61-708: Gobowen / ɡ ə ˈ b oʊ ə n / is a village in Shropshire , England, about 3 miles north of Oswestry . The population according to the 2011 census was 3,270. The village was previously called Bryn-y-Castell ("Hill of the Castle" in English) after the Norman motte castle adjacent to the Preeshenlle United Reformed Church, the eastern edge of the site being cut into when the church
122-625: A population of 6,866 at the 2011 Census. Derwen College , which provides residential further education for students with learning difficulties and disabilities, lies in the village. The college also operates a garden centre, Young Farmers' shop (selling produce grown at the college), coffee shop and restaurant. The village has shops, medical facilities and schools. There are three churches — Anglican, Methodist and United Reformed. There are around 20 organisations offering activities in which to participate. Local tourist attractions include Park Hall Countryside Experience, Chirk Castle, Whittington Castle and
183-817: A possible inspiration for the Robin Hood legend. Parts of Shropshire are inside the ancient Forest of Arden , which was the part if the English Midlands , that in antiquity and into the Early Modern Period was bounded by the Roman roads including to the North by the Watling Street and to the west by Wales. This forest was the Setting of Shakespeare's As You Like It , and that play
244-641: A stretch with the A49 . (The route once ran through the town, but was first bypassed in the 1930s, then by-passed again in the early 1990s). After Shrewsbury, the A5 continues as single-carriageway except for the Nesscliffe bypass. It then multiplexes with the major South Wales – North Wales road A483 and forms part of the Oswestry bypass, running to the east of that town. Shortly after, it crosses
305-500: Is Psmith , a fictional character in a series of Wodehouse's novels. In Oscar Wilde 's The Importance of Being Earnest , Algernon attempts to trick Jack into revealing the location of his country home by inferring he resides in Shropshire. The 1856 plantation literature novel White Acre vs. Black Acre by William M. Burwell features two Shropshire farms acting as an allegory for American slavery – "White Acre Farm" being
366-451: Is a Grade II listed building. The village's main primary school was opened in 1907, with local educational provision previously being offered at the school hall attached to Preeshenlle United Reform Church. The Foundation Stone for All Saints Church was laid in 1926 and the memorial to this event can be found on the east end of the building. The church was built as a daughter church to St. Barnabas Church at Hengoed and remained as such until
427-552: Is a legend that one of the caves of Hawkstone Park was the burial ground of King Arthur , and the Arthurian story of the giants Tarquin and Tarquinus is located, or Whittington Castle and linked to the Holy Grail since the 13th century. Old Oswestry has been identified as a possible home of Guinevere. Ludlow Castle site features heavily in the folk-story of Fulk FitzWarin , outlawed Lord of Whittington, Shropshire and
488-717: Is acknowledged to potentially be a cultural monument to Sir Rowland Hill , a prominent Tudor statesman and publisher of the Geneva Bible from the county. Shropshire was the original seat of prominence of the Cotton family who held the Cotton Library before it was taken to found the British Library. Shrewsbury Abbey features in The Cadfael Chronicles ; Brother Cadfael is a member of
549-546: Is also referred to in the same play (Act II, scene ii). There is a tradition that the Stanley monuments in St Bartholomew's Church, Tong are the work of Shakespeare. William Wycherley was born at Clive near Shrewsbury, although his birthplace has been said to be Trench Farm to the north near Wem later the birthplace of another writer, John Ireland , who was said to have been adopted by Wycherley's widow following
610-474: Is believed the area of Shrewsbury was settled in the 5th century by refugees from the nearby Roman City of Viroconium Cornoviorum , most physical evidence dates from the 7th century. Oswestry saw conflict in the early mediaeval period and is reputed to be the place of death of Oswald of Northumbria in 641 or 642 CE. Oswald was later regarded as a saint, with Bede saying that the spot where he died came to be associated with miracles , and people took dirt from
