Shrewsbury may have been founded by the Romans who had the city of Viroconium (Wroxeter) nearby, but the Saxons are more likely to have founded the town, roughly in the 8th Century (there are unfortunately no records of when exactly it was founded). The earliest written mention of it existing is from the year 901. At that time it was part of the Kingdom of Mercia. It grew in stature quickly and became the county town of Shropshire and even had a mint. It is known as the "town of flowers" and an alternative name is Salop (which is also an alternative name for the county). The town has borough status and for many centuries it was run by the Corporation of Shrewsbury. The local authority is now Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council.

The centre of Shrewsbury is located in a meander of the River Severn and the town is located only 9 miles from the Welsh border. The town centre has a pronounced hill upon which sits Shrewsbury Castle, built shortly after the Norman Conquest, though the present day castle dates from the 13th century. There are many well-preserved half-timbered black-and-white houses here, among them the Abbot's House of c.1500 on Butcher Row, and Rowley's House (now home to the Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery) on Barker Street. The town avoided the bombing of World War II and so many of its ancient buildings remain intact and there was little redevelopment during the 1960s and 1970s (which destroyed the character of many historic towns in the UK).

During the English Civil War, the town was a royalist stronghold and only fell to Parliament forces after they were let in by a traitor at the St Mary's Water Gate (now also known as Traitor's Gate).

The town did not experience the same massive growth that other English towns experienced during the industrial revolution and few large factories grew up in the town. In fact, during the 1830s and 1840s, the town actually decreased in populance - mainly due to the lack of good transport links and little industry. The railways, however, became a major employer by the end of the 19th Century, as Shrewsbury became an important railway town. Today, the town is still not industrial and the railways no longer play such a major part in employing its people.

This page was last updated: 27 Oktober 2006

Town history extracts are taken from Wikipedia and are licensed under GFDL