Part 72

THE CHURCH is a small unpresuming structure, dedicated to Saint Michael, consisting of nave and chancel, with a small belfry at the west end; the interior of the fabric corresponds with its architectural simplicity. A brass plate in the aisle remembers the Reverend William Jones, formerly rector of this parish for 62 years, and died in the year 1691, aged 82 years. The living is a rectory valued in the king’s book at £3. 17s. 3½d., now returned at £204, in the patronage of the Lord Chancellor, and incumbency of the Rev. Richard Corfield, a non-resident; curate, Rev. Sidney Philip Robertson, B.A. The rectory is a good residence a little west from the church. THE HALL, the residence and property of Miss Ann Dickin, is a neat brick house a little north-west from the church. About a quarter of a mile north-west from the church is a large brick structure, originally built as a workhouse for Ercall Magna parish. It is now used for the reception of the children belonging the Wellington Poor-law Union, and will accommodate about one hundred; the average number is about fifty. The building stands on the banks of the river Tern, and is just within the bounds of the parish of Ercall, the river here dividing the two parishes.

Bennett Thomas, shoemaker

Davies John, schoolmaster, Union House

Dickin Miss Ann, the Hall

Edwards Rd., wheelwright

Gregory James, tailor

Groucock Elizabeth, farmer

Icke William, maltster and vict., the Swan

Leighton Robert, farmer

Matthews William, farmer

Morgan John, surgeon

Ridgway James, blacksmith

Roberson Rev. Sidney Philip, curate, the Rectory

Titley John, butcher

Tudor Samuel, bricklayer and shopkeeper

Whitfield Thomas, farmer

WELLINGTON

is a considerable parish and flourishing market town, pleasantly situated eleven miles E. from Shrewsbury, and 142 N.W. from London, and by railway 11 miles from Shrewsbury, 7½ miles S.W. from Newport, 31 miles from Birmingham, and seven miles W. by N. from Shiffnal. The parish contains the townships and hamlets of Arleston, Aston, Apley, Dothill, Hadley, Horton, Ketley, Lawley, Newdale, Walcott, Wellington, Wapenshall, and Lee Gomery, and part of Preston and Eyton, together embracing an area of 9,184A. 1R. 7P. of land. Gross estimated rental, £36,120. 19s. 3d. Rateable value, £32,656. 7s. 7d. The joint railway companies are rated at £776. 18s. The tithes have been commuted, and £1,484 awarded to St. John Chiverton Charlton, Esq., the impropriator, and to the vicar, £470. 6s. Population in 1801, 7,531; 1831, 9,671; and in 1841, 11,099. The township of Wellington contains 727A. 1R. 16P. of land; and in 1841 had a population of 6,084 souls, of whom 3,104 were males and 2,980 females; at the same period there were 1,181 inhabited houses, 101 uninhabited, and 18 houses building. Wellington is a well-built town, of considerable importance, and from its contiguity to the great seat of the iron and coal works in this county, it has a much frequented market. It is also the centre of a rich agricultural district, has ample communication by railway to all parts of the kingdom, and the Shropshire Union Canal, in its immediate vicinity, opens a water communication with the Severn and distant parts of the country. The town contains many good houses, with shops in all the different branches of the retail trade; there are also several good inns. The malting business is extensively carried on; the establishment of Mr. James Shepard is on a large scale. There are also an iron foundry, a tannery, and several establishments for the manufacture of nails; agricultural implements are also made. Hugh Burnel, in the reign of Edward I., obtained the grant of a market (to be held on Thursdays), and of two fairs in the year—the first to be held on the day after the feast of St. Barnabas, and the second on the eve, the day, and the day after the decollation of St. John the Baptist. The market is still held on the Thursday, and the fairs are held March 29th, June 22nd, September 29th, November 17th, Monday week before Christmas day, and the last Monday in each of the other months. At these fairs large quantities of farm and dairy produce, as also horses, horned cattle, and sheep, are usually sold. The magistrates of the county hold petty sessions monthly. William and Thomas Turner, Esqrs., are clerks to the magistrates. A Court of Record was formerly held for debts not exceeding £20, but this has been superseded by the New County Court Act. The lord of the manor holds a Court Leet annually in November, at which officers are appointed for the government of the town, and constables for the different townships within this division of the hundred.

