Part 52

THE CHURCH, a venerable fabric of red sandstone in the Norman style of architecture, consists of nave, chancel, and side aisles, and a square tower, in which are six musical bells. The body of the church is of much older date than the tower, which is of modern construction. The church is entered by a fine old porch; the interior has a solemn and imposing appearance; and the chancel contains several beautifully designed monuments of exquisite workmanship: that to the memory of Sir John Hill, with figures in _basso relievo_, is a most admirable specimen of modern sculpture. Major-general Clement Hill is remembered on a neat tablet erected by his friends and comrades in the Madras presidency, and by the officers of the Royal Horse Guards, in testimony of their love for his person and esteem for his character. He was born at Prees, on December 6th, 1781, and died at the Falls of Guersoppa, and was buried at Hanowar, 22nd January, 1845. There are various other memorials, and over the charity box is a curiously-carved figure of the Saviour. The churchyard is elevated, and commands a fine view of Hawkstone hills and the distant country. There are several fine old yew trees of considerable girth. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £10; now returned at £507; in the patronage of the Bishop of Lichfield, and incumbency of the Venerable Archdeacon John Allen, M.A. The rectoral tithes of this township are commuted for £329. 15s. 9d., and the vicarial for £83. 2s. 7d. The vicarage, a good residence, has been rebuilt on the site of a former edifice, by the present incumbent; the gardens and pleasure grounds are tastefully laid out.

THE INDEPENDENTS have a small chapel in Prees, with a burial ground attached; the Rev. Samuel Minshall is the minister. THE PRIMITIVE METHODISTS also have a small chapel here. There is a NATIONAL SCHOOL and an INFANT SCHOOL, which are numerously attended. PREES HALL, the property and residence of Sir Robert Chambre Hill, Bart., J.P., is a commodious, pleasantly-situated, and well built mansion of brick.

CHARITIES.—_The Right Hon. Richard Hill_, by will, October 17, 1726, bequeathed £300 for the poor of the parishes of Hodnet, Prees, and Wem, to be applied for the benefit of such poor as the minister and churchwardens of each parish should think fit. With respect to the legacy left to the poor of this parish, it appears to have been laid out in the purchase of land, which now produces a yearly sum of £10. 10s. _Sir Rowland Hill_, in 1769, bequeathed to the poor of the parishes of Hodnet and Prees the sum of £200. _Sir Richard Hill_, by will, 1808, bequeathed £30 to his brother, John Hill, in trust, to pay the interest to the poor of the parish of Hodnet, Prees, and Wem, in such proportions as his said brother should think fit. Several sums of money, left by various donors, amounting in the whole to £140, in the year 1812 was placed in the hands of Sir John Hill, who gave a promissory note for the same; and the interest is distributed amongst the poor. _Arthur Harper_, by will, 1787, directed his trustees to pay the interest of £40 to the minister, churchwardens, and overseers of the parish of Prees, to be distributed among poor housekeepers of the township of Darliston. The yearly sum of £5. 4s. is paid as a rent charge issuing out of a field in Williston, called the White Bread Field. It does not appear from whose benefaction this arises. The amount is expended in bread and given among the deserving who attend divine service. _Elizabeth Barbour_ devised certain lands, and directed the proceeds to be expended in bread and given amongst the poorest parishioners every Sunday. The property thus devised consists of 9A. 0R. 35P., with a small cottage, which was built by the vicar on the site of an old house destroyed by lightning. It is let for £12 a year, which is applied in carrying out the donor’s intentions.

POST OFFICE at _Mr. William Langford’s_.—Letters arrive from Whitchurch at 9.10 A.M. and are despatched at 5.0 P.M.

Aldersea George Ora, farmer

Allen The Rev. Archdeacon, The Vicarage

Arthur Thomas Norway, Esq.

