In 1114, King Henry I gave Ellesmere to William Peverel as a part of the Maelor, which included Overton and Whittington at that time. His descendants retained Ellesmere until apparently the late 1140s when the lordship was acquired, probably by force, by Madog ap Maredudd of Powys. Madog died in 1160 and Ellesmere came into the hands of King Henry II.
In mid-April 1205, Llywelyn the Great married Joan, Lady of Wales illegitimate daughter of King John and Ellesmere was given to them as a wedding gift. Llywelyn's mother was Marared (Margaret), daughter of Madog ap Maredudd, Prince of Powys. There is evidence that, after her first husband Iorwerth's death, Marared married in the summer of 1197, Gwion, the nephew of Roger Powys of Whittington Castle. She seems to have pre-deceased her husband, after bearing him a son, David ap Gwion, and therefore there can be no truth in the story that she later married into the Corbet family of Caus Castle (near Westbury, Shropshire) and later, Moreton Corbet Castle. Ellesmere was ordered to be attacked by King Henry III in 1231, but Llywelyn retained control of the lordship until his death in 1240. In 1241 King Henry III ordered John le Strange to repair the wooden castle of Ellesmere.
By 1294, the preceptory of Dolgynwal (Ysbyty Ifan, Denbighshire, on the banks of the River Conwy) had been united with Halston, which was subsequently the administrative centre for all Knights Hospitaller estates in North Wales. Dolgynwal, which had been founded c. 1190, had acquired Ellesmere Church, its most substantial property, from Llywelyn the Great in 1225
In 1891 the civil parish had a population of 5507.[3] In 1894 the parish was abolished and split to form "Ellesmere Urban" and "Ellesmere Rural".[4]
There was a tannery located on the edge of the Mere in what is now known as Cremorne Gardens. These gardens were given to the people of Ellesmere by Lord Brownlow who was heavily involved in the Edward VIII abdication crisis of 1936.
Commerce
North Shropshire and the Cheshire Plain has always been a region well suited to dairy produce, and Ellesmere was a thriving market town with several fairs during the year in which dairy produce and livestock were sold. The Shrewsbury to Wrexham turnpike road, passing through Ellesmere, was created in 1752 which used tolls to maintain the road, and so improved transport. Later turnpike roads connected Ellesmere to Whitchurch and Oswestry. The opportunities for trade further increased from 1805 when Ellesmere gained its canal connection to Ellesmere Port and hence to the port of Liverpool, where ships sailed to all parts of the world. In 1806 a July Fair was introduced (in addition to the regular fairs in February, April, August and November) this being for the sale of "horned cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, leather, grain, butter, cheese, wool, bacon, hops, and every other produce of land". The Ellesmere Canal was said to offer speedy and safe conveyance to Chester, Liverpool, Manchester, etc., and North Wales, with the Earl of Bridgewater erecting wharves and warehouses on the canal.[5] The canal gave access to bulky materials, such as timbers for building, iron, and coal, and allowed the building of an adjacent gas works. At the head of the canal was an iron foundry, Bridgewater Foundry, which manufactured agricultural implements and also some of the ironwork required by the canal.
In 1863 Ellesmere gained railway access when the new line arrived from Whitchurch. In July 1864 the extension of the line to Oswestry was completed, and in 1895 the line opened from Ellesmere to Wrexham. The station had a large goods yard, and a siding to a livestock dock. A new cattle market was opened adjacent to the cattle dock in December 1869.[6]
In particular the Ellesmere area was known for its cheese making, and a considerable proportion of Cheshire cheese was made in North Shropshire. In 1909, following the death of its owner, William Clay, the foundry was closed and the works auctioned.[7] This location was later to become the site for a cheese factory which by the 1930s was the largest employer in Ellesmere.[8] The cheese factory continued as a major employer until its closure in January 1987, with the loss of 329 jobs.[9]
Geography
The Mere
The town is located by the side of Ellesmere (aka 'the Mere'), one of the largest natural meres in England outside the Lake District and one of nine glacial meres in the area. ('glacial' means that the depression occupied by the mere was the location of a block of ice that persisted at the end of the last ice age). These meres are different from those in the Lake District in that they do not have a flow of water into them to maintain the level.
