Source: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/salop/vol10/pp380-393
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 16:40:53+00:00

Document:
Stoke St. Milborough village is 9 km. northeast of Ludlow. (fn. 1) The parish was Wenlock borough's most southerly detachment. Wholly agricultural and little frequented, it comprises Stoke village and a scattering of farms and ancient hamlets, and the main part was divided into the townships of Stoke, Downton, and Stanton.
Clee Burf and Titterstone Clee were each crowned in the Iron Age by a fortified enclosure of unknown purpose, each formed by a single earth and rubble rampart. (fn. 7) The rampart of Clee Burf was badly damaged by coal digging before 1841, (fn. 8) and both have since been nearly destroyed by quarrying. A few isolated finds of prehistoric artefacts (fn. 9) are the only other evidence of human activity in the parish before the Anglo-Saxon period.
The edge of Brown Clee common coincided with the eastern and northern boundaries of Bockleton, Kinson, and Newton.
Except in the south-west quarter the parish boundaries are straight or gently sinuous and tend to follow high ground; they were probably defined mostly in the 13th century across wastes previously intercommoned with neighbouring townships. Brown Clee's upper slopes, however, were not so divided until the 17th century, (fn. 10) and the township divisions across Titterstone Clee common were presumably late too. In the low lying south-west the parish boundary is angular and so may have been defined by fields.
When recovery came (fn. 18) settlement did not return to the old hamlets; indeed conversion of open-field arable to inclosed pasture c. 1500 caused further shrinkage at Bockleton, Downton, Kinson, the Moor, Newton, and Stanton. (fn. 19) In the whole parish, however, the number of households increased from c. 33 in 1524 (fn. 20) to over 43 by 1672, (fn. 21) and 218 adults and children were listed for the 1660 poll tax. (fn. 22) Much of the new settlement took the form of single farmhouses, away from the old hamlets and in new fields. (fn. 23) In addition, seven cottages were reported on the wastes of Stoke manor in 1654; a group at Blackford, on Brown Clee, existed in 1752. (fn. 24) There were 89 households by 1801 (fn. 25) but, of the ancient settlements, only Stoke was a village; in 1815 Stoke had 16 houses (9 of them cottages), while Downton and Stanton had 4 houses each, the Moor 3, Kinson 2, and Bockleton and Newton one. (fn. 26) The older houses in Stoke village are mostly built of rubble. Elsewhere in the parish some are of rubble, some are timber framed.
In 1581 Sir John and Clement Smith sold the chief house, Stoke Court, and the demesne lands to Thomas Littleton and Rowland Bishop. (fn. 83) Littleton was in sole possession of Stoke Court at his death in 1622 (fn. 84) and was succeeded by his son Adam (fn. 85) (cr. bt. 1642), after whose death in 1647 (fn. 86) it belonged to his son Sir Thomas Littleton (or Poyntz). (fn. 87) In 1652 Sir Thomas sold the estate to Henry Bernard, who sold it in 1671 to George Lee (fn. 88) (d. 1673) of the Moor. (fn. 89) Lee's heir was his daughter Mary, who afterwards married John Conyers (d. 1725). Their son Edward sold Stoke Court to William Hall in 1727. (fn. 90) Hall (d. by 1732) was succeeded by his sister Elizabeth, wife of Wredenhall Pearce of Downton Hall. On her death in 1762 the estate passed to their son William, who took the additional surname Hall. The estate, a reputed manor by 1772, passed on his death to his brother Charles Pearce Hall, who died childless in 1795. It then passed to the representatives of their three sisters. The estate was partitioned in 1809 and Stoke Court was allotted to the representatives of Ann Thomson (formerly Pearce). They sold it in 1813 to John Wall (d. 1817), who became vicar of Stoke St. Milborough that year. Wall's trustees conveyed it in 1825 to William Bright, who immediately vested part, including Stoke Court, in a trustee. In 1834 the trustee sold it back to Wall's trustees, who conveyed it in 1839 to Wall's widow Elizabeth (d. 1843). She was succeeded by her son C. L. Wall, who sold the estate and reputed manor (740 a.) to Lord Boyne (d. 1872) in 1867. (fn. 91) At the sale of F. G. Hamilton-Russell's Stoke St. Milborough estate in 1919 Stoke Court was bought by J. B. Whiteman, (fn. 92) in whose family it remained in 1992.
The medieval house, called the Court by 1322, (fn. 93) is reputed to have stood within a rectangular moat, (fn. 94) substantial parts of which remain. A later house, north of the moat, dates from c. 1600 and its original two storeyed stone range contains a hall and parlour with a stack in each gable end. The main doorway has a carved stone surround and the parlour, formerly wainscotted, (fn. 95) has a carved wooden overmantel of c. 1600. (fn. 96) The former moat, fed from Bockleton brook, may have become a garden feature at that time; near or within it is a mount. In the later 18th century the front of the house was faced in brick.
In 1589 William Knyfton sold the chief house and demesne lands, then called WALKER'S FARM or the farm of Clee Stanton, to Richard Walker. House and land descended in the Walker family until 1830 when Robert Head bought them. In 1839 Head settled them on George Bradley (d. 1868) and his wife Sarah (d. 1864). The Bradleys' representatives sold the estate to the lord of the manor in 1869. (fn. 170) The house, later called Manor Farm, was probably on or near the site of the medieval chief house: Gatehouse meadow (fn. 171) adjoined it on the west. Manor Farm is a mid 18th-century red brick farmhouse with a symmetrical three bayed main block and a lower, narrower service wing. It stands on a plinth of re-used rubble which includes ashlar blocks. The joinery, of oak, includes panelled doors and a staircase.
