Shropshire Routes to Roots - Shropshire places - Wem
by Samuel Garbet
The Boundaries, Extent, Soil, Tenure and Valuation of Aston.
There are about forty towns in England called Aston, a corruption of the word Eastune or East Town, this lying eastward from Wem. Thus, other towns take their name from their situation, as Weston, Norton, &c. This town is bounded on the north by those of Edstaston and Lacon; on the east by Soulton; on the south by Lee Brockhurst and Preston Brockhurst; and on the west by Tilley and Wem. Its length from Astley's of the Brook to Lee Wear, at the foot of the Hill-cop-bank, is near two miles; and its breadth from Coteman's Wear to Soulton Mill is above a mile and a half. The soil beyond the River Roden, towards Hill-cop-bank, Preston Brockhurst, and Panton-hill, is clay; on the other side of the River, towards Wem, is a mixture of mold, gravel, and sand. The clay ground bears excellent wheat, but must be marled for barley; the sandy and gravelly ground bears muncorn, rye, barley, &c. muck and marle are the common, manure, some little lime is used; but the dairy turns to greatest account. At the survey in 1561, there was only one estate that was freehold, and belonged then to John Astley, gentleman, and now to Mr. Lloyd, of Crowsmere. Playters and Onslow enfranchised Moreton's, now Walford's tenement. In respect to the land tax, this township is valued at £263. 6s. 8d. per annum, which at 2s. in the pound, the assessment would be £26. 6s. 8d.
It consisted only of one meadow and two pastures, viz, The Lady Meadow, lying up to Lacon, then estimated to be eight acres, and rented at 2s. does now belong to William Taylor, of Wem. ---A Pasture of eight acres, lying next the lord of the manor's meadow, called the Cross Meadow; and another of six acres adjoining the former, were then set at one pound per annum.
Aston Hall, with a large copyhold estate, in the reigns of Henry VII. and part of Henry VIII. belonged to Sir Gilbert Talbot, third son of John, second Earl of Shrewsbury, and son-in-law to Ralph, Lord Greystock, baron of Wem, who made him chief steward of the barony. On the landing of the Earl of Richmond, this gentleman met him at Newport, in Shropshire, with the whole power of the Earl of Shrewsbury, then in ward: and the battle of Bosworth wherein King Richard the III. was slain, he had the command of the right wing of the army, and was then knighted for his valiant behaviour; he died September 19, 1617, the ninth Henry VIII. and was buried at Whitchurch, where his younger brother, Christopher, was rector. At Sir Gilbert's death, this estate devolved on his son Sir Gilbert Talbot, of Grafton; and at his decease, 1543, on Mary, daughter of this second Sir Gilbert, married to Sir Thomas Astley, of Pateshed, who gave it to his youngest son John, married to Mary, daughter of --- Hoorde, of Northwood Hall; from whom are descended the Astleys, of Aston. At the time of the survey, this John Astley was settled here, in 1588 be was foreman of the homage extra barram; in 1597 he died; his son Richard paid to the subsidy in 1642, and died in 1645. Edward, son of Richard, married to Mrs. Cicely Hill, of Soulton, was one of the first feoffees of Wem school, and died in December, 1675; his son Thomas, on account of the suit depending between Mr. Wycherley and the copyholders, was not admitted to the estate until 1682, when he paid a fine of £70. though £16. 13s. 4d. had been taken in the first and second of Philip and Mary, when the estate was much larger than at this time. This gentleman lived with his cousin Thomas Hill, of Soulton, esq.; in 1684, sold the estate to Robert Wilkinson, of the Hornspyhe, and survived the sale but a little above a year. Before 1680, Lord Chancellor Jeffreys purchased this estate of Wilkinson; and since this time it has gone along with the manor of Wem.
