THE CONDOVER HUNDRED. (continued 3)

Charities.—Benjamin Wainwright, M.D., by his will, bearing date 1st December, 1817, directed certain trustees to raise out of his personal estate the sum of £1,200, and appropriate £400 in building a school-room and a small dwelling house for a schoolmaster, and also two almshouses, all to be erected in the little church-yard near the Pound, in Rushbury, if the rector would allow it. And he directed that the following words should be cut upon the stone in the front part of the dwelling house:—“This school and almshouse were built and endowed by Benjamin, the seventh son of the late Richard and Mary Wainwright, of Stanway.” The residue of the said sum of £1,200 he directed to be invested in the funds, and 50s. of the yearly dividends thereof to be given to each of the poor widows resident in the said almshouses; the trustees to provide coals for the almshouses, and also to pay £5 yearly to a schoolmaster for teaching poor children of Rushbury, Eaton, and the adjacent parishes every Sunday; £5 to be laid out in warm clothing on the 1st of December for the poor of Rushbury; £5 per annum to be paid to a schoolmistress for teaching children to knit and sew, and to pay the remainder of the dividends to a schoolmaster to instruct nine poor children of Rushbury and three of Eaton in reading, writing, and common arithmetic. The sum of £400 above mentioned was reduced by the payment of the legacy duty to £360, and a school was erected at a cost of upwards of £500, part of the surplus having been advanced by such of the trustees as were of the testator’s family. The remainder of the sum of £1,200 was invested in the purchase of stock, and there is now standing £737 new four per cent. stock, producing dividends amounting to £429. 10s. per annum, of which £20 is paid to a schoolmaster for teaching a Sunday as well as a week day school. Two poor women are appointed by the trustees to reside in the almshouses, each of whom receives £2 annually, including an allowance of coals.

There is a parcel of land in the parish called the Poor’s Land, containing about six acres, and four small tenements with gardens, and also an allotment set out in respect of the above mentioned premises containing about an acre and three quarters, altogether producing a rental of £12 per annum. The four tenements were long used for the reception of paupers. A portion of the poor’s land was given to the rector in exchange for a part of the glebe near the church-yard, on which the school was built. The sum of £2. 2s. is paid to the rector as his portion of the rent, and the residue is chiefly expended in coals and distributed to the poor.

Edward Lutwyche, in 1601, granted a rent charge of 40s. per annum out of his lands in Wall-under-Haywood and East Wall, and directed six penny worth of bread to be distributed every Sunday to six poor parishioners, each of the said poor people to receive 2s. 4d. in money every Good Friday. And he directed that every poor person appointed should receive the charity for life. The yearly sum of 30s. is payable out of Day-house farm in the township of Holt Preen, as the bequest of Anne Tipton. The amount is distributed in bread to six poor men and six poor women, alternately, according to the intentions of the donor. Martha Baker, who died about fifty years ago, is stated to have left £20 to the poor of Rushbury, the interest to be given in bread. This money was applied soon after the death of the testatrix in repairing a house on the poor’s land used as a poor house, and in respect thereof £1 is paid annually from the poor’s rates, which is expended in bread for the poor.

East Wall is a township and village seven miles S.W. from Much Wenlock, partly in the parish of Rushbury and partly in that of Eaton, and is usually called Longville, Lushcott, and East Wall township. The portion in Rushbury parish at the census of 1841 contained five houses and 27 inhabitants. Thomas Gibbon, Esq., and Mrs. Lutwyche are the principal landowners.

Gretton township is partly in Rushbury and partly in Cardington, and is situated about a mile N.E. from the latter place. In 1841 thirteen houses and 73 inhabitants were returned as in Rushbury, and one house and eleven persons in Cardington parish. Lady Tyrwhitt is the principal landowner.

Stone Acton, a township in Rushbury parish about a mile S.W. from the church, at the census of 1841 had four houses and 24 inhabitants. The land is the property of Mr. William Jones and Mr. Daniel Mytton. Mr. William Jones is the resident farmer.

Wilderhope and Stanway, a township in Rushbury parish, is situated about five miles S.W. from Much Wenlock, and at the census of 1841 had thirteen houses and 76 inhabitants. Moses George Benson, Esq., and Richard Wainwright, Esq., are the landowners.

Wall-under-Haywood, a township and village in the parish of Rushbury, with 43 houses and 166 inhabitants, is situated about a mile west of Rushbury. The principal landowners are Mrs. Cleeton and John Baker, Esq.

