Ripple (St. Mary)
RIPPLE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Upton, partly in the Lower division of the hundred of Pershore, but chiefly in the Lower division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Upton and W. divisions of the county of Worcester, 4 miles (N. by W.) from Tewkesbury; containing, with the hamlet of Holdfast and the chapelry of Queenhill, 993 inhabitants, of whom 869 are in Ripple hamlet. The parish is situated on the road from Bristol to Birmingham, and on the river Severn: it comprises by admeasurement about 2500 acres. Limestone is quarried for building and for the construction of drains. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £42. 6. 4.; net income, £1040; patron, the Bishop of Worcester. The tithes were commuted for land and money payments in 1801 and 1812, under inclosure acts; the glebe altogether contains about 580 acres. The church, a handsome structure, was beautified, and its tower raised, towards the close of the last century. At Queenhill is a chapel of ease. There are four almshouses for poor women, who are nominated by the lady of the manor; and some bequests, now producing £120 a year, are appropriated to parochial purposes. A monastery existed at Ripple so early as the year 770, in Bishop Mildred's time; it was granted to the church of Worcester, by Duke Ælfred, about the commencement of the ninth century. Some ancient pottery was discovered at Bow farm in 1838, and it is supposed that here was a station of the Romans, for the manufacture of sepulchral and other pottery from the clay found near the spot. From Bow bridge, which crosses a stream dividing Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, extends a Roman road to near Tewkesbury.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.