Oswestry Oswestry Oswestry ' onMouseout='HidePop("55060")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Wrexham">Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located to the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
Coalfield and there are also copper deposits on the border with
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
. Mining of stone and sand
aggregatesConstruction aggregate, or simply "aggregate", is a broad category of coarse particulate material used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic aggregates...
is still going on in
Mid-ShropshireShrewsbury and Atcham was, between 1974 and 2009, a local government district with borough status in Shropshire, England.Shrewsbury was the only town in the borough; Atcham, although itself only a village, was included in the name as a reflection of the incorporation into the borough of the former...
, notably on
Haughmond HillHaughmond Hill is a small, shallow hill in the English county of Shropshire. It is covered by woodland for the most part, although there is an open cast quarry in use. Its proximity to the town of Shrewsbury has meant that it has become something of a forest park, with guided paths, car parking...
, near
Bayston HillBayston Hill is a large village and civil parish in central Shropshire, England. It is south of the county town Shrewsbury and located on the main A49 Shrewsbury to Hereford Road....
and around the village of
CondoverCondover is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies 4.7 miles south of the county town of Shrewsbury, and just east of the A49. The Cound Brook flows through the village on its way from the Stretton Hills to a confluence with the River Severn...
. Lead mining also took place at
SnailbeachSnailbeach is a village in Shropshire, England, located near Shrewsbury at . The village was formerly home to a large lead mine.-Early history:A village was built for workers at the local lead mine - Snailbeach Mine, which reputedly dates back to Roman times...
and the
StiperstonesThe Stiperstones is a very distinctive hill in the county of Shropshire, England. It is a quartzite ridge formed some 480 Million years ago. During the last Ice Age the summit stood out above the glaciers and was subject to constant freezing and thawing which shattered the quartzite into a mass of...
, but this has now ceased. Other primary industries, such as forestry and fishing, are to be found too.
The A5 and
M54The M54 is a 23 mile east-west motorway in the English counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. It is also referred to as the Telford Motorway, after the road's primary westbound destination, the new town of Telford...
run from
WolverhamptonWolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough of the West Midlands, England. In 2004, the local government district had an estimated population of 239,100; the wider Urban Area had a population of 251,462, which makes it the 13th most populous city in England.Historically a part of...
(to the east of the county) across to Telford, around Shrewsbury parallel to the line of
Watling StreetWatling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
an
ancient trackwayAncient trackway can refer to any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity. Such paths existed from the earliest prehistoric times and in every inhabited part of the globe. The term is commonly used in the British Isles to describe the ancient trackways that already existed when the Romans...
. The A5 then turns north west to Oswestry, before heading north into Wales in the Wrexham area. This is an important artery and the corridor is where most of Shropshire's modern commerce and industry is found, notably in Telford new town. There are also a number of railway lines crossing over the area, which centre at Shrewsbury. To the south west of Telford, near the Ironbridge Gorge, is
Ironbridge Power StationIronbridge Power Station refers to a series of two coal-fired power stations which have occupied a site in the Buildwas parish of Shropshire, England operated by E.ON UK...
.
The new town of Telford is built partly on a former industrial area centred on the East Shropshire Coalfield as well as on former agricultural land. There are still many ex-colliery sites to be found in the area, as well as disused mine shafts. This industrial heritage is an important tourist attraction, as is seen by the growth of museums in the
IronbridgeIronbridge is a settlement on the River Severn, at the heart of the Ironbridge Gorge in Telford, Shropshire, England. It lies in the parish of The Gorge, in the borough of Telford and Wrekin...
,
CoalbrookdaleCoalbrookdale is a side valley of the Ironbridge Gorge in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of ferrous metallurgy. It is in the ancient manor and ecclesiastical parish of Madeley. It was one...
and
JackfieldJackfield is the only suburb of Telford, England which is entirely south of the River Severn. It borders the village of Broseley in Shropshire.- Location :...
area. Blists Hill museum and historical (
Victorian eraThe Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901. The reign was a long period of prosperity for the British people, as profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements...
) village is a major tourist attraction as well as the Iron Bridge itself. In addition,
Telford Steam RailwayThe Telford Steam Railway is a heritage railway located at Horsehay, Telford in Shropshire, England, formed in 1976.The railway is operated by volunteers on Sundays and Bank Holidays from Easter to the end of September, and at Christmas...
runs from
HorsehayHorsehay is a village on the western outskirts of Dawley, which, along with several other towns and villages, now forms part of the new town of Telford in Shropshire, England. Horsehay lies in the Dawley Hamlets parish, and on the northern edge of the Ironbridge Gorge area.Its name is Anglo Saxon...
.
South Shropshire
- For information specifically on the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
, see Shropshire Hills AONBThe Shropshire Hills area is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , in the English county of Shropshire, close to its border with Wales. Designated in 1958 , the area encompasses of land primarily in south-west Shropshire...
.
South Shropshire is more rural, with fewer settlements and no large towns, and its landscape differs greatly from that of North Shropshire. The area is dominated by significant hill ranges and river valleys, woods, pine forests and 'batches', a colloquial term for small valleys and other natural features. Farming is more pastoral than the arable found in the north of the county. The only substantial towns are
BridgnorthBridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England, along the Severn Valley. It is split into Low Town and High Town, named on account of their elevations relative to the River Severn, which separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left...
, with a population of around 12,000 people,
LudlowLudlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Wales-England border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of 350 acres and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
and
Church StrettonChurch Stretton is a small town in southern Shropshire, England, located approximately south of Shrewsbury, the county town. At the 2001 census, the town's population was 4,186....
. The
Shropshire Hills AONBThe Shropshire Hills area is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , in the English county of Shropshire, close to its border with Wales. Designated in 1958 , the area encompasses of land primarily in south-west Shropshire...
is located in the south-west, covering an area of ; it forms the only specifically protected area of the county. Inside this area is the popular
Long MyndThe Long Mynd in Shropshire, England, is a part of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is south of the county town Shrewsbury, and has an area of over 22 square kilometres . The name Long Mynd means "Long Mountain": in Welsh it is called Mynydd Hir...
, a large plateau of and
StiperstonesThe Stiperstones is a very distinctive hill in the county of Shropshire, England. It is a quartzite ridge formed some 480 Million years ago. During the last Ice Age the summit stood out above the glaciers and was subject to constant freezing and thawing which shattered the quartzite into a mass of...
high to the East of the
Long MyndThe Long Mynd in Shropshire, England, is a part of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is south of the county town Shrewsbury, and has an area of over 22 square kilometres . The name Long Mynd means "Long Mountain": in Welsh it is called Mynydd Hir...
, overlooking
Church StrettonChurch Stretton is a small town in southern Shropshire, England, located approximately south of Shrewsbury, the county town. At the 2001 census, the town's population was 4,186....
.
The
A49The A49 is a major road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrington and Wigan before terminating at its junction with...
is the main road through the area, running north to south, from Shrewsbury to
HerefordshireHerefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. It also forms a unitary district known as the County of Herefordshire. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the southeast, and...
. A railway line runs through the area on the same route as the A49 with stations at Church Stretton,
Craven ArmsCraven Arms is a small town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The town is surrounded to the north by the Shropshire Hills AONB, and to the south is the fortified manor house Stokesay Castle....
and Ludlow. The steam heritage
Severn Valley RailwayThe Severn Valley Railway is a heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The line runs along the Severn Valley from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route...
runs from Bridgnorth into
WorcestershireWorcestershire or ; abbreviated Worcs) is a historic and administrative county located in the West Midlands region of central England. In 1974 it was merged with the county of Herefordshire to form the single administrative county of Hereford and Worcester; which was divided in 1998,...
along the
Severn ValleyThe Severn Valley is a rural area of mid-western England, through which the River Severn runs and the Severn Valley Railway steam heritage line operates, starting at its northernmost point in Bridgnorth, Shropshire and running south for 16 miles to Bewdley, Worcestershire in the Wyre...
.
Because of its valley location and character, Church Stretton is sometimes referred to as
Little SwitzerlandA little Switzerland or Schweiz is a landscape, often of wooded hills. This Romantic aesthetic term is not a geographic category, but was widely used in the 19th century to connote dramatic natural scenic features that would be of interest to tourists...
. Nearby are the old mining and quarrying communities on the
Clee HillsThe Clee Hills are a range of hills in Shropshire, England near Ludlow, consisting of Brown Clee Hill , the highest peak in Shropshire, and Titterstone Clee Hill...
, notable geological features in the
Onny ValleyThe River Onny is a river in Shropshire, England. It is a major tributary of the River Teme.The river has its sources in the Shropshire Hills at White Grit, located in Mid and South-west Shropshire. It has two branches, the East Onny and West Onny, which converge at Eaton, to the east of Lydham...
and
Wenlock EdgeWenlock Edge is a limestone escarpment near Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England. It is 15 miles long and runs from South West to North East between Craven Arms and Much Wenlock. It is roughly 330 metres high...
and fertile farmland in the Corve Dale. The
River TemeThe River Teme is a river in the United Kingdom that rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown in Powys, and flows through Ludlow in Shropshire, then to the north of Tenbury Wells on the Shropshire/Worcestershire border there, on its way to join the River Severn south of Worcester...
drains this part of the county, before flowing into
WorcestershireWorcestershire or ; abbreviated Worcs) is a historic and administrative county located in the West Midlands region of central England. In 1974 it was merged with the county of Herefordshire to form the single administrative county of Hereford and Worcester; which was divided in 1998,...
to the South and joining the River Severn.
One of the Clee Hills, the
Brown Clee HillBrown Clee Hill is the highest hill in the rural English county of Shropshire, at 540 metres above sea level. It is one of the Clee Hills, and is in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.-Geography:...
, is the county's highest peak at . This gives Shropshire the
13th tallest hill per county in England.
