Sister cities of Baschurch

Baschurch is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. grid reference SJ425220

It lies in North Shropshire, north of Shrewsbury. Population: 1,475 (2001 census). The village has strong links to Shrewsbury to the south-east, Oswestry to the north-west, and Wem to the north-east. Baschurch is twinned with the town of Giat in the French département of Puy-de-Dôme, in the Auvergne région. There is a large village not far from Baschurch called Ruyton-XI-Towns.

A major feature of the village is All Saints' Church (Church of England)[1] which is one of the oldest standing structures in the village (perhaps the oldest). A timber church which burnt down is believed to have stood on the same site previously. Leading industrialist and builder Thomas Telford made numerous major alterations to the modern sandstone church.

The village has two schools including Baschurch Church of England Primary School, and the Corbet School formerly known as Baschurch Secondary Modern School. Just outside the village is Walford College, an agricultural and sports college which in 2002 merged with Oswestry-based North Shropshire College to form Walford and North Shropshire College.

In 2000 a large stone made of local sandstone was erected in the modern centre of the village to commemorate the Millennium. Similar smaller stones were erected in neighbouring communities.

Baschurch has a number of amenities in the village, including Moor Farm Shop, Byway DIY & Baschurch Post Office, The Hair & Beauty Station, Lloyd's Fish & Chip Shop, Patel's Convenience Store, as well as a newly built Spar Shop.

The Shrewsbury to Chester Line passes through the village, though the Victorian Railway Station was closed in 1960. There have been repeated efforts to bring the station back into use, most recently in Autumn 2008, with the support of Baschurch Parish Council and the Shrewsbury-Chester Rail Users' Association. In September 2009, a public meeting organised by the Baschurch Station Group, was attended by 250 local people and received extensive media coverage.