Weston Rhyn

Weston Rhyn
Weston Rhyn
	St John's church, Weston Rhyn
	Weston Rhyn Location within Shropshire
Population	2,850 (2011)
OS grid reference	SJ282357
Civil parish	Weston Rhyn;
Unitary authority	Shropshire;
Ceremonial county	Shropshire;
Region	West Midlands;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	OSWESTRY
Postcode district	SY10
Dialling code	01691
Police	West Mercia
Fire	Shropshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
UK Parliament	North Shropshire;
	List of places UK England Shropshire 52°54′50″N 3°04′01″W / 52.914°N 3.067°W

Weston Rhyn is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies between the towns of Chirk, in Wales, and Oswestry, in England.

The civil parish, which also includes Bronygarth, Pentre-Newydd and a number of small hamlets, had a total population of 2,668 at the 2001 census,^[1] rising to 2,850 at the 2011 Census.^[2]

Etymology

Tun or ton means a settlement or hamlet, the origin of the name 'Rhyn' appears to start from the Welsh names for Rome and Roman (as a person), Rhufain and Rhufon, leading to Rhun or/and Rhyn' as "the proper name of a man" and Rhyon as a soldier.^[3]

History

In 1086 Weston Rhyn was recorded as Westune in the Domesday Book. Listed as a small settlement, it was within the hundred of Merset and the county of Shropshire.^[4]

Originally the townships of Weston Rhyn and Bronygarth were in the Parish of St. Martins. In 1870 they were formed into a separate ecclesiastical district known as “the Lodge” (the inn still bears its name), and then in 1898 into the civil parish of Weston Rhyn.

Transport, facilities

The village is on the Shrewsbury to Chester railway line, but has no station. Its former station of Preesgweene (later known as Weston Rhyn) closed in 1960. The nearest stations today are Chirk and Gobowen. Train services are provided by Transport for Wales. The village lies to the west of the A5 trunk road.

It is surrounded by beautiful countryside, the Welsh hills and Offa's Dyke to the west, and the River Ceiriog to the north. Originally a mining village, the pits have long since closed. Despite this, the village has in recent years expanded, with people working locally or commuting as far as Chester, Shrewsbury, Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester.

Weston Rhyn has two churches (Quinta Independent Evangelical Church and St John's Church of England), two pubs, Chinese takeaway/chip shop, village hall, primary school, Sunday School and general store. Close to Weston Rhyn is the Quinta Christian Centre, a conference centre and home to the missionary organisation Operation Mobilisation.

Notable Persons

Allan Heywood Bright (1862-1941), Liberal politician, lived at Weston Rhyn when he served as M.P. for Oswestry 1904-1906
Dr Frederick William Price FRSE (1873-1957) cardiologist and medical author, born at Weston Rhyn
Glyn James (1941- ) professional footballer, played for Blackpool and as a Wales international, grew up in Weston Rhyn.

Sport

AFC Weston Rhyn were formed in 2023, and are based in Weston Rhyn. They currently compete in the Salop Leisure Football League Division 1.

References

^ Weston Rhyn CP, ONS
^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 23 November 2015.
^ Whitaker, John (1804). The Ancient Cathedral Of Cornwall Historically Surveyed. Vol. 2. London: Stockdale. pp. 207–8 – via Google Books.
^ Weston [Rhyn] in the Domesday Book

Sources

G. G. Lerry, "Collieries of Denbighshire", 1968
C. Neville Hurdsman, "A History of the Parishes of St. Martin's & Weston Rhyn" 2003

External links

"Quinta Independent Evangelical Church".

[ons-1] Weston Rhyn CP, ONS

[2] "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 23 November 2015.

[3] Whitaker, John (1804). The Ancient Cathedral Of Cornwall Historically Surveyed. Vol. 2. London: Stockdale. pp. 207–8 – via Google Books.

[4] Weston [Rhyn] in the Domesday Book

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