'Shrewsbury' (
pronounced either or
[1]) is the
county town of
Shropshire,
West Midlands,
England. Lying on the
River Severn, it is home to 70,560 inhabitants
, and is the main settlement of the borough of
Shrewsbury and Atcham. It is a historic
market town with the town centre having a largely unaltered medieval street plan. The town centre features many historic buildings, including several timber framed examples from the 15th and 16th centuries. Today, lying 9 miles east of the
Welsh border, Shrewsbury serves as a shopping and cultural centre for the county and mid-Wales. There are some light industry and distribution centres, mainly on the outskirts. The
A5 and
A49 trunk roads cross here, as do a number of railway lines at
Shrewsbury railway station.
History
Main articles: History of Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury's name comes from the
Anglo-Saxon ''Scrobbesburh'' (
dative ''Scrobbesbyrig'') = "fort in the scrub-land region" or "Scrobb's fort". Its
Welsh name ''Amwythig'' means "fortified place".
Shrewsbury is popularly known as a
medieval town, having been founded c.
800 and it was during the "late Middle Ages" (
14th/15th Centuries) in which the town was at its height in terms of national importance and wealth. This was mainly due to the
wool trade, a major industry at the time, with the rest of Britain and Europe, especially with the River Severn and
Watling Street as trading routes. It is believed that
Henry VIII intended to make Shrewsbury a cathedral city after the formation of the
Church of England, but the citizens of the town declined the offer.
The town is home to the
Ditherington Flax Mill, the world's first iron-framed building, which is commonly regarded as "the grandfather of the skyscraper".
Shrewsbury has also played a unique part in Western intellectual history, by being the town in which the great naturalist
Charles Darwin was born and raised.
See also:
★
Pengwern - possible ancient town or kingdom based where Shrewsbury is now.
★
Battle of Shrewsbury (1403) - fought a few miles north of the town centre, at
Battlefield.
★
Wroxeter - 5 miles SW of the town lies the (now ruined)
Roman city of
Viroconium Cornoviorum.
Population
The population of the town of Shrewsbury is a little over 70,000 although the population of the borough of Shrewsbury and Atcham is higher, at just under 96,000. In 1981 the population of the town was 57,731 and in 1991 the population of the town was 64,219. Shrewsbury is Shropshire's
second largest town. In line with the rapid growth of town population, a 2005 report on prison population in the UK has found that the prison,
HMP Shrewsbury, is the most overcrowded in England and Wales. In 2000 and again in 2002, Shrewsbury unsuccessfully applied for
city status.
Within the borough, but not part of the town of Shrewsbury, is the large village of
Bayston Hill. This was once a much smaller village but has grown up to become a suburb of the town. It remains, however, a separate entity to the town, with its own parish council, etc. Bayston Hill lies some 3 miles south of the town centre of Shrewsbury and on the A49 and near to the A5. The smaller village of
Battlefield, this time to the north of the town, is also considered now as a suburb of the town due to recent growth in the surrounding area. It is covered by the unparished town area of the borough and is included in a town ward.
Attractions
The Dingle, formerly a Quarry, now a scenic garden.
The church of St. Chads and Quarry recreational area (foreground).
Music Hall façade
The historic town centre still retains its medieval street pattern and many narrow streets and passages. Some of the passages, especially those which pass through buildings from one street to the next, are called “shuts” (a suggestion is that this is because they were once shut at night). Many specialist shops, traditional pubs and local restaurants can be found in the hidden corners, squares and lanes of Shrewsbury. Many of the
street names have also remained unchanged in centuries and there are some more unusual names, such as Butcher Row, Longden Coleham, Dogpole,
Mardol, Frankwell, Roushill,
Grope Lane, Gullet Passage, Murivance, The Dana, Portobello, Bear Steps, Shoplatch and Bellstone.
The town was also used as the set for the popular US television special "
A Christmas Carol", which filmed many of its interior and exterior shots in and around Shrewsbury. The gravestone of Ebeneezer Scrooge used in production is still present in the graveyard of St. Chad's church.
There are some very old public houses, which have been continuously open as pubs, such as the
Golden Cross (established
1428 - the oldest pub in the town), the
Dun Cow and the
King's Head.
