buildings, situated in Bargates street, and was erected in the year 1548.
The school is a chaste and elegant structure, ornamental to the town, and
highly creditable to the feoffees under whose auspices it was erected.
The school was founded in 1550, and we find in the preamble to the
schedule of a deed of feoffment, bearing date 16th September, 1550, that
Sir John Talbot, late parson of Whitchurch, was resolved to have founded
in his lifetime a free school in the town of Whitchurch, at his own
expense, for the bringing up of youth in virtue and learning; and that he
had delivered into the hands of Thomas Cotton the sum of £200 towards the
erection and establishment of the said school, but that the said Sir John
Talbot died before the accomplishment of the same; and that with the said
sum and other moneys given by charitably disposed persons, there had been
purchased a messuage called Cow Hall, to the intent that they should
observe the several articles contained in the deed of feoffment. The
substance of the statutes contained in this deed is,—That the feoffees,
with the parson of the parish, if he should be inhabiting there, should
within six weeks after the death, departure, or removal of any
schoolmaster appoint another unmarried man, if he could be conveniently
provided, and if not a married man—honest, virtuous, and well learned in
Latin and literature—to be schoolmaster there, such schoolmaster to be
presented, within eight days after his election, to the diocesan or his
chancellor to be examined, and if he should be thought competent on such
examination, then to be admitted. That if the feoffees and parson should
not appoint within six weeks, the Earl of Shrewsbury should appoint a
master. That if any of the feoffees should depart out of the parish and
reside elsewhere, he should release his interest to the other feoffees.
The master was to receive £10 per annum, and to have the appointment of
the usher, who was to receive five marks yearly. That the feoffees
should not demise any of the premises for more than ten years, and that
they should yearly account in the parish church of Whitchurch for the
rents and profits of the same. If the rents and profits should at any
time exceed the sum before appointed to be paid to the schoolmaster and
usher, the feoffees should deliver the overplus to the churchwardens, to
be kept in a chest in the said church, for the repairs of the
schoolhouse, and for the relief of such schoolmaster as should have
laudably taught in the said school, until by sickness or age he should
have given over, or have been removed from his place, and for the relief
of poor fatherless and friendless scholars. That after the death or
removal of a schoolmaster, the usher should be elected in his place if he
should be thought by the parson and feoffees learned and meet for the
same. That there should be taught in the school children of “all
countries that will come.” William Thomas, in 1662, conveyed 16 acres of
land in the parish of Ubley, in the County of Somerset; two thirds of the
rent to be paid to the master of this school and one third to the usher.
Edward Beddon and Ann, his wife, left certain lands, the rents to be
employed to the sole use of the school at Whitchurch. All the real
estates above-mentioned, with the school and other premises held
therewith, have from time to time been conveyed to new trustees. In 1725
proceedings in Chancery took place between the master and usher and the
then trustees. The matters in dispute were the amount of the salaries to
which the schoolmaster and usher were entitled, the right of the master
to take any payments from the scholars, and the right of the trustees to
remove the master from his office. By a decree, made 16th December,
1725, it was ordered that the schoolmaster should have only £10 per
annum, and the usher five marks from the Cowhall estate; that the rest of
the profits should go to the uses mentioned in the statutes; that the
rents of the Ubley estate should be divided as directed by the donor; and
the rent of the Beddow estate in like manner; and it was declared that it
was the intention of the donor that all people’s children should be
taught in the said school gratis, and that the rector and feoffees had
power to remove the master. In a subsequent cause, between the
Attorney-General, at the relation of the Bishop of Hereford, it was
decreed, on March 21st, 1747, that there should be paid to the head
master £13. 6s. 8d., and to the usher £6. 13s. 4d. in addition to their
former salaries, and so much as should remain after the payment of
repairs and other incidental expenses relating to the school should be
deposited in the chest; that whenever £100 should have arisen from such
surplus, the same might be placed out on government securities for the
augmentation of the salaries of the master and usher, in the proportions
of two thirds to the former and one third to the latter, until such time
as there should be a decayed master or poor scholar entitled to a
subsistance according to the donor’s intention. The Cowhall estate is
situate at Backford, in Cheshire, and consists of 153A. 3R. 37P. of land,
with a farm house and suitable outbuildings, let at a yearly rent of
£200, but the trustees, in 1822, agreed to allow the tenant £20 per
annum, to be laid out in manure. In the year 1822, timber was cut from
this farm and sold for £200, which was partly applied in repairing the
farm premises: the residue, £80 13s. 10d., was paid to the trustees. The
Ubley estate, near Bristol, consists of 26A. 1R. 4P. of land, and is let
for £30 a year. There is also a yearly sum of £52 arising from lands the
gift of Edward Beddow. The trustees, when the charity commissioners
published their report, were possessed of £6,400 in three per cent.
