THE NORTH BRADFORD HUNDRED. (continued 3)

MILLEN HEATH,

a township with only one house and ten residents, contains 359a. 3r. 17p. of land, which is the property of Lord Kilmorey. Rateable value, £268. 10s. The tithes have been commuted, and £33. 3s. 2d. apportioned to Viscount Hill, and £9. 6s. 3d. to the Vicar of Prees. Mr. Thomas Hares is the resident farmer.

SANDFORD,

a township with a scattered population, five miles and a half N.E. from Wem, contains 1,213a. 3r. 21p. of land. The soil is a mixture of sand and loam, with a portion of clay. The land is chiefly used for grazing purposes; and there is a considerable extent covered with woods and plantations. The tithes were commuted in 1841, when £151. 13s. 1d. was apportioned to Viscount Hill, and £36. 5s. to the Vicar of Prees. At the census of 1841 there were nine houses and 76 inhabitants. The rateable value of this township, with that of Darliston and Fauls, is £4,354. 3s. Thomas Hugh Sandford, Esq., is the principal landowner. Mr. Thomas Ebrey is also a proprietor.

Directory.—Sarah Bather, farmer; John Fox, farmer; Robert Garmstone, wheelwright and victualler, The Mill House; Ann Hales, farmer; Mary Humphreys, farmer; William Rogers, blacksmith; Thomas Steventon, farmer and corn miller; Joseph Woolrich, farmer, Morton Wood; Stephen Worthen, farmer.

STEELE,

a township in the parish of Prees, at the census of 1841 had 12 houses and a population of 65 souls. The township contains 436a. 3r. 36p. of land. Viscount Hill is the impropriator and the principal landowner. The rectoral tithes are commuted for £54. 12s. 6d., and the vicarial for £13. 14s. 6d. The principal residents in Steele are John Bradshaw, shopkeeper, The Heath; John Heatley, glazier; Ann Hodgskin, farmer; Thomas Hodgskin, farmer; Daniel Holding, tailor; Richard Holding, farmer; Joseph Hussey, farmer.

WHIXALL

is a township, chapelry, and populous village, in the parish of Prees, four miles N. from Wem, which at the census in 1841 contained 211 houses and 978 inhabitants. The township comprises 3,361a. 1r. 32p. of land. Interspersed with gentle undulations, there is some good meadow and pasture land, which produces a fine herbage, and cheese is made to a considerable extent. The houses are chiefly cottage residences, with a small portion of land to each, and the residents are in many instances freeholders. The houses are built of brick, and slated, and have a comfortable appearance. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in cutting the moss, which they dry, and then take it to distant parts of the country for sale. The moss, usually called Whixall Moss, covers a surface of upwards of 5,000 acres, and extends into the several townships of Northwood, Whixall, Bettisfield, and Fenswood. It is cut to a depth of from sixteen to thirty feet, and in some instances to a greater depth. The moss is mostly submerged in water. A company of gentlemen have recently taken a lease for a term of years of a considerable tract of the moss, and are about to erect works for converting this hitherto comparatively useless commodity into articles of appliance for useful purposes. It is said to be superior to the Irish moss for some particular uses. Sir John Hanmer is the owner of about two-thirds of the moss; the other principal landowners are Lord Kenyon, W. P. Poole, Esq., James Foster, Esq., John C. Coham, Esq., John Bowen, Esq., Mr. George Hutchinson, Mr. John Phillips, Mr. John Keay, William F. Dickin, Esq., Mr. William Furber, Rev. John Evans, Mrs. Weaver, Mr. William Cartwright, Mr. Thomas Clay, John Taylor, Esq., Robert Salmon, Esq., Mr. Thomas Jones, Mrs. Hazledine, Mr. Thomas Salt, A. Duff, Esq., Mr. Benjamin Sandbrook, Mr. Jarvis, Rev. R. Young, Mrs. Cooper, Joshua Lee, Esq., Mr. James Rodenhurst, Mr. Thomas Sadler, Mr. William Whitfield, Mr. John Whitfield; besides whom there are many smaller proprietors.

The Church is a plain unpresuming edifice of brick, erected in the form of a cross, and has the date of 1640 upon it. It was enlarged and beautified in 1826, when 155 free sittings were added. The living is a perpetual curacy, valued at £107, subordinate to the vicarage of Prees, and enjoyed by the Rev. John Evans, M.A., whose income arises from certain lands, £5 yearly from the Lord of the Manor, and £4 per annum from the Vicar of Prees. The Parsonage is a pleasantly situated residence near the church. The National School, a commodious structure, with a residence for the teacher, was built during the years 1848 and 1849. The cost of the structure was £655. 13s. 6d., of which the Committee of Council on Education gave £100, and £50 towards the master’s residence; the National Society £50; the Diocesan Society £40, and £10 for fittings; and the sum of £405. 18s. 6d. was raised by subscriptions and donations, of which £276. 18s. 6d. was given by the Incumbent of Whixall. About 100 children attend the school. The Independents have a neat chapel here, which is numerously attended. The Primitive Methodists have also a small chapel here. The Llanymynech, Ellesmere, Whitchurch, and Quina Brook canals intersect the township. Whixall Hall and Bostock Hall are two ancient residences, now occupied as farm houses. James Foster, Esq., is lord of the manor, and holds a court leet and baron. The poor have a yearly sum of 5s., the gift of Mr. Minshull, which is paid out of land in the parish of Wem.

Brookes Thomas, blacksmith

Butler Richard, shoemaker

Callcott Samuel, farmer

Cureton William, shopkeeper

Dawson Thomas, farmer

Eales James, schoolmaster

Evans Rev. John, M.A., incumbent of Whixall, and domestic chaplain to Viscount Combermere, The Parsonage

Forrester Arthur, farmer

Furber Widow, farmer

Furber William, Well Farm

Green James, tailor

Green Joseph, shopkeeper

Hales Walter, The Hall Farm

Hall Richard, beerhouse

Hall William, shopkeeper

Heath Elizabeth, farmer

Heath John, joiner and upholsterer

Hinton Henry, farmer

Hinton John, farmer and butcher

Hughes George, blacksmith

Hunley John, farmer

Jarvis Widow, farmer

Jarvis William, farmer and beerhouse

Jones Richard, Bostock Hall Farm

Jones Samuel, farmer

Jones William, farmer

Keay John, vict., Chapel House, cattle dealer and farmer

Newbrook Richard, shopkeeper & shoemaker

Newbrook Samuel, farmer

Newbrook Thomas, farmer

Newbrook Thomas, shopkeeper

Newbrook William, wheelwright

Parsons William, farmer

Pitt William, shopkeeper and farmer

Poole William Price, maltster and farmer

Powell Samuel, farmer

Powell Thomas, shopkeeper, Waterloo

Powell Thomas, farmer

Powell Widow, shopkeeper

Powell William, farmer

Preston Ellis, farmer

Reeves William, blacksmith

Roberts John, brick and tile manufacturer

Rodenherst Mr. James

Shaw Edward, shoemaker

Shingler Thomas, farmer and corn miller

Sparkes John, farmer

Vardy James, Esq.

Vardy and Co., The Betisfield Moss Works

Walters Sarah, Manor House Farm

Weever William, tailor

Whitfield Frederick, farmer

Williams Henry, farmer

Williams William, farmer

Woolham Thomas, jailor

William Price Poole, coal, lime, slate, and brick dealer, Whixall Wharf

WILLASTON,

a small township in the parish of Prees, contains 767 acres of land, and in 1841 had 18 houses and 101 inhabitants. The soil in some parts is clayey, and in other places it is a mixture of sand and loam. Viscount Hill and John Whitehall Dod, Esq., are the landowners, the former is also the impropriator, and receives the large tithes, which are commuted for £109. 18s. 6d. The vicarial tithes are commuted for £21. 8s. 4d.

The principal residents are John Hussey, farmer, Cloverley; Robert Wilkinson, farmer, The Lawn; James Simons, farmer, and James Simon, jun., farmer.

SHAWBURY

is an extensive parish comprehending the townships of Acton Reynold, Besford, Edgebolton, Muckleton, Shawbury, Wytheford Magna, and Wytheford Parva, which together have an area of 7,222 acres of land, of which 600 acres are in woods and plantations. Rateable value, £8,486. 1s. Rent charge, £838. This parish, although chiefly in the North Bradford hundred, extends into the Shrewsbury liberty, and the hundred of Pimhill. In 1801 the parish had a population of 948 souls; 1831, 915, and in 1841 there were 212 inhabited houses and 1062 inhabitants. The soil, to a considerable extent, is a mixture of loam and sand, in other places a strong soil mixed with gravel prevails. The land has generally an undulating surface, and on the northern verge there are considerable eminences, in which is found a red grit stone. Shawbury is a delightfully situated village, containing some good residences on the Shrewsbury, Market Drayton, Wem, and Whitchurch turnpike roads, six miles S.S. by E. from Wem, and seven miles N.E. by N. from Shrewsbury. In the centre of the village there is a commodious hotel and family boarding house occupied by Mr. Welling, which is much frequented during the summer months by respectable families. The township contains 1,605a. 0r. 37p. of land, and in 1841 there were 55 houses and 279 inhabitants. Rateable value, £1,854. 16s. Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet, Bart., is lord of the manor and principal land owner; Rev. W. S. Marvin and Mr. Samuel Winnall are also owners.

The Church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient structure exhibiting some beautiful workmanship, and consists of nave, chancel, and side aisles, with a lofty square tower ornamented with twelve pinnacles; the tower contains six bells, has a clock and sun dial; in the chancel are two windows beautifully ornamented with stained glass; the altar piece and reading desk are of oak, elaborately carved, and there is an ancient font. There is a beautiful tablet of marble in memory of Philip Charlton, who died in 1845, and another commemorative of John Minor, Esq., and his wife, with the date of 1836. The living is a vicarage valued in the king’s book at £7. 1s. 5½d. in the patronage of Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet, Bart., and incumbency of the Rev. William S. Marvin, M.A.; curate, Rev. William Howell, M.A.; clerk, William Wright. The vicarial tithes are commuted for £397. 12s. and of the rectorial £247. 18s. was apportioned to Sir Andrew V. Corbet, Bart., £181. 10s. to Mr. Charlton, and £11 to Captain Horner. The vicarage is a pleasantly situated residence a little north from the church. There is a free school in the village which has an attendance of about thirty children. Shawbury heath contains 270a. 2r. 7p. of land, and Shawbury woods contain an area of 159a. 2r. 32p. Charlton Grange is situated in this township, and contains 433a. 3r. 27p.

Charities.—Elizabeth Corbet, by will, October 29th, 1702, bequeathed the sum of £200, and directed the amount to be laid out in land, and the yearly proceeds to be applied in feeding or clothing the poor, or in apprentice fees, as the vicar for the time being and her heirs should think fit. The amount was laid out as directed by the donor, and now produces a yearly rental of £45 which is divided into three equal parts, one portion applied in clothing the children of the national school, another in apprentice fees, and the remainder in a weekly distribution of bread.

Robert Wood gave £20, the interest to be distributed among the poor on St. Thomas’s day. Andrew Peplow gave £16 towards clothing the poor. Richard Wood £40, and Andrew Syth £10, for the benefit of the poor. Ralph Collins gave £80 towards the maintenance of a schoolmaster in Shawbury, and if there should be no schoolmaster then to the poor of the parish during each vacancy. Dame Rachael Corbet left £10, Sarah Venables £20, and an unknown donor £17 for the benefit of the poor. These several sums amounting to £213, are in the hands of Sir Andrew V. Corbet, bart., secured by two bonds. Of the interest amounting to £9. 6s. 6d., at four per cent, 14s. is paid annually in purchasing a coat for one poor man, £4 in respect of Collins’ charity to a schoolmaster, and the remainder is distributed on St. Thomas’s day amongst the poor, with some voluntary donations, in sums varying from 1s. to 3s. 6d.

