Much Wenlock

52.859722222222 - 3.0538888888889Koordinaten: 52 ° 52 'N, 3 ° 3' W

Much Wenlock is a small town in the English Unitary Authority Shropshire. It is located around 18 km south-east of Shrewsbury and is one of 2605 inhabitants (as of 2001).

History

The small town was founded around the year 680 in the vicinity of a monastery by Merewalh, a son of King Penda of Mercia. Merewalhs daughter, the Holy Milburga of Wenlock, was from 687 the first abbess. 874 the abbey was destroyed by the Danes. Earl Leofric of Mercia and his wife Lady Godiva founded in the 11th century at the same location another religious institution. Finally, Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury in 1079 or 1082 the Much Wenlock Priory founded a Benedictine monastery, which had in 1539 survived until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the year. The formal foundation of the city took place in Much Wenlock in 1468 by King Edward IV at the request of John Wenlock, 1st Baron Wenlock.

Much Wenlock is known for the Wenlock Olympian Society Annual Games, which were launched in 1850 by the botanist William Penny Brookes in life. This sporting event is considered one of the forerunners of the modern Olympic Games and is still held annually.

Near the village is Wenlock Edge, a sandstone escarpment, which plays a significant role in the history of science of geology. Named after her is Wenlock, a chronostratigraphic series of Silurian age. Much Wenlock and Wenlock Edge are the subject of poems by Alfred Edward Housman, which were set to music by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Personalities

  • William Penny Brookes (1809-1895), botanist
  • Tony Levin (1940-2011), jazz drummer
  • Mary Beard ( b. 1955 ), Althistorikerin
  • Isobel Cooper ( born 1975 ), soprano
England Shropshire Council Order of Saint Benedict Wenlock Olympian Games Wenlock (Silurian) Tony Levin (drummer) Mary Beard (classicist)
585838
de