Shropshire Places (10) : Yorton

Yorton is a small village in the north centre of the county between Shrewsbury and Wem.

Yorton is a very small settlement consisting of a small number of houses surrounded by farms. Yorton has had a long history though, a priest is mentioned being at Yorton in the Domesday Book. Despite it's small size, Yorton has a railway station though, the station also serves the larger village of Clive.

The parish church of St Mary in Broughton (the parish Yorton belongs to) was built in the late 1850s. replacing an earlier medieval church which had suffered from damp. The Norman font of the original church were reused in the new one. The church is built mostly from stone and has some Gothic features.

Shropshire Places (9) : Craven Arms

Craven Arms is a town in the south of the county.

Craven Arms was a small village known as Newton up until the mid-19th century. As with many towns and villages, the arrival of the railways changed the area dramatically. Newton and the nearby village of Newington were amalgamated as the town grew because of the railway junction built nearby. A major trade was the auctions of livestock.

The town took it's name from the Craven Arms hotel, this was named after the Earls of Craven who owned the nearby Stokesay Castle.

The cattle auctions and much of the light industry that used to thrive in the town have now gone, these days Craven Arms is a centre of tourism with a number of attractions near to the town including the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Shropshire Places (8) : Whitchurch

Whitchurch is a market town at the very north of the county.

Whitchurch is the oldest continually inhabitated town in Shropshire and there has been traces found of human activity in the area since the Neolithic. During Roman times there was a settlement in the area called Mediolanum. It is thought that St Alkmund, son of Alhred, King of Northumbria was buried in Whitchurch in 800CE, the parish church is dedicated to him.

By the time of the Domesday Book the settlement was known as Westune, or West Farmstead. Due to the location near the Welsh Marches, the town was in a strategic location and the Normans built a castle and a church from white Grinshill stone. The name Whitchurch is middle English for White Church.

Whitchurch became a town in the 14th century. Whitchurch became an important centre for Cheshire cheese production, with regular cheese fairs held in the town. The arrival of the Llangollen Canal in 1811 and the railways in 1858 helped the town gain good transport links.

Shropshire Places (7) : Wem

Wem is a market town in the north of the county.

The name is derived from the Old English wamm or marsh. There has been settlement in the area since at least the Iron Age, the Romans may have also had a camp in the area. The area was owned by the Arden family at the time of the Norman Conquest. The town was listed in the Domesday Book, the Normans building a castle and fortified the town with a wall or earthwork. This was necessary due to reported attacks by Welsh rebels.

Wem gained a market charter from King John in 1202. It has kept a market to the present day. The town was badly damaged by a great fire in 1677, the heat was intense enough to melt the church bells! 

Later the town was served by two stagecoaches. The Llangollen Canal has a marina nearby at Whixall. Wem railway station opened in 1858.

The sweet pea was first cultivated in Wem in the 1880s. Agriculture was the basis of the local economy until recent times, brewing began in Wem in 1700 and continues to the present day. 

Shropshire Places (6) : Highley

Highley is a village on the south eastern border of Shropshire and Worcestershire.

The village has Saxon origins and was mentioned in the Domesday Book. Originally a farming community, Highley later became known for stone quarries and coal mining. The latter taking off on a large scale in the late 1800s. The village greatly expanded to provide homes for the coal miners. The mine closed in the 1960s and is now the site of a country park.

The parish church of St Mary dates from the 12th century. The nave and chancel are Norman, a west tower in the Perpenticular style was added in the 15th century. A vestry was added to the north of the church in 1903, the church being restored in the 1880s.

The (original) Severn Valley Railway opened a railway station in Highley in 1862. This station was closed in 1963 but was re-opened as part of the Severn Valley Railway preserved line in 1974. Highley is now the home of the SVR's Engine House Museum which houses the railway's reserve fleet of locomotives.

