Much Wenlock, Shropshire Family History
Much Wenlock is an Ancient Parish and a market town in the county of Shropshire.
Other places in the parish include: Burton, Callaughton, Farley, Farley, Wyke and Bradley, Harley, Wyke and Bradley, Presthope, Walton, Wenlock without Much, Wigwig and Homer, and Harley, Wigwig and Homer.
Parish church:
Parish registers begin: 1558
Nonconformists include: Particular Baptist, Primitive Methodist, Roman Catholic, and Wesleyan Methodist.
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
Much Wenlock
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
WENLOCK (Much), a town, a parish, and a borough, in Salop The town stands on the Buildwas and Craven-Arms railway, underthe NE end of Wenlock Edge, 11 miles SE of Shrewsbury; dates from the ancient British times; was anciently called Llan-Meilain, signifying “St. Milburg’s church;” acquired importance from a monastery, founded in 680, by Milburga, daughter of King Merwald; suffered severely from the inroads of the Danes; became a borough, sending two members to parliament, in the time of Edward IV.; gives the title of Baron to the family of Lawley; is a seat of sessions and a polling place; consists chiefly of two streets, crossing at right angles; and has a post-office‡ under Wellington, Salop, a r. station, a banking office, an ancient guildhall, restored in 1848, a corn exchange of 1852, with agricultural library and reading room, an ancient church, partly Norman and recently enlarged, two dissenting chapels, a public library, an endowed school with £14 a year, alms houses, some other charities, a weekly market on Monday, and five annual fairs. The ancient monastery was destroyed by the Danes; and was refounded, as a Cluniac abbey, in 1080, by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury. The abbey gave rise, in 1164, to Paisley abbey, founded by the first Stuart; went, at the dissolution, to the Berties; passed to the Gages and the Wynnes; was a noble cruciform edifice, measuring 401 feet from E to W, and 166 feet along the transept; included a Lady chapel of the 15th century 48 feet long, and a chapter-house 60 feet by 30; and is now represented by extensive ruins, comprising large parts of the main body of the church, parts of the Lady chapel, the chapter-house, and the cloisters, and the prior’s lodge and gate. An ancient hospital of St. John also was here. The parish comprises 8,846 acres, and is a sub-district of Madeley district. Real property, £13,956: of which £441 are in quarries, and £40 in gasworks. Pop. in 1851, 2,398; in 1861, 2,494. Houses, 509. The property is much subdivided. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Hereford. Value, £180. Patron, J. M. Gaskell, Esq. The borough includes 12 parishes and a part municipally, and 17 and a part parliamentarily; is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors; and sends two members to parliament. Corporation revenue, about £560. Electors in 1833, 691; in 1863, 1,011. Pop. of the m. borough in 1851, 18,728; in 1861, 19,699. Houses, 4,000. Pop. of the p. borough in 1851, 20,588; in 1861, 21,590. Houses, 4,369.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
Shropshire Gazetteer 1824
Much Wenlock. A parish in the franchise of Wenlock, a vicarage discharged, in the diocese of Hereford, the deanery of Wenlock, and archdeaconry of Salop. 481 houses, 2,200 inhabitants. 12 miles south-east of Shrewsbury. 148 miles north-west of London. LONG 2, 39w. LAT. 52, 37½ N.
The town is ill built, consisting only of two streets, but is a very ancient corporation, and is said to have been the first town that sent members to parliament, by a writ from Edward the Fourth in 1478, when it sent one member; but now, together with Broseley and Little Wenlock, it returns two. The free burgesses, who are the electors, amount to one hundred and ten.
The corporation, by charter from Charles the first, consists of a bailiff, recorder, two justices of the peace, and twelve capital burgesses.
Wenlock gives name to a deanery, and to that part of the hundred, which in Doomsday Book is called Patinterne Hundred. The British name is Llan Meilein, or St. Milburg’s church. In the reign of Richard the second, this place was as famous for copper mines, as it is at present for quarries of lime-stone. Leland describes it as ‘a market towne where was an abbey of blak monkes, passing over an high hille called Wenlock Edge.’ But Wenlock owes its celebrity principally to the remains of an ancient Abbey, subsequently converted to a Monastery for Cluniacs.
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
Burton
Gregory Shropshire Gazetteer 1824
Burton. A township and curacy in the parish of Much Wenlock, in the franchise of Wenlock, in the diocese of Hereford, the deanery of Wenlock, and archdeaconry of Salop. 2 ¼ miles south-west of Wenlock.
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
Callaughton
Gregory Shropshire Gazetteer 1824
Callaughton. A township in the parish of Much Wenlock, and in the franchise of Wenlock. 1 ½ miles south of Wenlock.
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
Presthope
Shropshire Gazetteer 1824
Presthope. A township in the franchise of Wenlock.
