TARDEBIGGE
Taerdebicgan, Terdeberie (xi cent.); Terdebigge
(xii cent.); Tardebick, Tarbick (xvi cent.); Tarbecke
(xvii cent.).
Tardebigge, formerly a large parish situated on the
borders of Warwickshire, included in 1831 the now
separate civil parishes of Redditch, Bentley Pauncefoot, and Webheath and the township of Tutnall
and Cobley, which now includes the ancient village
of Tardebigge. (fn. 1)
Tardebigge some time after 1086 was annexed to
Staffordshire, and paid its fee-farm rent through the
sheriff of that county, (fn. 2) but in 1266 the king granted
that the Abbot and convent of Bordesley and their
men of Tardebigge should in future answer to the
Sheriff of Warwickshire instead of to the Sheriff of
Staffordshire. (fn. 3) In 1292–3 the jurors of Seisdon
Hundred in Staffordshire presented that the manor of
Tardebigge, which was in Warwickshire and used to
appear twice annually at the sheriff's tourn at Seisdon
Hundred in the time of Henry III, had been withdrawn fifteen years before by the Abbot of Bordesley
from Staffordshire and put into Warwickshire. (fn. 4)
Nash says: 'The line which divides the counties
ran between the old church and the two chancels,
the former being supposed to be in Worcestershire,
the latter in Warwickshire; from hence to Lord
Plymouth's house the country runs in an irregular
line; the house itself is divided into nearly two
equal parts; the southern part in our county, the
northern part in Warwickshire; which county runs
like a peninsula, or rather an island, from Hipsley
eastward, having on the north Beoly, and on the
south Tardebigge, in Worcestershire.' (fn. 5)
Until 1831 the hamlet of Tutnall and Cobley was
in Warwickshire, but by the Acts of 1832 and
1844 (fn. 6) it was transferred to the county of Worcester.
Tutnall and Cobley cover an area of 3,511 acres,
of which 839½ acres are arable land, 2,255 grass,
and 335¾ woods. (fn. 7) Redditch was divided in 1894
into the two civil parishes of Redditch, containing
657 acres, 307 acres being permanent grass, and
North Redditch, containing 1,408 acres, (fn. 8) of which
235¼ acres are arable land, 787½ acres permanent
grass, and 273 acres woodland. The area of Bentley
Pauncefoot is 1,688 acres, including 511¼ acres of
arable land, 1,532½ acres of permanent grass, and
63¼ acres of woods; and that of Webheath 2,185
acres, including 438 acres of arable land and 1,174
acres of permanent grass. The soil varies in different
parts of the ancient parish. In Tutnall and Cobley
it is mixed, on a subsoil of Keuper Sandstone; in
Bentley the soil is the same and the subsoil marl;
and in Webheath the soil is stiff loam and the subsoil
Keuper Marl.
Agriculture is the chief industry except in Redditch,
which from an insignificant hamlet has become a
large manufacturing town, where the manufacture of
needles, fish-hooks and fishing tackle is extensively
carried on. This industry, for which Redditch is
the most famous town in England, was introduced
towards the end of the 18th century by needle-makers
from Birmingham, who settled at Redditch on account
of the water-power facilities given by the River Arrow.
From that date the industry and consequent importance of the town have increased enormously. Some
four hundred people were employed in the manufacture of needles and fish-hooks about 1782, (fn. 9) and this
number by 1868 had increased to 10,000. (fn. 10) In
1901 the population of the town was 9,438, an
increase of almost 1,000 on that of 1891.
The site of Bordesley Abbey is situated to the
north-west of the town. It was excavated towards
the middle of the 19th century, and a great part of
the foundations were discovered. (fn. 11) Encaustic tiles
found on the site are now preserved in the vestry of
the church of Redditch. In the middle of the
17th century a 'greate owlde gate' still remained. (fn. 12)
A fair is said to have been held at Redditch on
St. Stephen's Day in the 16th century, (fn. 13) and Habington
mentions two on St. Stephen's Day, and on the
Sunday after the feast of St. Peter ad Vincula, (fn. 14) but
in the middle of the 19th century there were two
fairs, held on the first Monday in August, and on the
third Monday in September for cattle. (fn. 15) At present
the fairs are held on the Saturday preceding the
August Bank Holiday and on the third Monday in
September. The town is not chartered to hold a
market, but one is virtually held in the principal
streets every Saturday. Petty sessions are held every
Wednesday at Redditch, the county court district
having been formed in 1847. (fn. 16) The town was
formerly governed by a local board formed in 1859. (fn. 17)
Under the Local Government Act of 1894 it is
governed by an urban district council.
