Weston-under-Redcastle is an estate village of the Sir Rowland Hill legacy estates. It is 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 ...

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 lies 10 km (6.2 miles) by road east of

Wem Wem may refer to: * HMS ''Wem'' (1919), a WWI Royal Navy minesweeper * Weem, a village in Perthshire, Scotland * Wem, a small town in Shropshire, England * Wem (musician), hip hop musician WEM may stand for: * County Westmeath County Westmeat ...

. Historically, it has been part of the manor of Hawkstone. It is under the south west edge of the Hawkstone Ridge.

Population

History

Iron Age

Bury Walls Bury Walls is an Iron Age hillfort about south-east of Weston-under-Redcastle, in Shropshire, England. It is a scheduled monument. Description The fort is on a promontory facing south-west, part of the southern escarpment of a sandstone ridge. ...

, an Iron Age hillfort indicates the earliest known substantial occupation of the area.

Roman

The disputed remains of a Roman camp have been contended for the area, postulated to be the lost settlement of Rutunium.

Medieval: the Audley family

Weston-under-Redcastle was called Westune in the 1086

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 ...

; it was included in 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 ...

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 ...

within the county of

. The village had 21 households (large for the time) with total tax value of 3

geld Geld may refer to: * Gelding, equine castration * Danegeld, a tax paid to Viking raiders * Geld (surname) See also * Gel (disambiguation) * Gelt (disambiguation) Gelt may refer to: * Gelt, also known as Hanukkah gelt, chocolate coins given to Je ...

units. In 1066 the value to the lord was £3; in 1086 it was £2. The village contained 3 villagers, 9 smallholders, 8

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

and 1 rider. Weston had 8 plough lands, 2 lord's plough teams and one men's plough team. In 1066 the lord was

Edric the Wild Eadric ''the Wild'' (or Eadric ''Silvaticus''), also known as Wild Edric, Eadric ''Cild'' (or ''Child'') and Edric ''the Forester'', was an Anglo-Saxon magnate of Shropshire and Herefordshire who led English resistance to the Norman Conquest, acti ...

, and in 1086 it was Ranulf Peverel. The fifteen Shropshire hundreds mentioned in 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 ...

were entirely rearranged in the 1100-1135 reign of King Henry I, and the Hundred of Hodnet was merged before 1203 into the Hundred of Bradford. When Bradford was divided, Weston was in North Bradford. In 1227

Henry de Audley Henry Audley (or Aldithel or Alditheley; c. 1175–1246) was an English royalist baron and marcher lord. He was made Constable to Hugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster. Audley was a royalist baron, born about 1175 to Adam de Alditheley and Emma, daug ...

, Sheriff of Shropshire and Staffordshire, built a sandstone castle on a natural outcrop of rock that was flanked on all sides by wide valleys. The Audley family, later allied to the

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

family held it in the medieval period: Dugdale informs us that "this castle was erected in the reign of Henry III; but there is an ancient manuscript in the Audley family, which proves that its original existence was of much earlier date. It is there said that 'Maud, or Matilde, wife of

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

, gave to John de Audley and to his heirs, the lands about Red Castle, in the county of Salop, for certain services done by him to the state."

Tudor and early modern: the Hill family

Sir Rowland Hill of

Soulton Soulton Hall is a Tudor architecture, Tudor country house near Wem, England. It was a 16th century architectural project of Rowland Hill (MP), Sir Rowland Hill, publisher of the Geneva Bible. Hill was a statesman, polymath and philanthropist, ...

(associated with

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

play ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'' and the coordination of the

Geneva Bible The Geneva Bible, sometimes known by the sobriquet Breeches Bible, is one of the most historically significant translations of the Bible into English, preceding the Douay Rheims Bible by 22 years, and the King James Version by 51 years. It was ...

) recruited the Hawkstone landscape for his landscape gardens. At that time, the senior house in the Hawkstone manor was still the Red Castle, and this was recorded as being a ruin when Leland visited in around 1540. Hill therefore maintained his house at Soulton.

Hawkstone Park Hawkstone Park is a historic landscape park in Shropshire, England, with pleasure grounds and gardens. It historically associated with Soulton Hall the Shropshire headquarters of Sir Rowland Hill ("Old Sir Rowland") publisher of the Geneva B ...

as understood today is 100 acres (40 ha) of

follies ''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot centers on a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Follies ...

and landscaped parkland grounds and rocky outcrops, based around the Red Castle, and this landscape garden was the output of a further development phase associated with

Richard Hill of Hawkstone Richard Hill of Hawkstone Hall, Shropshire, was baptised at Hodnet, Shropshire, on 23 March 1655 and died unmarried at Richmond, Surrey, on 11 June 1727, aged 72. He was known as 'the Great Hill', diplomatist, public servant and statesman, who a ...

