![History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Shropshire [1851] cover](/books/content/62250/OEBPS/7820053497793645517_cover.jpg)
Richards Edward, wheelwright
Shingler George, wheelwright
Smith William, vict., Hare and Hounds
Topham Benjamin, farmer
Williams John, blacksmith and beerhouse
Williams Robert, shoemaker
Woolstein John Edward Israel, tailor
WOMBRIDGE,
a parish and small village two miles east from Wellington, containing most of the populous district of Oakengates within its bounds. The parish contains 790 acres, and in 1801 had 1835 inhabitants, 1831, 1855, and in 1841 there were 406 houses and a population of 2057 souls. Rateable value £2,395. The village is situated at the junction of the Shrewsbury, Shropshire, and Marquis of Stafford’s Canals, and intersected by the Watling street and the various railways connected with the extensive coal and iron works in the immediate vicinity. There are some slight remains in the garden of Mr. Shepherd of a Priory that was founded here by William Fitz-Alan, for canons of the order of St. Austin. It was endowed by Henry II. with the church of St. Sutton; Hugh, Bishop of Coventry, confirmed the grant of Sutton, together with the grant of the chapel at Uppington, the gift of Roger de Mussun, on condition that the canons should present their chaplains to the bishop and his successors to receive at his and their hands, institution and induction for that church and chapel. The canons were to allow their chaplains a competent maintenance, and the residue of the profits was to be employed in charitable uses. There were various other benefactors to this priory, among whom were the lords of Cherrington, who gave the revenues of certain lands in that township to it. The various possessions of those canons with divers liberties granted by their several benefactors, were confirmed by King Edward II. The revenues at the general dissolution of religious houses were valued at £65. 7s. 4d. The Church is a brick structure, dedicated to St. Mary and St. Leonard, and consists of nave and transepts, with a short tower. It was enlarged and galleries added in 1823, when upwards of 300 sittings were thereby obtained, of which 295 were declared free and unappropriated, and are in addition to 100 free sittings formerly provided. There is a small organ at the west end. This church stands on the site of a former structure, which was blown down by a storm which happened in the spring of the year 1756. The living is a perpetual curacy, returned at £86. The Rev. John Dawson is the officiating minister.
OAKENGATES
is a populous district, partly in Wombridge and partly in Ketley, three miles east from Wellington, and four miles north-west from Shiffnal. The inhabitants of this populous locality find employment in the extensive collieries and iron works with which the neighbourhood abounds. The town consists of one long street which contains many good shops and several respectable inns. A market was established here in 1826, which is held on Saturdays, and the after part of the day has a very animated and business-like appearance. Fairs are also held in March, June, September, and December, but the specific days have not been finally settled. The fairs are toll free. To the west of Market street is Ketley or Coalpit Bank, a scattered district with a considerable population, partly in Wombridge parish, but chiefly in Wellington parish. The inhabitants have the advantage of railway communication by the Shropshire Union Railway, which passes through the town, and has a station within a hundred yards of Market street. The extensive iron works of the Lilleshall company will be transferred from Oakengates to Prior’s Lee before the expiration of the present year, in consequence of that place being nearer the iron-stone mines, but the extensive collieries will be carried on as heretofore by that company. The coal got here is of a very superior quality, and immense quantities are conveyed to distant parts by the railway and canals in the vicinity. The extensive iron works of Messrs. S. Horton, Simms and Bull, at Oakengates, are just within the bounds of the parish of Shiffnal. The Independents have a commodious chapel at Oakengates; the congregation is under the pastoral care of the Rev. H. Ollerenshaw. The Primitive Methodists have a spacious chapel built in 1847. The National School was chiefly built at the expense of James Oliver, Esq., of Wellington, aided by a grant from the National Society. Mr. Oliver also purchased the site for the school. It is a neat structure of brick, erected in 1846, comprising two commodious rooms and a residence for the teacher. The average number of scholars at the present time is fifty girls and eighty boys.
Post Office at Mr. Henry Shepherd’s, the Lion Inn. Letters arrive at 7 A.M., and are despatched at 6 P.M.
Oakengates and Wombridge Directories.
Those with * affixed are at Wombridge, and the rest at Oakengates, or where specified.
Bell Frederick, butcher
Bennett and Co., colliery proprietors
Cludde Moses, brazier
Davies George and Thos., colliery proprietors
* Dawson Rev. John, the parsonage
Eardley Mr. Robert, Hollins Wood
* Groom Thomas, farmer and maltster
Hanes John, tailor
Harper George, seedsman
Hill Enoch, builder
Horton, Simms and Bull, iron masters
Houlston John, auctioneer, and Wellington
Jones Arthur, accountant, Snedshill
Jones Alfred Charles, furnace manager to Lilleshall Company
Jones Charles Crawford, agent, Snedshill
Knox John, station master
Lilleshall Company, colliery proprietors and iron masters
Littlehales Thomas, schoolmaster (national)
Mansell William, currier
Ollerenshaw Rev. H., independent, Ketley Bank
Peplow Andrew, brick maker, Hollingswood
Robinson James, ironmonger
* Shepherd John Pike, farmer and maltster
Snead John, brickmaker, Snedshill
Turner Thomas, solicitor
Beerhouses.
Arkinstall George
Baugh Joseph
Bell Frederick
Brown John
Clarke William
Corbett Thomas
Peplow Andrew
Perry George
Scarrot Emanuel
Boot & Shoe Makers.
Cooper William
Jones Samuel
Grey Thomas
Light Francis
Hair Dressers.
Capsey Samuel
Hill James
Grocers & Provision Dealers.
Arkinstall George
Blackband Gerrard
Chapman Joseph
Corbett Thomas
Cotterill Joseph
Day Sarah
Hayes Henry
Jones Richard, and chemist and druggist
Matthews Thomas
Parkes John
Picker Mary
Pugh William
Robinson Alexander
Wright Sarah
Inns & Taverns.
Bull’s Head, Henry Onions
Black Horse, Rd. Holmes
Caledonian, Benj. Marrion
Charlton Arms, John Bourne
Compasses, William Pugh
Duke of York, Henry Hayes
Fighting Cocks, Wm. Light
Grey Hound, Thos. Marrison
Hand & Hammer, Sampson Pitchford
Leopard, Rebecca Rigby
Lion, Henry Shepherd
Red Lion, George Ellis, and watch maker
Talbot, William Hooper
Linen & Woollen Drapers & Hatters.
Davies John
Hayes Henry
Hopkins George, & clothier
Parkes John
Tarbett John
Maltsters.