671-510: Is named London Road running through to the Port of Holyhead . The A5 traditionally terminated at Admiralty Arch (1822–24) on Salt Island, which was designed by Thomas Harrison to commemorate a visit by King George IV in 1821 en route to Ireland and marks the zenith of Irish Mail coach operations. The A5 currently terminates at the junction of the A55 near the Port of Holyhead . In June 2008,
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#1732772225565732-567: The Holyhead Roads Act 1815 ( 55 Geo. 3 . c. 152) that authorised the purchase of existing turnpike road interests and, where necessary, the construction of new road, to complete the route between the two capitals. This made it the first major civilian state-funded road building project in Britain since Roman times. Responsibility for establishing the new route was awarded to the famous engineer, Thomas Telford . Through England,
793-608: The A41 near Edgware but the original road continues as the A5183 through Elstree , Radlett , St Albans , Redbourn and Dunstable . A few miles north of Dunstable, the A5 regains its identity at the M1 motorway junction 11A, rejoining the old Roman Road and passing through Hockliffe before becoming a dual carriageway as it approaches Milton Keynes . On entering the City of Milton Keynes ,
854-697: The Council of Wales and the Marches , which administered justice in Wales and Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. During the English Civil War Shropshire was Royalist , and Charles II fled through the county—famously hiding in an oak tree —after his final defeat at the Battle of Worcester . The area around Coalbrookdale is regarded as one of the birthplaces of
915-874: The Grand Union Canal and the M1 motorway through the Watford Gap . It then bridges the M45 motorway and continues to Kilsby . As it passes close to Rugby , the road is diverted slightly around the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal and then passes the remains of the Rugby Radio Station . The next phase north-west-bound takes it under the M6 motorway and passing close to Lutterworth . Along this stretch,
976-656: The Industrial Revolution and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Evidence of Neolithic occupation of a religious form dating back before 2,000 BC, was discovered in 2017 in the grounds of a church, the medieval Church of the Holy Fathers in Sutton , Shrewsbury, making it Britain's oldest place of worship. The Shropshire bulla ("bulla" is Medieval Latin for "a round seal", Classical Latin for "bubble, blob", plural bullae), also known as
1037-593: The Norman conquest in 1066, major estates in Shropshire were granted to Normans, including Roger de Montgomerie and later his son Robert de Bellême , who ordered significant constructions, particularly in Shrewsbury, the town of which he was Earl . Many defensive castles were built at this time across the county to defend against the Welsh and enable effective control of the region, including Ludlow Castle and Shrewsbury Castle . The western frontier with Wales
1098-644: The River Ceiriog and enters Wales to continue from Chirk . The A5 continues through to Snowdonia via Llangollen , Corwen , Capel Curig and through the centre of Bangor . From Bangor the road crosses the Menai Suspension Bridge to Anglesey and then runs roughly parallel to the A55 expressway to the outskirts of the village of Valley where the A5 continues onto the Stanley Embankment . The A5 from Valley to Holyhead
1159-511: The Second World War by displaced persons and prisoners of war, who were housed in a camp which is now called Bank Top Industrial Estate in the nearby village of St Martins . The population of Gobowen, however, grew up around the railway. The mainline route between Chester and Shrewsbury was diverted through Gobowen after permission was denied to route the railway through the local historic town of Oswestry. Gobowen railway station
1220-694: The Shropshire bulla pendant. The hillfort at Old Oswestry dates from the Iron Age , and the remains of the city of Viroconium Cornoviorum date from the Roman period. During the Anglo-Saxon era the area was part of Mercia . During the High Middle Ages the county was part of the Welsh Marches , the border region between Wales and England; from 1472 to 1689 Ludlow was the seat of
