Rowton is a small village in the Telford and Wrekin Borough,

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 seven miles north-west of

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. The area is a Chapelry Division of High Ercall Parish.

History

The area was known as Retina in Roman times, later the name changed to Rutone and then to Ruton. 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 ...

it is recorded as Rugheton. In 1876 a

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

was observed to fall and recovered. It was described in a 2012 BBC web article as "significant" in the study of how the solar system formed." Rowton Brewery was established in October 2008 .

Religion

The village church of All Hallows is a medieval foundation, which was reconstructed in 1881 by the architect Geoffrey Smith. He widened the original building to accommodate a larger congregation and today almost no original masonry survives. It is recorded that Rowton had a Priest as early as 1086. In 1648, a Parish Return recorded that the Parish possessed "a messuage and six acres in the occupation of George Dayntieth; two acres at Ellerdine in the occupation of Thomas Whytngham and three acres at Rowton in the occupation of William Arneway – the whole valued at 15s". However seven years later at the Parliamentary survey of 1655 records "Rowton Chapel hath no means belonging to it" The church lands were most likely seized during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

and ever since has existed as a 'perpetual curacy' served from High Ercall. By way of war memorials, the church contains a framed pictorial Roll of Honour to men of "the parish of Ercall Magna" (ie High Ercall) who served and died in

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 ...

(identical to the one in High Ercall church itself), and on the north wall a wooden plaque the three men from Rowton who died serving in

World War II 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 ashes of John Beard (1871-1950), former leader of the

Workers' Union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

, were scattered on the graves of his relatives in Rowton churchyard. Today Rowton church functions under the

Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

and serves the village and surrounding hamlets including Ellerdine.

The Bourne Family

A charitable trust exists within the chapelry of Rowton entitled 'The John and Eliza Bourne Trust'. It was established in 1929, through a bequest of the late church warden and local philanthropist John Bourne, who left a quantity of shares in

Barclays Bank Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

, the dividends of which were to be paid to the poor widows and widowers of Rowton, Ellerdine, Cold Hatton and Sytch Lane in the parish of Ercall Magna, Shropshire, England. The family are also responsible for the fine oak pulpit in Rowton Church which is engraved with the text "erected by Sydney J. Bourne in memory of his parents John & Eliza Bourne and his brother Robert and John Bourne"

The Railway

Rowton Halt was a stop on The Wellington and Market Drayton Railway, which was opened in 1867 and operated by the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

Company. However, lack of use forced the line to close to passenger traffic on 9 September 1963, and to freight four years later.

Richard Baxter

Richard Baxter Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691) was an English Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist church leader and theologian from Rowton, Shropshire, who has been described as "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". He ma ...

the English Puritan church leader, theologian and controversialist, called by Dean Stanley "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen" was born at Rowton on 12 November 1615 and is commemorated there by a small stone obelisk, which stands on a triangle of grass at the centre of the village. He was also an energetic campaigner for the establishment of a University in

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 ...

but insufficient funding prevented success. Baxter spent the first ten years of his life living in the village with his maternal grandparents and received six years of education there; however Baxter later said that these first years of education were substandard as all four of his tutors were ignorant, two were immoral and one was a drunkard.

Listed buildings

The village contains eight Grade II listed buildings; Baxter House (a 19th century house on the site of which was said to be Richard Baxter's childhood home), Baxter Monument, Bleak House, Church Farmhouse, All Hallows Church, High House Farmhouse, Rock Farmhouse and The Firs.

Genetic testing

Rowton came into the public eye in 2000 when it was revealed that the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

was using a farm in the village for trials of Genetically Modified crops.

References

{{authority control Villages in Shropshire Telford and Wrekin Ercall Magna