Abdon, Shropshire Family History Guide
Abdon is an Ancient Parish in the county of Shropshire.
Parish church: St. Margaret
Parish registers begin: 1554
Nonconformists include:
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
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.
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Directories
Abdon Kelly’s Directory of Shropshire 1941
Abdon is a parish on the western side of the Brown Clee Hill and overlooks Corvedale, through which flows the small river Corve: it is 5 miles south-east from Rushbury station on the Wenlock and Craven Arms branch of the Great Western railway, and 10 north-by-east from Ludlow, in the Ludlow division of the county, lower division of the hundred of Munslow, Ludlow rural district, petty sessional division and county court district, rural deanery and archdeaconry of Ludlow and diocese of Hereford. The church of St. Margaret is a small and plain but ancient building of stone, in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch and a western turret containing 2 bells: there are 100 sittings. The register dates from 1554, but is imperfect till the year 1650. The living is a rectory, with the vicarage of Clee St. Margaret annexed, joint net yearly value £386, including 4 acres of glebe, with residence, in the gift of the Earls of Pembroke and Montgomery M.V.O. and J.A.H. Thursby-Pelham esq. alternately, and held since 1938 by the Rev. William Adderley, of London College of Divinity, who resides at Clee St. Margaret. There is a charity of the yearly value of 12s arising from money left for distribution amongst the poor of the parish. Mr. Thomas William Bradley, who is lord of the manor, Mrs. G. Bradley, of Church Stretton, and Miss Hannah Childe are the principal landowners. The soil is chiefly clay; the subsoil, is lime, rock and old red sandstone. The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats and turnips. The area (including Earnstrey Park) is 2,189 acres; the population in 1931 was 163 in the civil and of the ecclesiastical parish, 374.
Earnstrey Park, formerly a township of Diddlebury, was in 1884 (by Local Government Board Order) added to this parish. The Hon. Frederick Gustavus Hamilton-Russell D.L., J.P. is lord of the manor. William Childe esq., Mrs G. E. Howells, Mrs. M. Harris and Mrs. D. L. Marston are the chief landowners. The population is included with Abdon.
Letters through Craven Arms, Shropshire. Nearest T. office at Ditton Priors.
Abdon.
Marked thus * postal address Diddlebury, Craven Arms.
Commercial.
Marked thus o farm 150 acres or over.
Bowen Geoffrey, cowkeeper
o Bradley Thos. Wm. farmer & landowner, Manor ho. Ditton Priors 236
Cartwright Benj. Allpike, cowkeeper
o Childe Hannah (Miss), farmer, Marsh farm
o *Childs Jn. Farmer
*Cooper Richard, farmer, Wood Bank
Cooper Samuel, farmer
Corfield Arthur, cowkpr. Wood Bank
Duce Jeremiah, cowkeeper
Duce Thos. smallholder, Wood Bank
McHugh Annie Roberta Kathln. (Miss), farmer, Cockshutford
Parker Jn. cowkeeper
Price Thos. farmer, Upper House fm
Rudd Edwin, farmer, New ho.
Earnstrey Park
Marked thus o farm 150 acres or over.
o Childe William, farmer, Lower Park
o Griffiths Frank, farmer
o Howells Gertrude Emma (Mrs.), farmer
Howells William, farmer
Marston Jn. farmer
Source: Kelly’s Directory of Herefordshire & Shropshire 1941, published by Kelly’s Directories Ltd 1941. Reproduced with the kind permission of the publishers Kelly’s Directories Ltd and Reed Business Information.
Abdon Cassey’s Directory of Shropshire 1871
Abdon is a small parish, 10 miles north from Ludlow, in the southern division of the county, lower division of the hundred of Munslow, Ludlow union, and diocese of Hereford; it is situated on the western side of the Brown Clee Hill, and overlooks Corve Dale, through which flows the small river Corve. The church is a small plain building. The living is a rectory; the tithes are commuted for the sum of £128 yearly, with residence; and about 50 acres of glebe land; in the gift of the Earl of Pembroke. A school for boys and girls is supported by the Earl of Pembroke; there is a charity of the annual value of 12s. The Earl of Pembroke is lord of the manor and chief landowner. The soil is chiefly clay; the subsoil is lime, rock, and old red sandstone. The population in 1861 was 170, and the area is 1,134 acres: gross estimated rental, £810; rateable value, £693. Betwixt Abdon Bury and the village of Clee St. Margaret is the Roman Station – Nordy Bank, one of the most perfect remains in the Kingdom of the Roman period.
