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Stoke Edith, Herefordshire
Extract from Littlebury's Directory and Gazetteer of Herefordshire, 1876-7
with Private and Commercial Residents
Transcribed by Rosemary Lockie, © Copyright 2002
STOKE EDITH,
WITH THE HAMLET OF PERTON.
STOKE EDITH is a parish and village near a railway station on the
Worcester and Hereford branch of the Great Western railway, distant 6½
miles E. of Hereford, 8 W.N.W. of Ledbury, and 10 S.S.W. of Bromyard;
is in Radlow hundred, Hereford union, petty sessional division, and county
court district, and Tarrington polling district. The main road from
Hereford to Ledbury and the Hereford and Gloucester canal run through the
parish. The population in 1861 was 332; in 1871, 315; inhabited houses,
69; families or separate occupiers, 81; area of parish, 1,667a. 0r. 28p.;
annual rateable value, £2,926. The Right Hon. Lady Emily Foley is lady
of the manor and owner of the whole parish. The soil is mixed; subsoil,
clay and marl; chief produce, wheat, beans, hops, fruit, &c. Stoke Edith is
in the diocese and archdeaconry of Hereford and rural deanery of Weston;
living, a rectory, annexed to Westhide vicarage; joint value, £540, with
residence and 124 acres of glebe; patroness, The Lady Emily Foley; rector,
Rev. William Henry Lambert, M.A., of Merton College, Oxford, who was
instituted in 1858. The body of the present church was built by Thomas
Foley, Esq., and first opened for divine service September 13th, 1741.
It is in the Grecian style of architecture, built of brick, covered with
stucco, in excellent repair,, but destitute of any architectural beauty. The
tower and spire are older and in better style.
The old church was
dedicated to St. Edith, the present one to St. Mary. The earliest register
is dated 1538. There was formerly a small school in this parish, at
which 12 of the scholars were educated free of charge. The children are
now accommodated at Tarrington, new schools having been built there in
1874 by the Right Hon. Lady Emily Foley, for the three parishes of
Stoke Edith, Tarrington, and Dormington, as a joint educational district.
Some of the children from this parish go to the enlarged school at Yarkhill.
Twelve children are educated free at Tarrington school. Stoke
Edith Park, the residence of the Right Hon. Lady Emily Foley, is a
spacious brick mansion, situated near the church. The north front has
a grand appearance, being decorated with Corinthian pilasters and a
magnificent flight of steps at the entrance. The hall displays some fine
painting, by Sir James Thornhill, and in the other apartments, which are
fitted up with taste, is a good collection of family portraits. The library
contains a large collection of very valuable books. The park and grounds
are well wooded, and display some very fine scenery; the shrubberies are
extensive, and the park is stocked with deer. About a mile and a half
from this mansion, on the S.W., and occupying the summit of a commanding
eminence, is St. Ethelbert's Camp, said by popular tradition to be the
spot where Ethelbert pitched his tents when on his journey to the court
of King Offa, at Sutton Walls. Perton is a hamlet about a quarter of a
mile from the church.
POSTAL REGULATIONS.- Letters are received through Hereford and
arrive by mail-cart. Tarrington is the nearest money order office. Postal
telegrams may be sent from Stoke Edith railway station. Post town,
Hereford. N.B.- Letters for Showle Court are received through Ledbury.
Parish Church (St. Mary's).- Rev. William Henry Lambert, M.A.,
Rector; Messrs. John H. Pitt and William Taylor, Churchwardens; John
Hards, Parish Clerk.
Stoke Edith Railway Station (West Midland section, G.W.R.)-Mr.
William Greenwood Richards, Station Master. (The railway station is in
Tarrington parish).
STOKE EDITH,
WITH THE HAMLET OF PERTON DIRECTORY.
PRIVATE RESIDENTS.
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Foley The Right Honourable Lady Emily, Stoke Edith park
Lambert Rev. William Henry, M.A. (rector of Stoke Edith and vicar of Westhide), The Rectory
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COMMERCIAL.
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Badham Mrs. Sarah, farmer, Perton
Cooke Edwd., park-keeper to Lady Foley
Fraser George, nurseryman to the Lady Emily Foley
Hards John, general mason and parish clerk, Perton
Lewis Richard, shopkeeper
Matthews William, farmer, Old house
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Pitt John Harford, farmer and hop grower, Free town
Taylor William, farmer and hop grower, Showle court
Tredgett Thomas, head gamekeeper to the Lady Emily Foley
Ward William, head gardener to the Lady Emily Foley, Garden house
Williams John, painter & glazier, Perton
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OCR/Transcription by Rosemary Lockie in October 2002.
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