Bather Richard, farmer

Bather Stephen, Prees Corn Mills

Bather William, farmer

Barber Emma Mary Burd, dressmaker

Bayley Mary, school teacher

Bennett Arthur, tailor

Bootroyd John, decorative painter

Boote Thomas, farmer, Heath Bank

Blantorn Miss Mary

Boyd Allen, sergeant major

Chester William, shoemaker

Churton Joseph, watch and clock maker

Clay John, blacksmith

Colley Thomas, saddler

Croxon Richard, tailor

Darlington Abraham Edward, Esq.

Davies Charles, baker and confectioner

Dickin Elizabeth, vict., The Well House

Dickin Mrs. Elizabeth

Dickin John, gentleman, Platt House

Dickin John, Prees Wood Farm

Dickin John, cattle salesman

Dickin William Francis, Esq., The Hill

Dovey Richard, police officer

Drury John, corn machine maker

Drury Thomas, vict., The College Inn

Drury William, maltster

Dutton Joseph, farmer, Ferney Leys

Ebrey Robert, butcher

Eccleston William, carrier

Edwards Edward, house steward

Foulkes Richard, joiner and carpenter

Gregory Mr. John Paul

Handley John, carrier

Hares Robert, draper and druggist

Hares Samuel, gentleman

Hares Samuel, grocer and tea dealer

Hill Sir Robert Chambre, Bart., J.P., The Hall

Holding John, draper and grocer

Holding Mrs. Mary, Cruck Moor

Holding William, maltster

Hopwood Samuel, farmer

Ikin William, maltster, draper, and registrar

Jenkins Samuel, tailor and draper

Johnson Mr. William, The Fields

Kay Richard, basket maker

Longford Richard, postmaster

Lee Luke, schoolmaster

Maddocks Thomas, tailor

Minshall Rev. Samuel, Independent minister

Moore Thomas, blacksmith and farrier

Morray Thomas, shoemaker

Muller Mr. Charles, professor of music

Mumford Charles, gentleman

Paling John, butcher

Powell Joseph, farmer, Yew Tree

Powell Joseph, grocer and shopkeeper

Powell John, shoemaker, The Wood

Powell Mr. Thomas, The Villa

Powell Thomas, Manor House Farm

Powell William, bricklayer

Ray Thomas, vict., The Lion and Commercial Inn and posting house

Reaves John, shoemaker

Rightson Captain W.

Ruscoe John, Heath Gate Farm

Sandford Rev. H. R. P., curate

Shirley Captain John

Skitt Thomas, Lee Hall Farm

Spencer James, wheelwright

Stubbs Thomas, baker and confectioner

Whatmouth Miss Ann

Whitfield Mrs. Ann

Whitfield Miss Mary

Whitfield Mrs. Mary

Wilkinson Andrew, farmer, Prees

Wood Wilkinson Thomas, gentleman

Worrall Thomas, machineman & wheelwright

Vaughan Samuel, beerhouse

Academies.

Boarding School, The Hill Rev. Samuel Minshall, proprietor

National School, Luke Lee, boys; Mary Bayley, girls

Bakers & Flour Dealers.

Davies Charles, & confec.

Stubbs Thomas, & confec.

Basket & Bendware Maker.

Kay Richard

Blacksmiths.

Clay John

Moore Thomas, and farrier

Boot & Shoemakers.

Chester William

Morray Thos., & leather cutter

Powell John

Reeves John

Butchers.

Dickin John

Ebsey Robert

Paling John

Coopers.

Drury George

Drury William

Farmers.

Aldersea George Ora

Bather Richard, Lighteach Farm

Bather William

Boote Thomas

Dickin John, Prees Wood Farm

Drury Thos. College Farm

Drury William, and cooper

Dutton Joseph, Ferney Leys

Ebrey Robert

Holding Mrs. Mary, Cruck Moor

Hopwood Samuel

Johnson William

Powell Joseph

Powell Thomas

Ray Thomas

Skitt Thomas

Wilkinson Andrew

Wilkinson Thomas, The College Farm

Grocers & Tea Dealers.

Hares Messrs. Robert and Samuel

Holding John, hop & seed merchant

Ikin William

Powell Joseph

Hairdresser.

Boothroyd John

Hotels & Inns.