consols, which has arisen from the investment of surplus rents, in
accordance with the decree of Chancery. The gross annual income amounts
to £454, from which the master had a salary of £210. 8s. 6d., and the
usher £97 per annum. Upon application being made to the trustees, on
behalf of orphan or friendless children, such as are considered fit
objects, are appointed at a meeting of the trustees, they also receive
clothing and are supplied with books. The Rev. James R. Peake, M.A., is
the master.
THE NATIONAL SCHOOL is situated in New street, Dodington. THE BRITISH
SCHOOL is also in Dodington, where they will be found noticed. THE
CHURCH SUNDAY SCHOOL is a modern erection of brick, situated near the
church. THE INFANT SCHOOL, in Claypit street, is a neat building,
erected in 1848.
THE SAVINGS’ BANK is situated in St. Mary’s street. The capital stock of
the bank on November 20th, 1850, amounted to £52,954. 0s. 4d., at which
period there were 1,489 separate accounts, of which nine were charitable
societies, having deposits amounting to £518. 3s. 4d., and nineteen
friendly societies, with deposits amounting to the sum of £6,898. 2s.
10d. Of the total number of accounts there were 790 depositors, whose
respective balances did not exceed £20; 385 were above £20, and not
exceeding £50; 187 were between £50 and £100; 62 above £100 and not
exceeding £150; 33 above that sum, and not exceeding £200; and four above
£200. _President_: The Right Hon. George Lord Kenyon. _Secretary and
Actuary_: Mr. S. H. Parker. The bank was established in the year 1818.
THE HOUSE OF INDUSTRY, situate on Deer Moss, was established in 1794, and
is under the management of twelve directors or guardians, who nominate a
chairman. They constitute a board for the regulation of the house and
the paupers belonging to the fourteen townships of the parish of
Whitchurch, which are embraced in the jurisdiction of the board. The
house will accommodate 150 inmates; the present number on the books is
63. _Chairman_: Archibald Worthington. _Vice-Chairman_: Mr. Thomas
Andrews. _Treasurer_: George Corser, Esq. _Surgeon_: Mr. Thomas Groom.
_Clerk_: Mr. Robert B. Jones. _Governor_: Thomas Huxley. _Matron_: Mrs.
Huxley. _Relieving Officer and Assistant Overseer_: Thomas Huxley.
_Schoolmistress_: Mary Price.
THE COUNTY COURT OFFICE for the recovery of debts, not exceeding £50, is
situated in St. Mary’s street. The court embraces within its
jurisdiction the following townships and places, viz.:—Whitchurch,
Alkington 2, Ash Magna 3, Ash Parva 3, Dodington 1, Black Park 2,
Broughall 3, Edgeley 2, Hinton 2, Hollyhurst and Chinnell 2, Tilstock 3,
New Woodhouses 4, Old Woodhouses 4, Ightfield 4, Hanmer 7, Betisfield 8,
Bronington 6, Halghton 9, Tybroughton 6, Wellington 9, Iscoyd 6, Agden 4,
Chidlow 4, Chorlton 8, Cuddington 8, Malpas 5, Newton by Malpas 7, Old
Castle 7, Overton 7, Church Shocklach 11, Shocklach Oviatt 11, Stockton
6, Whichaugh 7, Wigland 5, Threapwood 10, Audlem 10, Bickley 6, Buerton
11, Dodcot and Wilkesley 8, Hampton 7, Macefen 4, Marbury with Quoisly 3,
Norbury 5, Tushingham with Grindley 3, and Wirswall 3. _Judge_: Uvedale
Corbet, Esq., Aston Hall, near Shiffnal. _Clerk_: Mr. Benjamin Lakin.
