Part 64

is a township with a scattered population, three miles north-east from High Ercall. The air in this locality is salubrious, and the land has a fine undulating surface, the high grounds of which command extensive and interesting views of the surrounding country. The township contains 1,329A. 1R. 27P. of land, the soil of which in some places is a strong clay, in other parts sandy, and some places has a fertile loam. The land has been much improved by draining and superior cultivation. The farmers in general are respectable, and hold considerable breadth of land. At the census in 1841 there were 57 houses and 300 inhabitants. Rateable value of the township, £1,384. 10s. 3½d. The Duke of Cleveland is the principal landowner and lord of the manor. The other freeholders are the Rev. Henry Delves Broughton; Mr. George Adney; John Kilvert, Esq.; John Taylor, Esq.; Mr. John Whitfield; and Mr. Harris. The tithes of this township and that of Rowton are commuted for £376. 12s., of which £165. 12s. has been apportioned to John Kilvert, Esq.; £146 to Jonathan Scarth, Esq.; and £65 to the vicar of High Ercall. OAK HOUSE, the residence and property of John Taylor, Esq., is a neat modern structure of brick. The situation is delightful, and the grounds are beautifully laid out. The Wesleyan Methodists and Primitive Methodists have each a small chapel here.

Butterey William, shoemaker and shopkeeper

Cliff Thomas, Heath farm

Cotterall Elizabeth, farmer

Cotterall John, Newhouse farm

Dickin Mrs. Margaret

Dickin Thomas Adney, the Hall farm

Foulkes Wm., vict., the Oak

Green Elizabeth, farmer

Green John, farmer

Hamer William, Windy Oak farm

Jones William, gardener and seedsman

Peplow George, shoemaker

Taylor John, Esq., Oak House

Wellings William, clock and watch maker

HOUGHTON,

a small township four miles south-west from High Ercall, in which parish it is situated, at the census of 1841 contained five houses and twenty-three inhabitants. The township contains 376A. 2R. 8P. of land, of which 5A. 2R. 27P. are in woods and waste. The soil is mostly strong, with a clayey sub-soil, some parts of which have been much improved by draining, and other parts are undergoing the same process. The Duke of Cleveland is the principal landowner and lord of the manor. Mrs. Ann Corbet is also a proprietor in the township. Rateable value, £260. 9s. The tithes of Houghton, and those of the township of Poynton, were commuted in 1841 for £82. 5s.

The resident farmers in Houghton are Thomas Brisbourne and John Leeke.

ISOMBRIDGE,

a township and scattered village in the parish of High Ercall, at the census of 1841 contained 38 houses and 94 inhabitants. The cottagers in general hold a small portion of land, but the cottages in most instances have a mean appearance, and are thatched. The township contains 567A. 1R. 37P. of land. The soil in some places is strong, and in other parts a fertile loam prevails; the meadows produce a rich herbage, and are chiefly used for pasturage. The township is intersected by the Shropshire union canal, the river Tern, and the Wellington turnpike road. There are 11A. 1R. 22P. in roads, water, and waste. The tithes have been commuted, and £90 apportioned to the Duke of Cleveland, and £38 to the vicar of High Ercall. The landowners are John Tayleur, Esq., Mr. John Griffiths, and Mrs. Isabella Ickle. MARSH GREEN, and part of LONG WASTE is partly in this township; at the former the PRIMITIVE METHODISTS have a small brick chapel, built in 1841.

DIRECTORY.—Richard Bevan, farmer, Mirelake; Jeremiah Bromley, farmer; Richard Edwards, gardener and seedsman, Marsh Green; Harriet Dixon, farmer, the Marsh; Joseph Nevols, beerhouse and shopkeeper, Marsh Green; George Price, farmer; John Tudor, vict., Tayleur’s Arms, Long Green.

OSBASTON, OR ASBASTON

township is situated about a mile north-west from Ercall Magna, and in 1841 contained seven houses and fifty-seven inhabitants. The houses are pleasantly situated on the turnpike road leading to Hodnet; the farm houses are commodious, and provided with extensive and convenient out-premises. The township contains 589A. 3R. 26P. of land, which is the property of the Duke of Cleveland, who is also lord of the manor. Rateable value, £705. 6s. 6d.

The chief residents in Osbaston are Thomas Bates, boot and shoemaker; Sarah Brookes, farmer; Mrs. Sarah Colley, the Hall; and John Colley, farmer.

