Wem

From marshes to markets

Wem is a Shropshire town with a long history and evidence of settlement in ancient times, and its current residents are happy to call it home

The old chapel in Wem’s cemetery

Wem is a pretty market town in Shropshire, just nine miles north of Shrewsbury. Its name is derived from the geographic description of the area in ancient times: it was originally Wamm, meaning “marsh” in Old English. In the town’s early days it was home to a large manor and has long been a centre of local government – it was headquarters of the district council until Shropshire became a unitary authority in 2009.

Today it retains much of its heritage and historical building stock – enough for it to be described in records as “an archetypal medieval-planned castle town [that] can take its place alongside the best examples in England”. But the town’s beginnings came long before the medieval era and, although it hit the headlines in 2019 when a hoard of Roman coins was discovered, even before Roman times. In fact, it is known to have been home to Celtic Iron Age settlers the Cornovii. Sweet success

DID YOU KNOW?

Comedian Greg Davies was brought up in Wem Wem still has a popular and thriving market

THINGS TO SEE AND DO

Mythstories Museum The Morgan Library, Aston Street, SY4 5AU; www.mythstories.com

Through the ages

Wem was an Anglo-Saxon estate, which became a Norman castle town after the conquest, complete with its own motteand-bailey castle, parish church and rented

or “burgage” plots. The town is recorded in the Domesday Book and had a market charter granted in 1202, with bars serving the townsfolk by 1514 at each of the three entrances to the walled town on market days.

During the Civil War, Wem was home to a Parliamentarian garrison which built ditches, fortifications and towers to protect the town. The defensive work was unfinished when it was attacked by Royalist troops in 1645 – some of the guns on the ramparts were wooden dummies and the defending force consisted of only 40 men. But the people of Wem stood firm, with the town’s womenfolk donning red jackets and positioning themselves around town to give the impression of a larger army. This determination paid off and Wem managed to hold off the attackers, an event remembered in the poetic couplet: “The women of Wem and a few musketeers/ Beat the Lord Capel and all his Cavaliers.”

Through the 1700s Wem thrived on the back of the textile industry as well as farming, particularly dairy and grain produce. It was the birthplace in 1778 of William Hazlitt, later famed as a London critic and essayist, and was also home to a particularly fragrant and beautiful invention – the sweet pea. The flower was first commercially cultivated here, in the variety named Eckford Sweet Pea – named after its inventor, Henry Eckford, who introduced this variety in 1882 and added many more to his collection in the following years. Right up until 2019 the town celebrated its floral fame with an annual sweet pea festival.

Over the years agriculture, forestry and brewing have been important to the town’s economy, and residents still celebrate with a summer carnival and transport festival every year. The area boasts some excellent schools, a fine selection of housing stock that reflects the changing periods and fortunes of the town, and a train link to both Cheshire and Shrewsbury. It’s easy to see why the locals are proud to call this ancient settlement their current home and tend to stay in the area for generations.

Wem Carnival 2021 Saturday 4th September www.wemcarnival.wordpress.com

Wem Library High Street, SY4 5AA 01939 236995