"The Devil's Ring and Finger" is a notable site 3 miles (5 km) from the town at Mucklestone. These are across the county boundary in neighbouring Staffordshire. There are also and several Neolithicstanding stones.
In 1245 King Henry III granted a charter for a weekly Wednesday market, giving the town its current name. The market is still held every Wednesday. To the south-east near the A529 an 18th-century farmhouse stands on the site of Tyrley Castle, which was probably built soon after 1066 and later rebuilt in stone in the 13th century.
Rowland Hill of Soulton, the first Protestant Mayor of London. came from a prominent ancient local family which had extensive property in the area. He is a possible inspiration for Shakespeare and ran the Geneva Bible[4] translation project. He founded the Old Grammar School, in St Mary's Hall, directly to the east of the church in 1555. It contains a 16th century bust of him. To this day a charity exists in the town to support the education of young people.[5]
Evidence has recently been found for a skirmish in the English Civil War around 1643.[7]
The great fire of Drayton destroyed almost 70% of the town in 1651.[8] It was started at a bakery owned by D. MacTavish,[citation needed] and quickly spread through the timber buildings. The buttercross in the centre of the town still has a bell at the top for people to ring if there was ever another fire.
In the 1730s Robert Clive attended the grammar school, and a school desk with the initials "RC" may still be seen. He was expelled from the school,[9] and his record is today contested.[10]
Culture
The town has an active arts and culture scene mainly based around the Festival Drayton Centre.[11] This centre was established in 1984 and is run by volunteers. Over 40 years it has expanded considerably and includes a thriving cinema, theatre, art gallery and a range of meeting rooms that area available for hire. The Festival Drayton Centre also hosts regular live music and comedy and features event cinema beamed in by satellite from the National Theatre and Royal Opera House.
The Drayton Arts Festival is held every year in October; its 10th anniversary was due in 2023.[12]
Market Drayton has always been a hotbed for musical talent producing a number of bands who have progressed on to achieve national acclaim. In 1981 the town boasted the ‘second best’ school rock band in the country, TSB National School Band runners up, Monovision (Winners were “Mother Hen”). At the same time the local youth club were represented by the Platinum Needles in the NAYC Opportunity Rocks competition final. In early 1981 the Platinum Needles were also featured on the Stoke Musicians Collective album released on Slip Records “Cry Havoc”. During the late ’70s and early ’80s, Market Drayton also boasted one of the only recording studios in Shropshire,[13] Redball Records.
Grove School is a large secondary school of about 1,100 pupils, all of whom live within 12 miles (19 km) of the town.
Industry
Tudor House Hotel, Market Drayton
In 1965, sausage maker Palethorpe's built a new factory employing 400 people in the town. Purchased by Northern Foods in 1990, the company was merged with Bowyers of Trowbridge, Wiltshire and Pork Farms of Nottingham to form Pork Farms Bowyers. The sausage brand was sold in 2001 to Kerry Group, but the factory remains open as the town's largest employer. It produces various meat based and chilled food products, under both the Pork Farms brand and for third parties, including Asda.
Recent[when?] developments in the local service industry include the retailers Argos, Wilko and B & M which have all brought new employment to the area. The town is widely considered[by whom?] to be the "Home of Gingerbread".
Supplied by a water source running under the town, two breweries operated in the town during the early 20th century. In 2000, Steve Nuttall started a microbrewery, Joule's Brewery Ltd, a revival of a previous Joule's Brewery at Stone, Staffordshire which had been discontinued in 1974. The new company bought the 16th century Red Lion, a pub that formerly belonged to the earlier company, where the brewery was built, completed in 2010. It produces three core ales on the site as well as a number of seasonal beers.[18]
Ford Hall Farm is a community owned farm to the east of the town
Market Drayton Hockey Club train & play at Whitcurch Sir John Talbots school, due to a lack of hockey facilities in the town. The club currently had 1 men's team, playing in the Midlands Men's Division 9 North West, along with 1 women's team, who currently play in the Midlands Women's Division 5 Moorland.
Market Drayton Town F.C. play on Greenfields Sports Ground in Market Drayton, which has capacity for 1,000 spectators.
Market Drayton Rugby club play at Greenfields Sports ground, on Greenfields Lane, and are in the Midlands Division- Midlands 4 West (North).
Market Drayton Tennis Club is also based at Greenfields and has three all weather floodlit courts; the club plays in a number of Shropshire leagues.
Arriva Midlands operates route 64 through Market Drayton between Shrewsbury and Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent), at an irregular service pattern. Beginning on 7 September 2012 Bennett's Travel Cranberry Ltd run an evening service 164 to Hanley on Fridays and Saturdays with a day service to Newcastle-under-Lyme on Sunday.
Shropshire Council ran a number of bus services under the 'ShropshireLink' brand in addition to the regular 301 and 302 Market Drayton Town Services but these were withdrawn due to council cutbacks. Services 301 and 302 are now operated by Lakeside Coaches.[19]
The town currently has five churches. The largest is the Church of England parish church which is St Mary's Church; it dates from 1150, although it was largely rebuilt in 1881–1889, and is grade II* listed.[21][22][23] Christ Church, an Anglican parish church, is in Little Drayton, to the west of the town and grade II listed.[24][25]
Mary Cholmondeley (born in Hodnet 1859 – 1925) was an English novelist. Her best-selling novel, (published in 1899) Red Pottage, satirised religious hypocrisy and the narrowness of country life. It was adapted into a silent film in 1918.
Stephen Morrey (1880 – 1921) was an English-born merchant, farmer and political figure in Saskatchewan, Canada. Morrey owned a hardware business in Market Drayton.
Reginald Heber Macaulay (born in Hodnet 1858 – 1937) was an amateur English footballer who won the FA Cup with Old Etonians in 1882 and made one appearance for England in 1881 playing as a forward.
Nearby at Styche Hall[32] is the birthplace of Robert Clive, first Baron Clive, "Clive of India", (1725–1774), part of whose schooling was in the Grammar School then in Market Drayton.
The Georgian house, designed by Sir William Chambers, the architect of Somerset House, replaced the half-timbered house where Clive was born. It was built for his father and paid for by Clive from the income from his Indian career.
^"Cheers as brewery marks its success, Business with roots in medieval past now one of county's biggest". Shropshire Star. 29 July 2016. p. 16.Report by James Pugh.
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