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Shrewsbury is built on rising
ground in a loop of the river Severn which almost
forms an island.
England’s ‘finest Tudor town’ has always occupied
an important position near the Welsh border and
was the seat of the Welsh princes of Powys back in
the 5th and 6th centuries. Later it
became part of the region of Anglo-Saxon Mercia
and during the Norman period was enhanced by its
mighty stone castle as Edward l set out to subdue
his Celtic enemies. Once an important centre of
the clothing trade, this county town still has
more than 600 listed buildings. The river is
crossed by two fine bridges traditionally known as
the English Bridge and the Welsh Bridge.
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The castle was restored in the
18th century by the engineer and
architect Thomas Telford. More famous these days
is the local 11th century Benedictine
abbey, setting for the Brother Cadfael novels by
author Ellis Peters. The Cadfael connection is
explored in 'The Shrewsbury Quest', a themed
visitor centre near the Abbey. Shrewsbury public
parks and gardens were made famous by the
television appearances of their creator, gardener
Percy Thrower and each year the town hosts the
Shrewsbury Flower Show. |
Shrewsbury (Photo-
Shropshire Tourism) |
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was
born here and educated at the all-boys Shrewsbury
School, founded by Edward Vl in 1552. Maybe there
was something in the air in those days but he went
on to pen his ‘On the Origin of the Species’ and
change forever the way we interpret the world
around us.
Outside the town stands the
one-time Roman citadel of Viroconium which has
undergone excavations from as far back as the
1860s. At one time it had a population numbering
over 6,000 and is thought by some to have been a
stronghold of King Arthur.
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