The village of Tardebigge is situated about 2¼ miles
south-east of Bromsgrove and 7 miles north-east of
Droitwich. The church stands in a picturesque
position on the brow of a small hill overlooking the
Worcester and Birmingham Canal, which here enters
a tunnel. The village itself contains little of interest,
with the exception of a fine red brick house with
stone dressings of the early 18th century at its western
extremity. Hewell Grange, the residence of the
Earl of Plymouth, stands in a large park at the east
end of the village, bounded on the west by the
Bromsgrove and Alcester Road. It was erected
during the years 1885 and 1892, and is a very
elaborate building. The old house, designed by
Thomas Cundy, was situated near the lake. The
Duchess of Kent and Princess Victoria visited Hewell
Grange on 5 November 1832. The park is about
850 acres in extent, and contains a large piece of
ornamental water on the east side of the house. The
grounds were laid out by Humphrey Repton in the
early years of the 19th century.
At Bentley, about 1¼ miles south of Tardebigge,
is some half-timber work. There is a moated inclosure to the north-west of Upper Bentley.
The River Arrow divides Tutnall and Cobley from
Alvechurch and then flows south past Redditch to
Alcester, where it is joined by the Alne. The
Worcester and Birmingham Canal also passes through
Tutnall and Cobley and near the village of Tardebigge. The commons were inclosed in 1772. (fn. 18)
Among the place-names are Himmingehale, (fn. 19)
Rodeley, Bertefeld, a tenement called Wysamusplace, (fn. 20)
Lukesfield, Colborn, Poersheye, (fn. 21) Lynewoode, Brokhyll, Foxenhale, Hentelows, (fn. 22) Lie Lane (fn. 23) and
Rashill. (fn. 24) .
MANORS
The history of TARDEBIGGE begins
in the later 10th century. The will
of Wulfgeat of Donnington, co. Salop,
accounts for 2 hides there. One hide was bestowed
by Wulfgeat as 'soul scot' upon what religious body
is not stated. The other hide was left by Wulfgeat
to his daughter Wilflaed. (fn. 25) Tardebigge is said to
have been purchased from King Ethelred in the
10th century by Ethelsige, a Dean of Worcester, for
his church, but after the death of the latter it was
seized by Ævic, Sheriff of Staffordshire, during the
war between Edmund Ironside and Cnut (c. 1016). (fn. 26)
It belonged to the king before the Conquest, and
in 1086 paid a farm of '11 pounds of pennies at
20 to the ounce' through the Sheriff of Staffordshire
at Kingswinford Manor. (fn. 27) Tardebigge is said to
have been included in the endowment of Bordesley
Abbey, founded in 1138 by Waleran de Beaumont (fn. 28)
Count of Mellent and Earl of Worcester. (fn. 29) The
foundation of the abbey has also been attributed to
Queen Maud, who granted another charter similar
to that of 1138, and who with Henry II is recognized as the founder of the abbey. (fn. 30) These charters
gave the Abbot of Bordesley and his men of Tardebigge freedom from toll in cities, boroughs and market
towns throughout England, but in the reign of
Edward I Robert de Mortimer exacted passage and
toll from the abbot and his men passing by the town
of Wychbold. The dispute was eventually settled in
favour of the abbot. (fn. 31) The abbot and convent paid
a farm of £10 through the Sheriff of Staffordshire for
their possessions in Tardebigge throughout the 12th
century. (fn. 32) In 1266 Henry III granted that the
abbot and convent should not be distrained by their
sheep as long as they had other animals and goods
whereby they could be distrained, (fn. 33) the grant being
of special importance to them, since wool-growing
was the chief source of their revenue. (fn. 34)
The manor or grange of Tardebigge remained in
the possession of the Abbot and convent of Bordesley (fn. 35)
until the abbey was surrendered to the king in
1538, (fn. 36) and in 1542 Andrew Lord Windsor was
obliged, much against his will, to exchange his manor
of Stanwell, near Windsor, for the possessions of the
abbey, including the manor of Tardebigge. (fn. 37)
Sir Andrew was succeeded in 1543 by his son
William, (fn. 38) who was one of the twenty-six peers who
signed the settlement of the Crown on Lady Jane
Grey. He was, however, active in the proclamation
of Queen Mary, at whose coronation he acted as
Pantler. (fn. 39) On his death in 1558 Tardebigge passed
to his son Edward, who was succeeded in 1574–5 by
his son Frederick. (fn. 40) He died unmarried in 1585,
when his brother Henry succeeded. (fn. 41) Thomas son
of Henry, who followed his father in 1605, was
Rear-Admiral of the Fleet sent in 1623 to bring
Prince Charles from Spain, and is said to have spent
£15,000 in entertainments on that occasion. He,
having no children, settled the manor in 1641 upon
Thomas Windsor Hickman, son of his sister Elizabeth,
on condition that he assumed the name Windsor
instead of Hickman. (fn. 42) Thomas, who succeeded to
the estate in the same year, distinguished himself at
the battle of Naseby in 1645 and relieved the king's
garrison at High Ercall. Charles I is said to have
ordered a patent to be prepared to grant him the
title of Lord Windsor, which had fallen into abeyance
on the death of his uncle, but the dignity was not
conferred upon him until the accession of Charles II. (fn. 43)
He was created Earl of Plymouth in 1682, (fn. 44) and
died in 1687, when his grandson Other succeeded. (fn. 45)
From Other son and successor of Other, the second
earl, the manor passed in 1732 to his son Other
Lewis. (fn. 46) Other Hickman, son of the latter, was succeeded in 1799 by his son Other Archer, on whose
death without issue in 1833 the barony of Windsor
again fell into abeyance. (fn. 47) The abeyance was
terminated in 1855 in favour of Lady Harriet Clive,
younger sister of the last lord, (fn. 48) and her grandson
Robert George Windsor-Clive, who succeeded to the
title and estates on her death in 1869, (fn. 49) was created
Earl of Plymouth in 1905, (fn. 50) and is the present owner
of the manor.