South West Shropshire is a little known and remote part of the county, with
Clun ForestClun Forest is a remote, rural area of open pastures, moorland and mixed deciduous/coniferous woodland in the southwest part of the English county of Shropshire and also just over the border into Powys, Wales....
,
Offa's DykeOffa's Dyke is a massive linear earthwork, roughly following some of the current border between England and Wales. In places, it is up to 65 feet wide and 8 feet high. In the 8th century it formed some kind of delineation between the Anglian kingdom of Mercia and the Welsh kingdom of Powys...
, the
River ClunThe River Clun is a river in Shropshire, England which runs through the small town of Clun, as well as Newcastle-on-Clun and other villages. It meets the River Teme at Leintwardine....
and the
River OnnyThe River Onny is a river in Shropshire, England. It is a major tributary of the River Teme.The river has its sources in the Shropshire Hills at White Grit, located in Mid and South-west Shropshire. It has two branches, the East Onny and West Onny, which converge at Eaton, to the east of Lydham...
. The small towns of
ClunClun is a small town in Shropshire, England. The town is located entirely in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The 2001 census recorded 642 people living in the town...
and
Bishop's CastleBishop's Castle is a small market town in Shropshire, England, and formerly its smallest borough. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,630. Bishop's Castle is one and a half miles east of the Wales-England border, about twenty miles north-west of Ludlow and about twenty miles...
are in this area. The countryside here is very rural and is in parts wild and forested. To the south of Clun is the Welsh border town of Knighton.
Climate
The
climateClimate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorological elements in a given region over long periods of time...
of Shropshire is generally moderate. Rainfall averages 760 to 1,000 mm (30 to 40 in), influenced by being in the rainshadow of the
Cambrian MountainsThe Cambrian Mountains are a series of mountain ranges in Wales, reaching from, and including, the South Wales mountains of the Brecon Beacons, north Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, to Snowdonia in North Wales....
from warm, moist frontal systems of the Atlantic Ocean which bring generally light precipitation in Autumn and Spring. The hilly areas in the south and west are much colder in the winter, due to their high elevation, they share a similar climate to that of the
Welsh MarchesThe Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales on the island of Great Britain, in the United Kingdom....
and Mid-Wales. The flat northern plain in the north and east has a similar climate to that of the rest of the
West MidlandsThe West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
.
Being rural and inland, temperatures can fall more dramatically on clear winter nights than in many other parts of England. It was at
Harper Adams University CollegeHarper Adams University College is a higher education institution located near Newport in Edgmond, Shropshire, UK. In terms of the provision of courses relating to the land-based sector, it is the largest provider by student numbers in the UK and is one of only three remaining institutions of its...
, in
EdgmondEdgmond is a village in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies 1 mile north-west of the town of Newport.Harper Adams University College is in Edgmond...
, where on 10 January 1982 the lowest temperature weather record for England was broken (and is kept to this day): -26.1 °C.
The only Met Office weather station in the county is located at
ShawburyShawbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Shropshire, England. The village is 8.4 miles north east of the town of Shrewsbury, 11.5 miles north west of Telford and 163 miles north west of London. The village straddles the A53 between Shrewsbury and Market Drayton...
, which is in the north, between
ShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is home to 70,689 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
and
Market DraytonMarket Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....
.
Geology
The rocks in Shropshire are relatively new, especially compared to the
Cambrian mountainsThe Cambrian Mountains are a series of mountain ranges in Wales, reaching from, and including, the South Wales mountains of the Brecon Beacons, north Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, to Snowdonia in North Wales....
. Shropshire has a number of areas with
SilurianThe Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Ma , to the beginning of the Devonian period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Ma . As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the...
and Ordivician rocks, where a number of
shellsA seashell, also known as a sea shell, or simply as a shell, is the common name for a hard, protective outer layer, a shell, or in some cases a "test", that was created by a sea creature, a marine organism. The shell is part of the body of a marine animal. In most cases a shell is an exoskeleton,...
, corals and Trilobites can be found. Mortimer Forest is an example where a number of fossils can be found.
Politics
Shropshire has
five constituencies, four of which returned Conservative MPs at the 2005 general election and one, Telford, returned a Labour MP. This is a marked change from the 2001 general election result, where the county returned only one Conservative, three Labour and a Liberal Democrat to the Commons (see maps to the right).
The current MPs of Shropshire are:
- David Wright
David Wright is a politician in the United Kingdom, and Labour Party member of Parliament for Telford. He has been an MP since 2001.-Early life:...
, Labour, TelfordTelford is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
(covering the town of TelfordTelford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
)
- Owen Paterson
Owen William Paterson is a British Conservative Party politician, and Member of Parliament for North Shropshire and Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.-Early life:...
, Conservative, North ShropshireNorth Shropshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From its first creation in 1832 to the abolition of the first creation in 1885 it elected two Knights of the Shire...
(covering the former North ShropshireNorth Shropshire was a local government district in Shropshire, England. The district council was based at Edinburgh House, in Wem. Other settlements included the towns of Ellesmere, Market Drayton, and Whitchurch, as well as the large villages of Shawbury and Baschurch...
and OswestryOswestry was a small local government district with borough status in Shropshire, England. It was the smallest of the five districts of Shropshire in terms of both population and land area....
districts, now coextensive with the North area committee)
- Philip Dunne
Philip Martin Dunne is a British politician and the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Ludlow.Philip Dunne, son of Sir Thomas Dunne, KG, KCVO, the Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire , was born in Ludlow, Shropshire and educated at Abberley Hall, followed by Eton and Keble College, Oxford,...
, Conservative, LudlowLudlow is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, founded as such in 1473. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until 1707 and of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and it has been such of the...
(covering the former South ShropshireSouth Shropshire was, between 1974 and 2009, a local government district in south west Shropshire, England.South Shropshire was the most rural district of one of the UK's most rural counties, the population of the district was 40,410 in 2001 spread out over 1,027 km² of forest, mountains,...
and (the majority of) Bridgnorth districts; now coextensive with the South area committee except for the part covered by the Wrekin constituency)
- Daniel Kawczynski
Daniel Robert Kawczynski is the Conservative Party Member for Parliament for Shrewsbury and Atcham in Shropshire, England.-Early life:Kawczynski's family came to Britain from Poland in 1940, after Poland's invasion by the Wehrmacht...
, Conservative, Shrewsbury and AtchamShrewsbury and Atcham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
(covering the former Shrewsbury and AtchamShrewsbury and Atcham was, between 1974 and 2009, a local government district with borough status in Shropshire, England.Shrewsbury was the only town in the borough; Atcham, although itself only a village, was included in the name as a reflection of the incorporation into the borough of the former...
district; now coextensive with the Central area committee)
- Mark Pritchard
Mark Andrew Pritchard is the Conservative MP for The Wrekin. He was elected at the 2005 general election, beating Peter Bradley of the Labour Party.-Parliamentary career:He contested the Warley seat in Sandwell 2001.-External links:...
, Conservative, The WrekinThe Wrekin is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
(covering Telford and WrekinTelford and Wrekin is a unitary district with borough status in the West Midlands region of England. The district was created in 1974 as The Wrekin, then a non-metropolitan district of Shropshire....
borough, minus Telford, and including a small area of the former Bridgnorth district/South area committee)
In 2005 there was also a County Council election in which the Conservatives gained overall control of the shire county. Telford and Wrekin Borough Council remained at the time under Labour control but has since gone to no-overall control, with a Conservative executive. Being a rural county, there are a number of independent councillors on the various councils in the county.
The Conservatives gained complete control of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council in the May 2006 local elections.
Divisions and environs
see also:
List of civil parishes in Shropshire
Most of the
ceremonial countyThe ceremonial counties are areas of England that are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as the Counties for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
of Shropshire is covered for purposes of local government by
Shropshire CouncilShropshire Council is a unitary authority in Shropshire, United Kingdom.It replaced the former two-tier local government structure in the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire on 1 April 2009, which involved its immediate predecessor, Shropshire County Council, and five non-metropolitan districts -...
, a
unitary authorityA unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
established in 2009.
Telford and WrekinTelford and Wrekin is a unitary district with borough status in the West Midlands region of England. The district was created in 1974 as The Wrekin, then a non-metropolitan district of Shropshire....
is a unitary authority, with
boroughA borough is an administrative division of various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
status, which forms part of the county for various functions such as
Lord LieutenantThe title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representatives in the United Kingdom, usually in a county or similar circumscription, with varying tasks throughout history. Usually a retired local notable, senior military officer, peer or business person is given the post...
but is a separate local authority from Shropshire Council. However many services are shared across both authorities, such as the
fire and rescue serviceThe Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service covering Shropshire, including Telford and Wrekin, in the West Midlands region of England....
, and the two authorities co-operate on some projects such as mapping flood risk.
The ceremonial county borders
CheshireCheshire ; also known, archaically, as the County of Chester) is a ceremonial county in North West England. The traditional county town is the city of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Widnes, Runcorn, Macclesfield,...
,
StaffordshireStaffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, Worcestershire,
HerefordshireHerefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. It also forms a unitary district known as the County of Herefordshire. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the southeast, and...
, and the
Welsh preserved countiesThe Preserved counties of Wales are the current areas used in Wales for the ceremonial purposes of Lieutenancy and Shrievalty. They are based on the counties created by the Local Government Act 1972 and used for local government and other purposes between 1974 and 1996.-Usage:The Local Government ...
of
PowysPowys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire, and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,196 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
and
ClwydClwyd is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the North East, bordering England and Cheshire to its East, Shropshire to the South-East, Gwynedd to its immediate West and Powys to the South. It additionally shares a border with the metropolitan county of Merseyside along the River Dee. Between...
.
The new unitary authority for Shropshire,
Shropshire CouncilShropshire Council is a unitary authority in Shropshire, United Kingdom.It replaced the former two-tier local government structure in the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire on 1 April 2009, which involved its immediate predecessor, Shropshire County Council, and five non-metropolitan districts -...
