History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Shropshire [1851]

The resident farmers are William Cooke, William Holding, Abraham Ruscoe, and Thomas Woodfin, Lacon Hall.

LOWE AND DITCHES,

a township one mile north-west from Wem, contains 668a. 2r. 38p. of land, of which 10a. 0r. 36p. are in roads and waste. In 1841 there were 16 houses and 98 inhabitants. Rateable value £992. 15s. This place takes its name from its situation on rising ground; low, in Saxon, signifying a little hill; hence the tumuli, or mounds which the Danes raised over the dead bodies of their famous men were called “lowes.” The name of “Ditches” may have arisen from some remarkable fosses or ditches, of which there are no remains or certain tradition. The soil is a reddish clay or marl, with a mixture of mould. The principal landowners are Lewin Jeffreys, Esq.; Mr. James Lea; Mr. George Craig; Mr. John Richards; Mrs. Langford; Mrs. Nickson; Mr. Forgham; Rev. Mr. Parkes; and the devisees of the late Mr. Watson. The Duke of Cleveland is lord of the manor. The Ditches Hall, an antique erection chiefly composed of wood, was the seat of the Twyfords, a family of consequence upwards of two centuries ago. It is a commodious, lofty structure, now in the occupancy of Mr. Edward Elkes, farmer. The Lowe Hall, formerly a place of consideration, was the residence of the Baron family. The coat of arms, still in good preservation, has the date of 1489. In the 5th of Henry VII., William Baron of the Lowe was of the Homage extra barram, or country jury. The Pym Farm takes its name from the circumstance of one Pym, at the beginning of the civil war, having been murdered in a field a little below the house, which was then covered with brushwood. He was the tenant of this farm, which will probably bear his name when all the ancient landlords are forgotten. This township is crossed by the Wem, Ellesmere, and Loppington turnpike road.

Directory.—Farmers: Edward Elkes, Ditches Hall; Thomas Elkes, Lowe Hall; George Greaves, Pym Farm; Thomas Hamlet; James Lea; Ann Kynaston; John Richards, Lowe farm.

NEWTOWN

is a chapelry and small village, four miles N.W. from Wem, which in 1841 contained 16 houses and 79 inhabitants. The township contains 639a. 0r. 26p. of land, of which 12a. 1r. 20p. are in roads and waste. Rateable value, £844. 15s. The Rector of Wem receives the tithes, which are commuted for £87. 14s. 6d. The chief landowners are Mrs. Maddocks, Henry John Barker, Esq., Thomas Dickin, Esq., and Arthur Dickin, Esq.; besides whom are several smaller proprietors. The Duke of Cleveland claims the manorial rights. The roads to Whixall, Northwood, Edstaston, and Wem, intersect the township. About two centuries ago, the inhabitants of Newtown, Wolverley, and Northwood, being at a great distance from the parish church, agreed to have a Chapel of Ease, and for this purpose purchased a private house, which was fitted up for divine worship, and procured a minister, to whom the Rector of Wem gave a liberal stipend. The register of Wem mentions the baptism of a child in Newtown chapel, April 17th, 1659. In 1665 the owners of land consented to settle £10 per annum on a minister, and charged that sum on their lands for ever. The Governors of Queen Anne’s Bounty, in 1754, made a grant of £200 to this chapel, which was subsequently laid out in the purchase of freehold lands. It is remarkable, that Andrew Barton, who was the last person born here when it was a private house, was the first person that was buried here when it became a consecrated chapel. He died, November 10th, 1666. In the year 1836, the ancient structure was taken down, and a neat edifice of brick erected on the site, at a cost of £417. 12s. raised by subscriptions, which sum includes the expense of fittings. It consists of nave, transepts, and square tower, in which is one bell. The patronage is vested in the inhabitants of the above townships which form the chapelry. The living is returned at £50 per annum, and is enjoyed by the Rev. William Dixon, of Wem.

Charities.—There is an estate at Newtown, charged with the payment of £2. 10s. yearly, to be given in bread to the poor attending divine service at the chapel there. The donor of this gift is unknown. Arthur Harper, in 1787, bequeathed £90, upon trust, to place the same out at interest, and apply the produce of £50 thereof in the relief of industrious housekeepers of the townships of Newtown, Wolverley, and Northwood; and the produce of £40, the residue thereof to be distributed by the churchwardens and overseers of the parish of Prees, in the township of Darliston, on St. Thomas’s day. This legacy had never been invested as directed by the testator, but was in the hands of William Matthews, the surviving executor, when the charity commissioners published their report. Mr. Matthews pays interest for it at the rate of 4½ per cent.

Directory.—Francis Burd, gentleman; Farmers: John Hales; Mrs. Matthews, The Hall; John Matthews; Thomas Parks; John Tagg; and Samuel Wollan.

NORTHWOOD

is a small rural village, on the borders of Flintshire, four miles N.W. from Wem, which takes its name from the large wood that was formerly here and its situation in respect of Lineal Wood, which was south of it. The township contains 1,409a. 1r. 16p. of land, and in 1841 had 47 houses and 233 inhabitants. There are 21a. 1r. 14p. of land in roads and waste. Rateable value, £1,824. The tithes are commuted for £181. 15s. The soil in some places is sandy, with a mixture of gravel; in other places a clay soil prevails, and there is a small portion of moss. In 1561 the township contained six small tenements and four cottages. The great wood was cut down during the reigns of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth, so that nothing remains of it now but the name. The principal landowners are Lord Kenyon, George Bowen, Esq., Mr. James Rodenhurst, Mrs. Wilkinson, Mr. Bickerton, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Groome, John Barker, Esq., the Devisees of the late Mr. Watson, the Trustees of Wem School, Mrs. Maddocks, Mrs. Hassel, Mr. Edward Dickin, Mr. Edward Phillips, Mr. Thomas Windsor, and Mr. Walter Hales; others are also proprietors. The Duke of Cleveland is lord of the manor. This township lies contiguous to the Betchfield and Whixall mosses, where many of the labouring population are employed in cutting the moss and raising the submerged timber, which they carry to the surrounding towns for fuel; immense quantities of oak and fir trees are constantly got up. This and the neighbouring townships are noted for producing fine dairies of cheese, and the farms are occupied by practical and intelligent agriculturists. Considerable flocks of sheep are kept on the borders of Flintshire. The Redfellis brook has its rise on the fens of Whixall moss, passes through Northwood, and enters Newtown with a considerable stream, which, after heavy rains, overflows its banks, and covers the adjacent meadows. The Blackford brook divides Northwood from Flintshire. Northwood Lawns, the residence of Mrs. Wilkinson, is a pleasantly situated house, surrounded with tasteful pleasure grounds. The Hall is occupied as a farm residence.

Post Office—At Mr. Joseph Davies’s. Letters arrive from Ellesmere by gig mail at 7.30 A.M., and are despatched at 6.45 P.M.