Davies Thomas
Parkes John
WOODCOTE
is a township and chapelry in the parish of Sheriff Hales, three miles south-east by south from Newport, which in 1801 contained 130 inhabitants; 1831, 195; and in 1841 there were 29 houses and a population of 140 souls. The township contains upwards of 1,000 acres of land; rateable value, £1,003. 10s. Woodcote Hall is a spacious and handsome mansion, of free stone, delightfully situated on a gentle acclivity, and surrounded with park-like grounds finely timbered and richly diversified with sylvan beauty. A little west from the hall are extensive gardens. The Hall is the seat of John Cotes, Esq., who is owner of the whole township. The Chapel, situated near to the hall, is a plain structure of free-stone of considerable antiquity. On the south side is a door which exhibits the Saxon style of architecture. It contains several neat tablets in memory of the Cotes family, the last of which is in memory of John Cotes, Esq., M.P. for the county of Shropshire, who died in 1821, aged 72 years, leaving two sons and six daughters. A large marble slab, reared up against the pews near the altar rails, appears to have been the top of an altar tomb. It is curiously ornamented with two full length figures, and has a mutilated inscription round the edge. We did not observe any date upon it, but it is very ancient and worthy of inspection. A little west from the hall is an eminence called Heath Hill, which commands an extended view over this and the adjacent county of Stafford, and also of the towering heights of the Welsh mountains. On the eastern side of the township a small stream called Moreton Brook divides this county from that of Staffordshire; on the banks of which is a dilapidated corn-mill. The rest of the parish of Sheriff Hales, except Lilleshall House and a few scattered farms, are within the bounds of the county of Stafford, and may at a future period be included in a similar volume for that county. The village of Sheriff Hales is pleasantly situated three miles north from Shiffnal and five miles south from Newport. The parish contains 5,317a. 2a. 37p. of land, and at the census of 1841 there were 32 houses and 191 inhabitants returned as in the county of Shropshire, the names of the principal residents of which have been given in the Lilleshall directory.
The following are the principal residents in Woodcote township, viz.:—John Cotes, Esq., Woodcote Hall; George Alsop, farmer, Lynn; John Bedford, farm bailiff; John Downes, gamekeeper; James Lockley, farmer, Pave lane; Richard Lascombe, butler, The Hall; John Morris, farmer, Lynn; Cornelius Whitehouse, gardener, The Hall.
WROCKWARDINE
is a considerable parish in the Wellington division of the South Bradford hundred, which comprises the several townships (for highway purposes) of Admaston, Allscott, Bratton, Burcott, Charlton, Clotley, Long Lane, Wrockwardine, and Wrockwardine Wood. The parish contains 4,630a. 3r. 12p. of land, of which 469a. 0r. 28p. are woods, plantations, roads, and waste. The soil is various, the arable lands produce good crops of grain, and the grazing lands an abundance of grass. Gross estimated rental, £11,727, 7s. 4d.; rateable value, £10,554. 15s. In 1801 there were 1,913 inhabitants; 1831, 2,528, and in 1841, 541 houses and 2,741 inhabitants. A court leet and baron is held for the manor. Mrs. Mary Cludde, of Orleton, is lady of the manor, but Miss Anne Maria Cludde, daughter of the late Mr. Cludde, took the estate as heiress on September 9th, 1851. Wrockwardine township is pleasantly situated in a rich country pleasingly diversified with undulations, and contains 1,094a. 1r. 20p. of land, and in 1841 had 258 inhabitants. Rateable value, £2,464. 14s. The village stands on elevated ground, and commands some fine views of open landscape scenery, of the hilly country in the Condover hundred, and of the Wrekin. The Church is an ancient structure of red sand stone, dedicated to St. Peter, with a tower rising from the centre, in which are six musical bells; the tower is supported by four pointed arches rising from fluted pillars. It is neatly pewed, and the pulpit and reading desk are of beautiful carved oak. The organ was erected in 1846, at a cost of about £200 raised by subscriptions. The east window is beautified with stained glass, and contains a representation of our Saviour, very chastely executed. In the chancel are several handsome monumental tablets, one of which remembers Edward Pemberton and his wife, dated 1800, and is very beautifully executed in the Grinshill free stone. Another of the same stone has been erected to the memory of Edward Cludde, Esq., and is dated 1785. There are also very beautiful tablets to other members of this family, and to the Cockburns, Phillips, Roe, and others. The living is a vicarage valued in the king’s book at £7. 8s. 6d., now returned at £427 in the patronage of the Lord Chancellor, and incumbency of the Rev. George L. Yate, M.A. The vicarage is a good residence a short distance from the church. The vicarial tithes are commuted for £353. 19s., and the rectoral for £225. It appears from the parish register that the Houlston family have held the office of parish clerk for a period of 257 years, and is still held by the same family.
Wrockwardine Hall is a commodious mansion of brick stuccoed, beautified with pleasure grounds and shrubberries, and is the seat of Miss Anne Maria Cludde. Orleton Hall, a delightfully situated mansion, the seat of the ancient and highly respected family of Cludde, is now the residence of Mrs. Cludde; the hall is stuccoed, and the gardens and pleasure grounds are very extensive, and kept in the most admirable order. It commands a fine view of the Wrekin, and is surrounded by a park of 160 acres, beautifully wooded. The Boys’ School, a substantial brick building, was built at the cost of Mrs. Cludde, who is also a munificent contributor towards its support; 75 children attend. The Girls’ School has an attendance of sixty children, and is supported by Miss Cludde. Two Almshouses were erected in 1841, “and endowed for the maintenance of two poor women in their declining years; they are dedicated to the memory of Edward Cludde, Esq., late of Orleton, in this parish, by his tenants and neighbours, in testimony of their respect for a man who was an eminent example of pure and undefiled religion, visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and keeping himself unspotted from the world.”
Charities.—Edward Pemberton, in 1680, devised a rent charge of £3 per annum for putting forth an apprentice every other year, fatherless or motherless children to be always preferred. The amount is charged upon an estate now the property of Mrs. Cludde. A yearly sum of 10s. is paid as charged upon the Burcot estate, and a like sum as charged upon the Leaton property; in respect of 10s. payable by Mrs. Cludde, two bushels of wheat flour are given away by her agent to the poor. The other sum is laid out in the purchase of bread. It is supposed these charities were left by one of the Langley family.
