Little Wenlock

is a parish and small rural village, styled in ancient records “Wenlock under the Wrekin,” and is situated three miles south from Wellington, thee miles north-west from Ironbridge, five miles N.N.E. from Much Wenlock, and eleven miles south-east from Shrewsbury. The village is pleasantly situated on a bold acclivity, near the eastern side of the Wrekin, commanding some fine views over a picturesque and delightful district. The Wrekin stands partly in this parish, and also extends into the parishes of Wellington, Wroxeter, and Uppington. The Willow Moor or Wrekin farm is situated in a sequestered vale near to the Wrekin. This valley is supposed to have been the scene of a battle at some remote period. As a labourer was cutting a drain in the year 1835, about a hundred yards from the turnpike from Little Wenlock to Wellington, he suddenly came upon a heap of broken spears, which had been thrown together, and which it is stated numbered between two and three hundred. In the immediate vicinity are five barrows, which were opened about sixteen years ago, but nothing was discovered in them. The parish comprises 2,460 acres of land, the soil of which is a mixture of clay and gravel, producing tolerable crops of wheat, barley, and turnips. The minerals are ironstone, coal, and limestone, but none of these valuable minerals are got except on the northern verge of the parish, probably in consequence of their abundance in the adjacent parishes, where extensive iron works and collieries have long been established. Lord Forester is the owner of the land, and lord of the manor. At the census in 1801 the parish contained a population of 980 souls; 1831, 1,057; and in 1841 there were 202 houses, and 1,091 inhabitants, of whom 578 were males, and 513 females; in 1851 there were 1,034 inhabitants, and 199 houses. Gross estimated rental of the parish, £3,760. 10s. Rateable value, £4,351. 8s.

The Church is a very ancient structure, dedicated to St. Lawrence. The body of the church appears of older date than the tower, which was built in 1667. The fabric was enlarged in 1822 by adding a south transept of brick; the rest of the structure is of free stone. The tower contains five bells. The pulpit is of carved oak, very ancient. There is accommodation for upwards of 600 persons: 520 of the seats are free and unappropriated. A neat marble font is placed at the west end. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s book at £11. 13s. 4d., in the patronage of Lord Forester: incumbent, Rev. George Edmonds, M.A. The tithes have been commuted for £584. 3s. 4d., and there are nine acres of glebe land. The parish register dates from the year 1689. In the church-yard are several venerable yew trees. The Rectory is a commodious brick residence, a short distance from the church, from which are seen some pleasing and picturesque views of the country. The house stands 600 feet above the level of the Severn, whose silvery waters flow in the vale beneath. Wenlock Hall is now divided into cottage tenements. Huntington is a hamlet about a mile north from the church. Coalmoor a hamlet a mile south from the church.

Charities.—Maurice Haywood, who died in 1760, bequeathed the sum of £10, the interest thereof to be distributed in bread to the poor of the parish on St. Thomas’s day, yearly. This legacy was paid to the churchwarden, and the parish has ever since made a distribution of bread to the amount of the interest at five per cent. Mrs. Alice Green gave an annuity of 11s. 6d. to the poor of this parish, payable out of an estate called the Dairy House Farm, at Brierley, in the parish of Sedgley, in Staffordshire, of which 10s. was to be given to the poor, and 1s. 6d. to the person who fetched it for his trouble. The estate on which this annuity is charged is the property of Mrs. Foley. Much irregularity has taken place in the payment of this little annuity, in consequence apparently of the distance from which it was to be procured.

Mrs. Mary Tipton, in the year 1844, bequeathed £50, and directed so much of the interest as should be necessary to be applied in painting and keeping in repair her monument in the church-yard, and the residue to be annually distributed among the poor. Mrs. Hannah Shepherd bequeathed the sum of £100, the interest to be applied in the purchase of suitable clothing for the benefit of the poor.

Marked 1 are at Coalmoor, 2 Huntingdon, and the rest in Little Wenlock or where specified.

Boore Edward, maltster

Boore George, grocer

Boore John, farmer

1 Boycott Richard, charter master

1 Boycott William, draper, grocer and farmer

Chant Thomas, shoemaker

Davis Richard, farmer

Davis Thomas, farmer and maltster

2 Dawes Benjamin, maltster

Edmonds Rev. George, A.M. rector, The Rectory

Edmonds William, Esq.

1 Garbitt Wm., vict., Peacock

Harper Daniel, farmer, Wrekin farm

Harris Edwin, vict., Spread Eagle

Hulse John, beerhouse keeper

2 Jervis Francis, farmer, maltster, and collector of taxes

Jones Martha, beerhouse keeper

1 Milner William, farmer and maltster

1 Maun James, vict., Labour in Vain

Poole Mrs. Charlotte

Poole Henry, blacksmith and shopkeeper

1 Ralphs John, sawyer and beerhouse

1 Shepherd, Richard, farmer

Steele William, farmer and vict., Five Bells

Walker Edward, farmer, Willow Moor

Wellings, Walter, farmer

Williams Mrs. Emma

Wilson John, farmer

2 Yates Catherine, farmer