Shrawardine

"SHRAWARDINE, a parish in the hundred of Pimhill, county Salop, 6½ miles N.W. of Shrewsbury, its post town, and the same distance S.W. of Baschurch railway station. The village, which is of small extent, is situated on the river Severn, and is chiefly agricultural. In the vicinity are the ruins of a border castle built by Count Alan, a follower of the Conqueror and ancestor of the Fitz-Alans, who held it under the crown for many ages as a defence to Shrewsbury against the Welsh. In the reign of Elizabeth it was purchased by Lord Chancellor Bromley, and during the Civil War was occupied by Cromwell. The site and remains are now the property of the Earl of Powis. There is a newly erected building, designated "The Castle," near to which is an extensive mere. The living is a rectory* with the vicarage of Montford annexed, in the diocese of Lichfield, value £380. The church is dedicated to St. Mary, and contains an ancient font, also a brass to Martha Botevyle. The parochial charities produce about £2 per annum. Sir C. Edmondes was born here in 1566. The Earl of Powis is lord of the manor."[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2015]