Bourton is a small village in

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, southwest of

Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in Shropshire, England; it is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the north-east, is the Ironbridge Gorge and Telford. The civil parish incl ...

. It is part of the

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 ...

of Much Wenlock. Holy Trinity Church, the parish church, is of 12th century origin, but was extended in 1844. It is a

Grade II* 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 ...

History

Bourton was recorded 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 ...

as ''Burtune''. At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 the manor of Bourton was held by Wenlock Priory within the

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 ...

of Patton. Early in the 12th century the hundred was merged with Culvestan to form the hundred of

Munslow Munslow is a small village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is situated on the B4368, northeast of the town of Craven Arms, in the River Corve, Corvedale, at around above sea level. The village formed part of and gave its name to t ...

, but in 1198 Bourton was transferred with other manors held by the priory to the hundredal jurisdiction of the

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

of Wenlock (also known as Wenlock Franchise). The principal court of the liberty met at Bourton, and the liberty outside the township of Much Wenlock was known as Bourton hundred by the 1220s. In 1468

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

granted the men of Much Wenlock a charter forming the

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

of Wenlock. Over the years the borough asserted jurisdiction over the liberty of Wenlock, including the hundred of Bourton. From the early 18th century the hundred ceased to meet at Bourton. Bourton was confirmed as part of the borough in 1836, when the borough was reformed as a

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

under the

Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 ( 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The le ...

. The borough was reduced in size in 1889, but continued to include Bourton until it was abolished in 1966. Bourton then became part of Bridgnorth Rural District until 1974, then Bridgnorth District until it was abolished in 2009 and superseded by the unitary

Shropshire Council Shropshire Council, known between 1980 and 2009 as Shropshire County Council and prior to 1980 as Salop County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire (district), Shropshire in t ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Shropshire Much Wenlock

History

See also

References

External links