Knockin

"KNOCKIN, a parish in the hundred of Lower Oswestry, county Salop, 6 miles S.E. of Oswestry. It is situated on a branch of the river Severn, and includes the extra parochial place called Heath Farm. There are some remains of a strong castle founded here by the family of L'Estrange, who possessed the manor in the reign of Henry II. and Henry III. In the latter reign Madoc, a Welsh nobleman, headed an insurrection, and defeated Lord Strange at "Cnukyn," as this place was anciently called. The village, now a small agricultural place, was once a market town. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £328. The living is a rectory in the diocese of St. Asaph, value £330. The church is an ancient structure, dedicated to St. Mary. The principal residence is Knockin Hall, the seat of the Hon. Captain Bridgeman, R.N."[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2015]