Selattyn

"SELATTYN, a parish in the upper division of Oswestry hundred, county Salop, 3 miles N.W. of Oswestry, its post town. The village, which is considerable, is situated near Offa's Dyke, which bounds the parish on the W. The inhabitants are chiefly agricultural. The parish includes the townships of Upper and Lower Porkington, also the chapelry of Hengoed. The surface is undulating and well timbered. The soil is of various qualities, and the substratum abounds with limestone, which is burnt for manure. There are quarries of good building-stone. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £800, and the glebe comprises 83 acres. The living was once held by Dr. Henry Sacheverell, and during the Protectorate by James Wylding, one of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of St. Asaph, £771. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, or St. Mary, has a square tower containing three bells. It has recently been enlarged. There is also a district church at Hengoed, built in 1825, the living of which is a perpetual curacy, value £61. The parochial charities produce about £72 per annum. There are National schools, also a free school for both sexes, which have a small endowment. Among the many residences in this neighbourhood is Porkington Hall, situated in a well-wooded park, from which there is an extensive prospect. Mrs. Lloyd, of Aston Hall, is lady of the manor. There are some traces of the ancient Castle Brogyntyn."[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2015]