THE HUNDRED OF STOTTESDEN. (continued 2)

The District of St. Paul’s Knowbury is partly in this parish and partly in that of Bitterley. A considerable portion of the scattered district called Bennett’s End is in the former parish. In 1839 a church was erected at a cost of £1,200, which is dedicated to St. Paul. The structure is built in a simple style of architecture, and has a square tower. The living is a perpetual curacy; and the patronage is vested in the Bishop of Hereford: incumbent, Rev. Burleigh James. In connexion with the church, spacious schools have been erected, by the Hon. R. H. Clive, who also munificently supports the same: upwards of one hundred children are educated in them. The Methodists and Primitive Methodists have small meeting houses. The labouring population of this locality are chiefly employed in collieries and brick works. The chief landowners are the Hon. R. H. Clive, Sir W. R. Broughton, and William Poyser, Esq.

CAINHAM DIRECTORY.

Adams Rev. Charles, vicar

Bozwood Thos., wheelwright

Corbett Thomas, shoemaker

Gould Mary, farmer

Grosvenor William, farmer

Harding William, blacksmith

Langston Captain, Poughnill

Medlicott Sarah, farmer, Pervin

Morris Benjamin, farmer

Small Edward, farmer

Small Elizabeth, farmer

Small William, farmer

Swift George, farmer, Camp farm

Ricketts Gregory, farmer

Turley Benjamin, miller

Turley Samuel, farmer, Poughnill

KNOWBURY DIRECTORY.

Bate Wm., vict., Golden cross

James Rev. Burleigh, incmbt.

Lewis James, agent to Hon. R. H. Clive, and Sir W. R. Broughton

Meyrick Thos., vict., Crown

Meyrick Wm., vict., the Oak

Poyser William, coal & lime master, and manufacturer of bricks, tiles, drainage pipes and earthenware

Price, B. J., schoolmaster

CHELMARSH

is a parish and small village, pleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, four miles S.E. from Bridgnorth, which contains 3,126 acres of land, having a rich loamy soil in some parts, and in others a strong clay. There is a small colliery on the western side of the village, and free-stone is got from the quarries on the common. Rateable value of the parish, £3,660. At the census of 1801 there was a population of 411 souls; and in 1841, 104 houses and 495 inhabitants. Chelmarsh Common is an unenclosed piece of land, containing 119 acres. The principal landowners are Thomas Charlton Whitmore, Esq.; John Nicholls, Esq.; John F. Wylde, Esq.; Edward Hughes, Esq.; and Mr. Richard H. Gwyn; besides whom are several other smaller proprietors. Earl Edwin was lord of Chelmarsh before the Conquest, and for some ages afterwards it was the inheritance of the Mortimers. In the 49th of Edward III., Edmund Lord Mortimer gave the manor to the Abbey and Convent of Wigmore, to maintain a secular priest resident in the church of Lentwardine, to sing mass, and daily pray for the souls of himself, family, and ancestors. The Church is an ancient structure, consisting of nave, chancel, and north aisle, with a tower, in which is a peal of six musical bells. The aisle is separated from the nave by four pointed arches, and there is a gallery at the west end. The east window is beautified with stained glass. A tablet in the chancel, dated 1645, remembers John N. Minnis. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £6. 5s. 8d., now returned at £264; patron, Sir John Seabright; incumbent, Rev. Charles W. Blathwayt, B.A. The vicarial tithes are commuted for £237, and the rectoral for £369. 3s., of which £358 are paid to Sir John Seabright, and £11. 3s. to Edward Hughes, Esq. There are 24 acres of glebe land. The National School, a neat stone structure, built in the year 1850, has a residence for the teacher annexed. About fifty children attend. Chelmarsh Hall, an ancient structure, in the Elizabethan style of architecture, was formerly the residence of the Nicholl family. It is now the property of John Nicholl, Esq., but occupied as a farm house. Hempton’s Load is a small village in the parish of Chelmarsh, two miles south-east from the church, pleasantly situated on the banks of the Severn, which is here crossed by a ferry. Sutton is a small hamlet, about a mile south from the church.

Post Office—At George Dudley’s. Letters arrive at 9 A.M., and are despatched to Bridgnorth at 4.30 P.M.

Ball Thomas, woollen draper, tailor, & farmer

Barker Thomas, blacksmith

Bishop Francis, farmer, The Hall

Blathwayt Rev. Charles Welfitt, B.A., vicar, The Vicarage

Corfield William, farmer, Spadeley

Detton Richard, tailor, The Common

Detton William, tailor, Hempton’s Load

Dovey William, joiner and carpenter

Draper George, farmer, Hempton’s Load

Draper John, farmer, Sutton

Dudley George, postmaster and parish clerk

Evans John, beerhouse-keeper, The Common

Fellows Wm., blacksmith, Hempton’s Load

Gwyn Richard Hodges, Esq., Astbury Hall

Hughes Edward, farmer, Hempton’s Load

Jordin John, farmer

Jordin Thomas, shoemaker

Lewis Thomas, shoemaker, Hempton’s Load

Mapp Thos., maltster & hop merchant, Sutton

Mapp William, maltster and farmer, Sutton

Martin John, farmer and ferryman and vict., The Unicorn, Hempton’s Load

Page John, blacksmith

Page Thomas, corn miller

Perry John, beerhousekpr. & bricklayer, The Common

Powell Richard, wheelwright and carpenter

Radner William, beerhouse and shopkeeper, The Common

Scoffham Henry Francis, butcher and shopkeeper

Spare Mary, schoolmistress (national)

Weaver James, farmer, Hempton’s Load

Williams Richard, cooper, The Common

Wyer Richard, farmer, New House

Wylde John Fewtrell, Esq., The Uplands

Wylde Rev. Charles Edmund, The Uplands

CHETTON

is a parish and pleasantly situated village, four miles and a half S.W. of Bridgnorth, partly in the Chelmarsh and partly in the Cleobury divisions of the Hundred of Stottesdon. The parish contains 3291a. 1r. 12p. of land, the gross estimated rental of which is £4,495. 13s. 6d. Rateable value, £4,026. 18s. 0d. In 1841 there were 113 houses and 580 persons in the Chelmarsh division, and 19 houses and 113 persons returned as in the Cleobury division. Population in 1801, 526; in 1831, 627. The principal landowners are Lord Liverpool; John and George Pritchard, Esqrs.; Thomas Pardoe Purton, Esq.; John Baker, Esq.; John Dallewy, Esq.; and George Joseph Dallewy, Esq.; besides whom there are several smaller proprietors. The tithes are commuted at £569. 14s. 9d.

The celebrated Wheatland hounds, belonging to John Baker, Esq., are kennelled in this parish. The country over which they hunt embraces the Wrekin and surrounding district. The hounds have been in the possession of the present proprietor for eight years, and were principally bred from the packs of Lord Yarborough, the Belvoir, the Shropshire, and Mr. Hellier’s. There is a small colliery and also a brick manufactory in this parish.

The Church, dedicated to St. Giles, is a stone structure, with square tower, containing six bells, recast in 1829, at which time the tower was rebuilt. The interior consists of nave, chancel, and gallery, on which is a small organ. The church has a chaste appearance, and has been recently repaired at the joint expense of the parish and the late Venerable Archdeacon Vickers, formerly rector of Chetton. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s book at £11, in the patronage of T. W. Wylde Browne, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Richard Herbert. The National School is a neat brick building, erected in 1820. The average attendance of boys and girls is about forty. Mrs. Ann Adams is schoolmistress. Faintree, Favon-tree, or Fanonia-tree, is a township in Chetton parish, five miles S.W. of Bridgnorth. The name signifies the western town. The township is situated on elevated ground, facing the west, or Favonian wind, and hence its name. This manorial estate was formerly the property of the Briggs family, from whom it was purchased by the ancient family of the Pardoes of Cleeton, in Bitterley parish, whose descendant, Thomas Pardoe, Esq., died, leaving an only child, Esther, with whom this manor passed in marriage to John Purton, Esq., of Eudon Burnall, in whose family it now continues, Thomas Pardoe Purton, Esq., being its present proprietor, who resides at Faintree Hall, a neat brick residence, erected in the year 1802, upon the site of an ancient edifice. Eudon Burnall and Eudon George are small townships situated about a mile from the church.

Charities.—Dorothy Holland, by will, dated 1723, bequeathed to the poor of this parish the sum of £20, in trust, to be placed out at interest, and distributed to twelve poor people of the parish in bread, on Easter days and Christmas days.

Richard Pardoe, by will, dated 1760, bequeathed the sum of £100, to be placed out at interest, which was to be divided into forty parts, one of which should be paid in bread every week to the poor and indigent persons of the parish, in the months of January, February, March, April, May, June, July, November, and December, for ever.

Henry Aston, who died in 1736, bequeathed the sum of £20, the interest thereof to be applied in teaching the poorest children in the parish to read.

Thomas Pardoe, by will proved in 1802, gave the sum of £50, the interest thereof to be applied in the teaching of poor children to read whose parents were not rated either to the church or poor.

Sarah Pardoe also gave the sum of £50 in the year 1805, the interest to be disposed of in the same manner as the preceding charity.

Loughton is a chapelry and village in the parish of Chetton, nine miles north-east from Ludlow, which contains 851a. 3r. 14p. of land, the rateable value of which is £635. 1s. At the census of 1801 there were 130 inhabitants; 1831, 112; and in 1841, 19 houses and a population of 113 souls. The duke of Cleveland and Viscountess Boyne are the principal landowners. The chapel is a small fabric of free stone of unpretending appearance, exhibiting the style of architecture prevalent in the sixteenth century. The living is a curacy, subordinate to the rectory of Chetton.

Adams James, gardener

Adams Ann, schoolmistress

Baker John, Esq., Walsbatch

Broom George, shoemaker, Eudon Gorge

Corfield Cornelius, farmer, Eudon Gorge

Corfield Thomas, farmer and cider shop, Tedstill

Dallewy John, Esq., Lower House

Davies James, farmer, Hollicott and Cockshutt

Edmonds Joseph, farmer, Down House

Farmer Thomas, farmer, Lower Faintree

Fletcher Benjamin, farmer, The Bush

Foxall Harry Smith, farmer, Lower Faintree

Gordon Alexander, farmer, Eudon Burnall

Gratton John, miller, Eudon Gorge

Griffin Geo., relieving officer

Hall Edward, jun., farmer, The Drales

Harley Edw., farmer, Eudon Gorge

Herbert Rev. Richard, rector, The Rectory

Hinsley John, farmer, Little Cockshutt

Jones Thomas, shopkeeper

Jones William, shoemaker and beerseller, Old Field

Porter William, farmer and beerseller, Down

Porter William, wheelwright, Down

Purton Thos. Pardoe, Esq., banker, Faintree Hall

Reece Harriet, farmer, Criddon

Reynolds Wm., shoemaker and vict., Old Inn

Rudd John, farmer, Scotland

Smith James, farm bailiff, Tedstill

Taylor Thomas, farmer, Upper House

Wallace William, farmer, Hill Farm

Wall Thos., farmer, Archley

Walters Thos., miller, Down Mill

Yeardley Wm., blacksmith and farmer, Down

Loughton Directory.

