the members of which pay small contributions to their respective funds,
from which they are relieved in case of sickness, infirmity, or
superannuation, and from which the friends of deceased members receive a
sufficient sum for their decent interment. Among these are the Market
Drayton Tradesmen Club, and the fraternities or sacred Orders of
Oddfellows, M.U.; Ancient Forresters, and Female Societies, &c.
THE GROVE is a handsome brick mansion, a quarter of a mile east from the
church, the residence and property of John E. Wilson, Esq.—SPRING FIELDS,
a good house a little west from the church, situated on elevated ground,
commands fine prospects of the country, and is the residence and property
of Thomas Whitfield, Esq.
Near this town, during the desolating wars between the houses of York and
Lancaster, a desperate conflict took place at BLORE HEATH, on the borders
of Staffordshire, which proved very disastrous to numbers of the Cheshire
gentry, and many of the principal families of the adjoining district.
The battle took place on the 23rd of September, 1459, when Richard
Neville, Earl of Salisbury, commanded the forces of the white rose, and
had an army of 5,000 men encamped on a hill near Market Drayton. He was
opposed by James Touchet, Lord Audley, on the part of the red rose, with
an army of 10,000. Though so disproportionate in numbers, the army of
Salisbury proved victorious: 2,400 men are said to have been slain in
this bloody conflict, together with their brave and loyal chief, who fell
by the hand of Robert Kynaston, Esq., of Hordley, a zealous partizan of
the house of York. In a field adjoining the turnpike road from Market
Drayton to Newcastle, a stone has been set up to mark the spot where Lord
Audley fell. What rendered the battle more calamitous was, that the
principal families ranged nearly in equal numbers on the side of each of
the contending parties. The old English poet, Michael Drayton, in his
“Polyalbion,” represents the conflict as partaking of the form of a duel,
in which one relative falls a sacrifice to the resentment of the other:—
“There Dutton Dutton kills; a Done doth kill a Done;
A Booth a Booth; and Leigh by Leigh is overthrown;
A Venables against a Venables doth stand,
A Troutbeck fighteth with a Troutbeck hand to hand;
There Molineux doth make a Molineux to die,
And Egerton the strength of Egerton doth try.
O Cheshire! wert thou mad of thine own native gore,
So much until this day thou never shedd’st before;
Above two thousand men upon the earth were thrown,
Of whom the greater part were naturally thine own.”
Thomas Whitfield, Esq., of Drayton, has in his possession the crest of
the Egertons, a sword handle, and a brass stirrup, richly ornamented and
in good preservation, which were found about thirty years ago on the
field of battle. During the struggles between Charles I. and the
parliament, a skirmish took place in the neighbourhood of Drayton,
between the King’s party, under the command of Prince Rupert, and the
parliamentary forces under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax, when the
royal cause gained a temporary success.
THE MARKET DRAYTON SAVINGS’ BANK, on November 20th, 1850, had a capital
stock of £29,004. 3s., invested with the commissioners for the reduction
of the national debt, at which period there were 866 separate accounts,
of which ten were charitable societies, with deposits amounting to £260.
12s. 1d.; and ten friendly societies, with deposits amounting to £1,706.
2s. 6d. Of the total number of deposits, there were 449 whose respective
balances did not exceed £20; 218 were above £20 and not exceeding £50;
109 above £50 and not exceeding £100; 36 above £100 and not exceeding
£150; and 29 between that sum and £200. John Moore is the secretary.
CHARITIES.—_Frances Hill_, in 1557, gave a rent charge of 29s. per annum,
out of premises in Castle Donnington, and directed 2s. to be paid yearly
to the vicar or priest of Drayton to say mass in the parish church, or
such divine service as should be lawful to be observed there; 8d. to the
parish clerk, and 16d. to the bell ringers; 2s. 8d. for two wax tapers;
8d. to her heirs for the trouble of payment; and the residue to be given
to the poorest inhabitants of Drayton. Out of this gift 2s. is paid to
the minister, 2s. to the clerk, and to the two churchwardens 8d. each,
and the remainder is distributed among the poor, in groats, on Trinity
Sunday.
