Craven Arms

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Craven Arms
Craven Arms (Shropshire)
Craven Arms

Craven Arms shown within Shropshire
Population 2,289
OS grid reference SO432828
District South Shropshire
Shire county Shropshire
Region West Midlands
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town CRAVEN ARMS
Postcode district SY7
Dialling code 01584
Police West Mercia
Fire Shropshire
Ambulance West Midlands
European Parliament West Midlands
UK Parliament Ludlow
List of places: UKEnglandShropshire

Coordinates: 52°26′25″N 2°50′06″W / 52.4402, -2.8349

Craven Arms is a small town and civil parish in South Shropshire, England. The town is surrounded to the north by the Shropshire Hills AONB, and to the south is the fortified manor house Stokesay Castle.

Craven Arms is located on the A49 road and the Welsh Marches and Heart of Wales railway lines, which connect it north and south to the larger towns of Shrewsbury and Ludlow respectively. The town has a small railway station.

Contents

[edit] History

Craven Arms is a relatively new town (for Shropshire), being only a small village "Newton" on a map of 1695. The settlement grew when the railways came during the mid to late 19th Century. Newton is still the name for the southeastern part of the present day town, while the northern part is called Newington or New Inn (another small village which existed prior to the town). The town takes its name from the Craven Arms Hotel, situated on the junction of the A49 and B4368 roads, which in turn is named after the Lords Craven (who owned nearby Stokesay Castle).

The civil parish of Craven Arms was formed from two older parishes — Stokesay and Halford. Small parts of the settlement overlap into neighbouring Wistanstow and Sibdon Carwood parishes.

[edit] Geography

Nearby towns are Bishop's Castle, Clun, Church Stretton and Ludlow.

The River Onny flows to the town's east and just over the river is the small village of Halford. To the south is the small village of Stokesay.

[edit] Landmarks

Landmarks in the Craven Arms area include: the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre, a centre featuring exhibits about the county's geography; and Stella Mitchell's Land of Lost Content Museum, a collection of 20th century memorabilia, which has recently opened. Stokesay Castle is a fortified manor house located near to Craven Arms.

[edit] Future plans

The town has recently gone through a phase of expansion and this looks set to continue with South Shropshire District Council stating that they wish to see the town become the district's second main market town (after Ludlow) by 2026.

[edit] Cultural links

Bruce Chatwin wrote On the Black Hill whilst staying at Cwm Hall near the town.[1] The film Atonement was filmed in part near Stokesay.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Writer's retreat on the black hill - Telegraph
  2. ^ Daily Telegraph. Joe Wright: a new movie master. Retrieved on 24 August 2007.