POYNTON,

another small township in the parish of High Ercall, with a few scattered houses pleasantly situated on the turnpike road leading to Shrewsbury, three miles south-west from the parish church, contains 587A. 3R. 9P. of land, principally a strong soil; some parts of the land have been much improved by draining. Rateable value, £610. 4s. At the census in 1841 there were 20 houses and 95 inhabitants. The tithes of this township and that of Houghton are commuted for the sum of £82. 5s. The Duke of Cleveland and Mrs. Ann Corbet are the landowners: the former is lord of the manor.

DIRECTORY.—William Breeze, farmer; Samuel Buttery, boot and shoemaker; Robert Hamer, farmer; Thomas Madeley, farmer; Richard Morgan, farmer; Eleanor Wainwright, farmer.

RODEN,

a township and small village in the parish of High Ercall, pleasantly situated on the banks of the river Roden, two miles S.W. from the parish church; the township contains 1,351A. 2R. of land, of which 26 acres are in woods and plantations, and 14 acres water, roads, and waste; the soil is variable, in some parts a cold clay prevails, and in other parts a mixture of sand and loam. Rateable value, £1,331. 12s. The Duke of Cleveland and Charles Orlando C. Pemberton, Esq., are the landowners, the latter is lord of the manor; John Tayleur, Esq., is the impropriator of the rectoral tithes, which have been commuted. A modus of £3. 3s. is paid to the vicar of High Ercall. The Shrewsbury and Ercall turnpike road passes through this township. At the census in 1841 Roden contained 33 houses and 161 inhabitants.

DIRECTORY.—Joseph Beddow, beerhouse keeper and maltster; John Birch, farmer, Rodenhurst; Thomas Bourne, brickmaker; John Evanson, maltster; Edward Jones, farmer; William Light, farmer; Elizabeth Marshall, shopkeeper; William Taylor, farmer; Samuel Woodfin, farmer, New Farm; Robert Yeomans, shopkeeper.

ROWTON,

a township, chapelry, and pleasant village situated on high ground, in a pleasant part of the country, two and a quarter miles N.E. from High Ercall. The township contains 800A. 0R. 33P. of land, and in 1841 there were 26 houses and 181 inhabitants. Rateable value, £1,118. 19s. 4d. There are some good farm houses in this township with commodious outbuildings, and the farms are of considerable extent; cattle and sheep are extensively fed in this locality. THE CHAPEL OF EASE is a small unpresuming edifice built of red free stone, and ornamented with a wooden turret; the interior is neatly pewed, and there is a small gallery at the west end; the Rev. Mr. Robinson is the officiating minister. The tithes of Rowton and those of the township of Ellerdine are commuted for £376. 12s. The Duke of Cleveland is the principal landowner and lord of the manor; Mr. Adney, Mrs. Dickin, Mr. Thomas Nicklin, and John Whitfield, Esq., are also proprietors.

