Shropshire Routes to Roots

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Hedgerows and houses

7. Today

How has the area changed today?

At first glance very little seems to have changed in the villages. It is still essentially a farming economy, with a pattern of small fields and hedges. Sheep graze the higher ground while in the valley around Hughley cash crops are grown. Over the last 100 years the amount of dairy cattle has been reduced.

Most of the inhabitants of the villages are no longer employed in agriculture but work in Shrewsbury, Telford or further afield.

The Second World War bought more marginal land into production, particularly scrub land above Church Preen. This poster circulated widely during the war was a move by the Government to make Britain self sufficient, encouraging farmers to produce more food therefore cutting back on the need to import.

Image showing Second World War production poster [Opens in new window: image size 92kb]

Plough Now! Poster
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[Shropshire Archives]

Wenlock Edge is now managed by the National Trust where some of the traditional methods of coppicing are still employed. Much of the edge has been quarried away, not for use in the traditional limestone industries of the 18th and 19th centuries but for building materials.

Photograph of Longville Coppice, Wenlock Edge [Opens in new window: image size 68kb]

May in Longville Coppice
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[Secret Shropshire]

Some farmers have been imaginative in their diversification. In the 1960's a caravan park was set up in Hughley and in the 1990's a riding centre was also established on one of the farms. A small recreational airfield is also operational in one of the farmers fields.

Closure of the Railway line which ran to Craven Arms stopping at Presthope a mile out of Hughley has been turned into a pleasant scenic walk. It also forms a long distance bridle path known as the Jack Mytton Way.

Photograph of disused railway line [Opens in new window: image size 44kb]

Dis-used Railway Line on Wenlock Edge
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[Secret Shropshire]

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Page created 2003 and last updated 30 July 2007

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