Rushbury

Rushbury
St Peter's parish church, Rushbury
OS grid reference	SO513918
Civil parish	Rushbury
Unitary authority	Shropshire
Ceremonial county	Shropshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CHURCH STRETTON
Postcode district	SY6
Dialling code	01694
Police	West Mercia
Fire	Shropshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Ludlow

Rushbury is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, roughly five miles from Church Stretton and eight miles from Much Wenlock.

Nearby villages include Cardington, Longville in the Dale, Ticklerton and Wall under Haywood. Longville and Wall lie within Rushbury parish.

Rushbury is a quiet rural community, with a Church of England church and primary school.

History

Origins

The name Rushbury is thought to derive from Rush Manor but other evidence suggests it could originate from the Old English 'risc' literally meaning 'a place where rushes grow' and the Old English word of 'burh' is a 'fortified place', which put the two together, becomes 'Rush Fortification'. Human activity has been around since Neolithic times and there was once an Iron Age hill fort. The area of Rushbury Civil Parish (CP) has changed throughout history. According to the 1831 census it was 5,620 acres before decreasing to 4,132 acres by the 1851 census and then increasing to 6,304 by 1891 where it has remained since. Rushbury CP now includes the settlements of East Wall, Longville in the Dale, Lushcott, Stanway, Stone Acton and Wall under Heywood.

Population

Throughout history, the population has changed and since the start of the census in 1801 the population has steadily increased and reached its peak of 507 until 1831 where it decreased slightly to 495 before increasing again (with the exception of 1921 where it was 530) in 1881 from 500. There was a slight decrease again in 1951.see chart on population of Rushbury. According to the 2001 census the current population is 603.

Economic History

According to the Domesday book Rushbury had the most arable land compared to the surrounding manors. In 1086 it had: "two ploughteams in demesne worked by 4 servi, while 1 villanus, 2 bordars, and 3 radmen worked five more". Rushbury also had enough woodland in the Middle Ages to fatten 40 swine and about 1250, one pig in ten was given to the lord of Lutwyche. However, by 1301 most of Rushbury had deforested and made warren land. In 1086 one water mill was recorded at Rushbury and a tanner was supposed to have lived here in 1602. A link showing a pie chart of occupational categories in 1831 here. Over three quarters of the male population aged over 20 were involved in agriculture see chart. A map showing land utilisation of Rushbury in 1942 can be seen here. The yellow areas represent common land, brown arable land, dark green mixed forest and purple houses with gardens, allotments and orchards.

As of 2001 the vast majority of people work in agriculture (51 people) or in retail trade (39) or education (30). Most people work away from home travelling by car or van (163) but a high proportion also work from home (90).

Wilderhope Manor

Wilderhope Manor, a 16th-century country house restored in 1936 and now owned by the National Trust, is used as a Youth Hostel. It is a grade I listed building.

Church

The founding date of the church is unknown, but was most likely built around Saxon times and the name St Peter was known by around 1740. Between 1548-1792 the church belonged to the lord of Rushbury manor. A rectory was built around 1260. In the 1800s, the rector of Rushbury received £40 a year in half of grain and corn tithes from Gretton, Gilberries, Wall under Heywood and other parts of Rushbury township. It is known that in 1716 there were two Sunday services, one with a sermon and communion six times a year. In the mid 18th century, sacrament offerings (charity money) were given to the poor. The church was restored in 1855-1856 by William Hill of Smethcott with the costs being met by subscriptions and grants from the Hereford Diocesan Church Building Society. The registers begin in 1538, but there are several gaps in the 16th and 17th centuries. The church was made a grade II listed building on 12 November 1954.

Geography

Further information Geography of Shropshire Geology of Shropshire

Rushbury is located in the Shropshire Hills an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB) and sits in a valley, known as the Ape Dale, with Wenlock Edge to the southeast. About 7 km (4 miles) to the west is the Long Mynd.

Rushbury lies in Silurian rock a type of limestone much like Wenlock Edge itself. Rushbury lies about 200m above sea level.

Three rivers flow past or near Rushbury: Lakehouse Brook flows right next to the village, while Heath Brook and Coley Brook run near the village and with in Rushbury CP itself.

The Nearest major settlement is Church Stretton at 5 km (5 miles) and is about 26 km (16 miles) from the county town of Shrewsbury

Transport

Road

Rushbury Road runs through Rushbury Village itself and connects to the B4371, which in turn connects to the nearest major road A49 that runs through Church Stretton and goes to Shrewsbury in the north.

Rail

The nearest train station is Church Stretton railway station and has services to Shrewsbury.

Bus

There is a bus that goes through Rushbury via the 540 Shrewsbury - Cardington service that operates Monday-Friday (excludes bank holidays) during school term time and Saturdays. The bus stop is located opposite St Peters Church.

Walking/cycle

There are many established paths and public rights of way, the nearest main public bridle path being Coats Wood which connects to other bridle ways, some of which run almost the entire length of Wenlock Edge. There are also established cycle networks nearby.