Bowen George, farmer, The Pinfold

Brown Mr. John

Clay George, farmer

Darlington Thomas, farmer

Davies Elizabeth, grocer and shopkeeper

Davies John, farmer

Davies Joseph, victualler, Horse and Jockey Inn, and postmaster

Davies J. and Son, boot and shoemakers

Davies Thomas, blacksmith

Dobel John, cheesefactor and farmer

Dobel Thomas, cheesefactor

Ebrey John, farmer

Groom Edward, shopkeeper

Haycocks Richard, gamekeeper

Heighway John, farmer

Kynaston Arthur, butcher

Law Robert, The Border Farm

Madeley Wm., butcher and farmer

Madeley Wm., sen., farmer

Phillips Edward, Esq., agent to Lord Kenyon

Stocks James, farmer

Stocks John, wheelwright

Windsor Edwd., shopkeeper

Wilkinson Mrs., Northwood lawn

Wilkinson Mr. John

Wilkinson Rchd., gentleman

Williams John, Pinfold house

SLEAP,

a small township, two miles and a half S.W. from Wem, contains 407a. 3r. 32p. of land, of which 6a. 1r. are in roads. In 1841 there were seven houses and 57 inhabitants. Rateable value, £580. 10s. Of the above, one house and eleven persons were returned at the census of 1841 as in the parish of Middle and in the Pimhill hundred. The tithes have been commuted for £72. 4s. 10d., and apportioned to the rector of Wem. The trustees of the late Duke of Bridgewater are lords of the manor. The principal landowners are William Groom, Esq., Henry John Barker, Esq., Mrs. Thomas Betton, and the representatives of Miss Lloyd. The soil is for the most part sandy or peaty earth on a gravelly sub-soil. In the reign of Henry II. Richard de Sleap had a grant of all the village at a fee-farm rent of 16s. per annum. The vassals of the said Richard de Sleap and his heirs were obliged to grind their corn at the lord of the manor’s mill at Wem, to assist at drawing the mill stones, and cleansing the pond, and to help Hugo Pantulph, then the lord, to make his castle. The reserved rent of 16s. is still paid; but homage ceased with the forest, the repair of the castle at its demolition, working at the mill upon its alienation, and the serving the king in his wars, upon the change of all tenures by knights’ service into common socage. In 1738, Sleap was laid in ashes by a sudden fire, which spread with such rapidity, that three houses and all the outbuildings were consumed. A brief was obtained for the unfortunate sufferers.

The resident farmers are Benjamin Adams, John Chidlow, Thomas Kent, John Phillips, and Robert Whall.

SOULTON,

a small township two miles north-east from Wem, contains 672a. 0r. 15p. of land, and at the census of 1841 had 3 houses and 34 inhabitants. Rateable value, £796. The soil in some parts is of a sandy nature; in other places a clayey soil prevails. There are five and a half acres in roads and waste. The tithes have been commuted for £96. 9s. 5d., and apportioned to the rector of Wem. Viscount Hill is lord of the manor, and sole proprietor. There are several thriving plantations here, covering upwards of thirty acres of land. The Wem and Market Drayton turnpike road intersects the township. Soulton Hall is a brick structure of considerable extent, exhibiting a fine specimen of antique architecture; the exterior has an imposing aspect, and the summit is surrounded by a parapet. It was formerly a seat of the Corbets, whose arms are carved over the entrance: it is now occupied as a farm residence, and near it are extensive farm premises, chiefly of modern erection, and on the granary is the date 1783.

The residents are George Bell, farmer, the Brook; Henry Dakin, farmer, the Hall; and Thomas Williams, farmer, Dairy House.

TILLEY AND TRENCH

is a considerable village and township, situated one mile south-west from Wem, which contains 1,636a. 3r. 36p. of land; and in 1841 had 80 houses and 352 inhabitants. Rateable value, £2,418. 5s. The rent charge payable to the rector of Wem amounts to £263. 15s. 1d. The roads and waste in this township occupy 25a. 2r. The soil is various: the Trench farms are generally of a cold, reddish clay; in other parts a loam and gravelly soil predominates. Marl of a superior quality is found here in great abundance. This place no doubt took its name from Sire Tillie, who is mentioned in the list of great men who came into this country with William the Conqueror. In the Trench farm there is a close called the Castle Stead, that is, the place of the castle, whence it appears a castle had been built there, which must have been in Saxon times, for Pantulph the Norman fixed on Wem for the site of his castle, and no other was built in this parish by his ancestors. On an eminence a little above Tilley Green are the remains of a Roman camp: it is an oblong square, and contains about two acres of ground; the rampart and trench on every side may still be traced. This was probably the site of the manor house, for the Saxon lords frequently built their castles on Roman camps, on account of the strength of such places and the fortifications already raised. No doubt the Roman vallum occasioned this to be called the Trench farm. The river Roden bounds the township, and is crossed by a substantial bridge at Wem Mills. The Duke of Cleveland is lord of the manor. The principal landowners are William E. Jeffreys, Esq.; Sir Andrew Corbet, Bart.; C. Howard, Esq.; Mr. John Boughey; Colonel Wynn; A. D. Watkiss, Esq.; William Groom, Esq.; Mr. George Kynaston; Charles Oldham, Esq.; Mr. Samuel Heatley; Mr. William Kilvert; Mr. Bowers; Mr. Thomas Davies; Mr. Thomas Wood; Mr. William Evans; Mrs. Richards; the executors of S. Wycherley; and William Brooks, Esq. There is a noted mineral spring in this township, which is reckoned good for sore eyes and all cutaneous eruptions. William Price, a mason, is said to have flagged the well in consideration of having been cured of rheumatism by bathing in it. The old park, Roowood, the property of Lord Hill, and Palm’s Hill, are in this township. The poor of this township have 28s. yearly, from the bequest of Sarah Higginson, in 1727, who left £28, which was laid out in the purchase of a rent charge of 28s. per annum: the amount is now paid from land the property of Major Dickin.

Abbot Alfred, farmer

Barnet Thomas, farmer

Burgess Ed., farmer, Trench

Davies William, farmer, Park

Dowler Richard, farmer

Ebrey Thos., farmer, Trench

Evans William, farmer, Palm’s hill

Heatley Samuel, farmer

Jones Thomas, farmer

Kilvert Richard, farmer, Palm’s hill house

Kynaston William, farmer, Woodhouse

Leeke Wm., farmer, Roowood

Lewis Robert, farmer

Lloyd Miss Ann, Trench

Lloyd Wm., farmer, Trench

Menlove Mrs. Mary

Morris Rd., vict., New Inn

Oldham Charles, Esq., Tilley house

Owen James, farmer

Simons Stephen, Wain house farm

Wood Charles, gentleman

WOLVERLEY,

anciently written Wolfordeley, took its name from the proprietor of it in Saxon times. It is a pleasantly situated village and township on the road from Wem to Ellesmere, three miles north-east from the former place. The township contains 716a. 0r. 20p. of land, of which 8a. 1r. 9p. are in roads and waste. Rateable value, £1,050. 5s. The tithes are commuted for £104. 10s. 2d. The river Roden intersects the township, on the banks of which is some fine meadow land, enriched by that river occasionally overflowing its banks. The Duke of Cleveland is lord of the manor. The principal landowners are Thomas Dickin, Esq.; Mrs. Maddocks; Mr. Edward Windsor; and Edward Dickin, Esq. Wolverley Hall, in the year 1404, was the residence of William de Wolferdeley. In 1561 it was the seat of Thomas Sturry, Esq., and it subsequently came into the possession of the Corbets and Menloves. There was anciently a small domestic chapel attached to the hall. Woodlands House, the residence of Mrs. Maddocks, is a square brick structure, pleasantly situated, and beautified with pleasure grounds and shrubberies, tastefully laid out, and ornamented with choice flowers.

