| Clunton | |
|---|---|
 Timber-framed house | |
  Clunton Location within Shropshire | |
| OS grid reference | SO334813 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CRAVEN ARMS |
| Postcode district | SY7 |
| Dialling code | 01588 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Shropshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Clunton is a village in south Shropshire, England, to the east of the small town of Clun.
It lies on the B4368 road between Clun and Craven Arms. It is part of the civil parish of Clunbury. The nearest railway station is Hoptonheath. The village is at 162 m (531 ft) above sea level. SO334813 [1]
The village centres on the B4368, though it branches southwards at Clunton Bridge (which crosses the River Clun). Near the centre is "The Crown" pub and St. Mary's Church. [2]
In 1994 the village public house, The Crown, was threatened with closure. A group of locals clubbed together and bought it, rather than lose it altogether[ citation needed ] . They still own it today. The pub is co-owned by 30 people, mostly locals. It remains a traditional country pub, with a selection of local real ales; The Crown has an entry in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2015. [3]
Nearby to the south of the village is Clunton Coppice, a 23.6 hectares (58 acres) remnant of the oak coppice woodland which was abundant in this part of Shropshire formerly, which is situated on a steep slope and grows over acidic rather infertile soil. This woodland is dominated by sessile oak with birch and hazel scattered among the oaks along with holly and rowan. The herb layer in these woods is typical of this type of woodland with its acid soil and includes wavy hair-grass, creeping soft-grass, greater woodrush, bilberry, ling, hard fern, common cow-wheat and bracken. One notable species, scarce in Shropshire, the oak fern has been recorded here. Also typical of these western woods the mosses Dicranum majus and Rhytidiadelphus loreus are abundant. [4]
In A Shropshire Lad , A. E. Housman used - but did not actually write - the verse: [5]
Clunton and Clunbury,
Clungunford and Clun,
Are the quietest placesUnder the sun.
North of Clunton Coppice there is a hill fort at Bury Ditches at which is reputed for its views and is a reminder that this area has been inhabited for millennia. [6]
Leonard Arthur Bethell (1878-1950) soldier and author, lived at The Warren, Clunton, from 1946 to his death in 1950. [7]
John Osborne (1929–1994) playwright, who wrote Look Back in Anger , lived in Clunton, where he died. [8]
A Shropshire Lad is a collection of sixty-three poems by the English poet Alfred Edward Housman, published in 1896. Selling slowly at first, it then rapidly grew in popularity, particularly among young readers. Composers began setting the poems to music less than ten years after their first appearance, and many parodists have satirised Housman's themes and poetic style.
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.
Craven Arms is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is sited 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 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.
Aston on Clun is a village in south Shropshire, England.
Anchor is a remote hamlet in southwest Shropshire, England. The hamlet is the most westerly place in Shropshire.
Clungunford is a village and civil parish in south Shropshire, England, located near the border with Herefordshire.
Newick is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It is located on the A272 road six miles (9.7 km) east of Haywards Heath.
Chailey is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It is located 7 miles north of Lewes, on the A272 road from Winchester to Canterbury. The Prime Meridian passes just to the east of Chailey.
Irish Hill Copse is a 15.9-hectare (39-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Kintbury in Berkshire.
The National Pub of the Year is an annual competition held by CAMRA, the winner of which is announced in the February of the year following that in which the competition is run, that finds the best pub in the UK. Established in 1988, the competition helps to highlight quality pubs around the UK that are worth seeking out and visiting. Each year, each local CAMRA branch nominates one pub in their area to be entered. These 200 pubs then go through to the regional competition, which then whittles down to 4 pubs to go to the national final.
The Wilderness is a Site of Special Scientific Interest which is located on the Isle of Wight, England. It is close to the village of Rookley in the valley of the River Medina. The Wilderness is an area of wet woodland over a quite deep peat soil with adjacent areas of unimproved acid grassland and wet grassland. The SSSI covers an area of 12.59 hectares, the boundaries being reset in 1984 to exclude an area of grassland which had been artificially improved.
Backstone Bank and Baal Hill Woods is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the County Durham district of Durham, England. It occupies the steep eastern slopes of the valley of Waskerley Beck, alongside and downstream of Tunstall Reservoir, some 3 km north of Wolsingham and is one of the largest expanses of semi-natural woodland in west Durham.
Munslow is a small village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is situated on the B4368, 7 miles (11 km) northeast of the small town of Craven Arms, in the Corvedale, at around 140 metres (460 ft) above sea level.
Dymock Woods is a 53-hectare (130-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1990. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).
St Swithun's Church is in the village of Clunbury, Shropshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Clun Forest, the archdeaconry of Ludlow, and the diocese of Hereford. Its benefice is united with those of St Mary, Bedstone, St Cuthbert, Clungunford, St Mary, Clunton, and St Edward, Hopton Castle. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.
Poles Coppice countryside site is an area of ancient oak woodland with disused quarry workings, located around 0.5 miles (1 km) south of Pontesbury, Shropshire. It is managed by Shropshire Council as a picnic spot and area for walking and recreation activities.
Hockley Woods is a large woodland in south-east Essex. It is a Local Nature Reserve, and parts are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is owned and managed by Rochford District Council.
Glen Nant is a glen lying to the south of Taynuilt in the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. An area of woodland of 339 hectares on the western side of the River Nant is designated as national nature reserve (NNR), which is owned and managed by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS). It is an example of an Atlantic Oakwood, and is one of largest areas of upland oak woodland in north Argyll.
