| The Wrekin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 407 m (1,335 ft) |
| Prominence | 298 m (978 ft) |
| Parent peak | Kinder Scout[1] |
| Listing | Marilyn |
| Coordinates | 52°40′9″N2°33′5″W / 52.66917°N 2.55139°W /52.66917; -2.55139 |
| Geography | |
 | |
| Location | Shropshire, England |
| Parent range | Shropshire Hills |
| OS grid | SJ628080 |
| Topo map | OSLandranger 127 |
The Wrekin (/ˈriːkɪn/REE-kin) is a hill in eastShropshire, England. It is located some five miles (8 km) west ofTelford, on the border between the unitary authorities ofShropshire andTelford and Wrekin. Rising above the Shropshire Plain to a height of 407 metres (1,335 ft) above sea level, it is a prominent and well-known landmark, signalling the entrance to Shropshire for travellers westbound on theM54 motorway.[2] The Wrekin is contained within the northernsalient of theShropshire Hills AONB. The hill is popular with walkers and tourists and offers good views of Shropshire. It can be seen well intoStaffordshire and theBlack Country, and even as far as theBeetham Tower in Manchester,Winter Hill in Lancashire andCleeve Hill in Gloucestershire.
The earliest mention ofthe Wrekin occurs in a charter of 855, as entered in a late 11th centuryWorcestercartulary, spelledWreocensetun. Its modern form is believed to have come into modern English by way ofMercian, and that is likely to have been taken from theBritishCelticWrikon-.[3]Dinlle Wrecon meaning the fort of Wrecon appears as a place name in the early Welsh poems known asCanu Heledd.
There is anIron Agehill fort on the summit almost 8 ha (20 acres) in size, to which the nameUriconio originally referred.[4][citation needed] It is thought the fort was built by theCornovii tribe and was once their capital.[citation needed] In AD 47 Roman invaders stormed the fort and set fire to it, moving the defeated tribe on toWroxeter (Viroconium Cornoviorum).[5]
A more recent addition isthe Wrekin transmitting station, used for broadcasting and telecommunications. At the top of the main mast is abeacon which emits a red pulse of light every few seconds at night. A beacon was originally erected on the Wrekin during theSecond World War to warn aircraft, and was kept in operation until 1960. A new beacon was then installed in 2000, as part of a project to celebrate the new millennium. It is known locally as the "Wrekin Beacon", and is visible for many miles around.[6]
Thetrig point andtoposcope at the height of the summit was incorporated into an artwork,The Sky Begins at My Feet, which was designed by Wellington Arts Collective and unveiled in October 2022 in honour of thePlatinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[7] The sculpture is in the stoneware clay tiles laid around the plinths bearing relief portraits of seven local heroes and heroines by artist Sharon Griffin, and a range of decorative tiles designed by the public and various community groups and workshops.[8]
The geology of the Wrekin and its immediate area is complex, consisting of a variety of rocks of a range of ages affected by numerousfaults. The crest of the Wrekin's ridge and its northwestern slopes are formed from various rocks ofvolcanic origin assigned to theUriconian series, of Precambrian age. The 'Uriconian Volcanics' includerhyolites,tuffs andagglomerates. These rocks – layers of ancient lava flows laid down in a volcanicisland arc, similar to modern Japan – are approximately 680 million years old.[9]
Doleritedykes intruded the extrusive volcanic rocks around 563 million years ago. A variety of theintrusive igneous rockgranophyre, known as Ercallite forms the northeastern shoulder of the Ercall. It was put in place around 560 million years ago and is overlain by Cambrian rocks of sedimentary origin.[10] The southeastern side of the ridge is largely formed fromsandstones andshales ofCambrian age. They include the early Cambrian Lower Comley Sandstone andLower Comley Limestones together with the Wrekin Quartzite, outcrops of which also occur to the northwest of the ridge.
The lower ground to the northwest comprises sandstones and mudstones of lateCarboniferous andPermian age whilst to the southeast are a succession of rocks of early Carboniferous age includinglimestone, the Little Wenlock Basalt and the Lydebrook Sandstone.[11]
Structurally, the Wrekin together withthe Ercall forms part of the Church Stretton Complex where different geologicalterranes meet. TheCymru terrane is to the west with theWrekin terrane to the east of the fault system.[citation needed] The fault system trends north-northeast:south-southwest and the line carries on through other geologically important exposures such as those in the area ofCaer Caradoc.
Contrary to a common misconception, the Wrekin has never been a volcano in its own right, but is composed mainly of volcanic rocks and is a product of volcanism.[12] Its modern shape, which from certain viewpoints appears to resemble a volcano, has been formed by other natural processes.