Directories.—Rushbury.—Edward Cleeton, farmer; Thomas Corfield, farmer; Richard Cox, saddler and harness maker; Mary Fewtrell, schoolmistress; Julian Fewtrell, registrar of births, deaths, and marriages; William Fewtrell, farmer; Rev. Matthew Y. Starkey, rector.

East Wall.—Richard Butcher, farmer, Longville; Thomas Gippins, farmer; Thomas Haynes, blacksmith and shopkeeper; Charlotte Hotchkiss, farmer; Thomas Hughson, bailiff; Morris Jones, bailiff, Lushcott; Sarah Makin, farmer; Edward Onslow, farmer; Thomas Preen, stone mason; Thomas Roberts, farmer.

Gretton.—Edward Esp, farmer; Richard Haynes, bailiff; Timothy Smout, blacksmith; Edward Humphrey, farmer.—Stone Acton.—William Jones, farmer.

Wall-under-Haywood.—Mrs. Margaret Cleeton; Richard Cleeton, farmer; Thomas Corfield, farmer; Richard Cox, saddler; William Downes, farmer and maltster; John Evason, shoemaker; William Gough, farmer, Cotes; Thomas Hammond, blacksmith; John Moore, vict., Lutwyche Arms; George Morgan, vict., The Plough; John Pritchard, farmer; Thomas Smout, wheelwright; Richard Smout, wheelwright; Mrs. Mary Woof.

Wilderhope and Stanway.—John Norris, farmer, Upper Stanway; John Webster, farmer, Lower Stanway; Mary Webster, farmer, Wilderhope.

SHIPTON

is a parish and village in the upper division of the Munslow hundred, pleasantly situated on the road from Much Wenlock to Ludlow, six and a quarter miles S.W. from the former and fifteen miles N.W. from the latter. The parish contains 1,570 acres of land. Rateable value, £2,220. Population in 1801, 119; 1831, 154; 1841, 153, at the latter period there were 24 inhabited houses. The principal landowners are Thomas Mytton, Esq., Rev. Robert H. G. More, Moses G. Benson, Esq., and John Corser, Esq.; the former is lord of the manor. The Church is an ancient structure, dedicated to St. James, and consists of nave and chancel, with a square tower. The interior contains several handsome memorials, chiefly to the Mytton family. From a brass plate we learn that the chancel was re-edified from the foundation and glazed, at the charge of John Lutwyche, of Lutwyche, in the 31st of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 1589. The living is a donative curacy in the patronage of Thomas Mytton Esq. Incumbent, Rev. Robert H. G. More. Shipton Hall, a handsome mansion, the residence and property of Thomas Mytton, Esq., exhibits a beautiful specimen of the Elizabethan style of architecture. Thomas Mytton, Esq., is in possession of the original letter, of which the following is a copy, addressed by a needy monarch to the ancestor of Mr. Mytton, then resident at Shipton Hall, and dated February 14th, 1643:—

“Trusty and Well-beloved, we greet you well. Whereas, all our subjects of the kingdom of England and dominion of Wales, are both by their allegiance and the act of pacification bound to resist and suppresse such of our subjects of Scotland as have in a hostile manner already entered, or shall hereafter enter into this kingdome. And by law your personal service, attended in a warlike manner for the resistance of, may be required by us, which we desire to spare, chusing rather to invite your assistance for the maintenance of our army in a free and voluntary expression of your affections to our service, and the safety of this kingdom. And whereas the members of both houses of parliament assembled at Oxford, have taken into their consideration the necessity of supporting our army for the defence of us and our people against this invasion, and for the preservation of the religious lawes and liberties of this kingdome, and thereupon have agreed upon the speedy raising of the summe of one hundred thousand pounds by loane from particular persons, towards the which themselves have advanced a very considerable portion, and by their example hope that our well affected subjects throughout the kingdome will in a short time make up the remainder, whereby we shall not only be enabled to pay and recruite our army, but likewise be enabled to put our armies in such a condition as our subjects shall not suffer by free quarter or the unruliness of our soldiers, which is now in present agitation, and will (we doubt not, by the advice of the members of both houses assembled) be spedily effected. We doe towards so good a work, by the approbation and advice of the members of both houses assembled, desire you forthwith to lend us the sum of thirty pounds, or the value thereof in plate, toucht plate at five shillings, and untoucht plate at four shillings per ounce, and to pay or deliver the same within seven daies after the receipt thereof to the hands of our high sheriffe of that our own county, or to such whome he shall appoint to receive the same, upon his acquittances for the receipt thereof to the hands of our high sherriffe of that our county, who is forthwith to returne and pay the same at Corpus Cristi Colledge in Oxford, to the hands of the Earle of Bath, the Lord Seymour, Mr. John Ashburnham, and Mr. John Fettiplace, or any of them who appointed treasurers for the receiving and issuing thereof by the said members, (by whose order only the said money is to be disposed), and to give receipts for the same, the which we promise to repay as soon as God shall enable us. This sum to be advanced with speed. We are necessitated to apply ourselves to such persons as yourself, of whose ability and affection we have confidence, giving you this assurance—that in such further charges that the necessity of our just defence shall inforce us to require of our good subjects, your forwardnesse and disbursements shall be considered to your best advantage. And so presuming you will not fail to expresse your affection herein, we bid you farewell. Given at our court at Oxford, the 14th day of February, in the nineteenth yeare of our raigne, 1643.”