The celebrated nonconformist divine, Richard Baxter, was born at Rowton, November 12th, 1615. His father was an honest and religious man, in humble circumstances, but a small freeholder; his estate, however, was very inconsiderable. His son is said to have given strong indications of that piety and purity which appeared in his subsequent life and conversation. He passed his infancy at Rowton, under the roof of his grandfather, and in 1625, when about ten years of age, was removed from Rowton to his father’s house at Eaton Constantine. He received the chief portion of his learning at Ludlow, but had not the advantages of an academical education; when at school he had the use of an excellent library, which, by his great application, proved of infinite service to him. His first engagements in life it appears was teaching a free school at Newport, and he was afterwards appointed master of the free school at Dudley, with an usher under him. While he taught the school there he read several practical treatises, by which he was brought to a deep sense of religion, and having an earnest desire to engage in the ministry, he in 1638 addressed himself to Dr. Tharnborough, bishop of Worcester, for holy orders, which, after examination, he received, having at that time no scruples of conscience which hindered him from conforming to the Church of England. He shortly after frequently preached at Dudley, and the neighbouring villages, with great acceptance among his hearers, but when the _et cætera_ oath came to be imposed, Mr. Baxter applied himself diligently to study the case of episcopacy as in other instances, the thing which was intended to fix him to the hierarchy, gave him a dislike to it. In the year 1640 he accepted the invitation of the bailiffs and feoffees of Kidderminster to preach there for an allowance of £60 a year. In the memorable struggles of this period, he sided with the parliament, and recommended the protestation they directed to be taken by the people. This exposed him to some inconveniences which obliged him for a time to retire to Gloucester, but be afterwards returned to Kidderminster and resumed the work of the ministry. He hindered, as far as it was in his power, the taking of the covenant, and preached and spoke publicly against it. When Cromwell assumed the supreme power he was not afraid to express his dissatisfaction at his tyranny, and in a conference which he had with him afterwards, stated his views in terms not to be misunderstood by the Protector. After the restoration he became one of the king’s chaplains in ordinary, had frequent access to his royal person, and was always treated by him with peculiar respect. At the Savoy conference Mr. Baxter assisted as one of the commissioners, and then drew up the reformed liturgy, which all allow to be an excellent performance. He was offered the bishopric of Hereford by the Lord Chancellor Clarendon, which he refused to accept. At this period he would gladly have returned to his beloved town of Kidderminster, and have preached there, but this was refused him. When he found himself thus disappointed, he preached occasionally about the city of London, and afterwards returned to Acton, in Middlesex, where he went to church every Lord’s-day, and spent the rest of the day with his family and a few poor neighbours, in explaining the Scriptures and prayer. His auditors continued to increase, and shortly after, upon a warrant signed by two justices, he was committed for six months to New Prison jail. After the indulgence of 1672 he returned to London, and was one of the Tuesday lecturers at Pinner’s Hall. He had a Friday lecture at Fetter-lane, but only preached occasionally on the Sunday. In 1682 he suffered severely on account of his nonconformity. One day he was suddenly surprised by an officer, who apprehended him upon a warrant to seize his person for coming within five miles of a corporate town; producing, at the same time, five more warrants to distrain for £195 for five sermons. At this time he lay on a sick bed, but he was dragged before five justices, and took his oath that he could not go to prison without danger of death. But the officers executed their warrants on the books and goods in the house, and even sold the bed on which he lay sick. In 1684 he was bound in a penalty of £400 to keep the peace, by the justices of Middlesex, and in the year following he was committed to the King’s Bench prison, by a warrant from the Lord Chief Justice Jefferies, for his paraphrase on the New Testament; the trial took place on the 30th of May, when he was found guilty, and received a severe sentence. In 1686 the king, by the mediation of Lord Powis, granted him a pardon. After this he settled in Charter house yard, contenting himself with the exercise of his ministry, as assistant to Mr. Silvester. He died on the 8th of December, 1691, and was buried in Christ Church. His remains were followed to the grave by a large concourse of people of all ranks and qualities, who prudently paid this last tribute of respect to a great and good man, whose labours deserved much from true Christians of all denominations. Mr. Baxter was in several respects one of the most eminent persons of his time; he preached more sermons, wrote more books, and engaged in more controversies than any other nonconformist of his age. He spoke, disputed, and wrote with ease, and discovered the same intrepidity when he reproved Cromwell, and expostulated with Charles II., as when he preached to a congregation of mechanics. His works are extremely voluminous, and they are still held in high estimation. An eminent divine observes of them, that his practical writings were never mended, his controversial, seldom refuted. The celebrated Doddridge, in a letter to a friend in 1723, says, “Baxter is my particular favourite. It is impossible to tell how much I am charmed with the devotion, good sense, and pathos, which is every where to be found in him. I cannot forbear looking upon him as one of the greatest orators, both with regard to copiousness, acuteness, and energy that our nation hath produced.”

DIRECTORY.—Mrs. Elizabeth Adney, The Hall; John Adney, farmer and grazier; William Edwards, shopkeeper; George Fowler, beerhouse keeper; Charles Jukes, maltster and farmer; Samuel Nicklin, boot and shoemaker; Thomas Nicklin, wheelwright; George Vickers, blacksmith and agricultural implement maker; John Whitfield, Esq., The Villa farm, and chairman to the Wellington Poor Law Board of Guardians.

