Whixall is, by land area, the third largest inland village in England and 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 is documented 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 ...

as having been in existence in 1086. The nearest towns are Whitchurch, to the north, and

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 ...

, to the south. The parish lies on the border with the county borough of

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Its close proximity to Wales is shown by a hamlet called Welsh End. Within the parish boundaries (encompassing seven square miles) are various

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 ...

s including Abbey Green, Hollinwood, Welsh End, Stanley Green, Dobson's Bridge, Far End and Waterloo. Whixall village contains a

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, ...

village church, and primary school. The village's outdoor war memorial, a square-section obelisk, stands in fenced area on the roadside by the school. In July 2021 a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

stone artwork that became known as the "Whixall Monolith" or Whixall Stone, was discovered in the creation of a drive at a house in the village. Adorned with cup and ring carvings, the Permio-Triassic red sandstone block is apparently the first such monolith to be found in Shropshire. The

Llangollen Canal The Llangollen Canal () is a navigable canals of the United Kingdom, canal crossing the border between England and Wales. The waterway links Llangollen in Denbighshire, north Wales, with Hurleston in south Cheshire, via the town of Ellesmere, S ...

of the

Shropshire Union Canal The Shropshire Union Canal, sometimes nicknamed the "Shroppie", is a navigable canal in England. It is the modern name for a part of the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company network. In the leisure age, two of the branches of that netwo ...

and the short

Prees Prees () is a village and civil parish in north Shropshire, near the border between England and Wales. Its name is Celtic and means "brushwood". Prees civil parish The civil parish includes many other villages and hamlets as well as the namesa ...

Branch of the Ellesmere Canal run through the parish. Prees was the intended destination of the Prees Branch, however the arm was only completed as far as Quina Brook. The arm is now known as the Prees Branch of the

, and is navigable for about a mile to Whixall

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

. The remaining 3/4 mile is still followable on the towpath as it passes through Prees Branch Canal Nature Reserve. The canal is crossed by Dobson's Bridge, a fixed humpback bridge, which was classified in 1987 as a Grade Il

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 is also crossed by the listed Stark's Bridge, currently undergoing restoration. Adjacent to Whixall is Whixall Moss, part of Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve, the third largest

lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

raised bog in Britain, a rare habitat and the home of a number of rare species. Blind bend on NCR 45 - geograph

The Shropshire Way

long distance footpath A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exce ...

runs through Whixall.

References

External links

Villages in Shropshire Civil parishes in Shropshire {{Shropshire-geo-stub

See also

References

External links