Bucknell

The settlement of Bucknell was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, as Buckehale or Buckenhill. At the time of the Domesday survey, the Shropshire and Herefordshire boundary divided the village. The Norman magnate Roger de Montgomery held the village from the King. He built many castles including Montgomery, Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Clun, Hopton and Oswestry; at the time over 90 per cent of the lordships and manors of Shropshire were held in Chief by him. His under-tenants in this area were Ralph de Mortimer, who held Bucknell (amongst his 123 manors with his chief domain in England being at Wigmore Castle), and William de Picot (also known as Picot de Say), with his chief domain at…

The earliest of the existing buildings date back to the 17th century. The houses were built in a haphazard fashion near the river with easy access to water. The village depended on water from the river and wells until the 1920s when water was piped into the village from a spring above Chapel Lawn. The houses at the lower end of the village were very susceptible to flooding, and this hazard continued until the ford was walled up in the 1950s. Bucknell had four pubs: The Sitwell Arms, The Plough (just opposite), The Railway Tavern and The Bridge End. The latter three are all now private houses. Bucknell also had a shop and bakery in the Square and its own corn mill which was at the west end…

The Old School House was built in the 16th century, this part being the part of the building next to the river to provide education for those who could pay for it. The school remained until the present one was built in 1865. The Old School House then became a shop and bakers before becoming a private dwelling. The front part of the building pre-dates the rear by around 200 years making it 13th/14th century and whilst being restored was found to have once existed as a ground floor-only property and evidence of an open fire pit and an opening in the roof to allow the smoke to escape; this pre-dates the inglenook fireplace to the rear and was believed to have been a medieval great hall.…