An artificial island in the Mere was constructed in 1812 from soil dug out during the making of the gardens at Ellesmere House. This was later named Moscow Island, as Napoleon was forced to retreat from Moscow that year. The Mere has a visitors' centre and is popular with birdwatchers, many of whom visit to see grey herons nesting. There are eight other meres nearby: Blakemere, Colemere, Crosemere, Kettlemere, Newtonmere, Whitemere, Sweatmere and Hanmer Mere.
The A495 and A528 roads cross at Ellesmere. The latter runs 15 miles south-southeast from Ellesmere to the county town, Shrewsbury.
The town lies beside the Llangollen Canal with a short side arm reaching the town centre wharf. The canal eventually terminates just outside Llangollen at Llantysilio after passing through the 18 km World Heritage Site which includes Chirk Aqueduct and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. It was originally known as the Ellesmere Canal. Thomas Telford was overall director of its construction. Work lasted from 1793 to 1805 with the aim of linking Chester on the River Dee and the River Mersey at Ellesmere Port (named after the town) with Shrewsbury, but it never got that far due to rising costs and completion of alternative routes which later became the Shropshire Union Canal. During its construction, Telford lived in a house next to the canal in Ellesmere, which still stands today.
205 Town Service (Tuesdays and Fridays) (Lakeside Coaches)
449 to Oswestry via Welsh Frankton and Whittington – roughly hourly Monday – Saturday, with 3 journeys daily continuing from Ellesmere to Welshampton (Lakeside Coaches, with Arriva Midlands operating the three Welshampton services: one in the morning and two in the evening);
501 to Shrewsbury via Cockshutt, Myddle (most but not all) and Harmer Hill – roughly hourly (Lakeside coaches).
The Old Town Hall – Ellesmere's most notable building, built in 1833. A grade II listed building.[12]
Education
The town has two schools. Ellesmere Primary School is a primary and nursery school for boys and girls aged 4–11. In 2013 Lakelands School became an academy. Lakelands Academy provides state-paid education for boys and girls in the 11–16 age range (for whom schooling is compulsory) and its former pupils include Luke Preston. Several other nearby schools serve the wider community, such as Welshampton Church of England School, which recently scored among the highest in the country in OFSTED reports in all categories.
A short distance outside the town is Ellesmere College, a public (i.e., private) boarding school founded in 1884 by Canon Nathaniel Woodard for sons of the middle classes. It is now a fully co-educational school catering for pupils from 7–18.
The town also has a semi-professional football club, Ellesmere Rangers FC, who play their home games at Beech Grove. They are currently members of the North West Counties Football League Division One South, the 10th tier of the English football pyramid.
The town’s cricket club has teams represented in the Shropshire County Cricket league, with the first XI being in division one and the second XI being in division 6.
^Peake, The Rev John (1999). Ellesmere Remembered, The Reminisences of Half a Century as Curate and Vicar of Ellesmere. C. Jobson, Ellesmere. pp. 26–28. ISBN0-9537049-0-4.
^Crockford's Clerical Directory, 1935. Crockford's. p. 1230.
^"Townend's golden moment". Shropshire Star. 3 August 2021. p. 48.Report of his win at the Tokyo Olympics.
Remfry, P.M., Whittington Castle and the families of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, Peverel, Maminot, Powys and Fitz Warin (ISBN1-899376-80-1)
Further reading
Collins, Martin; Collins, Fran (2017). U.S. Army Hospital Center 804: An Account of the U.S. Military Hospitals in the Shropshire/Flintshire Area during World War. Brewin Books. ISBN978-1-85858-565-9.