Several sums of money given for charitable uses, amounting in the whole to £60, were laid out in the purchase of a piece of land called Tidicross Furlong, which was improved in 1670 by Edward Pemberton, who built a house and barn thereon. About the year 1801 a parish workhouse was built on these premises, and the old house and barn was pulled down. Up to the year 1829 the sum of £4. 10s. per annum (which was the amount of the rent when the workhouse was built) was paid out of the poor’s rate, and given away on Good Friday. In consequence of a suggestion of the charity commissioners that the rent ought to be raised, it was resolved at a vestry meeting of the parish, held 5th May, 1830, that the sum of £8 should in future be paid by the parish annually for the lands above mentioned.
Thomas Ore, in 1798, gave a yearly sum of 40s., payable out of his freehold estate in the township of Walcott, in the parish of Wellington, the same to be given among the poor every St. Thomas’s-day, in his seat of the south aisle of the church, at Wrockwardine, after morning prayer. The Rev. Joshua Gilpin, who died in 1828, bequeathed £50 to the vicar of Wrockwardine, in trust, to divide the interest in equal portions among eight of the poorest families residing in Wrockwardine, on the day before Christmas day.
Cludde Mrs., Orleton Hall
Cludde Miss Anne Maria, Wrockwardine Hall
Bullock Benjamin, carpenter
Burrell John, gamekeeper
Clayton John, farmer
Clayton Samuel, farmer, David’s bank
Cooper Thomas, farmer, Austins
Davies John, farmer, The bank
Edwards William, wood steward
Gilpin Mrs. Jane, The villa
Houlston Charles, blacksmith, and agricultural implement maker
Houlston John, shoemaker
Houlston Josiah, farmer
Houlston Joshua, assistant overseer and vestry clerk
Houlston Thomas, farmer, parish clerk, and assessed tax collector
Jones Sarah, maltster
Pickin Eliza, farmer, Sydney house
Poole William, butler and coachman
Speake Richard, shopkeeper
Taylor Henry William, vict., The Talbot, and posting house, Hay gate
Trumper William, farm bailiff
Turner Charles, nursery and seedsman
Vaughan, and Mary Ann, school teachers
Webb William, butler
ADMASTON
is a township and delightfully situated village in the parish of Wrockwardine, one and a half mile north-west by north from Wellington. The township contains 509a. 2r. 19p. of land, and in 1841 here were 188 inhabitants. Rateable value, £1,164. 13s. The principal landowners are Mr. Jones; Mrs. Webb; Mr. William Taylor; James Oliver, Esq.; Mr. John Haynes; Mrs. Elizabeth Mansell; William Wyley, Esq.; Mrs. Austin; Mr. Waring; Mr. Richard Tew; Mr. John Burgiss; and Mrs. Mary Williams. The village of Admaston is pleasantly situated near the station on the line of the Shrewsbury and Wellington railway, and is crossed by beautiful drives and fine open roads, commanding most delightful views over a luxuriant country, finely timbered, and studded with beautiful residences. It is also within a few miles of the far-famed Salopian mountain, the Wrekin, which commands views of unparalleled extent and sublimity. The Admaston Spa lies in a sheltered situation, near the verge of the village, the waters of which have long been celebrated for their medicinal purposes, and are highly recommended by eminent physicians. There are two wells, one of which is sulphurous, and the other chalybeate; the upper well contains a large portion of muriate of soda, or common salt, and a portion of muriate of lime, and is found exceedingly beneficial in giving a salutary stimulus to the stomach, correcting dyspepsia, and highly efficacious in scrofulous affections. The lower spring contains a large quantity of chloride sodium, and in its analysis approaches nearer to the Harrogate waters, so justly celebrated and efficacious in cutaneous disorders.
The solid contents of an imperial wine pint weigh seventy-seven grains of the chalybeate saline water, and the proportion in which the several ingredients exist may be stated as follows:—
Grains. |
|
Chloride sodium (common salt) |
54.5 |
Chloride calcium (muriate lime) |
14.3 |
Chloride magnesium |
5.2 |
Carbonate iron and lime, and alumina and silica |
1.5 |
Loss |
1.5 |
Bromine, a trace |
0.0 |
77.0 |
The solid contents of a wine pint from the sulphur spring weigh 79 grains, the component parts of which, according to an analysis by Messrs. Blunt, in 1847, may be thus stated:—
Grains. |
|
Chloride sodium |
65.0 |
Chloride calcium |
10.5 |
Chloride magnesium |
2.0 |
Carbonate lime |
1.0 |
Carbonate iron, slightest trace |
0.0 |
Bicarbonate soda, a trace |
0.0 |
78.5 |
The Hotel and Boarding House in connection with the baths is a handsome pile of buildings, greatly admired for its architectural beauty, erected at an expense of £6,000. The house is elegantly furnished, and replete with every convenience and comfort for the accommodation of the numerous parties who frequent the spa during the summer season. The baths are admirably arranged, and no expense has been spared to combine elegance, comfort, and utility. The walks and pleasure grounds are tastefully laid out, and are surrounded by a salubrious country, richly variegated and picturesque. Mr. John Purcell is the proprietor of the hotel.
Admaston Hall, a beautiful modern mansion, delightfully situated, is the residence of the Hon. Charles Nowell Hill. The pleasure grounds and shrubberies are very beautifully laid out. The Boarding School, conducted by Mr. J. W. Smart, is a commodious building in a pleasant situation, where a limited number of young gentlemen receive the advantages of a classical and commercial education. This locality is noted for its annual steeple chase meetings, its field sports, and for fishing.
Beech John, superintendent of the Shropshire union railway
Bennett John, engineer
Buchannan Philip, Esq.
Bullock Elizabeth, dress maker
Bullock John, wheelwright
Bullock Richard, joiner, &c.
Burgiss John, surgeon
Burton Robert, farmer
Davies Thomas, beerhouse
Haynes John, farmer
Hicks Thos., station master
Hill the Honble. Charles Nowell, the Hall
Houlston William, farmer
John Johnson, horse breaker and steeple chase trainer
Mansell Elizabeth, gentlewoman
Marsh James, blacksmith
Newns John, butcher
Purcell John, hotel and boarding house, Admaston Spa
Proctor Dr., physician
Robinson Richard, farmer and maltster
Smart Joseph Wm., boarding school proprietor
Tew Richard, farmer, maltster, and vict., the Pheasants
Titley Joseph, farmer
Williams Mary, gentlewoman
Wyley William, Esq., land and estate agent, surveyor, and conveyancer
ALLSCOTT,
a township with a scattered population, about a mile north from Wrockwardine, at the census of 1841 had 98 inhabitants. The township contains 357a. 0r. 17p. of land. Rateable value, £796. 16s. The principal landowners are W. S. Lawley, Esq.; Miss Cludde; Henry Povall, Esq.; Mr. Samuel Nevett; Messrs. Juckes and Dixon; Mr. William Franks; and Sarah and Robert Clarke. The river Tern bounds the township for a short distance; it is also watered by two small streams, and intersected by the Shropshire union railway. The hamlets of Cross Green, Rushmore, and Broomfield House are within the bounds of this township. Broomfield House is a handsome brick residence, pleasantly situated, the residence of Mr. Thomas Edwards.
