HARTLEBURY, a parish comprising the hamlet of
Upper Mitton, in the lower division of the hundred of
HALFSHIRE, but chiefly in the lower division of the
hundred of OSWALDSLOW, county of WORCESTER, 2
miles (E. by S.) from Stourport, and containing 1857
inhabitants. The living is a rectory, in the. peculiar
jurisdiction of the Rector, rated in the king's books at
£30, and in the patronage of the Bishop of Worcester.
The church, dedicated to St. James, has considerable
portions in the Norman style of architecture} and some
in the decorated style. The free grammar school is one
of the five in the county having alternately the right
of presentation to six scholarships in Worcester College,
Oxford, founded by Sir Thomas Cookes, Bart.: the exact
period of its establishment is unknown, but it existed in
1400; in the 1st of Elizabeth it was by charter made a
royal foundation, when twenty discreet men of the parish
were constituted a body corporate, with a common
seal, for the management of its funds, &c.; there are
now, however, only seven trustees; its possessions
consist of about one hundred and eighty-four acres of
land, the rental of which is about £120: the head
master and the under master have, in addition to their
salary, each a good house, and liberty to take boarders.
A school for twelve girls was founded and endowed
with £200, by Mrs. Hannah Eyre, in 1726; and a
Sunday school, under the patronage of the Bishop, was
established in 1824, which is supported by voluntary
contributions, and attended by about ninety children.
Hartlebury castle has long been the residence of the
diocesans, to whom it was given by Burthred, King of
Mercia: the present is a neat brick mansion, erected
about the time of the Restoration, the ancient castle
having been taken by Colonel Morganin 1646, and destroyed
during the great rebellion.; The Staffordshire
arid Worcestershire canal passes through the northwestern
part of the parish.