Ightfield is a small village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

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. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 529. Within the civil parish boundaries is another small village -

Calverhall Calverhall is a small village in Shropshire, approximately 5 miles away from the town of Whitchurch. It lies within the civil parish of its neighbouring village of Ightfield which is one mile away. History There is evidence that the village ...

. Ightfield is situated in a rural area, with many of its roots being in farming. In fact, the name could be derived from the Old English 'Ihtfeld' collocated from 'iht'= creature + 'feld'= field. This would be plausible considering the area's long agricultural history. Over the years, the number of farmers in the area has declined, with only a handful remaining. Due to the reduced amount of agricultural activity, the village expanded slightly, with the addition of two new housing estates built on previously agricultural land. It was mentioned in the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

of Hodnet as ''Istefelt'' 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

in 1086.Open Domesday Online: Ightfield
/ref> Though not as large as some parishes in the area, it had its own priest, which implies an established community which had its own church. In the 12th century the parish became part of the Hundred of Bradford (probably the North Division), and continued so until the late 19th century. Ightfield had a local

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

for travellers to break up their long journeys by horse and cart. It was converted into a private home some years ago. The church of St John the Baptist, though partly rebuilt in the 19th century, has 15th-century origins. It stands on the northern edge of the village on a small rise. It features gargoyles. The tower contains a peal of six bells, and the father of Shropshire novelist

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 n ...

, George Meredith, is buried in the churchyard next to his father Rev. Edward Meredith, sometime rector of the parish. Ightfield Church is part of a network of five local churches (Ash,

Moreton Say Moreton Say is a small village and sparsely populated civil parish in Shropshire, England, near the borders with Cheshire and Staffordshire, just northwest of the town of Market Drayton. It is sometimes spelled ''Moreton Saye'' or ''Moreton Se ...

, Ightfield, Calverhall, Adderley - abbreviated AMICA) which are within a diameter of each other and are served mainly by the Reverend Michael Last, who resides in the rectory of nearby Moreton Say. The Amica Centre is the central administrative hub and a community centre for the AMICA Benefice, and is located in Ightfield, next to the church. The website is located a

The loss of the post office in 2002 left the villagers in fear over the economic and structural growth of the village, with many having to buy groceries in the nearby town of Whitchurch, Shropshire, Whitchurch. However, this did not hinder the development of multiple new housing estates. The veterinarian, Tom Leonard, who appeared on ''

Vets in Practice ''Vets in Practice'' is a BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary series that followed a group of trainee veterinary surgeons. The first episode, ''Animal Magic'', aired at 8 pm on 26 August 1997. Series one attracted 8.09 million viewers (39 ...

'', was raised outside the village. He and his young family still reside there. He has a veterinary practice in the nearby towns of Whitchurch, Shropshire, Whitchurch and

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

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{{authority control Villages in Shropshire Civil parishes in Shropshire

See also

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