ERCALL MAGNA
A brief journey through time
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The People
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This
is the extract for Ercall Magna from a book published by C. Hulbert on
Jan 1, 1887. (not actually a directory but it has some information similar
to).
A short poem written by Hulbert with reference to his work can be seen
here.
Ercall Magna, or High Ercall, a parish six miles from Wellington, and
eight from Shrewsbury. The church dedicated to St Michael, and is a plain
handsome structure; the living is a vicarage in the archdeaconry of Salop
and diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, and in the patronage of H. Pulteney,
Esq. The churchyard is spacious, and there are some eccentric epitaphs
on the gravestones but scarcely deserving of record. In the parish is
a Free School, founded in 1662, by Thomas Leeke, ancestor of the Longford
family, for the education of poor boys, and an hospital for the maintenance
of eight decayed householders. There are but a few houses in the village,
but they are generally respectable; that now occupied by Mr Steadman as
a farmhouse is the ancient mansion of the Newports, and in the civil wars
of Charles I. Sustained a siege and severe assault. A tree is shown at
the distance of a field from the mansion, which it is said a drummer of
the Parliaments army ascended every day, and beat defiance and insult
to the besieged, until a musketeer, from the roof of the house drummer
successfully aimed his piece, and killed the daring enemy. A few years
ago a considerable quantity of gold and silver coins of the reins of Elizabeth,
James, and Charles were found in removing some soil nearly adjoining the
premises, several of which were kindly presented to me by Mr Steadman.
The parish of the Ercall Magna contains townships of Ercall, Cotwall,
and Moor Town, Walton, Osbaston, Rowton, Ellerdine, cold Hatton, Crudgington,
Sleap, (part of) Roden, Haughton, (partly in the parish of Upton Magna
and partly in Haughton Demesne) Poynton, Isombridge, and Tern.
At Roden is a small chapel, built by Bickerton, Esq. Where the beloved
and venerable proprietor conducts the worship and delivers discourses
gratuitously to his neighbours, family, and domestics, which practice
it has continued for twenty five years or upwards. His knowledge of the
Scriptures is equalled by few. In the year 1781 a barn in the township
was set on fire by lightning and burnt down; two men were thrashing in
it at the time, but were providentially preserved from injury.
At Rowton, in this parish, was born the celebrated non-conformist divine,
Richard Baxter. His father was a freeholder of the county, and his mother
was a daughter of Mr Richard Adney, whose descendants still live in the
township. At Rowton he passed its infancy, under the roof of his grandfather.
In the year 1625, when ten years old, he was removed from Rowton to his
father's house at Eaton Constantine. He received the chief portion of
his education at Ludlow. His first engagement in life it appears was teaching
a charity school at Newport, he was afterwards master of the free school
at Dudley. In 1638 he was ordained a minister of the Church of England,
Barry afterwards changed his mind on the subject of episcopacy; he unfortunately
medals too much with politics during the troubles of that period, but
its history is so well known, it would be only teazing the reader by the
repetition of its particulars.
He wrote a faster number of books, Mr Long of Exeter says 80, Dr Calamy,
120, but the author of a note in the Biographia Britannica tells us he
had seen 145 distinct treatises of Mr Baxter’s. Its practical works
have been published in 4 vols folio. He was considered one of the most
learned men of the age, a most admirable and successful preacher; it is
said that such were the effects of his ministry when at Kidderminster,
that a person passing any or all the streets of that town at eight o'clock
in the evening, would hear family prayer or singing at every house will
stop
though he sided with the parliament against Charles I. he appears to
have been a decided royalist in principle. He suffered much for as opinions
as a non-conformist. His wife, of the family of the Charltons, cheerfully
accompanied him to prison, and shared with him all the persecutions
of
those intolerant times. She died in 1681. Mr Baxter survived her ten
years.
Admiral Geary, who acquired some celebrity during the American War, was
born in the parish of Ercal Magna.
Footnote
We cannot but lament, at this day, the cruel fate of Lord Newport, at
the siege of Bradford, in Yorkshire, when this brave young nobleman, advancing
before his party, fell into the power of a cowardly wretch of the name
of Atkinson, who, while his Lordship was begging for quarter on his knee,
ran him through with a pikel.