in the early English style of architecture, is dedicated to St. Lawrence,
having an image of that saint in the eastern angle of the tower. The
tower exhibits some elaborate workmanship, and contains a very melodious
peal of bells and an excellent clock. On the north and south sides of
the edifice are doorways of Norman character. The tower is supported by
four clustered pillars and pointed arches, which divide the nave,
chancel, and transepts. The chancel is beautifully ornamented with
richly carved oak in antique devices, collected at a considerable cost by
the late rector, the Rev. Robert N. Pemberton, who bestowed great care
and expense in the embellishment of the sacred edifice. In the centre
compartment of the altar is an elegant and well carved representation of
Christ after the crucifixion. The windows, principally in the decorated
style, with rich and flowing tracery, are beautified with stained glass.
The eastern one is peculiarly chaste and elegant, and being immediately
over the altar gives the interior a very chastened and effective
appearance. The centre division contains a fine figure of our Saviour,
and on one side is a representation of St. Peter, and on the other of St.
John. This window was the gift of the late rector, the Rev. R. N.
Pemberton. The living is a rectory, rated in the king’s book at £15.
10s., in the patronage of C. O. C. Pemberton, Esq.; incumbent, Rev. Hugh
Owen Wilson. The tithes are commuted for £505, and there is a glebe land
attached to the rectory, of the annual value of £60. The parish is in
the diocese of Hereford, and the triennial visitation is held here by the
bishop. The visitation in the intermediate years is held by the
archdeacon. Roger Mainwaring, D.D., vicar of St. Giles in the Fields,
and chaplain to King Charles I., was born in this town. His two sermons,
entitled “Religion and Allegiance,” were censured in parliament, and he
was afterwards imprisoned and suspended for three years. In 1633 the
king presented him to the rich rectory of Stanford Rivers, in Essex, made
him dean of Worcester, and in 1635 he was consecrated bishop of St.
David’s, which see he held till the bishopric was abolished. He was
cruelly dealt with by the prevailing powers in the time of anarchy and
confusion, and died in 1653, leaving behind him the character of a person
of great learning and true piety.
There is a Branch Savings Bank at Church Stretton, which commenced in the
year 1821, the business of which is conducted at the school house every
Friday. About 300 depositors have their names in the books, and a sum of
about £9,000 standing to their credit. The Independent Order of Odd
Fellows of the Manchester Unity have a lodge here, with their funds in a
prosperous condition. There is also a clothing club for the benefit of
poor families, and one for the supply of coals during the winter season.
A police station has been erected at the expense of the county, near to
the union house, in connexion with which are cells for the temporary
confinement of offenders, and a residence for the superintendent
constable.
THE CHURCH STRETTON UNION WORKHOUSE is situated nearly a quarter of a
mile from the town, on the Shrewsbury and Ludlow turnpike road, and in
the immediate vicinity of the Longmynd hills. The situation is
remarkably dry and salubrious, and the building is admirably contrived
for the convenience and comfort of the inmates. The building is in the
form of a cross, which, with the outer wall, forms four quadrangles, and
these are used as airing yards. It was built in 1838, of the rough stone
got from the neighbouring quarries, with quoins and cornices of hewn free
stone. The cost of the structure was £2,000, and the sum of £200 was
paid for the site and land attached, which covers an area of about two
acres. The money necessary for the erection was borrowed, and it was
agreed to pay back the principal by instalments of £100 per annum: there
remains unpaid at the present time £600. The parishes comprised within
the union are, Acton Scott, Church Stretton, Cardington, Easthope, Eaton,
Hope Bowdler, Leebotwood, Longnor, Rushbury, Shipton, Sibdon, Carwood,
Smethcott, Wistanston, and Woolstaston. The house is capable of
accommodating 110 inmates, and the guardians meet at the board room every
fortnight for the transaction of the business connected with the union.
The expenditure for the half year ending Lady day, 1850, was £1,266.
16s., and the average weekly cost per head of the in-door paupers was 2s.
