Cosford is a 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.
It is located on the
A41 road
The A41 is a trunk road between London and Birkenhead, England. Now in parts replaced by motorways, it passes through or near Watford, Kings Langley, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Bicester, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, New ...
, which is itself just south of junction 3 on the
M54 motorway
The M54 is a east-west motorway in the counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire, England. It is also referred to as the Telford motorway, after the road's primary westbound destination, the town of Telford. It cost £65 million to construc ...
. The village is very small and is mostly made up of dwellings that house
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
personnel who work at the adjacent
RAF Cosford
Royal Air Force Cosford or RAF Cosford (formerly DCAE Cosford) is a Royal Air Force station near to the village of Cosford, Shropshire, England just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton.
It is a training station, home to ...
.
History
''Brewer's Dictionary of Britain & Ireland'' suggests that the name originates from the Old English of ''Cost'', which means ''Excellent'' and
ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading, on horseback, or inside a vehicle getting its wheels wet. A ford may occur naturally or be constructed. Fords may be impassable during high water. ...
. It lies between the town of
Shifnal
Shifnal () is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, about east of Telford, 17 miles (27 km) east of Shrewsbury and 13 miles (20 km) west-northwest of Wolverhampton. It is near the M54 motorway and A5 (road), A5 road ...
and the large village of
Albrighton, in the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of
Donington. It has a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
on the
Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line. At the
2011 Census, Cosford was listed as part of a Shifnal ward.
Cosford Grange and Cosford Mill, the sites of which were both located on Albrighton Brook, are now quite remote from the village of Cosford in terms of access because the expansion of the airfield required land from the formation of Worcester Road (which used to connect the A41 and the
A464 in a north–south direction). Also on the A464, is Cosford Pool, created to help power the mill and Cosford Pumping Station, built by the Wolverhampton Corporation in 1857. The listed buildings of the pumping station are still there and operated by
Severn Trent Water
Severn Trent plc is a water company based in Coventry, England. It supplies 4.6 million households and business across the Midlands and Wales.
It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Severn Trent, the ...
.
Cosford Brook runs from where Ruckley and Neachley Brooks meet just west of RAF Cosford. This is the local name as it remains Ruckley Brook and upon reaching Cosford Bridge on the A464 it becomes the
River Worfe.
The village is dominated by RAF Cosford, which is home to the
Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, a major visitor attraction and heritage centre. The base itself is built on former farmland, with the outdoor athletics arena being on the site of Sydnal Farm's buildings. The village (and RAF Base) is split into two by the A41 road which runs from London to
Birkenhead
Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...
. The A41 has a junction with the
M54 motorway
The M54 is a east-west motorway in the counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire, England. It is also referred to as the Telford motorway, after the road's primary westbound destination, the town of Telford. It cost £65 million to construc ...
just north of Cosford.
Notable people
*
Nicholas Witchell
Nicholas Newton Henshall Witchell OStJ FRGS (born 23 September 1953) is a retired English journalist and news presenter. The latter half of his career was as royal correspondent for BBC News.
Early life and career
Witchell was born on 23 Sept ...
(born 1953 in Cosford) retired journalist, newscaster and Royal correspondent for BBC News.
*
Suzi Perry (born 1970) television presenter, was born in the village.
*
Justin Mortimer (born 1970) contemporary painter.
*
Asa Charlton (born 1977), footballer who has played almost 400 games
See also
*
Listed buildings in Albrighton, Bridgnorth
References
External links
{{authority control
Villages in Shropshire