Shropshire

V

Education and Culture

Oswestry School was founded in 1407, and Shrewsbury School in 1552. The masque Comus by John Milton was first performed in the 11th-century Ludlow Castle in 1634. A. E. Housman is often thought of as a Shropshire poet because of his best-known work, A Shropshire Lad, although he was in fact born in Worcestershire. He is buried in the churchyard of Ludlow's 15th-century church. In particular, Housman is associated with Much Wenlock, which was also the home for many years of the novelist Mary Webb. Oswestry was the birthplace of Wilfred Owen, the World War I poet, who was killed in 1918 at the age of 25.

The house of the notorious Judge George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys of Wem can be seen in Wem, and a short distance south of the town is the village of Clive, where the Restoration playwright William Wycherley was born about 1640. Clive of India was born in Market Drayton in 1725, and the grammar school there still has a desk carved with his initials. Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury in 1809.

Founded in 1886, Shrewsbury Town FC plays its home games at Gay Meadow and is the only professional football club in the county. The side plays in the English Football League, but has also won the Welsh Cup on six occasions.

Shropshire Pie is traditionally made with rabbit, although nowadays chicken may be substituted. Pork, artichokes, and egg are other essential ingredients. Small forcemeat balls, made with bacon, mushrooms, breadcrumbs, and egg, are placed on the piecrust. Shropshire Pie is eaten either hot or cold.

VI

Places of Interest

In addition to the beauty of the River Severn, the charm of the lakes around Ellesmere, and the magnificent scenery of the upland ranges, including the Long Mynd and the jagged crags of Stiperstones, Shropshire has much of interest to offer in its towns. The county is noted for its black-and-white timber-framed buildings, and houses in this style are to be widely seen—Shrewsbury and Ludlow both have some excellent examples. Shrewsbury Castle was rebuilt by Edward I in the latter part of the 13th century, but still retains its Norman gateway; some of the town's ancient walls also remain. The castle now accommodates the Shropshire Regimental Museum. Bridgnorth is divided by the Severn into the Higher Town, on a cliff that rises to 60 m (200 ft), and the Lower Town on the river bank. Stokesay Castle, some 16 km (10 mi) south of Church Stretton, is a remarkably well-preserved 13th-century fortified manor house. Some parts of the Roman town of Viroconium have been excavated at Wroxeter. The Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady Help of Christians and St Peter of Alcantara, built in the mid-19th century, is in Shrewsbury.

In the early 18th century, Abraham Darby came to Coalbrookdale, the mining area of Shropshire, to begin smelting ironstone with coke. Ironstone, limestone, charcoal, and sulphur-free coal, from which the coke could be produced, were all readily available—and so was water-power and transport, on the River Severn. Here, it is sometimes claimed, the Industrial Revolution began, its most striking testimonial being the cast-iron bridge, erected in 1779, which spans the Severn, and is a major tourist attraction at Ironbridge, the little town named after the structure itself, and now a World Heritage site. A group of museums nearby tell the story not only of Abraham Darby's achievements, and the cast iron industry, but of the local Coalport china works. Modern technology can be seen at the Aerospace Museum, near Shifnal. Just south of Church Stretton is the Acton Scott Historic Working Farm, which preserves farming methods of many years ago.

VII

Economy

The county is still primarily agricultural. Sheep and cattle are raised in the south with markets at Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Bridgnorth, and Ludlow; and a flourishing milk-producing area lies in the north. The crops grown are mostly root crops, such as potatoes and sugar beet. The county's industry includes the processing of agricultural products, electronics, plastics, and the manufacturing of electrical equipment and machine tools. Shropshire has one of the country's highest concentrations of foreign manufacturing investment. Coal and stone are produced by opencast mining.

VIII

History

Bronze Age round barrows are found near Ludlow in the south of the county, and there are stone circles on Stapeley Hill. The remains of a large number of Iron Age hill forts have been discovered, including those at Earls Hill, Bury Ditches, Hopesay, The Wrekin, Old Oswestry, and Caer Caradoc (supposedly the scene of the last battle between Caractacus and the Romans). The 1st-century Roman legionary fortress at Viroconium (Wroxeter) was one of the largest towns in Roman Britain, and was connected with London by Watling Street. Before the Saxon invasion, the Princes of Powys ruled in the area, and had their capital at Shrewsbury, which was then called Pengwern. When the Saxons conquered the area, Watt's Dyke and Offa's Dyke were constructed, forming a protective boundary between Mercia and Wales.

After the Norman Conquest, much of the county was used as hunting grounds, but conflict with the Welsh continued, and a large number of castles were built to provide a line of defence against their raids. In 1138 Shrewsbury Castle was taken on behalf of the empress Matilda, but was soon captured by Stephen of Blois. Both Shrewsbury and Ludlow were held in the 13th century by Simon de Montfort. By that time, wool had become of major importance to Shropshire, bringing considerable wealth to Ludlow, Bridgnorth, and to Shrewsbury. Now that peace with the Welsh had been established, Shrewsbury was the principal market town for most of north Wales. In 1403, Henry IV defeated Sir Henry Percy, or Hotspur, at the Battle of Shrewsbury, and thereby established himself as undisputed king of England. Ludlow Castle was the boyhood home of the Little Princes, the future Edward V and his brother, Richard, Duke of York, until they left for the Tower of London, and their mysterious disappearance, traditionally blamed on Richard III. In the English Civil War, the county was mostly Royalist in its sympathies—Shrewsbury was briefly used as a base by Charles I and Prince Rupert—but the town was captured by the Parliamentarians in 1645; Bridgnorth and Ludlow surrendered in 1646.