Wem facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wem
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    Clockwise from top: Wem High Street, Nobel Street, Church of St Peter and St Paul, The Old Wem Mill
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 Wem
Location in Shropshire
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| Sovereign state | United Kingdom | ||
| Constituent country | England | ||
| Region | West Midlands | ||
| Ceremonial county | Shropshire | ||
| Local government | Shropshire | ||
| Website | Wem Town Council | ||
| Norman Castle Town planned | c1066 | ||
| Market charter granted | 1202 | ||
| Seat | Edinburgh House | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | Town council | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 1.41 sq mi (3.66 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 269 ft (82 m) | ||
| Population | |||
| • Total | 6,100 | ||
| Demonym(s) | Wemian | ||
| Time zone | GMT | ||
| • Summer (DST) | BST | ||
| Post codes |
SY4
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| Area code(s) | 01939 | ||
| Police Force | West Mercia Police | ||
| Fire Service | Shropshire Fire | ||
| Ambulance Service | West Midlands | ||
| Website | https://www.wem.gov.uk/ | ||
Wem is a market town in Shropshire, England, 9 miles (14 km) north of Shrewsbury and 9 miles (14 km) south of Whitchurch.
The name of the town is derived from the Old English wamm, meaning a marsh, as marshy land exists in the area of the town. Over time, this form evolved into "Wem".
As a caput of a barony and the centre of a large manor and parish Wem was a centre for justice and local government for centuries, and was the headquarters of the North Shropshire District Council until Shropshire became a unitary authority. From the 12th century revisions to the hundreds of Shropshire, Wem was within the North Division of Bradford Hundred until the end of the 19th century.
According to Professor Richard Hoyle, Chairman of Victoria County History Shropshire, "Wem is an archetypal medieval-planned castle town and as such, can take its place alongside the best examples in England"
Contents
History
The name of the town is derived from the Saxon "Wamm", meaning a marsh, as marshy land exists in the area of the town. Over time, this was corrupted to form "Wem".
The area now known as Wem is believed to have been settled prior to the Roman Conquest of Britain, by the Cornovii, Celtic Iron Age settlers. The town is recorded in the Domesday Book as consisting of four manors in the hundred of Hodnet. In 1202, Wem became a market town. From the 12th century revisions to the hundreds of Shropshire, Wem was within the North Division of Bradford Hundred until the end of the 19th century.
The Domesday Book records that Wem was held by William Pantulf, First Lord of Wem, from Earl Roger.
The town supported the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was subject to an attack by Lord Capel, in which the town held off the attackers. In 1677, a fire destroyed many of the wooden buildings in the town.
Within the town the sweet pea was first commercially cultivated, under the variety named Eckford Sweet Pea, after its inventor, nursery-man Henry Eckford. He first introduced a variety of the sweet pea in 1882, and set up in Wem in 1888, developing and producing many more varieties. There is a road to signify the Eckford name, called Eckford Park (within Wem). Each year, the Eckford Sweet Pea Society of Wem hold a sweet pea festival. In Victorian times, the town was known as "Wem, where the sweet peas grow".
Brewing, initially a 'cottage industry', was carried out in Wem as early as 1700, when Richard Gough wrote of a contemporary in his History of Myddle a Latin aphorism he translated: Let slaves admire base things, but my friend still/My cup and can with Wem's stoute ale shall fill. By 1900 a Shrewsbury and Wem Brewery Company traded on a widespread scale after acquiring the brewery in Noble Street previously run by Charles Henry Kynaston. The company was taken over in turn by Greenall Whitley & Co Ltd but the brewery was closed in 1988. From 1986 to 1989 the brewery served as the shirt sponsor for Shrewsbury Town.
More recently, it has been popularly known as the siting of the so-called Wem ghost. In 1995 an amateur photographer photographed a blaze which destroyed Wem Town Hall; the photo appeared to show the ghostly figure of a young female in a window of the burning building, dressed in 'old-fashioned' clothes. Although the photographer (who died in 2005) denied forgery, after his death it was suggested that the girl in his photo bore a 'striking similarity' with one in a postcard of the town from 1922.
Geography
Since 1978, Wem has been twinned with Fismes in France, after which is named a road in Wem, Fismes Way.
The River Roden flows to the south of the town. The Shropshire Way long distance waymarked path passes through Wem.
Culture and community
Within the town there are four main churches. The oldest of these is the Anglican Parish Church of St. Peter & St. Paul. The other three are Baptist, Methodist and Roman Catholic.
Thomas Adams School is a state-funded secondary school, established in 1650. It also has a Sixth Form College on site.
Each year Wem holds a traditional town carnival on the first Saturday of September, as well as the Sweet Pea Festival.