, divides the county into three areas, each with its own
area committeeMany large local government councils in the United Kingdom have a system of area committees, with responsibility for services in a particular part of the area covered by the council....
- North, Central and South. These area committees, as well as relative staff, deal with local matters such as development control and licensing.
With the parishing of the formerly
unparished areaIn England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish. Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparished. In some cases, a largely rural district will have one or two unparished areas in it...
of Shrewsbury in 2008, the entire ceremonial county is now
parishedIn England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and in some places the lowest tier of local government, below districts and counties. A civil parish can alternatively be known as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council; and in a limited number of...
. The sizes of parishes varies enormously in terms of area covered and population resident. Shrewsbury is the most populous parish in the county (and one of the most populous in England) with over 70,000 residents, whilst the least populous have populations between 10 and 30 (such as
BoscobelBoscobel is a very small civil parish in the east of Shropshire, England, on the border with Staffordshire.According to the 2001 census it had a population of 12. Because of its small population, it shares a parish council with the neighbouring Donington parish...
, with just 12 residents in 2001). The smaller parishes usually have a joint parish council with one or more neighbouring parishes, or in some rare instances, have a
parish meetingA parish meeting, in England, is a meeting to which all the electors in a civil parish are entitled to attend. In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of the parish council itself, with statutory powers, and electing a...
(such as in
Sibdon CarwoodSibdon Carwood is a small village and parish in Shropshire, England. To its east is the small town of Craven Arms.Instead of a parish council it has a parish meeting. This is due to the very small population of the parish....
). The urban area of Telford is divided into many parishes, each covering a particular suburb, some of which are historic villages or towns (such as
MadeleyMadeley is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, now part of the new town of Telford. The parish had a population of 17,935 at the 2001 census.Madeley is recorded in the Domesday Book, having been founded before the 8th century...
). The parish remains an important sub-division and tier of local government in both unitary authority areas of Shropshire.
Local government 1974-2009
In 1974 the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire was constituted, covering the entire county. There was a two-tier system of local government, constituting a
county councilA county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
(as the upper tier) and six
districtNon-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As originally created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
councils -
BridgnorthBridgnorth was, between 1974 and 2009, a local government district in Shropshire, England. Its main town was Bridgnorth and other towns in its area were Much Wenlock, Shifnal and Broseley. The villages of Albrighton and Sheriffhales as well as RAF Cosford were also in the district.The district was...
,
North ShropshireNorth Shropshire was a local government district in Shropshire, England. The district council was based at Edinburgh House, in Wem. Other settlements included the towns of Ellesmere, Market Drayton, and Whitchurch, as well as the large villages of Shawbury and Baschurch...
,
OswestryOswestry was a small local government district with borough status in Shropshire, England. It was the smallest of the five districts of Shropshire in terms of both population and land area....
,
Shrewsbury and AtchamShrewsbury and Atcham was, between 1974 and 2009, a local government district with borough status in Shropshire, England.Shrewsbury was the only town in the borough; Atcham, although itself only a village, was included in the name as a reflection of the incorporation into the borough of the former...
,
South ShropshireSouth Shropshire was, between 1974 and 2009, a local government district in south west Shropshire, England.South Shropshire was the most rural district of one of the UK's most rural counties, the population of the district was 40,410 in 2001 spread out over 1,027 km² of forest, mountains,...
and
The WrekinTelford and Wrekin is a unitary district with borough status in the West Midlands region of England. The district was created in 1974 as The Wrekin, then a non-metropolitan district of Shropshire....
. In 1998 The Wrekin became a
unitary authorityA unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
, administratively separate from the county council, and became Telford and Wrekin. The two-tier structure remained in the remainder of the county and was the least populated two-tier area in England.
Oswestry and Shrewsbury & Atcham were each granted
boroughA borough is an administrative division of various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
status in 1974. Telford and Wrekin became a borough in 2002.
2009 restructuring
see also:
2009 structural changes to local government in EnglandStructural changes to local government in England were effected on 1 April 2009, whereby a number of new unitary authorities were created in parts of the country which previously operated a 'two-tier' system of counties and districts...
In 2006 a local government white paper supported proposals for new
unitary authoritiesA unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
to be set up in England in certain areas. Existing non-metropolitan counties with small populations, such as
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
,
NorthumberlandNorthumberland is a ceremonial county and unitary district in the North East of England. It borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham to the south and Tyne and Wear to the south east, as well as having a border with the Scottish Borders council area to the north, and nearly eighty miles of North...
and Shropshire, were favoured by the government to be covered by unitary authorities in one form or another (the county either becoming a single unitary authority, or be broken into a number of unitary authorities). For the counties in the 2009 reorganisation, existing unitary authority areas within the counties'
ceremonial boundariesThe ceremonial counties are areas of England that are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as the Counties for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
(such as Telford and Wrekin) were not to be affected and no boundary changes were planned.
Shropshire County Council, supported by South Shropshire District Council and Oswestry Borough Council, proposed to the government that the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire become a single unitary authority. This was opposed by the other 3 districts in the county, with Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council taking their objection to the High Court in a judicial review.
The proposal to create a Shropshire unitary authority, covering the area of the existing non-metropolitan county, was supported by the DCLG and 1 April 2009 was set as the date for the re-organisation to take place. The first elections to Shropshire Council will not take place however until 4 June 2009, with the former Shropshire County Council being the continuing authority and its councillors became the first members of the new Shropshire Council on 1 April.
Part of the proposals include
parishingIn England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and in some places the lowest tier of local government, below districts and counties. A civil parish can alternatively be known as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council; and in a limited number of...
and establishing a
town councilA town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....
for Shrewsbury. The parish was created on 13 May 2008 and is the second most populous
civil parishIn England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and in some places the lowest tier of local government, below districts and counties. A civil parish can alternatively be known as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council; and in a limited number of...
in England (only
Weston-super-MareWeston-super-Mare is a seaside resort town and civil parish in North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes...
has a greater population) with a population of over 70,000.
Transport
- See also: Railways of Shropshire
The English county of Shropshire has a fairly large railway network, with 19 National Rail stations on various national lines, as well as a small number of heritage and freight lines, including the famous heritage Severn Valley Railway running along its eastern border with Worcestershire.The...
Shropshire is connected to the rest of the United Kingdom via a number of road and rail links. Historically, rivers and later canals in the county were used for transport also, although their use in transport is now significantly reduced. The county's main transportation hub is Shrewsbury, through which many significant roads and railways pass and join.
Canals in the United KingdomThe canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role for recreational boating...
today serve primarily for leisure purposes and three
British WaterwaysBritish Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by government. It is the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals, and also some rivers and docks...
canals run through Shropshire: the
Shropshire Union CanalThe Shropshire Union Canal is a navigable canal in England; the Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the SU system and lie partially in Wales....
(from north of
AdderleyAdderley is a village and civil parish in the English county of Shropshire. It is known as Eldredelei in the Domesday Book....
to near Knighton), the
Llangollen CanalThe Llangollen Canal is a canal in England and Wales.What is today known as the Llangollen Canal was originally the centre section of the Ellesmere Canal, and later became part of the Shropshire Union Canal network...
(from
Chirk AqueductChirk Aqueduct is a high and long aqueduct that carries what is now the Llangollen Canal across the Ceiriog Valley near Chirk, on the England-Wales border....
to
Grindley BrookGrindley Brook is a small village in Shropshire, England, on the A41 trunk road around 1.5 miles north west of the market town of Whitchurch. It is the most northerly settlement in Shropshire and borders directly onto Cheshire, and is within the civil parish of Whitchurch Rural.- Geography :The...
) and the
Montgomery CanalThe Montgomery Canal , known colloquially as "The Monty", is a partially restored canal in Powys, in eastern Wales, and in northwest Shropshire, in western England...
(from its beginning at
Frankton JunctionFrankton Junction is the name of the canal junction where the Montgomery Canal terminates and meets the Llangollen Canal at Lower Frankton, Shropshire, England.-Bridge numbering:...
to
LlanymynechLlanymynech is a village straddling the border between Montgomeryshire/Powys, Wales and Shropshire, England about 9 miles north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh for "Church of the Monks"....
). In addition, the
Shrewsbury and Newport CanalThe Shrewsbury Canal was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 1835, when the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal built the Newport Branch from...
potentially could be restored in the
future.
Major roads in the county include the
M54 motorwayThe M54 is a 23 mile east-west motorway in the English counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. It is also referred to as the Telford Motorway, after the road's primary westbound destination, the new town of Telford...
, which connects Shropshire to the rest of the motorway network, and more specifically to the West Midlands county. The A5 also runs through the county, in an east-west direction. The road formerly ran through Shrewsbury, although a large dual-carriageway bypass has since been built. Other major trunk roads in the county include the north-south
A49The A49 is a major road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrington and Wigan before terminating at its junction with...
, the
A53The A53 is a primary route in northern England, that runs from Buxton in Derbyshire to Shrewsbury in Shropshire.-Route of Road:The A53 begins in the centre of Buxton off the A6 road, before meeting the A515 road at a roundabout. Out of the town, it has a junction with the A54 road before...
and the
A41The A41 is a formerly-major trunk road in England that links London and Birkenhead, although as stated below it has now largely been superseded by motorways...
.
There are a number of major
railwayThe English county of Shropshire has a fairly large railway network, with 19 National Rail stations on various national lines, as well as a small number of heritage and freight lines, including the famous heritage Severn Valley Railway running along its eastern border with Worcestershire.The...
lines running through the county, including the
Welsh Marches LineThe Welsh Marches Line is the railway line from Newport to Shrewsbury via Abergavenny, Hereford, Craven Arms, and then, either to Crewe and Manchester via Whitchurch or alternately via the Shrewsbury and Chester Line to Wrexham and Chester with services continuing to Holyhead...
, the
Cambrian LineThe Cambrian Line is a railway from Shrewsbury to Welshpool, Aberystwyth and Pwllheli. The railway runs first through the central part of Wales and then along the coast of Cardigan Bay....
