From The Neolithic To The Sea: A Journey From The Past To The Present
Much Wenlock
Statistics
Category
County
Coordinates
Grid
Condition
Age
Admission
County
Coordinates
Grid
Condition
Age
Admission
Urban
Shropshire
52° 35′ 47.76″ N, 2° 33′ 28.8″ W
SJ6220800053
-
Pre 1086
-
Shropshire
52° 35′ 47.76″ N, 2° 33′ 28.8″ W
SJ6220800053
-
Pre 1086
-
Map
- History
- Gallery
- Gallery
Much Wenlock is a town located in Shropshire. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford.
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.
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.
The Domesday Book of 1086 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.
Over the years the borough asserted jurisdiction over the liberty of Wenlock. 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. At its height, it was – by area – the largest borough in England outside London and encompassed several of the towns that now constitute Telford. The borough had unusual boundaries, covering Much Wenlock itself, but also Little Wenlock, Broseley and Ironbridge, a total area of 71 square miles
Sir Thomas Wolryche, 1st Baronet, 1598 to 1668, was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons for Wenlock between 1621 and 1625. He fought in the Royalist army in the English Civil War, serving as military governor of Bridgnorth. In 1611, Thomas Wolryche's father, Francis, had taken over the mortgage of the manor of Hughley, about 6 km from Much Wenlock. The debt was cleared in 1623 in return for the freehold of Hughley, an estate of 1,400 acres.
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. James was MP for Wenlock for many years. His son Charles Milnes Gaskell restored the Priory lodging as a home with his wife Lady Catherine, daughter of the Earl of Portsmouth.
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.
Other architectural attractions include the 16th-century Much Wenlock Guildhall, many other historic buildings in the Early English style, and an annual well dressing at St Milburga's Well on Barrow Street.
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.
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.
The Domesday Book of 1086 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.
Over the years the borough asserted jurisdiction over the liberty of Wenlock. 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. At its height, it was – by area – the largest borough in England outside London and encompassed several of the towns that now constitute Telford. The borough had unusual boundaries, covering Much Wenlock itself, but also Little Wenlock, Broseley and Ironbridge, a total area of 71 square miles
Sir Thomas Wolryche, 1st Baronet, 1598 to 1668, was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons for Wenlock between 1621 and 1625. He fought in the Royalist army in the English Civil War, serving as military governor of Bridgnorth. In 1611, Thomas Wolryche's father, Francis, had taken over the mortgage of the manor of Hughley, about 6 km from Much Wenlock. The debt was cleared in 1623 in return for the freehold of Hughley, an estate of 1,400 acres.
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. James was MP for Wenlock for many years. His son Charles Milnes Gaskell restored the Priory lodging as a home with his wife Lady Catherine, daughter of the Earl of Portsmouth.
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.
Other architectural attractions include the 16th-century Much Wenlock Guildhall, many other historic buildings in the Early English style, and an annual well dressing at St Milburga's Well on Barrow Street.
