Quatford is a village in 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
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 ...
, in the
Severn Valley,
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
A442, just south of the town of Bridgnorth and on the bank of the
River Severn
The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
. The majority of residents in the village live on one of the
Caravan Parks.
History
Quatford is one of the oldest settlements in the area. It was listed 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 ...
, the draft of which was finished in 1086. Quatford was settled because of the ease of fording the River Severn. Its name came from it being a
ford near
Quatt. As the River Severn became deeper a bridge was built at the site instead. In the 11th century a small castle was built on high ground overlooking the river, but was demolished a few years later. Traces of the
motte
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 (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...
still remain.
Quatford's importance as a crossing of the River Severn was diminished when another bridge was built 2 miles upstream. A settlement was formed at the "bridge north of Quatford", now known as Bridgnorth, which became the major town in the district.
North of the village is a mock castle now known as Quatford Castle. It was built circa 1830 by John Smalman for himself and originally called Morf Mount; later, it became the residence of Smalman's grand-nephew,
Henry Edward James Bevan, and in turn the latter's son
Hugh
Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...
.
In 1951 the civil parish had a population of 185. On 1 April 1967 the parish was abolished to form Bridgnorth.
The village appears in the 2020 video game
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
''Assassin's Creed Valhalla'' is a 2020 action role-playing game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the twelfth major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and the successor to 2018's ''Assassin's Creed Odyss ...
as the capital of Shropshire, there known as Sciropescire.
Amenities
*The Danery Pub
*The Foodstop Cafeteria
*St Mary Magdalene Church
*Quatford Cattery
*Quatford Petrol Station
See also
*
Listed buildings in Bridgnorth
References
External links
{{authority control
Villages in Shropshire
Former civil parishes in Shropshire
Bridgnorth