Churches (269) : Old St Chad, Shrewsbury

The original church of St Chad in Shrewsbury (known as Old St Chad's), Shropshire was probably founded by King Offa in the second half of the 8th century. However, it may have been part of a royal palace of the Kingdom of Powys in the 500s. This church remained in use until 1792 when a new church dedicated to St Chad was built nearby and this church is still in use.

Not much of the original St Chad's church survives. The tower collapsed in 1788 during an attempt to expand the crypt. The decision was made to build a new church and not repair the old. The remains of the church today are a 15th century lady chapel, the chancel's south wall and an exposed crypt.

Churches (258) : St Peter & St Paul, Wem

The oldest part of the parish church of St Peter & St Paul in Wem, Shropshire is the the west tower which date from the 14th century. Much of the rest of the church is a later rebuilding. The nave was built in the early 19th century, the chancel at the end of that century. The reason for the rebuilding was that much of the older church was lost in the great fire of Wem in 1677.

The church is built from ashlar and is in a mixture of Decorated and Gothic styles.

Through Yorton

The peace and quiet in Yorton is disturbed.

Yorton

After the big city last week, for my next rail adventure i went to a station which seems to serve about half a dozen houses! Yorton is a request stop in Shropshire, it is a very rural setting with not a huge amount nearby (though there is a larger village a short distance away). I stayed in Yorton though, and also visited the local church. You can see my photos here.

Churches (249) : St Alkmund, Shrewsbury

The church of St Alkmund in Shrewsbury, Shropshire dates from the Saxon period though has been much changed in the following centuries. The church was founded by Aethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great. The tower and spire are a 15th century addition however, dating from about 1475. The spire is the highest point in the town, though according to legend was damaged by the Devil in 1553! Much of the rest of the church today dates from a rebuilding in the mid-1790s.

The church is built from white sandstone. It has a nave with aisles and a short chancel. The tower is built from coursed and squared rubble.

Passing through Whitchurch

In Shropshire.

Whitchurch

I felt like travelling somewhere new this weekend so headed up to Shropshire and the market town of Whitchurch which is on the line between Crewe and Shrewsbury. What a lovely little town it is too, the church of St Alkmund (also thought to be where the Saxon saint was first buried) is particularly fine especially inside. You can see my photos here.

Shunting at Highley

The sole survivor Class 17 shunting heritage coaches at Highley.

SVR Diesel Gala

On Friday i attended the Severn Valley Railway diesel gala, something i always look forward to. This year the locomotive line-up wasn't quite as exciting as usual but i still had a good time and travelled behind Classes 40, 46 and 50. You can see my photos here.

Churches (220) : All Saints, Wellington

The parish church of All Saints in Wellington, Shropshire was built between 1788 and 1790 on the site of an earlier church (indeed several earlier churches) which had been damaged in the Civil War. Behind the three bay western front of the church, the first church in Shropshire built to have a monumental classical temple portico, is a nave, chancel and an apse. The nave has galleries, lit by two rows of windows. Above the west front is a tower.

The church is made from grinshill sandstone.

Churches (218) : St Mary, Highley

The parish church of St Mary in Highley, Shropshire dates from the 12th century. The nave and chancel are Norman, a west tower in the Perpenticular style was added in the 15th century. A vestry was added to the north of the church in 1903, the church being restored in the 1880s.

The church is built from buff and red sandstone. The church house (see below) is a timber framed building which dates from the 16th century.

Churches (203) : St John the Baptist, Stokesay

The parish church of St John the Baptist in Stokesay, Shropshire is adjacent to Stokesay castle. Due to this it is likely the church, which dates from 1150CE, began life as a chapel to the castle and was expanded later on. The church was badly damaged in the Civil War as Royalist forces had been at the castle. After the war the church was rebuilt in 1654 by the Puritans during the Commonwealth.

The church retains some Norman features especially on the lower parts of the church. The church has a west tower, a nave and a chancel (which was built in 1664). The church is built out of sandstone rubble.