My local history project
I thought I'd start this blog with a little bit of background about the local history project I've been working on. It relates to the history of Chetwynd End in Shropshire. For the last 100 years or so, Chetwynd End has been just the name of a short length of street in Newport, Shropshire, but until the 1890s it was a separate settlement in its own right, in the parish of Chetwynd. At that point in time there were about 50-60 houses in Chetwynd End, plus a few commercial buildings. Those buildings and their inhabitants are the subject of my research. Initially I was mainly focused on the 19th and 20th century history of Chetwynd End, but I'm gradually accumulating more 18th century material, and I'd say that's where my research is currently focused, in the main. Chetwynd End, in the 19th century, was regarded as a middle class area, with several very large Georgian houses (7 bedrooms+) and a similar number of more modest but still middle class homes (4-6 bedrooms)...