Bicton and Calcott,

a township and village with a scattered population, three miles and a half west from Shrewsbury, at the census of 1841 had 107 houses and 560 inhabitants, The principal landowners are Sir Richard Jenkins; John Lloyd, Esq.; Hon. H. W. Powyes; Dr. Crawford; Colonel Wingfield; Mr. R. B. Blakemore; Mr. T. Wall; and Mr. Matthews; besides whom Mr. Richard Russ, Mr. Samuel Roberts, and others, are proprietors. The Chapel of Bicton is a small structure, dedicated to the Holy Trinity; in the patronage of the vicar of St. Chad, and enjoyed by the Rev. Edward Sandford. Bicton Hall is a neat stuccoed house; the residence of the Misses Cotes. There is a school, chiefly supported by voluntary subscriptions. Bickton Heath was enclosed about forty years ago, and is now covered with luxuriance and fertility. The New Connexion Methodists have a chapel here, and a site had been chosen for a new church when our agent visited this township. The Cottage Buildings are a number of cottages on the road leading to the Isle. Several scattered residences near to Montford Bridge are in this township, where there is a small Methodist Chapel. Up and Down Rossal contains upwards of 1,200 acres of land. The Isle is a compact estate of 645 acres; the property of the Rev. Humphrey Sandford. The Severn here makes a great bend, and forms a peninsula, with so very narrow an isthmus as to occasion to be called the Isle of Up Rossal. It acquired the name of Rossal from the circumstance of a family of that name formerly owning the property. The estate was granted by Queen Elizabeth to Richard Sandford, Esq., an officer of the crown, and ancestor of the present proprietor: a family long before possessed of other estates in this neighbourhood. The Isle House is a good residence on elevated ground, commanding pleasing views of the country, occupied by the Rev. H. Sandford, the owner of the estate. Rossal, an ancient brick residence, built in 1077, stands in a sequestered situation, and is the seat of the Dowager Countess Fielding.

The Lunatic Asylum for the counties of Salop and Montgomery, situated at Bicton Heath, is a spacious and handsome structure in the Tudor style of architecture, consisting of centre and wings. It is a brick edifice, with stone finishings, and was built under the provisions of an act of parliament obtained in the 9th of George IV. The buildings and airing yards occupy about four acres of land; and there are eleven acres of gardens and pleasure grounds, laid out with admirable taste, and cultivated by the patients. A terrace has been raised round the kitchen garden, where the females are allowed to walk, which affords a cheerful prospect of the country, and contributes to the comfort and gratification of the patients. The men are employed in useful mechanical trades, attention being paid to diversify the modes of employment and the means of amusement, so as to excite agreeable emotions, and to soften the unavoidable severity of confinement. The establishment will accommodate 220 inmates, and the cost of the structure, with the site and various alterations up to October, 1849, has been £33,537. 16s. 7½d. The interior arrangements are admirably contrived for the convenience and comfort of the inmates, and the whole has a clean, orderly, and well-regulated appearance. The establishment is under the able superintendence of Richard Oliver, M.D.

Bicton and Calcott Directory.

Bowlker Frances, schoolmistress

Breese Mary, boarding school, Lower Calcott

Cotes the Misses, Bicton Hall

Cotton William, farmer, Montford Bridge

Crawford William, D.D., Bicton House

Edwards Mr. John, Udlington

Edwards Thomas, clerk

Evans John, bricklayer, Calcott

Hill Rev. Francis, Montford Bridge

Hilton Ann, farmer

Jellicoe Christiana Ann, boarding school, Bicton Cottage

Jenkins Miss Frances, Lower Calcott

Lloyd John, Esq.

Lloyd Richard, vict., Four Crosses

Millman John, nurseryman, Calcott

Oliver Richard, M.D., Bicton Asylum

Peters Martha, farmer

Pritchard Mrs. Mary

Roberts Samuel, farmer

Rowlands Philip, blacksmith

Russ Richard, farmer

Wall Thomas, farmer, Upper Calcott

Whitehorn Jno., Nag’s Head, Montford Bdge.

Wilkinson Mr. Robert, Lower Calcott

Up and Down Rossal Directory.

Fielding Ann Catherine, Dowager Countess Ross, Hall

Hilton Robert, farmer, Down Rossal

Sandford Folliott, Esq., solicitor, The Isle Hse.

Sandford Rev. Humphrey, incumbent of Bicton and Edgton, The Isle House

Sandford Humphrey, Esq., barrister-at-law, The Isle House

Spearman Andrew, Esq., Udlington

Tomkies Richard, farmer, The Isle

Whitfield Thomas, farmer, Down Rossal

Williams Robert, corn miller, Isle Mill

Wood Henry, farmer, Isle Park Farm