Much Wenlock

Much Wenlock is a market town and parish in Shropshire, England; it is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth.

[3] Richard Fletcher mentions Much Wenlock as one of the possible locations where a Sub-Roman British Christian community may have survived the Anglo-Saxon occupation and eventually integrated with the conquerors and influenced their culture.

[3][8] In the 11th century another religious house was built on the same site by Leofric, Earl of Mercia and Countess Godiva his wife.

In the 12th century this was replaced by a Cluniac priory, established by Roger de Montgomery after the Norman Conquest, the ruins of which can still be seen and which is now in the care of English Heritage.

The lands of the liberty included rural areas and a number of detached parts well outside the town, and this resulted in an unusual, geographically dispersed borough.

[11] At its height, it was – by area – the largest borough in England[12] outside London and encompassed several of the towns that now constitute Telford.

[16] Sir Thomas Wolryche, 1st Baronet (1598–1668) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons for Wenlock between 1621 and 1625.

[9] In the 19th century the town and much of the surrounding land came into the possession of James Milnes Gaskell, from his wife's family the Williams-Wynns.

His son Charles Milnes Gaskell restored the Priory lodging as a home with his wife Lady Catherine, daughter of the Earl of Portsmouth.

In 1890 it was the turn of the Raven Hotel to be the venue for the annual post Wenlock Olympian Games' dinner, and Baron Pierre de Coubertin was the guest of honour.

[20] The Wenlock Olympian Games, a nine-day event staged on eight sites across Shropshire, are still held annually during July, and are still organised by WOS.

[25] In 1983, actress Gabrielle Drake and her husband purchased Much Wenlock Manor and restored the Priory lodging.

[9] Much Wenlock was the location for the third broadcast episode (the first filmed) of the first series of the archaeology television programme Time Team in 1994.

Features of interest include the plain Norman tower which had a spire until early in the 20th century, and a memorial inside the church to W. P. Brookes as well as the refurbished family gravestones in the churchyard.

[54] The nearest National Rail stations are Shrewsbury, Wellington, and Oakengates, although Bridgnorth has a heritage railway to Kidderminster.

Historic council chamber, Guildhall, Much Wenlock
Holy Trinity Church
Bookshop in Much Wenlock
Mary Beard, 2017