Source: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/salop/vol10/pp9-22
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 12:09:25+00:00

Document:
Acton Scott parish (1,934 a., 783 ha.) (fn. 1) is a long, roughly rectangular tract of countryside running down from the south-facing slopes below Ragleth Hill across Ape Dale and rising up again to the crest of Wenlock Edge, which makes the south-eastern boundary of the parish. The parish has always been entirely rural and, despite the proximity of the county's main north-south route through the Stretton gap, fairly isolated and lightly populated. None of its three settlements, Acton Scott, Alcaston, and Henley, was ever more than a small village or hamlet.
Quinny or Marsh brook marks the central part of the parish's north-western boundary where the land falls steeply down from Castle Hill to the Stretton gap, drained by the brook. The southern part of the parish's north-eastern boundary is defined by Mar or Marsh (fn. 2) brook. Both brooks were mentioned in 1695 when the bounds of Acton Scott manor, occupying the north-western two thirds of the parish, were recorded. (fn. 3) The manor is drained by their tributaries, descending north-east and south-west from a central watershed. The south-eastern third of the parish, beneath the escarpment of Wenlock Edge, comprised Alcaston manor. The stream running along the foot of the Edge is there known as Byne brook, (fn. 4) and Alcaston drains south-eastwards into it.
Neither manor was populous in 1086, with four recorded inhabitants at Acton and seven at Alcaston. (fn. 29) Alcaston may have been no larger in 1327 when three paid the subsidy. Six paid in 1327 from Acton Scott manor, (fn. 30) including Robert de la Wode who, like John de quercubus (fl. 1287), (fn. 31) perhaps lived in the Oakwood area. (fn. 32) Twenty-five men were mustered from Acton Scott in 1542 and 9 from Alcaston. (fn. 33) In 1676 there were 72 adults in the parish. (fn. 34) Four years earlier hearth tax had been paid for only 3 houses at Alcaston but for 15 at Acton Scott, where 8 were single-hearth houses, (fn. 35) several of them presumably squatter cottages in Oakwood, where a cottage had been licensed in 1667. (fn. 36) In the earlier 18th century the Oakwood cottages were probably known collectively as Woodhouses, (fn. 37) perhaps from Acton Woodhouse (mentioned in the 16th and 17th centuries), (fn. 38) a name later disused.
Ealdraed (Eldred) held Acton of the earl of Shrewsbury in 1086. (fn. 66) Brother of the rich thegn Siward and so second cousin of Edric the wild, Ealdraed had held three Shropshire manors in 1066; he retained none of them in 1086 (fn. 67) but besides Acton he held two manors, Smethcott and part of Aldon (in Stokesay), whose histories (fn. 68) throw light on Acton Scott's. Ealdraed's tenure of Acton may not have lapsed, (fn. 69) for its continuance seems the best explanation of the common elements in the 13th-century histories of the three manors, which had long been held of different lords. Ealdraed's part of Aldon was held of the Lacys by 1086, (fn. 70) Smethcott of the honor of Montgomery formed by Henry I. (fn. 71) Three sisters inherited thirds of the three manors in King John's reign and their father, dead by 1203, was William Leyngleys (the Englishman), (fn. 72) likely to have been Ealdraed's descendant.
The sisters were Christine, Maud, and Margery. (fn. 73) The shares of Christine and Maud in Acton manor were subdivided into sixths, probably by 1255 when four coparceners (probably representing five) were mentioned. (fn. 74) Christine's share of Acton may have passed by 1240, like her share of Aldon, to Roger le Poer, her son by her first husband, John le Poer. If so, by 1252 Roger's share of Acton may have passed (as his share of Smethcott did) to Roger Pichard. (fn. 75) Sir Roger Pichard (fl. 1278), of Staunton on Wye (Herefs.), (fn. 76) probably relinquished his interest in Acton before 1255. The owners of his share of Acton were then evidently Walter le Secular, husband of Christine's granddaughter Cecily, and Cecily's sister Joan. (fn. 77) Cecily and Joan were the daughters of Roger, (fn. 78) either Roger le Poer or Roger Pichard.
Soon after c. 1284 Cecily, as widow of Walter (fl. 1277), subinfeudated her share of Acton to John, son of Richard of Hatton, and John sold it to Alice, daughter of Hugh of Newton, inducted as rector of Acton Scott in 1278. (fn. 79) That share cannot be separately identified with later shares but is likely to have been one of those which Roger and Catherine Devereux and William of Ludlow may be presumed (from their interests in the advowson) to have held in 1305. (fn. 80) From William, son of the great wool merchant Lawrence, his share seems to have descended with Stokesay to his son Sir Lawrence, owner in the later 1340s, (fn. 81) to Sir Lawrence's descendant William Ludlow, one of three coparceners in the manor in 1428, (fn. 82) and to Maurice Ludlow, owner of the share in 1497; (fn. 83) nothing more is known of it.
Stackhouse's widow (fn. 136) owned Acton Scott until her death in 1834. (fn. 137) The next lord was their younger son Thomas Pendarves Stackhouse who assumed the additional name of Acton in 1834 and died without surviving issue in 1835. (fn. 138) T. P. Stackhouse Acton had lived at the Hall and in effect been the resident squire since 1807. A life interest in the Hall was left to his widow Frances (d. 1881), a writer on local history and archaeology, (fn. 139) but he was succeeded in the estate by his elder brother Edward William (fn. 140) (d. 1853), who had assumed the names Wynne-Pendarves in 1815. Perhaps after the expiry of an interest in the manor belonging to Wynne-Pendarves's sister Mrs. Holt (fn. 141) (d. 1873) his heir and greatnephew Augustus Wood came into the estate, assuming the additional name of Acton in 1874.