John Minor gave £20, the interest to be distributed on St. Andrew’s day. This sum, together with £26. 5s. given by Sir Andrew Corbet, is in the hands of the Rev. W. S. Marvin, and £20 collected many years ago towards building a school house, making together £66. 5s., for which he gave a promissory note to the churchwardens, bearing date 2nd February, 1830, with interest at four and a half per cent. Of the interest, £1 is given away as Minor’s charity, 18s. are added to the subscriptions collected for the school, and the remainder is distributed on Candlemas day among the poor of the parish.

Mrs. Charlotte Corbet left £100, the interest to be given among the most indigent inhabitants of this parish yearly, as the minister and churchwardens should think fit. This sum is in the hands of Mr. John Kilvert, who pays £4 as the interest thereof.

Thomas Downes left £5, the interest to be given in bread to the old labourers at Shawbury Park, yearly, on St. Thomas’s day. This sum was in the hands of Mr. John Harris, who paid 5s. as interest, when the charity commissioners published their report.

Post Office.—At Mr. William Wright’s. Letters arrive at 9 A.M., and are despatched at 5 P.M.

Armson Charles, cattle salesman

Bayley Mary, straw bonnet maker

Bayley Samuel, butcher

Bayley William, beerhouse keeper

Cartwright Samuel, saddler and harness maker

Clowes Job, cooper and shopkeeper

Davies John, cashier and clerk to William Wyley, Esq.

Deakin Peter, baker

Dickin John, farmer, the Grove

Downes Thomas, tailor

Drury Joseph, farmer and brickmaker

Drury and Rayner, surgeons

Drury Thomas, Esq., Roden villa

Friend James, shoemaker

Hewes Ann, laundress

Hollis Benjamin, farmer, the Heath

Hopwood Peter, farmer

Howell Rev. Alfred, curate

Mainwaring Richard, bricklayer

Marvin Rev. William S., Vicarage

Oswell Thomas, farmer

Owen Edward, blacksmith

Owen Thomas, whitesmith

Pascall William, farmer, the Heath

Pickford Thomas, farmer

Pickford William, farmer, the Park

Powell John, farmer

Plummer John, mole catcher

Rayner Alfred Philip, Esq., the Castle

Southerton Edward, farmer, the Heath

Trevor Samuel, carrier to Shrewsbury

Webb John, coachman

Wellings Joseph, farmer, maltster, and vict., Elephant and Castle Hotel, and posting house

West Thomas, seedsman and green grocer

Wildblood George, gentleman, the Cottage

Williams William, shopkeeper

Winnall Samuel, farmer, Heath Grove

Woodvine James, farmer, the Heath

Wright Robert, wood ranger

Wright William, post master

ACTON REYNALD,

a pleasantly situated township, contains 1,448 acres of land, of which 381a. 3r. 21p. are in park grounds and plantations. In 1841 there were 37 houses and 159 inhabitants. Rateable value, £1,854. 16s. Acton Reynald Hall, the seat of Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet, Bart., is a stately pile of building in the Elizabethan style of architecture, erected of white freestone, got from quarries on the estate. The mansion exhibits the characteristic style of the period in which it was erected, and has from time to time had improvements and additions made to it, up to the year 1848. The drawing room and other apartments are magnificently furnished. It stands on a gentle eminence, and commands a most delightful view over a luxuriant and richly wooded country; the pleasure grounds are extensive, and laid out with great taste; the choicest shrubs and the most beautiful flowers are scattered in the greatest profusion, and planted in designs most admirably executed. The conservatories and greenhouses are extensive, and kept in the most beautiful order. These gardens are highly creditable to the taste and superior management of Mr. Francis Bell, the gardener. The Corbets have been seated in this county from the time of the conquest, when Roger Corbet held large possessions under the Earl of Shrewsbury, “comprising the manors of Huelbeck, Hundeslet, Actun, Terneley, and Preston. Robert, his brother, held of the same the earl manors of Ulestan, Ratlinghope, Branton, Udecote, Langedunin, Weymore, Rorenton, Middleton, and Meredon. Sir Vincent Corbet was created baronet in 1641. His widow, Sarah, daughter of Sir Robert Monson, was created Viscountess Corbet and Linchlade in 1679. Moreton Corbet afterwards became the property of Richard Corbet, Esq., of Shawbury Park, whose descendant, Sir Andrew Corbet, was created baronet 24th September, 1808.” Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet, Bart., is the principal landowner: Viscount Hill, and William Embrey Wood, Esq., are also proprietors.

Corbet Sir Richard Vincent, Bart., Acton Reynald

Corbet Vincent Rowland, Esq.

Acton James, house steward

Bell Francis, head gardener and bailiff

Blantern Robert Hardwick

Evans Thomas, coachman

Fowler John, farmer, Acton Reynald farm

Gough John, gardener

Lee Francis, farmer, New House

Lee William, farmer, Painsbrook

Minton Samuel, farmer, Woodstyle

Ratcliffe Joseph, game and park keeper

Wildblood George, steward

BESFORD,

a small township situated two miles north-west from Shawbury, contains 707a. 2r. 19p. of land, the soil of which is highly fertile, and produces good barley and wheat. In 1841 this township is returned as containing 35 houses and 167 inhabitants. It extends into the parish of Moreton Corbet, in the hundred of Pimhill. Rateable value, £1,263. 9s. Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet is lord of the manor, and owner of the whole township.

The principal residents are Joseph Taylor Reynolds Ogle, Esq.; John Powell, farmer; and William Powell, farmer.

EDGEBOLTON

is a small village pleasantly situated six miles south-east from Wem. The township contains 617a. 3r. 33p. of land, mostly an undulating district, diversified with picturesque scenery. Rateable value, £710. 14s. At the census in 1841 there were 37 houses and 199 inhabitants. The farms here are much smaller than in the neighbouring townships. Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet, Bart., St. J. C. Charlton, Mrs. Bayley, Mr. Harris, and Mr. Thomas Onslow, are the chief landowners.

The resident farmers are Samuel Alltree, William Astley, George Cartwright, John Dickin, George Done, Charles Green, John Henshaw, Thomas Onslow (and licensed victualler), Thomas Richmond, William Shuker, William Spencer, and William Tudor; John Buttery, blacksmith; John Onslow, Pool Cottage; and Thomas Ward, maltster.

MUCKLETON,

a village and township in the parish of Shawbury, seven miles south-east from Wem, contains 1,033a. 3r. 14p. of land. In 1841 there were 20 houses, and a population of 113 souls. Rateable value, £955. 1s. St. J. C. Charlton, Esq., is the landowner.

The principal residents are Richard Higginson, farmer, the Moss; Henry Lawley, farmer, the Moss; Thomas Phillips, farmer, the Moss; Richard Powell, farmer, the Hall; Richard Powell, farmer, Pool House; Thomas Pritchard, boot and shoemaker; Thomas Wellings, the Farm; and John Wright, farmer.

WYTHEFORD MAGNA

is a township and village pleasantly situated on the turnpike road from Shawbury to Wellington, seven miles north-east from Wem. The township contains 955a. 1r. 7p. of land, the soil of which is a mixture of sand and loam, or red earth. There are woods and plantations, which cover 207a. 1r. 27p. of land. In 1841 there were 18 houses and 101 inhabitants. Rateable value, £1,114. 10s. Wytheford House is an ancient brick structure of considerable antiquity, now in the occupancy of Mr. William Taylor, as a farm residence. St. J. C. Charlton, Esq., and Miss Cooke, are the principal landowners.

Directory.—William Bayley, farmer and maltster; Robert Davies, farmer; Robert Hampton, farmer; Thomas Humphreys, farmer; John Stockton, farmer; and William Taylor, farmer, the Hall.

WYTHEFORD PARVA,

a small township two and a quarter miles N.E. by N. from Shawbury, contains 334 acres of land, and in 1841 had 10 houses and 44 inhabitants. Rateable value, £354. 18s. The landowners are Captain Horner, St. J. C. Charlton, Esq., and Miss Steedman.

The principal residents are Samuel Davies, wheelwright; William Davies, farmer; David Ferrington, farmer; John Jones, farmer; Peter Light, farmer; Richard Owen, farmer; Joseph Powell, farmer; and Eleanor Wainwright, farmer.

STOKE-UPON-TERN

is a parish which comprehends the townships of Stoke-upon-Tern, Eaton, Ollerton, and Wistanswick, and contains 5,602a. 2r. 26p. of land, of which 328a. 3r. 12p. are in woods and plantations, and 74a. 2r. 3p. in roads and waste. At the census in 1801 there were 626 inhabitants; 1831, 1,031; and in 1841, 1,000. Rateable value, £6,703. 4s. The village of Stoke-upon-Tern is pleasantly situated five miles S.S. by W. from Market Drayton. In 1841 the township contained 106 houses and 528 inhabitants. A. C. Heber Percy, Esq., and Richard Corbet, Esq., are the most considerable landowners in this township; Mr. William Taylor, Mr. William Meakin, Mr. Richard Whitfield, Mr. Thomas Goodall, Mr. John Heatley, Mr. Thomas Heatley, Mr. William Palmer, Sir R. Leicester, Rev. Thomas H. Jones, William Barber, Esq., John Tayleur, Esq., are also landowners. Rateable value of the township, £4,429. 7s. 6d. Stoke-upon-Terne was anciently the manor and estate of the Verdon family, and was in after times carried by marriage to the Ferrers. The village takes its name from its situation on the river Tern. The Church is an ancient structure, dedicated to St. Peter, consisting of nave, south aisle, side chapel, and chancel, with a castellated tower, ornamented with grotesque figures, and containing five bells. The side aisle is separated by pointed arches rising from octagonal pillars. At the east end of the side aisle is the Corbet chapel, built in 1782. It contains a magnificent altar tomb of alabaster, elaborately ornamented with two full length figures in the costume of the times of Sir Reginald Corbet and his lady, lying in a recumbent posture. On the sides of the tomb are figures of eleven children, six sons and five daughters, with the date when each child was born; but several of the figures have been mutilated. The children were all born between the years 1549 and 1564. Sir Reginald Corbet was a judge of the Common Pleas in the time of Queen Elizabeth. A beautiful marble tablet, very chastely designed, has been erected against the north wall, in memory of the Cotton family. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s book at £20; incumbent, Rev. John Gladstone, who resides at the Rectory, a good residence, a little east by north from the church, rebuilt in 1844 upon the site of the old rectory. The tithes have been commuted for the sum of £949. 10s. A short distance west by south from the church, near the banks of the Tern, is an antique house, composed of timber and plaster, called Petsey; in one of the windows is the date 1511. The Grange, an extensive farm of between 600 and 700 acres, is the property of Richard Corbet, Esq., and residence of Mrs. Charlotte Lea. The Tern takes its course a little south from the church, and at the distance of about a quarter of a mile turns a corn mill.