, the
Shrewsbury to Chester Line|}The Shrewsbury to Chester Line, also known as the Severn - Dee Line , was built in 1846 as the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway...
and the
Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury LineThe Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line is the railway line from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury via Wellington, it was originally built by the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway. The line is double track throughout, with rarely used relief sidings at Cosford and 4 tracks through Wellington station...
, as well as
heritage railwayA heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a term used for a railway which is run as a tourist attraction, is usually but not always run by volunteers, and often seeks to re-create railway scenes of the past A heritage railway (United Kingdom and Australia),...
s including the well established
Severn Valley RailwayThe Severn Valley Railway is a heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The line runs along the Severn Valley from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route...
. The two train operating companies working in the county are
London MidlandLondon Midland is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd., it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands Franchise since 11 November 2007....
and
Arriva Trains WalesArriva Trains Wales is a train operating company that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches. Its busiest stations are Cardiff Central, Cardiff Queen Street and Newport...
. A new company, Wrexham & Shropshire, commenced services from Shropshire to London
Marylebone stationMarylebone station, also known as London Marylebone, is a National Rail and London Underground station in central London, England. The station is located midway between the mainline stations at Euston and Paddington, about 1 mile from each....
, in spring 2008.
Two major water supply
aqueductAn aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
s run across Shropshire; the
Elan aqueductThe Elan Aqueduct, located in Wales and the Midlands of England, runs from Elan Valley to Birmingham's Frankley Reservoir carrying drinking water for Birmingham....
running through South Shropshire carrying water from
Elan ValleyThe Elan Valley is a river valley situated to the west of Rhayader, in Powys, Wales, sometimes known as the "Welsh Lake District". It covers of lake and countryside....
to
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
and the Vyrnwy Aqueduct running through North Shropshire delivering water from
Lake VyrnwyLake Vyrnwy Nature Reserve and Estate is an area of land in Powys, Wales, surrounding the Victorian reservoir of Lake Vyrnwy. Its stone-built dam, built in the 1880s, is the first of its kind in the world. The Nature Reserve and the area around it are jointly managed by the Royal Society for the...
to
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
Towns and villages
Shropshire has no
citiesCity status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
, but 22 towns, of which 2 can be considered major.
TelfordTelford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
is the largest town in the county with a population of 138,241 (which is approximately 30% of the total Salopian populace); whereas the
county townA county town is the 'capital' of a county in Republic of Ireland or the United Kingdom. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of
ShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is home to 70,689 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
has a lower, but still sizeable population of 70,560 (15%). The other sizeable towns are
OswestryOswestry Oswestry Oswestry ' onMouseout='HidePop("59726")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Bridgnorth">Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England, along the Severn Valley. It is split into Low Town and High Town, named on account of their elevations relative to the River Severn, which separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left...
,
NewportNewport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...
and
LudlowLudlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Wales-England border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of 350 acres and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
. The historic town of
WellingtonWellington is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England and now forms part of the new town of Telford...
now makes up part of the Telford conurbation. The majority of the other settlements can be classed as villages or small towns. The larger settlements are primarily concentrated in a central belt that roughly follows the A5/
M54The M54 is a 23 mile east-west motorway in the English counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. It is also referred to as the Telford Motorway, after the road's primary westbound destination, the new town of Telford...
roadway. Other settlements are concentrated on rivers, e.g.
IronbridgeIronbridge is a settlement on the River Severn, at the heart of the Ironbridge Gorge in Telford, Shropshire, England. It lies in the parish of The Gorge, in the borough of Telford and Wrekin...
on the Severn, as these waterways were historically vital to trade.
Ceremonial county of Shropshire
Telford and WrekinTelford and Wrekin is a unitary district with borough status in the West Midlands region of England. The district was created in 1974 as The Wrekin, then a non-metropolitan district of Shropshire....
shown within
 |
Towns (by population):
TelfordTelford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
(138,241)
ShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is home to 70,689 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
(70,560)
WellingtonWellington is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England and now forms part of the new town of Telford...
(34,430)
OswestryOswestry Oswestry Oswestry
BridgnorthBridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England, along the Severn Valley. It is split into Low Town and High Town, named on account of their elevations relative to the River Severn, which separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left...
(12,212)
NewportNewport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...
(10,814)
LudlowLudlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Wales-England border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of 350 acres and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
(10,500)
Market DraytonMarket Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....
(10,407)
WhitchurchWhitchurch is a market town in Shropshire, England. It is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Shropshire. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the town is 8,673, with a more recent estimate putting the population of the town at 8,934...
(8,907)
ShifnalShifnal is a small market town in Shropshire, England. It forms part of the The Wrekin constituency. It has a railway station on the Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton Line and is near to the M54 motorway.-Early medieval Time:...
(7,094)
Bayston HillBayston Hill is a large village and civil parish in central Shropshire, England. It is south of the county town Shrewsbury and located on the main A49 Shrewsbury to Hereford Road....
(5,247)
WemWem is a small market town in Shropshire, England. It is the administrative centre for the northern area committee of Shropshire Council, which has its headquarters at Edinburgh House in the centre of Wem. Wem railway station is on the Shrewsbury to Crewe railway line...
(5,142)
BroseleyBroseley is a small town in Shropshire, England with a population of 4,912 . The River Severn flows to the north and east of the town. The area lies within Shropshire Council, in the southern area committee...
(4,912)
Church StrettonChurch Stretton is a small town in southern Shropshire, England, located approximately south of Shrewsbury, the county town. At the 2001 census, the town's population was 4,186....
(4,186)
PontesburyPontesbury is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire and is approximately eight miles southwest of the county town of Shrewsbury. The village of Minsterley is just over a mile further southwest. The A488 road runs through the village, on its way from Shrewsbury to Bishop's Castle...
(3, 500)
EllesmereEllesmere is a small market town near Oswestry in north Shropshire, England, notable for its proximity to a number of prominent lakes, the Meres.-History:...
(3,223)
Much WenlockMuch Wenlock, earlier known simply as "Wenlock" in Celtic , is a small town in central Shropshire, England. It is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge...
(2,605)
Craven ArmsCraven Arms is a small town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The town is surrounded to the north by the Shropshire Hills AONB, and to the south is the fortified manor house Stokesay Castle....
(2,289)
PreesPrees is a village and civil parish in north Shropshire, near the border between England and Wales. Its name is Celtic and means "brushwood"....
(2,688)
Bishop's CastleBishop's Castle is a small market town in Shropshire, England, and formerly its smallest borough. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,630. Bishop's Castle is one and a half miles east of the Wales-England border, about twenty miles north-west of Ludlow and about twenty miles...
(1,630)
Ruyton-XI-TownsRuyton-XI-Towns , formally Ruyton of the Eleven Towns or simply Ruyton, is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It has a population of around 1,500 people and lies on the River Perry. Nearby is the large village of Baschurch and to the north the smaller village of Wykey...
(1,500)
BaschurchBaschurch is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies in North Shropshire, north of Shrewsbury. Population: 1,475 . The village has strong links to Shrewsbury to the south-east, Oswestry to the north-west, and Wem to the north-east. Baschurch is twinned with the town of Giat...
(1,475)
ClunClun is a small town in Shropshire, England. The town is located entirely in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The 2001 census recorded 642 people living in the town...
(642)
Colour Key: Rivers MotorwayThe OECD has defined a motorway as:Motorways are identical to freeways as a road type, and comparable to the United States's Interstate Highways as a classification....
s 'A' RoadsThe Great Britain road numbering scheme is a numbering system used to classify and identify all roads in Great Britain. Each road is given a single letter, which represents the road's category, and a subsequent number, with a length of between 1 and 4 digits. Originally introduced to arrange...
Settlements |
|
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Economy
The economy of Shropshire was traditionally dominated by agriculture. However, in more recent years it has become more service orientated. The county town of
ShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is home to 70,689 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, the historic castle-dominated
LudlowLudlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Wales-England border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of 350 acres and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
and the industrial birthplace of
Ironbridge Gorgethumb|right|The Ironbridge Gorge looking east towards the Iron BridgeThe Ironbridge Gorge is a deep gorge formed by the River Severn in Shropshire, England....
are the foremost tourist areas in Shropshire, along with the reclaimed canal network which provides canal barge holidays on the
Shropshire Union CanalThe Shropshire Union Canal is a navigable canal in England; the Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the SU system and lie partially in Wales....
and linked canal networks in the region, although the natural beauty of the county draws people to all areas.
Industry is mostly found in
TelfordTelford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
,
OswestryOswestry Oswestry Oswestry ' onMouseout='HidePop("20588")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Whitchurch,_Shropshire">Whitchurch
Whitchurch is a market town in Shropshire, England. It is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Shropshire. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the town is 8,673, with a more recent estimate putting the population of the town at 8,934...
,
Market DraytonMarket Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....
and Shrewsbury, though small industrial estates can be found in and
Church StrettonChurch Stretton is a small town in southern Shropshire, England, located approximately south of Shrewsbury, the county town. At the 2001 census, the town's population was 4,186....
and
NewportNewport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...
where the main industrial factory Audco, closed in 1982. The town has then started to move more towards a agricultural and tourist industry much like
LudlowLudlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Wales-England border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of 350 acres and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
, though industry is starting to build up along the outskirts of the town on the
A41 roadThe A41 is a formerly-major trunk road in England that links London and Birkenhead, although as stated below it has now largely been superseded by motorways...
, because of its possession on the route between
WolverhamptonWolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough of the West Midlands, England. In 2004, the local government district had an estimated population of 239,100; the wider Urban Area had a population of 251,462, which makes it the 13th most populous city in England.Historically a part of...
,
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
,
StaffordshireStaffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
and the north. Shrewsbury is becoming a centre for distribution and warehousing, as it is located on a nodal point of the regional road network., .
