Shropshire Routes to Roots - Shropshire places - Wem
by Samuel Garbet
The etymology and meaning of the name are unknown. From William the I. to Edward VI. inclusively it was written Wemme; from Henry VII. to James I. Weme with a dash over it; from Charles II. to the present time Wem, the dash and final e being omitted. In the statute of West. 20th, of Edward I. it is called Wimme, perhaps by an error of the press.
This town is situated in a sweet and wholesome air near the river Rodon, at the distance of seven miles north from Shrewsbury, six miles south from Whitchurch, six miles south-east from Ellesmere, and nine miles south-west from Drayton. The ground it stands upon is near a level, having only such a gentle rise towards the middle as is sufficient to throw off the rain and other water, which con tributes much to the cleanness of it.
As it can boast no Roman remains, it seems to be of Saxon original. During the Heptarchy, it was subject to the king of Mercia; but at that time, and even after the Norman conquest, it was only a village, but the largest and most considerable of twenty-eight towns, or manors held by William Pantuff.
The first record that mentions it is Domesday book in the exchequer, which was written between the years 1080 and 1087. An abstract from it will be acceptable to the curious.
WEMME.
Willielmus Pantuff tenet de Rog, Comite. Ibi 4 hidae geldabiles. Wighe et Leninus et Ainena tenuerunt pro 4 Ma. lbi aira accipitris.
IN ENGLISH.
William Pantuff holds it of earl Roger. There are 4 geldable hides. Wighe and Lemine and Alnena held it for four Mano. There is an airy of the Hawk.
That this may be intelligible it will not be im proper to make the following observations.
Earl Roger was Roger earl of Shrewsbury. A hide or plough land was as much land as could be yearly tilled by a single plough, and was sufficient for the ordinary maintenance of one family.
Geldable signifies liable to pay the tax of hidage. For then when the occasions of government required, a tax was laid on every hide of land. Thus in 1084, William the conqueror obliged his subjects to pay six shillings for every hide of land in England.
Wighe, Lenine, and Alnena were possessed of Wem in the reign of Edward the confessor, and then it consisted of four manors or farms.
An Aery or Airy of the Hawk is a place where hawks were used to build their nests.
At this time most of the ground about Wem lay waste, covered with a vast pool, or overgrown with thick woods.
Page created 7 September 2003 and last updated 22 June 2007
