Neen Sollars 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 authority ...

in south east

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 situated close to the border with

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, three miles south of the small

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 ...

Cleobury Mortimer Cleobury Mortimer (, ) is a market town and civil parish in southeast Shropshire, England, which had a population of 3,036 at the 2011 census. It was granted a market charter by Henry III in 1226.''Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum in Turri Londinensi ...

. Other large local centres of population include

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 ...

, situated 12 miles to the west, which has an estimated population of 10,500 and

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it had ...

, located 12.5 miles to the north east in the county of Worcestershire, which has a population of over 55,000.The Parish of Neen Sollars and Milson: All Saints
Cleoburybenefice.org. The

River Rea The River Rea (pronounced "ray") is a small river which passes through Birmingham, England. It is the river on which Birmingham was founded by the Beorma tribe in the 7th century. Since 2012, TA Media had obtained the rights and access to the ...

, which was historically known as the River Neen, flows by the village. The area surrounding Neen Sollars is pretty hilly, with maps showing several hills such as Neens Hill to the south and Birch Hill to the north. It is estimated that Neen Sollars lies between approximately 70–100 metres above sea level. The village of Neen Sollars was formerly known as Neen Baldwin until about the year 1200. The new name came about from the merging of two family names, Baldwin le Poer and De Solers, when Elena and Eustacia Baldwin were married to members of the Sollars family.

Amenities

There is a popular

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 ...

, the ''Live and Let Live'', which serves food and real ale. There is a

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 ...

church located within the village called All Saints. There is also a phone box in the village. There was once a school situated within the village that served the children of Neen Sollars and the neighbouring village Milson. Entering the 20th century the villages were thriving agriculturally and the school had in excess of 60 children. However, when the advancements in farming techniques and technologies displaced many residents, the local populations diminished and the school closed in 1951. The closest primary school serving the village is three miles north in the small town of Cleobury Mortimer. Neen Sollars railway station closed in 1962 and the railway has been lifted. The nearest centre for bus and train services is situated in the town of Ludlow.

History & Families

Neen Sollars has roots dating from the time of the Saxons. Perhaps the earliest recorded mention of Neen Sollars in English literature is 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 ...

in 1086. The first recorded owner of large estates in

, in particular the manor of All Saints located amongst the villages of Neen Sollars and neighbouring Milson, was Siward the Saxon. According to the Domesday Book he appears to have held it from Osbern FitzRichard in the time of 1086. It was Osbern's grandson Osbern fitz Hugh who gave Neen to the Baldwin family. When two of the three Baldwin daughters married members of the De Solars family the village was then formally known as Neen Sollars. The De Solars family also owned land in

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

including Sutton Frene near

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

. In 1327 nineteen inhabitants were assessed for the King's Subsidy, which noted that "nearly all of whom were distinctly well-to-do". One of the men assessed to be the most wealthy, was John Corbet who held Merebrook and Tetneshull (now known as Tetshill).

Agriculture

The village is very much based around agriculture and has been for many centuries. This can be proven by looking at a quote transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland, dating from 1868, that states Neen Sollars as being "wholly agricultural". The geology of the area is also described as being chiefly clay with a gravel subsoil. The farming industry has been a main sector of employment for the residents with the 1801 census showing that over 50% of the village's occupants were employed in agricultural activities. There are still several farms located within the parish of Neen Sollars. Farmland to the south of Neen Sollars - geograph

Farmland to the south of Neen Sollars - geograph

Population Change

The population of the village has never been particularly high but it has fluctuated over the centuries. This is not an uncommon occurrence amongst small villages of this type. Dating from the 1801 census the population was recorded at 197. By the time the 1841 census came around the population had increased to 250. In

John Marius Wilson John Marius Wilson (c. 1805–1885) was a British writer and an editor, most notable for his gazetteers. The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' (published 1870–72), was a substantial topographical dictionary in six volumes. It was a c ...

's ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'', published between 1870–1872, the population was counted as 189. The overall trend has recently been a slow and steady decline in the number of residents living in the village.Neen Sollars
Vision of Britain. The most likely explanation for the decrease in population is the advances in farm technologies. Many jobs were lost when machinery was introduced more widely causing some people to leave in search of work.

References

External links