Early deeds of Shropshire relating to the Topp family

Sarah Davis, Archives Team Leader, writes: Although this is a small collection of deeds, it is noteworthy. The deeds relate to the Whitton and Vennington estates, in the parish of Westbury and their descent through the Topp family. 

In medieval period, Whitton was part of the Caus Castle holdings of the Corbet family.  It passed to tenants who took their name from the lands they held at Whitton.  On the death of John de Whitton, it descended through the marriage of his daughter to the Lingen family.  In 1594 Elizabeth Lingen married Alexander Topp of Wiltshire. 

Many of the deeds relate to land bought, sold and mortgaged by Alexander Topp and his son, Lingen Topp, who served as High Sheriff of Shropshire in 1679.  The collection includes a lengthy settlement of 1628, on the marriage of Lingen Topp and Mary Calcott daughter of Dorothy Calcott, widow of Plealey. This was Lingen’s first marriage.  By his second wife, Dorothy, he had a son Alexander Topp who is believed to have been the builder of the present house at Whitton. 

Land in Vennington is also included in the same settlement.  In 1770, Lingen’s grandson, John Topp, purchased further land in Vennington from the Hunt family of Boreatton. 

Existing material held by Shropshire Archives on Whitton Hall includes sales particulars, conveyances, leases and photographs. However, these date almost exclusively from the 19th and 20th centuries – a number deriving from the sale by Agatha and Isabella Topp to Dr J E Severne.  This new accession adds substantially to Whitton’s earlier history.    The Severne Collection held at Shropshire Archives (ref 279) contains early material relating to Severne holdings in Vennington and this purchase is a good complement to existing holdings on Vennington.

The deeds are in good condition and can be viewed under the reference MI9991. We are grateful to the Friends of the Nations' Libraries for funding this purchase.