In the centre of the town lies
The Quarry. This 29 acre (120,000 m²) riverside park attracts thousands of people throughout the year and is enjoyed as a place of recreation. The town is known as the "Town of Flowers" and this was the motto printed onto many of the signs as you entered the town on major roads, although in 2007 the signs were replaced, instead branding the town as 'the birthplace of Charles Darwin'.
Shrewsbury is home to one of the largest and oldest horticultural events in the UK - the annual
Shrewsbury Flower Show (
Shrewsbury Flower Show website). A two day event, the Flower Show takes place in mid-August, has been running for more than 125 years, and attracts around 100,000 visitors each year. Set in the Quarry park, there are a multitude of events, exhibitions and displays, with a magnificent fireworks display at the end of each day.
Shrewsbury is also home to one of the region's main agricultural shows - the
West Mid Show. This is held every year, usually in May, at the Shropshire Agricultural Showground on the outskirts of town at
Coton Hill.
The town is host to the
Shrewsbury International Music Festival, when musical groups from all over the world come to perform for about a week for local residents, and give a final concert in the Abbey. The festival is organized by
WorldStage Tours. In recent years, including
2005,
Northern Pines has participated.
2006 also saw the first Shrewsbury Folk Festival, after the event moved to the town from nearby
Bridgnorth. Held annually over the August Bank Holiday, the event is very popular, with people travelling from across the UK to attend. In 2006 much of the event was held in the Quarry, with other related festivities happening around the town. For 2007 the event moved to the West Midlands Showground on the other side of the river. (
Shrewsbury Folk Festival website).
A new annual arts festival - the Shrewsbury Summer Season - was established in 2004 and runs each year from June to August with an extensive programme of music, visual arts, theatre and spectacle.
Shrewsbury Summer Season.
The
tourist information centre is at the
Music Hall on The Square in the town centre. The three main museums are Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery (located at Rowley's House),
Shrewsbury Castle (which houses the Shropshire Regimental Museum) and the
Coleham Pumping Station.
Shrewsbury Museums Also there is the Gateway arts and drama centre and there are also various private galleries and art shops around the town. Another notable feature of the town is
Lord Hill's Column, the largest free-standing
Doric column in the world.
Transportation
Roushill, Shrewsbury
A map of Shrewsbury showing suburbs, surrounding villages, Rivers (blue), Roads (red) and Rail routes (green).
Shrewsbury is the county's
public transportation hub and has extensive road and rail links to the rest of the county and country.
Rail
Five railway lines connect the town to most corners of Shropshire and the town is regarded as the "Gateway to
Wales". Its
railway station is served by
Arriva Trains Wales and
Central Trains. Trains frequently run to
Birmingham,
Manchester,
Chester,
Telford,
Cardiff,
Aberystwyth,
Crewe,
Hereford and
Wrexham.
Roads
Shrewsbury is connected to the national road network and nearby towns via a number of significant roads.
The
A5 connects the town east towards
Telford, where it becomes the
M54, and northwest to
Oswestry. The A5 once ran through the town centre, until a
bypass was built in the 1930s. Subsequently, in 1992, a seventeen mile
dual carriageway was completed at a cost of 79 million pounds to the south of the town, and was made to form part of the A5 route. This dual carriageway was built further out of the town to act as a substantial link to
Telford, as well as a bypass for the town.
The
A49 also goes to Shrewsbury, joining the A5 at the south of the town, coming from
Ludlow and
Leominster. At this point, the road merges with the A5 for three miles, before separating again to the east of the town. From there it runs north, passing
Sundorne, then
Battlefield, before heading out towards
Whitchurch. At Battlefield, the
A53 route begins and heads northeast towards
Shawbury and
Market Drayton then onwards towards
Newcastle-under-Lyme and
Stoke-on-Trent.
The
A458 (
Welshpool-
Bridgnorth) runs through the town centre though, entering in the west and leaving to the southeast. The
A528 begins in the town centre and heads north, heading for
Ellesmere. The
A488 begins just west of the town centre in
Frankwell and heads out to
Bishop's Castle,
Clun and
Knighton crossing the border in the southwest of Shropshire.
