Broadward
Broadward | |
---|---|
![]() Broadward Hall | |
Location within Shropshire | |
OS grid reference | SO388766 |
• London | 159 miles (256 km) |
Civil parish | |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | CRAVEN ARMS |
Postcode district | SY7 0 |
Dialling code | 01547 |
Police | West Mercia |
Fire | Shropshire |
Ambulance | West Midlands |
UK Parliament | |
Broadward is a
Geography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Bridge_over_River_Clun_-_geograph.org.uk_-_591364.jpg/220px-Bridge_over_River_Clun_-_geograph.org.uk_-_591364.jpg)
The placename is shared by a number of buildings in the area, including Broadward Hall, a country house.
The
(traditionally sheep and cattle) farming.Broadward is situated on the B4385 main road and is approximately 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) from
Broadward forms the southerly end of the parish of Clungunford. Immediately to the north, and also in the parish, lies the hamlet of
Communications
The postcode is SY7 0QA, except for Broadward Barn and Broadward Bridge which have their own postcode SY7 0PZ.[5] There is a Royal Mail post box on the main road by the Gate Lodge.[6] The post town for Broadward is Craven Arms; historically it was Aston on Clun.
The dialling code is 01547 (the Knighton area code) followed by 530 (the Bucknell exchange) for the majority of the settlement, or 540 (the Leintwardine exchange) for Broadward Barn and Broadward Bridge.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Motte_along_the_Clun_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1596629.jpg/220px-Motte_along_the_Clun_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1596629.jpg)
Broadward Hall is a Grade II
The hall was once part of the Hopton Castle Estate and for 200 years was the home of the Bayley family. In 1943 it was purchased by the Bilston Corporation, who planned to develop it into a children's home, which did not happen, and in 1947 it was bought by Thomas Watkins.[10] The hall continues as a private residence, and there remains a small sheep farm on the estate.
The placename is derived from "broad ford"; the exact location of where this ford was is unknown and no ford exists in modern times (the crossing being replaced by Broadward Bridge). The historic change of the second element of the name, from "ford" to "ward", is the reverse of what happened to the placename of Clungunford.
To the east of the hall, and adjacent to a
Bronze Age artefacts – mainly spearheads and sword fragments – have been discovered in the riparian vicinity of the hall, initially from an excavation (for drainage works) in 1867.[12] Many of the findings are now in the British Museum[8] and form part of the Broadward complex. The artefacts were over a metre below modern-day ground level and are believed to have been offerings to water gods in what was a marshy landscape; the level of the ground has since risen in the area (by natural process of alluvial material deposited in times of flood) and the area has also now been drained for agriculture.[12]
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
References
- ^ a b c Ordnance Survey mapping
- ^ Arriva 738, 740
- ^ British Listed Buildings Broadward Bridge, Clungunford
- ^ Post Office branch finder
- ^ Royal Mail postcode finder
- ^ dracos.co.uk Postboxes in SY7
- ^ British Listed Buildings Broadward Hall, Clungunford
- ^ a b Historic Houses Association Broadward Hall
- ^ GENUKI The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
- ^ Evans, A T D (2008) Border Wanderings page 52
- ^ Heritage Gateway Shropshire HER 03347
- ^ a b Raven M (2005) A Guide to Shropshire p 58