_Elizabeth Wetenhall_, by her will, bearing date 19th December, 1693,
devised to Robert Clive and John Gardner, and their heirs, two parcels of
land at Drayton, called the Gallow Tree Field and the Clay Pits, which
then produced a rental of £6. 16s. per annum; also a yearly rent of £4,
issuing out a messuage and lands at Winstanwick; and a yearly rent of 8s.
4d. out of a farm at Childs Ercall. And she also bequeathed to the same
persons £60, to be laid out in the purchase of land, or a rent charge,
and out of the yearly proceeds, £4 to be paid in apprenticing one poor
boy of the parish of Drayton to some useful trade; 40s. to be equally
distributed among forty poor widows, or old decayed workmen of Drayton;
20s. to the vicar of the parish, provided he should preach a sermon on
St. Thomas’s day; £6. to be paid to Gabriel Wetenhall and George Dodd,
and their heirs and assignees; £4 for the purpose of putting forth a poor
boy of the parish of Audlem, in Cheshire, apprentice; and 40s. to be
distributed among forty of the poorest widows or decayed labourers of the
said parish. In 1811, an information was filed against Robert Farbeck
and Samuel Redshaw, as the representatives of the co-heiresses of Robert
Clive, the surviving trustee, and against Richard Grant, who acted as the
trustee of the charity by the attorney-general, at the relation of the
Rev. William Cotton and others. On the 21st of July, 1848, a new scheme
for the administration of the charity and distribution of the income
thereof, was made, and certain trustees appointed. In this scheme the
trustees are ordered, after paying any expenses incident to the
administration of the charity, to divide the income into thirteen parts,
and apply the same in the following manner, viz., four-thirteenths
thereof in apprenticing a poor boy of the parish of Drayton, selected by
the majority of the trustees; two-thirteenths to be distributed in money,
or laid out in the purchase of coals, blankets, provisions, or clothing,
at the discretion of the trustees, and distributed among forty poor
widows, and old decayed workmen of the parish of Drayton; one-thirteenth
to be paid to the vicar of Drayton, provided he shall have preached, or
cause to be preached, two sermons on St. Thomas’s day, in Drayton church;
four-thirteenths in apprenticing poor boys of the parish of Audlam, in
Cheshire; and the remaining two thirteenths to be distributed in money or
clothes, among forty poor widows or decayed labourers of the said parish
of Audlem. From certain technicalities not yet complied with by the
legal gentlemen, and which few can see the reasonableness of but a
lawyer, the charity yet remains in abeyance. The accumulations amount to
upwards of £1,400, out of which between £400 and £500 had been expended
in the prosecution of the suit up to December, 1850. The trustees
appointed for the administration of the charity by the attorney-general,
July, 1848, are the Rev. George Pitt; Richard Corbet, Esq.; Henry Clive,
Esq.; William Tayleur, Esq.; Thomas Twemlow, Esq.; William Wilkinson,
Esq.; and Richard Grant, Esq.
_John Wright_ left the yearly sum of 10s., to be given in bread on the
feast of St. John the Baptist, and the feast of St. John the Evangelist:
he also left the like sum yearly for the poor of Tyrley quarter. In
respect of this charity, 20s. per annum is received from certain premises
at Stoke-upon-Tern, which is applied according to the donor’s intentions.
_Lawrence Thompson_ left 20s. per annum to the poor of Drayton, to be
given on St. Lawrence’s day. _Ralph Kendrirk_ gave an annual sum of 20s.
to the poor, and _Mr. Cooke_, a yearly sum of 3s. 4d. These several sums
are carried to the poor’s account, and bread distributed to the amount on
New Year’s Day.
_The Rev. Richard Price_, by will 1730, devised certain lands and houses
in and near Drayton to the poor of Drayton and Hodnet; viz., £5 per
annum, for a distribution of bread every Lord’s-day, and the remainder
for the schooling of poor children of each place. The premises now held
by the parish officers of Drayton, as derived from the Rev. R. Price,
consist of a building in Little Drayton, formerly used as a poor house.
