Much Wenlock

Much Wenlock is a market town and parish in Shropshire, England; it is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the north-east, is the Ironbridge Gorge and Telford. The civil parish includes the villages of Homer (1 mile (1.6 km) north of the town), Wyke (2 miles (3 km) north-east), Atterley (2 miles (3 km) south-east), Stretton Westwood (2 miles (3 km) south-west) and Bourton (3 miles (5 km) south-west). The population of the civil parish, according to the 2001 Census, was 2,605, increasing to 2,877 by 2011. Notable historic attractions in the town are Wenlock Priory, Wenlock Edge, Holy Trinity Church and the Guildhall. The Wenlock Olympian Games, established by William Penny Brookes in 1850, are centred in the town. Brookes is credited as a founding father of the modern Olympic Games and one of the London 2012 Summer Olympics mascots was named Wenlock, after the town.