Welcome to Whitchurch

Whitchurch is located in the county of Shropshire, approximately 166 miles north-west of London and 20 miles west of Stoke.

The town has a population of around 8,500. Administratively it is within the local government district of North Shropshire which covers an area of approximately 679 sq kms and which has a population of around 58,000.

It is an attractive and mellow market town on the border between Shropshire and Cheshire, and is the oldest continually inhabited town in Shropshire. 16th and 17th century architecture mingles well with more recent developments, and notable historic buildings include the church of St. Alkmund built in 1713 to replace the previous one which had collapsed. Whitchurch is renowned as the home of J. B. Joyce, the oldest tower clockmakers in the world. For over 300 years their clocks have adorned palaces and cathedrals all over the world including Australia, China and India. The town is also famous for cheese.

The town's history dates from Roman times when it was known as Mediolanum. It was awarded town status in 1284, and granted a charter to hold a market in the 14th century.

Historically the town's economy was based upon agriculture, but today the service industry is the largest sector of the local economy, employing around 60% of all workers.

The name Whitchurch derives from the phrase 'white church', which refers to the 14th century church dedicated to St. Alkmund which was built of white stone.