Bower William, wool agent
2 Broughton Richard Nightingale, woolstapler and maltster, Llwynygroes
hall
Broughton and Asterley, grocers, drapers, and general dealers
Davies Mrs., gentlewoman
1 Davies John, farmer and miller
Dovaston Edward Milward, surgeon
1 Dyke Isaac, farmer
Ellis Letia, tailor and draper
1 Evans John, farmer, gardener, and rate collector
Griffiths Richard, blacksmith
Griffiths Richard, draper and grocer
1 Griffiths Jn., quarry master
Gwynne George, cooper
Gwynne George, shoemaker
Hackett John, tallow chander
1 Harris Geo., quarry master
1 Harrison John, farmer
Hughes Edward, shoemaker
1 Humphreys James, vict., Cross Guns
Jeffreys John, weaver
Jones Edward., saddler and harness maker
1 Jones Thomas, farmer
Leak Francis, toll collector
Lloyd John, farmer, timber merchant, builder, and vict., Lion Inn
Lloyd Richard, vict., Dolphin
Luxmoore Rev. John, the Rectory
Morgan Edward, saddler and dealer
Morris John, shoemaker
Parkins Charles, shoemaker
Poole Mrs., gentlewoman
1 Price Elizabeth, farmer
Price Hugh, seedsman
1 Pryce William, gentleman, Holly Bush
Pugh Henry, seedsman and druggist
Pugh James Owen, grocer and draper
Ratcliffe Samuel, farmer
Richards Richard, farmer, maltster, and vict., Bradford Arms
1 Roberts William, gentleman, Prospect cottage
Rodgers Edward, farmer
1 Savage Elizabeth, farmer
2 Sheldon Wm., gentleman
Thomas Thomas, farmer
Thomas Robert, schoolmaster and parish clerk
Watson Miss, post office
Whitticose Mary, gentlewoman
Williams Sarah, schoolmistress
CARRIER.—Hugh Price, to Oswestry on Wednesdays and on Mondays, Saturdays,
and Welshpool on Mondays.
ST. MARTIN
is a parish, and small but pleasantly situated village, five miles N.E.
from Oswestry, and about the same distance W. from Ellesmere. The parish
comprises the townships of Bronygarth, Ifton Rhyn, and Weston Rhyn,
containing together 5,314A. 2R. 25P. of land, and had in 1801, 1,476
inhabitants; in 1831, 2,099; and in 1841, 2,200. The village of St.
Martin is included in IFTON RHYN township, which contains 2,813A. 2R.
33P. of land; and at the census of 1841 had 217 houses and 1,620 souls.
Rateable value, £4,570. The principal land owners are the Right Hon.
Arthur Trevor Viscount Dungannon, of Bryn-Kinalt Castle, the Hon. W. M.
B. Nugent, Dean and Chapter of Winchester, R. G. Jebb, Esq., J. Haslam,
Esq., Joshua Jones, Esq., Mrs. Fallows, and Edward H. Dymock, Esq. This
township lies on the N.W. confines of the county, and has some fine
grazing land. It is separated from Denbighshire by the Ceiriog river.
The Morlass brook here turns several corn mills, and has its confluence
with the Ceiriog about a mile from the Erewescob corn mill.
THE CHURCH, dedicated to St. Martin, stands on an eminence, and is a
conspicuous object for many miles around. It consists of nave, north
aisle, chancel, and a massive square tower at the west end. The side
aisle is separated from the nave by five pointed arches rising from
octagonal pillars. The east end of the church and the east window have
recently been rebuilt; the lower part of the window is divided into three
compartments, and the upper part is foliated, and ornamented with stained
glass. The windows on the south side of the church are also richly
adorned with stained glass. The one near the pulpit has beautiful
representations of St. Peter and St. Paul; another has the armorial
bearings of the bishop of the diocese, the rural dean, and the vicar.