Augustus Wood Acton, honorary chief constable of Shropshire during the First World War, (fn. 142) died in 1918 and was succeeded by his daughter Joyce Stackhouse who, in 1923, married R. C. Fullerton-Smith (d. 1970); (fn. 143) in 1941 they assumed the name Acton in lieu of Fullerton-Smith. In 1966 Mrs. Acton passed the lordship of the manor to their son T. S. Acton, (fn. 144) the lord in 1991.
Clover, vetches, and turnips were all grown on the Acton Scott demesne by 1753, (fn. 257) together with wheat, grey peas, and especially muncorn. (fn. 258) Hops too may have been tried at some stage. (fn. 259) In the 1750s, as later, lime (at least some coming from Blackwood in Eaton-under-Heywood) was used and allowances made to tenants for its use. (fn. 260) Demesne livestock in 1755 included enough sheep to supply 26 st. of wool, sent to Shrewsbury, (fn. 261) although in 1775 Home farm had just 22 sheep, together with 34 cattle (including a milking herd of 8), 20 pigs, 3 yoke of working oxen, and 6 wagon horses. (fn. 262) Its land in 1776 (fn. 263) comprised 86 a. arable, 139 a. pasture, and 44 a. meadow. Whether at that date demesne stock was ever put on Oakwood common, which began 100 m. north of Home farm, is unknown. In 1776 in Acton Scott manor as a whole, excluding commons and woods, 37 per cent of the land was arable, 48 per cent pasture, and 15 per cent meadow. Most farms were fairly large: the Home farm and Acton Scott and Church farms were 220-270 a., Henley farm 164 a., and Oakwood (or Hawkwood) farm 76 a.
Lords of Acton Scott manor invested in improved farm buildings in the 18th century. Edward Acton built Church Farm in coursed stone in 1732 and John Stackhouse built a barn there in 1798. (fn. 264) In the 1760s Edward Acton's nephew and namesake, lord 1747-75, was probably much involved in the running of his estate. In the 1760s the Home farm buildings were largely rebuilt in brick with elaborate stone details including quoins, coping stones, and kneelers with finials, and the farmyard at Henley was also rebuilt but with local stone. At the end of his life Acton may also have built Oakwood Farm. (fn. 265) He had a keen practical interest in arboriculture, especially in apple trees, (fn. 266) and between 1755 (when he began grafting experiments) and 1775 hundreds of apple, and some pear, trees were grafted (many apparently by Acton himself) and planted in closes, hedgerows, and cottage gardens. He gave dozens of others to relations, friends, and tenants. Large numbers of ash, poplar, and willow were raised from sets ('pitchers'), and in 1775 Acton gave c. 6,000 willow sets of different sorts to his neighbour Richard Wilding, of Ragdon. Acton also planted fir, larch, Spanish chestnut, elm, beech, walnut, and lime around the manor, and established a plantation of Scots fir on Oakwood common in 1771.
From c. 1807, when T. P. Stackhouse went to live at Acton Scott, (fn. 276) oxen ceased to be used. (fn. 277) Over the next two decades new stock was introduced, presumably at least in part owing to the influence of Stackhouse's fatherin-law T. A. Knight, the celebrated Herefordshire breeder of Hereford cattle. (fn. 278) New breeds and types included a Merino ram (1810), twelve Merino-Ryeland ewes (1812), and ten Hereford ewes (1810); a Hereford bull and two half-bred Herefords (1812); three Welsh heifers and a Welsh ox (1813); a Chinese sow and boar (1815); and an Indian heifer in 1829. (fn. 279) By 1810 a winnowing machine had been bought, (fn. 280) and by 1815 a turnip cutter and a straw cutter. (fn. 281) Corn was perhaps threshed at Church Farm, where the tenant William Parker had a threshing machine by 1811. (fn. 282) Cereals in hand in 1813 were 150 bu. of oats (worth £37), 125 bu. of barley (£44), and 80 bu. of wheat (£48). There were also 45 tons of hay (£135). (fn. 283) Trefoil, clover, and turnips were fodder crops. (fn. 284) The ground was limed, (fn. 285) and pasture was pared and burnt, (fn. 286) and in 1818 an area of peat near Henley common was set on fire and allowed to burn for several months to provide potash-rich ash. (fn. 287) In 1821 the Acton Scott estate reduced rents by as much as 25 per cent because of the agricultural depression, (fn. 288) and later in the decade allowances were made for drainage.
Sources: P.R.O., MAF 68/143, no. 20; /1340, no. 6; /3880,Salop. no. 216; /4945, no. 216.
A chapel at Alcaston was recorded in 1256 when its chaplain was outlawed for murder. (fn. 341) The chapel escaped subjection to Acton Scott church after an inquiry into its status in 1318 (fn. 342) and was a 'free chapel' in 1350 and when last mentioned in 1399. The advowson belonged to the terre tenant of Alcaston in 1259 and still in 1399 when, after the earl of Arundel's forfeiture, the chapel was in the hands of a royal warden. (fn. 343) The living was a rectory in 1285 and still in 1350. (fn. 344) The chapel's site is unknown.
