner and lord of the manor. In the 20th of Edward I., a quo warranto was brought against the Prior of Lantone Prune, in Wales, for claiming pleas of the crown and wayffe, and for holding a fair and a market in the manor of Stanton Lacy, and in Rokele. The Prior pleads that he is not lord of the manor, but is only patron of the church, and holds Rokele that lies in the parish. Hugh de Lowther replies that the bishop cannot prove any of his predecessors to have come in with the Conqueror, and to have acquired those privileges by conquest, because being men in holy orders they come to their freeholds by the grants of others, and therefore he ought to produce some special grant from the crown to support his claim. This place was part of the royal demesnes when the house of York recovered their right to the crown. In the time of Henry VIII., Sir William Thomas, Knt., held the manor of Stanton Lacy and a pasture known by the name of Stanton Fryth, for the term of twenty-one years, at the rent of £7. 10s. The Church is a fine old structure, some portions of which are unquestionably of great antiquity; it has recently been beautified, and the interior has undergone a complete renovation at a cost of about £1000. The chancel is very beautiful; the altar exhibits some very elaborate workmanship, and the floor is covered with tesselated pavement. The living is a vicarage, rated in the king’s book at £16, now returned at £518, in the patronage of the Earl of Craven; incumbent, Rev. Joseph Bowles, D.D. There is a national school in the village, towards the support of which the Earl of Craven is a liberal contributor. Richard Nash, in the year 1814, bequeathed £100 for the benefit of the poor of this parish.
Downton, a township in the parish of Stanton Lacy, situated four miles from Ludlow, contains 765 acres of land, and in 1841 had 17 houses and 90 inhabitants. Sir W. E. R. Boughton, Bart., is the principal landowner and lord of the manor, and resides at Downton Hall, an elegant mansion of modern erection commanding most beautiful and varied prospects over a luxuriant country richly clothed with woody scenery. The pleasure grounds are tastefully laid out and beautifully ornamented with choice shrubs and flowers.
Hayton Lower, a small township and village four miles N.N.W. from Ludlow, contains 535 acres of land, and at the census of 1841 had 24 houses and 104 inhabitants. The Earl of Craven is the principal proprietor of the land.
Hayton Upper, a village and township in the parish of Stanton Lacy, comprises 935 acres of land, and is situated four and a half miles N.N.W. from Ludlow. At the census of 1841 there were 53 houses and 256 inhabitants. The Earl of Craven is the landowner and lord of the manor. In this township is the hamlet of Hayton’s Bent, where the Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists have each a small chapel. A small rivulet which flows from the hilly ground in this township becomes on its passage through rocks strongly impregnated with carbonate of lime, and is found to possess the property of forming petrifactions of such articles as are placed in it. The township of Henley, partly in this parish and partly in that of Bitterley, is noticed in the latter parish. The township of Hopton also partly in this parish, is noticed with Hopton parish.
Rock, a small rural village and township in the parish of Stanton Lacy, contains 735 acres of land, and runs into the borough of Ludlow. At the census of 1841 there were 32 houses and 134 inhabitants.
Wootton, another small township in the parish of Stanton Lacy, contains 544 acres of land, and in 1841 had 9 houses and 65 inhabitants. Wootton Hall, a fine specimen of the domestic architecture of by-gone days, has been taken down during the present year and a farm house erected near the site. The Earl of Craven is owner of the land in this township.
East Hamlet, in the parish of Stanton Lacy, contains 734 acres of land, the principal owner of which is Frederick Nash, Esq.; William Pattrick is the farmer. In 1841 there were four houses and twenty-four inhabitants.
West Hamlet contains 650 acres of land, and in 1841 had nine houses and sixty-five inhabitants. The chief landowners are the Earl of Craven, Hon. R. H. Clive, Mrs. Wakefield, and J. B. Cummings, Esq.
Directories.—Stanton Lacy: Herbert Blakeway, farmer, Stanton Cottage; Rev. Joseph Bowles, D.D.; John Davies, blacksmith; John S. Edwards, farmer; Richard Edwards, farmer, Manor House; Henry Evans, vict., Craven Arms; Richard Fletcher, butcher and shopkeeper; Edward Farmer, farmer and shopkeeper; John Hotchkiss, farmer, Woodlands; Ann Oseley, Proprietary School. Downton: Sir William Edward Rouse Boughton, Bart., Downton Hall; Thomas Hotchkiss, farmer. Hayton Lower: Richard Coston, farmer; Sarah Coston, farmer; Samuel Weaver, farmer; and Samuel Weaver, beerhouse keeper. Hayton Upper: Edward M. Burgess, farmer; Rev. Lancelot Dixon; William Price, farmer; and Thomas Smout, farmer. Rock: Mr. Wm. Gardener; James Harding, vict., The Raven; James Hince, timber merchant; John Price, manager at Gas Works; Elias Rollings, coach and jobbing smith; William Russell, governor of Union House; William Thompson, vict., Greyhound; James Watkins, stone and marble mason. Wootton: William Blakeway, farmer, The White House; Josiah Meredith, corn miller. East Hamlet: William Patrick, farmer. West Hamlet: Thomas Lloyd, farmer, Langley; John Mellings, farmer, The Pools; Deborah Sanders, farmer, Ruckley; John Sanders, farmer; and William Small, farmer, Aintree.