Directory.—Joseph Cooke, farmer, Wolverley Hall; Lewis Cook, farmer, the Leys; Joseph Harper, farmer; Mrs. Mary Maddocks, Woodlands House; John Pitchford, farmer; William Williams, farmer.

WHITCHURCH

is a parish and respectable market town salubriously situated in a picturesque country, twenty miles N.N. by E. from Shrewsbury, and 161 miles N.W. from London. The town is well built, and stands on a gentle eminence, embracing many fine points of view in the vicinity; there are many good inns and shops and respectable private residences, but some of the cottages have a mean appearance. The principal traffic is in grain and malt, and commercial intercourse is facilitated by the Ellesmere and Chester canal, and its contiguity to the Chester and Crewe railway. The fairs and markets are well attended by the agriculturists of the surrounding neighbourhood, both of Shropshire and Cheshire. The populous township of Dodington, of which a separate directory is given, may be considered a suburb to Whitchurch. From the ancient name of this place, which was Album Monasterium, or Blancminster, it is supposed that a monastery formerly existed here. Of this no account has been handed down, and no traces of the building have ever been discovered. Bishop Tanner says, “Here was an hospital of several poor brethren, to which John le Strange in the reign of Henry III., gave the town of Winelecote, which, together with the hospital, was afterwards annexed to the abbey of Haughmon.” Whether this refers to a hospital at this place or at Oswestry (since the Fitzallans, lords of Oswestry, were founders of the abbey of Haughmon) is submitted to the reader’s determination. In the 7th of Edward III., John le Strange had the liberty of free warren here, and in the 36th of the same reign a fair was granted to John, son of John le Strange de Whitchurch, on the vigil, the feast, and the morrow of the apostles St. Simon and St. Jude.

The parish of Whitchurch comprehends the townships of Alkington, Ash Magna, Ash Parva, Black Park, Brougnall, Chinnel, Dodington, Edgeley, Hinton, Hollyhurst, Tilstock, Whitchurch, Woodhouses New, and Woodhouses Old, which together in 1801 contained a population of 4,618 souls; 1831, 5,902, and in 1841 there were 1,243 houses and 6,373 inhabitants. Acres, 14,237. The parish is divided into four quarters or divisions, viz., Whitchurch quarter, which contains 2,033 acres; rateable value, £6,196. Dodington quarter, 3,186 acres; rateable value, £5,281. Tilstock quarter, 5,558 acres; rateable value, £5,809, Broughall quarter, 3,497 acres; rateable value, £3,089. The tithes of Whitchurch are commuted for £1,351, and of Marbury, Norbury, and Wirswell an appendage to the rectory of Whitchurch for £398, making a total of £1,749. The township of Wirswell, although in the county of Cheshire, is in the parish of Whitchurch. The town has a high steward, and inferior officers; the former is appointed by the lord of the manor, and holds a court leet and court baron. The land in general has a gentle undulating surface, and there is a considerable extent of pasture land in this locality of a superior quality, which produces fine dairies of cheese, and is generally considered as good as the celebrated Cheshire cheese of the neighbouring county. The soil is various, on the low grounds it is of a peaty nature, in some places a sand and gravelly soil prevails, and in other parts a strong clay predominates; marl is found in some places, which is used for improving the surface soil. The township of Whitchurch contains 2,867 acres of land, and in 1841 had 668 houses and 3,403 inhabitants. Rateable value, £5,698. 10s. The tithes of this township are commuted for £247. 16s. The principal landowners are the trustees of the late Earl of Bridgewater; Thomas Boycott, Esq.; George Harper, Esq.; R. Parry Jones, Esq.; Thomas Jebb, Esq.; William Halstead Poole, Esq.; Archibald Worthington, Esq., besides whom there are upwards of two hundred small freeholders. The trustees of the late Earl of Bridgewater are lords of the manor. The market is held on Friday, when the town is well supplied with butchers’ meat, butter, poultry, and other provisions, of excellent quality and abundant in quantity. The corn market is very numerously and respectably attended by the farmers of North Shropshire, Cheshire, and the county of Flint, the town lying on the verge of Shropshire is central for an extensive and fine agricultural district in the three counties. Fairs are held the second Friday in April, Whit-Monday, Friday after the 2nd of August, February 23rd, and December 1st.

The Church is a noble structure of the Tuscan order, built in the reign of Queen Anne, at an expense of about £4,000, and will accommodate about 2,000 hearers. It is dedicated to St. Alkmund, and considered by the best judges to be almost a perfect model of what a church ought to be; it consists of nave, chancel, side aisles, and lofty square tower adorned with pinnacles, and is built of red free stone; the tower contains a peal of eight musical bells, and is ornamented with a clock and sun dial,—the whole has an imposing appearance, and for elaborate workmanship and chasteness of design, is seldom equalled. The side aisles are separated from the nave by arches rising from circular pillars. The chancel is lofty and supported by fluted columns, and paved with black and white marble. The communion table is of mottled alabaster, with an oak frame beautifully carved. The organ is a fine toned instrument, which was renovated and greatly improved in the year 1849 by public subscription. The sittings are neat and appropriate, and admirably arranged, so that almost every member of the congregation has a view of the officiating minister. The church stands on the site of a former edifice, which was in the gothic style of architecture, and which fell down from age and decay, on July 31st, 1711. The monuments of the Talbots were removed from the ruins of the old structure into the present edifice, which was completed in the year 1713. Among the most remarkable of these monuments is that to our English Achilles, Sir John Talbot, the first Earl of Shrewsbury of this family, who was so renowned in France that no man in that kingdom dared to encounter him single handed. The venerable old warrior is represented in a recumbent posture, clad in armour, partly covered by his mantle of the garter; his hands are closed and uplifted, as if in prayer; his feet rest on a tablet, while his head, encircled by a coronet, reposes on his brassart. Around the tomb is the following inscription in black letter:—

“Orate pro anima prænobilis viri, Domini Joanis Talbot quandam Comitis Salopæ; Domini Furnival, Domini Verdun, Domini Strange de Blackmere et Marechalli Franciæ; qui obiit in bello apud Berdews. 7 Julii, MCCCCLIII.”