The namethe Wrekin is also used to refer more generally to the part of East Shropshire around the towns ofTelford andWellington, within sight of the hill. The surrounding area is one of the birthplaces of industry:Ironbridge Gorge is just to the south of the Wrekin hill. Woodland covers much of the hill, the area around the hill and into the Ironbridge Gorge area too. The eponymousWrekin parliamentary constituency incorporates the hill.
The Wrekin can be accessed from the final junction on theM54 motorway (J7) before it turns into theA5 which continues toShrewsbury. The hill is then signposted. There is a well-used footpath up the side of the hill which has an entrance at the end of the road off the M54. There is also a small car park and parking bays up the road. Between the Ercall and the Wrekin is a well positioned car park, at Forest Glen, allowing easy access to both areas. The ascent is steep in parts. The Wrekin is owned by theRaby Estate, currently headed byHenry Francis Cecil Vane.
The Wrekin is the subject of a well-knownlegend in Shropshirefolklore. One version of the story runs as follows:[13]
Agiant called Gwendol Wrekin ap Shenkin ap Mynyddmawr with a grudge against the town ofShrewsbury decided to flood the town and kill all its inhabitants. So he collected a giant-sized spadeful of earth and set off towards the town. When in the vicinity ofWellington he met acobbler returning from Shrewsbury market with a large sackful of shoes for repair. The giant asked him for directions, adding that he was going to dump his spadeful of earth in theRiver Severn and flood the town. "It's a very long way to Shrewsbury," replied the quick-thinking shoemaker. "Look at all these shoes I've worn out walking back from there!" The giant immediately decided to abandon his enterprise and dumped the earth on the ground beside him, where it became the Wrekin. The giant also scraped the mud off his boots, which became the smaller hillErcall Hill nearby. Ironically Shrewsbury is subjected to flooding from the River Severn on frequent occasions naturally.
"All around the Wrekin", "Right 'round the Wrekin" or "Running round the Wrekin" is a phrase common inShropshire, Worcestershire,Staffordshire,Herefordshire, theBlack Country, Birmingham to mean "the long way round", in the same way that "round the houses" is used more widely.[14] "To all friends around the Wrekin", meanwhile, is atoast traditionally used in Shropshire, especially at Christmas and New Year.
The amount of inclement weather in the area can also be said to be predicted by the visibility of the Wrekin. The saying being, "If you can see the Wrekin, it's going to rain. And if you can't see the Wrekin, it's already raining."[citation needed]
Another well known local legend has it that you cannot be a true Salopian (person born in Shropshire) unless you have passed through the Needle's Eye – a split between two large rocks close to the summit.[citation needed]
In 1981, an event was undertaken by local school pupils and adults called "Hands around the Wrekin", whereby a large group of people all held hands, surrounding the hill at the base.[citation needed]
The Wrekin has a cheese named after it called Wrekin White, which is produced and sold in a dairy inNewport, Shropshire.
In September 2010,Wiccans conducted awicker man burning ceremony at the Wrekin to celebrate theautumnal equinox.[15]
The Wrekin is mentioned in Poem XXXI ofA.E. Housman's collectionA Shropshire Lad. The firststanza runs:
On Wenlock Edge the wood's in trouble;
His forest fleece the Wrekin heaves;
The gale, it plies the saplings double,
And thick on Severn snow the leaves.
In the 1969 novelA Pelican at Blandings, The Wrekin can be seen fromP.G. Wodehouse'sBlandings Castle.[citation needed]
The Wrekin is also mentioned inHalf Man Half Biscuit's 1987 song, "Rod Hull Is Alive, Why?", with the line: "Halfway up the Wrekin with an empty flask of tea, a fog descends and takes away my visibility..."[16] InEdward Lear'sA Book of Nonsense, one of the limericks starts:[citation needed]
There was an Old Man of the Wrekin
Whose shoes made a horrible creaking
In 2017, during an attempt by the high-street chainPoundland to challenge the trademark ofMondelēz'sToblerone bar with their own Twin Peaks confectionery, they claimed that the latter was inspired by the shape of the Wrekin, which is situated in the region of Poundland's head office inWillenhall.[17] The chocolate bar was launched that year, and is said to be based on the Wrekin andErcall hills. Poundland's founder, Steve Smith, lives nearBridgnorth in Shropshire.[18]
The Wrekin is a location in the 2020 videogameAssassin's Creed Valhalla, as "The Wroeken".[citation needed]
Christian Bale (playing racing driver Ken Miles, from Sutton Coldfield) uses the phrase "It’s just a quick ride round The Wrekin" in 2019 film "Le Mans '66".
The most distant visible point is probably theForest of Bowland in north-east Lancashire.[19] Despite historical claims, including a toposcope at the summit, it is not possible to seeSnowdon from the Wrekin, as the line of sight is blocked byCadair Berwyn.[20]