There are also the armorial bearings of Viscount Dungannon, by whose
munificence the church has been renovated; and these beautiful
decorations have been added within these last twenty years. The old
font, which is of stone, has been re-hewn and modernized. A beautiful
mural marble monument remembers Richard Phillips, Esq., of Thyn-y-rhos,
who died in 1824, and his second son, Richard, ensign of the 17th
regiment of the Hon. East India Company’s service, who died at sea, off
the Cape of Good Hope, on his return from India in 1832. There are also
several other neat tablets in the church. The living is a vicarage,
valued in the king’s book at £5. 2s. 3½d., now returned at £320, in the
patronage of the Bishop of St. Asaph, and enjoyed by the Rev. William
Hurst, M.A. The Vicarage is a neat residence, a little W. by S. from the
church. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £261, and the
rectorial for £862. On the west side of the churchyard is a lofty and
finely proportioned elm tree, which is seen at a great distance; and
about a quarter of a mile west from the church, near the toll-gate,
stands a magnificent oak tree of considerable magnitude. IFTON HEATH is
a scattered district, chiefly of detached cottages, half a mile N.W. from
the church. Here the Primitive Methodists and the Wesleyan Association
have each a small chapel. The Primitive Methodists have also a chapel on
ST. MARTIN’S MOOR, a scattered district of houses near a mile, W. by S.
from the church.
CHARITIES.—BRYNGWYLA SCHOOL, situated about a mile W.W. by S. from the
church, was founded in 1705 by _Edward Phillips_, for the instruction of
twelve poor boys of the parish of St. Martin to read and write. Mr.
Phillips also endowed the school with the sum of £100, and directed £3.
12s. yearly to be paid to the schoolmaster, who was to occupy the
school-house rent free, on condition of his keeping the premises in
repair. The donor also directed 4d. to be given to each boy every
Ascension day for his encouragement; and 5s. to be expended by the vicar,
trustees, and schoolmaster, in remembrance of the benefactor. The master
now receives £4. 13s. 6d. per annum, from which 5s. is paid to the
trustees, but nothing is paid to the children. The master receives 25s.
yearly in respect of John Price’s charity hereafter mentioned.
ALMSHOUSES.—The almshouses are situated near the west side of the
churchyard. They consist of six tenements, mantled with ivy, and are
supported by _Lord Dungannon_. The inmates are clothed, receive 15s. a
quarter, a loaf of bread on Fridays, and two tons of coal yearly. There
is also a school, where twelve children are clothed and educated.
_Arthur Trevor_, of Kay Mark, left £2 a-year; one half to be given to the
poor on St. Thomas’s day, and the other half on Good Friday. The amount
is paid by the agent of Lord Dungannon.
_Thomas Abellis_ left 21s. per annum, payable out of a piece of land
called Cae-Rhoes. In 1812, Edward Birch, a mortgagee, and Edward Jones,
in consideration of £220. 10s., conveyed to the Ellesmere Canal Company a
parcel of land called Cae Rhoes, and the said Edward Jones covenanted
that he would indemnify the said company from a rent-charge of 20s.,
payable out of the said premises. The property is still in the
possession of the Ellesmere Canal Company, but nothing had been paid
thereout to the poor for a period of twelve years when the Charity
Commissioners published their report. Application had been made to Mr.
Price, of Felton Butler, who married the heiress of Mr. Jones, and he
promised to continue the payment of this rent-charge.
_Edward Phillips_ charged a piece of land with the payment of 4s. yearly
for the benefit of the poor.
_John Price_ bequeathed £100, and directed the interest of £25 to be
applied in the education of youth, and the interest of £75 to be bestowed
in clothing for some of the poorest parishioners. The amount is secured
on a piece of land in Weston Rhynn, from which £5 are paid yearly.
There are two cottages in the township of Soutley, in the parish of March
Weil, Denbighshire, adjoining premises purchased by the governors of
Queen Ann’s Bounty, for the augmentation of the vicarage of St. Martin’s.
These cottages have for a length of time been let for the benefit of the
poor; but it is not known when or how the rents became thus appropriated.
They were repaired some time ago at an expense of £30, which was borrowed
for this purpose, and they are now let for £6 a-year. Of the rent, £3 is
applied in paying off the debt, and the remaining £3 is given among the
poor on St. Thomas’s day.