1. O.S. Area Bk. (1884). This article was written 1991-2.
3. S.R.O. 3925, box 12, ct. r. 11 Oct. 1695.
4. O.S. Map 1", index to tithe survey, sheet LXI. SW. [c. 1851].
5. Para. based on Geol. Surv. Map 1", drift, sheet 166 (1967 edn.), and inf. from Mr. T. S. Acton, who is thanked for his help.
7. Under 29 Geo. II, c. 59.
8. Plan of Castle Hill est. (in Mr. T. S. Acton's possession).
9. S.R.O. 3925, Acton Scott map of 1776.
10. S.R.O. 298/1; O.S. Map 1", index to tithe survey, sheet LXI. SW. [c. 1851].
12. S.R.O. 3925, Acton Scott maps of 1776, 1820.
13. S.R.O. 3925, box 12, ct. r. 11 Oct. 1695; cf. Eng. P.N. Elements (E.P.N.S.), ii. 130, 152.
14. T. P. Stackhouse's diary (in Mrs. R. C. Acton's possession).
16. Cf. S.R.O. 2906/1, p. 27; 3925, maps of 1776, 1820.
17. 3 Geo. IV, c. 49.
18. Ann. Turnpike Acts Continuance Act, 1872, 35 & 36 Vic. c. 85.
19. Ann. Turnpike Acts Continuance Act, 1877, 40 & 41 Vic. c. 64.
20. Railway Mag. cxi. 440-4.
21. Visible as crop marks: SA 1421, 2057.
22. V.C.H. Salop. i. 202; S.P.L., Chitty Files 31/13, 147/2-5; Proc. Prehist. Soc. xvii. 159-67.
24. Archaeologia, xxxi. 339-45; V.C.H. Salop. i. 259-61; S.P.L., MS. 6007.
25. P.N. Salop. (E.P.N.S.), i. 1-4, 6-9, 15; below, manors.
26. Rot. Hund. (Rec. Com.), ii. 70.
27. Rather than a clearing: M. Gelling, Place-Names in the Landscape (1984), 199.
28. P.N. Salop. i. 150-1.
29. V.C.H. Salop. i. 338, 343.
30. T.S.A.S. 2nd ser. iv. 312-13.
31. Cal. Inq. Misc. i, p. 617.
32. T.S.A.S. 2nd ser. iv. 312.
33. L. & P. Hen. VIII, xvii, p. 508.
34. Compton Census, ed. Whiteman, 259.
35. Hearth Tax 1672 (Salop. Arch. Soc. 1949), 181, 183.
36. Orders of Q. Sess. i. 98.
37. Birm. Univ. Libr., Mytton Papers, i. 30.
38. S.R.O. 1093/2/522; 3925, box 12, ct. r. 6 July 1629.
39. V.C.H. Salop. ii. 219.
40. S.R.O. 3925, maps of 1776, 1820; S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 16.
42. S.R.O. 2906/1, p. 27.
43. Talented artist, she illustrated her own bks.: D.N.B. s.v. Knight, T. A.; B.M. Gen. Cat. of Printed Bks. to 1955 (photolithographic edn. 1959-66), i, col. 828; Bye-Gones, 1880-1, 188-9. For drawings elsewhere see e.g. Trans. Caradoc Field Club (1869), 6-24.
44. Mrs. Laura Charlotte Wood Acton's notes and drawings of Acton Scott est. and village (in Mrs. R. C. Acton's possession); O.S. Map 6", Salop. LXIV. NW. (1891 edn.).
45. Bye-Gones, 1880-1, 188-9; below, manors, for work on gardens at Acton Scott Hall.
46. West lodge existed by 1833: O.S. map 1", index to tithe survey, sheet LXI. SW. [c. 1851]; others built after 1839: S.R.O. 298/1.
49. S.P.L., SC19/93; A. Stuart Gray, Edwardian Archit.: Biog. Dict. (1985), 214-16. The ho. was extended in the 1970s.
50. Inf. from Mr. T. S. Acton.
51. Salop. (R.E.E.D.), i. 10.
52. Birm. Univ. Libr., Mytton Papers, i. 30.
53. W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p. 23.
55. Mrs. Wood Acton's notes, etc.
56. Notes at Acton Scott Historic Working Fm.
57. V.C.H. Salop. i. 343.
58. C. P. Lewis, 'Eng. and Norman Govt. and Lordship in Welsh Borders, 1039-1087' (Oxf. Univ. D.Phil. thesis, 1985), 82-3, 105-6, 364 (map 13). Sylvaticus or salvage would probably be better rendered 'outcast [in the woods]' than 'wild': Ang.-Norm. Dict. (Modern Humanities Research Assoc. 1977-92), 673; S. Reynolds, 'Eadric Silvaticus and the Eng. Resistance', Bull. Inst. Hist. Res. liv. 102-5.
59. Lewis, op. cit. 170-6; V.C.H. Salop. iii. 7.
60. A. Williams, The English and the Norman Conquest (1995), 92; below, this section.
61. V.C.H. Salop. i. 343; iii. 10.
62. Rolls of Justices in Eyre, 1221-2 (Selden Soc. lix), p. 468; Cal. Inq. Misc. vi, p. 111; Feud. Aids, iv. 229; Cal. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Com.), iv. 199; Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. VII, ii, p. 392; P.R.O., C 142/172, no. 119.
63. Eyton, xi. 375-6; H. le Strange, Le Strange Records (1916), 32-3.
64. Rot. Hund. ii. 70; Feud. Aids, iv. 222.
65. But not so 'impossible' as alleged by Eyton (xi. 376, 380), who complicated matters further by introducing (ibid. 377) a 1272 deed relating to Hatton: cf. below, Eaton, manors.