By 1086 the land immediately surrounding Stoke St. Milborough and some of the other settlements was evidently arable; Stoke manor had 11 ploughteams and Clee Stanton one. (fn. 177) The outer and higher parts of the parish, which had presumably been covered with ancient woodland, (fn. 178) may have been partly cleared and settled; the presence of bordars on Stoke manor suggests that possibility. (fn. 179) Nevertheless 19 more teams could have been employed in Stoke manor and 6 in Stanton.
a Excluding the Heath and Norncott.
Sources: P.R.O., MAF 68/143, no. 21; /1340, nos. 7-8; /3880, Salop. no. 117; /4945, no. 117.
In 1840 there was about half as much arable as grass. (fn. 226) During the later 19th century the proportion fell to a sixth and in the early 20th century to a twentieth, mostly growing oats. It did not increase until the Second World War, when pastures were ploughed to provide more rotation grass and fodder crops. In 1919 there were a few mixed farms; most, however, were for rearing cattle and sheep, and some were suited to dairying or feeding. (fn. 227) Dairying gradually superseded beef production, especially after the Second World War. Barley was the chief cereal crop by 1965.
Limestone was being quarried in Stoke manor in 1637. (fn. 244) Any commercial working is likely to have been at the parish's two concentrations of quarries and kilns around the bases of Brown Clee and Titterstone Clee; (fn. 245) there were limekilns at Bockleton before 1655 (fn. 246) and field names indicate limeburning in Stanton township too. (fn. 247) Isolated kilns such as that at the Moor, still in use c. 1900, (fn. 248) may have been worked by farmers to supply themselves. (fn. 249) A lime maker who lived at Batch Gutter in 1841 was described in 1851 as a retired labourer, (fn. 250) and Richard Childs of Green Tump was a collier, smallholder, and limeburner in the 1840s. (fn. 251) They were among the last to burn lime for a living.
The church of ST. MILBOROUGH, so dedicated by 1740 (fn. 323) and perhaps by the 1270s, (fn. 324) is built of rubble with ashlar dressings and has a chancel, nave with south porch, and west tower. (fn. 325) The fabric shows signs of several partial rebuildings, not all of them datable or clearly defined.
The corners of an earlier and narrower nave survive in the angles between the tower and the west wall of the nave. The thick north wall of the chancel, which is aligned on the north-west corner of the earlier nave, is probably late 11thor 12th-century. The chancel arch has early 13th-century capitals but may have been cut into an older wall. A low tower was added in the later 13th century. Its corbel table, which survives on all four sides, suggests that it may have had a pyramidal roof. The nave was probably widened in the early 14th century, the apparent date of its south windows; the south wall of the chancel is later, and has a mid 14th-century window, perhaps reset. In the 15th century the tower was heightened by one stage and a new window was put into the north wall of the chancel; indulgence was offered in 1424 to those who contributed to repair of the church fabric. (fn. 326) There was formerly a rood screen and loft, which was perhaps reached by a wooden stair in the opening south of the chancel arch. Traces of medieval painting remain over the arch.
There was a general restoration in 1859 when the gallery, box pews, and Commandment tables were removed; a window, with glass by David Evans, (fn. 331) was put into the east wall of the chancel; choir stalls and a straight communion rail were made; and new windows of 14th-century character were put into the north wall of the nave. Some of that work, including the raised floor of the chancel, was removed at a further general restoration in 1911.
1. This article was written 1991-2.
3. P.R.O., RG 10/2727, f. 51v. (presumably under the Poor Law Amendment Act, 1868, 31 & 32 Vic. c. 122, s. 27: no q. sess. order under the Extra-Parochial Places Act, 1857, 20 Vic. c. 19, s. 4).
4. O.S. Area Bk. (1885); fig. 38. The history of the Heath C.P. follows below.
5. Para. based on Geol. Surv. Map 1", solid, sheet 166 (1974 edn.).
7. Arch. Cambrensis, lxxxix. 83-111.
8. C. H. Hartshorne, Salopia Antiqua (1841), 21.
9. SA 572, 3513, 3906, 4498.
10. Above, Abdon, econ. hist.
11. V.C.H. Salop. i. 312-13.
12. Rot. Hund. (Rec. Com.), ii. 85.
13. Cal. Chart. R. 1257-1300, 406.
14. R.C.H.M.E., draft field rep. (1985).
15. O.S. field reps. (copies in S.P.L.).
16. R.C.H.M.E., draft field rep. (1987).
17. Inq. Non. (Rec. Com.), 188.
19. B.L. Lansd. MS. 1, f. 190 and v.; P.R.O., C 104/26, comrs.' return of 1517.
20. P.R.O., E 179/166/200 (including Norncott). Cf. (for Stoke man.) S.R.O. 1224, box 342, Prior Gosnell's reg. f. 40v.; T. F. Dukes, Antiquities of Salop. (1844), 86-9.
21. Hearth Tax 1672 (Salop. Arch. Soc. 1949), 40-1 (including Norncott).
22. P.R.O., E 179/168/219, mm. 10-11 (including Norncott).
24. Dukes, Antiquities of Salop. 79; J. Rocque, Map of Salop. (1752).
25. S.P.L., MS. 6862, f. 119 (including Norncott).
27. Ibid. fields Q 7, 9-25, 27-32, 34-43.
28. S.R.O., incl. award B 21, Wm. Kidson to Jos. Loxdale 12 Nov. 1809. Cf. above, Abdon, econ. hist.
29. V.C.H. Salop. ii. 227.
30. P.R.O., HO 107/913/13, ff. 17v.-19v.
31. V.C.H. Salop. ii. 227; P.R.O., RG 10/2727, ff. 62- 64v., 66v.; RG 12/2083, ff. 12 and v., 13v.-14v., 16. Cf. above, Abdon, intro.