THE CHURCH, dedicated to All Saints, a commodious and elegant structure of freestone, was erected, M,DCCXC., and consists of nave, side aisles, and bay, with a square tower crowned with a dome, gilt cross, and vane. The galleries are supported by cast-iron pillars. At the west end is a handsome and fine-toned organ, and over the bay is a glory. The roof is lofty, and the whole has a very beautiful and chaste appearance. At the east end of the south aisle is an elegant marble memorial, executed by Hollins, in memory of Martha Elizabeth Oliver, who died June 20th, aged 26 years. Another marble monument remembers Richard Emery, Esq., who died April 13th, 1839, aged 65 years, and several other members of that family. The interior of the church was painted, and the gas-fittings added, in the year 1847, chiefly at the expense of the vicar and St. John C. Charlton, Esq.; the cost was upwards of £300. In the tower of the church is a peal of six musical bells. The church is surrounded with a large burial ground, which, with the site of the church, contains upwards of three acres. It contains numerous tombs, some of which are of elaborate workmanship, and have been erected in memory of some of the principal families of the parish. The church formerly belonged to the abbey of Shrewsbury. The living is a vicarage annexed to the rectory of Eyton, valued in the king’s book at £9. 5s., in the patronage of Thomas Eyton, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Benjamin Banning, M.A., who resides at THE VICARAGE, a spacious and handsome residence, about a quarter of a mile south from the church. The house commands a fine view of the Wrekin, and is surrounded with pleasure grounds and shrubberies. In the 15th of Henry VI. the guild of the Holy Trinity and of the Virgin Mary in the church of All Saints, in Wellington, obtained a pardon from the king, for having acquired twenty messuages, ten acres of heath, and six acres of meadow in Wellington, without license.

THE NEW CHURCH is dedicated to our Saviour, and is pleasantly situated on elevated ground, at the southern outskirts of the town. It was built by subscription and grants from the church building societies, at a cost of £3,600. The structure is of white brick, with a lofty square tower, ornamented with four crocketted pinnacles. The interior consists of nave and side aisles, with spacious galleries. Over the side aisles and at the west end, upon the latter, is a small organ, erected at a cost of £170. On each side of the church are seven narrow windows, in the lancet style. The roof is of groined timber, and the pews are painted in imitation of oak, which gives the whole a neat and light appearance. There are 1,144 sittings: of which 744 are declared free and unappropriated for ever. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Wellington: incumbent, Rev. Charles Campe. The church is surrounded with a spacious cemetery; and on the west side is the Parsonage House—a neat brick structure, erected shortly after the Church was built.

THE PARTICULAR BAPTIST CHAPEL, situated in King-street, is a neat brick structure, which will accommodate about 500 hearers. It was built in 1828, on the site of a former edifice, that had been erected about half a century. The Rev. William Keay has been the pastor of the congregation worshipping here for the last 30 years. The Rev. Henry Gabriel Granger has recently been appointed to assist Mr. Keay in the pastorate. A small burial ground adjoins the chapel.

THE WESLEYAN METHODIST CHAPEL is a lofty brick fabric, situate in New street, and was built in 1836. It has galleries on three sides, and is capable of holding five hundred worshippers. A small organ was added in 1851, at a cost of £80. The Old Methodist Chapel, which stood in Chapel Lane, has been taken down. THE PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL, situate near the Tan Bank, was built in 1837.

THE CATHOLIC CHAPEL, a plain brick structure, has been built about fifteen years. It has a gallery at the end, and will hold about 400 persons. A painting of our Saviour is placed over the altar. There is no resident priest in Wellington at the present time, but the Rev. William Molloy, of Madeley, officiates at stated periods.

THE INDEPENDENT CHAPEL is a good brick structure, situate on the Tan Bank. The congregation worshipping here have no settled minister at the present time.

