THE CONDOVER HUNDRED. (continued 2)

Roger Maunsell, by will, 1651, devised a piece of ground, called Bowneford, in the parish of Long Stanton, to the churchwardens of the parish of Cardington, and their successors, and to Thomas Powell and his heirs, and ordered that the said churchwardens, at the feast of St. Michael, should receive the sum of 26s. 8d. yearly for ever. He directed the first three years after his decease, the said sum of 26s. 8d. should be expended in a weekly distribution of bread, to be divided among six poor men one week, and among six poor women the following week; and that for the next three years it should be laid out in buying sacramental bread and wine; and the seventh year in adorning or buying any ornament to be used in the church at Cardington; and so from seven years to seven years.

Anne Tipton gave a rent charge of £1. 10s. per annum, issuing out of the Day House, and directed six penny loaves to be given to six poor men and six poor women of this parish, alternately every Sunday in the year; but on Easter Sunday, Whit Sunday, the last Sunday in the old and first Sunday in the new year six threepenny loaves each day.

The sum of £1. 6s. is paid every alternate year to the churchwardens of Cardington, as a gift of Dinah Roberts. This and the like payment made to the parish of St. Julian, in Shrewsbury, are charged upon a farm in Wilstone, which was purchased by Archdeacon Corbett about fifty years ago. The amount is applied in a distribution of six penny loaves every Sunday in the year in which it is received.

Francis Southern, by will, dated May 9th, 1773, bequeathed to the minister and churchwardens of the parish of Cardington and their successors £42. 10s., upon trust, that the interest of £32. 10s., part thereof, should he laid out in bread and given away every Lord’s day to three poor widows or old men of this parish, who should attend divine service; and the interest of the other £10 he left to the minister of Cardington for preaching a sermon every New Year’s-day. Of this money we are informed £32. 10. was laid out in 1814 in the purchase of a cottage at the east end of the town, called the Butt, which was formerly occupied by poor persons placed there by the parish. £1. 6s. is paid from the church-warden’s account for providing bread for the poor. The remaining £10 was paid to the churchwarden’s account in 1819, and the churchwardens pay the interest thereof to the minister.

In the parliamentary returns of 1786 it is stated the poor’s stock amounted to £45, for which interest was paid for many years. It is understood that £5 of this money was lost, and that in 1799 £40 having been borrowed of Joseph Powell by the parish for building a poor house, the poor’s stock was applied in paying off the debt. Nothing has been paid in charity in respect of the above sum for a long period. The poor, we conceive, are entitled to the interest of the money which was left for charitable uses, and not for the ease of the ratepayers.

John Russell, by will, 1813, gave to the minister of Cardington for the time being £1 yearly for preaching a sermon annually on the day preceding the day of his interment. He also gave to the poor of Cardington thirty threepenny loaves on each of the following days—Christmas-day, Easter-day, Whit Sunday, and the Wakes Sunday; and to six of the poorest widows of the parish a blue woollen gown every Christmas-day, and the same to six of the poorest girls of the said parish on the same day, and also to a schoolmistress £10 a year to teach twelve poor girls of the said parish to read, knit, and sew. He also gave £5 a year towards a Sunday school, and he bequeathed to certain trustees £570, on trust, to place out the same in public funds, and out of the dividends pay the annuities before mentioned, and also an annuity to the Rev. John Witts for his life. In respect of this charity there is now £628. 12s. 4d. new four per cents. standing in the names of the trustees, producing annual dividends of £25. 2s. 10d. The trustees, after carrying out the specific intentions of the donor, apply the surplus in the purchase of coal, which is distributed among the most necessitous poor.

There were in this parish certain lands called the Church Estate, consisting of several detached parcels; but on the enclosure of the lands in the manor of Lydley and Cardington, in 1817, exchanges were effected, whereby between fifteen and sixteen acres lying together were set out by the churchwardens. There are also nine cottages, chiefly occupied by poor persons. The rents of these premises were formerly paid half to the churchwardens, to be applied in the repairs of the church, or in aid of the church rate, and the other moiety to the overseers of the poor, by whom the amount was given away in charity. But for many years the rent, now amounting to £14, has been carried to the overseers’ account, and applied to the general purposes of the poor’s rate. Coals to the amount of £5 or £6 are, however, annually given away by the overseers. It appears questionable, from the usage which formerly prevailed, whether the rent of this estate ought not to be applied, one moiety thereof in the repairs of the church, and the other to such poor persons as appear fit objects of charity.

Directory.—William Aincham, carpenter and wheelwright; John Brazier, maltster and beerhouse keeper; John Corfield, farmer; Joseph Dayus, farmer; Samuel Evans, vict., Royal Oak; Mr. John R. Durnell; William Eaton, butcher; Samuel Edwards, farmer; Edward Haynes, shopkeeper; Rev. William Jones Hughes, vicar; John Parker, schoolmaster; George Onslow, farmer; William Preen, farmer and beerhouse keeper; Thomas Price, wheelwright; Francis Smout, farmer; Francis Waters, gentleman; Ann Woof, farmer.

CARDINGTON TOWNSHIPS

Broome is a small township in the parish of Cardington, having 177 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £178. 10s. At the census of 1841 there were three houses and thirteen inhabitants. Mr. John Evans is the only resident farmer.

Chatwall township in 1841 had six houses and thirty inhabitants, and contains 763 acres of land, the principal owners of which are Panton Corbett, Esq., John Norris, Esq., Richard Butcher, Esq., Mrs. Bourne. The land is mostly poor and cold. Rateable value, £575. 15s. The chief residents are Samuel Jones, farmer and beerhouse keeper; John L. Mitton, farmer; Richard Wall, farmer, and Thomas Woodcock, farmer, Lower Chatwall.

Comley and Botvylle is a township in the parish of Cardington, containing 464 acres of land, which is chiefly the property of Panton Corbett, Esq. Rateable value, £330 10s. At the census of 1841 there were 17 houses and 57 souls. The principal residents are Edward Evans wheelwright; Philip Hayward, farmer; William Higgins, farmer, The Shoe Trough; John H. Smith, farmer; William Tomlinson, farmer.

Enchmarsh is a township and village two miles N. from Cardington, comprising 400 acres of land, and in 1841 contained eighteen houses and a population of 94 souls. Rateable value, £392. 5s. Panton Corbett, Esq., is the chief landowner. The principal residents are Richard Evason, farmer; William Haynes, blacksmith; William Norris, farmer.

Holt Preen is a township in the parish of Cardington, situated about a mile from Church Preen, and four miles N.E. from Cardington. It contains 793 acres of land, and in 1841 had sixteen houses and 111 inhabitants. Rowland Hunt, Esq., is the landowner and lord of the manor. The principal resident is Mr. Thomas Norris, Holt Hall.

Lydley Heys, a township in Cardington parish, has 790 acres of land, and in 1841 had eight houses and 52 inhabitants. Panton Corbett, Esq., is the sole proprietor in this township. Rateable value, £580. 5s. The chief residents are Richard Everall, farmer, Day House; Henry Matthews, farmer, Lawley Farm; John Russell, farmer, Court House; Richard Shuker, farmer, Pankridge Hall.

Plaish township in Cardington parish is situated about three miles from the parish church, and at the census of 1841 had six houses and 37 inhabitants. The township contains 908 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £611. 10s. Rowland Hunt, Esq., is sole proprietor and lord of the manor. The Hall is a venerable old structure, partly in ruins, and partly occupied as workshops and granaries. It was formerly the seat of Sir William Leighton, chief justice of North Wales, and one of the council of the Marches. He died in 1607, and was buried under a sumptuous monument in Cardington church. The Hall contains some fine specimens of oak carving, and although decayed and ruinous bears traces of its former splendour. The principal residents in Plaish are Samuel Eaton, farmer, Plaish Hall, and Thomas Lewis, farmer, The Sheaves.

Willstone, a township in Cardington parish, containing 711 acres of land, at the census of 1841 had four houses and 34 inhabitants. Rateable value of the parish, £469. 10s. Panton Corbett, Esq., and Thomas Bolton, Esq., are the landowners; the former is lord of the manor. The resident farmers in Willstone are Isaiah Lindop, and William Minton.

CHURCH STRETTON

is a market town and parish in the Upper division of the Munslow hundred, thirteen miles S.S.W. from Shrewsbury, fourteen miles N.N.W. from Ludlow, and 153 miles from London. The parish comprises the townships of Church Stretton, All Stretton, Little Stretton, and Minton, and contains 5,717 acres of titheable land, and 5,000 of common, making a total of 10,717 acres in the parish, the gross estimated rental of which is £7,592. Rateable value £6,133. At the census of 1801 there were 924 inhabitants; 1831, 1,302; 1841, 1,604. At the latter period there were 346 houses, of which 183 houses and 860 persons were in the township of Church Stretton. This place is supposed to have derived the name of Stretton (formerly Street Town), from its contiguity to the Watling Street, the Roman road that led from Uriconium (now Wroxeter), the principal city of the Cornavii, to Kinchester, near Hereford. This ancient road runs nearly parallel with the turnpike road from Shrewsbury to Hereford. The town is small, and chiefly consists of one street, in the widest part of which is the market hall. It is a polling place for the southern division of the county, and is situated in a picturesque vale, from which rise gradually wooded eminences of great beauty, backed by lofty ranges of hills. On the eastern side are the Lawley and the far-famed Caer Caradoc, one of the military entrenchments of Caractacus in his long and arduous struggle with the Romans; on the western side is the lofty range of the Longmynds, extending eight or nine miles, and on the summit of one called Boddbury was a Roman station or camp of observation. A pole has been erected on the highest point of the Longmynds, from which spot there is a most delightful and commanding view of a wide extent of country. The prospect includes on the west the Stipperstones, the mountainous district of Wales, including the Sugarloaf near Abergavenny, the Table mountain, Cader Idris, and the intervening range from that mountain to Snowdon; on the east and north-east are seen the Edgwood, the Clee, and Malvern hills, and the majestic Wrekin; to the south-west are the hills of Radnorshire, and on the north-west the Denbighshire hills, besides which there is a fine view of the fertile plains of Shropshire, with many other objects of deep interest. The secluded and romantic situation of Church Stretton, the grand and majestic character of the surrounding scenery—its proximity to scenes of great historical interest—the mildness and salubrity of the air, which is at the same time peculiarly bracing,—its general exemption from contagious and epidemic disease, and the excellence of the water, all conduce to render it peculiarly attractive to parties in pursuit of health and pleasure. During the summer months it is a very favourite resort of visitors from the neighbouring towns, the great variety of the scenery rendering it almost impossible to weary the most fastidious taste. When it has become more easy of access by railway it will no doubt become a favourite retreat for persons from all parts of the kingdom. The Shrewsbury and Hereford railway now in course of construction will pass within three hundred yards of the town.

