Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire on the River Severn.
During the 14th and 15th centuries the town was very important as it traded in wool with the rest of Britain and Europe. It was fortunate to have trading routes on the River Severn and Watling Street.
In the town is the Ditherington Flax Mill; this was the first iron-framed building in the world.
Shrewsbury is known as a historic market town, the layout of which remains mostly the same as it was in medieval times. In fact there are over six hundred listed buildings in town several of which are timber framed dating back to the 15th century. The town is also home to Shrewsbury Castle this was built of red sandstone in 1074 and Shrewsbury Abbey was built in 1083 and was once a Benedictine monastery.
Nowadays Shrewsbury is a commercial centre for the county and part of Wales. Its retail output is worth £299m per annum. Also on the outskirts of town is the Battlefield Enterprise Park housing light industries and distribution companies. Another commercial park still expanding is the Shrewsbury Business Park.
Many residential developments are under construction to allow for the rise in the number of people who are moving to the area intending to commute to Telford, Wolverhampton and Birmingham.
Shrewsbury’s town centre is a maze of narrow streets and passages. Some of the passages pass through buildings and are known as ‘shuts’. A lot of these little streets have retained their old names including Butcher Row, Dogpole, Grope Lane, Gullet Passage, Bear Steps and Shoplatch. Hidden down some of the lanes can be found specialist shops and restaurants. Also several very old pubs can be located around town such as the Golden Cross, built in 1428 is the town’s oldest pub plus the Dun Cow and King’s Head.
There are eight major bridges in town that cross either the River Severn or the Rhea Brook, four of which are footbridges. The Welsh Bridge was built in the 1790’s. The River Severn loops the town giving many riverside walks. Recently installed is the pleasure boat, Sabrina, giving trips along the River Severn.
Shopping is great in Shrewsbury with specialist, designer and independent retailers along with the more usual high street stores. There are two shopping centres, Pride Hill and Darwin also a new development under construction will include a four-storey link Mall and will connect to the two shopping centres.
Nightlife is also very good in the town with a wide range of clubs, bars and restaurants.
Property is available for rent in Shrewsbury with prices around £525pcm for a l bed flat, £600pcm for a 2 bed flat, £550pcm for a 2 bed house and £650pcm for a 3 bed house.
Shrewsbury Railway Station is served by Arriva Trains Wales and London Midland with services running to Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Manchester, Telford and Cardiff plus many other smaller destinations. At present Shropshire is the only county that does not have a dedicated service to London but this be a service provided by Wrexham and Shropshire as from the spring of 2008.
The A5 connects to the town towards Telford where it then becomes the M54 motorway. Adjoining the A5 is the A49 and at Battlefield the A53 begins. Running through the centre of town are the A458, A488 and A528.
The council have recently built a new livestock market at Battlefield and a new entertainment complex is being built and the design will include a glass curve and a steel frame. A new sports village has just been completed at Sundorne and other sports Shrewsbury cater for include football, rugby, American football, ten pin bowling, golf, rowing, motor cross, cricket, athletics and wrestling.
Shrewsbury hosts many events throughout the year such as the largest and oldest horticultural events in the UK, the Shrewsbury Flower Show. This is a two-day event attracting 100,000 each day and includes events, exhibitions and displays and ends each day with a large firework display.
The West Mid Show is also held on the outskirts of the town and other events include both music and art festivals.
The town is know as the Town of Flowers because of its wonderful flower displays and has won many awards for these. ‘Town of Flowers’ used to be the town’s motto and was on signposts leading into the town but in 2007 these were changed and now read ‘the Birthplace of Charles Darwin’.
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