Major roads within the town include the
A5112,
A5191 and
A5064. The A5191 goes north-south via the town centre, while the A5112 runs north-south to the east of the town centre. The A5064 is a short, one mile stretch of road to the southeast of the town centre, called "London Road". Additionally, the
A5124 is the most recently built section of the Shrewsbury bypasses and runs across the northern edge of the town at Battlefield (connecting the A49/A53 to the A528), though it did exist before as Harlescott Lane (which has since become unclassified).
Buses
Bus services in the town are operated by
Arriva and serve most parts of the town, congregating at the town's
bus station adjacent to the Darwin Shopping Centre and a short stroll from the railway station. Arriva also operate county services both independent of and on behalf of Shropshire County Council. There are other bus companies operating around the Shrewsbury area, including Minsterley Motors.
Shrewsbury has a
Park and Ride bus scheme in operation and three car parks on the edge of town are used by many who want to travel into the town centre. The three car parks are located at
Harlescott (to the north, colour-coded orange),
Oxon (to the west, colour-coded brown) and
Meole Brace (to the south, colour-coded green). It is proposed that a fourth one be built to the east of the town, at either
Emstrey or
Preston.
Bridges
Porthill Bridge, crossing the Severn, connecting Porthill with the Quarry area.
The town has many bridges, which cross the River Severn and the
Rea Brook.
A. E. Housman wrote of the area this verse, which mentions the bridges of the town:
Below are listed the major town bridges, travelling downstream along the River Severn:
★ Frankwell Footbridge - modern pedestrian bridge (see
Frankwell)
★
Welsh Bridge - built in the 1790s to replace the ancient
St George's Bridge
★
Porthill Bridge - a pedestrian suspension bridge between the Quarry and Porthill, built in 1922.
★
Kingsland Bridge - privately owned,
toll bridge (near Shrewsbury School)
★
Greyfriars Bridge - a pedestrian bridge connecting Coleham to the town centre
★
English Bridge - historically called "Stone Bridge", and was rebuilt in the 1930s
★
Shrewsbury railway station - is built partially over the river
★
Castle Walk Footbridge - modern pedestrian bridge
Future
The main shopping district, Pride Hill.
Shrewsbury won the ''
West Midlands Capital of Enterprise'' award in 2004. The town has two expanding business parks - the
Shrewsbury Business Park and the
Battlefield Enterprise Park. There are many residential developments currently under construction in the town to cater for the increasing numbers of people wishing to live in the town and commute to
Telford,
Wolverhampton and
Birmingham.
The town centre has two large indoor shopping centres - the 'Pride Hill' and 'Darwin'
[2] centres. The initial plan to merge them into the
Castle Gate shopping complex experienced setbacks, and planning permission was withdrawn. However, the development of a new four storey link mall has begun as part of a new project by a different company, with construction being undertaken by local company Morris Property. In addition to connecting the two shopping centres, the new mall may also open onto the main shopping street Pride Hill.
The borough council have just completed a new sports village at Sundorne and the new livestock market at Battlefield. Construction of 'Theatre Severn'
[3], a new entertainment complex in
Frankwell, was commissioned in September 2006. Actual construction began on the site in April 2007 when the Borough Council appointed a contractor. The design will feature a prominent glass curve and steel frame. The site is positioned next to the
Guildhall, alongside the namesake River Severn.
[4]
Administrative functions
A ward map; the Shrewsbury Urban area is shown in orange, within the larger Shrewsbury and Atcham district.
Shrewsbury is the administrative centre for both
Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough and
Shropshire County (which does not include the
Telford and Wrekin borough, which is now a unitary authority). The County Council have their headquarters in the Shirehall, on Abbey Foregate and the Borough Council have their headquarters in The Guildhall, on
Frankwell Quay. The Borough Council have moved from their old Guildhall, now known as "Newport House" (as it was before it became the Guildhall), on
19 March 2004. Shrewsbury has no town council, the Mayor of Shrewsbury and Atcham being also the mayor of the town.
The town also serves as the administrative headquarters of the
British Army's
5th Division, which has their administrative HQ at the
Copthorne Barracks.
Local media
Two newspapers are published for Shrewsbury - the
Shrewsbury Chronicle and the local edition of the county's
Shropshire Star.
