Whittington (St. John the Baptist)
The parish comprises by measurement 8158 acres. The soil is various, in some districts a strong clay, in others a loose gravel, and in parts sand and peat-moss. The village is pleasantly situated near the Ellesmere canal, on the road from Shrewsbury to Holyhead; and is watered by a brook which, rising in a neighbouring mountain, and flowing underground for about a mile, re-appears near the castle, and runs through the village into the river Perry, which falls into the Severn near Shrewsbury. The grant of a weekly market and an annual fair, was obtained by Fulk Fitz-warine, lord of the manor in the reign of Henry II.; both have been long discontinued. A court leet and baron is annually held in a modern portion of the castle, built a few years ago by William Lloyd, Esq., lord of the manor. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £25. 4. 2., and in the gift of the Lloyd family: certain impropriate tithes have been commuted for £285, and the incumbent's for £1041. 8.; the glebe comprises 58 acres. The church was originally built in the reign of Henry II., by Fulk Fitz-warine; the tower was rebuilt in 1740, the chancel in 1785, and the nave and other parts in 1806: the structure is of red brick. There is a chapel at Frankton, about three miles from the village; and the Brownists and Bryanites have places of worship. Sir Richard Whittington, mayor of London, is by some supposed to have been a native of the parish.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.