Windsor. Gules a saltire argent between twelve crosslets or.
Clive. Argent a fesse sable with three molets or thereon.
Lands at Bordesley formed part of the endowment
of the abbey there, (fn. 51) and were granted in 1542 by the
name of the manor of BORDESLEY to Andrew
Lord Windsor, with the site of the abbey. (fn. 52) The
site and manor of Bordesley followed the same descent
as Tardebigge (q.v.).
Edward Lord Windsor obtained licence in 1561
to impark 1,000 acres of land in Bordesley and
Tardebigge. (fn. 53) According to Nash, Bordesley Park
was sold before his time to Lord Foley. (fn. 54) In the
middle of the 18th century Bordesley Park was
owned or occupied by the Taylors of Moseley.
John Taylor, who died in 1814, and his son John
both lived there. (fn. 55) The estate now known as
Bordesley Hall, which stands in a park of about 200
acres, is in the parish of Alvechurch and belongs to
Mr. Charles John Geast Dugdale.
REDDITCH (Le Rededych, le Redyche, xv cent.),
which was held at the Dissolution by the Abbot of
Bordesley, is not mentioned in the foundation charters
of the abbey, and it is not known how or when it was
acquired. It may have been originally included in
the manor of Bordesley. The vill of Redditch is
mentioned in the 14th and 15th centuries, (fn. 56) and it
is first called a manor at the time of the Dissolution, (fn. 57)
when it contributed £17 11s. 10d. yearly to the
revenues of the abbot and convent. (fn. 58) It was granted
with Tardebigge Manor to Lord Windsor, and has
since followed the same descent as that manor (q.v.).
The manor of BENTLEY PAUNCEFOOT
(Beneslei, xi cent.; Benetlega Pancevot, Benetleye
in Feckenham Forest, xiii cent.), which was held
before the Conquest by Leofric of Earl Edwin of
Mercia, had passed before 1086 to William, who held
it of Urse D'Abitot. (fn. 59)
The overlordship followed the descent of Elmley
Castle (q.v.) until it lapsed in the 16th century. (fn. 60)
William, the Domesday tenant, was succeeded by the
family of Pauncefoot, from whom the manor derives
the second part of its name. Richard Pauncefoot
held half a hide of land at Bentley in 1198, (fn. 61) and his
son Richard had succeeded to Bentley before 1220. (fn. 62)
It was perhaps this Richard who obtained a grant of free
warren there in 1255. (fn. 63) His son and heir Grimbald
Pauncefoot (fn. 64) was lord of the manor in 1275–6, (fn. 65) and
is probably the Grimbald Pauncefoot who fought in
the barons' war in the reign of Henry III, at first on
the side of the barons and afterwards on that of the
king, being knighted by Prince Edward. (fn. 66) His manor
at Bentley was within the bounds of the forest of
Feckenham, and in 1281 he obtained licence to have
a rabbit warren there and to 'enclose places for the
dwellings of the rabbits with a little dike and low
hedge so that the king's deer may have entrance and
exit.' (fn. 67) He had been succeeded before 1293–4 by
a son of the same name, who in that year was going
to Gascony on the king's service. He was apparently
in want of money for the expedition, and tried to
obtain licence to cut down and sell timber in his
wood of Bentley to the value of 200 marks. It was
found that pannage in the wood was due to the king
and his tenants, and, as the wood was part of the royal
forest of Feckenham, waste would prejudice the king's
hunting. Further, as Sybil, mother of Grimbald, held
one-third in dower and Richard Pauncefoot ought to
have twelve good oaks there by charter of his father,
timber to the value of 200 marks could not be cut
down without loss to them. (fn. 68) In 1294, however,
Grimbald received licence to sell wood to the value
of 100 marks. (fn. 69) He died
about 1313–14, being succeeded by his brother Emery, (fn. 70)
or Aymer, whose name was
included in 1321 in a list of
those receiving pardons for
joining in the rising against
the Despensers. (fn. 71) In the
following year he was fined
200 marks as one of the
followers of the Earl of Lancaster and released from prison
upon payment of the same. (fn. 72)
In 1325 he was summoned to
perform military service in Guienne, (fn. 73) but in 1326
he is spoken of as an enemy of the king. At the