Directory.—Timothy Bluck, farmer, Newhouse; John Corser, farmer, More House; Mrs. Frances Danzey, Larden Hall; Richard Esp, farmer, Larden Grange; John Fortune, wheelwright; Richard Jones, farmer; Thomas Mytton, Esq., Shipton Hall; William Partridge, vict., Bull’s Head; John Price, blacksmith.

STANTON LACY

is a considerable parish in the lower division of the Munslow hundred, comprising the townships of Downton, Hayton Lower, Hayton Upper, part of Henley, part of Hopton, Rock, Stanton Lacy, and Wooton, and the hamlets of East and West. In 1801 there were 905 inhabitants; 1831, 1,467; 1841, 1,540. Acres, 7,765; rateable value, £11,008. 5s. The township of Stanton Lacy has 2,393 acres of land; at the census of 1841 it contained 141 houses and 724 inhabitants, of which 146 persons are returned as in the Ludlow Union Workhouse. The village is pleasantly situated three and a half miles N.N.W. from Ludlow, near the eastern bank of the Corve. The Earl of Craven is the principal landowner and lord of the manor. In the 20th of Edward I., a quo warranto was brought against the Prior of Lantone Prune, in Wales, for claiming pleas of the crown and wayffe, and for holding a fair and a market in the manor of Stanton Lacy, and in Rokele. The Prior pleads that he is not lord of the manor, but is only patron of the church, and holds Rokele that lies in the parish. Hugh de Lowther replies that the bishop cannot prove any of his predecessors to have come in with the Conqueror, and to have acquired those privileges by conquest, because being men in holy orders they come to their freeholds by the grants of others, and therefore he ought to produce some special grant from the crown to support his claim. This place was part of the royal demesnes when the house of York recovered their right to the crown. In the time of Henry VIII., Sir William Thomas, Knt., held the manor of Stanton Lacy and a pasture known by the name of Stanton Fryth, for the term of twenty-one years, at the rent of £7. 10s. The Church is a fine old structure, some portions of which are unquestionably of great antiquity; it has recently been beautified, and the interior has undergone a complete renovation at a cost of about £1000. The chancel is very beautiful; the altar exhibits some very elaborate workmanship, and the floor is covered with tesselated pavement. The living is a vicarage, rated in the king’s book at £16, now returned at £518, in the patronage of the Earl of Craven; incumbent, Rev. Joseph Bowles, D.D. There is a national school in the village, towards the support of which the Earl of Craven is a liberal contributor. Richard Nash, in the year 1814, bequeathed £100 for the benefit of the poor of this parish.

Downton, a township in the parish of Stanton Lacy, situated four miles from Ludlow, contains 765 acres of land, and in 1841 had 17 houses and 90 inhabitants. Sir W. E. R. Boughton, Bart., is the principal landowner and lord of the manor, and resides at Downton Hall, an elegant mansion of modern erection commanding most beautiful and varied prospects over a luxuriant country richly clothed with woody scenery. The pleasure grounds are tastefully laid out and beautifully ornamented with choice shrubs and flowers.

Hayton Lower, a small township and village four miles N.N.W. from Ludlow, contains 535 acres of land, and at the census of 1841 had 24 houses and 104 inhabitants. The Earl of Craven is the principal proprietor of the land.

