Holdgate

Holdgate
Shropshire
Holdgate
Location
Grid reference:	SO561895
Location:	52°30’7"N, 2°38’50"W
Data
Post town:	Much Wenlock
Postcode:	TF13
Local Government
Council:	Shropshire
Parliamentary constituency:	Ludlow

Holdgate otherwise known as Stanton Holdgate or Castle Holdgate is a tiny village in Shropshire, lying in Corvedale.

The village is in the depths of the dale, south of the River Corve and its parallel tributary brook, the Trow Brook. It stands atop a small rise on which in the Middle Ages stood a castle; Holdgate Castle's earthworks and remains are visible today, and bear witness to the village's greater size and importance in past ages.

A mile to the north-east is the village of Stanton Long. Between the two villages, but within the former Holdgate parish (now in the Abdon parish) is the hamlet of Brookhampton. To the south is Tugford.

The village shares a civil parish with nearby Abdon, which sits on the slopes of Brown Clee Hill further to the south.

Parish church

Holy Trinity, Holdgate

The parish church is Holy Trinity, which dates from around 1100-1200. A church here is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086; it is one of the few manors in Shropshire listed as having a church and a priest, apparently since before the Norman Conquest.

The earliest part of the present church is the nave, built in the 12th century while the tower was added in the 13th Century. The church retains an ornate Norman south doorway and font. High on the outer south wall of the chancel is a carving reminiscent of the Sheila-na-gig carvings found in Ireland from pre-Christian times.

Although the parish has only some 33 residents, in recent years they managed to raise £50,000 for the church's restoration.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Holdgate)

• Holdgate