ALDRIDGE, a parish in the southern division of
the hundred of OFFLOW, county of STAFFORD, 3 miles
(E. N. E.) from Walsall, containing, with the chapelry
of Great Barr, and the liberty of Bentley, 1682 inhabitants.
The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry
of Stafford, and diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, rated
in the king's books at £8. 1. 3., and in the patronage of
Sir E. D. Scott, Bart. The church is dedicated to St.
Mary. The neighbourhood affords a kind of clay well
adapted for the manufacture of the finest sort of pottery,
tiles, &c. Here is an extensive distillery; and
the trade of the district is greatly facilitated by the
Wyrley and Essington Extension canal, which passes
through the parish. A court leet is held once in
two years. There are two free schools, one with an
endowment of about £110 per annum, founded in 1718,
by the Rev. John Jordan, in which from thirty to forty
scholars are educated; and the other, for the education
of eight poor girls, endowed with £12 per annum.
A National school for girls, established in 1827, is supported
by subscription. The remains of a Roman
encampment are visible in the parish.