Blakemore Jesse, farmer

Chatham William, farmer

Evans John, shoemaker

Hall Richard, farmer

Kitson Mary, farmer

Lawley John, farmer

Noakes Thomas, shopkeeper

CLEOBURY MORTIMER

is parish and market town in the Cleobury division of the hundred of Stottesden, situated 137 miles N.W. of London, thirty-three miles S.S.E. of Shrewsbury, eleven miles E. of Ludlow, and eight miles W. of Bewdley. It is divided into four quarters, viz.: Cleobury Town Liberty, West Foreign Liberty, East Foreign Liberty, and Doddington Liberty, which together contain 7,671 acres of land, of which 738 acres are in woodlands, 104a. 0r. 14p. of public roads, 2a. 2r. water, and 619a. 2r. 3p. in common lands and waste. Rateable value of the parish, £7,300. At the census in 1841 there were 364 houses and 1,730 inhabitants; population in 1801, 1,368; and in 1831, 1,716, William Lacon Childe, Esq., is lord of the manor. The principal landowners are the Earl of Craven; Sir Edward Blount, Bart.; W. L. Childe, Esq.; Charles Wickstead, Esq.; Mrs. Lucy Botfield; Beriah Botfield, Esq.; John Downes, Esq.; Richard and Henry Backhouse, Esq.; Trustees of Cleobury School; George James Compson, Esq.; Thomas Foxhall, Esq.; and Thomas Pardoe Purton, Esq., besides whom are a number of smaller freeholders. The tithes are commuted for £676. 12s. 6d., of which £602. 10s. is apportioned to the vicar of the parish, £34. 10s. to the Earl of Craven, and 12s. 6d. to William L. Childe, Esq.

The name of Cleobury Mortimer is said to be derived from its situation in a district abounding with clay, and from the Saxon word Byrig, a town, and the adjunct by which it is distinguished from North Cleobury is obtained from its ancient possessor, Ralph de Mortimer, who held it at the time of the general survey. The town principally consists of one long street extending from east to west, and contains several family mansions and good shops, in all the different branches of the retail trade. The labouring population are chiefly engaged in agricultural pursuits. There were formerly extensive ironworks in the vicinity, but these have now disappeared. There are two paper mills in the adjoining parish of Neen Savage, carried on by Mr. T. L. Hall. The Clee Hill collieries, about three miles west of the town, have of late been little wrought, though they contain extensive fields of good coal, ironstone, and limestone. This town is generally thought to have been the birth place of Robert Langlande, author of the “Vision of Pierce the Ploughman,” which was published in the year 1369. A strong castle which formerly stood in this place was entirely destroyed in the wars between Henry II. and his rebellious barons; it was built by Hugh de Mortimer.

The Church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is an ancient and venerable structure, built of rubble stone, probably about the 14th century. Hugh de Mortimer settled this church for part of the endowment of the Abbey of Wigmore, about the time of Henry II. The square tower, containing a peal of six musical bells, a clock, and two dials, is surmounted by an octagonal spire of wood painted white. The interior consists of nave, chancel, and side aisles, the latter is separated from the nave by five pointed arches on each side. The chancel is separated from the body of the church by a pointed arch. The western gallery contains a fine-toned organ, built by subscriptions about seven years ago, at a cost of £250. On the south side is a stained glass window, with the representation of Christ and the emblems of the crucifixion, and underneath are the words, “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd.” On the north side is a beautiful stained glass window in memory of Mary Ann, the wife of John Lynn Priest; and also a stained glass window containing figures of St. Anne and St. Mary the Virgin, erected in memory of Ann Golderby, who died in 1849. There are several marble tablets and tombs within the church, to the memory of deceased members of the various families in the neighbourhood. Within the entrance of the porch is the following epitaph to the memory of Honor Evans.

My days, alas! my mortal days, were short and wretched too: Evil and few, the patriarch says, and well the patriarch knew That death, like overflowing stream, sweeps all away; life’s but a dream, An empty tale, a morning flower, cut down and withered in an hour. Remember, Lord, man’s mortal state; how frail is life, how short the date, Where is the man that draws his breath, safe from disease, secure from death, For man, weak man is born to die, made up of guilt and vanity. Thy dreadful sentence, Lord, is just; return ye sinners to your dust.

The living of the church is a vicarage, valued in the king’s books at £12. 10s. 10d., in the patronage of William Lacon Childe, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Edward George Childe, M.A.

The Wesleyan Methodists have a small chapel in High street, built of brick. The Roman Catholics have also a chapel near Mawsley Hall, in this parish.

The Free School was founded and endowed by Sir Lacon William Childe, knt., in the year 1714, for the education of the youth of Cleobury Mortimer; for which purpose he gave by will, dated 28th of October, 1714, all his personal estate, undisposed of, to be put out at interest or to be invested in land for the maintenance of a master, to whom he gave £30 for ever to teach and instruct the children of the parish. By an order of the court of exchequer, dated 19th of June, 1735, it was ordered that £200 should be laid out in the building or purchasing a school and schoolhouse, and that the residue of the trust money should be laid out in the purchase of lands, the rents and profits thereof to be applied to the payment of £30 a year to the schoolmaster, buying English books for the scholars, repairing the school and schoolhouse, and putting out six or more poor children of the parish to husbandry, as the trustees should think fit. By a further order it was directed that the securities should be called in, and the money invested in the South Sea Annuities, which produced in 1742 the sum of £2,475. 6s. which with an outstanding mortgage of £100 constituted the whole of the testator’s personal estate. In 1751, the sum of £2,700 was expended in the purchase of 348a. 3r. 36p. of land, in the parish of Cleobury Mortimer, which is now let at a yearly rent of £343. There is also funded property consisting of £1,700 south sea annuities; £1,600 three per cent. consols; and a sum of £600 composed of surplus income, and £198. 16s. received for return of property tax. Of this fund £1000 three per cents were bequeathed to the trustees in 1810 by Mr. John Winwood, of Bristol, towards paying an usher to assist in teaching. The interest of these funds with the rents of land beforementioned amount to the sum of £463. 1s. 5d. per annum. Upwards of 160 children are now educated in the school, of whom twelve boys and twelve girls are annually clothed, and a fee is given yearly for the apprenticing of six or more poor scholars to some mechanical or agricultural pursuit. The head master is appointed by William Lacon Childe, Esq., of Kinlet, as representative of the founder, and receives £60 per annum, besides other perquisites; especially an allowance of 30s. per head for copy books, &c. The Rev. Henry Kemp, B.A. is the head master: James Birchall, second master.

The County Court for the recovery of debts, and in all pleas of personal action where the damage does not exceed £50, is held monthly at the Town’s Offices, in the Lower town. The several parishes and places within the jurisdiction of the court are Aston Botterel, Bayton, in Worcestershire, Cleobury Mortimer, Coreley, Farlow, in Herefordshire, Highley, Hopton Wafers, Kinlet, Loughton, Mamble, Milson, Neen Savage, Neen Solars, Rock, in Worcestershire, Silvington, Stottesden, and Wheathill. Judge, Uvedale Corbett, Esq., Aston Hall: Clerk, Samuel Phillips Southam, Esq.; Assistant Clerk, William Nichols: High Bailiff, William Cooke: Bailiff and Appraiser, William Farmer.

Cleobury Mortimer Union House is situated half a mile north-west of the church. The union comprises the following parishes, viz.:—Aston Botterel, Coreley, Farlow, Highley, Hopton Wafers, Kinlet, Loughton, Milson, Neen Savage, Neen Solars, Silvington, Stottesden and Wheathill, in the county of Salop; and Bayton, Rock and Mamble, in the county of Worcestershire. The union comprehends an area of upwards of 50,000 acres, or 88 square miles, and a population of 8,632 souls. Chairman to the Guardians, Sir Edward Blount, Bart.: Clerk, William Cooke, Esq.: Surgeon, Henry Vevers: Relieving Officer, Mr. William Wainwright: Master, Isaac Alfred Read: Matron, Sarah Read: Schoolmistress, Sarah Jones.

The Market Hall, situated near the church, is a modern erection of stone, in which the weekly market is held on Wednesday. Fairs are held on April 21st, May 2nd, first Monday after Whitsuntide, and October 27th, which are well attended. There is also a feast held the first Sunday after the 15th of August.

The Petty Sessions are held on the third Tuesday in each month, at the Towns Offices, in the lower town. There is a Lock-up in Church street, which was built of freestone in 1836; it is a small structure, containing two cells: Richard Roberts, police constable. The Excise Office is held at the Talbot Inn, where there is also a reading room, supported by annual subscription. There is a Circulating Library in Market street, of which Joseph Wainwright is the proprietor.

Cleobury Mortimer township and liberty contains 947a. 1r. 27p. of land, of which 315 acres are woodlands, 31a. 3r. 35p. are public roads, and 2a. 2r. are water. The soil is fertile and productive, and is watered by numerous fine springs, as well as the River Rea, which intersects the township, and is crossed by a bridge a short distance east of the village. At the census of 1851 the liberty contained 211 houses and 1,122 persons. The rent charge payable to the vicar is £131. William Lacon Childe, Esq., is lord of the manor, and holds a court leet and baron, at the Talbot Inn annually, in November; Mr. James Boucher is the steward.

Doddington liberty, situated two miles west of the parish church, at the census of 1851 had 87 houses and a population of 383 souls. It contains 2,878a. 6r. 19p. of land, of which 35a. 0r. 16p. are public road, and 619a. 2r. 3p. are moor, common, and waste, being part of the Clee Hill. The tithes are commuted, and £172 apportioned to the vicar of Cleobury Mortimer and £34. 10s. to the Earl of Craven. William Lacon Childe Esq., is lord of the manor.

The District Church, situated on the side of Clee Hill, was founded and endowed by the late Thomas Botfield, Esq., and his widow, Mrs. Lucy Botfield, of Hopton Court, who has invested the sum of £1,000 for the endowment, erected a parsonage house near the church, and given five acres of land. The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and built of stone, with a square tower, the site and building of which cost about £4,000. The living is a perpetual curacy in the patronage of Mrs. Botfield, and incumbency of the Rev. Henry Brown, M.A. There are several coal works on the Clee Hill in this township, carried on by Beriah Botfield, Esq. The townships in this liberty are Catherton, Ditton, Dudnell, Hill Houses, and Woodhouses, an extra parochial liberty, situated two miles from Cleobury.

The East Foreign Liberty, situated three miles from Cleobury Mortimer, contains 1,878a. 1r. 39p. of land, of which 17 acres are public roads, and 132 acres woods and plantations. The vicarial tithes are commuted for the sum of £121. W. L. Childe, Esq., is lord of the manor. The liberty contains the townships of Mawley and Weston.

Mawley Manor House, situated one mile S.E. of Cleobury Mortimer, is the seat and residence of Sir Edward Blount, Bart. The mansion is a commodious and handsome brick structure, with stone facings and mullions, and surrounded by a richly wooded park.

West Foreign Liberty, situated two miles from Cleobury, contains 1,312a. 1r. 24p. of land, of which 291 acres are woods and coppices, 20 acres public roads. The rent charge amounts to £122. 2s. 6d., of which the sum of £121. 10s. is apportioned to the lord of the manor. William Lacon Childe, Esq. This liberty, with that of East Foreign, contains 48 houses and a population of 242 souls.

Charities.—Sir William Lacon Childe, the founder of the free school previously noticed, also gave by will the sum of £100, the interest thereof to be distributed to the poor in bread every Sunday.

Richard Walker, gave by will, dated 1666, the sum of 1s. every Lord’s day and 2s. every Christmas day, to be distributed in bread to the poor of the parish of Cleobury Mortimer. This gift is paid out of certain lands in the parish.