Letters are received through Church Stretton.
Carrier – John Cooper, to Ludlow, Monday, and to Bridgnorth, Saturday.
Sheppard, Rev. J. L. The Rectory
Bradley Misses, farmer
Bradley William, farmer
Cooper John, shopkeeper
Cooper Levy, lime burner
Hitchings James, farmer
Norgrove William, farmer
Source: Edward Cassey & Co’s, History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Shropshire 1871
Abdon Kellys Shropshire Directory 1863
ABDON is a township and parish, 10 miles north from Ludlow, in the lower division of the hundred of Munslow, Ludlow union, South Shropshire, rural deanery of Wenlock, Salop archdeaconry, and bishopric of Hereford; it is situated on the western side of the Brown Clee Hill, and looks out upon Corve Dale, through which flows the small river Corve. The church (name unknown) is a small plain building of some antiquity, but the date of its erection cannot be ascertained. The living is a rectory; the tithes are commuted for the sum of £128 yearly, with residence and about 50 acres of glebe land, in the gift of the Earl of Pembroke; the Rev. J. L. Sheppard, H.A., is the incumbent. There is a Parochial school for boys and girls, supported by the Earl of Pembroke. The population in 1861 was 170, and the acreage is 1,184. The soil is chiefly clay; the subsoil is lime, rock and old red sandstone. The Earl of Pembroke is lord of the manor and chief landowner. There is a small parochial charity of the annual value of 12s. Lime is burnt here.
Upper House, Lower House, and Marsh Farm are places here.
Sheppard Rev. John Launcclot, M.A. [rector], The Rectory
COMMERCIAL.
Bradley George, farmer
Bradley William, farmer
Cooper John, shopkeeper
Cooper Levy, lime burner
Hitchings James, farmer
Norgrove William, farmer
Letters are received through Church Stretton. Nearest money order offices, Ludlow & Church Stretton.
Parochial School, Robert Williams, master
Source: Post Office Directory of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire and the City of Bristol, Printed and Published by Kelly and Co., Old Boswell Court, St. Clement’s, Strand, London. 1863.
Bagshaw History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Shropshire 1851
ABDON is a small parish and village in the Lower division of the Munslow hundred, ten miles south-east from Much Wenlock, which contains 710 acres of land, the rateable value of which is £609. At the census in 1801 the parish had a population of 134 souls; 1831, 170; and in 1841 there were 36 houses and 155 inhabitants. Sir Sidney Herbert is the principal landowner and lord of the manor. The Church is a small structure dedicated to St. Margaret, and consists of nave and chancel. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £3. 6s. 8d., now returned at £147; patron, Sir Sidney Herbert; incumbent, Rev. John Sheppard. A commodious school, with a residence for the teacher, has recently been built by the lord of the manor, at a cost of upwards of one thousand pounds; it is also munificently supported by the founder. About thirty children attend.
Directory.—George Bradley, farmer; Thomas Bradley, farmer; Cheswick Cooper, farmer; Rev. John Sheppard, rector; Robert Williams, schoolmaster.
Source: History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Shropshire by Samuel Bagshaw 1851
Poll Books
Abdon Shropshire Poll Book 1865
Below are the names of those that voted in the election of July 1865 between Col. The Hon. P. E. Herbert, Sir Baldwin Leighton, Bart., and R. Jasper More, Esq.
Poll Book of the Election, July 1865 for the Southern Division of Shropshire.
Ludlow Polling District
Abdon, Parish of
2220 Bradley George, see 1457
2221 Bradley William, see 1825
2222 Childs John
2223 Hitchens James
2224 Sheppard John Lancelot
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.
Register of Baptisms and Burials, 1789 – 1813.
Register of Baptisms, 1813 – in use.
Register of Banns and Marriages 1754 – 1813
Register of Banns 1827 – 1894
Register of Marriages 1813 – 1850
Register of Marriages 1837 – in use
Register of Burials 1813 – in use
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.
Administration
- County: Shropshire
- Civil Registration District: Ludlow
- Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Hereford (Episcopal Consistory)
- Diocese: Hereford
- Rural Deanery: Wenlock
- Poor Law Union: Ludlow
- Hundred: Munslow
- Province: Canterbury