Priors Ditton,

or Ditton Priors is a parish and village pleasantly situated on the northern verge of the Brown Clee Hill, eight miles south-west from Bridgnorth. The parish contains the townships of Priors Ditton, Ashfield and Ruthall, and Middleton Priors, and has 5,284 acres of land, mostly of an inferior quality, the rateable value of which is £3,451. 4s. 8d. At the census of 1801 the parish had a population of 620 souls; 1831, 620; and in 1841 there were 137 houses and 660 inhabitants. The township of Priors Ditton contains 2,154a. 0r. 34p. of land, and in 1841 had 81 houses and 359 inhabitants. Rateable value, £1,597. 1s. 8d. The principal landowners in this township are Philip Henry Howard, Esq., William Millward, Esq., and Mrs. Ann Howells; the former is lord of the manor, and impropriator. The Church dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is an ancient structure consisting of nave, chancel, and south aisle, with a short tower upon which was erected a spire in the year 1831, at a cost of £231; the roof is of groined timber finely wrought, which gives the interior a very beautiful appearance. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £5. 15s. 8d., now returned at £147, in the patronage of Philip Henry Howard, Esq.; incumbent, Rev. Edward Ridsdale. This church was formerly an appendage to the abbey of Wenlock. In the reign of Henry VIII., Humphrey Pakington, citizen and mercer of London, purchased of the king the farm of the manor of Dutton, alias Dytton, in Shropshire, with the rectory there, late the property of the Priory of Wenlock, The Methodists have small chapel built in 1816.

Charities.—Mrs. Catherine Barker, by her will dated the 24th of January, 1699, devised to trustees certain freehold estates in Priors Ditton, on trust, (after certain other purposes specified by her) that they should out of the residue assure to the use of the poor of the said parish the yearly sum of £5, to continue for ever, and to be paid to the parson and churchwardens at the feast of Christmas and St. John the Baptist in equal portions. This annuity is paid by Francis Canning, Esq., of Foxcote, in the county of Warwick, who is the proprietor of the premises charged. The amount is distributed in small sums among the poor. Mrs. Dorothy Holland, by her will dated November 15th, 1723, bequeathed to the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of the parish, the sum of £20 in trust, to be invested in lands, and the rents of such lands she directed to be laid out in bread and distributed by the minister and churchwardens among twelve poor people of the parish, one half on Easter-day and the other half on Christmas-day. We do not find any account of the disposal of the money prior to the 2nd June, 1783, when it appears to have been placed in the hands of Francis Canning, Esq., at five per cent interest, upon the security of his bond. The interest is distributed by the churchwardens in the same manner as Barker’s charity, a course of distribution which is somewhat at variance with the directions of the donor.

Ashfield and Ruthall is a small township in the parish of Priors Ditton, on the north-west side of the parish, and within the bounds of the Munslow hundred, the rest of the parish being in the Wenlock Franchise. The township contains 697a. 3r. of land, and at the census of 1841 had nine scattered houses and fifty-five inhabitants. Rateable value, £373. 6s. Lady Boyne is the proprietor of the land at Ashfield. The landowners in Ruthall are Thomas Roberts, Esq., Richard Onslow, Esq., and John Adney, Esq.; the former is lord of the manor. The lord of the manor claims a heriot (usually the best beast) on the death of every owner in his lordship.

Middleton Priors is a township in the parish of Priors Ditton which comprises 2,450a. 0r. 34p. of land, mostly an inferior soil. The land as chiefly the property of Philip Henry Howard, Esq., who is also lord of the manor. At the census in 1841 there were 47 houses and 109 inhabitants. Rateable value, £1,479. 19s. 6d. Middleton Hall is a spacious modern house which stands on a considerable elevation and is a conspicuous object many miles around. It was formerly the residence of the Howard family, when the top story of the hall was converted into a private oratory; it is adorned with some fine paintings, and over the altar is a beautifully executed representation of the crucifixion; adjoining is a room for robing and unrobing the priests, and another room is used as the confessional. A commodious and airy school room has been built by the lord of the manor, who also pays for the gratuitous education of the children; about sixty attend. A dwelling house for the teacher has also been built.

Priors Ditton, Ashfield and Ruthall, and Middleton Priors Directories.

Adney John, farmer, Ruthall

Amies John, wheelwright, Priors Ditton

Andrew William, vict., Plough, Priors Ditton

Barnbrooke, Timothy, farmer, Middleton

Bradley Thomas, farmer, Priors Ditton

Chidley Edward, farmer, Priors Ditton

Cubby William, schoolmaster, Middleton

Davis Edward, surgeon, Priors Ditton

Darrell Thomas, farmer, Middleton

Downes John, farmer, Manor house, Ruthall

Easthope Thomas, farmer, Middleton

Evans John, farmer, Priors Ditton

Evans William, wheelwright, Priors Ditton

Goode Thomas, farmer, Priors Ditton

Green Henry, farmer, Priors Ditton

Green Mary, farmer & corn miller, Middleton

Hicks William, blacksmith, Priors Ditton

Jones George, farmer, Priors Ditton

Jones Thomas, farmer, Middleton

Millward William, farmer, Priors Ditton

Power Michael, maltster, miller, and steward to P. H. Howard, Esq., Middleton

Prentice Mrs. Martha, Priors Ditton

Reynolds Francis, farmer, Priors Ditton

Reynolds Richard, farmer, Middleton

Reynolds Richard, farmer, Priors Ditton

Ridsdale Rev. Edward, vicar, Priors Ditton

Smallman Richard, blacksmith, Priors Ditton

Southern Henry, vict., Cannings Arms, Priors Ditton

Thomas Edward, farmer, Middleton

Thomas John, cattle dealer, Priors Ditton

Wainwright Mary, farmer, Ashfield