Churchill (St. James)

CHURCHILL (St. James), a parish, in the union of Kidderminster, Lower division of the hundred of Halfshire, Stourbridge and E. divisions of the county of Worcester, 3½ miles (N. E. by E.) from Kidderminster; containing 164 inhabitants. It is partly bounded by Staffordshire, and is crossed, from north to south, by the road from Stourbridge to Kidderminster; it contains 955 acres. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 6. 8., and in the gift of the Rev. J. Turner: a portion of the tithes was commuted in 1773 for land, of which there are 95 acres, valued at about £100 per annum; the remainder was recently commuted for a rent-charge of £166, and there is a glebe-house. The church formerly stood on an elevation still called Churchill; the present edifice was built in the valley, in 1470. Richard Penne and Roger Bennet, in 1602, bequeathed property producing about £30 per annum, chiefly for teaching children.