_Assistant Clerk_: Charles Foulkes. _High Bailiff_: Mr. Thomas
Whittingham, jun. _Bailiff_: William Baxter, _Auctioneer and Broker_:
Mr. William Lakin. The figures refer to the mileage from Whitchurch.
THE NEWS AND READING ROOM is held in a commodious and neatly fitted up
room in the Market Hall; it is under the management of a committee of
gentlemen, and supported by annual subscriptions.
THE MARKET HALL, situate in High street or Market street, is a spacious
building of brick, with stone finishings and supported by stone pillars.
Underneath the hall is a spacious area, where the corn-market is held.
Here the farmers assemble in considerable numbers on the market day,
which has a business-like and animated appearance while the market
continues.
THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS is at the Victoria Inn, High street.
THE THEATRE is a small structure, situated in Mill street.
THE STAMP OFFICE is in High street, Mr. Thomas Joyce distributor.
THE EXCISE OFFICE is at the Lord Hill Hotel, in Watergate street. The
Pensioners’ and Corn Returns Offices are at the same place.
THE GAS WORKS were established in 1826, by Messrs. Edwards and Smith, and
are now the property of Mr. William Smith, engineer. There are two small
gasometers, which will hold conjointly 3,600 cubic feet of gas. A charge
of about 10s. per 1,000 cubic feet is made to the consumer.
THE CIRCULATING LIBRARY is at Mr. Robert Barrow Jones’s, in High street
PETTY SESSIONS are held for the Whitchurch division on the last Friday in
every month. Magisterial business is also transacted at the office in
St. Mary’s street, on Mondays at nine o’clock, A.M., and on Fridays at
eleven, A.M. The magistrates who usually attend are Sir Robert Chambre
Hill, Bart., John W. Dod, Esq., M.P., William H. Poole, Esq., and George
Bowen, Esq. _Clerk_: Benjamin Lakin. _Deputy Clerk_: Charles Foulkes.
The religious and charitable institutions, which have for their object
the promotion of Christian knowledge and to ameliorate suffering
humanity, are liberally supported in Whitchurch. The members of the
Established Church and the various sectarian communities have their
respective Bible, Missionary, and Tract Societies. The Depository of the
British and Foreign Bible Society is at Mrs. Clutton’s, in Bargate
street. The Dispensary is at the Market Hall. The Depôt for Coals for
the poor is in Watergate street. There is a Library of Miscellaneous
Works at the National School, which has been established for the benefit
of the humbler classes of society. For Benefit and Sick Societies the
town stands pre-eminent; they are efficiently conducted, the members are
very numerous, and several of the societies have a very considerable
accumulated capital. The Whitchurch Old Friendly Society, established in
1754, in 1850 had 264 members and a capital stock of £1,667. 17s. 11½d.
Mr. John Fowles is secretary, and Mr. Henry Corser treasurer.
THE LOCK-UP AND POLICE-OFFICE, situated in Clay-pit street, was built in
1850. It consists of two cells for the reception of prisoners before
committal by the magistrates; and also a residence for the superintendent
constable.
THE BOWLING GREEN, in St. John’s lane, affords healthful and amusing
recreation to the residents of the town, is supported by subscription,
and under the management of a committee of gentlemen and tradesmen.
There is an ALMSHOUSE for six poor decayed housekeepers, liberally
endowed, as will be seen on reference to the charities of the parish. A
School-house adjoins the almshouse, and here about fifty children are
instructed.
