Stoke St. Milborough

is a parish in the lower division of the Munslow hundred, comprising 4,400 acres of land, and is divided for highway purposes into the townships of Clee Downton, Clee Stanton, and Stoke, and the chapelry of Heath. At the census of 1841 there were 110 houses and 553 inhabitants exclusive of the chapelry of Heath, which contained ten houses and a population of sixty-three souls. Rateable value, £4,454. 8s. The village of Stoke is delightfully situated in a romantic district, near the southern side of the Brown Clee Hill, six miles and a half N.N.E. from Ludlow. From the summit of the Brown Clee Hill, which is chiefly situated in this parish, a most beautiful panoramic view is seen of the country, which for extent and diversity is not surpassed in England. To the north and south are seen the fruitful plains of Shropshire, pleasingly varied with woody hills, and lovely vales dotted with the humble cottage of the labourer and the mansion of the opulent, whilst the Cambrian hills, which rear their lofty heights in wild grandeur towards the west, give an additional charm to the enchanting scene. According to the description given of the manor of Stoke St. Milborough at the Doomsday survey, it would seem then to have consisted of seven hides of land, and a large wood. Earl Roger gave it to the chaplains of the church of St. Milborough. The principal landowners are the Hon. Sidney Herbert; Dr. Cavendish Wall; E. H. Owen, Esq.; and Mr. John Patrick; there are also several other proprietors. The Hon. Sidney Herbert, lord of the manor, regularly pays a fee farm rent of £29. 10s. 3d. to the Duke of Cleveland, as the representative of the grantee of it from the crown; and the Hon. S. Herbert collects from various freeholders of the manor several rents amounting in the aggregate to the said sum. The Church is a venerable structure, dedicated to the saint from whom the name of the parish is derived. The interior is commodious, and contains an antique font, and several ancient monuments to the Lee family. It has a handsome tower and four bells. The living is a vicarage, with the curacy of Heath annexed, returned at £474, in the patronage and incumbency of the Rev. George Morgan, M.A. The Vicarage is a good residence, and pleasantly situated. The Methodists and Primitive Methodists have each a small chapel here; and there is a National School. “In the afternoon of Monday, July 25, 1768, there happened an extraordinary gust of wind, a few miles to the north-west of Cleobury, in Shropshire. Its effects were most remarkable in the parish of Stoke St. Milborough, where it unroofed the dwelling house, barns, stables, and every other building belonging to a farmer of the name of Bishop; one of which buildings was entirely levelled with the ground. In his orchard it destroyed upwards of sixty apple and pear trees, which were either broken off in the butt, or forced up by the roots. Several large elms and poplar trees were likewise blown down. He computed the damage he had sustained at £300. His son, a youth sixteen years of age, being in the fold, was lifted four or five yards above the surface of the ground, and carried to the distance of eighty yards, part of the space being over a fish-pond, a hedge, and a stone wall; but at last, falling gradually in a field of hay, he received but little hurt.” A donation of £400 has been invested by the present incumbent in the three per cent. consols, in the names of certain trustees, the dividends of which are laid out in bread, and distributed among such poor as are most regular in their attendance at church.

Directory.—Richard Andrews, shoemaker; James Blakemore, farmer; John T. Bright, farmer and corn miller, Court house; Thomas Colton, vict., Red Lion; John Humphries, shopkeeper; Thomas Humphries, wheelwright; John Jones, blacksmith; Samuel Jones, shoemaker; E. H. Owen, Esq., St. Milborough lodge; John Patrick, farmer; Henry Speak, farmer; John Wall, farmer.

Clee Downton, a small scattered village in the parish of Stoke St. Milborough, consists of a few scattered houses about a mile from the church. E. H. Owen, Esq., is the landowner. The chief residents are Edward Powell, farmer; Edward Poyner, farmer; Richard Sambrook, farmer; William Summers, farmer; and Richard and Thomas Whiteman, farmers.

Clee Stanton is a village with a few straggling houses, at the foot of Titterstone Hill, two miles east from Stoke St. Milborough. Sir William R. Boughton, and Robert Head, Esq., are the landowners. The principal residents are Henry Ainsworth, farmer; Edward Millichamp, farmer; John Poter, farmer.

Heath, a chapelry in the parish of Stoke St. Milborough, contains 386 acres of land, and is situated two miles north by west from the church. Gross estimated rental, £492. 10s. The landowners are the Earl of Craven; Edward Turner, Esq.; and Thomas and Edward Millichamp. At the census of 1841 there were ten houses and sixty-eight inhabitants. The tithes are commuted for £28, and there are 28 acres of glebe land. The Chapel is a small but interesting structure, the interior of which is admired for its beautiful carved oak. Its architecture displays traces of the Norman style. Service is performed only once during the month.

The principal residents at Heath are Benjamin Cocks, farmer; Edward Millichamp, farmer, New house; Edward Powis, bailiff to E. Turner, Esq.; Mr. Edward Price, Heath cottage.