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
Parish Records
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Bagshaw History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Shropshire 1851
MUCH WENLOCK is a parish, market town, and borough, having separate and independent jurisdiction, twelve miles south east from Shrewsbury, and 148 miles from London. The town consists principally of two streets, at right angles to one another. The houses in general have an ancient appearance, and are ill built; there are, however, several houses and shops of modern appearance of a more respectable character. The parish contains 8,821 acres of land; and at the census of 1841 had 2,487 inhabitants. In 1851 there were 2,398 souls, of whom 1,179 were males, and 1,219 females; and at the same period there were 487 inhabited houses and 17 uninhabited. Rateable value, £14,006. 11s. The townships comprised in this parish are Much Wenlock, Atterley, Bourton, Callaughton, Farley, Wyke, and Bradley, Harley Wigwig and Homer, Presthope, and Walton. The township of Much Wenlock contains 2,492 acres of land, the principal owners of which are W. W. Wynne, Esq., and Lord Forester. At the census of 1841 there were 373 houses and 1,627 inhabitants in the township. Gross, estimated rental, £7,440. 6s. 2d. Rateable value, £6,549. 5s. The tithes have been commuted, and £341 apportioned to the vicar, and £387. 14s. to the impropriators. Monday is market day, for which the town is indebted to the Prior and other religious brethren. Fairs are held second Tuesday in March, May 12th, October 17th, and December 4th. The fair held on July 5th has been discontinued within the last few years.
A charter of incorporation was granted to Wenlock in the 8th of Edward IV. The second and last charter, which is a confirmation and extension of the former, was granted in the 7th of the reign of Charles I. Under this charter the government was invested in a bailiff, a recorder, bailiff’s peers, a treasurer, a coroner, a town clerk, a serjeant-at-mace, and other officers. The bailiff, recorder, and bailiff’s peers, were justices of the peace; the recorder held his office for life, and the others were elected annually on Michaelmas day by a jury of the burgesses. The jurisdiction of these magistrates was co-extensive with the borough. By the charter they were allowed a court of common pleas every second Tuesday, and also an assize court for the trial of criminals, not even excepting those suspected of capital crimes; and from the early registers of the parish of Wenlock many executions seem to have taken place. A court of record was also held by the mayor every alternate Tuesday, and considerable business was done in this court. Under the municipal reform act the government of the borough is vested in a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors. Quarter sessions are held before the recorder. The mayor is elected annually on the 9th of November by the council. His duties are to preside at all meetings of the council, and to sign notices thereof, and with the assessors to revise the burgess list. He is a justice of the peace ex-officio for the year of his mayoralty and the year following, and has precedence within the borough, and is returning officer at elections for members of parliament. In the absence of the recorder he is empowered to open and adjourn the court of quarter sessions. Any councillor elected mayor, but refusing to serve, is liable to a fine not exceeding £100. The aldermen are one-third of the number of councillors, and are elected triennially by the council on the 9th of November. Half of their number go out of office every three years, but are eligible to be re-elected. An alderman is to preside at elections in case of death or inability of the mayor, and refusing office is to pay a fine not exceeding £50. The councillors are chosen in the different wards on the 1st of November, by persons whose names are on the burgess roll; one-third of the councillors go out of office annually, but are capable of re-election. All such elections are held before an alderman, and two assessors appointed for each ward. The recorder is appointed by the crown, has precedence after the mayor, and is sole judge at quarter sessions and in the court of record, and ex-officio justice of the peace. He must be a barrister of at least five years standing. He cannot be a member of parliament, alderman, or councillor, of the borough. The town-clerk is appointed by the council, and must be an attorney. The freemen’s roll is made out by him. He receives from the overseers, on the 5th of September, the list of burgesses, which he has to get printed, and expose copies on the Town Hall door. He receives claims of persons omitted in the burgess list and of persons objected to. He issues instructions to overseers to make out lists of electors, and publishes the same when revised; attends and takes minutes of all proceedings at council meetings, and makes out warrants for borough-rates, and has charge of all borough registers and other documents. The clerk of the peace is appointed by the council. His duties are to give ten days’ notice of time and place of holding quarter sessions; to summon, at least seven days before, a sufficient number of jurors, and to make out a list of names and descriptions of jurors summoned. The fees paid to this officer are fixed by the town council, and confirmed by the secretary of state. The coroner is appointed by the council, and makes an annual return of the inquests held by him to the secretary of state, as well as a quarterly return to the council. The following is a list of the members of Parliament, the corporate body, and the municipal officers of the borough and franchise of Wenlock for the year 1851:—
Members of Parliament:—The Hon. George Cecil Weld Forester, Esq., and James M. Gaskell, Esq.
Justices of the Peace:—Moses George Benson, Esq.; George Pritchard, Esq.; John Pritchard, Esq.; Thomas Mytton, Esq.; William Pugh, Esq.; Henry George Harnage, Esq.; John Anstice, Esq.; John Stephens, Esq.; W. P. Brookes, Esq.; and Richard Thursfield, Esq.
Corporation.—Mayor: Charles Belsher, Esq.
Aldermen: Richard Thursfield, Esq.; William Nicholas, Esq.; J. W. Rowlands, Esq.; John Anstice, Esq.; Charles Belsher, Esq.; and John Parry, Esq.
Councillors of Wenlock Ward: George Adney; Joseph Amphlitt; William Canlin; Robert Horton; William Newill; and William Jeffrey.
Broseley Ward: George Pritchard; Thomas Lister; John Onions; William Thursfield; Thomas Pitt; Robert Evans.
Madeley Ward: Henry Charlton; George Chune; William Cooke; Edward Edwards; Henry Davies; Henry Dickinson.
Recorder: Uvedale Corbet, Esq. Clerk of the Peace: George Potts, Esq. Town Clerk: Roger Charles Blakeway, Esq. Clerk to Justices: William P. Gordon, Esq. Treasurer: Mr. Joseph Roden. High Constable: Mr. Richard Patten.
