Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for ORLETON

ORLETON, a village and a parish in Leominster district, Hereford. The village stands on an affluent of the river Teme, ¾ of a mile W of the Leominster canal and the Shrewsbury and Hereford railway, 1½ S W by S of Woofferton-Junction r. station and of the boundary with Salop, and 5 S by W of Ludlow; is one of the oldest villages in the county; presents a very antiquated appearance, with houses mostly constructed of timber; was a seat of petty sessions; and has a post-office under Ludlow, and a large cattle fair on 24 April. The parish contains also the hamlet of Comberton, and comprises 2, 603 acres. Real property, £4, 420. Pop., 600. Houses, 133. Most of the property is divided among a few. The manor belonged once to the Mortimers; passed, through various hands, to Blount, the antiquary; and belongs now to W. Blount, Esq. Orleton Court, an ancientbuilding, is the chief residence; and is said to have sheltered Charles II., after the battle of Worcester. There is a landslip, called the Churn. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Hereford. Value, £156.* Patrons, the Governors of Lucton School. The church is variously Norman, early English, and of later dates; presents a very plain and simple appearance; comprises nave, smallchancel, and tiny porch; contains monuments of the Blounts; and was finely restored prior to 1868. Agreatly decayed ancient cross is in the-churchyard. There are chapels for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists, a national school, and charities £6. Bishop Adam de Orleton was a native.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a village and a parish"   (ADL Feature Type: "populated places")
Administrative units: Orleton CP/AP       Leominster RegD/PLU       Herefordshire AncC
Place: Orleton

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