OS Grid Reference: 52°20'N 2°16'W
Name Origins: Mitton: originally Old English (ge)myþ tun homestead at the junction
of streams. The village later divided into Upper and Lower Mitton.
Stourport: Port on the River Stour. The river name is derived from a British
root steu-, related to Sanskrit sthavard- firm, Latin stauro,
Old Norse staurr a pole: the sense is presumably strong powerful
river.
LAND OF THE KING
In CRESSLAU Hundred
King William holds Kidderminster in lordship, with 16 outliers: Wannerton, Trimpley, Hurcott, Franche, another Franche [the sense is probably "another holding in Franche" rather than a second village of the same name], Bristitune, Habberley, Fastorchesfelde, Wribbenhall, Ribbesford, another Ribbesford, Sutton, Oldington, METTUNE, Teulesberge, Suduuale. In these lands, including the manor, 20 hides. The whole of this manor was waste. In lordship 1 plough; 20 villagers and 30 smallholders with 18 ploughs; a further 20 more ploughs possible. 2 male and 4 female slaves. 2 mills at 16s, 2 salt-houses at 30s; a fishery at 100d; woodland at 4 leagues.
In this manor the reeve holds the land of one riding-man; he has 1 plough and a mill at 5 ora.
To this manor belongs 1 house at Droitwich and another in Worcester which pay 10d. [Or the two houses together pay 10d: the latin is abbreviated to the point of ambiguity.]
The whole manor paid £14 in revenue before 1066; now it pays £10 4s by weight.
The King has placed the woodland of this manor in the Forest.
Of this manor's land William holds 1 hide and the land of one riding-man. He has 1 villager and 8 smallholders who have 4½ ploughs. Value 11s.
Also of this land Aiulf holds 1 virgate. 1 plough and 2 slaves there. Value 2s.
A Topographical Dictionary of England, Samuel Lewis, 1831:
MITTON (LOWER), a chapelry in the parish of KIDDERMINSTER, lower division of the hundred of HALFSHIRE, county of WORCESTER, and containing, with the town of Stourport, 2544 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Worcester, and in the patronage of the Vicar of Kidderminster. The chapel, dedicated to St. Michael, is a small unadorned edifice of brick, erected in 1790, the chancel at the expense of John Folliott, Esq., as lord of the manor of Lickhill. In Leland's time, Mitton was distinguished for the number of its corn-mills, for the establishment of which, the river Stour, branching here in various directions, afforded great convenience. There are now a manufactory for worsted-yarn, an ironfoundry, a tannery, and a vinegar-yard. The Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal joins the Severn at this place, and, by uniting that river with the Trent, affords an extended line of inland navigation for the conveyance of goods; whence the origin and growth of the adjoining town of Stourport, now a depôt for the manufactures and agricultural produce of the surrounding counties.
STOURPORT, a market town in the chapelry of MITTON, parish of KIDDERMINSTER, lower division of the hundred of HALFSHIRE, county of WORCESTER, 4 miles (S.S.W.) from Kidderminster, and 130 (W.N.W.) from London. The population is returned with Mitton. This place, which is of modern date, owes its origin and present importance to the junction of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal with the river Severn, on the south side of the town, near the confluence of the Stour with that river. Its name is derived from its situation on the Stour, and from its being the port, or depôt, to which the manufactured articles and produce of the adjoining counties are brought for transmission to different commercial towns; a communication being opened between the Severn and the Trent by the Grand Trunk canal, and a connexion thus formed with most parts of the kingdom. Prior to the completion of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal, in 1770, the only part of the town in existence was a few cottages, forming a part of Lower Mitton. The trade principally arises from its being the depôt for goods intended for transmission by canal navigation, extensive basins having been formed, and warehouses erected, for their reception; and the conveyance of them is a source of lucrative employment to many of the inhabitants, as well as the building of boats and barges, for which docks have been constructed. A canal was projected from this town to Kington in Herefordshire, but it has only been executed as far as Mamble.
Stourport is a neat wellbuilt town, principally of brick; the chief streets are paved, and it is partially lighted with gas. A subscription library was established in 1821, and there are two reading societies. The Severn is here crossed by a handsome iron bridge to Arely-King's, consisting of one arch, one hundred and fifty feet in breadth, and fifty in height from the surface of the water, with several land-arches, to afford a more free course for the water, in case of a high flood. The former bridge, built in 1775, had three arches over the river, the centre arch being forty-eight feet wide, and the one on each side of it forty-two feet: this bridge having been swept away by a great quantity of ice brought down by the flood after a sudden thaw, the present handsome structure was erected.
The market is held on Wednesday, in a market-house erected on a piece of ground purchased by the proprietors, who receive the tolls, and is beginning to assume considerable importance as a corn market. A great quantity of hops was at one time sold, but this branch of trade has very much declined. There are three fairs annually, on the 31st of March, 15th of September, and 18th of December. The inhabitants attend divine service at Mitton chapel. The Wesleyan Methodists have a place of worship, with a Sunday school attached, in which eighty boys and sixty girls are instructed. The Sunday school-rooms are spacious and airy, in which one hundred and twenty boys and girls receive education by means of voluntary contributions.
The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales, ed J.H.F.Brabner, 1895:
Lower Mitton, a township in Kidderminster parish, Worcestershire, and an ecclesiastical parish partly also in Hartlebury parish. The township includes the town of Stourport, and comprises 981 acres; population, 3504. The ecclesiastical parish includes Upper Mitton and Wilden. Population, 576S. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Worcester; net value, £340 with residence. Patron, the Vicar of Kidderminster. The church is a plain brick structure. A new church was erected in 1895, and there is a church at Wilden. There are Wesleyan, Congregational, and Primitive Methodist chapels.
Stourport, a small town in Lower Mitton ecclesiastical and Kidderminster civil parish. Worcestershire, at the confluence of the rivers Stour and Severn, at the terminus of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, 4 miles SSW of Kidderminster, 12 N of Worcester, and 134 by railway from London. It has a head post office, and a station on the Severn Valley section of the G.W.R. Stourport was a mere hamlet consisting of a few cottages before the opening of the canal in 1768, but grew then rapidly to an important town with quays, warehouses, and manufactories. There is a handsome iron bridge over the Severn, with an arch 150 feet in span. Stourport has a town-hall, a court-house for petty sessions, a police station, a bauk, and a literary institute. The Church of St Michael, Lower Mitton, is situated on a steep ascent near the entrance to the town from the railway station, and is a large plain brick edifice, restored in 1883. A magnificent church, in the Decorated style, was erected in 1895. There are Baptist, Congregational, Primitive Methodist, and Wesleyan chapels. Markets (now nearly obsolete) are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays; fairs are held on the first Tuesday of April, July, and Oct. A considerable transit traffic is carried on, and there are a very large tannery, an iron foundry, establishments for carpet-weaving, vinegar making, and malting, a tin stamping and enamel work, and textile works.
Associated Families: Large Lee
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