TERN, OR TEARN,

a small township in the parish of High Ercall, with a few houses delightfully situated two miles S.E. from the parish church, contains 487A. 3R. 13P. of land, of which four acres are in roads and waste; the river Tern bounds the township on the S.E. At the census in 1841 there were seven houses and 41 inhabitants. Rateable value, £659. 18s. The Duke of Sutherland is lord of the manor and owner of the land. TERN HOUSE, a commodious brick residence, occupied by Thomas Juckes, Esq., is pleasantly situated on a gentle acclivity near the stream of the Tern; the views it commands of the surrounding country are extensive and pleasingly diversified. The farm buildings are of considerable extent, and are provided with all the modern appliances for farming extensively in the most economical manner.

The principal residents are George Jukes, solicitor, and Thomas Juckes, Esq.

WALTON

is a township and parish of High Ercall, situated in a delightful part of the country, about a mile W. by N. from the church; the township contains 855A. 0R. 8P. of land, and in 1841 here were 23 houses and 135 inhabitants; the houses are for the most part scattered on the turnpike road leading from Ercall to Shawbury. The farm houses are good residences, occupied by respectable agriculturists. Rateable value of the township, £969. 12s. The Duke of Cleveland is the proprietor of the whole township and lord of the manor. WALTON HALL, a structure of considerable antiquity, composed of timber and brick work, was a place of no mean pretensions in by-gone days, is now occupied as a farm dwelling.

DIRECTORY.—John Breeze, boot and shoemaker; George Brookes, farmer; William Hughes, tailor; William Juckes, butcher; William Rogers, shopkeeper; Edward S. Webster, The Hall Farm; Mrs. Jane Webster, The Hall; James Wilding, farmer, New House.

EYTON-UPON-THE-WILD-MOORS,

a parish and small village, is pleasantly situated in a retired locality, two miles and a half north from Wellington. The parish comprises 1,190A. 2R. 37P. of land, and in 1801 had 323 inhabitants; 1831, 350; and in 1841, 389; at the latter period there were 82 houses. Rateable value, £2,187. 10s. THE CHURCH is a small brick fabric, dedicated to All Saints. It contains an antique stone font; there is a small gallery at the west end; the east window contains some fragments of stained glass; the other windows are ornamented with armorial bearings of the Eyton family. The living is a rectory united to the vicarage of Wellington. The celebrated Edward Herbert, Lord Chirbury, was born at this place. His lordship stood in the highest rank among the public ministers, historians, and philosophers of the age in which he lived. Lord Herbert was the first and most candid of our English infidels, and his system of deism contains less of acrimonious censure of Christianity than that of any other writer. He was created Knight of the Bath at the accession of James I. He distinguished himself at the siege of Juliers; and, in 1616, was sent ambassador to Louis XIII., but was recalled on account of a dispute between him and the Constable De Luynes. In 1625 he was created a baron of the kingdom of Ireland, and in 1631 was elevated to the English peerage. His lordship left a History of Henry VIII., in folio; a treatise, “De Religione Gentilium um and expedito Buckingami ducis in Ream Insulam,” and an account of his own life. His lordship was born in 1581 and died in 1648. The present noble family of Powis is descended on the female side from Lord Herbert, of Chirbury. Granger, in his “Biographical History of England,” in speaking of his lordship, observes, “It is hard to say whether his person, his understanding, or his courage, was the most extraordinary. But the same man was wise and capricious, redressed wrongs and quarrelled for punctilios; hated bigotry, and was himself a bigot to philosophy; he exposed himself to such danger as other men of courage would have carefully declined; and called in question the fundamentals of a religion which none had the hardiness to dispute besides himself.” EYTON HALL is a handsome stuccoed residence, with a piazza in front supported by twelve pillars; it opens into a neatly laid out garden, beautified with shrubberies; and in front of the hall is a small park, stocked with deer. It is the seat and property of Thomas Eyton, Esq., who is the principal landowner and lord of the manor; the Trustees of Preston Hospital are also proprietors. This parish is intersected by the Shropshire Union Canal. Among the gentlemen who compounded for their estates during the Commonwealth, Sir Thomas Eyton, of Eyton, paid £976.

DIRECTORY.—Thomas Eyton, Esq., The Hall; William Anslow, farmer; Samuel Cartwright, farmer; Helena Cooke, farmer; Matthew Davies, farmer and maltster; Richard Edwards, farmer and farm-bailiff to T. Eyton, Esq.; Mary Jenkins, farmer; John Jones, gardener; Stephen Reynolds, corn miller; John Robinson, blacksmith, agricultural implement maker, and parish clerk; Thomas Shuker, saddler.

