manor of Foxley, in Northamptonshire, and directed the yearly proceeds to
be put to charitable uses; among others to the payment of £120 a year to
the maintenance of twelve poor widows, three of whom were to be
inhabitants of the parish of Lilleshall, and she directed that there
should be provided by the minister and parish officers, out of the £10
respectively allowed for their maintenance, a gown of grey cloth, upon
the breast of which gown the letters of K. L. in blue cloth should be
set, which gown should be constantly wore by the widows, and if any one
should refuse to wear them she should lose the benefit of the charity.
The testator gave a further sum of £100 yearly to be applied in putting
forth ten poor boys apprentices, two of whom should be children of the
inhabitants of Lilleshall. In respect of this charity £50 a year is
received by the churchwardens of Lilleshall, out of which £10 a year are
paid to three poor widows, appointed by the minister, churchwardens, and
overseers of the poor, a preference being given to such as have fallen
into poverty from better circumstances, and have not received parochial
relief. The gowns have not been provided for them for many years. Two
boys are usually apprenticed every year with premiums of £10 each. Upon
inspection of the parish books which commence in 1634, it appears that
various small benefactions have been given to the poor, which were placed
in the hands of different persons, who paid interest for them. These
sums appear to have passed in various proportions to other persons, and
the interest thereon to have fluctuated so as to afford no certain
information as to the amount or donation of the benefactions. In the
year 1718 the poor’s stock appears to have amounted to £40. In 1734 the
sum of £56 was put by the churchwardens into the parish chest for the use
of the poor. No further entry occurs till 1757, when a sum of £20
appears to have been in the hands of Charles Lawrence, and £15 in the
hands of Henry Barber. The £20 subsequently passed into the hands of
Robert Garmeson, who in 1786 gave his note of hand for the money, and
shortly after died insolvent. The entries of receipt of interest of the
£15 cease in 1800, for several years previous to which it appears to have
been paid by Mr. James Barber, about which time he died in bad
circumstances, so that this sum may also be considered as lost.
LILLESHALL HOUSE, the magnificent seat of the Marquis of Stafford, is
situated on a commanding eminence, from which extensive and beautiful
prospects of the surrounding country are seen. The mansion is about a
mile from the ruins of Lilleshall Abbey, within the bounds of the parish
of Sheriff Hales, and was erected by the late Duke of Sutherland; it is
built of beautiful white free stone, and exhibits a fine specimen of the
Tudor style of architecture, from designs by Sir John Wyattville. The
garden and pleasure grounds are laid out with admirable taste, and cover
between forty and fifty acres. The flower garden from its extent and the
beautiful order in which it is kept is surpassed by few in the kingdom;
the manner of planting the flowers of one particular colour so as to form
the greatest contrast with the beds contiguous to it has a most brilliant
and dazzling effect. An avenue in the garden, which stretches 300 yards
in length, has a very pleasing appearance; the frame work is of wood, to
which are trained roses, japonicas, the various sorts of clamitas, and
fruit trees, and in the delightful season when the clustering fruits hang
in profusion, enriched with the autumnal tints, among the beautiful
blossoms of the japonica and rose—the whole has a most enchanting
appearance. The terrace commands a fine view of the park, the woody
scenery in the vicinity, and a large tract of the country extending over
North Shropshire into Staffordshire, Cheshire, and the mountainous
district of Wales.
The village and parish of Sheriff Hales is mostly situated in
Staffordshire. The residents of a few scattered farms, and at the
mansion of Lilleshall House, are included in the following directory.
_Those with * affixed are in the parish of Sheriff Hales_, _and the rest
in Lilleshall parish_.
