Lamford James, shoemaker
Lea James, shopkeeper
Marsh George, farmer
Miller Rev. Charles, curate, The Vicarage
Nagginton James, farmer
Nicholas Abraham Barlow, shopkeeper
Pearce James, shoemaker
Pointer Edward, farmer
Ratcliffe Mr., farmer
Spender William, farmer, Haywood
Shropshire John, farmer and butcher
Shropshire William, tailor
Turnbull Mr. John, builder and victualler, Fox and Hounds
Wakefield Thomas, farmer
Walker Mr. John
Whilton Matthew, farmer, Haywood
Whittaker Henry, saddler
Wild John, farmer
Williams William, blacksmith
CHIPNALL, OR CHIPPENHALL,
is a township and village in the parish of Cheswardine, four miles N.E.
from Market Drayton. At the census of 1841 there were 30 houses and 70
inhabitants. The township contains 1,309A. 0R. 10P. of land, which is
the property of Thomas Hudson, Esq. Rateable value, £1,615. 15s. 11d.
The principal residents in Chipnall township are William Adams, farmer,
Lipley; Joseph Duckers, farmer, Chipnall Hall; James Goodall, farmer and
beerhouse keeper; John Moreton, farmer, Lipley; Matthew Plant, farmer and
corn miller; John Taylor, blacksmith; Thomas Birbeck Wakefield, farmer,
Lipley; Henry Yates, farmer.
ELLERTON
township is situated three miles from Cheswardine church, and contains
448A. 2R. 0P. of land, the whole of which is the property of Robert
Masefield, Esq. At the census in 1841 there was no separate return for
Ellerton as a distinct township, but the inhabitants were included in the
returns for Cheswardine. ELLERTON HALL, a handsome modern mansion, the
residence of Robert Masefield, Esq., was built in 1836, on the site of an
ancient house composed of timber and plaster. The hall is delightfully
situated on an acclivity near the verge of the county, and commands a
beautiful prospect of great extent over the counties of Salop and
Stafford. The county is here separated from Staffordshire by a small
stream, which meanders in the front of the hall. Not far from the hall
is a fine sheet of water, which covers upwards of six acres, near to
which is a corn mill. Rateable value of the township, £732. 4s. 1d.
The residents are Robert Masefield, Esq., Ellerton Hall, John Challenor,
farmer and corn miller; and William Challenor, farmer.
GOLDSTON
is a township and small village pleasantly situated on the declivity of a
hill about a mile and a half west by south from Cheswardine church. The
township contains 452A. 1R. 16P. of land, and at the census of 1841 there
were 14 houses and 75 inhabitants. Rateable value, £598. 1s. 6d. There
are only three farms in this township, two of which are the property of
William Vardon, Esq., and the other is possessed by Mrs. Charlotte
Masefield. GOLDSTON HALL is a neat brick house, the occasional residence
of William Vardon, Esq. Near to the hall is an antique house, chiefly
composed of timber and plaster, which was most probably erected about the
middle of the fifteenth century; it is now the residence of Mr. Alfred
Holden, farmer. On the banks of the Shropshire union canal, which passes
about half a mile from the village, there is a wharf where coal is sold,
called the Goldston wharf.
The resident farmers in this township are Thomas Beeston, Alfred Holden,
and Ann Lea; William Vardon, Esq., The Hall; Thomas Finn, gardener to W.
Vardon, Esq.
SAMBROOK
is a small rural village, partly in the parish of Cheswardine, and partly
in that of Chetwynd, three and a half miles south from Cheswardine, and
three miles north from Chetwynd church. At the census of 1841 there were
22 houses and 96 inhabitants in the former parish, and 15 houses and 80
inhabitants in the latter. John Charles Burton Boroughs, Esq., is the
principal landowner; Dr. Swanwick is also a proprietor. A small chapel
of ease was erected here in the year 1839. The turnpike road from
Newport to Market Drayton intersects the township; and at Stamford Bridge
there is a respectable inn, kept by Mr. Cordwell.
DIRECTORY.—Thomas Beddall, mason; John Cordwell, timber merchant, Oak
Cottage; Thomas Cordwell, timber merchant and vict., Talbot Inn, Stamford
Bridge; Thomas Dix, blacksmith; Joseph Goodwin, blacksmith and beerhouse
keeper; William Jones, farmer; Joseph Lockley, wheelwright; Miss Stanley,
The Cottage; George Stokes, farmer; Joseph Wainwright, farmer.
