St George's Church, Clun, 1849

The town of Clun is named after the local river (a British word, the meaning of which is obscure). It lies within an area of known prehistoric activity, as implied by evidence from earthworks and aerial photographs, as well as from the thousands of Neolithic to Bronze age artefacts that have been recovered from around the reputedly prehistoric Clun-Clee trackway; a route that was followed by cattle and sheep drovers till the 19^th century. There are also several Iron Age hillforts in the immediate vicinity such as Bury Ditches and Caer Caradoc, and there was also much Roman and Saxon activity in the area.

However pre-medieval archaeological evidence from within the town itself is scant, save for a Romano-British spindle whorl from the site of the Midland Bank, yet there has been little archaeological investigation. In the 1990’s the town was assessed as part of the Central Marches Historic Towns Survey (Buteux 1990) that collated archive and documentary resources (including maps, building stock, burgage plots etc).

The earliest known documentary reference to Clun is in the will of Wulfric, ‘aet Clune’, dated 1002 (Bowcock 1923). By the 11^th century Clun was the centre of an estate, with a presumably both settlement and a Minster, though this is supposition (Cranage, 1903),and was seemingly prosperous. The Domesday Survey in 1086 describes Clun as being held by Edric, a freeman, and worth £25, and therefore relatively well-to-do. Edric was probably Edric Silvaticus, ‘Wild Edric’, who led a revolt against the Normans in 1068-9 that was ruthlessly suppressed (Stenton, 1971). Western Shropshire was devastated and by 1086 Clun manor was worth just £3. About that time the manor was held by Norman, Picot de Say, chief vassal of Roger de Montgomery-who had been granted Shropshire by William the Conqueror, and was in effect Overlord. Its fortunes began to recover and the manor was the centre of Picot’s Barony of Clun and included a manorial hall, a mill, (probably of Saxon origin) 15 taxable hides and land for 60 ploughs. Though not mentioned in the Domesday Book some consider the church of Saxon origin, possibly a Minster or mother church of a large parish (Andersen, 1864).

The present parish church was extensively renovated in 1877 but some commentators that described it before the work was carried out state that parts of the nave were pre-Conquest (Bagshaw, 1851; Hulbert, 1837). The fact that the church is on the south side of the river rather than in the town planted around the post-Conquest castle implies it is part of a Saxon settlement there.

Clun Castle, first mentioned in 1140, was probably built in the late eleventh century by Picot de Say, or his son Henry, and a planned street layout seemingly arose in association. The area between the church and the castle was later laid out with burgage plots; 183 by the late 13 century. By the early 12^th century there was a general reorganisation of the properties in the Welsh March and the manors of Clun and Obley were taken out of the old hundred of Purslow and became the separate Honour of Clun - virtually a Marcher Lordship (Eyton 1864). The Honour was neither wholly English nor wholly Welsh, and its laws were taken from both countries - though always subject to the whims of the ruling Baron. In 1204 a charter for a three day fair was granted, and in 1277 a murage grant allowed the town to enclose itself within a walled defensive circuit.

Clun was a strategic and political power base, although the story that it was attacked by Prince Rhys ap Gruffydd in 1196 is the result of a mistranslation of Clun for Colwyn (in Radnorshire - see article by Paul Remfrey). In 1216 John FitzAlan, whose family had absorbed the barony through marriage in the mid 12^th century, was implicated resulting in an attack by King John. In 1302 it was noted that 60 burgages were empty and only 85% paid rent (Buteux, 1996), by which time the town had begun to decline and the outbreaks of the Black Death between 1348 and 1374 would have accelerated this decline. By 1605 only about 100 burgages were tenanted, and by 1835 only 25. The castle was described as ‘somewhat ruinus’ by John Leland in 1540, and by the Civil War in the 1640’s was not seen fit to be garrisoned (Buteux 1996). In 1813 Clun was described as ‘a small neglected town…..little worthy of note’ (Nightingale 1813). Eventually, in 1886, the borough was abolished.

Series - Shropshire Archaeology and History, Clun