Bitterley is a village and

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 802, increasing to 902 at the 2011 Census. The village is about east of

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

on the western slopes of

Titterstone 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 Are ...

. Bitterley is the location for Bitterley Court about east of the modern village. Nearby to the east, is the small hamlet of Bedlam.

History

Bitterley is listed in the ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

'' of 1086 when it was known as ''Buterlei''. The ''fictional'' village of Bitterley in the

Mary Webb Mary Gladys Webb (25 March 1881 – 8 October 1927) was an English romance novelist and poet of the early 20th century, whose work is set chiefly in the Shropshire countryside and among Shropshire characters and people whom she knew. Her ...

novel ''The Golden Arrow'' (published 1916) was based on Habberley in the same county. In 2011, a metal detectorist discovered near Bitterley a hoard of silver and gold coins, the Bitterley Hoard, dating from the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

Church

Church of St Mary, the village church dedicated to

Saint Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, is 12th/13th-century in date with 17th-century alterations.Church of St Mary, Bitterley
British Listed Buildings, retrieved 26 January 2012 It was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard Aus ...

in 1876 and 1880. Littleton Powys was patron of the church, where in 1707 he set up a gallery at the west end, and in which he was buried after his death in 1732. The 14th-century cross in the churchyard is a Grade I listed structure and considered the best surviving cross in Shropshire. The church is located east of the present-day village in the area around Bitterley Court, where evidence of the medieval village can be seen in the parkland south of Bitterley Court., Bitterley Parish Council, retrieved 26 January 2012

Bitterley Court

Bitterley Court was the longtime seat of the Walcot family, who had previously sold their Walcot Hall to

Robert Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British List of governors of Bengal Presidency, Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for l ...

, known as Lord Clive of India. In 1899, Bitterley Court was purchased by James Volant Wheeler, younger son of Edward Vincent Wheeler of Newnham Court,

Tenbury Wells Tenbury Wells (locally Tenbury) is a small market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the north-western extremity of the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Situated 6 miles southeast of Ludlow, its northern border ...

, and remains in the ownership of the Wheelers. Bitterley Court is a Grade II* listed building which was extensively modernized by Thomas Prichard in the late 18th century and restored by the grandson of James Volant Wheeler in the 1960s, saving it from demolition at a time when English country houses were at risk.

Henley Hall

On the western outskirts of the village lies Henley Hall, a Grade II* listed 18th-century country house in 80 hectares of parkland. Originally built by the Powys family it was essentially rebuilt by Thomas Knight in 1772 and extended several times since then, especially by the Wood family. Now managed by the Lumsden family, it is made available for wedding, shooting and team-building parties.

Transport

Bitterley was formerly served by a goods station on the branch line from

Clee Hill Junction Clee Hill Junction was a railway junction in Shropshire, England, where the goods only line from Titterstone Clee Hill joined the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway, a LNWR/ GWR joint line. It was situated 24 chains (about a quarter of a mile) to th ...

north of Ludlow to Clee Hill village. Two rope inclines, one narrow gauge and one standard gauge, carried stone from the quarries on Titterstone Clee Hill down to a marshalling yard at Bitterley.

Parish

The civil parish is extensive and is subdivided into two wards: Bitterley and Cleeton St Mary. The small village of Cleeton St Mary is effectively detached (by road) and lies on the other side of

. The small village of Middleton and the hillside settlement of Angelbank are part of the parish. Other communities mentioned by the parish council are Dhustone, Farden, Henley, Ledwyche and Snitton, as well as Bedlam (mentioned above). In 1884 it expanded westwards, taking in land previously part of Ludford and

Stanton Lacy Stanton Lacy is a small village and geographically large civil parish located in south Shropshire, England, north of Ludlow. The River Corve flows through the parish, on its way south towards the River Teme, and passes immediately to the wes ...

parishes, with the new boundary being the

Ledwyche Brook Ledwyche Brook is a minor river in south Shropshire, England. It is sometimes referred to as the River Ledwyche and spelled variously, including "Ledwich" or "Ledwych". The brook is a tributary of the River Teme. Its source (river or stream), s ...

.Vision of Britain
Bitterley

References

External links

Bitterley Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Shropshire Civil parishes in Shropshire