In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Shrewsbury like this:
Shrewsbury, parl. and mun. bor., and co. town of Shropshire, on river Severn, 42 miles NW. of Birmingham and 162 miles NW. of London by rail, 3674 ac., pop. 26.478; 5 Banks, 3 newspapers. Market-days, Wednesday and Saturday. Shrewsbury, with its fine old timbered houses, is one of the most picturesque of English towns. ...
It is situated on a peninsula formed by a bend of the Severn, which is spanned by two stone bridges - the English bridge, leading to the suburb of Abbey-Foregate; and the Welsh bridge, leading to the suburb of Frankwell. Among the chief objects of interest are the remains of the old walls; the ruins of the castle, built immediately after the Conquest; the church of Holy Cross, originally attached to a great Benedictine abbey; the grammar school of Edward VI., now ranking high among public schools; the old markethouse, of time of Elizabeth; and the monuments to Lord Clive and Lord Hill. The Quarry Promenade, along the river side, has a fine avenue of lime trees, planted in 1719. Shrewsbury is a railway centre; and it has glass-staining and malting, linen-thread mfrs., iron foundries, and agricultural-implement works. It was a place of great importance in the frontier wars of the Saxon and Norman periods, and in 1403 was the scene of a great battle between the forces of the Earl of Northumberland and those of Henry IV., in which the earl was defeated and his son, "Hotspur," slain. Shrewsbury was first chartered by the Conqueror. It returns 1 member to Parliament; it returned 2 members from the time of Edward I. until 1885.
Shrewsbury through time
Click here for graphs and data of how Shrewsbury and Atcham has changed over two centuries. For statistics for historical units named after Shrewsbury go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Shrewsbury, in Shrewsbury and Atcham and Shropshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/133
Date accessed: 18th April 2024
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