MALPAS, a parish in the higher division of the hundred
of BROXTON, county palatine of CHESTER, comprising
the townships of Agden, Bickerton, Bickley, Bradley,
Broxton, Buckley, or Bulkeley, Chidlow, Cholmondeley,
Chorlton, Cuddington, Duckington, Edge, Egerton,
Hampton, Larkton, Macefen, Malpas, Newton juxta,
Malpas, Oldcastle, Overton, Stockton, Tushingham with
Grindley, Wichalgh, andWigland, and containing 3917
inhabitants, of which number, 1127 are in the township
of Malpas, 15 miles (S. S. E.) from Chester, and
165 (N. W.) from London. The ancient name of this
place was Depenbech, and was of similar import with
the present appellation, which signifies a bad pass, or
road. This barony, prior to the Conquest, formed
part of the possession of Earl Edwin, and was subsequently
given by the first Norman Earl of Chester
to Robert Fitz-Hugh, one of the eight barons of his
parliament; it was soon afterwards divided into two
unequal parts, and still continues so. The ancient
barons exercised capital jurisdiction within the limits
of the barony, and in them was vested (but distinct
from their rights as barons of Malpas,) the office of
serjeant of the peace for the whole palatinate, excepting
the hundreds of Macclesfield and Wirrall: the punishment
for capital offences, designated in some records as
" the custom of Cheshire," was decapitation, and it was
usual to present the heads of felons at the castle of
Chester. The jxirisdictions have undergone considerable
alteration, and the remaining portion of the ancient
baronial rights has descended with the manor of Malpas.
The castle, the head of the ancient barony, was built
soon after the Conquest, and stood immediately adjoining
the church; but the only vestige of it is a
circular mound, on which the keep stood. In the
early part of the sixteenth century the inhabitants
suffered severely from the plague, particularly about
the year 1625. The town is very pleasantly situated
on an eminence on the line of road from Shrewsbury
to Chester, and commands an extensive prospect
over a great part of North Wales, Staffordshire, and
the Vale Royal: it consists of four streets, which diverge
at right angles from a common centre, and are
well paved; the houses are low and irregularly built;
the inhabitants are supplied with water from a public
well: the walks are pleasing and picturesque, and frequent
instances of longevity attest the salubrity of
the atmosphere. The chief occupation of the inhabitants
is in agriculture; a copper mine has been recently
discovered in the township of Bickerton, in this parish,
but its extent and quality have not yet been ascertained.
The market is on Wednesday. Fairs are held on April
5th, July 26th, and December 8th, for cattle, linen and
woollen goods, toys, and pedlary. Courts leet and baron
are held annually, at which constables are appointed,
and debts under 40a. recoverable.
The living is a rectory, divided from time immemorial
into two portions, in the archdeaconry and diocese of
Chester; the first portion is rated in the king's books at
£48. 8. 6., and the second at £44.19.2.; the right of
presentation to the higher mediety belongs to the Marquis
of Cholmondeley, and T. T. Drake, Esq., alternately,
and that to the lower to T. T. Drake, Esq.,
only -. an excellent parsonage-house and glebe land are
attached to each portion. The church, which is dedicated
to St. Oswald, is a spacious and venerable edifice,
in the later style of English architecture; the
windows are enriched with elegant tracery, and in
the chancel are some ancient oak stalls, niches, and
monuments: at the end of the north and south
aisles are sepulchral chapels belonging to the families
of Cholmondeley and Brcrcton. There are two chapels
of ease in the parish, viz., Chad and Whitewell. A domestic
chapel, open for the tenants and neighbours, is
attached to Cholmondeley castle, about four miles distant.
In the town and parish are places of worship for
Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyan Methodists. The
grammar school was founded early in the seventeenth
century, by subscription, to which Hugh, first Earl of
Cholmondeley, contributed £200, and receiving the'entire
sum, amounting to £536. 11., charged an estate
called the Old Hall, with the annual payment of £25*.
He likewise gave a school-room and residence for the
master; in 1795, the school premises were rebuilt and,
enlarged, at the expense of the present master. This institution
is free only to the sons of the representatives
of the original subscribers; the master, who is at present
appointed by the Marquis of Cholmondeley, likewise
receives boarders. Richard Alport, in 1709, bequeathed
£500 for the support of a school, in which,
twelve boys and twelve girls were educated and clothed
the funds having considerably increased, a National
school has been established, and the former incorporated
with it; the number of children receiving instruction
being ninety boys and fifty girls. Dr. Townson, archdeacon
of Richmond, and rector of Malpas, bequeathed
£500 Old South Sea stock, the dividends on which,
amounting now to £16. 14. annually, are applied in"
clothing and educating children. An almshouse for
several poor persons was built by Sir Randle Brereton,
in the time of Henry VIII., and endowed by Sir Thomas
Brereton, in the reign of Charles I., with a rent-charge
in Newton; it was rebuilt in 1721, by Hugh, Earl of
Gholmondeley, for six poor widows, who are nominated
by the present Marquis, and receive a small weekly
allowance; a bequest, by Thomas Poyser, Esq., of the
interest of £600 makes an addition of £3 per annum
to the income of each of the inmates. In 1748, Miss
Eliz. Taylor left £500 for the purpose of clothing poor
men in the townships of Malpas and Edge, which sum
being invested in the purchase of £771 Old South Sea
stock, now produces about £27 per annum; there are
several minor benefactions for charitable purposes. The
late learned and pious Dr. Heber, Bishop of Calcutta,,
was a native of this town, his father having been
rector of the higher mediety. Philip Henry, the nonconformist,
resided at the Broad Oak in this parish,,
where his son, Matthew Henry, the celebrated cormnen"
tator on the Bible, was born. Malpas confers the title
of viscount on the Marquis of Cholmondeley.