Whitchurch

Whitchurch is a market town and civil parish in northern Shropshire, England. Close to the Cheshire border, it lies around 2 miles east of the Welsh border, 19 miles north of Shrewsbury and 40 miles south-west of Manchester, Lancashire.

The area may have been inhabited since around 3000 BC, with the settlement being known in c. 70 AD during the Roman era as Mediolanum. The town may have been known as Weardbyrig in the Anglo-Saxon period. By 1086, the town was known as Westune (modernised as Weston), with its present name referencing a Norman-era church built from white stone.

History

The earliest known permanent settlement at modern-day Whitchurch is the Roman settlement Mediolanum, which was likely established prior to the death of Publius Ostorius Scapula in 52 AD. Present-day Pepper Street (which is a common street-name in former Roman settlements) may have Roman origins, with its name ultimately being derived from Via Piperatica, meaning a street on which pepper and spices are sold.

Transport

Whitchurch is located on the A49 road, on which the nearest primary destinations are Warrington in Lancashire around 30 miles to the north, and Shrewsbury 19 miles to the south. The A41 links the town with Chester and, via the M53, Birkenhead and Liverpool, to the north-west and Wolverhampton, Staffordshire to the south-east.

Notable people

• Owen Patterson (born 1956) - Tory Party Member of Parliament for North Shropshire (1997-2021)