Moreton Corbet - Moreton Corbet Village

Moreton Corbet Village

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Moreton Corbet like this: "A village and a parish in Wem district, Salop. The village stands on the River Roden, 3¾ miles E of Yorton r. station, and 4¾ SE of Wem. The parish contains part of the township of Preston Brockhurst, which has a post office under Shrewsbury. Pop., 255. Houses, 51. The manor and all the land belong to Sir V. R. Corbet, Bart. Moreton Corbet Castle was erected in the 16th century, on the site of a previous castle; was burnt in the civil war of Charles I.; and is now a fine ruin. Several mills are on the Roden, the church is ancient; has a tower and several stained windows; and contains ancient effigies and monuments of the Corbets charities". The village has been on a steady rise in population growth and development since the date of this entry.

By 1961, there was a total population in Moreton Corbet of 257 persons, the population of the area being rather inconsistent as only 10 years earlier it reached 350. According to a 2001 census, the population had slightly increased to 281: 149 males and 132 females with the biggest age range occurring between 45-64 year olds.

The first census to report on how well people were housed was that of 1891, but the only statistics gathered were on the number of rooms and the number of people in each household. The total amount of households rose to 72 in 1961 and further again to a total of 114 households by 2001. The majority of these households consisted of whole detached houses and bungalows, of which mainly married couples inhabited.

One of the biggest attractions of Moreton Corbet is the castle ruins that remain, crediting Moreton Corbet as "one of the most exciting places to visit in Shropshire", and being described as a "magnificent and unusual, ornate ruin, that is disturbingly atmospheric".