The commodious premises, formerly occupied as a silk-mill here, have been
purchased by Mr. Thomas Burgess, an extensive cheese-factor and
corn-merchant, and are now converted into a warehouse. There is a wharf
at the bottom of Mill street, on the banks of the Chester and Ellesmere
canal, which is now the property of the Shropshire Union Canal and
Railway Company. Goods are forwarded to London, Manchester, Liverpool,
and Chester by the company; who are also general carriers to all parts of
England. Of the Castle at Whitchurch, which stood upon Castle-hill, not
a vestige remains. Some portion of the walls are said to have been
standing in the year 1760.
During the years 1830 and 1831, the inhabitants of Whitchurch and the
neighbourhood were held in constant alarm by a succession of incendiary
fires. On the 14th of December the first fire commenced on the premises
of a poor man of the name of Heath. On the following day the
out-buildings of the Swan Inn burst into flames; and on the 21st the
out-premises belonging to Mr. Nunnerley, of Prees Heath, were destroyed.
On the 7th of January, 1831, Mr. Moss, of Heath lane, had a stack burnt;
and on the day following the barn of Mr. G. T. Whitfield and two cottages
were destroyed. On the 12th, a barn belonging to the same gentleman was
discovered to be on fire. A stack was fired belonging to Mr. Huxley on
the 2nd of February. On the 10th of March, a second fire broke out on
the premises of Mr. Nunnerley, of Prees Heath, and so rapid were the
flames that the whole of the out-buildings were entirely destroyed before
the arrival of the fire-engines from Whitchurch. Five cows, two horses,
and ten pigs, were also destroyed. The next fires which took place were
the stacks of Mr. Bradbury. On the 4th of April, the farm buildings of
Mr. Huxley, of Tilstock, and a great quantity of grain, were entirely
consumed. The same evening, a range of buildings, on the road from Prees
Heath to Tilstock, burst into flames, and the fire proceeded with so much
rapidity that no efforts could check them. On the 13th of September, a
stack belonging to Mr. Nunnerley, of Prees Heath, was consumed. The
stack-yard and out buildings of Mr. Booth, and the stacks of Mr.
Darlington, were in flames at the same time, and very great damage
sustained. Shortly after this the incendiaries were brought to justice,
and Richard Whitfield, a farmer and maltster, was transported for life,
at the Shropshire Spring Assizes of 1832, and James Lea and Joseph
Grindley were executed.
Whitchurch was the birth place of Dr. TYLSTON, an eminent physician in
1663. He was admitted into Trinity College, Oxford, and his brilliant
talents adorned by a deportment in all respects exemplary soon attracted
the notice of Dr. Bathurst, then president of the college, whose able
directions much assisted him. When about Bachelor’s standing, his
inclinations suggested the study of physic, as the employment for life,
and having by an acquaintance with natural philosophy laid a good
foundation for medical enquiries, he speedily turned the course of his
reading into that channel. After he had left college he removed to
London, where he studied industriously under Sir Richard Blackmore. On
his return he commenced his professional career at Whitchurch, and though
young, quickly obtained celebrity. At the request of many friends in
Chester he quitted his native town for that city in the year 1690, and by
successful practice continued to increase in fame. His mental powers
rose above the ordinary standard, and in the prosecution of an enquiry he
regarded the opinions of others rather as guides to direct than
authoratitives to govern the efforts of his own mind. After his
attainments had become considerable, such was his thirst for knowledge
that he redeemed for study all the time his professional engagements
would allow. The writings of antiquity, especially those of Cicero,
Seneca, and Plutarch, afforded him great delight. In the works of Pliny
he took much pleasure, and shortly before his death read with great
satisfaction the writings of Lactantius. Passages which illustrated any
portion of Scripture he transcribed into an interleaved Bible, or other
repository. In his professional pursuits he was as remarkable for
charity to the poor as for diligence, fidelity, and concern for his
patients. The Scriptures he perused with unfeigned delight, and was
influenced by their authority as a supreme rule. By frequent meditation
he became conversant in an unusual degree with the instructive doctrines
and sublime mysteries of the Gospel. When a subject particularly
interesting filled his attention, he clothed his conceptions in writing;
these have survived him, and not only show the evidences of erudition,
but of an experimental acquaintance with revealed religion. He died on
the 8th of April, 1699, in the 36th year of his age. The celebrated
Matthew Henry bears honourable testimony to his worth, in a letter to a
friend shortly after his death, from which the following is an
extract:—“I find it easy to say a great deal to aggravate the affliction
we are under in the death of Dr. Tylston, whom we miss daily. What
improvement I have made in learning of late years has been owing as much
to my converse with him as to any one thing. He was the ornament of our
congregation, and a great reputation to us.”
