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Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock is a market town and parish in Shropshire, England; it is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the north-east, is the Ironbridge Gorge and Telford. The civil parish includes the villages of Homer (1 mile (1.6 km) north of the town), Wyke (2 miles (3 km) north-east), Atterley (2 miles (3 km) south-east), Stretton Westwood (2 miles (3 km) south-west) and Bourton (3 miles (5 km) south-west). The population of the civil parish, according to the 2001 Census, was 2,605, increasing to 2,877 by 2011.
Notable historic attractions in the town are Wenlock Priory, Wenlock Edge, Holy Trinity Church and the Guildhall. The Wenlock Olympian Games, established by William Penny Brookes in 1850, are centred in the town. Brookes is credited as a founding father of the modern Olympic Games and one of the London 2012 Summer Olympics mascots was named Wenlock, after the town.
Much Wenlock is historically the chief town of the ancient borough of Wenlock. "Much" was added to distinguish it from the nearby Little Wenlock and to show it is the larger of the two settlements. The name Wenlock probably comes from the Celtic name Wininicas, meaning "white area" (in reference to the limestone of Wenlock Edge), plus the Old English loca, meaning "enclosed place". The town was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Wenloch.
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.
The town of Wenlock is known to have grown up around an abbey or monastery founded around 680 by Merewalh, a son of King Penda of Mercia, with the small town within its parish boundaries. King Penda installed his daughter Milburga as abbess in 687. Milburga of Wenlock was credited with many miraculous works. The abbey flourished until around 874 when it is thought that a Danish Viking attack occurred.
The Domesday Book records the manor as 'Wenloch' and forming part of the hundred of Patton. It was already at this time a fairly large settlement, with 73 households. The abbey is also recorded in the book, separately. 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.
Early in the 12th century the hundred of Patton was merged with Culvestan to form the hundred of Munslow, but in 1198 Much Wenlock, together with the other manors held by Wenlock Priory, was transferred to the hundredal jurisdiction of the Liberty of Wenlock (also known as Wenlock Franchise).
The Manor of Much Wenlock belonged to the Cluniac Priory until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540 when it passed to the Lawley family, and then by marriage of Ursula Lawley to the Bertie family.
Hub AI
Much Wenlock AI simulator
(@Much Wenlock_simulator)
Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock is a market town and parish in Shropshire, England; it is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the north-east, is the Ironbridge Gorge and Telford. The civil parish includes the villages of Homer (1 mile (1.6 km) north of the town), Wyke (2 miles (3 km) north-east), Atterley (2 miles (3 km) south-east), Stretton Westwood (2 miles (3 km) south-west) and Bourton (3 miles (5 km) south-west). The population of the civil parish, according to the 2001 Census, was 2,605, increasing to 2,877 by 2011.
Notable historic attractions in the town are Wenlock Priory, Wenlock Edge, Holy Trinity Church and the Guildhall. The Wenlock Olympian Games, established by William Penny Brookes in 1850, are centred in the town. Brookes is credited as a founding father of the modern Olympic Games and one of the London 2012 Summer Olympics mascots was named Wenlock, after the town.
Much Wenlock is historically the chief town of the ancient borough of Wenlock. "Much" was added to distinguish it from the nearby Little Wenlock and to show it is the larger of the two settlements. The name Wenlock probably comes from the Celtic name Wininicas, meaning "white area" (in reference to the limestone of Wenlock Edge), plus the Old English loca, meaning "enclosed place". The town was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Wenloch.
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.
The town of Wenlock is known to have grown up around an abbey or monastery founded around 680 by Merewalh, a son of King Penda of Mercia, with the small town within its parish boundaries. King Penda installed his daughter Milburga as abbess in 687. Milburga of Wenlock was credited with many miraculous works. The abbey flourished until around 874 when it is thought that a Danish Viking attack occurred.
The Domesday Book records the manor as 'Wenloch' and forming part of the hundred of Patton. It was already at this time a fairly large settlement, with 73 households. The abbey is also recorded in the book, separately. 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.
Early in the 12th century the hundred of Patton was merged with Culvestan to form the hundred of Munslow, but in 1198 Much Wenlock, together with the other manors held by Wenlock Priory, was transferred to the hundredal jurisdiction of the Liberty of Wenlock (also known as Wenlock Franchise).
The Manor of Much Wenlock belonged to the Cluniac Priory until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540 when it passed to the Lawley family, and then by marriage of Ursula Lawley to the Bertie family.