Dickin Elizabeth, The Well House

Ray Thomas, The Lion and Commercial Inn

Drury Thos., The College Inn

Beerhouses.

Churton Joseph

Vaughan Samuel

Steam and Horse Thrashing Machines to Let for Hire.

Drury Thomas

Carriers.

To SHREWSBURY, William Eccleston & John Handley, on Saturdays.

CALVERHALL, OR CORRA,

is a chapelry and scattered village three miles north-west from Prees, which in 1841 contained 33 houses and 151 inhabitants. The township contains 1,287A. 0R. 22P. of land, mostly an undulating district. The principal landowners are John Whitehall Dod, Esq., M.P.; Viscount Hill; Lord Kilmorey; Mrs. Dale; and Thomas Hugh Sandford, Esq. Viscount Hill is lord of the manor and impropriator of the rectoral tithes, which are commuted for £86. 18s. 9d. The vicarial tithes are commuted for £26. 7s. THE CHAPEL is a modern erection of beautiful workmanship, executed in freestone. The interior has a chaste and imposing appearance; the roof is of groined timber, and the seats are of oak; the windows are decorated with stained glass, and the altar-piece is of freestone of elaborate workmanship. A neat marble tablet remembers Elizabeth, the wife of the Rev. Edward Mainwaring, the present incumbent; another very beautifully designed, has been erected to the memory of Elizabeth, the wife of John W. Dod, Esq., M.P.; there is also a neat tablet to John Dod, Esq. The living is perpetual curacy, in the patronage of John W. Dod, Esq., and enjoyed by the Rev. Edward Mainwaring, who resides at the PARSONAGE, a modern brick residence, pleasantly situated and embosomed in foliage; it is beautified with pleasure grounds and shrubberies. THE ALMSHOUSES consist of eight tenements, and were founded and endowed by Catherine Kerr, in 1724; the inmates are widows or aged people, who have about £4. 10s. per annum.

THE HALL, the residence and property of John W. Dod, Esq., M.P., is a commodious brick mansion, stuccoed, with a front of hewn freestone, and a noble portico supported by six fluted pillars. It stands on a gentle eminence, and the views it commands are beautifully varied, picturesque, and extensive. The park grounds are richly clothed with timber, and the pleasure grounds and shrubberies are laid out with great taste. There are no remains of the ancient hall; it was surrounded by a moat, which still is filled with water, a neat bridge connecting the site on which it stood with the gardens. There is a school in the village, endowed with £20 per annum, free for all cottagers’ children. The teacher also receives £6 annually from subscriptions. JACK OF CORRA is a well-known liquor vessel, composed of leather, which has received the patronage of successive generations in this locality, and is interesting as a relic of the hospitality of by-gone days. It is stated that a person of the name of Corra or Kerr charged lands with the payment of £10 annually, and directed that any wayfaring traveller should call and refresh himself with the Jack filled with good malt liquor, on the payment of one penny. The bottom and the top of the vessel are encircled with a broad rim of silver, upon which is engraved, “_From time immemorial_: _Jack of Corra is my name_, _don’t abuse me then for shame_.” This chapelry comprises Corra, with Willaston and Millen Heath.

POST OFFICE.—_At Mr. James Jenkins’_. Letters arrive by foot post from Whitchurch, at 9.30 A.M., and are despatched at 4 P.M.

Dod John Whitehall, Esq., M.P., The Hall

Dod John Whitehall, Esq., jun.

