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Oakengates | |
---|---|
Town and civil parish | |
From the top clockwise: Oakengates Market Street, Old Town Hall, Oxford Street, Telford Theatre and Holy Trinity Church | |
Location within Shropshire | |
Population | 8,517 |
OS grid reference | SJ696109 |
Civil parish |
|
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Areas of the town | List
|
Post town | TELFORD |
Postcode district | TF2 |
Dialling code | 01952 |
Police | West Mercia |
Fire | Shropshire |
Ambulance | West Midlands |
UK Parliament | |
Website | Official website |
Oakengates is a historic market town and civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. The town's parish population was recorded as 8,517 in the 2001 census. [1]
The name is not derived from "oak" or "gates" but is derived from the Ancient Brythonic name for the valley which was Usc-con, meaning The Lake (Usc (water)) and the confluence (Cond) of two streams (see Cartlidge), and from the Old Norse gata, path; see gh- in Indo-European roots. meaning boundary or Road. So Usc-con gait is at the Road at the vale of Usc-con. The Vales and Gates of Usc-Con: A history of Oakengates was written by local historian Reverend J.E.G. Cartlidge whose name is commemorated in the name of the retirement home Cartlidge House.
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In the late 18th century the Ketley Canal was constructed to carry coal and ironstone from Oakengates to Ketley works. [2] The canal has long since fallen into disuse and little trace of it can be found today. The first boat lift in Britain was an experimental one built at Oakengates in 1794 by Robert Weldon of Lichfield. A full-scale version was to be built on the Somerset Coal Canal at Rowley Bottom near Combe Hay, but the lift jammed and failed while being demonstrated and the construction was abandoned.
The Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton railway line runs through the town and there is a station and a tunnel (Oakengates Tunnel).
Oakengates was also served by the Coalport Branch Line and had a second station called Oakengates Market Street railway station which closed in 1952. It is now Station Hill with only the goods shed still standing.
Shadrach Fox ran the Wombridge Iron Works in Oakengates and with Abraham Darby was involved in experiments on methods of producing pig iron in a blast furnace fuelled by coke rather than charcoal. In the field of ferrous metallurgy this was a major step forward in the production of iron as a raw material for the Industrial Revolution. In 1701 he placed his brother in charge of the blast furnace, at Wombridge to which Isaac Hawkins supplied a large quantity of coal and ironstone, which suggests that they already smelted iron with coke there - a major technological breakthrough which is now solely commemorated at nearby Coalbrookdale.
The town had a considerable manufacturing sector well into the 20th century and one of the products of this can still be seen at the Museum of Power in Langford, Essex. This has, still in working order, what is believed to be the last steam engine built and installed by the Lilleshall Company Ltd. It was commissioned on 13 January 1931.
The present Church of England parish church of Holy Trinity was built in 1854, when a separate ecclesiastical parish had been created from parts of the older parishes of Wombridge and Shifnal. [3]
Oakengates has Telford Theatre, which was originally opened in 1968 as Oakengates' Town Hall by champion jockey Sir Gordon Richards, after whose Derby-winning horse is named one of its rooms, the Pinza Suite. [4] Nearby are the town council's headquarters and the United Reformed/Methodist church.
Oakengates' main public open space is Hartshill Park, originally created as the Oakengates Sports and Recreation Ground. by levelling a coal mine spoil heap. Opened in 1927, it remains a valuable facility including bowling green and tennis courts. In 1928 the present park gates were unveiled as a war memorial to local men who died serving in World War I whose names are listed on the gate piers, the World War II casualties being listed on outlying pillars. [5]
Central Park business park is sited on part of the former Priorslee Furnace Works and Eagle Iron Works. [6] The business park includes office space, retail outlets, a nursery and a cafe. [7]
From the 2023 local elections, Oakengates civil parish consists of four wards named Oakengates and Wombridge, Hollyhurst, Middlepool, and North. [8]
Before the formation of the District of The Wrekin (Telford) and later the Borough of Telford and The Wrekin, the Urban District of Oakengates comprised Oakengates, Wrockwardine Wood, St. George's, Priorslee, Snedshill, The Nabb, Wombridge and Trench, and always had a Labour council.
Oakengates Athletic F.C., which in 2018 merged into Wellington Amateurs, played in the Shropshire County Premier Football League. [9]
Telford is a town in the Telford and Wrekin borough in Shropshire, England. The wider borough covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding towns and villages. The town is close to the county's eastern boundary, and near the River Severn. The notable hill near the town called The Wrekin is part of the Shropshire Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. To the south of the town is the Ironbridge Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Places around the Ironbridge Gorge area, which were developed into the town itself, are internationally recognised as being "The Birthplace of Industry" being to a large extent constructed during the Industrial Revolution on the Shropshire Coalfield. The town is the main administrative centre for Telford and Wrekin Council.
