Much Wenlock
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History
The town grew around a monastery founded in 680. In the twelfth century this was replaced by the Priory, the ruins of which can still be seen. Other architectural attractions include the sixteenth century Guildhall, many other historic buildings and an annual well dressing.
The town is known for William Penny Brookes' version of the Olympic Games, founded in 1850; they gradually grew in importance and he renamed them the National Olympian Games. The Wenlock Olympian Society Annual Games are still contested in the town.
A Borough of Wenlock existed until 1966. The Borough had unusual boundaries, covering Much Wenlock itself, but also Little Wenlock, Broseley and Ironbridge. 1966 saw the core Wenlock parts become part of the Bridgnorth Rural District, with other parts also going to Dawley urban district and to Wellington Rural District.
Cultural associations
Nearby is Wenlock Edge, an important geological feature. Both the Edge and the town are the subject of several poems by A.E. Housman in his famous volume [A Shropshire Lad], such as: "On Wenlock Edge the wood's in trouble..." and "Tis time, I think, by Wenlock town...". In 1909 these poems were set to music by Vaughan Williams as On Wenlock Edge, Song cycle for tenor and piano quintet.
The Victorian era romantic painter & sculptor Robert Bateman (1842-1922) lived near Much Wenlock, at the 16th-Century Benthall Hall. In 1907 Walter Crane described his painting as of... "a magic world of romance and pictured poetry ... a twilight world of dark mysterious woodlands, haunted streams, meads of deep green starred with burning flowers, vieled in a dim and mystic light."
In 1950 the town & its surrounding countryside were the locations of the film Gone to Earth by Powell and Pressburger. In 1985 the film was fully restored by the British Film Archive, and premiered to great acclaim. The New Statesman review claimed the restored film to be... "One of the great British regional films ...(and)... one of the most beautiful films ever to be shot of the English countryside". The film was based on the 1917 [novel] of the same name by local author Mary Webb, a novel partly inspired by the Diary of Francis Kilvert.
See also: Little Wenlock - nearby village.
External links
- [Wenlock Olympian Society]
- [Much Wenlock Visitor Guide by Virtual Shropshire]
- [Much Wenlock Photo Gallery]
- [A Literary Walk]
- [Festival at the Edge, an annual three-day festival of traditional storytelling]
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