same time William de Montagu, who was 'in the
king's service pursuing the rebels,' was accused of
taking stock and goods from the manor of Bentley,
and he justified his action on the ground that no one
pursuing the rebels should be molested for the possession of any of their goods. (fn. 74) In 1333, shortly
before his death, (fn. 75) Emery Pauncefoot settled the
manor on his son Grimbald, with contingent
remainder to another son Hugh. (fn. 76) The former died
childless in 1375, (fn. 77) and his brother Hugh, who
succeeded him, died before 1379, when his widow
Katherine was in possession. (fn. 78) Sir John Pauncefoot,
son and heir of Hugh, settled the manor in 1417–18
on his son William and Margaret his wife and their
issue, (fn. 79) but they evidently died childless, since
Thomas, brother of William, was lord of the manor
some years later. (fn. 80) John Pauncefoot, grandson of
Thomas, died in 1516, (fn. 81) leaving a son Richard, then
aged three. Richard was succeeded by his son
John, (fn. 82) who sold the site of the manor to Thomas
Jeffreys in 1556 (fn. 83) and the rest to Ralph Sheldon and
William Childe in 1560. (fn. 84)
Pauncefoot. Gules three lions argent.
It appears that the Jeffreys had before this time
been tenants of the manor-house. As early as 1512
John Pauncefoot let it to William Jeffreys for forty
years, and in 1544 Richard Pauncefoot let to Elizabeth
Jeffreys 'the demesne lands of Bentley as held by her
late husband William Jeffreys' at a yearly rent of
£50 on condition that she would find 'house-room'
for Richard, his steward, and servants when they came
twice a year to hold courts. (fn. 85) The site remained in
the Jeffreys family until 1606, when Edward Jeffreys
and his eldest son Humphrey sold it to Henry Cookes. (fn. 86)
Before 1577 the manor of Bentley had been sold
by Ralph Sheldon and William Childe to Henry
Field, (fn. 87) through whose niece it passed to Sir William
Whorwood. (fn. 88) He settled it in 1603 on his son
Thomas and the latter's wife Ursula, daughter of
George Brome. (fn. 89) Thomas Whorwood died in October
1634, leaving a son Brome, (fn. 90) who had been married the
month before to Jane Ryder or Ryther, afterwards
noted for her attempts to arrange the escape of
Charles I. (fn. 91) They had one son and one daughter,
but it is doubtful whether the former (who was
drowned in 1657) (fn. 92) ever succeeded to Bentley, since
it appears to have been sold before 1651 to Thomas
Cookes, (fn. 93) grandson of the Henry Cookes who had purchased the site from Edward Jeffreys. He was made
one of the commissioners for 'reducing co. Worcester
to the obedience of Parliament' and afterwards sheriff
of the county. (fn. 94) On his death without issue the
manor seems to have passed to
his nephew William Cookes,
who was created a baronet in
1664 and died in 1672. (fn. 95) His
son Sir Thomas Cookes, (fn. 96) the
founder of Worcester College,
Oxford, died without issue in
1701, leaving most of his property to his nephew Thomas
Winford and his heirs male
with contingent remainders to
John and Harry Winford, his
brothers, and to John Cookes,
cousin of the testator, on condition that whoever inherited
the manor should take the
name of Cookes. (fn. 97) Thomas Winford, afterwards
Sir Thomas Cookes Winford, and his two brothers
died without issue and the manor passed to John
Cookes, eldest son of the John Cookes mentioned in the
will, (fn. 98) who was holding it in 1744. (fn. 99) He was succeeded in 1747 (fn. 100) by his nephew the Rev. Thomas
Cookes, rector of Notgrove, co. Gloucester, (fn. 101) whose
grandson Thomas Henry Cookes appears to have been
lord of the manor in 1826, (fn. 102) though his father did not
die until 1829.
Cookes of Bentley, baronet. Or two cheverons gules between six martlets sable.
Bentley was purchased before 1850 by Walter
Chamberlain Hemming, and had passed before 1860
to Richard Hemming, to whose daughter Maud,
widow of Major George C. Cheape of Wellfield,
co. Fife, the manor now belongs. (fn. 103)
The Abbot and convent of Bordesley had several
smaller manors or 'reputed manors' in the parish of
Tardebigge.
