Wem

Wem is a market town in the civil parish of Wem Urban, in Shropshire, England, 9 miles (14 km) north of Shrewsbury and 9 miles (14 km) south of Whitchurch.

The name is derived from the Old English term wamm, meaning "marsh".

As a caput of a barony and a large manor and parish Wem was a centre for justice and local government for centuries, and the headquarters of the North Shropshire District Council until Shropshire became a unitary authority. From the 12th century revisions to the hundreds of Shropshire, Wem was within the North Division of Bradford Hundred until the end of the 19th century.

It is considered that the landscape around the town may be the inspiration for Shakespeare's play As You Like It, a belief reflected in cultural programming in the town.

History

Prehistory and Roman era

The area now known as Wem is believed to have been settled prior to the Roman Conquest of Britain, by the Cornovii, Celtic Iron Age settlers: there is an Iron Age hillfort at nearby Bury Walls occupied over into the Roman period, and the Roman Road from Uriconium to Deva Victrix ran close by to the east at Soulton.

It is understood a lost Roman camp may have been in the area, called Rutunium.

Post-Roman period

The Wem Hoard, a collection of coins deposited in the post-Roman period, was found in land in the Wem area in 2019.

The Arden family owned the manor of Wem prior to the Conquest.

Norman and late medieval periods

Weme was an Anglo-Saxon estate, which transitioned into a planned Norman castle-town established after the conquest, with motte-and-bailey castle, parish church and burgage plots.