Camden, who wrote in the time of Elizabeth observes, “Near Stretton, in a valley are yet to be seen the rubbish of an old castle called Brocard’s Castle and the same set amiddest greene meadowes that before time were fish ponds.” In the 17th of King John, Hugh de Mortimer received command from the Barons to deliver up the castle of Stretton Dale to Hugh de Neville, but standing firm to the king he was rewarded the next year by receiving a grant of the castle of Holdgate from John. The Caer Caradoc probably acquired that name from having been one of the military stations of Caractacus, and it was once considered the place where he fought his last battle until a strict comparison of its situation, with the description given by Tacitus, caused the opinion to be abandoned. Formerly a society of gentlemen used to meet annually on this hill to celebrate the fame of the British chief in compositions of prose and verse. A very spirited poetical effusion was on occasion delivered almost extempore by the Rev. Sneyd Davies. Almost every dingle and narrow valley of this locality has its peculiar brook or rivulet, which in several instances form beautiful cascades over their rocky channel; they all produce excellent trout. At the foot of the Caradoc, near All Stretton, is a farm house called Botvylle which a family of that name at an early period held under the Knights Templars of Jerusalem. One of this family was a lawyer, and was called John of the Inns, which was corrupted into John Thynne, and from him there is a tradition that the family of the Marquis of Bath is descended, who possessed the manor till the year 1808, when it was sold to Thomas Coleman, Esq. In the 10th of Edward III. the king bestowed Stretton on Richard, Earl of Arundel, and the year following he obtained the grant of a market on Thursday, and a fair on the eve, the day, and the day after the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The market is still held on Thursday, and is well attended with provisions. Fairs are held on the Monday before Shrewsbury first March fair; 14th May, 3rd of July, for wool, 25th of September, and the last Thursday in November. The Market Hall is a neat and spacious building in the Elizabethan style, consisting of a good room where public meetings are held, and an area underneath for the market. It was erected in the year 1839, at a cost of about £1000, and was conveyed to the following trustees, some of whom were the principal subscribers to the funds for its erection, namely: the Earl of Powis, Lord Darlington, Lord Clive, Hon. R. H. Clive, Rev. N. R. Pemberton, E. W. Smythe Owen, Esq., G. R. Benson, Esq., Panton Corbett, Esq., Thomas S. Acton, Esq., E. B. Coleman, Esq., William Pinches, Esq., Mr. John Broome, and Mr. John Robinson. The old market hall, an antique structure much admired for its primitive appearance, was chiefly composed of timber and plaister, and was built in the year 1617; it was fast falling to decay when it was taken down; the inhabitants purchased the site and the tolls for £200, which was raised by subscriptions, so that the market is now toll free. In a deep valley about a quarter of a mile from the town is a flourishing flannel manufactory, the machinery being turned by a mountain stream; the inhabitants are however chiefly engaged in agricultural pursuits; large flocks of sheep are pastured on the neighbouring hills. The principal landowners are Moses George Benson, Esq., Charles Orlando Childe Pemberton, Esq., and Mrs. Coleman; the latter is lady of the manor.

The Church, an ancient cruciform structure with a central tower, chiefly in the early English style of architecture, is dedicated to St. Lawrence, having an image of that saint in the eastern angle of the tower. The tower exhibits some elaborate workmanship, and contains a very melodious peal of bells and an excellent clock. On the north and south sides of the edifice are doorways of Norman character. The tower is supported by four clustered pillars and pointed arches, which divide the nave, chancel, and transepts. The chancel is beautifully ornamented with richly carved oak in antique devices, collected at a considerable cost by the late rector, the Rev. Robert N. Pemberton, who bestowed great care and expense in the embellishment of the sacred edifice. In the centre compartment of the altar is an elegant and well carved representation of Christ after the crucifixion. The windows, principally in the decorated style, with rich and flowing tracery, are beautified with stained glass. The eastern one is peculiarly chaste and elegant, and being immediately over the altar gives the interior a very chastened and effective appearance. The centre division contains a fine figure of our Saviour, and on one side is a representation of St. Peter, and on the other of St. John. This window was the gift of the late rector, the Rev. R. N. Pemberton. The living is a rectory, rated in the king’s book at £15. 10s., in the patronage of C. O. C. Pemberton, Esq.; incumbent, Rev. Hugh Owen Wilson. The tithes are commuted for £505, and there is a glebe land attached to the rectory, of the annual value of £60. The parish is in the diocese of Hereford, and the triennial visitation is held here by the bishop. The visitation in the intermediate years is held by the archdeacon. Roger Mainwaring, D.D., vicar of St. Giles in the Fields, and chaplain to King Charles I., was born in this town. His two sermons, entitled “Religion and Allegiance,” were censured in parliament, and he was afterwards imprisoned and suspended for three years. In 1633 the king presented him to the rich rectory of Stanford Rivers, in Essex, made him dean of Worcester, and in 1635 he was consecrated bishop of St. David’s, which see he held till the bishopric was abolished. He was cruelly dealt with by the prevailing powers in the time of anarchy and confusion, and died in 1653, leaving behind him the character of a person of great learning and true piety.

There is a Branch Savings Bank at Church Stretton, which commenced in the year 1821, the business of which is conducted at the school house every Friday. About 300 depositors have their names in the books, and a sum of about £9,000 standing to their credit. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows of the Manchester Unity have a lodge here, with their funds in a prosperous condition. There is also a clothing club for the benefit of poor families, and one for the supply of coals during the winter season. A police station has been erected at the expense of the county, near to the union house, in connexion with which are cells for the temporary confinement of offenders, and a residence for the superintendent constable.

The Church Stretton Union Workhouse is situated nearly a quarter of a mile from the town, on the Shrewsbury and Ludlow turnpike road, and in the immediate vicinity of the Longmynd hills. The situation is remarkably dry and salubrious, and the building is admirably contrived for the convenience and comfort of the inmates. The building is in the form of a cross, which, with the outer wall, forms four quadrangles, and these are used as airing yards. It was built in 1838, of the rough stone got from the neighbouring quarries, with quoins and cornices of hewn free stone. The cost of the structure was £2,000, and the sum of £200 was paid for the site and land attached, which covers an area of about two acres. The money necessary for the erection was borrowed, and it was agreed to pay back the principal by instalments of £100 per annum: there remains unpaid at the present time £600. The parishes comprised within the union are, Acton Scott, Church Stretton, Cardington, Easthope, Eaton, Hope Bowdler, Leebotwood, Longnor, Rushbury, Shipton, Sibdon, Carwood, Smethcott, Wistanston, and Woolstaston. The house is capable of accommodating 110 inmates, and the guardians meet at the board room every fortnight for the transaction of the business connected with the union. The expenditure for the half year ending Lady day, 1850, was £1,266. 16s., and the average weekly cost per head of the in-door paupers was 2s. 1½d., of which 3d. was for clothing. The number of in-door paupers at the same period was 55. John Belton, Clerk to the Guardians. Thomas Heighway, Relieving Officer. Medical Officers: Richard Wilding, for the house and first district; Thomas R. C. Downes, second district; Robert Jones, third district; Charles Mott, fourth district. Rev. P. Nunn, Chaplain. Henry Evans, Governor. Mary Ditcher, Matron. Sarah Atkinson, Schoolmistress.

Charities.—There is a school and schoolhouse in the town of Church Stretton, built in 1779 on the site of an old school, supposed to have been erected on the waste land by subscription, and another room has since been added thereto. By an act of parliament, passed 28th George III., for enclosing the commons and waste lands in the manor of Church Stretton, it was enacted that all encroachments which had heretofore been made on the said commons and waste lands, for the use of the school and schoolmaster at Church Stretton, should be confirmed by the commissioners to the rector of the parish for the time being, together with nine other persons therein named, and their successors to be appointed as therein directed, on trust to receive the rents and apply the same to the use of the schoolmaster as an augmentation of his salary, and to permit such master to occupy the buildings for the uses for which they were intended. In pursuance of this act the commissioners allotted a parcel of land containing 27a. 0r. 29p., (including a road containing about one acre), which was let, when the charity commissioners published their report, for the yearly sum of £27.

The following legacies have at different periods been left for the benefit of the school, viz:—Sir Rowland Hayward, Knt. £1. 13s. 4d. yearly, payable out of certain lands in the parish. In respect of the charity of Thomas Bridgman, 40s. yearly is paid to the schoolmaster for teaching four poor children. From Lloyd’s Charity the trustees receive the sum of £2. 5s., and £3. 3s. yearly for the support of a Sunday school. The trustees also receive £4. 10s. yearly from Mainwaring’s Charity, and £2. 1s. annually from the churchwardens. The whole annual income derived from these sources amounts to £42. 12s. 4d. The schoolmaster is appointed by the trustees, and receives a salary of £40 a year, and resides in a house free of expense, and for these emoluments he also teaches a Sunday school. The school is conducted on the national system: about 60 boys and 60 girls attend.

Thomas Hawkes, by will dated 19th August, 1703, left £30 to the use of the poor of the parish of Church Stretton, to be laid out in land; the yearly produce thereof to be distributed in bread as follows; viz: eight penny loaves every Sunday, and sixteen penny loaves every first Sunday in the year, Easter Sunday, and Whit-Sunday, to such poor persons as should frequent the church. The aforesaid sum of £30 was laid out in 1708 in the purchase of a copyhold tenement situated in Church Stretton, called Walter’s House, formerly used as a poor-house, in respect of which 30s. is paid yearly as Hawke’s Legacy out of the poor’s rates, and applied with the produce of other charities hereafter noticed.

