Great Ness

"GREAT NESS, (or Ness, Magna), a parish in the hundred of Pimhill, county Salop, 8 miles N.W. of Shrewsbury, its post town, and 3½ S.W. of Baschurch railway station. The parish, which is situated on the road from Shrewsbury to Oswestry, is of large extent, containing the townships of Nesscliff, Hopton, Kinton, Willcot, Felton-Butler, and Alderton. The surface is undulating, and nearly in the centre of the parish is a rocky cliff called Ness Cliff. The soil consists of sandy loam with a subsoil of sand rock. There are quarries of fine red sandstone, from which it is said the stone was raised for building the castle, the abbey, and the walls of Shrewsbury. About two-thirds of the land are arable, the remainder meadow and pasture, with about 150 acres of woodland and plantations. A rent-charge of £30 18s. is paid to this parish cut of the tithes of Shotatton. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Lichfield, value £305, in the patronage of the lord chancellor. The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is an ancient stone structure, with a tower containing three bells. The church, which appears to have been built at different periods, has a painted window. At Nesscliff was formerly a chapel-of-ease dedicated to St. Mary, the site of which is now occupied by the parochial school founded by John Edwards in 1753. The parochial charities produce £20 yearly. Ness Hall, the principal residence, is situated in an extensive park; it has remained in the possession of the Edwards family since 1660. The Earl of Bradford is lord of the manor. In this parish is a remarkable cave divided into two compartments by a massive pillar of rock, upon which is carved the date 1564, and the initials of the celebrated outlaw Humphrey Kynaston."[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2015]