WENLOCK

This article appears in Volume V28, Page 519 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: WAT-WIL

WENLOCK , a municipal borough in the Ludlow and

Wellington

parliamentary divisions of Shropshire, England, extending on both sides of the river Severn. Pop. (1901) 15,866. It includes the market towns of BROSELEY, MADELEY and MUCH WENLOCK (q.v.). The parish of Madeley includes the small towns of Iron-bridge and Coalport, with part of COALBROOKEDALE (q.v.). The

district

DISTRICT

is in part agricultural, but contains limestone quarries, some coal-mines and iron-works. The borough is under a mayor, 8 aldermen and 24 councillors. Area, 22,657 acres.
Wenlock (Weneloche) is said to be of pre-Roman origin, but owed its early importance to the nunnery founded c. 68o by St Milburg, daughter of Merewald, king of Mercia. This was destroyed by the Danes but refounded as a priory by

Earl

EARL

Leofric in 1017. It was again deserted after the Conquest until Roger de Montgomery founded a

house

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

of the Cluniac order on its site. The town was a borough by

prescription

PRESCRIPTION

, and its privileges began with the grants made to the priory and its tenants. It was incorporated under the name of " Bailiff, Burgesses and Commonalty " by Edward IV. in 1468 at the request of Sir John Wenlock, Kt., and " in consideration of the laudable services which the men of the town performed in assisting the king to gain possession of the crown," and the charter was confirmed in
1547 by

Henry

HENRY
HENRY (1129-1195)
HENRY (c. 1108-1139)
HENRY (c. 1174–1216)
HENRY (Fr. Henri; Span. Enrique; Ger. Heinrich; Mid. H. Ger. Heinrich and Heimrich; O.H.G. Haimi- or Heimirih, i.e. " prince, or chief of the house," from O.H.G. heim, the Eng.
home
, and rih, Goth. reiks; compare Lat. rex " king "—" rich," therefore " mig
HENRY, EDWARD LAMSON (1841– )
HENRY, JAMES (1798-1876)
HENRY, JOSEPH (1797-1878)
HENRY, MATTHEW (1662-1714)
HENRY, PATRICK (1736–1799)
HENRY, PRINCE OF BATTENBERG (1858-1896)
HENRY, ROBERT (1718-1790)
HENRY, VICTOR (1850– )
HENRY, WILLIAM (1795-1836)

VIII. and in 1631 by Charles I. The bailiff was to be chosen annually by the burgesses, but his election seems to have depended entirely upon the lord of the manor, and, after a contest in 1821 between Lord Forester and Sir W. W. Wynne, the lord of the manor at that date, was nominated by each of them alternately.. In the report of 1835 the borough is said to consist of seventeen parishes and to be unfit for corporate government. By the charter of Edward IV. the town obtained the right of sending two members to

parliament

PARLIAMENT (Anglo-Lat. parliamentum, Fr. parlement, from parler, to speak)

, but was disfranchised in 1885. The first grant of a market and

fair

FAIR

is dated 1227, when the prior of Wenlock obtained licence to hold a

fair

FAIR

on the vigil, day and morrow of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, and a market every Monday. The incorporation charter of 1468 granted these to the burgesses, who continue to hold them.
See Victoria County History: Shropshire; John Randall, Randall's Tourists' Guide to Wenlock (1875) ; " Borough of Wenlock," The Salopian and West Midland Monthly Illustrated Journal, March, April, November, December, 1877, April and October, 1878, March, 1879 (1877-1879).

End of Article: WENLOCK

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/WAT_WIL/WENLOCK.html">
WENLOCK
</a>

(Previous)
WENDT, HANS HINRICH (1853 )

(Next)
WENLOCK GROUP (Wenlockian)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email