Astley is a small 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, England. The official 2001 census recorded 454 people living in the parish and 116 in the village itself, falling slightly to 449 at the 2011 Census. The village lies near to (and between) the A53 and A49 roads. Bings Heath is a small hamlet in

, England. It lies on the A53 near to the village of, and in the parish of, Astley, north of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

. Upper Astley is a hamlet on the A53 about half a mile to the south of the village of Astley. There is a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

there - the ''Dog in the Lane''. (now closed permanently)

History

The village was featured 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as a small settlement, with no church, but with a manor, and was called "Hesleie". Back then it was part of the

Baschurch Baschurch is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies in the north of Shropshire. The village had a population of 2,503 as of the 2011 census. Shrewsbury is to the south-east, Oswestry is to the north-west, and Wem is to the n ...

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

. The village of Astley today is scenic and quaint, and consists of a number of old dwellings of

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

interest. For this reason a

Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

covers almost the entirety of the village, including all of the dwellings there. Astley Conservation Area was designated in 1988 and covers and area of 23.5

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s/57

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

s. It is currently being reviewed and the boundaries may soon be altered slightly. The Conservation Area is centred on the church of St Mary's which dates back to the 12th century. During the

medieval era In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

the area was partly administered by nearby

Haughmond Abbey Haughmond Abbey ( ) is a ruined, medieval, Augustinians, Augustinian monastery a few miles from Shrewsbury, England. It was probably founded in the early 12th century and was closely associated with the FitzAlan family, who became Earls of Arund ...

(now a ruin). The oldest existing dwelling is Church House, built in the early 17th century. Church Farmhouse is thought to be 18th century and Firs Farmhouse is dated 1760. There are a number of substantial

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

houses too, with large, landscaped gardens and grounds. The village therefore has a great number of fine mature trees. The most impressive dwelling in Astley today is Astley House, originally a small 18th-century country house set within its own ornamental grounds. The house and its gardens were remodelled in the 19th century and the house grew in stature greatly. The main part of the building is now in the form of a Classical temple, in a Corinthian style. The coach house flanking the main building is also in the style of a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Doric temple with a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

''in antis''. Nearby is a monument to

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

(the famous

prince regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...

of the time) which too is in an ancient

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

/Greek fashion. The grounds of Astley House extend quite some distance and are similarly landscaped to a high order. Astley House, Church House, Church Farmhouse, the Firs Farmhouse and the church of St Mary the Virgin are all

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s. There are a number of other interesting old dwellings and outbuildings in a village that has grown slowly over time (despite development continuing apace nearby, notably in

Battlefield A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troop ...

. The village is effectively by-passed by the A53 and A49 roads, although there were plans in the 1980s to re-route the A53 closer to the village in a wider scheme of road building north of Shrewsbury. Fortunately this did not happen, instead the new A5124 "Battlefield Link Road" was built closer to Shrewsbury in the late 1990s. The parish church of St Mary the Virgin in the village has what could be the county's oldest church

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

, dating back to 1270. In 2012 this bell, now named Mary (after the church's saint), was restored and rehung in the church tower, along with a restored 18th-century bell which is now named Elizabeth (after the late Queen, because it was hung in her Jubilee year). The tower's clock, made by the firm of J.B. Joyce & Co. of

Whitchurch, Shropshire Whitchurch is a market town in the north of Shropshire, England. It lies east of the Wales, Welsh border, 2 miles south of the Cheshire border, north of the county town of Shrewsbury, south of Chester, and east of Wrexham. At the 2021 Unit ...

, was erected by village public subscription to commemorate peace after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Transport

Bus Service

Astley is served by the 64 route, operated by

Arriva Midlands North Arriva Midlands is a bus operator providing services in the East Midlands and West Midlands areas of England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. Arriva Midlands North Operations In September 1981 Midland Red North was formed with 230 bus ...

, which runs between

and

Market Drayton Market Drayton is a market town and civil parish on the banks of the River Tern in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is close to the Cheshire and Staffordshire borders. It is located between the towns of Whitchurch, Shropshire, Wh ...

via

Shawbury Shawbury is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The village is northeast of Shrewsbury and northwest of Telford. The village straddles the A53 between Shrewsbury and Market Drayton. The nearest railway station is at Yorton ...

References

External links

Astley Parish Council
* {{authority control Villages in Shropshire Civil parishes in Shropshire

History

Transport

Bus Service

See also

References

External links