32. V.C.H. Salop. ii. 227; Census, 1971, Co. Rep. Salop. i. 5. Cf. above, Abdon, intro.
33. S.C.C. Property and Planning Services Dept. inf. rep. C91/103.
34. M. Thom and M. Pearce, A Quart in a Pint Pot: the story of Stoke St. Milborough Par. (Stoke St. Milborough, 1986), 32, 39.
35. Ludlow Turnpike Act, 1756, 29 Geo. II, c. 59; Ann. Turnpike Acts Continuance Act, 1872, 35 & 36 Vic. c. 85; Highways and Locomotives (Amendment) Act, 1878, 41 & 42 Vic. c. 77.
36. T.S.A.S. liii. 293; S.R.O. 757, box 11, deed of 1810.
37. O.S. Map 6", Salop. LXXII. NW. (1891 edn.).
38. T.S.A.S. 2nd ser. viii. 197; cf. S.R.O., incl. award B 33.
39. Para. based on B.L. Maps, O.S.D. 206.
40. S.R.O. 757, box 10, deed of 1839.
41. Ibid, box 26, deed of 1681; box 31, deed of 1768; box 27, agreement of 1814; order of 1816.
42. S.R.O., incl. award B 33.
43. O.S. Map 1/25,000, SO 48/58 (1983 edn.).
44. O.S. Map 6", Salop. LXXII. NW. (1891 edn.).
45. S.R.O. 757, box 27, order of 1816; below, econ. hist.
46. Thom and Pearce, Quart in Pint Pot, map inside front cover.
47. S.R.O., incl. award B 33.
48. O.S. Map 6", Salop. LXXII. SW. (1891 and 1904 edns.). Para. based on B.L. Maps, O.S.D. 206.
49. S.R.O. 757, box 21, deed of 1740.
51. C. S. Burne, Salop. Folk-Lore (1883), 417; Eyton, iv. 6; Thom and Pearce, Quart in Pint Pot, facing p. 11.
52. A. H. S. Waters, Rep. on Water Supply (S.C.C. 1946), 80.
53. Salop. (R.E.E.D.), i. 325-6.
54. C. S. Burne, Salop. Folk-Lore (1888), 440.
55. Birm. Univ. Libr., Mytton Papers, v. 1224.
56. Thom and Pearce, Quart in Pint Pot, 26.
57. Burne, Salop. Folk-Lore, 339-40.
59. S.R.O., incl. award B 33.
60. S. Bagshaw, Dir. Salop. (1851), 551; P.O. Dir. Salop. (1863), 762; (1870), 148; Thom and Pearce, Quart in Pint Pot, 28, 30.
61. Registrar of Friendly Socs. List of Friendly Socs. in Co. of Salop, 1793-1855 (H.M.S.O. 1857; copy in S.R.O. 119/27), 5.
62. P.R.O., RG 9/1838, f. 53v.; RG 10/2727, ff. 53-66v.
63. Thom and Pearce, Quart in Pint Pot, 24, 30.
64. R. C. Elliott, 'Development of Public Libraries in Salop.' (Loughborough Univ. M.A. thesis, 1970; copy in co. libr.), 46, 125.
65. Thom and Pearce, op. cit. 28.
67. Shropshire Star, 24 Oct. 1979, p. 10.
68. D.N.B.; G.E.C. Baronetage, ii. 204.
69. S.P.R. Heref. xix (5), p. x (citing the MS. now S.P.L., MS. 14, p. 118).
70. H. P. R. Finberg, Early Charters of W. Midlands (1972), pp. 147-8, 203.
71. V.C.H. Salop. i. 312.
72. Rot. Hund. ii. 85.
73. Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iii. 215.
74. L. & P. Hen. VIII, xvii, p. 256.
75. Under 1 Eliz. I, c. 4: Cal. Pat. 1558-60, 31.
76. Cal. Pat. 1572-5, pp. 197, 546.
77. W. A. Shaw, Kts. of Eng. (1906), ii. 77.
78. S.R.O. 933, box 16, case [of 1823], mm. 7-12.
79. P.R.O., C 142/253, no. 68; above, Abdon, manor.
80. P.R.O., C 142/424, no. 86; S.R.O., q. sess. rec. box 260, reg. of gamekeepers 1742-79, 22 Dec. 1760, 20 Jan. 1770, 17 Sept. 1771; Brigges Estates Act, 1800, 39 & 40 Geo. III, c. 114 (Local and Personal); S.R.O. 933, box 16, case [of 1823]; Fitzwilliam Estates Act, 1833, 3 & 4 Wm. IV, c. 26 (Priv. Act). Cf. above, Abdon, manor.
81. S.R.O. 757, box 22, deed.
82. Below, this section; Kelly's Dir. Salop. (1917), 253.
83. B.L. Add. MS. 31932, f. 223.
84. T.S.A.S. 4th ser. iii. 316.
85. H.W.R.O.(H.), Heref. dioc. rec. AL 19/16 (ii), pp. 469-70.
86. G.E.C. Baronetage, ii. 204.
87. Glam. R.O., CL/Deeds I, Salop. 16 July 1650.
89. S.P.R. Heref. xix (5), 14. Cf. below, this section.
90. Hist. Parl., Commons, 1715-54, i. 572; S.R.O. 1037/27/36; 2589/R/1.
91. Act for Vesting Ests. of Eliz. Pearce and Wm. Hall, 1772, 12 Geo. III, c. 95 (Priv. Act); S.R.O. 757, box 35, deeds of 1809, 1813; box 9, deeds of 1825; box 10, deeds of 1834, 1839, 1867. For explanation of the descent 1813-34 see Salopian and W. Midland Monthly Illustr. Jnl. July 1876, 75.
