Warley Wigorn

Warley Wigorn is a township that forms a detached part of Worcestershire that itself lies within a detached part of Shropshire in the Black Country. It is thoroughly interlaced with the townships of Warley Salop, Langley, Cakemore and Ridgacre, which all form part of Shropshire.

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History

Prior to the Norman Conquest in 1066 the Manor of Hala formed a northerly arm of Worcestershire, within the Hundred of Clent. By 1086 and the time of Domesday; the manor was listed as under the control of Roger de Montgomerie, Earl of Shrewsbury and his ally 'Roger the Huntsman'

The Domesday Book states that the Earl had an estate within the Manor, with "four ploughs at work on his home farm and 36 tenant farmers cultivating the remaining land with 41 ploughs between them. He also had a separate estate in Halesowen, leased to Roger the Huntsman, who had one plough on his own farm and six sub-tenants employing five more ploughs"

As a close ally of the King, the Earl of Shrewsbury was granted most of Hala by William the Conqueror, although the remainder of the land was gifted to others, such as Ansculf de Picquigny (his son William Fitz-Ansculf inherited the land). De Picquigny was a French Baron who became Sheriff of Buckinghamshire and founded the Barony of Dudley to administer his lands across eleven counties. Warley was divided into the Barony of Dudley's lands, known as Warley Wigorn (Warley Worcestershire) with Earl Roger's segments part of Shropshire, known as Warley Salop (Warley Shropshire).

Places of interest

A tree known as the Three Shires Oak stood at what is now the junction of Three Shires Oak Road, Thimblemill Road, Wigorn Road, and Abbey Road, where the Warley Wigorn part of Worcestershire adjoined Staffordshire and Shropshire. Wigorn Road itself, as the name suggests, forms the border of Worcestershire.