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{{Short description|Village in Shropshire, England}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2017}}
{{infobox UK place
|official_name = Alveley
|static_image_name = Alveley, Bridgnorth WV15, UK - panoramio (1).jpg
|static_image_caption = St Mary's parish church
|coordinates = {{coord|52.457|-2.353|display=inline,title}}
|os_grid_reference = SO760844
|population = 2098
|population_ref = ([[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 Census]])
|civil_parish = Alveley and Romsley
|unitary_england = [[Shropshire (district)|Shropshire]]
|lieutenancy_england = [[Shropshire]]
|region = West Midlands
|country = England
|constituency_westminster = [[South Shropshire (UK Parliament constituency)|South Shropshire]]
|post_town = Bridgnorth
|postcode_district = WV15
|postcode_area = WV
|dial_code = 01746
|website= [http://www.alveleyandromsley.co.uk/Parish_Council/Home.html Alveley and Romsley Parish Council]
}}
'''Alveley''' is a village in the [[Severn Valley (England)|Severn Valley]] in southeast [[Shropshire]], England, about {{convert|11|mi}} south-southeast of [[Bridgnorth]]. It is in the [[civil parish]] of Alveley and [[Romsley, Shropshire|Romsley]]. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that the parish population was 2,100 in mid-2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alveley (E04011205) - ONS |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/explore-local-statistics/areas/E04011205-alveley |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=www.ons.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref> It is served by bus service 297 ([[Kidderminster]] - [[Bridgnorth]]) operated by [https://www.selectbusservices.com/ Select Bus Services].

The [[Black Death]] is said to have killed 60% of the village population in 1349.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} A stone cross, the [[Buttercross]], {{convert|2|mi|0}} outside the village dates from the time of the Black Death when it was a place for food to be left for the village when it was quarantined.

==Churches==
The [[Church of England parish church]] of [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Saint Mary]] is 12th-century with a 14th-century south chapel. In the chapel is a very faded 14th-century [[mural]] that is thought to represent the [[Seven Deadly Sins]]. The upper part of the tower was rebuilt in about 1779. The building was [[Victorian restoration|heavily restored]] in 1878–79 under the direction of Sir [[Arthur Blomfield]]. It is a [[Listed building#Categories of listed building|Grade II* listed building]].<ref>{{NHLE |num=1053191 |desc=Church of St Mary |grade=II* |accessdate=10 June 2017}}</ref> The church contains a stone war memorial, inscribed with names of dead from both World Wars, with its centre piece a figure of Christ with arms outstretched and, below it on a shelf, a wooden grave marker cross to Signaller William Horace Leith who died at a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Thailand in 1943.<ref name=Francis>{{cite book|last=Francis|first=Peter|title=Shropshire War Memorials, Sites of Remembrance|year=2013|publisher=YouCaxton Publications|page=104|isbn=978-1-909644-11-3}}</ref>

Alveley has also an ex-[[Methodist Church of Great Britain|Methodist]] chapel, which was built in 1862 and is now used as a community centre and tea room.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-04-12 |title=New lease of life for ex-methodist chapel |url=https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2013/04/12/new-lease-of-life-for-ex-methodist-chapel/ |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=www.shropshirestar.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Coal mining and country park==
From 1937 to 1969 the village had a [[coal mine]] in conjunction with the neighbouring village of [[Highley]] across the [[River Severn]]. The first shaft at Alveley Colliery was sunk in 1935. Production began in 1938 and reached full output in 1944. Coal was transferred to sidings on the [[Severn Valley Railway]] on the opposite bank of the river, to be taken away by rail. Declining coal quality at a time of national over-supply led to the colliery closing in January 1969 leaving high unemployment and a ravaged landscape.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://shropshirehistory.com/mining/mines/alveley.htm |title=Alveley Colliery |work=Shropshire History |accessdate=28 January 2017}}</ref> An industrial estate was built after the [[mine closure]] along with a landscape reclamation scheme in 1986 and the disused [[colliery]] and [[spoil tip]]s were converted into the [[Severn Valley Country Park]].

The landscape includes meadows, woods, ponds and wetlands with waymarked trails of short and longer lengths to encourage locals and visitors to explore the village's heritage fully. Every year a Miner's Memories Day is held at the Country Park Visitor Centre which permanently houses mine memorabilia and has a café and indoor viewpoint over the valley. The display includes miners' picks, spikes, crowbars, breathing equipment used in mine rescue, photos (many donated by local residents), and a certificate awarded to a local Alveley miner on achieving "56 years service to the mine and his country".

In 2006 a new footbridge linking Alveley and [[Highley]] was opened in the [[Severn Valley Country Park|Country Park]]. This replaced a 1930s bridge that had become unsafe. The bridge provides access from Alveley to the [[Country Park Halt railway station|Country Park Halt]] on the [[Severn Valley Railway]], which is on the Highley side of the river on the site of the former coal washing plant and colliery sidings. The riverbank is popular with [[angling|anglers]], along with a number of local private pools.