This building was probably erected upon the site of the five messuages
conveyed in trust by the Rev. R. Price; but it does not appear how the
parish of Drayton became entitled to the whole, as part was allotted to
the parish of Hodnet. The are also two pieces of land, called the Town
Field and Crab Tree Field, and a small plot of land in Longslow lane,
which produce a yearly rental altogether of £19. 11s. This sum is
carried to the general account, kept by the churchwardens, entitled the
Poors’ Account.
_John Bill_ left £240, the interest to be disposed of in the Shropshire
part of the parish. In 1781 the sum of £240 was lent to Thomas H.
Alcock, on his bond, but he subsequently failing, a dividend of £106 was
received from the bankrupt’s estate. In 1819 a sum of £190 was advanced
by the churchwardens for the repairs of the Grammar School, for which
interest was to be paid at the rate of five per cent. It is stated in a
memorandum, entered in the churchwardens’ book, that £118, part of this
money was left by Mr. Bill for the purpose of a charity school in Little
Drayton, and apprenticing poor children, at the discretion of the
churchwardens. Interest is now paid on £182 from the school funds, and
the amount is carried to the poors’ account; but it may be observed, that
in the application of those funds, only £4 is disposed of annually for
the education of poor children of Little Drayton, which sum falls short
of the income of Price’s charity before mentioned, which is also
applicable to this purpose, and nothing whatever is applied in binding
out apprentices.
It appears from a schedule of benefactions, that a great number of
legacies have been left for the benefit of the poor of this parish.
Among the donors is _Stephen Denstone_, who gave £100 in 1705, and
directed the yearly produce to be distributed among the poorest widows
and housekeepers of Great and Little Drayton. _Richard Heeley_ gave
£100, and directed half the interest to be expended in bread, and the
other half as the minister and churchwardens of Drayton should think fit.
_Margaret Blest_ gave £50, the interest to be distributed among fifty
poor housekeepers. Various other legacies, 36 in number, amounting in
the whole, with the above gifts, to £577. 13s. 4d., have been laid out at
different periods in the purchase of land, situate at Hinstock,
Ightfield, Drayton, and Cheswardine. The income derived from these
rents, with the interest on the money laid out on the school, amounting
altogether to £114. 11s., is carried to one account, with the produce of
other charities, entitled the “Poors’ Account;” and after defraying some
few incidental expenses, there is paid thereout the following sums:—£7 in
sums of 6d. each on St. Stephen’s day; £2. 10s. in small sums on St.
Margaret’s day; bread to the amount of 5s. for the poor of Tyrley; bread
to the amount of 19s. to the poor of Drayton on Easter Sunday; £4 to a
schoolmistress; 2s. worth of bread is given away every Sunday, amounting
to £5. 4s. per annum; and 5s. worth is given in addition on one Sunday in
every month, amounting to £3; making a total of £22. 18s. The residue of
these funds is applied principally in purchasing blankets and clothing,
which are given to poor persons of the parish who have met with accidents
or occasional distress, in sums of money, varying from 6d. to 5s. We
cannot but observe that the small sums given away on St. Stephen’s and
St. Margaret’s days, as applications are made to the churchwardens,
appear to be too small to be of any real benefit to the parties receiving
them.
_The Rev. Robert Adams_, in 1719, devised certain lands at Winnington
upon trust to pay £13. 12s. yearly (the then value thereof) as
follows:—£8 to the rector, vicar, and churchwardens of Muccleston,
Drayton, and Adderley, alternately, on the 25th of March, every year, for
putting forth a poor boy or girl apprentice; 30s. for the education of
poor children in Adderley, and a like sum for educational purposes at
Muccleston; and the sum of 52s. residue thereof to be expended in bread
for the poor of Adderley. The estate is now let for £35. 12s. per annum,
and the rents are applied to the charitable uses above mentioned.
