Wistanstow is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 and parish 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...

.

Location

Wistanstow is located about 8km south 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...

 and 14km north of Ludlow

Ludlow

Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...

. It is about 2½ km north of Craven Arms

Craven Arms

Craven Arms is a small town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, located on the A49 road and the Welsh Marches railway line, which connect it north and south to the larger towns of Shrewsbury and Ludlow respectively. The Heart of Wales railway line joins the Welsh Marches line at Craven Arms...

. It is just off the main Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...

-Hereford

Hereford

Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...

 road, the A49

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...

. The large parish includes a number of other small settlements: Woolston

Woolston, south Shropshire

Woolston, in the south of the county of Shropshire, England, is a hamlet located in the parish of Wistanstow, one mile northwest of that village, near Craven Arms .In the mediaeval period the name was...

, Upper Affcot

Upper Affcot

Upper Affcot is a hamlet in Shropshire, England.It is located on the A49 north of Craven Arms and south of Church Stretton, between the hamlets of Strefford and Felhampton. There is a public house here, formerly called the Travellers Rest, now the Affcot Lodge. It is part of the civil parish of...

, Cwm Head

Cwm Head

Cwm Head is a hamlet in Shropshire, England. The name is part-Welsh, part-English and means "Head of the Valley".It is located in the parish of Wistanstow and on the B4370 road, 1¼ miles southwest of Marshbrook and the A49 road...

, Bushmoor

Bushmoor

Bushmoor is a hamlet in Shropshire, England.It is located in the parish of Wistanstow, 1¼ miles north of that village, and half a mile west of the A49 road....

, Strefford

Strefford

Strefford is a historic hamlet in Shropshire, England.It lies in the civil parish of Wistanstow and is situated just off the A49 road north of the small town of Craven Arms. The nearest settlement is Upper Affcot, to the north on the A49, a hamlet which has a public house...

, Whittingslow

Whittingslow

Whittingslow is a hamlet in Shropshire, England.It is located in the parish of Wistanstow, just off the B4370 road, between Marshbrook and Cwm Head. The hamlet lies on a hilltop, at 252m above sea level. The lane from the B4370 continues, along a ridge of hills, to the hamlet of Woolston in the...

, Felhampton and Cheney Longville

Cheney Longville

Cheney Longville is a small village in Shropshire, England.It lies in the parish of Wistanstow, near to the small market town of Craven Arms.Called simply "Langfeld" in 1087, when it was owned by Shrewsbury Abbey...

, and a population of 724 was recorded in the 2001 census.

Leamoor Common and Wettles are to the north of the village.

The River Onny

River Onny

The River Onny is a river in Shropshire, England. It is a major tributary of the River Teme.The river has its sources in the Shropshire Hills at White Grit, located in Mid and South-west Shropshire. It has two branches, the East Onny and West Onny, which converge at Eaton, to the east of Lydham...

 flows through the parish, southwest of the village.

History and amenities

The main lane running through the village is a Roman road

Roman road

The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...

, which ran between the Roman

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 settlements and forts at Leintwardine

Leintwardine

Leintwardine is a large village and civil parish in north Herefordshire, England, close to the border with Shropshire.- Roman Leintwardine :...

 and Wroxeter

Wroxeter

Wroxeter is a village in Shropshire, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Wroxeter and Uppington and is located in the Severn Valley about south-east of Shrewsbury.-History:...

.

The village takes its name from the Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...

 saint Wigstan who was grandson of the King of Mercia

Mercia

Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...

. He was martyred by a jealous cousin. The Saxon suffix stow means (enclosed) place.

The present church building

Church Building

The Church Building is located at the corner of Main and Market Streets in downtown Poughkeepsie, New York, United States, just across Market Street from the Dutchess County Court House, and north of the Bardavon Theater...

, Holy Trinity, was mainly built between 1180 and 1200. The 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...

 roof of 1630 is one the church's finest features and was re-gilded in the mid-1960s. The interior is also graced by a number of early 19th century box pew

Box pew

Box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th century.-History in England:...

s and fine mid-20th century wooden panelling behind the altar

Altar

An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...

.

Wistanstow has a splendid mock Tudor village hall that was given to the village in 1925 by a local landowner. This enormous "black-and-white" building included cottages for the District Nurse and resident caretaker. The village has a small church primary school.

At the other end of the village opposite Manor Farm is the Plough Inn. Just behind is a small independent real ale brewery

Brewery

A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....

, "Wood's". In 1984, both the Plough and the brewery were featured as the final destination on a Shropshire edition of Treasure Hunt, with Anneka Rice pulling herself a pint of real ale to complete the game.

External links