Shifnal is a small market town in Shropshire, England. It forms a part of the Bridgnorth district of Shropshire and The Wrekin constituency. It has a railway station on the Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton Line and is near to the M54 motorway. The town, originally known as Idsall, was most probably a Saxon settlement established by the end of the 7th century. Shifnal is thought to be the place named Scuffinhalch in a 9th century document as a possession of Medeshampstede (now Peterborough) Abbey, however this is thought to be a dubious claim and the ancient document is likely to be a forgery. The first part of the name is reckoned to be the personal name "Scuffa" rather than a place name. The ending "halch" means a large, shallow bowl describing the topography of the town's location. Unusually the name of the town has alternated through the centuries between Idsall and Shifnal. Idsall is mentioned in a 9th century charter as Iddeshale meaning "Idi's nook" or corner. A nook is said to be an area of land of approximately 20 acres. It is often conjectured that the two names of Idsall and Shifnal were names of settlements on the east and west side respectively of Wesley Brook, the stream that runs through the town and a tributary of the River Worfe. J. C. Anderson in his "Shropshire its Early History and Antiquities" states that Idsall means Hall of Ide and Shifnal is Hall of Sceafa. More on Shifnal