_Hugh Lloyd_ left a rent-charge of 16s. per annum, issuing out of certain
lands, called Cae Dickin, in Weston Rhynn, and directed the amount to be
expended in sixteen dozen of bread, to be distributed on St. Thomas’s
day. It is stated on the table of benefactions, that “Richard Berkley,
for Hugh Lloyd, pays for ten dozen of bread on St. Thomas’s day for
ever.” The gift of _Edward Edwards_, of 20s. per annum to the poor of
St. Martin’s, is void under the statute of 9 George II. It is stated in
the parliamentary returns of 1786, that _David Hughes_ left £10 for the
benefit of the poor; and among the parish documents there is a bond,
dated in 1746, from Thomas Phillips, of Trehowell, for the payment of
this money. Nothing, however, has been paid on this account for many
years.
POST OFFICE—_At Esther Edwards_. Letters despatched at 2.30 P.M.
Beckitt Godfrey, butcher
Beckitt John, victualler, Cross Keys
Beckitt Roger, farmer, and land and timber valuer, Cadwagans Palace
Boodle William, shopkeeper
Dodd Richard, farmer, Pennybank
Dodd William, farmer and corn miller
Edwards David, tailor
Edwards Esther, farmer and shopkeeper
Edwards Mary, farmer, Peny-bryn
Edwards William, farmer
Griffiths Richard, schoolmaster
Harrison Francis, tailor
Hughes, Mrs. Jane
Hughes John, farmer, Erewescob
Hughes Robert, shopkeeper
Hughes Sarah, farmer and corn miller, Erewescob Mill
Hurst Rev. William, M.A., vicar
Isaac Jane, farmer, Rhosyllan
Jones Edward, wheelwright
Jones Elizabeth, farmer
Jones George, shoemaker
Jones Jane, shopkeeper
Jones Joshua, Esq., Wigginton Hall
Jones Richard, bricklayer, Glynmorlass
Jones Thomas, farmer, Wigginton
Jones William, provision dealer, St. Martin’s Moor
Jones William, shoemaker
Kynaston William, farmer, Wigginton
Lee Richard, farmer, Ifton Hall
Lee William, parish clerk
Lewis Thomas, grazier, Brook House
Matthews George, schoolmaster
Newnes Peter, shoemaker
Owen Richard, farmer, Glanywern
Parry Joseph, cooper
Powell Frances, schoolmistress
Powell Thomas, wheelwright
Powell William, wheelwright
Poynton John, farmer, Glenrid
Price John, farmer
Prynallt William, farmer
Randles Elizabeth, farmer
Roberts Edward, farmer, Wigginton
Roberts Joseph, tailor
Roberts Mary, farmer
Roberts Samuel, victualler, Crown Inn
Rogers Jane, schoolmistress
Rogers John, farmer and maltster, Ifton
Rogers Joseph, registrar & assistant overseer
Rogers Richard, shoemaker
Rogers Robert, stonemason
Rowland Elizabeth, farmer
Williams Daniel, farmer
Williams Jane, farmer
Williams John, farmer, Wigginton
Woodvill Thomas, farmer and maltster, Pine Bryn
Woollam Charles, farmer
Woollam John, farmer
WESTON RHYN
is a township and scattered village from two to three miles W. from St.
Martin’s Church, containing 1850A. 2R. 4P. of land, and in 1841 here were
195 houses and 856 inhabitants. Rateable value, £4,053. The principal
land owners are Frederick Richard West, Esq.; Rev. John C. Phillips; John
Richard Powell, Esq.; Mr. James Edwards; E. H. Dymoch, Esq.; T. E. Ward,
Esq.; Mr. John Pritchard, and Mrs. Dickin, Mr. Edward Heys, and others
are also proprietors. A neat and ornamental school, in the early English
style of architecture, was built in the year 1850 at the Lodge. The
structure is of stone got from the neighbouring quarries, with the Cafn
hewn stone for the windows and ornamental portions of the building; it
measures 20 feet by 40 feet, and has a pitched roof with a neat belfry.