The hamlets of TUTNALL and COBLEY (Tothehal and Comble) are mentioned in the Domesday
Survey as berewicks of the manor of Bromsgrove and
belonged before the Conquest to Earl Edwin of
Mercia and in 1086 to the king. (fn. 104) Tutnall was later
known as Totinhill. (fn. 105) 'Cobesleie' is included in the
foundation charter of Bordesley Abbey as transcribed
by Dugdale from deeds belonging to Sir Clement
Throckmorton of Haseley, co. Warwick. (fn. 106) Both have
since then followed the same descent as Tardebigge
(q.v.).
STRECHE BENTLEY, so called after a family of
the name of Streche or Estrech, probably belonged
to Richard Streche, who is mentioned as rendering
half a mark in Worcestershire on the Pipe Roll of
1167. (fn. 107) Another Richard Streche died seised of the
bailiwick of the forest of Bentley in 1270–1. (fn. 108) His
son, also called Richard, held Streche Bentley in
1274, (fn. 109) and in 1275–6 Robert Streche of Bentley
held a virgate of land of the king without doing
service for it. (fn. 110) Robert seems, however, to have held
the land only under a ten years' lease granted by
Richard Streche. (fn. 111) He was still called Robert Streche
of Bentley in 1283–4, (fn. 112) but the manor seems afterwards to have passed to Walter de Aylesbury, who
is called lord of Streche Bentley in an undated charter
by which he granted to Robert Gest lands in Bentley
Pauncefoot, holding by a rent of 4s. 6d. and by suit
of court to the lord of Bentley Pauncefoot. (fn. 113) It was
perhaps this property which John de Wysham and
Hawise his wife held of Emery Pauncefoot at the time
of John's death, c. 1332, and which passed to his
son John. (fn. 114) By undated charters John the cook of
Bentley and Reginald Long of Bentley granted rent
and land at Bentley to Bordesley Abbey. (fn. 115) At the
time of the Dissolution the so-called manor belonged
to Bordesley Abbey, (fn. 116) and was granted in 1542 to
Andrew Lord Windsor, (fn. 117) afterwards following the
descent of Tardebigge (q.v.).
HEWELL GRANGE, now the Worcestershire seat
of the Earl of Plymouth, was granted to his ancestor
Andrew Lord Windsor with the other possessions of
Bordesley Abbey. (fn. 118) Hewell Grange is not mentioned
in the foundation charter of the abbey, but it was
stated at the Hundred Court in 1275–6 that it had
been granted to the abbey by the Empress Maud, and
in 1291 the abbot held 7 carucates of land at Hewell
cum Lega. (fn. 119) The present house was built on a new
site in the park between 1885 and 1891.
SHELTWOOD (Saltwod, Syltwode, xiii cent.;
Scheltewodde, xvi cent.), though not mentioned in
the foundation charter, was granted to Bordesley
Abbey by the Empress Maud. (fn. 120) In 1291 the abbot
held 3 carucates of land and a dovecot there, (fn. 121) and
about 1388–9 he granted 'Shiltewode Grange' to
William de Buyton for life without obtaining the
king's licence. (fn. 122) The estate remained in the possession of the abbey until the Dissolution. (fn. 123) It was
not granted with the site of the abbey to Lord
Windsor, but appears to have remained a Crown
possession until 1551, when it was granted to Edward
Lord Clinton. (fn. 124) It had passed before 1571 to
Edward Lord Windsor, (fn. 125) but its further descent has
not been traced. It probably became merged in the
manor of Tardebigge.
A mill called Lea Mill, possibly in the parish of
Tardebigge, (fn. 126) was given in 1180–1 by William the
Baker to the abbey of Bordesley in consideration of
an annuity of 12 quarters of wheat and 12 quarters
of rye. William had received the mill some twenty
years before from Walter Bishop of Chester. (fn. 127) The
mill was confirmed to the abbey by Richard I, and is
then said to have been given by Roger de Sandford. (fn. 128)
A mill at Bordesley belonged to the abbey at the
Dissolution, (fn. 129) and four water-mills were annexed to
the manors of Tardebigge and Bordesley in 1589. (fn. 130)
In 1752 Lord Windsor had a water grist-mill and
a water paper-mill in Bordesley and Tardebigge. (fn. 131)
Lea Mill may perhaps be identified with the old
mill to the south of Hewell Grange. In 1678
there were two water corn-mills and three fullingmills at Bentley Pauncefoot belonging to Sir Thomas
Cookes, then lord of the manor, (fn. 132) and in 1826
Thomas Henry Cookes had three corn-mills there. (fn. 133)
There is no mill at Bentley Pauncefoot at the
present day, but Perrymill Farm may mark the site
of a former one. There are numerous mills at
Redditch on the Arrow and its tributaries. In the
14th century Robert, Abbot of Bordesley, had fishing
rights in Tardebigge. (fn. 134)
CHURCH
The present church of ST. BARTHOLOMEW, erected about 1777,
is a stone building, and consists of a
chancel 18 ft. by 33 ft. with an apsidal east end, a
nave 58½ ft. by 34½ ft., and a west tower 9 ft. square
with side vestries, all in the Renaissance style. These
measurements are all internal. The chancel has three
semicircular-headed windows in the apse and a doorway on the south side. The nave is lit by four roundheaded windows on each side, and at the west end is
a gallery. The west door enters the tower, which
is octagonal internally and forms a narthex with a
vestry on each side. The arched doorway is flanked
by columns carrying an entablature and pediment.
