RIBBESFORD - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

"RIBBESFORD, a parish in the lower division of Doddingtree hundred, county Worcester. It contains the borough of Bewdley (which see), and the village of Ribbesford, once a market town. The parish is situated on the river Severn, and is celebrated for its oak timber. The surface is undulating, and the soil of various qualities. The substratum contains coal, but this mineral is not generally worked. The village of Ribbesford is surrounded by wooded heights. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Hereford, value £360.

The church, dedicated to St. Leonard, is an ancient and curious structure, partly Norman, with some old sculptures over the doorway. It contains several ancient monuments. There is also a district church at Far Forest, the living of which is a perpetual curacy, value £101. The church is erected in a retired situation. The parochial charities, including those of Bewdley, produce about £250 per annum, of which £50 is the endowment of the grammar school. There are several sets of almshouses, partially endowed, and distinguished as Sayer's, Burlton's, and Cooke's."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]