Parishmouse Free Resources For Family Historians

Bishampton, or Bishop Hampton, was formerly a chapelry of Fladbury, but is now a parish, distant 10 miles E.S.E. of Worcester, 7 N.N.W. of Evesham, 4 ½ N. of Pershore railway station (5 ½ from the town of Pershore), and 3 N.W. of Fladbury station on the Great Western railway. It is in the eastern division of the county, Middle Oswaldslow hundred, Upton Snodsbury highway district, Pershore union, petty sessional division, county court district, and polling district, Worcester diocese and archdeaconry, and Feckenham rural deanery. The acreage is 2,140; annual rateable value, £2,613; population in 1861, 469; in 1871, 492, with 102 inhabited houses, and 126 families or separate occupiers. The soil is marl and clay; chief crops, wheat, beans, barley, and turnips. The Duc D’Aumale (the lord of the manor), Henry Porter, Esq., and William Laslett, Esq., are the principal landowners. The church of St. James was rebuilt in 1870, except the tower, at a cost of £2,000, towards which the Bishop of Worcester, the Duc D’Aumale, and the late Miss Porter, each gave £500. The architect was Frederick Preedy, Esq., of London, and the builder, Mr. J. Griffiths, of Eldersfield, in this county. It is a stone edifice in the Gothic style, with chancel, nave, and a chapel in south aisle. New pinnacles have been placed on the tower, which otherwise remains unaltered. The iron frame, which in the 17th century held the sermon hour-glass in the pulpit, is preserved. The register dates from the year 1599. The living is a vicarage, annual value £250, arising from 78 acres of glebe, and an annuity of £100 from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners; patron, the Bishop of Worcester; vicar, the Rev. Henry Niven, M.A., St. John’s College, Cambridge, who was instituted in 1850. There are national and Sunday schools, supported partly by the Duc D’Aumale and partly by the inhabitants. The parochial school is under Diocesan inspection; average attendance, 62. The Baptists have a small chapel here, erected in 1844. Among the charities are the proceeds of 4 acres, 1 rood, 19 perches to keep the church in repair; two tenements called “Babylon,” left by Mrs. Wallbank, and some small sums for the benefit of the poor.
Postal Regulations. – Letters are received through Pershore. The letter-box (near the school) is cleared at 4.45 p.m. on week-days only. Pershore is the nearest money-order and telegraph office and post town.
Parish Church (St. James’s). – Rev. Henry Niven, M.A., Vicar; Messrs. John Lidsey and William Stevens, Churchwardens; William Ford, Parish Clerk.
Parochial School (boys and girls). – Miss S. J. Warren, Mistress.
Baptist Chapel. – Ministers various.
Carrier to Worcester and Evesham. – John Atkins, on Saturdays to Worcester, and Mondays to Evesham.

PRIVATE RESIDENTS.

Harwood Mrs.
Niven Rev. Hy., M.A. (vicar), the Vicarage
Stephens Miss

AGRICULTURAL & COMMERCIAL.

Ansell Thomas, tailor
Atkins John, market gardener & carrier
Brookes Thomas, wheelwright
Cole John, farmer, Dean Lodge farm
Davis George, shopkpr. and wheelwright
Dorrell William, farmer
Farley William, boot and shoe maker
Ford William, parish clerk
Ganderton Wm., tailor and beer retailer
Green Mrs. Eliza, farmer
Hamblin James, cottage farmer
Horne Mrs., cottage farmer
Knight George, farmer
Lidsey John, farmer, Singer’s Bush hall
Niblett James, wheelwright and farmer, Vicarage farm
Nightingale Mrs. C., farmer, Lower field
Spiers Benjamin, shopkpr. & cot. Farmer
Spiers Joseph, blacksmith
Stanton Albert Henry, shopkeeper
Stephens Wm., Dolphin Inn, & farmer
Warren Miss S. J., schoolmistress
Workman David Malins, farmer

Source: Littlebury, Littlebury’s Directory and Gazetteer of Worcester & District, Third Edition. Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. 1879.