Longdon-on-Tern
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Longdon-upon-Tern (also known as Longdon-on-Tern or colloquially Longdon) is a village in the
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 ...
of Rodington, in the unitary
district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
of Telford and Wrekin, in
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 approximately east of
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 ...
and north-west of
Telford Telford () is a town in the Telford and Wrekin borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Shropshire, England. The wider borough covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding towns and villages. The town is close to the county's eastern b ...
. Longdon-Upon-Tern is situated on the River Tern, a tributary of the
River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
. In 1971, the parish had a population of 127. Settled since at least the Normans, the village is notable as the site of the Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct, the first large-scale
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
navigable aqueduct, designed and built by
Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...
for the canal. The aqueduct is Grade I listed and a preserved as a scheduled ancient monument.


History

The name Longdon is derived from two
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
words, ''lang'' and ''dūn,'' meaning ''long hill''. A settlement at Longdon-Upon-Tern dates to at least the
Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
, as it is mentioned 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 as ''Languedune'', held by St. Alkmund's Church, Shrewsbury. It continued with the church until the 12th century when it passed to Lilleshall Abbey until its dissolution in the 16th century. Its Domesday assets were: 2 hides, 5 ploughs, and a
mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...
worth 5s.


Parish

Longdon-Upon-Tern is an ecclesiastical
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
. On 1 April 1988 the parish named "Longdon upon Tern" merged with Rodington ecclesiastical
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
, a close by village, to create the
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 ...
of Rodington with a parish council, to relieve civil responsibilities from the two ecclesiastical parishes. The civil parish boundaries now include the areas of Long Waste, Long Lane, Isombridge, Marsh Green, Sugdon, Rodington, Rodington Heath, and Longdon-Upon-Tern. Although the two separate parishes have now merged into a
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 ...
with a parish council, the two distinct ecclesiastical parishes maintain both village halls hosting varied community activities."Parish Plan"
, Rodington Parish Church


Church

Today's church is the Church of St Bartholomew. This is a small 18th-century, Grade II listed, Georgian stone and red brick church. Built in 1742 the church has had major alterations and an extension in the late 19th century. On the same site stands the refurbished Grade II* listed Longdon-Upon-Tern village hall, formerly a schoolhouse provided by the Duke of Sutherland and opened in 1849. Due to a decline in population, the school closed in 1970.


Population

There have been no population figures for Longdon-Upon-Tern since 1961 as the census data from Longdon-Upon-Tern is now included with the Rodington Civil Parish. In 2001 the population for Rodington Civil Parish was 869. The last population figure for Longdon-Upon-Tern in 1961 was 126."Population, Longdon-Upon-Tern"
Vision of Britain
In 1801 at the time of the first UK census, the population of Longdon-Upon-Tern was 102 and peaked in 1881 at 131. The adjacent graph shows the total population in Longdon-Upon-Tern from 1801 to 1961.


Aqueduct

The village is particularly notable as the location of the world's first large-scale
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
navigable aqueduct (, ). Designed by
Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...
, the aqueduct opened in 1797 as part of the Shrewsbury Canal.
Telford Telford () is a town in the Telford and Wrekin borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Shropshire, England. The wider borough covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding towns and villages. The town is close to the county's eastern b ...
built the cast iron aqueduct to replace a stone aqueduct, originally built by Josiah Clowes, which was swept away by floods in 1795. Although the canal was abandoned in 1944 due to the shift in traffic to the rail networks, the aqueduct remains. It is Grade I listed and a scheduled ancient monument, situated in fields astride the River Tern. The monument is signposted and visible from the road. Clearly marked footpaths lead directly to the monument from a small roadside car park. Telford later designed and built the very much larger
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (; ) is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal across the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen in northeast Wales. The 18-arched stone and cast iron structure is for use by narrowboats and was complet ...
in Wales, now designated as a
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
.


Transport links


Bus

The 65 from
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
to High Ercall passes through Longdon-Upon-Tern with busses departing every 60 minutes from
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
.


Train

The closest railway station is away in
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
, from here there are frequent services to
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 ...
and
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
.


See also

* Listed buildings in Rodington, Shropshire


References


External links

* {{authority control Villages in Shropshire Telford and Wrekin Buildings and structures in Shropshire Rodington