Salford (St. Matthew)

SALFORD (St. Matthew), a parish, in the union of Alcester, Stratford division of the hundred of Barlichway, S. division of the county of Warwick, 5¾ miles (S. by W.) from Alcester; containing 865 inhabitants, and comprising 4608 acres. The river Avon, and its tributary stream the Arrow, run through the parish. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9; net income, £111; patron and impropriator, Sir Grey Skipwith, Bart. William Perkins, in 1656, gave £232 for the support of a free school; the income of the school is now upwards of £40. An ancient mansion here, the property of Mr. Berkeley, is occupied as a nunnery, the society consisting of an abbess, sixteen professed nuns, and a school for young ladies, noviciates.