| Anchor | |
|---|---|
 Crossroads in Anchor | |
  Anchor Location within Shropshire | |
| OS grid reference | SO175851 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CRAVEN ARMS |
| Postcode district | SY7 |
| Dialling code | 01686 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Shropshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Anchor is a remote hamlet in southwest Shropshire, England. The hamlet is the most westerly place in Shropshire.
Anchor lies only 400 yards away from the border with Wales. The B4368 road runs through the hamlet on its way between the towns of Clun (in England) to Newtown (in Wales). The road reaches an elevation of 1,276 feet (389 m; 425 yd; 0.2417 mi; 15,310 in; 38,900 cm; 0.389 km; 389,000 mm; 4.11×10−14 ly), making it the highest classified road in Shropshire. The point at which the B4368 crosses over the Nant Rhuddwr (a small watercourse that runs along this part of the English-Welsh border; also known as the Rhuddwr Brook in English) into Wales is known as Anchor Bridge. Anchor is also the most westerly settlement in England on the English-Welsh border, with the most westerly point of the border being approximately 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) to the southwest. The tripoint of Shropshire, Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire is near this most westerly point, located at the confluence of the Nant Rhydyfedw and the Nant Rhuddwr.
Anchor is on the western fringes of the Clun Forest and to the north and northwest lies the forestry plantation of Ceri Forest. The River Clun, which flows towards Newcastle-on-Clun and on to the River Teme near Leintwardine, has its source just south of the hamlet, between Anchor and Bettws Hill Wood, in the marshy area near the pub. The hamlet lies at a saddle point, at the head of the Clun valley on one side and also alongside the Rhuddwr valley on the other side.
Anchor lies in the parish of Bettws-y-Crwyn and the Shropshire Council electoral division of Clun.
Two new houses were constructed in the early 2010s near the Anchor Inn, increasing the size of the settlement somewhat.
At the main crossroads was the "Anchor" public house [1] [2] at 1,266 feet (386 m), the highest pub in Shropshire following the closure of The Kremlin at Clee Hill Village. [3] It had been a pub continuously since at least 1830, until the last landlord retired in 2020, and features in the Mary Webb novel Seven for a Secret (1922) as the "Mermaid's Rest". [1] The Anchor had an entry in both the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2015 and 2016.
The local economy is mainly agricultural, with sheep and other livestock farms. There are a number of small, disused quarries in the area.
The Anchor Show is held annually in August, just over the border in Wales by the Kerry Ridgeway, and is primarily a horse, pony and dog show. [4]
Static caravans, camping and stabling for horses are available at The Anchorage, just to the south of the Anchor pub. [5]
Nearby, to the southwest, is Bryn Amlwg Castle, the remains of an ancient castle.
Clun is a town in south west Shropshire, England, and the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The 2011 census recorded 680 people living in the town. Research by the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England suggests that Clun is one of the most tranquil locations in England.
The River Clun runs mostly through Shropshire, England and joins the River Teme at Leintwardine, Herefordshire. The Clun Valley is part of the Shropshire Hills AONB.
Clun Castle is a medieval ruined castle in Clun, Shropshire, England. Clun Castle was established by the Norman lord Robert de Say after the Norman invasion of England and went on to become an important Marcher lord castle in the 12th century, with an extensive castle-guard system. Owned for many years by the Fitzalan family, Clun played a key part in protecting the region from Welsh attack until it was gradually abandoned as a property in favour of the more luxurious Arundel Castle. The Fitzalans converted Clun Castle into a hunting lodge in the 14th century, complete with pleasure gardens, but by the 16th century the castle was largely ruined. Slighted in 1646 after the English Civil War, Clun remained in poor condition until renovation work in the 1890s.
Craven Arms is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, 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 Heart of Wales railway line joins the Welsh Marches line at Craven Arms and the town is served by Craven Arms railway station. 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.
Newcastle is a village in the rural south west of Shropshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Clun and the Folly Brook, 3 miles west of the small town of Clun. The B4368 runs through the village, on its way between Craven Arms in Shropshire to Newtown in Powys.
Clunton is a village in south Shropshire, England, to the east of the small town of Clun.
Clungunford is a village and civil parish in south Shropshire, England, located near the border with Herefordshire.
The Shropshire Hills 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.
Quabbs is a small, scattered hamlet in the southwest of Shropshire, near the border between England and Wales. The name, which also occurs in Gloucestershire as a field name, is possibly derived from the Old English word cwabba, "marsh".
Bettws-y-Crwyn is a small, remote village and civil parish in south-west Shropshire, England. It is close to the England–Wales border and is one of a number of English villages to have a Welsh language placename.
Bucknell is a village and civil parish in south Shropshire, England. The village lies on the River Redlake, within 660 yards (600 m) of the River Teme and close to the border of Wales and Herefordshire. It is about 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Knighton and is set within the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Woofferton is a village to the south of Ludlow, in Shropshire, England. It is one of Shropshire's most southerly villages and lies on the border with Herefordshire. It is part of the civil parish of Richard's Castle. The larger Herefordshire village of Brimfield is just over the border to the south.
Bryn Amlwg Castle was an enclosure castle near Anchor, Shropshire, abutting the England–Wales border. It is a scheduled monument, listed in 1930.
Sibdon Carwood is a hamlet and parish in Shropshire, England. To the east is the town of Craven Arms.
Llanfair Waterdine, sometimes written as Llanvair Waterdine and meaning St Mary's Church Waterdine, is a small village and civil parish in Shropshire, England, on the north side of the Teme valley and adjacent to the Wales-England border.
Bicton is a hamlet in southwest Shropshire, England, one mile north of Clun. The short River Unk passes through the hamlet. In previous centuries it was a township in the Clun division of the hundred of Clun.
Mainstone is a small village and civil parish in southwest Shropshire, England, near the border with Powys, Wales. The village lies approximately 1 mile northwest of the small village of Cefn Einion. The market town of Bishop's Castle lies some 3 miles to the east, while the small town of Clun is about 5 miles away to the south.
The England–Wales border, sometimes referred to as the Wales–England border or the Anglo-Welsh border, runs for 160 miles (260 km) from the Dee estuary, in the north, to the Severn estuary in the south, separating England and Wales.
Little Brampton is a hamlet in south Shropshire, England.
Broadward is a dispersed hamlet in south Shropshire, England, situated by the border with Herefordshire. It is in the civil parish of Clungunford, a village approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) to the north.
Media related to Anchor, Shropshire at Wikimedia Commons