Gamble Surname - Shropshire

Also called SALOP, county of western England bordering on Wales. Historically the county has been known as Shropshire as well by its older Norman derived name of Salop. It was officially designated as the county of Salop between 1974-80. Its area is 1,348 sq mi (3,490 sq km).

Portable objects of the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age have been discovered in considerable numbers. Other Bronze Age remains include round barrows near Ludlow and stone circles on Stapeley Hill. Early Iron Age hill forts survive at the Bury Ditches, Hopesay Burrow Camp, Caer Caradoc, The Wrekin, and Old Oswestry. The 1st-century AD Roman legionary fortress at Viroconium was one of the largest towns in Roman Britain; the Romans exploited silver-bearing lead ores and outcrop coal.

The medieval history of the county was shaped by its position on the boundary between England and Wales. The Saxon conquest was marked by the construction of Watt's Dyke and Offa's Dyke, which formed a boundary between the predominantly Saxon settlements of Mercia to the east and the indigenous Celtic peoples to the west. After the Norman Conquest of 1066, large areas of Shropshire were set aside as forests and hunting grounds under special jurisdiction, and a double line of castles against the Welsh was established. The subsequent history of medieval Shropshire is a chronicle of Welsh incursions and baronial rebellions. In the 13th century the high quality of Shropshire wool brought prosperity to Ludlow, Shrewsbury, and Bridgnorth, the main centres. Shrewsbury became a market for an extensive area including much of North Wales.

In the 1881 Census there were Gamble families in the parishes of Condover, Smethcott. Shifnal,

CONDOVER, with the townships and hamlets of CONDOVER, ANNSCROFT, DORRINGTON (now ecclesiastical districts), BAYSTON, CHATFORD, BORETON, GREAT and LITTLE LYTH, RYTON, WESTLEY, WHEATHALL, NORTON, GONSALL, STYCH, ALLFIELD and BOMERE,  Situated on the Cound Brook. Condover is 4 1/2 miles south from Shrewsbury, with a station 1 mile north-west from the village on the Shrewsbury and Hereford railway. The village is ancient, and retains the same name as entered in the Doomsday Book.

The church of St Andrew    is an ancient building of stone, partly in the Norman style, and consists of chancel, nave, ailes, transept and a lofty tower containing 8 bells and a clock:  The register dates from the year 1557.

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The Cound Brook flows through the park.  The area of the entire parish is 7,422 acres;  the population in 1881 was 1,775.

Dorrington Church

 

 

SMETHCOTT

Smethcott is parish and village, 2 miles west from the Leebotwood station on the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway, 5 north of Church Stretton, 9 south-west-by-south from Shrewsbury,  The church of St Micheal is a building of stone, in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, porch and a tower containing 2 bells. There are sittings for 164 persons. The register dates from the 1612.  The area is 2.705 acres;  and the population in 1881 was 283.

Carriers to Shrewsbury, William Griffiths & William Taylor, wed & sat

Smethcott ~

Betchcott ~

Picklescott,

Bromley Willam, farmer

Chidley Edward, farmer,

Gamble Mary (Mrs), blacksmith

Griffiths William, carrier & farmer

Hotchkiss James, farmer

Jarrett Ann (Miss), Bottle & Glass, & Shopkeeper

 

Visit Peter H Gamble in Melbourne Gamble Family History  pages for Peters Shropshire family research.