Smethcott (sometimes Smethcote) is a

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 ...

and dispersed

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 ...

near the village of Picklescott, 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. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 254. The name Smethcott has an

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

origin, and means "cottage(s) of the smiths".Gelling & Foxall, ''The place-names of Shropshire: Part 2, The hundreds of Ford and Condover'', English Place-Name Society, 1995, p.181 It was listed as a manor in

Domesday 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 ...

, where (spelt "Smerecote") it is recorded as having been held by Eldred, the tenant of its former owner Edmund, who now himself held it from a member of the Anglo-Norman nobility. Eyton, R. W. ''Antiquities of Shropshire'', v 5, J. R. Smith, 1857, p.250 A 13th century

motte-and-bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

castle existed at Smethcott, of which now only the earthworks remain in a field near the church. The motte hill rises to an altitude of . The church, which is dedicated to

St Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

and All Angels, was largely rebuilt in 1850 though retains some

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

features. The parish's war memorial, a stone cross, is in the churchyard and there is also a Roll of Honour inside the church. The village school closed in 1964 and today the nearest services (pubs, shops, etc.) are found in Picklescott and

Leebotwood Leebotwood ( ) is a small village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is about south of Shrewsbury and north of Church Stretton. Geography The village is located on the A49 road, north of Church Stretton and south of the village of D ...

.Raven, Michael (2005) ''A Guide to Shropshire'' (Third Edition) page 184 The rural parish is situated in the northern foothills of the

Long Mynd , photo = , photo_alt = , photo_caption = View down Townbrook Valley toward Burway Hill , country_type = , country = England , subdivision1_type = County , subdivision1 = Shropshire , border ...

and includes Picklescott and the hamlet of Betchcott. The nearest town 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.

. To the south is the village and parish of

Woolstaston Woolstaston is a small village and civil parish in Shropshire, England, south of Shrewsbury and north of the nearest town, Church Stretton. It is located in the northern foothills of the Long Mynd and is situated near Leebotwood, Smethcott ...

, with the Betchcott Brook forming the parish boundary.

References

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

See also

References