Much Wenlock

I moved offices in Telford this week and now have a much improved view compared to before. From the window I can see The Wrekin and, I think, a bit of Wenlock Edge. Which reminds me - I'd said I would describe some things we've done when the family has visited The Barn, and there are some I haven't mentioned yet. So time for a catch up. The first of them is the pretty little town of Much Wenlock...

Much Wenlock built up around the Abbey of St Mirburga, originally founded before 690 AD. The Abbey was refounded as a Cluniac Priory and rebuilt in the 12th and 13th centuries to create a large priory church, now a ruin...

But we weren't in the mood for visiting ruins, so had a walk around the town instead. If we had been more prepared we might have downloaded the excellent Town Walk Guide, but we just made up our own. There are lots of old timber-frame buildings...

... including the 16th Century Guildhall. The downstairs is still used as a market.

The borough of Much Wenlock was, at its height, the largest in England outside of London. On one of the walls you can see some of the original borough signs from when it encompassed 17 parishes. On the opposite was is this rather entertaining By-law...

... an early form of market-day traffic restriction - somewhat quainter than the new controversial Abbeygate St gates back home in Bury St. Edmunds!

Something I didn't know about Much Wenlock is its contribution to the modern Olympic Game movement. The Wenlock Olympian Games were founded by Dr William Penny Brookes in 1858. As the site says..

The concept was adopted and developed by various groups throughout the world and ultimately resulted in the first International Olympic Games in 1896. The local version of the games continue to this day, taking place every year in July.

The games were held in the Linden Field, and we went on a circular walk past the old station and along the route of the old railway line that went past it.

A pleasant walk, but now we wanted to get into the countryside proper...

BTW The Annual 3 week Much Wenlock Festival is on now. You can find details of what is on here

Update: Just spotted fellow Suffolk blogger Running in Suffolk's post on Much Wenlock from last year. It's worth a read.