Great Bolas

Great Bolas
Great Bolas bridge over the River Meese, near the hamlet of Meeson.
OS grid reference	SJ 6412520773
Civil parish	Waters Upton
District	West Midlands
Shire county	Shropshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Postcode district	TF6
Dialling code	01952
Police	West Mercia
Fire	Shropshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
UK Parliament	West Midlands

Great Bolas, or Bolas Magna, is a small village in rural Shropshire, England. It is situated north-west of the town of Newport, and about eight miles north of Telford. It is part of the civil parish of Waters Upton. Two rivers, the Tern and the River Meese lie between it and near Bolas Bridge, the Meese flows into the Tern. There is a hamlet called Little Bolas a short distance to the west. Another hamlet called Meeson, south of the River Meese, was formerly a separate township of Great Bolas parish.

The origin of the Bolas place-name element is obscure, but it might be derived from the genitive plural of an Old English word, bogel, "little bend" (on the River Meese). Since, the river has been straightened but old parish boundary maps show how the river used to flow. It is also suggested that the name Bolas is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Bold, a house with a marsh - "the house in the marsh". This is possible as being close to two rivers may have made the land sometimes marshy.

St. John the Baptist's Church

The village church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, dates largely from the 17th century, with an 18th century tower and some 14th century pews. There was a church in this location from as early as the 13th century, today the only remains of this is two stones in the east window. The present church is a mixture of both Classic and debased Gothic architecture, the chancel was built in 1690 and was funded by Mr. John Tourneor, the rector at the time. He died in January 1693-94. After his death a nave and tower were built out of brick with a stone finish. This part of the church was designed by John Willbigg and the money was raised by church donations, it cost £331 in total. The completed new church was opened on the 23rd June 1728.

Henry Cecil, 1st Marquess of Exeter

Great Bolas is widely known for its association with Henry Cecil, 1st Marquess of Exeter. Henry Cecil found refuge in John Hoggins’s family household in June 1789 after fleeing from debt he fell into after his first wife eloped with another man. He said his name was John Jones and remained there for some weeks, this is known as he was witness to a local marriage on July 18th. Him and Sarah Hoggins, the daughter of John Hoggins, were married in April the following year, still under the name of John Jones. As Henry Cecil, he was still married, so from the Consistory Court he got a divorce, as well as an Act of Parliament pronouncing him able to re-marry. At the St Mildred, Bread Street church in London on October 3rd 1791, Sarah Hoggins married Henry Cecil again, under his true name. However, the name John Jones was still used after the second marriage, as it appears in rate books as well as in Great Bolas Registers at the time. Whilst living in Great Bolas, Henry Cecil bought some land in the village and built Bolas Villa, a small house for him and his wife and soon his children too. Henry Cecil succeeded his uncle as the 10th Earl of Exeter after he died in December 1793. He inherited much, and moved to Burghley House with his family. His wife Sarah died shortly after giving birth to their fourth child. Henry Cecil died aged 50 in 1804, after marrying again after Sarah Hoggins death. It was Sarah and his third child named Brownlow who succeeded his father as Earl of Exeter.

Demographics

It has been recorded that in 1811, 36 families resided in Great Bolas. Out of these, 34 of the families were “chiefly employed in agriculture”, and the remaining two families were “chiefly employed in trade, manufactures of handicraft”. The 1881 census shows that still the vast majority of males were employed in the Agriculture sector, while the vast majority of females worked in either an unknown occupation, or in the sector of domestic services and office employment. In the 2001 census, the majority of residents that make up Waters Upton, are employed in either Service Industries or Managerial and Professional Occupations.