Shrewsbury: Difference between revisions
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*[http://www.shrewsburyorthodox.com The Orthodox Church building is over 1,000 years old.] |
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Revision as of 20:37, 27 April 2007
| Shrewsbury | |
|---|---|
| Population | 70,560 |
| OS grid reference | SJ491124 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SHREWSBURY |
| Postcode district | SY1, SY2, SY3 |
| Dialling code | 01743 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Shropshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Shrewsbury (pronounced either [ˈʃɹuːzbɹi] or [ˈʃɹəʊzbɹi]) is a town of 70,560 inhabitants [1] in Shropshire, England. It is the county town of Shropshire and the seat of the borough of Shrewsbury and Atcham. It lies on the River Severn and is 9 miles east of the Welsh border. It is an historic town, with a largely unaltered medieval street plan in the town centre, featuring many historic buildings most notably timber framed examples from the 15th and 16th centuries. Today the town serves as a retail centre for the county and mid-Wales, with some light industry and distribution centres outside the town centre. The A5 and A49 trunk roads cross here, as do a number of railway lines.
History
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. The town was little affected by the industrial revolution, despite the proximity to Coalbrookdale and Ironbridge, commonly known as the birthplaces of industry.
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, below Telford and ahead of Oswestry. 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 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.
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 these were rebranded in 2007 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 will also see the first Shrewsbury Folk Festival which used to be held in nearby Bridgnorth. Much of the event will be held in the Quarry, with other related festivities happening around the town. Shrewsbury Folk Festival
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
Transportation
Shrewsbury is the county's public transportation hub. 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.
Bus services 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.
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, coloured orange), Oxon (to the west, coloured brown) and Meole Brace (to the south, coloured green). It is proposed that a fourth one be built to the east of the town, at either Emstrey or Preston.
Major Routes
Many main roads meet at Shrewsbury, making it a regional hub for road transport.
The A5 connects the town east towards Telford and northwest to Oswestry. The A5 once ran through the town centre, until a bypass was built in the 1930s. The A5/A49 seventeen-mile £79m dual-carriageway Telford-Shrewsbury Bypass was built further out of the town, opening in August 1992, and the A5 is now taken via this route. It runs to the south of the town. The A49 south from Ludlow and Leominster now meets up with the new A5 north of Bayston Hill (3 miles south of the town centre) and merges with it for 3 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.
The A5112, A5191 and A5064 are all internal roads of the town - the A5191 goes north-south via the town centre, the A5112 goes north-south to the east of the town centre and the A5064 is a short, 1 mile stretch of road to the southeast of the town centre, called "London Road". 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 is now unclassified).
Bridges
A. E. Housman wrote of the area thus:
High the vanes of Shrewsbury gleam
Islanded in Severn stream;
The bridges from the steepled crest,
Cross the water east and west.
The town has many bridges, which cross the River Severn and the Rea Brook. Here are listed the main ones, travelling downstream:
- Frankwell Footbridge - modern pedestrian bridge (see Frankwell)
- Welsh Bridge - built in the 1790s to replace the ancient St George's Bridge
- Porthill Bridge - pedestrian bridge
- Kingsland Bridge - privately owned, toll bridge (near Shrewsbury School)
- Greyfriars Bridge - pedestrian bridge (see Coleham)
- English Bridge - rebuilt in the 1930s, historically called "Stone Bridge"
- Shrewsbury railway station - partially located above the River Severn too
- Castle Walk Footbridge - modern pedestrian bridge
Future
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 borough council have just completed a new sports village at Sundorne and the new livestock market at Battlefield. A theatre is planned to be built by the borough council in Frankwell.
The town centre has two large indoor shopping centres - the 'Pride Hill' and 'Charles Darwin' centres and there are plans to merge them into a single complex called the Castle Gate Shopping Centre, a name given after a public vote. However there have been recent set backs to the project and it now no longer has planning permission.
Administrative functions
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 March 19 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.
Suburbs of the town
Suburbs and districts surrounding the town centre:
North:
Coton Hill
Greenfields
Ditherington - location of the first iron framed building in the world
Castlefields
Sundorne - location of the Shrewsbury Sports Village
Harlescott - location of the Shrewsbury Sunday Market
Mount Pleasant
Battlefield - site of the Battle of Shrewsbury 1403
Bagley
East:
Abbey Foregate
Underdale
Cherry Orchard
Telford Estate
Monkmoor
Belvidere
South:
Coleham
Sutton Farm
Reabrook
Sutton Park
Meole Brace
Meole Village
Belle Vue
West:
Frankwell
Copthorne
Porthill
Kingsland - see also Shrewsbury School
Gains Park
Radbrook Green
Shelton
Famous residents
- Leo Blair, father of Prime Minister Tony Blair.
- Robert Cadman (1711 -1739), early aviator. Buried in St Mary's Church [2]
- 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, 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
- William Johnstone Pulteney, 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 .
