ARELEY KINGS
Ernel', Hernelia (xii cent.); Erneleie, Arleia,
Armleg (xiii cent.); Arleye Kyng (xiv cent.);
Kyngys Areley, Neather Arley (xvi cent.); Lower
Areley, Areley Kings (xviii cent.).
This small parish adjoins the more modern Stourport, which lies upon the opposite bank of the Severn,
the river forming the boundary of the parish on the
east and north-east. (fn. 1) West and north-west are the
tree-covered slopes towards Ribbesford and Bewdley.
The Gladder Brook forms the northern and the Dick
Brook part of the western boundary, and the parish
is also watered by Burnthorn Brook, a tributary of
the Severn.
It is intersected by the road from the Hundred
House to Stourport, which, running north-east across
the parish, crosses the Severn by a bridge at Stourport.
A road from Bewdley to Worcester runs through the
parish from north to south.
The village, which is somewhat scattered, contains
some old timber and brick houses. The rectory is an
early 17th-century house with a triple-gabled front,
remodelled in the 18th century, when sash windows
were inserted. In the garden is a square two-storied
garden-house built by Richard Vernon, a former rector,
in 1728. Over the doorway, with the Vernon shield,
is the inscription 'Ricardi Vernon A.M. a domesticis
rebus recessus.' The ground-floor room is panelled,
and has a fireplace flanked by fluted Ionic pilasters.
Areley Hall, the residence of Mr. Francis Zachary
Lloyd, stands to the east of the main road below the
church. Prince Rupert is said to have made the
house his headquarters in 1644 when marching from
Worcester. (fn. 2) The house, which is of two stories with an
attic, and is covered externally with rough-cast, probably dates from the late 16th century; though much
altered in the 19th century, it retains substantially
its original plan of a central hall, now divided by
partitions, with the offices on the east and the living
apartments on the west. Much original work, including the old oak-studded main entrance door,
survives. The square well stairway, north of the
hall, preserves its original oak treads at the top, but
the well hole has been inclosed, the space being used
for cupboards.
Areley House, at the junction of the Bewdley and
Stourport roads, is a rectangular three-storied stone
house of the late 18th century. On the south front
is a central portico with Ionic columns, which admits
to a square hall having rooms on the east and west
and an oval drawing rooms on the north, which partly
projects in the form of a curved bay window from the
external face of the wall. Areley Court, the residence
of Mr. Edward Alfred Broome, F.R.G.S., is to the
south of the church.
Walshe Farm, on the south side of the Stourport
and Tenbury road, is a half-timber two-storied house
of the early 17th century, with 18th-century and
modern brick additions. The original central chimney
stack still remains. Grove Farm, on the west side of
the same road, about a mile and three-quarters southwest of the church, is a half-timber house of the same
period, with a projecting wing at the rear and a twostoried entrance porch. The chimney stacks, which
are of brick, are of the intersecting diagonal type.
Redstone House, a square three-storied brick house
on the bank of the Severn at the extreme south of
the parish, bears on the south front the date 1685
below the figure of a heart. The house, which is
now divided into two cottages, preserves its original
late 17th-century dog-legged stairs with moulded
handrail, square newels, and twisted balusters, some
of which are now missing; some of the windows
retain their original leaded lights.
Areley Common is a district to the south of the
village, and Dunley is a hamlet in the south-west,
partly in Astley parish. To the north of Areley
Common is a disused windmill.
Sturt Farm in the west of the parish near Dick
Brook is said to have been for a time the home of
Sir Harry Coningsby, who died in 1701. According
to tradition he lived a solitary life of retirement
here after the death of his only daughter, whom
he accidentally let fall into the moat while playing
with her in his moated Herefordshire home. (fn. 3) There
is a curious monument to him in the churchyard.