_Clara Church_, by will 1753, bequeathed £150, and directed the
officiating minister to distribute 2s. weekly, except in the months of
June, July, and August, among poor people frequenting the church on
prayer days, and who should come into the church at the beginning, and
behave with decency during the time of divine service; to pay 16s. to the
minister for visiting poor sick people in the parish, and distribute the
residue of the interest among poor members of society visited with
sickness. It appears that the amount of Mrs. Church’s legacy was not
invested in the funds until December, 1823, when £174 was laid out in the
purchase of certain stock in the four per cent. annuities. In 1825 part
of the stock, and of another sum of £21. 4s., purchased with a legacy of
£20 left by J. Grosvenor, for an addition to the organist’s salary,
appear to have been improperly sold out, so as to leave £150 stock for
this charity, and £20 stock for the organist. The dividends of the £150
stock amount to £5. 5s. per annum; and during forty weeks in the year 2s.
are regularly distributed to the poor, and the sum of 16s. per annum is
paid to the vicar. The residue of the dividends is appropriated with the
proceeds of the church rate.
_Joseph Williams_, by will 1796, bequeathed to the minister and
churchwardens of Drayton £250, invested in the four per cent. consols, to
pay out of the yearly dividends the sum of 20s. to the minister of the
parish, for preaching a sermon on Midsummer day; 5s. each to twenty poor
widows or widowers, and twelve pennyworth of bread, on Midsummer day; to
the ringers, to ring from six to eight o’clock on the same day, 15s.; to
an eligible person for receiving the dividends and paying the same to the
parish officers, 10s.; to the clerk of the parish, for keeping an
inscription of his donations clean, 5s.; and 30s. to the overseers, for
distributing his donations. He also gave a further sum of £20 to have an
inscription placed in Drayton church, containing the above donations.
The dividends, amounting to £8. 15s. per annum, are received by the
churchwardens, and applied in the proportions directed by the testator.
_Mrs. Lawrence_ left £500 in the five per cents, to purchase coals to be
distributed to the poor inhabitants of the parish during the winter
season; and she left a further sum of £100, the interest thereof for the
Sunday school of the established church. In respect of the first legacy,
there is £525 new four per cents, the dividends of which, amounting to
£20 per annum, are received by the churchwardens, and laid out in coals,
which are sold to the poor at about 3d. per cwt. under the cost price;
and the produce of the sale is laid out in like manner, till the fund is
exhausted. The interest of the sum of £100 is applied for the benefit of
the Sunday school.
_Sophia Grosvenor_, in 1816 bequeathed £100, and directed the amount to
be invested in government security, and the dividends distributed among
the poor of Drayton. _Lucina Riddlesden_ bequeathed £100, and directed
the yearly proceeds to be applied in the purchase of warm stockings and
shoes, to be given among poor boys and girls who should attend the
National School. These two gifts, after deducting the legacy duty, were
invested in the purchase of £200 three and a half per cent. stock, which
now stands in the names of certain trustees, and of the dividends,
amounting to £7 per annum, £3. 10s. is divided among twenty-eight poor
old persons, men and women, belonging to the parish; the remaining £3.
10s. is laid out according to the donor’s intentions, in worm stockings
and shoes.
_Charles-Grooby_, by his will bearing date 6th October, 1810, gave to Sir
Corbet Corbet, the Rev. William Judgson, and the vicar and churchwardens
of Drayton, £1,200 three per cent. bank annuities, upon trust that they
should lay out the dividends on the 7th of May, yearly, being the birth
day of the testator, towards clothing six poor men and six poor women of
the parish of Drayton. The sum of £1,200 stock now stands in the names
of certain trustees, and the dividends, amounting to £36 per annum, are
received by the churchwardens, and they provide clothing to that amount,
which they divide among six poor men and twelve poor women of the parish
of Drayton.
POST OFFICE.—_At Mr. Richard Grant’s_, Beast Market. Letters arrive from
the Whitmore railway station at a quarter past four o’clock in the
morning, and are despatched at half-past nine in the evening.
