Noake's Worcestershire Page 176

176 HAGLEY.

Hard by the hall stands the parish church, in the shadow of fine old trees. Its recent restoration was a county testimonial to the high character and many virtues of the noble Lord-lieutenant, and cost £2,300. The building was lengthened one bay westerly, and a vestry and organ chamber added on the north side of the chancel. The old structure was entirely rebuilt, with the exception of the nave arcades, the east end of the south aisle, and the north wall. It is in truth a handsome restoration, and something more. The church was reopened in 1858, but since then a tower and spire have been added, at a cost of £1,200, to which Earl Dudley gave £800. There are 540 sittings in the church, of which 210 are free. The sacred structure is now a beautiful object in this magnificent park. So often have the praises of Hagley Park been sung, and so generally are they known and prized by the "toiling thousands " of our populous towns, that they need not be described here. To my mind those beauties have never been so heightened and intensified as when, by the kindness of the noble Lord, the hard-handed sons of labour assemble here in happy pic-nic, or when the Hagley villagers celebrate their "harvest-home" beneath their native oaks, or keep high festival with their "industrial shows." May these cherished institutions long remain the pride and glory of this envied parish, under the fostering care of two such estimable men as the present occupants of the Hall and the Rectory.

Hagley contains an unusual number of private houses, many of them of large size. The old half-timbered house at Harborough, in which the Penn family flourished for centuries, still remains. The resident gentry now include Mr. Lloyd, of Wassell Grove; Mr. W. C. Firmstone, Rockingham Hall; Mr. Michael Grazebrook, Mr. J. P. Grazebrook, Mr. G. K. Harrison, and Mr. Barrows, of the Birches. Some of these gentlemen are engaged in the trade of the South Staffordshire district. Lord Lyttelton is lord of the manor, and the largest landowner in the parish; the other owners are Messrs. A. B. Richards, J. J. Lea, the