Weston Rhyn is a large 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 authorit ...

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 ...

, England. It lies between the towns of Chirk, in Wales, and Oswestry, in England. The civil parish, which also includes Bronygarth, Pentre-Newydd and a number of small hamlets, had a total population of 2,668 at the 2001 census,Weston Rhyn CP
ONS rising to 2,850 at the 2011 Census.

History

In 1086 Weston Rhyn was recorded as ''Westune'' 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 manus ...

. Listed as a small settlement, it was within the hundred of Merset and the county of

. ''Tun'' or ''ton'' means a settlement or hamlet, the origin of the name 'Rhyn' appears to start from the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

names for Rome and Roman (as a person), ''Rhufain'' and ''Rhufon'', leading to ''Rhun'' or/and ''Rhyn' as "the proper name of a man" and ''Rhyon'' as a soldier. Originally the townships of Weston Rhyn and Bronygarth were in the Parish of St. Martins. In 1870 they were formed into a separate ecclesiastical district known as “the Lodge” (the inn still bears its name), and then in 1898 into the civil parish of Weston Rhyn.

Transport, facilities

The village is on the Shrewsbury to Chester railway line, but has no station. Its former station of Preesgweene (later known as ) closed in 1960. The nearest stations today are Chirk and

Gobowen Gobowen is a village in Shropshire, England, about 3 miles north of Oswestry. The population according to the 2011 census was 3,270. History The village was previously called ''Bryn-y-Castell'' ("Hill of the Castle" in English) after the House ...

. Train services are provided by Transport for Wales. The village lies to the west of the A5 trunk road. It is surrounded by beautiful countryside, the Welsh hills and

Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke ( cy, Clawdd Offa) is a large linear earthwork that roughly follows the border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa, the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from AD 757 until 796, who is traditionally believed to ha ...

to the west, and the

River Ceiriog The River Ceiriog ( cy, Afon Ceiriog) is an long river in north east Wales, whose name may derive from a term meaning "favoured one". It is a tributary of the River Dee. It rises at an altitude of around on the south east slopes of Moel Ffern ...

to the north. Originally a mining village, the pits have long since closed. Despite this, the village has in recent years expanded, with people working locally or commuting as far as Chester, Shrewsbury,

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. Weston Rhyn has two churches (Quinta Independent Evangelical Church and St John's

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 Britai ...

), two pubs, Chinese takeaway/chip shop, village hall, primary school, Sunday School and general store. Close to Weston Rhyn is the Quinta Christian Centre, a conference centre and home to the missionary organisation

Operation Mobilisation Operation Mobilisation is a Christian missionary organisation founded by George Verwer to mobilise young people to live and share the Gospel of Jesus. OM, (Operation Mobilisation) , started in Mexico and had spread to Europe and India by 1963. OM ...

Notable Persons

Allan Heywood Bright Allan Heywood Bright (24 May 1862 – 3 August 1941) was a British Liberal politician. Early life He was the son of Henry Arthur Bright JP of Ashfield, Knotty Ash, Liverpool and his wife Mary Elizabeth née Thompson of nearby Thingwall Hall. Fo ...

(1862-1941),

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician, lived at Weston Rhyn when he served as M.P. for Oswestry 1904-1906 *Dr Frederick William Price FRSE (1873-1957) cardiologist and medical author, born at Weston Rhyn *

Glyn James Edward Glyn James (born 17 December 1941) is a Welsh former professional footballer. He played as a defender. He spent his entire professional career with Blackpool. James also represented Wales on nine occasions. Early life James became a ...

(1941- ) professional footballer, played for Blackpool and as a Wales international, grew up in Weston Rhyn.

Sport

Chirk Town F.C. are based in Weston Rhyn.

References

Sources

* G. G. Lerry, "Collieries of Denbighshire", 1968 * C. Neville Hurdsman, "A History of the Parishes of St. Martin's & Weston Rhyn" 2003

External links

* *Weston Rhyn is part of the Community Online forum http://www.community-online.co.uk {{authority control Villages in Shropshire Civil parishes in Shropshire