The earl was buried on this spot by his own express desire, and tradition gives the following interesting story for the circumstance:—In one of his battles in France, he was struck by an arrow from one of the cross-bows, and fell severely wounded from his horse. As he was some distance from any considerable body of his troops, the French soldiers rushed furiously to seize as a prisoner their most formidable and most dreaded enemy; him alone whose name carried terror into every castle and cottage through the broad realm of France;—or, if foiled in that, to finish if possible the campaign and his career at one blow. His faithful body guard, however, which was composed of his own immediate followers, those who held lands of him in Shropshire by feudal service, seeing the danger of their beloved chief, flew like roused lions to the rescue. A terrific conflict ensued around, and even over the old warrior who was still lying on the field. The struggle was maintained with undiminished fury for a considerable period. The shout of “St. George for Merry Englande,” was fiercely answered back by the cry of “St. Denis for France.” Each party fought hand to hand; the casques of the combatants rang with the heavy blows of the battle-axe. Not only the fate of the present battle, but of the whole campaign, the war itself depended on the result of the isolated combat. Many a stalwart Shropshire yeoman shouted from his hoarse throat his leader’s war cry, “A Talbot, to the rescue!” threw aside his weapon, which in the thronged melee he had not space to use, and springing furiously at his adversary, seized him with an iron grip, from which death alone could liberate him. The conflict ended at last in the entire defeat of the French; and the earl, to show his gratitude to his brave followers, many of whom had lost their lives in defending his, told the survivors that in memory of their courage and devotedness that day, his body should be buried in the porch of their church; that, as they had fought and strode over it while living, so should they and their children for ever pass over and guard it when dead. Sir John Talbot was created Earl of Shrewsbury by King Henry VI. He was twenty years in the king’s service abroad, and for his valour had many signal honours bestowed on him. At the siege of Chastillion his horse was shot under him, and he being dangerously wounded, died July 20th, 1453, and was buried at Roan in Normandy, but afterwards removed to Whitchurch.

There is an altar tomb, with a full length alabaster figure in clerical robes, in memory of Sir John Talbot, rector of Whitchurch, which was also taken out of the old church. There are various memorials and tablets, elegantly designed, which our limits will not allow us to notice, in memory of the Boycotts, Fowlers, Balls, Chetwoods, Sandfords, Longs, and others. A mural monument remembers Philip Henry, M.A., father of Matthew Henry, the commentator. The font is of curious workmanship, and dated 1661. The Book of Martyrs, chained to the wall, was the gift of Mr. Thomas Yates, in the year 1701, for the instruction and use of the public. An oil painting of the royal arms of England is very ancient; and there is a fine specimen of embroidery of the arms of England, with a portrait of Queen Anne, beautifully executed in needlework. The church is heated by a most perfect hot water apparatus, admirably contrived. The living is a rectory, with that of Marbury annexed; valued in the king’s book at £44. 11s. 8d.; now returned at £2,004; in the patronage of the trustees of the late Earl of Bridgewater, and incumbency of the Rev. William Egerton, M.A.; curates, Rev. Edward Pickering, Rev. John Thomas Nash, and Rev. Robert R. Turnbull; clerk, Richard Crosse. The rectory is a commodious and pleasantly situated residence, a short distance from the church, with pleasure grounds and shrubberies tastefully laid out. There are 35a. 0r. 17p. of glebe land.

The Baptist Chapel stands a little back from the road, near to Greenend street, and will hold about three hundred hearers. The interior is neatly pewed, and provided with a gallery. This place of worship is respectably attended. The Methodist Chapel, situate in St. Mary’s street, is a commodious structure which will hold six hundred worshippers. It is neatly pewed and fitted up with galleries. There is a Sunday school in connection with this place of worship, which is numerously attended. The Baptists have also a Sunday school in connection with their chapel.

The Free Grammar School and residence for the master is a noble pile of buildings, situated in Bargates street, and was erected in the year 1548. The school is a chaste and elegant structure, ornamental to the town, and highly creditable to the feoffees under whose auspices it was erected. The school was founded in 1550, and we find in the preamble to the schedule of a deed of feoffment, bearing date 16th September, 1550, that Sir John Talbot, late parson of Whitchurch, was resolved to have founded in his lifetime a free school in the town of Whitchurch, at his own expense, for the bringing up of youth in virtue and learning; and that he had delivered into the hands of Thomas Cotton the sum of £200 towards the erection and establishment of the said school, but that the said Sir John Talbot died before the accomplishment of the same; and that with the said sum and other moneys given by charitably disposed persons, there had been purchased a messuage called Cow Hall, to the intent that they should observe the several articles contained in the deed of feoffment. The substance of the statutes contained in this deed is,—That the feoffees, with the parson of the parish, if he should be inhabiting there, should within six weeks after the death, departure, or removal of any schoolmaster appoint another unmarried man, if he could be conveniently provided, and if not a married man—honest, virtuous, and well learned in Latin and literature—to be schoolmaster there, such schoolmaster to be presented, within eight days after his election, to the diocesan or his chancellor to be examined, and if he should be thought competent on such examination, then to be admitted. That if the feoffees and parson should not appoint within six weeks, the Earl of Shrewsbury should appoint a master. That if any of the feoffees should depart out of the parish and reside elsewhere, he should release his interest to the other feoffees. The master was to receive £10 per annum, and to have the appointment of the usher, who was to receive five marks yearly. That the feoffees should not demise any of the premises for more than ten years, and that they should yearly account in the parish church of Whitchurch for the rents and profits of the same. If the rents and profits should at any time exceed the sum before appointed to be paid to the schoolmaster and usher, the feoffees should deliver the overplus to the churchwardens, to be kept in a chest in the said church, for the repairs of the schoolhouse, and for the relief of such schoolmaster as should have laudably taught in the said school, until by sickness or age he should have given over, or have been removed from his place, and for the relief of poor fatherless and friendless scholars. That after the death or removal of a schoolmaster, the usher should be elected in his place if he should be thought by the parson and feoffees learned and meet for the same. That there should be taught in the school children of “all countries that will come.” William Thomas, in 1662, conveyed 16 acres of land in the parish of Ubley, in the County of Somerset; two thirds of the rent to be paid to the master of this school and one third to the usher. Edward Beddon and Ann, his wife, left certain lands, the rents to be employed to the sole use of the school at Whitchurch. All the real estates above-mentioned, with the school and other premises held therewith, have from time to time been conveyed to new trustees. In 1725 proceedings in Chancery took place between the master and usher and the then trustees. The matters in dispute were the amount of the salaries to which the schoolmaster and usher were entitled, the right of the master to take any payments from the scholars, and the right of the trustees to remove the master from his office. By a decree, made 16th December, 1725, it was ordered that the schoolmaster should have only £10 per annum, and the usher five marks from the Cowhall estate; that the rest of the profits should go to the uses mentioned in the statutes; that the rents of the Ubley estate should be divided as directed by the donor; and the rent of the Beddow estate in like manner; and it was declared that it was the intention of the donor that all people’s children should be taught in the said school gratis, and that the rector and feoffees had power to remove the master. In a subsequent cause, between the Attorney-General, at the relation of the Bishop of Hereford, it was decreed, on March 21st, 1747, that there should be paid to the head master £13. 6s. 8d., and to the usher £6. 13s. 4d. in addition to their former salaries, and so much as should remain after the payment of repairs and other incidental expenses relating to the school should be deposited in the chest; that whenever £100 should have arisen from such surplus, the same might be placed out on government securities for the augmentation of the salaries of the master and usher, in the proportions of two thirds to the former and one third to the latter, until such time as there should be a decayed master or poor scholar entitled to a subsistance according to the donor’s intention. The Cowhall estate is situate at Backford, in Cheshire, and consists of 153a. 3r. 37p. of land, with a farm house and suitable outbuildings, let at a yearly rent of £200, but the trustees, in 1822, agreed to allow the tenant £20 per annum, to be laid out in manure. In the year 1822, timber was cut from this farm and sold for £200, which was partly applied in repairing the farm premises: the residue, £80 13s. 10d., was paid to the trustees. The Ubley estate, near Bristol, consists of 26a. 1r. 4p. of land, and is let for £30 a year. There is also a yearly sum of £52 arising from lands the gift of Edward Beddow. The trustees, when the charity commissioners published their report, were possessed of £6,400 in three per cent. consols, which has arisen from the investment of surplus rents, in accordance with the decree of Chancery. The gross annual income amounts to £454, from which the master had a salary of £210. 8s. 6d., and the usher £97 per annum. Upon application being made to the trustees, on behalf of orphan or friendless children, such as are considered fit objects, are appointed at a meeting of the trustees, they also receive clothing and are supplied with books. The Rev. James R. Peake, M.A., is the master.

