Baschurch
| Baschurch | |
| Shropshire | |
|---|---|
 Baschurch parish church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SJ425220 |
| Location: | 52°47’28"N, 2°51’14"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 1,595 (2011) |
| Post town: | Shrewsbury |
| Dialling code: | 01939 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Shropshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
North Shropshire |
Baschurch is a large village in Shropshire, in the north of the county, to the north of Shrewsbury.
History
Earliest references to Baschurch are under the Welsh name Eglwyssau Bassa (Churches of Bassa) where the king or prince Cynddylan of the region or town of Pengwern is said to have been buried in the early 7th century. This comes from a poem entitled Canu Heledd possibly written between the 10th and 12th centuries.[1]
Locally it is believed that Baschurch may have been the capital of Pengwern. The poem also refers to a battle occurring between the Welsh and the invading Saxons at the ancient fort, The Berth, just outside the village.
Local tradition holds that the Berth Pool and its ancient earthworks outside the village are the resting place of the legendary King Arthur.
Baschurch appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Bascherche. In the Middle Ages, several properties in the parish, including Adcote Mill, were owned by Haughmond Abbey near Shrewsbury.[2]
The world's first orthopaedic hospital was established at Florence House in Baschurch by Sir Robert Jones and Dame Agnes Hunt in 1900 as a convalescent home for crippled children and later to treat wounded from the First World War. The hospital moved to Oswestry in the 1921.
In 2000 a large stone made of local sandstone was erected in the modern centre of the village to commemorate the Millennium. Similar smaller stones were erected in neighbouring communities.
Churches
A major feature of the village is All Saints' Church (Church of England)[3] which is one of the oldest standing structures in the village (perhaps the oldest). A timber church which burnt down is believed to have stood on the same site previously. Thomas Telford made numerous major alterations to the modern sandstone church.
The village also had a Methodist Chapel which was built in 1873 and closed in 2014 after the congregation had "dwindled to less than a dozen".[4] It was sold for conversion into a house in April 2015.[5]
About the village
Baschurch has a number of amenities in the village, including Moor Farm Shop, Persona Stores & Baschurch Post Office, The Hair & Beauty Station, Lloyd's Fish & Chip Shop, Patel's Convenience Store, as well as a newly built Spar Shop. A retained fire station is located here.
The village has two public houses.
The Baschurch Playground on The Wheatlands has been enrolled as a Queen Elizabeth II Field.
Railways
The Shrewsbury to Chester Line passes through the village, though the Victorian Baschurch Station was closed in 1960.
On 13 February 1961 a passenger train travelling from Shrewsbury to Chester collided with a freight train which was partially shunted into a siding in Baschurch. Three people died in the accident.
There have been repeated efforts to bring the station back into use, most recently in Autumn 2008, with the support of Baschurch Parish Council and the Shrewsbury-Chester Rail Users' Association. In September 2009, a public meeting organised by the Baschurch Station Group, was attended by 250 local people and received extensive media coverage.[6][7]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Baschurch) |
- Baschurch in the Domesday Book
References
- ↑ Williams, Ifor, Canu Llywarch Hen University of Wales Press 1978.
- ↑ Rees, Una, editor, The Cartulary of Haughmond Abbey Shropshire Archaeological Society & University of Wales Press 1985.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ "New lease of life ahead for Methodist chapel". Shropshire Star: p. 5. 30 March 2015.
- ↑ "Church will become home after congregation drops". Shropshire Star: p. 5. 21 April 2015.
- ↑ Writtle, Joanne (2009). "Villagers' plea to reopen station". BBC Midlands Today. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/8268787.stm.
- ↑ Garvin, Jo (2009). "New life for railway station?". BBC News, Shropshire. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/8267296.stm.