Worthen is a village 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 approximately 13 miles west of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

. The village forms part of the Worthen with Shelve

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 ...

, which includes the hamlet of Little Worthen immediately to the north-east and the villages of Brockton and Pennerley, in addition to several smaller settlements. It sits in the

Rea Brook The name Rea Brook can refer to either of two brooks in Shropshire, England. One of the brooks, which eventually becomes the River Rea, is in southern Shropshire. It is to the east of Brown Clee Hill. The other, described here, is a minor riv ...

valley. To the south are the

Stiperstones The Stiperstones ( cy, Carneddau Teon) is a distinctive hill in the county of Shropshire, England. The quartzite rock of the ridge formed some 480 million years ago. During the last Ice Age Stiperstones lay on the eastern margin of the Welsh i ...

and the Bromlow Callow, known for the small clump of trees on top. To the north is Long Mountain. The village contains the Church of England parish church, All Saints, a functioning Methodist Chapel, a primary school (now called Long Mountain School) with Eco-School status, a village hall built in 1977 and a post office housed within the local shop. Hampton Hall, a grade II*

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

country house, is nearby.

History

Population

The population of Worthen has fluctuated throughout history since the first

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

was taken in 1801 recording the population at 1,799. A slight decrease followed in 1811 before a steady increase to the peak of the population in 1881 at 3,029. A slight decrease followed this until 1851 when a small increase occurred bringing the population to 1,965. According to the 2001 census the population was 1,929 with a total of 775 households in the parish, the population increasing to 2,078 at the 2011 Census.

Employment

Worthen's population was predominantly characterised by

labourers A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...

as recorded in the 1831 census, which showed a more organised classification of occupation, during this year there were 393 recorded labourers and servants employed in

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

and non-agricultural sectors. A more detailed census was taken in 1881, which showed a greater working population of 437 male workers in

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...

substances and 240 male workers in agriculture.

Mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

was a major employment sector and well known mines included

Snailbeach Snailbeach is a village in Shropshire, England, located near Shrewsbury at . The population details taken at the 2011 census can be found under Worthen. The village was formerly home to a large lead mine. History Early history A village was b ...

, a lead-ore mine, Perkins’ Beach lead mine and additionally grit and gravel mines.

Folklore

A local folktale tells of a family named Reynolds, who were driven out of their farm by two

bogies A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...

who had the appearance of an old man and woman. When they left, the bogies managed to follow them to their new home by hiding inside a

salt cellar A salt cellar (also called a salt, salt-box and a salt pig) is an article of tableware for holding and dispensing salt. In British English, the term is normally used for what in North American English are called salt shakers. Salt cellars can be ...

Notable people

Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford (18 September 1501 – 30 April 1563) was an English nobleman. After the execution for treason in 1521 and posthumous attainder of his father Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, with the forfeiture of al ...

, died at nearby

Caus Castle Caus Castle is a ruin of a hill fort and medieval castle in the civil parish of Westbury in the English county of Shropshire. It is situated up on the eastern foothills of the Long Mountain guarding the route from Shrewsbury, Shropshire to Mon ...

, buried at Worthen church. *

Mary Anne Talbot Mary Anne Talbot also known as John Taylor (2 February 1778 – 4 February 1808) was an Englishwoman who wore male dress and became a soldier and sailor during the French Revolutionary Wars. Life Mary Anne Talbot was born in London at 62 Lincol ...

, female soldier/sailor, lived at Worthen as child, also buried at Worthen. *

Lois Baxter Lois Ann Baxter (born 26 April 1947) is a British actress, known for playing Marie Stanton in ''Coronation Street'' from 1976 to 1977, and Lady Caroline in the period drama '' When the Boat Comes In''. Baxter was born in Bridgwater, Somerset, ...

, actress, brought up at Worthen while father was local doctor.

References

External links

Hope hamlet, Worthen - 1980 news story of nuclear attack preparations
{{authority control Villages in Shropshire