The National School is situated in New street, Dodington. The British School is also in Dodington, where they will be found noticed. The Church Sunday School is a modern erection of brick, situated near the church. The Infant School, in Claypit street, is a neat building, erected in 1848.

The Savings’ Bank is situated in St. Mary’s street. The capital stock of the bank on November 20th, 1850, amounted to £52,954. 0s. 4d., at which period there were 1,489 separate accounts, of which nine were charitable societies, having deposits amounting to £518. 3s. 4d., and nineteen friendly societies, with deposits amounting to the sum of £6,898. 2s. 10d. Of the total number of accounts there were 790 depositors, whose respective balances did not exceed £20; 385 were above £20, and not exceeding £50; 187 were between £50 and £100; 62 above £100 and not exceeding £150; 33 above that sum, and not exceeding £200; and four above £200. President: The Right Hon. George Lord Kenyon. Secretary and Actuary: Mr. S. H. Parker. The bank was established in the year 1818.

The House of Industry, situate on Deer Moss, was established in 1794, and is under the management of twelve directors or guardians, who nominate a chairman. They constitute a board for the regulation of the house and the paupers belonging to the fourteen townships of the parish of Whitchurch, which are embraced in the jurisdiction of the board. The house will accommodate 150 inmates; the present number on the books is 63. Chairman: Archibald Worthington. Vice-Chairman: Mr. Thomas Andrews. Treasurer: George Corser, Esq. Surgeon: Mr. Thomas Groom. Clerk: Mr. Robert B. Jones. Governor: Thomas Huxley. Matron: Mrs. Huxley. Relieving Officer and Assistant Overseer: Thomas Huxley. Schoolmistress: Mary Price.

The County Court Office for the recovery of debts, not exceeding £50, is situated in St. Mary’s street. The court embraces within its jurisdiction the following townships and places, viz.:—Whitchurch, Alkington 2, Ash Magna 3, Ash Parva 3, Dodington 1, Black Park 2, Broughall 3, Edgeley 2, Hinton 2, Hollyhurst and Chinnell 2, Tilstock 3, New Woodhouses 4, Old Woodhouses 4, Ightfield 4, Hanmer 7, Betisfield 8, Bronington 6, Halghton 9, Tybroughton 6, Wellington 9, Iscoyd 6, Agden 4, Chidlow 4, Chorlton 8, Cuddington 8, Malpas 5, Newton by Malpas 7, Old Castle 7, Overton 7, Church Shocklach 11, Shocklach Oviatt 11, Stockton 6, Whichaugh 7, Wigland 5, Threapwood 10, Audlem 10, Bickley 6, Buerton 11, Dodcot and Wilkesley 8, Hampton 7, Macefen 4, Marbury with Quoisly 3, Norbury 5, Tushingham with Grindley 3, and Wirswall 3. Judge: Uvedale Corbet, Esq., Aston Hall, near Shiffnal. Clerk: Mr. Benjamin Lakin. Assistant Clerk: Charles Foulkes. High Bailiff: Mr. Thomas Whittingham, jun. Bailiff: William Baxter, Auctioneer and Broker: Mr. William Lakin. The figures refer to the mileage from Whitchurch.

The News and Reading Room is held in a commodious and neatly fitted up room in the Market Hall; it is under the management of a committee of gentlemen, and supported by annual subscriptions.

The Market Hall, situate in High street or Market street, is a spacious building of brick, with stone finishings and supported by stone pillars. Underneath the hall is a spacious area, where the corn-market is held. Here the farmers assemble in considerable numbers on the market day, which has a business-like and animated appearance while the market continues.

The Assembly Rooms is at the Victoria Inn, High street.

The Theatre is a small structure, situated in Mill street.

The Stamp Office is in High street, Mr. Thomas Joyce distributor.

The Excise Office is at the Lord Hill Hotel, in Watergate street. The Pensioners’ and Corn Returns Offices are at the same place.

The Gas Works were established in 1826, by Messrs. Edwards and Smith, and are now the property of Mr. William Smith, engineer. There are two small gasometers, which will hold conjointly 3,600 cubic feet of gas. A charge of about 10s. per 1,000 cubic feet is made to the consumer.

The Circulating Library is at Mr. Robert Barrow Jones’s, in High street

Petty Sessions are held for the Whitchurch division on the last Friday in every month. Magisterial business is also transacted at the office in St. Mary’s street, on Mondays at nine o’clock, A.M., and on Fridays at eleven, A.M. The magistrates who usually attend are Sir Robert Chambre Hill, Bart., John W. Dod, Esq., M.P., William H. Poole, Esq., and George Bowen, Esq. Clerk: Benjamin Lakin. Deputy Clerk: Charles Foulkes.

The religious and charitable institutions, which have for their object the promotion of Christian knowledge and to ameliorate suffering humanity, are liberally supported in Whitchurch. The members of the Established Church and the various sectarian communities have their respective Bible, Missionary, and Tract Societies. The Depository of the British and Foreign Bible Society is at Mrs. Clutton’s, in Bargate street. The Dispensary is at the Market Hall. The Depôt for Coals for the poor is in Watergate street. There is a Library of Miscellaneous Works at the National School, which has been established for the benefit of the humbler classes of society. For Benefit and Sick Societies the town stands pre-eminent; they are efficiently conducted, the members are very numerous, and several of the societies have a very considerable accumulated capital. The Whitchurch Old Friendly Society, established in 1754, in 1850 had 264 members and a capital stock of £1,667. 17s. 11½d. Mr. John Fowles is secretary, and Mr. Henry Corser treasurer.

The Lock-up and Police-office, situated in Clay-pit street, was built in 1850. It consists of two cells for the reception of prisoners before committal by the magistrates; and also a residence for the superintendent constable.

The Bowling Green, in St. John’s lane, affords healthful and amusing recreation to the residents of the town, is supported by subscription, and under the management of a committee of gentlemen and tradesmen.

There is an Almshouse for six poor decayed housekeepers, liberally endowed, as will be seen on reference to the charities of the parish. A School-house adjoins the almshouse, and here about fifty children are instructed.

The commodious premises, formerly occupied as a silk-mill here, have been purchased by Mr. Thomas Burgess, an extensive cheese-factor and corn-merchant, and are now converted into a warehouse. There is a wharf at the bottom of Mill street, on the banks of the Chester and Ellesmere canal, which is now the property of the Shropshire Union Canal and Railway Company. Goods are forwarded to London, Manchester, Liverpool, and Chester by the company; who are also general carriers to all parts of England. Of the Castle at Whitchurch, which stood upon Castle-hill, not a vestige remains. Some portion of the walls are said to have been standing in the year 1760.