* Stafford The Marquis of, Lilleshall House
Adams John, assistant overseer & constable
Adams Thomas, nursery and seedsman
Bates William, parish clerk and bricklayer
Birch Thomas, surveyor
Bunsen Rev. Henry George, vicar, Lilleshall Old Hall
Diggens Emma, schoolmistres
Diggens William, schoolmaster
Duncalfe Rd., farmer, Honnington Grange
Edwards Thomas, vict., Red House
* Elliot Wm., gardener, Lilleshall House
Higgins Mr., farmer, Lubstree Park
Howle Jane and Mary, shopkeepers
Hughes George, cashier
Hunt John, farm bailiff
James Mary, farmer, Cheswall Grange
Jones John, farmer
* Johnson Thomas, farmer, Red Hill
* Leman Tubal Cain, butler, Lilleshall House
Lloyd Rev. Thos. Bucknall, curate, Vicarage
Maddings Thomas, corn miller & maltster
* Pearce John, farmer, Hinks
* Pearce Mary, farmer
Phillips John B., farmer, Brockton Leasows
* Phillips Joseph Taylor, farmer, Manor House
* Smith William, Esq., land agent to the Duke of Sutherland, Little Hales
Spearman Elizabeth, farmer
Timmis John, farmer, Abbey farm
West Francis, farmer, Lilleshall Grange
Wilde Edward, farmer, Lilleshall Hill
DONINGTON, OR DONINGTON WOOD,
is a considerable township with a scattered population, situated about a
mile W. from Lilleshall, and four miles S.W. from Newport. At the census
in 1811 there were 498 houses and 2,757 inhabitants, who are chiefly
employed in the extensive iron works, collieries, and ironstone mines,
with which this neighbourhood abounds. The collieries vary from 100 to
300 yards in depth, and there are twelve seams from which coal is got;
the mines from which the ironstone is procured are also of very great
depths; the country extending south and south west for several miles
present one vast field of collieries and iron works, and has a teeming
population, all busily employed in these and their subordinate
manufactures and employments.
THE CHURCH is a neat modern structure, situate at Donington Wood, built
about the year 1844, at a cost of £2,000. The seats are all free and
unappropriated. The living is a perpetual curacy in the patronage of the
vicar of Lilleshall; incumbent, Rev. Thomas O’Regan. THE BAPTISTS have a
chapel here, which was built about twenty years ago. THE NATIONAL SCHOOL
was built at the expense of the Duke of Sutherland, who is also a
munificent contributor towards the support of the institution; Thomas
Townsend is the teacher. THE DONINGTON WOOD MECHANICS’ INSTITUTION was
established in February, 1851, for the object of providing useful and
intellectual entertainment for the numerous artisans and other
inhabitants of Donington; for this object a library and reading room has
been established, which is furnished with the leading London and
provincial journals and magazines. Toward the library the Duke of
Sutherland has kindly presented a large and valuable collection of books.
It is intended to employ lecturers on popular subjects, to which members
are admissable. The Lilleshall Company holds the collieries in this
locality in lease of the Duke of Sutherland.
POST OFFICE.—_At Mr. Samuel Hollis’s_. Letters despatched at 7 P.M. to
Newport.
Adams John, railway station master
Anslow James, shopkeeper
Bennett James, shoemaker
Bott John, shopkeeper
Bott Sarah, schoolmistress
Boycott William, farmer and corn miller
Bradbury Isaac, blacksmith
Bulger William, ground bailiff
Hollis Samuel, agent to Lilleshall Company and post master
Horton Charles, ground bailiff
Jarrett John, schoolmaster
Jones Edward, mining engineer and manager to Lilleshall Company
Morton William, agricultural implement manufacturer, &c.
O’Regan Rev. Thomas, incumbent
Roystone Thomas, painter, plumber, and glazier
Tipton Thomas, bookkeeper
Townsend Thomas, schoolmaster
Ward Joseph, spade tree maker
Wheeler James, engineer
Wheeler James Henry, engineer
MUXTON
is a township in the parish of Lilleshall, situate near a mile W. from
the church, and three and a half miles S.W. from Newport, the acres and
value of which are included with the parish. The land is the property of
the Duke of Sutherland, with the exception of about six acres, the
property of Mr. John Bradborn. At the census in 1841 there were 55
houses and 299 inhabitants. Mrs. Rebecca Walthall by will 1740
bequeathed £10 to the churchwardens of Lilleshall, and directed the
interest thereof to be distributed to the poor of Muxton on St.
