All Round the Wrekin - Burcotgate

The Umbrella House

The section of Watling Street passing through Wrockwardine parish was certainly a busy one and there were three pubs on this stretch of road catering for the hungry wayfarer in 1756: The 'Horse Shoe', 'Plume of Feathers' and the 'Bluebell'. After unification of the British and Irish Parliaments in 1801, the road, which formed part of the main route from London to Holyhead, was improved again, culminating in work carried out in the area by Thomas Telford between 1835 and 1836. He oversaw the construction of a bypass around nearby Overley Hill and the erection of a new tollhouse at Burcotgate, which still stands today.

This building, which is of a standard 'Holyhead Road' design and known locally as the Umbrella House, is situated directly opposite the junction of Watling Street and an unclassified road from Wrockwardine. The system of collecting tolls only continued for a relatively short time after the new house was constructed and Watling Street was 'disturnpiked' during the mid 1860s, when responsibility for road maintenance was then vested in local government administration.