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Clun -
a charming town in a remote area of south-west Shropshire,
in the Welsh borderlands or 'Marches'.
The settlement grew up in the
7th century around the site of a Saxon church and took its
name from the River Clun on which it stands. At this time
there were many more houses in the town than there are today.
In around 1090 'Picot' de Say
built a timber fortification on a rocky outcrop beside the
village to keep the unruly Welsh under Norman control. After
the Marcher castle was beseiged and burnt by the Welsh in
1196 it came into the ownership of the Fitzalan family (better
known as the Earls of Arundel). In the 13th century the Fitzalans
replaced the wooden structure with a stone fortress and established
a borough beside the castle. Now ruined, the impressive castle
continues to rise above the town and the grid pattern of the
Norman town can be clearly made out.
Although Clun no longer has a
market the Market Square is still one of the focal points
of the town.
Interesting buildings to see
in Clun include the 14th century packhorse bridge over the
River Clun, the oldest in Shropshire, and the Trinity Hospital
and Almshouses dating from 1614.
If you are visiting here the
Clun Local History Museum, housed in the Town Hall, illlustrates
the intriguing history of the town.
A good base for exploring Bury
Ditches, Offa's Dyke, Caer Caradoc and the Marches on your
walking holiday.
Each year, at the beginning of
May, the small town stages the Clun Green Man Day to ensure
the safe arrival of summer.
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Clun
Clun
Local History Museum, Clun
Town Hall, Clun, SY7 8JT, a small two room museum. Fint tools
and weapons plus bygones of various periods, display of World
War II artefacts and a few World War I. Tel: 01588 640681 