The tower is of three stages, the two lower being
square, with round-headed windows in the ringing
chamber. The third has two columns standing free
at each angle and carrying an entablature convex on
plan, above which rises a tall octagonal spire having
vases at each broach.
In the narthex is a mutilated kneeling effigy of a
man in 16th-century armour. In the nave is a
mural monument to Maria wife of Thomas Cookes
of Bentley, daughter of Thomas Lord Windsor and
his wife, the sister of George Marquess of Halifax,
who died in 1694.
There are three bells: the first is inscribed
'Wm Callow, Saml Harris, Churchwardens 1774,'
with Thomas Rudhall's mark; second, 'Jno Rudhall
fect, Saml Harris, Churchwarden, 1796'; and a
third, 'Goodwin Nash, John Parke, Churchwardens,
Henry Bagley made me, 1746.'
The plate consists of a plain cup, dish, paten and
flagon, all inscribed 'Other, Earl of Plymouth 1790,'
and bearing the hall-mark of that year, and also a
modern paten.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) baptisms 1566 to 1647, burials 1579 to 1647, marriages
1566 to 1647; (ii) baptisms and burials 1654 to
1671, marriages 1653 to 1671; (iii) all entries 1672
to 1692; (iv) 1693 to 1730; (v) baptisms and
burials 1731 to 1770, marriages 1731 to 1751
(there is a gap in the marriages between 1751 and
1754); (vi) marriages 1754 to 1770; (vii) baptisms
and burials 1770 to 1809; (viii) marriages 1770 to
1812; (ix) baptims and burials 1809 to 1812.
From the description in Nash's History of Worcestershire
(fn. 135) it would appear that the former church dated
back to the Norman period. The tower of this
church fell in 1774, and so damaged the remainder
of the building that the whole had to be taken down.
A brief was issued in 1777 for building a new
church on a slightly different site wholly in Worcestershire. (fn. 136) In pulling down the old church the
monuments of the Windsor family were so much
damaged that they were not replaced in the new
building. Some are described in Dugdale's History
of Warwickshire. (fn. 137) Nash gives the following account
of the old church: 'The church was dedicated to
St. Bartholomew, and is supposed to have been built
soon after the Conquest. The most ancient part
was a circular arch over the south door with hatched
mouldings, and the supporting columns had the common rude Saxon capitals. The tower was partly
octagonal, but from the style of the arch over the
door at the west end of the tower, and the thin
taper columns, one may conjecture it was built after
the reign of Henry I. In the highest north window
of the north side of the body of the church was a
man with eight children, praying, and in the next pane
a woman with three daughters in the same attitude,
with the inscription, 'Seward and Agent de Bedford,' the rest broken. In the lowest window of the
same side a man and his wife praying, inscribed,
'Uxor ejus,' with eight sons and one daughter. (fn. 138)
ADVOWSONS
The advowson of the church of
Tardebigge was included in the
foundation charter of Bordesley
Abbey. (fn. 139) The church had been appropriated to
the abbey and the vicarage ordained before 1245.
To the vicar were assigned all obventions of the
altar and of the chapel of St. Stephen, and all small
tithes, but it was found that this endowment was
insufficient, and in 1245 the bishop ordained that
the vicar should receive in addition a mark yearly
from the abbot and convent as rectors. (fn. 140)
In 1259 the advowson was claimed by Henry III
on the ground that Richard I had presented, but
he finally gave up his claim, 'having preceived that
the said house was founded out of the said advowson.' (fn. 141)
In 1291 the church of Tardebigge was worth
£15 6s. 8d., (fn. 142) but by the time of the Dissolution the
rectory was only worth £4 1s. 5¼d. (fn. 143) The advowson
with the rectory and tithes has followed the same
descent as the manor (fn. 144) (q.v.).