1½d., of which 3d. was for clothing. The number of in-door paupers at
the same period was 55. John Belton, _Clerk to the Guardians_. Thomas
Heighway, _Relieving Officer_. _Medical Officers_: Richard Wilding, for
the house and first district; Thomas R. C. Downes, second district;
Robert Jones, third district; Charles Mott, fourth district. Rev. P.
Nunn, _Chaplain_. Henry Evans, _Governor_. Mary Ditcher, _Matron_.
Sarah Atkinson, _Schoolmistress_.
CHARITIES.—There is a school and schoolhouse in the town of Church
Stretton, built in 1779 on the site of an old school, supposed to have
been erected on the waste land by subscription, and another room has
since been added thereto. By an act of parliament, passed 28th George
III., for enclosing the commons and waste lands in the manor of Church
Stretton, it was enacted that all encroachments which had heretofore been
made on the said commons and waste lands, for the use of the school and
schoolmaster at Church Stretton, should be confirmed by the commissioners
to the rector of the parish for the time being, together with nine other
persons therein named, and their successors to be appointed as therein
directed, on trust to receive the rents and apply the same to the use of
the schoolmaster as an augmentation of his salary, and to permit such
master to occupy the buildings for the uses for which they were intended.
In pursuance of this act the commissioners allotted a parcel of land
containing 27A. 0R. 29P., (including a road containing about one acre),
which was let, when the charity commissioners published their report, for
the yearly sum of £27.
The following legacies have at different periods been left for the
benefit of the school, viz:—Sir Rowland Hayward, Knt. £1. 13s. 4d.
yearly, payable out of certain lands in the parish. In respect of the
charity of _Thomas Bridgman_, 40s. yearly is paid to the schoolmaster for
teaching four poor children. From _Lloyd’s Charity_ the trustees receive
the sum of £2. 5s., and £3. 3s. yearly for the support of a Sunday
school. The trustees also receive £4. 10s. yearly from _Mainwaring’s
Charity_, and £2. 1s. annually from the churchwardens. The whole annual
income derived from these sources amounts to £42. 12s. 4d. The
schoolmaster is appointed by the trustees, and receives a salary of £40 a
year, and resides in a house free of expense, and for these emoluments he
also teaches a Sunday school. The school is conducted on the national
system: about 60 boys and 60 girls attend.
_Thomas Hawkes_, by will dated 19th August, 1703, left £30 to the use of
the poor of the parish of Church Stretton, to be laid out in land; the
yearly produce thereof to be distributed in bread as follows; viz: eight
penny loaves every Sunday, and sixteen penny loaves every first Sunday in
the year, Easter Sunday, and Whit-Sunday, to such poor persons as should
frequent the church. The aforesaid sum of £30 was laid out in 1708 in
the purchase of a copyhold tenement situated in Church Stretton, called
Walter’s House, formerly used as a poor-house, in respect of which 30s.
is paid yearly as _Hawke’s Legacy_ out of the poor’s rates, and applied
with the produce of other charities hereafter noticed.
_By Indenture_, bearing date 3rd May, 1684, _John Garratt_ and _Henry
Richards_ conveyed a meadow, containing by estimation two acres, in the
township of Little Stretton to Thomas Hawkes and others, and their heirs
on trust, that they should succour and relieve (with the yearly rents and
profits) such poor of the said parish as they thought most needy. The
meadow called Little Stretton Pools, containing 1A. 1R. 2P. of land, is
let at a yearly rent of £5, which is distributed amongst the poor with
the other charities.
_On the table_ of benefactions, it is stated that _Randolph Jones_, in
1710, left £10, the interest to be distributed in bread. This money is
supposed to have been laid out in building the poor-house, and the
interest thereof, 10s., is paid yearly from the poor’s rates, and forms
part of the funds distributed in bread at Easter and Christmas.
_Thomas Bridgman_, by will dated 28th May, 1718, devised to the school at
Church Stretton 40s. yearly, to be paid at Michaelmas and Lady-day to the
schoolmaster, on condition that he should teach four poor children till
they could perfectly read in the Bible, and then to receive four more, to
be nominated from the parish by his executors and trustees, and the
minister of the parish. He also gave to the poor housekeepers of Church
Stretton 20s., to be given on St. Thomas’s day; and also 10s. more to be
distributed in twenty sixpenny loaves to housekeepers of the said parish,
not receiving parochial relief.