In Telford, a new rail freight facility has been built at
DonningtonDonnington is a suburb of the new town of Telford. It is located in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England....
with the future goal of extending the line to
StaffordStafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway...
, this is hoped it would open the freight teminal up to the
East MidlandsThe East Midlands is one of the regions of England and consists of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and most of Lincolnshire, although people often speak of...
and the north, plus also re-connect
NewportNewport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...
to the rail network , .
Telford and Shrewsbury are the county's two main retail centres, with contrasting styles of shopping - Shrewsbury's largely historic streets and Telford's large modern mall,
Telford Shopping CentreTelford Shopping Centre is a indoor super-regional shopping centre in Telford, Shropshire, England. It is located in the geographical and economic centre of the new town, on land which was previously undeveloped. It is the largest shopping area in the ceremonial county of Shropshire, being located...
. Shrewsbury also has two medium-sized shopping centres, the indoor 'Pride Hill' and '
DarwinThe Darwin Shopping Centre is a shopping mall in central Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England.- Footfall & Facilities :The centre attracts approximately 130,000 shoppers a week, seasonally rising to over 200,000....
' centres (both located on Pride Hill), and a smaller, partially covered, 'Riverside Mall'. Shrewsbury's situation of being the nearest substantial town for those in a large area of
mid-WalesPowys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire, and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,196 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
helps it draw in considerable numbers of shoppers, notably on Saturday.
Well-known companies in Shropshire include
Müller Dairy (UK) LtdMolkerei Alois Müller GmbH & Co. KG is a German dairy company, based in Aretsried which is part of the Bavarian municipality of Fischach...
in
Market DraytonMarket Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....
. The RAF have two bases at RAF Cosford and
RAF ShawburyRAF Shawbury is a Royal Air Force station by the village of Shawbury near Shrewsbury, Shropshire.The station at Shawbury was first used for military flying training in 1917 by the Royal Flying Corps, but it was returned to agricultural use in 1920. In 1938 it was reactivated as a training...
, and the charity
PDSAThe People's Dispensary for Sick Animals is a veterinary charity in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1917 by Maria Dickin to provide care for sick and injured animals of the poor...
has its head office in
PriorsleeSt.George's and Priorslee are suburbs of the new town of Telford in Shropshire, England. The area is also a civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin.The area lies North-East of the town centre of Telford and East of Oakengates...
, Telford.
In February 2009 NOM Dairy completed construction of it’s brand new state of the art DAIRY in Shropshire. Spending £60m in it’s new facility in the first stage of the project as well as creating a jobs boost for the Shropshire economy. The new dairy has been designed with a low carbon footprint, consistency of quality and natural recipe production at the forefront of the project teams minds.
Statistics
Below is the chart of regional gross value added for the non-metropolitan county (that is, excluding Telford & Wrekin) of Shropshire at current basic prices
published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British
pounds sterlingThe pound sterling , often simply called the pound, is the currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and British Antarctic Territory...
.
| Year |
Regional Gross Value Added |
Agriculture |
Industry |
Services |
| 1995 |
2,388 |
238 |
618 |
1,533 |
| 2000 |
2,977 |
177 |
739 |
2,061 |
| 2003 |
3,577 |
197 |
843 |
2,538 |
With the statistics for the borough of
Telford and WrekinTelford and Wrekin is a unitary district with borough status in the West Midlands region of England. The district was created in 1974 as The Wrekin, then a non-metropolitan district of Shropshire....
included, the following represents the ceremonial county:
| Year |
Regional Gross Value Added |
Agriculture |
Industry |
Services |
| 1995 |
4,151 |
266 |
1,483 |
2,403 |
| 2000 |
5,049 |
197 |
1,512 |
3,340 |
| 2003 |
5,947 |
218 |
1,693 |
4,038 |
Education
Shropshire has a completely comprehensive education system, with thirteen independent schools, including the prestigious
Shrewsbury SchoolShrewsbury School is a public school located in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It is one of the Clarendon Schools, the original nine great English public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868, and is now a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Shrewsbury School...
, which the famed
Charles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist who realised and presented compelling evidence that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors, through the process he called natural selection...
attended. In the ceremonial county, the Telford and Wrekin borough has two selective schools, Castle House School and two independent schools. Newport Girls' High School and
Adams' Grammar SchoolAdams' Grammar School is a state grammar school in Newport, Shropshire. Its name is sometimes abbreviated to AGS, although it is more commonly referred to as 'Adams' or alternatively, 'The Grammar'...
(both of which are ranked within the top 30 schools in the country), All are located in
NewportNewport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...
. Thomas Telford School in Telford is also a notable school and is one of the best comprehensive schools in England.
There is considerable rivalry between many of the counties schools. In Shrewsbury for example, the Priory and Meole Brace schools maintain a long-standing sporting rivalry whilst on a wider scale
Wrekin CollegeWrekin College is a co-educational independent school located in Wellington, Shropshire, England. Part of the Allied Schools, it is also a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
and
Ellesmere CollegeEllesmere College is an independent co-educational English independent school located in Ellesmere and based in rural northern Shropshire, England.-History:...
remain rivals, as do Shrewsbury School and Adams' Grammar School.
There are also two universities in Shropshire, the Telford campus of Wolverhampton University and in Edgmond, near
NewportNewport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...
,
Harper Adams University CollegeHarper Adams University College is a higher education institution located near Newport in Edgmond, Shropshire, UK. In terms of the provision of courses relating to the land-based sector, it is the largest provider by student numbers in the UK and is one of only three remaining institutions of its...
, which offers mostly agricultural-based degrees.
Shropshire has the highest educational attainment in the West Midlands region.
Places of interest
- Adcote
Adcote School is an independent non-selective day and boarding school for girls, located in the village of Little Ness, five miles northwest of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The school was founded in 1907, and is set in a Grade I listed country house built in 1879 for Rebecca Darby – a great...
nr.ShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is home to 70,689 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
- Attingham Park
Attingham Park is a country house in Shropshire, England, which is owned by the National Trust. It is a Grade I listed building.- Location :It is located near to the village of Atcham, on the B4380 Shrewsbury to Wellington road.- History :...
, AtchamAtcham is a village, ecclesiastical parish and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is situated on the B4380 , 5 miles south east of Shrewsbury. The River Severn flows around the village...
- Blists Hill, Madeley
- Bishops Castle
- Boscobel House
Boscobel House , on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border, near Wolverhampton and Albrighton, England, was built around 1632, when landowner John Giffard of White Ladies Priory converted a timber-framed farmhouse into a hunting lodge. Boscobel House became one of the most evocative sites in the...
, nr. WolverhamptonWolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough of the West Midlands, England. In 2004, the local government district had an estimated population of 239,100; the wider Urban Area had a population of 251,462, which makes it the 13th most populous city in England.Historically a part of...
- Bridgnorth Cliff Railway
The Bridgnorth Cliff Railway, also known as the Bridgnorth Funicular Railway or Castle Hill Railway, is a funicular railway in the town of Bridgnorth in the English county of Shropshire...
, BridgnorthBridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England, along the Severn Valley. It is split into Low Town and High Town, named on account of their elevations relative to the River Severn, which separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left...
- Brown Clee Hill
Brown Clee Hill is the highest hill in the rural English county of Shropshire, at 540 metres above sea level. It is one of the Clee Hills, and is in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.-Geography:...
, South ShropshireSouth Shropshire was, between 1974 and 2009, a local government district in south west Shropshire, England.South Shropshire was the most rural district of one of the UK's most rural counties, the population of the district was 40,410 in 2001 spread out over 1,027 km² of forest, mountains,...
- Burford House, Burford
- Location :The parish is situated to the north of the River Teme, on the other side of the Teme is the Worcestershire town of Tenbury Wells. To the west, the A456 road bridges the Ledwyche Brook, leading to the Herefordshire village of Little Hereford...
- Caer Caradoc, nr. Church Stretton
Church Stretton is a small town in southern Shropshire, England, located approximately south of Shrewsbury, the county town. At the 2001 census, the town's population was 4,186....
- Cardingmill Valley
The Long Mynd in Shropshire, England, is a part of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is south of the county town Shrewsbury, and has an area of over 22 square kilometres . The name Long Mynd means "Long Mountain": in Welsh it is called Mynydd Hir...
, Church StrettonChurch Stretton is a small town in southern Shropshire, England, located approximately south of Shrewsbury, the county town. At the 2001 census, the town's population was 4,186....
- Clun Castle
Clun Castle is a ruined castle in the small town of Clun, Shropshire . It is owned by the Duke of Norfolk and is managed by English Heritage.-History:...
, ClunClun is a small town in Shropshire, England. The town is located entirely in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The 2001 census recorded 642 people living in the town...
- Flounder's Folly
Flounders' Folly is a tower, built in 1838, on Callow Hill, between Craven Arms and Ludlow, Shropshire, England. The tower is approximately tall and square and is clearly visible from the Cardiff-Crewe railway line, just north of Craven Arms and also from the busy A49 Shrewsbury to Hereford road...
, nr. Craven ArmsCraven Arms is a small town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The town is surrounded to the north by the Shropshire Hills AONB, and to the south is the fortified manor house Stokesay Castle....
- Haughmond Hill
Haughmond Hill is a small, shallow hill in the English county of Shropshire. It is covered by woodland for the most part, although there is an open cast quarry in use. Its proximity to the town of Shrewsbury has meant that it has become something of a forest park, with guided paths, car parking...
, nr. ShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is home to 70,689 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
- Haughmond Abbey
Haughmond Abbey at Haughmond Hill in Shropshire, otherwise known as the Abbey of Saint John the Evangelist, was founded in about 1100 AD. A statue of St John with his emblem can be found carved into the arches of the chapter house. His image also appeared on the Abbey's great seal.-History:The...
- Hawkstone Park
Hawkstone Park is an hotel set in historic parkland near to Market Drayton, in Shropshire, England, UK, one mile east of the A49 road....