92. Below, this section; Shrews. Chron. 19 Sept. 1919, p. .
94. Salopian and W. Midland Monthly Illustr. Jnl. July 1876, 75.
95. W.S.L. 350/3/40, Stoke St. Milborough p. 1.
96. Descr. based on inf. from Mrs. M. Moran.
97. Para. based on S.R.O. 1671/5, abstr. of title of E. H. Owen 1866.
98. S.R.O. 757, box 12, deed.
99. S.R.O. 4366/Pa/1; P.R.O., IR 29/29/84; IR 30/29/84, field 292.
100. S.R.O. 757, box 12, decl. of J. S. Bright.
101. P.R.O., IR 30/29/84 (not shown); S. Bagshaw, Dir. Salop. (1851), 551; S.R.O. 757, box 12, deed of 1867.
102. S.R.O. 757, box 12, decl. of J. S. Bright.
104. S.R.O. 933, box 16, case [of 1823], m. 6.
105. Birm. Univ. Libr., Mytton Papers, v. 1223.
106. S.P.R. Heref. iv (2), 239.
107. Ibid. xix (5), 14; M.I. of Eliz. Lucy in ch.
108. Above, this section; S.R.O. 1037/27/36; 12 Geo. III, c. 95 (Priv. Act).
109. S.R.O. 757, box 35, deed of 1809.
110. Ibid. box 20, decl. of T. J. Griffiths; Dict. Welsh Biog. 189.
111. S.R.O. 757, box 20, Cath. Edwards's will, sched. of deeds, deed of 1867.
112. Geo. Lee said to have lived there: W.S.L. 350/3/40, Stoke St. Milborough p. 3.
113. Descr. based on inf. from Mrs. Moran; H.W.R.O.(H.), Heref. dioc. rec., inv. of Eliz. Lucy, 1667.
114. S.P.R. Heref. xix (5), p. x.
115. Ibid. 13; S.R.O. 933, box 16, case [of 1823], m. 12.
116. S.R.O. 757, box 17, deed; S.P.R. Heref. xix (5), 3, 58.
117. S.P.R. Heref. xix (5), 70.
118. S.R.O. 757, box 19, deeds of 1760, 1763; box 20, deeds of 1793, 1871, bill of complaint 1871.
119. S.P.L., MS. 6862, f. 119v.
120. S.R.O. 933, box 16, case [of 1823], m. 7.
121. S.R.O. 757, box 15, deed of 1832; 1141, box 49, deed of 1869.
122. S.R.O. 4366/Pa/1, field P 1; S.R.O. 4190/2, lot 59.
123. S.R.O. 757, box 14, deed of 1772; box 15, deed of 1800; P.R.O., IR 29/29/84, field 261; S.R.O. 4190/2, lot 61.
124. S.R.O. 1141, box 49, deed of 1869.
125. Descr. based on inf. from Mrs. Moran.
126. London Metropolitan Archives, Acc. 1876/D 6/326, 329-30, 332-3; Sutton's Hosp., Charterhouse, assembly order bk. B, ff. 76v.-77.
127. Sutton's Hosp., Charterhouse, assembly order bk. 1, p. 96; S.R.O. 757, box 27, deed of 1811; Dioc. of Heref. Institutions (1539-1900), ed. A. T. Bannister (Heref. 1923), 105, 135.