THE NATIONAL SCHOOL is a spacious brick building on the north side of the churchyard. It is supported by voluntary subscriptions, charity sermons, and a small weekly charge from each scholar. One hundred and sixty-eight boys, and one hundred and twenty girls attend. The teacher receives £4. 0s. 10d. from the receiver of the Crown rents.

THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL, situate at the back of the catholic chapel, on Mill Bank, is also supported by subscriptions and a small charge from each scholar. THE SAVINGS’ BANK, situate in Walker street, was established in 1818. On November 20th, 1850, the capital stock of the bank amounted to £27,623, at which period there were 692 depositors. Mr. Thomas Turner is the actuary.

THE COUNTY COURT OFFICE is situate near the Market Hall. All pleas of personal action, where the debt or damage claimed is not more than £50, may be heard and determined by the County Court. The jurisdiction of the Wellington Court embraces the parishes of Bolas Magna, Ercall Magna, Eyton, Kinnersley, Longdon, Preston, Rodington, Waters Upton, Wellington, Wombridge, and Wrockwardine. _Judge_: Uvedale Corbett, Esq., Aston Hall, near Shiffnal. _Clerk_: Frederick Buckle, Esq., New street, Wellington.

THE MARKET HALL is a brick building, stuccoed, and situated a little back from the Market-square. A spacious room, measuring sixty feet by twenty feet, is used for magisterial purposes, public meetings, assemblies, musical concerts, &c. Under it is an open area, provided with benches, where the butter market is held. The hall was built by a company of shareholders, established in 1842, with a capital stock of £5,000, of which £2,000 was raised by the shareholders, and the rest was borrowed on a mortgage of the premises. The company have purchased the tolls of the market for the sum of £700 from the lord of the manor; and they are now held on lease by Mr. John Sandals, at a yearly rental of £140.

THE UNION HOUSE, a plain brick building, situate in Walker street, is capable of holding one hundred and sixty inmates. From the report for the half year, ending March 25, 1850, we learn that the total expenditure was £4,028. 19s. 1½d: the number of out-paupers for that period was 2,033, and of in-door paupers 184: the average weekly cost per head of the latter was 2s. 11d. The Union embraces the parishes of Bolas Magna, Ercall Magna, Eyton-on-the-Wild Moors, Kinnersley, Longdon-upon-Tern, Preston-on-the Wild Moors, Rodington, Waters Upton, Wellington, Wombridge, and Wrockwardine, for which nineteen guardians are chosen, to whom John Whitfield, Esq. is chairman. The medical officers are, Charles Harwood Greene, Robert Plowden Weston, and John Francis Steedman. _Relieving Officers_: Edward Vickers, Ketley; and George Marcy, Watling street. _Master and Matron_: Mr. and Mrs. Lewis. The Old Workhouse is situated about a mile and a half south-west from the town, and is now converted into cottages.

THE WELLINGTON MECHANICS’ INSTITUTE, situated in New street, has been established with the object of affording tradesmen, mechanics, and others, opportunities of acquiring, at their leisure hours, the principles of science and the arts, and for the cultivation of literature. Persons subscribing ten shillings per annum are entitled to all the privileges of the institution; and persons under eighteen years of age subscribing five shillings a-year, are deemed students of the society. There is a good library of about eight hundred volumes, which have been chiefly contributed by a few gentlemen. A news-room has been established, which is furnished with some of the most popular periodicals, and the principal London and provincial journals; lectures are also occasionally given on interesting and useful scientific subjects. There are now about seventy members. The institution has the patronage and support of the principal gentry and clergy in the neighbourhood. Mr. John Haynes and Mr. William M. Taylor are the honorary secretaries.

THE NEWS-ROOM.—The news-room was established in 1846, by a number of gentlemen and tradesmen of the town. It is held at Mr. Edwards’s, in the Market square, and is supported by annual subscriptions of 21s. There is also a billiard-room for the use of the subscribers. There are forty-five members.

