Hopton Wafers

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Hopton Wafers
Shropshire

St Michael and All Angels Church, Hopton Wafers
Location
Grid reference: SO636765
Location: 52°23’6"N, 2°32’2"W
Data
Population: 753  (2011)
Post town: Kidderminster
Postcode: DY14
Dialling code: 01299
Local Government
Council: Shropshire
Parliamentary
constituency:
Ludlow

Hopton Wafers is a small village in the south of Shropshire. It is to be found in the Shropshire Hills, on the A4117 road to the west of the market town of Cleobury Mortimer, and east of Titterstone Clee Hill.

The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 753.

The amusing name is in two parts: 'Hopton' is from Old English hopa, meaning 'valley' (usually a side valley running off a larger valley) and tun, meaning a farm or settlement, while 'Wafers' is from the mediæval manorial ownership; from Robert de Wafre, an early holder of the manor.[1]

A glassworks was located in Hopton Wafers which produced glass in the 17th and 18th centuries.[2]

About the village

The village church, St Michael and All Angels, was built in 1825: a Norman church had previously stood on the site, but had become dilapidated. The works were funded by Thomas Botfield, who had purchased the manor in 1812.[3]

There is a pub in the village, named The Crown at Hopton which has recently been renovated and is nicer than ever.[4]

The county's last remaining emergency escape lane (a sand trap for vehicles unable to brake) was removed in 2014 after being deemed both obsolete and potentially dangerous; it was located at the foot of Hopton Bank (on the A4117).[5]

There is a small family farm owned by the Auger family located in Hopton Wafers outputting fresh fruit to the surrounding area.[6]

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Hopton Wafers)

References

  1. Gelling, M.: 'Place-Names of Shropshire , Part 1' (English Place-Names Society, 1990), page 159
  2. "Shropshire's History Advanced Search | Shropshire's History Advanced Search". search.shropshirehistory.org.uk. http://search.shropshirehistory.org.uk/collections/getrecord/CCS_MSA3731/. Retrieved 10 April 2017. 
  3. Cleobury Benefice Hopton Wafers
  4. "The Crown Inn at Hopton Wafers DY14 0NB". crownathopton.co.uk. http://www.crownathopton.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2017. 
  5. Shropshire Star Shropshire motorists put faith in brakes as escape lane reaches end of road (21 May 2014)
  6. Auger Fruit Farm