In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Wem like this:
Wem, market town and par. with ry. sta., Shropshire, on Ellesmere Canal, 10½ miles N. of Shrewsbury - par., 13,898 ac., pop. 3751; town, pop. 2600; P.O., T.O., 2 Banks. Market-day, Thursday. Wem is an old town, and numbers among its natives William Wycherley (1640-1715), the dramatist, and Judge Jeffreys (1640-1689), who in 1685 took the title of Baron Wem. The church, destroyed by fire in 1677, was rebuilt in 1679. Wem has a town hall, a market house, and an endowed school. Malting and tanning are the chief industries. In addition to the weekly market there are fairs on the second and fourth Mondays of every month.
Wem through time
A Vision of Britain through Time includes a large library of local statistics for administrative units. For the best overall sense of how the area containing Wem has changed, please see our redistricted information for the modern district of North Shropshire. More detailed statistical data are available under Units and statistics, which includes both administrative units covering Wem and units named after it.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Wem in North Shropshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/314
Date accessed: 21st May 2013
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