This town was the residence of Nicholas Barnard, a man of great learning,
chaplain to Archbishop Usher, and Dean of Armagh. In the time of the
rebellion in Ireland he was a great sufferer, and often in danger of his
life; he consequently fled to England, and was presented with the rectory
of Whitchurch, where he lived till his death in 1661. Abraham Wheloch, a
person of great learning, and noted as a linguist of distinguished
abilities, was born in this town. He was author of a Persian translation
of the New Testament, which task he undertook in the hope that it might
open the way for the conversion of the natives of Persia to Christianity.
He greatly assisted Dr. Brian Walton in his Polyglot Bible, and published
an edition of the works of the venerable Bede. He was fellow of Clare
Hall, Cambridge, library keeper, Arabic professor, and minister of St.
Sepulchre’s. His death took place in 1654.
There are 333A. 3R. 0P. of waste land called WHITCHURCH HEATH, which has
a barren and sterile appearance. It has a flat surface, covered with
gravel, and incapable of cultivation.
CHARITIES.—_Samuel Higginson_, by will, bearing date 28th September,
1697, devised certain lands in Whixall, and gave the sum of £200 in
trust, for the erection of an almshouse, and the benefit of poor persons
appointed as inmates; and if any poor relations of the family or kin
should apply, he directed that they should be first admitted to receive
the benefit thereof. Jane Higginson, widow of the above Samuel
Higginson, by her will, in 1707, gave £5 per annum to five decayed
tradesmen’s widows in Ludlow, in consideration that the five poor widows
should take care to keep the chancel in Ludlow church clean. She also
gave to the rector of Ludlow and his successors £5 per annum. And she
gave all her lands and tenements in the counties of Salop, Flint, and
Chester, in trust, and after payment of certain legacies, she gave for
the use of her own and her husband’s almhouse in Whitchurch £12 per
annum, charged upon her estate at Ash, in the county of Chester, the
necessary repairs of the almshouse to be first deducted thereout; and she
directed that the sum of £7. 10s. per annum, given by her daughter for
the support of the said almshouse, should also be paid out of her estate
at Ash. She also gave to the poorest and most necessitous children of
the parish of Hanmer the sum of £6, payable once in five years, whereof
20s. was designed for their clothing, and the rest to be bestowed for the
benefit of the children, and £6 in like manner to the parish of
Ellesmere. And she gave the debts due to her to build a schoolhouse upon
the piece of ground lying between her almshouses and those of the town,
and bequeathed £10 per annum to the teacher, and 20s. yearly to buy
English books. She directed her trustees to meet on the 24th June,
yearly, to settle the accounts, and left 30s. yearly for their expenses,
and 10s. to the minister to preach a sermon on the same day.
Under the will of Samuel Higginson, an almshouse was built consisting of
six tenements, and also a schoolhouse. These premises, with small
gardens attached to the almshouses, comprise the whole of the property
devised by him in Whitchurch, except a small parcel which was sold to the
parish for £10, for the purpose of building other almhouses thereon. The
Whixall estate consists of about 22 acres of land, producing a yearly
rental of £42. The property devised by Mrs. Higginson consists of a
messuage and land containing 110A. 2R. 20P. let at a rent of £140.