66. V.C.H. Salop. i. 343.
67. Ibid. i. 320, 346-7; iv. 27; viii. 109; Lewis, 'Eng. and Norman Govt. and Lordship', 83-4, 104, 112-13, 365 (map 14); Williams, English and Norman Conquest, 91, 93-5; Eyton, xi. 375. Eyton, rather than Lewis, is followed on the 1066 ownership of Smethcott (unmentioned in V.C.H. Salop. viii. 151); Tumberland (adjoining Siward's est. at Letton: Woolhope Trans. xlvi. 86) is assumed to belong to this Ealdraed.
68. Eyton, v. 26-8; vi. 250-5; V.C.H. Salop. viii. 151-2.
69. As supposed by Eyton, v. 27.
70. V.C.H. Salop. i. 347.
71. Ibid. iii. 35, 38; viii. 151.
72. V.C.H. Salop. viii. 151; Pedigrees from the Plea Rolls, ed. G. Wrottesley (1905), 552.
75. Eyton, v. 27; vi. 251; xi. 376; V.C.H. Salop. viii. 151. Pichard's share of Acton has to be surmised from his being a defendant to a suit of darrein presentment.
76. For Sir Rog. see Eyton, vi. 252-3; xi. 200; Cartulary of Haughmond Abbey, ed. U. Rees (1985), p. 144. W. H. Cooke, Collns. towards Hist. and Antiquities of Co. of Heref. in continuation of Duncumb's Hist.: Hund. of Grimsworth (1892), 155-9, states that Sir Rog., who had a son Rog. (fl. 1279), d. 1294.
77. Rot. Hund. ii. 70; below, this section.
78. Wrottesley, Pedigrees from Plea Rolls, 552.
79. Eyton, xi. 378, 382; Reg. Cantilupe, (C.S.), 81; below, church.
81. Ibid. 379. For Lawr. (d. 1294) see V.C.H. Salop. iv. 60; for his descendants and Stokesay cf. Visit. Salop. 1623, ii (Harl. Soc. xxix), 342; Eyton, ix. 334; S.P.L., MS. 2792, p. 77.
82. Feud. Aids, iv. 251.
84. Rot. Hund. ii. 70.
85. P.R.O., CP 25/1/193/5, no. 33.
87. Wrottesley, Pedigrees from Plea Rolls, 552.
88. As perh. the existence of Rob. Clerk of Henley (fl. 1273: Eyton, xi. 377; xii. 3) suggests.
90. Feud. Aids, iv. 251, 269.
91. But see below, this section, for Ric. Acton's purchase (1553) of what was probably Henley fm. and one of the medieval man. shares.
92. Eyton, xi. 376-7; Rot. Hund. ii. 70. Steph. acted as ld. of Smethcott perhaps c. 1253 (S.R.O. 2922/11/1/1), but by 1255 that part of Smethcott was held by his neph. Phil., to whose heirs it descended: V.C.H. Salop. viii. 152 (corr. below, Corrigenda).
94. Wrottesley, Pedigrees from Plea Rolls, 552.
95. Called 'Cecily' ibid. This pedigree, made in 1320, seems inaccurate in some of the early generations (see next note), and 'Cecily' (not otherwise recorded as a dau. of Wm. Leyngleys) is here assumed to be an error for Maud, for whose existence Eyton marshals the contemporary evidence.
96. V.C.H. Salop. viii. 152 (corr. below, Corrigenda).
97. Rot. Hund. ii. 70; Wrottesley, Pedigrees from Plea Rolls, 552. Christine, ancestress of the Scotts (Wrottesley, op. cit. 552), is assumed to be Maud's elder dau., but the 1320 pedigree (ibid.) must err in making Reynold le Scot (fl. c. 1284) Christine's grandson through a supposed father Thos. Almost certainly two generations came betw. Christine and Reynold (fl. c. 1284) and Reynold's father was Wal., son of Reynold (fl. 1255-9): below. The Scotts were successors, but not heirs, of the Purcells at Smethcott: Eyton, vi. 253; V.C.H. Salop. viii. 152.
99. Wrottesley, Pedigrees from Plea Rolls, 552.
100. Eyton, xi. 378-80; Reg. Trillek (C.S.), 41.
101. Reg. Mascall (C.S.), 174.
102. Visit. Salop. 1623, ii. 411; cf. S.P.L., MSS. 2138, f. 231v.; 2795, p. 199; 4079, pp. 1388-99; V.C.H. Staffs. v. 119. There is no satisfactory acct. of the Wynnesburys before 1473: S.P.L., MS. 2788, p. 257.
103. P.R.O., C 140/45, no. 36.
104. V.C.H. Staffs. v. 119.
106. Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. VII, ii, p. 392.
108. V.C.H. Staffs. v. 119.
109. P.R.O., C 142/172, no. 119.
110. S.R.O. 3925, box 9, deed, 24 Apr. 1587.
112. Wrottesley, Pedigrees from Plea Rolls, 552; Eyton, xi. 376-9; Feud. Aids, iv. 222; above, n. 97.
113. W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott pp. 2-3; Eyton, xi. 379 (sources preferred to the pedigree in S.R.O. 3925, bdle. 11).
