Craven Arms, United Kingdom
Craven Arms is a town of 2,289 people in England, United Kingdom.
Why visit Craven Arms
Townapedia lists 11 museums and landmarks, 3 parks and trails, 12 places to eat and 1 attraction in and around town.
Highlights include Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre and Stokesay Castle.
Weather in Craven Arms
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Craven Arms
Craven Arms is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is sited on the A49 road and the Welsh Marches railway line, which link it north and south to the larger towns of Shrewsbury and Ludlow respectively. The town is enclosed to the north by the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and to the south is the fortified manor house of Stokesay Castle.
From the Wikipedia article Craven Arms (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do1
Museums and landmarks11
Stokesay Castle
Monument and historic site · 0.9 mi
Grade I listed historic house museum in Shropshire, England, UK
Stokesay Court
Museum · 2.9 mi
Grade II* listed manor house in the parish of Onibury, Shropshire, England, UK
Parks, trails and playgrounds3
Restaurants and cafes12
History
Craven Arms is a relatively new town (for Shropshire), being only a small village called Newton on a map of 1695. The settlement grew when the railway station came during the mid to late 19th century, making it a railway town. Newton or Newtown is still the name for the southeastern part of the present day town, while the northern part is called Newington or New Inn (another small village which existed prior to the town). The town takes its name from the Craven Arms Hotel, which was situated on the junction of the A49 and B4368 roads, which in turn is named after the Earls of Craven (who owned nearby Stokesay Castle).
The civil parish of Craven Arms was formed in 1987 by the merging of two older parishes: Stokesay and Halford. These two older entities continued as parish wards; however, a review of the governance of the parish in 2012 concluded that these two wards would be abolished from May 2013. Small parts of the settlement overlap into neighbouring Wistanstow and Sibdon Carwood parishes.
From the History section of Craven Arms on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
More about Craven Arms
Geography
Nearby towns are Bishop's Castle, Clun, Church Stretton and Ludlow, of which the last is the most substantial with 10,000 inhabitants.
The River Onny flows to the town's east and just over the river is the small village of Halford. To the south is the small village of Stokesay, while to the north is the village of Wistanstow.
Wenlock Edge is located to the north-east of the town and runs in a northeasterly direction, towards Much Wenlock.
Arts and culture
There are two main visitor attractions in the Craven Arms civil parish. In the town there is the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre, a centre featuring exhibits about the county's geography; and Stokesay Castle which is a fortified manor house located within the parish, just south of the town. Stella Mitchell's Land of Lost Content Museum, a collection of 20th-century memorabilia, also stood in the town until closed in 2023.
From the Wikipedia article Craven Arms, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Craven Arms
- Brian FarleyEnglish footballer (1927-1962)
Born in Craven Arms, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Churches and places of worship8
Shopping4
Gas and EV charging2
Schools, colleges and libraries2
Healthcare1
Map of Craven Arms
44 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Birmingham Airport (BHX) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 46 miles away.
- Ludlow 7 mi southeast, about 11 min by car
- Bishop's Castle 8 mi northwest, about 13 min by car
- Leominster 15 mi south, about 25 min by car
- Much Wenlock 16 mi northeast, about 25 min by car
- Great Hanwood 17 mi north, about 27 min by car
- Shrewsbury 19 mi north, about 30 min by car
- Bridgnorth 19 mi east, about 30 min by car
- Newtown 20 mi west, about 32 min by car
- Wellington 22 mi northeast, about 36 min by car
- Telford 23 mi northeast, about 37 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Craven Arms
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- Mapillary (see each image): photos
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Exterior of Stokesay Castle, 2006, Andy / Andrew Fogg from near Cambridge, UK, CC BY 2.0
- Stokesay Court - panoramio (1), PJMarriott, CC BY 3.0
- Holy Trinity Church, Wistanstow, Philip Pankhurst, CC BY-SA 2.0
- St Michael, Sibdon Carwood 1, Bashereyre ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0
- St Thomas' Church, Halford, Jeff Buck, CC BY-SA 2.0
- StJohntheBaptistInterior2023, Alexander Williams, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Stokesey Castle Gatehouse, England - panoramio, ingawh, CC BY-SA 3.0
- North Tower Stokesay Castle - panoramio, PJMarriott, CC BY 3.0
- South Tower, Stokesay Castle - panoramio, PJMarriott, CC BY 3.0
- Stokesay Inn 20250302 152236, Railwayfan2005, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, trigpoint, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, trigpoint, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, trigpoint, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, trigpoint, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, laye, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, trigpoint, CC BY-SA 4.0
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