Leebotwood ( ) 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 ...

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 th ...

, England. It is about south of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

and north of

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.

Geography

The village is located on the

A49 road The A49 is an A road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrin ...

, north of Church Stretton and south of the village of Dorrington. Nearby villages include Longnor (approximately 1½ miles to the north) and

All Stretton All Stretton is a village and a now separate civil parish in Shropshire, England. Much of it is covered by a Conservation Area. Geography All Stretton lies about a mile to the north of the market town of Church Stretton, on the old Shrewsbury ...

which is 2 miles distant, between Leebotwood and Church Stretton. Leebotwood is the only recognisable settlement in the parish. The

Cound Brook Cound Brook (pronounced COOnd) is a tributary of the River Severn in Shropshire, England, running to south of the county town Shrewsbury. The Cound Brook rises in the Stretton Hills and discharges into the River Severn at Eyton on Severn aft ...

passes through the village, flowing north towards Longnor. The parish was part of the borough of

Shrewsbury and Atcham Shrewsbury and Atcham was a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Shropshire, England, between 1974 and 2009. Shrewsbury was the only town in the borough; Atcham, alth ...

, which existed 1973–2009. It continues to be part of the

Parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

and in the area of Shropshire's unitary Council.

Transport

The

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...

railway line runs through the parish. Leebotwood once had its own small

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

that closed in 1958. Today, the nearest station is

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.

. Northbound trains run to

and most continue to destinations such as

Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...

and

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

. Southbound trains run mostly to

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and beyond via the Welsh Marches Line.

History

Leebotwood's parish church (St Mary's) dates from the 12th century and is a plain and simple building in comparison to its many neighbouring churches, including

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.

St Laurence's Church St. Laurence's Church, Saint Lawrence's Church, or ''variations'' on those names or spellings, may refer to: Australia * Christ Church St Laurence, Sydney Austria * Basilica of St. Lawrence, Enns Czech Republic * Church of St. Lawrence, Roman ...

. It is the burial place of the Corbett family of

Longnor Hall Longnor is a village and civil parish off the A49 road, south of Dorrington and north of Leebotwood in Shropshire, England, with a population of 289. The nearest railway station is Church Stretton, 4.7 miles (7.6 km) away. The Cound Brook ...

, the local lords of the manor. A valley between Leebotwood and

Caer Caradoc Caer Caradoc ( cy, Caer Caradog, the fort of Caradog) is a hill in the English county of Shropshire. It overlooks the town of Church Stretton and the village of All Stretton and offers panoramic views to the north towards the Wrekin, east t ...

was important as a thoroughfare dating right back to

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

. The eastern boundary of the village was formed from the ancient route of

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main R ...

which is still visible today. Caer Caradoc to the south of Leebotwood rises to a height of 1506 ft and is said to be one of the last

stronghold A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

s of the native chief "Caradoc" or "

Caractacus Caratacus (Brythonic ''*Caratācos'', Middle Welsh ''Caratawc''; Welsh ''Caradog''; Breton ''Karadeg''; Greek ''Καράτακος''; variants Latin ''Caractacus'', Greek ''Καρτάκης'') was a 1st-century AD British chieftain of the Ca ...

" who held out against the Romans.

Etymology

The whole area was covered in thick forest, called "Botwde" (as the area was recorded in the

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 ...

) or "Bottewode" (as written in 1170)Poulton-Smith, A (2009) ''Shropshire Place Names'' p 80 until later in medieval times. Henry II granted this area to

Augustinian canons Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by ...

with a chapel at Lega - hence the placename of "Lega in Bottewode" (1170) and in modern times "Leebotwood". Nearby, in the parish of Church Stretton, is

Botvyle All Stretton is a village and a now separate civil parish in Shropshire, England. Much of it is covered by a Conservation Area. Geography All Stretton lies about a mile to the north of the market town of Church Stretton, on the old Shrewsb ...

, which also derives its name from the historic forest.

Present day

Local businesses

The village has a

thatched Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

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 Pound'', the ''Copper Kettle''

tea room A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...

, a farm shop and a village hall that offers internet use. There are multiple mixed farms (

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

and

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

) around the village. Leebotwood is home to a large branch of ''

Huws Gray Huws Gray is a British builders merchants chain based in the town of Llangefni, Anglesey, Wales. Huws Gray has over 100 branches located across Wales, England and Scotland and most recently with the acquisition of the Buildbase, PDM Scotland and ...

'', a builders' merchant; it is the largest in

Notable people

Bert Harry Albert Ernest Harry (8 March 1897 – 3 January 1966) was an English footballer who played in The Football League for Crystal Palace. He also played for Kingstonian, Dartford and Shrewsbury Town. Early life Harry, served in the army during Wor ...

(1897–1966), professional footballer, notably for

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...

, was landlord of The Pound public house from 1935 to 1954 and is buried in Leebotwood churchyard.Obituary and report of funeral. * Katherine Plymley (1758–1829), diarist, traveller and naturalist, buried at Leebotwood church. * Max Wenner (1887–1937), textile business, birder, landowner; possibly a British Secret Service agent assassinated by the Gestapo

References

Civil parishes in Shropshire Villages in Shropshire Shrewsbury and Atcham {{Shropshire-geo-stub

Geography

Transport

History

Etymology

Present day

Local businesses

Notable people

See also

References