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69 photos of villages in or near Shropshire from past that will make you long for a simpler time

Villages are a big part of our county and the wider region – some are scattered around our towns and some have been swallowed by them.

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By Mark Morris
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Some of the images are from the 1910s.

But all are connected by a sense of community and tied by a proud history.

Today we look at several villages that are a big part of our region, with pictures from the Shropshire Star archive.

Some are grainy black and white images from more than a century before, when horse-drawn travel was the norm.

Others reflect progress and modernisation – and many feature the faces of those who called their village home.

Jackfield

Jackfield Church on May 19, 1939. It was abandoned because of subsidence and demolished around 1961(ish).
The Jackfield Slip in March 1953.
1962 - Coalford Methodist Chapel built in 1825 at Jackfield, near Ironbridge, will have its first wedding ceremony in 137 years when Miss Anne France of 47 Coalford, Jackfield, marries there on September 8
1967 - A fire at a Jackfield works has led to an ancient steam powered fire engine being given to Shropshire Fire Brigade
Old folks party, Jackfield, March 27, 1939.
1993 - The old Free Bridge over the River Severn at Jackfield, which was about to be demolished.

Church Aston

Aston Hall, Church Aston. The empty building was deliberately burned down on January 10, 1968 and then demolished and the site developed for housing.
Last Inn, Church Aston in 1901.
Undated - The Pilkington family of Church Aston.
1985 - The Church Aston Scouts group visited RAF Shawbury during the half term holiday.
1986 - An expert in church bells has discovered that the bells of St Andrew's Church, Church Aston, are of antiquity and historical interest.
1974 - 17th century miners cottage, Church Aston.

Lilleshall

England players pose on the steps at Lilleshall Hall, where the national team used to train and prepare, in November 1958.
Work to create a miniature railway track at Lilleshall, in the grounds and estate of Lilleshall Hall, in 1928.
A miniature railway at Lilleshall, which was built in the late 1920s. This is from a booklet called 'Lovely Lilleshall, A Souvenir. Price 6d' from the days when Lilleshall Hall and estate was a big tourist attraction in the 1920s and 1930s, with a miniature railway, gardens, etc. Unfortunately the booklet is undated but it seems likely to be from the 1930s.
'Lilleshall Hall, seen from the Garden of the Lily Ponds. This is from the same booklet as above.
June, 1946 - A group of local children outside the Eagle Cafe, Pave Lane. It was virtually opposite the gates of Lilleshall Hall.
The old canal at Lilleshall, as seen in a postcard franked at Newport on August 17, 1907 (COURTESY: THE MALCOLM MILES COLLECTION).

Wombourne

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