Atcham

" ATCHAM, (or Attingham), a parish in the Wellington division of the hundred of South Bradford, in the county of Salop, 3¾, miles to the S.E. of Shrewsbury. It is situated in a pleasant country on the banks of the Severn, at the confluence of the Tern with that river. The turnpike road from Shrewsbury to Wellington passes through this village, and, until the days of railroads, was the great thoroughfare between London and Holyhead. The parish comprises the townships of Berwick, Cronkill, Emstrey, and Uckington, and the hamlet of Chilton. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Lichfield, of the value of £340, in the patronage of R. Burton, Esq. The church, dedicated to St. Eatta, is built on the banks of the Severn, and has a very picturesque appearance; it is remarkable as being the church where Ordericus Vitalis, the great historian of the Norman period, received the rite of baptism. The charitable endowments of the parish amount to £84 per annum, of which sum £60 is the revenue of the free school. There are two bridges, a handsome one of stone across the Severn, designed by Gwyn, and another, with a span of 100 feet, across the Tern, both erected by Sir R. Hill. Attingham Hall, formerly called Tern Hall, is the seat of Lord Berwick, the present representative of the Hill family. It is a noble mansion, seated in a fine spot near the village, overlooking the Tern, which flows through the park and unites with the Severn within sight. It was built after a design by Stuart. In the picture gallery is an interesting model of Mount Vesuvius, constructed of rock from the mountain itself by the eminent traveller, Dr. Clarke. Leaguer Hall is the seat of the Burtons. William Burton, who distinguished himself as an antiquary and topographer in the 17th century, and wrote a Commentary on those passages of the Itinerary of Antoninus which relate to Great Britain, was a member of this family; he died in 1657. Near this place is Wroxeter, the Roman Uriconium, the recent investigations and discoveries in which have excited so much interest, that they have gained for it the designation of the British Pompeii. Atcham is the seat of a Poor-law Union." [Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2015]