Hayton Upper, a village and township in the parish of Stanton Lacy, comprises 935 acres of land, and is situated four and a half miles N.N.W. from Ludlow. At the census of 1841 there were 53 houses and 256 inhabitants. The Earl of Craven is the landowner and lord of the manor. In this township is the hamlet of Hayton’s Bent, where the Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists have each a small chapel. A small rivulet which flows from the hilly ground in this township becomes on its passage through rocks strongly impregnated with carbonate of lime, and is found to possess the property of forming petrifactions of such articles as are placed in it. The township of Henley, partly in this parish and partly in that of Bitterley, is noticed in the latter parish. The township of Hopton also partly in this parish, is noticed with Hopton parish.

Rock, a small rural village and township in the parish of Stanton Lacy, contains 735 acres of land, and runs into the borough of Ludlow. At the census of 1841 there were 32 houses and 134 inhabitants.

Wootton, another small township in the parish of Stanton Lacy, contains 544 acres of land, and in 1841 had 9 houses and 65 inhabitants. Wootton Hall, a fine specimen of the domestic architecture of by-gone days, has been taken down during the present year and a farm house erected near the site. The Earl of Craven is owner of the land in this township.

East Hamlet, in the parish of Stanton Lacy, contains 734 acres of land, the principal owner of which is Frederick Nash, Esq.; William Pattrick is the farmer. In 1841 there were four houses and twenty-four inhabitants.

West Hamlet contains 650 acres of land, and in 1841 had nine houses and sixty-five inhabitants. The chief landowners are the Earl of Craven, Hon. R. H. Clive, Mrs. Wakefield, and J. B. Cummings, Esq.

Directories.—Stanton Lacy: Herbert Blakeway, farmer, Stanton Cottage; Rev. Joseph Bowles, D.D.; John Davies, blacksmith; John S. Edwards, farmer; Richard Edwards, farmer, Manor House; Henry Evans, vict., Craven Arms; Richard Fletcher, butcher and shopkeeper; Edward Farmer, farmer and shopkeeper; John Hotchkiss, farmer, Woodlands; Ann Oseley, Proprietary School. Downton: Sir William Edward Rouse Boughton, Bart., Downton Hall; Thomas Hotchkiss, farmer. Hayton Lower: Richard Coston, farmer; Sarah Coston, farmer; Samuel Weaver, farmer; and Samuel Weaver, beerhouse keeper. Hayton Upper: Edward M. Burgess, farmer; Rev. Lancelot Dixon; William Price, farmer; and Thomas Smout, farmer. Rock: Mr. Wm. Gardener; James Harding, vict., The Raven; James Hince, timber merchant; John Price, manager at Gas Works; Elias Rollings, coach and jobbing smith; William Russell, governor of Union House; William Thompson, vict., Greyhound; James Watkins, stone and marble mason. Wootton: William Blakeway, farmer, The White House; Josiah Meredith, corn miller. East Hamlet: William Patrick, farmer. West Hamlet: Thomas Lloyd, farmer, Langley; John Mellings, farmer, The Pools; Deborah Sanders, farmer, Ruckley; John Sanders, farmer; and William Small, farmer, Aintree.

STANTON LONG

is a parish and small rural village in the lower division of the Munslow hundred, seven miles S.S.W. from Much Wenlock, and ten west from Bridgnorth. At the census of 1801 there was a population of 206 souls; 1831, 278; and in 1841, fifty-three houses and 327 inhabitants. Acres, 1,710a. 1r. 10p. Rateable value, £2,636. 4s. 6d. The parish extends about four miles in length and one in breadth, and is adjacent to the parishes of Holdgate, Shipton, Monk Hopton, and Ditton Priors. The soil on the north side of the river Corve is well adapted for the growth of turnips and barley; on the south side it is of a stiffer nature, and better suited for wheat. The principal landowners are the Duke of Cleveland; Rev. R. H. G. More; J. Deighton, Esq.; and J. Corser, Esq.; there are also several other proprietors. Mrs. Thursby is lady of the manor. Brockton and Patton are two small townships for highway purposes in this parish, the former containing 376 acres, and the latter 697 acres. The Church, situated at the south-western extremity of the parish, is a neat edifice dedicated to St. Michael; the interior, however, contains little of interest, except a handsomely-carved oak pulpit, and there are some fine Gothic windows. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £7, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Hereford. The vicarial tithes are commuted for £95. 6s. 10d.; and there is a good vicarage house and 66a. 3r. 3p. of glebe land attached, commanding a pleasing prospect of the Corve Dale. The rectoral tithes are commuted for £133. 17s. 5d., of which £7. 12s. 7d. is paid to the rector of Holdgate. The Rev. Thomas P. Williams is the curate. There is a National School at Brockton, capable of containing 120 children. The interest of a sum of £20, left by an unknown donor, is expended in bread and given to the poor.