114. Cal. Inq. Misc. vi, p. 111.
115. W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p.3.
116. Feud. Aids, iv. 251, 269.
117. W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott pp. 3-4.
119. S.R.O. 3365/164; L. & P. Hen. VIII, i, p. 438.
120. P.R.O., E 150/1220/11, naming Thos's son and heir as John.
121. W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott pp. 3-4; below, Henley fm.
122. Above, this section [Purcell share].
123. S.R.O. 1093/2/534; cf. below, this section (Alcaston).
124. Inf. from Mr. T. S. Acton.
127. P.R.O., C 142/228, no. 7.
128. H.W.R.O.(H.), Heref. dioc. rec. AL 19/16, f. 285.
129. P. Gunn, The Actons. (1978), 31; T.S.A.S. 4th ser. v. 58; Cal. Cttee. for Compounding, iii. 1541.
130. W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott pp. 5-6; Burke, Peerage (1908), 77-8.
131. S.R.O. 3925, box 8, deeds 19-20 Mar. 1709/10.
132. Ibid. bdle. 11, pedigree.
133. Historic Working Fm., Edw. Acton's will (transcript).
134. A.R.O. 2005/2, 18 Apr. 1754; MRg/1, 20 Apr. 1773.
135. D.N.B. s.v. Stackhouse, John; Burke, Peerage (1908), 77-8; T.S.A.S. lv, pedigree facing p. 82; W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott pp. 6-8; F. A. Stafleu and R. S. Cowan, Taxonomic Literature, v (Utrecht, 1985), 824-5.
136. Rest of descent based on Burke, Land. Gent. (1952), 3, 2005.
137. Notes at Historic Working Fm.
138. M.I. in ch.; D.N.B. s.v. Stackhouse, John.
139. T. P. Stackhouse's diary; S.R.O. 2906/1, pp. 19, 37; Salopian Shreds & Patches, iv. 140, 142-3.
140. S.R.O. 2906/1, p. 37.
141. P.O. Dir. Salop. (1870), 8, gives John Stackhouse's dau. Katherine, the Revd. W. F. Holt's wife, as lady of the man.
142. V.C.H. Salop. iii. 228.
143. Inf. from Mr. T. S. Acton.
144. S.R.O., archivist's office file 'Mrs. Acton', letter, Joyce S. Acton to co. archivist 12 Aug. 1966.
146. Hearth Tax 1672, 181; cf. pl. 17; illus. of ho. in Bodl. MS. Top. c. 2, f. 46.
147. S.R.O. 2563/16; 2906/1, pp. 19-22, 24; T. P. Stackhouse's diary, s.a. 1811 (for Bromfield); W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott pp. 9, 14; above, frontispiece.
148. Historic Working Fm., notes of conversation with Mrs. R. C. Acton 1981.
149. S.R.O. 3925, map of 1776; 3925, box 10, surv. of Acton Scott c. 1776, fields A 2-8.
150. S.R.O. 2563/50; T. P. Stackhouse's diary.
151. T. P. Stackhouse's diary, s.a.
152. S.R.O. 3925, box 10, surv. of Acton Scott c. 1820, field A 7.
153. Inf. from Mr. R. S. Acton.
154. T.S.A.S. 2nd ser. xii. 141-2; P.R.O., C 142/235, no. 111.
155. S.R.O. 3925, box 8, deed 17 Oct. 1631.
156. Ibid. deed 29 Sept. 1635.
157. W. A. Shaw, Kts. of Eng. (1906), ii. 238.
158. S.R.O. 3925, box 8, deed 18 Aug. 1656.
160. Ibid. deed 1 Mar. 1693/4.
161. S.R.O. 3925, maps of 1776, 1820; 3925, box 10, surv. c. 1776, field A 1; ibid. surv. of 1820, field A 5a.
162. S.R.O. 3925, box 8, deed 18 Aug. 1656.
163. W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p. 15; S.P.L., MS. 6007, f. [18v.].
164. S.P.L., MS. 6007, f. [18v.]; above, fig. 5.
165. Dr. R. A. Higham and Messrs. J. R. Kenyon and P. Smith are thanked for their thoughts on the bldg.
166. W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p. 19; S.R.O. 3320/1/1.
167. P.R.O., C 142/291, no. 91.
168. W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p. 19.
170. S.R.O. 3925, map of 1776.
171. Date stone illegible but in same style as those (of 1760s) on Acton Scott demesne bldgs. and Henley Fm. bldgs.
172. Date stone 'PL 1719'.
173. Shrews. Sch. Libr., James Deed 47; S.P.L., Deeds 12974; P.R.O., C 142/298, no. 38; C 142/505, no. 121.
174. S.R.O. 3925, box 3, abstr. of title; S.R.O. 3925, map of 1776.
175. Inf. from Mr. J. R. Ockenden.
176. V.C.H. Salop. i. 338; cf. above, this section (Acton).
177. V.C.H. Salop. iii. 10.
178. Cf. below, Holdgate, manors.
180. Ibid. x. 147; xii. 1.
181. Ibid. xii. 1; Rot. Hund. ii. 70.
183. Ibid. 3; Feud. Aids, iv. 224.
184. Cal. Inq. p.m. iii, p. 52.
185. Cal. Fine R. 1272-1307, 518; Cal. Pat. 1301-7, 545- 6; Cal. Close, 1346-9, 244.
186. Cal. Pat. 1396-9, 278.
187. Cal. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Com.), iv. 199; Complete Peerage, i. 246.
188. P.R.O., CP 25/1/195/22, no. 9.
189. Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. VII, ii, pp. 577-8; below, Munslow, manors. Hardwicke claimed that Alcaston, forfeited by Vct. Lovel in 1485, was granted to the 4th earl of Shrews.: W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p. 20.
