Harley is a 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 ...

in the English county of

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 ...

. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 163.

Location

The village lies at the foot of

Wenlock Edge Wenlock Edge is a limestone escarpment near Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England and a site of special scientific interest because of its geology. It is over long, running southwest to northeast between Craven Arms and Much Wenlock, and is roughly ...

about 9.5 miles to the south-east 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 ...

. The

A458 road The A458 is a route on the UK highway network that runs from Mallwyd, near Machynlleth, in Wales, merging with the A456 Hagley Road and the Quinton Expressway on the outskirts of Birmingham, in England. On the way it passes through Welshpool ...

Shrewsbury to

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the United Kingd ...

road goes around the village on a bypass. The village is about above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

on the southern slope of an extensive bed of sand and gravel, which creates an undulating landscape to the north-east of the parish. Harley Brook runs north-east across the centre of the village. To the south east of the village is the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

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 ...

. Nearby villages include

Kenley Kenley is a suburb within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located south of Charing Cross and within the southern boundary of London, England. Surrounded by the Metropolitan Green Belt on three sides, it includes the large open spaces of K ...

Cressage Cressage is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is located north-west of the nearest town Much Wenlock and south-east of Shrewsbury. It lies the junction of the A458 road, A458 and B4380 roads; the ...

and

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

History

There is evidence of

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

human activity around Harley, as stone implements and a settlement have been found in the area, and the site of a

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...

has also been found nearby. Harley 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 ...

in 1086 as a manor with enough wood for 100 swine, and before 1066 the parish consisted of 4 manors: Harley, Domas, Rowley and Blakeway. St Mary's

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

is first recorded in 1291, the medieval church consisting of a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, north aisle and western tower. The small 13th-century tower was rebuilt in the early 16th century in

Perpendicular style Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...

. This is the only part of the pre-Reformation church remaining, as it was mostly rebuilt in 1845-6 by a local architect Samuel Pountney Smith. Until the 18th century the houses in the village were along the roads to Wigwig and Domas and between the church and the Mill on Harley Brook on the west side of the Wenlock road. The Old Rectory, to the west of the church, may be oldest surviving house, although it has been altered and enlarged over time. The oldest of the existing farmhouses appears to be Harley Forge Farm, to the west of the Domas road. It is a brick-cased

timber-framed Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

house, probably built in the early 17th century. The timber-framed house opposite the church is one of several timber-framed houses on the Wenlock road, but is unlikely to have been built before the 17th century. In the 18th century the houses became more widely spaced and several were then rebuilt in stone, for example the Mill, the cottages on the church lands and Harley House. The farms became larger and less numerous. A

crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

brick tower built by John Corfield in 1791 gave its name to Castle Hill House, built in 1840 near Forge Farm on the Domas road. A stone bridge over the brook was built by Thomas Carline in 1843. The parish of Harley was amalgamated with neighbouring

in 1939.

Thankful Village

Harley is one of the ''

Thankful Villages Thankful Villages (also known as Blessed Villages; ) are settlements in England and Wales from which all their members of the armed forces survived World War I. The term Thankful Village was popularised by the writer Arthur Mee in the 1930s; in '' ...

'' – those few villages which saw no men lost in 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 ...

. The church contains a brass plaque honouring 20 men from Harley parish who 'by the grace of God' all returned after that war. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

one man from the parish, Leading Aircraftsman John Colin Preece, died, as a prisoner of war in

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

in 1945; in his memory the church has a brass plaque and a new heating system was installed in the building.The book misprints them as "Kenley" men (latter being a neighbouring village).

Notable people

* Silas Taylor (1624-1678) the antiquary and music composer was born at Harley. * Frances Pitt (1888-1964) the naturalist and pioneer wildlife photographer, lived at Castle House, Harley, from 1958.

References

External links