Hopton Wafers

"HOPTON WAFERS, a parish in the Cleobury division of the hundred of Stottesdon, county Salop, 2 miles W. of Cleobury Mortimer, its post town, 5 N.E. of Tenbury, and 9 E. of Ludlow. It is a small village situated in a valley at the foot of Cleo Hill, on the Ludlow and Cleobury Mortimer turnpike road. There is a station at Hopton Heath, on the Knighton branch of the Shrewsbury and Hereford railway. The castle, which was of great strength, was garrisoned for the king in 1643 against the parliament. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £174. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Hereford, value £248. The church, which was rebuilt in 1827, is a freestone edifice dedicated to St. Michael. It has a square pinnacled tower, containing a clock and three bells. The interior of the church contains a stained-glass window, recently presented by Mrs. Botfield. Here is a free school for a limited number of children of both sexes, entirely supported by Mrs. Botfield, the lady of the manor and chief landowner. There is a place of worship for Primitive Methodists."[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2015]