, North ShropshireNorth Shropshire was a local government district in Shropshire, England. The district council was based at Edinburgh House, in Wem. Other settlements included the towns of Ellesmere, Market Drayton, and Whitchurch, as well as the large villages of Shawbury and Baschurch...
- Hopton Castle
Hopton Castle is situated in the village of the same name which lies approximately half way between Knighton and Craven Arms, in the English county of Shropshire .- Norman Castle :...
, nr. Craven ArmsCraven Arms is a small town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The town is surrounded to the north by the Shropshire Hills AONB, and to the south is the fortified manor house Stokesay Castle....
- The Iron Bridge
The Iron Bridge crosses the River Severn at the Ironbridge Gorge, by the village of Ironbridge, in Shropshire, England. It was the first arch bridge in the world to be made out of cast iron, a material which was previously far too expensive to use for large structures...
, IronbridgeIronbridge is a settlement on the River Severn, at the heart of the Ironbridge Gorge in Telford, Shropshire, England. It lies in the parish of The Gorge, in the borough of Telford and Wrekin...
- Kynaston's Cave
Humphrey Kynaston was an English highwayman who operated in the Shropshire area. The son of the local sheriff, he was convicted for murder in 1491...
, nr. NesscliffeNesscliffe is a village in Shropshire, England.The A5 road runs around the village on a new dual-carriageway by-pass and nearby is a small British Army base. It is also the site of a cave used by the highwayman, Humphrey Kynaston. This now forms part of the Nesscliffe Hill Country Park. The village...
- Langley Chapel
Langley Chapel is a 17th century Anglican parish church, located in a remote area approximately 1.5 miles to the south of Acton Burnell, Shropshire, England. It is now in the care of English Heritage, and is notable for having a complete set of original 17th century wooden furniture...
, nr. ShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is home to 70,689 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
- The Long Mynd
The Long Mynd in Shropshire, England, is a part of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is south of the county town Shrewsbury, and has an area of over 22 square kilometres . The name Long Mynd means "Long Mountain": in Welsh it is called Mynydd Hir...
, Church StrettonChurch Stretton is a small town in southern Shropshire, England, located approximately south of Shrewsbury, the county town. At the 2001 census, the town's population was 4,186....
- Ludlow Castle
Ludlow Castle is a large, now partly ruined, non-inhabited castle which dominates the town of Ludlow in Shropshire, England. It stands on a high point overlooking the River Teme...
, LudlowLudlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Wales-England border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of 350 acres and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
- Mitchell's Fold
Mitchell's Fold is a Bronze Age stone circle in South-West Shropshire, located on dry heathland at the south-west end of Stapeley Hill in the civil parish of Chirbury with Brompton, at a height of 1083ft o.d....
, ChirburyChirbury is a village in Shropshire, England, situated close to the Wales-England border. It is about 3 miles east of Montgomery and 7 miles south of Welshpool, at the junction of the A490 and B4386 roads...
- Moreton Corbet Castle
Moreton Corbet Castle is an English Heritage property located near the village of Moreton Corbet, Shropshire, England. The ruins are from two different eras: a medieval stronghold and an Elizabethan era manor house. The buildings have been out of use since the 18th century.-Medieval Stronghold:In...
, Moreton CorbetMoreton Corbet is a small village in Shropshire, England. It lies just north of the larger village of Shawbury. It is near to Stanton upon Hine Heath.At the village is Moreton Corbet castle - ....
- Offa's Dyke Path
Offa's Dyke Path is a long distance footpath along the Welsh-English border. Opened in 1971, it is one of Britain's premier National Trails and draws walkers from throughout the world...
, Welsh MarchesThe Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales on the island of Great Britain, in the United Kingdom....
- Shrewsbury Abbey
The Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey, was a Benedictine monastery founded in 1083 by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery, in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England.-Background:...
, ShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is home to 70,689 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
- Shrewsbury Castle
Shrewsbury Castle is a red sandstone castle in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Its location is on a hill situated on the neck of the meander of the River Severn which the town originally grew up in. The castle is situated directly above Shrewsbury railway station.-History:It was built as a...
, ShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is home to 70,689 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
- Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), South Shropshire
South Shropshire was, between 1974 and 2009, a local government district in south west Shropshire, England.South Shropshire was the most rural district of one of the UK's most rural counties, the population of the district was 40,410 in 2001 spread out over 1,027 km² of forest, mountains,...
- Shropshire Union Canal
The Shropshire Union Canal is a navigable canal in England; the Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the SU system and lie partially in Wales....
- Snailbeach
Snailbeach is a village in Shropshire, England, located near Shrewsbury at . The village was formerly home to a large lead mine.-Early history:A village was built for workers at the local lead mine - Snailbeach Mine, which reputedly dates back to Roman times...
nr. ShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is home to 70,689 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
- South Telford Heritage Trail
The South Telford Heritage Trail is a circular, waymarked walking route that passes by forty-nine heritage sites in the English town of Telford.- Total Distance :The approximate distance of the trail is 12.2 miles...
, TelfordTelford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
- St Laurence Church, Ludlow
St Laurence Church, Ludlow is a parish church in the Church of England in Ludlow.-Background:The parish church was established as a Norman place of worship in association with the founding of Ludlow in the 11th century AD. This parish church in Shropshire, England contains an extensive set of...
- The Stiperstones, nr Pontesbury
Pontesbury is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire and is approximately eight miles southwest of the county town of Shrewsbury. The village of Minsterley is just over a mile further southwest. The A488 road runs through the village, on its way from Shrewsbury to Bishop's Castle...
- Stokesay Castle
Stokesay Castle, located at Stokesay, a mile south of the town of Craven Arms, in southern Shropshire, is the oldest fortified manor house in England, dating to the 12th century. It is currently in the hands of English Heritage...
, nr Craven ArmsCraven Arms is a small town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The town is surrounded to the north by the Shropshire Hills AONB, and to the south is the fortified manor house Stokesay Castle....
- Telford Steam Railway
The Telford Steam Railway is a heritage railway located at Horsehay, Telford in Shropshire, England, formed in 1976.The railway is operated by volunteers on Sundays and Bank Holidays from Easter to the end of September, and at Christmas...
, TelfordTelford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
- Titterstone Clee Hill
Titterstone Clee Hill, sometimes referred to as Clee Hill or Titterstone Clee is a hill in the rural English county of Shropshire, rising at the summit to 533 m above sea level....
, nr. LudlowLudlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Wales-England border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of 350 acres and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
- Wenlock Edge
Wenlock Edge is a limestone escarpment near Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England. It is 15 miles long and runs from South West to North East between Craven Arms and Much Wenlock. It is roughly 330 metres high...
, Much WenlockMuch Wenlock, earlier known simply as "Wenlock" in Celtic , is a small town in central Shropshire, England. It is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge...
- Wenlock Priory
Much Wenlock Priory is a ruined 12th century church, located in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, at . The church was a part of the Cluniac monastery, which was refounded in 1079 and 1082, on the site of an earlier 7th century foundation, by Roger de Montgomery. It is thought to be the final resting place...
- White Ladies Priory
White Ladies Priory is in Shropshire, some eight miles northwest of Wolverhampton just off junction 3 of the M54 motorway....
- Whittington Castle
Whittington Castle is a castle in northern Shropshire, England, owned and managed by the Whittington Castle Preservation Fund. The castle was originally a motte-and-bailey castle, but this was replaced in the 13th century by one with buildings around a courtyard whose exterior wall was the curtain...
, nr. OswestryOswestry Oswestry Oswestry ' onMouseout='HidePop("50567")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/The_Wrekin">The Wrekin
The Wrekin is a hill in east Shropshire, England. It is located some 7 km west of Telford, on the border between the unitary authorities of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. Rising to a height of above the Shropshire Plain, it is a prominent and well-known landmark, marking the entrance to...
(and Ercall) nr.
WellingtonWellington is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England and now forms part of the new town of Telford...
- Wroxeter
Wroxeter is a village in the county of Shropshire, England, on the east bank of the River Severn, at . It is located about 5 miles south-east of Shrewsbury and is near to the village of Atcham. It lies in the parish of Wroxeter and Uppington. The Royal Mail postcode begins SY4...
, nr. AtchamAtcham is a village, ecclesiastical parish and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is situated on the B4380 , 5 miles south east of Shrewsbury. The River Severn flows around the village...
Famous people
- Edric the Wild
- Robert Clive "Clive of India"
- Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill
General Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill of Almaraz GCB, GCH served in the Napoleonic Wars as a trusted brigade, division and corps commander under the command of the Duke of Wellington. He became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in 1829.-Early career:Educated at a school in Chester, Hill was...
, Napoleonic era general
- Lords and Ladies Craven
Earl of Craven, in the County of York, is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1664 in favour of the soldier William Craven, the eldest son of Sir William Craven, Lord...
(of Stokesay CastleStokesay Castle, located at Stokesay, a mile south of the town of Craven Arms, in southern Shropshire, is the oldest fortified manor house in England, dating to the 12th century. It is currently in the hands of English Heritage...
)
- Abraham Darby
Abraham Darby may refer to:*Abraham Darby I *Abraham Darby II *Abraham Darby III *Abraham Darby IV , High Sheriff of BuckinghamshireAbraham Darby may also refer to:...
early industrialist
- Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist who realised and presented compelling evidence that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors, through the process he called natural selection...
eminent naturalist
- K. K. Downing
Kenneth "K. K." Downing, Jr. is a guitarist, songwriter and a founding member of the British heavy metal band Judas Priest. He received his stage name when a girl in Denmark could not pronounce his name and called him "K...
, guitarist with Judas PriestJudas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, formed in 1969. Judas Priest's core line-up consists of bass player Ian Hill, vocalist Rob Halford and guitarists Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing. The band has gone through several drummers, though Scott Travis has held the position since...