Andrew Corbet, of Moreton Corbet, esq. has a copyhold messuage and estate on the other side of the road; they belonged to the Menloves in the reign of Henry VII. and perhaps long before; at the survey in 1561, Thornas Menlove was of the jury; and it continued in his family for five generations; the last whereof was William Menlove, who married Mrs. Margaret Jebb, and died in 1697; his widow enjoyed the estate until her death in 1706: but in her life-time, Richard Menlove, of Wem, innkeeper, nephew and heir of her late husband, sold the reversion of it to Richard Corbet, of Moreton Corbet, esq. who granted a lease thereof to Andrew Downes, of Preston Brockhurst, attorney, which is now enjoyed by his daughter, Mrs. Marigold, of Lee-Gomery, near Wellington. This estate cost Mr. Corbet £1150. and as soon as it came into his possession he made £500. of the wood, had £500. for the lease, and afterwards one hundred pounds for putting in a new life, besides twenty pounds a year for rent.
On the other side of the River Roden, near the bridge, is the freehold messuage and estate of the Talbots, and afterwards of the Astleys for many generations; Thomas Astley, gentleman, the last of this line, mortgaged this estate to Robert Badeley. Mr. Richard Allen, who had married the sister of the said Thomas, first redeemed, and sold it in 1711, to Mr. Lloyd, of Crowsmere, whose son is the present proprietor. The whole estate is valued at fifty-four pounds per annum, but the remote part of it being set with a different tenement, I shall have occasion to mention it in another place.
The copyhold messuage of William Watkiss, of Namptwich, gentleman, is partly opposite to Mr. Lloyd's. This family has been of long standing in this town, for they settled here 268 years ago. In the fourth Henry VII. John Watkiss was returned on a jury; at the survey in 1561, Thomas Watkiss had five messuages in this township; and three Williams followed him successively in a direct line. Samuel, son of the last, was the first that removed from Aston. The present gentleman, grand-son of the last, is possessed of a good estate in Cheshire.
The next messuage and tenement is freehold, and belongs to Thomas Walford, of Wem, gentleman. At the survey in 1561, this was the estate of John Moreton, being then copyhold; he was succeeded in it by his son George, and his grand-son Thomas, whose death happened in the beginning of 1654. About this time it was purchased by Mr. Samuel Smith, of Wem, mercer, who absconded in 1676, and by his bankruptcy ruined many families, who had put their fortunes in his hands, or engaged for him to others. Mrs. Mary Goodwin entered on this estate by virtue of a mortgage; which being discharged, Joseph Smith, mercer, son of Samuel, enjoyed it as long as he lived; but on some occasion, having submitted his writings to the perusal of Mr. Wilson, of Wem, attorney, he discovered that this estate was subject to his father's debt: on this information Mr. William Walford, of Lee Brockhurst, sued for an old debt, and recovered this estate in 1722. His son is now in possession of it.
The Basnets have a copyhold messuage and tenement in this town, which formerly belonged to the Husseys: Richard Hussey paid to the subsidy in 1612. In 1698, one of his descendants sold it to William Basnet, of Wichey, who was succeeded in 1708, by his son Roger; and Roger in 1719, by his grand-son Peter; and Peter in 1749, by his nephew Richard Basnet, of Hardiston.
Brockhurst, in 1561, was one of the five woods within the manor of Wem; it then belonged to William, Lord Dacre, and was distinguished from Preston Brockhurst, which was the property of Roger Corbet, esq. It continued a wood when the civil war broke out, for it was not charged to the subsidy in 1642. It is probable that the Playters and Onslow felled the timber, and sold the freehold land to Mr. Samuel Smith, of Wem, mercer, who, in 1676, became a bankrupt; in 1683, his son Joseph, mercer, had one moiety of it, and Sir Robert Cotton the other. In 1691 and 1692, the whole was in the hands of Mr. Joseph Smith; in 1693 it was divided between Lady Moore and Sir John Turner, baron of the Exchequer, mortgagees. In 1705, it was sold to John Hill, of Hawkstone, gentleman, whose son Sir Rowland Hill, is the present landlord of it.