Wenlock is remarkable as being the first borough that acquired the right of representation by charter in parliament. The boundary of the present parliamentary borough is the same as prior to the passing of the Reform and Corporation Act, but the municipal boundary is not so extensive. The revising barristers divided Wenlock into the three wards of Wenlock, Broseley, and Madeley; Wenlock ward to consist of the several parishes of Much Wenlock, Ditton Priors, Hughley, Monk Hopton, and such part of the parish of Shipton as lies on the left side of the streams called Brockton brook and the river Cowe in descending the same. The Madeley ward to consist of the parishes of Madeley and Little Wenlock; and Brosley Ward to consist of the parishes of Broseley, Barrow, Benthall, Linley, and Willey, and the Extra Parochial Liberty of Posenhall. And having regard as well to the number of persons rated to the relief of the poor in each ward, as to the aggregate amount of the sums at which all the said persons are so rated, they apportioned and assigned six councillors and two aldermen to each of the said wards. The town returned one member to parliament in 1478. It afterwards acquired the privilege of sending two, who were elected by the burgesses (in number about five hundred), the writ being returned by the bailiff. The greatest number of electors polled previous to the Reform Act was 258. The freedom was acquired by inheritance, and occasionally by election from a common hall. The whole precinct now called the franchise appears to have been included in the original charter. The number of electors is now upwards of nine hundred. The lord of the manor holds annual courts at Michaelmas and Easter, at the former of which constables are appointed.
The town of Wenlock gives name to a deanery, and the Borough and Franchise were formerly co-extensive with the hundred of Patintern, mentioned in Doomsday book, which comprised the following parishes—viz., Much Wenlock, Little Wenlock, Broseley, Madeley, Benthall, Barrow, Linley, Badger, Beckbury, Priors Ditton, Stoke St. Milborough, Eaton-under-Heywood, Hughley, Shipton, Monk Hopton, Willey, Deuxhill, and the Extra Parochial Liberty of Posenhall. By an order of Quarter Sessions, held at Shrewsbury, April 4, 1836, the parishes of Beckbury and Badger, were henceforward to be taken as part of the Shiffnal division of the hundred of Brimstree; and the parish of Deuxhill was henceforward to be taken as part of the Bridgnorth division of the hundred of Brimstree: the parishes of Eaton and Shipton were henceforward to be taken as part of the upper division of the hundred of Munslow; and that the parishes of Culmington and Stoke St. Milborough shall henceforward be taken to be part of the lower division of the hundred of Munslow; and it was further ordered that the day from which this should take effect, should be the 11th day of April, 1836.
The Parish Church, which stands near the ruins of the priory, is a venerable structure, consisting of nave, chancel, and side aisles, with a square tower, surmounted by a neat spire of timber, covered with lead. The structure bears many evidences of great antiquity, and the architecture of the Saxon and Norman ages is discoverable. The interior, during the present year, has been restored and re-pewed at a cost of £1,350. The arches, which separate the nave from the side aisles, rise from clustered pillars, and are very beautiful, having been cleared of the plaster and mortar which had accumulated for ages. A lofty round arch separates the nave from the chancel, which contains the remains of a very elegant sedilia, together with a piscina and aumbrey, and several old brass memorials. The Church is dedicated to the Holy Trinity; and from the parish register, it appears that service was first celebrated in the English tongue in this church on the 26th of June, 1559. The church-yard has just been enlarged by the addition of three quarters of an acre, and contains several tombs, but none of them sufficiently remarkable as to deserve special notice. The living is a vicarage, rated at £12. 9s. 6d., in the patronage of Sir W. W. Wynn: incumbent, Rev. William Henry Wayne. The Methodists have a small chapel in the town. The National School was built in 1847, at a cost of about £1,000, of which £500 was obtained of the National Society and the Committee of Council on Education. 150 children attend.
The Town Hall or Guild Hall is an antique structure, chiefly composed of timber and plaster, resting on piazzas. It is evidently of great antiquity, but there is no record to show the date of its erection. In the parish register of Wenlock, however, which seems to have been also a chronicle of remarkable events of the parish, it is stated that the house over the prisons, which is clearly an addition to the original building, was put up in 1577. The interior consists of two commodious rooms, the first is the sessions room, and over the Recorder’s seat are the arms of Charles II. The inner room is the Municipal Court House, which has recently been panelled and furnished with carved oak of the most elaborate and costly workmanship, principally at the expense of W. P. Brookes, Esq., one of the borough magistrates. The chairs (two of which were presented to the corporation by the Rev. R. H. G. More), as well as the table, chimney piece, and seats, are remarkably handsome, the cost is stated to have been not far short of £1000.
The Savings Bank is a plain brick building situated near the church. The total number of depositors on November 20th, 1850, were 1,909, including thirty-six charitable societies and thirty-four friendly societies. The capital stock of the bank at the same period amounted to £62,650. 12s.; of the total number of depositors there were 1,061 whose respective balances did not exceed £20., 451 were above £20 and not exceeding £50., 210 not exceeding £100., 66 above £100 and not exceeding £150., 42 not exceeding £200., and nine were above the latter sum. The deposits of the charitable societies at the same period amounted to £2,608. 11s. 8d., and of the friendly societies to £3,248. 17s. 6d. Treasurer, George Pritchard, Esq.: Secretary, Mr. William Smith.
