Your Parish Community

The Parish lies partly within the Shropshire Hills National Landscape. The village centre is 230m above sea level at the foot of the Brown Clee Hill which is surmounted by an ancient hill fort. It is an important leisure area for the West Midlands with obvious tourist appeal and part of the village is protected as a conservation area. The church of St John the Baptist dates back to the 12th Century and is surrounded by the old cottage and houses of the village, built in the dark basalt called dhustone which was formerly quarried on the summit of the Brown Clee.

The quarry provided employment for many local people until the early 20th Century and the line of the old railway and the inclined plane used for transporting the stone can still be traced. The dark stone of many of age-old tracks leading through the woodland and pasture to hillside grazing and quarry workings give the parish its distinctive Clee character.

The situation of the parish is somewhat isolated, the nearest main roads being the B4364 Bridgnorth-Ludlow and the B4368 Bridgnorth-Craven Arms. It is approached in all directions by narrow twisting lanes, some with steep inclines. It has thus developed as a self-sufficient community, considering its size. It is served by a general store, a Post Office, a butcher’s, a pub, garage, church, and modern medical centre. There is also a modern primary school – Brown Clee CE Primary School – opened in 1994. This school has children attending from a large rural catchment area around the Village.

A café, a local history centre and an environment centre are located on the Oak Farm site. This is a multi-tenanted site formally owned by Shropshire County Council, comprising a number of buildings and outdoor areas supporting local small businesses and the wider community, and managed by the Ditton Priors Community Land Trust (DPCLT).

Traditionally Ditton Priors was dominated by agriculture but although still surrounded by farmland today fewer people are directly connected. A former Admiralty Second World War armaments depot has been converted into 3-hectare industrial estate. There are up to 25 different units of varying sizes offering employment to local people and from further afield. Two nursing homes in the village provide much local employment. There is also an education centre for older children who are unable to be educated in the secondary system.

A spacious village hall hosts various community events and can be hired for many activities. There is also playing field with a children’s playground and a pavilion.