The principal residents are Charles Acton, farmer, Brockton; Thomas Bywater, farmer, Brockton; Thomas Chatham, farmer, Stanton Long; Edward Corks, farmer and maltster, Stanton Long; William Crudington, shoemaker, Brockton; Isaac Day, blacksmith, Stanton Long; Evan Davies, farmer, Patton; Thomas Downes, farmer, Patton; James Edwards, wheelwright, Stanton Long; Edward Esp, farmer, Stanton Long; Edward Instone, farmer, Brockton house; Thomas Mancell, blacksmith, Brockton; Edward Philpot, vict., Feathers; John Pope, carpenter, Stanton Long; Rev. Thomas P. Williams, curate.

STOKE ST. MILBOROUGH

is a parish in the lower division of the Munslow hundred, comprising 4,400 acres of land, and is divided for highway purposes into the townships of Clee Downton, Clee Stanton, and Stoke, and the chapelry of Heath. At the census of 1841 there were 110 houses and 553 inhabitants exclusive of the chapelry of Heath, which contained ten houses and a population of sixty-three souls. Rateable value, £4,454. 8s. The village of Stoke is delightfully situated in a romantic district, near the southern side of the Brown Clee Hill, six miles and a half N.N.E. from Ludlow. From the summit of the Brown Clee Hill, which is chiefly situated in this parish, a most beautiful panoramic view is seen of the country, which for extent and diversity is not surpassed in England. To the north and south are seen the fruitful plains of Shropshire, pleasingly varied with woody hills, and lovely vales dotted with the humble cottage of the labourer and the mansion of the opulent, whilst the Cambrian hills, which rear their lofty heights in wild grandeur towards the west, give an additional charm to the enchanting scene. According to the description given of the manor of Stoke St. Milborough at the Doomsday survey, it would seem then to have consisted of seven hides of land, and a large wood. Earl Roger gave it to the chaplains of the church of St. Milborough. The principal landowners are the Hon. Sidney Herbert; Dr. Cavendish Wall; E. H. Owen, Esq.; and Mr. John Patrick; there are also several other proprietors. The Hon. Sidney Herbert, lord of the manor, regularly pays a fee farm rent of £29. 10s. 3d. to the Duke of Cleveland, as the representative of the grantee of it from the crown; and the Hon. S. Herbert collects from various freeholders of the manor several rents amounting in the aggregate to the said sum. The Church is a venerable structure, dedicated to the saint from whom the name of the parish is derived. The interior is commodious, and contains an antique font, and several ancient monuments to the Lee family. It has a handsome tower and four bells. The living is a vicarage, with the curacy of Heath annexed, returned at £474, in the patronage and incumbency of the Rev. George Morgan, M.A. The Vicarage is a good residence, and pleasantly situated. The Methodists and Primitive Methodists have each a small chapel here; and there is a National School. “In the afternoon of Monday, July 25, 1768, there happened an extraordinary gust of wind, a few miles to the north-west of Cleobury, in Shropshire. Its effects were most remarkable in the parish of Stoke St. Milborough, where it unroofed the dwelling house, barns, stables, and every other building belonging to a farmer of the name of Bishop; one of which buildings was entirely levelled with the ground. In his orchard it destroyed upwards of sixty apple and pear trees, which were either broken off in the butt, or forced up by the roots. Several large elms and poplar trees were likewise blown down. He computed the damage he had sustained at £300. His son, a youth sixteen years of age, being in the fold, was lifted four or five yards above the surface of the ground, and carried to the distance of eighty yards, part of the space being over a fish-pond, a hedge, and a stone wall; but at last, falling gradually in a field of hay, he received but little hurt.” A donation of £400 has been invested by the present incumbent in the three per cent. consols, in the names of certain trustees, the dividends of which are laid out in bread, and distributed among such poor as are most regular in their attendance at church.