Noake says that, according to Sir Harry's instructions,
a walnut tree was planted close to his grave that the
boys of the parish might have the walnuts and crack
them on the gravestone, but that the tree was cut
down by a late rector. (fn. 4)
The surface of the parish is irregular, but has a
general slope from the Abberley Hills beyond its
south-western border to the valley of the Severn on
the east. At Areley Wood in the north-west a
height of over 400 ft. is reached. The parish contains
1,491 acres of land and 12 acres covered by water.
In 1905 there were 559 acres of arable land, 501 acres
of permanent grass, and 120 acres of woodland. (fn. 5) The
subsoil is Old Red and Keuper Sandstone and Bunter
Pebble beds; the soil is loam, producing crops of wheat,
barley, oats and potatoes. There are disused brickworks south-east of Areley Wood. The parish was
inclosed under an Act of 1846, (fn. 6) , the award being
dated 16 December 1848. (fn. 7)
MANOR
ARELEY KINGS formed part of the
manor of Martley (fn. 8) until 1654, when the
latter was sold by the Mucklows. (fn. 9) They
retained Areley Kings, and William Mucklow made a
conveyance of it in 1671–2. (fn. 10) He died in 1686, and
was succeeded by his son William, (fn. 11) a citizen and fishmonger of London. He was followed in 1713 by
his son Selby Mucklow, a merchant of London, who
died in 1746. (fn. 12) His daughter and sole heir died
without issue in 1766, having married Joseph Wragg
of London, merchant, (fn. 13) and the manor passed to the
heirs of Elizabeth, sister of Selby Mucklow. She
had married Thomas Zachary of Cannon Street,
London, who died in 1741. (fn. 14) They had issue
Daniel, citizen and skinner of London, who was
holding the manor in 1772, (fn. 15) and whose son John
owned the manor in 1780. (fn. 16) It was described at that
date as the manor of Lower Areley and Dunley, or
Areley Kings and Dunley. It continued in the family
of the Zacharys until at the death of Daniel Zachary
in 1873 it passed to his grandson Sampson Zachary
Lloyd, son of his daughter Sarah, who had married
Sampson Lloyd of Wednesbury. (fn. 17) He died in 1914
and Mr. Francis Zachary Lloyd, his son, is the
present owner of the manor. He resides at Areley
Hall, the ancient manor-house, to which considerable
alterations were made by Daniel Zachary. (fn. 18)
Mucklow. Gyronny or and azure a lion ermine and a chief argent charged with a scallop between two fleurs de lis sable.
Zachary. Gules a fesse or charged with two bends vert between three saltires or.
Lloyd. Azure a cheveron argent between three cocks or.
An estate at Areley Kings, called in the 16th
century the manor of Areley, originated in a fishery
at 'Ernel' with the land belonging to it, granted by
the Empress Maud to Bordesley Abbey on its foundation in 1136. (fn. 19) Her gift was confirmed by subsequent kings, (fn. 20) and about the middle of the 13th
century the estate consisted of a virgate of land and
a fishery, and was held of the king in frankalmoign. (fn. 21)
The monastery of Bordesley retained its property in
Areley until the Dissolution. (fn. 22) The abbey estates
in Areley were granted on 19 July 1544 to John
Pakington of Hampton Lovett, (fn. 23) but their further
descent has not been traced.
CHURCH
The church of ST. BARTHOLOMEW consists of a chancel 17 ft. 9 in.
by 15 ft. 7 in., north organ chamber
and vestry, nave 62 ft. 9 in. by 18 ft. 10 in., north
aisle 13 ft. 8 in. wide, and a tower on the south side
of the nave, at about the middle of its length,
9 ft. 7 in. by 9 ft. 2 in., the ground stage of which
serves as a south porch. These measurements are all
internal.
The church was entirely rebuilt in 1885–6, with
the exception of the chancel and tower. A 12thcentury window recently opened up in the south
wall of the chancel places its early origin beyond
doubt. The tower is of the late 14th century. The
whole building, modern and ancient, is of sandstone
ashlar.