190. For what follows (to the Revd. Nesse Hill's time) see Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. VII, iii, pp. 331-2; W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott pp. 20-1.
191. S.R.O. 20/23/13; cf. above, this section (Acton Scott).
192. Visit. Salop. 1623, i (Harl. Soc. xxviii), 244.
193. S.P.L., MS. 4360, p. 241; T.S.A.S. 4th ser. viii. 247, 250, 252-3; S.P.L., Deeds 17067; S. Bagshaw, Dir. Salop. (1851), 519.
194. S.R.O. 3993/1-2; Shrews. Chron. 23 Mar. 1888, p. 5.
195. Shrews. Chron. 23 and 30 Apr. 1909; S.P.L., SC1/77.
196. Illus. on front of S.P.L., SC1/77; SA 171.
197. Hearth Tax 1672, 183.
198. SA 171; S. Bagshaw, Dir. Salop. (1851), 519.
199. W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott pp. 19-20; cf. L. Stone, Crisis of the Aristocracy 1558-1641 (1965), 99 n. 1, 760-1; Complete Peerage, vii. 170-1. For Baldwin pedigree see S.P.L., MS. 4645, p. 203.
200. W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p. 20; S.P.L., Deeds 18091C.
201. Hearth Tax 1672, 183.
202. But acc. to W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p. 20, the owner 1660-95 was Ric. Baugh.
205. S. Bagshaw Dir. Salop. (1851), 519; S.P.L., SC1/77; above, this section (Alcaston), for Jos. Loxdale Warren.
206. S.R.O. 298/1; O.S. Map 1/2,500, Salop. LXIV. 9 (1903 edn.); SA 172.
207. Hearth Tax 1672, 183.
208. SA 172; S.P.L., SC1/77 (photo.); S. Bagshaw, Dir. Salop. (1851), 519.
209. S.R.O. 3887, box 50, partic. of deeds; P.R.O., C 3/338/24.
210. S.R.O. 3887, box 50, deed 24 June 1726.
212. S.R.O. 3887, box 50, abstr. of deeds; S. Bagshaw, Dir. Salop. (1851), 519.
214. Hearth Tax 1672, 183.
215. W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p. 21; Mrs. Wood Acton's notes.
216. S.R.O. 298/1, field 300.
217. Inf. from Mr. C. H. Hand.
218. V.C.H. Salop. i. 338, 343.
220. S.R.O. 2228/1, ff. 3-12; 3925, box 12, demesne surv. 1615.
222. S.R.O. 3925, box 12, note of lands exchanged 1649.
223. S.R.O. 2563/1, f. 16.
224. Roll of Salop. Eyre 1256 (Selden Soc. xcvi), p. 221.
225. B.L. Lansd. MS. 1, f. 192v.
226. S.R.O. 3925, box 10, surv. c. 1776; 3925, map of 1776.
227. Cf. S.R.O. 3925, box 12, surv. bk. 1792; 3925, map of 1820.
228. Cartulary of Shrews. Abbey, ed. U. Rees (1975), ii, p. 250.
229. V.C.H. Salop. i. 343.
231. Mentioned 1235: Eyton, vi. 338.
233. F. Leach, Co. Seats of Salop. (1891), 215.
234. S.R.O. 3925, box 12, incl. award (copy).
236. S.R.O. 3925, box 12, ct. r. 1657.
237. S.R.O. 3925, map of 1776.
238. Map and other evid. suggests Oakwood and Lit. Oakwood fms. (est. by later 16th cent.: above, manors) were early inclosures from W. side of common. Earthwks. suggest original E. bdy. of common ran along hedge betw. fields numbered 82 and 83 in 1839 (S.R.O. 298/1).
239. e.g. S.R.O. 2563/1 passim.
240. S.R.O. 3925, box 12, incl. award (copy).
241. S.R.O. 3925, map of 1776.
242. Above, this article, intro.
243. S.R.O. 3925, box 10, Acton Scott man. bounds, 1695.
244. Ibid. box 10, surv. c. 1776.
246. S.C.C. Ch. Exec.'s Dept., commons reg.
248. S.R.O. 298/1, fields 232-3.
251. P.R.O., C 104/23, pt. 2, deed 18 Jan. 1691/2.
253. S.R.O. 165/99, 104, 112; P.R.O., IR 18/7921.
254. Field names: S.R.O. 298/1.
255. S.R.O. 2228/1, f. 6; 3925, box 12, demesne surv. 1615 and note of lands exchanged 1649.
256. H.W.R.O.(H.), Heref. dioc. rec., inv. 1 May 1676.
257. S.R.O. 3925, box 12, acct. bk. 1753-7, 27 Feb. 1753.
258. S.R.O. 2563/32, s.a. 1753, 1755-7, 1762.
259. W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p. 15.
260. S.R.O. 2563/32, at end (Widow Parker's rental); /33, e.g. 21 June, 9 July, 29 Dec. 1757; 4-5 Jan., 30 Dec. 1758; 20 Jan. 1759.
261. S.R.O. 2563/32, s.a. 1755.
262. Ibid. val. of livestock by Moses Luther .
263. Rest of para. based on S.R.O. 3925, box 10, surv., etc., of Acton Scott [c. 1776].
264. Barn demolished c. 1980.
265. Above, manors; date stones; V.C.H. Salop. iv. 185.
266. Para. based on S.R.O. 2563/35.
267. Cf. S.R.O. 3925, map of 1776; 3925, box 12, surv. bk. 1792.
268. Improvements included fms. in Wistanstow: S.R.O. 2563/15; cf. ibid. /16. Cf. above, manors; S.R.O. 1066/71, f. 42.
270. Rest of para. based on S.R.O. 2563/1, e.g. ff. 8, 9; /13, 15-16; 3925, map of 1776; 3925, box 10, survs.; box 12, surv. bk. 1792.