There are presently three radio stations that specifically serve either the Shrewsbury area or encompass it as part of a Shropshire-wide broadcast. They include
Beacon Radio, part of the wider network of radio stations owned by
GCap Media,
BBC Radio Shropshire, which is based in Shrewsbury and as of September 2006
The Severn which broadcasts live from Abbey Foregate.
Politics
Shrewsbury is in the
Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency and is the only large settlement in the constituency. Before 1997 Shrewsbury and Atcham's
MP was
Derek Conway, a
Conservative.
Paul Marsden of the
Labour Party was elected to serve the constituency in Labour's 1997 landslide victory, the first time Shrewsbury had a Labour MP. Marsden defected to the
Liberal Democrats following the
Afghanistan war, deciding not to stand for election again. Following this, 2005 saw Labour lose a lot of votes to the
Liberal Democrats, allowing
Daniel Kawczynski of the Conservatives to be elected with a majority of 1,808. Previous MPs for Shrewsbury have included
Benjamin Disraeli.
Shrewsbury is twinned with
Zutphen in
The Netherlands.
Suburbs of the town
Panorama over Shrewsbury from the grounds of
Shrewsbury School, located in Kingsland.
:''See
Suburbs of Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury has a large number of distinct
suburbs and surrounding villages. As the town continues to expand, however, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between the suburbs, which are joined to the town, and the surrounding villages, which often join on to the suburbs. An example of where this has happened is
Bayston Hill, which has grown considerably over recent years; now separated from the
Meole Brace suburb by only a few fields and the
A5 road.
Famous residents
Charles Darwin, Shrewsbury's most illustrious historical resident.
Darwin Gate sculpture at the top of Mardol.
★
Leo Blair, father of former Prime Minister
Tony Blair.
★
Robert Cadman (1711–1739), early aviator. Buried in St Mary's Church
[5]
★
Robert Clive ("Clive of India") was Mayor and Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury.
★
Charles Darwin, biologist and evolutionary theorist, one of the most important thinkers of the nineteenth century and one of the greatest scientists of all time, was born in Shrewsbury on
12 February 1809 at
The Mount House, and he was educated in the town at Shrewsbury School.
★
Simon Gosling was born in Shrewsbury and lived there until 1994.
★
Paul Gustafson, self publicist, author, biologist, naturalist, angler and teacher was born in Shrewsbury.
★
John Gwynn,
architect (1713-1786), was born and died in Shrewsbury. The town's English Bridge and the bridge at
Atcham were both designed by him.
★
Nick Hancock of 'They think it's all over' fame was a boarder in Ingrams House at Shrewsbury School but originally from Stoke-On-Trent
★
Michael Heseltine was educated at Shrewsbury School.
★
Ian Hunter (real name Patterson), lead singer of 70's pop group
Mott the Hoople lived at 23a Swan Hill in the town centre and wrote a song of the same name. 23 Swan Hill was the police station and 23a the Sergeant's house: Hunter's father was the station Sergeant during his teenage years. Hunter's song "Irene Wilde" poignantly features the town's Barker Street bus station.
★
Sandy Lyle, professional golfer, was born in Shrewsbury, although he represented Scotland in his professional career.
★
Wilfred Owen,
poet, lived and worked in Shrewsbury until the
First World War.
★
Michael Palin, writer, actor, and comedian. Most famous for being a member of
Monty Python's Flying Circus, and more recently his series of television travel documentaries. Attended Shrewsbury School.
★
John Peel was a boarding student at Shrewsbury School
★
Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet, once Britain's richest man, was MP for Shrewsbury and lived in apartments at Shrewsbury Castle.
★
Percy Thrower, gardener and broadcaster who presented various gardening programmes, including the
BBC's Gardeners' World from 1969 until 1976.
★
T'Pau, the 80s pop group came from Shrewsbury.
★
Mary Webb (
1881 -
1917). Author. Buried in Shrewsbury .
★
Lange, International DJ and famed dance music producer, born in Shrewsbury
★
Nick Conway actor probably best known for 'Billy' in the
BBC sitcom
Bread (TV series)
Fictional references
★ The ''
Brother Cadfael'' novels by
Ellis Peters, aka
Edith Pargeter, take
Shrewsbury Abbey for their setting. In the stories, Shrewsbury and other places in Shropshire are portrayed regularly.