During the years 1830 and 1831, the inhabitants of Whitchurch and the neighbourhood were held in constant alarm by a succession of incendiary fires. On the 14th of December the first fire commenced on the premises of a poor man of the name of Heath. On the following day the out-buildings of the Swan Inn burst into flames; and on the 21st the out-premises belonging to Mr. Nunnerley, of Prees Heath, were destroyed. On the 7th of January, 1831, Mr. Moss, of Heath lane, had a stack burnt; and on the day following the barn of Mr. G. T. Whitfield and two cottages were destroyed. On the 12th, a barn belonging to the same gentleman was discovered to be on fire. A stack was fired belonging to Mr. Huxley on the 2nd of February. On the 10th of March, a second fire broke out on the premises of Mr. Nunnerley, of Prees Heath, and so rapid were the flames that the whole of the out-buildings were entirely destroyed before the arrival of the fire-engines from Whitchurch. Five cows, two horses, and ten pigs, were also destroyed. The next fires which took place were the stacks of Mr. Bradbury. On the 4th of April, the farm buildings of Mr. Huxley, of Tilstock, and a great quantity of grain, were entirely consumed. The same evening, a range of buildings, on the road from Prees Heath to Tilstock, burst into flames, and the fire proceeded with so much rapidity that no efforts could check them. On the 13th of September, a stack belonging to Mr. Nunnerley, of Prees Heath, was consumed. The stack-yard and out buildings of Mr. Booth, and the stacks of Mr. Darlington, were in flames at the same time, and very great damage sustained. Shortly after this the incendiaries were brought to justice, and Richard Whitfield, a farmer and maltster, was transported for life, at the Shropshire Spring Assizes of 1832, and James Lea and Joseph Grindley were executed.

Whitchurch was the birth place of Dr. Tylston, an eminent physician in 1663. He was admitted into Trinity College, Oxford, and his brilliant talents adorned by a deportment in all respects exemplary soon attracted the notice of Dr. Bathurst, then president of the college, whose able directions much assisted him. When about Bachelor’s standing, his inclinations suggested the study of physic, as the employment for life, and having by an acquaintance with natural philosophy laid a good foundation for medical enquiries, he speedily turned the course of his reading into that channel. After he had left college he removed to London, where he studied industriously under Sir Richard Blackmore. On his return he commenced his professional career at Whitchurch, and though young, quickly obtained celebrity. At the request of many friends in Chester he quitted his native town for that city in the year 1690, and by successful practice continued to increase in fame. His mental powers rose above the ordinary standard, and in the prosecution of an enquiry he regarded the opinions of others rather as guides to direct than authoratitives to govern the efforts of his own mind. After his attainments had become considerable, such was his thirst for knowledge that he redeemed for study all the time his professional engagements would allow. The writings of antiquity, especially those of Cicero, Seneca, and Plutarch, afforded him great delight. In the works of Pliny he took much pleasure, and shortly before his death read with great satisfaction the writings of Lactantius. Passages which illustrated any portion of Scripture he transcribed into an interleaved Bible, or other repository. In his professional pursuits he was as remarkable for charity to the poor as for diligence, fidelity, and concern for his patients. The Scriptures he perused with unfeigned delight, and was influenced by their authority as a supreme rule. By frequent meditation he became conversant in an unusual degree with the instructive doctrines and sublime mysteries of the Gospel. When a subject particularly interesting filled his attention, he clothed his conceptions in writing; these have survived him, and not only show the evidences of erudition, but of an experimental acquaintance with revealed religion. He died on the 8th of April, 1699, in the 36th year of his age. The celebrated Matthew Henry bears honourable testimony to his worth, in a letter to a friend shortly after his death, from which the following is an extract:—“I find it easy to say a great deal to aggravate the affliction we are under in the death of Dr. Tylston, whom we miss daily. What improvement I have made in learning of late years has been owing as much to my converse with him as to any one thing. He was the ornament of our congregation, and a great reputation to us.”

This town was the residence of Nicholas Barnard, a man of great learning, chaplain to Archbishop Usher, and Dean of Armagh. In the time of the rebellion in Ireland he was a great sufferer, and often in danger of his life; he consequently fled to England, and was presented with the rectory of Whitchurch, where he lived till his death in 1661. Abraham Wheloch, a person of great learning, and noted as a linguist of distinguished abilities, was born in this town. He was author of a Persian translation of the New Testament, which task he undertook in the hope that it might open the way for the conversion of the natives of Persia to Christianity. He greatly assisted Dr. Brian Walton in his Polyglot Bible, and published an edition of the works of the venerable Bede. He was fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, library keeper, Arabic professor, and minister of St. Sepulchre’s. His death took place in 1654.

There are 333a. 3r. 0p. of waste land called Whitchurch Heath, which has a barren and sterile appearance. It has a flat surface, covered with gravel, and incapable of cultivation.

Charities.—Samuel Higginson, by will, bearing date 28th September, 1697, devised certain lands in Whixall, and gave the sum of £200 in trust, for the erection of an almshouse, and the benefit of poor persons appointed as inmates; and if any poor relations of the family or kin should apply, he directed that they should be first admitted to receive the benefit thereof. Jane Higginson, widow of the above Samuel Higginson, by her will, in 1707, gave £5 per annum to five decayed tradesmen’s widows in Ludlow, in consideration that the five poor widows should take care to keep the chancel in Ludlow church clean. She also gave to the rector of Ludlow and his successors £5 per annum. And she gave all her lands and tenements in the counties of Salop, Flint, and Chester, in trust, and after payment of certain legacies, she gave for the use of her own and her husband’s almhouse in Whitchurch £12 per annum, charged upon her estate at Ash, in the county of Chester, the necessary repairs of the almshouse to be first deducted thereout; and she directed that the sum of £7. 10s. per annum, given by her daughter for the support of the said almshouse, should also be paid out of her estate at Ash. She also gave to the poorest and most necessitous children of the parish of Hanmer the sum of £6, payable once in five years, whereof 20s. was designed for their clothing, and the rest to be bestowed for the benefit of the children, and £6 in like manner to the parish of Ellesmere. And she gave the debts due to her to build a schoolhouse upon the piece of ground lying between her almshouses and those of the town, and bequeathed £10 per annum to the teacher, and 20s. yearly to buy English books. She directed her trustees to meet on the 24th June, yearly, to settle the accounts, and left 30s. yearly for their expenses, and 10s. to the minister to preach a sermon on the same day.

Under the will of Samuel Higginson, an almshouse was built consisting of six tenements, and also a schoolhouse. These premises, with small gardens attached to the almshouses, comprise the whole of the property devised by him in Whitchurch, except a small parcel which was sold to the parish for £10, for the purpose of building other almhouses thereon. The Whixall estate consists of about 22 acres of land, producing a yearly rental of £42. The property devised by Mrs. Higginson consists of a messuage and land containing 110a. 2r. 20p. let at a rent of £140. Certain lands and a house at Milton Green, comprising in the whole 40a. 3r. 30p., producing a yearly rental of £40. The trustees took no estate at Ash in the county of Chester, and the yearly sum of £12 left as payable out of the Ash estate to the almspeople is considered as payable out of her other estates. The rents above mentioned amounts to £252 per annum, out of which each of the almspeople receive £4. 4s. yearly at Midsummer, and £2. 2s. on each of the other quarter days. The sum of £6 is transmitted every fifth year to Hanmer; and a yearly stipend of £10 and an allowance of £2 for coal is paid to the master of the national school, who teaches the boys in a school erected by subscriptions for that purpose; the girls are taught in the school adjoining the almshouse, built according to the directions of Mrs. Higginson. Out of the residue £15. 15s. is distributed among the poor of Great Ash, Little Ash, and Tilstock, and a considerable amount is given in small sums to the poor of Whitchurch and the vicinity.