1281-531: The abolitionist Northern United States, and "Black Acre Farm" being the slaveholding Southern United States. The angel Aziraphale , a principal character in Good Omens , was credited with designing Shropshire by Terry Pratchett . In the novel Howards End , Mr. Wilcox's daughter gets married in Shropshire. Part of the novel is set near Clun . Shropshire was the native county and rural seat of power of Sir Rowland Hill , who coordinated and published
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#17327722255651342-661: The 1560 Geneva Bible . This important Bible was the senior Bible of English Protestantism for the early decades of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement . Prior to the Reformation , there are accounts of major festivals in the county. The "first flowerings of English drama" in the Tudor period are considered to be in the town, according to the 18th century Poet laureate and scholar Thomas Warton . Whitsuntide and mystery plays were performed in
1403-473: The English fantasy writer. In Susanna Clarke 's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004), Jonathan Strange is from the county, and some parts of the book are set there. Another fictional character from Shropshire is Mr Grindley, from Charles Dickens ' Bleak House . P. G. Wodehouse 's fictional Blandings Castle , the ancestral home of Lord Emsworth , is located in Shropshire. Also from Shropshire
1464-582: The Hengoed church was made redundant in 1981, at which point All Saints became the parish church for 'Hengoed with Gobowen'. The parish of Hengoed with Gobowen was originally in the Diocese of St Asaph but transferred to the Diocese of Lichfield when the Church in Wales disestablished. All Saints was officially opened in 1928 and its vicar was George Owen Browne, the first of nine vicars to date who have served
1525-603: The High Medieval period the Shropshire area influenced important poetry: the poet William Langland , writer of Piers Plowman , was born in Cleobury Mortimer , and the 14th-century alliterative poem St Erkenwald is written in a local dialect. The only copy of the ancient poem 'Life and Death' was also found in Shropshire. In this period the county was also associated in divers places and ways with Arthurian legends, for instance at Hawkstone, where there
1586-585: The Lichfield diocese. The county was a central part of the Welsh Marches during the medieval period and was often embroiled in the power struggles between powerful Marcher Lords , the Earls of March and successive monarchs. From 1457, King Henry VI created for his son, Prince Edward , a Council to rule Wales and the Marches, Cheshire , and Cornwall , which became the Council of the Marches. Shropshire
1647-638: The London-Holyhead trunk road, is a major road in England and Wales . It runs for about 243 miles (391 km) from London to the Irish Sea at the ferry port of Holyhead . In many parts the route follows that of the Roman Iter II route which later took the Anglo-Saxon name Watling Street . The section of the A5 between London and Shrewsbury is roughly contiguous with one of
1708-543: The North Wales Coast, Cardiff and Birmingham. Shropshire Shropshire ( / ˈ ʃ r ɒ p ʃ ər , - ʃ ɪər / ; historically Salop and abbreviated Shrops ) is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England, on the border with Wales . It is bordered by Cheshire to the north, the Welsh county of Wrexham to the north and northwest, Staffordshire to the east, Worcestershire to
1769-520: The Shropshire Union Canal. The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital is sited nearby. It was established as a convalescent home for disabled children in 1900 at Baschurch by Agnes Hunt . In 1919 funds and premises became available and the hospital transferred to the hospital section of a former army camp at Park Hall. The new site was officially opened on August 5, 1921, by Margaret Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge in
1830-470: The Shropshire sun pendant, is a Late Bronze Age gold pendant found by a metal detectorist in 2018 in Shropshire. At Mitchel's Fold there is a Bronze Age stone circle set in dramatic moorland on Stapeley Hill . The area was once part of the lands of the Cornovii , which consisted of the modern day counties of Cheshire, Shropshire, north Staffordshire, north Herefordshire, and eastern parts of Powys. This
1891-515: The community at the Abbey. The poet A. E. Housman used Shropshire as the setting for many of the poems in his first book, A Shropshire Lad . Moreover, many of Malcolm Saville 's children's books are set in Shropshire. Additionally, D. H. Lawrence 's novella, St. Mawr , is partially set in the Stiperstones area of South Shropshire . The early 20th century novelist and poet Mary Webb