THE GAS WORKS.—The Gas Works are situated upon the Tanbank, and were established in 1823, by Mr. William Edwards. In consequence of some dispute with reference to lighting the streets, an Act of Parliament has been obtained during the present year (1851) for the establishment of a joint stock company, to be called “_The Wellington Coal and Gas-light Company_.” The company will have a capital of £3,000, raised in three hundred shares of £10 each. The site chosen for the erection of the necessary works is the garden-ground lying between the top of Tanbank and the Wrekin road. Estimated cost of the works, £2,000. R. D. Newell, Esq., is the solicitor and secretary.

THE WATER WORKS.—The Wellington Water Works were provisionally registered in 1851, under 7 and 8 Vic. c. 110. The imperfect supply of water, both as respects quantity and quality, has long been felt in the town of Wellington; and it is to remedy this defect in the condition of the town, as well as to afford other supplies which local interest may require, that the company has been established. It is a well ascertained fact that many of the houses, particularly those where water is most needed, are so ill supplied, that the occupants are obliged, throughout the year, to procure it from a distance, at a considerable cost in both time and money; or, in many instances, especially among the poor, to be content with a supply totally inadequate to the ordinary necessaries of life. It is proposed to raise the requisite supplies from the Ercall Pools, which afford every natural facility for conveying water to any part of the town, without materially interfering with private interests. The water is free from deleterious matter, and considered excellent for culinary and household purposes. It is proposed to have a capital stock of £3,000, to be raised in three hundred ten pound shares. F. Buckle, Esq., is the solicitor to the company.

THE COUNTY CONSTABULARY OFFICE is situated in Walker street, Mr. John M’Michael is the superintendent, under whose directions are twelve police constables. There is a small lock-up on the north-west side of the church-yard.

THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY was established in 1850, and is supported by the principal gentlemen in the town and neighbourhood. The exhibitions are held in the Market Hall.

THE OLD HALL, an ancient structure mantled with ivy, situated on the Watling street road, is the property of Lord Forester, the lord of the manor. One of the rooms is wainscotted with oak, which remains in good preservation. The hall is now converted into a boarding-school establishment, conducted by Joseph Edward Cranage. A road which runs past the Old Hall leads to a few scattered cottages and some extensive lime-works, called Steeraway, which is about a mile and a half south from the town.

It was in Wellington and the vicinity that Charles I. mustered his forces, and, after issuing orders for the maintenance of strict discipline, made a solemn protestation that he would defend the established religion, govern by law, and preserve the liberty of his subjects, and that if he conquered he would uphold the privileges of parliament. It is to be lamented that he should have found it necessary to make a protestation of his adherence to the duties of an English monarch; had he earlier practised them, he would have avoided the contentions between himself and his parliament. The celebrated Dr. Withering, author of the “Botanical Arrangements of British Plants,” was born at Wellington, in the year 1741. His father was a physician, and the family had resided during many generations on a small patrimony in this county. Dr. Withering in his early years seems to have received a good classical education; and in the autumn of 1762 he was matriculated at the University of Edinburgh, where he distinguished himself by pursuing his studies with the greatest diligence and attention. Whilst he was unwearied in the pursuit of academic learning, as well as in all those branches of knowledge which belong more immediately to the medical profession for which he was intended, he did not neglect the cultivation of the lighter and more elegant accomplishments. In the year 1766, Dr. Withering finished his academical studies with great credit to himself, and obtained the degree of Doctor of Physic. He first settled at Stafford, and here he attended the accomplished lady who became the partner of his future life; and it is not improbable that this attachment produced that botanical turn which has since rendered his name so conspicuous in this department of science. She drew beautifully; and he appears to have gathered wild plants as subjects for her pencil. This soon became a favourite pursuit; and possessing at this time a good deal of leisure, he collected specimens for that herbarium which he afterwards rendered so complete. Dr. Withering removed to Birmingham in the year 1775, and notwithstanding the time he continued to devote to chemistry and botany, he soon realised £1,000 per annum by his professional labours. During the following summer he presented the public with the first edition of his English Botany, a work which claims the attention of every botanical student; and is, perhaps, exceeded by none for the facility it offers to the inquirer, and for the copiousness and correctness of its selection. His philosophical attention extended to chemistry, mineralogy, and every branch of natural philosophy connected with his profession occupied him in succession. In the year 1791, in the month of July, he and his family suffered much alarm and some injury in the riot at Birmingham. He died in 1799. Before his death, he directed no ostentatious display to be made at his funeral, and ordered his body to be carried to church by six honest peasants. Dr. Withering, besides his Botanical Arrangement of British Plants, gave to the world several medical works.