Directory.—Marked * are at Cross Green, † Rushmore, and the rest at Allscott.—Robert Clarke, farmer and maltster; Sarah Clarke, farmer and maltster; Francis Delves, butcher and farmer; Edward Ditcher, farmer, the Hall; Thomas Edwards, farmer, Broomfield; * William Edwards, blacksmith; † William Edwards, shoemaker; William Franks, farmer; Roger Hawkins, farmer and corn miller; * John Hollis, shoemaker and beerhouse keeper; Thomas Lees, farmer and gardener; George Milnes, farmer; † Francis Phipps, gardener; * Ambrose Robinson, beerhouse; † William Smith, shoemaker; Charles Tew, farmer and maltster; † James Ambrose, machine maker.
BRATTON,
a small township comprising 459a. 0r. 19p. of land, is pleasantly situated two miles and a quarter north-west by west from Wellington. At the census of 1841 here were 66 inhabitants. Rateable value, £755. The soil is mostly a strong loam, with some portions of clay. The chief landowners are Miss Cludde, Thomas Eyton, Esq., and the trustees of the Shrewsbury Free Grammar School.
The principal residents are Thomas Basnett, farmer; William Blackmore, shopkeeper; John Felton, farmer and butcher; Thomas Plant, farmer; Joseph Read, gamekeeper; Joshua Sankey, farmer; Samuel Tudor, vict., the Gate; George West, vict., Buck’s Head, Long lane; James Winnall, farmer, Rushmore.
BURCOTT, LEATON, CLOTLEY, AND CLUDDLEY,
are separate townships, but returned as one division of the parish, and together contain 614a. 3r. 22p. of land. Rateable value, £1,020. They are situated near to the Wrekin, and intersected by the Shrewsbury, Birmingham, and Wellington turnpike roads; by the Street, Lane, and Watling Street. On this great thoroughfare is a commodious family hotel and posting house, situate at Hay-gate, in the occupancy of Mr. John Henry Taylor. The situation is delightful, and being the nearest hotel to the Wrekin, it is the frequent resort of parties who visit that far-famed Salopian mountain. The land at Burcott is the property of Mrs. Cludde; at Clotley, Mrs. Mary and Mr. Henry Stillgoe are the proprietors; the Leaton estate is the property of John Stanier, Esq., and Miss Crowther; and at Cluddley, Mrs. Cludde and Thomas Baddeley are the principal owners. Burcott Hall, the residence of Charles Emery, Esq., is pleasantly situated a short distance from the Wrekin, and surrounded with park-like grounds, well timbered. The farm premises are very extensive, and situated a short distance from the hall. Leaton Hall, an ancient mansion in a salubrious and delightful situation, is the residence and property of John Stanier, Esq.
Directories.—Burcott: Charles Emery, Esq., the Hall; Samuel Nicholls. tailor. Clotley: Henry Charles Stillgoe, farmer and corn miller; Mrs. Mary Stillgoe, Clotley House; Richard Shelton Stillgoe, farmer. Cluddley: Thomas Baddeley, farmer; Richard Bailey, farmer, the Hall farm; John Edwards, farmer, Wrekin farm; Thomas Nigington, farmer. Leaton: John Clayton, farmer, Wheatfields; John Stanier, Esq., the Hall; Harriman Willings, farmer.
CHARLTON
is a township and village, in a salubrious situation, two miles S.W. by S. from Wrockwardine, embracing 714a. 1r. 25p. of land, mostly a fertile district, producing good crops of barley and other grain. At the census in 1841 there were 101 inhabitants. The Shrewsbury and Wellington railway passes through the township, and has a station near to the village, which also lies contiguous to Shrewsbury, Wellington, and Shiffnal turnpike road. Rateable value, £1,007. The Duke of Cleveland is lord of the manor and owner of the whole township. From the few fragmentary remains of Charlton Castle, it was no doubt a place of consequence in by-gone days. The ruins are mantled with ivy, and the moat which surrounded it may still be traced. Not far from the castle are several artificial mounds, which may have been raised for military purposes in past ages. As it is in the line of road of the celebrated Roman station at Wroxeter it may have had some connection with that important military station.
The principal residents are William Capsey, butcher; Robert Hawkins, farmer; Henry Povell, farmer; John Pritchard, farmer.
LONG LANE,
a small township, comprising 379a. 0r. 37p. of land, stretches for two miles in length, and is situated about three miles north from Wellington. In 1841 there were 137 inhabitants within the bounds of this township. The houses are chiefly small cottage residences. The chief landowners are Thomas Eyton, Esq., William Henry Dickinson, Esq., and Mr. John Jones. Cheshire Coppice, the residence of William Henry Dickinson, Esq., is an ancient structure, situated on a gentle eminence, which commands some fine views of the distant country.
Directory.—William Henry Dickinson, Esq., Cheshire House; John Griffiths, farmer; John Jones, farmer; John Jones, jun., farmer; Susannah Smith, farmer.
WROCKWARDINE WOOD
is a populous township, four miles and a half S.W. from Newport, and four miles and three quarters N.E. from Wellington. The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in the collieries and iron works in the immediate vicinity. The township contains 502a. 0r. 8p. of land, and in 1841 had 342 houses and 1,698 inhabitants. Rateable value, £2,836. 4s. The collieries are the property of the Duke of Sutherland, and held in lease by the Lilleshall company. The Church is a brick structure, dedicated to the Holy Trinity. It was built in 1833, and contains 610 sittings, of which 420 are free and unappropriated in consequence of a grant from the Incorporated Society for Building Churches. It is endowed with the small tithes of Wrockwardine Wood, and the living has been augmented with grants from Queen Anne’s Bounty. There is a neat font, which was the gift of Mr. Thomas Webb, late churchwarden. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Wrockwardine, and incumbency of the Rev. Reginald Yonge, B.C.L. The Primitive Methodists have a chapel, built in 1832, which will hold about 500 persons. The structure and fittings have cost altogether £498. The National School was built in 1830, partly by subscription and partly by the National Society. It stands a little north from the church, and has an attendance of about sixty boys and forty girls;
Trench Lake is a straggling district on the Wellington and Newport turnpike road, three miles from the former place and five miles from the latter. The houses are chiefly in the township of Wrockwardine Wood, but also extend into the township of Eyton-on-the-Wild-Moors. The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel here, built in 1823. The Earl of Bradford is the principal landowner; Mr. Webb is also a proprietor.
