Wolverley Worcestershire Family History Guide
Wolverley is an Ancient Parish in the county of Worcestershire.
Other places in the parish include: Cookley, Horseley, Kingsford, Little Wolverley, Caunsall, Sion Hill, Blakesall, Lea Castle and Low.
Parish church: St John the Baptist
Parish registers begin: 1539
Nonconformists include: Primitive Methodist and Wesleyan Methodist.
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
Wolverley
Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
Wolverley, a village, a parish, and a sub-district, in Kidderminster district, Worcester. The village stands on the river Stour, 2 miles N by W of Kidderminster r. station; and has a post-office under Kidderminster, and a police station.
The parish includes Cookley village and several hamlets, and comprises 5,532 acres. Real property, £13,267. Pop. in 1851, 2,441; in 1861, 2,905. Houses, 608. The increase of pop. arose from extension of iron manufacture. The property is subdivided. There are several good residences. A pillar, in memory of the famous Richard Baxter, has been erected on Blakeshall Common.
The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Worcester. Value, £300. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of W. The church is modern. The vicarage of Cookley is a separate benefice.
There are a Wesleyan chapel, an endowed grammar-school with £633 a year, and charities £27.
The sub-district contains 3 parishes. Acres, 7,172. Pop., 3,204. Houses, 666.
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
Wolverley, 2 miles N.W. Kidderminster. P. 2091.
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850
Worcestershire Delineated C. And J. Greenwood 1822
Wolverley – a parish in the hundred of Oswaldslow, lower division, 2 miles N. from Kidderminster, and 127 from London; containing 256 inhabited houses.
The church is a neat edifice, situate on an eminence, and is approached on the N. side by a winding path cut through solid rock.
A number of forges have been erected upon the banks of the Stour, which runs through this parish, and a considerable business is carried on in the iron trade, which is much facilitated by the advantages derived from a water carriage on the Staffordshire canal, which accompanies the river Stour to the Severn at Stourport, Worcestershire.
The living is a vicarage; the Rev. Thomas Heynes, incumbent; instituted 1814; in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Worcester. Population, 1801, 906 – 1811, 1164 – 1821, 1529
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.
Kingsford
A Topographical Dictionary Of Great Britain And Ireland 1833
Kingsford, co. Worcester.
P. T. Kidderminster (126) 2 m. N. Pop. with Pa.
A hamlet in the parish of Wolverley and lower division of the hundred of Halfshire
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland by John Gorton. The Irish and Welsh articles by G. N. Wright; Vol. II; London; Chapman and Hall, 186, Strand; 1833.
Sion Hill
Worcestershire Delineated C. And J. Greenwood 1822
Sion-Hill, near Kidderminster, the residence of J. Smith, Esq.
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.
Lea-Castle
Worcestershire Delineated C. and J. Greenwood 1822
Lea-Castle, in the parish of Wolverley, the residence of J. Knight, Esq. who when the county was threatened with an invasion, some years since, raised a troop of cavalry, principally at his own expense; in which were ten of his own servants mounted upon as many of his own horses.
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.
Parish Registers
Marriage Licences and Allegations
London Marriage Licences and Allegations 1521 to 1869
The following have been extracted from London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869.
Abbreviations. — B. Bishop of London’s Office; D. Dean and Chapter of Westminster; F. Faculty Office of Archbishop of Canterbury; V. Registry of the Vicar-General of Canterbury.
Attwood, Godman (Atwood), of Woolverly Court, co. Worcester, gent., bachelor, about 22, and Susanna Hubbert, of Wandsworth, Surrey, spinster, about 22, her parents dead — at St. Alphage, London, or Knightsbridge Chapel, Middlesex. 24 Dec. 1670. V.