273. Above, this article, intro.
275. S.R.O. 2563/50, garden expenses, s.a.; T. P. Stackhouse's diary passim.
276. S.R.O. 1066/71, ff. 21-2.
277. Cf. S.R.O. 2563/32, val. of livestock by Moses Luther; /36, stock val. 1810.
278. T.S.A.S. lv, pedigree facing p. 82; S.R.O. 2563/36, livestock val. 1813, includes a cow supplied by 'Mr. Knight'.
280. Ibid. stock val. 1810.
281. Ibid. deadstock val. 1816.
282. S.R.O. 4791/1/8, p. 600. For identification of Parker's fm. S.R.O. 3925, box 10, surv. of 1820.
283. S.R.O. 2563/36, deadstock val. 1813.
285. Ibid. s.a. 1813, 1829.
287. T. P. Stackhouse's diary.
289. S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 18.
290. S.R.O. 2563/33, 28 May, 3 June 1757; cf. 3925, box 10, surv. c. 1776, fields D 13, E 11.
291. T. P. Stackhouse's diary, s.a. 1810-20.
293. Table I and sources there cited.
294. V.C.H. Salop. iv. 269; inf. from Mr. N. C. Nixon.
296. S.R.O. 3925, maps of 1776, 1820; 2563/33, e.g. workmen's acct. at end, 19 Apr. 1760.
297. Cal. Inq. p.m. iii, p. 52.
298. Inf. from Mr. T. S. Acton.
299. S.R.O. 2563/32, s.a. 1770.
300. Ibid. /33, 16 Dec. 1757; 28 July 1758.
302. S.R.O. 3925, maps of 1776, 1820; 3925, box 10, survs.; notes at Acton Scott Historic Working Fm.
303. S.R.O. 2906/1, pp. 32-4.
304. In S.R.O. 3925, box 12.
305. Birm. Univ. Libr., Mytton Papers, i. 30.
306. T.S.A.S. 4th ser. viii. 248-52.
308. S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 18.
309. Poor Law Abstract, H.C. 98, pp. 416-17 (1803-4), xiii.
310. Poor Rate Returns, H.C. 556, suppl. app. p. 142 (1822), v.
311. S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 18.
312. V. J. Walsh, 'Admin. of Poor Laws in Salop. 1820-55' (Pennsylvania Univ. Ph.D. thesis, 1970), 148-50; Kelly's Dir. Salop. (1929), 22.
313. V.C.H. Salop. ii. 215, 217; iii. 178, and sources cited ibid. 169 n. 29.
314. Eyton, xi. 376-80, 382; Reg. Orleton (C.S.), 145; Reg. Trillek (C.S.), 41, 381; Dioc. of Heref. Institutions (1539- 1900), ed. A. T. Bannister (Heref. 1923), passim.
315. Reg. Cantilupe, pp. xxxviii, 81-2. Newton's collation in June 1278 (yr. deduced from what follows: cf. ibid. pp. xlii, lxv-lxvi) implies that the patrons' presentation (presumably at least 6 months earlier) was ineffective, perhaps because one of them, Rob. of Stretton, was not then seised: above, manors.
316. In 1547, 1679, and 1856: Bannister, op. cit. 5, 43, 171.
317. Heref. Dioc. Regy., reg. 1926-38, p. 429.
318. Ibid. reg. 1938-53, pp. 34, 314.
319. S.R.O. 2564/2; Crockford (1947), 1074; (1953-4), 233, 1086.
320. Heref. Dioc. Regy., reg. 1938-53, p. 501.
321. Crockford (1969-70), 236; (1970-1), 66; (1987-8), 230, 299, 621; (1989-90), 480.
322. Tax. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 167; Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iii. 209; P.R.O., E 315/489, f. 13v.
324. J. Ecton, Liber Valorum et Decimarum (1711), 147.
325. H.W.R.O.(H.), HD 9, 'Notitia', f. 1.
326. S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 21; W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p. 27.
328. Kelly's Dir. Salop. (1885), 790.
329. S.R.O. 293/1; 3925, map of 1776; 4044/39, pp. 1-2; S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 21.
330. Inf. from Mr. T. S. Acton.
331. Mrs. Wood Acton's notes.
333. S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 20; Bannister, Heref. Institutions, 113; for illus. of ho. in 1794, Bodl. MS. Top. Salop. c. 2, f. 45.
334. W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p. 27; S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 24; H.W.R.O.(H.), HD 8, box 31, plan, specification, etc. For illus. see S.R.O. 4319/10.
335. Inf. from Heref. dioc. sec.
337. Reg. Mascall (C.S.), 174.
338. Bannister, Heref. Institutions, 5.
339. H. B. Walters, Ch. Bells of Salop. (Oswestry, 1915), 83-4.
340. T.S.A.S. 3rd ser. x. 373; Cal. Pat. 1572-5, pp. 220- 1.
341. Roll of Salop. Eyre 1256, p. 222.
342. Reg. Swinfield (C.S.), 541; Reg. Orleton, 61-2.
343. Eyton, xii. 3; Reg. Swinfield, 526; Reg. Trillek, 389, 394; Cal. Pat. 1396-9, 482; 1399-1401, 101; cf. above, manors.
