Welcome to the website of Ruyton XI Towns Parish Council

The civil parish lies to the northwest of Shrewsbury and is bounded by the A5 Trunk Road to the West and the River Perry to the East.

The unusual name of the town dates from the 12th century when eleven ‘tons’ (farmsteads or hamlets) were brought together by William FitzAlan, High Sheriff of Shropshire. In earlier maps the town is shown as Ruyton of the Eleven Towns but in more recent times this has been abbreviated to the present Ruyton XI Towns. Of the eleven, six (Ruyton, Coton, Eardiston, Shelvock, Shotatton and Wykey) remain part of our parish. The other five (Felton, Haughton, Rednal, Sutton and Tedsmore) have been absorbed into neighbouring parishes.

In 1308 King Edward II granted a charter which created a Borough of New Ruyton. The Borough was to have the Laws of Bristol which were enforced by a Court Baron presided over by the Lord or his Steward. A Guild Mercatory was also formed to control all the trade in the Borough. This Guild was the forerunner of the more recent Town Corporations.

Unlike many other towns granted the status of Borough, Ruyton did not prosper and grow over the following centuries. Its standing as a Borough was investigated by a Government Commissioners in 1832 who produced a damning report in 1834. However, this was not actioned until 1886 when an Act of Parliament took away Ruyton’s Borough status. Eight years later the 1894 Local Government Act created civil parish councils with citizens serving as voluntary but elected councillors. This template is the basis for today’s council operation.

The present parish council comprises eleven councillors. We employ a part-time parish clerk as administrator, proper officer and Responsible Financial Officer. We usually meet on the first Tuesday of the month and the normal venue is the Victoria Room. Please check under ‘PC meetings’ for the current schedule and for any deviation from the standard time and place. Citizens of the parish are welcome to attend meetings to observe what is discussed and to express their own views during the session allocated for public input.

The Parish Council also hosts an Annual Parish Meeting, usually in May, which all residents are encouraged to attend. No council business is conducted at this meeting. Instead the Parish Council, the Village Hall and St John’s School report on the past year. The floor is then open to everyone to put forward ideas and voice their own priorities on local matters. Reports and minutes from previous Annual Parish Meetings can be found under the Annual Reports menu.

* Banner image displayed with the permission of the Ruyton Local History Society