South Shropshire was, between 1974 and 2009, a

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

in south west

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. South Shropshire was the most rural district of one of the UK's most rural counties, the population of the district was 40,410 in 2001 spread out over 1,027 km² of forest, mountains, moorlands, hills and mixed quality farmland. It bordered the unitary authority of

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

in Wales, which it closely resembled, economically, socially, culturally and historically. 65% of the district is part of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The towns in the district were

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The ...

, Church Stretton,

Cleobury Mortimer Cleobury Mortimer (, ) is a market town and civil parish in southeast Shropshire, England, which had a population of 3,036 at the 2011 census. It was granted a market charter by Henry III in 1226.''Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum in Turri Londinensi ...

, Clun,

Bishop's Castle Bishop's Castle is a market town in the south west of Shropshire, England. According to the 2011 Census it had a population of 1,893. Bishop's Castle is east of the Wales-England border, about north-west of Ludlow and about south-west of Sh ...

and

Craven Arms Craven Arms is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, on the A49 road and the Welsh Marches railway line, which link it north and south to the larger towns of Shrewsbury and Ludlow respectively. The Heart of Wales railway l ...

. The district was formed by the merger of the rural districts of Clun and Bishop's Castle and

in 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. The district and its council were abolished on 1 April 2009 when the new Shropshire unitary authority was established, as part of the

2009 structural changes to local government in England Structural changes to local government in England were effected on 1 April 2009, whereby a number of new unitary authorities were created in parts of the country which previously operated a "two-tier" system of counties and districts. In five s ...

History

South Shropshire had many ancient monuments, with Mitchells Fold on the Welsh border being the most notable, and there is evidence of

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

quarrying in the Apedale. The area seems to have been settled by the Ordovices, an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

tribe of people in the last millennium BC, and was a stronghold of the Celtic chieftain

Caractacus Caratacus ( Brythonic ''*Caratācos'', Middle Welsh ''Caratawc''; Welsh ''Caradog''; Breton ''Karadeg''; Greek ''Καράτακος''; variants Latin ''Caractacus'', Greek ''Καρτάκης'') was a 1st-century AD British chieftain of the ...

(

Caer Caradoc Caer Caradoc ( cy, Caer Caradog, the fort of Caradog) is a hill in the English county of Shropshire. It overlooks the town of Church Stretton and the village of All Stretton and offers panoramic views to the north towards the Wrekin, east to ...

is said to be named after him). The area was probably part of the "Military" division of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

occupation and locals claim that the Romans mined lead in the north west of the district. In the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

, the area was a battleground between the Welsh and the Anglo Saxon Kingdom of

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879) Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era= Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ...

and

Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke ( cy, Clawdd Offa) is a large linear earthwork that roughly follows the border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa, the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from AD 757 until 796, who is traditionally believed to ha ...

, which is partially in the district, is a permanent reminder of the areas border status. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, South Shropshire was part of the Welsh Marches, a lawless area ruled by tyrannical feudal lords, who as

Marcher Lord A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in ...

s had de facto independence from the King of England. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

the area was generally spared from fighting, although there was a small massacre at

Hopton Castle Hopton Castle is situated in the village of the same name which lies approximately halfway between Knighton and Craven Arms, in the English county of Shropshire. Hopton Castle featured in the British TV series ''Time Team'' in 2010. A ruin si ...

and

Ludlow Castle Ludlow Castle is a ruined medieval fortification in the town of the same name in the English county of Shropshire, standing on a promontory overlooking the River Teme. The castle was probably founded by Walter de Lacy after the Norman conqu ...

was captured by Parliamentary troops. During the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, coal was mined around

Clee Hill Titterstone Clee Hill, sometimes referred to as Titterstone Clee or Clee Hill, is a prominent hill in the rural English county of Shropshire, rising at the summit to above sea level. It is one of the Clee Hills, in the Shropshire Hills Area of ...

and lead was mined near the border with Wales, e.g. at Snailbeach. Church Stretton was a centre of textile manufacture and Ludlow thrived on the malting trade, while the rest of the area was populated by smallholders. The economy of the area was fragile, and most industry in the area had collapsed by 1900. The administrative area of South Shropshire was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as one of six non-metropolitan districts within

. It covered the area of two former districts: *

Clun and Bishop's Castle Rural District Clun and Bishop's Castle was a rural district in Shropshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 as the Clun Rural District, based on the Clun rural sanitary district. It was enlarged in 1934 under a Cou ...