It is stated on a tablet in the church that Benjamin Bateman, clerk, left £20, and Mrs. Joyce Cumber left £5, for teaching poor children to read. From a copy of part of the will of Mr. Bateman in the parish book it appears that the £20 given by him was to be disposed of by the vicar of Cleobury Mortimer and one Mr. Read in such a manner as they should think fit.

Henry Fox, by deeds of lease and release, dated 1743, reciting that his sister, Mary Fox, had by her will given £50, which she intended should be laid out in land, and the rents applied to teaching poor girls to read, conveyed to the vicar a field containing one acre, in trust, that he should raise yearly the sum of 54s., and pay the same to a poor woman of the parish to teach ten poor girls to read. Also German Fox, in 1775, bequeathed £50, the interest thereof to be applied towards teaching poor boys to read.

Near to Cleobury Mortimer is a large school room and school house annexed, usually called the Old School Premises, but now uninhabited and in complete decay. From an indenture dated 1727 it appears that these buildings were erected upon a piece of land belonging to John Meysey, Esq., by means of contributions raised among the neighbouring gentry, for the purpose of a school for the benefit of the children of the parish of Cleobury Mortimer.

The Post Office.—Mr. William Jeffries, postmaster, Church street. Letters arrive from Bewdley at 7-45 A.M., and are despatched at 4-30 P.M.

Adams George, carrier, High street

Ashwood Thomas, gardener, Market place

Baker Slade, Esq., Sandbourne

Birchall James, second master of Free School, Market street

Blount Sir Edward, Bart., Mawley Hall

Boucher James, Esq., Church street

Bourne James, Esq., Mawley town

Bourne James, Esq., The villas

Botfield Lucy, gentlewoman, Hopton court

Brown Rev. William Henry, M.A., Doddington Parsonage

Childe Rev. Ed. Geo., M.A., The Vicarage

Childe Wm. Lacon, Esq., Kinlet Park

Childe William Lacon, Esq., junr., Kinlet

Cocks Rev. Charles Richard Somers, M.A., Neen Savage Rectory

Cocksey Mr. Charles, Market street

Colerick William, inland revenue officer, High street

Cooke Mr. William, junr., High street

Crump Thomas, Esq., Chorley

Crump Thomas, Esq., jun., The Hall

Dorrell Benjamin, miller and farmer

Farmer Wm., parish clerk & perpetl. overseer

Hall Thomas Lambert, paper manufacturer

Hardwicke Rev. Thos., D.D., Milson Rectory

Harris Sarah, school teacher

Hayton Rev. John, Market street

Hulme Rev. Benjamin, Mawley

Jefferies William, postmaster, Church street

Jones James, carrier, Market street

Jones Sarah, school teacher

Jones William Weaver, gentleman, Market st

Kemp Rev. Henry, B.A., Grammar School

Lowe Arthur Charles, Esq., Court of Hill

Marcy Wm. Nicholls, solicitor, and agent to Shropshire Fire Office, Bewdley

Mytton Henry George, Esq.

Nichols Wm., county court clerk, Market st

Pardoe George, Esq., Nash court

Pope Benjamin David, Market place

Pope Thomas, gentleman, Market street

Read Isaac Alfred, M.A., Union house

Reynolds Mrs. Elizabeth, Church street

Roberts Richard, county police officer, Lower town

Southam Samuel Phillip, Esq., Market st

Tongue Mary, school teacher, Free School

Vevers Henry, gentleman, Lower town

Wainwright William, relieving officer

West Margaret, carrier, High street

Whatmore John, town crier, Church street

Whitcombe Edmund Bancks, gentleman, High street

Wickstead Charles, Esq., Skakenhurst

Woodward Mrs., Lower town

Woodward Rev. Thomas, M.A., Hopton Rectory

Academies.

Free School, Rev. Henry Kemp, principal; Birchall James, second master; Sarah Harris, mistress

Infant, Mary Tongue

Attorneys.

Backhouse Richard Onions, Lower town

Marcy William Nicholls, Lower town

Pope Benj. David, Market place

Southam Samuel Phillips, master extraordinary in chancery, coroner for the southern district of Shropshire, and clerk to the county court

Auctioneers and Valuers.

Backhouse Richard Onions, Lower town

Hill William, Lower town

Jones Lloyd, Lower town

Baker and Flour Dealer.

Price James, Market street

Blacksmiths.

Harris Thomas, Church st

Hay John, (& ironmonger), Market street

Potter Edward, Lower town

Webb Thomas, High street

Boot and Shoemakers.

Bodenham John, Market st

Breakwell Thos., The Hurst

Whatmore John, (& leather cutter), Church street

Wheeler James, Church st

Butchers.

Bright Edward, High street

Lloyd Thomas, (& farmer), Market place

Williams Thos., (& grazier) Market place

Coopers.

Knott John, High street

Simmonds Wm., Market pl

Chemist and Druggist.

Wainwright Joseph, Market place

Grocers and Tea Dealers.

Downes John, High street

Downes Thomas, (& provision dealer), Lower town

Eaton Robert, High street

Jefferies Wm., (& chandler), Church street

Wainwright Joseph, Market place

Williams Elizth., Church st

Yapp Thomas, Market pl

Hair Dresser.

Griffiths John, Lower town

Hotels, Inns, and Taverns.

Bell, Jas. Lane, Lower town

Crown, James Wm. Smith, High street

Fountain, Elizth. Williams, Church street

Fox Inn, Thomas Farmer, High street

King’s Arms, commercial inn and spirit vaults, Benjamin Taylor, Church st

Lion, Thomas Worrall, Church street

Plough, Jas. Wood, High st

Swan, Benjamin Dorrell, Church street

Talbot Hotel, and commercial inn & posting house, Wm. Dorrell, Market pl

Beer and Cider Retailers.

Eaton Robert, High street

Wadeley James, Lower town

Whetstone Wm., High st

Butter and Cheese Dealer.

Yapp Thomas, (& dealer in corn), Market place

Joiners and Builders.

Hare Thomas, High street

Hardy Edwin, (upholsterer and & bell hanger), Church street

Smith John, High street

Land Agents.

Boucher James, Church st

Bourn James, junr., Mawley town

Linen and Woollen Drapers and Silk Mercers.

Downes Wm., Market place

Mytton James, Market pl

Maltsters.

Beddoe Charles, (and hop merchant), Church street

Wheeler Wm., (and corn miller), Lower town

Milliners and Dressmakers.

Dallow Jane, (fancy repository and hosiery), Market place

Wright Elizth., Church st

Paper Manufacturer.

Hall Thomas Lambert, Neen Savage

Painters, Plumbers, & Glaziers.

Hume Benjamin and Sons, (& paperhanger), Market place

Hume Benj., Lower town

Hume James, Union road

Napper William, High st

Saddlers and Harness Makers.

Littler Wm., Market place

Palmer Samuel, Market pl

Shopkeepers and Dealers in Groceries and Sundries.

Allen Rebecca, High street

Beddoe Ann, High street

Farmer Thomas, High st

Keysall Edward, Market pl

Whetstone William, High st

Skinner and Woolstapler.

Dallow James, High street

Stone Masons.

Haberley Wm., Lower town

Hare Thomas, High street

Potter James, Lower town

Surgeons.

Jones Wm. Weaver, Markt. st

Pope Thomas, Market pl

Vevers Henry, Lower town

Whitcombe Edmund Bancks, High street

Surveyors.

Dallow Wm. Aloysius, (land and road), Mortimer pl

Hill William, (land), Lower town

Tailors.

Mytton James, Market st

Pennington George, Lower town

Potter George, Lower town

Tinman and Brazier and Ironmonger.

Evans John, Market street

Watch and Clock Maker.

Stockall Thomas, Market st

Wheelwrights.

Merrick John, Lower town

Williams Thos., Market st

Carriers.

To Birmingham—From the King’s Arms (Cleobury Mortmr.), passing through Bewdley, Kidderminster, and Hales Owen, to the Swan with Two Necks, Birmingham, every Monday, Benjamin Taylor, proprietor

To Bewdley—James Jones, Mondays and Saturdays

To Kidderminster—Geo. Adams, Saturdays

To Ludlow—Margt. West, Mondays

CLEOBURY NORTH

is a small village in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden hundred, on the turnpike road from Bridgnorth to Ludlow, eight miles south-west from the former, and eleven miles north-east from the latter. The parish contains 1,560 acres of land, of which 461 acres are in waste and commons. At the census of 1801 there were 136 inhabitants; 1831, 187; and in 1841, 33 houses and a population of 176 souls. Rateable value, £1,001. 14s. 6d. The principal landowners are the Rev. J. Knight, H. G. Mytton, Esq., the Earl of Powis, and Mr. John Hinksman; and the Corporation of Ludlow are also proprietors. The Church is dedicated to St. Peter, and consists of nave, chancel, and south aisle, with a short tower in which are two bells. The windows exhibit the style of architecture which prevailed during the reign of Henry VII.: in other parts are traces of the Norman character. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s book at £5. 12s. 3d., in the patronage of the Mytton family; incumbent, Rev. John R. Webb. The tithes are commuted for £149. 9s.; and there are 75 acres of glebe land, of the annual value of £60. The rectory is a good residence, almost surrounded with water, and has a very picturesque appearance, not far from which are the towering heights of the Brown Clee Hill. The church has recently been restored and beautified, at the expense of the landowners and the principal residents. A fine toned organ has been added, at a cost of £120, which was raised by the interest and exertions of the present incumbent. Cleobury Hall, the residence of Henry George Mytton, Esq., and the Misses Mytton, is a handsome mansion of free stone, erected by the grandfather of the present proprietor; it is beautified with pleasure grounds and shrubberies, and surrounded with fine scenery.

Directory.—Henry George Mytton, Esq., Cleobury Hall; The Misses Mary Ann, Harriette, Ann, and Frances Mytton, Cleobury Hall; Launcelot Dixon, joiner; Thomas Green, farmer and corn miller; John Minton, yeoman; John Miles farmer; William Powell, farmer; Jeremiah Sambrook, farmer; Rev. John R. Webb, the Rectory.

CORELEY

is a parish and small village four and a half miles N.N.E. from Tenbury, containing 2,173a. 3r. 9p. of land, of which 877a. 2r. 6p. are common lands. The rateable value of the parish is £2,266. 10s.: gross estimated rental, £2,624. 3s. 6d. At the census of 1841 there were 112 houses, and 525 souls; population in 1801, 458; and in 1831, 553. The principal landowners are the Earl of Craven, John Pritchard, Esq., W. S. Davenport, Esq., Mrs. Lucy Botfield, and Miss Compson; besides whom there are several smaller proprietors. There are coal works in this parish, carried on by Beriah Botfield, Esq. The Church, dedicated to St. Peter, is built of brick, and has a square tower, surmounted by a spire of wood. The interior is neatly pewed with oak. The pulpit is carved, and has the date of 1648. On the south wall is a tablet to the memory of William Coling, of Coreley, dated 1657. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s books at £5. 5s. 8d.; patron and incumbent, Rev. Walter Haliburton, M.A. The tithe is commuted for £168. There are 65 acres of glebe land in the parish.

Directory.—William Adams, farmer, Hince; William Bishop, blacksmith; Samuel Brown, wheelwright; Benjamin Bytheway, shoemaker and shopkeeper; George Corfield, farmer, Brick House; James Davies, Esq., banker, Church stile; William Davies, farmer; Rev. Walter Haliburton, M.A., rector, the Rectory; William Honeybourn, vict., the Poplar; Jeremiah Jeffries, farmer; John Kay, farmer; Edwin Wall, vict., the Colliers Arms; John Webb, shoemaker; Richard Wyer, farmer, New Barn.

