Inkberrow, or Inkborough (St. Peter)

INKBERROW, or Inkborough (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Alcester, Middle division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Droitwich and E. divisions of the county of Worcester, 5¼ miles (W.) from Alcester; containing 1809 inhabitants. This parish is intersected by the road between Droitwich and Alcester, and situated on the borders of Warwickshire, which bounds it on the east. It comprises by measurement 6868a. 3r. 2p., including part of the district of Shell; the soil is rather above the average in productiveness, is well watered, and partially wooded. There are several quarries, producing a white sandstone which hardens considerably by exposure, and is well adapted for building purposes. A few of the male population are employed in needle-making, and some females in the glovetrade. The living is a vicarage, endowed with a portion of the rectorial tithes, and valued in the king's books at £16. 2. 1.; patron, the Earl of Abergavenny. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £595, and the vicarial for £800; the glebe comprises 90 acres. The church is a large and handsome edifice, of various styles of architecture, and consisting of a nave, chancel, and north transept, with a tower at the west end; it is supposed to have been originally built about five centuries ago, and was repaired in 1841, when 160 additional sittings were obtained. There is a place of worship for Baptists. Under an inclosure act in 1818, a poor's estate, consisting of 52 acres, was allotted in exchange for lands given by several benefactors; it produces £50 per annum. At Cokehill, on a site now occupied by a farmhouse, was a nunnery, founded in 1260 by Isabella, Countess of Warwick, who assumed the veil here: at the Dissolution, the revenue was estimated at £34. 15. 11. The chapel which was attached to the nunnery is still in existence, and underwent a thorough repair about 80 years ago.