Whittington, Shropshire

Whittington

Whittington Castle
Whittington
 Whittington shown within Shropshire
Population 2,592 (2011)
OS grid referenceSJ324312
Civil parishWhittington
Unitary authorityShropshire
Ceremonial countyShropshire
RegionWest Midlands
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town OSWESTRY
Postcode district SY11
Dialling code 01691
Police West Mercia
Fire Shropshire
Ambulance West Midlands
EU Parliament West Midlands
UK ParliamentNorth Shropshire
List of places
UK
England
Shropshire

Coordinates: 52°52′26″N 3°00′11″W / 52.874°N 3.003°W / 52.874; -3.003

Whittington is a village in north west Shropshire, England.

The civil parish of Whittington had a population of 2,490 at the 2001 census, increasing to 2,592 at the 2011 census.[1] The village of Whittington is in the centre of the parish, and three smaller villages, Park Hall to its west, Hindford to the north-east and Babbinswood to the south, are also within the parish.[2]

History

Arms of FitzWarin: Quarterly per fess indented argent and gules [3]

Whittington appears to have been a prehistoric site and may have been a Dark Ages stronghold of King Cynddylan in the seventh century. There was an extensive settlement here recorded in the Domesday Book.

Whittington was granted to William Peverel probably in the summer of 1114 when King Henry I of England invaded Powys. William probably founded Whittington Castle which was taken from his descendants by the Welsh under Madog ap Maredudd of Powys and later granted to Roger Powys by King Henry II. It remained in the Powys family until King John granted it to the FitzWarin family, namely Fulk III FitzWarin(d.1258) whose life is recorded in a mediaeval romance.

In 1221, Henry III gave grudging permission for the castle to be re-built in stone after it had fallen to Llywelyn the Great. It was recaptured by Llywelyn in 1223 but was handed back the same year. It remained in the hands of the FitzWarins until 1420.

The castle ruins still exist today and were recently renovated. They are open to the public.

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches south to West Felton with a total population taken at the 2011 census of 4,067.[4]

Railway service

Two railway stations once served Whittington. The Shrewsbury to Chester Line (via Wrexham), of the former Great Western Railway, is still an operating route, but Whittington Low Level station on this line closed on 12 September 1960 although there have been numerous campaigns over the years to have it reopened. Whittington High Level station was on the main line of the Cambrian Railways. However, the section from Whitchurch to Welshpool (Buttington Junction), via Ellesmere, Whittington, Oswestry and Llanymynech, closed on 18 January 1965 in favour of the more viable alternative route via Shrewsbury, although Whittington (High Level) station itself had closed earlier, on 4 January 1960.

Present day

Part of the Whittington parish includes Park Hall. This was previously an army training camp, but now is residential and farming land.

There is a small amount of light industry based mainly on the Whittington Business Park on the road to Oswestry. A further group of businesses operate from premises off North Drive, Park Hall. Industry and warehousing is also located at the edge of the parish, close to the main A5 road.

The largest employer within the parish is BT (previously British Telecom) which has premises on the Whittington Road.

References

  1. ↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  2. ↑ "2001 Census: Key Statistics: Parish Headcounts: Area: Whittington CP (Parish)". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  3. ↑ Arms of Fulk V FitzWarin, St George's Roll of Arms, 1285, briantimms.com, St George's Roll, part 1, no. E69
  4. ↑ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 1 December 2015.
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