All Stretton | |
---|---|
All Stretton (and the north end of the Stretton Gap) viewed from Nover's Hill | |
Location within Shropshire | |
OS grid reference | SO459954 |
• London | 158 miles (254 km) |
Civil parish | |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | CHURCH STRETTON |
Postcode district | SY6 |
Dialling code | 01694 |
Police | West Mercia |
Fire | Shropshire |
Ambulance | West Midlands |
UK Parliament | |
All Stretton is a village and a now separate civil parish in Shropshire, England. Much of it is covered by a Conservation Area.
All Stretton lies about a mile to the north of the market town of Church Stretton, on the old Shrewsbury Road (the B5477) – Shrewsbury is 12 miles to the north. Similarly, the small village of Little Stretton lies to the south of Church Stretton on the same road. The village lies between 580 and 600 feet above sea level at the northern end of the Stretton Gap. The beginning of the Cound Brook, a minor river that runs 25 miles across the southern Shropshire-Severn plains, is found in the village, where the stream from the Batch valley joins the Ashbrook. To the west of All Stretton is the Long Mynd, and to the east is Caer Caradoc.
The village does not lie in the parish of All Stretton, which is to its north, but in the civil parish of Church Stretton, which has a town council, of which All Stretton forms a parish ward. The southern part of the original parish, including the village, was transferred to the Church Stretton parish in 1934. [1] The remaining parish of All Stretton is geographically small and has no well-defined settlements, only dispersed farms and houses, including Womerton and High Park. Its population was recorded as 120 at the 2011 census. [2] Prior to the creation of a unitary Shropshire Council in 2009, the village and the parish lay in different districts (South Shropshire and Shrewsbury and Atcham). Even under the new arrangements the village is in the electoral division of Church Stretton and Craven Arms, whilst the parish is in the division of Burnell. The village lies in the constituency of Ludlow, whilst the parish lies in Shrewsbury and Atcham.
To the east of the village is the Welsh Marches Line railway and the major A49 road. Regional Cycle Route 32/33 passes through the village, on its way from Longnor to Church Stretton.
The historic hamlet of Botvyle lies within the Church Stretton parish and parish ward of All Stretton (grid reference SO475961 ). It is situated to the northeast of All Stretton, on the other side of the A49, on the lane to Comley. [3] It takes its name from the forest that once covered the area, the "Botwood", as does the nearby village of Leebotwood.
All Stretton is the home to the Yew Tree Inn public house. [4] The former Stretton Hall Hotel, located in the centre of the village opposite the Yew Tree Inn, underwent redevelopment into a nursing home in 2008/2009; before that it had held a pub licence since 1976. There was once another pub in the village – the White Horse – but this is now a house, although a small pub sign still hangs outside. The village hall is used for a wide variety of local events including amateur theatre productions by the All Stretton Amateur Dramatics Society and cinema sittings with 'Flicks in the Sticks'. It also hosts the Women's Institutes meetings.
There is a small church in the village, built in 1902 and dedicated to St Michael and All Angels. It is a joint Church of England and United Reformed Church, and serves as one of three churches in the Church of England's ecclesiastical parish of Church Stretton, along with those in All Stretton and Little Stretton. [5] The ecclesiastical parish is part of the Diocese of Hereford. The church stands at the northern end of the village, on a hillside rising steeply from Shrewsbury Road. The church has a Roll of Honour naming the parish dead of both World Wars, and wooden panelling that includes the door to the vestry, in memory of a former curate, John Charles Bartleet, who died on active service as an army chaplain in Palestine in 1942. [6]
The village's outdoor roadside war memorial, in the form of a stone obelisk, was unveiled in 1920 and restored to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II in 1995, when the weathered names from both World Wars were reinstated on slate plaques. [6]
The village has an entrance to the Batch Valley, which leads on to the Long Mynd and adjoins the head of Carding Mill Valley. A YHA bunkhouse, which provides accommodation for up to 12 people, is located in the Batch Valley. From the Batch Valley the Church Stretton Golf Club's golf course, which is situated at around 380 yards, can be accessed by foot.
The village also boasts a traditional red telephone box, which sits at the bottom of Castle Hill and is still functioning. The village for a long time had a post office but this closed in 2008. As of 2010, there are approximately 150 dwellings in the village.
There is a conservation-area designation covering much of the village. [7] There are 6 Listed buildings and structures in the village. [8]
A history group in All Stretton published a history of the village in 2006. A prominent children's book writer who regularly visited her sister Anne's house in the village, Caradoc Lodge, was Hesba Stretton (1832–1911). [9]
The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway was constructed through the area in 1852. All Stretton once had its own railway halt: All Stretton Halt railway station. The nearest railway station is now at Church Stretton.
