"TONG (or Tonge) is a village and parish delightfully situated near the road leading from Newport to Wolverhampton, 3 miles north-west from Albrighton station on the Manchester main line of the Great Western railway, 3¾ east from Shifnal, 7 north-east from Madeley and 20 east from Shrewsbury, in the Northern division of the county, Shifnal division of Brimstree hundred, Shifnal union and petty sessional division, Madeley county court district, rural deanery of Shifnal, archdeaconry of Salop and diocese of Lichfield. The church of St. Bartholomew, formerly collegiate, and founded by Elizabeth de Perbrudge in 1410, is an ancient building or stone in the Perpendicular style of the 14th century, consisting of chancel with chapel of the south side, clerestoried nave of four bays, aisles, south porch and a central tower of two stages, the lowest being square, with an embattled octagonal belfry story, above it, ornamented with pinnacles and containing a clock and 6 bells, besides a giant bell given by Sir Henry Vernon knt. in 1518; it was broken in 1636, but recast at the expense of the parish in 1720, and remained sound till the first Wednesday in Lent, 1848, when it cracked while being tolled for divine service; in 1892 the bell was again recast at the expense of the Earl of Bradford: the ceiling is of oak and the pews and desks are of the same material, the latter exhibiting some fine carving: the carved chancel-screen is perfect, and in the chancel are eight stalls, highly wrought, on each side; all the windows contain fragments of ancient stained glass: the original stone altar, recovered from beneath the floor, was reinstated at the restoration of the church in 1889-92; at the same time a brass to Arthur Vernon, priest, M.A. of Cambridge University, ob. 15 August, 1517, was met with under the wooden flooring; the effigy is in the dress of his degree; below is an inscription ; over the head a chalice containing an irradiated wafer, and around are four shields of arms: adjoining the south aisle is a beautiful chantry chapel, erected by Sir Henry Vernon, his father, in 1515, with a splendid fan-vaulted roof: in the chapel is a panelled altar-tomb of alabaster, with recumbent figures of a knight in armour and his lady, believed to represent Richard Vernon kt. Treasurer of Calais, 1451, and Benedicta (de Ludlow), his wife: over this is a fine open screen, about ten feet in height, with four rich tabernacles retaining their original painting and gilding, and in the west wall a curious stone half-effigy under a canopy, with shields of arms, to the Arthur Vernon mentioned above; within the area of the tower are four superb monuments, consisting of altar-tombs, with recumbent figures, all of alabaster, highly adorned with elaborate workmanship, in memory of the Pembruges (who held the castle and estates of Tong as early as the year 1280) and the Vernons: under the east window in the south aisle is a magnificent monument, with the full-length figures of a knight and his lady, to Sir Thomas Stanley kt. of Winwick, 1576, second son of Edward, third Earl of Derby K.G. and Margaret, his wife: on the right of the chancel door is a monument, with a female figure kneeling before a table, to Mrs. Wilde. 1624, eldest daughter and one of the co-heiresses of Sir Thomas Harris, bart; owner of the castle and lordship of Tong, which be purchased of Sir Edward Stanley about the year 1610: immediately under the pulpit is an alabaster monument of elegant workmanship with effigies of a knight and his lady in the attitude of prayer, to Sir Richard Vernon kt. of Haddon, 1517, and Margaret his wife. 1500: on the opposite side is a large tomb of grey marble, with fine brass effigies, figures of 10 out 12 children, 6 inscribed scrolls, 8 shields of arms and marginal inscription, to Sir William Vernon kt. Constable of England, ob. 30 June. 1467, and Margaret (Swynfen) his wife, the date of whose death is left blank; the male effigy is in complete armour, with long sword, and his bare head rests on the helmet with a crest and mantling; the lady is attired as a widow: there is also a brass, with effigy, to Ralph Elcok, a brother of the college of Tong, ob. 25 Nov. 1510: a tablet of white marble has been erected over the vestry door to Elizabeth Pierpont, only daughter of Gervaise Pierpont, esq. the grandson of Robert Pierpont, first Earl of Kingston: in the tower, to which it was removed in 1900, is a pyramidal monument of white marble on a black ground to George Durant esq. who died November 29th, 1844, and several other members of that family: on the south side of the communion table is a grey marble stone, with inscribed brass, shield of arms, helmet, crest and mantling, to William Skeffington Esq. of the White Ladies, 1550, and another, with arms, to Dame Elizabeth (Pecke), wife successively of Sir John Skeffington and Sir John Daunsey, ob. 1549: Gervaise, Lord Pierpont, of Hanslope, who died May 22nd, 1715, is interred in a family vault under the communion table; Thomas Stanley esq. and his wife lie in the same vault: there are also several other tablets and memorials to persons of distinction: the stained east window was given in 1900 by T. Barker, esq. of Tong Lodge, as a memorial to his wife; he also panelled the chancel with dark oak, and presented a new reredos: the church plate includes a cup of rock crystal and silver gilt, and probably of the early 17th century: the church was restored during the period 1889-92, at a total cost of between £4,000 and £5,000. In the churchyard is sun-dial. The register dates from the year 1629. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £110, including 1 acre of glebe, with residence in the gift of the Earl of Bradford, and held since 1896 by the Rev. John Ernest Auden M.A. of Lincoln College, Oxford. Here are charities and endowments left by the Pierpont, Harris and Peters families and others, amounting to £41 yearly. Tong Castle is a magnificent structure of red sandstone in a singular mixed style of Gothic and Moorish character, erected in the last century by George Durant esq, paymaster of the forces, on the site of the old one, which he purchased in 1764 and demolished ; it is the property of the Earl of Bradford, who purchased the same, together with the estate, of Captain Durant, and it is now (1913) unoccupied : the castle is partly surrounded by deep artificial canals, formed both for defence and irrigation: the entrance gateway is curiously carved, the work including an elaborately wrought representation of the old castle. From Tong Knoll, which is crowned with a group of Scotch firs, a delightful view is afforded across the beautiful wooded park of Weston-under-Lizard, the seat of the Earl of Bradford. Ruckley Grange is the residence of J. Reid-Walker esq. J.P. and was rebuilt by him in 1905. The Earl of Bradford is lord of the manor and principal landowner. The soil is a strong loam; the subsoil is chiefly red sandstone. The chief crops are wheat, barley, beans, peas and roots. The area is 3,454 acres of land and 85 of water ; rateable value, £5,241; population in 1911, 480.
Tong Norton, a hamlet, is half a mile north.
Parish Clerk, George H. Boden."