The Public Library is situated near the ruins of the abbey, and contains about 1,500 volumes, mostly valuable works, chiefly presented by gentlemen in the neighbourhood, and the Duke of Wellington, the Marquis of Anglesey, and Major Herbert Edwards. Wenlock Edge is a precipitous ridge about two miles from Wenlock, formerly densely covered with wood. King Henry I. on his March to Shrewsbury to besiege that town was under the necessity of employing detachments from his numerous army to cut down the wood and make a road ere he could proceed.
Wenlock Monastery, Bishop Tanner says, that a nunnery was erected at Wenlock about the year 680, by Milburga, daughter to King Merwald, and niece to Walphere king of Mercia, of which she became abbess; she was renowned for sanctity, and it is recorded by William of Malmesbury, who wrote early in the 12th century, that for some “time after the arrival of the Normans, through ignorance of the place of her burial she was neglected; lately however, while a new church was erecting, a boy running violently along the pavement, brake into the hollow of a vault and discovered the body of the virgin, when a balsamic odour pervading the whole church she was taken up, and performed so many miracles, that the people flocked thither in great multitudes; large spreading plains could hardly contain the troops of pilgrims, a common faith impelling all, nor did the saint deceive their expectations, for no one departed without either a perfect cure or a considerable abatement of his malady, and some were even cured of the king’s evil where medical advice had been unavailing.” Traditions of miracles worked by Milburga are still preserved in the neighbourhood, and her shrine is said at length to have been burnt in the market place. The blind devotion which led crowds of people of all ranks with their hands filled with rich oblations to offer at this shrine produced a large income to the monastery, and for some time kept in the shade the wondrous doings of canonized saints of the rival establishments in this neighbourhood. The canonization of saints was for centuries a source of great wealth to the Roman Catholic Church, and much of their success no doubt depended on a wily priesthood trumpeting forth their miraculous powers among the ignorant multitude. To show the craftiness of the priesthood in this respect we may observe that St. Dunstan after his death in 988 was canonized, and his relics were held in such esteem that they shortly after produced an immense revenue to the cathedral of Canterbury. About the time of Henry VII. however, the monks of Glastonbury anxious to bring a portion of grist to their own mill, began to boast of having the relics of St. Dunstan in their possession, which soon turned the tide of affairs and caused the rich offerings and oblations to flow to Glastonbury. This sorely troubled the archbishop of Canterbury, who had the tomb of Dunstan opened, when the body was found in a lead coffin in his pontifical habit; the archbishop therefore immediately issued his mandate charging the monks of Glastonbury to desist from all further boasting of their possession of St. Dunstan’s relics. Notwithstanding the objectionable mode the priesthood had of obtaining riches, it is but justice to observe that their revenues and gains were all expended either in alms or hospitality, or in building and adorning their magnificent churches and abbeys; and although learning was then at a low ebb, it being generally styled the dark or illiterate age, yet what learning there was then was mostly to be found in the cloister of the monks, where some attained to great reputation for their proficiency in knowledge.
The house founded by Milburga was destroyed by the Danes, but was restored by Leofric Earl of Chester, at the request of his wife, the lady Godiva. Before the Norman conquest it had again fallen into decay, and in the 14th of William the Conqueror was rebuilt and endowed by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Arundel, Chichester, and Shrewsbury, a person of vast possessions in these parts, who placed therein a prior and convent of monks of the Cluniac order, and made it a cell to the house of De Charitate, in France; this house suffered the same fate with other alien priories till it was naturalized in the 16th year of Richard II. It was dedicated to St. Milburga, and according to Dugdale, in the 26th of Henry VIII. had revenues to the yearly value of £431. 1s. 2d.
In the Monastican is the patent of King Edward III. reciting and confirming the charter of Isabel de Say, lady of Clun, whereby she granted to these monks the church of St. George, at Clun, with seven chapels depending on it, namely, the chapel of St. Thomas, in Clun, of St. Mary’s, at Waterdune, of St. Swithin, at Clumbierie, St. Mary, at Cluntune, St. Mary, at Appitune, with those of Eggedune, and Subbledune. There is likewise an inquisition taken the 29th of Edward I. determining the right of presentation to the cell of Ferne to be in the monks of Wenlock. In “Stevens’ Supplement,” seven deeds are translated into English from the Latin originals in the hands of Francis Canning, Esq., of Foxcote, in the county of Warwick, viz., the deed of Geoffrey de Say, for the manor of Dointon; a confirmation of that deed by Henry II.; another deed by the same king, granting that these monks might always enjoy the said manor, unless he and his heirs gave them eleven pounds per annum in churches and other things in lieu of it; the charter of Henry III. to them for the same manor; the deeds of William Mitleton and Adam Fitzwilliam about a yard of land in Mitleton; a composition between Simon, Dean of Brug, and the prior and convent of Wenlock, about the chapel at Duddington. The prior of Wenlock, John Cressage, on surrendering the monastery to King Henry VIII. had a pension of £80 per annum assigned him, together with the manor house of Madeley; twelve monks had also pensions assigned to them amounting in the aggregate to £100 per annum. Besides the churches already mentioned, the following advowsons belonged to the monastery at the time it was surrendered, viz., Wenlock Magna, Wenlock Parva, Clun, Burton, Shipton, and Eaton. It had also at an earlier period Sutton, near Shrewsbury, Stoke St. Milborough, and Church Preen. During the wars between Henry III. and his barons he was often called into the Marches of Wales, and several documents were signed at Wenlock by the king, which would lead to the supposition that he