Charities.—Andrew Turner left £20, the yearly interest to be expended in bread, and distributed to the poor of the parish the first Sunday in every month, after Christmas day, Easter day, and Whit-Sunday. James Talbot directed twelve penny loaves to be distributed on the same day as Turner’s charity. In respect of this gift there is 15s. per annum paid out of an estate in Stoke, called The Mount. There is also paid the yearly sum of 10s., from an estate called Stoke Park, which is also distributed in bread. The parish officers are in possession of a parcel of ground, containing between two and three acres, on which a workhouse has been built, and also of about half an acre of ground, with six small tenements, and gardens attached to each. It is not known how the parish became possessed of these premises; but it is supposed that they may have been purchased with the benefactions of Thomas Burrowes, William Burrowes, and Henry Bunbury, each of whom formerly gave £50 to the poor.

EATON

is a small township, two miles and a quarter S. from Stoke-upon-Tern, which in 1841 contained 28 houses and 127 inhabitants. Rateable value, £916. 16s. The principal landowners are Mr. Robert Heatley, Mr. John Heatley, Mr. Richard Heatley, and Mr. John Topham.

OLLERTON,

a small township in Stoke-upon-Tern parish, one mile and a half S.E. from the church, in 1841 had 31 houses and a population of 135 souls. Rateable value, £735. 13s. The landowners are Viscount Hill, Mrs. Whitfield, Mr. Palmer, Mr. Pointon, and Mr. Freeman. There is a small Independent Chapel here, erected in 1838. The congregation is under the pastoral care of the Rev. John Parker.

WISTANSWICK,

a township and small village, two miles N.E. from Stoke, and four miles S.W. from Market Drayton, had in 1841, 46 houses and 200 inhabitants. Rateable value, £621. 7s. The principal landowners are William Taylor, Esq., Mr. Thomas Goodall, Mr. W. Adams, Mr. William Corfield, and Mr. Robert Dawes; there are also a few smaller proprietors. The Independents have a small chapel here, of which the Rev. D. Dawes is the pastor.

Stoke-upon-Tern, Eaton, Ollerton, and Wistanswick Directories.

Adams Thomas, farmer, Petsey Stoke

Benbow William, farmer, Ollerton

Blainey James, tailor, Ollerton

Dawes Robert, farmer, Wistanswick

Davies Robert, shoemaker, Stoke

Dutton James, shoemaker, Stoke

Evenson John, butcher, Wistanwick

Gladstone Rev. John, The Rectory, Stoke

Goodall James, farmer, Stoke

Goodall John, farmer, Wistanswick

Goodall Thomas, farmer, Wistanswick

Goodall William, farmer, Wistanswick

Gosnell Edward, farmer, Wistanswick

Gosnell Thomas, farmer, Wistanswick

Green Francis, saddler and harness maker, Ollerton

Griffiths Joseph, shoemaker, Ollerton

Harding George, farmer, Stoke

Hardy Daniel, wheelwright, Ollerton

Heatley John, farmer, maltster, and corn miller, Eaton

Heatley Robert, farmer, Eaton

Heatley Richard, farmer, Eaton

Jenkins Samuel, farmer, Stoke

Juckes Henry, farmer, Stoke

Keay George, blacksmith, Ollerton

Latham Thomas, blacksmith, Stoke

Lea Charlotte, farmer, The Grange, Stoke

Lea William, farmer, Stoke

Lester Robert, farmer, Ollerton

Massey James, wheelwright, Stoke

Massey John, farmer, Ollerton

Meakin George, farmer, The Bendles, Stoke

Meakin William, farmer, Woodhouse, Stoke

Mullock William, farmer, Stoke

Palmer William, farmer, Ollerton

Parker Rev. John, Independent, Ollerton

Pears William, shoemaker and shopkeeper, Wistanswick

Phillips Thomas, farmer, Wistanswick

Pitchford Joseph, weaver, Wistanswick

Powell Edward, farmer, Stoke

Powell John, farmer, Stoke

Powell Thomas, corn miller, Stoke

Preston George, farmer, Ollerton

Preston William, farmer, Stoke

Rodgers Elizabeth, shopkeeper, Eaton

Shaw Stephen, beerhouse-keeper, Wistanswick

Simon John, farmer, Stoke

Talbot Richard, tailor, Wistanswick

Taylor William, farmer, Heathcote, Stoke

Topham John, farmer, Eaton

Walley Samuel, farmer, Stoke

Whitfield Richard, farmer, The Manor, Stoke

Williams Ann, shopkeeper, Ollerton

STANTON-UPON-HINE HEATH

is a considerable parish, which comprehends the townships of Booley, Harcourt, High Hatton, Moston, and Stanton-upon-Hine Heath, and comprises 5,490 acres of land, of which 263a. 2r. 3p. are in woods and plantations, and 35 acres in roads and waste. The soil for the most part is a mixture of sand and loam, in some parts highly fertile. The northern verge of the parish presents a bold undulating surface, and in some instances the hills rise to a considerable elevation, from which a fine view of the country is seen. The farm houses are in general well built, and provided with commodious out-premises. In 1801 the parish contained 579 inhabitants; 1831, 722; and in 1841 there were 127 houses and 669 inhabitants. The tithes are commuted for £258. 15s. The village of Stanton is pleasantly situated nine and a half miles N.E. by N. from Shrewsbury, and at the census of 1841 had 50 houses and 264 inhabitants. The township contains 1,698a. 3r. 28p. of land, of which 120a. 0r. 32p. are in plantations. Rateable value, £1,655. 2s. When the tithes were commuted for this township, £73 were apportioned to the vicar, £27. 15s. to Sir Andrew V. Corbet, Bart., and £8. to Rowland Hill. The Church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is an ancient Norman structure, with a square embattled tower at the west end, of later date, containing five bells; the pews are of oak, and have a very primitive appearance. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £5. 10s. l0d.; now returned at £205.; in the patronage of Viscount Hill, and enjoyed by the Rev. D. Holloway, B.A., who resides at the vicarage, a plain brick structure, near the outskirts of the village. The Woodlands, a delightfully situated mansion, surrounded with pleasure gardens and park-like grounds, is the residence of Mrs. F. Wood. Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet, Bart., is lord of the manor, and the principal landowner. Viscount Hill, John F. Wood, Esq., and the Rev. D. Holloway, are also proprietors. Stanton was the birth place of John Boydell, Esq., the liberal and spirited patron of talented engravers. His father was a farmer, and his son was intended for a land surveyor; when, however, about twenty years of age, he was put apprentice to an engraver, in which art he soon excelled, and from the profits derived from the sale of a book of 152 prints, engraved by himself, he began to encourage the best English engravers, and presented the public with a series of engravings of the works of the best masters, which soon laid the foundation of an ample fortune. He was elected an alderman in 1782, sheriff in 1785, lord mayor of London in 1790, and in the same year master of the Stationers’ Company. He was the greatest encourager of the art that this country ever had, and the English engravings, which before were considered much inferior to those of foreign nations, began from that time to be highly prized; and the exportation of them became a valuable branch of commerce. He also was a great encourager of the art of painting, and to this effect he undertook the superb edition of the Shakspeare gallery, the expense of which was enormous, and more perhaps than any individual had ever before embarked for such an object. Mr. Boydell, in a letter to Sir John Anderson, says, “I have laid out, with my brethren, in promoting the commerce of the fine arts, £350,000.” To the charitable and benevolent institutions he was a generous benefactor, and an attentive guardian. He died December 12th, 1804, and his remains were interred in great funeral state, in the church of St. Olave, Jewry.

Charities.—Stanton School was endowed with £5 per annum by Mrs. Baddiley, in 1721, who also left £40 towards the erection of the school house. The site was given by Sir Rowland Hill, and nine other persons subscribed towards the building of the school the sum of £14. 11s. 6d. About twenty children now attend. The £5 per annum is paid out of lands called Chealey Meadows and Chealey Wood, in Cheshire. Mrs. Baddiley left £2. 12s. per annum for a distribution of bread to the poor. The amount is paid out of the same land, and twelve penny loaves are given in the church every Sunday.

Richard Colley, in 1717, left £50; Joseph Smith left the interest of £20; Richard Smith, clerk of the parish, £2. 2s.; and Sir Andrew Corbet, in 1817, gave 25 guineas. These several sums, amounting to £98. 7s., together with £1. 13s. advanced from the poor rates, were placed in the hands of Sir Rowland Hill, who gave a promissory note for the amount to the churchwardens and overseers. Of the interest, £2 is laid out in bread, which is distributed every Sunday, in respect of Colley’s charity, 9s. is laid out on Christmas day, and the same sum on Good Friday, as the gifts of Richard and Joseph Smith. The remainder is given away in small sums on St. Andrew’s day.

Thomas Harper, in 1828, gave £150, upon trust, and directed the interest of £50 to be distributed among poor widows on St. Thomas’s day; the interest of £50 among poor men; and the profits of the remaining £50 to be paid to the master or mistress of the Sunday school at Stanton. This sum was placed in the hands of Sir John Hill, and secured by bond, bearing date September 29th, 1813. The interest is divided into three shares, and distributed according to the donor’s intentions.

Alford William, shoemaker

Astley William, farmer, Sowhatch

Besford Thomas, farmer, the Heath

Buttery William, farmer, the Heath

Faulkes William, farmer, the Heath

Ferrington James, shoemaker

Gollins William, shopkeeper, the Heath

Griffiths Thomas, farmer, the Heath

Hamer James, farmer, the Hazles

Hanmer Samuel, accountant

Hilditch John, farmer

Hollins John, vict., Lord Hill’s Arms

Holloway Rev. Dr. Jas. Thos., B.A., Vicarage

Jackson James, farmer, the Heath

Jeffries Jonas, farmer and corn miller, the Wood Mill

Jeffries William, corn miller, Stanton Mill

Lewis John, farmer, the Lodge

Massey Charles, farmer

Podmore Edward, Greenfields farm

Powell Caleb, farmer

Powell Samuel, farmer

Powell William, farmer, the Heath

Taylor John, blacksmith

Taylor Charles, shopkeeper, the Heath

Taylor John, shoemaker and shopkeeper

Thomason Richard, farmer

Tudor John, shoemaker, the Heath

Wood Mrs., Woodlands

Wood Thomas F., land and estate agent and valuer

BOOLEY, OR BOWLEY,

a township two and a quarter miles N.E. by N. from Stanton, contains, conjointly with High Hatton and Greenfields, 2,978a. 3r. 11p. of land: the soil is a mixture of sand and loam. The land in this locality has generally a bold and irregular surface; the scenery is beautifully diversified. The rateable value of Booley is £2,247, 9s. Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet, Bart., is the principal landowner, who, with St. John C. Charlton, Esq., are the impropriators of the large tithes, which are commuted for £20 for the above townships; the vicarial tithes are commuted for £78. 10s. Mr. George Dale is also a freeholder.

The principal residents are Mrs. Ann Betton; Thomas Betton, farmer; James Cadman, farmer; John Hendley, farmer; Thomas Lewis, quarry master; William Phillips, farmer; Benjamin Powell, farmer.

HARCOURT

is a small township with a few houses, picturesquely situated one and a half mile north from Stanton. The township contains 234a. 3r. 34p. of land, the owners of which are John Faulkner Wood, Esq.; Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet, Bart; and Mrs. Wood. Rateable value, £373. 16s. The rectoral tithes have been commuted for £55. 10s., of which £48 are paid to the impropriators, John F. Wood, Esq., and Sir A. V. Corbet, Bart. The vicar of Stanton receives £7. 10s. Harcourt Park House is a good building of stone.

The principal residents here are William Dale, farmer; The Park farm; and John Powell, The Mill.