SOWDLEY GREAT
is a township and scattered village in the parish of Cheswardine,
situated about three quarters of a mile south-east from the church. The
township contains 1,497A. 3R. 22P. of land, and in 1841 there were 75
houses and 333 inhabitants. Rateable value, £2,280. 3s. 8d. The
principal landowners are Robert Masefield, Esq.; Thomas Addison, Esq.;
George Addison, Esq.; Mr. Thomas Buckley; Mr. William Buckley; Mr.
William Manley; Mr. Stanley; and Mr. William Brian. THE WESLEYAN
METHODISTS have a small chapel in Great Sowdley, built in the year 1837,
on land given by Mr. John Butterton. The poor of the several townships
in this parish participate in the general charities noticed with the
township of Cheswardine.
Allen Sarah, farmer
Arkinstall Henry, farmer
Ashley John, farmer, Little Sowdley
Beeston Joseph, tailor
Benbow James, farmer, Sowdley park
Brian William, farmer
Buckley Thomas, shopkeeper
Hamner George, farmer
Hayward John, carpenter, wheelwright, and beerhouse keeper, Hopshort
Hazledine Thomas, farmer, Sowdley park
Hughes James, shoemaker, Hopshort
Jackson Thomas, farmer
Lea John, farmer
Lee Philip, farmer, Little Sowdley
Pointon George, farmer
Robinson William, beerhouse
Simkin Thomas, farmer, Little Sowdley
Stanley Henry, farmer, Hanwood House
Swinnerton William, blacksmith and farmer
Walton John, farmer
Whittall John, schoolmaster
Worrall John, farmer
Worrall William, brickmaker
DRAYTON-IN-HALES, OR MARKET DRAYTON,
is a parish and considerable market town, in the Drayton division of the
North Bradford Hundred, 153 miles N.W. by N. from London, 19 miles N.E.
by N. from Shrewsbury, 11 miles N. from Newport, and 12 miles S.E. from
Whitchurch. The town is pleasantly situated on the north-east extremity
of the county, and is watered by the river Tern. It is a place of great
antiquity; and, according to Nennius, was one of the principal cities of
the ancient Britons. From the discovery of foundations, and other traces
of buildings in the fields adjoining the town, it is probable that its
extent was once more considerable than at present; and though no coins,
pavements, or other monuments of antiquity have been discovered here, it
is nevertheless strongly conjectured that this town was the Roman
Station, MEDIOLANUM. It is still a place of importance, and the head of
a division of the county, in which the petty sessions are held. It
contains several good inns, and many respectable shops in all the
different branches of the retail trade. There are three firms engaged in
the manufacture of hair seating, which together employ about two hundred
operatives. The manufacture of paper was formerly carried on to some
extent, but was discontinued about five years ago. Here is a tannery,
ironfoundery, and agricultural implements are extensively made. The
various handicraft trades, in which a considerable number of the
population are employed, will be seen on reference to the directory. The
general traffic of this locality is facilitated by the Birmingham and
Liverpool Junction Canal, which passes on the eastern side of the town.
Drayton is twice mentioned in the Domesday survey, and it was then held
by knights’ service under Earl Roger. In the 30th of Henry III. the
Abbot of Combermere had a grant of a market here on a Wednesday, and a
fair on the eve, the day, and the day after the Nativity of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. The market is still held on Wednesdays, and numerously
attended by the farmers who reside in the surrounding district, when
considerable quantities of grain are sold. Fairs are held on the first
Wednesday in February, Wednesday before Palm Sunday, first Wednesday in
May, Wednesday before June 22nd, first Wednesday in August, September
19th, October 24th, and the last Wednesday in November. The parish
comprehends the townships of Betton, Drayton Magna, Drayton Parva,
Longslow, Sutton and Woodseaves, in this county; it also extends into the
Pirehill hundred, in the county of Stafford, and is divided into four
quarters for parochial purposes, viz.:—Church quarter, containing Drayton
Magna and Drayton Parva; the north quarter, containing Betton,
Ridgewardine, and Tunstall; south quarter, Longslow, Sutton, and
Woodseaves; and Tirley quarter, containing Almington, Blore, Hales, and
Tirley. The entire parish, in 1801, contained a population of 3,162
souls; 1831, 3,882; and in 1841, 4,680 souls. It embraces 7,726A. 3R.
11P. of land. The township of DRAYTON MAGNA contains 678A. 2R. 35P. of
land, and at the census of 1841 had 361 houses and 1,699 inhabitants.