Telford and Wrekin is a borough and unitary authority in Shropshire, England. In 1974, a non-metropolitan district of Shropshire was created called the Wrekin, named after a prominent hill to the west of Telford. In 1998, the district became a unitary authority and was renamed "Telford and Wrekin", which remains part of the Shropshire ceremonial county and shares institutions such as the Fire and Rescue Service and Community Health with the rest the county.
Telford is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Shaun Davies of the Labour Party.
The Wrekin is a constituency in the House of Commons of the British Parliament, located in the county of Shropshire in the West Midlands of England. It has existed continuously since its creation by the Representation of the People Act 1918, and is named after a prominent landmark hill in the area, The Wrekin. It has been represented by the Labour and Conservative parties since the 1920s, a post held since 2005 by Conservative MP Mark Pritchard.
Madeley is a historic market town and civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. The parish had a population of 18,774 at the 2021 census.
Ketley is a large village and civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin of Shropshire, England. It is located between the outlying towns of Oakengates, Telford and Wellington.
St George's and Priorslee is a civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. The parish had a population of 11,033 at the 2011 census, and has an area of 2.05 sq mi (5.30 km2).
The Ketley Canal was a tub boat canal that ran for about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Oakengates to Ketley works in Shropshire, England. The canal was built about 1788 and featured the first inclined plane in Britain. The main cargo of the canal was coal and ironstone. The inclined ceased to be used in 1816, when Ketley Works was closed, but the upper canal was not finally abandoned until the 1880s. A few traces of the canal are still visible in the landscape.
Wrockwardine Wood is a village in the Telford and Wrekin borough in Shropshire, England and is bordered by Donnington, St Georges, Trench, The Nabb and Oakengates. The local government parish of Wrockwardine Wood and Trench comprises most of the Church of England parish of Wrockwardine Wood. In the eighteenth century industrial revolution Wrockwardine Wood was inhabited by coal and iron mine workers and their families. So many people had become Primitive Methodists that the Church of England set up a new parish in 1833 and built a very attractive red brick church, which is grade II listed.
The Shropshire Canal was a tub boat canal built to supply coal, ore and limestone to the industrial region of east Shropshire, England, that adjoined the River Severn at Coalbrookdale. It ran from a junction with the Donnington Wood Canal ascending the 316 yard long Wrockwardine Wood inclined plane to its summit level, it made a junction with the older Ketley Canal and at Southall Bank the Coalbrookdale (Horsehay) branch went to Brierly Hill above Coalbrookdale; the main line descended via the 600 yard long Windmill Incline and the 350 yard long Hay Inclined Plane to Coalport on the River Severn. The short section of the Shropshire Canal from the base of the Hay Inclined Plane to its junction with the River Severn is sometimes referred to as the Coalport Canal.
Priorslee is a large village in the Telford and Wrekin borough in Shropshire, England. It forms part of the St George's and Priorslee civil parish alongside Central Park, Redhill, Snedshill and St George's.
St George's is a large village in the Telford and Wrekin borough in Shropshire, England. It forms part of the St George's and Priorslee civil parish alongside Central Park, Priorslee, Redhill, Snedshill and St George's West.
The 2015 Telford and Wrekin Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of the Telford and Wrekin Council in England. It was held on the same day as other local elections and the UK General Election 2015.
Ketley Ironworks was an ironworks in Ketley, in Shropshire, England. Established in 1756, it was one of the largest ironworks in Britain during its ownership by William Reynolds and his brother Joseph.
Beveley is a former hamlet straddling the boundaries of Ketley and Oakengates in the Telford and Wrekin borough in Shropshire, England. It is located to the northeast of Ketley and close to Hadley Manor and Red Lake. Nearby places include the towns of Oakengates, Telford and Wellington. and the villages and areas of Hadley and Wombridge. The area is predominantly residential and close to the Wolverhampton–Shrewsbury line and woodlands. Part of the former Roman road Watling Street passes through the centre of Beveley, although this is now mostly bypassed by the nearby M54 motorway between Wellington and Shrewsbury.
Hollyhurst is an area in the civil parish of Oakengates, in the Telford and Wrekin borough in Shropshire, England. Hollyhurst is also the name of a single-seat electoral ward of Oakengates Town Council. It is bordered by the A442, B4372, New Road and Stafford Road. It lies south of the village of Trench, west of Wrockwardine Wood and north of Wombridge. Nearby towns include Oakengates, Telford and Wellington, as well as the villages and areas of Hadley, Ketley and Donnington. The nearest railway station is Oakengates. Hollyhurst is predominantly residential. An Ordnance Survey Map published in 1903 shows it to have been the site of Wombridge Iron Works and a sand pit.
Redhill is a small rural village in the Telford and Wrekin borough in Shropshire, England. It forms part of the St George's and Priorslee civil parish alongside Central Park, Priorslee, Snedshill and St George's.