128. S.R.O. 757, box 27, Wm. Smith's will, marr., bur., and bapt. certifs., deed of 1874.
129. Descr. based on inf. from Mrs. Moran.
130. S.R.O. 933, box 16, case [of 1823], mm. 5-6.
131. P.R.O., C 2/Jas. I/S 39/4; Barnard MSS., Raby Castle, bdle. 3, no. 3.
132. S.P.L., MS. 6862, f. 122.
133. S.R.O. 515/1, p. 35.
134. S.R.O. 757, box 25, Geo. Creighton's will, deeds of 1819, 1837, 1846, 1875.
135. Descr. based on inf. from Mrs. Moran.
136. S.R.O. 757, box 29, deeds.
137. Complete Peerage, ii. 269.
138. S.R.O. 5236/A/49, abstr. of title.
139. S.R.O. 4190/2; Shrews. Chron. 19 and 26 Sept. 1919.
140. Finberg, Early Charters of W. Midlands, pp. 148, 203.
141. V.C.H. Salop. i. 313.
142. Rot. Cur. Reg. (Rec. Com.), i. 136.
143. S.R.O. 1224, box 342, Prior Gosnell's reg. f. 5v.
144. Rot. Hund. ii. 85; Cal. Inq. p.m. ii, p. 59.
145. Cal. Chart. R. 1257-1300, 406; Cartulary of Shrews. Abbey, ed. U. Rees (1975), ii, p. 246.
146. Feud. Aids, iv. 228; P.R.O., CP 25/1/194/13, no. 1.
148. Ibid. 5237; T.S.A.S. lviii. 74.
149. Feud. Aids, iv. 269; S.P.L., Deeds 5238.
150. Cal. Fine R. 1485-1509, pp. 101, 158.
152. Dukes, Antiquities of Salop. 91; P.R.O., C 142/183, no. 52.
153. S.P.L., Deeds 3299, 3346.
154. Ibid. 3299, 3301, 3305-6.
155. P.R.O., C 142/475, no. 128.
156. G.E.C. Baronetage, ii. 204.
157. P.R.O., CP 25/2/590/1653 East. no. 14; CP 25/2/712/14 Chas. II East. no. 9.
158. Shaw, Kts. of Eng. ii. 252; S.P.L., MS. 4360, p. 31.
160. S.R.O., q. sess. rec. box 260, reg. of gamekeepers 1742-79, 17 Dec. 1747.
161. S.R.O. 807/78-9. For relationships and dates of death 1680-1755 see Complete Peerage, iii. 128-9; Burke, Ext. Peerage (1846), 91; Burke, Land. Gent. (1937), 2341; S.P.R. Heref. iv (2), 341.
163. S.P.L., MS. 6862, f. 119v.
164. For which see Burke, Peerage (1959), 264.
165. Shropshire Star, 30 Dec. 1991, p. 5.
166. Who Was Who, 1961-70, 118.
167. S.C.C. Ch. Exec.'s Dept., file CL(A) 933, Benson & Rogers-Coltman to clk. 17 July 1970.
168. P.R.O., IR 29/29/84; S.R.O. 4011/39, nos. 255-7, 263, 265-6, 324; 4366/Pa/1.
169. Shrews. Chron. 22 Aug. 1919, p. ; H.W.R.O.(H.), T 74/825.
171. So called in 1815: S.R.O. 4366/Pa/1, field G 13. Located from P.R.O., IR 29/29/84; IR 30/29/84, field 71.
172. Cal. Pat. 1572-5, p. 546; P.R.O., C 142/253, no. 68; CP 43/262, rot. 30.
173. P.R.O., CP 25/2/590/1650 East. no. 31.
174. S.R.O. 933, box 16, case [of 1823], mm. 12-14, 17.
175. Heref. D. & C. mun. 5299.
176. P.R.O., IR 29/29/84; IR 29/29/154; below, church.
177. Para. based on V.C.H. Salop. i. 312-13.
178. T.S.A.S. 2nd ser. viii. 196; 4th ser. i. 391-3; field names in P.R.O., IR 29/29/84; IR 30/29/84.
179. V.C.H. Salop. iv. 43-4.
180. Cur. Reg. R. xiv. 248; Bracton's Note Bk. ed. Maitland, ii, p. 455.
181. T.S.A.S. 4th ser. i. 391-3.
182. Rot. Hund. ii. 85; Cal. Chart. R. 1257-1300, 406.
183. P.R.O., IR 29/29/84; IR 30/29/84, fields 42, 301; S.R.O. 757, box 31, deed of 1768; J. Field, Eng. FieldNames: A Dictionary (1989), 220.
184. S.R.O. 566/1, ct. r.; 1037/19/1.
185. S.R.O. 1224/2/1, ct. r.
187. Tax. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 164.
188. Inq. Non. 188 (figs. include the Heath and Norncott).
189. B.L. Add. MS. 6165, p. 99.
190. Ibid. 6164, p. 384.
191. Valor Eccl. iii. 215.
192. Dukes, Antiquities of Salop. 88.
194. H.W.R.O.(H.), HD 2/10/33; T.S.A.S. 2nd ser. viii. 198. Rotbach and Highway fields located from P.R.O., IR 29/29/84; IR 30/29/84, fields 386, 494.
196. S.R.O. 757, box 21, deed of 1740.
197. S.R.O., incl. award B 21, John Wheelwright's claim 11 Aug. 1809.
198. B.L. Lansd. MS. 1, f. 190 and v.; P.R.O., C 104/26, comrs.' return of 1517.
199. B.L. Add. MS. 31932, f. 223.
200. S.R.O. 757, box 28, deed.
201. London Metropolitan Archives, Acc. 1876/M.P. 6/38.
202. S.R.O. 1224, box 342, Prior Gosnell's reg. f. 40v.
203. e.g. S.R.O. 1146/16 (deed of 1620).
204. S.R.O. 757, box 28, deed.
205. Downton Hall muniments, lease of 1691.
206. S.R.O. 757, box 26, deed of 1681; 1671/5, sched. of deeds.
207. S.R.O. 1141, box 51, deed of 1650; abstr. of title.
208. S.R.O. 757, box 17, deed.
209. Ibid. box 21, deeds of 1740, 1753.
210. Para. based on H.W.R.O.(H.), Heref. dioc. rec., prob. invs. Transcripts were lent by Dr. B. S. Trinder.
212. S.R.O. 757, box 19, deed of 1729/30.
213. London Metropolitan Archives, Acc. 1876/M.P. 6/38; /D 6/342.
214. H.W.R.O.(H.), Heref. dioc. rec., inv. of Geo. Wood, 1708.
215. London Metropolitan Archives, Acc. 1876/D 6/342.
216. Abdon and Stoke St. Milborough Incl. Act, 1809, 49 Geo. III, c. 109 (Local and Personal); S.R.O., incl. award B 33.
217. S.C.C. Ch. Exec.'s Dept., commons reg., reg. unit nos. CL 12 (partly in other pars.), CL 72.
218. S.P.L., MS. 6862, f. 120v.; P.R.O., HO 67/12, no. 216.
219. London Metropolitan Archives, Acc. 1876/D 6/342; S.R.O. 515/6, p. 17; 4366/Pa/1; P.R.O., IR 29/29/84; IR 30/29/84.
220. Shrews. Chron. 9 July 1819, p. .
221. S.R.O. 1671/5, valn. of E. H. Owen's est.; above, manors (Stoke St. Milborough Lodge).
222. S.R.O. 4011/39; 4366/Pa/1; P.R.O., IR 29/29/84; O.S. Maps 6", Salop. LXV. SE., SW. (1903 edn.); LXXII. NE., NW., SE. (1903 edn.), SW. (1904 edn.).
