| Much Wenlock Guildhall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Much Wenlock, Shropshire |
| Coordinates | 52°35′46″N2°33′26″W / 52.59603°N 2.55719°W |
| Built | 1557 |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Designated | 24 October 1950 |
| Reference no. | 1053794 |
  Location of Much Wenlock Guildhall in Shropshire | |
The Much Wenlock Guildhall is a guildhall located on Wilmore Street in Much Wenlock, Shropshire. It is a Grade II* listed building. [1]
In the aftermath of the dissolution of the monasteries, which saw the powers of Wenlock Priory suppressed, civic leaders sought a new meeting place to conduct the business of the town. [2] The new half-timbered building which they commissioned was completed in two phases, the south end (the court room) in 1540 and the north end (the council chamber) in 1557. [2]
The design for the main frontage on Wilmore Street featured three large gables. [2] On the ground floor, at the north end there was initially a prison (it was dismantled in 1869), in the central section there was arcading to allow markets to he held [3] and at the southern end there was a passageway for carriages to pass through. [1] At first floor level, the design involved tall mullion windows below each of the three gables. [1] A new cupola was erected on the roof in 1720. [2]
Internally, the principal rooms are the courtroom and the council chamber, both on the first floor. [2] The courtroom was the venue for the Quarter sessions where the more serious offences were considered, and also the venue for the Petty sessions where more trivial offences were considered. [2] The Royal Coat of Arms, which is that of Queen Elizabeth I, was erected in the courtroom in 1589. [4] An "inner room" for the storage of court records was created in 1616. [2] The last quarter sessions were held in the courtroom in 1951 and the last petty sessions, by then known as magistrates' courts, were held there in 1985. [2]
The council chamber was the meeting place of the municipal borough of Much Wenlock which was incorporated under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835; it was fitted out with ornate Jacobean style panelling which had been retrieved from a local country house and installed at the expense of the educationalist, William Penny Brookes in 1848. [2] [lower-alpha 1] The council chamber ceased to be the local seat of government when Much Wenlock was absorbed into the Bridgnorth Rural District in 1966. [8] [9] However, it still remains the meeting place of the local town council. [10] The chamber contains a memorial board topped by a clock in memory of 16 Allied airmen - British, Canadian and American - who were killed in aircraft crashes in the territory of Wenlock Borough during the Second World War. [11]
The principal rooms are open to visitors free of charge for entrance from April to October. [12] The stocks and the whipping post can both be seen on the ground floor. [2]
Wellington is a constituent market town of Telford and a civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. It is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Telford town centre and 12 miles (19 km) east of Shrewsbury. The summit of The Wrekin lies 3 miles southwest of the town. The population of the town was 25,554 in 2011.
Much Wenlock is a market town and parish in Shropshire, England, situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge and Telford. The civil parish includes the villages of Homer, Wyke, Atterley, Stretton Westwood and Bourton. The population of the civil parish, according to the 2001 census, was 2,605, increasing to 2,877 at the 2011 Census.
The Wenlock Olympian Games, dating from 1850, are a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games. They are organised by the Wenlock Olympian Society (WOS), and are held each year at venues across Shropshire, England, centred on the market town of Much Wenlock. One of the two mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympics was named Wenlock in honour of the Wenlock Olympian Games.
Cecil Theodore Weld-Forester, 5th Baron Forester, was a British peer and Conservative Member of Parliament, styled The Honourable from 1886 to 1894.
William Penny Brookes was an English surgeon, magistrate, botanist, and educationalist especially known for founding the Wenlock Olympian Games, inspiring the modern Olympic Games, and for his promotion of physical education and personal betterment.
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William Brookes School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Much Wenlock in the English county of Shropshire. The school is named after William Penny Brookes, a surgeon, magistrate, botanist, and educationalist from Much Wenlock especially known for inspiring the modern Olympic Games with the Wenlock Olympian Games. The school serves a community of small villages as well as the larger town of Broseley.
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Holy Trinity Church in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England. Located on Wilmore Street and dating to the early 12th century, it is now a Grade I listed building.
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