Wrockwardine Wood and Trench Lake Directories.
Marked * are in Wrockwardine Woody and the rest in Trench Lane.
Barker Richard, tailor
Beech William, shoemaker
Bennett John, Esq., Coal Works (Proprietor)
Bourne Mary, beerhouse
* Bowen Rebecca, schoolmistress
* Bowen William, schoolmaster
* Bullock John, manager to Donington Wood Mill Company
Chilton Thomas, butcher
* Chilton William, blacksmith
Davies George, hat maker
Deakin George, farmer
Downing Mary, milliner and dressmaker
Downing Thomas, saddler
Farmer Henry, beerhouse
* Fenn William, shoemaker
* Getley Henry, butcher
* Getley Elizabeth, shopkeeper
Green James, victualler, Old Shaw Birch
* Grieves Rev. Joseph, Primitive Methodist
Hill Richard, shopkeeper and beerhouse
Jeffs Richard, shopkeeper
Johnson James, farmer
Johnston Thomas, shopkeeper
Jones Edward, farm bailiff
* Jones Thomas, victualler, Queen’s Head
* Kite Jane, shopkeeper & victualler, White Horse
Latham James, farmer
* Leese Mary Ann, milliner and dressmaker
Lockley Samuel, blacksmith
Lowe Thomas, shoemaker and beerhouse
Mainwaring Mary and Son, shopkeepers
Manwaring Richard, victualler, The Crown
* Martin John, victualler, The Lamb, and shopkeeper
* Millward Mary, shopkeeper
Paice William, railway gate keeper
Palmer Thomas, tailor
Parton John, saddler
Pickering James Richard, vict., Dun Cow
Reynolds Evan, shoemaker
* Simpson William, shoemaker, and vict., Bull’s Head
Slaney Henry, confectioner
Taylor William, farmer
Wakely Dorothy, victualler, Duke of York
Webb Catherine, maltster and victualler, King’s Arms
* Yonge Rev. Reginald, B.C.L., incumbent, The Parsonage
WROXETER
is a parish in the Wellington division of the South Bradford Hundred, situated on the eastern bank of the river Severn, which contains the townships (for highway purposes) of Donnington, Dryton, Eyton-upon-Severn, Norton, Rushton, and Wroxeter. The parish comprises 4,212 acres of land, of which 188 acres are in woods and plantations, roads, and waste. Gross estimated rental, £7,131. Rateable value, £6,274. 3s. 6d. The Duke of Cleveland is the most considerable landowner. Lord Berwick and the Vicar of Wroxeter are also owners: the former is lord of the manor and holds a court leet and baron. There is a considerable portion of stiff soil in the parish, which is mostly used for arable purposes. A sandy soil prevails in some places; the meadows and grazing land on the banks of the Severn have a rich herbage. At the census of 1801 the parish contained 544 inhabitants; and in 1841 there were 126 houses and 636 inhabitants. The houses in general are composed of brick and slated, and have a respectable appearance.
The Village of Wroxeter is delightfully situated on elevated ground, near the eastern banks of the Severn, five miles and three-quarters S.E. from Shrewsbury, commanding fine views over a rich and beautiful country of the Wrekin, and of the hilly country in the Condover Hundred. The turnpike road from Shrewsbury to Wellington, Ironbridge, and Bridgnorth, intersects the township, and a little north from the village the river Tern has its confluence with the Severn. Wroxeter is generally supposed by our antiquaries to be the Uriconium, one of the cities of the Cornavii, the ancient inhabitants of Britain. This city was also called Wreckencester, which is manifestly retained in the name of the adjacent hill, The Wrekin, to this day; from which the word Uriconium itself may proceed. Whether the town was built by the Romans or the Britons is uncertain; but that the former fortified it is most likely, since the river Severn hereabouts has more fords than in any other place. The foundation of a bridge is sometimes discernible at low water, which was at first discovered by some workmen erecting a wear upon the river. The circumference of the wall which surrounded the city was about three miles, and was built upon a gravel full of pebble stones. The wall was three yards broad, with a deep trench on the outside, which may be traced in several places to this day. The remains of the walls are called by the inhabitants the Old Works at Wroxeter; being about twenty feet high and a hundred feet in length, made of hewn stone, distinguished with seven rows of British bricks at equal distances, and arched within, after the manner of the Britons. Where these remains appear, it is thought the citadel stood, and what favours the opinion is the evenness of the ground, and the rubbish of walls that lie in great heaps thereabouts. It is supposed by some that the blackness of the soil in certain places proceeds from the fire that burnt the town, but it can hardly be conjectured that the footsteps of such a casualty should remain so long, especially since the ground has been so often ploughed up and exposed to the weather. The Roman coins found here are a proof of the antiquity of the place. The lords of the manor, from time to time, have obliged all their lease tenants, under certain penalties, to bring all the old coins they meet with to them. The coins found are generally so rusty and decayed that the inscription is scarcely legible or the image to be distinguished. None of the Saxon coins have ever been found here, which is a proof that the place was destroyed before the Danish times. It is impossible to look upon the fields, teeming in rich luxuriance, and remembering that there flourished a Roman city, not a vestige of which remains but the fragments of a wall, without sensibly feeling the instability of human greatness, and exclaiming with Cowper:—
“We turn to dust, and all our mightiest works
Die too. The deep foundations that we lay,
Time ploughs them up, and not a trace remains.
We build with what we call eternal rock;
A distant age asks where the fabric stood?
And in the dust, sifted and search’d in vain,
The undiscoverable secret sleeps,”
The graves that have been met with here are deep and wide, the corpse enclosed in red clay, both under and over, and to prevent the mixture of other mould with that clay, the graves were faced on the sides with slates, and then covered with stones, sometimes five or six upon one grave; bones have been found that were interred after this manner, which contributed to their preservation several hundred years. Teeth have been taken out of the jaw-bones of men near three inches long, and many thigh bones have been found of full a yard in length. Several urns have been discovered within the memory of man, after digging four or five feet deep in the earth, and it is to be noted that as the dead bodies are here buried in red clay, so urns are found deposited in red sand. About half a century ago were discovered three large urns composed of a beautiful transparent green glass, each having one handle elegantly ribbed, and severally containing burnt bones, and a glass lachrymatory. Several earthen urns, an earthen lamp, and a few Roman coins were also found at the same place, the whole being covered with large flat stones. Tesselated pavements, sepulchral stones with inscriptions, moulds for coining money; seals, an Apolla elegantly cast in lead; copper, gold, and silver coins, and many interesting remains of Roman manufacture, have from time to time been found whilst excavating on this site. A stone altar found near the vicarage in the year 1824, is thus inscribed:—
“BONO REI PVBLICAE NATVS.”
