Abdon, Shropshire Family History Guide

Published October 15, 2018 · Updated August 22, 2019

Abdon is an Ancient Parish in the county of Shropshire.

Parish church: St. Margaret

Parish registers begin: 1554

Nonconformists include:

Parishes adjacent to Abdon

Church Of St Margaret by Gammock. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Historical Descriptions

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

ABDON, a parish in Ludlow district, Salop; under the Clee hills, 7 miles E of Marsh Brook r. station, and 9 NNE of Ludlow. Post Town, Burwarton under Bridgnorth. Acres, 1,134. Real property, £890. Pop., 170. Houses, 33. The property is divided among a few. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Hereford. Value, £147. Patron, the Earl of Pembroke. The church is tolerable.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850

Abdon, 8 miles N. E. Ludlow. P. 155

Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850.

Lewis Topographical Dictionary of England 1845

Abdon (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Ludlow, hundred of Munslow, S. division of Salop, 12 miles (S.W. by W.) from Bridgenorth; containing 155 inhabitants. It comprises upwards of 1100 acres, of which about 190 are arable, 664 meadow and pasture, and 260 waste land; the surface is very irregular, and the soil strong red clay in the higher grounds, with a sheep-walk, having much gorse and fern; the lower grounds are more favourable to agriculture. A few pits on the hill yield an inferior coal, much of which is used in lime-works; formerly there were several iron forges in the neighbourhood. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king’s book at £3 6. 8.; patron, Hon. S. Herbert; net income, £147, arising from tithes and a small estate, with 49 acres of glebe, of which 22 are in the parish of Stoke St. Milborough. The church is a rude structure, with walls of great thickness, and much of it appears to have been rebuilt about 150 or 200 years ago; in the chancel is a window in the decorated style. Abdon Burf, on the summit of Brown Clee hill, is a remarkable oval inclosure of basalt stones, evidently British; the area measures from north to South 1317 feet, and at its widest point from east to west it is 660 feet; and huge blocks of stone are scattered within it, of which several are arranged in circles.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis Fifth Edition Published London; by S. Lewis and Co., 13, Finsbury Place, South. M. DCCC. XLV.

The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales 1840

Abdon, a parish in the hund. of Munslow, Ludlow union, county of Salop; 10 miles north-east from Ludlow, and 2 south-east from Tugford. Living, a discharged rectory in the archd. of Salop, and dio. of Hereford; rated at £3 6s. 8d.; gross income, £147. Patron, in 1835, Hon. S. Herbert. Pop. in 1801, 134; in 1831, 170. Houses 35. Acres 710. A. P. £609. Poor rates, in 1837, £72.

Source: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales; A Fullarton & Co. Glasgow; 1840.

Gregory Shropshire Gazetteer 1824

Abdon. A parish in the lower division of the hundred of Munslow. A rectory discharged, in the diocese of Hereford, the deanery of Wenlock, and archdeaconry of Salop. 31 houses, 157 inhabitants. 10 miles south-west of Bridgnorth.

Source: The Shropshire Gazetteer, with an Appendix, including a Survey of the County and Valuable Miscellaneous Information, with Plates. Printed and Published by T. Gregory, Wem, 1824

A Topographical Dictionary of the United Kingdom 1808

Abdon, a parish in the hundred of Munslow. Salop, 10 miles from Ludlow, and 144 from London; containing only 25 houses and 134 inhabitants. Is a rectory, value 3l. 6s. 8d.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of the United Kingdom. Benjamin Pitts Capper. 1808.

Directories

Abdon Kelly’s Directory of Shropshire 1941

Abdon Cassey Shropshire Directory 1875

Abdon Cassey’s Directory of Shropshire 1871

Abdon Kellys Shropshire Directory 1863

Poll Books

Abdon Shropshire Poll Book 1865

Abdon Shropshire Parish Documents 1902

Documents in the custody of the Parish Meeting. – Kept at the Rectory, viz: –

Parish Meeting Minute Book.

Documents in the custody of the Rector. – Kept in a tin box at the Rectory, viz: –

General Register, 1554 – 1746 – but apparently not consecutive.

General Register, 1749 – 1754, then Baptisms and Burials only to 1789.

Tithe Map and Award, dated 2nd April, 1846.

Source: Shropshire Parish Documents published 1902. A report of the Inspection of Parish Documents made to Salop County Council under section 17 of the Local Government Act 1894. Note: The location of the documents listed in this transcription are as cited in the book published in 1902 and should be used as a guide only. It should not be assumed that the documents are still kept at the stated location. Interested parties should perhaps contact Shropshire records office to ascertain the documents current whereabouts.