_Edward Phillips_, by indenture bearing date 19th May, 1735, left land to
the amount of 2A. 3R. 10P. called the Street Meadow, in trust to apply
the annual rent of the same for the benefit of the poor. This land was
let in 1830 at a rent of £7, which forms part of the general distribution
on St. Thomas’s day and Easter.
_Edward Lloyd_, who died in 1790, bequeathed £100, to be placed out at
interest, half the produce to be paid to the schoolmaster, as an
augmentation to his salary, and the other half to be applied towards
raising a sum to apprentice two boys of the age of 14 scholars of the
said school. He also gave £21, on trust, to place out the same to pay
the interest to sixteen poor parishioners of Church Stretton, on St.
Thomas’s day, to be nominated by the minister and churchwardens. The
testator also charged his estate, called The Bank, in Church Stretton,
with the payment of £3. 3s. yearly to the trustees of Church Stretton
school, for the aid and support of a Sunday school there. The sum of
£100 is placed out on a bond, given out under the provisions of an act of
parliament, passed for rebuilding St. Chad’s church, Shrewsbury, bearing
interest at 4½ per cent. One moiety is paid to the trustees of the
school, as before stated; and the other is carried to a separate account,
called the apprentice fund, from which children are placed out as
apprentices, with a premium of £4 each.
_John Bridgman_, by will, dated 5th October, 1796, bequeathed £100, in
trust, to the minister and churchwardens of Church Stretton, to be by
them placed out at interest, on such security as they should think
proper, and distributed by them on the 28th of March to poor
housekeepers.
_Edward Phillips_, _jun._, by will, dated 22nd of September, 1781, gave
to the parish of Church Stretton the sum of £30, to be laid out in land,
and the produce thereof to be given in bread to poor housekeepers. The
yearly sum of £1. 10s. has been considered as a charge upon land in
Church Stretton, belonging to the Rev. Robert Norgrave Pemberton, which
was formerly the property of the family of Phillips.
_The Rev. John Mainwaring_, by will, dated 12th of May, 1800, and by a
codicil, dated 5th October, 1805, directed that the sum of £100 should be
invested in the purchase of stock in the public funds, the interest
whereof to be applied to the relief of poor industrious persons residing
in the parish as should be thought most deserving; and also £100, the
interest whereof to be paid to the master of the Church Stretton school,
in augmentation of his salary; and he also directed that £21 should he
laid out in the purchase of stock, the interest to be paid to such person
as should have the keeping of the churchyard in order, on condition that
the parishioners of Church Stretton should continue the yearly payment of
8s. or 10s. hitherto allowed for that purpose. Interest is paid on these
sums at 4½ per cent.
The preceding charities, amounting to £27. 1s., are carried to one
general fund, of which £4 are disposed of in bread—20s. worth every St.
Thomas’s day, the like sum every Easter Tuesday, and 40s. towards a
distribution of eighteen pennyworth of bread three Sundays in every
month, the residue being paid from the parish rates. The remainder, £23.
1s., with the money collected at the sacrament, and some voluntary
additions thereto, are distributed to the poor at Easter and on St.
Thomas’s day, in nearly equal proportions.
_William Minton_, in 1701, left £6, the interest to be distributed in
bread every Christmas day. The amount of 6s. is given away in twopenny
and threepenny loaves before evening service on the aforesaid day. It is
stated, on the table of benefactions, that _Thomas Harrison_, in 1794,
left £10, the interest to be given to the poor on St. Thomas’s day.
_Widow Owen_ left £1 yearly, payable from certain houses in Mardol, in
Shrewsbury, to repair the west window of Stretton church. At the time
the Charity Commissioners published their report, there was a surplus of
upwards of £9 ready to be applied to the repair of the aforesaid window.
