Edgton 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 ...

in Shropshire, England. It is also an ecclesiastical

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and a chapelry. It lies in a rather remote and very rural area, south of the River Onny. The nearest

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

s are Bishop's Castle, Craven Arms,

Clun Clun ( cy, Colunwy) 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.Combined populations for the two output areas covering the tow ...

and

Church Stretton Church Stretton is a market town in Shropshire, England, south of Shrewsbury and north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671.

, while the larger village of Lydbury North lies a few miles to the west. It is located 4 miles west of Craven Arms and is positioned on the former stagecoach route from London to Bishop's Castle.

The village

The village of Edgton contains 3 farms and approximately 20 dwellings. It has very few services as the school (built in 1872), the shop and the village public house were all closed down. The school is currently used as a pottery. The village is fairly compact as it is centred on the 3 farms and the church. Edgton is home to St Michael’s church which was established in the early 13th century. It was rebuilt in 1985-6 and is now a grade II listed building. Before the church was renovated it had fallen into a state of disrepair. Reverend Jones spent £250 of his own money on the repairs and £50 was contributed from the Ecclesiastical Commission. It is a small and intimate church, containing traditional carved box pews and a recently renovated

chamber organ Carol Williams performing at the United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel.">West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. ...

. Instead of a parish council it has a parish meeting;CPALC
Edgton Parish Meeting - details this is due to the very small population of the parish. Edgton is believed to mean a "settlement on a hill with an edge or brow".

History

Edgton was part of Clun registration district, Clun and Bishops Castle registration district, Lydbury registration sub-district and the Purslow hundred. Edgton used to belong to the ancient monastery of

Wenlock Priory Wenlock Priory, or St Milburga's Priory, is a ruined 12th-century monastery, located in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, at . Roger de Montgomery re-founded the Priory as a Cluniac house between 1079 and 1082, on the site of an earlier 7th-century mon ...

. The Reverend Humphrey Sandford bought Edgton in 1812 for £235, so this is when it became a state parish. At the edge of the village there is the Anglo-Saxon church, which in the past allowed travellers to rest at night without disturbing the residents. There is a road which runs nearby the village at Edgton Cross, which has a 19th-century milestone showing that London is 154 miles away and that Bishop’s Castle is 5 miles away. There are many milestones along this road, which suggests that it was an important access route in the past.

Conservation Area

On 16 December 1993, the central part of Edgton was designated a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

. Edgton is located within the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The area is made up of a large amount of woodland and arable and pasture land. The natural features of the village such as the mature trees, hedges, stone walls and historic boundaries are very important and need to be preserved. The following buildings and landmarks are regarded as monuments in the Edgton Conservation Area: *The Church of St Michael *The Sundial 2m south west of Church of St Michael *The pedestal tomb 6m south west of Church of St Michael *Manor Farmhouse *Church Farmhouse (former malt house) *The Barn 5m south east of church Farmhouse *The Cowhouse 10m south west of Church Farmhouse *The House on the Green (a 1 storey cottage) *Edgton Farmhouse *Villa Farmhouse *Lower House Farmhouse and attached cowhouse Almost all of these places are

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

to help to protect them.

Occupational structure

This pie chart shows the occupational structure of Edgton in 1831. It clearly shows that over half of the population at this time worked as agricultural labourers. 24% of the population worked in retail and handicrafts. 15% of the population worked as farmers and the other 7% worked in labour. There were no Professionals or Capitalists in the parish at this time.

Demographics

This graph shows that in 1801, Edgton had a population of 188. This gradually increased each year until 1831, when the population reached its highest with 232 people. The population then begins to decrease, however, there is an increase in people from 1851 to 1881 from 191 people to 223 people. There is a large decrease in the population between 1891 and 1901. The population drops from 185 to 134, which is a loss of 51 people. From 1911, the population of Edgton continues to decrease until there are only 86 people in 1961. Overall, the population has decreased significantly from 1801 to 1961. This indicates that many people wanted to move away from the rural village.

References

External links

{{authority control Civil parishes in Shropshire Villages in Shropshire