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1952-590: The county comprises two unitary authority areas: Shropshire , and Telford and Wrekin . Shropshire is generally flat in the north and hilly in the south. The Shropshire Hills AONB covers about a quarter of the county, including the Wrekin , Clee Hills , Stiperstones , the Long Mynd , and Wenlock Edge . Part of the Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve , which extends into Wales, occupies
2013-489: The death of Ireland's parents. The playwright George Farquhar 's 1706 play The Recruiting Officer is set in Shrewsbury. The "father of English ballet", as well as the originator of pantomime, John Weaver , developed his art in Shrewsbury. A second generation dancing master in the town, he founded English ballet, founded pantomime, and wrote on the philosophy, theology, statecraft and biology embedded in his era's understating of dance. Later in life he came to publish on
2074-454: The early tenth century, the relics of St Alkmund were translated to Whitchurch, this was also probably the work of Æthelflæd. There is evidence to show that by the beginning of the 900s, Shrewsbury was home to a mint . Archaeological excavations at the site of Shrewsbury castle in 2019 have indicated that the castle itself may have been a fortified site in the time of the Saxons. After
2135-658: The founding years of Shrewsbury School under Thomas Ashton ; they attracted the attention of Queen Elizabeth I . Later this was expressed in the many arbours built in Shrewsbury for that town's particular tradition of pageantry and performance. Shakespeare memorialised the Battle of Shrewsbury in Henry IV, Part 1 , in Acts IV (Scenes and 3) and V (Scenes 1-5). The arrest of Buckingham referred to in Richard III ( Act IV, scene iv) happened near Wem. Ludlow castle
2196-683: The largest settlements in Britain. After the Roman occupation of Britain ended in the 5th century, the Shropshire area was in the eastern part of the Welsh Kingdom of Powys ; known in Welsh poetry as the Paradise of Powys . As 'Caer Guricon' it is a possible Shrewsbury was the site of the seat of the Kingdom of Powys in the Early Middle Ages. This would date establishment of the town to the 500s CE under Brochwel Ysgithrog . It
2257-512: The low-lying north west of the county. The county's major river is the Severn , which enters from the west and forms a wide, flat valley before exiting into Worcestershire south of Bridgnorth. The village of Edgmond , near Newport , is the location of the lowest recorded temperature in England and Wales. There is evidence of Neolithic and Bronze Age human occupation in Shropshire, including
2318-572: The motorway ends and the A5 continues to Shrewsbury as dual carriageway, on its new alignment. (The original route through Telford, and then via Atcham to Shrewsbury, is unclassified through Oakengates and as the B5061 through Wellington and the B4380 through Atcham). Continuing from the end of the M54, the route runs around Shrewsbury as the town's southern bypass (still as dual carriageway), combining for
2379-499: The original alignment to become a local road in the town. From this point the road is a grade separated dual carriageway up until its junction with the A38 and M6 toll . After this junction it passes just to the south of Cannock and then, after its final junction with the A41 , enters Telford , where it loses its identity and route-shares with the M54 motorway from junction 5. At junction 7
2440-415: The original road and its ancillary features survives under the modern A5, much more than previously thought. These features include the following: In 1997, a section of bends on Telford's road between Tŷ Nant and Dinmael was by-passed by a modern cutting . However, investigation in 2006 revealed that the rock face in the cutting had become unstable, and the A5 was closed from the end of May 2006. Traffic
2501-403: The parish. Others have included: Bertram Russell, Arthur Cecil Roberts, Glyn Owen Jones, John Michael Allen, Paul Wilkinson, Michael John Withey, Christopher John Groocock and Adrian Richard Bailey (the current vicar). The church was extended variously throughout its history including the extension of the West End, the addition of a second vestry (to the rear) and a bell tower. In 1979, the building