In 2017, the community led [https://alveleyminingheritage.org Alveley Mining Heritage Group]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://alveleyminingheritage.org|title=Alveley Mining Heritage Group|last=|first=|date=July 2017|website=|access-date=}}</ref> was formed to preserve and present memories of mining in the village for the benefit of future generations.

[[File:The Squirrel - geograph.org.uk - 148556.jpg|thumb|The Squirrel public house]]

==Village==
Alveley has several historic pubs including the Three Horseshoes, parts of which may be 17th-century.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1367873 |desc=Three Horseshoes Inn |grade=II |accessdate=10 June 2017}}</ref> The others are The Squirrel and The Royal Oak. There is also the Mill Hotel<ref>[http://www.themill-hotel.co.uk Mill Hotel]</ref> and a [[working men's club]]. The village has a primary school, small supermarket and newsagent and a few other small shops and eateries, in addition to its 'Parish Memorial Hall' and attached recreation ground which was opened in 1947 as a memorial to local dead of both World Wars.<ref name=Francis/>

==Cricket club==
Alveley Cricket Club<ref>[http://www.alveleycc.co.uk Alveley Cricket Club]</ref> was founded in 1908 and played at Coton Hall on the outskirts of the village, at the former home of general [[Robert E. Lee]]'s ancestors. After the [[World War II|Second World War]] it moved to play on the Recreation Ground in the centre of Alveley.

Its pavilion was built in 1981 and extended in 2007.

Until the mid-1970s friendly cricket was played before joining the Kidderminster League in 1989. The club now plays in the Worcestershire County League (Saturday) with friendlies played on a Sunday. As well as the two Saturday sides we run a midweek team who play in the Kidderminster League, the club also runs a successful junior section for children aged between 4 and 17 years.

==Countryside==
A small hamlet to the southwest of the village, [[Little London, Shropshire|Little London]], is one of more than 25 settlements which share the capital city's name.

The parish contains two other manors, besides the manor of Alveley, [[Kingsnordley]] and Astley. Alan James Nicholls documented the Alveley parish in The History of Alveley, published 1994, {{ISBN|0-9523134-0-5}}.

==Governance==
Alveley is part of the [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|electoral ward]] called Bridgnorth South & Alveley. Mid-2022, the ONS estimated the previous ward population was 4,300.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alveley and Claverley (E05008138) - ONS |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/explore-local-statistics/areas/E05008138-alveley-and-claverley |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=www.ons.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref>

After winning a tie-breaker<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-08 |title=How Shropshire's election was won with recounts and random chance |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy0ygzx79eo |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> in the [[2025 Shropshire Council election]]s, Colin Taylor became the councillor for the new ward.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Unitary results - 1 May 2025 {{!}} Shropshire Council |url=https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/elections-and-electoral-registration/voting-and-elections/local-elections-2025/unitary-results-1-may-2025/ |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=www.shropshire.gov.uk}}</ref>

{{Election box begin | title = Bridgnorth South & Alveley}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
 |party      = Liberal Democrats (UK)
 |candidate  = Colin Taylor
 |votes      = 508
 |percentage = 41.10
 |change     = ''N/A''
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Reform UK|candidate=Karen Michelle Webb-James|votes=508|percentage=41.10|change=''N/A''}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Conservative Party (UK)|candidate=Kieran James Chambers|votes=173|percentage=14.00|change=''N/A''}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Green Party of England and Wales|candidate=Robert Austin Cunning|votes=24|percentage=1.94|change=''N/A''}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Labour Party (UK)|candidate=Gail Marcia Waters|votes=23|percentage=1.86|change=''N/A''}}
{{Election box majority|votes=0|percentage=0.00|change=''N/A''}}
{{Election box turnout|votes=1,236|percentage=|change=}}
{{Election box new seat win|
 |winner = Liberal Democrats (UK)
}}
{{Election box end}}

==See also==
*[[Listed buildings in Alveley]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last=Pevsner |first=Nikolaus |authorlink=Nikolaus Pevsner |year=1958 |title=Shropshire |series=[[Pevsner Architectural Guides#Buildings of England|The Buildings of England]] |place=Harmondsworth |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |pages=58–59}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.alveleyandromsley.co.uk/Parish_Council/Home.html Alveley and Romsley Parish Council]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120121154545/http://www.alveleycc.co.uk/ Cricket Club]
* {{cite web |url= http://www.paintedchurch.org/alveley.htm |last=Marshall |first=Anne |title= Alveley, Shropshire (‡Hereford) : The Seven Deadly Sins (C.14) |work= Painted Church |date=30 May 2001}}
* {{OpenDomesday|SO7684|alveley|Alveley}}
* {{cite web |url= https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3750401 |title=Alveley |work=[[Geograph Britain and Ireland|Geograph]]}}

{{Severn from Ironbridge to Bewdley}}

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[[Category:Villages in Shropshire]]