DEUXHILL

a small parish in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden hundred, contains 683 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £471. The principal landowners are the Rev. Mr. Haden, Mrs. Deenton, and the Rev. Richard Herbert; besides whom there are a few smaller proprietors. At the census in 1801 there were 30 inhabitants; and in 1841, eight houses and a population of 45 souls. The village is pleasantly situated on the Bridgnorth end Cleobury Mortimer turnpike road, four and a half miles S.S.W. from the former town. The Church is a small structure, consisting of nave and chancel, with a small turret, in which is one bell. Over the porch is the date 1668. A neat tablet remembers John Lewis, who died in 1804, and his wife Frances, who died in 1809. The living is a rectory, annexed to that of Chetton: incumbent, Rev. Richard Herbert.

The principal residents are Charles Birkin, farmer; Mary Ann Birkin, farmer; Mary Jenkins, schoolmistress; Thomas Stonyer, corn miller, Horsford.

DOWLES,

a small parish in the Cleobury division of the hundred of Stottesden, situated one mile north of Bewdley, contains 1080 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £1130. 10s., and gross estimated rental £1300. In 1841 there were nine houses and eighty persons; population in 1801, fifty-seven; 1831, sixty-two. The Misses Taylors are ladies of the manor and the principal landowners, Mr. James Taylor, Rev. Joseph Fletcher, and others are also proprietors. The word Dowles comes from the British Dôl, which signifies a bottom surrounded with hills, or perhaps from the Saxon Doelar, to divide, as it is on the extreme border of the county, a small brook dividing it from Worcestershire. It is situated on the bank of the river Severn and surrounded with beautiful scenery. The Bewdley Gas Works are in this parish, and the manufacture of bricks and tiles is carried on extensively here.

The Church, dedicated to St. Andrew, stands in a sequestered situation near the Severn. It is built of brick and has a small turret; the interior consists of nave and chancel and the fittings are neat and appropriate. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £4, in the patronage of the Misses Taylor, and incumbency of the Rev. J. Fletcher, B.A. The tithes are commuted for £120. There are two acres of glebe land.

Charities.—An old parish book records benefactions to the poor between the year 1636 and 1710 to the amount of £13. 10s., which in the year 1786 was applied towards the rebuilding of the church, the rent of one of the pews thereof being given to the poor in consideration of this sum, which was regularly distributed till the year 1800, when a new minister of the parish opposed the further letting of any pews and ordered them to be thrown open to the public.

Directory.—Samuel Hill Crocket, farmer; William Downing, farmer; Rev. Joseph Fletcher, B.A., The Parsonage; Benjamin Jeffries, parish clerk and overseer and inspector of the Bewdley police; James Lawley, farmer; William Meredith, farmer; and Thomas Perry, farmer.

GLAZELEY

is a parish and village situated on the Bridgnorth and Ludlow turnpike road, three and a half miles S.S.W. from the former town. This parish is in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden hundred, and contains 636 acres of land. At the census in 1801 there were 31 inhabitants; 1831, 47, and in 1841 eight houses and 38 souls. Thomas Whitmore Wylde Browne, Esq., is lord of the manor and owner of the land. Adjoining the church-yard is a mound or tumulus. The Church is a small unpretending structure of brick, consisting of nave and chancel, and will accommodate about eighty persons. In the chancel is a tablet in memory of Edmund Wylde, Esq., who died in 1695. On the floor is brass, in a good state of preservation, with two full length figures and six children, commemorative of Thomas and Elizabeth Wylde and their children; it is dated 1599. The living is a rectory annexed to that of Chetton, enjoyed by the Rev. Richard Herbert. The parsonage house is a neat brick residence on the south side of the church-yard. The Woodlands, a handsome stone mansion, the seat and property of T. W. Wylde Browne, Esq., is surrounded by a finely timbered park, and commands extensive views of the surrounding country.

The principal residents are Thomas Whitmore Wylde Browne, Esq., J.P., Woodlands; and Edward Brown, farmer.

HIGHLEY

is a parish and pleasant rural village near the western bank of the Severn, seven miles S.S.E. of Bridgnorth, situated on an eminence commanding fine views of the surrounding country, and noted for its extensive orchards and the excellency of its cider, which is made to a considerable extent in this locality. There are several quarries of superior stone in the parish. At the census of 1841 there were 88 houses and 360 inhabitants; population in 1801, 274, and in 1831, 404. Highley contains 1,527a. 1r. 7p. of land, of which 780 acres are arable, 570 acres meadow and pasture, and 40 acres are woodlands, the rateable value of which is £1,128. 3s. 4d; gross estimated rental, £1,929. 18s. 6d. The tithes are commuted for £225. 1s. 6d. William Jordin, Esq., is lord of the manor and principal landowner, besides whom Mr. John Crane, Rev. Samuel Du Pre, Mr. Easthope, Mr. Thomas Fenn, Mr. J. H. Windle, Mr. Daniel Jordin, Mr. Levi Jordin, Mr. Thomas Jordin, and Mr. George Peplow, are proprietors.

The Church, dedicated to St. Mary, is built of free stone, with square tower, in which is four bells. It consists of nave, chancel, and has a gallery on which is placed a small organ. The Rev. Samuel Burrows is the patron, and the Rev. Samuel Du Pre, incumbent. The living is a vicarage valued in the king’s book at £5. 19s. 2d. Some portion of the land is tithe free, the rest has been commuted and apportioned as follows:—To the vicar the sum of £115. 10s.; to Mr. Jordin, £89. 11s.; to the Rev. P. Haslewood, £19, and to Thomas Lowe, £1. The vicar has 89a. 3r. 2p. of glebe land.

Charities.—Richard Lowe gave the sum of £10 by will in 1579; George Harris, in 1607, gave £1. 6s. 8d.; and Giles Rawlins, by will, in 1677, gave £5, to be employed for the use and benefit of the poor of the parish of Highley. With this money land was purchased containing two acres, on which two cottages have been built, and the rents have been given to the poor of the parish in bread every Sunday. Thomas Getton, Esq., in 1808, gave £5. 10s., the interest thereof to be distributed in bread to the poor of the parish on Christmas day.

Directory.—Decimus Burrows, farmer, Church Hill; William Burrows, farmer, Rea Farm; John Davies, shopkeeper; Rev. Samuel Du Pre, The Vicarage; William Easthope, farmer, Haylewells; William Evans, builder; Thomas Fenn, farmer, Dustley; George Gough, shopkeeper; William Thomas Homer, schoolmaster; Martha Hughes, beer and cider retailer; Daniel Jordin, miller and farmer; Levi Jordin, farmer; Thomas Jordin, farmer, Netherton House; William Jordin, Esq., New House; William Jordin, farmer, Highley House; William Kirk, shopkeeper and quarry owner; John Kirkham, vict., The Ship; William Lloyd, shoemaker; John Oakley, farm bailiff; William Pritchard, blacksmith; Richard Tomlinson, farmer, The Heath; William Walford, shoemaker; Benjamin Williams, tailor.

HOPE BAGGOT,

a small parish five miles east by south of Ludlow, containing 650 acres of land, in 1841 had 21 houses and 75 inhabitants; population in 1801, 94; 1831, 62. The tithes of this parish have been commuted for £75. In the 22nd of Richard II., William de Hulle held half a knight’s fee here under the Earl of March, which was formerly possessed by Robert Baggard, from whom this place took its name. The principal landowners are Benjamin Giles, Esq., Mrs. Lucy Botfield, Mrs. J. Hooley, and Mr. Richard Bray. The Church, dedicated to St. John, is a small stone edifice, capable of accommodating 63 persons. The interior consists of nave and chancel, in the latter of which is a tablet to the memory of Benjamin Giles, Esq., dated 1795, and another to the memory of Benjamin Giles, Esq., dated 1813. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s books at £3. 6s. 8d., now returned at £90; in the patronage of the Duke of Cleveland, and incumbency of the Rev. David Jones. Directory.—Richard Bray, farmer; Edward Downes, shoemaker; Benjamin Giles, Esq., Hope Court; Mrs. Jemima Hooley; Rev. David Jones, the Rectory; and James Geo. Lewis, Esq., Hope Villa.

HOPTON WAFERS

is a parish and pleasantly situated village on the Cleobury Mortimer and Ludlow turnpike road, 9 miles from the latter place. It contains 1,610a. 3r. 26p. of land, of which 22a. 3r. 18p. are roads; 236a. 3r. 26p. common; and 60a. are in woods and plantations. In 1851 there were 94 inhabited houses, 20 uninhabited, and 444 inhabitants; population in 1801, 392; 1841, 481. There were formerly three paper mills in this parish. Hopton Wafers is remarkable as giving a singular instance of longevity in William Hyde, who resided in this place, and lived to the advanced age of 106 years, and at the time of his decease in 1798, had sons upwards of eighty years old. The principal landowner is Mrs. Lucy Botfield, who is also lady of the manor; the trustees of Ludlow charities, trustees of Palmer’s charities, and the rector are also proprietors. Rent charge, £186. 12s. There are 83a. 1r. 21p. of glebe land. The Church is a fine gothic structure, built of free stone, having a square tower with pinnacles at the angles. In consists of north and south aisles and chancel, and has a gallery, in which is a small organ. On the altar is represented in statuary a Bible opening to the Ten Commandments, and on each side of the window are marble scrolls with the Creed and Lord’s Prayer engraved thereon. The church is dedicated to St. Mary, and the patronage is vested in Mrs. Lucy Botfield, incumbent, Rev. Thomas Woodward. The Primitive Methodists have a chapel, built in the year 1837.

Directory.—Joseph Allen, blacksmith; Mrs. Lucy Botfield, Hopton Court; John Bishop, farmer, Bank House; John Caldwell, tailor; Thomas Caldwell, tailor; John Dolphin, farmer and beer retailer; William Edwards, schoolmaster; William Farr, blacksmith; Richard Hatton, wheelwright; William Highfield, farmer; Eliza Hyde, schoolmistress; Thomas Hyde, shoemaker; William Hyde, shoemaker; William Jones, farmer, Little Shote; Thomas Page, farmer, Roch Head; William Radnor, farmer, Sproseley; Thomas Ree, farmer, White House; William Steed, stone mason; William Thatcher, farmer, Great Shote; John Whitehead, vict., the Crown and farmer; Rev. Thomas Woodward, M.A., the Rectory.

KINLET

is a parish in the Cleobury division of the Stottesden hundred, embracing the townships of Kinlet and Earnwood, and contains 6,692 acres of land, of which 1,079 are in woods, plantations and water; and 30 acres in public roads. Population in 1801, 602; 1831, 532; 1841, 480; at the latter period there were 98 houses. Rateable value, £5,760. 19s. 8d. The soil is various; in some parts a strong loam, and in other places a light soil prevails. The meadow land produces a rich herbage. William Lacon Childe, Esq., is lord of the manor, and the principal landowner. John White, Esq., Rev. Edward George Childe, Esq., George Crump, Esq., and Mr. William Rudd are also proprietors. The village of Kinlet is delightfully situated in a luxuriant district, five miles north from Cleobury Mortimer, and eight miles south from Bridgnorth. The township is intersected by the Bridgnorth, Cleobury Mortimer, and Bewdley turnpike roads, and a portion of the land stretches to the Severn side. This locality is richly timbered, and the high grounds commands some fine views of the surrounding country. At the census of 1841 there were 45 houses, mostly scattered, and a population of 227 souls, within the bounds of this township.

