Rorrington is a
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
in west
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 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
Chirbury with Brompton
Chirbury () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Chirbury with Brompton, in the Shropshire district, in west Shropshire, England. It is situated in the Vale of Montgomery, close to the Wales–England border ( at its nea ...
. Four
lanes
In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in eac ...
lead into the hamlet: from
Marton in the north,
Meadowtown
Meadowtown is a hamlet in west Shropshire, England, in the civil parish of Worthen with Shelve. Neighbouring hamlets include Marton, Ox Wood, Crest Wood, and Rorrington.
Meadowtown contains a Site of Special Scientific Interest accordin ...
in the east,
Middleton in the south, and
Wotherton
Wotherton is a hamlet in west Shropshire, close to the Welsh border. It is in the civil parish of Chirbury with Brompton. Its name, mentioned as a manor in the Domesday Book means, roughly, "settlement at a woodland ford"; the road through the ...
in the west.
National Cycle Route 44
National Cycle Network Route 44, part of the National Cycle Network, is a 31.1 mile cycle route, connecting Shrewsbury, Shropshire with Cinderford, Gloucestershire. The part of the route from Shrewsbury to Bromfield, Shropshire, Bromfield is sign ...
passes through the hamlet.
Shropshire Council
National Cycle Route 44
History
Rorrington's name is possibly derived from Old English personal name and could be translated as "the estate of Hror".[Mills, A. ''A Dictionary of British Place-Names'', OUP, 2003] As ''Roritune'', it was recorded as a manor 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 ...
, when it was held jointly by Robert and Roger fitz Corbet.[Eyton, ''Antiquities of Shropshire, Volume XI'', 1860, p.94]
There was once a holy well
A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...
here, located on the hillside at Rorrington Green. In the mediaeval period it was a place of pilgrimage and there was a small chapel on the site, administered by the canons of St Michael's church in Chirbury and probably dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This may have been the Christianisation of an earlier tradition.[Hannaford, H. R. ''Notes on a sketch survey of the Holy Well at Rorrington'', Shropshire Archaeology Service, 1996, p.2]
Until the 1830s, a "Halliwell Wakes" was held on Ascension Day
The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ (also called the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday) commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. It ...
, when villagers would process round the hillside, with music and dancing: pins were thrown in the well ( dressed with green boughs, rushes and flowers) for good luck.[Hope, R. ''Legendary Lore of the Holy Wells of England Including Rivers, Lakes, Fountains and Springs'', 1893, p.147]
See also
*Listed buildings in Chirbury with Brompton
Chirbury with Brompton is a civil parish in Shropshire, England. It contains 80 Listed building#England and Wales, listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, two are listed at Grade I, the highe ...
References
Villages in Shropshire
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