Clee St. Margaret is a small 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 ...

in 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 ...

area of

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 seven miles north east (about a fifteen-minute drive) from the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

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 ...

. It lies at approximately

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. The Clee Brook passes through the settlement, as a 50-metre long, shallow

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

. Local land use includes two small

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s and extensive sheep grazing. There is a 900-year-old

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

and a

village hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...

, but no

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

. Clee St. Margaret had five pubs earlier during the height of the quarrying on nearby

Brown Clee Hill Brown Clee Hill is the highest hill in the rural England, English county of Shropshire, at above sea level. It is one of the Clee Hills, and is in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Geography Brown Clee Hill lies five ...

. Historically the settlement also had a shop, a

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

Chapel, a school and a post office.

Population and housing

The parish includes the hamlet of Cockshutford, at foot of Nordy Bank. The population in 2001 of Clee St. Margaret was 126, 65 being males and 61 being females. Over the years the population of this small village has declined: in 1871 it was over double today's average, at 297. The number of houses has also fluctuated. From 1841 to 1881 it rose from 71 to 76, before declining to 48 in 1921; since then it has increased slightly, reaching 51 in 1961 and today there are 65 houses. In recent years there has been a slight rise in the number of households. This may be due to the housing density declining in recent years. In 1931, 1609 people were living with more than one person whereas in 2001 only 510 residents in

South Shropshire South Shropshire was a local government district in Shropshire, England, from 1974 to 2009. Its council was based in the town of Ludlow; the other towns in the district were Church Stretton, Cleobury Mortimer, Clun, Bishop's Castle and Crave ...

were living with more than one person.http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/.Search:

.Retrieved 14 April 2012 The average house price of Clee St Margaret was about £281,462 in April 2012. Prices are relatively low compared to the rest of England because of the location and because most houses are small.

Education

Clee St. Margaret's population is made up mostly of families and couples. The education level for the area of

has improved greatly. In 1851 school attendance was lower than those not attending, however in 2001, 716 children were attending and only 191 stayed at home. There are two primary schools within 6 km radiance and five playgroups centres within 7 km radiance. The proportion of residents with a degree living in the

district is relatively low. In 2011, residents without a degree were 23,029 and those with a degree 5,393.

Employment

In 1881 the land was generally used for agriculture. Most of the male residents worked in agriculture, and the females were employed in domestic services or offices. Today, the service sector provides the most employment, employing 10,364 residents of

, while 1,855 are employed in agriculture. Most of the population travel to work, on average 38.80 km, implying they are employed in services in

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

Governance

The village falls within the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

simply called Clee. This ward includes several of the villages in the Clee Hills, with a total population taken at the 2011 census of 4,595.

Religion and politics

The main religion in Clee St Margaret and the surrounding area of

is Christianity, with

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

following. The church was renewed in 1860 and is used regularly for Christian worship In the 1851 Religious Census, there was a congregation of Southcottians or "Millenarians" worshiping at Cockshutford in the parish. Clee St Margaret is in the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

-held constituency of

. The member of parliament for the

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

is Stuart Anderson, elected in 2024.

Climate

Clee St Margaret is within The Midlands of England, causing it to experience a mixture of both southern and northern climatic conditions. When rainfall is concerned it is a transitional area between

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and the

East of England East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact ...

. As the Midlands region is at some distance from the sea, the annual range of temperature is more pronounced than in most parts of the UK. It is subjected to sharp winter frosts and occasional very hot summer days, particularly in the south and east of the region where Clee St Margaret is located. These temperature extremes of both winter and summer are a key characteristic of the Midlands climate. The coldest months are January and February, reaching highs of 7 °C and lows of 0 °C. The warmest months are July and August, with highs of 21 °C and lows of 10 °C.

References

External links

{{authority control Civil parishes in Shropshire Villages in Shropshire