By Indenture, bearing date 3rd May, 1684, John Garratt and Henry Richards conveyed a meadow, containing by estimation two acres, in the township of Little Stretton to Thomas Hawkes and others, and their heirs on trust, that they should succour and relieve (with the yearly rents and profits) such poor of the said parish as they thought most needy. The meadow called Little Stretton Pools, containing 1a. 1r. 2p. of land, is let at a yearly rent of £5, which is distributed amongst the poor with the other charities.

On the table of benefactions, it is stated that Randolph Jones, in 1710, left £10, the interest to be distributed in bread. This money is supposed to have been laid out in building the poor-house, and the interest thereof, 10s., is paid yearly from the poor’s rates, and forms part of the funds distributed in bread at Easter and Christmas.

Thomas Bridgman, by will dated 28th May, 1718, devised to the school at Church Stretton 40s. yearly, to be paid at Michaelmas and Lady-day to the schoolmaster, on condition that he should teach four poor children till they could perfectly read in the Bible, and then to receive four more, to be nominated from the parish by his executors and trustees, and the minister of the parish. He also gave to the poor housekeepers of Church Stretton 20s., to be given on St. Thomas’s day; and also 10s. more to be distributed in twenty sixpenny loaves to housekeepers of the said parish, not receiving parochial relief.

Edward Phillips, by indenture bearing date 19th May, 1735, left land to the amount of 2a. 3r. 10p. called the Street Meadow, in trust to apply the annual rent of the same for the benefit of the poor. This land was let in 1830 at a rent of £7, which forms part of the general distribution on St. Thomas’s day and Easter.

Edward Lloyd, who died in 1790, bequeathed £100, to be placed out at interest, half the produce to be paid to the schoolmaster, as an augmentation to his salary, and the other half to be applied towards raising a sum to apprentice two boys of the age of 14 scholars of the said school. He also gave £21, on trust, to place out the same to pay the interest to sixteen poor parishioners of Church Stretton, on St. Thomas’s day, to be nominated by the minister and churchwardens. The testator also charged his estate, called The Bank, in Church Stretton, with the payment of £3. 3s. yearly to the trustees of Church Stretton school, for the aid and support of a Sunday school there. The sum of £100 is placed out on a bond, given out under the provisions of an act of parliament, passed for rebuilding St. Chad’s church, Shrewsbury, bearing interest at 4½ per cent. One moiety is paid to the trustees of the school, as before stated; and the other is carried to a separate account, called the apprentice fund, from which children are placed out as apprentices, with a premium of £4 each.

John Bridgman, by will, dated 5th October, 1796, bequeathed £100, in trust, to the minister and churchwardens of Church Stretton, to be by them placed out at interest, on such security as they should think proper, and distributed by them on the 28th of March to poor housekeepers.

Edward Phillips, jun., by will, dated 22nd of September, 1781, gave to the parish of Church Stretton the sum of £30, to be laid out in land, and the produce thereof to be given in bread to poor housekeepers. The yearly sum of £1. 10s. has been considered as a charge upon land in Church Stretton, belonging to the Rev. Robert Norgrave Pemberton, which was formerly the property of the family of Phillips.

The Rev. John Mainwaring, by will, dated 12th of May, 1800, and by a codicil, dated 5th October, 1805, directed that the sum of £100 should be invested in the purchase of stock in the public funds, the interest whereof to be applied to the relief of poor industrious persons residing in the parish as should be thought most deserving; and also £100, the interest whereof to be paid to the master of the Church Stretton school, in augmentation of his salary; and he also directed that £21 should he laid out in the purchase of stock, the interest to be paid to such person as should have the keeping of the churchyard in order, on condition that the parishioners of Church Stretton should continue the yearly payment of 8s. or 10s. hitherto allowed for that purpose. Interest is paid on these sums at 4½ per cent.

The preceding charities, amounting to £27. 1s., are carried to one general fund, of which £4 are disposed of in bread—20s. worth every St. Thomas’s day, the like sum every Easter Tuesday, and 40s. towards a distribution of eighteen pennyworth of bread three Sundays in every month, the residue being paid from the parish rates. The remainder, £23. 1s., with the money collected at the sacrament, and some voluntary additions thereto, are distributed to the poor at Easter and on St. Thomas’s day, in nearly equal proportions.

William Minton, in 1701, left £6, the interest to be distributed in bread every Christmas day. The amount of 6s. is given away in twopenny and threepenny loaves before evening service on the aforesaid day. It is stated, on the table of benefactions, that Thomas Harrison, in 1794, left £10, the interest to be given to the poor on St. Thomas’s day. Widow Owen left £1 yearly, payable from certain houses in Mardol, in Shrewsbury, to repair the west window of Stretton church. At the time the Charity Commissioners published their report, there was a surplus of upwards of £9 ready to be applied to the repair of the aforesaid window.

Andrews Thomas, saddler & harness maker

Beetlestone George, victualler, Crown Inn

Bridgman Mr. John

Bellingham Robert, hair dresser

Broome Mrs. Margaret, Post Office

Corfield The Misses, ladies’ seminary

Childe Thomas, tin plate worker and brazier

Davies Eliza, milliner and dressmaker

Duppa, Banks, & Co., woollen manufacturers

Firm—Duppa Duppa, Esq., and William Banks, Esq., Kington

Evans David, victualler, The Raven

Everall Richard, beerseller

Faulkner John, butcher

Faulkner John, wheelwright

Glover Edward, saddler and harness maker

George William, victualler, The Talbot

Groves Thomas, farmer, Ashbrook

Gwilliam Edward, shoemaker

Howells Mr., farmer

Heighway James, grocer & provision dealer, and agent to the Shropshire and North Wales Fire Office

Heighway Richard, maltster and farmer, Lower Wood

Heighway Thomas, farmer, Pensylvania

Home Richard, grocer and seedsman, and registrar of births and deaths for Church Stretton district

Hopwood Mr. Robert, The Priory

Jones Miss Sarah, Lower Wood

Langford William, farmer, Lower Wood

Lewis John, painter and maltster

Lewis John, blacksmith and victualler, The Queen’s Head Inn

Lewis William, plumber and glazier

Lloyd John, shoemaker

Lloyd Charles, victualler, The Buck’s Head

Lucas John, tailor

Lucas Mary, shopkeeper

Mills Jonathan, victualler, The Red Lion

Mills Thomas, farmer

Mott Charles, surgeon

Morris John, leather dealer

M’Cartney Mr., travelling tea dealer

Meredith Lewis & Co., grocers and drapers

Marston William, tailor

Nunn, Rev. Preston, curate

Pearson George, tailor

Phillips Mrs. Maria, Ashbrook

Phipps George, victualler, The Plough

Painter Thomas, farmer, Lower Wood

Robinson John, ironmonger

Robinson James H., draper

Robinson John, shoemaker

Rogers Thomas, butcher

Steadman John S., farmer and maltster

Teague William, victualler, King’s Arms

Wilding Richard, surgeon

Wilson Rev. Hugh Owen, rector

ALL STRETTON

is a township and village in the parish of Church Stretton, situated about a mile north from the church, which contains 2,192 acres of land, and at the census of 1841 had 88 houses and 454 inhabitants. Gross estimated rental, £2,268. 15s. Rateable value, £1,825. 5s. The principal landowners are the trustees of the late Samuel Wilding, Esq., A. B. Markham, Esq., Panton Corbett, Esq., Edward Medlicott, Esq., Duppa Duppa, Esq. The village is in a romantic situation, near the mountainous range of the Longmynd, and not far from the Caradoc and Lawley hills. The occasion of the prefix, “All,” to this Stretton is accounted for by the following tradition:—When James II. was on his journey from Ludlow to Shrewsbury, approaching the first, or Little Stretton, he inquired its name: “Stretton, Sire,” was answered. Arriving at Church Stretton, he made the same inquiry: “Stretton, Sire,” was again the reply. Coming to the third, he renewed the question, and received the same answer. “Upon my word,” said the king, “they are all Strettons in this country.”

LITTLE STRETTON

is a township, about a mile and a half south from Church Stretton, which contains 816 acres, the gross estimated rental of which is £1,054. 15s., and the rateable value £841. 5s. The landowners are, Thomas Bolton, Esq., Mrs. Davies, John Robinson, Esq., Edward Gibbon, Esq., John Mansell, Esq., and Mrs. Coleman. The latter is lady of the manor. The village is pleasant, and the country around is beautifully picturesque. In 1841 there were 41 houses and 165 inhabitants.

MINTON

township has 803 acres of land, and the village is situated in the wild and romantic district of the Longmynd range of hills, three miles south-west from Church Stretton. At the census of 1841 there were 30 houses and 125 inhabitants. Gross estimated rental, £936. 3s. Rateable value, £752. 10s. The chief landowners are W. M. Beddows, Esq., Mr. Richard Minton, C. O. C. Pemberton, Esq. The former is lord of the manor.

ALL STRETTON DIRECTORY.

Belton Mr. John, Innwood

Dolphin Edward, farmer

Donelly Michael, shopkeeper

Edwards Rchd., vict., New Inn

Galliers Rowland, beerseller

Griffiths William, beerseller

Haverkum Mrs. Mary, All Stretton Hall

Heighway Richard, farmer and maltster, Lower Wood

Heighway Thomas, farmer

Hide John, cattle dealer

Hide Wm., vict., Yew Tree

Hince Mr. Cs, Dudgley house

Jones Miss Sarah, Lower Wood

Jones Mr. William

Langford William, farmer, Lower Wood

Lewis John, blacksmith

Lewis William, plumber and glazier

Painter Thos., farmer, Lower Wood

Rawlins Mary, shopkeeper

Smith Timothy, farmer, Dudgley

Taylor Mary, farmer, Hodghurst

Williams Samuel, shoemaker

LITTLE STRETTON DIRECTORY.

