Part 69

_Richard Cookes_, in 1799, demised certain premises in Stirchley for the term of 1,000 years, at the yearly rent of 17s., payable to the lessor, his heirs and assigns. This rent has for a great many years been paid to the overseers of this parish for the use of the poor, and it is supposed to have been assigned for their benefit by Richard Cookes, the lessor, but at what time or under what circumstances they first became entitled to it there is no evidence to show. The term is at present invested in Mr. Darral, who has improved the premises by building to the annual value of £13.

Botfield Beriah, Esq., iron master and colliery proprietor

Barnard Richard, vict., Rose and Crown

Blakemore Thomas, farmer

Blocksidge John, schoolmaster and parish clerk

Hayward Sarah, shopkeeper

Onions Thomas, agent to B. Botfield, Esq.

Phillips Rev. Hugo Moreton, The Rectory

Smith George, farmer, The Hall

Smith William, farmer

Tipton Mark, agent to B. Botfield, Esq.; residence, Mossy Green

Trigger Robert, farmer

UPPINGTON

is a parish and township in the Wellington division of the South Bradford hundred, four miles S.W. by S. from Wellington, which contains 747A. 0R. 36P. of land. In 1801 there were 107 inhabitants, 1831, 117, and in 1841 18 houses and 96 inhabitants. Rateable value, £937. 10s. The Duke of Cleveland is lord of the manor and proprietor of the whole parish. The village is delightfully situated in a salubrious country, pleasingly beautified with rural scenery, and commands a fine view of the majestic Wrekin. An avenue of trees extends nearly through the length of the village, which gives it an air of quiet retirement. There are several good houses, with pleasure grounds neatly laid out, and tastefully planted with shrubs. THE CHURCH has a venerable appearance, it is built of brick and rough cast, and dated 1678; it consists of nave and chancel, with a turret containing two bells. The interior underwent a complete reparation in 1844, at a cost of about £120, raised by subscriptions and a grant from the Diocesan and Incorporated Societies,—the whole has now a tasteful and orderly appearance. A brass plate which remembers John Stanier and family is dated 1691. A neat marble tablet dated 1793 has been erected to the memory of Rich aid Boycott, Esq. A tablet very chastely designed, of coloured marble, and dated 1789, records the death of Charles Stainer and several members of that family. An altar tomb to Silvanus Boycott is dated 1686. There is also a beautiful marble scroll, exquisitely executed, in memory of John Middleton Ashdown, Esq., agent to the Duke of Cleveland, which was put up at the expense of the Duke’s Shropshire tenantry. The living is a perpetual curacy in the patronage of the Duke of Cleveland, and enjoyed by the Rev. John Meredith, M.A. In the church-yard are two yew trees of immense girth, one of which is completely hollow, and will admit of twelve persons standing within the trunk at the same time; although nothing remains of the trunk at the bottom but a shell, yet the tree shows vigorous signs of life, and the branches cover a large surface of ground. The tithes have been commuted for £155. 2s., when £115. 2s. was apportioned to the Duke of Cleveland, and £40 to the incumbent of the parish.

THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL at Donnington, in the parish of Wroxeter, appears to have been founded for the benefit of the parish of Uppington, as well as that of Wroxeter. An account of the foundation will be found noticed with Wroxeter.

POST OFFICE.—_At Mary Wood’s_. Letters arrive from Wellington by foot post at 8 A.M. and are despatched at 6 P.M.

DIRECTORY.—William Allen, farmer; Samuel Harding Ashdown, Esq., land and estate agent; John Bagley, shopkeeper; John Boore, gentleman; Richard Boore, farmer; Charles Durnell, parish clerk, agricultural implement maker, and blacksmith; Richard Jones, wheelwright; Charles Stanier, Esq.; Mary Wood, post office.

UPTON MAGNA

is a parish and village, pleasantly situated five miles east from Shrewsbury and seven west from Wellington, having the facilities of railway communication to both places, by the Shrewsbury and Birmingham railway, which intersects the parish. At the census of 1801 there were 482 inhabitants; 1831, 512; and in 1841, 99 houses and 494 souls. The parish comprises the townships of Upton Magna, Downton, Haughton, Hunkington, and Preston Boats, which together have an area of 3,260A. 3R. 25P. of land. Rateable value, £4,171. 2s. 6d. The principal landowners are Andrew William Corbet, Esq.; the Duke of Cleveland; and Robert Burton, Esq.; besides whom there are a few small freeholders.

