Wem
982007
223090946
2008-07-02T15:04:02Z
Mouchoir le Souris
1971085
/* External links */ spacing
{{infobox UK place|
|country = England
|latitude= 52.8555
|longitude= -2.7211
|official_name= Wem
|population = 5,142
|shire_district= [[North Shropshire]]
|shire_county = [[Shropshire]]
|region= West Midlands
|constituency_westminster= [[North Shropshire (UK Parliament constituency)|North Shropshire]]
|post_town= SHREWSBURY
|postcode_district = SY4
|postcode_area= SY
|dial_code= 01939
|os_grid_reference= SJ514289
}}
{{Distinguish|Weem|WEM}}
'''Wem''' is a small [[market town]] in [[Shropshire]], [[England]]. It is the administrative centre of [[North Shropshire]] District Council, which has its headquarters at Edinburgh House in the centre of Wem. The town has a [[railway station]] - [[Wem railway station]] on the Shrewsbury to [[Crewe]] railway line. Nine miles south of the town is the [[county town]] of Shropshire, [[Shrewsbury]].
The [[civil parish]] which constitutes the town is Wem Urban - see also [[Wem Rural]].
==History==
The area now known as Wem is believed to have been settled prior to the [[Roman Conquest of Britain]], by the Cornovii, [[Iron Age]] settlers. The town is recorded in the [[Domesday Book]] as consisting of four manors. In 1202, Wem became a market town.<ref name="WemHistory">{{Cite web |url=http://www.wem.gov.uk/history.html |title=History of Wem |work=Wem |accessdate=2008-07-02}}</ref>
The town supported the [[Parliamentarians]] in the [[English Civil War]], and was subject to an attack by [[Lord Capel]], in which the town held off the attackers. In 1677, a fire destroyed many of the wooden buildings in the town.<ref name="WemHistory"/>
Within the town the [[Sweet Pea]] was first born, under the name the Eckford Sweet Pea, after its inventor, nursery-man [[Henry Eckford (plant breeder)|Henry Eckford]]. He first introduced a variety of the sweet pea in [[1882]], and set up in Wem in [[1888]], developing and producing many varieties. There is a road to signify the Eckford name, called Eckford Park (within Wem). Each year, the Eckford Sweet Pea Society of Wem hold a Sweet Pea Show. In [[Victorian times]], the town was known as "Wem, where the sweet peas grow".{{Fact|date=December 2007}}
The name of the town is derived from the Saxon "Wamm", meaning a [[marsh]], as marshy land exists in the area of the town. Over time, this was corrupted to form "Wem".<ref name="WemHistory"/>
==Geography==
Wem is twinned with the town Fismes (pronounced {{IPA|/fiːmz/}} or ''"feems"''), in [[France]], which also has its own road in Wem, called Fismes Way.
The [[River Roden, Shropshire|River Roden]] flows to the south of the town. The [[Shropshire Way]] long distance waymarked path passes through Wem.
==Culture and community==
Within the town there are also four churches. The best known of these churches is the main Anglican Church. Each year Wem holds a traditional town carnival on the first Saturday of September.
==Notable people==
Wem was the birthplace of actors [[Peter Vaughan]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.shropshiremagazine.com/2007/11/peter-vaughan-acting-clever/ |title=Peter Vaughan: Acting clever |work=The Shropshire Magazine |accessdate=2008-07-02}}</ref> and [[Peter Jones]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.phill.co.uk/people/j/jonesp.html |title=TV Comedy People: Peter Jones |work=British TV Resources |accessdate=2008-07-02}}</ref>, and was also the childhood home of the essayist and critic, [[William Hazlitt]], whose father was a Unitarian Minister in the town.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www3.shropshire-cc.gov.uk/roots/places/wem/wem.htm |title=Wem |work=Shropshire Routes to Roots |accessdate=2008-07-02}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
*The Story of Wem by Iris Woodward (1952)
*[http://home.freeuk.com/castlegates/wem01.htm The History of Wem by Samuel Garbet (1818)]
==External links==
*[http://www.wem.gov.uk/ Official Wem Town Web Site] - history, events, information
*[http://www.wemcarnival.com/ Wem Carnival photos]
*[http://www.ghostdatabase.co.uk/articles/wem/ The Haunting of Wem Town Hall]
{{Shropshire}}
[[Category:Towns in Shropshire]]
[[Category:Market towns in England]]
{{Shropshire-geo-stub}}
[[ro:Wem]]
[[vo:Wem]]