Child's Ercall ( ) is a 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 authorit ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, England. It is located in a rural area between the small towns of

Market Drayton Market Drayton is a market town and electoral ward in the north of Shropshire, England, close to the Cheshire and Staffordshire borders. It is on the River Tern, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" (c. 1868) and earlier simply as "D ...

and Newport: the civil parish had a total population of 599 at the 2001 census,Child's Ercall CP
Office for National Statistics rising to 732 at the 2011 Census. The closest neighbouring village is

Ollerton Ollerton is a town in the Newark and Sherwood District, Nottinghamshire, England, on the edge of Sherwood Forest in the area known as the Dukeries. It forms part of the civil parish of Ollerton and Boughton. OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: ...

, around 1 mile to the west.

Etymology

The second part of its name, recorded in the forms "Archelou" and "Erkalwe" in the 13th century, has been suggested as derived from a Celtic word, perhaps an old

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

name ''Ercal''.Gelling, M. ''The place-names of Shropshire'', pt.1, English Place-Name Society, 1990, pp.125-6 An Old English root based on the name of a hill, ''ear'' "gravel" plus the adjective ''calu(w)'' "bare", has also been proposed.Owen, Hywel Wyn (1987) "English place-names and Welsh stress-patterns", ''Nomina'', XI, 107 The affix "child" may come from its mediaeval sense, meaning "

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

".Raven, M. ''A Guide to Shropshire'', 2005, p.50 A possible etymology suggested by the toponymist

Margaret Gelling Margaret Joy Gelling, (''née'' Midgley; 29 November 1924 – 24 April 2009) was an English toponymist, known for her extensive studies of English place-names. She served as President of the English Place-Name Society from 1986 to 1998, and ...

, is that Child's Ercall was named as it belonged to a younger member of the Strange family, who owned much of the area in the mediaeval period.''Journal of the English Place-name Society: Eighty First Annual Report'', EPNS, 2004, 69

Church

The village church has a 12th-century doorway, a 13th-century arcade and 14th-century aisle, as well as stained glass by

Charles Eamer Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lich ...

. It contains a brass war memorial plaque to local men who died serving in both World Wars, and another to Staff Sergeant Ronald Beckett who was killed on bomb disposal work in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

in 1973.

Sport

Child's Ercall Football Club is a member of the Mercian Regional League (that covers most of Shropshire) and they play their home games in the village at Jubilee Hall.

Etymology

Church

Sport

Airfield

See also

References

External links