South West Shropshire

 
Minsterley is a small parish and large village some ten miles south-west of Shrewsbury on the A488. In the area are signs of Minsterley's industrial past, and as the Romans mined for lead at Snailbeach. After the Romans left the country in the 4th century the mines were mainly unworked until the 18th and 19th centuries, when they were revived to a point where a railway was needed to carry ore from the nearby mines to the smelters outside the county. The village of Minsterley probably started to grow towards the end of the 17th century when the Thynne family moved there from Caus Castle. The Thynne family built Minsterley Hall, which today is a fine example of the architecture of its time and which stands by Holy Trinity church, also the work of the Thynne family. The village of Minsterley has grown over recent years, but elsewhere in the parish, in Wagbeach, Etsell, Reabrook and Horsebridge, there seems to have been little change in what will probably always be an agricultural area.

There are parts of our County that are most beautiful in spring, others are at their best in summer and some even wait until autumn to show off their God-given colours. There are even parts which have a man-made beauty in their landscaping or architecture, which has to be a rare commodity in the 20th century. But Ratlinghope is a little piece of God's own work which has a wild, sometimes almost savage. beauty to it throughout the year. It is at its best in summer when birds sing and sheep graze contentedly on its hillsides. It is at its best in the depths of winter's snows, assuming the roads are clear, when one can feel very insignificant against the strength and might of nature's wintry gifts. The parish of Ratlinghope lies between the Long Mynd and the Stiperstones, and it is a parish where people wander its fields and moorland, enjoying the simple pleasures of panoramic views and fresh air.

The two tiny hamlets of Ruckley and Langley lie in one of the county's prettiest and most peaceful valleys immediately to the south of Acton Burnell. In fact, the impression is of being surrounded by hills, as if the visitor has found some tiny, Iong-forgotten kingdom in Shropshire. Of interest is Langley Chapel, a simple stone structure standing alone in a field. It was built in 1564, which is not that old as many churches go in Shropshire, but inside it still has its original 17th-century furnishings, which make it important enough to be in the hands of English Heritage.
A few yards down the road is the site of Langley Hall, former home of the Lee family. The present house is quite impressive, but even it stands a little in awe beside the former gatehouse of the Hall. It must be the largest gatehouse remaining in Shropshire, so what was the former Hall like in comparison?

The parish of Rushbury straddles the ridge, known as Wenlock Edge, between Much Wenlock and Church Stretton. To the south, the parish stretches down into Corve Dale where Wilderhope Manor stands proudly on the hillside. It is a late 16th-century house of stone, quite plain in appearance but gaining from its solitary position. It was once the home of a rather brave gentleman who supported the Royalist cause during the Civil War. Major's Leap, on Wenlock Edge is where he spurred his horse to jump off the hillside rather than risk capture and the loss of important papers he was carrying. Further along Wenlock Edge, to the south-west of Wilderhope Manor, another road crosses the Edge. It is known as Roman Bank, and its name implies an older presence in the parish. This old road leads down over a packhorse bridge to the village of Rushbury. The village seems to have everything one imagines in an English village, with the church standing as the centrepiece and the road turning along the churchyard wall.

Worthen is an extensive parish covering a good portion of Shropshire's beautiful hills, the Stiperstones. The B4386, south west of Shrewsbury, cuts through the centre of the village of Worthen so efficiently that the passing motorist easily miss the beautifully restored Worthen Hall, and the church with its late 12th-century origins built on a site possibly in use long before Christianity came to our shores.
The church. dedicated to All Saints, is a wide, dignified, though quite simple building with the tower to one side of the nave. Else where in the parish is Hope Valley through which the A488 meanders. It is possibly the county's most picturesque valley with its tint church and reminders of the area's industrial past in the shape of spoil heaps from the former lead mines. The highest point in the parish is the Stiperstones, Shropshire's wildest hill with its legends of Wild Edric and his exploits against the Norman invaders.