Homer
Homer, Shropshire
Homer Location within Shropshire
OS grid reference	SJ617015
Civil parish	Much Wenlock
Unitary authority	Shropshire
Ceremonial county	Shropshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MUCH WENLOCK
Postcode district	TF13
Dialling code	01952
Police	West Mercia
Fire	Shropshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Ludlow
List of places UK England Shropshire 52°36′36″N 2°33′54″W / 52.610°N 2.565°W / 52.610; -2.565

Homer is a small village in Shropshire, England, north of the town of Much Wenlock.

The name first appears in the 14th century as "Honemor".^[1] Originally common land called Homer Wood, the settlement developed from squatters' cottages encroaching on the common during the 17th century.^[2] During the 19th century it served as accommodation for quarrymen and farm labourers.

The village expanded in the later 20th century with the construction of modern houses.^[3]

The Homerian, a stage of the Wenlock geologic epoch and Silurian geologic period, is named after the village of Homer. The Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point defining the stage is located in Whitwell Coppice near the village.

Wigwig

A short distance to the west of Homer is a very small hamlet with the unusual name Wigwig. Wigwig was an ancient township of Much Wenlock parish: its name, recorded in the Domesday book as "Wigewic", is probably derived from an Old English personal name Wyga, along with wic, "settlement" ("Wyga's settlement").^[4] It has also been spelt Wig Wig or Wigwick. There is a ford across the Harley Brook here.

Wigwig once had a mill on the Harley Brook; mentioned as early as 1291, it operated variously as a fulling mill and corn mill but closed during the 19th century,^[2] although it is still referenced in the name of the Mill Farm nearby.

The villages' names inspired the title and main characters of a 1969 children's book, Wigwig and Homer (Oxford University Press) by Philip Turner.