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2562-477: The presence of its founders Sir Robert Jones and Dame Agnes Hunt. Much progress has been made since that time both with vast new buildings and pioneering medical treatments. Gobowen lies on the A5 / A483 roads between London and Holyhead . The village has regular bus links with Oswestry , St Martins, Ellesmere and Wrexham. Gobowen railway station is served by Transport for Wales with regular trains connecting to Wrexham, Chester, Shrewsbury, Holyhead and
2623-438: The principal Roman roads in Britain: that between Londinium (modern-day London) and Deva (modern-day Chester), which diverges from the present-day A5 corridor at Wroxeter ( Viroconium Cornoviorum ) near Shrewsbury. The Act of Union 1800 , which unified Great Britain and Ireland , gave rise to a need to improve communication links between London and Dublin . A parliamentary committee led to an act of Parliament ,
2684-417: The road becomes an (almost) fully grade-separated dual carriageway and passes through Milton Keynes. This stretch was opened in 1980, replacing the original route along Watling Street. From just north of the city, after entering Northamptonshire , the road resumes as a single carriageway that continues through Towcester where it crosses the A43 dual carriageway just north of the town. The road accompanies
2745-402: The road frequently alternates between being a single and a dual carriageway. After meeting the M69 motorway at a roundabout, with the motorway passing above, the A5 runs between Nuneaton and Hinckley . After this section the road continues to run through the northern fringes of Nuneaton and then on to Tamworth . At Tamworth, the road follows a more recent dual carriageway bypass, permitting
2806-524: The road largely took over existing turnpike roads and mainly following the route of the Anglo-Saxon Wæcelinga Stræt ( Watling Street ), much of which had been historically the Roman road Iter II . However between Weedon, Northamptonshire and Oakengates , Telford's Holyhead Road eschews the Watling Street corridor, picking up instead the major cities of Coventry , Birmingham , and Wolverhampton ; this routing being far more useful for communications. From Shrewsbury and through Wales, Telford's work
2867-421: The site, which led to a hole being dug as deep as a man's height. King Offa of Mercia annexed the entirety of Shropshire over the course of the 8th century from Powys, with Shrewsbury captured in 778, with two dykes built to defend, or at least demarcate it from the Welsh. King Offa converted the palace of the rulers of Powys into his first church, dedicated to St Chad (a foundation that still survives in
2928-536: The southeast, Herefordshire to the south, and the Welsh county of Powys to the west. The largest settlement is Telford , while Shrewsbury is the county town . The county has an area of 3,487 km (1,346 square miles) and a population of 498,073. Telford (155,570), in the east of the county, and Shrewsbury (76,782), in the centre, are the only large towns. Shropshire is otherwise rural, containing market towns such as Oswestry (15,613), Bridgnorth (12,212) and Newport (11,387). For local government purposes
2989-408: The subject of dance, which he located in a wider understanding of his culture as representing a component of Ptolemaic harmony and an earnest part of the statecraft of his time. The first known architectural project of Inigo Jones is the Cotton monument in the Church of St Chad, Norton-in-Hales . There are a number of important buildings in the county. The world's first iron-framed building
3050-467: The town and operated on that initial site for over 1000 years, moving in 1792). In later centuries, Vikings repeatedly invaded and fortresses were built at Bridgnorth (912) and Chirbury (913). In 914, Æthelflæd , Lady of the Mercians, fortified Shrewsbury, along with two other fortresses, at Scergeat (a currently unknown location) and Weardbyrig , Viking rides from the north traveling south were reaching Bridgnorth at this time (910CE). In
3111-423: Was a Royalist stronghold, under the command of Sir Francis Ottley . In the autumn of 1642, Charles I had a temporary capital at Shrewsbury, though he immediately moved to Oxford after the events of the Battle of Wem . Prince Rupert established his headquarters in the town on 18 February 1644, being welcomed by Shrewsbury's aldermen. Much Wenlock was the birthplace of the modern Olympic movement. In
