In an old village like Tong, Shropshire all the houses tell a story. Just knowing the Church and Castle does not give much of a clue to a villager's life.
Tong has rich agricultural land and many of the buildings reflect this, it had over a dozen farms. Looking back before the days of modern transportation the
village was much more self-contained with its own carpenters; wheelwrights; millers and publicans (it once had four pubs). Tong also had an iron forge driven by
waterpower and cottage industries including clock-making and shoemaking.
Tong is only eight miles from Ironbridge the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution
.
Picturesque cottages in Hubball Lane, Tong near to the Church.
“The Tong Clockmakers were established alongside the Forge. The most notable of these was John Baddeley. He was baptised in Tong Church in 1720. His father was a blacksmith. When he was 18, he decided to become a clock and watchmaker. He studied mechanics, and, in 1762, began working on optics, and he constructed a reflective telescope. Later, he moved to Albrighton, and is buried there. Shaw's Staffordshire comments on him: ‘His superiority as a clock maker will be told for some years to come by the numerous domestic and turret clocks substantially constructed by him in every part of the country within many miles of Albrighton where he long resided.’ He made the clock for Tong Church. It was in use until 1984; the mechanism is on display in the Church.” See Tong Clock
Chapter 10 of the book takes us on a tour of the parish visiting each significant house including: Kilsall Hall; Convent Lodge; Tong Park Farm; Tong Hall; Tong House; Almshouses; Red House; Old Post Office; Church Farm (the former village pub); Old School; The Priory; Tong Hill Farm; Hubbal Grange Farm. At the satellite village of Tong Norton is Bell Inn Farm; Norton Farm; Old Bush House; Knoll Farm; Norton Mere. Towards Brewood along the Offoxey Road stands Offoxey Farm; Holt Farm; Meashill Farm; White Oak Farm; White Oak Lodge;
White Oak was the scene for a boxing match :
“In 1828 a prize-fight took place there, between F. Samson of Birmingham and 'Big Brown' of Bridgnorth. The prize was £500, and the fight lasted for 42 rounds. The two men had fought each other before, but this time Brown fixed the fight. He ruined his backers, many of who had pawned their beds to support him. The Shropshire Quarter Sessions dealt with serious offences during this fight, and commented that such events were: 'destructive of the public peace and injurious to the property and endangering the lives of individuals in the parishes of Tong and Albrighton'.”
Map of the parish of Tong
Hubbal Grange was the setting when Charles II came close to capture by the Parliamentarians in 1651.
The famous Royal Oak is only yard's from the parish boundary at Boscobel.
“After the battle of Worcester Charles fled to Whiteladies, where, with Richard Penderell, they planned a failed escape, via Madeley into Wales. After the Restoration, the Penderells received a Royal annuity. In order to disguise the King, William Penderell cut off his hair. He kept the hair, and sold bits, to supplement his income. George Durant (II) demolished the main part of Hubbal Grange and built a smaller house, which is now within Tong Park Farm. Even in 1933 there were stories around that Hubbal was where Charles had hidden himself. Robinson quotes a Mr Kingston: 'It is a much restored cottage standing in the midst of fields, lonely and difficult to approach… A comparatively modern oven was pointed out as being the place where Charles hid himself. We objected that a good sized man 'more than two yards high' could scarcely get into so small a space but the good wife overruled our objection declaring that 'there's no knowing what you would do if they were after you.'”
On the west side of the village is Vauxhall Farm; Ruckley; Tong Forge; Lizard Grange and Lizard Mill Farm; Tong Havannah and Burlington.
The Ruckley estate was owned in by John Reid-Walker in the early twentieth century.
“In 1896, the owner was John Reid Walker, who rebuilt the house. Whenever he travelled to Tong by train, after it had left Cosford, he used to pull the communication cord. He then handed to the guard his fine, and walked the few yards to his house.”
Map of the centre of the Village of Tong
There is an online resource on this web site that lets you search for a person or a place in Tong for the census years 1841 through to 1901. Follow this link to start your search.
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