Himley in 1859

HIMLEY (ST. MICHAEL), a parish, in the union, and N. division of the hundred, of Seisdon, S. division of the county of Stafford, 4 miles (W.) from Dudley; 
containing 409 inhabitants. It comprises 1185 acres, of which 600 are park surrounding Himley Hall, and the remainder arable. The surface is undulated, the soil good, and the scenery pretty; and the village, which is pleasant, is situated on the road from Stourbridge to Wolverhampton: the inhabitants are entirely agricultural. Courts leet and baron are held annually, and there is a copyhold court.

The Hall, a splendid mansion in the Italian style, standing in the midst of a rich and extensive park, is the seat of Lord Ward, relative of the gifted Earl of Dudley, late the owner, who died in 1833; several of the apartments are spacious, elegantly decorated, and enriched with valuable pictures. In the grounds are a magnificent sheet of water, and many picturesque eminences, rising gradually towards the horizon, and finely clad with ancient and modern foliage. 

The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £3.13.4., and in the patronage of Lord Ward: the tithes have been commuted for £316, and the glebe comprises 15 acres, with a glebe-house. The church is a neat brick edifice, erected in 1764, by the first lord Dudley and Ward. A large parochial school is supported by Lord Ward; and the poor have the produce of 3 acres of land, purchased with several benefactions in 1681. 

 

[Description(s) from The Topographical Dictionary of England (1859) by Samuel Lewis - Transcribed by Mike Harbach ©2020]