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Abdon (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Ludlow, hundred of Munslow, S. division of Salop, 12 miles (S.W. by W.) from Bridgenorth; containing 155 inhabitants. It comprises upwards of 1100 acres, of which about 190 are arable, 664 meadow and pasture, and 260 waste land; the surface is very irregular, and the soil strong red clay in the higher grounds, with a sheep-walk, having much gorse and fern; the lower grounds are more favourable to agriculture. A few pits on the hill yield an inferior coal, much of which is used in lime-works; formerly there were several iron forges in the neighbourhood. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king’s book at £3 6. 8.; patron, Hon. S. Herbert; net income, £147, arising from tithes and a small estate, with 49 acres of glebe, of which 22 are in the parish of Stoke St. Milborough. The church is a rude structure, with walls of great thickness, and much of it appears to have been rebuilt about 150 or 200 years ago; in the chancel is a window in the decorated style. Abdon Burf, on the summit of Brown Clee hill, is a remarkable oval inclosure of basalt stones, evidently British; the area measures from north to South 1317 feet, and at its widest point from east to west it is 660 feet; and huge blocks of stone are scattered within it, of which several are arranged in circles.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis Fifth Edition Published London; by S. Lewis and Co., 13, Finsbury Place, South. M. DCCC. XLV.