Alveley is a village in the

Severn Valley The Severn Valley is a rural area of the West Midlands region of England, through which the River Severn runs and the Severn Valley Railway steam heritage line operates, starting at its northernmost point in Bridgnorth, Shropshire and runni ...

in southeast

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, England, about south-southeast of

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town 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 2011 Census was 12,079. Histor ...

. It is 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

of Alveley and Romsley. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 2,098. It is served by bus service 297 (

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it ha ...

) operated by

Arriva Midlands Arriva Midlands is a bus operator providing services in the East Midlands and West Midlands areas of England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. Arriva Midlands North Operations In September 1981 Midland Red North was formed with 230 bu ...

. It is most famously known as being the hometown of Jack Jones, a local magician. The Black Death is said to have killed 60% of the village population in 1349. A stone cross, the

Buttercross A buttercross, also known as butter cross or butter market, is a type of market cross associated with English market towns and dating from medieval times. Its name originates from the fact that they were located at the market place, where peop ...

, outside the village dates from the time of the Black Death when it was a place for food to be left for the village when it was quarantined.

Churches

The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary is 12th-century with a 14th-century south chapel. In the chapel is a very faded 14th-century

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

that is thought to represent the

Seven Deadly Sins The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...

. The upper part of the tower was rebuilt in about 1779. The building was heavily restored in 1878–79 under the direction of Sir Arthur Blomfield. It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

. Alveley has also a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

chapel, which was built in 1862.

Coal mining and country park

From 1937 to 1969 the village had a

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

in conjunction with the neighbouring village of

Highley Highley is a large village in Shropshire, England, on the west bank of the River Severn and 7 miles south east of Bridgnorth. The closest cities being Wolverhampton and Birmingham. History Highley began as a rural farming community, includin ...

across the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

. The first shaft at Alveley Colliery was sunk in 1935. Production began in 1938 and reached full output in 1944. Coal was transferred to sidings on the

Severn Valley Railway The Severn Valley Railway is a heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The heritage line runs along the Severn Valley from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route, and c ...

on the opposite bank of the river, to be taken away by rail. Declining coal quality at a time of national over-supply led to the colliery closing in January 1969 leaving high unemployment and a ravaged landscape. An industrial estate was built after the

mine closure Mine closure is the period of time when the ore-extracting activities of a mine have ceased, and final decommissioning and mine reclamation are being completed. It is generally associated with reduced employment levels, which can have a significan ...

along with a landscape reclamation scheme in 1986 and the disused

colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

and

spoil tip A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quant ...

s were converted into the Severn Valley Country Park. The landscape includes meadows, woods, ponds and wetlands with waymarked trails of short and longer lengths to encourage locals and visitors to explore the village's heritage fully. Every year a Miner's Memories Day is held at the Country Park Visitor Centre which permanently houses mine memorabilia and has a café and indoor viewpoint over the valley. The display includes miners' picks, spikes, crowbars, breathing equipment used in mine rescue, photos (many donated by local residents), and a certificate awarded to a local Alveley miner on achieving "56 years service to the mine and his country". In 2006 a new footbridge linking Alveley and

was opened in the Country Park. This replaced a 1930s bridge that had become unsafe. The bridge provides access from Alveley to the Country Park Halt on the

, which is on the Highley side of the river on the site of the former coal washing plant and colliery sidings. The riverbank is popular with anglers, along with a number of local private pools. In 2017, the community le
Alveley Mining Heritage Group
was formed to preserve and present memories of mining in the village for the benefit of future generations. The Squirrel - geograph

Village

Alveley has several historic pubs including the Three Horseshoes, parts of which may be 17th-century. The others are The Squirrel and The Royal Oak. There is also the Mill Hotel and a

working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class ...

. The village has a primary school, small supermarket and newsagent and a few other small shops and eateries, in addition to its 'Parish Memorial Hall' and attached recreation ground which was opened in 1947 as a memorial to local dead of both World Wars.

Cricket club

Alveley Cricket Club was founded in 1908 and played at Coton Hall on the outskirts of the village, at the former home of general Robert E. Lee's ancestors. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

it moved to play on the Recreation Ground in the centre of Alveley. The club has invested heavily in its facilities. Its pavilion was built in 1981 and extended in 2007. The club has a potential player base of 100 people who regularly play for the club. The club has always had a strong commitment to youth cricket and the continued growth in its junior section. Off the field the club has an active social calendar and regularly hold family social events. Events include a six-a-side competition, barbecues, charity events and screening live sport in the Pavilion. Until the mid-1970s friendly cricket was played before joining the Kidderminster League in 1989. The club now plays in the Worcestershire County League (Saturday) with friendlies played on a Sunday. As well as the two Saturday sides we run a midweek team who play in the Kidderminster League, the club also runs a successful junior section for children aged between 4 and 17 years.

Countryside

A small hamlet to the southwest of the village, Little London, is one of more than 25 settlements which share the capital city's name. The parish contains two other manors, besides the manor of Alveley, Kingsnordley and Astley. Alan James Nicholls documented the Alveley parish in The History of Alveley, published 1994, .

Governance

Alveley is part of the electoral ward called Alveley and Claverley. The 2011 Census recorded the ward population as 4,032.

References

10. Alveley, Salop (former name of Shropshire) - https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/salop

External links

Alveley and Romsley Parish CouncilCricket Club
* * * {{authority control Villages in Shropshire