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Wem
Wem maps
Historic maps of Wem and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Wem maps
Wem area books
Displaying 1 of 4 books about Wem and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Wem
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Shropshire memories
Memory's of Noneley
My name is Tim Hamer, I'm 53 and live in Coventry. My family owned Manyor Farm at Noneley between 1952 and 1962 when we left for the West Country. I remember the Pitt family just down the road, Chris, Steve, and Shelia. The Birch family owned Noneley Hall Farm, Grafton Hall Farm was owned by the Lokiers and Foresters Arms Farm by the Wests. All farms have since changed hands and I don't know who owns them now. I have many happy memories of Noneley, I still have an Auntie and a cousin living in Wem, Irene Filmore and Michael Filmore.
Noneley 2010
My name is Stephen Geary and my partner, Jodie Flynn, an Australian, and I live at Noneley Hall with our 4 four children, Charles (16), Abigail (14), Teddy (22m) and Madeleine (4m). The house was the farmhouse for Noneley Hall Farm, comprising the house, farm buildings and just over 300 acres.
We moved here in August 2006, purchasing the house and the four acre field to the west, across the lane, from Mr Peter and Mrs Caroline Birch. The farm buildings were sold to Chartland, a Shrewsbury-based property development company in 2006 and were converted into 6 properties during 2007 and 2008. The 300 or so acres were sold to Griffiths, a large egg producer.
Mr Birch was the nephew of Mr Percy Birch who owned the house from at least the 1960's as referenced in Tim Hamer's Memory on Noneley. We understand a Mr Fardo (spelling?) owned the property before Mr Birch, possibly from the 1920's and... Read more
Growing Up....war Years
Earliest memory was the wedding of my uncle, Harry Copnall...this would have been in the 1930s though before war was declared in 1939. My next vivid memory was an anniversary Sunday at the Methodist chapel in the village. This was in the early 1940s and a very sad day for the Copnall family, my uncle Harry had been killed in the war, leaving a widow and baby son. I remember Mildred Ratcliffe was about to sing 'Land of Hope and Glory as our family left the chapel, although I, as a young child knew nothing of this until much later when I found my father sobbing in our garden at Station Road. Only twice did I see him cry and the second time too was upon the death of a friend, Vic Grocott, a well known local business men. Prees was a thriving village in those days, we had three general stores one with its own bakery. Two sweetshops, one of which also sold vegetables and various grocery items,... Read more
Life in Prees
I have great memories of living in Prees from 1958-1968, my late husband's parents, Wright and Gladys Speed had lived in Primrose Lane in the village for many years. We moved into the house next door which is now the kennels. My husband had lots of family living in and around the village, including Nellie and Vic Grocott (whose son still runs Grocontinental). Our 4 children loved living in the village and have lots of fond memories of our time in Prees. They would be out for hours during the summer months. Prees club was a great place to meet up with friends, and we've hosted many a family party there. There was a young girl evacuated to Prees in the Second World War who stayed with Mr & Mrs Minshall, she loved her life in Prees so much that she remained there for the rest of her life, that's the sort of village it is.
Stanton
I went to Stanton Infant / Junior school. I remember the bread being baked, Wem brewery delivering to the New Inn, the Old Mill that was destroyed in 1962, for 're-development', a tin shed was erected. The blacksmith shop was opposite the parish room. Ration books were collected from the parish room.
Secondary School was Wem, cycling to the village, leaving bicycle in the shed at the New Inn, and being collected by Grocott's Coaches. Two of the drivers being Wilf Davies and Harry Price.
Village life was the church, a parish hall, the New Inn, a cricket club at Harcourt.
People I recall, Miss Bailey, school teacher, Mrs Turner, school caretaker. Mrs Sykes, school lunch lady, the Ash family, Cliff Ash was a sucessful Shropshire Wheeler, Moore family looked after the Post Office, Mr. Cartwright was the undertaker, his workshop was behind the school facing the church. Gatensbury (I think thats how it is spelt, sorry if wrong) were the landlords at the New Inn. Rhodes were the... Read more
The Lordship of Tilstock
I hold the Lordship of the Manor of Tilstock and have many maps and papers relating to its history. The Manor covers 2550 acres (just over 4 square miles) and has existed since before the Norman Conquest, when it was part of the lands of Queen Aldgyth, widow of Gruffydd ap Llewelyn and second wife of King Harold II. It includes Prees Heath as far as the boundary of Brown Moss on its Eastern side and South Eastern side and Steel Heath and Hollinwood in the South, the Welsh border to the West and just South of Dearnford Hall to the North and includes the A49 and A41, the Roman Road, the Shropshire Union Canal and the railway from Shrewsbury to Crewe. It also includes the Tilstock Airfield.
In a separate entry, I will give details of the Lords of Tilstock.
My Grandmother
The 1901 census shows my grandmother Emma Mainwaring, then aged 14, working as a domestic servant at Kenwicks Park. Thinking that Kenwicks Park was the name of a large country house I started to search for it only to find that Kenwicks Park refers to a locality. Can anyone suggest where I can find the exact house where my grandmother worked?
I am desperate to take a photo of the property to add to my family history.
