Moreton Say is a small village and sparsely populated

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 ...

in Shropshire, England, near the borders with Cheshire and Staffordshire, just northwest of the town 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 ...

. It is sometimes spelled ''Moreton Saye'' or ''Moreton Sea''. The civil parish, which also covers the hamlets of Longford and Longslow, had a total population of 429 at the 2001 census, increasing to 485 at the 2011 Census. The parish is . There are no shops or services within the village. As a result, the only employment opportunities are at the local primary school, a residential home, and surrounding farms.

Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British ...

, "Clive of India", who is credited with securing India and the wealth that followed for the British crown was born in the parish at Styche Hall and is buried in St Margaret's Church. Every year the village holds a flower and produce show during summer, where villagers and people from the local community can compete in many classes such as best vegetable and fruit, flowers, crafts, and cookery as well as other classes.

Parish Church

St Margaret's Church, dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch, dates back to the 12th century, when it was founded as a chapel of Hodnet, It is a brick structure which was completed in 1788. It comprises a chancel and nave, with a porch to the south and a square steeple tower to the west which contains two bells, which were left to the parishioners by the commissioners of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

in 1553, along with another small bell as well as a silver

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. R ...

and

paten A paten or diskos is a small plate, used during the Mass. It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium. Western usage In many Western liturgical denominations, the p ...

. The interior of the church contains several monuments of the Vernon, Clive and Corser families, one of which is a modern memorial to Robert Clive, who is recorded in the parish register as having been baptised on 2 October 1725, and buried at the church on 30 November 1774, there is also a 17th-century tomb to John Bostock and Jane his wife. Within the Churchyard Extension, next to the road, is the parish war memorial in form of an ornate carved stone cross, with names of dead from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

on the obverse, and those 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 opposing ...

dead on the reverse. Moreton Say parish, which covers an area of nearly 6000 acres, includes the villages of Longford,

Bletchley Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the south-west of Milton Keynes, and is split between the civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley. Bletchley is best know ...

, Styche with Woodlands, and Tern Hill. The parish is in the diocese of

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

which also includes the parishes of Ash,

Adderley Adderley is a village and civil parish in the English county of Shropshire, several kilometres north of Market Drayton. It is known as Eldredelei in the Domesday Book. The Irish statesman Robert le Poer was parish priest of Adderley in 1319. ...

, Ightfield and Calverhall.

Education

;Moreton Say C.E. Controlled Primary School Moreton Say Primary School is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

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 Britai ...

controlled primary school with 90 pupils on roll, separated into four classes of mixed ages of two-year groups in each, and is maintained by

Shropshire Council Shropshire Council is the local authority of Shropshire, in England, comprising the ceremonial county of Shropshire except Telford and Wrekin. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combi ...

. It is located in its original buildings which were completed in 1871, along with an extension built in 2003 to house the Goslings Nursery class, and an extension to the offices in 2006. The School's last inspection by Ofsted identified them as good (Grade 2) in most criteria, meaning ''"These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well".'' ;Secondary School The nearest secondary school to the village is The Grove in

which is away.

Demographics

Population

At the time of the first census in 1801 the population of the village was 683, the population reached its peak of 858 in the year of 1901, ever since it has been declining to 429 in 2001. With the lack of employment in the village itself many people moved to towns and cities, such as

Industry

Generally in the village a majority of the population has been employed in agriculture, at present this is still a sector where a lot of people work in as well as the service sector, although with no shops or businesses in the village around half the working population commutes outside of the village to their place of work.

Transport

By road, the village itself is on an unnamed road, the nearest main road is the A41 which is less than from the centre of the village, and the next closest is the A53, which is the road which connects the village to,

, the nearest town away. There is at present no public transport regularly to or from the village.

Climate

References

External links

Moreton Say Parish Website

Moreton Say
on ''A Vision of Britain Through Time''
Neighbourhood Statistics
on

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for t ...

{{authority control Villages in Shropshire