Peplow is a hamlet 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 part of 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
Hodnet
Hodnet ( ) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Shropshire, England. The town of Market Drayton lies 5.7 miles (9.2 km) north-east of the village. In 2011 the parish had a population of 1534.
History
Evidence of a ...
, a larger village to the north. The
hamlets
A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...
of Bowling Green and Radmoor are both in the village's vicinity.
It lies in a rural area on the
A442 road
The A442 is a main road which passes through the counties of Worcestershire and Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England.
__TOC__
Route
From Droitwich in Worcestershire it runs towards Kidderminster where it meets the A449 from Wor ...
, between
Crudgington and Hodnet, with
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 ...
immediately to the east.
At the time of the
Domesday survey
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 ...
, the manor of Peplow was held by
Ranulph de Mortimer
Ranulph I de Mortimer (''Ralf'', ''Ralph'', ''Raoul de Mortemer'') (born before –died in/after 1104) was a Marcher Lord from the Montgomery lands in the Welsh Marches (border lands between Wales and England). In England, he was Lord of Wigmore ...
. The land later became part of the Hodnet estate, and was held by the Ludlow and Vernon families, until 1715 when it was sold to the Pigot family, who built Peplow Hall.
The hamlet is best known for
Peplow Hall, an 18th-century
manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
, and Peplow Mill. The mill contains an early water turbine dating from 1820 and spans the
River Tern
The River Tern (also historically known as the Tearne) is a river in Shropshire, England. It rises north-east of Market Drayton in the north of the county. The source of the Tern is considered to be the lake in the grounds of Maer Hall, Staff ...
.
There is a
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
club called Hodnet and Peplow CC, and the club's badge is that of a gold lion (from the gates of Hodnet Hall), lying beneath a green beech tree (representing the beech trees lining the driveway of Peplow Hall). Its first eleven play in the Rollinson Smith Shropshire Cricket League Division 3.
Transport
Peplow railway station was on the line 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
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 ...
operated by
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
. It opened in 1867 and closed in 1963. The former station building is now a private residence.
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 a former
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
air base near
Child's Ercall. It operated from 1941 to 1949. It is named after Peplow (even though it is not the closest settlement) because Peplow's railway station was the closest station and servicemen would disembark from it and would walk to the air base.
Peplow Hall
Peplow Hall is an 18th-century mansion in the hamlet. It is a
Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.
The current building was constructed by Hugh Pigot, an ancestor of the
Pigot Baronets, in 1725. His grandson, Sir George Pigot
Bt, sold the estate to the Clegg family.
After passing to the
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...
Family, in 1873 the Hall was sold to the industrialist Francis Stanier. As well as expanding the Hall, Francis Stanier is also believed to have brought a collection of stuffed animals to the Hall, including an
emperor penguin
The emperor penguin (''Aptenodytes forsteri'') is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is Endemism in birds, endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching in length and weighing fr ...
,
leopards
The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...
, and at least one
crocodile
Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...
.
In 1877, work began on the Chapel of the Epiphany, with the building being designed by
Richard Norman Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw RA (7 May 1831 – 17 November 1912), also known as Norman Shaw, was a British architect who worked from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings. He is considered to be among the g ...
. The chapel remained in the Stanier family's possession until 1951, when it was passed to the
Diocese of Lichfield
The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...
.
In 1921, Sir
Beville Stanier moved from the Hall to the Citadel, in
Weston-under-Redcastle
Weston-under-Redcastle is an estate village of the Rowland Hill (MP), Sir Rowland Hill legacy estates. It is a civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies 10 km (6.2 miles) by road east of Wem. Historically, it has been part of the manor ...
.
In 1921, the Hall was sold, and in 1932 the south-east wing of the Hall was demolished.
From some point during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, to 1963, the Hall was owned by Neville Howard Rollason, and from 1963 to 1978 the property was owned by William B Higgin.
In 1978 the Hall was sold to
Michael Wynn, 7th Baron Newborough
Robert Charles Michael Vaughan Wynn, 7th Baron Newborough, Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom), DSC (24 April 1917 – 11 October 1998) was a British peer and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve officer who played a decisive role during the S ...
. in 2015, Robert Wynn, 8th
Baron Newborough
Baron Newborough is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland; both titles are extant. The first creation came in 1716 in favour of George Cholmondeley, later 2nd Earl of Cholmondeley. See Marquess of Cholmondeley for further h ...
, sold the Estate.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Hodnet, Shropshire
References
External links
Villages in Shropshire
{{Shropshire-geo-stub