Child's Ercall ( ) 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. It is located in a rural area between the towns of

Market Drayton Market Drayton is a market town and civil parish on the banks of the River Tern in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is close to the Cheshire and Staffordshire borders. It is located between the towns of Whitchurch, Shropshire, Wh ...

and

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

: the civil parish had a total population of 599 at the 2001 census,Child's Ercall CP
Office for National Statistics rising to 732 at the 2011 Census. The closest neighbouring village is

Ollerton Ollerton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ollerton and Boughton, in the Newark and Sherwood district, in the county of Nottinghamshire, England, on the edge of Sherwood Forest in the area known as the Dukeries. The p ...

, around 1 mile to the west.

Etymology

The second part of its name, recorded in the forms "Archelou" and "Erkalwe" in the 13th century, has been suggested as derived from a Celtic word, perhaps an old

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

name ''Ercal''.Gelling, M. ''The place-names of Shropshire'', pt.1, English Place-Name Society, 1990, pp.125-6 An Old English root based on the name of a hill, ''ear'' "gravel" plus the adjective ''calu(w)'' "bare", has also been proposed.Owen, Hywel Wyn (1987) "English place-names and Welsh stress-patterns", ''Nomina'', XI, 107 The affix "child" may come from its mediaeval sense, meaning "

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

".Raven, M. ''A Guide to Shropshire'', 2005, p.50 A possible etymology suggested by the toponymist

Margaret Gelling Margaret Joy Gelling, (''née'' Midgley; 29 November 1924 – 24 April 2009) was an English toponymist, known for her extensive studies of English place-names. She served as President of the English Place-Name Society from 1986 to 1998, and ...

, is that Child's Ercall was named as it belonged to a younger member of the Strange family, who owned much of the area in the mediaeval period.''Journal of the English Place-name Society: Eighty First Annual Report'', EPNS, 2004, 69

Church

The village church has a 12th-century doorway, a 13th-century arcade and 14th-century aisle, as well as stained glass by

Charles Eamer Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lychg ...

. It contains a brass war memorial plaque to local men who died serving in both World Wars, and another to Staff Sergeant Ronald Beckett who was killed on bomb disposal work in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in 1973.

Sport

Child's Ercall Football Club is a member of the Mercian Regional League (that covers most of Shropshire) and they play their home games in the village at Jubilee Hall.

Airfield

The former

RAF Peplow Royal Air Force Peplow, or more simply RAF Peplow, is a former Royal Air Force located, located South of Market Drayton in Shropshire, England. It was operational between 1941 and 1949, being used by both the Royal Air Force (1942-1945) and the ...

is nearby.

References

External links