Directory.—Richard Andrews, shoemaker; James Blakemore, farmer; John T. Bright, farmer and corn miller, Court house; Thomas Colton, vict., Red Lion; John Humphries, shopkeeper; Thomas Humphries, wheelwright; John Jones, blacksmith; Samuel Jones, shoemaker; E. H. Owen, Esq., St. Milborough lodge; John Patrick, farmer; Henry Speak, farmer; John Wall, farmer.

Clee Downton, a small scattered village in the parish of Stoke St. Milborough, consists of a few scattered houses about a mile from the church. E. H. Owen, Esq., is the landowner. The chief residents are Edward Powell, farmer; Edward Poyner, farmer; Richard Sambrook, farmer; William Summers, farmer; and Richard and Thomas Whiteman, farmers.

Clee Stanton is a village with a few straggling houses, at the foot of Titterstone Hill, two miles east from Stoke St. Milborough. Sir William R. Boughton, and Robert Head, Esq., are the landowners. The principal residents are Henry Ainsworth, farmer; Edward Millichamp, farmer; John Poter, farmer.

Heath, a chapelry in the parish of Stoke St. Milborough, contains 386 acres of land, and is situated two miles north by west from the church. Gross estimated rental, £492. 10s. The landowners are the Earl of Craven; Edward Turner, Esq.; and Thomas and Edward Millichamp. At the census of 1841 there were ten houses and sixty-eight inhabitants. The tithes are commuted for £28, and there are 28 acres of glebe land. The Chapel is a small but interesting structure, the interior of which is admired for its beautiful carved oak. Its architecture displays traces of the Norman style. Service is performed only once during the month.

The principal residents at Heath are Benjamin Cocks, farmer; Edward Millichamp, farmer, New house; Edward Powis, bailiff to E. Turner, Esq.; Mr. Edward Price, Heath cottage.

STOKESAY

is a parish and village in the lower division of the Munslow hundred, containing 3,609 acres of land, and comprising the townships of Aldon, Stoke and Newton, Wettleton, and parts of Broom and Rowton; the latter however is chiefly in the Hopesay parish, where it will be found noticed. At the census of 1801, there were 512 inhabitants: 1831, 529: 1841, 556; at the latter period there were 108 inhabited houses. Rateable value, £3,939 15s. The township of Stoke and Newton contains 1,222 acres of land, and in 1841 had 38 houses and 188 inhabitants. The Craven Arms is a handsome and commodious hotel, not surpassed by any in the county: in the front of which is a conical column, on which is inscribed the distance of this place from all the principal towns in England, Scotland, and Wales. At the Doomsday survey, Roger de Lacy held Stoches of the King, at which period there were eight plough lands, twenty villains, belonging to the manor, and a mill. The Lacy family continued in possession of it till the year 1207, when it was carried by an heiress to John de Vernon. Soon after 1240 the manor was sold to William de Ludlowe, whose son Lawrence de Ludlowe lived at the castle. In 1497 it passed to Thomas Vernon, and afterwards to Sir George Mainwaring, and he sold it about the year 1620 to Lord Craven, whose representative the Earl of Craven is the principal landowner and lord of the manor. Stoke Castle, formerly the seat of the Baldwin family, is a curious specimen of the castellated mansion of former days. A gate house constructed of wooden framework, with curious carvings, leads to a quadrangular court, on one side of which are the remains of the rampart, and on the other sides the house, offices, and tower. The hall and tower is opposite the gate house, in the latter is a winding staircase. The hall is very spacious, but there is no vestige of a fire-place, the ancient mode of warming apartments of this description being by a reredoss, or brazier, filled with burning charcoal, and placed in the centre; at one end is the gallery for the minstrelsy on days of festivity; the wainscot is of oak, and the chimney piece is elaborately carved. The tower which is lofty and in the form of an irregular polygon, rises from the south-west corner of the court, and is crowned with an embattled parapet; the ground floor is a gloomy apartment lighted by four small pointed windows, and the upper stories are divided into very small rooms. This stately mansion has suffered a degradation not uncommon to places of ancient note, part of it having been used as an out-house to an adjoining farm, and the rest suffered to fall to decay.

