Tibberton

is a chapelry, township, and small village three miles W.W. by N. from Edgemond, which contains 1418a. 1a. 22p. of land, the soil of which is chiefly a cold clay, in some parts it is of a light loamy nature, and highly fertile, having been much improved by superior cultivation. The farms here are of considerable extent, the land held by fourteen different tenants within memory of man, is now held by three farmers; nearly the whole of the land is the property of the Duke of Sutherland, there are, however, three small freeholders, viz., the Rev. J. D. Pigott, Mr. J. Brittain, and Mr. J. Fletcher. Rateable value of the township, £2,410. 5s. 5d. At the census in 1801 there were 289 inhabitants; 1831, 351, and in 1841 72 houses and 329 souls. The Chapel is a small structure of free stone, and consists of nave and chancel, with a square tower. It stands near the site of a former edifice which had become dilapidated. The Rev. George Pigott is the officiating minister. There are several handsome monumental tombs in memory of members of some of the principal families in the neighbourhood in the cemetery which surrounds the chapel. A National School has been built in the village; about sixty scholars attend. The Primitive Methodists have a small chapel here, built in the year 1842. The paper mill of Mr. J. Brittain is situated near the church. The Spray Hill is an eminence planted with a clump of Scotch pine trees, which is a conspicuous object for many miles round. The poor of this township receive 14s. worth of bread out of the rents of the poor’s lands at Edgmond. In the returns of charitable donations made to parliament under the act 26th George III. there is mentioned a legacy of £40 by one Mr. Matthews, to poor housekeepers at Tibberton, which is stated to be then in the hands of William Fletcher, rendering an annual interest of £1. 12s. There is no evidence to show what become of the ultimate destination of this gift, but its benefits have long been lost to the poor.

Directory.—The farmers are Thomas Green, Day House; Thomas Jones and William Taylor, Tibberton Grange; the other principal residents are Robert Bates, wheelwright; John Booth, butcher; John Brittain, paper manufacturer; Henry Cotton, blacksmith; John Crawford, shoemaker; Theophilus Fletcher, shoemaker and beerhouse keeper; William Howle, tailor; William Lawley, schoolmaster; Mary Morgan, beerhouse keeper; Elizabeth Podmore, schoolmistress; Robert Simpson, wheelwright.