- published: 23 Aug 2015
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Coordinates: 52°35′48″N 2°33′29″W / 52.5966°N 2.5580°W / 52.5966; -2.5580
Much Wenlock, earlier known as Wenlock, is a small town in central Shropshire, England. It is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford. The population of the town's parish, according to the 2001 census, was 2,605.
The "Much" was added to the name to distinguish it from the nearby Little Wenlock, and signifies that it is the larger of the two settlements. Notable historic attractions in the town are Wenlock Priory and the Guildhall. The name "Wenlock" as found in Much Wenlock and Little Wenlock (And also Great Wenlock, a now obsolete name, but found in some historic sources) is probably derived from the Old English *Wenan loca meaning "Wena's Stronghold" (wéna being feminine and meaning "hope") The town was recorded in the Domesday Book as Wenloch.
The town grew around an abbey or monastery founded around 680 by Merewalh, a son of King Penda of Mercia. King Penda installed his daughter Milburga as abbess in 687. Milburga of Wenlock was credited with many miraculous works. The abbey flourished until around 874 when a Danish Viking attack occurred. In the 11th century another religious house was built on the same site by Leofric, Earl of Mercia and Countess Godiva his wife. In the 12th century this was replaced by a Cluniac priory, established by Roger de Montgomerie after the Norman Conquest, the ruins of which can still be seen and which is now in the hands of English Heritage. It prospered until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539.