(1655-1727), who was a tutor to the family of

Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, Alchemy, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the foun ...

St Luke's Church

The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

church of St Luke dates back to 1791, built in the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

style but with a Georgian tower. 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 ...

. It was originally a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

, attached to the parish of

. It now a parish church running with St Peter and St Paul in Wem. The red sandstone building of 1791, on a medieval site, was mostly funded by

Sir Richard Hill, 2nd Baronet Sir Richard Hill, 2nd Baronet of Hawkstone (6 June 1732 – 28 August 1808), was a prominent religious revivalist and Tory Member of Parliament for Shropshire 1780–1806. Life He was the eldest son of Sir Rowland Hill, 1st Baronet, who was ...

of Hawkstone. It was restored in the late 19th century: this included the chancel, the gabled timber porch, stained glass, pews and octagonal font.

1968 siege

In 1968 a farmer named John James held a woman hostage in a derelict cottage just north of the village. The siege lasted for 17 days, with James shooting at photographers and an armoured car sent in by the Army. The siege ended when the hostage threw James's shotgun out of a window, which allowed soldiers and police to storm the cottage. It remains the longest siege of a wanted person in UK history. Stocks - geograph

Transport

The village is just east of the A49, linking it with nearby

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 ...

. The nearest railway station is

, with a usually two-hourly service south to

and north to

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...

. There are two bus stops in Weston, opposite and adjacent to the church, connecting the village with Shrewsbury and Wem.

Hawkstone landscape park

The village is set against

. This is an important and early landscape garden.

Culture and cultural references

Maynard's Farm Shop is located close by and is mentioned in

Rick Stein Christopher Richard Stein, (born 4 January 1947) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter. Along with business partner (and first wife) Jill Stein, he runs the Stein hotel and restaurant business in the UK. T ...

's ''Food Heroes of Britain''.

Hawkstone Abbey Farm Hawkstone Park is a historic landscape park in Shropshire, England, with pleasure grounds and gardens. It historically associated with Soulton Hall the Shropshire headquarters of Sir Rowland Hill ("Old Sir Rowland") publisher of the Geneva Bi ...

is associated with the village, and is home to award-winning Appleby's Cheshire Cheese production. There is a legend that one of the caves of Hawkstone Park was the burial ground of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

. There is a popular annual village show.

Filming

The landscape was used to represent parts of

Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a ...

in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's TV adaptation of

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

's books in

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' is a portal fantasy novel written by British author C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956 ...

in1988 and

Prince Caspian ''Prince Caspian'' (originally published as ''Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia'') is a high fantasy novel written by British author C. S. Lewis and published by Geoffrey Bles in 1951. It was the second published of seven novels in ''The C ...

a year later.

King Arthur and the Holy Grail

The area is associated with the Arthurian story of the giants Tarquin and Tarquinus, with records of this in the 1700s. They are said to have owned the Red Castle, and their brother Sir Carados who captured

Sir Gawain Gawain ( ), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and one of the premier Knights of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalch ...

Sir Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), alternatively written as Launcelot and other variants, is a popular character in the Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. He is typically depicted as King Arthur's close companio ...

and Sir Tristam of the

Round Table The Round Table (; ; ; ) is King Arthur's famed table (furniture), table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status, unlike co ...

set out to rescue their friend. They encountered Sir Carados carrying Sir Gawain bound and tied across his saddle and after a legendary fight Sir Lancelot killed the giant at Killguards near Weston Church freeing Sir Gawain. Legend has it that King Arthur addressed his knights in the caves contained within this parkland. There is a legend that one of the caves of Hawkstone Park was the burial ground of

. There is a folklore belief that the

Holy Grail The Holy Grail (, , , ) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers, sometimes providing eternal youth or sustenanc ...

was in the grotto caves in Hawkstone; this is associated with an early Roman scent jar which was found inside a sculpture of an eagle when that sculpture broke in the 1920s.

Amenities

Weston has a

Village Hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...

, and Weston is home to the 18th century

Hotel which has two golf courses, two restaurants, bars and

Follies ''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot centers on a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Follies ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weston-Under-Redcastle Villages in Shropshire Civil parishes in Shropshire