The name "Stretton" is derived from the Old English words stræt meaning "Roman road" and tun meaning "settlement". The affix "All" derives from an early owner called Alfred, [10] rather than from a supposed comment made by King James I of England. The local tale describes how he passed first through Little Stretton, then Church Stretton and finally as he came through All Stretton the king declared "They're All Strettons around here!"[ citation needed ]
Church Stretton is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, 13 miles (21 km) south of Shrewsbury and 15 miles (24 km) north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671.
The A49 is an A 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 A6 road just south of Bamber Bridge, near the junction of the M6, M65 and M61 motorways.
The Long Mynd is a heath and moorland plateau that forms part of the Shropshire Hills in Shropshire, England. The high ground, which is common land and designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, lies between the Stiperstones range to the west and the Stretton Hills and Wenlock Edge to the east. Much of it is owned by the National Trust, and is managed by the Longmynd Commoners.
Craven Arms is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is sited on the A49 road and the Welsh Marches railway line, which link it north and south to the larger towns of Shrewsbury and Ludlow respectively. The town is enclosed to the north by the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and to the south is the fortified manor house of Stokesay Castle.
Bayston Hill is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is 3 miles (5 km) south of the county town Shrewsbury and located on the main A49 road, the Shrewsbury to Hereford road.
Condover is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is about 5 miles (8 km) south of the county town of Shrewsbury, and just east of the A49. The Cound Brook flows through the village on its way from the Stretton Hills to a confluence with the River Severn. Condover is near to the villages of Dorrington, Bayston Hill and Berrington. The population of the Condover parish was estimated as 1,972 for 2008, of which an estimated 659 live in the village of Condover itself. The actual population measured at the 2011 census had fallen to 1,957.
Little Stretton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Church Stretton, in the Shropshire district, in the ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. In 1961 the parish had a population of 80. Little Stretton became a civil parish in 1899 being formed from Church Stretton, on 1 April 1966 the parish was abolished and merged with Church Stretton.
Dorrington is a large village in Shropshire, England, it is located 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Shrewsbury. The population of the village was estimated as being 619 in 2008.
The Shropshire Hills National Landscape is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in Shropshire, England. It is located in the south of the county, extending to its border with Wales. Designated in 1958, the area encompasses 802 square kilometres (310 sq mi) of land primarily in south-west Shropshire, taking its name from the upland region of the Shropshire Hills. The A49 road and Welsh Marches Railway Line bisect the area north–south, passing through or near Shrewsbury, Church Stretton, Craven Arms and Ludlow.
Church Stretton railway station is a railway station serving the town of Church Stretton in Shropshire, England on the Welsh Marches line, 12+3⁄4 miles (20.5 km) south of Shrewsbury railway station; trains on the Heart of Wales line also serve the station. All trains services are operated by Transport for Wales, who also manage the station.
The Shropshire Hills are a dissected upland area and one of the natural regions of England. They lie wholly within the county of Shropshire and encompass several distinctive and well-known landmarks, such as the Long Mynd, Wenlock Edge, The Wrekin and the Clees.
Ashford Bowdler is a small village and civil parish in south Shropshire, England, near the county border with Herefordshire.
Longnor is a village and civil parish off the A49 road, south of Dorrington and north of Leebotwood in Shropshire, England, with a population of 289. The nearest railway station is Church Stretton, 4.7 miles (7.6 km) away. The Cound Brook flows just west of the village and its medieval deer park. The village contains Longnor Hall and the Grade I listed medieval St Mary's Church. Regional Cycle Route 32/33 passes through, as do buses between Church Stretton and Shrewsbury and Radbrook Green. The village is also noted for a ghost, the White Lady of Longnor.
The Marches Way is a partially waymarked long-distance footpath in the United Kingdom. It runs for 351 kilometres (218 mi) through the Welsh–English borderlands, traditionally known as the Welsh Marches, and links the cities of Chester in the north and Cardiff in the south.
Rushbury is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, roughly five miles from Church Stretton and eight miles from Much Wenlock.
Cound Brook is a tributary of the River Severn in Shropshire, England, running to south of the county town Shrewsbury. The Cound Brook rises in the Stretton Hills, and enters the River Severn at Eyton on Severn after winding its way for 22 miles (35 km) across the southern Shropshire-Severn plain. This length is measured from high on the Long Mynd.
National Cycle Network Route 44, part of the National Cycle Network, connects Shrewsbury, Shropshire with Cinderford, Gloucestershire. The part of the route from Shrewsbury to Bromfield is signed - the remainder of the route is currently unsigned.
Minton is a hamlet in Shropshire, England.
Leebotwood is a small village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is about 9 miles (14 km) south of Shrewsbury and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north of Church Stretton.
Church Preen is a dispersed hamlet and small civil parish in central Shropshire, England. The county town of Shropshire is Shrewsbury, which is located to the North and by road is 12 miles.