Astley Worcestershire Family History Guide
Astley is an Ancient Parish in the county of Worcestershire.
Parish church: St Peter
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1539
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1609
Nonconformists include:
Near St Peter’s Church are the remains of a priory built in 1088. The priory was founded by Ralph de Todeni who was given the manor of Eastlie (Astley) for his service at the Battle of Hastings. It was an alien Benedictine House, belonging to a parent monastery in Normandy. The prior’s well remains, but is overgrown. To the East of the priory, well-defined earthworks of a medieval village have been found.1
St Peter’s church is of possible c12 century origins although its origins may have been based on an existing priory.
There are several memorials within the church to the Winford family.1
Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Astley Parish ceased to be responsible for maintaining the poor in its parish. This responsibility was transferred to Martley Poor Law Union.1
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Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
Astley, a parish in Martley district, Worcester; on the river Severn, 3 miles SW by S of Stourport r. station. Post Town, Stourport. Acres, 2,958. Real property, £6,862. Pop., 864. Houses, 198. A Benedictine priory, subordinate to the abbey of St. Tanrinus in France, was founded here, in the time of William the Conqueror, by Ralph de Todeni; suffered frequent seizure by the Crown during the wars with France; passed, in the time of Richard II., to John Beauchamp, and in that of Edward IV. to the college of Westbury; and was given by Henry VII. to Sir Ralph Sadler, the compiler of the state papers.
A hermitage was cut out of the solid rock at Astley Cliff, near Redstone ferry; was a place of great resort for devotees in the Roman times; and is now an alehouse. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Worcester. Value, £623. Patrons, the Trustees of the Rev. D. J. J. Cooks. The church stands on an eminence; is Norman; and has a font and some monuments. An endowed school has £20, and other charities £6.
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
Astley, 4½ miles S. Bewdley. P. 834
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850.
A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
ASTLEY (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Martley, Lower division of the hundred of Doddingtree, Hundred-House and W. divisions of the county of Worcester, 3 miles (S. W. by S.) from Stourport; containing 834 inhabitants. An alien priory of Benedictine monks was founded here by Ralph de Todeni, in the reign of William I.; it was annexed to the college of Westbury, in that of Edward IV., and given, at the Dissolution, to Sir Ralph Sadleir.
The parish is bounded on the east by the river Severn, and comprises 2960a. 3r. 10p., whereof about 450 acres are woodland: the surface is very unequal, and rather hilly; the soil is a sandy loam, and highly productive; and the scenery picturesque. There are quarries of red sandstone. Woodhampton House, the seat of Mrs. Cookes, is a commodious mansion at the foot of a well-wooded hill; and among other handsome residences are Oakhampton and Hill House.
The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s books at £15. 13. 4.; patrons, I. Russell Cookes, Esq., and the Trustees of the late Rev. D. J. J. Cookes. The tithes have been commuted for £750, and the glebe consists of 20 acres of land, of a very mixed quality; the rectory-house adjoins the church. The church, pleasantly situated on a hill, is an ancient building chiefly of Norman architecture, and supposed to have been erected about the year 1090, and the Gothic tower about 1500; in 1839 a north aisle was added, and the edifice entirely restored: there are altar-tombs with recumbent effigies of members of the family of Blount.
A free school is endowed with about £20 per annum, left by Mrs. Mercy Pope in 1717. Cottages have been built at Redstone Ferry, the site of an ancient hermitage excavated in a lofty cliff by the side of the river.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848
The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales 1840
Astley, a parish in the lower division of the hund. of Doddingtree, union of Martley, county of Worcester; 5 miles south from Bewdley; on a small tributary of the Severn. Living, a rectory exempt from visitation, in the dio. of Worcester; rated at £5 13s. 4d.; gross income £719. Patrons, in 1835, the trustees of the late Rev. D. J. J. Cookes. There is a school here, with an endowment of £20 per annum, at which 38 children were educated in 1833. Other charities connected with the parish produce about £5 15s. per annum.
“An alien priory of Benedictine monks, subordinate to the abbey of St Taurinus, near Ebroix, founded by Ralph de Todenei, in the time of William the Conqueror, or however, before 1160. Upon the frequent seizure of this estate into the king’s hands during the wars with France, the abbot and convent of St Taurinus obtained leave, in the time of Richard II., to sell the same to John Beauchamp, who was in possession of it for some time; but afterwards, under Edward IV., this priory was annexed to the college of Westbury, in Gloucestershire, and, upon the dissolution, was granted by King Henry VII. to Sir Ralph Sadler.” Tanner’s Not. Mon.
A hermitage was dug out of a rock near Redstone ferry here, which was a place of great resort for devotees of high quality in papal times. It has since been made a public house! Pop., in 1801, 697; in 1831, 849. Houses 167. Acres 3,310. A. P. £3,820. Poor rates, in 1837, £429.
Source: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales; A Fullarton & Co. Glasgow; 1840.
Worcestershire Delineated C. and J. Greenwood 1822
Astley – a parish in the hundred of Doddingtree, lower division, 6 miles S. from Bewdley, and 123 from London; containing 170 inhabited houses; the church is a handsome building, the ancient part of which is of Saxon architecture, and contains several monuments worthy of the attention of the antiquary. Here was formerly an Alien Priory of Benedictines, founded by Ralph De Todeni, in 1160; and at Redstone, a high cliff on the Severn, was a hermitage cut out of the rock, with a chapel and several apartments, which in the days of papal superstition, was held in great veneration; it is now a licensed public house. The living is a rectory; Rev. Denham James John Cookes, incumbent in his own right; instituted 1812. Population, 1801, 697 – 1811, 740 – 1821, 784.
Source: Worcestershire Delineated: Being a Topographical Description of Each Parish, Chapelry, Hamlet, &c. In the County; with the distances and bearings from their respective market towns, &c. By C. and J. Greenwood. Printed by T. Bensley, Crane Court, Fleet Street, London, 1822.