Mainwaring Rev. Edward, M.A., The Parsonage

Beeteley George, farmer

Beeteley John, farmer & vict. Jack of Corra

Court William, postman

Growcott Francis, farmer

Growcott Francis, jun., farmer

Jenkins James, schoolmaster

Newell James, gentleman

Newnes John, farmer

Mac Cload John, gardener

Morris Charles, blacksmith

Overton William, farmer

Owens Owen, farmer

Perry Robert, butcher

Reeves Josiah, farmer

Snipes Robert, coachman

DARLISTON

is a township and well-built village, five miles and a quarter N.E. from Wem, which in 1841 had 53 houses and 278 inhabitants. The township contains 714A. 3R. 23P. of land, the soil of which is a mixture of sand and loam. There are several extensive farms here, with commodious out-buildings. Viscount Hill is lord of the manor, and owner of the whole township. The rectoral tithes are commuted for £85. 15s. 3d., and the vicarial for £19. 15s. The township is intersected by the London and Chester and the Whitchurch and Drayton turnpike roads. There is a school at Lower Heath, in this township, supported by Viscount and Lady Hill. About 200 children attend for instruction, and are also partly clothed. The teacher has a fixed salary, and resides in a good residence adjoining the school. There is a noted coursing meeting held annually at the White Lion Inn.

Adams Abraham, tailor

Adams Thomas, farmer

Adams William, farmer

Dickin Joseph, farmer, and dispenser of medicine

Dickin William, farmer and butcher

Dickin John, butcher

Goffin Robert, schoolmaster

Hartley Timothy, gentleman

Machon William, blacksmith, and collector of tolls

Morris George, farmer

Powell John, shopkeeper and wheelwright

Ruscoe John, farmer, Heath-gate

Shingler Thomas, tailor

Sutton John, shoemaker

Titley Jacob, wheelwright

Watkins John, victualler, White Lion

FAULS,

a township with a scattered population, contains 886A. 0R. 34P. of land, and at the census of 1841 had 22 houses and 102 inhabitants. The soil is mostly a strong clay. Viscount Hill is lord of the manor, impropriator, and principal landowner. Mr. Thomas Ruscoe is also a proprietor. The rectoral tithes are commuted for £116. 15s., and the vicarial tithes payable to the incumbent of Prees for £25. 1s. 3d. The turnpike road to Drayton crosses this township.

DIRECTORY.—Richard Benbow, farmer; Abraham Ford, farmer, Northwood; Wm. Hares, farmer, Fauls Green; Thomas Hatton, farmer and collector of revenue taxes; William Hudson, farmer, Northwood; George Oakley, gamekeeper, The Green; Elizabeth Powell, farmer; Thomas Ruscoe, farmer and victualler, The Talbot; George Williams, brick and tile agent; Thomas Williams, brick and tile agent.

MICKLEY,

a small township in the parish of Prees, in 1841 had four houses and a population of 36 souls. The township contains 575A. 2R. 36P. of land, chiefly the property of Viscount Hill. Rateable value, £744. 7s. The tithes were commuted in 1841, when £72. 9s. were apportioned to Viscount Hill, and £16. 0s. 4d. to the Vicar of Prees. The farmers are Martha Churton, Richard Edgerley, George Robinson, and Thomas Ash Wilkinson.

MILLEN HEATH,

a township with only one house and ten residents, contains 359A. 3R. 17P. of land, which is the property of Lord Kilmorey. Rateable value, £268. 10s. The tithes have been commuted, and £33. 3s. 2d. apportioned to Viscount Hill, and £9. 6s. 3d. to the Vicar of Prees. Mr. Thomas Hares is the resident farmer.

SANDFORD,

a township with a scattered population, five miles and a half N.E. from Wem, contains 1,213A. 3R. 21P. of land. The soil is a mixture of sand and loam, with a portion of clay. The land is chiefly used for grazing purposes; and there is a considerable extent covered with woods and plantations. The tithes were commuted in 1841, when £151. 13s. 1d. was apportioned to Viscount Hill, and £36. 5s. to the Vicar of Prees. At the census of 1841 there were nine houses and 76 inhabitants. The rateable value of this township, with that of Darliston and Fauls, is £4,354. 3s. Thomas Hugh Sandford, Esq., is the principal landowner. Mr. Thomas Ebrey is also a proprietor.

DIRECTORY.—Sarah Bather, farmer; John Fox, farmer; Robert Garmstone, wheelwright and victualler, The Mill House; Ann Hales, farmer; Mary Humphreys, farmer; William Rogers, blacksmith; Thomas Steventon, farmer and corn miller; Joseph Woolrich, farmer, Morton Wood; Stephen Worthen, farmer.

