A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
BISHOPS-CASTLE, a small town, a parish, a subdistrict, and a division in Clun district, Salop. The town stands on a declivity, 3 miles W of the river Onny, 4¼ E of Offa's Dyke, and 9½ WSW of Church-Stretton. Railways from the Shrewsbury and Hereford line, by way of Bishops-Castle, to the Oswestry and Newtown line, were authorized in 1861; and a branch from the Craven-Arms station to Bishops-Castle was opened in 1866. A castle of the Bishops of Hereford once stood here, but was long ago destroyed. The town is irregularly built, and presents a poor appearance. It has a head post office,‡ a banking office, two chief inns, a townhall, a market house, a church, two dissenting chapels, a free school with £48, and other charities with £13. The church occupies the site of one burnt in the civil wars; was, with the exception of its old square tower, rebuilt in 1861; is in the early pointed style; and comprises nave, chancel, aisles, transepts, and vestry. A weekly market is held on Friday; and fairs on the second Monday of Jan., the Friday before 13 Feb., 26 March, the Friday after 1 May, the second Monday of June, 5 July, 9 Sept., the second Monday of Oct., and 13 Nov. The town sent two members to parliament till disfranchised by the act of 1832; it possesses a corporation, but not regulated by the municipal corporation act; and it is a seat of petty sessions and a polling-place. Real property, £6,872. Pop., 1,778. Houses, 383. The parish extends beyond the borough liberties; and includes the townships of Broughton, Colebatch, Woodbatch, and Leewith-Oakeley. Acres, 5,649. Real property, £11,542. Pop., 2,083. Houses, 434. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to the Earl of Powis. Bishops-Mote, on a high hill, a mile W of the town, is an ancient entrenchment of nearly an acre. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Hereford. Value, £350.* Patron, the Earl of Powis.-The subdistrict contains four parishes and the greater part of two others. Acres, 16,83 4. Pop., 2,924. Houses, 590.-The division is part of Purslow hundred, and contains eight parishes and part of another. Acres, 36,394. Pop., 4,652. Houses, 908.
(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))
| Linked entities: | |
|---|---|
| Feature Description: | "a small town, a parish, a subdistrict, and a division" (ADL Feature Type: "cities") |
| Administrative units: | Bishops Castle CP Bishops Castle CP Bishops Castle SubD Clun RegD/PLU Shropshire AncC |
| Place: | Bishops Castle |
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