Bucknell is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The village lies on the River Redlake, within 600 metres of the River Teme and close to the borders with Wales and Herefordshire. It is about six miles east of Knighton and is set within the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village has the "P"s identified by Country Life as essential to a successful village: a pub, a post office, a place of worship, a primary school and public transport.
HistoryThe settlement of Bucknell was first mentioned in the Domesday Book, as 'Buckehale' or 'Buckenhill. The name is derived from Old English and means 'Bucca's hill' or 'he-goats' hill'.[2] At the time of the Domesday survey, the Shropshire and Herefordshire boundary divided the village. The Norman magnate Roger de Montgomery held the village from the King. He built many castles including Montgomery, Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Clun, Hopton and Oswestry; at the time over 90% of the lordships and manors of Shropshire were held in Chief by him. His under-tenants in this area were Ralph de Mortimer, who held Bucknell (amongst his 123 manors with his chief domain in England being at Wigmore Castle), and William de Picot, (also known as Picot de Say), with his chief domain at Clun Castle. The earth mound at The Olde Farm in Bucknell is the remains of a Norman motte castle situated on the banks of the River Redlake, close to a river crossing point and to the Parish Church. In 1554-55 an Act of Parliament was passed transferring the whole of Bucknell to the county of Shropshire. The Lords of the Manor at that time were the Sitwell family. Historically, most of the male population worked in agriculture and timber. BuildingsThe earliest of the existing buildings date back to the 17th century. The houses were built in a haphazard fashion near the river with easy access to water. The village depended on water from the river and wells until the 1920s when water was piped into the village from a spring above Chapel Lawn. The houses at the lower end of the village were very susceptible to flooding, and this hazard continued until the ford was walled up in the 1950s. Bucknell had four pubs: The Sitwell Arms, The Plough (just opposite), The Railway Tavern and The Bridge End. The latter three are all now private houses, though a new pub - the Baron of Beef is now open. Bucknell also had a shop and bakery in the Square and its own corn mill which was situated at the west end of the village. Bucknell Post office opened in the mid 19th century. The original post office was just round the corner and still goes by the name of The Old Post Office. The butcher's shop is still on its original site. After World War I a Memorial Hall was built in the village and still stands. One of those behind its construction was William Burgoyne. ServicesToday the village boasts an impressive number of businesses and public services for its size. Two public houses, a post office and neighbouring tea rooms, a butcher, a petrol forecourt and shop, a general store open every day, a railway station, a primary school and numerous companies providing services to local agricultural and forestry enterprises. The schoolThe Old School House was built in the 17th century to provide education for those who could pay for it. The school remained until the present one was built in 1865. The Old School House then became a shop and bakery before becoming a private dwelling. The land upon which the present school was built was given in 1865. The first schoolmaster appointed in 1867 to the new St Mary's National School was Mr Henry Evans, 24 years old. The school was extensively re-modelled in 1966 when additional teaching space and a kitchen was added enabling meals to be cooked on the premises. St Mary's school is a maintained Church of England primary school with 43 pupils on roll at January 2004. The age range is 4–11 years. An Independent School, Bedstone College, is also nearby[3].. Places of worshipThere were three places of worship:
PopulationDespite more houses, the number of people living in Bucknell has dropped. The population of the village in 1811 Census was 226. At the end of the 19th century this had risen to 546. In the 1981 Census the population of the village was 494; in 1991 the population of the parish (probably including Bedstone) was 601 consisting of some 250 dwellings and in 2001 it was 642 in 294 dwellings. RailwayThe village is on the Heart of Wales Line, and is served by Bucknell railway station.[4] References
External linksSurrounding villages
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||