HIGH HATTON,

a township and pleasant village, situated two and a half miles east from Stanton-upon-Hine Heath, in 1841 contained 34 houses and 201 inhabitants. The area of this township, conjointly with Booley, is 2,837a. 1r. 4p. The land is generally fertile, and there is some strong soil; in other places there is a mixture of sand and loam. Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet is lord of the manor and the principal landowner. The rent charge of this township is included in the return for Booley. Rateable value, £2,095, 1s. St. John Charlton, Esq., is the landowner.

Directory.—William Betteney, farmer; John Espley, blacksmith; John Gollins, farmer, Greenhurst; Ann Heatley, farmer; William Heatley, farmer, the Hall; William Stephen Hoole, farmer, the Wood; Ibbs Margery, farmer; Richard Rodenhurst, farmer, the Heath; Charles Taylor, farmer and shopkeeper.

MOSTON

township is situated two miles north from Stanton, and contains 639a. 0r. 23p. of land, which is the property of Viscount Hill, who is also lord of the manor. The tithes have been commuted for the sum of £16. At the census of 1841 there were 11 houses and 61 inhabitants. Rateable value £960.

The principal residents in Moston are Robert Cartwright, beerhouse keeper; Thomas Chidley, farmer; George Dale, farmer and maltster; Samuel Forrester, boot and shoemaker; William Harris, farmer; William Ikin, farmer, Pool farm.

WEM

is a market town and considerable parish, which embraces the chapelries of Edstaston and Newtown, and the townships of Ashton, Cotton, Horton, Lacon Lowe and Ditches, Northwood, part of Sleap, Soulton, Tilley and Trench, Wem and Wolverley, which together contain an area of 13,841a. 1r. 10p. of land, of which 193a. 2r. 6p. are in roads and waste. Gross estimated rental, £26,594; rateable value, £24,944. In 1841 there was a population of 3,919 souls, of whom 1,952 were males and 1,967 females, at which period there were 832 inhabited houses, 40 uninhabited, and two houses building. The tithes have been commuted for £2,100. The town of Wem is pleasantly situated near the banks of the river Roden, 11 miles north from Shrewsbury; the streets are irregularly formed, and many of the houses have an ancient appearance; there are, however, many good houses and shops, and several respectable private residences of more modern erection, particularly in those parts of the town called New-street and Islington. The township contains 1,202a. 3r. 30p. of land, of which 14a, 3r. 24p. are in roads and waste. Rateable value, £6,428. 5s. Wem is a place of considerable antiquity, and was anciently written Wemme. At the Domesday survey it was held by William Pantulph, or Pantulf, of Earl Roger, when there were “four geldable hides and an airy of hawks.” At this time most of the land about Wem lay waste, covered with a vast pool, or overgrown with woods. When William the Conqueror deprived the English of their estates he gave the greatest part of Shropshire to Roger de Montgomery, and he shared it out among the principal officers that commanded under him, on condition that they should pay him homage, fight for him, not dispose of their daughters in marriage, nor their goods by will without his leave; that their heirs whilst minors should be in wardship to him, and pay a relief for admission to their estates when they came of age. On these terms Earl Roger granted to William Pantulph 28 towns or manors in the county of Salop, whereof Wem being one of the chief places Pantulph made it his seat, and the head of his barony. In the 7th of King John, A.D. 1205, Warin Fitzgerald procured the grant of a market to be held weekly, and a fair yearly at his manor of Wemme. It has therefore been a market town 646 years. The market was then held on Sunday, as was then commonly done in other places. This continued till the 24th of Edward III, when Simon Islip, archdeacon of Canterbury, forbid the going to market on the Lord’s day for the future, and the market was subsequently held on Thursday, on which day it still continues to be held, and is numerously attended by the farmers who reside in the surrounding district. Fairs are held on the first Thursday in March, May 6th, Holy Thursday, June 29, last Thursday in September, and November 22nd.

The barony of Wem was of considerable extent; on the north it stretched to Whitchurch, on the east it took in Tilley and Cresswell, in Staffordshire, on the south it bordered on the Clive, and on the west on the parish of Ellesmere. The first baron was William Pantulph, who had great estates in Normandy, which he held of his superior lord Roger de Montgomery, a relation of one of the generals of William the Conqueror. By his tenure he was obliged to attend this Roger in war, and came over with him in the expedition against England. Shortly after the battle of Hastings Roger de Montgomery bestowed 28 manors in this county upon the said Pantulph, to be held by military service. These manors consisted of as many knight’s fees as composed a barony, the head of which Pantulph fixed at Wem, which he chose for the place of his residence. The Earl of Shrewsbury, A.D. 1102, engaged in a rebellion against the king, and required William Pantulph, his vassal, to aid him with such a number of men as he was obliged to furnish by his tenure. On his refusing he disinherited him of all his lands and possessions in Shropshire, upon which the king made him governor of Stafford Castle. The king having resolved to beseige Shrewsbury, William Pantulph attended the king on this expedition, and finding the roads bad and narrow and the country full of woods lined with archers, the king employed 6,000 soldiers in cutting down the woods and opening the roads. On the royal troops appearing before Shrewsbury the king threatened to hang all that he should take therein, and shortly after the town was surrendered. The Earl of Shrewsbury by his treason having forfeited his honour and estate to the crown the barony of Wem was henceforth held immediately by the king, and hence the lords thereof had a right to sit in the great councils of the realm. William Pantulph lived to a great age and died beyond sea. The last of this family who held the barony was William Pantulph, who died in the 7th of Henry III., A.D. 1233. About this period a perambulation was made to settle the boundaries of the manor of Wem and that of Prees; the latter belonged to the bishop of Lichfield and Coventry. On the death of the above William Pantulph, his father-in-law, Fulk Warine, gave the king 6,000 marks for the wardship of his lands and heir, with the benefit of her marriage. This Fulk was one of the barons that in 1214 confederated against King John, and who was subsequently excommunicated by the pope. On the marriage of Maud, the heiress of William Pantulph, with Ralph de Boteler, he settled at Wem, and in 1370 the barony was carried by an heiress of the Botelers into the family of Ferrars, and afterwards in like manner to the Greystocks, a noble family whose principal seat was Greystock Castle, in the county of Cumberland. Ralph Lord Greystock, the second baron of this family, left a granddaughter, who married Thomas Lord Dacre; this family had their chief seat at Dacre Castle in Cumberland. The fourth baron of this name, George Lord Dacre, being a minor at the death of his father, Thomas Duke of Norfolk obtained the wardship of him, but had not enjoyed it long before this young lord died, and his three sisters became co-heiresses. Ann married Phillip Earl of Arundle, and Elizabeth Lord William Howard, son of the Duke of Norfolk, but Mary died unmarried. Thomas Duke of Norfolk, on the death of his third wife, formed the project of marrying Mary Queen of Scotts. In the 15th of Elizabeth, however, he was beheaded for what his peers adjudged to be treason. By his attainder his eldest son Philip, having lost his titles of honour that were to have descended to him from his father, assumed the style of Earl of Arundle in right of his mother, who was daughter to Henry Fitzallan, the last Earl of Arundle of that family. In the 25th of Elizabeth the court of Wem was first called in the name of Philip Earl of Arundle, and of lady Ann, his wife. His zeal for popery, and the resentment he was supposed to entertain for the hard usage of his family, rendered him suspected by the government, and he was eventually condemned to imprisonment during the queen’s pleasure, and fined £10,000. In the 31st of Elizabeth the court at Wem was first called in the name of the queen, on account of the attainder of Philip Earl of Arundle, but as he had held the barony and manor of Wem in right of his wife, by his attainder he forfeited them only during his own life, so that on his decease they reverted to the Countess Dowager Ann, on whose death, Thomas Howard, her only son, succeeded to the dignity of baron of Wem. On the accession of James I. to the throne, this Thomas was restored in blood, with the title of Earl of Arundle and Surrey, and put in possession of the estates forfeited by his grandfather’s attainder, thus he had a great fortune by descent, and a much larger one with his wife, who was the heiress of the great house of Shrewsbury. In 1611 he was made knight of the garter, and in 1621 he was created Earl Marshall of England, with a pension of £2,000 per annum. In the 8th of Charles I. we find the court baron of Wem called in the name of the Right Honourable Thomas, Earl of Arundle and Surrey, premier, Earl of England, Lord Howard, Fitzallans, Maltravers, Mowbray, Segrave, Bruse, and Wem, Earl Marshall of England, knight of the most noble order of the garter, and one of the lords of the king’s honourable privy council. He is said to have been a proud man, and his expenses always exceeded his revenue; he was the greatest encourager of painting, sculpture, designs, carving, and building that the age produced, and he employed persons many years in Italy and Greece to collect rarities for him; his statues and paintings were equal in number and value to those in the houses of most princes, and he provided the most sumptuous and magnificent entertainments. The barony was subsequently held by the Playters, Onslows, Wycherleys, and Jeffreys. On the death of John Lord Jeffreys, in 1720, the barony and manor of Wem descended to his daughter, then a minor, and shortly after the barony of Wem and the manors of Wem and Loppington, and the land and tenements thereto, were sold to Henry Lord Newport, afterwards Earl of Bradford, for £12,000. In 1730, Lord Newport, by will, devised all his real estate, in trust, for Mrs. Ann Smith, and his natural son by her, John Harrison. He took the name of Newport; but losing the use of his reason, his mother conveyed the estate after his death to William Pulteney, Earl of Bath, from whom it has descended to the present proprietor, the Duke of Cleveland. A court leet and baron is held yearly in October. Jonathan Scarth, Esq., steward; Thomas Griffiths, bailiff. Formerly at these courts causes were tried for debts or trespass in actions under 40s.

The freeholders at Wem are numerous, among whom are William Egerton Jeffreys, Colonel Wynn, Thomas Dickin, Esq., the Trustees of Wem Free School, Jonathan Forgham, Mr. John Jenks, Mr. Craig, Mr. John Rodgers, Mary Llewellin, Mr. Wilkinson, Mr. Phillips, William Owen, Esq., William Barber, Esq., Mr. James, Mr. Leek, Mrs. Kynaston, H. J. Barker, Esq., Mrs. Burd, Mrs. Gwynn, John Everall, Esq., Mr. George Clay, Mr: Glazebrook, Mr. Ashley, Mr. Holding, Mr. Robert Gough, Mrs. Tyler, Mr. John Basnet, Mr. Snape, Mr. Edward Broomfield, Mr. Breakspear, Mr. Drury, J. H. Walford, Esq., Mr. John Boughey, Mr. Poole, and upwards of forty others.

