Chirbury

Coordinates: 52°34′42″N 3°05′31″W / 52.5784°N 3.0919°W / 52.5784; -3.0919

Chirbury (pronounced /ˈtʃɜːrbʌri/) is a village in west Shropshire, England. It is situated in the Vale of Montgomery, close to the Wales–England border (1.1 miles (1.8 km) at its nearest), which is to its north, west and south. The A490 and B4386 routes cross at Chirbury.

It is the largest settlement in the Chirbury with Brompton civil parish, which according to the 2001 census had a population of 914, with the resident population of Chirbury at 348. The population of the civil parish had increased to 971 at the 2011 census.

History

The placename was recorded in 915 as Ċyriċbyrig in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and as Ċireberie in the Domesday Book of 1086, and means "the fort with a church". Its Welsh name, Llanffynhonwen, means "the church of the white well" or "...of the holy well". Some French linguists have theorised that the name of Chirbury shares a common etymology with the city of Cherbourg (Chiersburg, Chierisburch around 1070, Chirburg 1377, Chirburgh 14th century).