THE CHURCH, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is an antique structure, consisting of nave, chancel, and side aisles, with a tower, in which are four bells; the body of the church is built of red sand stone, and the tower of a white stone, which it is said was brought from an ancient moated mansion at Hunkington; the seats and pulpit are of oak, over the latter is the date of 1591; there is a gallery at the west end, and an ancient stone font. The church has been greatly beautified within the last ten years by the munificence of Miss Arabella Pigott, who has added a new organ and altar-piece, adorned the windows with stained glass, and made other additions. There is a book chained to a desk near the pulpit entitled, “An answer to a certeine booke lately set forth by Mr. Harding, entitled a confutation of the apology of the Church of England.” An altar tomb in the chancel, with full length figures in chain armour, remembers Waiter Barker, Esq., who died in 1644. There is also a handsome marble memorial to the memory of Mary Elizabeth Pigott, who died in 1837, and of Frances Pigott, who died in 1829, daughters of the Rev. William Pigott, rector of Edgmond and Chetwynd. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £12, now returned at £546, in the patronage of Andrew William Corbett, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Corbet Brown. THE SCHOOL is situated in the church-yard; forty-three children attend, eight of which are educated free; the school has the liberal support and assiduous attention of Miss Pigott. UPTON MAGNA COTTAGE was built about forty years ago, and is the delightful residence of Miss Arabella Pigott; it is tastefully furnished, the walls are decorated with some choice paintings, and there is a good library containing many valuable standard works. The pleasure grounds are very beautifully laid out, and command fine views of the surrounding country, and of the majestic Wrekin.

DOWNTON is a small township in Upton Magna parish, situated about a mile W. from the church. Of the townships in this parish there were no separate returns made of the population and acres at the census of 1841, they are therefore included with Upton Magna. Andrew William Corbet, Esq., is the landowner.

HAUGHTON, another small township, is situated about three miles N. from Upton Magna. The Duke of Cleveland and A. W. Corbet, Esq., are the landowners.

HUNKINGTON is situated about a mile N.E. from the church, and is the property of Andrew William Corbet, Esq. There was formerly a moated mansion here, but of which we possess no historical record; not a vestige of the building now remains, but the moat may still be traced.

PRESTON BOATS is a village and township two miles S.W. from Upton, on the banks of the river Severn, over which there is a ferry for passengers. The land is the property of Robert Burton, Esq.

CHARITIES.—_Thomas Blakeway_, in 1767, bequeathed £300 upon trust to apply one-third part of the yearly proceeds thereof in relieving the necessities of poor housekeepers, and the residue for the instruction of children belonging to poor parishioners. He also bequeathed £20 to be laid out in the repairs of the school. As the produce of this bequest there is now £322 stock, three and half per cents., the dividends of which amount to £11. 5s. 4d., two thirds of which are applied in the education of youth, and one-third is distributed among the poor. The _Rev. Richard Andrews_, in 1726, left £10 to the use of the poor. Mrs. _Ann Peploe_, in 1728, gave £16 to buy a garment for the poor. _Ann Barker_ gave £20, and _Thomas Jewkes_ £20 for the benefit of the poor. These several sums, amounting in the whole to £71, were laid out in building a parish work-house, which was subsequently sold, and the charity money was laid out in 1813, in the purchase of £80. 0s. 7d. stock in the navy five per cents., and there is now in respect of the charity money £84. 0s. 7d. standing in the names of certain trustees in the new four per cents. Out of the dividends 5s. is given away in bread, 16s. laid out in the purchase of two garments for poor persons, and the residue is distributed in small sums on St. Stephen’s-day.

UPTON MAGNA, DOWNTON, HUNKINGTON, HAUGHTON, & PRESTON BOATS DIRECTORIES.

