Cantlop | |
---|---|
Signpost at Cantlop Cross, the crossroads. The centre of Shropshire is in this vicinity. | |
Location within Shropshire | |
OS grid reference | SJ517055 |
Civil parish | |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | SHREWSBURY |
Postcode district | SY5 |
Dialling code | 01743 |
Police | West Mercia |
Fire | Shropshire |
Ambulance | West Midlands |
UK Parliament | |
Cantlop is a small village in the English county of Shropshire. It is part of the civil parish of Berrington.
Nearby villages include Condover, to the west of Cantlop, and the village of Berrington to the north-west, on the other side of the Cound Brook which flows to the north of Cantlop, and Pitchford to the south. The area is largely agricultural. The elevation at Cantlop Cross is 96 metres (315 ft) above sea level. [1]
Various meanings have been suggested for the name, such as an enclosed or cut-off valley [2] or an enclosure in a waste or common. [3] Ekwall proposes a twofold origin: 'Cant' for being located on the Cound Brook, where Cound could be a name, and '-lop' from Old English 'hop', or valley. [4] But being first recorded in the Domesday Book as Cantelop, and in an area highly coveted by Norman knights, it is very possible that the name comes from the Old French chante lou, lit. sing wolf (wolf song), for a place where wolves could be heard howling. This would be supported by the frequent occurrence the toponym in France today as well as its various alternative spellings, Chanteloup, Canteloup, Chantelouve, Canteleu and Canteleux.
To the north of the village there is a cast-iron single-span bridge — the Cantlop Bridge — now generally accepted to have been designed by Thomas Telford, who was the County Surveyor of Shropshire. [5] The bridge crosses the Cound Brook and was built in 1818. Today it no longer takes road traffic, as a modern bridge exists adjacent to it, but is open to pedestrians.
The bridge carried the 1797 turnpike road from Shrewsbury to Acton Burnell, which continued through Cantlop itself. A late 18th-century milestone exists just to the north of Cantlop Cross (the crossroad junction at Cantlop) which marks 5.0 miles (8.0 km) from (the centre of) Shrewsbury (written on the milestone as "Salop"); it is now Grade II listed. [6]
On 1 August 2014, on BBC Radio Shropshire, it was confirmed by Andy Stegall from Ordnance Survey that Cantlop is the geographic centre of the ceremonial county of Shropshire. This is also shown on the Ordnance Survey's mapping of the ceremonial counties, where the name of Shropshire is centred immediately to the southwest of Cantlop Cross. [7]
The River Severn, at 220 miles (354 km) long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of 107 m3/s (3,800 cu ft/s) at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in the Cambrian Mountains in mid Wales, at an altitude of 2,001 feet (610 m), on the Plynlimon massif, which lies close to the Ceredigion/Powys border near Llanidloes. The river then flows through Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. The county towns of Shrewsbury, Worcester and Gloucester lie on its course.
Shropshire 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 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 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 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.
Donnington is an area / housing estate located in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. The population of Donnington Ward was 6,883 at the 2011 census.
The name Rea Brook can refer to either of two brooks in Shropshire, England.
Cressage is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is located 4 miles (6.4 km) north-west of the nearest town Much Wenlock and 8 miles (12.9 km) south-east of Shrewsbury. It lies the junction of the A458 and B4380 roads; the River Severn flows around its northern boundary. The parish council is combined with the neighbouring parish of Sheinton. The village's population at the 2021 United Kingdom census was 730.
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.
The English county of Shropshire has a fairly large railway network, with 19 National Rail stations on various national lines; there are also a small number of heritage and freight lines, including the famous heritage Severn Valley Railway running along its eastern border with Worcestershire.
The River Perry is a river in Shropshire, England. It rises near Oswestry and flows south to meet the River Severn above Shrewsbury. Along its 24 miles (39 km) length, its level drops by some 320 feet (95 m). The channel has been heavily engineered, both to enable water mills to be powered by it, and to improve the drainage of the surrounding land. There were at least seven corn mills in the 1880s, and the last one remained operational until 1966. The middle section of the river crosses Baggy Moor, where major improvements were made in 1777 to drain the moor. The scheme was one of the largest to enclose and improve land in North Shropshire, and the quality of the reclaimed land justified the high cost. A section of the river bed was lowered in the 1980s, to continue the process.
Cosford is a village in Shropshire, England. It is located on the A41 road, which is itself just south of junction 3 on the M54 motorway. The village is very small and is mostly made up of dwellings that house Royal Air Force personnel who work at the adjacent RAF Cosford.
The A4117 is a single-carriageway 'A road' in western England, largely in Shropshire, which passes through part of the Wyre Forest and Clee Hills.
Betton Strange is a hamlet in the English county of Shropshire. It is only 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Shrewsbury town centre, situated in countryside just beyond the Shrewsbury bypass and near the A458.
Cound is a village and civil parish on the west bank of the River Severn in the English county of Shropshire, about 7 miles south east of the county town Shrewsbury. Once a busy and industrious river port Cound has now reverted to a quiet rural community and dormitory village, for commuters to the commercial centres of Shrewsbury and Telford.
Cantlop Bridge is a single span cast-iron road bridge over the Cound Brook, located to the north of Cantlop in the parish of Berrington, Shropshire. It was constructed in 1818 to a design possibly by Thomas Telford, having at least been approved by him, and replaced an unsuccessful cast iron coach bridge constructed in 1812. The design of the bridge was innovative for the period, using a light-weight design of cast-iron lattice ribs to support the road deck in a single span, and appears to be a scaled-down version of a Thomas Telford bridge at Meole Brace, Shropshire. The bridge is the only surviving Telford-approved cast-iron bridge in Shropshire, and is a Grade II* listed building and scheduled monument. It originally carried the turnpike road from Shrewsbury to Acton Burnell.
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.
Ledwyche Brook is a minor river in south Shropshire, England. It is sometimes referred to as the River Ledwyche and spelled variously, including "Ledwich" or "Ledwych". The brook is a tributary of the River Teme.
Trawden Brook is a minor river in Lancashire, England. It is 3.48 miles (5.6 km) long and has a catchment area of 4.40 square miles (11.4 km2).
Walverden Water is a minor river in Lancashire, England. It is approximately 2.6 miles (4.2 km) long and has a catchment area of 5.04 square miles (1,304.23 ha).
Media related to Cantlop at Wikimedia Commons