The Church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a venerable cruciform structure, situated near the mansion in Kinlet Park: it has a lofty square tower containing six bells. The interior has a very chaste and elegant appearance, and the Saxon or early Norman arches of the nave bespeak its antiquity. The structure was repaired and beautified in the year 1814, when the east window was restored, at the sole expense of Mr. Childe; it is richly adorned with armorial bearings and figures in stained glass. The altar is of oak exquisitely carved. On the south side of the church is an altar tomb, with the figures of a knight and two ladies in a recumbent position; the male figure is in steel armour, and remembers Sir William Childe, Knight; his feet rest on a lion couchant. On the north side is a tomb with two full length figures, in memory of Sir William Childe and his lady, dated 1678. There is also a beautiful marble tomb, with a rich canopy, having the figures of a knight and his lady, in a kneeling position, with those of a boy and a girl between them; it has the date of 1584. There is also the figure of a knight in a recumbent posture, in memory of George Blount, formerly lord of Kinlet, who died in 1581. Several elegant marble tablets, some of which are very chastely designed, have been erected to the memory of various members of the Childe family, of Kinlet Hall. The living is a vicarage valued in the king’s book at £8. 2s. 4d., now returned at £360 in the patronage of William Lacon Childe, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Edward George Childe, M.A.; officiating minister, Rev. Edward Prest, M.A. The tithes have been commuted, and £322 apportioned to the vicar, and £3. 7s. 6d. to the impropriator, the lord of the manor. There are 45a. 0r. 16p. of glebe land. A neat school and residence for the teachers was built in the year 1844, by William Lacon Childe, Esq., by whose munificence and that of the incumbent it is entirely supported.

Kinlet Park, the seat and property of William Lacon Childe, Esq., J.P., is a stately mansion of considerable extent, built in 1789, near the site of a former mansion, which was taken down. It stands on a gentle eminence in a delightful park, commanding views of great diversity and beauty. The pleasure grounds are tastefully laid out, and kept in the most admirable order, and the park is well timbered and beautifully picturesque. A magnificent avenue stretches across the grounds. The park contains 456 acres of land, besides which there are 1,076 acres covered with woods, plantations, and water. W. L. Childe, Esq., at the present time has upwards of 4,000 acres of land in his own hands. A feast is held at Kilnet on the first Sunday after Midsummer day. Cider is made to a considerable extent in this neighbourhood.

Childe Wm. Lacon, Esq., J. P., Kinlet Park

Barker Henry, farmer, Winnell

Beach Henry, farmer, Rotton row

Boucher James, Esq., steward & land agent

Chappell John, butler

Childe Rev. Edward George, The Hall

Childe William Lacon, Esq., junr.

Deverell Mr. William, farm steward

Elcock John, farmer, Winwoods

George George, farmer, Fastings

Hall John, farmer, Severn lodge

Jones William, Tip house

Jones William, farmer, Tip house

Lawley James, farmer, Norton’s end

Lawley John, farmer, Birch

Lawley Joseph, farmer, Button bridge farm

Lawley Thomas, blacksmith

Okey Edward, farmer

Pearson John, forrester and gardener

Pitt Hannah, school mistress

Pountney Charles, farmer, Catsley hall

Pountney Richard, farmer, Tilley grove

Prest Rev. Edward, The Vicarage

Reynolds Thomas, farmer, Braidley

Rhodes Richards, farmer and vict., Eagle and Serpent Inn

Rolf John, coachman

Rudd William, farmer, Hall of Hammons

Ward John, wheelwright

Whitehead John, park and gamekeeper

MIDDLETON SCRIVEN

is a parish and small rural village, in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden Hundred, five miles S.W. from Bridgnorth. The parish contains 786a. 0r. 16p. of land, the soil mostly a strong marl, producing wheat, barley, and turnips. The village is watered by two small streams, and in 1801 contained 80 inhabitants; 1831, 99; 1841, 108: at the latter period there were twenty houses. The principal landowners are the Rev. Thomas Rowley, D.D., and the Rev. F. S. Bolton; the former is lord of the manor. There are also several smaller freeholders. Gross estimated rental of the parish, £903. 16s.; rateable value, £827. 9s. The Church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was almost entirely rebuilt in 1845 by the present worthy rector. It consists of nave and chancel, and is neatly fitted up with oak sittings; several of the windows are beautified with stained glass, which gives the interior a very chastened and pleasing appearance. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £4. 6s. 8d., now returned at £150 in the patronage and incumbency of the Rev. Thomas Rowley, D.D. The rectory is a good residence a little south from the church.

Directory.—The Rev. Thomas Rowley, D.D., The Rectory; Joseph Brown, farmer, The Vicarage House; Richard Giles, joiner; Thomas Hall, junr., farmer, The Cave; Richard Lane, wheelwright; James Lock, draining contractor; John Tongue, farmer and shopkeeper; Silas Webley, farmer; William Wellings, blacksmith.

MORVILLE

is a parish in the Chelmarsh division of the hundred of Stottesden, three miles N.W. of Bridgnorth, and five miles S.E. of Much Wenlock. At the Doomsday survey it was written Membrefelde, and was granted by William the Conqueror to Roger de Montgomery. The parish contains 2,778 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £4299. 5s. 2d. The principal landowners are Sir John E. D. Acton, Bart., and Lord Sudeley; Mrs. Thursby, Lord Forester, and Thomas C. Whitmore, Esq., M.P., are also proprietors. At the census of 1841 Morville contained eighty houses and 412 inhabitants; population in 1801, 415; in 1831, 517. The parish is intersected by the Bridgnorth and Much Wenlock turnpike road, and watered by the Mar brook.

The Church, dedicated to St. Gregory, was rebuilt in the year 1118, on an old Saxon foundation, and formed a part of the possessions of Salop abbey. The interior contains nave, chancel, and side aisles, the latter is separated from the body by three arches on each side. The structure is neatly pewed, and will accommodate 294 persons. In the family seat of the Acton’s is a tablet to the memory of Sir Edward Acton, Bart., who departed this life September 28th, 1716, aged 64 years. The living is a perpetual curacy in the patronage of Lord Sudeley, and incumbency of the Rev. George Leigh Wasey, M.A. The chapelry of Aston Eyre is annexed to this church. The tithes have been commuted, and £645 apportioned to Lord Sudeley, and £21 to Sir John E. D. Acton.

The Roman Catholics have a neat chapel near Aldenham Hall, which was built about the year 1836 by Lady Granville, and will accommodate near 200 persons. The interior has a chaste and elegant appearance. The east window is of stained glass, having a beautiful representation of our Saviour. In the chapel is a marble tablet to the memory of Sir Richard Ferdinand Acton, Bart., who died at Paris, January 31st, 1837, aged 35 years. The Rev. Francis Ruiz is the priest.

Aldenham Hall, a handsome stone mansion, the seat and property of Sir John E. D. Acton, Bart., situated four miles north-east from Bridgnorth, was built in the year 1691. It is approached by a fine avenue of lofty elms, and surrounded by a park of 170 acres. The owner of the mansion and estate is now a minor

Charities.—Thomas Burte, by will, dated 30th January, 1631, gave the sum of £100 to Walter Acton, Esq., of Morville, to the intent that he should add thereto the like sum of £100, and should lay out the whole £200 in the purchase of land for the use of the poor people of the parish of Morville. The money was expended in the year 1635 in the purchase of fifteen acres of land in the parish of Claverley, to which was added 2a. 1r. 19p. of land in 1812 on the Enclosure of the common of Morfe. The whole of the land is now let at a yearly rent of £20, one half of which is paid to the perpetual curate of Morville, and the other half is distributed among the poor

On the benefaction table it is stated that John Mousall gave 10s. per annum to the poor of Morville, to be expended in the purchase of Bibles, which sum is charged upon an estate at the Reilth, in the parish of Mainstine.

It is further stated on the benefaction table that Arthur Weaver gave to the poor at Morville on every Sunday sixpenny loaves, which is charged upon an estate in this parish, which formerly belonged to that family.

John Guest, by will, dated 1,773, directed his son and executor, John Guest, junr., to distribute the interest of £10 to such of the poor of the parish of Morville as he should think the greatest objects of charity. The interest of this sum, with another sum of £5 said to have been left by Richard Geary, and £20 left by the aforesaid John Guest, in 1797, has been regularly distributed in bread to the poor of the parish.

Aston Eyre, a chapelry in the parish of Morville, four miles N.E. of Bridgnorth, contains 1,200 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £1,111. At the census of 1841 it had 23 houses and 130 inhabitants; population in 1801, 106, and in 1831, 120. The landowners in this chapelry are Sir John E. D. Acton, Bart., Lord Sudeley, and St. John C. Charlton, Esq. The chapel was built in the year 1147, and endowed by Robert Fitz Aber, with sixty acres of land, the title deeds of which are still extant. Over the door on entering the chapel is a tympanum of antique workmanship, representative of our Saviour entering Jerusalem on an ass. The chapel is built of stone, and contains nave and chancel, which is separated from the body by a pointed arch. There is accommodation for 76 persons. The living is subordinate to that of Morville.

Acton Sir John E. D., Bart., Aldenham Hall

Backhouse Henry O., farmer & auctioneer

Braithwaite John, farmer, Haughton

Brown Mary & Sons, blacksmith

Brown Sarah, farmer, The Croft

Bryant Michl., miller & gardener, Aldenham

Clarke John, farmer, The Croft

Cureton Thomas, farmer, Bridgwalton

Downes John, farmer, and wine & spirit mer

Dutertre Rev. Peter, (Catholic), The Priory

Elcock Wm., miller & farmer, Ley mill

Fortel Rev. Thomas, (Catholic), The Priory

Green John, miller and farmer, Harpswood

Henbury Charles, farmer, The Hurst

Meredith James, farmer, Underton

Oliver William, farmer, Bridgwalton

Panter Charles, farm bailiff, Croft

Reece Edwin, farmer, Harpsford

Reynolds Joseph, farmer, Underton

Richards Rev. Fred., B.A., curate, Morville Hall

Rudd The Misses, farmers, The Croft

Ruiz Rev. Frances, O.M.C., (Catholic), The Priory

Russell Thomas, farm bailiff

Taylor Thomas, farmer & vict., Acton’s Arms

Trudeau Rev. Alex., (Catholic), The Priory

Wadlow Charles, farmer, The Hurst

Wasey Rev. George Leigh, M.A., incumbent, The Knowle Sands

Wall Francis, shoemaker and shopkeeper

Williams Charles, steward to Sir J. E. D. Acton, Bart., Morville Hall

Willis Joseph, farmer, Morville Hall

Aston Eyre Directory.

Beddoes Mr. George, Aston Cottage

Corser William, farmer

Embrey William, farmer

Gittings Richard, farmer

Taylor Thomas, farm bailiff

Wall Hercules, farmer

NEEN SAVAGE

is a parish in the Cleobury division of the hundred of Stottesden, one mile north-west from Cleobury, situated in a sequestered valley watered by the River Rea. It contains 3,690 acres of land, and had at the census of 1841, 99 houses and 490 inhabitants; population in 1801, 469; 1831, 450. The landowners in the parish are the Rev. Charles Richard Somers Cocks, M.A.; William Lacon Childe, Esq.; C. B. Ogle, Esq.; Robert Hinckesman, Esq.; and a few smaller proprietors. There are two paper mills in this parish, in the occupancy of Mr. Thomas Lambert Hall. The tithe of this parish is commuted for £420. The Church is an ancient gothic edifice of stone, consisting of nave and chancel, and will accommodate 300 persons. It was appropriated to the Abbey of Wigmore, by Hugh de Mortimer, immediately after the finishing of that abbey. It is rated in the king’s books at £6. In 1630, the advowson of Neen Savage, now worth £445, was sold for only £80. On the 19th of January, 1825, the wooden spire of the church was struck with lightning and burnt to the tower; the roof was much injured, and the bells were melted and fell to the bottom of the tower, and but for the exertions of the surrounding inhabitants, the whole edifice would soon have been in ruins. There are seven acres of glebe land in the parish. The Lord Chancellor is patron of the living; and the Rev. Charles R. Somers Cocks, M.A., is the vicar.

