The town history is so varied where do you start?
Well 430 million years ago we were undersea and part of a coral reef. In the local museum you can learn about where to find fossils and the human history of the town from the arrival of the Romans in the 1st century through to the Victorians, plus how the town influenced the birth of the modern Olympic Games.
Time Line
430 million years ago
Wenlock was under sea. Wenlock Edge was a coral reef and today's fossils were being formed.
1 AD
Recent evidence has been found of Roman occupation
680 AD
Monastery built on the site of Wenlock Priory for monks and nuns. Milburga, daughter of Merwalh, and founder, was an abbess on the site and because of her miracles was made a saint after her death.
1100
Holy Trinity became a parish church, having sustained many renovations before and after.
1224
Wenlock gained the right to hold a weekly market
1247
Wenlock determined to be a town
1300s
Stone jail built, now the far end of the Guildhall
1468
Borough charter granted by Edward IV which included 17 parishes, yet the Priory still had the main say in things until its dissolution.
1540
Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII and our Wenlock Priory fell
1540
Courthouse was built at the Guildhall
1577
Council Chambers erected as part of the Guildhall. Erected in 2 days 23-24 September. This was an early version of prefab construction!
1600
Windmill built early this century
1642
Charles I stayed at Ashfield Hall
1726
Spire added to Holy Trinity Church
1800's
Bull baiting stopped at The Bull Ring
1809
13 August birth of Dr. William Penny Brookes, one of the most influential pioneers of the modern day Olympic Games.
1835
Wenlock got its first mayor
1848
National School developed for more affordable education for the locals. Interior of Guildhall “improved” with Tudor panelling of magnificent workmanship.
1850
Olympic Society founded.
Construction started on Wenlock’s railway
1851
Construction of Corn Exchange started
1852
Last offender sentenced in Wenlock courts - Thomas Lloyd. Stocks last used at Guildhall for punishment, now just on display for unruly children!
1854
Agricultural reading library opened at Corn Exchange
1857
Wenlock “witch” Nanny Morgan stabbed to death
1858
First Olympic Games
1862
Wenlock to Buildwas railway line officially opened
1865
Dr. William Penny Brookes founded the National Olympian Society
1878
Market hall built, now town museum
1882
Town brook culverted, for more sanitary conditions
1890
Baron de Coubertin, acknowledged Dr.William Penny Brooke's role in modern Olympic games
1891
Guildhall extension added making archway to Church Walk and joining shops to building
1895
Death of Dr. William Penny Brookes
1897
Memorials to Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee placed around town
1919
Market hall made into The Memorial Hall after the First World War
1929-30
Holy Trinity Church spire removed
1930-79
Dr. Barnardos’ Home for orphans, Corris House, existed in Wenlock on Southfield Road. In present day it is now a nursing home, still helping those in need.
1949
Author Mary Webb’s book GONE TO EARTH filmed in Wenlock and areas nearby
1952
The National School closed in the Bull Ring
1962
21 July, last locomotive left Wenlock railway station
1966
Wenlock lost its Borough status
1985
Courtroom at Guildhall ceased to function as a court
1988
Town Square conceived and built for the enjoyment of locals and visitors
2003
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip stopped in Wenlock while on tour to see the town’s Olympic connections
TO THIS DAY
Wenlock still uses Holy Trinity as the parish church.
The Guildhall functions for town council meetings and mayoral events, as well as being a visitor attraction and venue for school visits.
The Memorial Hall is now the Tourist Information Centre and home of the town museum telling of Wenlock’s assorted past.
The Corn Exchange is still partially tied to William Penny Brookes by housing the archives and town clerk’s office and functioning as a public library.
Markets are still held in the Corn Exchange and under the Guildhall and people can still have all the amenities they had in Victorian times within the town borders.
See also:
Origin of the name of Much Wenlock |
