| Stapleton | |
|---|---|
 St John the Baptist Church, Stapleton | |
| Population | 245 |
| OS grid reference | SJ4694904577 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | SY5 |
| Dialling code | 01743 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Shropshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Stapleton is an ancient parish in the Condover division of Condover hundred, it was a civil parish until 1967[1]. It is 6 miles S.W. of Shrewsbury, its post town, and 1 mile from the Dorrington Railway Station on the Shrewsbury and Hereford railway line and is just west of the A49. The village is situated on the road from Shrewsbury to Hereford, and on a branch of the river Severn. There is an embankment in the parish, which is suggested to have been formerly a Roman station. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is an ancient structure, which was re-seated in 1790[2].
History
editThe Stapleton parish contains the hamlets of Upper and Lower Moat, Netley, Shady Moor, and Vinnels. 235 people lived in Stapleton in 1831 but by 1961 the population had shrunk to 191[3], and it is estimated that in 2011 it had grown to 245 [4]. In 1831 there were 45 houses to house the 235 people that lived in the village which means on average 5-6 people lived in each house; by 1961 there were 55 houses to house the 191 people which is an average of 3-4 people in each home. Out of the 72 people employed in 1831 in Stapleton 56 worked in agriculture including farmers and labourers who worked for them. From this we can see that farming and agriculture dominated the workforce of Stapleton [5]. One of the places people worked is The Old Diary, which is still a working farm today [6].
Church
editThe church is ancient and amazing, due to the fact that on the top of the thick walls of a Saxon or Early Norman building a second church was built in the 12th century, thus creating two storeys, which were then moved into the current lofty structure [7]. The Church was restored in 1867. In the churchyard is a large tumulus supposed to be of Saxon origin. The church organ is among the top six hundred in the Country and there is a small tapestry piece in the nave said to have been worked by Mary Queen of Scots[8].
Domesday Book
editStapleton is mentioned in the Domesday Book but under the name Hundeslit. Stapleton was previously held as two manors by two Saxon franklins, Huning and Aelric and in 1086 it was divided between Roger Fitz Corbet and Alward the Saxon. It is likely that the mound near the Church may have been the site of one of the Saxon manor houses. The other manor house stood about a mile away, where the remains of the De Stapleton’s house still exists. The place was first as Stapleton in the reign of Stephen, when Baldwin de Meisy was Lord of Stapleton and Wistanstow. His descendants, who took the name of De Stapleton, held the manor till the beginning of the 15th century, when it passed to six co-heiresses, the daughters of Sir John Stapleton. The Church of St. John the Baptist was originally a chapelry of Condover, and as such paid 10s annually to the Abbey of Shrewsbury, which had taken the Mother Church. The building is architecturally of unusual interest, consisting of an early church, on one side below the level of the soil, above which, probably about the 12th century, another was built, and then at a later stage both were put together and lit by 14th century windows. The Church, which seats 122, was restored in 1866, when the windows of the lower church were discovered. The then Rector, the Rev. Hon. C.W.A. Fending, entered an account of the restoration, with illustrations, in the Vestry Book[9].
Modern Stapleton
editToday Stapleton is mainly just a quiet village, but it does have a few bed and breakfasts for visitors such as Stapleton cottage [10], The Old Dairy [11]and The Granary[12]. There is no real industry in Stapleton anymore however there are remnants of the historical industry which was mainly agricultural farming, the Old Dairy farm is still present and has now in part been renovated into a holiday cottage but is on the still working farm[13].
References
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