Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury, county town of Shropshire, western England, lying on a peninsula surrounded by a horseshoe bend of the River Severn. Light manufacturing and service industries, including tourism, contribute to the economy. There is a large cattle market and abattoir. In 1552 Shrewsbury School was founded by Edward VI: the young Charles Darwin was a pupil there. Shrewsbury Castle (1083), which now accommodates the Shropshire Regimental Museum, was an important defensive stronghold in the Welsh Marches. There is a Crown Court. During the English Civil War Charles I and Prince Rupert briefly made Shrewsbury their headquarters. The town's name comes from the Saxon, meaning “fort in the scrub”. Population (1994 estimate) 94,600.