Charities.—Richard Edwards, by will, gave the sum of £400, in trust, that the same should be laid out in land, and the rents and profits thereof paid to some good schoolmaster to teach twenty poor boys of the parish of Neen Savage. In 1732 the sum of £285 was applied in the purchase of 17 acres of land in Stottesden parish, which is now let at a rent of £35. The remainder of the money was placed out at interest until some opportunity may offer of making an advantageous purchase in land.

Richard Hinckesman, Esq., by will, dated 1780, charged certain lands in this parish with the payment of 6s. 8d. annually, for a sermon; and 13s. 4d. to be given to 10 poor widows annually.

John Longmore, by will, dated November 7th, 1835, gave the sum of £500, to be invested in government securities; the interest, dividends, and produce thereof to be expended in bread, and distributed to the most deserving poor of the parish every Sunday morning after Divine service. The aforesaid £500 was invested on the eighth day of March, 1839, in the purchase of £538. 7s. 2d. in the three per cent. consols, in the name of the vicar and churchwardens.

Bluck Samuel, farmer, Stepple Hall

Cleeton William, farm bailiff, Stone House

Cocks, Rev. Charles Richard Somers, vicar, the Vicrge.

Corbett Michael, farmer, Nethercott

Dallow John, castrator

Dorrall James, farmer, Wyer

Edmonds John, farmer, Wall Town

Hall Thomas Lambert, jun., paper manufacturer

Meredith Joseph, farmer, Rea Side

Minton Josh, farmer, Upper Beavney

Moore Thomas, blacksmith

Nisbett, Rev. Mr.

Preece John, farmer

Reynolds Thomas, farmer, Upper Beavney

Stephens Francis, farmer, Bank Top

Ward William, schoolmaster

Ward Elizh., schoolmistress

Weston Thomas, farmer

Wheeler George, farmer

Wheeler Joseph, miller

Whooton Thomas, farmer, the Lodge

Worrall John, farmer, Nash

Worrall Thomas, farmer, Elcott

NEENTON

is a parish and township in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden hundred, situated on the western bank of the River Rea, near the foot of the Brown Clee Hill, and six and a half miles south-west from Bridgnorth. The parish contains 1,000 acres of land, and is intersected by the Ludlow and Bridgnorth turnpike road. The land has mostly a strong soil, tolerably productive. In 1801 there were 120 inhabitants; 1831, 130; and in 1841, 29 houses and a population of 144 souls. The principal landowners are Henry Lyster, Esq.; John Minton, Esq.; Rev. J. F. Benwell, and Mr. T. Edwards; besides whom there are several smaller freeholders. The Church is an inconsiderable structure of brick, consisting of nave and chancel, with a turret in which are two bells. The living is a vicarage, rated in the king’s book at £5. 3s. 6½d., now returned at £196: patron and incumbent, Rev. John Frederick Benwell. The Vicarage is a neat brick residence, situated a short distance from the church.

Directory.—James Amiss, wheelwright; Rev. John Frederick Benwell, The Vicarage; William Childs, farmer, The Park; Richard Cleeton, wheelwright and beerhouse keeper; Richard Dodd, farmer, The Hay; George Edwards, butcher; George Edwards, farmer; Edward Hall, farmer, The Hall; John Hodnett, tailor and vict., New Inn; William Massey, farmer, The Bank; John Medlicott, farmer.

OLDBURY

is a parish and village in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden hundred, situated about a mile S.S.W. from Bridgnorth. The village is on a gentle eminence, and contains some respectable family residences, and is surrounded by scenery of the most picturesque and romantic character. The parish comprises upwards of 1,400 acres of land, and is bounded on the east by the River Severn, and intersected by the Bridgnorth, Ludlow, and Cleobury Mortimer turnpike roads. At the census in 1801 there were 107 inhabitants; 1831, 126; and in 1841, 28 houses, and a population of 142 souls. The Church is a plain structure, dedicated St. Nicholas, consisting of nave and chancel, with a tower partly composed of wood. The interior is neatly pewed, and the nave is separated from the chancel by a carved oak screen. The Rev. Joseph Woolley, rector of this place 51 years, is remembered on a neat tablet dated 1728. There are also tablets to members of the families of Dethic, Beech, Hincksman, and others. The living is a rectory, rated in the king’s book at £5, now returned at £254, in the patronage of the Lord Chancellor: incumbent, Rev. John Purton, M.A. There are 16½ acres of glebe land. Sir John E. D. Acton, Bart. is the principal landowner, and lord of the manor. Mr. Nicholas Edwards and the Rev. John Purton are also proprietors. The Rectory is a good residence, situated near the church.

Charities.—Mrs. Mary Harris left by her will £5 for the poor of the parish. The time of this bequest is not mentioned; but in April, 1770, it appears that the principal and interest then amounted to £10. No application of this legacy seems to have been made to the use of the poor for a period of upwards of fifty years. About thirty years ago the principal and interest were paid over by Mr. Thomas Farmer, and invested in the stock; the money so invested produced a sum of £57. 12s. stock in the three per cent. consols; the dividends of which are yearly distributed among the poor.

The Rev. Thomas Littleton, by his will, dated 17th September, 1792, gave to the minister and churchwardens or Oldbury the sum of £10, upon trust, to pay the interest among the poor who frequent the service of the church. The personal property of Mr. Littleton passed into the hands of his executor, Richard Green, and eventually into those of his brother, Jonathan Green, who became embarrassed in his circumstances. The property had been sold when the Charity Report was published, and it was expected that this, with other claims, would soon be liquidated.

Directory.—John Bentley, butcher, Crosshouses; Samuel Bentley, farmer; Edmund F. Bowen, farmer and beerhouse keeper; Mr. James Brawn; William Brown, blacksmith; Miss Edwards; Nicholas Edwards, farmer, Westwood; John Green, farmer and corn miller; Mrs. Sophia Elizabeth James, The Cottage; Richard Jerrett, farmer and vict., The Hundred House; Margaret Wynne Jones, gentlewoman, The Lodge; Mrs. Mary Longmore, The Villa; Rev. John Purton, M.A., The Rectory; Miss Spalding; John Warden, farmer; Edward Welding, wheelwright; Mary Wheatley, gentlewoman, Oldbury House; Mr. Wright

QUATFORD,

a small parish and village on the banks of the river Severn, about a mile and a half south from Bridgnorth, derives its name from Coed and Forda (British), signifying the Wood at the Ford—originally within the Forest of Morfe. The parish contains 1,773 acres of land, and includes the lordships of Hay and Eardington, which are situated on the opposite side of the river Severn. The parish in 1801 contained 417 inhabitants; 1831, 492; 1841, 553. Rateable value, £3,586, 18s. 3d. The township of Quatford comprises 514 acres of land, and in 1841 had 44 houses and a population of 204 souls. The manor belongs to the corporation of Bridgnorth, and the mayor for the time being is lord of the manor. John Smalman, Esq., is the principal landowner; George Pritchard, Esq., W. W. Whitmore, Esq., Henry Vickers, Esq., Mary Jones, Mr. Thomas Hudson, Lord Sudeley, Mr. William Hughes, Mr. Thursfield, and others, are also proprietors. In this township stands the castellated residence of John Smalman, Esq., J.P., called Quatford Castle. It stands within sight of the rock where stood the castle erected by Ethelfleda Countess of Mercia (the wife of Ethelred, the first Earl Palatine of Mercia), prior to the year 919. Mr. Smalman is descended from an ancient family long seated at Wilderhope Hall, in the parish of Rushbury. The castle is built on a prominent hill, surrounded by plantations overlooking the beautiful river Severn for several miles, and only approached by an artificial road on its eastern side. This enchanting spot, from its varied views and pleasurable walks, is the constant attraction of families resident in the town and neighbourhood of Bridgnorth, who are welcomed by its liberal and much respected proprietor.

The Church, a venerable structure, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, has a square tower, surmounted with pinnacles, and contains three bells. The interior of the church has a handsome appearance; the altar is elaborately carved, and the floor of the chancel is covered with encaustic tiles. There are several neat monumental tablets, one of which remembers Thomas Crump, who died in 1718; another is erected to the memory of Joseph Corbet, Esq., who died in 1790. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Lord Sudeley, and enjoyed by the Rev. George Leigh Wasey, M.A. Mr. Cox has the following account of Quatford:—“The manor of Quatford, belonging to Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, he built a church here, upon this occasion: Adaliza, his wife, coming out of Normandy, there happened so great a storm at sea that nothing but shipwreck was expected by the mariners; but her chaplain being wearied with much watching, fell fast asleep, and as he lay at rest a venerable matron appeared to him, and said: ‘If your lady will make a vow to build a church to St. Mary Magdalene, in the place where she first meets the earl, her husband, in England, she shall be preserved from the danger of this tempest.’ This vision being told his lady, she presently vowed accordingly, and got safe to shore; from whence, going towards her husband at Shrewsbury, she met him in this place a hunting, and telling him the vision, he willingly fulfilled her vow, and built this church at Quatford, and dedicated it to St. Mary Magdalene, endowed it with ample possessions, and gave it to his collegiate chapel, in the Castle of Bridgnorth. Robert de Belesme, his eldest son, coming to his father’s inheritance in England (by the death of his younger brother, Hugh), removed from this town of Quatford,—but whither, we find not.”

The Wesleyan Methodists have a small chapel in the village. There is also a School here, a decorated structure, built in the year 1847, by subscription; about thirty children attend. A Library for the use of the parish is kept in the church vestry.

Charities.—John Corfield, in 1718, directed six twopenny loaves to be distributed the first Sunday in every month in the year. This annuity is paid out of land in Stottesden. Arthur Weaver, Esq., in 1709, bequeathed out of the several tithes of Morville, Aston Eyre, and Quatford, to the curates of each yearly; the bequest to the curate of Quatford being £3. 13s. 4d.

It appears that in the years 1767 and 1769, Arthur Weaver granted two rent charges of £7 each, towards the augmentation of this curacy, and that the Governors of Queen Ann’s Bounty, in conjunction with the said Isaac Weaver, agreed to augment the curacy with two several sums of £200 each, having previously agreed to augment the same with a like sum of £200 by lot. In pursuance of this agreement, in the year 1784, the sum of £600 was laid out in the purchase of a certain messuage and about seven acres of land, situated at Eardington, which were conveyed to the then curate, to hold to him and his successors for ever.

Church Lands.—The following premises have been appropriated to the repairs and uses of the church for a long period, but from what source they were originally derived we have been unable to discover:—A parcel of land, called Paradise, containing four acres and three-quarters, producing £10 per annum. A house and garden let for 10s. a-year, also rendering the service of rowing over the parishioners at all times free to the parish church on the other side of the river. There are also several other plots of land, comprising upwards of 14 acres, which, with the above sums, produce an annual rent of £20. 1s. 11d. In the year 1810, timber was sold from the church land for £100. 12s. 6d., part of which was laid out for a new boat, and there remained a sum of £70 in the Bridgnorth Bank.