Certain lands and a house at Milton Green, comprising in the whole 40A.
3R. 30P., producing a yearly rental of £40. The trustees took no estate
at Ash in the county of Chester, and the yearly sum of £12 left as
payable out of the Ash estate to the almspeople is considered as payable
out of her other estates. The rents above mentioned amounts to £252 per
annum, out of which each of the almspeople receive £4. 4s. yearly at
Midsummer, and £2. 2s. on each of the other quarter days. The sum of £6
is transmitted every fifth year to Hanmer; and a yearly stipend of £10
and an allowance of £2 for coal is paid to the master of the national
school, who teaches the boys in a school erected by subscriptions for
that purpose; the girls are taught in the school adjoining the almshouse,
built according to the directions of Mrs. Higginson. Out of the residue
£15. 15s. is distributed among the poor of Great Ash, Little Ash, and
Tilstock, and a considerable amount is given in small sums to the poor of
Whitchurch and the vicinity.
_Thomas Benyon_, in 1707, charged certain premises in the township of
Alkington with the payment of 40s. per annum, for the benefit of the
preaching minister of the then new erected Presbyterian meeting house in
Dodington, to continue so long as such minister should officiate there
and no longer, and that the residue of the yearly rents should be applied
in educating so many poor children of the parish of Whitchurch as could
be conveniently taught therein; and he directed that if preaching at the
said meeting house should cease, or none be there by a Presbyterian
minister, the said payment of 40s. should cease, and be applied for
educating the said poor children. The property devised by Mr. Benyon
contains 22A. 1R. 14P., and is let for £50 per annum. The nomination of
the free scholars is left to the members of the Presbyterian
congregation, instead of being appointed by the trustees, as directed by
the testator.
_Mary Whetton_, by her will, bearing date March, 1811, gave to the rector
of Whitchurch £100, navy five per cents., in trust, to pay the interest
half yearly among the widows of Higginson’s almshouses. A portion of
this stock having been sold for the payment of the legacy duty, and the
navy five per cents. having been converted into new four per cents.,
there is now in respect of this charity £94. 10s. new four per cents.,
standing in the name of certain trustees. The dividends, amounting to
£3. 15s. 6d., are distributed as directed by the donor.
_Phillip’s Charity_.—The particulars of James Phillip’s charity for the
providing a lecture every Thursday in the parish church of Whitchurch,
and for the supplying the poor with flannel, will be found in the account
of the charities for the town of Shrewsbury.
_John Gossage_, by will, 1671, gave to the poor of the parish of
Whitchurch the sum of £2. 12s. per annum, to provide twelve pennyworth of
bread every Lord’s day. He also gave a similar bequest to the poor of
the parish of Plumstead, in Kent, and for the payment of the same he
charged his lands in Plumstead and Erith, and gave the residue of the
proceeds to St. Thomas’s Hospital. This rent charge is received from the
treasurer of St. Thomas’s Hospital, and distributed to the poor in bread.
_Ralph Brereton_, haberdasher, of London, by his will, date May 1st,
1630, among other charities bequeathed £250 to purchase a yearly dole for
ever for the poor of Whitchurch. In 1635 this bequest was laid out in
the purchase of 21 acres of land in Edgeley, and this land was sold in
the year 1804 for the sum of £1,230. This sale was supposed to have been
authorized by an act of parliament, passed 32nd George III., for building
a house of industry at Whitchurch, whereby it was enacted that all lands,
rents, hereditaments, and sums of money, and all charitable gifts,
legacies, and benefactions belonging to the parish of Whitchurch, and
applicable to the relief of the poor, not being directed by the donors to
be applied to any private person, or for the relief of any particular
poor, should be invested in the directors who were thereby incorporated.