Hawkstone Park is nearby.
Economy
The pre-modern economy of the town was based on agriculture and forestry and the processing of its output. Brewing, initially a cottage industry, was carried out in Wem as early as 1700, when Richard Gough wrote of a contemporary in his History of Myddle a Latin aphorism he translated: Let slaves admire base things, but my friend still/My cup and can with Wem's stoute ale shall fill.
By 1900 a Shrewsbury and Wem Brewery Company traded on a widespread scale after acquiring the brewery in Noble Street previously run by Charles Henry Kynaston. The company was taken over in turn by Greenall Whitley & Co Ltd but the brewery was closed in 1988. From 1986 to 1989 the brewery was the shirt sponsor for Shrewsbury Town.
There is a mid-sized industrial estate to the east of the town.
Education
St Peters is a Church of England primary school in Wem.
Thomas Adams School is a state-funded secondary school, established in 1650. This was an independent grammar school until 1976, at which point it merged with Wem Modern School to form a comprehensive school. It also has a Sixth Form College on site.
A number of private schools have operated in Wem over the centuries. William Hazlitt's father ran a 'model crammer for the dissenting rationalist' in the town, the 'Mrs Swanswick's School' ran from the late 1700s to the 1840s and one of its headmasters, Joseph Pattison, took a leading role in founding British Schools to educate children from less advantaged families. A further six private schools operated out of Wem over time.
Transport
Rail
The Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway was completed in 1858, and Wem has been connected to national rail services since this time.
The town has a railway station located on the Welsh Marches Line. All services are operated by Transport for Wales. The majority of services that call at the station are between Shrewsbury and Crewe, however, some long-distance services to Manchester Piccadilly, Cardiff Central, Swansea, Carmarthen and Milford Haven also stop at the station during peak times.
Canals
The canal network came closest to Wem at Whixhall and Edstaston; the Ellesmere canal was closed to navigation by Act of Parliament in 1944.
Air
There is an airfield at Sleap.
Bus
The town is served by the 511 bus route, operated by Arriva Midlands North, which runs between Shrewsbury and Whitchurch. Some services terminate in Wem and do not continue to Whitchurch.
| Bus operator | Route | Destination(s) | Notes |
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| Arriva Midlands North | 511 | Shrewsbury → Hadnall → Clive → Wem → Prees → Whitchurch | Some services terminate in Wem. |
Notable townsfolk
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- Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet (1586 in Wem – 1667/1668) Lord Mayor of London and MP for the City of London from 1654–1655 and 1656–1658.
- William Wycherley (1641–1716) a restoration dramatist, brought up at nearby Trench Farm.
- George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys (1645-1689) aka 'Judge Jeffreys' took his title as Baron Jeffreys of Wem in 1685; had house at Lowe Hall near the town.
- Samuel Garbet (died 1751?) master at Wem Grammar School, wrote the first history of Wem
- Philip Holland (1721 in Wem – 1789) nonconformist minister.
- John Astley (1724 in Wem – 1787) portrait painter and amateur architect
- William Hazlitt (1778–1830) an essayist, drama and literary critic, painter and philosopher.
- Sir John Bickerton Williams (1792-1855 in Wem), lawyer, nonconformist historian.
- Edward Whalley-Tooker (1863 in Wem – 1940) cricketer, played for Hampshire.
- Anna Essinger (1879–1960) a German Jewish educator; during WWII cared for refugee children in Trench Hall
- Donald Court (1912 in Wem-1994) paedriatician.
- Peter Jones (1920 in Wem – 2000) actor, screenwriter and broadcaster and for 29 years a regular contestant on the panel game Just A Minute
- Peter Vaughan (1923 in Wem – 2016) character actor, known for his role as Grouty in the sitcom Porridge
- Barry Davies (1944 in Wem - 2016) SAS soldier and author
- Sybil Ruscoe (born 1960 in Wem) radio and television presenter
- Greg Davies (born 1968) stand-up comedian, actor was brought up and went to Thomas Adams School in Wem
- Neil Faith (born 1981) semi-retired English professional wrestler, went to Thomas Adams School in Wem
Images for kids
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Tablet on Wem Town Hall marking the 900-year anniversary for the Domesday Book in 1986
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Site of Wem Castle Mound, seen from the church yard
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Lord Capel, who commanded a failed attempt to take Wem when it declared early for Parliament in the Civil War
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The Entrance to the Arts and Crafts Old Library Building in Wem
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Wem Town Hall
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The Millennium Green (19th century cemetery, building its former chapel) in Wem
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Wem Recreation ground
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See also
In Spanish: Wem para niños