The principal landowners are Richard Corbet, Esq., P. Sillitoe, Esq., the
Earl of Powis, William Church Norcop, Esq., Thomas Whitfield, Esq., and
John E. Wilson, Esq. The former is lord of the manor, and impropriator
of the rectoral tithes, which are commuted for £51. 5s. 9d. The vicarial
tithes are commuted for £40. 19s. 9d. DRAYTON PARVA is a populous
district, forming a western suburb to the town, chiefly consisting of
cottage residences, many of which are small, ill-ventilated, and have a
miserable appearance. At the census of 1841 there were 352 houses and
1,462 inhabitants. The township contains 520A. 2R. 32P. of land. Among
the principal landowners are Thomas Whitfield, Esq., and Mr.
Brocklehurst. Richard Corbet, Esq., and Peter Broughton, Esq., are joint
lords of the manor. Mr. Benjamin Beeston, Mr. William Godwin, and Mr.
Samuel Swinnerton, are also landowners; besides whom there are upwards of
one hundred and fifty small freeholders. Little Drayton Common,
containing 97A. 0R. 36P., was enclosed in 1850, when five acres were
allotted for the site of the new church, the parsonage, and the burial
ground. The rectoral tithes have been commuted for £54. 19s. 7d., and
the vicarial for £21. 13s. 1d.
THE CHURCH, dedicated to St. Mary, is a massive structure, void of
architectural beauty, consisting of nave, chancel, and side aisles, with
a castellated tower, supported by butresses. It was built in the reign
of King Stephen, and underwent a complete reparation in 1786, when it was
stripped of its gothic honours. But little of the original structure
remains; the pillars and arches which separate the nave from the side
aisles are undoubtedly the most ancient part of the building. The
approach is at the west end, under a tower, by a Norman doorway,
ornamented in the zig-zag style; the ornaments and clustered pillars are,
however, much corroded by time. The tower, with the exception of a small
portion at the bottom, appears to have been wholly rebuilt. On a beam in
the belfry there is the date 1590, but there is no historical record to
show that the tower was rebuilt in that year. There are six musical
bells; the tenor bell, weighing 17½ cwt., was added about five years ago.
The interior is spacious and lofty, and provided with commodious
galleries. Upon the gallery at the west end is a small organ. Each side
aisle is divided from the nave by five pointed arches rising from
octagonal pillars, the ornamental portions of which have been defaced.
In the centre aisle is a capacious font, of an octagonal form. The east
window is richly beautified with stained glass, which was added about
twenty-five years ago, at the expense of Sir Andrew Corbet. An antique
tablet remembers Dame Anne Corbet, who died in 1682, aged 80 years. “She
was the mother of ten sons and ten daughters, whereof seventeen lived to
be men and women.” The walls of the chancel and side aisles are
ornamented with numerous other tablets in memory of members of some of
the principal families resident in this neighbourhood, but which our
limits will not allow us to notice; several of modern erection are very
beautifully designed. There was a chantery in this church, founded by
Ralph de Basset in the 14th of Edward I., for three chaplains, who had
three acres of land here. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s
book at £12. 10s. 7½d., now returned at £173, in the patronage of Richard
Corbet, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. James Lee, M.A. THE VICARAGE, a
neat residence a little west from the church, was erected in 1837, at a
cost of £1,000, by the present incumbent. The old vicarage stood near
the west end of the church, and was taken down when the present edifice
was built. The site and the garden, measuring about half an acre, were
sold by the vicar to the parishioners for the sum of £400, and were added
to the church-yard. The church stands considerably elevated, and is a
conspicuous and imposing object when seen from the Newport road, the
southern approach to the town. The church-yard commands a fine prospect
towards the south. Immediately before you is an abrupt declevity, with
cottages nestling under the cliff; the meanderings of the Tern water the
fertile meadows beneath; and on the opposite acclivity is seen the
beautiful seat of Purney Sillitoe, Esq., embosomed in thriving
plantations with a fine extent of richly-wooded country extending into
Staffordshire.
THE NEW CHURCH, situated on Little Drayton Common, is dedicated to our
Saviour, and was built in 1846. It is a neat structure, in the early
English style of architecture, with nave, chancel, and side aisles, with
a tower at the north-west corner. The interior has a chaste and pleasing
appearance, and will accommodate about six hundred worshippers. The
sittings are uniform in character, and are all free, with the exception
of forty. The total cost of the structure was £2,600, of which Mrs.