was frequently lodged and entertained by the Prior. The monastery is situated near the east end of the churchyard, and the entrance from the town was through a massive gateway; very considerable remains of this magnificent and spacious fabric are still to be seen, and fragments are scattered to a great distance from the site. The great centre tower has long since disappeared, but the four massive piers the bases of which are still in existence, show that it must have been built on a scale of no ordinary splendour, and the size must have been equal to many of our cathedrals. The Chapter House is probably a part of the building erected by Roger de Montgomery, and is a singularly beautiful example of interesting Norman arches, supported on columns of which the capitals are all of different designs. It was entered from the cloisters by three richly ornamented circular porches. Of the Priory church only the south transept and a part of the south aisle of the nave remain, they present an elegant example of the early English style of architecture, but no record has been discovered of the date of their erection. The fragments of the south side of the nave consist of pointed arches which have never been open, but within them there are inserted lower arches of a similar form rising from octagonal pillars. Over the higher arches are the remains of a beautiful gallery which ran along the whole of the second story of the church, and consisted of a series of pointed arches, divided by slender clustered pillars; above these are single lancet windows forming a clerestory; between every arch runs a slender clustered pilaster, and where they break off at the top are remains of the ramifications of a groined ceiling. The room adjoining the dormitory was probably occupied by those monks whose task it was to perform the midnight office of the choir. From the bases of the columns which are all that remain of the choir it appears to have been in the same style of architecture as the Chapter house. The Lady Chapel was east of the choir and may still be traced by its foundations. The length of this stately structure from east to west was 401 feet, the nave being 156 feet, space under the middle tower 39 feet, choir 156 feet, Lady Chapel 48 by 40, and the breadth of the nave and aisles 66 feet.
Adjoining the south side of the nave was the great cloister, which was encompassed by the refectory, dormitory and chapter house. Two arched doors which open in the cloisters still remain, but not a fragment of the cloister itself. The chapter house is an oblong square, 66 feet by 31 feet. It communicates by a small door with the house of the Prior, the exterior of which, and some of the apartments, retain their original character. The whole of the eastern side of the building has a singular cloister or ambulatory, consisting of upper and lower story, each of which is formed by a continued line of arches, that have originally been glazed. Opening into the upper gallery are two apartments, one of which is supposed to have been the dining hall, which was lighted by a line of windows somewhat resembling those of the ambulatory, but having in the angles curious little pedestals, of the height of a table. In some parts of these apartments are traces of fresco painting. A narrow stone staircase in one corner communicates with the kitchen underneath. In another part is the private chapel, now divided into several rooms, in one of which is the stone altar, and a beautifully carved dish was dug up some years ago. The architecture of the Prior’s house would lead to the conclusion that it had not been built long at the time of the dissolution of the priory. Fragments of this opulent monastery are scattered to a great distance, and the precinct included full thirty acres. About a century ago a considerable part of the ruins was taken down by an agent of the manor to rebuild some houses which he had on lease, but Sir W. Wynne put a stop to any further demolition.
The site of this monastery and manor was granted soon after the dissolution to Augustine de Augustine, and was sold in 1545 to Thomas Lawley, Esq., who made it his residence, and it continued in the Lawley family till it was sold by Robert Bertie (who was the son of Ursula, the great granddaughter of the said Thomas Lawley,) to the family of Gage. Viscount Gage sold it about the year 1632 to Sir John Wynne, of Wynnstay, in whose family it continues in the person of Sir W. W. Wynne, whose father was happily called (by George IV., when Regent) “the real prince of Wales.”
The most memorable prior was one Joybert, a Norman, who held the monasteries of Coventry, Daventry, Wenlock and Bermondsey, all at the same time. The annals of Worcester state that a confederacy was entered into in the year 1253, between that house and this, for the mutual support of both; and the same annals take notice of one William, a monk of Wenlock, who put himself at the head of a gang of robbers, but was afterwards taken and executed. John Cressage, who surrendered this monastery January 26th, 1539, had a pension assigned him of £80 per annum.
Charities.—The Rev. Francis Southern by his will, proved on the 19th December, 1778, left to the minister and churchwardens of Great Wenlock, and their successors, the sum of £300, to be disposed of as follows. The interest of £200 to be paid to a school-master for teaching ten poor boys to read and write, to be continued till they can read the Bible and write a plain legible hand, and repeat the catechism with Lewis’s expositions readily and distinctly, and understand the first five rules of arithmetic. The interest of £65 to be laid out in bread, to be given every Lord’s day to six poor widows, or old men, who should attend divine service. The interest of £25 to buy Bibles, Testaments and Expositions, to be distributed on New Year’s day among the poor schoolboys. And lastly, the interest of the remaining £10 he gave to the minister for preaching an annual sermon on New Year’s day. This legacy of £300 was invested in the purchase of £640. 2s. 3d. three per cent consols, the dividends of which amount to £19. 4s. per annum, and are disbursed in the following manner. £14. 5s. 10d. paid to a schoolmaster; £1. 5s. expended in books; 12s. 6d. to the minister for a sermon; and £3. 0s. 8d. is distributed in bread. There have been always ten free boys in the school, and generally twelve. A charge is made to each of 2s. 6d. a year for fire money, which is the only expense incurred by them.