There was formerly a chapel at Bentley Pauncefoot
Manor, which at the beginning of the 14th century
was served by the monks of Bordesley, who were
obliged to find a priest to celebrate divine service
every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, and on all
feast days. In 1332 Emery Pauncefoot granted the
monks 2 marks yearly to find a chaplain for the
remaining days of the week. (fn. 145)
There was also a chapel at Bordesley dedicated to
St. Stephen, (fn. 146) the advowson of which was granted in
1542 to Andrew Lord Windsor. (fn. 147) There seems to
have been a district assigned to this chapel which was
in existence at least as early as 1245. (fn. 148) Nash gives
the boundaries of this district as they existed in 1645. (fn. 149)
The advowson belonged to the lords of the manor, (fn. 150)
but the chapel was deserted after the Dissolution and
used as a barn until 1687, when, upon the application
of the inhabitants of Redditch to the Earl of Plymouth,
it was endowed and used as a church. (fn. 151) The chapel
was restored and further endowed in 1712 by
Nathaniel Mugg. A tablet recording this gift was
the only one which had escaped destruction at the
time of the demolition of the chapel in 1805. (fn. 152) An
Act for building a new chapel at Redditch was
obtained in 1805, (fn. 153) and the old one was taken down.
Illustrations of the old chapel and the new one as it
existed in 1807 are given in Woodward's History of
Bordesley Abbey. (fn. 154) The present church of St. Stephen
was built in 1854–5, and the ecclesiastical parish
was formed from Tardebigge in 1855. (fn. 155) It is of
stone in 14th-century style, and consists of chancel,
nave, north and south aisles, chapel, south porch, and
tower with spire at the west end of the north aisle.
On 13 August 1902 part of the ecclesiastical
parish of St. Stephen, Redditch, was constituted the
new parish of St. George, Redditch. (fn. 156) The church,
built in 1876, is of stone in 14th-century style, consisting of chancel, nave, north and south aisles, and
eastern bell-turret. The living is a vicarage in the
gift of the vicar of St. Stephen, Redditch.
Parts of the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Tardebigge were assigned in 1850 to the new ecclesiastical
parish of Headless Cross, (fn. 157) which was constituted
from this parish and Feckenham in Worcestershire
and Ipsley in Warwickshire. It is now comprised
in the new civil parish of Upper Ipsley, which was
formed from Ipsley in 1894. (fn. 158)
St. Philip's at Webheath is a chapel of ease to
St. Bartholomew's Tardebigge, and at Lower Bentley
there is a small church where services are held on
Sunday afternoons by the vicar of Tardebigge.
There is a Baptist chapel at Webheath. At
Redditch there are numerous Nonconformist places
of worship. The Baptist chapel in Ipsley Street was
built in 1862 and rebuilt in 1897, the United Methodist in Mount Pleasant was built in 1833 and rebuilt
in 1899, and the Wesleyan chapel in Bates Hill,
built in 1842, has since been enlarged.
CHARITIES
Endymion Canning—as appeared
from an ancient table of benefactions
in the church—by his will (dated in
1631) left £50 for the poor to be disposed of to
such charitable uses as the Earl of Plymouth should
think fit. In performance of the said will the Earl
of Plymouth by deeds of lease and release granted a
house and land in Redditch, the rents and profits to
be applied in the distribution of bread. The trust
property now consists of 3 r. 35 p., producing £2 13s.
yearly, £1, 208 16s. 5d. consols with the official
trustees, arising from the sale in 1873 of a portion
of the property, and also a sum of £102 18s. 9d.
consols in the names of trustees. The annual
dividends, amounting together to £32 17s. 11d., are,
with the net rents, applied in moieties in the distribution of bread among the poor of Tardebigge and
Redditch.
In 1859 James Holyoake by his will bequeathed
£2,000 for the benefit of the poor. The legacy,
less duty, is represented by £520 Birmingham Corporation 3 per cent. stock, £870 on mortgage, and
£143 invested with the Land Securities Company.
The income, amounting to about £65 a year, is
distributed in blankets, sheets and other articles in
kind to about seventy recipients.
Redditch.
—In 1715 John Allen, by his will proved
at Worcester, charged his customary lands at Foxlydiate with an annuity of £15 4s., of which £10 is
receivable by the vicar and £5 4s. is applied to
the National schools as John Allen's Educational
Foundation.
Eleemosynary Charities.
—This parish receives a
moiety of the income of the charity of Endymion
Canning. See above.
In 1826 Benjamin Sarson, by his will, left £30,
now represented by £32 14s. 1d. consols, the annual
dividends, amounting to 16s. 4d., to be distributed in
bread on Easter Day, Trinity Sunday, Sunday after
Michaelmas Day and Christmas Day among the oldest
communicants.
In 1844 William Henry Boulton, by his will
proved at Worcester 4 December, left £20, now
£20 0s. 6d. consols, the annual dividends of 10s. to
be distributed on New Year's Day to twelve poor
widows, regular attendants at church and sacrament.
In 1856 William Field, by his will proved in the
P.C.C. 22 January, left £100, invested in
£108 5s. 1d. consols, the annual dividends, amounting to £2 14s., to be applied for the benefit of the
aged and infirm poor.