Andrews Thomas, saddler & harness maker
Beetlestone George, victualler, Crown Inn
Bridgman Mr. John
Bellingham Robert, hair dresser
Broome Mrs. Margaret, Post Office
Corfield The Misses, ladies’ seminary
Childe Thomas, tin plate worker and brazier
Davies Eliza, milliner and dressmaker
Duppa, Banks, & Co., woollen manufacturers
Firm—Duppa Duppa, Esq., and William Banks, Esq., Kington
Evans David, victualler, The Raven
Everall Richard, beerseller
Faulkner John, butcher
Faulkner John, wheelwright
Glover Edward, saddler and harness maker
George William, victualler, The Talbot
Groves Thomas, farmer, Ashbrook
Gwilliam Edward, shoemaker
Howells Mr., farmer
Heighway James, grocer & provision dealer, and agent to the Shropshire
and North Wales Fire Office
Heighway Richard, maltster and farmer, Lower Wood
Heighway Thomas, farmer, Pensylvania
Home Richard, grocer and seedsman, and registrar of births and deaths for
Church Stretton district
Hopwood Mr. Robert, The Priory
Jones Miss Sarah, Lower Wood
Langford William, farmer, Lower Wood
Lewis John, painter and maltster
Lewis John, blacksmith and victualler, The Queen’s Head Inn
Lewis William, plumber and glazier
Lloyd John, shoemaker
Lloyd Charles, victualler, The Buck’s Head
Lucas John, tailor
Lucas Mary, shopkeeper
Mills Jonathan, victualler, The Red Lion
Mills Thomas, farmer
Mott Charles, surgeon
Morris John, leather dealer
M’Cartney Mr., travelling tea dealer
Meredith Lewis & Co., grocers and drapers
Marston William, tailor
Nunn, Rev. Preston, curate
Pearson George, tailor
Phillips Mrs. Maria, Ashbrook
Phipps George, victualler, The Plough
Painter Thomas, farmer, Lower Wood
Robinson John, ironmonger
Robinson James H., draper
Robinson John, shoemaker
Rogers Thomas, butcher
Steadman John S., farmer and maltster
Teague William, victualler, King’s Arms
Wilding Richard, surgeon
Wilson Rev. Hugh Owen, rector
ALL STRETTON
is a township and village in the parish of Church Stretton, situated
about a mile north from the church, which contains 2,192 acres of land,
and at the census of 1841 had 88 houses and 454 inhabitants. Gross
estimated rental, £2,268. 15s. Rateable value, £1,825. 5s. The
principal landowners are the trustees of the late Samuel Wilding, Esq.,
A. B. Markham, Esq., Panton Corbett, Esq., Edward Medlicott, Esq., Duppa
Duppa, Esq. The village is in a romantic situation, near the mountainous
range of the Longmynd, and not far from the Caradoc and Lawley hills.
The occasion of the prefix, “All,” to this Stretton is accounted for by
the following tradition:—When James II. was on his journey from Ludlow to
Shrewsbury, approaching the first, or Little Stretton, he inquired its
name: “Stretton, Sire,” was answered. Arriving at Church Stretton, he
made the same inquiry: “Stretton, Sire,” was again the reply. Coming to
the third, he renewed the question, and received the same answer. “Upon
my word,” said the king, “they are _all_ Strettons in this country.”
LITTLE STRETTON
is a township, about a mile and a half south from Church Stretton, which
contains 816 acres, the gross estimated rental of which is £1,054. 15s.,
and the rateable value £841. 5s. The landowners are, Thomas Bolton,
Esq., Mrs. Davies, John Robinson, Esq., Edward Gibbon, Esq., John
Mansell, Esq., and Mrs. Coleman. The latter is lady of the manor. The
village is pleasant, and the country around is beautifully picturesque.
In 1841 there were 41 houses and 165 inhabitants.
MINTON
township has 803 acres of land, and the village is situated in the wild
and romantic district of the Longmynd range of hills, three miles
south-west from Church Stretton. At the census of 1841 there were 30
houses and 125 inhabitants. Gross estimated rental, £936. 3s. Rateable
value, £752. 10s. The chief landowners are W. M. Beddows, Esq., Mr.
