Worthen is a village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of Worthen with Shelve, in the

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 ...

district, in the ceremonial county of

, England. It is approximately 13 miles west of

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 ...

. It sits in the Rea Brook valley. To the south are the

Stiperstones The Stiperstones () is a distinctive hill in Shropshire, England. The quartzite rock of the ridge formed some 480 million years ago. During the last Ice Age Stiperstones lay on the eastern margin of the Welsh ice sheet. The hill itself was no ...

and the Bromlow Callow, known for the small clump of trees on top. To the north is Long Mountain. On 1 April 1987 the parishes of Worthen and Shelve were abolished to form the parish of Worthen with Shelve. The parish includes the hamlets and villages of Brockton, Little Worthen, Pennerley, and Snailbeach, in addition to its namesakes and several smaller settlements. It has an area of , and in the

2011 United Kingdom census A Census in the United Kingdom, census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Inter ...

the population of the parish was 2,078 in 877 household spaces. Worthen contains the grade I listed Church of England parish church, All Saints, a functioning Methodist Chapel, a primary school (now called Long Mountain School) with

Eco-School Eco-Schools is an international programme of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that aims to “empower students to be the change our sustainable world needs by engaging them in fun, action-orientated, and socially responsible lear ...

status, a village hall built in 1977 and a post office housed within the local shop. Hampton Hall, a grade II* listed country house, is nearby.

History

Population

The population of Worthen has fluctuated throughout history since the first

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

was taken in 1801 recording the population at 1,799. A slight decrease followed in 1811 before a steady increase to the peak of the population in 1881 at 3,029. A slight decrease followed this until 1851 when a small increase occurred bringing the population to 1,965. In 1961 the parish had a population of 1,760. According to the 2001 census the population of "Worthen with Shelve" parish was 1,929 with a total of 775 households in the parish, the population increasing to 2,078 at the 2011 Census.

Employment

Worthen's population was predominantly characterised by

labourers A laborer ( or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor typed within the construction industry. There is a generic factory laborer which is defined separately as a factory worker. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which ...

as recorded in the 1831 census, which showed a more organised classification of occupation, during this year there were 393 recorded labourers and servants employed in

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

and non-agricultural sectors. A more detailed census was taken in 1881, which showed a greater working population of 437 male workers in

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

substances and 240 male workers in agriculture.

Mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

was a major employment sector and well known mines included Snailbeach, a lead-ore mine, Perkins’ Beach lead mine and additionally grit and gravel mines.

Folklore

A local folktale tells of a family named Reynolds, who were driven out of their farm by two

bogies A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more wheelsets (two wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transport. A bogie may remain normally ...

who had the appearance of an old man and woman. When they left, the bogies managed to follow them to their new home by hiding inside a

salt cellar A salt cellar (also called a salt, salt-box) is an article of tableware for holding and dispensing salt. In British English, the term can be used for what in North American English are called salt shakers. Salt cellars can be either lidded or op ...

Notable people

Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford (18 September 1501 – 30 April 1563) was an English nobleman. After the execution for treason in 1521 and posthumous attainder of his father Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, with the forfeiture of al ...

, died at nearby

Caus Castle Caus Castle is a ruin of a hill fort and medieval castle in the civil parish of Westbury, Shropshire, Westbury in the England, English county of Shropshire. It is situated up on the eastern foothills of the Long Mountain (Powys), Long Mountain g ...

, buried at Worthen church. * Mary Anne Talbot, female soldier/sailor, lived at Worthen as child, also buried at Worthen. * Lois Baxter, actress, brought up at Worthen while father was local doctor. * Peter Wall, professional footballer, buried at Worthen church.''Shropshire Star'', 12 November 2024, p.16. Death notice which states his name as T. Peter Wall (sic).

References

External links

Hope hamlet, Worthen - 1980 news story of nuclear attack preparations
{{authority control Villages in Shropshire Former civil parishes in Shropshire