The name Longdon is derived from two
Old English words,
lang and
dūn, meaning
long hill. A settlement at Longdon-Upon-Tern dates to at least the
Normans, as it is mentioned in the
Domesday Book of 1086 as
Languedune, held by
St. Alkmund's Church, Shrewsbury. It continued with the church until the 12th century when it passed to
Lilleshall Abbey until its dissolution in the 16th century. Its Domesday assets were: 2
hides, 5
ploughs, and a
mill worth 5s.
Parish Longdon-Upon-Tern is an ecclesiastical
parish. On 1 April 1988 the parish named "
Longdon upon Tern" merged with Rodington ecclesiastical
parish, a close by village, to create the
civil parish of Rodington with a
parish council, to relieve civil responsibilities from the two ecclesiastical parishes. The civil parish boundaries now include the areas of Long Waste, Long Lane,
Isombridge, Marsh Green, Sugdon, Rodington, Rodington Heath, and Longdon-Upon-Tern. Although the two separate parishes have now merged into a
civil parish with a
parish council, the two distinct ecclesiastical parishes maintain both village halls hosting varied community activities.
Church Today's church is the Church of St Bartholomew. This is a small 18th-century,
Grade II listed, Georgian stone and red brick church. Built in 1742 the church has had major alterations and an extension in the late 19th century. On the same site stands the refurbished
Grade II* listed Longdon-Upon-Tern village hall, formerly a schoolhouse provided by the
Duke of Sutherland and opened in 1849. Due to a decline in population, the school closed in 1970. The last population figure for Longdon-Upon-Tern in 1961 was 126. In 1801 at the time of the first UK census, the population of Longdon-Upon-Tern was 102 and peaked in 1881 at 131. The adjacent graph shows the total population in Longdon-Upon-Tern from 1801 to 1961. ==Aqueduct==