Source: London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869; Edited by Joseph Foster; London 1887
Marriages Out of Parish
| Details | Place of Marriage |
|---|---|
| Thomas Bate de Woolverley, co. Worcester, & Ann Appletree, of Farmborough, lic. 15 July 1719 | Fenny Compton Warwickshire |
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Directories
Online Directories
Wolverley Bennett’s Business Directory for Worcestershire, 1914
Transcriptions
Wolverley Bennetts Business Directory 1899
Billingsley G. F., grocer, The Stores
Carter T, tailor and draper, Post Office
Coles T, butcher
Carter T, insurance agent, Post Office
Etheridge W, baker
Lloyd C, grocer, Ellerdine Cottage
Lloyd W, general smith
Live & Let Live – A Rollings proprietor. Good accommodation, charges moderate. Fine home brewed ales, Guinness’s stout and wines and spirits of the finest quality; cigars of best brands
Lock Inn – H Davis proprietor. Good accommodation for visitors. Bucknalls celebrated ales and Guinness’s stout
Queens Head Hotel – G Davies
Taylor J, practical boot and shoe maker. Repairs neatly and promptly done
Taylor J, confectioner and haberdasher
Toy J, carpenter
Wolverley Coal Co – J Cox
Source: Bennetts Business Directory (Worcestershire Section) 1899; Bennett & Co. Printers and Publishers, Birmingham
Wolverley (with the Hamlets of Cookley, Blakesall, Caunsall, Horseley, Kingsford, Low, and Sion Hill) 1855
Wolverley, with the above Hamlets, is a very large Village and Parish, situate about 2 miles N.W. from Kidderminster, and 5 miles W.S. of Bewdley, on the east bank of the river Stour, containing an area of 5532 acres, and a population of 2441 persons, viz., 1184 males, and 1257 females. John Baskerville, the celebrated printer, was born here in 1706, and died in 1776.
Cookley – There is a considerable business carried on here in the patent wood screw trade; there is also an iron foundry and a wire mill in the parish, giving employment to a great number of hands. Many of the above hamlets consist only of a few houses, and will be found with Wolverley. Cookley, being the largest, is kept distinct.
The Church at Wolverley, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was erected in 1772. It is in the modern style of architecture, with a square turreted tower, containing a good peal of bells. The living is a Vicarage, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Worcester. Rev. Warren Hastings, Rector; Miss Jane Boucher, Organist; Mr. John Hitchin, Clerk. Service – 10 45 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The Infant School is a small building. Ann Merchant, Mistress. Average number of scholars, 50.
The Chapel of Ease at Cookley is of late erection, near to which is the Parsonage House. Rev. Benjamin W. Brown, Incumbent; Miss Piper, Organist; Mr. Richard Woodward, Clerk. Service – 10 45 a.m. and 6 30 p.m.
The Wesleyan Chapel, Cookley, is a brick built building, No stated Minister. Service – 2 30 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Mon. and Fri., 7 p.m.
The Infant School is situated near the church. Miss James, Mistress.
County Police Station – Henry Mann, Sergeant.
DIRECTORY
Ball Mr. Samuel, Sion Hill
Boucher Mrs. Thomas, Court Farm
Bouchers The Misses, Debdale
Boucher Mrs. Edmond, Hill Fields
Edwards Mr. Thomas, Fir Tree House
Hancocks Alfred, Esq., The Hill
Hancocks Mrs. John, Wolverley Court
Hancocks Mrs. Samuel, Woodfield House
Hastings Rev. Warren, Rector
Matthews Charles, Esq., Shrubbery House
Piper Mr. Moses
Royle Mrs. Sarah, Clee Hall
Westwood Joshua P. B., Esq., County Magistrate, Lea Castle
White Miss Rebecca, Mill House
Worrall Mrs. Hannah
Bate Humphrey, farmer, Castle Hill
Bellingsley Simon, farmer
Blundell Edward, miller, Broadwaters Mill
