Derby departure

Heading off into Litchurch Lane Works.

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. 

Churches (273) : St Mary the Virgin, Kidlington

The parish church of St Mary the Virgin in Kidlington, Oxfordshire dates from 1220 though was built on the site of an earlier 11th century church. The church was rebuilt in the 13th century with aisles and side chapels added in about 1330. A clerestory was added in the 15th century. The tower was built in the 14th century, the spire is 50m tall and is known as Our Lady's Needle.

The church is mostly built from squared and coursed limestone and coursed limestone rubble.

Up and down the Bakerloo Line

At the weekend i headed down to London, i haven't been for a few months. I didn't want to visit any new stations this time, rather revisit some stations such as Lambeth North that i have not been to for some years. So, i headed up and down tbe Bakerloo Line, getting some updated photographs and also some street scenes at Lambeth, Maida Vale and Kilburn Park. You can see my photos here.

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.