Ratlinghope

Ratlinghope
Ford across the Darnford Brook, Ratlinghope
Ratlinghope
Ratlinghope shown within Shropshire
Population	138 (2011)
OS grid reference	SO401969
Civil parish	Ratlinghope
Unitary authority	Shropshire
Ceremonial county	Shropshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SHREWSBURY
Postcode district	SY5
Dialling code	01588

Police	West Mercia
Fire	Shropshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
EU Parliament	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Ludlow
List of places UK England Shropshire 52°33′58″N 2°52′59″W / 52.566°N 2.883°W / 52.566; -2.883Coordinates: 52°33′58″N 2°52′59″W / 52.566°N 2.883°W / 52.566; -2.883

Ratlinghope is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 138. It is situated four miles (6 km) west of Church Stretton and twelve miles (19 km) south of Shrewsbury.

Historically it was located in the hundred of Purslow. In the Church of England it is in the rural deanery of Bishop's Castle, archdeaconry of Ludlow, and diocese of Hereford.

It is said that it is sometimes pronounced "Ratchup" by the locals, though none of the locals currently do so – the shortened version is thought to have been created by the post office. The village is scattered around a valley in the hills of the Long Mynd and Stiperstones, an AONB (area of outstanding natural beauty).

Nearby is the hamlet of Bridges, which falls within Ratlinghope civil parish, and where there is a youth hostel and a public house.

Castle Ring, the earthwork of Ratlinghope Hill, is the fort described by Mary Webb in her novel Golden Arrow.

The area of the parish is 5,456 acres (22.08 km²), of which, at the start of the 20th century, 3,756 acres were arable and pasture, 200 acres woodland, and about 1,500 acres common. The population in 1901 was 197. The land is hilly, and the soil is sand and clay, on a rocky subsoil. An old Roman road, the Portway, runs between Ratlinghope and Church Stretton, and is continued along the crest of the Long Mynd in a north-easterly direction. In the neighbourhood are some British camps (Iron Age hillforts) and tumuli.

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