Aldridge in 1872

ALDRIDGE, a small town, a parish, and a sub. district in the district of Walsall, Stafford. The town stands near the Worlev canal, 2 miles ESE of Pelsall railway. station, and 3 NE of Walsall; and it has a post-office under Walsall. An extensive distillery is here; and line potter's clay and coal are worked in the neighbourhood Pop., 1,179. Houses, 234.

The parish includes also the town of Great Barr. Acres, 7,752. Real property, £6,041. Pop., 2,254. Houses, 454. The property is divided among a few. A height called Barr-Beacon, is said to have been a place of Druidical sacrifices; and a pool, called Druid Mere, makes an occasional overflow, and has been popularly imagined to possess some supernatural quality. Barr-Hall-Park is the seat of Sir E. D. Scott, Bart.

The living is a rectory in tho diocese of Lichfield. Value, £375. Patron, the Rev. J. F. Smith. The church contains a monument of a Stapleton, and is good. 
The vicarage of Great Barr is a separate benefice. Jordan's schools have £118 from endowment, and other charities £64.The sub-district comprises two parishes and part of a third. Pop., 7,026. Houses, 1,413. 

 

[Description(s) from The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72) - Transcribed by Mike Harbach ©2020]