Stanton Long is a small village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

situated in the district of

Corve Dale The River Corve is a minor river in Shropshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Teme which it joins in the town of Ludlow, and which joins the River Severn at Powick near Worcester. The valley it flows through is known as the Corvedale ( ...

, Shropshire, England. It is one of three parishes in the local area, including

Easthope Easthope is a small village and small civil parish in Shropshire, England. Wenlock Edge passes through the parish, to the northwest of the village, along which is Easthope Wood. A hamlet with the same name (or spelled Easthopewood) is on the oth ...

and Shipton. In the ''National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868'', it was described as: :''"a parish in the hundred of Munslow, county Salop, 7½ miles S.W. of Much Wenlock, its post town, and 10 W. of Bridgnorth. The village, which is small, is situated on the river Corve, and on the road from Skipton to Holdgate. The inhabitants are agricultural. The parish includes the townships of Brocton and

Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a General (United States), general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, Mediterranean Theater ...

."''

History

Stanton Long population time series 1801-1961

The name Stanton can be interpreted in

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

as a 'Stone farm/settlement', due to the topographic features it resides on. The 'Long' element of the place name refers to the parish's unusually elongated shape. Although the parish boundaries have varied slightly over time, it still preserves its elongated shape to this day. It is restricted by the two nearby parishes of Shipton and

, which causes it to become thin in the middle of the boundary and wider near the north and south borders. The actual settlement of Stanton Long is located in the south and other townships such as Brockton and

are in the north. Historically the placename was also written as "Long Stanton". Stanton Long's history can be traced back to the 13th century according to the 1086

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

entry, where it was under ownership of Roger de Lacy from Earl Roger de Montgomerie. This entry was then categorised under the parish of ''Stantune'' which became separated into two estates; Stanton Long and

Holdgate Holdgate (or Stanton Holdgate or Castle Holdgate) is a small village in Shropshire, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Abdon and Heath. Its name is taken from its Norman lord Helgot who owned the village in 1086 along with 17 other p ...

in the 12th century. Back then it was under the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

and had a total number of just three households consisting of 1

smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...

and 2 slaves. This was considered a very small settlement compared to other Domesday settlements. In the 17th and 18th centuries the village was known as 'Dirty Stanton' due to the area's abundance in clay soil, making the roads muddy. The first census data recorded for the civil parish can be found back in 1801 where it had a total population of 206. This figure grew at a constant rate for the next five decades until 1841 where it reached its peak of 327 inhabitants. Since this period, the population has been slowly declining until the recent census in 2011, where it has been its lowest on record. There are a number of listed buildings in the parish, all of which were put under the Heritage Protection Reform from the 1970s onwards. Some of these buildings include the Malt House, Lower Farm House and St. Michael and All Angels Church.

Present day

Employment status in Stanton Long as of the 2011 UK Census

In 2011 the UK Census showed that Stanton Long had a total population of 310. This census data also shows that the ''Wholesale and Retail'' trade is the most popular industry in the parish, with other industries such as ''Human Health and Social Work Activities'' and ''Agriculture, Forestry and fishing'' also receiving similar figures. Although previously, the 1881 census data showed that the ''Agriculture'' industry was by far the dominant trade, with over 50 males then involved in that area of work, the industry of the parish has almost certainly transformed into the present day. In terms of transport services, the nearest bus route that passes through the parish can be accessed via Brockton. Although, the nearest stop to the main village of Stanton Long would be at the nearby village of Shipton. There are only two services passing through this route with limited activity from Monday to Friday. The local housing is predominantly detached, whole housing or bungalows, which are valued on average at around £240,408 (based on the local outward code).

Geology

The parish is partially located along one of Britain's most important geological sites named

Wenlock Edge Wenlock Edge is a limestone escarpment near Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England and a site of special scientific interest because of its geology. It is over long, running southwest to northeast between Craven Arms and Much Wenlock, and is roughl ...

. The land between

Craven Arms Craven Arms is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, 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 Heart of Wales railway line ...

and

Much Wenlock 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 the new town of Telford. The civil parish includes the villag ...

sits on top of a Silurian limestone ridge, rich in fossil fauna. Fossil species such as corals, brachiopods,

trilobites Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the At ...

and ostracods exist along this 30 kilometre stretch of limestone, which is identified as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

. The edge contains limestone quarries and

limekilns Limekilns is a village in Fife, Scotland. It lies on the shore of the Firth of Forth, around south of Dunfermline. History and economy Unlike the neighbouring village of Charlestown, Limekilns is an old settlement dating back to the 14th cen ...

as well as ancient woodland making it a popular walking destination.

Brockton

Brockton is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

within the parish and a settlement of similar size to that of Stanton Long. The hamlet is divided by the parish boundary between Stanton Long and Shipton, with the school and pub in Stanton Long and the farm in Shipton. It lies approximately 3.5 kilometres from the centre of Stanton Long and contains the local

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

called ''The Feathers at Brockton'' and the local primary school for those in the nearby catchment area. Brockton

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Primary School was a replacement school built in 1971 to take the place of an old Victorian establishment that once stood there. It is situated to the west of the township, parallel to a small stream which requires crossing a bridge to get into the grounds. The 2011 inspection report from

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

shows that the establishment achieved an overall score of 2 (good) and was praised for its knowledgeable staff.

Places of interest

River Corve - downstream of bridge at Brockton - geograph

St. Michael and All Angels is located in the heart of Stanton Long village and is the second parish church to have served the community. Due to the movement of local residents going southwards, Stanton Long provided a more suitable location than Patton thus justifying the construction of a new

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. One of its defining features is the entrance door with iron scrollwork. Its construction dates back to the 13th century. Although major repairs were carried out in 1842 and 1869–70, features such as the

Bell-cote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

, bells,

Vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

, porch and windows require restoration or repair. The church contains a parish war memorial in form of marble tablet to local men who died serving in both World Wars, and a decorated metal plaque to Wallace Jones (killed in action in Palestine in the First War). The churchyard contains the

war graves War is an intense armed conflict between State (polity), states, governments, Society, societies, or paramilitary groups such as Mercenary, mercenaries, Insurgency, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violenc ...

of a

Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...

soldier of World War I and a KSLI soldier of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The

River Corve The River Corve is a minor river in Shropshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Teme which it joins in the town of Ludlow, and which joins the River Severn at Powick near Worcester. The valley it flows through is known as the Corvedale ( ...

is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

within the Teme

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

that reaches typical highs of 2.5 meters and lows of 0.77 meters. The river runs southwards to the east of Brockton and works its way past the nearby village of Shipton to the west of Stanton Long. It then joins the

River Teme The River Teme (pronounced ; cy, Afon Tefeidiad) rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown, and flows southeast roughly forming the border between England and Wales for several miles through Knighton before entering England in the vicinity of B ...

at the town of

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...

approximately 8.5 kilometres to the south.

References

External links

British History Online: Stanton Long
– Victorian County History {{authority control Civil parishes in Shropshire Villages in Shropshire