Pigott Miss Arabella, The Cottage, Upton Magna

Allen Thomas, station master

Allen William, farmer, Hunkington

Barber Richard, farmer, The Sales, Upton Magna

Bladon John, wheelwright, Upton Magna

Brisbourne Thomas, farmer, Haughton

Bowen Wm., farmer, Somer Wood, Upton Magna

Brown Edmund, farmer, Upton Magna

Burroughs Daniel, tailor, Upton Magna

Clarke Mrs. Mary, Upton Magna

Davies James, farmer, Downton

Davies Robert, farmer, Preston Boats, Ferry

Davies John, shoemaker, Upton Magna

Elkes John, shoemaker, Haughton

Elsmere Colley, farmer, Upton Magna

Gregory Mary Ann, farmer, Preston Boats

Humphries Mary, schoolmistress, Upton Magna

Humphries Nathaniel, schoolmaster, Upton Magna

Humphries Richard, farmer, Rae House, Upton Magna

Humphry John, farmer and vict., Corbet Arms, Upton Magna

Jervis Robert, farmer, Upton Magna

Jones Hannah, farmer, Preston Boats

Jones John, farmer, Preston Boats

Jones Richard, farmer, Downton

Keay Henry, parish clerk, Upton Magna

Keay Walter, basket maker, Upton Magna

Leeke John, farmer, Haughton

Lockley Henry, blacksmith, Upton Magna

Matthews William, farmer, Preston Boats

Pickin Helen, shopkeeper, Upton Magna

Ralphs Henry, wheelwright, Upton Magna

Rogers Joseph, tailor, Upton Magna

Tart Thos. Sharratt, farmer, Upton Magna

UPTON WATERS, OR PARVA,

is a small parish, township, and pleasantly situated village, five and a half miles N. from Wellington, in the Wellington division of the South Bradford hundred. The parish contains 732A. 3R. 35P. of land, and in 1801 had 169 inhabitants, 1831, 193, and in 1841, 43 houses and 228 souls. Gross estimated rental, £1,346. 18s.; rateable value, £1,256. 0s. 11d. The principal landowners are Thomas Whitfield, Esq., Miss Ann Dickin, Mrs. Elizabeth Groucock, Mrs. Rider, Mr. William Boycott, and Mr. John Williams, besides whom there are several small freeholders. The village is pleasantly situated on elevated ground, and commands an extensive view of the surrounding country; on the western verge of the parish is the river Tern, which separates Upton Waters from the parish of Ercall.

THE CHURCH is a small unpresuming structure, dedicated to Saint Michael, consisting of nave and chancel, with a small belfry at the west end; the interior of the fabric corresponds with its architectural simplicity. A brass plate in the aisle remembers the Reverend William Jones, formerly rector of this parish for 62 years, and died in the year 1691, aged 82 years. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £3. 17s. 3½d., now returned at £204, in the patronage of the Lord Chancellor, and incumbency of the Rev. Richard Corfield, a non-resident; curate, Rev. Sidney Philip Robertson, B.A. The rectory is a good residence a little west from the church. THE HALL, the residence and property of Miss Ann Dickin, is a neat brick house a little north-west from the church. About a quarter of a mile north-west from the church is a large brick structure, originally built as a workhouse for Ercall Magna parish. It is now used for the reception of the children belonging the Wellington Poor-law Union, and will accommodate about one hundred; the average number is about fifty. The building stands on the banks of the river Tern, and is just within the bounds of the parish of Ercall, the river here dividing the two parishes.