The precise epoch of the first establishment of this Roman station at Wroxeter has been hitherto held as uncertain by all historians, but a recent event has thrown some light on this historical point. In 1844 a large brass coin of the Emperor Trajan, in a fine state of preservation, was found imbedded in the mortar of the Roman wall (usually called the old works) still remaining at Wroxeter, which warrants a conclusion that although the erection of this station might have been posterior to the reign of Trajan, it would seem clear that this station could not have been raised at an earlier period. Marcus Ulpius Trajanus Crinitus, or Marcus Ulpius Nerva Trajanus, was born A.D. 53. He was governor of Germania under the Emperors Domitian and Nerva, and in the year 97 was associated with the latter in the government of the empire, and invested with the titles of Cæsar and Imperator. He succeeded Nerva, and took the title of Augustus in A.D. 98, and died in the year 117. It may therefore reasonably be supposed, from the perfect state and freshness of the above mentioned coin, that the station of Uriconium was built either at the latter end of the first or early in the second century.
The Church is an ancient structure, dedicated to St. Andrew, consisting of nave, chancel, and side aisles, with a massive square tower, ornamented with a clock, and the heads of rude figures of a grotesque character. The interior is neatly pewed. The living is a vicarage valued in the king’s book at £11. 18s., now returned at £330, in the patronage of the Duke of Cleveland, and enjoyed by the Rev. Edward Egremont, M.A., who resides at the vicarage, a good residence a short distance from the church. The Duke of Cleveland, Lord Berwick, and Mrs. Jenkins, are the impropriators of the rectoral tithes, which were commuted in 1840 for £606. 6s. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £248. 14s.
Charities.—Thomas Alcock, who died in 1627, gave twenty marks yearly towards the support of a free grammar school for the instruction of youth of the parishes of Wroxeter and Uppington. An addition was made to this endowment by the will of Richard Stevinton in 1652, whereby he gave a rent charge of £13. 6s. 8d., issuing out of his lands in Arleston, in the parish of Wellington. There is a school and schoolhouse situate at Donnington, and six acres of land adjoining thereto, but it is not known from whom this property was derived. The school premises have been greatly improved at the expense of the master, and are worth about £12 a year. The school has been considered as free for classical instruction only to forty children of the inhabitants of Wroxeter and Uppington, but there is no document showing that the number of free scholars is thus limited; and it is to be observed that the benefaction of Richard Stevinton was for the use of a master who should teach English as well as Latin. Scholars educated in this school are entitled to the benefit of two of the exhibitions founded by Edward Careswell, an account of which has already been noticed with the Royal Free Grammar School at Shrewsbury.
From an entry made in the churchwarden’s book in 1765, it appears that the sum of £61 belonging to the poor of Wroxeter, and which had formerly been placed out at interest, was called in, and laid out in building and repairing the church, and that £2 was to be paid yearly as the interest thereof. This has been regularly paid from the churchwarden’s account, but it appears to have been an inadequate sum to be allowed as the interest of £61.
In the same book there is an entry also made in the year 1765, stating that £20 given by Edward Wellings, to buy Bibles for poor children of Wroxeter, at the discretion of the minister was laid out for the same purpose. In respect of this gift 10s. is paid annually, and laid out in the purchase of Bibles.
The Rev. Roger Clayton, in 1327, invested £100 in the purchase of £113. 10s. stock, three per cent. consols, in compliance with the wish of his late brother William Clayton, in trust, to apply the interest for the benefit of the poor of Wroxeter. A memorandum was drawn up and placed in the parish chest, dated 16th October, 1827, and signed by Roger Clayton and Richard and Edward Stanier, acknowledging the stock to have been purchased for the aforesaid object.
Donnington is a township and pleasant village situated a mile and a half E. from Wroxeter; the Duke of Cleveland is the landowner and lord of the manor. The population of the several townships in this parish are included in the returns for Wroxeter. The Charlton Hill corn mill is situated in this township; it was erected by the farmers in the surrounding neighbourhood to grind their own corn. The grammar school noticed with the charities of the parish is situated at Donnington.
Dryton, a small township near the banks of the river Severn, is also the property of the Duke of Cleveland, and is situated two miles and a quarter S.S. by E. from Wroxeter.
Eyton-on-the-Severn, a township two miles S. from Wroxeter, takes its name from its situation near the Severn. The land here is highly fertile, and the meadow lands have a rich herbage. It is also the property of the Duke of Cleveland.
Norton, a small township, has a few scattered houses on the Shrewsbury and Wellington turnpike road, about a mile N.E. from Wroxeter. The land is mostly arable, producing good wheat and barley. Lord Berwick is the sole proprietor of this township.
Rushton township is situated three miles E. from Wroxeter, near the western verge of the Wrekin. The land here has an undulating surface, with a stiff soil. The Duke of Cleveland is the landowner. The acres, rateable value, tithes, and population of the above townships are included in the returns for Wroxeter.
Post Office.—At Mr. Andrew Weatherby’s. Letters arrive from Shrewsbury at 8 A.M., and are despatched at 5 P.M.
Wroxeter Directory.
Clarke Maria, farmer
Egremont Rev. Edward, The Vicarage
Ford William, butler
Hoggins Edward, farmer, Smithcott
Oatley William Henry, Esq., The Villa
Stanier Edward, Esq., The Hall
Weatherby Andrew, shopkr.
Wood Thos., farmer, Beslow
Donnington Directory.
Bennett Richard, farmer
Jebb Thos., manager, Corn mill
Jenkins Elizabeth, farmer, Charlton hill
Mainwaring William, shoemaker
Meredith Rev. John, M.A., Grammar School
Parton Benj., shoemaker
Dryton Directory.
Clayton Henry, farmer
Farmer James, farmer
Eyton Directory.
Careswell Benjamin, farmer
Davies Sarah, farmer
Mansell William, blacksmith
Miner John, shepherd
Scott Mary, farmer
Norton Directory.
Bayley Robert, farmer
Powell John, shopkeeper
Upton Elizabeth
Rushton Directory.
Brisbourne Peter, farmer
Jarvis Richard, farmer
Jarvis Robert, farmer
Jarvis Thomas, farmer, Wrekin farm
Pathan Thomas, farmer
BRIMSTREE HUNDRED.
