Hodnet, Shropshire
Encyclopedia
Hodnet is a village and civil parish in Shropshire
, England
. To the northeast of the village is the nearby town of Market Drayton
.
, formerly home of the Hill family, stands in Hawkstone Park
near the village. It was the home of Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill
. Hodnet Hall, with its spectacular gardens and ancient timber tithe barn is the village's main tourist attraction. The village shop is now open. Amongst other attractions in Hodnet is the local church, St. Luke's, which is rather famous for its right hand stained-glass window and was plundered in the early part of this decade by a group of people attempting to follow Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code"!
To the south-east of the church, within the grounds of Hodnet Hall, are the earthwork remains of Hodnet Castle, a motte-and-bailey
castle, with some traces of a stone keep.
The village also has two shops and notably the Bear at Hodnet Pub, which has been recently refurbished.There is also a flower shop near to the first shop in Hodnet and also a crockery shop. Up until recently, there were three shops, although one has closed, possibly due to the reduced through-traffic as a result of the by-pass. In terms of education, there is the Hodnet Primary School, a school of 162 pupils, which is maintained by Shropshire County Council http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/schools.nsf/open/7D0E00B18E096D1B80256E8B0039D18B. There is no provision of secondary education in the village.
club, Hodnet and Peplow CC (Peplow
being a neighbouring village) and the club's badge is that of a gold lion (from the gates of Hodnet Hall), lying beneath a green beech tree (representing the beech trees lining the driveway of Peplow Hall). Its first eleven play in the Rollinson Smith Shropshire Cricket League Division 3. The firsts have been captained for a number of years by David Tunks.
FC Hodnet, a football club formed for the 2007-08 season, play at the Hodnet Social Club. They were crowned champions of the Shropshire Alliance football league on May 10, 2008 and since the 2008-09 season have competed in the Shropshire County Premier Football League
. Starting in that league's Division One, after two seasons the team were promoted to the Premier Division in 2010. In 2011, FC Hodnet won the Premier Division Cup, beating league champions Haughmond in the final.
Hodnet Social Football Club, originating in the late 1990s, compete in the Telford Sunday Leagues.
runs around the village on a by-pass road built in 2003. The A442 road
ends where it meets the A53 just to the south west of the village, at this by-pass. The by-pass was built by the contractors Alfred McAlpine
, which also provided a set of BMX
/mountain-bike ramps, for the local children.
Hodnet Station was a stop on the The Wellington and Market Drayton Railway, which was opened in 1867 and operated by the Great Western Railway
Company. However, lack of use forced the line to close to passenger traffic on 9 September 1963, and to freight four years later.
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. To the northeast of the village is the nearby town of Market Drayton
Market Drayton
Market Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....
.
Attractions and facilities
Hawkstone HallHawkstone Hall
Hawkstone Hall is a large early 18th century country mansion near Hodnet, Shropshire which is occupied as the pastoral centre of a religious organisation. It is a Grade I listed building....
, formerly home of the Hill family, stands in Hawkstone Park
Hawkstone Park
Hawkstone Park is an historic landscape park with pleasure grounds and gardens formerly belonging to Hawkstone Hall, near to Market Drayton, in Shropshire, England, UK, one mile east of the A49 road....
near the village. It was the home of Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill
Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill
General Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill of Almaraz GCB, GCH served in the Napoleonic Wars as a trusted brigade, division and corps commander under the command of the Duke of Wellington. He became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in 1829.-Early career:Educated at a school in Chester, Hill was...
. Hodnet Hall, with its spectacular gardens and ancient timber tithe barn is the village's main tourist attraction. The village shop is now open. Amongst other attractions in Hodnet is the local church, St. Luke's, which is rather famous for its right hand stained-glass window and was plundered in the early part of this decade by a group of people attempting to follow Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code"!
To the south-east of the church, within the grounds of Hodnet Hall, are the earthwork remains of Hodnet Castle, a motte-and-bailey
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
castle, with some traces of a stone keep.
The village also has two shops and notably the Bear at Hodnet Pub, which has been recently refurbished.There is also a flower shop near to the first shop in Hodnet and also a crockery shop. Up until recently, there were three shops, although one has closed, possibly due to the reduced through-traffic as a result of the by-pass. In terms of education, there is the Hodnet Primary School, a school of 162 pupils, which is maintained by Shropshire County Council http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/schools.nsf/open/7D0E00B18E096D1B80256E8B0039D18B. There is no provision of secondary education in the village.
Parish Website
In 2009, the Parish Council published a new Parish Plan and asked for volunteers to help implement aspects of it. One of the objectives was to establish a website for the villages in the Parish - these are Hodnet, Marchamley, Wollerton and Peplow. Work on the site was begun in January 2010 and by June 2010 the site was ready to go public. Put together by people from the community for both the community and also for visitors, it is hoped the website will become valued resource. Visit it at www.hodnet.org.ukSport
Hodnet has its own cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
club, Hodnet and Peplow CC (Peplow
Peplow
Peplow is a small dispersed village in Shropshire, England. It is part of the civil parish of Hodnet, a larger village to the north. The hamlets of Bowling Green and Radmoor are both in the village's vicinity....
being a neighbouring village) and the club's badge is that of a gold lion (from the gates of Hodnet Hall), lying beneath a green beech tree (representing the beech trees lining the driveway of Peplow Hall). Its first eleven play in the Rollinson Smith Shropshire Cricket League Division 3. The firsts have been captained for a number of years by David Tunks.
FC Hodnet, a football club formed for the 2007-08 season, play at the Hodnet Social Club. They were crowned champions of the Shropshire Alliance football league on May 10, 2008 and since the 2008-09 season have competed in the Shropshire County Premier Football League
Shropshire County Premier Football League
The Shropshire County Premier Football League is an English association football league based in the county of Shropshire...
. Starting in that league's Division One, after two seasons the team were promoted to the Premier Division in 2010. In 2011, FC Hodnet won the Premier Division Cup, beating league champions Haughmond in the final.
Hodnet Social Football Club, originating in the late 1990s, compete in the Telford Sunday Leagues.
Transport
The A53 roadA53 road
The A53 is a primary route in northern England, that runs from Buxton in Derbyshire to Shrewsbury in Shropshire.-Route of Road:The A53 begins in the centre of Buxton off the A6 road, before meeting the A515 road at a roundabout. Out of the town, it has a junction with the A54 road before...
runs around the village on a by-pass road built in 2003. The A442 road
A442 road
The A442 is a main road which passes through the counties of Worcestershire and Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England.-Route:From Droitwich in Worcestershire it runs towards Kidderminster where it meets the A449 from Worcester...
ends where it meets the A53 just to the south west of the village, at this by-pass. The by-pass was built by the contractors Alfred McAlpine
Alfred McAlpine
Alfred McAlpine plc was a British construction firm headquartered in London. It was a major road builder, and constructed over 10% of Britain's motorways, including the M6 Toll...
, which also provided a set of BMX
BMX
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
/mountain-bike ramps, for the local children.
Hodnet Station was a stop on the The Wellington and Market Drayton Railway, which was opened in 1867 and operated by the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
Company. However, lack of use forced the line to close to passenger traffic on 9 September 1963, and to freight four years later.