Highley is a village on the south eastern border of Shropshire and Worcestershire.
A street in Highley
Information
County:
Shropshire
District:
Shropshire
Population:
3605 (2011 census)
The village has Saxon origins and was mentioned in the Domesday Book. Originally a farming community, Highley later became known for stone quarries and coal mining. The latter taking off on a large scale in the late 1800s. The village greatly expanded to provide homes for the coal miners. The mine closed in the 1960s and is now the site of a country park.
The parish church of St Mary's dates from the early 12th century, with major rebuilding in about 1500. The church was restored in the late 1880s and gained a vestry in the early 1900s. A cross in the churchyard also dates from the medieval period.
The Severn Valley Railway opened a station in Highley in 1862. This was closed in 1963 but re-opened as part of the Severn Valley Railway preserved line in 1974. Highley is now the home of the SVR's Engine House Museum which houses the railway's reserve fleet of locomotives.