223. P.R.O., HO 107/1982, ff. 491v.-492v.
224. S.R.O. 4011/39; 4366/Pa/1; P.R.O., IR 29/29/84.
225. Thom and Pearce, Quart in Pint Pot, 39.
226. P.R.O., IR 29/29/84. Para. based on Table XXIV and R. Dumont, Types of Rural Economy (1957), 384-6.
228. S.R.O. 566/1, ct. r.
229. S.R.O. 757, box 10, deed of 1839 (with map); O.S. Map 1/2,500, Salop. LXXII. 6 (1884 edn.).
230. S.R.O. 3756/174, no. 75.
231. S.R.O. 4190/2, lot 7.
232. Kelly's Dir. Salop. (1929), 275; S.R.O. 3756/174, no. 75.
234. S.R.O. 1224/2/1, ct. r.
235. Downton Hall muniments, deed.
236. B.L. Add. MS. 31932, f. 223.
237. Cal. S.P. Dom. 1637, 445.
238. Geol. Surv. Map 1", solid, sheet 166 (1974 edn.).
239. O.S. Map 1/2,500, Salop. LXV. 15 (1884 edn.).
240. S.R.O., incl. award B 33.
241. S.P.L., MS. 6862, ff. 119v., 121.
242. G. L. A. Price, 'Coal mining in the Clee Hills', Birm. Enterprise Club Trans. ii. 15 (copy in S.P.L.).
243. P.R.O., RG 9/1838, ff. 52v., 61v., 63v.-64v; RG 10/2727, ff. 53-58v., 62-66v.
244. Cal. S.P. Dom. 1637, 445.
245. O.S. Maps 1/2,500, Salop. LXXII. 2, 3, 6, 11, 14 (1884 edn.); D. C. Greig and others, Geol. of Country around Ch. Stretton, Craven Arms, Wenlock Edge and Brown Clee (Mem. Geol. Surv. 1968), 226, 244.
246. London Metropolitan Archives, Acc. 1876/M.P. 6/38.
247. S.R.O. 4366/Pa/1, fields B 27, D 22.
248. Greig, Geol. around Ch. Stretton, 227; Thom and Pearce, Quart in Pint Pot, 33.
249. S.P.L., MS. 6862, f. 120v.
250. P.R.O., HO 107/913/13, f. 18; HO 107/1982, f. 491.
251. P.R.O., HO 107/1982, f. 488v.; S.R.O. 4366/Rg/5, 18 Mar. 1846, 31 Jan. 1848.
252. S.R.O. 4366/Rg/5, 20 May 1821; P.R.O., HO 107/1982, ff. 487v.-488; RG 12/2083, ff. 4v., 5v., 12 and v., 13v.
253. O.S. Maps 1/2,500, Salop. LXXII. 2, 3, 5, 6, 11 (1884 and 1903 edns.); Greig, Geol. around Ch. Stretton, 227, 235.
254. O.S. Map 1/2,500, Salop. LXV. 15 (1903 edn.) (not shown); Thom and Pearce, Quart in Pint Pot, 19-20; B. E. Simmonds, Brown Clee Liberty and Clee St. Margaret ([Clee St. Margaret] 1992), 71-2 (copy in S.P.L.).
255. S.R.O. 566/1; 1190/1, unlisted ct. r. 1403-4; 1224/2/1-9.
257. B.L. Add. MS. 31932, f. 223.
258. S.R.O., incl. award B 21, J. Powell and others to Jos. Loxdale 28 Mar. 1811.
259. Downton Hall muniments, abstr. of title of Wm. Pearce Hall.
260. S.R.O. 1224/2/370, 377-9, 389-94, 398, 400, 403-7, 418-30, 432, 515-27.
261. S.R.O., incl. award B 21, memo. of Brown Clee drift, 1553; swainmote ct. r. (copies); S.R.O. 1037/21/1.
263. O.S. Nat. Grid SO 582 834: London Metropolitan Archives, Acc. 1876/M.P. 6/38.
264. Ibid. Acc. 1876/D 6/342.
265. S.R.O. 1037/21/10; above, Abdon, local govt.
268. T.S.A.S. lvi. 315-16, 322.
269. S. Bagshaw, Dir. Salop. (1851), 550.
270. W.B.R., Q1/13/151; S.R.O. 53/74; 5709, overseers' acct. 1737-8.
271. S.R.O. 53/74, 20 July 1774, 21 May 1783, 29 Feb. 1784.
272. Ibid. 8 June 1786, 4 Mar. 1790; S.P.L., MS. 6862, f. 121.
273. S.R.O. 53/74, overseers' accts. from 1812.
274. V. J. Walsh, 'Admin. of Poor Laws in Salop. 1820-55' (Pennsylvania Univ. Ph.D. thesis, 1970), 150 (copy in S.R.O.); Kelly's Dir. Salop. (1929), 275.
275. Lond. Gaz. 27 Mar. 1863, p. 1772; S.R.O., S.C.C. Local Govt., etc., cttee. min. bk. 1894-1903, p. 29.
276. Rural Dist. Councillors Electn. Order, 1894 (Local Govt. Bd. order no. 31847); V.C.H. Salop. ii. 215; iii. 179, and sources cited ibid. 169 n. 29.