The Church is a venerable structure situated near the castle, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and consists of nave and chancel, with a tower in which are six bells. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £4. 13s. 4d., now returned at £340.; incumbent, Rev. William Williams. The Parochial school was formerly held in the church belfry, it is now taught in a private house, but a new school is expected shortly to be built. Roger Powell who died in 1616, left to this parish £10. a year, and directed one shilling a week to be distributed to the poor, and the residue towards the maintenance of a schoolmaster. Of this annuity, which is paid out of a farm in Church Stoke and Lydham, £2. 12s; is given away with the sacrament money on St. Thomas’s day, and the remainder is paid to the schoolmaster. Mary Pearce, in 1769, bequeathed £5 to the poor of this parish, and it was then agreed that the said sum should be laid out in the purchase of a bier cloth, the cost of which was £4. 5s. 7½d., and the rest in books for the poor children of the parish; it was further agreed that in lieu of the interest of the said £5, a bible should be given yearly on Easter Monday to such poor child as the parishioners should appoint.

Directory.—Richard Coston, farmer, Newton; William Jones, wheelwright, Newton; Enoch Morris, farmer, Stoke Castle; Richard Owen, vict., Craven Arms Hotel; Francis Owen, vict., Red Lion, Newton; Joseph Speakes, schoolmaster; Rev. William Williams, vicar, Stokesay.

Aldon, a township and village in the parish of Stokesay, in 1841 contained 45 houses and 236 inhabitants. The chief landowners are Henry Lester, Esq., Hon. R. H. Clive, and Mr. William Hotchkiss, there are also a few small proprietors. Limestone is found in abundance in this township; in getting the stone, bones have frequently been found of animals that are now extinct,—not long ago some very large antlers of the deer were found. The principal residents are John Bishop, farmer; William Hotchkiss, farmer and lime burner; Edward Medlicott, farmer, Aldon Court; Benjamin Pugh, farmer, Steperside; Lady Mary Ann Syer, Stone House.

Broom and Rowton is a township partly in the Munslow hundred and partly in the Purslow hundred, situated about a mile and a half east from Clungunford. At the census of 1841 two houses and eighteen inhabitants were returned as in Stokesay parish, and two houses and fifteen inhabitants as in the parish of Clungunford. The principal residents are Francis Bach, farmer, Rowton; George Beddows, farmer, Rowton; Timothy Bishop, farmer, Rowton; John and Richard Marston, farmers, The Weo.

Wettleton, a township and small village, is situated about half a mile N.E. from Stoke, and in 1841 had 25 houses and 114 inhabitants. The land is the property of the Earl of Craven, and the resident farmers are Jeremiah Sheppard and William Sheppard.

TUGFORD

is a parish in the upper division of the Munslow hundred, nine miles N.N.E. from Ludlow, which contains 1,990 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £1,609. 5s. The soil is well adapted for the growth of turnips and barley. Population in 1801, 165; 1831, 188; 1841, 145; at the latter period there were 31 houses. The village of Tugford is on a good road leading to Ludlow, the situation is low, but dry, pleasant, and warm, being sheltered from the east by a tall plantation rising at the back of it. A small stream called Tugford Brook turns a corn mill in the village, and shortly after has its confluence with the river Corfe. In the time of Henry III. the abbot and convent of Shrewsbury held the ville of Tugford, which was computed to consist of two hides and a half of land. At the assizes, in the 20th of Edward I., the abbot of Salop claimed the liberty of free warren here, of which his successors had a confirmation in the time of Richard II. The principal landowners are the Earl of Craven and C. O. Childe Pemberton, Esq. The parish church, dedicated to St. Catherine, is a small but handsome structure, probably erected about the middle of the 16th century. The living is a rectory annexed to that of Holdgate, in the patronage of the Bishop of Hereford. Incumbent, Rev. Joseph Corbett. The rectory house is a good residence adjoining the church-yard. Thomas Clinton, in 1815, gave £100, the interest to be given among ten poor widows of this parish. In 1652, Robert Ellis bequeathed 10s. each to the several parishes of Tugford, Abdow, Holdgate, Tregnon, and Llanwithilaw. The tithes were commuted in 1839; aggregate amount, £178. 18s. 10d.

The principal residents in Tugford are the Rev. Joseph Corbett, The Rectory; John Blakeway, shopkeeper; John Blockley, farmer; Edward Downes, farmer; John Page, farmer and corn miller; Edward Parsons, farmer; Richard Shirley, farmer; Fanny Wall, blacksmith.