History

Knockin is a village and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 located on the B4396 in Shropshire

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...

. It comprises mainly historic detached buildings in a rural setting. Much of Knockin was owned by the Earl of Bradford

Earl of Bradford

Earl of Bradford is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was first created in 1694 for Francis Newport, 2nd Baron Newport. However, all the Newport titles became extinct on the death of the fourth Earl in 1762. The...

 until it was sold off in lots to meet other financial demands. The Earl still owns the cricket pitch and other small pockets of land in the area. The local public house

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

 is called the Bradford Arms and displays the Bradford family coat of arms. The pub also has an impressive clock with three faces, hung outside above the main entrance. The motto displayed on the sign is that of the Bridgeman Earls of Bradford "Nec temere nec timide" (Neither rashly nor timidly) indicating a policy of progress with prudence.

Parish Church

The parish church of St Mary at Knockin was founded by Ralph Le Strange between 1182 and 1195. It has a Norman

Norman architecture

About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...

 chancel

Chancel

In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...

, nave

Nave

In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...

 and north aisle

Aisle

An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...

 but the building was heavily restored

Victorian restoration

Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...

 in 1847. Its graveyard was consecrated in 1817 and before then all burials took place at Kinnerley

Kinnerley

Kinnerley is a small village in Shropshire, England.The village was a stop on the now defunct Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway, that ran from 1866 to 1960. The village today has a school, a church, a shop and a pub . It is small village separating neighbouring villages Dovaston and Pentre and...

. The bricked-up doorway which can be seen in the chancel

Chancel

In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...

 is because the building was once a chapel to an adjacent castle and the entrance recalls the time when the priest entered from the fortress side.

Knockin Castle

All that remains of Knockin Castle today is a large tree-covered mound of earth. It was a moated site between two knolls and may have been built by Henry II

Henry II of England

Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...

 in the 12th century. A little while after his death it passed into the hands of John le Strange, whose family were also responsible for building the church which stands close to the castle site. Like most Shropshire castles which are now only marked by grassy sites, its stones live on in a number of buildings in the area.

Village Shop - 'The Knockin Shop'

The village has a thriving village shop which is something of a rarity nowadays. It was once featured on television because of its sign "The Knockin Shop" and provides the Village with a convenient outlet for all day to day needs, including a Post Office.

Radio Telescope

Knockin is also home to one of the radio telescope

Radio telescope

A radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...

s that make up the Jodrell Bank

Jodrell Bank

The Jodrell Bank Observatory is a British observatory that hosts a number of radio telescopes, and is part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester...

 MERLIN

MERLIN

The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of STFC as a National Facility.The array consists of up to seven radio...

 (Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network) radio telescope array linking six observing stations that together form a powerful telescope with an effective aperture of over 217 kilometres.

Sport

Knockin is the home of Knockin & Kinnerley Cricket Club. Established as a club in 1862 the club currently field 3 Saturday senior teams, a Sunday Friendly XI and also a Midweek team. On the field 2010 saw the 1st XI gain promotion to the 1st Division of the Shropshire Cricket League and the introduction of the Knockin & Kinnerley Knights Junior Section. The long awaited new pavilion was built in 2010 and is a credit to the Club. The Nursery Ground (situated next to the Radio Telescope) has a reputation for having one of the best wickets in the County, and with former Worcestershire CCC batsmen Barry Jones

Barry Jones (cricketer)

Barry John Richardson Jones is a former English cricketer who played first-class and List A cricket for Worcestershire between 1976 and 1980....

preparing the wickets, combined with the new pavilion, the facilities are truly exceptional.

Local Facilities

The village has an excellent and modern Medical Centre serving the surrounding area. The Old Forge Bed & Breakfast, next to the Bradford Arms, is in the centre of the village and on the outskirts of Knockin are Heathwaen Log-cabins and Fishery.