★ Local author
Carol Ewels has two children's books, including ''Jack the Cat'', set in the town.
★ The children's author
Pauline Fisk writes about a town called Pengwern, which is based entirely on Shrewsbury, in books including ''Midnight Blue'', and ''Sabrina Fludde''.
Sport
★
Shrewsbury Town are a
Football League team currently playing in
Football League Two. Their current manager is
Gary Peters. Shrewsbury Town's achievements include winning The Welsh Cup 6 times, a record for an English club, a sustained run in the old
Second Division in the 1980s and victory in the
Conference National Playoff Final 2004.The club has recently relocated to the
New Meadow stadium, a purpose built site located near
Meole Brace. Prior to this, the club played at the
Gay Meadow stadium, situated just outside of the town centre, for a 97 year period from 1910 to 2007.
★ Shrewsbury is home a variety of established amateur sports clubs:
★
★
Shrewsbury Cricket Club
★
★ Shrewsbury Rugby Club
★
★ Shrewsbury Athletics Club.
★ There are three major golf courses:
★
★ Shrewsbury Golf Club, based at Condover
★
★ Arscott Golf Club, based near
Pontesbury
★
★ the
Meole Brace Municipal golf course.
Professional golfer
Sandy Lyle was born in Shrewsbury.
★ The area also has a rich motorsports heritage, with the
Loton Park Hillclimb and
Hawkstone Park Motocross Circuit situated near Shrewsbury.
Shrewsbury Motocross Club has staged
motocross events in the area for over 30 years.
★ Shrewsbury Sports Village was recently opened in the
Sundorne district of the town, with the aim of providing a wider and improved range of sports facilities for townspeople.
★
Shrewsbury Wrestling Club (SWC) is another sports club of the town.
Education
Shrewsbury is home to
Shrewsbury School, a public school, where
Sir Philip Sydney,
Charles Darwin,
Michael Palin,
John Peel,
Nick Hancock and
Michael Heseltine were educated. It is located on a large commanding site ("Kingsland") just south of the town centre overlooking the loop of the Severn. The school was once located in the town centre, in the buildings that are now the main county library on Castle Street. Opposite it on the other side of the river is Shrewsbury High School, a private girls' day school. However the majority of the town's children attend one of the seven comprehensive schools. These include:
★ 'The Priory', formerly a
grammar school for girls.
★ 'Meole Brace School', which currently carries the status of Science College.
★ 'The Corbet School'
★ 'The Wakeman School', geographically the school nearest the town, situated next to the English Bridge, alongside the Severn and adjacent to the Gay Meadow football ground. The site was previously 'Shrewsbury Technical School', attended by the famous war poet
Wilfred Owen.
★ 'The Grange'
★ 'Sundorne' currently carrying the status of Sports College
★ 'Belvidere'
★ 'The Mary Webb School' serves many inhabitants of Shrewsbury, though actually located in the large village of
Pontesbury, to the south-west.
Post-16 education is handled by
Shrewsbury Sixth Form College and
Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology. Recent proposals to co-locate the two colleges have met with fierce opposition
[6], primarily from the students of the Sixth Form, who wish to remain in a central location, and business owners who fear a loss of weekday trade that would decimate the town's economy. Many college staff are also against the move.
Coat of arms
''Floreat Salopia'' - Latin; "may Salop flourish"
(Salop can mean both Shrewsbury and Shropshire).
The coat of arms is that of the
borough of
Shrewsbury and Atcham - Shrewsbury's town shield is the same but without the bridge (which is the
Atcham Bridge). Shrewsbury, Shrewsbury and Atcham, Shrewsbury Town FC and
Shropshire all use the same loggerheads and motto.
External links
★
Shrewsbury Biscuits
★
Darwin Country - Shrewsbury Museums Service information site
★
Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council
★
Shrewsbury page on Shropshire Tourism
★
Shrewsbury Forum
★
Shrewsbury Food Guide
★
The Mount Residents' Group Shrewsbury
★
The Orthodox Church building is over 1,000 years old.
★
Goodbye Gay Meadow
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