In 1862 Miss Ellen Cicely Holyoake, by deed,
gave £25, now £26 19s. 8d. consols, the annual
dividends of 13s. 4d. to be distributed to twelve poor
widows, regular attendants at church and sacrament.
In 1869 Mary Aston, by her will proved at
Worcester 18 August, left £100, which, less duty,
was invested in £95 14s. 11d. consols, the annual
dividends, amounting to £2 7s. 8d., to be distributed
after the Feast of the Epiphany to poor old men and
women, constant attendants at service and Holy
Communion, in bread, clothing, or money.
In 1870 Alfred Smallwood, by his will proved at
Worcester in October, bequeathed £200, which was
invested in £216 16s. 1d. consols, the annual dividends, amounting to £5 8s. 4d., to be applied in
clothing, blankets, linen, bread, or coal about
St. Thomas's Day.
In 1871 Henry Lewis, by his will, left £100 for
the sick, aged, or infirm, represented by £107 10s. 7d.
consols, producing £2 13s. 8d. yearly.
In 1882 William Wild, by his will proved at
Worcester 25 September, bequeathed £50 to the
vicar and churchwardens, the interest to be applied
in equal proportions between the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel and the British and Foreign
Bible Society. The legacy was invested in £49 6s. 2d.
consols, producing £1 4s. 8d. yearly.
In 1887 Benjamin Sarson, by his will proved at
Worcester 7 June, left £450, which was invested in
£436 7s. 3d. consols, the dividends, amounting to
£10 18s., to be applied in the purchase of tickets or
in subscriptions to any hospital or charitable institution of a medical or surgical character in Birmingham
or elsewhere, for securing benefits for the poor.
In 1909 Caroline Swann, by her will proved with
a codicil at Worcester 4 May, bequeathed £160 4s. 9d.
consols, the annual dividends of £4 to be applied in
pursuance of a scheme of the Charity Commissioners
15 March 1910, for the general benefit of the poor
in one or more of the ways therein specified.
The several securities belonging to the eleemosynary
charities are, unless otherwise stated, held by the
official trustees.
The Milward Memorial Charity, comprised in
deed 19 April 1880, was founded by the children of
Henry Milward in memory of their father and
mother. It consists of a freehold building used as a
mission room, with a sum of £100 consols, the
dividends to be applied in keeping the same in repair.
The Smallwood Hospital was founded and endowed
by the will of Edwin Smallwood, proved at London
8 August 1892, and by gifts of William Smallwood,
the residuary legatee, at a cost exceeding £10,000,
leaving a sum of £11,260 available for investment in
the names of the trustees, who also hold a sum of
£551 10s. 1d. India 2½ per cent. stock as a special
endowment fund by will of Edwin Smallwood, and
£575 19s. 9d. like stock, arising from the sale of houses
in Britten Street, conveyed in 1897 by Joseph Fessey
for the benefit of the hospital. The official trustees
also hold £104 11s. 6d. consols left by will of Richard
Bennett, proved in 1891, and £107 4s. 9d. like stock
given in 1902 by Walter Lewis towards the endowment of a bed in the women's ward in memory of his
sister Elizabeth Clayton.
In 1902 the income from mortgages and all investments amounted to £503.
Nonconformist Charities.
—In 1841 Joseph John
Freeman, by deed, conveyed to trustees a dwellinghouse with the shopping and other premises situate at
Redditch upon trust that a moiety of the rents should
be paid to the minister of the Congregational church,
and the other moiety applied in upholding and keeping the said church in repair. The trust property
produces £138 yearly.
In 1910 Miss Harriet Smith, by her will, left £50,
the interest to be applied for the general purposes of
the Dorcas Society in connexion with the Wesleyan
chapel. The legacy was invested in £59 8s. 2d.
India 3 per cent. stock with the official trustees,
producing £1 15s. 8d. yearly.
St. Stephen's.
—In 1880 Henry Smallwood, by his
will proved at Worcester 26 June, left £50, the
interest to be distributed at Christmas in coal to poor
members of St. Stephen's Church. The legacy, less
duty, was invested in £45 1s. 8d. consols, producing
£1 2s. 4d. yearly.
In 1888 the Rev. George Frederick Fessey, by his
will proved at Gloucester 27 December, left a legacy,
now represented by £392 14s. 8d. consols with the
official trustees, the annual dividends, amounting to
£9 16s. 4d., to be distributed on 28 November
among poor members of St. Stephen's Church, with a
preference to communicants.
St. George.
—In 1888 the Rev. George Frederick
Fessey, by his will proved at Gloucester 27 December, left a legacy, now represented by £671 0s. 7d.
consols with the official trustees, the annual dividends,
amounting to £16 15s. 4d., to be distributed in
bread among needy members of the congregation
of St. George's Church. The distribution is made
monthly to about twenty recipients.