Moreville
Located between the towns of Much Wenlock and Bridgnorth, the scattered limestone village of Morville sits in the pleasant green velvet setting of the wooded slopes of Meadowley Bank. The view from the main road is inviting, with the church rising above the trees. Two gilded domes also protrude over the top of the trees. These belong to the stable pavilions of Morville Hall, an Elizabethan house extensively rebuilt in the 18th century. In front of the Hall is a wide sweeping emerald green lawn. The Hall itself is Georgian in style with latticed windows and a parapetted roof. The porticoed door invites you inside.
The stone is largely taken from Benedictine priory buildings which once stood on the site and evidence still exists of the original Elizabethan staircases. Morville Hall is owned by the National Trust and can be opened by written application.
Morville village church is dedicated to St. Gregory. The dedication ceremony was undertaken in 1118 by the Bishop of Hereford, after which lightening killed two women and five horses - divine retribution for some misdemeanour?
Most of the church is Norman, however the south doorway contains some 12th century ironwork. Within the church nave, there is a 17th century woodcarving of St Matthew with an angel and St Mark with a lion, St Luke with an ox and St John with an eagle.
There is actually little more to the village itself although the Victorian village school stands over the remains of the villages whipping post.
A few miles west of the church is Aldenham Park which was erected at the end of the 17th century by Sir Edward Acton. His family lived there from the 14th century - a quite remarkable family too.
One of the descendants was Sir John Acton who would seek his fortune in Italy before he inherited Aldenham. He became Prime Minister to King Ferdinand IV of Naples during the Napoleonic Wars. He re-organised the army and navy. It was widely speculated at the time that he had sought to murder Prince Caramanico - one of his principal enemies..
Sir John's son Charles was a cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. A cousin was the Victorian historian, the first Lord Acton. He also lived at Aldenham. He was friends with Gladstone and it was he who wrote the much-quoted tome: 'Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely', in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton.
A further family member is Sir Harold Acton, who is widely credited as the person who introduced the fashion for baggy trousers in the 1920s.
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