THE landlord of the pub at the base of Clee Hill wants to find out about the history of his rural ‘watering hole’.

Terry Robertson, who has owned the Crown Inn at Hopton Wafers for 10 years, has set out on a mission of historical research.

“Shropshire is rich in history and heritage, with a rich pedigree of ancient inns and hostelries,” he said.

“When I bought the Crown Inn 10 years ago I was aware it dated back to the 1500s but I was not fully aware of its historical ties to the region.

"Over the years people have mentioned snippets of information relating to the locality, and even brought in some historical documents, and more recently photos from the 1900s but we are keen to hear more about the building as an inn, and even further back.

“I understand a 14th Century author was born here, William Langland who wrote ‘Piers Plowman,’ which was a best selling book in its time but more recently other than local sound bites, the history is a bit thin on the ground.

“John Betjeman described Cleobury Mortimer, that leads up to the Crown at Hopton Wafers, as 'a long airy curving street of brick Georgian houses and shops interspersed with genuine half-timber.'

“Our bar dining area is called the ‘Rent Room’ as historically it used to be the place where locals would come to pay their weekly rent to the landlord of the area before they returned to work in the fields and other cottage industries.

“We even have a lovely photo of some locals paying up, taken in the 1970s we believe.

“But we would love to hear more about who these people were and what else used to happen at the pub.

"We would love to know more about its history - including who is in the photo of the mystery lady behind our bar door, which we are not allowed to remove, otherwise ghostly things occur.”

Country pubs have long been a focal point for locals and but in recent years have sadly been closing at a rate of up to 30 a week in the UK.

People who have historic photos or documents relating to the Crown inn at Hopton Wafers are asked to call by, email or visit www.crownathopton.co.uk