The Church is a venerable structure dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, consisting of nave, chancel, and side aisles, with a heavy square tower sixty-nine feet high, in which are six musical bells; on the west side stands the statue of a man, as large as life, with a truncheon in his hand, supposed to represent Ralph, lord Greystock, baron of Wem, who probably was at the charge of building the steeple; on the east side is the statue of a lady, with the model of the church in her right hand, and a cross in her left hand. The north porch, and the lower part of the walls are built of red sand stone, coarsely worked, and are perhaps the remains of the first church erected here in Saxon times. The tower and upper part of the walls, and most of the buttresses are of the Grinshill free stone. The vestry was built before the great fire which burnt the roof, then covered with shingles, the gallery, and all the timber work, damaged the walls and melted the bells. The west window and the tower were built in 1667, and the west end of the church, the roof, and the pews, in 1678. The chancel was built about the year 1680: since that period the frequent reparations and alterations have left but little of the ancient character of the church remaining. The bells were cast in the same year, and a clock and chimes added in 1726. The communion plate are of large size, and consist of chalice, pattin, flagon, and basin, which were the gift of Gerrard Shelley, and Cicely his wife in 1707. The accommodation in the church was increased by building two new galleries, one on the north and another on the south side, and altering the pews in the old gallery at the west end in 1840, when 274 additional sittings were obtained, which are free and unappropriated, in consequence of a grant from the incorporated society for building and enlarging churches. There are also 703 appropriated sittings. There are tablets to the Smiths, Wycherleys, Fields, Traceys, and others. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s book at £26. 4s. 4½d.; in the patronage of the Duke of Cleveland, and incumbency of the Rev. John Charles D. Merest, M.A., who resides at the rectory, a pleasantly situated mansion, built by the late rector, who exchanged the old rectory, and obtained a grant from Queen Anne’s bounty, towards the erection of the present structure. Dr. Henry Aldrich, an eminent divine and polite scholar, was rector of Wem. He was born at Westminster, in 1647, and educated under the famous Busby. In 1662 he was admitted into Christ Church College, Oxford and having passed through the gradations of bachelor of arts in 1666, and master in 1669, he took orders and became an eminent tutor in his college. In 1681 he was installed canon of Christ Church, and in the same year took the degrees of bachelor and doctor of divinity. During the reign of James II. he published several tracts on the popish controversy, which are said to have shown a clearness of arguing and depth of learning far beyond anything that had at that time appeared in our language. In order to excite and cherish a taste for polite literature, he annually published some piece of an ancient Greek author, as a new year’s gift for the students of the college. He wrote a system of logic, entitled “Artis Logicæ Compendium,” Oxon, 1691, 8vo.; and “Elements of Geometry,” in Latin, never published. He was also concerned in Gregory’s Greek Testament, printed at Oxford in 1703, folio; and Havercamp’s edition of Josephus. By his skill in architecture he improved the buildings of the college; and that part of it called Peckwater quadrangle, deservedly admired, was designed by him. His abilities as a musician rank him, in the opinion of competent judges, among the masters of the science; and although he chiefly applied himself to the composition of sacred music, yet he occasionally diverted himself by producing pieces of a lighter kind. For the entertainment of smokers, to which fraternity he belonged, he composed a smoking catch, to be sung by four persons while they were smoking; and he was also the author of “Hark! the merry Christ church bells.” He died at his college in 1710, leaving an order to be buried, without any memorial, in the cathedral. “His modesty and humility, his easy pleasantry, his attention to academic business, and to the credit of his college, his exertions for the encouragement of learning, and the proofs which his memoirs afford of reputable talents, various accomplishments, and amiable qualities, unite to transmit his name with honour to posterity.” The Independent Chapel, situated in Chapel street, is a considerable building of brick, fronted with freestone. The interior has a neat and chaste appearance, and is provided with a circular gallery. It was built in 1834, and will accommodate five hundred hearers. The congregation is under the pastoral care of the Rev. Joseph Pattison. There is a Sunday school in connection with the chapel, with about 150 scholars. The Independents have another chapel in Noble street, where the Rev. John Saddler is the pastor. The Primitive Methodist Chapel is a neat structure in Chapel street; and the Baptists have a chapel in Cripple street. The Irvingites have a meeting house in Noble street.

The Grammar School.—Sir Thomas Adams, the founder of the free school at Wem, was born in the year 1586; he was the son of Thomas Adams, a respectable tanner at Wem, who had his tan pits where the school now stands. His son received a liberal education at the university of Cambridge, and was afterwards brought up a draper in London. In 1639 he was elected sheriff of London, on which he gave up business, and devoted his time entirely to the duties of his office, and the good of the citizens. He was elected Lord Mayor of London 1645, which office he filled with the greatest disinterestedness. About this time the enemies of Charles I., who were then coming into power, thought proper to search his house, in pursuit of that unfortunate monarch, knowing his strong attachment to the royal cause; in the year 1647 he was committed to the tower, where he remained some time. He, however, continued his attachment to the royal cause, and is said to have carried his zeal so far as to have remitted ten thousand pounds to Charles II. while in exile. On the accession of that monarch to the throne, Sir Thomas was advanced to the dignity of baronet. Amongst the documents belonging to the free school there is a copy of the orders and statutes prescribed by him for the government of the same, purporting to have been made March 4, 1650. By these orders it is declared Rowland Hill, Esq., and fourteen others, should be enfeoffed of the lands and hereditaments appertaining to the school. That the said school should be for all children within the parish of Wem, except the children of those parents who being of ability should not have contributed towards the advancement of the said school. The statutes also contain regulations for the internal management of the school, and directions that prayers should be read every morning and evening, and the scholars catechised in the principles of the Christian religion. The gross annual income derived from the school property when the charity commissioners published their report amounted to £336. 15s., out of which the head master received a salary of £160 per annum, the second master £70, and the third master £70 per annum. The school is free to all boys of the parish of Wem for instruction in classics and English grammar; each scholar pays a small entrance fee, and if they learn writing or accounts they pay for such instruction from 7s. 6d. to 10s. 6d. per quarter. A portion of the income of the school arises from lands purchased by the first Feoffees of the school, who were instrumental in raising upwards of £370, which sum was laid out in the purchase of land for the general benefit of the school. The principal object of the foundation was evidently the instruction of free scholars, but when the charity commissioners published their report there were only two on the foundation, and there were only six when our agent visited Wem. The Rev. William Boulton is the head master.

The British School, a neat brick structure pleasantly situated, was erected in 1839, at the cost of about £800; it is capable of accommodating 200 boys and 200 girls, and consists of an upper and lower room; the latter is occupied by the boys, and the entrance is from Dark-lane, and the former by the girls, who have an entrance from Chapel street. At the present time 130 boys and 90 girls attend the school, which is chiefly self-supporting. The Privy Council on Education gave the sum of £200 towards the erection of the school. Thomas H. Taylor and Mrs. Taylor are the teachers.

The National School, a commodious brick building situated in an open situation, consists of two spacious rooms, which were erected at an expense of about £1,000, including the cost of the site. Thomas Grainge and Mary Ebrey are the teachers.

The Infant School, situated in Chapel-street, has an attendance of about 120. Mary Green is the teacher.

The Wem Union House, situated on the Whitchurch road, near to Islington, is a spacious brick structure erected to accommodate 200 inmates. The union comprehends twelve parishes, and has an area of eighty square miles. The average annual expenditure of the three, preceding the formation of the union, was £4,018. The following are the parishes in the union, viz.:—Wem, Broughton, Clive, Grinshill, Ightfield, Lee Brockhurst, Loppington, Moreton Corbet, Prees, Shawbury, Stanton upon Hine Heath, Weston under Red Castle, and Whixall. Clerk and Superintendent Registrar, William Owen, Esq.; Relieving Officer, Thomas Hanmer; Master and Matron, Mr. and Mrs. Rowley.

The County Court for law proceedings on actions and claims not exceeding £50 comprehends the following places, viz.:—Wem 4, Preston Brockhurst 3, Grinshill 4, Clive or Cliff 3, Yorton 4, Tilley 1, Sleap 2, Nunnerley 2, Loppington 3, Northwood 5, part of Whixall 8, Newtown 4, Ightfield 8, Corra 8, Prees 5, Darliston 6, Marchamley 6, Weston under Red Castle 4, Lee 3, Aston 1, Lacon 1, Edgboulton 6, Stanton 6, Shawbury 6, and Burton 6. The figures refer to the mileage from Wem. Judge, Uvedale Corbet, Esq., Aston Hall, near Shiffnal; Treasurer, William B. Collis, Esq.; Clerk, Henry John Barker, Esq.; High Bailiff, Mr. Thomas Griffiths, jun.

The Lock-up is a small brick structure situated in Grove-street; prisoners on committal are sent to Shrewsbury. William Freeman is the superintendent.

The Market House is a brick fabric with stone finishings, supported by arches and pillars in the front. The county court is held in the spacious room over the market. Mr. Thomas Griffiths is clerk of the markets.

The Stamp Office is in Market-street. Mr. George W. Poole, distributor.

The Excise Office is at Mrs. Sand’s, the White Lion Inn, High-street.

The Court House for magisterial purposes is situated in Noble-street; the magistrates who usually attend the petty sessions here are Sir Robert Chambre Hill, Bart.; Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet, Bart.; A. C. Heber Percy, Esq.; Thomas Dickin, Esq., and George Bowen, Esq. William Lucas, Esq., is clerk to the magistrates.

The Gas Works are situated in Grove-street; they were established in 1835 by Messrs. Thomas and Burton, since which they have been transferred to the mortgagee, Mr. Craig. The gasometer will hold 4,000 cubic feet of gas. A charge of 10s. per 1,000 cubic feet is made to the consumer for this luminous vapour. Mr. John Brown is the secretary and manager.

The National Provincial Bank of England has a branch bank here, situated in High-street. Mr. John Daniel Lloyd is the manager.

The traffic of Wem is facilitated by a branch of the Ellesmere canal, which terminates near to Edstaston, about two miles from Wem. It is chiefly used for the conveyance of coal. Mr. John Brown, coal, slate, lime, and guano merchant, has a wharf here.

The Wem corn mill is an extensive modern erection of brick, situated on the river Roden; the machinery is of a superior construction; it is occasionally worked by steam power, but the water power is constructed so as to work the machinery without any delay after the rise of the water. Mr. J. Boughey is the proprietor.

The following account of the state of Wem during the civil war is chiefly extracted from Garbet’s interesting history of that town. When the war broke out in 1642 the populace were in general in favour of royalty; the persons of most distinction in the county who supported the parliament were Mr. Mitton, Mr. Mackworth, and Thomas Hunt, Esq., M.P. for Shrewsbury. The above gentlemen, attended by Richard Baxter, a famous dissenting minister, having got a small body of troops about the latter end of August, 1643, settled a garrison at Wem, being the first which the parliament had in this county. To fortify the town a rampart or wall of earth was thrown up, which began at Drayton gate, and ran along the side of Sandland’s yard, and about fourscore yards into Cordwell, where it formed an angle, defended by a wooden tower; then it turned towards the mill, crossing a meadow and a road just below Oliver’s well, and passed along the side of the parsonage garden, till it came to the Shrewsbury gate. It then crossed the alleys to the corner of the school garden, whence it turned through the tan pits on the east side of the brook to Ellesmere gate. Thence it extended along the Noble-street garden to two houses, then in the fields where a guard was kept, and from those houses to the Whitchurch gate, and thence over Shenton’s field it came up to Drayton gate. The ditch was about four yards wide and of a proportionate depth, but probably narrower in those places where the land could be flooded, for the low grounds were laid under water from Woodhouse’s croft to Cordwell. The earth thrown out of the ditch made the wall or rampart, which was strengthened by palisades placed so thick that a whole coppice in Lacon was cut down for this purpose. All the houses and buildings without the rampart were burnt to prevent their giving shelter to the enemy. As soon as the king had notice of a garrison having been placed at Wem, he sent Lord Capel to Shrewsbury, as lieutenant-general of Shropshire; the parliament sent Sir William Brereton, a Cheshire gentleman, to oppose him. Lord Capel, at the head of 5,000 men, made an attack upon Wem before its works were finished. At the same time Sir William Brereton, with his Cheshire forces, drew near the town to support and defend it. By a manœuvre Lord Capel induced General Brereton to return to Nantwich, and in the meantime he attacked Wem, which was but ill provided against an assault, the gates were without hinges, being only reared up, and only forty soldiers remained in the town, the rest of the forces consisted of the rabble of the town, among whom a number of women particularly distinguished themselves, and gave occasion for the following rhyme:—

“The women of Wem and a few musketeers, Beat the Lord Capel and all his cavaliers.”

