Middleton is a small village in south

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 northeast 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 ...

town centre, on the B4364 road (which runs between Ludlow and

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the United Kingd ...

), 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 ...

Bitterley Bitterley is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Shropshire, 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 on the west ...

. The settlement existed at the time of 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 ...

(1086) when it had a mill on 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 ...

. At the time it formed part of the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

Culvestan Culvestan was a hundred (county division), hundred of Shropshire, England. Formed during Anglo-Saxon England, it encompassed Manorialism, manors in central southern Shropshire, and was amalgamated during the reign of Henry I of England, Henry I ( ...

, which merged into the new hundred of

Munslow Munslow is a small village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is situated on the B4368, northeast of the town of Craven Arms, in the River Corve, Corvedale, at around above sea level. The village formed part of and gave its name to t ...

in the early 12th century. For several hundred years it was known as Middleton ''Higford'' after its chief tenant Walter de Huggeford who had his main holding at Higford near

Shifnal Shifnal () is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, about east of Telford, 17 miles (27 km) east of Shrewsbury and 13 miles (20 km) west-northwest of Wolverhampton. It is near the M54 motorway and A5 (road), A5 road ...

. Middleton has a Norman chapel, much renovated in the 1850s, with a Norman motte next to it. It is a grade II* listed building. Middleton Court nearby was built in 1864 by the Rouse-Boughton family of

Downton Hall Downton Hall is a privately owned 18th-century country house at Stanton Lacy, near Ludlow, Shropshire. It is a Grade II* listed building. The house was built about 1733 by Wredenhall Pearce, who had inherited the estate in 1731. The new house ...

who owned most of the land around. Brook House, built in the late 1500s, is a timber-framed moated manor house which is also Grade II* listed. Its late 18th Century privy, 17th and 18th Century outbuilding and kiln and its stables dated 1726 are all Grade II listed. Brook House Cottage (Grade II* listed) is medieval with 17th Century and 19th Century alterations. Middleton was on the now-dismantled railway 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 ...

in Ludlow to the quarries on Clee Hill. Most of the present-day village is 20th century and built along the B4364, comprising some older detached properties and three housing developments: Paddockside, Westview and Ledwyche Close.

References

Villages in Shropshire {{Shropshire-geo-stub

See also

References