KINNERSLEY

is a parish and village, in a pleasant situation, three miles and a half N.N.W. from Wellington, which in 1801 contained 210 inhabitants; in 1841 there were 49 houses and a population of 295 souls. The parish comprises 1,789A. 2R. 36P. of land. Gross estimated rental, £2,720. Rateable value, £2,443. 3s. There are 104A. 3R. 14P. of woods and plantations, and 75 acres of glebe land. The Duke of Sutherland is lord of the manor and owner of the land. The village is surrounded by what is called moor-land, which was enclosed about half a century ago. It has, however, lost all the characteristics of a moor, and is now chiefly in large enclosures, and generally good grazing land. About half a mile north-east from the church there is a large mound, which encloses upwards of twenty acres of land, and surrounds the premises of the Wall Farm. This is supposed to have been a British encampment, and to have been raised before the moors became boggy; for there is no trace of any road across the moors by which this vast rampart of sand-rock could be conveyed, which must have been the case, if the moss at those early periods was as boggy as in after ages. The rampart measures 1,900 yards in circumference, and is from sixteen to twenty feet in breadth.

THE CHURCH is a small structure, mantled with ivy, and dedicated to St. Chad. It consists of nave and chancel, with a tower at the west end, in which are three bells. There is also a small gallery at the west end; and neat tablets have been erected in memory of the Marriot and Ogle families. The body of the church is very ancient, but the tower was erected in 1726. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s book at £6. 1s. 8d., now returned at £494. Patron, Duke of Sutherland; incumbent, Rev. Andrew Burn, M.A. THE RECTORY is an ancient residence, on the west side of the church-yard. The tithes are commuted for £340. There is a PAROCHIAL SCHOOL in the village, which is chiefly supported by the Duke of Sutherland and the Rector.

DIRECTORY.—Rev. Andrew Burn, M.A., The Rectory; Thomas Brown, farmer; John and Thomas Davies, shoemakers; John Felton, shoemaker; William Gough, shoemaker; Thomas Hitchin, wheelwright; George Hooper, farmer; William Hooper, farmer and maltster, Margaret Hughes, farmer, Wall Farm; Richard Ogle, farmer, Manor House; John Taylor, farmer; William Weston, farmer; William Weston, blacksmith; Richard Williams, farmer and victualler, Crown Inn.

LEIGHTON

is a parish and delightful little village, situate on the banks of the Severn, and near the foot of the Wrekin hill, nine miles S.E. from Shrewsbury. In 1801 the parish contained 338 inhabitants; 1831, 360; and in 1841, 80 houses and a population of 403 souls. Rateable value, £2,691. Robert Gardner, Esq., and Sir George Harnage, Bart., are the principal landowners. The soil is mostly of a superior quality, and produces good crops of all kinds of grain. THE CHURCH, dedicated to St. Mary, is a plain brick structure, situated a short distance from the village, and consists of nave and chancel, with a small tower, in which are three bells. In the chancel are several handsome tablets, chiefly in memory of the Leighton and Kinnersley families, who formerly resided here, and had large possessions in this locality. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £7. 12s. 6d., now returned at £224, in the patronage and incumbency of the Rev. Robert Maddocks. The salubrious situation of Leighton and the vicinity is proverbial, and several extraordinary cases of longevity among the inhabitants have occurred. A short time ago, Stephen Davies was living at the advanced age of 97 years. He recollected old Sarah Beech, who lived in this parish, and died about the year 1738 at the age of 106 years, and who had a sister that lived to the age of 103 years. Stephen Davies had then a brother living at Wroxeter of the age of 96 years.

GARMSTONE is a hamlet, in the parish of Leighton.

CHARITIES—_Ann Lacon_, by her will, left £15 a-year for ever to the poor of Leighton, Sheinton, and Buildwas, to be given to four poor persons of each parish. This gift is secured on a messuage and lands at Much Wenlock, and the moiety belonging to this parish is divided equally among four of the poor inhabitants, _Richard Leighton_, _Esq._, left the sum of £100, the interest to be distributed by the minister and churchwardens for the time being among the poor of the parish on Candlemas-day. This bequest, and several other legacies amounting to £8, were placed out about sixty years ago upon the security of the tolls arising from the turnpike road which passes through Leighton, the interest of which, £5. 8s., is distributed in small sums among the poor on Candlemas-day.