(which included the rural borough of

) * Ludlow Rural District (which included the rural borough of

) The district and its council were abolished on 31 March 2009, with the area becoming part of the new

Shropshire Council Shropshire Council is the local authority of Shropshire, in England, comprising the ceremonial county of Shropshire except Telford and Wrekin. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combi ...

unitary authority from 1 April 2009, as part of the

Geography

The District of South Shropshire covered an area of 1,028 square kilometres, or , which was roughly one third of the administrative county of Shropshire as of 2008. South Shropshire included mountains, valleys, hills, moors, forests and low grade farmland. The landscape is often rugged, with crags and rock outcrops very common, especially in the west and around the

Clee Hills The Clee Hills are a range of hills in Shropshire, England near Ludlow, consisting of Brown Clee Hill , the highest peak in Shropshire, and Titterstone Clee Hill . They are both in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Geogra ...

, and was for the most part gouged by glaciers during the

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

. The area's many rock types made it particularly interesting to

geologists A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

, with

Wenlock Edge Wenlock Edge is a limestone escarpment near Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England and a site of special scientific interest because of its geology. It is over long, running southwest to northeast between Craven Arms and Much Wenlock, and is roughl ...

being especially noteworthy. See the

Shropshire Hills AONB The Shropshire Hills area, in the English county of Shropshire, is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ( AONB). It is located in the south of the county, extending to its border with Wales. Designated in 1958, the area encompass ...

(Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) for more about the natural geography of the area.

Economics and demographics

Economically the district was largely dependent on

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

, partly due to the decline in the economic significance of farming and also the decline and subsequent end of local lead and coal mining industry. In addition to tourism, some

light industry Light industry are industries that usually are less capital-intensive than heavy industry and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consumer goods. Most light industry products are produced for ...

did exist in the district, in the Church Stretton and

areas, and in

Burford Burford () is a town on the River Windrush, in the Cotswold hills, in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is often referred to as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. Burford is located west of Oxford and southeast of Che ...

, near

Tenbury Wells Tenbury Wells (locally Tenbury) is a market town and civil parish in the northwestern extremity of the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Its northern border adjoins Shropshire, and at the 2011 census it had a population of 3,777 ...

. Additionally, the local

demographics Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...

show a large economic gap between affluent residents and poorer communities. Many of the affluent residents have moved into the area from other places, such as

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshi ...

on their retirement. This continues an older trend whose root was initially in the imbalance of wealth associated with the farming economy previously prevalent in the area.

Energy policy

In May 2006, a report commissioned by

British Gas British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Servi ...

br>
showed that housing in South Shropshire produced the 13th highest average carbon emissions in the country at 7,156 kg of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...

per dwelling.

Political control

The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council from 1974 until its abolition in 2009 was held by the following parties:

Leadership

The leaders of the council from 2003 until its abolition in 2009 were:

Council elections

2003 South Shropshire District Council election 3 (three) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cu ...

(New ward boundaries)legislation.gov.uk
The District of South Shropshire (Electoral Changes) (Amendment) Order 2000
Retrieved on 4 October 2015. * 2007 South Shropshire District Council election

By-election results

References

{{Local government districts of England abolished in 2009 Council elections in Shropshire District council elections in England Districts of England established in 1974 English districts abolished in 2009 Former non-metropolitan districts of Shropshire