Hinstock 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
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 appeared 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 ...
survey as "Stoche" (from
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
''stoc'', "dependent settlement"); the present version of its name was created in the mediaeval period by prefixing
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...
''hine'' ("domestic servants").
[Gelling and Foxall, ''The Place-names of Shropshire, Part 5'' English Place-Name Society, 2006, p.137]
Location
Hinstock is approximately halfway between 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 ...
s of
Newport 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 ...
. 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 until the 1980s ran through its centre, now bypasses the village. Hinstock is at the junction of the
A529 road
The A529 road is a non-primary road in England that runs from the A41 at Hinstock in Shropshire to the A530 in Nantwich, Cheshire. From 1922 to 1935 it ran between Chester and Hinstock when the section north of Whitchurch became part of a re ...
which joins
Nantwich
Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture ...
to the A41. A
Roman road
Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...
still exists in part as a road and as a footpath through Hinstock. The settlement of High Heath is to the north of the village alongside the A41 and to the west of Hinstock (at ) and forming part of the civil parish is the
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
of Pixley.
Facilities
Hinstock's facilities include a primary school; a village shop and post office; St Oswald's
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
parish church; a pub named the ''Falcon Inn''; a village hall; a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
chapel; two tennis courts; a football pitch; a five a side court; a cricket pitch; a small snooker hall and a running club. Near the village is a very small nature reserve,
Quarry Wood, which is managed by the
Shropshire Wildlife Trust
The Shropshire Wildlife Trust (SWT) is a wildlife trust covering the geographic county of Shropshire, England.
Nature reserves
The trust manages 42 nature reserves (plus its headquarters in Shrewsbury – see next section) in the county:
...
.
Recent history
Victorian hymn-writer and hymnologist
John Ellerton was parish Rector of Hinstock from 1872 to 1876.
The village hall was built as a memorial after
World War I
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 ...
, as was a
wheel cross monument which stands at a junction in the village.
From 1941 to 1947 there was a co-located
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 ...
and
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...
training station called ''
RNAS Hinstock (HMS Godwit)'', which specialised in instrument and blind landing technologies. The mansion Hinstock Hall, 1.75 miles (2.82km) east of the airfield, was commandeered as the station's officers' quarters. A Royal Navy officer and seaman from the base are buried in Hinstock Church's burial ground.
CWGC Cemetery report, details from casualty record. Date retrieved 3 June 2014. In 2005 the former control tower of the airfield was converted into private house.
In 1983, David Williams, spotted the recently completed Pixley Lane Bridge over the new and not yet opened Hinstock bypass. Living locally he walked down and measured up and reckoned his Saab 91D Safir (Sapphire), a single-engined, light aircraft built in Holland would fit under the bridge. His father stood on the bridge with a camera to capture his stunt on the day before it opened to traffic but he was too quick with the shutter while a friend did get a 1980s quality picture, to prove it happened.
See also
* Listed buildings in Hinstock
References
External links
Hinstock Parish Council
{{authority control
Villages in Shropshire
Civil parishes in Shropshire