The east window of the chancel dates from the
late 18th century, and is designed in the ChippendaleGothic style then in vogue. On either side of it
externally are buttresses of two offsets, evidently of
original date, but so much patched up with brick
that it is difficult to say with certainty whether they
occupy their original positions. The gable has been
entirely rebuilt in brick. At the south-east of the
chancel is the 12th-century window referred to above,
a plain narrow round-headed light, partly renewed,
with wide internal splays. The position of the large
buttress on the outside, almost against its western
jamb, shows that it had been walled up at least as
early as the 14th century. To the west is a plain
doorway, now blocked, with a two-centred head continuously chamfered with the jambs. The north wall
is almost entirely occupied by a modern arch opening
into the organ chamber. The jambs and head of a
16th-century doorway, which probably formed the
entrance to a vestry of this date, were taken out of the
wall when the arch was formed, and reset in the west
wall of the vestry, where they have been utilized in
the construction of a cupboard recess. The chancel
arch is modern, and the timbers of the roof are concealed by a plaster ceiling. In the east wall of the
organ chamber is a round-arched doorway with a rollmoulded external head and shafted jambs, some of the
arch-stones of which are of 12th-century date. These
were removed here from the north doorway of the
original nave when the church was rebuilt in 1885–6.
The late 14th-century tower is of three stages,
with diagonal buttresses of four offsets at the angles,
that at the north-west, which is somewhat wider than
the others, containing the vice. The plain parapet
and gabled pinnacle stems have evidently been much
disturbed. The portion of the south wall of the
original nave against which the tower is built still
remains in situ, and contains a much restored south
doorway, which has a two-centred external head and
jambs continuously moulded with a swelled chamfer.
The head is modern, but one or two jamb stones are
of original late 14th-century date. The north wall
of the tower, being built against the nave wall, allows
room for a square-headed doorway leading to the
vice in the thickness of the west jamb. Above the
present rear arch of the south doorway are remains
of a former rear arch, which may have belonged to
the south doorway of a 12th-century nave. The
ground stage of the tower serves as a south porch, and
is entered by a large external doorway with a twocentred head of two orders, both moulded inside and
out with a swelled chamfer. Above the head is a
characteristically moulded label, returned horizontally
at the springing along the tower wall and stopped by
the buttresses at the angles. At the north-west of the
interior is a small plain stoup. The ringing stages is
lighted by small square-headed lights, and the bellchamber by two-light windows with two-centred heads,
containing vertical tracery.
Areley Kings Church From The South-West
The modern nave is divided from the north aisle
by an arcade of four bays, supported by columns
alternately circular and octagonal. The west window
is of four lights; the remaining windows of both
nave and aisle are of three lights, all traceried in the
style of the early 14th century. The open timber
roofs are of varnished pine.
Fragments of the stem and base of the font are of the
12th century, and were discovered on the demolition
of the nave; along the base is carved in Roman characters: '+ tempore: la ... amanni (fn. 24) : santi' (sic).
From the character of the lettering, the inscription
appears to be of the early 17th century. Preserved
in the vestry is a late 18th-century half-moon table,
squared out at the angles, which long served as an
altar. The sounding-board of the old pulpit is now
used as a table.
Inside the building there are no monuments of
any interest, with the exception of a slab in the
chancel floor, in memory of Walter Walsh, who
died in 1702, containing the following quaint inscription:
'Here lieth ye body of Walter Walsh who departed
this life 3rd day of November, being aged 83 years,
1702, Son of Michael Walsh of Great Shelsley, who
left him a fine estate in Shelesley, Hartlebury, and
Areley, who was ruinated by 3 Quackers, 2 Lawyers,
and a fanatick to help them.'
In the churchyard south-west of the church is the
curious monument of Sir Henry Coningsby kt., who
died in 1701. (fn. 25) The memorial takes the form of a
short length of churchyard wall, composed of large
blocks of sandstone, averaging 4 ft. 6 in. in length by
1 ft. 10 in. deep, and 1 ft. 8 in. thick. Upon it is
inscribed in large Roman capitals:
'LITHOLOGEMA: QVARE: | REPONITVR: SIR HARRY:'
A tall sundial, dated 1687 and having a figure
of Time on the stem, stood till recently in the
churchyard, but was blown down in a gale on
Christmas Eve, 1912. It was brought here from
Hartlebury, where it was known as the 'Wizard's
Pillar,' having been made by one Fidkin, reputed to
be a wizard, and set up in his garden. (fn. 26)
The four original bells were recast into five by
Mears of London in 1859, and in 1867 a sixth bell
by Blews of Birmingham was added. This last was
recast by Mears in 1905.