Bennett Thomas, shoemaker

Davies John, schoolmaster, Union House

Dickin Miss Ann, the Hall

Edwards Rd., wheelwright

Gregory James, tailor

Groucock Elizabeth, farmer

Icke William, maltster and vict., the Swan

Leighton Robert, farmer

Matthews William, farmer

Morgan John, surgeon

Ridgway James, blacksmith

Roberson Rev. Sidney Philip, curate, the Rectory

Titley John, butcher

Tudor Samuel, bricklayer and shopkeeper

Whitfield Thomas, farmer

WELLINGTON

is a considerable parish and flourishing market town, pleasantly situated eleven miles E. from Shrewsbury, and 142 N.W. from London, and by railway 11 miles from Shrewsbury, 7½ miles S.W. from Newport, 31 miles from Birmingham, and seven miles W. by N. from Shiffnal. The parish contains the townships and hamlets of Arleston, Aston, Apley, Dothill, Hadley, Horton, Ketley, Lawley, Newdale, Walcott, Wellington, Wapenshall, and Lee Gomery, and part of Preston and Eyton, together embracing an area of 9,184A. 1R. 7P. of land. Gross estimated rental, £36,120. 19s. 3d. Rateable value, £32,656. 7s. 7d. The joint railway companies are rated at £776. 18s. The tithes have been commuted, and £1,484 awarded to St. John Chiverton Charlton, Esq., the impropriator, and to the vicar, £470. 6s. Population in 1801, 7,531; 1831, 9,671; and in 1841, 11,099. The township of Wellington contains 727A. 1R. 16P. of land; and in 1841 had a population of 6,084 souls, of whom 3,104 were males and 2,980 females; at the same period there were 1,181 inhabited houses, 101 uninhabited, and 18 houses building. Wellington is a well-built town, of considerable importance, and from its contiguity to the great seat of the iron and coal works in this county, it has a much frequented market. It is also the centre of a rich agricultural district, has ample communication by railway to all parts of the kingdom, and the Shropshire Union Canal, in its immediate vicinity, opens a water communication with the Severn and distant parts of the country. The town contains many good houses, with shops in all the different branches of the retail trade; there are also several good inns. The malting business is extensively carried on; the establishment of Mr. James Shepard is on a large scale. There are also an iron foundry, a tannery, and several establishments for the manufacture of nails; agricultural implements are also made. Hugh Burnel, in the reign of Edward I., obtained the grant of a market (to be held on Thursdays), and of two fairs in the year—the first to be held on the day after the feast of St. Barnabas, and the second on the eve, the day, and the day after the decollation of St. John the Baptist. The market is still held on the Thursday, and the fairs are held March 29th, June 22nd, September 29th, November 17th, Monday week before Christmas day, and the last Monday in each of the other months. At these fairs large quantities of farm and dairy produce, as also horses, horned cattle, and sheep, are usually sold. The magistrates of the county hold petty sessions monthly. William and Thomas Turner, Esqrs., are clerks to the magistrates. A Court of Record was formerly held for debts not exceeding £20, but this has been superseded by the New County Court Act. The lord of the manor holds a Court Leet annually in November, at which officers are appointed for the government of the town, and constables for the different townships within this division of the hundred.

THE CHURCH, dedicated to All Saints, a commodious and elegant structure of freestone, was erected, M,DCCXC., and consists of nave, side aisles, and bay, with a square tower crowned with a dome, gilt cross, and vane. The galleries are supported by cast-iron pillars. At the west end is a handsome and fine-toned organ, and over the bay is a glory. The roof is lofty, and the whole has a very beautiful and chaste appearance. At the east end of the south aisle is an elegant marble memorial, executed by Hollins, in memory of Martha Elizabeth Oliver, who died June 20th, aged 26 years. Another marble monument remembers Richard Emery, Esq., who died April 13th, 1839, aged 65 years, and several other members of that family. The interior of the church was painted, and the gas-fittings added, in the year 1847, chiefly at the expense of the vicar and St. John C. Charlton, Esq.; the cost was upwards of £300. In the tower of the church is a peal of six musical bells. The church is surrounded with a large burial ground, which, with the site of the church, contains upwards of three acres. It contains numerous tombs, some of which are of elaborate workmanship, and have been erected in memory of some of the principal families of the parish. The church formerly belonged to the abbey of Shrewsbury. The living is a vicarage annexed to the rectory of Eyton, valued in the king’s book at £9. 5s., in the patronage of Thomas Eyton, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Benjamin Banning, M.A., who resides at THE VICARAGE, a spacious and handsome residence, about a quarter of a mile south from the church. The house commands a fine view of the Wrekin, and is surrounded with pleasure grounds and shrubberies. In the 15th of Henry VI. the guild of the Holy Trinity and of the Virgin Mary in the church of All Saints, in Wellington, obtained a pardon from the king, for having acquired twenty messuages, ten acres of heath, and six acres of meadow in Wellington, without license.

THE NEW CHURCH is dedicated to our Saviour, and is pleasantly situated on elevated ground, at the southern outskirts of the town. It was built by subscription and grants from the church building societies, at a cost of £3,600. The structure is of white brick, with a lofty square tower, ornamented with four crocketted pinnacles. The interior consists of nave and side aisles, with spacious galleries. Over the side aisles and at the west end, upon the latter, is a small organ, erected at a cost of £170. On each side of the church are seven narrow windows, in the lancet style. The roof is of groined timber, and the pews are painted in imitation of oak, which gives the whole a neat and light appearance. There are 1,144 sittings: of which 744 are declared free and unappropriated for ever. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Wellington: incumbent, Rev. Charles Campe. The church is surrounded with a spacious cemetery; and on the west side is the Parsonage House—a neat brick structure, erected shortly after the Church was built.

THE PARTICULAR BAPTIST CHAPEL, situated in King-street, is a neat brick structure, which will accommodate about 500 hearers. It was built in 1828, on the site of a former edifice, that had been erected about half a century. The Rev. William Keay has been the pastor of the congregation worshipping here for the last 30 years. The Rev. Henry Gabriel Granger has recently been appointed to assist Mr. Keay in the pastorate. A small burial ground adjoins the chapel.

