Geological and archaeological exhibits also feature, such as two fine Romanesque lavabo panels from Wenlock Priory, as do several cups awarded to champion tilter Charles Ainsworth during the early Wenlock Olympian Games, all of which have been added to the museum's collection since its major renovation in 2012. Charmingly described by Lanyon as a "small museum with big stories to tell", it charts the town's Olympic story through sporting veterans to royal visits and carnivals. The route ends as it begins, at the Much Wenlock Museum and Visitor Information Centre, where resources include printed trail leaflets for adults and children. It's a poignant spot on an otherwise uplifting trail adorned with themed plaques and sculpture that paints a vivid picture of Wenlock Olympian Games history, from the pageantry that once saw band-led marches parade through decorated streets to the Society's first honorary member, Petros Velessarios, winner of a 1,400-yard race staged in Athens for which he received 281 drachmas and an olive crown. The young Frenchman went on to cofound the International Olympic Committee in 1894 and its first Summer Olympics event was held in the Greek capital in April 1896, sadly four months after Brookes died at 86.īrookes' grave in the grounds of Much Wenlock Parish Church, movingly just opposite his birthplace, is a tragic reminder that he outlived four of his five children. In 1890, after visiting the Wenlock Olympian Games and hearing of Brookes' dream to stage an international Olympics revival in Greece – despite failed efforts to persuade the government in Athens – it was here that educator and historian Baron Pierre de Coubertin gave a speech that expressed his affinity with the doctor's ideals. Perhaps the next most telling trail stop is the Raven Hotel, which now sports a 2 AA Rosette restaurant. A wall plaque also highlights a selection of town improvements the industrious philanthropist helped facilitate, from the construction of the railways and this very building to the renovation of the Guildhall. It was here that Brookes established the Wenlock Olympian Society – one of his many endeavours to promote physical wellbeing, including successfully petitioning to make physical education compulsory in schools nationwide.
Markets still take place in Much Wenlock, including at the Corn Exchange (now home to the public library and named for the corn markets once held amongst its arches) where the second bronze Olympian Trail marker can be found. Along streets abundant in floral displays and family businesses, cottages rendered in Wenlock limestone jostle regal Georgian brick townhouses and timbered marvels like the Grade II* listed Tudor Guildhall: this once housed the courtroom and its open ground-floor space, formerly a butter market, still features a whipping post and manacles for unfortunate felons (as one passer-by joked, "they didn't mess about in those days!"). "The winner became something of a regional celebrity," she said.īut what led from this exuberant regional affair to the international Olympics? Much Wenlock's 1.3-mile Olympian Trail tells the tale, wending its way through a quintessential English town centre from its starting point at the Much Wenlock Museum and Visitor Information Centre. Most popular and exciting of all was Tilting at the Ring, which – according to Emma-Kate Lanyon, head of collections and curatorial services at Shropshire Council – "required huge skill and horsemanship as galloped towards a suspended ring the size of an old penny, lance in hand", on a mission to unhook it. The games are still held today, albeit with a more conventional repertoire alongside typical country sports and classical athletics, early episodes included eclectic crowd-pleasers like a blindfolded wheelbarrow race or an "old women's race" to win a pound of tea. Launched in 1850, the Wenlock Olympian Games soon attracted thousands of spectators and competitors from as far as London and Liverpool (although there was always at least one "locals-only" activity to keep borough residents happy).