The Loggerheads: Shrewsbury's mysterious protectors

All across Shrewsbury, if you know where to look, you’ll spot three curious faces staring back at you. Carved into stone, printed on flags, hanging above pub doors or hidden on old buildings, these are the Loggerheads - three leopard-like faces, arranged side by side.

This artwork depicts the loggerheads in their rightful place on the town's heraldic shield, cradled by the Goddess Sabrina - as Shrewsbury is cradled by the river Severn.

They’ve been part of the town’s identity for over six hundred years. The first official record of them appears on Shrewsbury’s town seal in 1425, but no one really knows where they came from - or why there are three of them. Some say the design was based on the royal arms of England, perhaps gifted to the royalist town by a grateful king. Others believe the people of Shrewsbury chose it themselves, to show loyalty to the crown during uncertain times.

The term 'loggerheads' only adds to the mystery. The faces themselves are either heraldic lions or leopards - in any case, they seem to be lion-like beasts with fierce expressions - but the name may come from old tools of war. A loggerhead was the carved head of a battering ram, used to knock down gates and doors. While the name may come from these battering rams, historians now believe the idea that the Shrewsbury loggerheads themselves originate from this tool of war is a myth - there is no evidence to support it.

Others believe it might be a twist on 'ogre’s heads' - a bit of Shropshire wordplay.

Over the centuries, the Loggerheads have appeared again and again. They feature on the county flag of Shropshire, the Shrewsbury coat of arms, and even the badge of Shrewsbury Town Football Club.

Local historian Mark Stewart has counted over a hundred Loggerheads hidden in plain sight around the town. Sometimes they look proud and regal. Other times, they seem to grin or even stick out their tongues in fearsome mockery of the enemy.

How many can you spot?