The Hundred of Brimstree is divided into the Bridgnorth and the Shiffnal divisions. Hales Owen, formerly a third division of this hundred, being a detached part of the county surrounded by Worcestershire, has recently, by act of parliament, been annexed to the county of Worcester. This hundred is bounded on the north by the county of Stafford and the South Bradford Hundred, on the west by the Wenlock Franchise and South Bradford Hundred, on the east by Staffordshire, and on the south by the Stottesden Hundred. Thomas Charlton Whitmore, Esq., M.P., is lord of the hundred, and holds a court on the 24th April; Mr. George Pritchard, steward; and Mr. John Cullwick, bailiff. The population in 1801 was 18,817; in 1841 there were 2,577 houses and 12,458 inhabitants. The annexing of the populous district of Halesowen to the county of Worcester is the cause of the returns at the census of 1821 being greater than those of 1841.
The Bridgnorth division contains the following townships and places, viz., Aston, Beobridge, Bobbington (part of), Broughton, Claverley, Dallicott, Farmcott, Gatacre, Heathton, Hopstone, Ludstone, Shipley, Sutton, Woundale, and Worfield.
The Shiffnal divisions contains Albrighton, Badger, Beckbury, Boningale, Boscobal, Donnington, Kemberton, Ryton, Shiffnal, Hatton, Priors’ Lee, Woodside, Stockton, Sutton, Maddock, and Tong.
ALBRIGHTON
is a parish and populous village in the Shiffnal division of the Brimstree Hundred, situated five miles south east by east from Shiffnal, and twenty-three south-east from Shrewsbury. The parish lies in the eastern verge of the county, and contains 3,365 acres of land, of which 59 acres are in roads and plantations. In 1801 there were 901 inhabitants; 1831, 1,054; in 1841, 1,058, and 236 houses; and in 1851, 242 houses and 1,141 souls. Rateable value, £7,089, 16s. 11d. This pleasant rural village is delightfully situated in a salubrious part of the county, intersected by good roads, and contiguous to the Shrewsbury and Birmingham railroad. Within the last few years it has attracted much attention, and several handsome villa residences have been built, which are chiefly occupied by respectable families and tradespeople from Wolverhampton and the neighbourhood. There are many good shops in the different branches of the retail trade, and the inns and boarding houses afford every accommodation to the numerous visitors who annually attend the celebrated Albrighton Hunt. The land in this locality has a bold undulating surface, and the views are varied and beautiful. The farms are extensive, and by unremitting industry, and an outlay of capital, have been brought to a state of productiveness far superior to what has been hitherto known in this district. The farm houses are in general well built, and provided with commodious out-premises. The Earl of Shrewsbury is the principal landowner and lord of the manor. The other chief owners are Thomas Plowden Presland, Esq.; Launcelot Shadwell, Esq.; William Oatley, Esq.; the Earl of Dartmouth; Mr. John Oatley; John Yates, Esq.; George Jones, Esq.; the representatives of the late John Meeson; Richard Wood, Esq.; and the trustees of the poor of Tong, Albrighton, and Tattenhall; besides whom there are several smaller owners.
In the time of Edward the Confessor Albrighton was in two manorial, divisions, held by Algar, Earl of Menia, and a Saxon, named Godit. In the reign of the Confessor, one hide and a half of land in this parish were taxed to the king. After the conquest it extended to four carucates, when they were in demesne three carucates, thirteen servants, three villains, and three borderers, with one carucate of plough land. There was at that time a wood sufficient to fatten one hundred hogs, which was then in the hands of the king. In the reign of the Confessor it was valued at 21s., and at the Conquest at 16s., when it was found wasted, from whence we may learn that the hand of the Saxon destroyer had been raised in revenge. In a manuscript of Dr. Hardwicke’s, now preserved at the vicarage, the parish is spoken of as comprising the lordships of Albrighton and Bishton, the manors and granges of Cosford and Whiston, and many other places of less note. This lordship being enjoyed by Norman the Hunter, shortly after the conquest, was undoubtedly in his possession in 1066, when he and Roger his brother, lord of Beckbury, attended their superior Lord Roger, the Count Palatine, and Adelaisa his second countess, at their palace at Quatford, near Bridgnorth, on the great festal occasion of the dedication of that church, 22nd July, 1086, which they so amply endowed with lands and tithes, arising out of several parishes in this county, as these two lords are particularly noticed as attesting witnesses, with many other lords of manors, the vassals of the count. In the reign of King Henry I. (1102) the manor was granted by the king to his favourite Sir Ralph de Pitchford, in whose family it continued through several generations; as Camden states that a Sir Ralph de Pitchford, 29th of Edward I., had his residence within this manor of Albrighton, where he died, leaving three sons, John, Nicholas, and Hugh, and Margery his relict, who in the 32nd year of this reign, recovered in the Court of King’s Bench, his service against Roger Charles and William the Beadle of Brimstree, of eleven marks rent, with appurtenances in Albrighton. John de Pitchford, the eldest son, was lord of Albrighton and Pitchford, holding them of the crown by the service of one knight’s fee each. It afterwards passed to Sir John de Tregon, Lord Tregon, who, dying without male issue, it came to his grandson, Sir John la Warre, who held in chief by one knight’s fee, and in the 31st of Edward I. obtained a charter to hold a market on a Tuesday, and a fair on the eve of the day, and the day after the translation of St. Thomas the Martyr; and also to hold courts leet and view of frankpledge in the manor half yearly. He was summoned to parliament from 26th August, 1307, to 26th February, 1342, and died in the 21st of Edward 3rd, 1347. About this period Roger Careless, a considerable proprietor of lands in Albrighton, gave 60 acres of land there to found a chantry in the Church at Albrighton, to which he added lands and 2s. rent within his manor of Ryton adjoining. The charter of Albrighton was renewed by King Charles II., and the manor given or confirmed to the Talbots in 1663. The Lady Mary Talbot presented the borough with a mace. The market has long been obsolete, but fairs are held for cattle, sheep, swine, and general merchandise on the first Monday in March, 23rd of May, and the last Saturday in June. A feast is held on the first Sunday after the 18th of July, and races on the following Monday. A flourishing society of the Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows, is held at Mr. Bucknall’s, the Crown Inn. The Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway Company have a station here: Mr. James Davies is the station master. Flys and cars are daily in attendance at the station on the arrival of each train.
