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Wombourne

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"Wombourn, or Wombourne, is a large village, four miles SSW of Wolverhampton, occupied chiefly by nailors, who work for the neighbouring manufacturers. The parish comprises about 4680 acres of light, loamy land, remarkable for the early produce of vegetables and corn, extensive gardens and nursery grounds having long been cultivated here. It is divided into three liberties, Wombourn, which has 1220, Orton, which has 169, and Swindon, which has 419 inhabitants.
Lord Wrottesley is lord of the manor of Wombourn and Orton, and Lord Ward is lord of the manor of Swindon, but part of the soil belongs to the Rev William Dalton, BD, Thomas Shaw Hellier, Esq, JT Hill, Esq, and some smaller owners.
Orton is a small hamlet near the canal, one mile NW of Wombourn, and near it is the small village of Ounsdale.
Swindon, commonly called Swin, is a small village and manor, two miles SSW of Wombourn, on the canal and the river Smestow, where there are two large corn mills. The mill on the heath was formerly a large iron forge. The heath was enclosed in 1796, and is now good turnip and barley land."
[From History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851]

 

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Bibliography

'A History of Wombourne, Bobbington & Trysull.
Extract from Victoria County History of Staffordshire, Vol XX'
by MW Greenslade
Published 1990, by Staffordshire Libraries, Arts & Archives, Stafford.

'Wombourne What Was'
by May Griffiths
Published 1990, by Uralia, Wolverhampton.

'Around Pattingham & Wombourne in Old Photographs'
by May Griffiths, Peter Leigh & Mary Mills
Published 1992, by Alan Sutton, Stroud, Gloucestershire.

 

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Cemeteries

A transcript of the Monumental Inscriptions of St Benedict, Wombourne, has been published by the Birmingham & Midland SGH.

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Census

The population of Wombourne parish was as follows:
1801 -- 1,170
1811 -- 1,136
1821 -- 1,478
1831 -- 1,647
1841 -- 1,808

A surname index only of the 1851 census for Wombourne parish is included in the 1851 Staffordshire Census Surname Index, Vol 13, Wolverhampton, published by the Birmingham and Midland SGH.

A surname index only of the 1891 census for Wombourne is included in the 1891 Census Surname & Folio Index for Dudley, Sedgley & Wolverhampton & District published by the Birmingham & Midland SGH.

 

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Churches

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Church History

"The Parish Church, St Benedict, was built by one of the Priors of Dudley, about 1170, and has a tower surmounted by a beautiful spire. It was repaired and furnished with an organ by Sir Samuel Hellier, Kt, who died in 1792. It was again repaired in 1816, and was enlarged and repewed in 1841. It contains an elegant monument, by Chantrey, in memory of Richard B Marsh, Esq, of Lloyd House, with the figure of Grief weeping over an urn. It has other neat monuments, and a curious old sculpture, illustrative of the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The vicarage, with that of Trysull annexed to it, is in the patronage of certain trustees, and incumbency of the Rev William James Heale, MA. The Rev Robert William Plumptre is the curate.
A Wesleyan chapel was built here in 1850, and there is an Independent Chapel, built in 1821, in Swindon."

[From History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851]

Postcard of St Benedict's Church c1905

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Church Records

Church of England Registers
The register of the parish church of St Benedict commences in 1570. The original registers for the period 1570-1872 (Bapts), 1570-1849 (Mar) & 1570-1859 (Bur) are deposited at Staffordshire Record Office.
Bishops Transcripts, 1655-1856 (with many gaps) are deposited at Lichfield Record Office.

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Description & Travel

A transcription of the section on Wombourne from A Topographical History of Staffordshire by William Pitt (1817)

Conservation Area Appraisals for Wombourne  - interesting accounts of the areas, with excellent historical detail, numerous photographs and maps

You can see pictures of Wombourne which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

The transcription of the section for Wombourne from the Topographical Dictionary of England (1859)

The transcription of the section for Wombourne from the National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.

The transcription of the section for Wombourne from the Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SO869927 (Lat/Lon: 52.532006, -2.194544), Wombourne which are provided by:

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Military Records

A transcription of the Muster Roll of 1539 for Wombourne

A transcription of the Muster Roll of 1539 for Orton (Overton)

A transcription of the Muster Roll of 1539 for Swindon

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Poor Houses, Poor Law

Wombourne parish became part of Seisdon Union following the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834.