The principal attack was made at Drayton gate; and old Vicars, in his “God’s Ark overtopping the World’s Waters,” says, “The great slaughter and execution which were performed upon the enemy when they set upon Wem, there being six cart loads of dead men carried away at one time, besides the wounded; and as it is said, there were fifteen found buried in one grave. Little execution was done upon our men; we lost not above three in the town—Major Marcow, one soldier, and one boy.” Of the king’s party he enumerates Colonel Wynn, slain; Major Vaughan, wounded; one of Winter’s captains shot in the back; Captain Davison, taken prisoner, since dead; Captain Manley, Captain Ellis, and Colonel Scriven, wounded. As the troops of Brereton approached, Lord Capel drew off his forces and returned to Shrewsbury. In 1644 the garrison of Wem seems to have been better provided for their defence. Prince Rupert, on his march to Chester, seemed determined to attack Wem; but having taken a view of the place from the Trench farm, he slighted it, saying, “It is a crow’s nest that will not afford each of my men a piece of bread.” At this time the greater part of Shropshire was for the king; but after the fatal battle of Naseby he lost ground in almost every part of the kingdom. Major-general Mytton was governor of Wem, the garrison whereof took Ercall House, belonging to Lord Newport; Apley Castle, belonging to Mr. Charlton; Moreton Corbet House, belonging to Sir Andrew Corbet; and Shrawardine Castle, the seat of the Bromleys. The plunder brought into Wem during these unhappy disturbances contributed greatly to induce an appearance of prosperity.

The dreadful fire which happened March 3rd, 1677, is a remarkable era in the history of Wem. It was occasioned by a girl suffering a lighted caudle to ignite the thatch of her parents’ dwelling. The season being dry and the wind boisterous, the devouring flames were speedily carried along the High street, Cripple street, and the Horse Fair, consuming every edifice except the free school. In Noble street it extended as far as the Draw well house, and in Milk street as far as the Rector’s barn. The church, the market house, seven score houses, and treble the number of outbuildings were burnt. The wind blew the burning thatch and shingles to a vast distance, so that in one hour the town was completely enveloped in flames. The loss of the property consumed was estimated at £23,677. 3s. 1d.

Among the eminent individuals of which Wem has been the birth place or residence, may be enumerated the benevolent Sir Thomas Adams, before mentioned, the founder of the Grammar School. Wycherley, one of the most eminent wits and comic poets of his day, was born here in 1640; he married the Countess of Drogheda, but after her death, from law suits with her relatives, he became embarrassed in his circumstances. He married a second wife a few days before his death, which happened in September, 1815. John Astley, Esq.: This artist, from the peculiarity of his good fortune, rather than by his exertions as an artist, has obtained a memorial in biographical history. He was born at Wem, and when of age to assume a profession he was sent to London, and placed as a pupil under Mr. Hudson; when he left him he visited Rome, and on his return from thence he went to Dublin, where he practised as a painter for about three years, and in that time acquired three thousand pounds by his pencil. On his coming over to England, and painting his way back to London, in his own post chaise, with an outrider, he loitered, with a little pardonable vanity, in his native neighbourhood, and visiting Knutsford assembly with another gentleman, Lady Daniel, a widow then present, was at once so won by his appearance, that she made arrangements to sit for her portrait, and then made him the offer of her hand; a boon which he did not think it prudent to refuse. This lady, by marriage articles, settled the whole of the Duckinfield estate upon him, after the death of her daughter by Sir William Daniel. Mr. Astley eventually became possessed of these estates, and died at his house, Duckinfield Lodge, Cheshire, November 13th, 1787, and was buried at the church in that village. John Ireland, the author of “Illustrations of Hogarth,” and other esteemed works, was also born at Wem.

Charities.—Francis Chambre, by his will, dated December 26th, 1676, charged certain lands with the payment of 40s. per annum, to be disposed of for the benefit and repairs of the chapel at Newton, or for the augmentation of the salary of the third school-master at Wem, or to both, at the discretion of his kinsman, George Chambre of Loppington, and the Rev. William Chettoe, and their heirs for ever. The premises charged with this payment are now the property of Mr. Dickin, who pays £2 to the schoolmaster and chapel warden every alternate year.

In 1703 Richard Corbet, Esq. granted a yearly rent charge issuing out of two farms at High Hatton, and directed that £4 thereof should be laid out every alternate year in buying six cloth coats or gowns for six poor people, four to be chosen from the parish of Wem, and two from Loppington; the said persons to be housekeepers reduced to poverty by misfortune; that £4 should be laid out every alternate year in clothing three poor boys of the parish of Wem, to be set out apprentices to husbandry; that 20s. per annum be paid to a writing master for teaching four poor boys writing and arithmetic. And he further directed, that every alternate year the said rent charge of £10 should be laid out in binding two boys, of the parish of Wem, apprentices to handicraft trades. The sum of £9 to be disposed of in one year, and £11 the next year, and so on from year to year. The yearly sum of £10, with some additions thereto, varying according to circumstances, is paid by Sir Andrew Corbet, the owner of the estate at Hatton. The objects of the charity are selected by the trustees, who meet about February every alternate year for the purpose, and 21s. is paid on that day towards the expenses of such meeting.

William Hinton, and Dorothy, his wife, in consideration of £101. 1s. 6d., conveyed to certain trustees and their successors two pieces of land in Whixall, called the Stanley End Pieces, to the use of the poor of the parish of Wem. Of the above, £50 was the gift of Thomas Spendelow during his lifetime, who directed the proceeds thereof should be laid out in bread every Lord’s day for the poor inhabitants of the parish. There has been no subsequent conveyance to trustees, and the churchwardens have from time to time let the property, which consists of two fields, containing rather more than seven acres, now let at a good rent of £12 per annum. There is also an allotment on Whixall Moss, given in lieu of a right of turbury, which is let for 5s. per annum. The rents are carried to the account of the churchwardens of Wem quarter, and out of this account there is paid, in respect of the rents above mentioned, and for Sir Andrew Corbet’s charity hereafter mentioned, 4s. a week, amounting to £10. 8s. per annum, which is disposed of in bread, and £3 of which is distributed in money. The sum of £3 is divided by the churchwardens and vestry clerk, together with £2 paid in respect of the Hon. Richard Hill’s charity, in small sums among the poor.

The Hon. Richard Hill, in 1726, bequeathed £100 to the poor of the parish of Wem, to be applied as the minister and churchwardens should think fit.—Rowland Whittingham, in the same year, bequeathed £10 for the objects of the said charity. With these two sums, and £2 advanced by the overseers, three messuages were purchased adjoining the church-yard. These premises were pulled down in the year 1822, and the site added to the church-yard. Before this period, the rents never exceeded £5 or £6 a year. The sum of £2 has been since paid out of the church-rate collected for Wem quarter, and £1 out of the rate collected for each of the other three quarters. When the charity commissioners published their report there was a sum of £40 in the hands of Thomas Wilkinson, which is understood to have been left many years ago by Mr. Minshull of Tilley. Mr. Wilkinson pays 40s. yearly as the interest thereof, of which 20s. is paid to the minister of Whixall, 10s. among the poor of Wem, 5s. among the poor of Tilley and Trench, and 5s. to the poor of Hollingwood End.

Sir Richard Hill, by his will bearing date January 1st, 1808, bequeathed £300 in trust to pay the interest of £100 to the poor of each of the parishes of Hodnet, Prees, and Wem, in such proportions as his brother John Hill, during his life, and after his decease, the owners of his mansion house, at Hawkstone, should think fit. The interest on the sum of £100 is paid by Sir Rowland Hill to the poor of each of the parishes of Hodnet and Prees. Nothing however was paid when the charity commissioners visited Wem, in respect of the legacy for Wem, nor had they any evidence to show the principal had ever been paid. If the payment of the principal cannot be proved, we apprehend that Sir Rowland Hill is accountable for it as the representative of the testator.

Sir Andrew Corbet, in 1817, gave the sum of 25 guineas, the interest to be given to the poor of the parish. This sum was applied in rebuilding the church, and the sum of 25s. is paid out of the church-rate as the interest thereof, which sum is expended in bread for the poor.

Mary Hankey, by will 1818, bequeathed £40, to be placed out at interest, and laid out in bread, to be distributed every Easter Sunday among poor housekeepers of the parish of Wem, at the discretion of the churchwardens.

Upwards of two hundred years ago there were three common fields belonging the town: they consisted of arable land, and were divided by stones or other land marks, so that each proprietor knew his own ground, which he ploughed and sowed, but when harvest was gathered in, their cattle ranged in common and fed promiscuously. The cross field took its name from a cross erected on that road, as was usual in popish countries. The chapel field extended towards Horton, and the middle field towards Edstaston road.

A LIST OF STREETS, LANES, AND PLACES IN THE PARISH OF WEM.

Back street, High street

Bank house, Ireland

Bow street, Market street

Brunswick house, Islington

Brunswick row, Islington

Chapel street, Market street

Church street, Mill street

Court house, Market street

Cripple street, Noble street

Crown street, Back street

Dark lane, High street

Draw well lane, Back street

Ellesmere road, Ireland

Grove house, Grove street

Grove street, Bow street

High street, May pole end

Hibernia cottages, May poll end

Ireland, Grove street

Islington, Whitchurch road

Islington cottages, Islington

Islington crescent, Islington

Islington house, Islington

Islington row, Islington

Maiden lane, High street

Market street, High street

Market house, Market street

May pole end, Drayton and Aston road

Mill street, Salop road

New street, Islington

Noble street, Back street

Roden lodge, Mill street

Rose cottage, New street

Salop road, Tilley

Union Buildings, Market st

Wembrook place, Islington

Well house lane, Dark lane

Whixall road, Ireland

Post Office.—At Miss Jane Deakin’s, Market-street. Letters arrive at 6 20 A.M. and are despatched at 7 20 P.M.