- William Farr
William Farr was a nineteenth century British epidemiologist, regarded as one of the founders of medical statistics.-Early life:He was born in Kenley, Shropshire, England to poor parents...
epidemiologist and early bio-statistician
- Craig Phillips
Craig Phillips is best known for winning the first series of the British reality television show Big Brother.- Biography :...
- of NewportNewport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...
, winner of Big Brother 2000 (UK)
- Chris Hawkins
Chris Hawkins is a presenter, performance DJ, reporter, journalist, producer, and music pundit.- Career :...
(of LoppingtonLoppington is a village and parish in Shropshire, England, situated a few miles west of Wem. The population of the parish is 576 and there are 206 households.Loppington was recorded in the Domesday Book as Lopitone....
), radio presenter, DJ, and celebrity
- Eglantyne Jebb
Eglantyne Jebb was a British social reformer.- Early life :She was born in 1876 in Ellesmere, Shropshire, and grew up on her family's estate...
of EllesmereEllesmere can mean:* Ellesmere, Shropshire, a market town in Shropshire, England** Ellesmere Castle** Ellesmere Rural, a civil parish to the west* Ellesmere Park, area of Eccles, Greater Manchester, England...
, Social reformer and founder of the Save the Children Fund
- George Jeffreys
George Jeffreys may refer to:* George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys , British politician & jurist * George Darell Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys , British soldier & politician...
of WemWem is a small market town in Shropshire, England. It is the administrative centre for the northern area committee of Shropshire Council, which has its headquarters at Edinburgh House in the centre of Wem. Wem railway station is on the Shrewsbury to Crewe railway line...
, (infamous judge)
- Adrian Jones
Adrian Jones was an English sculptor and painter who specialized in animals, particularly horses. He was born in Ludlow, Shropshire and initially studied at the Royal Veterinary College; he subsequently joined the army as a veterinary officer, attaining the rank of Captain...
, sculptor of the Quadriga at Hyde Park Corner
- Stephen Marchant
Stephen Marchant AM was born in Shropshire, studied geology at Caius College, Cambridge, and worked in the oil exploration business in many countries, using the opportunities arising from his postings to study birdlife around the world. He wrote classic papers on the birds of the Red Sea,...
, ornithologist
- Len Murray
Lionel Murray, Baron Murray of Epping Forest, OBE PC, known as Len Murray was a British Labour politician and union leader.-Early life:...
, (former head of the T.U.C)
- Mirabel Osler
Mirabel Osler is an English writer. Her book A Gentle Plea for Chaos is based on her experiences in her garden in Shropshire.-Bibliography:...
, author
- Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC was an English and Welsh poet and soldier, regarded by many as one of the leading poets of the First World War...
leading First World War poet
- Edith Pargeter
Edith Mary Pargeter, OBE, BEM was a prolific author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and modern.-Personal:She was born in the...
(1913-1995), author
- Edmund Plowden
Sir Edmund Plowden was a distinguished English lawyer, legal scholar and theorist during the late Tudor period.-Life:...
(1518-1585)—legal scholar and theorist
- Sir Edmund Plowden
Sir Edmund Plowden was a distinguished English lawyer, legal scholar and theorist during the late Tudor period.-Life:...
(1590-1659)—Proprietor, Earl Palatine and Governor of New AlbionNew Albion, also known as Nova Albion, was the name of the region of the Pacific coast of North America explored by Sir Francis Drake and claimed by him for England in 1579. The name is also applied to the settlement Drake founded on the coast...
- Barbara Pym
Barbara Mary Crampton Pym was an English novelist.-Biography:Pym was born in Oswestry, Shropshire. She was privately educated at Queen’s Park School, a girls school in Oswestry and from the age of twelve attended Huyton College, near Liverpool...
novellist
- Isobel Cooper
Isobel Cooper, known professionally as Izzy, is an English soprano singer.She trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.Her debut audio CD Libera Me was released in 1998...
(Izzy) famous opera singer from Much Wenlock
- T'Pau
T'Pau was a late 1980s pop group led by singer Carol Decker. They had a string of Top 40 hits in the UK, and several hits in the United States and Europe...
, 1980s pop group
- Sir Philip Sidney
Sir Philip Sidney became one of the Elizabethan Age's most prominent figures. Famous in his day in England as a poet, courtier and soldier, he remains known as the author of Astrophel and Stella , The Defence of Poetry Sir Philip Sidney (30 November 1554 – 17 October 1586) became one of the...
prominent Elizabethan
- Mary Webb
Mary Webb , was an English romantic novelist and poet of the early 20th century, whose work is set chiefly in the Shropshire countryside and among Shropshire characters and people which she knew. Her novels have been successfully dramatized, most notably the film Gone to Earth in 1950 by Michael...
(1881-1927), author
- Stewart Lee
Stewart Graham Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director probably best known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically-acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera. He grew up in the West...
, Stand-up comedian, writer and director.
- Matthew Webb
Captain Matthew Webb was the first person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids. On 25 August 1875 he swam from Dover to Calais in less than 22 hours.-Early life and career:...
, (first man to swim the English ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
)
- Billy Wright
William Ambrose "Billy" Wright, CBE was an English footballer, who spent his whole career at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He made 105 appearances for England, captaining them a record 90 times.-Playing career:...
, Captain of Wolves and England
- Humphrey Kynaston
Humphrey Kynaston was an English highwayman who operated in the Shropshire area. The son of the local sheriff, he was convicted for murder in 1491...
(1474-1534) - highwaymanA highwayman was a robber who preyed on travelers, particularly one who traveled by horse; those who robbed on foot were called footpads. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...
- John Mytton
John Mytton was a notable British eccentric and Regency rake.John "Mad Jack" Mytton was born to a family of Shropshire squires with a lineage stretching back some 500 years earlier than his day...
'Mad Jack' Mytton, Regency rake, MP, gambler and horseman.
- William Wycherley
William Wycherley was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for the plays The Country Wife and The Plain Dealer.-Biography:...
RestorationThe English Restoration, often shortened to the Restoration, began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Commonwealth of England that followed the English Civil War...
dramatist and playwright famous for The Country WifeThe Country Wife is a Restoration comedy written in 1675 by William Wycherley. A product of the tolerant early Restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti-Puritan ideology, and was controversial for its sexual explicitness even in its own time. Even its title contains a lewd pun...
- Roy Wood
Roy Wood is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the bands The Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard...
, of WemWem is a small market town in Shropshire, England. It is the administrative centre for the northern area committee of Shropshire Council, which has its headquarters at Edinburgh House in the centre of Wem. Wem railway station is on the Shrewsbury to Crewe railway line...
, in the band Wizard
Cultural references
- Shropshire has been depicted and mentioned in a number of works of literature. The poet A. E. Housman used Shropshire as the setting for many of the poems in his first book, A Shropshire Lad
A Shropshire Lad is a cycle of sixty-three poems by the English poet Alfred Edward Housman.-Reception:A Shropshire Lad was first published in 1896 at Housman's own expense after several publishers had turned it down, much to the surprise of his colleagues and students...
, and many of Malcolm SavilleLeonard Malcolm Saville was an English author born in Hastings, Sussex. He is best known for the Lone Pine series of children's books, many of which are set in Shropshire. His work places emphasis on place, with the books including many vivid descriptions of English countryside, villages and...
's children's books are set in Shropshire. Additionally, D. H. LawrenceDavid Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English author, poet, playwright, essayist and literary critic. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
's novella, St. Mawr, is partially set in the Longmynd area of South ShropshireSouth Shropshire was, between 1974 and 2009, a local government district in south west Shropshire, England.South Shropshire was the most rural district of one of the UK's most rural counties, the population of the district was 40,410 in 2001 spread out over 1,027 km² of forest, mountains,...
.
- In Susanna Clarke
Susanna Mary Clarke is a British author best known for her debut novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell , a Hugo Award-winning alternate history. Clarke began Jonathan Strange in 1993 and worked on it during her spare time...
's Jonathan Strange & Mr NorrellJonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is the first novel by British writer Susanna Clarke. An alternate history set in 19th-century England around the time of the Napoleonic Wars, it is based on the premise that magic once existed in England and has returned with two men: Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan...
, Jonathan Strange is from the county, and some parts of the book are set there. Another fictional character from Shropshire is Mr Grindley, from Charles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens FRSA , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print...
' Bleak House. P. G. WodehouseSir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English writer whose body of work includes novels, collections of short stories, and musical theatre. Wodehouse enjoyed enormous popular success during a career of more than seventy years and his prolific writings continue to be widely read...
's fictional Blandings CastleBlandings Castle is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the seat of Lord Emsworth , home to many of his family, and setting for numerous tales and adventures, written between 1915 and 1975.The series of stories which take place at the castle,...
, the ancestral home of Clarence, the ninth Earl of EmsworthClarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth, Viscount Bosham or Lord Emsworth is a recurring fictional character in the Blandings stories by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the benevolent and somewhat absent-minded patriarch of the large Threepwood family...
, is located in Shropshire. In The Importance of Being EarnestThe Importance of Being Earnest is a comic play by Oscar Wilde. It premiered on 14 February 1895 at the St. James's Theatre in London.Set in England during the late Victorian era, the play's humour derives in part from characters maintaining fictitious identities to escape unwelcome social...
, Jack pretends to live in rural Shropshire, to mask his double life.
- The 1856 plantation literature
Anti-Tom literature refers to the 19th century pro-slavery novels and other literary works written in response to Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Also called Plantation literature, these writings were generally written by authors from the Southern United States...
novel White Acre vs. Black AcreWhite Acre vs. Black Acre is an 1856 plantation fiction novel written by William M. Burwell.- Overview :White Acre vs. Black Acre is one of several pro-slavery novels published in the Southern United States in response to Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, published in 1852.Burwell's...
by William M. Burwell features two Shropshire farms acting as an allegory for American slavery - White Acre Farm being the abolitionistAbolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and emancipate slaves in western Europe and the Americas. The slave system aroused little protest until the 18th century, when rationalist thinkers of the Enlightenment criticized it for violating the rights of man, and Quaker and other evangelical...
