lost many of these facilities, although its population has grown. It thus exemplifies a common pattern for rural settlements, where centralisation and the rise of road transport have seen a decline in the local provision of services, despite a rising population. Two literary figures have strong connections with Cleobury: William Langland and Simon Evans. Langland, a contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer, is believed to have been born in the vicinity in the 14th century, and is commemorated in the very fine and intricate (Victorian) East Window of St Mary's Church, as well as in a local road name. Simon Evans is a 20th-century writer, who fought throughout the First World War, and suffered from being gassed. He had been a postman on Merseyside before the war, and after the war sought a rural postal round, to soothe both nerves and body. Cleobury suited him well; here he blossomed, took a correspondence course in English, and became a successful writer and radio broadcaster in the 1930s. Heath Cranton published five of his books, and he married 'Auntie Doris' (Aldridge), a radio performer, but his new life was cut short in 1940, when the effects of the gassing finally caught up with him. His legacy is visible in the naming of a local street, a plaque on the old Post Office, and a dedicated local walk—'The Simon Evans Way'—which the CM Footpath Association has created in recent years. Geography The River Rea runs to the east of the town, whilst through the town itself is the Pudding (or Burrell) Brook, which flows from west to east before meeting the Rea. The land gradually rises from 110 metres above sea level near to the river, to 150 metres in the west of the town. The Clee Hills, the highest hills in Shropshire, are nearby and the Wyre Forest lies between the town and Bewdley. The border with Worcestershire is a mile to the south. The A4117 Kidderminster to Ludlow road runs through the centre of the town and crosses the River Rea at New Bridge. The B4363 runs between Cleobury Mortimer (its junction with the A4117 being immediately east of New Bridge) and Bridgnorth. The county town, Shrewsbury, is some distant by road, making Cleobury the most distant town from Shrewsbury in the county. Cleobury was formerly served by two now-defunct railways: the Tenbury & Bewdley Railway and the Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors