Melverley

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Melverley
Approaching St Peter's, Melverley - geograph.org.uk - 600680.jpg
Approaching St Peter's Church, Melverley
Shropshire UK location map.svg
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Melverley
Melverley shown within Shropshire
Population156 (2011)
OS grid reference SJ333165
Civil parish
  • Melverley
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town OSWESTRY
Postcode district SY10
Dialling code 01691
Police West Mercia
Fire Shropshire
Ambulance West Midlands
EU Parliament West Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Shropshire
52°44′31″N2°59′17″W / 52.742°N 2.988°W / 52.742; -2.988 Coordinates: 52°44′31″N2°59′17″W / 52.742°N 2.988°W / 52.742; -2.988

Melverley is a village in Shropshire, England, situated on the River Severn and the River Vyrnwy, near the Powys hills and the border with Wales. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 156. [1] The village, and the large rural area that surrounds it, was years ago famous for flooding from the nearby rivers but since the extensive defences being installed in Shrewsbury and improvements to the flood defences in and around the Melverley area flooding causes no problems for the majority of residents. It is a controlled flood area, meaning that water is allowed to flow across the open fields and held for a few hours until the river levels fall. Melverley Green is a small village to the north of Melverley.

Shropshire County of England

Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands of England, bordering Wales to the west, Cheshire to the north, Staffordshire to the east, and Worcestershire and Herefordshire to the south. Shropshire Council was created in 2009, a unitary authority taking over from the previous county council and five district councils. The borough of Telford and Wrekin has been a separate unitary authority since 1998 but continues to be included in the ceremonial county.

River Severn River in the United Kingdom

The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain at a length of 220 miles (354 km), and the second longest in the British Isles after the River Shannon in Ireland. It rises at an altitude of 2,001 feet (610 m) on Plynlimon, close to the Ceredigion/Powys border near Llanidloes, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales. It then flows through Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, with the county towns of Shrewsbury, Worcester and Gloucester on its banks. With an average discharge of 107 m3/s (3,800 cu ft/s) at Apperley, Gloucestershire, the Severn is by far the greatest river in terms of water flow in England and Wales.

River Vyrnwy river in Wales, United Kingdom

The River Vyrnwy is a river which flows through northern Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England. The name derives from Severn, the river of which it is a tributary.

Contents

St Peter's Church

St. Peter's Church Melverleychurch.jpg
St. Peter's Church

The notable building in Melverley is the black and white timber-framed St Peter's Church which stands on the banks of the River Vyrnwy; it is one of only three such churches to be found in Shropshire and one of 27 in England and the oldest of its kind. The church was rebuilt in 1406 after Owain Glyndŵr burnt it to the ground. The church has a Jacobean pulpit and a chained bible (also known as a "Great Bible"). The stained glass in the chancel window, installed 1925–28, is all by the C & Kempe workshops. [2] One of its lights is a memorial to parish men who died in World War I. It is thought that the design of St Peter's may have inspired the architecture of St Andrew's Episcopalian church in Newcastle, Maine.

Timber framing building technique, construction method using heavy squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers

Timber framing and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. It is commonplace in wooden buildings from the 19th century and earlier. If the structural frame of load-bearing timber is left exposed on the exterior of the building it may be referred to as half-timbered, and in many cases the infill between timbers will be used for decorative effect. The country most known for this kind of architecture is Germany. Timber framed houses are spread all over the country except in the southeast.

Owain Glyndŵr Prince of Wales

Owain Glyndŵr, or Owain Glyn Dŵr, sometimes called Owen Glendower in English, was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales. He instigated a fierce and long-running, yet ultimately unsuccessful war of independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wales.

Jacobean architecture

The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated. At the start of James' reign there was little stylistic break in architecture, as Elizabethan trends continued their development. However his death in 1625 came as a decisive change towards more classical architecture, with Italian influence, was in progress, led by Inigo Jones; the style this began is sometimes called Stuart architecture, or English Baroque.

Melverley and the "Potts Line"

Melverley was situated on the Potts Railway Line designed to link Shrewsbury with the small village of Llanymynech, near Oswestry. Unlike many stops on the line, the station at Melverley had a brick shed for waiting passengers (many stations had wooden facilities and timber platforms). A viaduct was built at Melverley in order for the line to cross the Severn but this crashed into the river in 1902. The viaduct was rebuilt to enable the re-opening of the line on April 13, 1911. It was subsequently declared unsafe on several occasions and was a contributory factor to the demise of the Potts Line.

Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway

The Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Light Railway was a railway running from Shrewsbury, England to Llanymynech, Wales, with a branch to Criggion. The line was taken over by the War Department in 1941, and extensively reconstructed to serve Central Ammunition Depot Nesscliffe. It was finally closed in 1960.

Shrewsbury County Town in England

Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, England. The town is on the River Severn and the 2011 census recorded a town population of 71,715.

Llanymynech village in Britain

Llanymynech is a village straddling the border between Montgomeryshire/Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England, about 9 miles (14 km) north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh for "Church of the Monks". The village is on the banks of the river Vyrnwy, and the Montgomery Canal passes through it.

Today, little evidence of the railway remains at Melverley save for some bricks marking the platform edge. However, a road has been built along the course of part of this branch line to Criggion utilizing the old railway bridge over the Severn and making a convenient connection to the main road at Crew Green. This is a single-track road with passing places but is unusually direct and level compared to other country lanes in the area.

Criggion village in United Kingdom

Criggion is a village in Powys, Wales. Criggion Radio Station was located nearby. A branch of the now defunct Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway terminated at Criggion.

See also

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References

  1. "Civil Parish population 2011" . Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  2. Francis, Peter (2013). Shropshire War Memorials, Sites of Remembrance. YouCaxton. p. 176. ISBN   978-1-909644-11-3.

Further reading

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Melverley at Wikimedia Commons