Acton Mrs. Mary

Bridgman Francis, farmer

Childe Elizabeth, blacksmith

Corfield William, farmer, The Hall

Davies Mrs., Eleanor The Cottages

Davies George, farmer

Davies John, shopkeeper

Gwynn James, shoemaker

Hammond Thomas, wheelwright

Hammond Richard, wheelwright

Longmore William, farmer

Mansell John, farmer

Miles Thomas, shoemaker

Preen Samuel, butcher

Preen Thomas, tailor

Pritchard John, victualler, Green Dragon

Ray Edward, farmer

Robinson John, maltster

Speake John, farmer

Speake John, victualler, Sun Inn

Simpson William, tanner

Taylor Thomas, tailor

Turner Margaret, victualler, Crown Inn

MINTON DIRECTORY.

Beddows Mrs. Jane, Well House

Beddows William Minton, Esq., Well House

Briscoe Thomas, victualler, New Inn, Marsh Brook

Edwards Francis, miller, Queen Batch Mill

Downes John, farmer, New House

Hotchkiss Thomas, farmer

Jones Pryce, machine maker

Minton Richard, farmer, Manor House

Rogers Edward, farmer

CLEE ST. MARGARET, OR CLEE TOWN,

is a township, parish, and large village in the lower division of the Munslow hundred, seven and a half miles N.N.E. from Ludlow, containing 988a. 2r. 36p. of land. Gross estimated rental, £1,323. 10s. Rateable value, £889. 4s. The village is salubriously situated, a little to the west of the Brown Clee hill, and the inhabitants are celebrated for their longevity. At the census in 1841 there were 71 houses, including the hamlet of Coxheadford, and 269 inhabitants; population in 1801, 294; 1831, 294. The principal landowners are Mrs. Thursby, Richard Turner, Esq., Thomas Millichap, Esq., Mr. Thomas Turner, Mr. William Heighway, the Earl of Craven, Sir Sidney Herbert, and Mr. Samuel Jones. Mrs. Thursby is lady of the manor. The church is a small structure of unpretending appearance, consisting of nave and chancel, with a square tower. The living is a perpetual curacy, formerly of very little value, but has been increased by royal bounty, parliamentary grant, and private benefactions, to £179 per annum. The patronage is vested in the lady of the manor. Incumbent, Rev. J. Corbett. Coxheadford is a hamlet in the parish of Clee St. Margaret, situated in a sequestered and romantic dingle formed by two lofty elevations of the Brown Clee hills. Upon that portion of the Clee hill called Norley Bank are traces of an encampment. There is a small place of worship belonging to the Joanna Southcotts.

The principal residents in Clee St. Margaret are Edward Burton, vict., Shoulder of Mutton; Thomas Hall, farmer, Burnt House; John Hanson, farmer, New House; Samuel Heighway, farmer, The Marsh; Isaac Howell, vict., The Boot Inn; Rev. Morgan Jones, The Marsh; Richard Lawrence, corn miller; Thomas Millichap, farmer; Thomas Wall, farmer, Church House; Thomas Wheelwright, farmer, Brook House; Thomas Turner, farmer and cider dealer, Coxheadford; Samuel Hall, weaver and shopkeeper, Coxheadford.

Scirmage, an Extra Parochial Liberty situated about a mile from Clee Town, where the three parishes of Stoke St. Milborough, Cold Weston, and Stoke St. Margaret converge, contains about half an acre of land, and one small house, which is the property of Mr. Thomas Wheelwright, and occupied by Elizabeth Burton.

COLD WESTON

is a small township and parish in the lower division of the Munslow hundred, seven and a half miles N.N. by E. from Ludlow, which contains 415 acres of land, three cottages, and a farm house. At the census in 1841 there were 27 inhabitants, and in 1841 31. Gross estimated rental, £362. 10s. Rateable value, £258. Mrs. Cornewall is the proprietor of the whole township. The church is a very humble structure, the living of which is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £2. 8s. 4d., now returned at £100 in the patronage of Mrs. Cornewall. Incumbent, Rev. Henry Cowdell; the Rev. Lancelot Dixon is the curate. There was formerly a woollen mill in this parish. The land in this locality has mostly a poor soil. Thomas Keysell is the only resident farmer.

CULMINGTON

is a considerable parish in the lower division of the Munslow hundred, comprising the townships of Bache and Norton, Burley, Culmington, and Siefton, and embracing 3,460a. 3r. 0p. of land. Gross estimated rental, £4,874. 10s. 6d. Rateable value, £3,249. The principal landowners are the Earl of Craven, George Wood, Esq., and James Beddows, Esq. In 1801 there was a population of 419 souls; 1831, 515, and in 1841 there were 109 houses and 541 inhabitants. At the Doomsday survey Earl Roger held Comintine, which Edric held before the conquest. It was for some time held by the same lord, and included in the same tenure as the castle of Corfham. King Henry II. gave Culmington to Walter de Clifford, and it was afterwards carried in marriage to William Longspe, who, being overthrown in a tournament, is stated to have died of grief in the flower of his age. His widow married Sir John Giffard, who procured a charter of free warren for his lands here, and died possessed of them in the 27th of Edward I. It afterwards passed to the L’Estranges, and then to the Talbots, Earls of Shrewsbury. The village of Culmington is delightfully situated in the beautiful and fertile vale of the Corve dale, five miles N.W. from Culmington. The church is dedicated to All Saints, and consists of nave and chancel, with an octagonal tower surmounted by a spire; the tower contains three bells. The interior is neat, and contains several tablets, chiefly to the family of the present rector. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £18. 9s. 2d., in the patronage and incumbency of the Rev. William Johnstone. The tithes have been commuted for £762. 10s., and the glebe land is of the annual value of £79. 10s. A tower has been built on a plot of land where the estates of the four principal landowners of this locality converge; the owners are the Earl of Craven, Hon. Robert Henry Clive, Francis Marston, Esq., and George Wood, Esq. The monument is built on a lofty eminence, and commands a prospect of great extent and diversity.

The principal residents are Alexander Anslow, beerhouse keeper; Samuel Anslow, blacksmith; Thomas James, wheelwright; John Morris, farmer; Richard Pearce, shoemaker; Edward Taylor, farmer; James Williams, farmer.

Bach and Norton, a township and small rural village six miles N.W. from Ludlow, in 1841 had 19 houses and 87 inhabitants. The land in this locality is highly fertile. The chief owners in the township are the Earl of Craven, the Marquis of Crosemere, and George Wood, Esq.; the latter is lord of the manor. The principal residents are Richard Bach, farmer, Norton; Edward Bassett, farmer, Bach; William Bromley, farmer, Norton; William Tarte, farmer, Bach.

Burley is a small township situated about a mile N.W. from Culmington, returned in 1841 as containing 28 houses and 140 inhabitants. The Earl of Craven is the landowner. John Onions is the principal farmer.

Siefton, a small village and township in the parish of Culmington, situated about a mile from the parish church, in 1841 had 41 houses and 223 inhabitants. There is a national school in the village, which is supported by the lord of the manor; upwards of seventy scholars attend. The rectory of Culmington, a handsome residence, is situated in this township. The Earl of Craven and George Wood, Esq., are the landowners. The principal residents are Rev. William Johnstone, rector; William Bach, farmer, New House; Richard Bach, farmer, Madeley Park; Henry Instone, farmer; Thomas Lucas, schoolmaster.

DIDDLEBURY

is an extensive parish in the lower division of the Munslow hundred, which comprises the townships of Corfton, Diddlebury, Earnstrey Park, Lawton and Little Sutton, Lower Parks and Broncroft, Middlehope Paston, Peaton, Sutton Great and Westhope, together containing 9,043 acres of land: population in 1801, 837; 1831, 920; 1841, 896; at the latter period there were 190 houses. The village of Diddlebury is pleasantly situated seven miles and a half north from Ludlow, and in 1841 had 25 houses and 132 inhabitants. The township contains 1,149 acres of Land; rateable value, £1,191. 16s. 8d. The principal landowners are the Cornewall family, James Davies, Esq., Mr. E. Lodge, William A. Roberts, Esq., and George Wood, Esq. There was formerly an alien priory at Diddlebury, which was subordinate to the convent of Seez, in Normandy, and was afterwards appropriated to the abbey of Shrewsbury. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, consists of nave and chancel, and has a square tower, in which are five bells: there are several memorials, chiefly to the family of Cornewall. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £12. 1s. 3d.; now returned at £384; in the patronage of the dean and chapter of Hereford; incumbent, Rev. Thomas Underwood. There is a National school in the village, attended by about forty scholars. The tithes of this township have been commuted, and £35 apportioned to the vicar, and £45. 10s. to the dean and chapter of Hereford. Delbury Hall, in this township, the property of Herbert Cornewall, Esq., and residence of Henry Wood, Esq., is said to have formerly belonged to the monks of Wenlock Abbey, from whom it passed to the family of Baldwin, whose monuments are in the chancel of Diddlebury church. It was purchased by Captain Cornewall, father of the late bishop of Worcester, and grandfather of the present proprietor. There has existed a school at Diddlebury every since the year 1595. Lord Herbert, of Chirbury, was partly educated at this school in his youth.

Charities.—The parish officers are in possession of a house which was purchased in 1720 for £150, of which, £128 was money belonging to the parishioners of Diddlebury; the residue £22 was borrowed of Philip Luttley. After paying of interest for the said £22, it was agreed to appropriate the rent in equal moieties to the support of a school, and to the benefit of the poor. At a meeting of the parishioners, held May 13th, 1830, it was resolved that the clear rents (then £8 per annum) should in future be applied to the support of a Sunday school. There was a sum of £21 in the hands of Mr. Beddoes when the charity commissioners published their report, for which he paid £4 a year as the interest; but it is not known from whose gift this charity was derived. This money has been improperly, as it seems to us, carried to the poor’s rate; but at the parish meeting above mentioned it has been determined to apply the interest also for the benefit of the school.