Thomas’s-day. It does not appear that this legacy were paid to the
churchwardens of Lilleshall. An annual sum of 5s. was paid to them by
the late Isaac H. Browne, Esq., and is still paid by the agent of his
widow, which is supposed to be on account of the above benefaction, and
to have been charged on an estate derived from Mrs. Walthall by Mr.
Browne, which he sold some time ago in various lots. It is more probable
however that the money had been left at interest in the hands of the
residuary legatees, and that this 5s. was Mr. Browne’s share of such
interest. A similar sum was formerly paid by Mr. Walthall, the other
residuary legatee and administrator, who resided at Wistaston, in
Cheshire, but this payment has been discontinued many years. The 5s.
paid by Mrs. Browne is distributed among the poor of this township.
Bradborn John, maltster
Dawes Mary, farmer, Muxton bridge
Gaunt Edward, farmer
Greene John, surgeon
Hawkins Richard, butcher
Hitchin William, shoemaker
Johnson Jane, farmer, Woodhouse
Jones Richard, carpenter and joiner
Pearce George, maltster & vict., Holly Bush
Thursfield Richard, maltster
Tudor Samuel and William, farmers, Street Grange
Webb Richard, shoemaker
LONGDEN-UPON-TERN
is a parish and village in the Wellington Division of the South Bradford
Hundred, three miles and a half N.W. by W. from Wellington. The villager
is scattered, but pleasantly situated on elevated ground on the southern
banks of the river, and commands many interesting views of rural beauty.
In 1801 there were 102 inhabitants; 1831, 109; and in 1841, 15 houses and
99 inhabitants. The parish contains 796A. 1R. 32P. of land, and is
intersected by the Shropshire Union Canal, and the turnpike road from
Wellington to Shrewsbury. The river and its tributary streams are
crossed by two bridges—one of metal, the other of stone,—and the canal by
a brick structure. The canal is carried over the vale of the river by an
aqueduct of sixty-two yards in length. There are 6A. 1R. of land in
roads and waste. The soil is various: in some parts it is cold and wet.
Gross estimated rental, £1,522. 9s. 2d. Rateable value, £1,358. 8s. The
Duke of Sutherland is lord of the manor, and the principal landowner,
William Howard, Esq., is also a proprietor.
THE CHURCH, a small brick structure dedicated to St. Bartholomew, has a
square turret, containing one bell. The living is a perpetual curacy, in
the patronage of the Duke of Sutherland, and incumbency of the Rev.
Edward Meredith, M.A. The tithes are commuted for £110. THE PARSONAGE
is a neat brick residence, embosomed in foliage, and pleasantly situated
a short distance from the church. The minister receives a limited number
of young gentlemen as boarding scholars. THE HALL is a spacious
structure, of considerable antiquity, with lofty chimneys; it is built of
brick, with stone quoins and finishings, and is the property of William
Howard, Esq., and residence of Mr. Henry Stormont. Extensive and
conveniently arranged farm-buildings have recently been added to the
farms occupied by Mr. Peter Brisbourne and Mr. George Belliss. THE
SCHOOL is a brick structure, erected in 1849, at the expense of the Duke
of Sutherland, who also gave the site. It is partly supported by
subscription, but chiefly from the private resources of the minister, and
a small payment from the children that attend for instruction. There are
extensive corn mills on the banks of the river in this parish.
DIRECTORY.—George Belliss, farmer; Edward Brisbourne, farmer; Mrs.
Brisbourne; Peter Brisbourne, farmer; Joseph Cooke, corn miller;
Elizabeth Hatton, schoolmistress; John Jones, farmer; Rev. Edward
Meredith, boarding-school, and incumbent of the church; Thomas Paddock,
farmer and corn miller, Manor House; Henry Stormont, farmer, The Hall.