Aston John, gentleman, Market street

Barker Henry John, Esq., Salop road

Barker Charles Frederick, Esq., Market st

Barker Mr. Thomas, Salop road

Barlow Henry, tallow chandler and soap boiler, Market street

Beetenson Charles, Esq., Noble street

Boughey John, Salop road

Boulton Rev. William, Grove street

Brown Thomas Dickin, Esq., New street

Burd Mrs., Bow street

Cartwright Miss, Church street

Cotgrave Miss, Chapel street

Clay George, gentleman, New street

Deakin Miss Jane, Market street

Dickin Roger Spencer, Esq., Grove street

Dickin Thomas, Esq., Noble street

Dickin Mr. Thomas, Grove street

Dickin Mr. Richard Parker, Grove street

Dixon Rev. Wm., Noble street terrace

Edwards Edward, bookkeeper, Market st

Everall John, gentleman, Grove street

Ferrett Henry, inland revenue officer, Back st

Forgham Mrs., Noble street

France Thomas, Noble street

Gough Mrs., Back street

Gough Robert, gentleman, Back street

Gough Mr. Samuel, Market street

Greenwood Joseph, gentleman, Chapel st

Griffiths Henry, porter dealer, Market street

Griffiths Richard, draper, High street

Gwynn Edward, Esq., Noble street

Gwynn Samuel Betten, Esq., Noble street

Gwynn Miss, Grove house

Hanmer Thos., relieving officer, Wem union

Heatley William, Esq., Market street

Ireland Mrs., Islington house

Jones William, Chapel street

Jones Miss, Chapel street

Jones Samuel, cattle salesman, Back street

Kindillow Wm. Nail, governor union house

Kynaston Mrs. Mary, High street

Lee Henry, Esq., Chapel street

Lee Mrs. Mary, Chapel street

Leeke Miss Mary Ann, New street

Littlehales Fred., clerk, county court office

Lloyd John Daniel, gentleman, High street

Lucas William, Esq., Noble street

Mason John, skinner, Ireland

Meredith Charles David, registrar, Islington

Meredith Mrs., Islington

Meredith Rev. Charles David, Crescent

Merest Rev. John William D., The Rectory

Morris Henry, gentleman, Islington Crescent

Morris Mrs., Islington Crescent

Nickson Mrs., Chapel street

Oldham Charles, Esq., Tilley house

Owen William, Esq., New street

Parkes Mrs., The Crescent

Parkes Mr. Richard, Islington Crescent

Pattinson Rev. Joseph, Islington villa

Pearson Mrs. Sarah, Grove street

Phillips Mr. George, May pole end

Poole Mr. George Wright, Market street

Prince Captain Charles, Market street

Pritchard Rev. Mr., Chapel street

Ravenshaw Richard, bank clerk, New street

Sadler Rev. John, Islington

Smith Mrs. Wycherley, New street

Smith John, tea dealer, Noble street

Snape Walter, gentleman, Creamore road villa

Stockhall Henry, attorney’s clerk, Market st

Thomas Thomas, gentleman, Islington

Walford John Henshaw, Esq., Roden lodge

Walker Mrs., Back street

Walmsley Thomas, Esq., Cripple street

Walmsley George, gentleman, Hawkstone rd

Walmsley Mr. John, Hibernia cottage

Wilkinson Mr. William, Ellesmere road

Williams Sir John Bickerton, Knight, The Hall

Wilson Joseph, Esq., New street

Academies.

Marked * take boarders.

British School, Dark lane, Thomas Hickson Taylor, master; T. H. Taylor, mistress

* Cooke Miss, Noble street

* Foncier Miss, Noble street

* Grammar, Grove street, Rev. William Boulton, M.A., principal; Benjamin Burd, English master

Infants’, Chapel street, Mary Green

* Meredith Mrs. Hannah, Bow street

National, Back street, Thos. Grainge, master; Mary Ebrey, mistress

* Strutt Miss, Noble street

Accountants.

Burd John, Mill street

Wycherley Thomas, Noble st

Attorneys.

Barker Charles Frederick, Market street

Barker Henry John, clerk to county court; office, Market street

Brown Thomas Dickin, New street

Burd Jonathan, Market st

Lucas William, clerk to magistrates, Noble street

Owen William, clerk to the Wem union, and superintendent registrar, New street

Auctioneers & Valuers.

Burd John, Mill street

Franklin Josiah, Market st

Wycherley Thomas, and appraiser for the Wem county court, Noble street

Bakers & Flour Dealers.

Astley Mary, Back street

Harris George, Grove street

Kynaston Charles, Market st

Vaughan Thomas, High st

Watkin Sarah, High street

Weever George, Market st

Bankers.

The National Provincial Bank of England Company, draw on the London Joint Stock Bank, John Daniel Lloyd, manager

Blacksmiths.

Humphreys Wm., Noble st

Rogers Robert, Ireland

Watkin Thomas, Dark lane

Watkin William, Grove st

Wilkinson John, Market st

Booksellers, Bookbinders, and Stationers.

Cooke Mary, Draw well ter

Franklin Josiah, & printer, Market street

Boot & Shoemakers.

Marked * dealers only.

Bannister John, Back street

Forgham Jonathan, May pole end

Higgins Williams, Rookery, Ireland

Jenkins George, Grove st

Jenks John, Market street

* Owen Miss Ann, High st

Robins Henry, Market st

* Tomlins Charles, Market st

Watkin Richard, Chapel st

Weaver John, High street

* Wilkinson Thomas, Market street

Braziers & Tin Plate Workers.

Barlow Henry, Market street

Edge John, Bow street

Edge Samuel, Union place

Brewer.

Cooke Joseph, Draw well brewery

Bricklayers.

Beckett William, Cripple st

Hewes William, Back street

Morris John, New street

Richards William, Back st

Tomey Jonathan, Back st

Brick and Tile Merchants.

Barker Henry John, Northwood

Brown John, Grove street

Maddocks Samuel, Barker’s green

Builders.

Beddoe John, Wem brook pl

France Thomas and Son, Noble street

Prince Frederick and Son, Church street

Walton Thomas, Salop road

Butchers.

Astley Thomas, Noble street

Davies Benjamin, Grove st

Deakin Henry, Market street

Elkes George, Market street

Hales William, Bow street

Parkes John, High street

Watkin James, High street

Weaver Charles, High street

Weaver George, High street

Weever Frederick, Market st

Cabinet Makers.

Broomhall John, foreman, Cripple street

France Thomas, Noble st

France Thomas, jun., Noble street

Lee John, New street

Prince Frederick and Son, Church street

Carriage Builders.

Eaton George, May pole end

Prince John, Church street

Cheese Factors.

Richards John, Market st

Vaughan Thomas, High st

Chemists and Druggists.

Bickerton Samuel, High st

Lee Thomas, Market street

Micklewright George, Market street

Onslow Richard, & dispensing, Cripple street

Clothes Dealer.

Huntington John, Market st

Coal Agent.

Brown John, Grove street, and Edstaston wharf

Coal Dealers.

Jenkins George, Grove street

Ralphs Jane, Noble street

Wilkinson Thos., Dark lane

Confectioners.

Kynaston Charles, Bow st

Stockall John, Market street

Vaughan Thomas, High st

Watkin Elizabeth, High st

Weaver George, High street

Coopers, Turners, and Dealer in Bendware.

Crewe Joseph, High street

Drury William, Noble street

Corn Factor.

Richards John, Market street

Curriers & Leather Cutters.

Everall John, Grove street

Gough Robert, Noble street

Gough Samuel, Market st

Dyer—Silk, Woollen, & Cotton.

Yoad Samuel, High street

Farmers.

Barber Wm., May-pole-end

Clay George, New street

Cooke Joseph, Draw-well lane

Everall John, Lowe-hill lane

Forgham Thomas, Foxley

Forgham Wm., Well-house farm

Griffiths Thomas, Soulton lane

Jenks John, Market street

Jones John, Noble street

Parkes John, Market street

Richards John, Market street

Snape Walter, Creamore road

Farm Tillage Dealers.

Brown John, Edstaston wharf, and guano merchant

Lowe Thomas, New street

Richards John, Market street

Fire and Life-office Agents.

The Agriculturists Cattle Insurance Compy., Benjamin Burds, Market street

Legal and Commercial, John Everall, Grove street

Pelican, Family Endowment and Manchester Fire, Wm. Owen, New street

Salop Fire, Josiah Franklin, Market street

Shropshire and North Wales, Messrs. Barker, Market st

Fishmonger.

Salt William, Market street

Glass, China, and Earthenware Dealers.

Franklin Josiah, Market st

Green Jane Charlotte, High street

Robins Henry, Market street

Grocers and Tea Dealers.

Heatley Wm., Market street

Kynaston Charles, High st

Kynaston Henry, Market st

Lee Thomas, Market street

Onslow Richard, Cripple st

Poole & Wilkinson, Market st

Richards John, Market street

Vaughan Thomas, High st

Wilkinson Andrew, High st

Hairdressers.

Green Samuel, Bow street

* Jenkins Richard, and perfumer, Market street

Hatter.

Howard Andrew, High street

Hosier & Berlin Repository.

Russell Lucy, Noble street

Hotels, Inns, and Taverns.

Black Lion, Thomas Nevett, Market street

Buck’s Head, Martha Higley, Church street

Bull’s Head, James Russell, Bow street

Castle, Commercial & Posting House, Robt. Higley, High street

Corbet Arms, John Lewis, Chapel street

Crown, Frederick Wycherley, Market street

Dickins’ Arms, John Jones, Back street

Fox Robert Rogers, Ireland

Hawkstone Arms, Richard Wire, Islington

Horse and Jockey, Robert Davies, Bow street

Lord Hill’s Arms, Thomas Lloyd, High street

Plough, Thomas Griffiths, Market street

Royal Oak, Mary Llewellin, May-pole end

Seven Stars, John Jenks, Market street

Shropshire Arms, Oliver Snape, Bow street

Talbot, Richard Darlington, High street

White Horse Hotel, Commercial & Posting House, Thomas Griffiths, Market street

White Lion, Ann Sands, and Excise-office, High street

Ironmongers.

Kynaston Henry, Market st

Wilkinson Andrew, Market street

Joiners and Builders.

Beddow John, Islington

Francis Thomas and Son, Noble street

Prince Frederick and Son, Church street

Walton Thomas, Market st

Jewellery & Cutlery Dealers.

Franklin Josiah, Market st

Jenkins Richard, Market st

Land & House Agent.

Francis Thomas, Noble st

Lime Dealer.

Brown John, Grove street

Linen & Woollen Drapers Silk Mercers.

Heatley William, Market st

Huntington John, Market st

Poole & Wilkinson, Market st

Livery Stable-keepers.

Marked * are Licensed to Let Post Horses.

* Burd Benjamin, Noble st

Griffiths Thomas, Market st

Higley Robert, High street

* Owen Joseph, High street

Maltsters.

Abbott William, Noble street

Barber John, High street

Barber William, May-pole end

Cooke Joseph, Draw-well terrace

Elkes John, Ireland

Higley Robert, High street

Wilkinson Sarah, High street

Merchants.

Francis Thomas (timber), Noble street

Onslow Rd. (hop), Cripple st

Miller and Corn Factor.

Boughey John, Wem Steam and Water Mills

Milliners and Dressmakers.

Green Sarah, New street

Phillips Eliza, Union Buildings

Williams Ann, Chapel street

Painter, Glazier, and Paper-Hanger.

Worrall George, High street

Plumbers, Glaziers, & Painters.

Davies Samuel, Mill street

Parsonage Frederick, New st

Shenton William, High st

Shenton William, Market st

Rope Makers.

Green John, High street

Fowles James, Bow street

Saddlers and Harness Makers.

Stockall John, Market street

Tomlins Charley, Market st

Seedsmen and Gardeners.

Bickerton Samuel, Market st

Llewellin Mary, High street

Newnes John, Back street

Richards John, Market street

Shopkeepers and Provision Dealers.

Green Jane Charlotte, High street

Harris Ellen, High street

Harris George, Grove street

Jackson Sarah, Bow street

Jones Richard, High street

Owen Joseph, Market street

Stockall John, Market street

Sherratt William, New street

Vaughan Thomas, High st

Watkin Sarah, High street

Skinners & Leather Dressers.

Everall John, Grove street

Mason John, Ireland

Slaters and Plasterers.

Hughes William, Back street

Richards William, Back st

Smallware Dealers.

Burd Benjamin, Market st

Harris Ellen, Market street

Spirit Vaults.

Griffiths Thomas, Market st

Ireland Richard, Market st

Onslow Richard, Cripple st

Stays Makers.

Owen Mrs. & Miss, Market st

Surgeons.

Gwynn Edward, Noble street

Gwynn Samuel Betten, Noble street

Lee Henry, Chapel street

Walmsley Thomas, Market street

Wilson Joseph Green, New street

Surveyor (Land).

Burd John, Mill street

Tailors.