Nonelly gave the munificent sum of £500, and a like sum towards the
erection of a residence for the minister. The parsonage stands a little
south from the church, and was built in 1847, on the five acres of land
given for the site of the church and parsonage. About an acre and a half
has been enclosed for a burial ground, and the rest is appropriated as
gardens and pleasure grounds to the parsonage. The living is a perpetual
curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Drayton; incumbent, Rev. Edward
Cheere, M.A. The district of this church comprises Little Drayton, the
township of Sutton, and part of Woodseaves.
THE INDEPENDENT CHAPEL, a plain brick structure, situated in Back-lane,
was built in the year 1778. It is neatly fitted up and provided with
galleries. The congregation had no settled pastor when our agent visited
Drayton.
THE WESLEYAN METHODIST CHAPEL, situated in Shropshire-street, within the
bounds of the township of Little Drayton, was built in the year 1808.
The structure is plain, is provided with a gallery, and will accommodate
between four and five hundred people.
THE BAPTIST CHAPEL, a small structure, situate at Little Drayton, has a
residence attached. There is no baptist minister residing here, but
members of this persuasion meet for worship every alternate Sunday.
THE PRIMITIVE METHODISTS have a small chapel, situated a little back from
Cheshire-street. This is the only place of worship in the town,—too
small for the number of hearers who attend religious service. It is
expected a new chapel will shortly be built.
THE FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL, situated on the south-east side of the church
yard, was founded by Sir Rowland Hill, in 1554, who charged the manor at
Wellington Hey, with the lands thereto belonging, with the payment of £22
per annum, for the support of the said school. The churchwardens of the
parish were incorporated governors of the school, and were directed to
pay twenty marks yearly out of the above sum to the master, to the usher
£6. 13s. 4d., and the yearly sum of 40s. residue thereof should be kept
as a fund for the reparations of the school. The governors covenanted
for themselves and their successors that the hall or tenement on the
south side of the church yard at Drayton, commonly called St. Mary’s
Hall, wherein a grammar school was then kept, or such other house as
should be thereafter erected on the site, should be for ever used for the
said grammar school. The school was to be free for all children whose
parents should place them there for learning to read English, the Latin,
Greek, and Hebrew languages, and that neither the master nor the usher
should agree for any recompense for such instruction. Sir Thomas Lake,
in 1662, gave a rent charge issuing out of certain lands in the parish of
Baschurch, amounting to £9. 19s. per annum, £6. 12s. 8d. thereof to the
schoolmaster, and £3. 6s. 4d. to the usher. By an order in the Court of
Chancery made 22nd January, 1816, on a petition presented by the
governors it was ordered that the offices of master and usher should be
consolidated, and that the office of usher should be abolished. That the
governors should be at liberty to expend a sum not exceeding £191 in
repairing the school house and other buildings belonging to the school;
and that such sum should be raised by a mortgage of the said premises.
That the governors should let the house then occupied by the usher. That
a salary of £25 should be paid to the master, and that the residue of the
annual revenues of the school should be applied in discharge of the
principal money to be borrowed for the said repairs, and of the necessary
repairs that might from time to time be wanted. The income of the school
consists of the two rent charges above mentioned, and £7 per annum
arising from the rent of the house formerly occupied by the usher. Out
of the income amounting to £38 19s. there is paid a salary of £25 to the
master, £9. 2s. as interest on the £182 laid out in the repairs of the
school premises, and some small sums annually for repairs and incidental
expenses. The Rev. Charles Cooke, M.A., is the master.
THE PAROCHIAL AND NATIONAL SCHOOL is a neat brick structure in the
Elizabethan style of architecture, situated on a bold eminence a short
distance west from the church. It was built in the year 1835, and is
supported by annual subscriptions, and small weekly payments received
from the children. There are one hundred and sixty boys and one hundred
and thirty girls now educated in the school. William Scott is the
teacher.
THE MARKET DRAYTON POOR-LAW UNION comprehends twelve parishes, embracing
61,637 acres of land, and an area of 91 square miles, with a population
returned at the census of 1841 of 13,925 souls. The Union House,
situated in Shropshire-street, was formerly used as the parish workhouse;
it was enlarged by the poor-law guardians in the year 1839; the average
number of inmates is usually about one hundred. A new Union House will
shortly be built upon Little Drayton Common, which will accommodate about
350 inmates. The district comprised within the union is the same as that
of the county court, the several places of which are stated here
below:—_Chairman of the Guardians_: Thomas Twemlow, Esq. _Vice
Chairman_: Walter Minor, Esq. _Clerks_: Messrs. Wilkinsons. _Chaplain_:
Rev. Robert Upton. _Surgeons_: William W. Saxton, Market Drayton
district; John Hopkins, Moreton Say district; John Walmsley, Hodnet
district; Edward Bayley, Cheswardine district; and Michael Ryan, Ashley
district. _Master_: William Crutchley. _Matron_: Mary Crutchley.