STEELE,

a township in the parish of Prees, at the census of 1841 had 12 houses and a population of 65 souls. The township contains 436A. 3R. 36P. of land. Viscount Hill is the impropriator and the principal landowner. The rectoral tithes are commuted for £54. 12s. 6d., and the vicarial for £13. 14s. 6d. The principal residents in Steele are John Bradshaw, shopkeeper, The Heath; John Heatley, glazier; Ann Hodgskin, farmer; Thomas Hodgskin, farmer; Daniel Holding, tailor; Richard Holding, farmer; Joseph Hussey, farmer.

WHIXALL

is a township, chapelry, and populous village, in the parish of Prees, four miles N. from Wem, which at the census in 1841 contained 211 houses and 978 inhabitants. The township comprises 3,361A. 1R. 32P. of land. Interspersed with gentle undulations, there is some good meadow and pasture land, which produces a fine herbage, and cheese is made to a considerable extent. The houses are chiefly cottage residences, with a small portion of land to each, and the residents are in many instances freeholders. The houses are built of brick, and slated, and have a comfortable appearance. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in cutting the moss, which they dry, and then take it to distant parts of the country for sale. The moss, usually called WHIXALL MOSS, covers a surface of upwards of 5,000 acres, and extends into the several townships of Northwood, Whixall, Bettisfield, and Fenswood. It is cut to a depth of from sixteen to thirty feet, and in some instances to a greater depth. The moss is mostly submerged in water. A company of gentlemen have recently taken a lease for a term of years of a considerable tract of the moss, and are about to erect works for converting this hitherto comparatively useless commodity into articles of appliance for useful purposes. It is said to be superior to the Irish moss for some particular uses. Sir John Hanmer is the owner of about two-thirds of the moss; the other principal landowners are Lord Kenyon, W. P. Poole, Esq., James Foster, Esq., John C. Coham, Esq., John Bowen, Esq., Mr. George Hutchinson, Mr. John Phillips, Mr. John Keay, William F. Dickin, Esq., Mr. William Furber, Rev. John Evans, Mrs. Weaver, Mr. William Cartwright, Mr. Thomas Clay, John Taylor, Esq., Robert Salmon, Esq., Mr. Thomas Jones, Mrs. Hazledine, Mr. Thomas Salt, A. Duff, Esq., Mr. Benjamin Sandbrook, Mr. Jarvis, Rev. R. Young, Mrs. Cooper, Joshua Lee, Esq., Mr. James Rodenhurst, Mr. Thomas Sadler, Mr. William Whitfield, Mr. John Whitfield; besides whom there are many smaller proprietors.

THE CHURCH is a plain unpresuming edifice of brick, erected in the form of a cross, and has the date of 1640 upon it. It was enlarged and beautified in 1826, when 155 free sittings were added. The living is a perpetual curacy, valued at £107, subordinate to the vicarage of Prees, and enjoyed by the Rev. John Evans, M.A., whose income arises from certain lands, £5 yearly from the Lord of the Manor, and £4 per annum from the Vicar of Prees. THE PARSONAGE is a pleasantly situated residence near the church. THE NATIONAL SCHOOL, a commodious structure, with a residence for the teacher, was built during the years 1848 and 1849. The cost of the structure was £655. 13s. 6d., of which the Committee of Council on Education gave £100, and £50 towards the master’s residence; the National Society £50; the Diocesan Society £40, and £10 for fittings; and the sum of £405. 18s. 6d. was raised by subscriptions and donations, of which £276. 18s. 6d. was given by the Incumbent of Whixall. About 100 children attend the school. THE INDEPENDENTS have a neat chapel here, which is numerously attended. THE PRIMITIVE METHODISTS have also a small chapel here. The Llanymynech, Ellesmere, Whitchurch, and Quina Brook canals intersect the township. WHIXALL HALL and BOSTOCK HALL are two ancient residences, now occupied as farm houses. James Foster, Esq., is lord of the manor, and holds a court leet and baron. The poor have a yearly sum of 5s., the gift of Mr. Minshull, which is paid out of land in the parish of Wem.

