Subject: High Ercall

I have seen your Shropshire web site and am very impressed with it. I am after some information about High Ercall church. Do you have any and if so is it on the internet or available elsewhere. Thanks - Brian Shepherd

Thanks for your praise Brian, we try our best. This is what I know about High Ercall and its church. High Ercall, or Ercall Magna to give it its correct name, is a large parish lying between Newport and Shrewsbury. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book as Archelou.
mmmm The most probable origin is from the Anglo-Saxon Archetle's hlaew, Archetle being a personal name, hlaew being a burial mound or small hill. Another theory is that the origin is from Ercol, the Anglo-Saxon for Hercules. This latter origin is the one I like simply because the history of High Ercall often seems to equate with the exploits of Hercules.
mmmm The church is dedicated to St. Michael. It is possibly Saxon in origin, although there are no remains earlier than the 12th-century Norman remains. This church was extensively rebuilt in the 17th century because of the extensive damage it sustained in the Civil War. Nevertheless it is a magnificent church and worthy of a village with such a history.
mmmm Pevsner, in his excellent book on the buildings of Shropshire has this to say;
"ST MICHAEL. Dean Cranage makes much of the rebuilding after the Civil War - the church was called demolished in I646 - but the architectural evidence is all in favour of an almost complete survival of the medieval church. - The roofs of chancel, nave and N chapel have all double hammerbeam and are typical post-Reformation work, in this case no doubt after the Civil War. The church seems to have been re-opened in I662. - SCULPTURE. A small Early Norman tympanum with a fan or palm motif above two symmetrical leaf volutes (the whole perhaps a tree of life) and surrounded by a frieze
of rosettes re-set in the N wall of the nave. MONUMENT. Cross-legged Knight under the E arch betwen chapel and chancel, c 1320 and perhaps the founder of the chapel"
mmmm In the 13th century High Ercall was one of the eighty-two manors owned by Bishop Burnell, of Acton Burnell. As well as being Bishop of Bath and Wells, he was also Chancellor to Edward I, and there is probably no other Shropshire man who amassed such wealth and lands within a singe lifetime. But a later family with even greater connections with High Ercall was the Newport family who lived at High Ercall Hall adjacent to the church. There is little left of the original hall today, but there is sufficient of a family house that was once moated and well fortified.
mmmmm As befitted such an important Shropshire family, the Newports were ardent Royalists although it is said that they held out for a title before giving vast sums to the King's cause. When the fighting came to Shropshire, High Ercall Hall withstood a one-year siege and, apart from Ludlow, was the last Royalist stronghold to fall to the Commonwealth. When it finally fell the High Ercall garrison of 212 officers and men were given safe passage out of the district. Such was the importance of this family and their stand against Cromwell that they were fined over £16,000 for fortifying their house against the Commonwealth. Even when Cromwell held power, the Newport family were not stilled for long, and Sir Francis Newport was involved in a number of plots against Cromwell.
mmmm When Charles II came to the throne, Sir Francis was made Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire and later, under William III, became Earl of Bradford. Now, I had often wondered why the Bradfords of Weston Park looked to Shropshire despite their magnificent house being in Staffordshire, and after reading of their ancestors' exploits in High Ercall I can understand why they consider Shropshire as their home.
mmmm A century or so later Thomas Light of nearby Walton was born. His field of expertise was sorcery and his reputation spread throughout the surrounding counties. Apparently he was rather good at making cocks win fights and was thus, presumably, in great demand. He also had a reputation for being able to cure cows of disease, and with the recent subject of BSE highlighted almost daily in the papers, one cannot help but wonder if he could have cured that as well. Unfortunately he had a rival by the name of Jacks from neighbouring Weald Moors, and High Ercall's sorcerer lost in the ensuing feud between them. Thomas Light died a wealthy man and left for posterity a three-volume guide to the black arts.
mmmm Another native of Rowton was Richard Baxter who is perhaps usually associated with Eaton Constantine, even though he was baptised at High Ercall. Although a moderate, he was a man of great character and became chaplain to the Parliamentary army. Because of his moderation he also served the monarchy after the Restoration, and history shows us that he was not afraid of his masters, whoever they were, and was always prepared to speak out at what he felt was extreme or unjust.
mmmm Another man who should also be remembered is Henry Wood, one-time vicar and teacher at High Ercall. In 1759 he took out a patent for a hot-air engine and an engine-driven air pump. It is unlikely he ever built such an engine and his patent is more of a collection of ideas than a specific design, but his ideas were put into practice by Boulton and Watt whose engines did so much to bring about the Industrial Revolution. Can we possibly add the inventor of the steam engine to the long list of famous Salopians?

That's all I can tell you, Brian. If you find out more, let ME know, please. - Tim Carrington