Published on Fri, 25th Sep 2020
Shrewsbury has been scooped in the River Severn for over 1,000 years. Although the face of the town has changed, the ancient streets and architecture mix seamlessly with the new.
Shrewsbury's story is on the map for many reasons, discover the origins, defining landmarks and the better-than-fiction facts that make Shrewsbury original.
| Period | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Anglo-Saxon | 881-918 | Ethelred II (reign 881-911) and his consort Ethelfleda (reign 911-918), eldest daughter of King Alfred the Great, ruled West Mercia and built a fort at Shrewsbury |
| 901 | Shrewsbury is first mentioned in a charter: 'acta es, . . . in civitate Scrobbensi' | |
| 912 | St Alkmund's Church was founded by Ethelfleda, eldest daughter of King Alfred the Great | |
| 960 | King Edgar the Peaceful refounded St Mary's Church and St Alkmund's Church as a college | |
| Norman | 1069 | Part of the wooden fort of Shrewsbury is burned during a Saxon seige by Wild Edric Sylvaticus, this was during a rebellion against the Norman William the Conqueror |
| 1074 | William the Conqueror took back Shrewsbury, giving control of the area to his cousin's son, Roger de Montgomery. Roger de Montgomery started building Shrewsbury Castle to replace the burnt wooden fort | |
| 1083 | Shrewsbury Abbey is founded by Roger de Montgomery, replacing a small wooden chapel known as St. Peters. Fulchred of Séez was the first abbot. Although Roger de Montgomery was liked by many, some locals rejected the changes that he was making to the town as houses had to be demolished to make way for the new developments | |
| 1085 | The Domesday Survey showed that there were 252 houses in Shrewsbury. The survey reported many complaints in regards to the tax paid by those living in Shrewsbury | |
| 1094 | After the death of Roger de Montgomery, his son Robert de Belesme took power over Shrewsbury. He was greatly disliked and tried to start a rebellion against King Henry I. When King Henry marches to meet him, Robert immediately surrendered at the Castle Gates. Shrewsbury then became a Royal Fortress | |
| 1100 | Shrewsbury is the 4th largest town in England | |
| 1126 | King Henry I presented Shrewsbury to his wife Adeliza of Louvain. King Henry I stayed in Shrewsbury regularly with his daughter Matilda, who later became Empress of the Holy Roman Empire | |
| 1137 | Abbot Herbert of Shrewsbury Abbey negotiated with the Welsh for the purchase of the remains of St. Winefride from Holywell in North Wales. She had resisted the advances of a pagan Prince, resulting in her being beheaded. She was named St Wenefreda - shining with unnumbered virtues. The Cult of St Wenefreda later sprung up and Shrewsbury became a popular pilgrimage location | |
| 1138 | King Stephen, grandson of King Henry I was crowned king instead of his daughter Matilda, against the King's wishes he besieged Shrewsbury Castle to take control of the town from Matilda | |
| 1158 | Matilda's son, King Henry II visited Shrewsbury and instructed that the Castle be rebuilt with stone | |
|
Plantagenet |
1189 | King Richard I, the Lionheart, gave Shrewsbury it's oldest surviving Charter, allowing the town to collect dues, elect officials, set up guilds and hold markets |
| 1215 | Llewelyn the Great of Wales took control of Shrewsbury from King John. Shrewsbury became a frontier town as the Welsh invaded the surrounding countryside for the next 70 years | |
| 1120-1241 | Henry III instructed the building of the Town Walls | |
| 1260 | The Original Market Hall was built in the Square | |
| 1283 | King Edward I invited commoners to sit at his parliament, signalling the birth of the House of Commons. Prince David, grandson of Llewelyn the Great, was tried as a traitor and murderer, and was dragged through Shrewsbury behind a horse before being hung and quartered at High Cross on Pride Hill. This signalled the end of the Welsh Border Wars | |
| 1284 | King Edward I defeated the Welsh from his base in Shrewsbury, naming his son the first English 'Prince of Wales' | |
|
Lancastrian / House of York |
1403 | The battle of Shrewsbury is fought. Harry Hotspur is beheaded and quartered at High Cross on Pride Hill |
| 1460 |
The Draper's Guild was founded, building Alm Houses throughout the town. The annual celebrate of their inception was the base of what is now the Flower Show |
|
| 1473 | Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, was the sixth child and second son of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. He was born August 17th 1473 in the Infirmary of the Dominican Friary Shrewsbury, which was later destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries under King Henry VIII. You may know him better as one of the Princes in the Tower, with his brother King Edward V | |
| 1485 | Henry Tudor stayed overnight on Wyle Cop (in the building that is now Henry Tudor House) before winning the battle at Bosworth Field, where he was crowned king. Sheriff of Shropshire, Thomas Mytton refused his entry - saying that he would come in only over his body. When he conceded in the morning, Thomas Mytton lay on the bridge and allowed Henry Tudor to step over him into the town. He visited a further three times | |
|
Tudor |
1490 | King Henry VII, along with his wife Elizabeth of York and eldest son Prince Arthur, visited Shrewsbury to celebrate the Feast of St George and attend Mass at the Collegiate Church of St Chad. |
| 1536 | Shrewsbury officially became a part of England, it had previously been considered border territory of the Welsh marches | |
| 1540 | King Henry VIII closed Shrewsbury Abbey | |
| 1552 | Shrewsbury School is built following King Henry VIII closing local Catholic schools and churches | |
| 1553 | According to legend, St Alkmund's Church was damaged by the devil. Lightning struck the spire of the church, leaving the imprint of the Devil's claw upon the bell. It is said, to this day, that the Devil likes to sit upon the church and view his seat on the Stiperstones | |