Adams Richard, draper and silk mercer, (Adams and Powell) Shropshire
street
Adams & Powell, linen and woollen drapers, silk mercers and hatters,
Shropshire street
Allen John, tailor, Beast market
Andrews George, gentleman, Stafford street
Arkinstall Mr. John, The Sitch
Arkinstall the Misses, boarding school, Shropshire street
Arkinstall William, tailor, Shropshire street
Barker John, butcher, Beast market
Barnett John, vict., Wheat Sheaf, Old wharf
Barnett Lydia, spirit vaults, High street
Barnett Martha, vict., George Inn, Beast mrkt
Barratt Thomas, builder & timber merchant, Stafford street
Basford Joseph, gardener, Tinkers’ lane
Bate Mary, shopkeeper, Shropshire street
Beeston Mr. Benjamin, Summer hill
Bennion Thomas Platt, bookseller, printer, stationer, bookbinder,
circulating library, and depôt of Christian Knowledge Society, High
street
Bonell Samuel, pump maker, Stafford street
Boughey and Woodcock, bonnet makers, Church street
Boulton Henry, vict., Crown Inn, Stafford st
Bowker George, watch and clock maker, Cheshire street
Bradbury John, agricultural implement maker, and wheelwright, Longslow
lane
Bradbury John, boot & shoe mkr, Shropshire st
Bradbury Maria, bonnet maker, Shropshire st
Bradbury Walter, linen and woollen draper, silk mercer and hatter, High
street
Bradshaw John, cabinet maker, and provision dealer, Beast market
Brasnell Thomas, beerhouse keeper, Little Drayton
Bratton John, land agent, Beast market
Brayn Joseph, linen and woollen draper, silk mercer and hatter, High
street
Brayn Samuel, gentleman, Stafford street
Brookshaw Benjamin, blacksmith, and beerhouse keeper, Old Wharf
Brookshaw William, blacksmith, Beast markt
Brown Thomas, carpenter and beerhouse keeper, Cheshire street
Burd George, Esq., solicitor, Stafford street
Cartwright Martha, milliner, Shropshire st
Carver Hugh, cheesefactor, Shropshire street
Cash Philip, paper dealer, and trunk maker, Shropshire street
Cheere Rev. Edward, M.A., Parsonage, Little Drayton
Chritchley Cornelius, coach builder, Beast market
Cockayne Edward, coach and house painter, Stafford street
Cooke Rev. Charles, M.A., head master at Grammar School, Church yard side
Corfield Joseph, boot and shoe maker, Cheshire street
Craston Edward, hatter, and shoe warehouse, High street
Crutchley William, master of Union House, Shropshire street
Cutler Joseph, shopkeeper, Little Drayton
Dale Mary, butcher, Stafford street
Dale, Sarah, victualler, Elephant and Castle, Shropshire street
Davenport James, grocer, tea dealer, and tallow chandler, High street
Davies Richard, farmer and corn miller, Almington
Davies Thomas, hair dresser, Stafford street
Davies Thomas, shopkeeper, Stafford street
Deakin Peter, baker and confectioner, Shropshire street
Dickin Miss Rachael, Shropshire street
Done Robert, shoe maker, Stafford street
Drury Thomas, cooper, Shropshire street
Eaton George, schoolmaster, Shropshire st
Eaton William, tailor, Shropshire street
Edge Robert, timber merchant, wheelwright, and victualler, Stag’s Head,
Beast market
Elock Frances, boarding school, Stafford st
Embrey Thomas, grazier, Stafford street
Evans George, maltster and vict., Red Lion, Beast market
Farnell John, tailor, Bell lane
Farnell Zacharia, tailor, Cheshire street
Fell Robert, agent to Hazledine and Co., coal merchants, Old Wharf
Fielding Henry, patten and clog maker, Cheshire street
Frith Joseph, land agent, Stafford street
Fletcher Joseph, maltster, Cheshire street
Fletcher Elizabeth, beerhouse, Cheshire street