William Nicholls, in 1846, bequeathed £150 to the minister of Quatford, upon trust, to dispose of the interest thereof among the most deserving poor of the parish.

The sum of £20, left by Thomas Spencer in 1722, for the benefit of the curate of Quatford, and £10, left by Elizabeth Oldburg in 1730, have long been lost.

Directory.—John Smalman, Esq., The Castle; John Clayton, Esq., Quatford House; John Davies, beerseller; Robert Griffiths, timber merchant, architect, builder, quarry-master, and dealer in tiles, bricks, slates, &c., Chantrey House; Thomas Hudson, beerseller; Mary Lambert, school-teacher; William Martin, victualler, Red Lion Inn; Thos. Owen, shopkeeper, and foreman to Mr. Griffiths; John Thomas Poole, farmer, The Bank; The Misses Shepherd, The Grove; John Sing, Esq., The Hall; Richard Turley, parish clerk and ferry-house keeper; Stephen Wolryche, Esq., The Villa.

EARDINGTON

is a township and pleasantly situated village, in the parish Quatford, one mile south from Bridgnorth, which contains 1,259a. 0r. 7p. of land, the rateable value of which is £2,727. 13s. Gross estimated rental, £2,997. 18s. The principal landowners are Mrs. Mary Oldbury; Mr. William Baldwin; The Devisees of the late Thomas Duppa, Esq.; Lord Liverpool; and Lord Sudeley; besides whom there are several other small freeholders. In Doomsday Book we find this place written Ardintone, and though annexed to the mother church of Quatford (on the opposite side of the river Severn) in ecclesiastical matters, yet in all other respects is virtually a parish of itself. About three miles below Bridgnorth, on the western bank of the Severn, is the Eardington Forge, a charcoal iron manufactory, celebrated for making the best charcoal wire, horse nail, and gun iron. The works are carried on by James Foster, Esq., of Stanton Castle, in Worcestershire, under the able management of Mr. Thomas Austin Jackson, and are the largest of the kind in the kingdom. The National School is a neat brick structure, which will accommodate about fifty children. It was erected in the year 1837. This township in 1801 had a population of 328 souls; 1831, 325; 1841, 349. At the latter period there were 71 inhabited houses.

Angeworth William, farmer, Hay Farm

Baker Thomas, farmer

Cooper John Henry, Esq., banker, The Knowle Sands

Cole George, stock taker, The Forge

Crowder John, corn miller

Duppa Mrs. Georgiana Elizb.

Fryer John, blacksmith

Garbett Francis, shoemaker

Harrison Mr. Samuel

Hudson William, victualler, The Crown

Jackson Mr. Thomas Austin, manager, Eardington Forge

James David, beerhouse

Jarratt James, butcher

Lloyd Thomas, shoemaker

Miles Thos., vict., Red Lion

Minshull John, miller

Noakes Samuel, farmer

Oldbury Mrs. Mary, farmer, Eardington House

Oldbury The Misses Anne and Margaret

Pitt James, engineer

Powell Martha, shopkeeper

Simkiss John, manager of Coal and Buck’s Works

Summers Samuel, farmer

Wasey Rev. Geo. Leigh, M.A. incumbent of Quatford and Morville Knowle Sands

Weaver William, maltster, and farmer

QUATT,

an extensive parish, anciently within the forest of Morfe, is intersected by the Bridgnorth and Kidderminster turnpike road, and bounded on the western side by the river Severn, which is crossed at several places by ferry boats. The parish comprehends the hamlets of Quatt Malvern, Quatt Jarvis, Mose, Wooton, and Dudmaston, and contains 2,674a. 1r. 11p. of land, of which 238a. 0r. 14p. are in woods and plantations, 33a. 3r. 36p. water, 23a. 1r. 4p. public roads, and 66a. 2r. 26p. in the demesne and grounds of Dudmaston Hall. The soil is for the most part highly fertile. Rateable value, £3,514. 4s. 5d. Population in 1801, 300; 1831, 328; 1841, 365; part of the population is included within the limits of the borough of Bridgnorth. The township of Quatt Malvern at the census of 1841 is returned as containing 29 houses and 141 inhabitants. The tithes are commuted for £415. 9s. 8d. Thomas Charlton Whitmore, Esq., M.P., is the principal landowner and lord of the manor; John Sing, Esq., Thomas Bowen, and others, are also freeholders. The village of Quatt is scattered, but pleasantly situated, four miles S.E. from Bridgnorth; it contains some good residences, and the surrounding country is beautifully picturesque and romantic. In Leland’s time there were to be seen here the ruins of the manor house of Robert de Montgomery. About four miles from Quatt Malvern are the remains of a Roman camp called The Walls. The form of it is nearly quadrangular, and there have been four gates into it; one in the middle of the north front, another in the middle of the west, a third in the south-east, and a fourth at the north-east corner. The odd position of the two last take advantage of declivities in the rock. Besides these a sloping way is cut through the bank, and down the rock in the middle of the south face, to the water. The west side has been doubly fortified with a deep trench cut out of the solid rock between two ramparts. To the north it has only one bank. It embraces an area of more than twenty acres, but no coins or antiquities have been found there. Not far from the Severn an ancient sword was discovered, differing in form and metal to any hitherto found in Great Britain. Similar have been found in Ireland.

The Church is a venerable fabric, dedicated to St. Andrew, partly composed of free stone, and partly of brick. It consists of nave, chancel, side chapel, and north aisle, the latter separated from the nave by three arches resting on octagonal pillars; the tower contains four bells. The pulpit and reading desk are beautifully carved, and dated 1629. The font is very ancient, and there is a gallery at the west end, upon which is placed an organ. The altar is of oak, exquisitely carved. On the floor is a remarkable inscription, with some curious tracery, dated 1387 and 1495. On a pillar are remembered some of the ancient family of Wolryches. In the side chapel is a black marble tomb in memory of Sir Francis Wolryche, who died in 1668, near to which is an elaborate monumental tomb with figures in black marble, in bold relief set in a block of alabaster. There is also a fine figure in alabaster, exquisitely carved, in memory of Dame Marie Wolryche, dated 1628. Another tomb of fine workmanship has the figures of a knight and his lady, and remembers Francis Wolryche, Esq., and Margaret, his wife, and is dated 1614. There are also some neat tablets in the church which our limits will not allow us to notice in detail. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £14. 15s., now returned at £415. 4s. 8d., in the patronage of W. W. Whitmore, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Edmund Carr, M.A. The rectory is a handsome and spacious residence situated near the church. On rebuilding the church of Quatt in 1763 were found a number of figures painted on the walls, representing the Seven Charities and the Day of Judgment; and on a piece of vellum nailed to an oak board the figure of our Saviour rising from the sepulchre, underneath the figure were the following lines:—“Saynt Gregory and other popes and byshops grantes sex and twenty thousand zere of pardonz thirtti dayes to alle that saies devoutlye knelyng afor yis is ymage fife paternosters, fife aves, and a cred.”

The South Eastern Shropshire District School has been established for the reception of children belonging to the several unions of Bridgnorth, Cleobury Mortimer, Madeley, and Seisdon. The object of the institution is not only to give a sound healthy education, but so to improve both the physical and mental powers as shall break the thread of pauperism, and enable this hitherto unhappy class to establish themselves in after life as independent labourers. The experiment has proved most satisfactory, and even more successful than was expected, not only in giving a good healthy education combined with labour to the children, but yielding such a return in money as altogether prevented any additional cost to the ratepayers, and even paid a portion of the former expenses. The actual profits of the four acres of land cultivated having amounted to between £60 and £70 per annum. The question of profit, though of importance, is trifling when compared with the benefits derived by the children, who are here removed from scenes of inferiority and degradation and brought up in habits of industry, and a knowledge of gardening combined with the inculcation of honest principles and religious knowledge, are blessings of incalculable amount. The house is capable of accommodating 170 children, and the boys are employed in the cultivation of the land, in the management of cows, pigs, and a pony; the girls are employed in the house and dairy work. Henry Garland is the governor, and Mrs. Garland matron.

Dudmaston Hall, the seat and property of W. W. Whitmore, Esq., J.P., is a handsome brick mansion, situated near the Bewdley and Bridgnorth turnpike road. It stands in an extensive and richly wooded park, and is beautified with tasteful pleasure grounds and choice shrubs. Dudmaston is a manor within the manor of Quatt, and was in early times the residence of Dudmastons, from whom it passed in marriage to the Wolryches, and they devised it to their maternal relation, William Whitmore, Esq., whose descendant now inherits the estate and mansion.

Charities.—By an indenture, dated September 17th, 1687, the churchwardens and two parishioners of this parish devised, for a term of 99 years, to Richard Gough, a piece of land in St. Leonard’s parish, in consideration that the said Richard Gough should, within five years, erect thereon a bay of building with brick and stone; and also should pay, during the term, the annual rent of five shillings, for the benefit of the poor of Quatt. It does not appear to what source the parish was indebted for this land, but in an old corporation book belonging to the corporation of Bridgnorth, there is an entry, purporting to be an extract from the will of Thomas Dovey, dated 13th of February, 1601, whereby he gave to the parish of Quatt £5 for the use of the poor for ever. In 1788, the former lease having expired, a new lease of the premises was granted for the like term, and at the same rent; the sum of £12 being paid as a fine for renewal.

This parish appears also to have enjoyed for many years the property of a house and land, in the parish of Worfield, of the origin of which we have not been able to discover any trace. The earliest notice that we find of it is in the year 1759, when it appears in the occupation of a tenant at the rent of £2. 10s. per annum. In 1802 the premises were sold for £110, and the amount was placed in the bank of Bates and Jones, at Bridgnorth, which subsequently failed. A dividend of 4s. in the pound was afterwards paid, and this sum, amounting to £22. 13s. 2d. was placed in the Stourbridge bank. The interest is carried to the poor rates.

Directory.—William Wolryche Whitmore, Esq., Dudmaston Park; Miss Elizabeth and Ellen Bowen; Thomas Bowen, farmer, Wooton; Rev. Edmund Carr, M.A.; Thomas Clare, farmer, Mose; William Clare, maltster and farmer; Wm. Coupar, farmer, Hoult; John Craig, farmer, Wooton; Henry Garland, governor of Union School; William L. Loundes, Esq., The Lodge; Samuel Minor, farmer, Mose; George Pool, farmer, Morfe; John Sayce, farmer, Lye Hall; Robert Sayce, farmer, The Hall Farm and Harles Farm; William Spence, agent to W. W. Whitmore, Esq.; John Warder, farmer, Morfe.

RUDGE

is a sequestered village and township in the parish of Pattingham, situated seven miles east of Wolverhampton, and eight miles south by west of Bridgnorth, bordering on the county of Staffordshire, from which it is separated by a small stream of water. This township has no connexion with the mother parish except for church assessments, all other parochial rates being raised by a collection from the resident holders of property. In 1841 there were 19 houses and 101 persons. There are 1,567 acres of land here, of which 40 acres are woodlands, 10a. 2r. 18p. roads, 166a. 2r. 25p. of meadow or pasture, 894 acres arable, and 455a. 3r. 14p. common and waste, which is now being enclosed by Thomas Boycott, Esq., who gives employment to a number of the labouring population. The Wolverhampton and Bridgnorth turnpike road crosses Rudge Heath. Rateable value of the township, £1,792. 1s. The tithes were commuted in 1839 for £199. 10s. 10d. to the impropriator, and £75. 15s. to the vicar of the parish. Thomas Boycott, Esq. is lord of the manor, and the principal landowner. Rudge Hall, the seat and property of Thomas Boycott, Esq., is pleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, commanding most beautiful prospects of the surrounding country. It is built of brick, and stuccoed. The park grounds are of considerable extent, and richly wooded.