LONGFORD
is a parish, with a scattered population, situated about a mile and a
half west from Newport, which comprises 1,907A. 2R. 13P., and in 1801 had
182 inhabitants; 1831, 206; and in 1841, 209; at the latter period there
were 38 houses. The township of Longford contains 1,257A. 3R. 10P. of
land, and in 1841 had 24 houses and a population of 125 souls. Gross
rental, £2,774. 4s. 7d. Rateable value, £2,529. 14s. Ralph Merrick
Leeke, Esq., is lord of the manor, and owner of the whole township. THE
CHURCH is a small neat structure, dedicated to St. Mary, and consists of
nave and chancel, with a tower at the west end, built about forty years
ago. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s book at £6. 2s. 8½d.,
now returned at £425, in the patronage of Ralph Merrick Leeke, Esq., and
incumbency of the Rev. John Kynaston Chorlton. The tithes have been
commuted for £144. About twenty yards north from the church is a small
structure, which was left standing when the old church was taken down.
This was a private chapel, built as an appendage to the old edifice, and
was the burial place of a branch of the Talbot family. The Talbots
formerly owned the Longford estate, which was subsequently inherited by
the Shrewsbury family, from whom it passed by sale; except the site of
this small structure, which still remains the freehold property of the
Earl of Shrewsbury. On the south side of this chapel is an elegant
marble monument in memory of a Lady Talbot, which is richly ornamented
with carved work and gilt embellishments. On the north side of the
chapel is an alabaster slab, but without date. LONGFORD HALL, the
residence and property of Ralph Merrick Leeke, Esq., is a spacious and
handsome mansion of free-stone, with a noble portico supported by four
massive pillars of the Doric order. The hall is delightfully situated on
a gentle eminence, and opens into a finely-timbered park of about a
hundred and fifty acres. Not far from the hall is a fine sheet of water,
which covers about seven acres.
BROCKTON is a hamlet, a little more than a mile south from the church,
which consists of two good farm residences and the rectory; near to which
is a farm called the Brockton Leasowes, but the house is just within the
bounds of Lilleshall parish. THE RECTORY is an ancient residence,
mantled with ivy. The soil in this township is highly fertile, and well
adapted for the growth of barley and turnips. A little north-west from
the church is a corn mill, which was unoccupied when our agent visited
Longford.
DIRECTORY.—Ralph Merrick Leeke, Esq., Longford Hall; Rev. John Kynaston
Chorlton, The Rectory; Clifford Firth, farmer, Brockton; George Veitch,
farmer, Longford Mill; James Veitch, farmer, Brockton; Thomas Clues,
gardener, The Hall; Robert Stevenson, gamekeeper; James Rowley,
blacksmith.
STOCKTON
is a small township, in the parish of Longford, three miles and a half E.
by S. from the church, and two miles and a half S.E. from Newport. The
township contains 649A. 3R. 3P. of land, and at the census of 1841 had 14
houses and 84 inhabitants. Gross estimated rental, £189. 18s. 7d.
Rateable value, £820. 16s. The tithes are commuted for £112. There are
eight acres of glebe land. All the land is the property of John Cotes,
Esq.
The principal residents are Humphrey James, farmer; and John Meredith,
farmer.
NEWPORT
is a parish and market town in the Newport division of the South Bradford
Hundred, pleasantly situated in the line of the ancient Watling Street,
and near the eastern confines of the county, eleven miles S. from Market
Drayton, seventeen E.N.E. from Shrewsbury, and 139 miles N.W. by N. from
London. The town principally consists of one spacious, handsome street,
stretching for about a mile in length, containing many good inns, private
residences, and respectable shops in all the different branches of the
retail trade. About the centre of the town, and in the middle of the
street, stands the venerable parish church, an ancient market house, and
a few dwellings, which are some of the oldest houses in the town of
Newport. The parish in 1801 contained 2,307 inhabitants; 1831, 2,745;
and in 1841 there were 553 houses and 2,497 inhabitants. The number of
acres the parish embraces is 567A. 0R. 25P., the chief owners of which
are Sir Thomas H. F. Boughey, Bart.; Thomas Collier, Esq.; John Morris,
Esq.; Mr. Wilde; Mr. Silvester; Miss Bennett; and the trustees of Newport
Marsh. Rateable value, £6,847. 13s. The inhabitants are supplied with
an abundance of excellent water, from large cisterns and wells in various
parts of the town, which are filled from a spring, about a mile distant,
by means of a water-course and pipes, the expenses of which are paid from
the income arising from the common lands. Newport was granted municipal
privileges as early as the reign of Henry I., which were confirmed by
succeeding sovereigns. The government is vested is a high steward,
deputy steward, two bailiffs, and twenty-five burgesses. John Cotes,
Esq., is the high steward; Robert Fisher, jun., Esq., deputy steward; and
William Washbourne, Esq., and G. H. Duncalfe. Esq., are the bailiffs.