Mary Valentine, by her will, bearing date 23rd May, 1822, bequeathed to the minister, churchwardens, and overseers of the poor of the parish of Diddlebury, £1,000 four per cent. consols, to be transferred into their names as trustees, the dividends to be laid out in bread, and distributed every Sunday to poor housekeepers of this parish not receiving parochial relief. The dividends, amounting to £35 per annum, are received through a bank at London. The income is applied in a weekly distribution of bread amongst all the poor belonging the parish, and not receiving parochial relief; some who are not resident in the parish being included. For the purpose of regulating the distribution, the parish is divided into three districts; and about twenty-six persons from each district in rotation receive a sixpenny loaf each every third Sunday.

The principal residents are John Child, farmer; Mrs. Mary Downes, Melford Lodge; Henry Wood, Esq., Delbury hall; John Morris, farmer; Frederick North, schoolmaster.

CORFTON

is a township and village in the parish of Diddlebury, containing 1,205 acres of land, and in 1841 had 48 houses and 232 inhabitants. Rateable value, £1,453. 3s. 4d. The tithes of Corfton and Sparchford are commuted for £116. 17s. The church of Culmington, with the manors of Corfeham, Culmington, Erneston, and Les Clyves, were held by Walter de Clifford of King Henry II., by the service of one knight’s fee, paying £31 rent. “This Walter was the father of Fair Rosamond, the mistress of Henry II., and mother of the noted William, Earl of Salisbury, whom she bore to the king. Walter de Clifford, grandson of the first Walter, espousing the cause of Richard Mareschal, Earl of Pembroke, then in rebellion, was outlawed 17th of Henry III., and his castle and manor of Corfeham seized by the sheriff of Shropshire for the king’s use; but restored to him shortly after upon his submission. He married the daughter of Lewelin, Prince of Wales, relict of John de Braose, and left issue by her one daughter, first married to William Longspe, Earl of Sarum, who had with her in frank marriage Culmington, in the county of Salop, valued at £28. 8s. 2d. per annum, with this proviso, that in case it did not yield the sum aforesaid, the deficiency was to be made up out of the manor of Corfeham: the whole estate given to her in frank marriage being £200 per annum. After the decease of the Earl of Sarum, her second husband was John Giffard, of Brimsfield, Knt., of whom she complained to the king, that he had taken her by force out of her own castle and carried her to his at Brimsfield, where she was kept in duress. To this accusation Sir John Gifford made answer that he had the free consent of the countess, as the sequel would prove, and so tendered the king a fine of three hundred marks for marrying the lady without licence, which was accepted in satisfaction of the contempt, if the countess made no further application upon that score.” It would appear, therefore, that the ancient owners of the manor were the daughters of the Fair Rosamond.

The principal residents in Corfton are Richard Bowen, farmer, Hill house; Edward Bowen, farmer, Lower house; James Beddoes, farmer, Sparchford; Mary Dyer, vict., Sun Inn; Edward Pearce, farmer; William Hince, butcher; Rev. Thomas Underwood, vicar of Diddlebury.

Earnestry Park is a township in the parish of Diddlebury, situated at the foot of the Brown Clee Hill, which contains 1,017a. 1r. 33p. of land, a great part of which is shaded from the sun a considerable portion of the day by that lofty eminence. The Misses Mytton, of Cleobury North, are the proprietors of the whole township. The summit of the Brown Clee Hill is 1,805 feet above the level of the sea, and commands a most extensive and magnificent prospect of the surrounding country. At the census in 1841 there were six houses and thirty-eight inhabitants. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £20, and the rectoral for £33. The chief residents are Thomas Bradley, farmer; John Evans, farmer; John Hanson, farmer; and Thomas Hanson, farmer.

Lawton and Little Sutton, a township in Diddlebury parish, five and a half miles north from Ludlow, in 1841 had fifteen houses and eighty five souls. Lawton contains 460 acres, the tithes of which are commuted for £51. Sutton portion of the township comprises 331 acres, and the tithes are commuted for £33. 11s. The principal landowners are Herbert Cornewall, Esq., and Charles Powell, Esq.; the former is lord of the manor. Sutton Court is a handsome house of modern erection, and is the residence of Charles Powell, Esq., J.P., who, with William Cocks, farmer, Lawton, and Francis Keysell, farmer, Sutton, are the principal residents in the township.

Lower Park and Broncroft, a small township in the parish of Diddlebury, comprising 795 acres of land, is situated eight and a quarter miles north-east from Ludlow. At the census of 1841 there were five houses and twenty-six inhabitants. Rateable value, £627. 13s. 4d. The small tithes are commuted for £27, and the large tithes for £47; the dean and chapter of Hereford are the appropriators. George Johnstone, Esq., is the principal landowner. The chief residents are George Johnstone, Esq., Broncroft castle; and John Price, farmer, the Lodge farm.

Middlehope, a township in the parish of Diddlebury, contains 1,091 acres of land, which is mostly the property of John Francis Wright, Esq. At the census of 1841 there were sixteen houses and 100 inhabitants.

The tithes have been commuted for £60, of which £20 has been apportioned to the vicar and £14 to the dean and chapter of Hereford. The principal residents are Thomas Jones, farmer, Berwood; Thomas Jones, farmer; Thomas Webster, farmer; William Yapp, farmer; and John Yapp, farmer.

Poston, a township in the parish of Diddlebury comprises 394 acres of land, two houses, and thirteen inhabitants, and is situated six and a half miles north from Ludlow; Archdeacon Vicers is the landowner. The small tithes are commuted for £8. 10s., and the large tithes for £13. 7s. John Chatham is the resident farmer.

Peaton, a small township and village in the parish of Diddlebury, with 22 houses and 103 souls, contains 1,022 acres of land, which is the property of Lady Louisa Clinton; the tithes have been commuted for £106, of which £30 has been apportioned to the vicar, and £76 to the dean and chapter of Hereford.

Directory.—William Dyer, shopkeeper; John Gwilt, farmer, New House; Thomas Passey, farmer; Samuel Price, farmer.

Sutton Great, a township with a scattered population, in the parish of Diddlebury, six miles north-east from Ludlow, contains 734 acres of land, principally the property of Herbert Cornewall, Esq.; the vicarial tithes are commuted for £26, and the rectoral for £35. 14s. At the census of 1841 there were thirteen houses and a population of sixty-four souls. The chief residents in Sutton are Benjamin Pitt, farmer, and John Yates, farmer.

Westhope, a township in the parish of Diddlebury, nine miles north-west from Ludlow, has 1186 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £668. In 1841 there were 17 houses and 103 inhabitants. There is a Chapel of Ease here, a small unpretending structure, the living of which is a curacy subordinate to the vicarage of Diddlebury; the small tithes are commuted for £25, and the large tithes for £82. 4s.

Directory.—John Banks, farmer, Westhope House; Thomas Banks, farmer, Lower Westhope; William Price, farmer, Chapel farm; Richard Smout, farmer; John Smout, farmer, The Hall End.

EASTHOPE

is a parish and small rural village, situated in Hopedale, in the lower division of the Munslow hundred, five miles south-west from the ancient town of Much Wenlock, eight miles east from Church Stretton, and ten miles west from Bridgnorth. The parish contains 815 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £803. At the census in 1801 there were 85 inhabitants; 1831, 103; and in 1841, 21 houses and a population of 103 souls. In the 34th Edward I. John de Easthope died seized of the manor of Easthope, 18th of Edward II. a fine was levied between Thomas de Easthope and John de Hopton defendant, of the manor and of the advowson of the church, to the use of Thomas and Joanna his wife in fee tail. The 21st of Richard II. Richard Earl of Arundel was found to have a knight’s fee in Easthope, holden then by Thomas de Hynkeley. In the 12th of Henry VII. a fine was levied between Henry Warley and Nicholas Warley complainants, John Haltman and his wife defendants, of both the manor and advowson of the church et de terris in Easthope, Presthope, Astwale, Louthwyche, Willey, Bratton, Henley, and Bould. Moses George Benson, Esq. is the principal landowner and lord of the manor; the soil is mostly upon the limestone, and there is a good deal of limestone rock in the parish and neighbourhood. The water is very good and some of the springs are accounted efficacious in scorbutic complaints, and are also of a petrifying quality. The scenery is beautifully diversified and romantic, and some of the high grounds command fine views of the celebrated Wrekin, the Clee hill, and Caradoc, so named after Caractacus, who had a camp on the summit. The Wenlock edge is a great feature in this part of the country; it is a steep wooded acclivity which runs nearly through the centre of the parish, and is of an interesting nature to the geologist.

The Church is a small structure unpretending in its architecture, and dedicated to St. Peter. It has a short tower, and there is a well-proportioned window in the east end in the early English style: the font is very ancient. On the north side of the church, between two venerable yews, are two tombs without date or inscription but simply a cross upon each. It is supposed that two monks are interred there, who might be connected with the Abbey of Wenlock. The stones have given rise to some curious legends among the people. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £3. 3s. 1½d., now returned at £133, in the patronage of M. G. Benson, Esq.; incumbent, Rev. Robert Armitage. The rectory is a neat structure in a sheltered situation, and there are thirty-six acres of glebe land.

On some rising ground situated about a mile west of the turnpike road leading from Wenlock to Ludlow, and about half way between Larden Hall and Lutwyche Hall, is a celebrated British encampment. It encloses about eight acres, and the form is nearly a circle, surrounded by inner and outer fosses; the inner wall falls on the side due east twelve feet, externally twenty-five feet, across the crest of the parapet, six feet. The relief of the second vallum rises ten feet from the foss, and is at present twelve feet wide across its parapet; externally it falls eight feet. It is however partially obliterated, either in consequence of the mounds and ditches being planted over, or through their being injured by natural causes. These ditches have formerly been a post of some importance, for they supply a necessary link in the chain of British entrenchments which stretch throughout the country. The present position is in the immediate view of Nordy Bank, and within observation of both the Caers Bury ditches and the Wrekin. The entrance appears to have been on the north-east side. Were there no other reason for the assumption, the fact of a British urn having been found here would sanction the idea that these were the works of the ancient Britons. A little to the north-west is the semblance of a tumulus, which a few years ago was more prominent than at present; on a recent occasion after making a cut from west to east, the workmen came to a black deposit which led to the supposition that the interment had been simple, and by cremation. On a previous occasion by mere accident an earthen vessel was found by making a drain about three hundred yards south-east from the encampment. It was formed of a sort of red clay so slightly baked on the outside that it washed away when a brush and water were applied to it. The inside was black and somewhat harder as though it had been baked by making the fire within. “Before I saw it,” says Mr. Mytton, “the workmen had broken the lower part which was next the surface of the ground, but by putting the pieces together the form could be made out. It was found with the mouth downwards, and contained fragments of bones. At seems most likely that Astorius made a diversion of part of his forces against Caer Caradoc and the ditches, and after having driven out the Britons from those elevated posts he left garrisons in the country.” The Mogg, or Mock Forest, in which the camp is situated, is reckoned among the ancient forests of this county.

