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Grindley Brook Locks, Near Whitchurch - Photo:
John Haynes
CCL |
The oldest town in
Shropshire with plenty of beautiful old buildings,
Whitchurch is home to the firm J.B. Joyce (est.
1690), the most ancient makers of clock towers in
the world. Once an important Roman settlement
known as Mediolanum, the town is said to be the
place where Cheshire cheese was first created. It
was also the birthplace of composer Edward German,
of ‘Merrie England’ fame. Whitchurch takes
its name from a 14th century church built of white
stone and dedicated to St. Alkmund. The church
completely collapsed in 1711, and was replaced by
the present church with the same dedication.
In St Alkmund’s Church are the bones of the
lst Earl of Shrewsbury, John Talbot, who died
fighting the armies of Joan of Arc at the Battle
of Castillon in 1453. The church was founded by
the daughter of Alfred the Great in the 10th
century.
There is a Heritage Centre in the town. |
