| Alkington | |
|---|---|
 Alkington Hall | |
  Alkington Location within Shropshire | |
| OS grid reference | SJ530392 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WHITCHURCH |
| Postcode district | SY13 |
| Dialling code | 01948 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Shropshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Alkington is a hamlet in Shropshire, England, near Whitchurch and south of that town.
The village is on limestone and is residential.
Alkington Hall was a late 16th-century country house, now a Grade II* listed farmhouse.
It was constructed in two storeys of red brick with grey brick diapering and grey sandstone ashlar dressings and a plain tile and slate roofs to an L-shaped floor plan. [1]
The manor was held by the Cotton family from the 16th century, of the line of the Cottons of Alkington was Lord Mayor of London in 1625; Sir Allan Cotton. [2]
It was built in 1592, probably for the London merchant, William Cotton. The Cotton family rose in prominence due to proximity to Sir Rowland Hill, (publisher of the Geneva Bible and hero of Shakespeare’s As You Like It) whose lands they managed in Shropshire. [3] Architectural association with Hill’s house at Soulton Hall is observable: the out put of a relationship between the families potentially operational into the seventeen century and seen in the evacuation of the Old Sir Rowland's library from Soulton around the time of the 1643 Battle of Wem, with he forwarding on of his papers into what us now called the Cotton Library. [4]
Rowland Cotton of this family was a favourite of Prince Henry Frederick and was an MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme for many years and High Sheriff of Shropshire for 1616. [5] [6] His monument in nearby Norton-in-Hales was designed by Inigo Jones. [7]
The Cotton family are important in holding what is known today as the Cotton Library, which saved multiple important documents (including Beowulf and Magna Carter) for the English nation. [8] [9]
Some alterations and improvements were made in the late 19th century. It was saved from a fire in 2010 when in the ownership of John and Elaine Fearnall. [10]
Shropshire is a landlocked ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England, on the Welsh border. It is bordered by Wrexham County Borough and Cheshire to the north, Staffordshire to the east, Worcestershire to the south-east, Herefordshire to the south, and Powys to the west. The largest settlement is Telford, and Shrewsbury is the county town.
John Lightfoot was an English churchman, rabbinical scholar, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge.
Whitchurch is a market town in the civil parish of Whitchurch Urban, in the north of Shropshire, England. It lies 2 miles (3 km) east of the Welsh border, 2 miles south of the Cheshire border, 20 miles (30 km) north of the county town of Shrewsbury, 20 miles (30 km) south of Chester, and 15 miles (24 km) east of Wrexham. At the 2021 Census, the population of the parish was 10,141. Whitchurch is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Shropshire. Notable people who have lived in Whitchurch include the composer Sir Edward German, and illustrator Randolph Caldecott.
Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, 1st Baronet of Conington Hall in the parish of Conington in Huntingdonshire, England, was a Member of Parliament and an antiquarian who founded the Cotton library.
The Worshipful Company of Mercers is the premier livery company of the City of London and ranks first in the order of precedence of the Companies. It is the first of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies.
Wem is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, 9 miles (14 km) north of Shrewsbury and 9 miles (14 km) south of Whitchurch.
The Cotton or Cottonian library is a collection of manuscripts that came into the hands of the antiquarian and bibliophile Sir Robert Bruce Cotton MP (1571–1631). The collection of books and materials Sir Robert held is one of the three "foundation collections" of the British Museum in 1753. It is now one of the major collections of the Department of Manuscripts of the British Library. Cotton was of a Shropshire family who originated near Wem and were based in Alkington and employed by the Geneva Bible publisher, statesman and polymath Sir Rowland Hill in the mid 16th century.
Hawkstone Park is a destination on the English Grand Tour and is a historic landscape park with pleasure grounds and gardens.
Soulton Hall is a Tudor country house near Wem, England. It was a 16th century architectural project of Sir Rowland Hill, publisher of the Geneva Bible. Hill was a statesman, polymath and philanthropist, later styled the "First Protestant Lord Mayor of London" because of his senior role in the Tudor statecraft that was needed to bring stability to England in the fall out of the Reformation. The building of the current Soulton Hall, undertaken during the tumult of the Reformation, is therefore associated with the political and social work required to incubate the subsequent English Renaissance.
Weston-under-Redcastle is an estate village of the Sir Rowland Hill legacy estates. It is a civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies 10 km by road east of Wem. Historically, it has been part of the manor of Hawkstone.
Norton in Hales is a village and parish in Shropshire, England.
Stoke on Tern is a village located in Shropshire, England, on the River Tern. The civil parish is known as Stoke upon Tern.
Sir Rowland Hill of Soulton, was the publisher of the Geneva Bible, thereby earning the title "The First Protestant Lord Mayor of London", having held that office in 1549. He was a statesman, polymath, merchant and patron of art and philanthropist active through the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. He is associated with the recovery and development of Tudor English drama a generation before Shakespeare, and events that Hill was involved in may have shaped one or more Shakespearean characters.
This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of Shropshire
Hawkstone Hall is a 43,400 square feet (4,030 m2) early 18th-century country mansion near Hodnet, Shropshire, England which was more recently occupied as the pastoral centre of a religious organisation for many years. It is a Grade I listed building.
Sir Allan Cotton was an English merchant who was Lord Mayor of London in 1625. He was born in Whitchurch, Shropshire to Ralph Cotton of Alkington and Jane Cotton. Allan came from a Shropshire branch of the Chesire minor noble family Coton which had existed since the 13th century at least.
Sir Rowland Cotton was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1605 and 1629.
Sir Robert Townshend of Ludlow, Shropshire was a judge who held a number of positions, including Chief Justice of the Marches of Wales and Chester. He was the founder of the Cheshire and Shropshire branch of the Townshend family.
Sir Richard Newport was an English landowner and politician of Shropshire origin, prominent regionally during the mid-Tudor and early Elizabethan periods.
Wollerton is a small village within the civil parish of Hodnet in Shropshire, England. It lies approximately three miles to the south west of Market Drayton and sits on the old A53 and adjacent to the new Hodnet bypass which forms the new route of the A53.
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