277. Inf. from the clk., Hopton Cangeford and Stoke St. Milborough par. council.
278. Archit. evidence below, this section.
279. Tax. Eccl. 166. There is no evidence that the par. was formed out of Holy Trin., Much Wenlock, as suggested in Minsters and Par. Churches, ed. J. Blair (1988), 73.
281. Cal. Pat. 1266-72, 710; 1572-5, p. 197. Cf. above, manors.
282. Cal. Pat. 1340-3, 473; 1348-50, 400, 461, 496; 1388- 92, 116, 233, 323; 1391-6, 514. Cf. V.C.H. Salop. ii. 42.
283. L. & P. Hen. VIII, xvii, p. 256.
284. S.R.O. 933, box 16, case [of 1823], m. 11; T.S.A.S. xlvi. 32.
285. H.W.R.O.(H.), Heref. dioc. rec. AL 19/16, f. 295.
286. Downton Hall muniments, deed.
287. T.S.A.S. 3rd ser. v. 358; 4th ser. iii. 321-2, 324.
288. W.S.L. 350/3/40, Stoke St. Milborough p. 3; Dioc. of Heref. Institutions (1539-1900), ed. A. T. Bannister (Heref. 1923), 49, 77, 91, 105, 137, 141; T.S.A.S. 4th ser. ii. 109; S.P.L., MS. 6862, f. 123. Cf. above, manors (Stoke Ct.).
289. S.R.O. 757, box 11, deed of 1832 (copy); Gent. Mag. ccxxii (N.S. iii), 253. Rest of para. based on Bannister, op cit. 137, 141, 143, 180, 208.
290. Shrews. Chron. 28 July 1893, p. 8; 1 Sept. 1893, p. 7; 8 Feb. 1901, p. 5; Crockford (1897), 1249.
291. S.R.O. 5985, vestry min. bk. 1834-1920, 15 Apr. 1901; Heref. Dioc. Regy., reg. 1902-19, pp. 50, 271; 1926-38, p. 427; Burke, Land. Gent. (1937), 2329, 2341.
292. Heref. Dioc. Regy., reg. 1953-68, pp. 58, 196, 416; Crockford (1955-6), 1653; (1957-8), 1654.
293. Heref. Dioc. Regy., reg. 1969- (in use), pp. 127, 299, 457-8, 507; Crockford (1977-9), 616; (1989-90), 557.
295. B.L. Add. MS. 50121, pp. 21-2.
296. Ibid. 6164, p. 410.
297. Valor Eccl. iii. 201.
298. S.P.L., MS. 6862, ff. 73, 120, 123v.
299. S.R.O. 515/8, pp. 151-3.
300. Rep. Com. Eccl. Rev. , p. 451, H.C. (1835), xxii.
301. P.R.O., IR 29/29/84; IR 29/29/154.
302. Return of Glebe Land, 1887, H.C. 307, p. 61 (1887), lxiv.
303. Dumont, Types of Rural Economy, 396 n.
305. S.P.L., MS. 6862, f. 123; detached date stone 'IP 1764' preserved in gdn. wall. The work was later attributed to C. Pearce Hall's mother Eliz. Pearce, d. 1762: S.P.L., MS. 6862, f. 123; above, manors (Stoke Ct.). She was also John's mother and patron: S.P.R. Heref. xix (5), p. viii; Bannister, Heref. Institutions, 93. Pt. of ho. visible on a drawing of 1791: S.P.L., MS. 372, vol. iii, f. 30.
306. H.W.R.O.(H.), Heref. dioc. rec. AL 19/23, f. 20v.; S.R.O., q. sess. order bk. 1757-72, f. 105 and v.
308. H.W.R.O.(H.), HD 8, box 31, faculty papers and drawings (ref. supplied by Mr. C. J. Pickford).
309. P.R.O., IR 29/29/84; IR 30/29/84, fields 489-90; O.S. Map 1/2,500, Salop. LXXII. 2 (1884 edn.).
310. S.R.O., reg. of electors, Ludlow const. (1973), 472; (1974), 474; above, this section.
311. Eyton, iv. 12; S.R.O. 1224/2/1, Stoke ct. r.
312. Reg. Swinfield (C.S.), 541; S.R.O. 1037/3/121, deed of 1328.
314. T.S.A.S. 4th ser. x. 210; S.P.R. Heref. xix (5), pp. x, 19, 35-7, 41-2, 53, 65, 80; S.R.O. 4366/MRg/1; /Rg/5; S.P.L., MS. 6862, f. 73v.; P.O. Dir. Salop. (1856-79); Kelly's Dir. Salop. (1885-1941); S.R.O., reg. of electors, Ludlow const. (1951), 478; (1953), 473; (1958), 482.
315. S.P.R. Heref. xv (2), 74; xix (5), p. x; T.S.A.S. xlvi. 32, 44; ibid. 3rd ser. v. 358.
316. Bannister, Heref. Institutions, 105, 137; Burke, Land. Gent. (1952), 2024; S.P.L., MS. 6862, f. 123.
317. S.P.R. Heref. xix (5), pp. x, 116-20; S.P.L., MS. 6862, f. 73v.
318. H.W.R.O.(H.), HD 5/15, Stoke St. Milborough.
319. S.P.L., MS. 6862, f. 123v.; above, this article, intro.
320. P.R.O., HO 129/352, no. 46.
321. Thom and Pearce, Quart in Pint Pot, 27.
323. B.L. Add. MS. 30316, f. 29.
324. P.N. Salop. (E.P.N.S.), i. 283.
325. Fig. 39. Descr. based on P. Klein, Guide to Stoke St. Milborough Par. Church ([Stoke St. Milborough] 1992). Thanks are due to Mr. Klein for discussions about the fabric.
