Peaton is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the

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 ...

of Diddlebury in

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 in the

Corvedale The River Corve is a minor river in Shropshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Teme which it joins in the town of Ludlow, and which joins the River Severn at Powick near Worcester, England, Worcester. The valley it flows through is know ...

, between

Diddlebury Diddlebury is a small village and large civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is situated in the Corvedale on the B4368 road about north east of Craven Arms. The population of the Civil Ward in 2011 was 670. Public buildings St Peter's parish ...

and

Bouldon Bouldon is a hamlet in Shropshire, England. It lies in the civil parish of Diddlebury. The hamlet comprises approximately 14 houses, a number of agricultural buildings and a public house named the "Tally Ho". It is by road northeast of the mar ...

. The Pye Brook flows past the hamlet, with Peaton Bridge taking the Bouldon-Diddlebury lane across it. The hamlet lies at

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. A smaller hamlet called Peatonstrand lies further towards Bouldon at ; it is partly situated in the valley of the Strand Brook and partly along the lane to Bouldon where the Strand has its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

with the larger Pye Brook. The towns of

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 ...

and

Craven Arms Craven Arms is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, on the A49 road and the Welsh Marches railway line, which link it north and south to the larger towns of Shrewsbury and Ludlow respectively. The Heart of Wales railway line ...

are both about distant, by road.

History

Etymology

The name "Peaton" derives from "Peatta's farm".Oliver, Marina (2006) ''Castles and Corvedale''

Buildings

Immediately West of Peaton, 460m on the other side of the Pye Brook, is the site of the large extinct village of Corfham and the remaining foundations of Corfham Castle, a mid-12th century motte and bailey fortress. Corfham and the land that would become Peaton were within the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

Culvestan Culvestan was a hundred of Shropshire, England. Formed during Anglo-Saxon England, it encompassed manors in central southern Shropshire, and was amalgamated during the reign of Henry I (1100 to 1135) with the neighbouring hundred of Patton to for ...

in 1086 according to 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 ...

. Peaton Hall is a Grade II

Listed building 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 ...

dating from the 16th or 17th century. Also Listed are 18th-century garden walls adjacent to the hall and 2 barns approximately 100 metres away. Brook Cottage is a 17th-century house, also Grade II Listed, in the hamlet. At Peatonstrand is New House Farmhouse, a Grade II 17th-century farmhouse. There was a

Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primiti ...

chapel at Peatonstrand from 1873 to 1984. During

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 opposin ...

some farm buildings in Peaton were transformed into a factory, producing fuel tanks for

Stirling bomber The Short Stirling was a British four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It has the distinction of being the first four-engined bomber to be introduced into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). The Stirling was designed during t ...

s. A sentry building was erected at the entrance to the site, still there but derelict. There are 6 weather-boarded houses at Peaton (called "Timber Cottages") and 4 at Peatonstrand, built in the 1950s by the

Church Commissioners The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...

(who bought the Holder Estate in 1942). There are also 4 in Bouldon.

Transport

Bus

The only

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

provided currently in Peaton are buses to Ludlow in the morning, returning in the late afternoon. These services (176 and 715) are provided mainly for travel to and from schools and colleges, and only run on schooldays.Shropshire Council
Peaton bus services

Train

The nearest railway stations are

and

, both roughly 7 miles by road.

References

{{Shropshire Hamlets in Shropshire