Marshbrook 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 ...

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 sometimes spelt "Marsh Brook", which is also the name of a small watercourse which flows through the area. Marshbrook Signal Box

It lies on the junction of the A49 and B4370, 3 miles to the south of the market town of

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.

. Three

civil parishes 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. ...

come together in the hamlet: Church Stretton,

Wistanstow Wistanstow is a village and parish in Shropshire, England. Wistanstow is located about south of Church Stretton and north of Ludlow. It is about north of Craven Arms. It is just off the main Shrewsbury- Hereford road, the A49. The large par ...

and

Acton Scott Acton Scott is a village and parish near Church Stretton in Shropshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 104. It lies in the Shropshire Hills area of outstanding natural beauty. The settlement was recorded as ...

. The hamlet lies at 163m

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 ...

at the southern end of the Stretton Gap. A

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

passed through what is now Marshbrook, on its way from

Leintwardine Leintwardine ( ) is a small to mid-size village and civil parish in north Herefordshire, England, close to the border with Shropshire. History Roman A popular misconception is that the Romans called the village ''Branogenium''. Branogenium in f ...

Wroxeter Wroxeter is a village in Shropshire, England, which forms part of the civil parish of Wroxeter and Uppington, beside the River Severn, south-east of Shrewsbury. ''Viroconium Cornoviorum'', the fourth largest city in Roman Britain, was sited ...

. The Welsh Marches Line runs through the hamlet and there was once a small station here. Marshbrook station was constructed in 1852 for the railway company comprising a stationmaster's house, waiting room and ticket office. The station was closed in 1955 and the building was subsequently used as a private house, before it was demolished in 2019. A signal box and level crossing remain. Marshbrook Signal Box is the oldest operational signal box of its type surviving on the national railway network and was built by the

London & North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

in 1872. It was made 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 ...

in 2013, in order to save it from the planned removal of mechanical signalling on the line. There is also a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

in the hamlet, near to the railway line, called ''The Station Inn'' (previously known as the "Wayside Inn"). A small industrial estate/business park exists on land adjacent to the railway and there are roadside businesses at the A49/B4370 junction. In 2010 a camping and outdoor activities centre opened at Marshbrook, with

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

s available for hire.Shropshire Hills Camping
/ref> One mile to the northwest is the hamlet of Minton and one mile to the east is the village of Acton Scott. The hamlets of

Whittingslow Whittingslow is a hamlet in Shropshire, England. It is located in the parish of Wistanstow, just off the B4370 road, between Marshbrook and Cwm Head. The hamlet lies on a hilltop, at 252m above sea level. The lane from the B4370 continues, alon ...

and

Cwm Head Cwm Head is a hamlet in Shropshire, England. The name is part- Welsh, part-English and means "Head of the Valley". It is located in the parish of Wistanstow and on the B4370 road, southwest of Marshbrook and the A49 road. From Cwm Head, the B43 ...

lie to the southwest along the B4370.

Notes

External links

Church Stretton Villages in Shropshire {{Shropshire-geo-stub

See also

Notes

External links