Discover Wem

A short history

The name of Wamm was of Saxon origin, meaning marshland, referring to the area either side of the River Roden that passes through the town. William the Conqueror gave most of Shropshire to Roger de Montgomery who, in turn, bestowed the barony of Wem upon William Pantulph. It remained in the family for 150 years. The 1086 entry in the Doomsday Book is short and describes the area as being wooded.

Wem has the remains of a castle built by William Pantulf. It is now only a mound in a private garden next to the church, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul.

The castle was raised to the ground in the fifteenth century during the Wars of the Roses by Yorkist troops under the Earl of Salisbury.

The town was granted the right to hold a market every week by King John in 1202. Originally held on Sundays, and the Feast of St Peter, it changed to Thursdays when Sunday markets were banned in 1351. [See Samuel Garbet's account of The market and fairs at Wem]

In 1643 the Battle of Wem took place when a large Royalist contingent some five thousand strong were repelled from taking the town by forty Roundheads. [See Samuel Garbet's account of The state of Wem during the Civil War]

The town was almost destroyed by a great fire which broke out on 3 March 1677. [See Samuel Garbet's account of The great fire at Wem] It seems to have started as an accident when a fourteen-old girl, Jane Churm, set fire to thatched roof of her home. Around 150 buildings were destroyed. A large fire, some 300 years later (19 November 1995), gutted the Town Hall and it was said that the ghost of Jane Churm was seen in the flames.

The infamous Judge Jeffreys was created Baron of Wem in 1685. He presided over the trials of those involved in the Monmouth Rebellion. He purchased Lowe Hall, on the outskirts of the town but appears never to have taken up residence. Although re-built in the nineteenth century the hall still has a fine Jacobean interior.

Among other notable inhabitants was William Hazlitt (1778-1830), the essayist and critic. His father, a Unitarian minister, moved his family to Wem in1786, living in a small house in Noble Street. William admired the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who is thought to have stayed at his home. Earlier in the same century, John Astley (1724-1787) was born in the same street and went on to become a painter of national repute.

Communications improved during the nineteenth century with the first regular coach service in 1807. A station on a railway line between Crewe and Shrewsbury was built in 1850 and is still open today.

The industry of the area has been predominantly based upon agriculture, including milling flour and brewing. Brewing became important from the eighteenth century and the Shrewsbury and Wem brewery, which dominated the centre of the town, was a large local employer from 1870. It was sold to a larger regional company in 1952 and was finally closed in 1988. The tradition was carried on by the former head brewer who set up a much smaller unit on the industrial estate at the edge of town and it continues to thrive, producing several hundred barrels a week.

Local and family history resources

The first printed history of the town was by Samuel Garbet (c.1685-1756). You can read extracts from the work by following the link from the page about the author.

A more recent full account was written by Iris Woodward, entitled "The story of Wem and its neighbourhood". It was first published in 1952 at the request of the Wem Urban District Council as a contribution to the Festival of Britain. A second edition appeared in 1975, at the behest of the Wem Town Council, and included an additional chapter covering the intervening 20 years.

"Wem; a brief history to celebrate the 900th anniversary of Domesday Book" is a small 16 page booklet, written by Patricia Jones and published at the request of the Wem Domesday Festival Steering Committee in 1986.

Wem Library has a small collection of printed material about the town and the surrounding area. Shropshire Archives, in Shrewsbury, is the county repository for original documents.

Related Links on other Websites

• Samuel Garbet and his history of Wem (Shropshire Routes to Roots)