THE WESLEYAN METHODIST CHAPEL is a lofty brick fabric, situate in New street, and was built in 1836. It has galleries on three sides, and is capable of holding five hundred worshippers. A small organ was added in 1851, at a cost of £80. The Old Methodist Chapel, which stood in Chapel Lane, has been taken down. THE PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL, situate near the Tan Bank, was built in 1837.

THE CATHOLIC CHAPEL, a plain brick structure, has been built about fifteen years. It has a gallery at the end, and will hold about 400 persons. A painting of our Saviour is placed over the altar. There is no resident priest in Wellington at the present time, but the Rev. William Molloy, of Madeley, officiates at stated periods.

THE INDEPENDENT CHAPEL is a good brick structure, situate on the Tan Bank. The congregation worshipping here have no settled minister at the present time.

THE NATIONAL SCHOOL is a spacious brick building on the north side of the churchyard. It is supported by voluntary subscriptions, charity sermons, and a small weekly charge from each scholar. One hundred and sixty-eight boys, and one hundred and twenty girls attend. The teacher receives £4. 0s. 10d. from the receiver of the Crown rents.

THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL, situate at the back of the catholic chapel, on Mill Bank, is also supported by subscriptions and a small charge from each scholar. THE SAVINGS’ BANK, situate in Walker street, was established in 1818. On November 20th, 1850, the capital stock of the bank amounted to £27,623, at which period there were 692 depositors. Mr. Thomas Turner is the actuary.

THE COUNTY COURT OFFICE is situate near the Market Hall. All pleas of personal action, where the debt or damage claimed is not more than £50, may be heard and determined by the County Court. The jurisdiction of the Wellington Court embraces the parishes of Bolas Magna, Ercall Magna, Eyton, Kinnersley, Longdon, Preston, Rodington, Waters Upton, Wellington, Wombridge, and Wrockwardine. _Judge_: Uvedale Corbett, Esq., Aston Hall, near Shiffnal. _Clerk_: Frederick Buckle, Esq., New street, Wellington.

THE MARKET HALL is a brick building, stuccoed, and situated a little back from the Market-square. A spacious room, measuring sixty feet by twenty feet, is used for magisterial purposes, public meetings, assemblies, musical concerts, &c. Under it is an open area, provided with benches, where the butter market is held. The hall was built by a company of shareholders, established in 1842, with a capital stock of £5,000, of which £2,000 was raised by the shareholders, and the rest was borrowed on a mortgage of the premises. The company have purchased the tolls of the market for the sum of £700 from the lord of the manor; and they are now held on lease by Mr. John Sandals, at a yearly rental of £140.

THE UNION HOUSE, a plain brick building, situate in Walker street, is capable of holding one hundred and sixty inmates. From the report for the half year, ending March 25, 1850, we learn that the total expenditure was £4,028. 19s. 1½d: the number of out-paupers for that period was 2,033, and of in-door paupers 184: the average weekly cost per head of the latter was 2s. 11d. The Union embraces the parishes of Bolas Magna, Ercall Magna, Eyton-on-the-Wild Moors, Kinnersley, Longdon-upon-Tern, Preston-on-the Wild Moors, Rodington, Waters Upton, Wellington, Wombridge, and Wrockwardine, for which nineteen guardians are chosen, to whom John Whitfield, Esq. is chairman. The medical officers are, Charles Harwood Greene, Robert Plowden Weston, and John Francis Steedman. _Relieving Officers_: Edward Vickers, Ketley; and George Marcy, Watling street. _Master and Matron_: Mr. and Mrs. Lewis. The Old Workhouse is situated about a mile and a half south-west from the town, and is now converted into cottages.

THE WELLINGTON MECHANICS’ INSTITUTE, situated in New street, has been established with the object of affording tradesmen, mechanics, and others, opportunities of acquiring, at their leisure hours, the principles of science and the arts, and for the cultivation of literature. Persons subscribing ten shillings per annum are entitled to all the privileges of the institution; and persons under eighteen years of age subscribing five shillings a-year, are deemed students of the society. There is a good library of about eight hundred volumes, which have been chiefly contributed by a few gentlemen. A news-room has been established, which is furnished with some of the most popular periodicals, and the principal London and provincial journals; lectures are also occasionally given on interesting and useful scientific subjects. There are now about seventy members. The institution has the patronage and support of the principal gentry and clergy in the neighbourhood. Mr. John Haynes and Mr. William M. Taylor are the honorary secretaries.