All Round the Wrekin - The Royal Forest

Before The Norman Conquest

The woodland on and around the slopes of The Wrekin was designated as a Royal Forest before the 11th Century, when it extended over a distance of four square miles, from 'Clerkenbrugge' (a small bridge in the grounds of modern day Orleton Park) to Huntington, north of Little Wenlock. The forest also included Wellington Hay, an enclosure where deer were hunted, which ran alongside Watling Street and back towards The Ercall Hill.