Visit Wem Places

Welcome to Visit Wem Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Wem

  

Wem Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Wem

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Wem history

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Prehistory and Roman

The area now known as Wem is believed to have been settled prior to the Roman Conquest of Britain, by the Cornovii, Celtic Iron Age settlers. There is an Iron Age hillfort at nearby Bury Walls occupied over into the Roman period.

Dark Ages

The ‘Wem Hoard’, a collection of coins deposited in the post Roman period, was found in land in the Wem area in 2019.

Norman and medieval periods

Weme was an Anglo-Saxon estate, which transitioned into a Norman castle-town established after the conquest. The town is recorded in the Domesday Book as consisting of four manors in Hodnet. The Norman town was probably enclosed by an earthwork. There is some speculation that the town had walls by the 1400s.

Tudor Period

In Henry VIII’s reign Lord Dacre (d.1563) began to fell Northwood, a task completed by the Countess of Arundel. Dacre also drained the Old Pool, work again completed by his grand-daughter. Unlicensed brewers were not prevented and were fined in number at each court leet.

1600s

In 1642, during the English Civil War Charles I passed close by Wem en route from Chester to Shrewsbury at the invitation of the corporation of the latter town, taking the route via Soulton and Lee Brockhurst. During the campaigns in Newbury and Gloucester the town was planted with a Parliamentarian garrison. The town was the seat of the Shropshire Committee until 1645, and was subject to an attack by Lord Capel in 1645.

1700s

The town was the childhood home of one of England’s greatest essayists and critics, William Hazlitt (1778–1830) HazLitt’s father moved their family there when William was just a child. The town held a 230th Anniversary Celebration of Hazlit’s Life and work for five days, hosted by author Edouard d’Araille.

Victorian period

In Victorian times the town was known as “Wem, where the sweet peas grow” Within the town the sweet pea was first commercially cultivated, under the variety named Eckford Sweet Pea, after its inventor, nursery-man Henry Eckford.

20th century

Fifty-five men of Wem are recorded as having fallen serving their country in the First World War. The town’s war memorial was dedicated in 1920. In 1940 Anna Essinger evacuated her boarding school from Otterden, Kent to Trench Hall, near Wem.

21st century

From 2002 to 2019 the Morgan Library building was leased to ‘Mythstories’, which styles itself as the world’s first museum of storytelling. Wem is a Transition Town.

Wem geography / climate

The River Roden flows to the south of the town. The Shropshire Way long distance waymarked path passes through the town of Wem.

You can visit Wem places with Walkfo Wem to hear history at Wem’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Wem has 15 places to visit in our interactive Wem map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Wem, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Wem places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Wem & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 15 audio facts unique to Wem places in an interactive Wem map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Wem Places Map
15 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Wem historic spots	Wem tourist destinations	Wem plaques	Wem geographic features
Walkfo Wem tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Wem

  

Best Wem places to visit

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Wem has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Wem’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Wem’s information audio spots:

North Shropshire The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of Market Drayton Rural District and North Shropshire Rural District. In 2008, it was entirely surrounded by boroughs (including the county borough of Wrexham) The district and its council were abolished in April 2009, as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government.

Wem Town F.C. Wem Town Football Club is a football club based in the market town of Wem, Shropshire, England. They are currently members of the Shropphire County League Premier Division and play at the Butler Sports Centre.

Soulton Long Barrow The Soulton Long Barrow and Ritual Landscape is a modern memorial in the form of a long barrow in the Soulton landscape near Wem in Shropshire. The structure is a sequence of stone chambers under an earthen mound, and was begun in 2017.

St Mary’s Church, Edstaston St Mary’s Church is in the village of Edstaston, in the civil parish of Wem Rural, Shropshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Wem and Whitchurch, the archdeaconry of Salop, and the diocese of Lichfield. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

Visit Wem plaques