Читать книгу History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Shropshire [1851] - Samuel Bagshaw - Страница 201

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is a parish township, and small village 4½ miles N. from Shrewsbury, on the turnpike road from that town to Chester. The township contains 1350a. 3r. 5p. of land, the principal owner of which is Lady Tyrwhitt; R. R. Slaney, Esq., M.P., is a small proprietor, and there are also a few small freeholders. The former is lady of the manor and impropriatoress. Population in 1801, 313, and in 1841, 388. Rateable value, £1,386. This place is said to have derived its name from one Godebalte, a clerk to Roger de Montgomery, and was anciently called the priests town of Godebalte, which eventually became corrupted to Preston Gubbals. The Church, dedicated to St. Martin, is a small fabric of primitive simplicity, with a porch on the south side, composed of massive oak timber; the living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Prees, and is endowed with a farm at Criggion, in Montgomeryshire, of 58a. 3r., with a sheep walk of about 28 acres; the Rev. William Stephens Burd, M.A., is the incumbent, and resides at a neat residence near the church, which has been built with the intention of attaching it to the living. There is a small library, of standard divinity, in the vestry of the church, which was given by Charles Mather, Esq., for the use of the officiating clergyman. The tithes are commuted for £170. This township includes a portion of Bomere Heath, where there are a number of small cottages, and a Wesleyan New Connexion chapel within the bounds of it. In the parliamentary returns of 1786 it is stated that Richard Brethens in 1777 bequeathed £100 for the benefit of the poor of Preston Gobalds; the interest is usually laid out in coals, and distributed among the most deserving poor of the parish. Besides the farmers given in the directory, John B. Minor, Esq., holds the Lea Hall farm in the township. There are 220 acres of wood land in the parish.

Directory.—Rev. William Stevens Burd, M.A.; Farmers, Edward Acton, Robert Hales, and Richard Poole; William Littlehales, wheelwright; William Thompson, wood bailiff to Lady Tyrwhitt.