The plate consists of a silver cup of 1571; a cover
paten of 1570, inscribed on the foot 'Anó Dńi
1571'; a paten, presented in 1909, a facsimile of
the preceding piece; a large plated flagon inscribed
I.B. [-] I.B [-] C.W.S.; and a plated silver paten.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i)
baptisms 1539 to 1665 (there is a gap between
1640 and 1645), marriages 1539 to 1664 (no entries
from 1643 to 1650), burials 1539 to 1665; (ii)
baptisms 1666 to 1702, marriages 1667 to 1702,
burials 1665 to 1702; (iii) baptisms and burials
1703 to 1794, marriages 1703 to 1754; (iv) marriages
1754 to 1780 (printed forms torn out and slipped
into the volume), and marriages 1783 to 1812,
bound into the volume; (v) baptisms 1783 to 1812;
(vi) burials 1784 to 1812.
ADVOWSON
The earliest mention of the church
at Areley is probably Lazamon's reference, circa 1200, to the noble church
upon the Severn's bank at 'Ernleie.' In 1291 it was
taxed at £5 13s. 4d., as the 'chapel of Arleia,' (fn. 27) and
it was still looked upon as a dependent chapel
of Martley in the middle of the 17th century, (fn. 28)
the advowson always belonging to the rectors of
Martley. (fn. 29) The date at which Areley Kings became
parochial is not known, but probably its dependence
on the mother church consisted merely of a money
payment even in the 14th century, for it is called a
church in 1340, (fn. 30) and is returned as a separate rectory
in 1535, when an annual pension of 6s. 8d. was paid
to the parish church of Martley by the rector. (fn. 31)
At the Dissolution the yearly value of a parcel of
land given for the maintenance of certain masses at
Areley known as St. Catherine's Masses was 5s. (fn. 32) A
grant was made to Cecily Pickerell, widow, and her
heirs, on 6 February 1563, among other premises
given to superstitious uses, of a cottage in Dunley. (fn. 33)
CHARTIES
The funds of certain of the charities
mentioned on the church table were
expended in or about the year 1810
in the erection of cottages on the waste for decayed
labourers, and the funds of other charities were lost
through the insolvency of the holder thereof. The
official trustees, however, hold the funds of the
following charities, namely:
William Mucklow's charity, founded by will,
1669, trust fund, £101 13s. consols, for poor;
James Birch's, will, 1812, trust fund, £55 17s.
consols, for poor;
Thomas Crane's, will, 1847, trust fund, £96 10s. 2d.
consols, for purchasing flannel for poor;
The Rev. Edward Acton Davies, will, proved at
Worcester, 1880, trust fund, £45 14s. 6d. consols,
for bread for poor;
Sarah Crane's, will, 1864, trust fund, £147 0s. 8d.
India 3½ per cent. stock, for benefit of male adult
singers belonging to the choir of the parish church;
Sarah Sadler Davies, will, proved 27 April 1907,
trust fund, £60 12s. 2d. consols, dividends to be
applied towards keeping the churchyard in order.
The yearly dividends, amounting together to
£14 1s. 4d., are apportioned among the respective
charities and duly applied.
A sum of £2 a year charged on a piece of land
known as Beau Patch, adjoining Areley Common, is
also received and applied for the benefit of the poor
in respect of the charity of W. King, will, 1632.
The Church Lands, or the Pound Farm Charity, (fn. 34)
consist of a piece of freehold land containing 6 a. 3 r.
and a house at Astley Cross, let at £15 a year, which
is applied towards general church expenses.