Cressage

The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book under the name Christesache. The meaning is "Christ's Oak", and this over time has been corrupted to form the word "Cressage".{{Cite book|title=The place-names of Shropshire|first=Margaret|last=Gelling|publisher=English Place-Name Society|year=1990|isbn=978-0-904889-14-7|page=103}} The oak tree was part of a forest (which no longer exists), and a cutting from it was planted near the village in 1616. This was later relocated due to railway construction.{{cite book |last=Raven |first=Michael |title=A Guide to Shropshire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Txby6_Lrm0cC |year=2005 |isbn=0-906114-34-9 |page=64 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

In 584, Saint Augustine reputedly preached under the Cressage Oak.

On 30 June 2012, the Olympic torch passed through the village on its way to London.

The Severn Valley Railway once ran through the village, calling at Cressage railway station, before the section between {{rws|Shrewsbury}} and {{rws|Bridgnorth}} was dismantled.{{Cite web|url=http://www.svr.co.uk/history.php |title=History |work=Severn Valley Railway |accessdate=4 May 2008 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080429210910/http://www.svr.co.uk/history.php |archivedate=29 April 2008 |url-status=dead }}

Select Bus Services operates the 436 bus route, providing an hourly service in each direction to Shrewsbury, Much Wenlock and Bridgnorth.{{Cite web |title=Cressage Bus Services |work=Bus Times |date=2024 |access-date=13 April 2024 |url= https://bustimes.org/localities/cressage |quote=}}

The village lies on the intersection of the A458 and the B4380, near to the River Severn.

Cressage Bridge lies several hundred metres north of the village and carries the B4380 road over the River Severn. Designed by L.G. Mouchel and built in 1913, it has a hollow construction of reinforced concrete and a span of {{convert|170|ft|m|abbr=off}}.{{Cite web |title=Shropshire Bridge |website=Severn Tales |date=2024 |access-date=13 April 2024 |url=http://www.severntales.co.uk/shropshirebridges.html |quote=}}

There are two hexagonal brick pill boxes, one on each side of the river, constructed during the Second World War to defend the bridge in the event of enemy invasion.

The parish's war memorial, in the form of a granite wheel or Celtic cross, stands at the village's main road junction on the A458.{{cite book|last=Francis|first=Peter|title=Shropshire War Memorials, Sites of Remembrance|year=2013|publisher=YouCaxton|page=129|isbn=978-1-909644-11-3}}

Cressage had a public house, The Eagles, which was shut down early 2008, but reopened December 2009. It shut again in early 2015 and was sold on at auction.

The ancient church in Cressage was a chapelry of Cound and was dedicated to St Sampson. Its position close to the river made it liable to flooding and so, in 1841, it was replaced by the present building sited somewhat further from the water. The exact whereabouts of the original church are lost. Anglican church, Christ Church is on Harley Road. It holds infrequent services, is normally locked and is currently in the process of closure. However, burials continue in the graveyard.

There is a primary school, village hall, village shop, social club and a medical practice.

Among the village's well-known inhabitants was Admiral Sir Herbert Annesley Packer, who was born in the village on 9 October 1894.{{Cite web |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/31/31838/31838.html |title=Herbert Packer |work=Cricket Archive |accessdate=2008-05-04 }}

• Listed buildings in Cressage

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{{Severn from Llandrinio to Ironbridge}}

{{Shropshire}}

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Category:Populated places on the River Severn

Category:Villages in Shropshire

Category:Civil parishes in Shropshire

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