Stanton upon Hine Heath is a village and

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

in Shropshire, England. The River Roden flows through the village. Author

Mary Webb Mary Gladys Webb (25 March 1881 – 8 October 1927) was an English Romance (literary fiction), romance novelist and poet of the early 20th century, whose work is set chiefly in the Shropshire countryside and among Shropshire characters and ...

(1881–1927) lived with her parents in Stanton from 1896 to 1902, at house then called The Woodlands, later called Harcourt Manor. Another author, Barbara Comyns Carr (1907–1992), died in the village and is buried in the graveyard of the village church, St. Andrew's. Nearby is the village of

Moreton Corbet Moreton Corbet is a village in the civil parish of Moreton Corbet and Lee Brockhurst in Shropshire, England. The village's toponym refers to the Corbet baronets, the local landowners. It is just north of the larger village of Shawbury near Sta ...

. Running through the parish is the A53, between

Shawbury Shawbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Shropshire. The village is northeast of the town of Shrewsbury, northwest of Telford and northwest of London. The village straddles the A53 between Shrewsbury and Market Drayt ...

and

Hodnet Hodnet is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The town of Market Drayton lies 5.7 miles (9.2 km) north-east of the village. History Evidence of a Bronze Age burial site was discovered during construction of the bypass in ...

History

Moreton Corbet Castle

The first castle built at Moreton Corbet was not built from stone, but was most likely to have been a timber building. It was around 1200, that the Castle became a stone structure. The Castle was an impressive build; it consisted of a gatehouse, a keep, high curtain walls surrounding it and unlike most other castle's, was rough triangular in shape. In 1086, at the time of the

Domesday Survey 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 ...

, Moreton Castle, and twelve other manors, were held by Thorold of Verley from

Roger of Montgomery Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomerie, and was probably ...

. Both of his tenants, Hunning and Wulfgeat of Saxon descent, had been allowed to keep their estates as they were pre-Conquest tenants also. However, in 1086, the manor was passed to one of Hunning's Saxon contemporaries, known as Toret. Toret's son, Bartholomew Toret, fell out with the then English monarch, King John, and was thrown into jail. The Castle was passed onto the Norman Richard Corbet of

Wattlesborough Wattlesborough Tower is a ruined fortified 13th-century manor house or Tower House in Shropshire. It is situated close to the boundary with Powys in Wales. Wattlesborough is a former township within the present parish of Alberbury. The castle i ...

, when his daughter married him in 1239.

The Corbets

After the marriage between Toret's heiress and Richard Corbet, Moreton Corbet Castle became their home during the 12th century. On 5 August 1100, a grant of 'Hortuna' was made by the Corbet family to William 'Macro' and his heirs, requiring them to provide military protection for the parish of Stanton Upon Hine Heath for a duration of close to 35 years. The land was sold in the 13th century by Thomas Corbet to John son of John Extraneo and the commune of Shrewsbury after which the land was leased or granted to various parties in the township.

RAF Shawbury

Approximately one mile to the South West of Stanton upon Hine Heath is

RAF Shawbury Royal Air Force Shawbury, otherwise known as RAF Shawbury, is a Royal Air Force station near the village of Shawbury in Shropshire in the West Midlands of England. History The First World War The station at Shawbury was first used for military ...

, which dates back to 1917. Between the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second World War 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 ...

, the area was transformed to agricultural land; however, at the outbreak of the Second World War, it had to be converted back to an airfield for military reasons. RAF Shawbury was named Number 11 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit, responsible for training pilots both from the UK and Allied territories. The base now serves as a training centre for RAF air traffic controllers.

Industry

1881 was straight after the Industrial Revolution, when advances in agricultural, textile and metal manufacturing, transportation, economic policies and social changes took place in England. However, during this period, not a huge amount of industrial change took place in this small rural parish, which was bypassed by the rising railways. The majority of the male population (145) were still working in agriculture. However, surprisingly, the majority of women (3914) were working in domestic and office work. These industrial changes took such a long time to be implemented because it was a rural parish and did not have the resources to support such heavy machinery and huge factories.

St Andrew's Church

St Andrew, Stanton Upon Hine Heath - 1786535

The local grade I listed church of Stanton upon Hine Heath, St Andrew's, is set in a quiet location in the south-western corner of the village. The church is grouped with neighbouring churches of Shawbury and Moreton Corbet; construction on all three buildings commenced in the 12th century. Inside the church are two framed Rolls of Honour to parishioners who served in the respective World Wars. The First's, which lists 68 men and indicates those who died or became prisoners of war, bears charcoal drawings of a soldier, and a man and a girl either side of the list of names; the Second's has small paintings of tanks and bomber planes in action, ruined houses, a camp of tents, and crosses with wreaths placed beside them. The parish's war memorial is in form of the wooden

lych gate A lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, lyke-gate or as two separate words lych gate, (from Old English ''lic'', corpse), also ''wych gate'', is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style ch ...

, built on sandstone base, within which are tablets listing four local men (out of 64 stated to have served) who died serving in

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 ...

and two in

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 ...

. Author Barbara Comyns Carr (1907–1992), who died in the village, is buried in the graveyard, which also contains a

war grave A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

of a soldier of World War I.

High Hatton Hall

High Hatton Hall is a small red brick country house built in 1762 with three storeys and a pyramidal roof. It is a Grade II* listed building. An elephant and castle symbol on the rainwater heads and initials on the datestone suggest that this house was built for a member of the Corbet family, probably by

Thomas Farnolls Pritchard Thomas Farnolls Pritchard (also known as Farnolls Pritchard; baptised 11 May 1723 – died 23 December 1777) was an English architect and interior decorator who is best remembered for his design of the first cast-iron bridge in the world. Biogra ...

Population

Trends and changes

Population of the parish was highest for the 1831 census with 722 residents, however, the population slowly started to shrink to a current estimated population of 529 in recent decades. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the population of the parish increased dramatically from 599 people to a population of 722 (127 households) in 1831. This was an increase of 20% in the population in 30 years. However, after this date, the population did not carry on increase, but started to decrease in size. By the middle of the 20th century, the population was lower than in 1801, standing at 563 (159 households) in 1961; nearly a 25% decrease in the population.

Local Joint Committee

The Local Joint Committees (LJCs) enable people in each parish in Shropshire to get involved with the decision making of the Shropshire Council. In total, there are 28 Local Joint Committees, with Stanton Upon Hine Heath being in LJC 03, along with Loppington, Myddle and Broughton, Clive, Grinshill, Hadnall, Moreton Corbet and Lee Brockhurst, Shawbury, Wem Town, Wem Rural, Whixall and Weston under Redcastle. Each Parish has a representative who, along with the Shropshire Councillors, attends the Shropshire Council four times a year, giving the locals a chance to meet with their councillors and raise issues of concern about services or problems within their committees.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanton Upon Hine Heath Villages in Shropshire Civil parishes in Shropshire