Longford (St. Chad)
LONGFORD (St. Chad), a parish, in the hundred of Appletree, S. division of the county of Derby; containing, with the townships of Alkmonton and Hollington, the liberty of Hungry-Bentley, and the hamlet of Rodsley, 1249 inhabitants, of whom 568 are in the township of Longford, 10 miles (W. by N.) from Derby. The parish comprises 5813a. 2r. 37p., of which the greater portion is pasture, with a very small quantity of arable and woodland; the soil is in general fertile. The late Earl of Leicester, whose family has been connected with the place for more than two centuries, erected, in 1842, two neat substantial bridges over the mill-stream in the centre of the village, at an expense of £800, and gave them to the county on the condition of their being kept in repair. The living was formerly a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £3. 8. 9., but is now a rectory, the sinecure rectory and the vicarage having been united in 1840; patron, the Hon. Edward Coke; incumbent, the Rev. T. Garnier. The great tithes of Longford township have been commuted for £204, and the glebe consists of 99 acres; the small tithes have been commuted for £80, and the glebe contains 200 acres, with a glebe-house. Roger, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, endowed the vicarage with the great tithes of Bentley, charging it with a pension of 50s. to the priory of Kenilworth, in Warwick. The church is full of interesting architectural remains: in the north aisle are some fine Norman arches. The chancel, which is in the early decorated style, is much admired for its symmetrical proportions and chaste details; it contains three stone stalls, a piscina, and some ancient monumental effigies. A costly monument to the late Earl of Leicester has been erected by subscription, consisting of a richly ornamented stone canopy, with a fine marble bust and an inscription; and a marble monument, by Gibson, to the late Countess of Leicester, has been since erected. The tower of the church is a good specimen of the later English style. A chapel of ease was lately built at Alkmonton. In 1687, Sir Robert Coke, Bart., founded an almshouse for six persons, and endowed it with £55 per annum: in 1688, Lady Catherine Coke bequeathed land, producing £32 per annum, for education; and there is another school, supported by William Evans, Esq., M.P.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.