326. Reg. Spofford (C.S.), 49.
327. Beam dated 1698, parapets 1711.
329. Earlier arms in tower in 1992. Before the casting was made, the 'C' of the wooden pattern, which represented Chas. II's arms, was changed to 'G', probably for 'Gulielmus' (Wm. III) but conceivably for 'Georgius', the arms themselves remaining unaltered.
330. Stored at W. end in 1992.
331. Eddowes's Jnl. 12 Oct. 1859, p. 7 (ref. supplied by Mr. Klein).
332. H. B. Walters, Ch. Bells of Salop. (Oswestry, 1915), 159-60, 417.
333. D. L. Arkwright and B. W. Bourne, Ch. Plate Archd. Ludlow (Shrews. 1961), 57.
334. S.P.R. Heref. xix (5), esp. p. x; S.R.O. 4366/Rg/5; /MRg/2; 5985; regs. at ch.
335. Heref. Dioc. Regy., reg. 1883-1901, pp. 637-8; 1953- 68, p. 396.
336. H.W.R.O.(H.), HD 5/15, Stoke St. Milborough.
337. Below, the Heath, chapel of ease.
338. P.R.O., IR 29/29/84; IR 30/29/84, field 76; Downton Hall muniments, deed of 1830 (Edw. Walker to Rob. Head).
339. Compton Census, ed. Whiteman, 255; Worcs. Recusant, liv. 35.
340. S.R.O. 4366/Pa/1. There was no Wesleyan mtg. at Stanton then: S.R.O. 5630/1/1. The medieval chapel was c. 1 km. W. of Chapel Ho.
342. S.R.O. 1141, box 45, deed of 1842; P.R.O., HO 129/352, no. 50.
343. S.R.O. 3544/7/2, p. 25; /7/3, 24 July 1922.
344. S.R.O. 2612/11, June 1841.
345. P.R.O., HO 129/352, no. 51.
346. S.R.O. 3544/7/3, 2 Jan., 21 Aug. 1922.
347. Methodist Church Bldgs.: Statistical Returns 1940 (Manchester c. 1947), 271.
348. S.R.O. 5166/1/2/1/2, pp. 228-9.
349. P.R.O., HO 129/352, no. 48; Heref. Dioc. Regy., reg. 1822-42, p. 11.
350. S.R.O. 5236/A/49, deed; P.R.O., IR 29/29/84; IR 30/29/84, field 736.
351. Thom and Pearce, Quart in Pint Pot, 37; P.R.O., HO 129/352, no. 48; IR 29/29/84; IR 30/29/84, field 722; S.R.O. 5236/A/49, Succession Duty acct. of 1856.
352. P.R.O. HO 107/1982, f. 489; Thom and Pearce, op. cit. 37-8.
353. West of the Clee, x (11), 2 (copy in S.P.L., class QK 97 v.f.).
354. S.R.O. 2941/2/2, 21 Dec. 1835.
355. P.R.O., HO 129/352, no. 49.
356. O.N.S. (Birkdale), Worship Reg. no. 9913 (de-registration of Prim. Meth. chap. at Stoke 1880 on revision of official list).
357. S.R.O. 3212/8/1, p. 171.
358. S.R.O. 53/74, vestry mins. 1759-60. At O.S. Nat. Grid SO 568 822: P.R.O., IR 29/29/84; IR 30/29/84, field 397.
359. S.R.O. 53/74, vestry min. 19 Jan. 1760; 3rd Rep. Com. Char. H.C. 5, pp. 307-8 (1820), iv.
360. S.P.L., MS. 6862, f. 121v.
361. Digest Educ. Poor, H.C. 224, p. 762 (1819), ix (2).
362. 3rd Rep. Com. Char. 307.
363. Educ. Enq. Abstract, ii, H.C. 62, p. 784 (1835), xlii; S. Bagshaw, Dir. Salop. (1851), 551.
364. Mins. of Educ. Cttee. of Council , p. 511, H.C. (1852-3), lxxx (1).
365. Salopian and W. Midland Monthly Illustr. Jnl. July 1876, 75; P.R.O., ED 7/103, ff. 83-4.
366. S.R.O. 1564/351, 352-4 (watermarked 1870).
367. P.R.O., ED 7/103, ff. 83-4.
368. S.R.O. 2251/1, p. 85.
369. Thom and Pearce, Quart in Pint Pot, 23.
370. S.R.O., DA 22/100/7, p. 343.
371. Shropshire Mag. Dec. 1979, 29, 49.
372. Kelly's Dir. Salop. (1885), 964; (1909), 260.
373. S.R.O. 2251/1, pp. 26, 148.
375. Ibid. pp. 10, 174, 209.
376. Ibid. pp. 206, 219.
378. Ibid. pp. 247, 251.
379. S.C.C. Educ. Cttee. Sch. List (1968), 8.
380. R. J. Phillips, Church and State: Heref. Diocesan Schs. , 97.
381. Thom and Pearce, Quart in Pint Pot, 37.
382. S.C.C. Mins. 1894-9, Intermediate Educ. Cttee. reps.
383. Board in church. Modified by deed of 1859: S.C.C. Ch. Exec.'s Dept., chars. index.
384. S.C.C. Ch. Exec.'s Dept., chars. index.
385. Review of Local Chars. (S.C.C. 1975), 60.

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