The following benefactions to the poor of this parish are noticed on a table in the church, the donors of which directed the interest of the several sums affixed to their names to be distributed in bread:—Ralph Pendlebury and Dorothy his wife, £20; William Churchman, £5; Thomas Lokier, £4; Henry Sprott, £5; Edmund King, £5; Joan Patten, £8; William Parsons, £111; Richard Cleveley, £10; John Clark, £5; Richard Littlehales, £10; Edmund Hancocks, £10; Joseph Read, £10; Mrs. Jane Litllehales, £5; and Thomas Patten, £10. Of these specific benefactions, the total amount of which is £213, no further trace remains in any parish book or document; but there is a sum of £240. 19s. 4d. stock, in the three per cent. consols, now standing in the name of trustees, supposed to have resulted from a part of these benefactions. The money with which a part of this stock was purchased was £150, which had formerly been placed on the security of the Wenlock turnpike trust. With the dividends of this stock, amounting to £7. 4s. per annum, 420 fourpenny loaves are annually distributed to the poor.
John Murrall, dyer, by will, dated in 1796, bequeathed to such poor people as frequent divine service in the parish church of Much Wenlock, the yearly sum of £7. 4s. to be distributed in bread; twelve twopenny loaves on every Sunday in the year, and ten twelvepenny loaves on each of the following days, namely, St. Thomas’s day, Old Christmas day, Good Friday, and Easter day. Mr. Murrall died in 1769, and his will having been contested, his executors were not able to establish any fund for securing the payment of this charity till 1781, when a sum of £250 stock in the three per cent. consols was purchased for that purpose. The dividends, amounting to £7. 10s. a year, are now received by Dr. Rowley and Geo. Pritchard, Esq., and a distribution of bread takes place on St. Thomas’s day and Good Friday.
John Skett, by will, dated 13th March, 1727, left 10s. per annum to be given to the poor of this parish in bread, chargeable on a certain house in Shineton street, the property of Mr. France.
John Littlehales, by will, 1760, devised to Richard Woof a messuage in Shineton street, in Much Wenlock, in trust, that he and his heirs should pay yearly out of the profits thereof, to the minister and churchwardens, the sum of 30s., on the 25th of December, to be given in wheaten bread, as follows:—Twelve twopenny loaves to be placed near a tombstone erected by him, before the service begins, on the first Sunday of every month, and to be given when the communion is ended by his heirs, the vicar and churchwardens, to twelve ancient people of the parish, regard being had to those who frequent the church service; and so to continue the first Sunday of each calendar month, Christmas day, Good Friday, and Easter day, yearly.
Mrs. Mary Smyth, by will, dated 23rd November, 1773, gave the interest of ten guineas to be distributed yearly in sixpenny loaves on the feast of St. Thomas, amongst poor widows and housekeepers of the parish of Wenlock.
Almshouses.—Mrs. Ann Sprott bequeathed £10, the interest to be applied in the repairs of the almshouses. In the parliamentary reports of 1786 it is stated that a person of the name of Price left, for clothing the poor in the almshouse, land then vested in Harry Yate, and producing £4 a-year. With respect of the first mentioned sum of £10, it is conjectured that it formed part of a sum of £150 poor’s stock, previously noticed, as an entry found in the churchwardens’ book, in 1773, states that 10s. was then received, to be laid out in the repairs of the almshouse, being part of the money due to the poor of the parish from the turnpike security; but nothing has been paid for this purpose from the produce of the poors’ stock for many years. With respect to Price’s benefaction, it appears that clothing was formerly provided for the poor in the almshouse by Harry Yate, formerly a draper at Ludlow, in respect of a small estate in Herefordshire, but this was discontinued upwards of seventy years ago by the above mentioned Harry Yate, on the ground that the gift was void under the statute of George II., c. 36.
At the time the Charity Commissioners published their report, William Moseley, Esq., the representative of the Sprott family, appointed the almspeople, and stated that when he succeeded to the estate he found the almshouses consisting of four tenements, in miserable condition, and was requested to repair them; and that he rebuilt three brick tenements, with tiled roofs, adjoining another tenement in a different part of the town, with the approbation of the inhabitants. This he did chiefly from charitable considerations; but he was unable to give any information respecting the almshouses from any documents in his possession. He always understood that they were for the benefit of decayed widows of the parish of Wenlock, to be nominated by or with the approbation of the representative of the Sprott family. After referring to the legacy as stated to have been left by Mrs. Ann Sprott, he stated he should decline paying anything in future for the repairs of the almshouses, unless the interest of that money was brought in aid; but that if the churchwardens were willing to advance any money for this purpose he should always be ready to join them.
Mrs. Ann Minshull left £20, the interest to be applied in teaching poor children to read. Nothing has been paid in respect of this legacy for upwards of fifty years. A legacy of £10, left by the Rev. George Carver, and £5 left by the Rev. Mr. Baker, noticed on a tablet in the church, have long been lost.
Post Office.—At Mr. Thomas Lawley’s, Wilmore street. Letters arrive at 7-30 A.M. and are despatched at 5 P.M.