Foden James, victualler, Corbet Arms Hotel, Posting house, and Excise
office, High st
Fox James, plumber & glazier, Shropshire st
Frith John, hair dresser, Shropshire street
Gad Thomas, chair maker, Shropshire street
Godwin William, grocer, and chemist & druggist, Shropshire street, hair
seating manufacturer, and nurseryman, Kiln bank
Goodall George, maltster, Cheshire street
Goodall John, chemist and druggist, glass dealer, Stamp Office, and agent
to Salop Fire Office, Cheshire street
Gower Andrew Woodgate & Son, agricultural implement manufacturers,
Stafford street
Graham Robert, currier, Little Drayton
Grant Mr. Richard, postmaster, Beast markt
Green George, solicitor’s clerk, Terrace cottage
Green William Darbyshire, auctioneer, and high bailiff of County court,
Cheshire st
Grimley Henry, Esq., solicitor, Stafford street
Griffith Benjamin, brazier and tin plate worker, Beast market
Griffith Isaac, builder, cabinet maker, and registrar of marriages,
Stafford street
Griffith Thomas, cabinet maker and upholsterer, Cheshire street
Griffith William, hair dresser, Shropshire st
Groom Thomas, leather cutter and provision dealer, Stafford street
Grosvenor John, tailor, Shropshire street
Grosvenor Mary Ann, bonnet maker, Shropshire street
Grosvenor Robert, watch and clock maker, registrar of births and deaths,
and parish clerk, Church street
Hall Thomas, cooper and beerhouse keeper, Shropshire street
Harding Miss Sarah, Shropshire street
Harper George, shopkeeper and cabinet maker, Shropshire street
Harper William, farmer, corn miller, provision and british wine dealer,
High street
Haslam Joseph, hair seating manufacturer, Stafford street
Haslam Joseph N., surgeon, Shropshire street
Hawley William ap Richard, professor of music, Back lane
Hayward Charles, butcher, Shropshire street
Haywood Richard, hosier, Stafford street
Heatley Thomas, linen and woollen draper, silk mercer and hatter, High
street
Hemming William, police officer, Cheshire st
Herbert John, coal agent, Victoria Wharf
Hill Ann, vict., Royal Oak, Cheshire street
Hill Mrs. Ann, Church street
Hill Henry, saddler & harness maker, High st
Hill Robert, saddler & harness maker, High st
Hill Thomas, tanner and currier, Cheshire st
Hinton Robert, plumber, glazier, and beerhouse keeper, Shropshire street
Holdcroft Mrs. Susannah B., The Sitch
Horner, Captain John, Cheshire street
Hope Thomas, provision dealer, Shropshire st
Hopkins Eliza, milliner, Beast market
Hopkins John, surgeon, Shropshire street
Hopkinson James, shopkeeper, Cheshire st
Hopwood John, saddler and harness maker, Stafford street
Hughes Enoch, blacksmith, Bell lane
Hughes Maria, bonnet maker, Shropshire st
Jackson John, porter agent, Shropshire street
Jarvis Joseph, butcher, Cheshire street
Jones John, nail maker, Shropshire street
Jones John, hatter and provision dealer, Shropshire street
Jones Josiah, joiner and builder, Cheshire st
Jones Richard, shoemaker, Little Drayton
Jones Samuel, shoemaker, Bell lane
Jones William, shoemaker, Little Drayton
Key John Sayers, malster and vict., Star Inn, Stafford street
Kirkham William, vic., Old Cheshire Cheese, High street
Lee Rev. John, M.A., vicar, Vicarage
Leigh Emily and Fanny, dress makers, Cheshire street
Lewis George, provision dealer and currier, Little Drayton
Liseter John, letter carrier, Beast Market
Lloyd Edmund, linen and woollen draper, silk mercer and hatter,
Shropshire street
Lockett John, bookseller, printer, &c., (Silvester and Lockett), High
street
Lockett George, butcher, Cheshire street