The Whym, Wem

Hi Mike,

     Try Google Earth,         enter       SY4 5UX.

    This will take you to The Whym.

                     Gulielmus.

Hello Mike

In the Gazetteer of Streets, Roads and Place Names in Shropshire (available on microfiche from Shropshire FHS) The Whym is described as at Clive so I assume it is nearer to Clive than Wem. Having said that I have looked at several maps of various dates but none of them show it. I think you will have to have a visit to Shropshire Archives and search through their map collection for the area between Clive and Wem in the hope that it turns up. Don't forget to check the Field Name Maps which are derived from the Tithe Maps.

Mike

Thanks both

Michael - thanks especially for drawing my attention to that gazetteer, which is now on my shopping list.

Gulielmus - are you sure about that postcode? The place I identified through Zoopla was at SY4 5PP, between Wem and Clive.

Of course there might be other Whyms. I now know that a Whym is (was) a Shropshire term for a horse drawn device for raising water or ore from a mine. I think it was a device rather like the capstan on a ship, with the horse walking around it in a circle and turning the machinery.

Mike

Hi Mike,

       Sorry, I should have said enter       The Whym SY4 5UX       in Google Earth.

       I had an Maiden Aunt, surname never known so don't think she may even have been a true auntie, who always claimed that in her younger days she worked at the big house at the Whym Wem. I gathered she used to cycle to work.

      Last time I saw her was in 1949 and she was very old then so regret no chance of asking her now,  also no Post Codes in those days.

     Gulielmus.

Fascinating - thanks. My great grandfather who lived there was a coachman, and I'm thinking he probably worked at the same big house, but there's no evidence of that yet.

Thanks again

          Mike,

     As  Martyn would say,   more,

     Do you have anyone living at The Whym 1901/1911 we could then possibly ?? find it on the enumerators route on the census.

     If you don't subscribe to anyone who provides these details then give us all known details, names,dates, age and place of birth and we can try to follow his route.

          Gulielmus.

Hi again

No - by 1901 they were living in Wem, and in 1911 they were in Oswestry. I have the family pretty well sorted out for that time period, I was just trying to locate them more exactly on the map.

Mike

I should have said - this was the family of my great grandparents, William and Amy Jones. He was a coachman at this time (later became a gardener, probably due to the rise of the motor car and unemployment among coachmen).  My great aunt Mill (Amelia Jane) has "The Whym, Wem" on her birth certificate in 1896. By 1901,  they were living in Wem itself, and my grandfather, Edward, wasn't born until c1907, in Oswestry

           Mike,

           What about great aunt Mill, if she was born at The Whym then did her parents live at  The Whym in 1891?????????

               Gulielmus.

No - they married in 1895. Prior to that, my great grandfather, William,  was living in Burlton, and my great grandmother, Amy,  was living in Northwood - each with their parents. On their marriage certificate, William has "Clive" as his place of residence, so this is probably the Whym, but he only moved there after the census.

Mike

Do you know any more about your maiden aunt who worked at the big house? I'd be interested in anything you remember her saying about the place, or about her work.

      Sorry Mike,

          Was worth a try.

                You obviously have done more homework than first appears.

                    Regards Gulielmus.

Not at all, I'm grateful for your help. It was good to hear from someone with a family connection to the Whym.

Regards

Mike

          Mike,

                Regret I have no more information on her, as I said, I did not even know her surname, she could have even been one of those skeletons kept in the cupboard, she was hardly ever mentioned by any family members.

              In 1949 she lived in one of the last houses as you left Wem on the road  to Shrewsbury, I think there was a mill a few yards further down the road.

            Gulielmus.

Hello Mike

I have just had the following email froma local contact which I am sure you will find helpful.

"Further to your enquiry on ‘The Whym’,  I have now talked to a very reliable local source ( 90+ years and an ex-Chairman of the Parish Council) who recognised the name immediately even though it does not appear on any map.

The exact location is a group of 3 to 4 cottages along the straight road as you go downhill from the crossroads leading to Clive / Myddle. They are sited very close to the present turning to Sleap aerodrome, and he confirmed that they do lie in the Holbrook area.

As he remembers back to the early 1900s, there were even a few families that he began to recall (Wellings being one) just in case your correspondent wished to enquire further."

This link should take you to the correct location on Google maps.

Mike

Thank you so much, Michael, that's brilliant information.

Unfortunately, old as your source is, he won't quite have overlapped with my family (Joneses),  as they were living in Wem by 1901 and Oswestry by 1911. My great grandad was a coachman at that time, and I'm sure your guy will remember horse drawn carriages up and down that road.

Best regards, and thanks again

Mike

Hello Mike

I have just had confirmation from another source that the information I gave in my previous message is correct but then it got a bit more complicated. I am also told that there were two other places called The Whym in Wem itself but at the moment my contact is unable to be more precise.

Your problem now is trying to find some other information which might infer which location is the correct one. Sorry to add some confusion into something which looked dealt with.

Mike

Hi Michael

Thanks again, and don't worry too much. On the census, it just says "The Wyhm (sic) Wem", but on  my great aunt's birth certificate, it says "The Whym" Broughton, Wem. Unless I'm much mistaken, that definitely makes it the Clive Whym.

When I've got a few more of these locations really nailed down, I'll come to Shropshire for a weekend and do a grand tour. Thanks again for the help.

Regards

Mike

I believe the property you are looking for is now referred to as Chase End, prior to that i was 1 and 2 the whym, Its name was changed around 1985ish at the point it was totally renovated and knocked into one property. It is situated on the shrewsbury to wem road and is quite literly the last property on the righthand side heading to shrewsbury before Holbrook Hall and then going over the bridge to sleap. My mother was the person that did the renovations back then but also did a little history on the property and put in a time capsual as the work was done, I will ask her if she has the names of the former occupiers etc of the house, she changed it to chase end as the building was originally the grandstand to the wem race track before the railway came in. I'll find out more if it helps with your quest regards.

Thanks very much for this extra information. Now I'll definitely be able to find it when I eventually get down to Shropshire. I don't suppose your mother took any photos before the conversion?

Best wishes

Mike

I will ask her, but in theory from the outside not much changed from the road side and the current owners have reinstalled one of the original from doors although it didnt have a porch! will see what she has when I see her next. Cheers