Those Marked 1 reside in Barrow street; 2 The Bank; 3 Bull Ring; 4 High street; 5 Shienton street; 6 Spittal street; and 7 Wilmore street
1 Adney Miss Elizabeth
5 Adney George, tanner
5 Ainsworth Thomas, farmer
4 Amphlett Joseph, currier
6 Aston Jeremiah, victualler, Bull’s Head
2 Aston Jonathan, beerseller
1 Barnett Joseph, butcher
1 Beavan Thos., vict., Black Lion
7 Belcher Charles, grocer
6 Binnell Henry H., tailor and woollen draper
Blakeway Roger C., Esq., solicitor
Boughton Chas., Esq., The Abbey
6 Bowyer Mrs. Fanny
6 Boycott Rd., confectioner
7 Brookes Wm. P., surgeon
Canlin William, maltster, Burton road
7 Castle Wm., provis. dealer
1 Clayton William, boot & shoemaker
1 Christopher James, joiner
4 Coley James, brazier and tin plate worker
1 Cooper & Purton, bankers, (draw on Williams & Co., London), open on Monday and Thursday
2 Cooper Jermh., limeburner
4 Cooper John, vict., The Fox
4 Cooper Lettice, milliner
7 Cooper Thomas & Samuel, graziers
1 Crowther George, boarding school, and registrar for Wenlock district
2 Crowther Edward, farmer
Davies Mrs. Eliz., Burton rd
4 Devey John, shoemaker
3 Divers James, schoolmastr.
4 Edwards Thos., wheelwrt.
2 Felteaus John, vict., Robin Hood
6 Fox William, joiner
4 Franks Richard, builder
1 Griffiths William, agent to Salop fire office and legal and commercial fire and life offices
1 Hartland Rt., vict., Raven
6 Haynes Thos., blacksmith
3 Heighway Mary, librarian
4 Hopton Henry, grocer
Hollis Mary, schoolmistress
1 Horton Ann, vict., The Plough
6 Horton Robert, chemist & druggist
Hinton Edward, land agent to Sir W. W. Wynne
1 Hughes Edwd., shoemaker
5 James James, farrier
5 James John, farrier
4 James Wm. A., surgeon
Jeffreys William, farmer and miller, The Downes
1 Jeffreys Elizabeth, draper
1 Jenks Sarah, vict., Royal Oak
1 Johnson Thomas, tailor
1 Johnson John, tailor
6 Jones Ann, milliner
1 Jones John, skinner
1 Jones Jno., vict., Britannia
6 Jones Sarah, butcher
6 Jones William, skinner
4 Keysell Edwin, maltster, seedsman, and corn dealer
7 Lawley Thomas, stationer and printer
6 Mansell Thos., ironmongr.
4 Martin Mary, vict., The Harp
3 Mason Edwd., vict., Punch Bowl
4 Mason Wm., shoemaker
4 Massey Thomas, boot and shoemaker
6 Miles Thomas, maltster
Minton Rev. Samuel, St. Mary’s lane
4 Minshall Josiah, saddler
7 Moreton George, vict., The Pheasant
6 Moreton George, vict., Talbot
6 Moreton Francis, hat manufacturer
5 Newell William, farmer & maltster
1 Nicholson Martha, tea dealer
5 Palmer Thomas, nailmkr.
1 Parton Benjamin, vict., The Swan
1 Patten Mr. Richard
1 Pearce Chas., wheelwright
1 Phillips Mr. Thomas
1 Phillips Henry & Samuel, curriers
4 Phillips Andrew, solicitor
5 Power Elizabeth, schoolmistress
1 Poyner Wm., confectioner
4 Rhoden Joseph, vict., Wynnstay Arms, hotel and posting house
6 Rowe John, vict., Crown
1 Share Thomas, painter, plumber and glazier
Shepherd George, farmer & limeburner, Westwood Cottage
6 Smith William, grocer & druggist
1 Summers Thomas, draper
1 Thomas Henry, beerseller
5 Silley William, tailor
7 Trevor Edward, provision dealer and baker
6 Trevor Henry, grocer, chandler, & stamp office
5 Vaughan Miss Sarah
4 Wayne Rev. Wm. H., vicar
Wayne William H., Esq., The Grange
6 Webb Feild, saddler
4 Wheeler John, watchmkr.
4 Wheeler George, vict., The Falcon
6 Williams Thomas, grocer
4 Wilkinson Francis, shopkr
4 Woofe William, saddler
4 Yardley Edwin, cooper
6 Yates Mary, vict., The George
6 Yates Thomas, hairdresser
2 Yates Wm., blacksmith
MUCH WENLOCK TOWNSHIPS.
Atterley is a small township in the parish of Much Wenlock, two miles S.E. from the parish church, and at the census of 1841 contained eight houses and 52 inhabitants. This township and that of Walton conjointly contain 903a. 3r. 11p. of land, the principal owner of which is Sir John Acton. Watton is situate about a mile S.E. from Much Wenlock, and in 1841 had four houses and a population of 23 souls. Gross estimated rental, £1,115. 15s. 4d. Rateable value, £1,016. 18s. The tithes of both townships are commuted for £54. 13s.
The principal residents in Atterley and Walton are Thomas Bayer, farmer, Atterley; Ann Howells, farmer, Walton; John Howells, farmer, Walton; Frank Pardoe, farmer, Atterley.