Richard Minton, C. O. C. Pemberton, Esq. The former is lord of the
manor.
ALL STRETTON DIRECTORY.
Belton Mr. John, Innwood
Dolphin Edward, farmer
Donelly Michael, shopkeeper
Edwards Rchd., vict., New Inn
Galliers Rowland, beerseller
Griffiths William, beerseller
Haverkum Mrs. Mary, All Stretton Hall
Heighway Richard, farmer and maltster, Lower Wood
Heighway Thomas, farmer
Hide John, cattle dealer
Hide Wm., vict., Yew Tree
Hince Mr. Cs, Dudgley house
Jones Miss Sarah, Lower Wood
Jones Mr. William
Langford William, farmer, Lower Wood
Lewis John, blacksmith
Lewis William, plumber and glazier
Painter Thos., farmer, Lower Wood
Rawlins Mary, shopkeeper
Smith Timothy, farmer, Dudgley
Taylor Mary, farmer, Hodghurst
Williams Samuel, shoemaker
LITTLE STRETTON DIRECTORY.
Acton Mrs. Mary
Bridgman Francis, farmer
Childe Elizabeth, blacksmith
Corfield William, farmer, The Hall
Davies Mrs., Eleanor The Cottages
Davies George, farmer
Davies John, shopkeeper
Gwynn James, shoemaker
Hammond Thomas, wheelwright
Hammond Richard, wheelwright
Longmore William, farmer
Mansell John, farmer
Miles Thomas, shoemaker
Preen Samuel, butcher
Preen Thomas, tailor
Pritchard John, victualler, Green Dragon
Ray Edward, farmer
Robinson John, maltster
Speake John, farmer
Speake John, victualler, Sun Inn
Simpson William, tanner
Taylor Thomas, tailor
Turner Margaret, victualler, Crown Inn
MINTON DIRECTORY.
Beddows Mrs. Jane, Well House
Beddows William Minton, Esq., Well House
Briscoe Thomas, victualler, New Inn, Marsh Brook
Edwards Francis, miller, Queen Batch Mill
Downes John, farmer, New House
Hotchkiss Thomas, farmer
Jones Pryce, machine maker
Minton Richard, farmer, Manor House
Rogers Edward, farmer
CLEE ST. MARGARET, OR CLEE TOWN,
is a township, parish, and large village in the lower division of the
Munslow hundred, seven and a half miles N.N.E. from Ludlow, containing
988A. 2R. 36P. of land. Gross estimated rental, £1,323. 10s. Rateable
value, £889. 4s. The village is salubriously situated, a little to the
west of the Brown Clee hill, and the inhabitants are celebrated for their
longevity. At the census in 1841 there were 71 houses, including the
hamlet of Coxheadford, and 269 inhabitants; population in 1801, 294;
1831, 294. The principal landowners are Mrs. Thursby, Richard Turner,
Esq., Thomas Millichap, Esq., Mr. Thomas Turner, Mr. William Heighway,
the Earl of Craven, Sir Sidney Herbert, and Mr. Samuel Jones. Mrs.
Thursby is lady of the manor. The church is a small structure of
unpretending appearance, consisting of nave and chancel, with a square
tower. The living is a perpetual curacy, formerly of very little value,
but has been increased by royal bounty, parliamentary grant, and private
benefactions, to £179 per annum. The patronage is vested in the lady of
the manor. Incumbent, Rev. J. Corbett. COXHEADFORD is a hamlet in the
parish of Clee St. Margaret, situated in a sequestered and romantic
dingle formed by two lofty elevations of the Brown Clee hills. Upon that
portion of the Clee hill called Norley Bank are traces of an encampment.
There is a small place of worship belonging to the Joanna Southcotts.
The principal residents in Clee St. Margaret are Edward Burton, vict.,
Shoulder of Mutton; Thomas Hall, farmer, Burnt House; John Hanson,
farmer, New House; Samuel Heighway, farmer, The Marsh; Isaac Howell,
vict., The Boot Inn; Rev. Morgan Jones, The Marsh; Richard Lawrence, corn
miller; Thomas Millichap, farmer; Thomas Wall, farmer, Church House;
Thomas Wheelwright, farmer, Brook House; Thomas Turner, farmer and cider
dealer, Coxheadford; Samuel Hall, weaver and shopkeeper, Coxheadford.