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#17327722255653172-566: Was a tribal Celtic Iron Age kingdom. Their capital in pre- Roman times was probably a hill fort on the Wrekin . There is an important Iron Age Hill fort at Old Oswestry earthworks, this has been linked to where King Arthur’s Guinevere was born and called "the Stonehenge of the Iron Age." According to tradition, Caracticus made his last stand against the Romans in Shropshire. Ptolemy 's 2nd century Geography names one of their towns as being Viroconium Cornoviorum ( Wroxeter ), which became their capital under Roman rule and one of
3233-467: Was born in Shropshire and lived most of her life there, and all her novels are set there, most notably Precious Bane , with its powerful evocation of the Shropshire countryside. A school in Pontesbury bears her name. Shropshire is widely believed to have been an influence for J. R. R. Tolkien 's landscape of the Shire in The Lord of the Rings . Specifically, the Wrekin (as The Lonely Mountain) and Ellesmere (as Laketown) are said to have inspired
3294-464: Was built in Shrewsbury at the Flaxmill Maltings : the techniques pioneered in that building were necessary preconditions for skyscrapers . Nash and Repton were active at Attingham Park . A rare Anglo-Saxon hall, which was a high status building from the Anglo Saxon period, and possibly a feasting hall or palace, was excavated at nearby Attingham in 2018; the dating window is between 400 AD and 1066. A5 road (Great Britain) The A5 ,
3355-450: Was built. Alongside this monument there is a section of the 8th century Wat's Dyke . The name changed to Gobowen; this name is believed to originate from Gob (from 'gobennydd', a pillow) and Owen ( Owain Glyndŵr ) who was believed to have rested here. However, this name may also originate from a man named Owen who started mining here, and an old Welsh word for mine is 'gob', hence Gobowen (Owen's mine). The mines were filled in by hand during
3416-440: Was designed to allow stagecoaches and the mail coach to carry post between London and Holyhead, and thence by mailboat to Ireland. Therefore, throughout its length the gradient never exceeds 1:17 (5.9%). The route through Wales retains many of the original features of Telford's road and has, since 1995, been recognised as a historic route worthy of preservation. An 18-month survey by Cadw in 1998–2000 revealed that about 40% of
3477-401: Was devastated by fire and services continued during that period in the hall next to the Church. It re-opened in 1981 with a newly commissioned stained glass window to the East End, a donated window depicting the nativity in the West End, and various pieces of furniture donated from churches elsewhere. Gobowen is part of the electoral ward called Gobowen, Selattyn and Weston Rhyn. This ward had
3538-427: Was diverted onto the old A5 route, on a 0.5-mile (0.80 km) stretch known as the Glyn Bends, while the rock face was made safe. This involved the removal of 230,000 tonnes of rock and alluvial deposits. In July 2007, the A5 through the reconstructed cutting was reopened. Starting at Marble Arch in London , the A5 runs northwest on the Edgware Road through Kilburn and Cricklewood . The A5 number disappears at
3599-427: Was governed via this council for several centuries. According to historian John Davies , at its peak under Sir Henry Sidney and for a period thereafter the Council: represented a remarkable experiment in regional government. It administered the law cheaply and rapidly; it dealt with up to twenty cases a day and George Owen stated that the 'oppressed poor' flocked to it. During the English Civil War , Shropshire
3660-418: Was more extensive. In places he followed existing roads, but he also built new links, including the Menai Suspension Bridge to connect the mainland with Anglesey and the Stanley Embankment to Holy Island . Telford's road was complete with the opening of the Menai Suspension Bridge in 1826, which had been authorised by the Roads Between London and Holyhead Act 1819 ( 59 Geo. 3 . c. 48). The road
3721-414: Was not finally determined until the 14th century. Also in this period, a number of religious foundations were formed, the county largely falling at this time under the Diocese of Hereford and that of Coventry and Lichfield . Some parishes in the north-west of the county in later times fell under the Diocese of St. Asaph until the disestablishment of the Church in Wales in 1920, when they were ceded to
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