Astley Abbotts is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, England, located immediately north of

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the United Kingd ...

, and straddling the B4373 Bridgnorth to Broseley road. According to the 2001

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

the parish had a population of 396. The Church inside the village is known as St Calixtus' church, named after Saint Calixtus. The church is a stone building and has both Norman and Anglo Saxon roots. The church was originally constructed in 1138 and was later consecrated on 14 October 1138, by the Bishop of Hereford. Since then, the majority of the church has been rebuilt. However, the Church of England in Bridgnorth comment that there are still parts of the older church that still exist today. Inside the Church can be found the faded remains of a 'maiden's garland', a heart-shaped wooden frame decorated with gloves, cloth and ribbons. Such garlands were once the fashion to commemorate maidens who died before marriage. The one at Astley Abbotts has a ribbon-like piece of paper saying, in still legible handwriting, that it commemorates Hannah Phillips, who unfortunately drowned while crossing the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

a day or two before her wedding. Astley Abbotts was famous for its

lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of perennial flowering plants in the sage family, Lamiaceae. It is native plant, native to the Old World, primarily found across the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean ...

fields in the centre of the village near the church, now abandoned, although some lavender still can be found. Nearby the village is located a mansion called Stanley Hall with both Stanley Hall and its grounds having links to early 17th century, Stanley Hall has a magnificent red brick building with a gabled end and incorporating traces of a possibly earlier sandstone building. The grounds, which open occasionally under the

National Gardens Scheme The National Garden Scheme opens privately owned gardens in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Channel Islands on selected dates for charity. It was founded in 1927 with the aim of "opening gardens of quality, character and interest to th ...

, are extensive and well-tended.

Institutional history of the parish

Changes within the boundary of Linley affecting Astley Abbotts

An early recognition of a change within the boundary of Astley Abbotts can be seen in the history of the parish of Linley. In 1639 it is believed that sometime Linley's parish boundary may have included some fields that were later in located Astley Abbotts. Along with this, owners of a nearby bridge named Preen's Eddy Bridge, built new 1 km section of straight road that ran through Astley Abbotts. Another lane also went through Astley Abbotts until it reached the Severn located in Astley Abbotts. Due to the river being the main outlet for trade, Astley Abbotts played a big part in Linley's industrial trade. As a result of this a railway was built from Linley to the wharf located in Astley Abbotts.

Changes within the boundary of Colemore Farm

A change within the boundary of Astley Abbotts can be found within Colemore Farm. Colemore Farmhouse is believed to be constructed around the early-mid 15th century as a medieval Manor House. Records show that in 1871, the farm consisted of 41 acres located in Astley Abbotts. In 1871, a purchase of land was made, increasing the size of the farm to 57 acres. This was known as The Frog Mill land and lay in Astley Abbotts. In 1887, the land increased again, resulting in the farm totaling to 61 acres. Another increase was seen in 1909, where more land was added, increasing the acreage on Astley Abbotts to 65. Colemore Farm grew to have a total of 136 acres, 68 acres in the nearby parish of Linley and 68 acres in Astley Abbotts. However, 1980 saw a cease in trading on Colemore Farm and as a result buildings fell into disrepair but in the 1990s it was restored and has become holiday accommodation.

Historical writings

Information from A Gazetteer of

from 1824, comments "ASTLEY ABBOTS, a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in the Chelmarsh division of the hundred of Stottesdon, a curacy, in the diocese of

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

, the deanery of Stottesdon, and archdeaconry of Salop (

)." This information shows that in 1824, Astley Abbotts was a parish within a division named

Chelmarsh Chelmarsh is a village and civil parish in the English county of Shropshire. It lies 4 miles south of Bridgnorth on the B4555 road to Highley. Notable buildings The main feature of the village St. Peter's church. This is an example of the ...

and was part of the Hundred of Stottesdon. It also comments that Stottesdon was a curacy that was under the authority of the

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. Until 1534, the Diocese of Hereford was in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church and two of its bishop ...

, making Astley Abbotts part of this authority which was controlled by the Bishop of Hereford. It also suggests that, Astley Abbotts was controlled by Stottesdon, which was within the archdeaconry of Salop (

Population

From using census data from 1801 to 1961 found on the Vision of Britain Website and the 2001 census data found on the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...

website, it can be seen that Astley Abbotts has had a decreasing population. This can be seen from the decrease of 148 individuals from 1801 to 1811. Astley Abbotts did also have an increase in population, between 1811 and 1831 when the population increased by 74 individuals. However, after 1831 the population continued to gradually decrease, until 1901, by 152 individuals. From 1901 to 1961 the population continued to decrease by 127 individuals creating a population of 387 individuals in 1961. However, from 1961 to 2001 there was a small increase of 9 individuals, creating a total population of 396 people.

1881 Occupational Structure

From using the data found on the Vision of Britain website, the 24 'Orders' found on the published reports from 1881, suggest that of the 623 population, Astley Abbotts was dominated by two main occupations. With 78 were males and only 2 females working within

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, this was the main occupation in Astley Abbotts and was dominated by the male population. The second most popular occupation was Domestic services or

offices An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...

, with 54 females and 18 males; this occupation was dominated by the female population.

People from Astley Abbotts

Sir Francis Billingsley (1595–1646) – Colonel in command of the royalist defences for the town of

during the English Civil War. Killed in St Leonard's churchyard on 31 March 1646 defending the town during the assault by Parliamentarian forces. Sir

Thomas Billingsley Sir Thomas Billingsley (c. 1600 – c.1670/80) was a noted English horseman in the seventeenth century connected with the families of the Earls of Dorset, Thanet and Prince Rupert of the Rhine. Biography He was born in Astley Abbotts, Shrops ...

(1600-c.1670/80) – Noted horseman who was in the households of

Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset (18 March 1589 – 28 March 1624) was the eldest surviving son of Robert Sackville, 2nd Earl of Dorset, by his first wife, Lady Margaret Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk and Margaret ...

Elizabeth of Bohemia Elizabeth Stuart (19 August 1596 – 13 February 1662) was Electress of the Palatinate and briefly Queen of Bohemia as the wife of Frederick V of the Palatinate. The couple's selection for the crown by the nobles of Bohemia was part of the po ...

, and the Earl and Countess of Thanet. Sir Rupert Billingsley (1644–1713) – Godson of

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

, soldier and governor of

Berwick upon Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

at the time of the Glorious Revolution.

References

External links

* Bridgnorth Team Ministry Website �
St Calixtus Church, Astley Abbotts
{{authority control Villages in Shropshire Civil parishes in Shropshire