SCIRMAGE, an _Extra Parochial Liberty_ situated about a mile from Clee
Town, where the three parishes of Stoke St. Milborough, Cold Weston, and
Stoke St. Margaret converge, contains about half an acre of land, and one
small house, which is the property of Mr. Thomas Wheelwright, and
occupied by Elizabeth Burton.
COLD WESTON
is a small township and parish in the lower division of the Munslow
hundred, seven and a half miles N.N. by E. from Ludlow, which contains
415 acres of land, three cottages, and a farm house. At the census in
1841 there were 27 inhabitants, and in 1841 31. Gross estimated rental,
£362. 10s. Rateable value, £258. Mrs. Cornewall is the proprietor of
the whole township. The church is a very humble structure, the living of
which is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £2. 8s. 4d., now returned
at £100 in the patronage of Mrs. Cornewall. Incumbent, Rev. Henry
Cowdell; the Rev. Lancelot Dixon is the curate. There was formerly a
woollen mill in this parish. The land in this locality has mostly a poor
soil. Thomas Keysell is the only resident farmer.
CULMINGTON
is a considerable parish in the lower division of the Munslow hundred,
comprising the townships of Bache and Norton, Burley, Culmington, and
Siefton, and embracing 3,460A. 3R. 0P. of land. Gross estimated rental,
£4,874. 10s. 6d. Rateable value, £3,249. The principal landowners are
the Earl of Craven, George Wood, Esq., and James Beddows, Esq. In 1801
there was a population of 419 souls; 1831, 515, and in 1841 there were
109 houses and 541 inhabitants. At the Doomsday survey Earl Roger held
Comintine, which Edric held before the conquest. It was for some time
held by the same lord, and included in the same tenure as the castle of
Corfham. King Henry II. gave Culmington to Walter de Clifford, and it
was afterwards carried in marriage to William Longspe, who, being
overthrown in a tournament, is stated to have died of grief in the flower
of his age. His widow married Sir John Giffard, who procured a charter
of free warren for his lands here, and died possessed of them in the 27th
of Edward I. It afterwards passed to the L’Estranges, and then to the
Talbots, Earls of Shrewsbury. The village of Culmington is delightfully
situated in the beautiful and fertile vale of the Corve dale, five miles
N.W. from Culmington. The church is dedicated to All Saints, and
consists of nave and chancel, with an octagonal tower surmounted by a
spire; the tower contains three bells. The interior is neat, and
contains several tablets, chiefly to the family of the present rector.
The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £18. 9s. 2d., in the
patronage and incumbency of the Rev. William Johnstone. The tithes have
been commuted for £762. 10s., and the glebe land is of the annual value
of £79. 10s. A tower has been built on a plot of land where the estates
of the four principal landowners of this locality converge; the owners
are the Earl of Craven, Hon. Robert Henry Clive, Francis Marston, Esq.,
and George Wood, Esq. The monument is built on a lofty eminence, and
commands a prospect of great extent and diversity.
The principal residents are Alexander Anslow, beerhouse keeper; Samuel
Anslow, blacksmith; Thomas James, wheelwright; John Morris, farmer;
Richard Pearce, shoemaker; Edward Taylor, farmer; James Williams, farmer.
BACH AND NORTON, a township and small rural village six miles N.W. from
Ludlow, in 1841 had 19 houses and 87 inhabitants. The land in this
locality is highly fertile. The chief owners in the township are the
Earl of Craven, the Marquis of Crosemere, and George Wood, Esq.; the
latter is lord of the manor. The principal residents are Richard Bach,
farmer, Norton; Edward Bassett, farmer, Bach; William Bromley, farmer,
Norton; William Tarte, farmer, Bach.
BURLEY is a small township situated about a mile N.W. from Culmington,
returned in 1841 as containing 28 houses and 140 inhabitants. The Earl
of Craven is the landowner. John Onions is the principal farmer.