Burton, or Borton, and Calloughton are two townships in the parish of Much Wenlock, containing together 3,163a. 2r. 39p. of land. Gross estimated rental, £3,501. 7s. 1d. Rateable value, £3,160. 8s. Burton is situated two and a half miles S.W. from Much Wenlock, and at the census in 1841 is returned as having 33 houses and 181 inhabitants; Calloughton at the same period had 23 houses and 149 inhabitants. Lord Wenlock, the principal landowner, occasionally resides at Burton Cottage—an elegant and ornamental structure of only one story in height, the interior of which is very beautifully furnished. The farm houses have most of them been rebuilt by the late proprietor, Sir Francis Lawley, Bart. They are good residences, with commodious and convenient out premises. The church is a small but interesting structure in the gothic style of architecture, consisting of nave, chancel, and side aisle, the latter added at the expense of Lady Lawley; it has a tower containing four bells. The living is a perpetual curacy in the gift of the vicar of Much Wenlock, and enjoyed by the Rev. Samuel Minton. The income of the living is derived from a farm in Radnorshire of the annual value of £50, and a sum of £200 given by Sir Robert Lawley to augment the living. The village of Calloughton is situated about a mile and a half south from Much Wenlock, and is chiefly composed of cottage residences. The farms are scattered and mostly modern erections; there is also a corn mill which can either be worked by steam or water power, in the occupancy of Mr. W. B. Childs. The tithes of Burton and Calloughton are commuted for £74. 18s.
Directory.—Those marked 1 are at Burton, and 2 are at Calloughton. 2 Benjamin Ainsworth, farmer, Beggarley Brook; 2 Samuel Ainsworth, farmer, Spoonbill; 1 Thomas Blunt, agent to John Onions, Esq.; 1 John Brooks, farmer; 2 William Baldwin Childs, corn miller; Francis Dickinson, farmer; 1 Joel Evason, shopkeeper; 2 Thomas Instone, farmer; 1 Thomas Instone, farmer; 1 Edward Kinsey, gentleman; 1 Thomas Lewis, blacksmith; John Massie, farmer, Bradeley; 2 Thomas Trow, farmer, Spoonhill; 1 John Woof, painter and vict., Talbot.
Farley Wyke and Bradley, a township in the parish of Much Wenlock, situated three miles N.E. from the parish church, comprises 960a. 0r. 8p. of land. Gross estimated rental, £1,948. 5s. 3d. Rateable value, £1,787. 8s. The principal landowners are Sir W. W. Wynn, Abraham Darby, Esq., and Lord Forester. At the census in 1841 this township had 34 houses and 166 inhabitants. Farley is situated in a romantic dale, watered by a small brook. In the dingle there is a corn mill in the occupation of Mr. Thomas Harper and Son, which is worked both by steam and water power. The tithes are commuted for £18. 19s. 5d.
The principal residents in this township are Ann Cadwallader, beerhouse keeper; Thomas Chidley, wheelwright and beerhouse keeper; Thomas Harper, corn miller; Caleb Harper, corn miller; Edward Hill, wheelwright; William W. Hull, Esq., Tickwood; John Perry, farmer, Wyke; Joseph Lloyd, farmer and stone dealer.
Harley-Wigwig and Homer, a small township in the parish of Much Wenlock, containing 552a. 1r. 20p. of land, at the census of 1841 had 47 scattered houses and a population of 218 souls. Gross estimated rental, £861. 11s. 6d.; rateable value, £765. 6s. The principle landowners are the Duke of Cleveland, Lord Forester, Samuel Meire, Esq., Sir George Harnage, and the Rev. Samuel Minton. The land is chiefly farmed by the owners except at Harley. The residents in this township are chiefly cottagers, and the houses are for the most part scattered. The tithes are commuted for £48. 15s.
Presthope is a township with a few scattered houses in the parish of Much Wenlock, situated on the Wenlock Edge, upwards of three miles from the parish church; at the census of 1841 there were fourteen houses and 71 inhabitants in the township, which comprises 742a. 2r. 8p. of land, the principal owners of which are Lord Bradford, and M. G. Benson, Esq. Gross estimated rental, £807. 6s. 8d.; rateable value, £727. 6s. Wenlock Edge is a precipitous ridge running about eleven miles in a south-westerly direction. King Henry I. after the capture of Bridgnorth commanded his army to pass through Hunel Hege and lay siege to Shrewsbury. “Hunel hedge is the English name for a passage through a wood; in Latin it may be called malus callis or vicus; for it was a hollow way of a mile in length, full of great sharp stones, and so narrow as scarcely to admit two horsemen abreast. It was overshadowed on each side by a dark wood wherein were stationed archers in ambuscade who greatly annoyed the army with arrows and other missile weapons; but as the king had more than 60,000 men in his army he detached large parties to cut down the wood and make a wide road which should endure for the use of posterity.” From this period we may probably date the existence of a road over this steep ridge which has since been rendered more commodious. Many of the passes however down this rugged steep retain much of their wild and romantic character. The tithes are commuted for £80. 6s.
The chief residents at Presthope are Richard Child Milner, farmer; Rev. Robert H. G. More, and John Shirley, farmer.
Source: History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Shropshire by Samuel Bagshaw 1851
Administration
- County: Shropshire
- Civil Registration District: Madeley
- Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Hereford (Episcopal Consistory)
- Diocese: Hereford
- Rural Deanery: Wenlock
- Poor Law Union: Madeley
- Hundred: Much Wenlock Borough
- Province: Canterbury