The principal gentleman’s seat in this parish is Lutwyche Hall, built by Judge Lutwyche, in the time of Queen Elizabeth; a full length portrait of the judge adorns an apartment inside the mansion. It is supposed that there has been a mansion at Lutwyche from the time of, or probably earlier than the Conquest. It was sold in 1786 by the last of the Lutwyches, and after passing through several intermediate owners was purchased in 1806 by Moses Benson, Esq., whose grandson Moses George Benson, Esq. now resides there. The derivation of the word Lutwyche is said to be from lut, the gathering of an army, and wyche, a cleft or valley.

The chief residents in Easthope are Moses George Benson, Esq., Lutwyche Hall; The Rev. Robert Armitage, The Rectory; Edward Evans, shoemaker; Samuel Evans, farmer; Edward Preece, wheelwright; Francis Ray, farmer; Easthope Cottage; Margaret Wadlow, farmer and corn miller.

EATON-UNDER-HEYWOOD

is a parish, in the upper division of the Munslow Hundred, which comprises the townships of Eaton, Hatton, part of Longville-Lushcott-East Wall, part of Hungerford, Millichope Upper, and Ticklerton. Population in 1801, 513; 1831, 539; 1841, 579. The village of Eaton is pleasantly situated nine miles south-west from Much Wenlock, and the township contains 1,639 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £1,026. 3s. At the census in 1841 there were 12 houses and 77 inhabitants. Among the landowners are Miss Eatons, Mrs. Stackhouse, Mr. Powell, and Mr. Nugent; besides whom are several other proprietors. The Church is a neat structure, with nave, chancel, and a tower, in which are three bells. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £5. Gross income, £300. Patron and incumbent, Rev. Richard Sandford. The tithes are commuted for £178. 10s., and there are 148 acres of glebe land. The principal residents are Benjamin Beddows, farmer; Richard Cleeton, farmer; Thomas Farmer, farmer; Thomas Hince, farmer, New Hall; William Harris, corn miller, New Hall Mill; John Medlicott, farmer; Rev. Richard Sandford, rector.

Hatton is a township in the parish of Eaton, twelve miles south-west from Much Wenlock, with 644 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £407. 5s. In 1841 there were nine houses and 54 inhabitants. The principal landowners are Edwin W. W. Pendarvies, Esq., Rev. Thomas C. Powell, and Mr. Downward. The chief residents are Alice Benbow, victualler, The Bell; Susannah Evans, farmer; Edward Jones, farmer; Joice Rawlins, farmer; William Wall, farmer.

Hungerford is a township partly in Eaton parish and partly in that of Munslow. In the former, at the census of 1841 were eight houses and 55 inhabitants, and in the latter one house and nine persons. It comprises 1,002 acres of land. Rateable value, £703. 1s. C. O. C. Pemberton, Esq., is the principal landowner. The residents are Robert Craig, farmer, miller, and tanner; Edward Rowley, victualler, Buck’s Head.

Longville Lushcott and East Wall township will be found in Rushbury parish.

Millichope is a small township, in the parish of Eaton, returned at the census of 1841 as having 15 houses and 94 inhabitants. John Francis Wright, Esq., is the principal landowner. The resident farmers are William Downs and John Preece.

Ticklerton township has 1,384 acres of land, and is also in the parish of Eaton, and situated about a mile south-west from the church. The village is pleasantly situated, and in 1841 had 40 houses and 211 inhabitants. Rateable value, £1,008. 10s. The Rev. Robert Joseph Buddicom is the principal landowner. The chief residents are the Rev. Robert Joseph Buddicom; William Downes, farmer; John Edwards, farmer; Thos. Galliers, farmer; Benjamin Pursland, beerhouse-keeper; Francis Wall, blacksmith.

HALFORD,

a chapelry and small village, formerly united to the parish of Bromfield, contains, with the hamlet of Dinchope, 1,320 acres of land, and in 1841 had 26 houses and 124 inhabitants. Rateable value, £1,328. 19s. The whole of the land in this parish belongs to the Hon. R. H. Clive, except about fifty acres, which is the property of James Baxter, Esq. The former is lord of the manor. The soil is mostly upon the limestone, and produces tolerable crops of grain, but a considerable portion of the land is used for grazing purposes. The Chapel is a small structure, and the living a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Hon. R. H. Clive, Esq., who is also lord of the manor. The Rev. William E. Lumb is the incumbent.

Directory.—John Dalloway, corn miller, Halford Mill; John Davies, farmer, Halford; Richard Jukes, farmer, Dinchope; Sarah Lambe, blacksmith, Newington; Richard Marston, farmer, Halford; Henry Ratcliffe, clerk; Joseph Swift, farmer, Dinchope.

HOLDGATE

is a parish in the lower division of the Munslow Hundred, which embraces the townships of Holdgate, Bouldon, and Brookhampton, and contains 1,623 acres of land. Population in 1801, 197; in 1831, 188; 1841, 224. At the latter period there were forty houses. The village of Holdgate seems once to have been a place of some note, and stands on rising ground, eleven miles north from Ludlow. The township comprises 649 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £854. At the census of 1841 there were 12 houses and 79 inhabitants. The principal landowners are Mrs. Thursby, Rev. Joseph Corbett, and George Phillips, Esq. The former is lady of the manor. There was anciently a castle here. Thomas Maudit being in arms with the rebellious barons, his castle was seized by the king and given to Hugh de Mortimer, but returning to his allegiance he had restitution of his castle at Holgot. In the 7th of Henry III., he obtained the charter for a market there every week upon a Thursday. After him William Maudit had a confirmation of the grant of the market. In the 19th of Edward I. Robert Burnel, bishop of Bath and Wells, procured a charter for changing the market day to Tuesday, and to keep a fair on the eve, the day, and on the day after the feast of the Holy Trinity. In the 15th of Richard II., Hugh Burnel, Knt., held the castle and manor of Holdgate at the yearly rent of £2. 13s. 3¼d., which was assessed upon several tenants at Clee St. Margaret. The service for the manor was to find two horsemen at Montgomery for forty days. The heiress of Burnel married Lord Lovell in the time of Edward II., in which family the inheritance rested till Jasper, of Hatfield, Earl of Pembroke, obtained a grant hereof in special trial, who, after the battle of Bosworth, was created duke of Bedford; but dying without issue, in the 24th of Henry VIII. the king gave the manor to Thomas, duke of Norfolk, and his heirs, to be held by the fourth part of a knight’s fee. The Church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is evidently of Norman architecture, having the massive and lofty embattled tower peculiar to that style, adorned with rude figures, which may go far to prove the antiquity of the edifice. The principal entrance is through a fine stone doorway, with a cluster of slender pillars on each side, supporting a beautifully carved arch, the effect of which is considerably lessened by several coats of whitewash. The font is of primitive simplicity and curiously sculptured, seems coeval with the building itself, but is seen under similar disadvantage. The back of a large pew is ornamented with the coat of arms, handsomely carved in wood, of the family of Minton, who formerly resided at the Coates, in this parish. Near to the church-yard is an artificial mound called “The Mount.” It was probably thrown up to its present height for the purpose of erecting a watch-tower, or post, during the civil wars, or in the unsettled times when the warlike barons of the feudal system were perpetually invading each other’s territories. The situation is admirably adapted for this purpose, commanding, as it does, an extensive and important tract of country. The living of the church is a rectory with that of Tugford annexed, valued in the king’s book at £13. 9s. 9½d., now returned at £500, in the patronage of the Bishop of Hereford; incumbent, Rev. Joseph Corbett. In the 12th of King John it appears that the abbot of Salop had the third part of the advowson of the church at Castle Holdgate. Thomas Maudit released to him the right of patronage in two parts of the church; yet he reserved the third part to himself, for which he presented to the bishop his clerk. There is a daily school in the village. The poor of this parish enjoy a rent charge of 10s. per annum, under the will of Robert Ellis, in 1652.

Bouldon is a small township, with a few scattered houses, in the parish of Holdgate, which comprises 325 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £274. 10s. At the census of 1841 there were 13 houses and 61 inhabitants. There is a quarry in this township where stone is got in considerable quantities for building and other purposes.

Brookhampton is another township in Holdgate parish, with 549 acres of land, and in 1841 had fifteen houses and eighty-five souls; rateable value, £390. 15s. Mrs. Thursby and the Corporation of Ludlow are the landowners; the former is lady of the manor.

