Minton is a hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

 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 is located in the parish of Church Stretton

Church Stretton

Church Stretton is a small town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The population of the town was recorded as 2,789 in 2001, whilst the population of the wider parish was recorded as 4,186...

, 2½ miles southwest of the market town of Church Stretton. A historic settlement, it is situated on a foothill of the Long Mynd

Long Mynd

The Long Mynd in Shropshire, England, is a part of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is south of the county town Shrewsbury, and has an area of over 22 square kilometres , most of which takes the form of a heathland plateau. Most of the land on the Long Mynd is owned by...

 at around 240m above sea level. As of 2010, there are around 12 dwellings in the hamlet.

Three lanes lead out from the hamlet: one to the A49 road

A49 road

The A49 is a major road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrington and Wigan before terminating at its junction with...

, one mile southeast at Marshbrook

Marshbrook

Marshbrook is a hamlet in Shropshire, England. It is sometimes spelt "Marsh Brook", which is also the name of a small watercourse which flows through the area....

; another lane leads to the hamlet of Hamperley

Hamperley

Hamperley is a dispersed hamlet in Shropshire, England.It is mainly located in the parish of Church Stretton, 2½ miles southwest of Little Stretton and 4 miles from the market town of Church Stretton...

, which is also in Church Stretton parish; and Little Stretton is one mile to the northeast.

History and features

The place name is from Old English and means "the settlement on the hill". The hamlet has largely retained its Anglo-Saxon layout, with a patchwork of plots and haphazard narrow lanes. There are remains of a motte

Motte

Motte may be:*Motte-and-bailey, a type of construction used in castles*Isaac Motte, an 18th century American statesman*La Motte , various places with this name-See also:* Mote * Mott...

, which dates from either Anglo-Saxon or Norman

Anglo-Norman

The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...

 times. It was a Royal Manor

Manorialism

Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...

, held by King Edward

Edward the Confessor

Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....

 prior to the Norman conquest. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

.

Today the hamlet consists of farms and cottages and is agricultural in character. It is designated a conservation area

Conservation Area (United Kingdom)

In the United Kingdom, the term Conservation Area nearly always applies to an area considered worthy of preservation or enhancement because of its special architectural or historic interest, "the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance," as required by the Planning ...

 and there are 5 Listed buildings in the hamlet — Long Mynd House, Ivanhoe, Manor Farmhouse, Well Cottage, and Minton House.

There is an outdoors activity centre located on the lane between Minton and Hamperley, the Longmynd Adventure Camp, with overnight accommodation and camping ground.

Minton Hill and Batch

Minton Hill is to the northwest of the hamlet and rises to 453m. A bridleway leads up to its summit (and continues beyond onto the Long Mynd) from the hamlet of Minton. Another walking route up to the Long Mynd is via the Minton Batch, where a bridleway leads up from the lane to Hamperley.