Trivia
Proud Salopians
Story has it that when King Henry VIII created the Church of England he wanted a diocese of Shropshire, with Shrewsbury as the Cathedral City. However the town of Shrewsbury rejected the offer, claiming that it wanted to remain a "first of towns" rather than a second rate city. It is said that this is where the term "Proud Salopians" comes from; a term used for the people of Shrewsbury who are proud of it as it is.
HMP Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury prison is the most overcrowded prison in England and Wales, according to a 2005 report on the UK prison population.
Pronunciation of "Shrewsbury"
The name of the town can be pronounced either [ˈʃɹuːzbɹi] ("Shroosbry") or [ˈʃɹəʊzbɹi] ("Shrowsbry"). The latter pronunciation is favoured by the BBC and is technically the correct pronunciation, however both are heard widely in the town; a poll conducted by the Shropshire Star in 2003 suggested that 70% of residents prefer [ˈʃɹuːzbɹi]. In addition, many locals drop the first 'r' from the name, making the pronunciation [ˈʃuːzbɹi] ("Shoesbury"). [3]
Shrewsbury and Shropshire
The name "Shrewsbury" comes from the Anglo-Saxon "Scrobbesbyrig". "Byrig" means "fortified place". "Scrobb" could mean shrubs or scrubland, or it could be the name of an Anglo-Saxon chieftain, so the meaning would be "scrubland fort" or "Scrobb's fort". Similarly, the name "Shropshire" evolved from "Scrobbesbyrigscire".
Both Shrewsbury and Shropshire have the same alternative name, Salop, which can be confusing. On some maps, Shropshire is recorded as "Salop", while on milestones in and near to the county, "Salop" refers to Shrewsbury.
Zutphen
Shrewsbury is twinned with 
Zutphen in the Netherlands. The relationship between the two towns is very old and dates back to the 16th Century.
Simnel cake
The most popular and well known recipe for Simnel cake is from Shrewsbury.
Shrewsbury Biscuits
Also referred to as Shrewsbury Cakes, Shrewsbury Biscuits are a form of, often lemon flavoured, biscuit, that were originally produced in Shrewsbury, which are currently available at a small number of locations in and around Shropshire.
Oldest McDonald's
Shrewsbury is home to the oldest building housing any McDonald's in the world, with one of the restaurant's exterior walls dating back to the 13th century.
HMS Talent
The Royal Navy nuclear submarine HMS Talent is affiliated with the town.
Royal Observer Corps
There was a regional 'cold war' headquarters of the Royal Observer Corps (HQ 16 Group ROC) in the town until the Corps was dissolved in 1995. Located near the Abbey on Holywell Street, the protected and atomic-bomb hardened Nuclear reporting blockhouse was jointly built by the Home Office and MOD in 1962 and operated continuously until 1992. In 1989 the flimsy administrative hutting to the rear of the blockhouse was replaced by a modern, two-storey building complete with an upstairs canteen and training room. Both buildings still stand and the nuclear bunker is now occupied by what must be the 'best protected' Veterinary practice in the world (although this has been somewhat spoiled by the recent addition of glazed windows in the metre thick walls to the front). There is a cabinet in the vet’s waiting room containing ROC historical memorabilia including photographs, badges, ROC crest, radiation detector instruments etc.
Grandfather of the skyscraper
Shrewsbury has the first iron framed building in the world - the Ditherington Flax Mill (known locally as 'The Maltings'), built in 1797. It is charactured to be the "grandfather of skyscrapers" as it is viewed as the ancestor of skyscrapers, as its iron frame was to evolve into the steel frame which is responsible for the development of modern skyscrapers.
Film Location
The popular US television special "A Christmas Carol" filmed many of its interior and exterior shots in and around Shrewsbury.
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, Jack the Cat, set in Shrewsbury. Also see the children's author Pauline Fisk who writes about a town called Pengwern - which is based entirely on Shrewsbury. Books include Midnight Blue, and Sabrina Fludde.
Sport
Shrewsbury is well known for its football team. 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 They currently play at Gay Meadow, situated just outside of the town centre, but will be moving to a new ground, at a site near Meole Brace (provisionally titled The New Meadow), in time for the 2007/2008 Season.
Shrewsbury is home a variety of established amateur sports clubs, including Shrewsbury Cricket Club, Shrewsbury Rugby Club and Shrewsbury Atletics Club.
There are three major golf courses in the Shrewsbury area, Shrewsbury Golf Club, based at Condover, Arscott Golf Club, based near Pontesbury, and 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.
Schools
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 resident children attend one of the town's seven comprehensive schools. These include The Priory, Meole Brace, The Corbet School, The Wakeman, The Grange, Sundorne, Belvidere and Mary Webb. The Wakeman School is situated next to the riverbanks of the Severn next to the English Bridge and the Gay Meadow Football Ground. The site was previously Shrewsbury Technical School' which was attended by the famous war poet Wilfred Owen. The post-16 education is handled by Shrewsbury Sixth Form College and Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology.
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.
