Onibury is a village and civil parish on the River Onny in southern Shropshire, about 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of the market town of Ludlow.

Onibury
St. Michael and All Angels parish church
Onibury is located in Shropshire
Onibury
Onibury
Location within Shropshire
Population297 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid referenceSO453791
Civil parish
  • Onibury
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLudlow
Postcode districtSY7
Dialling code01584
PoliceWest Mercia
FireShropshire
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Shropshire
52°24′25″N 2°48′11″W / 52.407°N 2.803°W / 52.407; -2.803

The parish includes the hamlets of Walton and Wootton and was extended in 1967 to include parts from Clungunford and Stokesay.[2] It borders the parishes of Clungunford, Stokesay (now part of Craven Arms parish), Bromfield, Culmington and Stanton Lacy. The country houses of Ferney Hall and Stokesay Court are in the parish.

History edit

Toponym edit

The toponym "Onibury" is derived from the Old English for "fortified place on the River Onny". "Onny" means "river on whose banks ash trees grew", from the Welsh "on" meaning ashes.[3]

Domesday Book edit

Onibury is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Aneberie. It had 15 households, making it a fairly medium-sized settlement for the time, and a priest.[4] The manor formed part of the Saxon hundred of Culvestan.[5]

Hundred edit

Onibury came to be in the lower division of the hundred of Munslow, following the amalgamation of Culvestan and Patton hundreds in the reign of Henry I (1100-1139).

Parish church edit

 
Queen post roof of St. Michael's nave

The Church of England parish church of Saint Michael & All Angels has a Norman (or possibly Saxon[4]) chancel arch but much of the present building dates from the 14th century. The nave has a queen post roof, box pews and a west gallery. Lancet windows illuminate the 12th-century chancel, which features a walled-up priest's door. The 16th-century pulpit, late perpendicular with Jacobean additions, has linenfold panelling. St. Michael's has several 17th-century monuments. St. Michael's was restored under the direction of the Arts and Crafts architect Detmar Blow (1867–1939). The church is a Grade II* listed building.[6]

The tower has a ring of four bells. John of Gloucester cast the second and third bells in about 1350.[7] Henry Clibury of Wellington[8] cast the tenor bell in 1676 and John Rudhall of Gloucester cast the treble bell in 1824.[7] For technical reasons the bells are currently unringable.[7]

In the churchyard is the parish's war memorial, initially erected after World War I, to the dead of both World Wars in the form of a stone cross.[9]

St. Michael's is one of 17 churches in the Benefice of the Ludlow Team Ministry.[10]

John Derby Allcroft was Lord of the Manor and Patron of Saint Michael & All Angels church during the 19th century.[11]

Transport edit

 
The Apple Tree "bar & bistro"

Onibury had a railway station on the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway.[12]

 
Onibury railway station in 1949

The A49 road passes through the village and there is a level crossing, where there is still a signal box.

National Cycle Network route 44 passes through, via the country lanes, en route between Ludlow and Bishop's Castle.

Places near Onibury edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  2. ^ Vision of Britain Onibury CP
  3. ^ Ekwall, Eilert (1960) [1947], Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 350, ISBN 0198691033
  4. ^ a b The Parish Church of St. Michael, Onibury, Shropshire (church guide). St Michael's, Onibury. 2008.
  5. ^ Open Domesday Onibury
  6. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Michael (Grade II*) (1269840)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  7. ^ a b c Dawson, George. "Onibury S Michael & All Angels". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  8. ^ Dovemaster (25 June 2010). "Bell Founders". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  9. ^ Shropshire War Memorials, Sites of Remembrance. YouCaxton. 2013. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-909644-11-3.
  10. ^ Archbishops' Council. "Benefice of the Ludlow Team Ministry". A Church Near You. Church of England. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  11. ^ Williams, William Retlaw (1897). The parliamentary history of the county of Worcester. Hereford: Jakeman and Carver. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Stations". Shropshire History. Retrieved 16 March 2017.

External links edit