Kinnerley (historic Welsh name: ''Generdinlle'') 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. It lies between the neighbouring villages of Dovaston and Pentre and the nearest town is

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the England–Wales border, Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5, A483 road, A483 and A495 road, A495 ro ...

. To the north is the village of

Knockin Knockin is a village and civil parish in north-west Shropshire, England. It is located on the B4396 road, around south-east of the town of Oswestry, and from the county town of Shrewsbury. History The former name of Knockin was Cnukyn. Th ...

History

A mile to the south is the

motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...

castle known as Belan Bank. The medieval castle was destroyed by

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd ( – 11 December 1282), also known as Llywelyn II and Llywelyn the Last (), was List of rulers of Gwynedd, Prince of Gwynedd, and later was recognised as the Prince of Wales (; ) from 1258 until his death at Cilmeri in 128 ...

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, during the reign of Henry III. John Bridgeman,

Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...

, who died in 1652, is buried in St Mary's parish church, and Alfred Payne, a first-class cricketer who died in 1927, is buried in the churchyard. To the north of the village is the site of Lady Ida's Well close to the Weir Brook. It takes its name from Lady Ida Lumley, wife of the 4th Earl of Bradford, who discovered a natural water spring in 1895 and championed its health benefits.

Wartime role

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 ...

the area around the village became a top-secret bomb storage depot. Kinnerley was chosen because of its central location within the UK and because it had a railway link. The line was operated by the military (until it was closed in 1960). The huge site, which had extensive sidings and covered buildings, was created by the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

More than 200 huge storage sheds, camouflaged and decked out with turfed roofs, were built around the village of Kinnerley. Each was served by a railway siding which entered each building, allowing the highly dangerous cargo to be unloaded inside
BBC

The area was heavily guarded and was not declassified until the mid-1950s.

Transport

The village was formerly served by rail with stops at Kinnerley Junction and Edgerley Halt, on the now defunct

Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway The Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Light Railway was a railway running from Shrewsbury, England to Llanymynech, Wales, with a branch to Criggion. It was promoted by H. F. Stephens, Holman Fred Stephens, better known as Colonel Stephens, propriet ...

, that ran from 1866 to 1960. Kinnerley is currently served by the 576 Shrewsbury to Oswestry bus route.

Amenities

The village today has a primary school, a church, a cemetery, a Village Hall, a park, and a shop. Its pub (the ''Cross Keys'') closed in 2014 following a fire. On 1 October 2015 the pub was purchased as a community asset to be refurbished and re-opened in 2019. It is home to the acting society known as 'The Kinnerley Players' and also has its own football team.

References

External links