The Church is a venerable fabric, dedicated to St. Mary, consisting of nave, chancel, and side aisles, with, a square tower, containing six bells. The interior is spacious and handsome, and is neatly pewed with dark oak sittings. Upon the gallery, at the west end, there is a fine-toned organ. The chancel is divided from the nave by a lofty pointed arch, and the east window is richly foliated. The church contains some beautiful tablets and other memorials to the Talbots and several other distinguished families. An alabaster tomb has two full length figures in a recumbent posture, with hands joined in the attitude of prayer; the knight clothed in a surcoat and chain armour, and his feet resting on a lion. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £5. 10s., now returned at £651, in the patronage of the Haberdashers’ Company and the Governors of Christ’s Hospital, London, alternately. The Rev. George W. Woodhouse, M.A., is the incumbent. Divine service is performed twice a-day throughout the year in the church. The Vicarage, a spacious stuccoed residence, a little east from the church, is ornamented with pleasure grounds tastefully laid out. The tithes have been commuted, and £626. 7s. 2d. apportioned to the vicar, and £20 to Mr. George Jones. There are 15a. 2r. 32p. of glebe land. Gilbert Talbot, bishop of Bertha, in Italy, resided chiefly at Lower Pepperhill, in this parish, where he erected a brick mansion, with a court before it. The pope, in consideration of his high birth, family connections, and enormous wealth, raised him to the see of Bertha. He enjoyed his great hereditary property nearly twenty-six years in much privacy and seclusion, engaging himself in acts of charity and devotion, and dying at Lower Pepperhill, on the 12th of December, 1743, was interred in the Catholic Cemetery of the White Ladies, near Albrighton. There is a Parochial School, in which six boys are taught gratuitously, in consideration of the schoolmaster having the free use of the school-house.
Charities.—By indenture, dated 18th May, 1682, reciting two bequests to the inhabitants of Albrighton, one of £20 by one Southall, the other of £10 by Roger Brooke, the interest of which was to be yearly disposed of among poor people, and which two sums, with some accumulation of interest, had increased to £40; and further reciting a gift by George Bromley of £100, the yearly profits to be distributed on St. George’s day and the Feast of All Saints, with the yearly increase thereof then amounted to £150; it was witnessed that in consideration of the sum of £210, composed of the above benefactions and a sum of money borrowed for the use of the parish, to make up the deficiency, certain lands were conveyed in trust for the benefit of the poor. In the year 1771, William Whitwich, the only surviving trustee, with the approbation of the parishioners and inhabitants assembled at a parish meeting, exchanged the two pieces of land, called the Wooden Croft, and the Six Butts, containing together four acres, for certain lands, called the Pool Field, containing two acres and rood, and a sum of £60 in money. The lands held in trust for the poor, when the charity commissioners published their report, comprised 14a. 3r. 16p. and a workhouse which had been built upon the charity land, together producing a yearly rental of £61 16s. 1d. The sum of £60 paid by Thomas Meeson, in part consideration for the exchange for lands in 1771, was suffered to remain in his hands at an interest of £4 per cent. till May, 1779, when it appears to have been paid up and applied, together with two other sums of £31. 10s., and £20 belonging to the trust, making in the whole £111. 10s. in the erection of a building for the reception of paupers, for which the parish paid a rent of £7 from the year 1780. This application of these several sums is not indeed expressly stated in the trustees’ books, or in any of the parish books or other documents that we could procure; but it seems sufficiently to be inferred from the circumstance that the payment of interest on those sums appears in the books till the year 1780, when it ceases, and the payment of rent for the workhouse commences. As this house is kept in repair from the trust funds, it does not seem to have been a very beneficial investment of the money. From whence the two sums of money above mentioned were derived does not appear. In the returns, under the act of the 26th Geo. III., two legacies to this parish of uncertain date are mentioned, one of £40 by William Scot, and the other of £20 by T. Davenhill. It is possible that a part of the first and the whole of the second of these legacies may have constituted part of the funds for the erection of the parish poorhouse. This, however, is mere conjecture, as we could learn nothing further concerning these charities.
Thomas Chapman, in 1655, granted to trustees three several rent charges, amounting in the whole to 30s., issuing out of a messuage called Harbour House and certain lands within the manor of Donington, and directed 13s. 4d. (part thereof) to be distributed among the poor of Albrighton, 10s. among the poor of Donington, and 6s. 8d. (the residue) for the relief of the poor inhabitants within the parish of Boningale. The amount allotted to Albrighton is carried to the general charity fund of the parish.
Mrs. Mary Waltho, in 1783, gave the sum of £20, in trust, to place out the same, with the approbation of the minister and churchwardens of the parish, the interest to be disposed of among poor widows. An annual sum of 16s., which is understood to be the interest of this legacy, was paid by Mr. Meeson. Mr. Meeson stated to the Charity Commissioners that his father had been accustomed to make the payment to poor widows, from whence he concluded that he had received the £20 left by Mrs. Waltho. It does not appear that any security is given for it; nor do the minister and churchwardens interfere with the distribution of the interest.
In 1848, a portion of the charity land was required for making the railway, for which the Charity Trustees received the sum of £712. 3s. 3d., which has been invested in government securities; the dividends of which and the rent of lands amount at the present time to about £74 per annum, which is distributed on Holy Thursday and St. Thomas’s day among widows and the indigent poor not receiving parochial relief.
Post Office—At Maria Jones’s. Letters arrive at 9 A.M., and are despatched at 5.30 P.M.
Bedwell Orson, Esq.
Bishton Rev. Henry, M.A.
Crump Henry, Esq.
Dale Miss
Davies James, station master
Dickens Richard, gentleman
Dodd Rev. George, M.A., curate, Donington
Edwards Mrs.
Holyoake Captain Thomas
Johnson Mrs. Catherine Grecina
Jones Mrs. Maria, Post office
Law Richard, gentleman
Letts James, fly proprietor
Mitchell Mr. James
Parry The Misses, Albrighton Hall
Pitt Frances, gentlewoman
Presland Thomas Plowden, Esq., Cosford Hall
Savage Mrs. Lydia
Stubbs William, gentleman, Bowling-green House
Taylor George, Esq., Boningale Park
Thomason Henry, gentleman
Thorneycroft Mrs.
Totty Mr. John, registrar and vestry clerk
Wood Richard, surgeon and farmer
Woodhouse Rev. George W., M.A., The Vicarage
Yates John, gentleman, Shaw lane
Academy.
Hammersley Thomas, and bookseller and stationer
Baker and Flour Dealer.
Austin George
Boot and Shoemakers.
Fletcher Thomas
Stanley Edward
Taylor John
Taylor Thomas
Wedge Daniel
Brick and Tile Maker.
James Thomas
Bricklayers.
Nickolds George
Stockton Joseph
Totty George