Directory.—Jeremiah Cox, farmer and maltster, Holdgate; William Wall, farmer, Holdgate; Edward Esq., farmer, Stanton Holdgate; William Cox, vict., Tally-Ho Inn, Bouldon; William Page, farmer, Bouldon; William Penn, corn miller, Bouldon; Richard Turner, farmer, Bouldon; Thomas Clark, farmer, Brookhampton; Thomas Edwards, farmer, Brookhampton; Ann Harper, shopkeeper, Brookhampton

HOPE BOWDLER

is a parish in the upper division of the Munslow hundred, which comprises the townships of Hope Bowdler, Chelmick, and Ragdon, and contains 1,385 acres of land. In 1801 the parish had a population of 130 souls; 1831, 202; 1841, 184; at the latter period there were thirty-four houses. The village of Hope Bowdler is pleasantly situated two and a half miles south-west from Church Stretton, and at the census of 1841 had 19 houses and 112 inhabitants: the township contains 741 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £672. 3s. 6d. Moses George Benson, Esq., is the principal landowner and lord of the manor. In the 1st of King Edward I., George de Cantilupe held Hope Bowdler by knight’s service under the barony of Montgomery. Philip Burnel, at the assizes in the 20th of King Edward I., upon a quo warranto against him, was adjudged to have free warren in this manor, with the liberty of a fair and market both granted by the king. The manor was afterwards carried in marriage by an heiress of the Burnels to John, Lord Lovel, in whose family it continued till the attainder of Francis Lord Viscount Lovel, who was slain on the 16th of June, 3rd of Henry VII., at the battle of Stoke, near Newark-upon-Trent. The Church consists of nave and chancel, with a tower in which are three bells. In the 40th of Henry III. the parson of Hope Bullers impleaded the prior of Wenlock for estovers in the prior’s wood of Sutley and Eastwood, and for the common of pasture in the said woods lying in Eaton, as appendant to the church of Hope Bullers. The Prior pleaded that Stephen de Hope, patron of the church about twenty-five years past, dissiezed the prior of the said woods, and a verdict was accordingly granted to the prior. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s book at £6. 13s. 4d., now £228, in the patronage of certain trustees: incumbent, Rev. George W. Marsh.

Charities.—The charity commissioners state, “We are informed by the Rev. George Walkin Marsh, the rector of Hope Bowdler, that for about four years after he came to the benefice he received from his predecessor 12s. yearly, to be distributed in bread, 6s. to be given in money on St. Thomas’s day; that, upon the death of his predecessor about twenty-four years ago, he applied to his representatives for the principal, and ultimately received from them £18. This sum Mr. Marsh states he now has in his hands, that he has added thereto £4, so as to make up £22, and has signed a memorandum to that effect in one of the parish books. He pays 22s. yearly as the interest thereof, and with the churchwardens distributes to the poor of the parish 12s. yearly in bread and 10s. in money on St. Thomas’s day.”

Chelmick is a township and village in the parish of Hope Bowdler, in a romantic district near the Ragdon and Hope Bowdler hills, about a mile south from the parish church. The township contains 305 acres of land, and in 1841 had thirteen houses and fifty nine souls. Rateable value, £281. 13s. 7d. The Corporation of Ludlow are the landowners.

Ragdon township in Hope Bowdler parish has 339 acres of land, two houses, and thirteen inhabitants. Rateable value, £309. 5s. 6d. The landowners are J. Stanier, Esq., and Thomas Dunn, Esq.

Directory.—Hope Bowdler: William Adams, farmer, The Hall; Richard Cartwright, farmer; John Craxton, farmer and blacksmith, Francis George, farmer, The Coombs; John Griffiths, shopkeeper; George Hills, farmer, The Coombs; John Jones, wheelwright; Rev. George W. Marsh, rector. Chelmick: John Rodgers, farmer. Ragdon: Martha Heynes, farmer; and Thomas, Wilding, farmer.

HOPTON-IN-THE-HOLE, OR HOPTON CANGEFORD,

is a small parish in the lower division of the Munslow hundred, four miles N.E. from Ludlow, containing 320 acres of land. At the census in 1801 there were 35 inhabitants, and in 1841 six houses and a population of thirty souls. The church is a small unpretending structure of brick, and the living a perpetual curacy returned in the king’s book at £5. 13s. 8d., now returned at £51 in the patronage of Sir W. R. Broughton. There is no resident clergyman in the parish. The resident farmers are Thomas Green and William Roberts.

LUDFORD

is a parish and village situated about a mile from Ludlow, and separated from that town by the river Teme, which is here crossed by a stone bridge. This parish is partly in the county of Hereford and partly in Salop. The entire parish at the census of 1801 had 34 inhabitants; 1831, 528, and in 1841 there were 46 houses and 294 inhabitants within the bounds of this county. Acres, 2,920. Rateable value, £3,290. 10s. Ludford House, the seat and property of Francis Lechmere Charlton, Esq., is a fine old mansion, situated on a gentle eminence contiguous to the village. Though greatly modernized, its interior quadrangle and the massive style of masonry, are indications of great antiquity. The proprietor has in his possession a deed in which mention is made of a house here as early as the eleventh century. This manor in the time of William the Conqueror was possessed by Osborne, Lord of Richards Castle. It was afterwards enjoyed by the Jordens, from whom it passed by an heiress to Howel Vaughan. The hospital of St. John being seized by the crown at the time of the dissolution of religious houses, this manor, as appertaining to that foundation, was also conveyed to King Henry VIII. In the time of Edward VI. it was granted to John Earl of Warwick, from whom it passed by sale to William Foxe, and in the year 1607 came into the possession of the Charlton family. This family enjoyed extensive possessions in this county, and were seated at Apleby Castle, near Wellington. To the south of the house are tasteful gardens and pleasure grounds, and on the western side is the park, well stocked with deer, and remarkable for its fine sylvan beauty and luxuriant woody scenery. Leland, who visited Ludford between the years 1500 and 1550, observes, “The suburbs over Teme bridge by south is called Ludford, and in it is a little parish church. There be three fayre arches in this bridge over Teme, and a pretty chapel upon it of St. Catherine. It is about 100 years since this stone bridge was erected. Men passed along by a ford a little below the bridge.” The Church, an ancient structure, is situated in the county of Hereford, contiguous to Ludford house, and consists of nave and chancel, with a square tower. The altar and basons for holy water indicate that Catholicism had not declined at the time of its erection. The chancel is evidently a modern appendage to the church, and was built by William Foxe, who formerly resided at Ludford house. It is the place of sepulchre for several members of the Foxe family, and also of the Charltons. In a recess is the figure of Sir Job Charlton, reclining in his magisterial habiliments. The living is a perpetual curacy, returned at £105 in the patronage of F. L. Charlton, Esq. Ludford Hospital was founded by Sir Job Charlton in the year 1672 for six poor and impotent persons, one of whom was to be warden; the incorporation to be denominated, “The warden and poor of the hospital of Ludford,” The said warden and poor in their corporate capacity to have power to purchase and hold lands, and to sue and be sued, and to have a common seal. The name and distinction of warden as head of the corporation has long ceased to exist. The latest instance of the use of the common seal is on a lease of Saunder’s meadow in 1618. The subsequent lease bears the seal of Sir Francis Charlton. The income is about £63 per annum. The “pretty chapel of St. Catherine,” noticed by Leland, has long been forgotten. The celebrated well, however, of St. Julian, under the garden wall of the hospital, is still remembered by the inhabitants of the village; but the wonderful cures believed to have been miraculously performed ceased with the superstition of the times.

Directory.—Francis Lechmere Charlton, Esq., Ludford House; Thomas Lowe, farmer, Hucks Barn; George Penny, machine maker and brass founder; John Wade, paper manufacturer, Ludlow Paper Mills; Margaret Worley, vict., Ludford Arms.

Sheet, a township and village situated about a mile from the parish church, in 1841 contained seven houses and 29 inhabitants. The principal landowners are the Hon. R. H. Clive, F. L. Charlton, Esq., and the corporation of Ludlow. The chief residents are Thomas Callon, farmer, Saltmoor; Mary Lawrence, farmer, Saltmoor; Mary and Betsy Longmore, farmers, Steventon; James Wild, farmer, Steventon; Frederick Wood, Esq., The Sheet.

MUNSLOW

is a parish and small village in the lower division of the Munslow hundred, which was of sufficient importance in early times to give name to the division of the county in which it is locally situated. The parish contains 4,110 acres of land, and embraces the townships of Aston, Bach, or Beach Mill, Broadstone, Holloway, part of Hungerford, Millichope, Munslow, Poston, Lower Thonglands, and Topley-vill: population in 1801, 610; 1818, 770. Rateable value, £3,779. 12s. 9d. The village of Munslow is pleasantly situated in a romantic district nine miles north from Ludlow: this township at the census of 1841 had 29 houses and 160 inhabitants. C. O. C. Pemberton, Esq., is the chief landowner. Sir Edward Littleton, son and heir of Sir Edward Littleton, of Henley, in the county of Salop, was made Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, in the 15th Charles I.; and the year following Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and Lord Littleton, Baron Munslow.

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.

ONIBURY

is a parish in the lower division of the Munslow hundred, which embraces the townships of Onibury and Walton, and contains 1,900 acres of land, the principal owner of which is Earl Craven; the other part is the property of the Hon. R. H. Clive. At the census in 1801 there were 359 inhabitants; 1831, 438; 1841, 368: at the latter period there were 73 houses. Rateable value £2,311. 17s. The village of Onibury is pleasantly situated on the east bank of the river Oney, and on the turnpike road leading from Shrewsbury to Ludlow: 24 miles S. from the former, and five miles N.W. from the latter. The Shrewsbury and Hereford line of railway, now in course of formation, will intersect the parish, and cross the turnpike on a level with the road. A portion of the village south east of the river is in the respective parishes of Stanton Lacy and Stokesay. A saw mill has been erected by Lord Craven on the river Oney. In the time of Edward the Confessor, Oniberie was in the possession of the bishop of Hereford, and after the conquest Roger de Lacy held it of him. The manor and patronage of the church was long possessed by the Burnels, and eventually passed, in marriage, to the Lovels, in whose family it remained till the attainder of Lord Lovel, in the time of Henry VII. It was subsequently held by the Mainwarings and Barkers, and about the year 1620 came into the hands of Lord Craven, the ancestor of the present proprietor, by purchase. There was formerly a park at Onibury, which is now divided into farms. Wootton, an ancient mansion of considerable extent, in the Elizabethan style of architecture, and moated, has recently been taken down. It was formerly the seat of distinguished families, and the park above mentioned was in all probability connected with this mansion. The Church is rather a plain structure of the early English style, with a tower at the west end containing four bells. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s book at £8. 17s. 8½d.; in the patronage of Earl Craven, and enjoyed by the Rev. J. J. Hodges. The tithes have been commuted for £330. There is a good rectory house, and ninety acres of glebe land. The Parochial School is a small structure built by subscriptions in the year 1836, and situated at the south-east corner of the church-yard. The school is free to the children of the parish, and those resident in the immediate neighbourhood, and is supported by subscriptions and a rent-charge of £6. 13s. 4d., left for educational purposes by William Norton, in 1593. The township and small village of Walton, situated about a mile from Onibury, in 1841 had fifteen houses and ninety-five inhabitants; it comprises 625 acres of land, which are the property of Earl Craven.