Petty sessions for the Newport division of the hundred are held in the
town: the presiding magistrates are Sir Thomas Fletcher Fenton Boughey,
Bart.; John Charles Burton Borough, Esq.; and John Justice, Esq. The
principal features in the trade of Newport are the engineering
establishment and brass foundry of Messrs. Massey; the manufacture of
agricultural implements by Mr. Underhill; and those belonging to Mr.
Thomas Boughey and Mr. Lewis Atkins—ingenious establishments for the
manufacture of all descriptions of bendware, wood turnery, together with
hair sieves and dairy requisites of the most approved descriptions.
THE CHURCH is a venerable structure of red sand-stone, situated nearly in
the centre of High-street. It consists of nave, chancel, and side
aisles, with a square tower and an illuminated clock; the tower is dated
1,662; but this probably is the date of certain reparations, for the
upper and some other parts of the tower appear to have been re-faced.
The chancel and side aisles are of red brick, and were rebuilt in the
year 1728, previously to which the church exhibited a beautiful specimen
of the architecture of the fifteenth century. The interior has a
spacious and handsome appearance. The roof is of groined timber, and the
nave is separated from the side aisles by five pointed arches on each
side. It contains a small organ, and there are some neat mural tablets.
The living is a perpetual curacy, valued at £297, in the patronage of the
Lord Chancellor; incumbent, Rev. William Sandford, M.A. The Abbot and
Convent of St. Peter and St. Paul, at Shrewsbury, were patrons of the
church at Newport; from them it was purchased in the twentieth of Henry
VI., by Thomas Draper, citizen of London, who made it collegiate, placing
in it a warden, who was to be in priests’ orders, and four chaplains or
fellows, who were to pray for the King and the Royal Family, and for the
soul of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, (the King’s uncle,) and for the
fraternity of St. Marie’s Guild in the church of Newport.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, is situated at
the outskirts of the town, on the site of an ancient residence called
Salter’s Hall, which was long the inheritance of the Shrewsbury family,
adjoining which was a domestic chapel. The present structure was built
about twenty years ago by the Earl of Shrewsbury. The interior of the
structure presents a chaste and elegant appearance; the seats or benches
are all open and uniform in character, and the altar is richly carved and
gilt; on each side of it are beautifully carved figures of the Blessed
Virgin Mary and Joseph. The windows on each side of the altar are
adorned with representations of St. Peter and St. Paul, the patron saints
of the church. The Rev. Michael Trovell is the priest.
THE INDEPENDENT CHAPEL, situated on the Wellington road, is a neat
stuccoed structure, erected in the year 1817, at a cost of £1,300. It is
provided with galleries, and is calculated to hold four hundred hearers.
There is a flourishing congregation connected with this place of worship,
who enjoy the talented ministrations of the Rev. William Berkeley Leach.
The Sunday school in connection with the chapel is numerously attended.
The old Independent chapel, which stood in Beaumaris lane, has been
converted into two cottages.
THE WESLEYAN METHODIST CHAPEL is a plain brick structure, of small
dimensions, situated in the Upper Bar, and was formerly used as a
theatre.
THE WESLEYAN NEW CONNEXION CHAPEL, a small brick fabric, is also situated
at the Upper Bar.
THE PRIMITIVE METHODISTS have a small chapel on the Stafford road, built
in 1830.