{"id":170824,"date":"2021-01-06T09:22:03","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T09:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/travel\/?p=170824"},"modified":"2021-05-25T11:54:39","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T10:54:39","slug":"shrewsbury-the-five-minute-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/travel\/shrewsbury-the-five-minute-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Shrewsbury The Five Minute Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everything you ever needed to know about Shrewsbury, and more!<\/p>\n

Shrewsbury is a healthy-sized town that sits on the edges of the River Severn. It contains everything from picturesque sandstone castles, right through to the occasional swan on the idyllic waterways. It\u2019s a large town with a small-town feel\u2026 and that\u2019s something most British towns are jealous of.<\/p>\n

\"Shrewsbury\"

Image: Caron Badkin\/Shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Join us as we talk about all things Shrewsbury for a little while. Is it your hometown or are you just passing through? It doesn\u2019t matter, really, because either way this picturesque place is packed with the history of the ages. Let\u2019s start with the early days and work forward from there.<\/p>\n

Shrewsbury in the Early Days<\/h2>\n

Shrewsbury history extends all the way back to the time before the Romans invaded Britain\u2026 that\u2019s pre-AD years. Some sources<\/a> have it as being officially founded in 901 as a burgh town, which meant that it would have had a fortification. The building was probably earthen and in roughly the same place as the castle is, now.<\/p>\n

Shrewsbury saw early success, rising to fame as the capital city of the Kingdom of Powys. It is thought that the etymology behind the name comes from the early name of Scrobbesburh, which would have meant something like \u2018the fort that belonged to Scrobbe\u2019 back in the Old English tongue.<\/p>\n

In the Roman era (circa 40 AD onwards), Shrewsbury wasn\u2019t the star of the show that it was in the early days. In fact, there is a village about 5 miles to the south and east named Wroxeter, where the Romans established one of their largest forts. It was considered to be the 4th<\/sup> biggest capital of Britain back in their day\u2026 and Shrewsbury would have been nothing but a small village growing up around the Roman road.<\/p>\n

Cut forward from the pre-Roman years to 778 and the capital of Powys fell into the hands of the invading Offa of Mercia\u2026 who definitely Was Not a Viking King. Officially speaking, Shrewsbury was \u2018founded\u2019 in 800 BC, but that\u2019s only because we are more confident in the history from that point forward.<\/p>\n

Shrewsbury was so big by 900 AD that it had its own mint, a building only established in highly profitable trading towns. There would have been a weekly market and annual trade fair, which would have allowed people to come and buy or sell from all over Shropshire. It had also managed to retain the earthworks and fortifications that made it a burgh to begin with.<\/p>\n

The Doomsday Book<\/h3>\n

By the time of the Domesday Survey<\/a>, a record of all the lands in England compiled by William the Conqueror after he won in 1066, Shrewsbury had its own Earl and about 86 households. There were 10 landowners in possession of parts of the town, which is almost a Domesday record. It makes Shrewsbury one of the largest 20% of towns in England at that time.<\/p>\n

In those days, Earl Roger of Shrewsbury earned a whopping 40 pounds a year from the lands. There was evidently an important church in town because some of the lands belonged to the Bishop of Chester. St. Peter\u2019s Abbey was a staple in the area too, owning some land of their own.<\/p>\n

All in all, Shrewsbury was quite a busy place in the middle ages. There is a record of it being held by rebels until 1069 and then set alight, rather than being turned over during the Norman invasion. Since most of the town would have been wooden at the time, this comes as little surprise.<\/p>\n

In 1083, Roger de Montgomery built the castle in place of the earthen fortifications In the 12th<\/sup> century, Shrewsbury received two charters, one from King Henry I and one from King Richard of Robin Hood notoriety. When the 13th<\/sup> century rolled around, it was a thriving market town that nestled behind its own walls. It would have had about 3000 people living within the walls, which was a huge number for those times. The modern-day equivalent would be a city with 300,000 people in it \u2013 and trade would have been flourishing.<\/p>\n

Medieval Shrewsbury<\/h2>\n

The Middle Ages saw Leatherworking as one of the main trades in town. With so much farmland in surrounding Shropshire \u2013 which is now used for sheep, leather and cattle would have been bred in abundance. Skinners, glove makers, drapers, tailors, and even those involved in weaving wool, were all trades known to the town.<\/p>\n

In 1215 the town was briefly captured by the Welsh, who seemingly always had battled with the inhabitants throughout history. Llewlyn the Great was therefore in charge of Shrewsbury for a few short months. This whole period came to a head in 1403 when the battle of Shrewsbury was fought. Lord Harry Percy led a rebellion against the king and the resulting fights took place in the streets of the town. Harry Hotspur was killed in the rebellion and casualties ran into the thousands.<\/p>\n

Franciscan friars showed up in the 13th<\/sup> century and remained there until the 15th<\/sup> century. During the latter time period, Henry VIII was taking down abbeys and friaries all over England. The success of the religious organisations in town would have waned during this time.<\/p>\n

By the time the 16th<\/sup> century started, Shrewsbury was making most of its money in wool. It was fulled and dyed in town, where it would then be traded up and down the river. The abbey and all other religious establishments in town were closed finally in 1540, and by 1658 the town\u2019s population had double to the 6 thousand mark.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a good natural pausing place to take a break. Let\u2019s look at something a bit more light-hearted before we continue with the gloom of history.<\/p>\n

 
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