The Hill is a copyhold farm, which formerly was part of that of Aston Hall, except a meadow that has been added to it. In 1684 it belonged to Mrs. Downes, of Lee; in 1691 to her niece, Mrs. Jane Bromfield, of Lee; in 1695 to William Newans, of Lee; in 1700 to Mr. Joseph Nixon, of the same town, who sold it to Mr. Bayley, of Besford, the present owner thereof. To the west of the house, about thirty years ago, were dug up a great many large stones, supposed to be the remains of a roman way, or perhaps of some ancient building or fort.
The messuage of Mr. Lawrence has been distinguished by three several names, viz. the Moat House, on account of the Moat about it; the Wood-house, on account of the wood near it; and Besse Hall. In the fourth Henry VIll. William Moreton, of Ludlow, sold this copyhold messuage and farm. to Thomas Lawrence, of Aston. In the third Elizabeth, 1561, Thomas Lawrence, a descendant of the above, was possessed of it, by virtue of a copy, dated twenty third Henry VIII; this Thomas Lawrence, or his son, sold his estate to the Hinkes, of Noneley. In the eighth Charles I. 1632, Thomas Hinkes, of Noneley, gentleman, granted it by deed (an unusual conveyance of copyhold lands) to his second son Francis, who was in Ireland, October 3, 1641, when the rebellion broke out there; he and his wife fled from the popish massacre, but left a young child behind them, whom the fond nurse would not part with. He survived the troubles of his own country, but had the misfortune to be drowned at Coteman's wear in 1663. His son Arthur, was one of the plaintiffs against Mr. Wycherley. In his advanced age he removed to Wem, where lie died in 1719, leaving his estate to, William Lawrence, brother to his second wife, whose son John now enjoys, it, and has considerably augmented it. In his new purchase is the alum well, which is good for sore eyes and cutaneous disorders.
The Wear estate took its name from Coteman's Wear, being near to it; it is copyhold, except some lands in Tilley that have been annexed thereto; it belonged to the Wingfields until they sold it to Mr. Blakeway, of Salop, mortgagee, by whom it has been lately sold to Caleb Powell, of Besford, who about the same time bought Malines' Oak, and other copyhold lands of Mr. John Whitfield, of Salop, surgeon, and joined them to this farm, which estate Mr. John Whitfield purchased a few years before he sold it.
The Farm of Astley of the Brook, between Wem and Lacon, consists of three parts, viz. The copyhold messuage, and lands annexed to it, set at £6. 10s. per annum, belong to Andrew Corbet. esq. being part of the Menloves estate; the Moors and other copyhold lands, set at £11. per annum, belonged to Mr. Goldisbury, of the Rye Bank, being a lease from the Watkiss's; the remainder, set at £18. a year, is part of the freehold estate of Mr. Lloyd, of Crowsmere, which formerly belonged to the Astleys; the present tenant, Thomas Astley, is descended from Lawrence Astley, gentleman, younger brother of Richard, of Aston Hall, who paid to the subsidy in 1612.
The River Roden passes through this township, and has a wooden bridge over it at Aston; the several parts of which are kept in repair by the principal inhabitants.
Aston had formerly three Common Fields, viz. Wem Field, part of which remains and forms the angle made by Soulton Lane when joined by that from Aston. --- Winsorton Field, abutting on Soulton Lane and reaching almost to Astley's of the Brook; its name is still preserved in Winsorton Bank, near to the said Astley's house. --- Barley Field, which lies between the River Roden and Sowford Lane, extending towards Soulton wood.
Barker's Green, is a small common near to Coteman's Wear; the clay here is good for making brick.
Coteman's Wear Lane extends from the Wear to Barker's Green. --- The Hill Lane or Hill-cop-bank, corruptly called Held-cop-bank. --- Sowford Lane, now Oller Lane, lies between Aston and Soulton Wood.
Page created 13 December 2007 and last updated 14 December 2007