Brookes Thomas, blacksmith

Butler Richard, shoemaker

Callcott Samuel, farmer

Cureton William, shopkeeper

Dawson Thomas, farmer

Eales James, schoolmaster

Evans Rev. John, M.A., incumbent of Whixall, and domestic chaplain to Viscount Combermere, The Parsonage

Forrester Arthur, farmer

Furber Widow, farmer

Furber William, Well Farm

Green James, tailor

Green Joseph, shopkeeper

Hales Walter, The Hall Farm

Hall Richard, beerhouse

Hall William, shopkeeper

Heath Elizabeth, farmer

Heath John, joiner and upholsterer

Hinton Henry, farmer

Hinton John, farmer and butcher

Hughes George, blacksmith

Hunley John, farmer

Jarvis Widow, farmer

Jarvis William, farmer and beerhouse

Jones Richard, Bostock Hall Farm

Jones Samuel, farmer

Jones William, farmer

Keay John, vict., Chapel House, cattle dealer and farmer

Newbrook Richard, shopkeeper & shoemaker

Newbrook Samuel, farmer

Newbrook Thomas, farmer

Newbrook Thomas, shopkeeper

Newbrook William, wheelwright

Parsons William, farmer

Pitt William, shopkeeper and farmer

Poole William Price, maltster and farmer

Powell Samuel, farmer

Powell Thomas, shopkeeper, Waterloo

Powell Thomas, farmer

Powell Widow, shopkeeper

Powell William, farmer

Preston Ellis, farmer

Reeves William, blacksmith

Roberts John, brick and tile manufacturer

Rodenherst Mr. James

Shaw Edward, shoemaker

Shingler Thomas, farmer and corn miller

Sparkes John, farmer

Vardy James, Esq.

Vardy and Co., The Betisfield Moss Works

Walters Sarah, Manor House Farm

Weever William, tailor

Whitfield Frederick, farmer

Williams Henry, farmer

Williams William, farmer

Woolham Thomas, jailor

William Price Poole, coal, lime, slate, and brick dealer, Whixall Wharf

WILLASTON,

a small township in the parish of Prees, contains 767 acres of land, and in 1841 had 18 houses and 101 inhabitants. The soil in some parts is clayey, and in other places it is a mixture of sand and loam. Viscount Hill and John Whitehall Dod, Esq., are the landowners, the former is also the impropriator, and receives the large tithes, which are commuted for £109. 18s. 6d. The vicarial tithes are commuted for £21. 8s. 4d.

The principal residents are John Hussey, farmer, Cloverley; Robert Wilkinson, farmer, The Lawn; James Simons, farmer, and James Simon, jun., farmer.

SHAWBURY

is an extensive parish comprehending the townships of Acton Reynold, Besford, Edgebolton, Muckleton, Shawbury, Wytheford Magna, and Wytheford Parva, which together have an area of 7,222 acres of land, of which 600 acres are in woods and plantations. Rateable value, £8,486. 1s. Rent charge, £838. This parish, although chiefly in the North Bradford hundred, extends into the Shrewsbury liberty, and the hundred of Pimhill. In 1801 the parish had a population of 948 souls; 1831, 915, and in 1841 there were 212 inhabited houses and 1062 inhabitants. The soil, to a considerable extent, is a mixture of loam and sand, in other places a strong soil mixed with gravel prevails. The land has generally an undulating surface, and on the northern verge there are considerable eminences, in which is found a red grit stone. Shawbury is a delightfully situated village, containing some good residences on the Shrewsbury, Market Drayton, Wem, and Whitchurch turnpike roads, six miles S.S. by E. from Wem, and seven miles N.E. by N. from Shrewsbury. In the centre of the village there is a commodious hotel and family boarding house occupied by Mr. Welling, which is much frequented during the summer months by respectable families. The township contains 1,605A. 0R. 37P. of land, and in 1841 there were 55 houses and 279 inhabitants. Rateable value, £1,854. 16s. Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet, Bart., is lord of the manor and principal land owner; Rev. W. S. Marvin and Mr. Samuel Winnall are also owners.