And it was thereby declared that it should be lawful for them to dispose
of the same, and apply the money for carrying on the purposes of the act,
or otherwise in aid of the poor’s rate. At the time the property was
sold it was let for £17 a year, and this sum has been paid annually by
the directors of the house of industry to the churchwardens, to be
disposed of as the charity of Ralph Brereton. The amount is added to the
yearly sums of £2 12s. paid from Gossages charity, £1 from Griffith’s
charity, and £8 from the church rate, probably in respect of some
benefactions which were applied many years ago in rebuilding the church.
From this fund eleven dozen penny loaves are distributed every Sunday,
ten penny loaves in Tilstock chapel, and the remainder in the parish
church.
A yearly sum of £1, left by Morris Griffith, is charged on land called
the Green Field, an estate belonging to Mrs. Ann Brown, whose tenants pay
the amount, which is added to the produce of Brereton’s charity. Several
sums of money left at different periods and by various donors, amounting
in the whole to £340, were held by the church-wardens and overseers for
the use of the poor; of this sum £300 was laid out in the purchase of a
rent charge issuing out of certain land in Alkington. The yearly sum of
£15 is paid to the treasurer of the house of industry, and it is applied
for the general purposes of that establishment in pursuance of the
provisions contained in the act of 32nd George III., already noticed in
the account of Brereton’s charity. Of the above sum £55 was the gift of
John Taylor, in consideration of which one dozen of penny loaves are
distributed every Sunday, according to the intentions of the donor. The
residue of the sum of £340 was probably laid out with other money, as
hereafter mentioned.
The churchwardens and overseers of the poor, in the year 1699, purchased
an estate in Broughall, with the sum of £100, the gift of _Edward
Williams_, and a further sum of £110, part of the poors’ money. It does
not appear what specific benefactions were comprised in the sum of £110
above mentioned. There are, however, a great number of gifts and
legacies recorded in the church, to the amount of £492; and in the
purchase of the Broughall and Alkington estates, before mentioned, £410
is accounted for. It is probable that the residue, with some other
money, was laid out in re-building the church, and was the origin of the
payment of the sum of £8 from the church rates, which is distributed in
bread, as already mentioned under the head of Brereton’s charity. The
estate at Broughall consists of 14 acres, and is let at a rent of £21 per
annum, one-fourth of which has always been paid to the master of the
grammar school, and three-fourths to the account of the directors of the
house of industry, under the provisions of an act to which we have before
alluded.
At a court held for the manor of Whitchurch, 26th January, 1630, John
Rawlinson D.D., and Catherine his wife, surrendered certain lands to the
use of Richard Alport, and Joyce his wife, in tail, and for want of
issue, to the use of Richard Alport and his heirs, they paying £12 yearly
out of the said lands to the churchwardens of Whitchurch, to the use of
the poor of the said parish. The estate thus charged with the yearly
payment of £12 lies near the town of Whitchurch, and is now called
Alport’s land. It was in the possession of the assignees of Samuel
Fowles, when the charity commissioners published their report. The
amount is distributed among the poor of the parish on St. Thomas’s day.
It is stated in the parliamentary returns of 1786, that a Mr. Cotton left
a rent charge of £4 yearly to the poor of Whitchurch. The sum of £4 is
now paid in respect of this charity from the Alkington hall estate. The
churchwardens receive £9 annually, about November, from the Company of
Drapers in London, as the amount of the gifts of _Roger Cotton_, _William
Cotton_, and _Sir Allen Cotton_. Thirty-two sixpenny loaves are given
away to poor persons as the charity of Mr. Evans, on Good Friday.
_Clement Sankey_, _D.D._, rector of Whitchurch, by his will bearing date
27th September, 1706, gave to the poor of this parish the sum of £100, to
continue under the care of the overseers of the poor and their
successors; half the interest to be disposed of in bread every Lord’s
day, at their discretion, and the remainder to be distributed on St.
Thomas’s day. The amount of this legacy was paid to the churchwardens in
1714, and applied towards the building of the church; half the interest
is paid from the church rate, and the other half from the poors’ rate.