Directory.—Samuel Amies, farmer, the Park; Philip Bach, farmer; Herbert Blakeway, farmer, Wootton; William Bright, schoolmaster; William Coston, farmer; Ann Jones, vict., the Griffin; Rev. John J. Hodges, the Rectory; Benjamin Pugh, farmer; Thomas Matthews, wheelwright; William Watkins, blacksmith; Mr. Thomas Wells, Onibury cottage; Thomas Wells, agent to Earl Craven. The residents at Walton are William Blakeway, farmer; Samuel Botfield, shoemaker; Thomas Hotchkiss, farmer.

RICHARDS CASTLE,

a parish in the lower division of the Munslow hundred, comprises the townships of Moore and Batchcott, Overton, and Woofferton, and is partly in this county, and partly in Herefordshire. The parish contains 4,512 acres of land; and at the census of 1801, 509 inhabitants; 1831, 586; 1841, 656. The village of Richards Castle is delightfully situated about three miles from Ludlow, in the county of Hereford. It was anciently called Gayton, and was a place of considerable importance until the reign of Henry III. “Richards Castle,” says Leland, “standeth upon the top of a very rocky hill, well wooded, and at the west end of the parish then. The keep, the walls, and towers of it stand, but going to ruin. There is a poor house of timber in the castle garth for a farmer. It belongeth now to the king; it belonged of late to the Lord Vaux; after to Pope. There is a park impaled.” Robert de Mortimer, in the reign of King John, had the grant of a fair and market at this place, both of which have long been obsolete. The castle was built before the conquest. At the doomsday survey it was held by Osborn Fitz-Richard, whose granddaughter married Robert de Mortimer, from whose family it passed in like manner by an heiress to the Talbots, who possessed it till the reign of Richard II. King Edward VI. granted the manor to the Bishop of Worcester. In the fifteenth century T. Bradshaw obtained it of the bishop on a long lease, and his grandson sold the lease to Richard Salwey, Esq., in whose representatives it is now vested. Some parts of the keep and walls of the castle are still remaining, but are so embosomed in foliage as scarcely to be discovered until they are nearly approached. Camden says, “Beneath this castle nature, which nowhere disporteth itself more in showing wonders than in waters, hath wrought forth a pretty well, which is always full of little fish-bones, or, as some think, of small frog-bones, although they be from time to time drawn quite out of it, whence it is called Bone Well.” This curious phenomenon is still in existence, and is the frequent resort of the curious, particularly in the spring and autumn, when the bones are found in great abundance. On the declivity of a hill near the castle, the Royalists, amounting to nearly 2,000, were defeated by an inferior number of Parliamentary troops, under the command of Colonel Birch.

The following is a grant to the burgesses made by Lord Mortimer, in the 29th of the reign of King Edward:—“Know all men present and to come, that I, Hugh, the son of Robert Lord Mortimer, lord of Richards Castle, I have given, granted, and by this my present writing conferred, to all my burgesses of Richards Castle, and to all my tenants of the townships of Moor Batchcott and Whitbrook, and to all my tenants of the township of Overton, for their good services done to me in the time of the Welsh war, and for twenty pounds sterling to me in hand paid common of pasture for all manner of their cattle and beasts in my fields at Bury Hynton, at all times after the grain is carried thence, and in all my meadow called Shule Meadow, after the feast of St. John the Baptist, and also common of pasture for all their beasts in all my woods within the said lordship of Richards Castle, as well within the county of Hereford as within the county of Salop, at all times in the year (except my park called Morbeck, and my Heys, lying between the ditch called Farthings Lawnde, and one hedge called the Royard, which are inclosed, and parted in at all times of the year). I have also given and granted to my said burgesses and tenants sufficient house-boot, hay-boot, and fire-boot, with all other necessaries that belong to husbandries, to be yearly taken at all times of necessaries in the said woods, by the order and delivery of my bailiff or constable there for the time being; to have and to hold all the aforesaid common of meadow, pasture, and wood ground as aforesaid, to my said burgesses and tenants of the aforesaid village of Richards Castle, Moor Batchcott, Whitbrook, and Overton, of me and my heirs, the sum of twelve shillings at the feast of St. Michael the Archangel, viz., the burgesses of Richards Castle four shillings, the tenants of Moor Batchcott and Whitbrook four shillings, and the tenants of the township of Overton four shillings, for all manner of service, exaction, and demand; and if it shall happen that this my grant gains aid, withheld, or retained by me, my heirs, or by any person claiming under us at any time for the future, then I will and grant that all my said burgesses and tenants thereby, their own proper wills shall take and hold the aforesaid common in all the said meadows, pasture, and wood grounds aforegranted, and in all places thereby strength and virtue of the said deed: and I, the aforesaid Hugh, and my heirs, all the aforesaid common, together with house-boot, hay-boot, and fireboot, as aforesaid, (except as before excepted,) to the aforesaid burgesses of Richard Castle, and my tenants of Moor Batchcott, Whitbrook, and Overton, their heirs and assigns, for the consideration and rent aforesaid, against all nations whatsoever, will warrant and for ever defend; and that this my grant may be for ever ratified and established, I have hereunto set my seal.”

The Church is a fine structure, dedicated to St. Bartholomew, and stands contiguous to the castle; the tower stands a few feet from the body of the church, and had formerly a spire, which was burnt down. The windows contain some beautiful stained glass. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £15. 1s. 3d. Patron, the Bishop of Worcester; incumbent, Rev. George Landon. The tithes have been commuted for £650, and there are 110 acres of glebe land of the annual value of £270. There are 2,324 acres of land in the township of Richards Castle, the rateable value of which is £1,652. 8s. Gross estimated rental, £1,862. 8s. 6d. The principal landowners are the representatives of J. Salway, Esq., Walter Stubbs, Esq., and William Moreton, Esq.

Moore and Batchcott is a township and pleasantly situated village two and a half miles from Ludlow, embracing 928 acres of land, the principal proprietors of which are Richard Betton, Esq., and the trustees of the Rev. J. Salway. Rateable value, £1,244. 12s. At the census in 4841 there were 37 houses and 206 inhabitants.

Overton and Woofferton is a delightfully situated township and village in the parish of Richard’s Castle, about two miles south from Ludlow, on the borders of Herefordshire. The township contains 1,260 acres of land, the chief owners of which are Francis L. Charlton, Esq., Richard Betton, Esq., and the representatives of the late E. Salwey, Esq. Rateable value, £1,677. 8s. At the census of 1841 Overton contained 18 houses and Woofferton nine houses, and together had a population of 137 souls.

Directories.—Richard’s Castle.—Edmund S. Davenport, Esq.; Samuel Davies, shoemaker; Miss Ann Child, Westbrook Cottage; John Hammond, vict., The Salwey Arms; Charles Mapp, farmer, Church House; Richard Mason, farmer, The Green; George Mason, farmer, The Rock; Henry Oseland, farmer and horse trainer, The Wood House; Richard Parker, farmer; Benjamin Ridley, farmer; Mary Taylor, vict., The Castle Inn; Mrs. Martha Taylor; Thomas Wheeler, farmer, The Merefield.

Moore and Batchott.—William B. Cooke, farmer; Thomas Froggat, farmer, The Leys; Rev. George Landon, rector of Richard’s Castle; William Parker, farmer; John Salwey, Esq., Moor Park; Thomas Summers, farmer; John Williams, blacksmith; William Wood, boot and shoemaker; Richard Woodhouse, wheelwright

Overton and Woofferton.—Richard Betton, Esq., Overton House; Thomas C. Bridges, Esq., The Lodge; John Burnett, farmer, Overton; Thomas Bywater, farmer; William B. Cooke, farmer; Richard Green, corn miller, Barratt’s Mill; John Lancet, farmer; Thomas Lowe, farmer, Hucks Barn; Richard Hardman, vict., Salwey Arms; William Heywood, farmer; Thomas Nottingham, farmer; Edward Stubbs, farmer.

RUSHBURY

is a considerable parish in the upper division of the Munslow hundred, comprising the townships of Rushbury, Stone Acton, Wall-under-Haywood, and Wilderhope and Stanway, and part of the townships of East Wall and Getton. The parish comprises upwards of 5,600 acres of land, and at the census of 1801 had 356 inhabitants; 1831, 507, and in 1841 had 109 houses and a population of 502 souls. The village of Rushbury is situated about nine miles S.W. from Much Wenlock, and the township contained 26 houses and 115 inhabitants. The principal landowners are Mrs. Lutwyche, Barnard Dickinson, Esq., and Mrs. Thursby; the latter is also lady of the manor. Some authors conjecture this place to be the Roman station Bravinium, between Magnum and Uriconum; the distance agreeing better with the Roman itinerary than Bridgnorth. At the Doomsday survey Roger de Lacy held of Earl Roger Riseberie, and Odo of him, at which time there was an eyrie of hawks. In the 11th of Edward I. Hugh Burnel had a charter for a market on a Thursday, and a fair on the eve, the day, and the day after the feast of St. Margaret the virgin, which upon a quo warranto brought against Sir Philip Burnel in the 20th of Edward I. was ratified and confirmed by the king’s council. In the time of Edward I. Richard de Harley had free warren here. John de Handelo levied a fine on the manor of Rushbury in the 14th of Edward III. Among the fees of Roger Earl of March, Nicholas Burnel held one knight’s fee. In the 3rd of Edward VI. the king gave Rushbury in exchange to Nicholas Bishop of Worcester and his successors for lands in Warwickshire. The Church is a small structure, dedicated to St. Peter, consisting of nave and chancel, with a tower in which are five bells. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £19. 7s. 8½d., now returned at £449 in the gift of the Bishop of Worcester. Incumbent, Rev. Matthew Y. Starkey. The endowed school, where twelve children are educated, and the almshouses, will be further noticed with the various gifts to charitable uses. The tithes are commuted for £384.