THE WREKIN, situated about two miles S. from Wellington, is said to be the highest hill in Europe for the circumference of its base. This proud monarch of the plain rises to the altitude of 1,320 feet, and being in the heart of Shropshire forms a conspicuous feature in the landscape from all parts of the surrounding country. The distance is about a mile from the London road to the summit of the hill; about half way up the ascent is a neat cottage, where numerous parties, after luxuriating in the enjoyment of prospects of unparalleled magnificence, assemble for social repast. This huge mountain is covered with thriving plantations, but the trees as they gradually ascend towards the summit appear of more stunted growth. From the cottage a broad pathway covered with rich verdure leads to the summit, from which seventeen counties can be seen; in every direction the most extensive, varied, and magnificent prospects open to view. The Wrekin is regarded by the residents in Shropshire as the centre towards which the best wishes and affections of the heart converge in that well known convivial sentiment, unchanged by time and never out of place, “_All Friends Round the Wrekin_.” The Rev. Richard Corfield thus beautifully describes the scenery around the lofty mount:—

“The summit gained, the weary toil’s repaid, By prospects varied—mountain, wood, and glade; O’er Salop’s plains with beauteous verdure drest, The Cambrian mountains stretch along the west. Turn to the north and Hawkstone’s hill you see, With Cheshire prospects reaching to the Dee; When to the east you lend th’ admiring gaze, The barren Peak your startled thoughts amaze; More eastward still you ken in distant view Edge Hill, where Charles his faithful followers drew. This fairy circle let us onward trace O’er Brecon’s beacons, Radnor’s forest chase, And as the outline may be further known, So past its limits may our love be shown— Love to our country and to all held dear By ties of kindred, friendship’s off’ring bear— Love to our country, and _to all friends round_ _The Wrekin’s_ circle may our love resound— Such wishes these all Shropshire hearts inspire, In social converse round the winter’s fire.”

WATLING STREET is a populous hamlet forming the eastern suburb to the town of Wellington, from which it is distant about half a mile. It is called Watling street from being situated on the great Prœtorian highway of the Romans, which enters this county at Boningale, and terminates in the county of Cardigan. It is now the Shrewsbury and Birmingham highway, and before the establishment of railways was a road of immense traffic. There are several respectable houses and a good inn and posting house. The names of the principal residents will be found incorporated in the Wellington directory. At the census of 1841 there were 66 houses and 299 inhabitants. Acres, 1,096A. 0R. 31P. of land. Rateable value, 2,194. 4s. The rectoral tithes are commuted for £125. 3s., and the vicarial for £29. 5s.

CHARITIES.—ALMSHOUSES.—There are on the north side of the church-yard six small tenements erected at the expense of the parish about the year 1790, in lieu of some almshouses in the old church-yard which were then pulled down. The old almshouses appear to have had no endowment, and were occupied by parish paupers, and the present are occupied in the same manner, the inmates being selected by the vicar and church-wardens. Three of the inmates have 1s. 6d. per week, and the other three receive 2s. weekly. There are also four or five small tenements called almshouses opposite the pound, supposed to have been built about a century ago by a person of the name of Ick, or some person related to that family. There is no endowment to them, and the persons residing in them when the charity commissioners published their report claimed them as their own.

_Richard Stevington_, by will, bearing date 23rd March, 1658, devised a rent charge of £10 per annum to certain trustees for the use of the poor of the parish of Wellington, to be paid out of certain land called the Bury Yards. These lands are situate near the town of Wellington, and consist of two fields, one of which was sold by Lord Forester about thirty years ago. The other is still held by his lordship, and his agent pays the sum of £10 annually, which is laid out in cloth coats for poor men, and warm gowns for poor women.