Directory.—Thomas Boycott, Esq., Rudge Hall; Rev. William George Greenstreet, M.A., The Vicarage; James Bentley, machine maker; John Bentley, carriage builder and smith; Thomas Edwards, farmer; Robert Francis, farmer; James Herbert, shopkeeper; Benjamin Hithcock, gardener; George Jones, jun., farmer; George Jones, farmer; Sarah Jones, dressmaker; William Jones, farmer; Richard Keysell, coachman; Charles Lakin, farmer and vict., New Inn; William Lyndon, farmer; Alexander Mac Donald, gardener; Richard Morris, butler; William Nash, farmer; Thomas Pound, blacksmith, Hobston; James Tomkiss, grocer and provision dealer; Robert Turnbull, farm bailiff; Benjamin Waklam, beerhouse keeper.

SHEINTON, OR SHINETON,

a parish and small rural village in the Chelmarsh division of the Stottesden hundred, picturesquely situated in a romantic district, 2¾ miles N.N.W. from Much Wenlock, contains 967a. 3r. 4p. of land, bounded on the north by the river Severn. Gross estimated rental, £1,428. 14s. Rateable value, £1,352. 17s. Population in 1801, 163; 1831, 133; 1841, 154; at the latter period there were 36 houses. The principal landowners are the Duke of Cleveland, Sir George Harnage, Francis Benthall, Esq., and the devisees of the late Walter Moseley, Esq. The family of Sheynton were seated here at a very early period. William de Sheynton held one knight’s fee in this manor in the 22nd of Richard II. Hugh de Sheynton had the grant of free warren here in the time of Edward II. The land is for the most part fertile in this parish, and produces good turnips and barley: the low lands have been improved by draining. The Church consists of nave and chancel, with a tower, in which are three bells. It is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and has an ancient appearance. There are no memorials worthy of notice. Some of the curious carving in oak is of great antiquity. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s book at £6. 9s. 2d., now returned at £360; in the patronage and incumbency of the Rev. H. Bagnall. Ann Lacon bequeathed a rent charge of £5 per annum for the benefit of the poor. The amount is received by the overseers, who distribute it in equal shares of 25s. each, among four poor widows of the parish. They are appointed by the minister and churchwardens, and continue to enjoy the charity during their respective lives.

The principal residents are the Rev. Henry Bagnall, rector; Charlotte Adney, farmer; Andrew Dodson, farmer; John Young, vict., The Rising Buck.

SIDBURY

is a parish and small village, six miles S.W. by S. from Bridgnorth, in the Chelmarsh division of the hundred. It is situated on a slight eminence in a bold undulating district, and contains 1248 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £966. 14s. 6d. In 1841 the parish had 14 houses and 94 souls; population in 1801, 92; in 1831, 103. The parish of Sidbury formerly belonged to the family of the Cresswells, whose ancestor was Richard the faithful servant of Charles I., who was in attendance on the king when he took the fatal step of escaping from the University of Oxford. This was one of those villes that Edmund de Mortimer separated from the hundred of Stottesden in the time of Edward I. The landowners in this parish are William Henry Cresswell, Esq., Thomas Crump, Esq. and Mr. Barnard Acres.

The Church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, consists of nave, chancel, and north side chapel, the latter built by the Cresswell family; it contains a tablet to the memory of Richard Cresswell, Esq., dated 1705. The church is built of stone, with a small turret in which is one bell. On the south wall is a tablet to the memory of Jacob Smith, Esq., dated 1795, and also one to the memory of George Smith, Esq., who died in 1802. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £4. 13s. 4d., now returned at £227.; patron, the Earl of Shrewsbury; incumbent, Rev. R. Maddox. There are 34 acres of glebe land. Sidbury Hall is a good stone residence, in the occupancy of Mr. James Pugh, farmer.

Directory.—Barnard Acres, farmer, Oxwood; John Corfield, farmer, Lower House; Rev. William Lewis Jones, curate; Joseph Massie, farmer, The Batch; William Powell, farmer, The Rectory; Samuel Pritchard, farmer, New Barn; James Pugh, farmer, Sidbury Hall; Jane, Catharine, and Harriet Snow, farmers, The Upper House.

STOTTESDEN

is an extensive parish in the Cleobury division of the hundred to which it gives name, situated five miles north of Cleobury Mortimer, containing the townships of Bardley and Harcourt, Chorley, Duddlewick, Hinton, Kingswood and Button, Oak, Newton, Ingwardine and Lowe, Oreton, Overton, Prescott, Walton and Bagginswood, Picton, Stottesden, Walkerslowe, Wricton and Northwood, which together comprehend an area of 12,074a. 2r. 27p. of land, the rateable value of which is £8,796. 16s. 8d. At the census of 1841 there were 259 houses and 1,217 persons in the Shropshire portion of the parish, part of it extending into the Wolphy hundred of the county of Hereford. The tithes have been commuted for £987. 17s. 1d. The Duke of Cleveland is lord of the manor, and a considerable landowner. The farms in the parish are generally large, excepting on the south-western side, adjoining the Clee Hill, where are collieries and ironstone mines, which give employment to a number of the labouring population, but the principal part are engaged in agricultural pursuits. There is a considerable portion of clayey soil in the parish, other parts are of a more light and sandy nature, and in some places a fertile loam prevails. Stottesden is a pleasant village, 13 miles north-east by east of Ludlow, five miles north of Cleobury Mortimer, and eight miles south-west by south of Bridgnorth. The township contains 987a. 2r. 19p. of land, the rateable value of which is £1,216. 4s. 7d.; and at the census of 1841 there were 53 houses and 215 inhabitants. The principal landowners in the township are Mrs. Oldbury; Rev. Charles J. Maddison; Rev. Mr. Wakefield; Mr. Edward Bytheway; Mrs. Jones; Mrs. Waterhouse; Mr. Frier; Mr. Pope; Mr. Edward Cleeton; Mr. Turner, and Mrs. Howard. The vicarial tithes are commuted for £42. 3s. There are 27a. 3r. 4p. of glebe land. The manor of Stottesden was the possession of Edwin, Earl of Mercia, (at the time of Edward the Confessor), who rebelled against that monarch, in consequence of which it was given to Roger de Montgomery, in whose family it remained till a failure of male heirs. On the 28th of Henry III., John de Plessitis had a grant of a market here on a Tuesday, and a fair on the eve, the day, and the day after the assumption of the Blessed Virgin. There is a feast held the first Sunday after Michaelmas day.

The Church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient edifice, built of rubble stone, having been covered with three roofs, supported on each side of the interior by five semicircular arches of equal size, rising from four slender pillars, and from a pillar on each side. From these latter spring two small arches, slightly pointed, and adjoining to the rector’s chancel; the one is connected with and opening into the Stottesden chancel, which is still kept apart by its ancient oak screen. The other semicircular arch served as an opening to admit the staircase leading up to the ancient rood loft, which no doubt stood under an arch between the church and the communion chancel. The rood loft was swept away at the reformation, and the arch probably about the period of the civil wars. At the west end of the north and south aisles are still to be seen the Norman pilasters, decorated with mouldings, and carried up with the walls in the interior; probably the oldest part of the fabric. The elegant part of the exterior of this mouldering pile has been most sacrilegiously destroyed; its parapets and battlements, with its lead roof, have entirely disappeared. The north wall has been lowered, and the windows cut through, having removed the upper or traceried part to within five feet six inches of the surface of the cemetery. The fine mullioned windows in the rectory and Wrickton chancels, as well as on the south side of the church, afford a beautiful display of architectural taste. The eastern window of the former had twelve figures of its ancient lords and their connections, with their armorial bearings, including that of the sovereign of the day, and the royal arms displayed on shields, exhibited upon their breasts: five only of these now remain, in a very mutilated state. The upper or traceried compartments are still ornamented with stained glass. In the south wall is still to be seen the piscina or sink for the reception of any impurity falling into the elements. In the same wall appear the canopied seats of the priest, deacon, and sub-deacon, in their beautifully ornamented niches; and near to these is an ancient oilet or loophole window, with exquisitely fine mouldings, all of which savour much of the reign of Edward I. The circular stone font at the west end is of large dimensions, well adapted for the ancient practice of immersion; it is most elaborately carved, having a beautiful cordage twisted with much taste around the verge of the upper extremity: it is greatly ornamented, having eight compartments, the one exhibiting the Agnus Dei, the others those of Griffins, Cockatrices, and Centaurs, and is altogether a beautiful and rare specimen of an inimitable chisel of its day, probably as early as the reign of Henry III. The pulpit exhibits much ancient carving, beautifully executed, and put up with a sounding board in 1675. The desk, also much ornamented with carving, was set up in 1583. The entrance of the porch to the south is under a semicircular arch of great antiquity, probably introduced from a former porch. This, the principal approach into the interior of the edifice, is under an ancient arch of the pointed style; that on the north side is of a very early period, as well as that into the chancel. This latter is singular and rare, exhibiting an unusual display of fine chiselling. The entrance out of this chancel into the vestry is under a stone arch of the florid style, executed by a tasteful und scientific artist. The tower is lofty, and standing on a commanding eminence is a beautiful land mark in the country: the lower part to the second string course is built like the church with rubble material, but from that course upwards, including its battlements, is of good Ashler stone. It was rebuilt in 1583, and contains a peal of five musical bells, and clock and sun dial. Over the doorway leading from the tower to the church is an ancient and curious tympanum. The church was repaired in the year 1840, by which means 268 additional sittings were obtained, of which 215 are declared free and unappropriated for ever, in consequence of grants from the Incorporated and Hereford Diocesan Societies. The living is a vicarage, to which the curacy of Farlow is annexed, valued in the king’s books at £5. 10s. 10d., now returned at £676; in the patronage of the Duke of Cleveland, and incumbency of the Rev. Charles John Maddison. The Wesleyan Methodists have a small chapel here built of stone in the year 1849. The National School, supported by donations and subscriptions, will accommodate 80 children; about 53 is the average number that attend.

Bardley is a township in Stottesden parish, two and a half miles south-east by east of the parish church. It contains, with the township of Harcourt, 1,800a. 0r. 20p. of land, of which 760 acres are arable, 774a. 3r. 34p. pasture, and 170a. 1r. are woodlands. William Lacon Childe, Esq. is lord of the manor, and the principal landowner. Thomas Crump, Esq., Mr. Hyde, Miss Smith, John and Robert Lateward, Esqrs., Mr. Kyer, Messrs. Jones, Thomas Gregory, Richard Porter, and others are also proprietors. This township contained at the census of 1841, 38 houses and 178 persons. The tithes are commuted for £232. 9s. 0d., of which £92. 15s. 6d. to the vicar of Stottesden; £48. 16s. 6d. to William Lacon Childe, Esq.; £40 to Mr. John Humphries; £14. 16s. 6d. to John and Robert L. Lateward, Gents.; to Mr. Jones, £11. 6s.; to the Duke of Cleveland, £10. 3s. 6d.; to Mr. Hyde, £8. 16s. 6d., of which £5 yearly is paid to the rector of Dowles; to Mr. Compson, £5. 8s., and 16s. 6d. to Thomas Crump, Esq.