| 1576 | An extension was added to the Bear Steps. The older part of the building has not been dated | |
| 1596 | The Old Market Hall is built as Shrewsbury undergoes industrial changes, and newly established Guilds bring increased wealth to the town | |
| Stuart | 1618 | Rowley's House is built by William Rowley, a burgess of the town and a draper, brewer and maltster |
| 1621 | St Alkmund's Church was climbed four times by a drunken steeplejack | |
| 1628 | Records show that a criminal was pressed to death at Shrewsbury Castle | |
| 1641 | During the Civil War, Shrewsbury was considered a Royalist stronghold and so strengthened the town walls and defenses, making the town secure at night | |
| 1645 | Thomas Mytton captures Shrewsbury after being let in at St Mary's Water Lane, giving it the name Traitors Gate | |
| 1653 | Admiral John Benbow born march 10th 1653, in Shrewsbury. He became the Nelson of his times after running away to sea, where he fought pirates in the Caribbean | |
| 1658 | Draper's Hall is built | |
| 1662 | Shrewsbury Unitarian Church founded | |
|
Georgian |
1739 | Showman Robert Cadman attempted to slide from the spire of St Mary's Church, head first, using a rope and a grooved breastplate. His engraved obituary stands outside the west door |
| 1744 | English Bridge rebuilt | |
| 1761 - 1774 | Robert Clive (Clive of India) was Shrewsbury's MP from 1761 until his death in 1774. He is also Shrewsbury mayor from 1762-63 | |
| 1772 | Lord Rowland Hill was born in Shrewsbury, August 11th 1772. He went on to become one of Britain's most celebrated military men | |
| 1784 | The Shrewsbury workhouse was built in Kingsland, the building would go on to become Shrewsbury School | |
| 1788 | Old St Chad's collapses. Thomas Telford had predicted the collapse of the building but had been ignored | |
| 1790 | Welsh Bridge built to replace St George's Bridge | |
| 1792 | The Jesse Window (dated 1327-1353) installed at St Mary's Church after being taken from Old St Chad's | |
| 1792 | St Chad's Church is rebuilt with a circular knave. The circular nave was not the choice of the board, but the architects drew up the designs due to a minuting error | |
| 1793 | Shrewsbury Gaol at the Dana was opened. Built by Thomas Telford it had 204 cells, 179 for men, 25 for women as well as a debtor's ward and infirmary | |
| 1797 |
Shrewsbury Flaxmill opened |
|
| 1809 | Charles Darwin is born at Mount House, February 12 1809, and was later baptised at St Chad's | |
| 1812 | New bells were installed at St Alkmund's Church. Unfortunately, they caused the tower to sway and were removed and hung in Honolulu Cathedral | |
| 1831 | The Royal Salop Infirmary was built. The architect, E.H. Haycock, designed the building in 'Greek Revival' style | |
| 1835 | Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery was established as the Museum of the Shropshire and North Wales Natural History and Antiquarian Society in Dogpole | |
| 1840 | The last public flogging took place in the Square | |
|
Victorian |
1848 | Shrewsbury railway station was built, with the first route between Shrewsbury and Chester |
| 1853 | Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery moved to Vaughan's Mansion on College Hill | |
| 1856 | The Roman Catholic Cathedral is built in Shrewsbury | |
| 1857 | First Shrewsbury Flower Show held just outside Shrewsbury, near the Showground at Coton Hill | |
| 1858 | Charles Dickens stayed at the Lion Hotel, writing to his daughter that he was staying in 'the strangest little rooms, the ceilings of which I can touch with my hand'. He also commented that he could walk out onto a balcony and "lean over a queer old rail and look all down hill and slantwise at the strangest black and white houses, all of many shapes except straight shapes" | |
| 1867 | The town market moved from the Square to a new Victoria Market Hall and Corn Exchange building on Shoplatch | |
| 1875 | The Shrewsbury Flower Show was held in the Quarry Park for the first time, Shropshire Horticultural Society established following this year's show | |
| 1879 | The Dingle’s ornamental gardens opened and a statue of Sabrina, goddess of the River Severn, can still be seen today | |
| 1882 | Shrewsbury School moved to the workhouse building in Kingsland and Kingsland Bridge was built | |
| 1885 | Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery and Shrewsbury Library moved to the old Shrewsbury School building, where the library remains to this day | |
|
Edwardian |
1903 | Shrewsbury railway station extended downwards |
| 1907 | The infamous Shrewsbury train derailment, in which 18 people died. A 26-year-old Mary Webb wrote a poem in memory of the victims, which her brother submitted anonymously to the Shrewsbury Chronicle, starting her career as a writer | |
|
House of Windsor |
1922 | Porthill Bridge was built |
| 1926 | English Bridge was rebuilt | |
| 1946 | Percey Thrower becomes Parks Superintendent of Shrewsbury. He expected to stay only four or five years but remained in post for 28 years | |
| 1965 | Shrewsbury Market Hall opened | |
| 1979 | Royal Salop Infirmary was saved from demolition and turned into the Parade Shopping Centre and flats | |
| 1981 | Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery relocated to Rowley's House | |
| 1984 | Shrewsbury was the location for the 1984 film 'A Christmas Carol' and Ebeneezer Scrooge's 'gravestone' is still visible in St Chad's graveyard today | |
| 1989 | Darwin Shopping Centre was built | |
| 2004 | The Old Market Hall re-opens as an independent cinema, after 5 years of renovations | |
| 2009 | Theatre Severn opened | |
| 2014 | Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery reopened in the Music Hall and Vaughan's Mansion | |
| 2015 | University Centre Shrewsbury welcomed its first undergraduates |