_Schoolmistress_: Martha Crutchley.
THE COUNTY COURT OFFICES, situated in Cheshire-street, is a neat
structure of brick with stone finishings, and was built in the year 1850,
at the expense of Joseph Loxdale Warren, Esq. The lower part of the
building is used as offices for the despatch of business connected with
the county court, and above is a large room capable of holding upwards of
400 people, which is used for magisterial purposes. The court embraces
within its jurisdiction the following townships and places,
viz.:—Adderley, Almington, Ashley, Aston, Bearston, Betchley, Betton,
Blore, Bolas Parva, Cheswardine, Childs Ercall, Chipnall, Dorrington,
Drayton Magna, Drayton Parva, Eaton, Ellerton, Goldstone, Gravenhanger,
Hales, Hinstock, Hodnet, Hopton and Espley, Howle, Hungary Hatton,
Kenstone and Hopley, Knighton, Langford, Longslow, Losford, Marchamley,
Moreton Say, Muckleston, Norton-in-Hales, Ollerton, Peplow, Pickstock,
Sambrook, Shavington, Sowdley, Spoonley, Stoke-upon-Tern, Stych and
Woodlands, Sutton, Tittenley, Wistanswick, Woodseaves, Woolerton, and
Woore. _Judge_: Uvedale Corbett, Esq. _Clerk_: Joseph Loxdale Warren,
Esq., The Lodge. _Bailiff_: Mr. William Darbyshire Green, Cheshire-st.
PETTY SESSIONS are held on the last Saturday in every month, in the
spacious room above the county court offices, when prisoners are
committed to Shrewsbury or Stafford, as the case may occur, in which
county the offence is committed, the magistrates having jurisdiction in
both counties.
THE POLICE OFFICE is situated in Cheshire-street nearly opposite the
county court office. It was built in 1850, and has two cells, where
prisoners are confined before committal by the magistrates. In which
case they are sent to Shrewsbury if the offence has been committed in
this county, and to Stafford if committed in Staffordshire. Attached to
the cells is a residence for the constable; William Hemming is the police
officer.
THE MARKET DRAYTON SOCIETY FOR THE ACQUIREMENT OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE was
established in September, 1850. The objects of the institution are to
extend to all classes aid for cultivating, and occasion for exercising
their mental powers; to afford to its members the powerful advantages and
incitement of association for prosecuting their several studies in the
various branches of useful knowledge, and to secure to them opportunity
for engaging in such pursuits as shall tend to their moral as well as
intellectual advancement. For these objects the society has taken
convenient premises situate in the beast market; classes for mutual
improvement have been formed, a library and news room have been
established, and it is intended to have lectures on natural and
experimental philosophy, and the fine arts, as occasion may occur; the
news room is furnished with the principal London and provincial journals
and the most popular periodicals of the day; and the library, although
only recently established, contains many valuable and standard works.
Persons are admitted to all the privileges of the institution on the
payment of 8s. per annum. An annual subscription of 21s. per annum
constitutes an honorary member, and any person giving the sum of £10.
10s., or books, or apparatus to that amount, or a course of not less than
ten lectures, is considered an honorary member for life. The honorary
members have the exclusive use of the reading room from nine o’clock in
the morning till six o’clock in the evening. The institution has the
patronage and active support of the principal gentry and clergy of the
town and neighbourhood. _Patrons_: Henry Bayley Clive, Esq., M.P.; John
Whitehall Dod, Esq., M.P. _President_: Thomas Twemlow, Esq.
_Treasurer_: W. M. Wilkinson, Esq. _Secretary_: Mr. William Crutchley.
A NEWS ROOM has been established by the gentry and tradesmen in the town,
at Mrs. Barnett’s, High-street. It is supported by subscriptions of 21s.
per annum.
THE GAS WORKS are situated in the outskirts of the southern side of the
town, near the river Tern; they were established by a company of
shareholders, who reside in Staffordshire, and the town is expected to be
lighted with gas during the autumn of the present year (1851).