The cost of the structure was £700, of which £40 was given by the
National Society and £130 by the Privy Council on Education, the rest was
raised by voluntary subscriptions. A residence for the teacher adjoins
the school. The Calvinistic Methodists have a chapel at the lodge, built
in 1811, the services of which are conducted in the Welsh language. Coal
of a good quality is found upon the estate of John R. Powell, Esq.; a
steam engine is now in course of erection to clear the mines of water.
THE QUINTA, a handsome castellated residence built of lime stone, stands
on a gentle acclivity, and commands some pleasing views to the south. It
is surrounded with shrubberies and park-like grounds, and is the
residence of Rowland Jones Venables, Esq., and the property of F. R.
West, Esq. On the knoll of a hill a short distance from the hall, the
owner of the estate about ten years ago caused immense blocks of stone to
be reared up in the exact form of the celebrated Druidical Temple at
Stonehenge. From this eminence a most beautiful panoramic view of the
surrounding country is seen. PREES-GWENE HOUSE, the residence and
property of John Richard Powell, Esq., stands in a sheltered situation
embosomed in foliage. The Shrewsbury and Chester railway intersects this
township, and has a station at Preesgwene, 1½ mile from Gabowen, and 22
miles from Chester. The large tithes of Weston Rhyn are commuted for
£270.
Calcott William, corn miller
Davies William, butcher
Duckett Mary, corn miller, New mill
Duckett Mrs. Tamar, Weston villa
Edwards Moses, maltster & vict., The Lodge Inn
Evans David, boot and shoe maker, The Lodge
Evans William, farmer, Berllan-deg
Griffiths Francis, wheelwrigt
Griffiths Thomas, colliery owner and shopkeeper
Hayes Mr. Ed., The Lodge
Hughes Hugh, farmer
Hughes John, inland revenue officer, The Lodge
Hughes John, carpenter
Hughes William, carpenter
Jackson Richard, butcher, The Lodge
Johnson William, maltster and vict., New Inn
Jones John, blacksmith
Jones Peter, saddler and shopkeeper
Jones Thomas, paper manufacturer, Morda
Jones Thomas, farmer
Lewis Richard, farmer
Lloyd Elizabeth, blacksmith
Peate Martha, farmer and maltster, Moreton hall
Phillips Rev. John Croxon, Tryn-y-rhos
Powell John Richard, Esq., Prees-gwene house
Poynton Thomas, farmer, Weston hall
Richards Thomas Anderson, station master, Prys-gwane
Roberts Daniel, provision dealer, The Lodge
Roberts Hugh, farmer
Roberts Thomas, farrier
Rogers John, farmer
Rogers Walter, farmer
Scudamore Mr. John, Moreton hall
Smith Frederick William, Esq., Green field lodge
Thomas David, farmer, The Vron
Turner Joseph, beerhouse & shopkeeper, The Lodge
Usher John, butcher
Vaughan William, tailor
Venables Rowland Jones, Esq., The Quinta
Williams Ann, farmer
Williams Edward, farmer
Williams John, farmer
Williams John, shoemaker and shopkeeper
Williams John, carpenter
Williams Thos., corn miller
BRONYGARTH,
a small township in St. Martin’s parish, with 645A. 1R. 28P. of land,
lies on the verge of the county, and is separated from Denbighshire by
the Ceireog river. It lies about four miles W.W. by N. from the parish
church, and in 1841 had 71 houses and 164 inhabitants. Frederick Richard
West, Esq., and the Rev. John Croxon Phillips, are the land owners and
impropriators; to the former was apportioned £36, and to the latter £56,
when the tithes were commuted. The rateable value of the township is
£1168. TYN-Y-RHOS is a good house pleasantly situated, the residence and
property of the Rev. John C. Phillips. The scenery in this township is
bold and romantic, and some of the land is cold and exposed. Lime works
have been established on the northern confines of the township, bordering
on Wales; lime is extensively used by the farmers as a fertilizer,
particularly in the north-west parts of the county.
