Ellerdine

History

Prior to the Norman Conquest it is recorded that Ellerdine was held by a free man named Dodo. It is next recorded that Henry II gifted the manor to Iorwerth Goch as a reward for his services as an interpreter during the Welsh-English border wars. The manor subsequently passed through several hands. By the nineteenth century, the manor was in the possession of Henry de Vere Vane, 9th Baron Barnard of the County of Durham. Following his death in 1918, the manor passed to his son Christopher William Vane, 10th Baron Barnard, who in 1930, split up the manor and sold off the plots, giving first refusal to the tenants, many of whom took the opportunity to purchase their own properties.

Historically there was a standing stone within the village, thought to date from medieval times but it has recently been removed

In 1926, fourteen council houses were built near the village school, each with its own pigsty, they all shared a communal water pump. Twenty-eight years later in 1954 another ten homes were constructed opposite and the area received a brick water tower complete with an electric pump to supply water to all the houses. This remained in use until 1965, when mains water was piped to the village.

John Beard (1871-1950), the trade union leader, was born at Ellerdine Heath, educated at the local Primitive Methodist day school, and died while staying at the village. His ashes were scattered in nearby Rowton churchyard.

The railway

Ellerdine Halt was a stop on the Wellington and Market Drayton Railway, which was opened in 1867 and operated by the Great Western Railway Company. In 1930, Ellerdine Siding was opened, with a large weighbridge and a brick hut for its custodian. However, lack of use forced the line to close to passenger traffic on 9 September 1963, and to freight four years later.

Religion and Education

The Wesleyan Methodists are the only religious group to build a place of worship within the village boundaries. Emmanuel Chapel was opened at Ellerdine Heath in 1813. However, in 1847, a section of the congregation split away to establish a Primitive Methodist group, they built another Chapel further down the lane, which was named Bethel Chapel and in 1866 they opened a Methodist day school attached. The two chapels rejoined in the late 1960s, the Bethel Chapel was closed and demolished and the Emmanuel Chapel was renamed The Ellerdine Heath Wesleyan Methodist Chapel and is still in use today

The Anglican community in Ellerdine worship at All Hallows Church in the nearby village of Rowton. The church was built by architect Geoffrey Smith in 1881 and is served from High Ercall

The founders of The John & Eliza Bourne Trust were residents of Ellerdine and lived at White House Farm.

In the 1880s the Primitive Methodist School became The Ellerdine School and a new building was opened in January 1884, it was later designated a County Primary School but was closed on 31 August 1992.

References

References

1. "Trout Fishing at…".
2. "Pubs in Ellerdine Heath".
3. "Geograph:: Ellerdine Village Hall © Geoff Pick cc-by-sa/2.0".
4. (2005). "Guide to Shropshire".
5. [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=11440 The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map: Ellerdine Heath Standing Stone (Menhir)]
6. (October 1975). "John Beard, Shropshire-born founder of the Workers' Union, died 25 years ago". Shropshire Magazine.
7. "The Railways of Telford - Wellington to Market Drayton".
8. "The old railway line".
9. "[former] Bethel Primitive Methodist Chapel, Ellerdine, Shropshire".
10. "Ellerdine Heath Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Shropshire".
11. The Shropshire Village Book, SFWI 1988, Pg64
12. (August 2023). "Rowton, Rowton All Hallows Church – Shropshire | Diocese of Lichfield}} {{dead link".
13. "House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 24 Mar 1998 (Pt 14)".