Thomas Benyon, in 1707, charged certain premises in the township of Alkington with the payment of 40s. per annum, for the benefit of the preaching minister of the then new erected Presbyterian meeting house in Dodington, to continue so long as such minister should officiate there and no longer, and that the residue of the yearly rents should be applied in educating so many poor children of the parish of Whitchurch as could be conveniently taught therein; and he directed that if preaching at the said meeting house should cease, or none be there by a Presbyterian minister, the said payment of 40s. should cease, and be applied for educating the said poor children. The property devised by Mr. Benyon contains 22a. 1r. 14p., and is let for £50 per annum. The nomination of the free scholars is left to the members of the Presbyterian congregation, instead of being appointed by the trustees, as directed by the testator.

Mary Whetton, by her will, bearing date March, 1811, gave to the rector of Whitchurch £100, navy five per cents., in trust, to pay the interest half yearly among the widows of Higginson’s almshouses. A portion of this stock having been sold for the payment of the legacy duty, and the navy five per cents. having been converted into new four per cents., there is now in respect of this charity £94. 10s. new four per cents., standing in the name of certain trustees. The dividends, amounting to £3. 15s. 6d., are distributed as directed by the donor.

Phillip’s Charity.—The particulars of James Phillip’s charity for the providing a lecture every Thursday in the parish church of Whitchurch, and for the supplying the poor with flannel, will be found in the account of the charities for the town of Shrewsbury.

John Gossage, by will, 1671, gave to the poor of the parish of Whitchurch the sum of £2. 12s. per annum, to provide twelve pennyworth of bread every Lord’s day. He also gave a similar bequest to the poor of the parish of Plumstead, in Kent, and for the payment of the same he charged his lands in Plumstead and Erith, and gave the residue of the proceeds to St. Thomas’s Hospital. This rent charge is received from the treasurer of St. Thomas’s Hospital, and distributed to the poor in bread.

Ralph Brereton, haberdasher, of London, by his will, date May 1st, 1630, among other charities bequeathed £250 to purchase a yearly dole for ever for the poor of Whitchurch. In 1635 this bequest was laid out in the purchase of 21 acres of land in Edgeley, and this land was sold in the year 1804 for the sum of £1,230. This sale was supposed to have been authorized by an act of parliament, passed 32nd George III., for building a house of industry at Whitchurch, whereby it was enacted that all lands, rents, hereditaments, and sums of money, and all charitable gifts, legacies, and benefactions belonging to the parish of Whitchurch, and applicable to the relief of the poor, not being directed by the donors to be applied to any private person, or for the relief of any particular poor, should be invested in the directors who were thereby incorporated. And it was thereby declared that it should be lawful for them to dispose of the same, and apply the money for carrying on the purposes of the act, or otherwise in aid of the poor’s rate. At the time the property was sold it was let for £17 a year, and this sum has been paid annually by the directors of the house of industry to the churchwardens, to be disposed of as the charity of Ralph Brereton. The amount is added to the yearly sums of £2 12s. paid from Gossages charity, £1 from Griffith’s charity, and £8 from the church rate, probably in respect of some benefactions which were applied many years ago in rebuilding the church. From this fund eleven dozen penny loaves are distributed every Sunday, ten penny loaves in Tilstock chapel, and the remainder in the parish church.

A yearly sum of £1, left by Morris Griffith, is charged on land called the Green Field, an estate belonging to Mrs. Ann Brown, whose tenants pay the amount, which is added to the produce of Brereton’s charity. Several sums of money left at different periods and by various donors, amounting in the whole to £340, were held by the church-wardens and overseers for the use of the poor; of this sum £300 was laid out in the purchase of a rent charge issuing out of certain land in Alkington. The yearly sum of £15 is paid to the treasurer of the house of industry, and it is applied for the general purposes of that establishment in pursuance of the provisions contained in the act of 32nd George III., already noticed in the account of Brereton’s charity. Of the above sum £55 was the gift of John Taylor, in consideration of which one dozen of penny loaves are distributed every Sunday, according to the intentions of the donor. The residue of the sum of £340 was probably laid out with other money, as hereafter mentioned.

The churchwardens and overseers of the poor, in the year 1699, purchased an estate in Broughall, with the sum of £100, the gift of Edward Williams, and a further sum of £110, part of the poors’ money. It does not appear what specific benefactions were comprised in the sum of £110 above mentioned. There are, however, a great number of gifts and legacies recorded in the church, to the amount of £492; and in the purchase of the Broughall and Alkington estates, before mentioned, £410 is accounted for. It is probable that the residue, with some other money, was laid out in re-building the church, and was the origin of the payment of the sum of £8 from the church rates, which is distributed in bread, as already mentioned under the head of Brereton’s charity. The estate at Broughall consists of 14 acres, and is let at a rent of £21 per annum, one-fourth of which has always been paid to the master of the grammar school, and three-fourths to the account of the directors of the house of industry, under the provisions of an act to which we have before alluded.

At a court held for the manor of Whitchurch, 26th January, 1630, John Rawlinson D.D., and Catherine his wife, surrendered certain lands to the use of Richard Alport, and Joyce his wife, in tail, and for want of issue, to the use of Richard Alport and his heirs, they paying £12 yearly out of the said lands to the churchwardens of Whitchurch, to the use of the poor of the said parish. The estate thus charged with the yearly payment of £12 lies near the town of Whitchurch, and is now called Alport’s land. It was in the possession of the assignees of Samuel Fowles, when the charity commissioners published their report. The amount is distributed among the poor of the parish on St. Thomas’s day. It is stated in the parliamentary returns of 1786, that a Mr. Cotton left a rent charge of £4 yearly to the poor of Whitchurch. The sum of £4 is now paid in respect of this charity from the Alkington hall estate. The churchwardens receive £9 annually, about November, from the Company of Drapers in London, as the amount of the gifts of Roger Cotton, William Cotton, and Sir Allen Cotton. Thirty-two sixpenny loaves are given away to poor persons as the charity of Mr. Evans, on Good Friday.

Clement Sankey, D.D., rector of Whitchurch, by his will bearing date 27th September, 1706, gave to the poor of this parish the sum of £100, to continue under the care of the overseers of the poor and their successors; half the interest to be disposed of in bread every Lord’s day, at their discretion, and the remainder to be distributed on St. Thomas’s day. The amount of this legacy was paid to the churchwardens in 1714, and applied towards the building of the church; half the interest is paid from the church rate, and the other half from the poors’ rate.