DIRECTORY.—Rev. John Croxon Phillips, Tyn-y-rhos; Moses Edwards, lime
burner; John Hughes, carpenter; John Jones, blacksmith; William Lloyd,
blacksmith; William Mason, shoemaker; Richard Orford, vict., Britannia,
John Owen, farmer; Thomas Owen, farmer; Robert Roberts, butcher; Jane
Williams, shopkeeper.
MELVERLEY,
a parish and township with a scattered population, 12 miles W.W. by N.
from Shrewsbury, and 9 miles S.S. by E. from Oswestry, is situated on the
western verge of the county, and is separated from Montgomeryshire by the
river Vernieu and the Severn; the former having its confluence with the
Severn at the Cymmeran Ferry. The parish contains 1,445A. 2R. 22P. of
land, which from its low situation is frequently inundated by the
overflowing of the Severn, thus enriching the meadows and producing the
greatest luxuriance; large herds of cattle are usually fed upon the
meadows. In 1801 here was a population of 218 souls; in 1831, 216; and
in 1841, 229. Rateable value, £2,317 5s. The manor in the time of the
confessor was held by one Edric, in whose family it continued till the
9th of Elizabeth, when Henry Earl of Arundle sold it to Young, from whom
it subsequently passed to the Willastons. Lord Craven was afterwards
lord of the manor, and it is now vested in George Edwards, Esq. The
freeholders are Colonel Desbrow, Hon. Thomas Kenyon, Mrs. E. Bather, Mr.
Henry Adams, Mr. William Parkes, Mr. Edward Williams, Rev. Mr. Maddocks,
Mr. A. D. Benyon, Mr. James Jones, Mr. Stephen Matthews, Mr. William
Cooper, Mr. Thomas Bromley, Mr. James Payn, Rev. Mr. Dimmock, Mr. William
Downes, Mr. Oswell, Mr. Betta, Mr. John Edmunds, Thomas Justice Bather,
Esq., Mr. Owen Owens, Mr. Jones, Mr. Manford, Mr. Duckett, and others.
THE CHURCH, dedicated to St. Peter, a large fabric of very primitive
appearance, built of wood, stands on an elevated piece of ground near the
banks of the Vernieu; part of it was swept away subsequent to the year
1478. Although the workmanship is of the rudest description, yet the
magnitude of the building and the fine old porch, give it an attractive
and venerable appearance. The windows are small and admit of very little
light. It contains several ancient memorials, and was fitted up with oak
pews in 1718, previous to which it was provided with massive benches.
The living is a rectory annexed to Llandrinio, in the patronage of the
bishop of St. Asaph, and enjoyed by the Rev. Henry Rogers. The tithes
were commuted in 1841 for £177. 11s., and there are five acres of glebe.
The parsonage is a neat residence of brick in the Elizabethan style of
architecture, built during the years 1846–7. THE INDEPENDENTS have a
small chapel with a residence annexed, built in the year 1842.
CHARITIES.—There is a field called the Poor’s Croft, in the upper
division of Melverley, containing 2R. 2P., and another piece of land
containing about an acre and a half, in the township of Tir-y-coed, in
respect of which W. B. Price has for many years paid a rent of 12s. a
year. The premises are stated to be worth £3 per annum, and notice has
been given to the parties holding the lands to give up possession to the
parish. There is also a small piece of ground in Melverley, about one
and a quarter acre, producing a yearly rent of £3. 3s., which for many
years has been carried to the account of the poor’s rate. Henry Morgen
gave a rent charge of 10s. yearly, which is given to the poor on Good
Friday. The poor have also a yearly sum of 5s., left by Mrs. Prees. The
charities of Richard Lloyd and Elizabeth Lloyd are lost; the former left
a rent charge of 20s. per annum in 1780, and the latter bequeathed the
sum of £20 for the benefit of the poor.
