Is this Shropshire's oldest family?

Charles and Lillian Mason brought up 14 children – seven boys and seven girls – in their three-bedroom bungalow in Lilleshall.

Today 13 of the siblings are still alive – with a combined age of 1,006.

And the brothers and sisters have about 40 children of their own between them – as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

On Saturday, ten of the Mason clan had a rare get-together at the Red House Inn in Lilleshall to celebrate Bob Mason's 90th birthday. They were joined by other members of the family.

Bob, who celebrates his birthday today, is the eldest of the siblings, while Peter is the baby of the family at 65.

The family believes their longevity makes them one of the oldest families in the country.

John Mason is the third eldest at 85. He said though it was sometimes chaotic living in a three-bedroom house with so many siblings, his parents coped remarkably well.

John said: "People often ask how our parents managed but there was always food on the table. We always had a big garden with fruit trees and vegetables, so we lived on that more or less. Rabbit stew was another favourite. My dad was an estate man and he'd turn his hand to anything.

"He used to make all of our things and mend our clothes and cut our hair.

"I didn't have a proper haircut until I was in the Navy. We only had three bedrooms but there are 25 years between the eldest and the youngest so it wasn't a problem."

The siblings are: Bob Mason, of Kingswinford, who was born in 1924; Marjorie Boddison, deceased, born 1926; Doreen Easthope, of Shifnal, born 1927; John Mason, of Codsall, born 1928; Kathlyn Bray, of West Sussex, born 1930; George Mason, of Donnington, born 1931; David Mason, of Hadley, born 1933; Clive Mason, of Donnington, born 1935; Charmayne Rowley, of Muxton, born 1937; Rosemary Evans, of Adelaide, born 1940; Muriel Mason, of Shrewsbury, born 1942; Janet Wotton, of Lincolnshire, born 1944; Christopher Mason, of Adelaide, born 1945; and Peter Mason, of St Georges, born 1948.