Butter Richard, Market street

Cartwright John, Backstreet

Cartwright William, New st

Drury John, Noble street

Edwards John, Backstreet

Parsonage John, New street

Powell Joseph, High street

Tallow Chandler.

Barlow Richard, May-pole end

Tanners.

Everall John, Grove street

Gough Robert, Noble street

Veterinary Surgeon.

Burd Benjamin, Market st

Burd William, Noble street

Upholsterers.

Francis Thos., Noble street

Prince Frederick and Son, Church street

Watch and Clock Makers.

Butler Henry, High street

Hill Thomas, Market street

Wheelwrights.

Eaton George, May-pole end

Phillips Samuel, Bow street

Watkin John, May-pole end

Wine and Spirit Merchants and Porter Agents.

Ireland Richard, Market st

Onslow Richard, Cripple st

Carriers.

To Shrewsbury—Thomas Harris and Joseph Owen, Wednesdays & Saturdays.

ASTON

is a scattered village and township one mile E. from Wem, which contains 1,460a. 0r. 25p. of land, the soil of which in some parts is clay, in other parts a mixture of mould, gravel, and sand prevails; the strong soils produce excellent wheat. At the census in 1841 there were 47 houses and 212 inhabitants. Rateable value, £2,107. There are 15a. 3r. 37p. in roads and waste. The principal landowners are Viscount Hill, Major Dickin, John H. Walford, Esq., and Thomas Holly Cooke, Mrs. James, Mrs. Nickson, the Duke of Cleveland, Sir Andrew Corbet, Bart., Mrs. Griffiths, Mr. Caleb Powell, and the executors of the late Mr. Gwynn and Mr. Hassall are also proprietors; Major Dickin is lord of the manor. At the survey in 1561 there was only one estate that was freehold in the township, and that was the property of John Astley. The river Roden intersects the township, and is crossed by bridges to Lee Brockhurst and Aston. Barker’s Green in this township is noted for clay which makes a superior kind of bricks. Hill Cop Bank is also in this township. Aston Hall, an ancient structure built of timber and plaster, is now occupied as a farm homestead. At the Domesday survey the Astleys were seated here, from whom are descended the Astleys, of Ashton; the estate was then of much larger extent. It was afterwards sold to the Wilkinsons, and about the year 1680 Lord Chancellor Jeffreys purchased this estate; it is now the property of Mr. Thomas Holley Cooke. It is stated on the table of benefactions that Ralph Wilkiss, of Aston, left to the poor housekeepers of that township four nobles a year, charged on Shaw’s land in the said township. The yearly sum of £1. 6s. 8d. is paid out of the said land now vested in the executors of Mr. Hassall, and is distributed in small sums among the poor.

Directory.—Farmers, Thomas Holly Cooke, The Hall Farm; Thomas Harris, The Old Hall Farm; Thomas Kempster, Brook Farm; Edward Morgan, Moat House; Thomas Powell Brookhouse, and John Woodfin; Thomas Abbott, shopkeeper; William Hewes, maltster and beerhouse keeper; Edward Williams, blacksmith and agricultural implement maker.

COTTON,

a pleasantly situated village and township three miles N. from Wem, is variously written in ancient records as Cotton, Coton, and Cooton, being derived from the Saxon, cot, a small house, and ton, a town. The name may import that it was a town consisting chiefly of small houses, such as were usually built about woods by the poorer sort of people for the conveniency of fuel. The township contains 1,703a. 3r. 7p. of land, and is separated by four small brooks from the townships that border on it; there are 30 acres in roads and waste. At the census in 1841 there were 95 houses and a population of 439 souls. Rateable value, £2,774. The soil is a mixture of mould and clay, naturally poor, but of late years has been much improved by draining and superior cultivation; marl abounds in the township, which is much used for top dressing the land. This was one of the 28 lordships which Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, gave to William Pantulph. Cotton wood was one of the five woods within the lordship of Wem. It is about three miles in circumference, and still retains the name of wood, although there is scarce a tree left on it. The chief landowners are Viscount Hill, George Bowen, Esq., Mrs. Cooper, V. Dolphin, Esq., the trustees of Wem school, Mr. Robert Sandland, Mr. John Rodenhurst, Mr. Thomas Ashley, and Mr. William Ikin. Cotton Hall in the time of Edward IV. belonged to the Maddox family, and in the reign of Elizabeth we find it possessed by Richard Ward, who in 1614 obtained license to eat flesh in Lent. The following is a copy of the indulgence granted by Richard Sankey, rector of Wem, as found in the parish register:—“For that Richard Ward, of Cotton, in the parish of Wem, and county of Salop, gentleman, is notoriously sick, and enforced for the recovery of his health to eat flesh for the time of his sickness. Therefore I, Richard Sankey, parson of the said parish, forasmuch as in me lieth by force of authority to me given by the statute in the fifth year of our late sovereign lady Elizabeth, do license the said Richard Ward to eat flesh according to the contents of the said statute, by me, Richard Sankey, rector of Wem. Registered according to the statute in presence, and with the consent of the churchwardens for the time being, March 22nd of the same month, by reason of the continuance of the forementioned sickness.” Cotton Hall is now a good brick mansion, the residence and property of George Bowen, Esq., J.P. On the west side of Hill-lane stands the ancient residence of the Cotons, who took their name from this township, and are branched out into several families of respectability. Ralph Coton, a draper, and lord mayor of London in the 1st. of Charles I., was of this family.

Bowen George, Esq., J.P., Cotton Hall

Ashley James, shopkeeper

Ashley Thomas, farmer

Bather Thomas, farmer, Wood End House

Bather Wm., farmer, Rookery

Bather William, farmer and corn miller

Bennett Benjamin, farmer

Boote William, farm bailiff, The Hall

Calcott John, watch & clock maker

Cartwright Joseph, farmer

Cooper Henry, farmer, Bank Farm

Cooper Mrs., farmer, Bank House

Cotton Thomas, farmer

Davies Abraham, bailiff to V. Dolphin, Esq.

Dickin Thomas, farmer, Common

Dickin William, farmer and butcher

Hall Richard, shoemaker

Higgins John, farmer, Common

Rodenhurst John, farmer

Ruscoe George, farmer, shopkeeper, & wharfinger

Ruscoe Messrs., lime works

Sandland Robert, farmer

Sparks John, farmer, The Brook

Tasker Francis, vict., Bull and Dog

Williams Thos., blacksmith

EDSTASTON,

anciently written Edstanton, signifying the town of Edstan. This Edstan may probably have been the founder of the chapel here, and had his seat on the north side of it, where the site of an ancient building is still visible. The fine north door of the chapel is opposite it, and was probably made for the convenience of the family that resided there. Edstaston is a township, chapelry, and considerable but scattered village, two miles N.N. by E. from Wem, having in 1841 95 houses and 452 inhabitants; in 1821 there was a population of 397 souls. The township contains 2,018a. 1r. 2p. of land, of which 28a. 3r. 36p. are in roads and waste. Rateable value, £3,385. 5s. The soil for the most part is a cold clay, it has been greatly improved by draining, and there is some good land for grazing purposes. The tithes are commuted for £298. 9s. 10d., payable to the rector of Wem. The township is intersected by the Wem and Whitchurch turnpike road, and a branch of the Ellesmere and Quino brook canal. The principal landowners are Daniel Boote, Esq., V. Dolphin, Esq., E. H. Chamberlain, Esq., Misses Knights, Mr. Edward Holding, Mr. Edward Groom, Mr. Godfrey Lewin, Mr. Samuel and James Lea, Mr. Walter Snape, Sir John Williams Bickerton, Knight, Mr. John Walmsley, Henry John Barker, Esq., Mr. Samuel Calcott, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Nickson, and others; the Duke of Cleveland is lord of the manor. The new park was formerly reckoned one of the five woods within the bounds of this township, but it has been so well cleared of trees that no remains of a wood are left. It was formerly enclosed with pales and stocked with wild beast of chase. Chetal wood in 1561 was held by Arthur Mainwaring, at the rate of 6s. per annum. There were formerly three common fields, the greater part of which was enclosed upwards of two hundred years ago.

The Chapel, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, in ancient writings is usually called our Lady’s chapel of Edstaston. The festival of the nativity of the blessed Virgin being on the 8th of September, is the day appointed for holding the feast or wake, if that day happen on Sunday; if not, on the Sunday following. Mr. Garbet is of opinion that this was a free chapel built by Edstan, for the health and welfare of his own soul, as it lost its endowment at the time of the general suppression of religious houses in the reign of Henry VIII. In the times of popery mass was sung here every day for the advantage of the deceased, and on Sunday the usual church service was performed for the living. It was not only independent of the rector of Wem, but also free from the visitation of the bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, who neither instituted nor inducted the incumbent, so that in this respect it was much on the same footing as a donative. The structure has a very ancient appearance, and is 23 feet wide and 82 feet in length. It is entered by a spacious porch of elaborate workmanship, built in 1710, exhibiting the Norman style of architecture. It is neatly pewed with oak sittings, and there is a gallery at the west end, erected by private subscriptions and a grant from the Diocesan Society amounting to £84. 4s., in consequence of which the sittings are free and unappropriated for ever. There are some relics in the chancel of the superstition of popish times; on each side of the altar are stands cut in stone, to bear the tapers that usually burn there; on the east wall is a stone jutting out, on which stood the image of the blessed Virgin, the patroness of the chapel; near the altar is a recess probably used for the preservation of the consecrated host, and in each of the side walls is a stone basin to hold holy water. On the north side of the altar there formerly stood a sacristy, or vestry where the sacred utensils and priestly vestments are kept. In 1723 a part of the west end wall of the chapel fell down, and the roof was so much decayed that it was found necessary to take the greatest part of it down. To lessen the charge, a license was obtained from the bishop, to make the chapel ten or eleven feet shorter than it had been. On the south side is a window beautifully foliated and ornamented with the family arms in stained glass, in memory of Admiral George Bowen and his wife, of Cotton Hall. In the chancel is an ancient mural tablet in memory of Richard Goldisborough; another to John Knight, Esq., and one to Thomas Payne, gentleman, with the date of 1760; a brass memorial remembers Richard Chambre, Esq. The living is a curacy annexed to the rectory of Wem. The Rev. John Stewart is the incumbent, and resides at Edstaston House, a handsome mansion of brick, delightfully situated, and beautified with pleasure grounds and shrubberries.

Creamore House is a good residence, occupied by John Unsworth, Esq. In Saxon times it belonged to a person of consideration, whose mansion house stood at some distance from the present dwelling, the site of which is overgrown with brushwood; but the broad and deep moat that surrounded it may still be traced. Edstaston Hall, a residence of considerable antiquity, formerly the seat and property of the Mainwarings, is now the residence of Daniel Boote, Esq. There are several other respectable houses, which our limits will not allow us to notice. The Independents have a chapel at Quino Brook, and at Quino Brook Wharf there are extensive lime works, and a coal depôt.

Boote Daniel, Esq., the Hall

Brown John, coal merchant, Park Bridge wharf

Chamberlain, E. H., Esq., the Park

Cliff Thomas, vict., Canal Tavern, Quino Brook

Cowley John, farm bailiff to Sir John Bickerton, Knight, Foxholes Farm

Davies Abraham, farm bailiff to Vernon Dolphin, Esq.

Dickin Edward, farmer, the Park

Groome Edward, farmer and shopkeeper

Hayward John, coal agent

Holding Daniel, tailor

Holding Thomas, shopkeeper, Quino Brook

Hope Thomas, wheelwright

Jebb William Thomas, Creamore cottage

Jebb and Son, farmers and corn millers