Elizabeth Turton, in 1794, bequeathed £500 in trust, to be laid out in government or other securities, as her trustees should think fit, the profits thereof to be distributed among poor persons belonging to the parish of Whitchurch. By a codicil to her will, dated 1796, the testatrix directed that the residue of her estate and effects, subject to the payment of her debts and legacies, should be converted into money, and the produce paid to the same trustees, for the benefit of the poor. John Hand, one of the trustees named in her will, gave £200 upon the same trusts, and in augmentation of the charity. From the legacy of £500 bequeathed, £30 was deducted as legacy duty, and the residue was invested in 1801, in the purchase of £839. 8s. 4d. three per cent. consols. The following stock has been subsequently purchased, with the produce of the residuary estate, viz., November, 1801, £200; January, 1805, £800; July, 1816, £100; November, 1816, £200; and in 1818, in order to make £2,200, £60. 11s. 8d. was purchased. For the distribution of these charities, the trustees meet annually, three weeks or a month before the 19th of January, and select such poor widows, poor housekeepers, and other poor persons belonging to the parish of Whitchurch, and not receiving parochial relief, as they think the most fit objects of charity. Each poor person receives from 5s. to 20s., according to the necessities of the case.

Richard Woollam, by his will, bearing date June 23rd, 1801, bequeathed £500 in trust, to place the same out on real or personal security, and to dispose of the produce weekly in threepenny loaves, to be distributed by the churchwardens every Sunday morning, after divine service, in the parish church. When the trustees, by death or removal from the parish, should be reduced to two, the testator directed the survivors to assign the trust money to three other persons resident in the parish of Whitchurch. This legacy has been invested in the funds, and the dividends are disposed of as directed by the donor.

Brereton Grafton, in 1811, bequeathed £300 stock in the three per cent. consols, upon trust, to apply the produce weekly in the purchase of threepenny loaves, to be disposed of in like manner with Woollam’s charity. In respect of this and Woollam’s gift, there is £1,120. 2s, 7d. three per cent. consols standing in the name of trustees, and the dividends, amounting to £33. 12s. per annum, are disposed of in the purchase of bread, which is given away every Sunday.

Francis Henry Egerton, Earl of Bridgewater, by his will, bearing date 29th August, 1828, bequeathed to the overseers and churchwardens of Whitchurch-cum-Marbury, £2,000, to be by them laid out in the public funds, and the dividends thereof to be expended by the rector for the time being, according to his sole will and pleasure, without being subject to any control whatsoever, for the use, benefit and relief of the poor of the said parish.

Post Office, St. Mary’s street. Mr. Richard Crosse, postmaster. Letters arrive from London and various parts of England at 5.30 A.M., and are despatched at 7 P.M.; letters from Chester and the west of England arrive at 7 A.M., and are despatched at 7.30 P.M.

Ackers Ann, shopkeeper, Watergate street

Allen Benjamin, builder, Newtown

Allen Charles, butcher, Watergate street

Allenson William, shoemaker, Claypit street

Allwood and Andrews, drapers and silk mercers, High street

Amson John, blacksmith, Grindley brook

Arden Edwin, coach proprietor, High street

Arrowsmith Thomas, cabinet maker, Green-end street

Baker Thomas, straw-bonnet dealer, High st

Barber William, hosier, Watergate street

Bass Charles, draper, High street

Bate John, flour dealer, High street

Bather John, beerhouse, Watergate street

Batho George, shopkeeper, Bargates street

Baxter William, shopkeeper, Green-end st

Beacall Mrs., Watergate street

Bebbington John, shopkeeper, Newtown st

Beck Edward, chemist, Watergate street

Bolas Susannah, milliner, Back street

Bottwood William, hairdresser, Watergate st

Boughey Elizabeth, dressmaker, Castle hill

Boughey William, cabinet maker, Newtown

Bradbury Thomas, cattle dealer, Claypit st

Bradbury Francis, victualler, Coach and Horses, High street

Bradshaw George, victualler, Swan Hotel and Commercial House, Watergate street

Bradshaw John, watchmaker, High street

Bradshaw John, shopkeeper, High street

Breeze William, shopkeeper, Newtown

Brereton George, currier, Watergate street

Bright William, confectioner, High street

Brookes and Lee, solicitors, Dodington

Brookes Miss, Green-end street

Bromfield John, surgeon, Green-end street

Broster John, shopkeeper, Green-end

Brown John, surgeon, Claypit street

Brown Sml., victualler, Eight Bells, High st

Brown William, grocer, High street

Burgess Ralph W., factor, Newtown

Burgess and Son, corn and cheese factors

Burgess Thomas, Esq., Small-brook Lodge

Caldecott Thomas, seedsman, High street

Cartwright Mary, stay-maker, Sherrunans, High street

Cartwright William Andrew, registrar and veterinary surgeon, Watergate street

Carver William, fish & game dealer, High st

Churton George, timber merchant, High st

Churton John, cabinet maker, High street

Churton William Parker, auctioneer, High st

Clay Charles, Esq., Newtown

Clay Charles, jun., solicitor, Newtown

Clay Mrs. Broughton, Claypit street

Clutton Mrs., Missionary Bible Repository

Clutton Thomas, whitesmith, Green-end st

Colclough Sarah, pot dealer, High street

Cooke George, Josh., and Henry, coopers, High street

Cooke Miss, boarding-school, St. Mary’s st

Cooper Edward, shopkeeper, High street

Corser George, Esq., St. Mary’s street

Corser Henry, gentleman, High street

Corser Miss Letitia, St. Mary’s street

Corser, the Misses, St. Mary’s street

Corser The Misses, Green end

Cotgreave Richard, saddler, High street

Cotton Captain, R.N., Allport Cottage

Cox John, wheelwright, Mill street

Crosse George, tailor & draper, St. Mary’s st

Crosse Richard, postmaster, St. Mary’s street

Crosse Thos., tailor and draper, Claypit st

Crosse Thomas, painter, Bargates street

Davy The Misses Mary & Betsey, St. Mary’s street

Davies William, shopkeeper, Newtown

Dawson Thomas, victualler, Fox and Goose, Green-end street

Dimmock The Misses, Bargates

Dodd George, plumber, High street

Done James, draper, High street

Dunning John, shopkeeper, Watergate street

Eastham Rev. Theophilus, M.A., St. Mary’s street

Edge John, woodturner, Green end

Edge John, clog and patten maker, Pepper st

Edge William, beerhouse, Newtown

Edwards John, Brick-kiln lane farm

Edwards Thomas, plumber, High street

Egerton Rev. William Henry, M.A., The Rectory

Elliott James, Allport farm

Elliott Thomas, cheese factor, Tarporley road

Etches James Goulburn, solicitor, St. Mary’s street

Evans William, currier, Green-end street

Evans Thomas, blacksmith, Carlow’s yard

Evanson late, (Simms John, manager,) chemist and druggist, High street

Farrell Edward, fishmonger, Pepper street

Fenna Thomas, Wickstead farm

Foulkes Charles, clerk, County Court

France William, The Moss farm

Gaskin Miss Ann, Chester road

Godsal P. L., Esq., Iscoid Park

Goodall Mr. John, Belvedere house

Gorse James, grocer, High street

Grafton John, shoemaker, Castle hill

Green Charles, victualler, Victoria Hotel, High street

Green Thomas Fallows, shoemaker, High st

Griffiths Samuel, confectioner, Newtown

Griffiths Thomas, baker, Green-end street

Griffiths William, beerhouse, Yardington