Broad James, farmer, Low
Cooke Charles, beer retailer, George and Dragon, Caunsall
Cox Charles, farmer, Kingsford
Dorrell William, farmer, Horseley Hill Farm
Edmonds John, farmer
Edmonds John, farmer, Blakesall
Edmonds Benjamin, farmer, Blakesall
Fletcher William, tailor
Garlick Joseph, farmer
Hall Henry, victualler, Park Gate
Heath Matthew, ironmaster
Hopcroft Thomas, farmer
Lavender John W., farmer
Mills John, victualler, Island Pool
Morgan John, tin manufacturer; house, Broadwaters Villa
Moulder William, beer retailer
Nutchelson William, shopkeeper
Palmer Thomas, farmer, Blakesall
Pee Richard, builder and blacksmith
Perkins Mary, victualler, Queen’s Head
Pitt Thomas, farmer, Broadwaters Heath, and Low
Postins Thomas, beer retailer
Robinson George, carpenter and joiner
Saunders John, ironmaster, Wolverley Cottage
Saunders Henry, jun., solicitor, and Kidderminster
Smith John, farmer, Low, and Kidderminster
Southall William, beer retailer, Hare and Hounds
Tay Thomas, farmer, Drakelow Farm
Thomas Henry, shopkeeper, Broadwaters
Watson John, carpet manufacturer, The Hill
Wilson John, blacksmith, Blakesall
Wolverley Wire-Work Company; John Knight and Co., proprietors
Woodward Henry, farmer
Cookley
Brown Rev. Benjamin W., Incumbent of Cookley Chapel
Barker Edward, hair dresser
Brewster Thomas, licensed to let horses
Cook Joseph, beer retailer
Cookley Wood Screw Manufactory; Mr. Thomas Hunt, manager (see advertisement)
Crannage George, shopkeeper
Dawes Edward, builder
Edwards Richard, butcher
Griffiths Edwin, beer retailer
Hawks John S., shopkeeper
Hiles Alfred, shopkeeper
Hunt Thomas, manager at the Wood Screw Manufactory
Hunt Mary, victualler, Bull’s Head
Jenks Richard, haberdasher and hosier
Morris Joseph, beer retailer, Eagle
Nicholls John, shopkeeper
Perry Samuel, shopkeeper
Piper Moses, ironmaster
Randle James, boot and shoe maker
Richards William, beer retailer, Lion
Waldron Ann, farmer
Woodward Richard, parish clerk
Post Office, Wolverley – Catherine Jennings, Sub-Postmistress. Arrival, 9 a.m.; despatch, 5 20 p.m.
Post Office, Broadwaters – David Jones, Sub-Postmaster. Arrival, 8 30 a.m.; despatch, 5 40 p.m.
Post Office, Cookley – Ann Churchill, Sub-Postmistress. Arrival, 10 a.m.; despatch, 3 45 p.m.
Source: Billings Directory of Worcestershire 1855
Wolverley Lewis Worcestershire Directory 1820
Addenbrook and Co. iron masters
Albutt Thomas, tailor
Bayliss J. wheelwright
Billingsley Simon, farmer
Boucher William, farmer
Boucher D. shoemaker
Box George, vict.
Broad Charles, farmer
Cook Joseph, farmer
Crane Thomas, farmer
Crump Rev. Mr.
Dobson Timothy, carpet manufacturer
Edmonds John, farmer
Edmonds J. jun. farmer
Edmonds Benj. farmer
Giles Samuel, butcher
Gordon George, farmer
Gray Catharine, huckster
Hancox Wm. iron master
Harden William, farmer
Hawkins Edward, smith
Hollings Richard, farmer
Hollings John, vict.
Hoult Widow, farmer
James John, smith
King Richard, butcher
Knight & Co. iron masters
Knight John, esq.
Lavender Widow, school
Lightbourne J. baker
Lythall Wm. shoemaker
Lythall Benj. Shoemaker
Morris John, farmer
New Widow, farmer
Newry William, farmer
Palmer Thomas, farmer
Palmer John, farmer
Partridge John, bailiff
Read John, farmer
Smith Joseph. esq.
Spilsbury Richard, farmer
Stringer Thomas, vict.
Talbott Mrs. farmer
Trow William, farmer
Waldron Widow, miller
Wilkes Thomas, farmer
Wilson John, farmer
Source: S Lewis Worcestershire General and Commercial Directory for 1820
Administration
- County: Worcestershire
- Civil Registration District: Kidderminster
- Probate Court: Court of the Dean and Chapter of Worcester
- Diocese: Worcester
- Rural Deanery: Kidderminster
- Poor Law Union: Kidderminster
- Hundred: Oswaldslow
- Province: Canterbury