Bather Mrs. Eleanor, Cross lane house
Bill Edward, farmer
Brown Edward, farmer
Davies William, farmer, Melverley hall
Gittings Benjamin, farmer
Jones David, farmer
Jones Ed., grocer & beerhse
Jones Richard, blacksmith
Jones William, farmer
Lewis John, shoemaker and parish clerk
Lewis Thomas, farmer
Lloyd William, farmer
Manford Thomas, farmer, The green
Morgan William, farmer & cattle dealer
Morris Edward, farmer, Cross lane
Owens John, farmer
Pugh John, shopkeeper & beerhouse
Richards John, grocer and cattle salesman
Rodgers Rev. Henry, The parsonage
Rodgers John, assistant overseer and rate collector
Vaughan Richard, farmer
Vaughan Thomas, saddler
Wild John, butcher
Wild John, farmer
Wild Richard, vict., New Inn
Williams Edward, farmer, The green house
OSWESTRY
is a parish, borough, and considerable market town, locally situated in
the hundred to which it gives name, seventeen miles and a half N.W. from
Shrewsbury, and 179 miles N.W. from London. The name of Oswestry is
connected with some of our earliest historical recollections. On this
spot, on August 5th, 652, was fought the battle between the Christian
Oswald, king of the Northumbrians, and the Pagan Penda, king of the
Mercians. Oswald was defeated, and lost his life. The battle began
about four hundred yards west of the church. The assailant appears to
have driven Penda’s forces to a field near the town, called Cae Nef,
where Oswald fell, and Penda, with a savage barbarity, caused the
breathless body to be cut to pieces, and stuck on poles as so many
trophies of his victory. Oswald’s strict virtue, and zeal for the
religion he had embraced, gained him the esteem of his subjects, and his
character was so much revered by the monks, that a short time after his
death he was canonized. The importance of the situation, which rendered
it one of the keys to the principality of Wales, soon attracted the
attention of the political monarch, whose prowess annexed that territory
to his dominion. This place was called by the ancient Britons
Tre’r-cadeirian, literally the town of chairs or seats commanding an
extensive view. Notwithstanding the place was Welsh, and continued so
above a century after the death of King Oswald, yet it has since gone
under his name, and for some time was famed for the miracles wrought
there through his intercession. An ancient poet in noticing Oswald and
the fate of Penda says:
“Three gibbets raised, at Penda’s dire commands,
Bore Oswald’s royal head and mangled hands;
The tenor of the fact, and Oswald’s fate,
Were things of moment to the Mercian state.
Vain policy! for what the victor got
Proved to the vanquished king the happier lot;
For now the martyred saint in glory views,
How Oswy with success the war renews;
And Penda scarcely can maintain his own,
Whilst Oswald wears a never fading crown.”
Oswestry is one of the principal towns on the Welsh borders, and is now
the most flourishing and prosperous of any in the county. In 1801 there
were 2,672 inhabitants; in 1831, 4,478; and in 1841, 987 houses and 4,566
souls; of whom 2,121 were males, and 2,445 females. The entire parish of
Oswestry, including the town and liberties of Oswestry in 1841, contained
8,843 inhabitants. The town is situated on a gentle eminence, the
streets are in general spacious, and there are many good houses, and
retail shops in all the different branches of trade; yet vestiges of its
antiquity, timbered buildings with projecting gables, are still to be
seen in various parts of the town. The beautiful prospects from the high
ground above the town are perhaps not surpassed by any in the county.
The rich and luxuriant vale of Shropshire lies as it were a map beneath
the feet; while the Staffordshire hills, Nesscliff, the Wrekin, and the
Styperstones, are seen in the distance. Towards Wales, the alpine
heights and lovely vales are seen in rich profusion; and here the
beholder glances upon a country which was eminently distinguished as the
birth-place and residence of the children of freedom—a people, who, by
their independent spirit and martial prowess, for centuries chastised
rapacity and injustice, and made oppression and tyranny tremble upon the
throne. The parish of Oswestry contains the townships of Aston, Cynyion,
Crickheath, Hisland, Llanvorda, Maesbury, Middleton, Morton, Oswestry,
Pentregaer, Sweeney Trefraclawdd, Trevlock, Trefonen, Weston Cotton, and
Wootton.