344. Reg. Swinfield, 545; Reg. Orleton, 61; P.R.O., CP 40/247, m. 165d. (ref. supplied by Mr. M. A. Faraday); Eyton, vii. 61.
345. Bannister, Heref. Institutions, 18.
346. Ibid. 9, 14, 16, 20; T.S.A.S. 4th ser. xi. 185-6; cf. Bannister, op. cit. 17, for other possible preferment.
347. Bannister, op. cit. 43, 72; S.R.O. 2005/2, s.a. 1726.
348. T.S.A.S. 4th ser. ii. 67; vii. 163.
350. Bannister, Heref. Institutions, 85.
352. Bannister, op. cit. 92.
353. V.C.H. Salop. iii. 117 and n.
355. S.P.L., MS. 6865, pp. 20-2; for him see also S.R.O. 2906/1, pp. 28-31.
356. Bannister, Heref. Institutions, 146, 151; S.P.L., MS. 6865, pp. 23-4; W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p. 23; Alum. Cantab. 1752-1900, ii. 58.
357. Bannister, op. cit. 151, 171; W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p. 23; S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 24; S.P.R. Lich. v (2), p. vi.
358. S.R.O. 2563/8, p. 153.
359. P.R.O., HO 129/354, no. 5.
360. S. Bagshaw, Dir. Salop. (1851), 518; Bannister, Heref. Institutions, 171, 211.
361. S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 20. Dedication to St. Mary (B.L. Add. MS. 30316, f. 30v.) was perh. recorded erroneously c. 1740.
362. S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 22; W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p. 23.
363. S.P.L., Watton press cuttings, i. 383; MS. 372, vol. ii, f. 49.
364. S.P.L., MS. 6865, pp. 22-3; cf. S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 23; below, Abdon, church (for the screen).
365. T. P. Stackhouse's diary, s.a. 1820. For Owen as designer of eccl. monuments, Gent. Mag. xcviii (1), 89.
366. T. P. Stackhouse's diary, s.a. 1821; S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 23; W.S.L. 350/5/40, Acton Scott p. 23.
367. Above. For an illus. of ch. interior 1844 see print in S.P.L.
368. Mrs. Wood Acton's notes.
369. Heref. Dioc. Regy., reg. 1883-1901, pp. 585-7.
370. Ibid. reg. 1926-38, p. 202.
371. Inf. from Mr. T. S. Acton.
372. D. L. Arkwright and B. W. Bourne, Ch. Plate Archd. Ludlow (Shrews. 1961), 2.
373. Pevsner, Salop. 52; H. Colvin, Biog. Dict. Brit. Architects, 1600-1840 (1978), 84.
374. S.R.O. 2005/1-2; /Rg/3; /MRg/1-2; regs. at ch.; cf. H.W.R.O.(H.), bp.'s transcripts for 1638 and from 1660; S.P.R. Heref. xxiii.
375. S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 16. This section was written in 1982 and later revised.
376. Digest Educ. Poor, H.C. 224, p. 745 (1819), ix (2); S.R.O. 2563/5-8, s.a. 1831-3; S. Lough, Acton Scott Sch. (Salop. Co. Mus. Service, 1981), 3 (copy in S.R.O. 4252).
377. P.R.O., ED 7/102, ff. 21-2; S.R.O. 1334/1, p. 38; Kelly's Dir. Salop. (1885), 790; (1891), 254; (1905), 18; sch. managers' min. bk. 1903-49 (at Acton Scott Hall 1982; kindly made available by Miss S. Lough of the Working Fm. Mus.).
378. P.R.O., ED 7/102, ff. 21-2.
379. S.R.O. 1334/1, p. 112; Kelly's Dir. Salop. (1909), 20.
380. S.R.O. 1334/1, pp. 31, 36, 134-5; managers' min. bk. 1919 a.g.m.
381. S.R.O. 1334/1 passim, esp. pp. 112-14, 116, 122, 130, 135, 142, 147-8, 152; 3925, box 10, J. Williams to A. Wood Acton 25 June 1881.
382. S.R.O. 1334/1, pp. 109, 141; cf. p. 113.
383. Ibid. pp. 163, 179 (infants' rm.); managers' min. bk. 1904 a.g.m.
384. S.R.O. 1334/1, pp. 303-4; /2, pp. 101-3; cf. /1, pp. 113, 246.
385. Managers' min. bk. 1904 a.g.m.; inf. from Miss L. Stubbs, headmistress 1933-46.
388. Inf. from Miss Stubbs; S.R.O. 1334/1, p. 483; /2, pp. 67-9, 132.
389. Managers' min. bk. 1949 a.g.m.
390. S.R.O. 1334/1, p. 434; 2782/46; inf. (1980, at Working Fm. Mus.) from the Revd. F. T. Rumball.
391. S.C.C. Mins. Intermediate Educ. Cttee. reps. 1891-3.
392. Prob. of Wistanstow: S.P.R. Heref. xvii (4), s.v. Mausall.
393. S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 19; 24th Rep. Com. Char. H.C. 231, p. 397 (1831), xi; S.R.O. 4693/4.
394. Review of Local Chars. (S.C.C. 1975), 52.
395. S.P.L., MS. 6865, p. 19; 24th Rep. Com. Char. p. 397.
396. Review of Local Chars. 52.
397. S.R.O. 2563/6, Mich. 1827.

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