Northern United StatesThe Northern United States is a large geographic region of the United States of America. Most Americans refer to the region simply as "the North". It is currently divided by the United States Census as the Midwest and Northeast, both of which have their own sub-regions...
, and Black Acre Farm being the slaveholding Southern United StatesThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, Down South, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States...
.
- Tolkien's the Shire is thought to correspond to the West Midlands region of England, including Shropshire, as argued by Tom Shippey.
- The county has also appeared in film: the 1984 film version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a 1984 television movie adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous 1843 novella. It was directed by Clive Donner and stars George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge.- Overview :The movie was filmed on location in Shrewsbury, England...
was filmed in Shrewsbury. Appearances in television have included the county being used as a setting in both Coronation StreetCoronation Street is an award-winning prime time soap opera set and produced in Manchester created by Tony Warren...
, the ITV1ITV1 is the generic brand, that is used by twelve franchises of the ITV Network in England, Wales, the Scottish Borders, the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their eleven...
soap; and also in the BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
's The Fast ShowThe Fast Show, known as Brilliant in the US, was a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for three series from 1994 to 1997 with a special Last Fast Show Ever in 2000. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and...
, for a Ted and Ralph special. The 1985 television programme Blott on the LandscapeBlott on the Landscape is a novel written in 1975 by Tom Sharpe. It was adapted into a 6-part television series, made by the BBC, in 1985.-Plot:...
was filmed mainly in South Shropshire, notably in Ludlow. The 2005 sit-com The Green Green GrassThe Green Green Grass is a British sitcom, created and initially written by John Sullivan, produced by Shazam Productions and broadcast by the BBC. It is a spin-off of the classic comedy series Only Fools and Horses...
is set in Shropshire and is filmed near Bridgnorth. Deduce, You Say is a 1956 Warner Bros. cartoon short of the Looney TunesLooney Tunes is a Warner Brothers animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theaters from 1930 to 1969. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and is Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. The regular Warner Bros...
series, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese, with musical arrangements by Milt Franklyn. It features Daffy Duck as the dim-witted detective Dorlock Homes (a parody of Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes is a fictional character of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who first appeared in publication in 1887. He is the creation of British author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...
) and Porky Pig as his sidekick Watkins (based on Dr. Watson), as they attempt to locate and apprehend the dangerous "Shropshire Slasher". Australian soapA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio. The name "soap opera" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble,...
Home and Away was filmed in and around Ironbridge during the late 1990s, when several characters ventured to England.
- Shrewsbury Abbey
The Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey, was a Benedictine monastery founded in 1083 by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery, in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England.-Background:...
of Shropshire features in the CadfaelBrother Cadfael is the fictional main character in a series of historical murder mysteries written by Edith Pargeter under the name "Ellis Peters". Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedictine monk living at Shrewsbury Abbey during the 12th century. In all, twenty books were published between 1977 and...
Mysteries; Brother Cadfael is a member of the community at the Abbey.
- In music, the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores...
wrote "On Wenlock Edge" in 1907.
- Shropshire has also been mentioned in the American sitcom Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994. The series revolved around a group of friends in the area of Manhattan, New York City, who occasionally live together and share living expenses. The series was produced by...
. In the episode "The One with Joey's Dirty Day", Rachel's British boss says to her "My niece, you see, is in town from London. Well, Shropshire really, but you know."
- In 2008, Müller
Molkerei Alois Müller GmbH & Co. KG is a German dairy company, based in Aretsried which is part of the Bavarian municipality of Fischach...
released a new advert featuring their Shropshire-based factory, using 'Ain't Got No, I Got Life"Ain't Got No/I Got Life" is a 2:17 single by the American songwriter Nina Simone. The song also featured on Nuff Said . It is a medley of two songs from the musical Hair, with lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. The song helped Simone gain pop-popularity under a...
' by Nina SimoneEunice Kathleen Waymon, better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist....
as musical score, and emphasising the closeness of supply from the surrounding area of its factory in Market DraytonMarket Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....
("24 hours from farm to yoghurt").
- In the novel A Room With a View
A Room with a View is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the repressed culture of Edwardian England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century...
, Charlotte Bartlett states that the romantic Italian landscape reminds her of the country around Shropshire, where she once spent a holiday at the home of her friend Miss Apesbury.
- In series two of British comedy Green Wing
Green Wing is an award-winning British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital Trust. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show Smack the Pony, led by Victoria Pile, and stars Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt....
, after assisting him to burn a corpse and and a motorhome, the character Joanna declares to Dr. Statham that they need to go somewhere where no-one would think of looking. One of Statham's suggestions is OswestryOswestry Oswestry Oswestry .jpg'/>
There are a significant number of sporting clubs and facilities in Shropshire, many of which are found in Shrewsbury and Telford in addition to a number of clubs found locally throughout the county. Shropshire is home to a variety of established amateur, semi-pro and professional sports clubs.
The county is home to one of five National Sports CentresThere are five National Sports Centres as part of Sport England's strategy to create an elite of English grown world class sporting talent:* Bisham Abbey* Crystal Palace* Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre* Lilleshall...
. Situated at Lilleshall HallLilleshall Hall is a large former country house and estate located near Lilleshall in Shropshire, England. It was founded as an Augustinian Abbey in the 12th century, with its estate running to some . The ruins of the original abbey are protected today by English Heritage.Now run by Leisure...
just outside NewportNewport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...
in LilleshallLilleshall is a village in Shropshire, England.It lies between the towns of Telford and Newport, on the A518, in the Telford and Wrekin borough and the Wrekin constituency....
, this is where the 1966 England National football teamThe English national football team represents England in international association football and is controlled by The Football Association, the governing body for football in England...
trained for two weeks prior to their success in the World Cup of 1966The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England was chosen as hosts by FIFA in August 1960 to celebrate the centenary of the codification of football in England...
Some of the main football clubs in the county include Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury Town Football Club are an English football club based at Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. They are in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and have played in all the bottom three rungs in various guises....
Football Club, AFC Telford United Football Club and The New Saints Football Club in OswestryOswestry Oswestry Oswestry ' onMouseout='HidePop("69956")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/American_football">American football
American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...
team,
Shropshire RevolutionThe Shropshire Revolution are a British American football team based in Telford, Shropshire, in the Midlands, England.The Team are currently members of the British American Football League , competing to enter the BritBowl to win the Boston Trophy....
, which was founded in 2006, and is a club in the
British American Football LeagueThe British American Football League is the United Kingdom's primary American Football league. It was formerly known as the British Senior League until 2005....
. Former teams in the county have included the
Wrekin GiantsThe Wrekin Giants, later the Shropshire Giants, and, subsequently, the Cannock Chase Giants were an American football team based in Telford, Shropshire, in England, in the United Kingdom...
, which ran from 1985 to 1989 and the Shropshire Giants which ran in 1989. Shropshire has a number of rugby clubs, including
Newport (Salop) Rugby Union Football ClubNewport RUFC are a Rugby team that play at The old show ground, in the town of Newport, Shropshire. They are currently playing in the National Division Three South league.-2008/09:*17 Bedford Athletic V's Newport 14...
, the highest-leveled team in the county, playing in the Midlands first division.
The area also has a rich motorsports heritage, with the Loton Park Hillclimb and
Hawkstone Park Motocross CircuitHawkstone Park Motocross Circuit, typically referred to as Hawkstone Park or Hawkstone, is a motocross circuit situated near Market Drayton, north Shropshire, England...
situated near Shrewsbury.
Shrewsbury Motocross ClubShrewsbury Motocross Club is an amateur motocross club catering for competition motocross riders in the Shrewsbury area and surrounding districts...
has staged
motocrossMotocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. Motocross is derived from the French, and traces its origins to British scrambling competitions...
events in the area for over 30 years. There is additionally an ice hockey club in the county, the
Telford TigersThe Telford Tigers are an English Premier League ice hockey team that formed in 2001 under the name Telford Wild Foxes.A previous Telford Tigers team had existed between 1985 and 1999.- Early history :...
.
Also every four years there is the
Shropshire Star Newport NocturneThe Shropshire Star Newport Nocturne is Britain's only flood lit road bicycle race and is biennial held in Newport, Shropshire. The race was first run in 1970 at a distance of . It was won in 2007 by Malcolm Elliott. The race was first run as a night race under flood lights in 1989 and returned in...
, which is Britain's only floodlit cycle race.
See also
- 53rd Regiment of Foot - former British Army
The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
regiment
- Shropshire Archives
Shropshire Archives is located in Shrewsbury, England and is the archives and local studies service for the historic county of Shropshire, which includes the borough of Telford and Wrekin....
- collects and makes accessible archives and books relating to the county
- Etymological list of counties
Etymological list of counties of the United Kingdom is a list of the origins of the names of counties of the United Kingdom. For England and Wales it includes ancient and contemporary counties.-Background:...
- list of name origins
- Shropshire Family History Society
The Shropshire Family History Society is a family history society that covers the county of Shropshire, England, United Kingdom ....
- Diocese of Shrewsbury
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese in England. The diocese encompasses parts of the North West of England and parts of the West Midlands. The diocese comprises the pre-1974 counties of Shropshire and Cheshire, varying from the rural areas of Shropshire...
- Roman Catholic dioceseIn some forms of Christianity, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bishop,...
which covers all of Shropshire
- Shropshire Star
The Shropshire Star is a regional newspaper covering the whole of Shropshire, plus parts of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Cheshire, the Llangollen area and northern Powys in the United Kingdom...
- local newspaper covering the county
- Shropshire Blue cheese
Shropshire Blue is a cow's milk cheese made in the United Kingdom. The cheese was first made in the 1970s at the Castle Stuart dairy in Inverness, Scotland by Andy Williamson, a cheesemaker who had trained in the making of Stilton cheese in Nottinghamshire...
External links