Prehistory Evidence of
Neolithic occupation of a religious form dating back before 2,000 BC, was discovered in 2017 in the grounds of the medieval Church of the Holy Fathers in
Sutton Farm, making it Britain's oldest place of worship. An Early
Bronze Age urned burial was excavated at Crowmeole in 2015. An
Iron Age double
ring ditch has been excavated at
Meole Brace. Amongst other finds, parts of an iron age sword and scabbard were recovered.
Roman and Saxon At Meole Brace, an extensive roadside settlement along the line of the Roman military road connecting
Viroconium Cornoviorum and
Caersws was uncovered, with evidence of trading of
amphorae and
mortaria. A major discovery was the finding of the
Shrewsbury Hoard of more than 9000 Roman coins in a field near the town in 2009. It is claimed that
Pengwern, sometime capital of the
Kingdom of Powys (itself established by the 440s), was at Shrewsbury, and it has been said in Parliament that the town was founded by the late 600s, the basis for this likely the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle's account of the 584 battle at Fethanleag, where
Ceawlin defeated the Britons and captured numerous settlements including possibly Uriconium, which sets the historical context for the first likely textual mention of Shrewsbury in the poetry of the British prince
Llywarch Hen, who mourned the destruction of Uriconium. Llywarch Hen's presence at the court of Prince
Cynddylan at Pengwern, understood as the British name for Shrewsbury, implies the town's existence during this period. There is consistent tradition that the town was "founded in the 5th century, on occasion of the decay of the Roman
Uriconium." Historian John Wacher suggests that Shrewsbury may have been refortified by refugees fleeing an outbreak of a plague in Viroconium around this time. Context for the nature of early Medieval period life in the wider district can be found in archaeological evidence on the nearby
Attingham estate, where foundations of two rare 25m-long Anglo-Saxon timber halls dating to around 650 AD have been discovered, highlighting a significant and well-resourced Anglo-Saxon community in the region. The first attested association of Pengwern with Shrewsbury is mentioned by
Giraldus Cambrensis in the 12th century. Alternative suggestions as to the location of Pengwern include
Whittington Castle near
Oswestry, and Berth, a hillfort near
Baschurch. The
Historia Divae Monacellae, composed in the 14th or 15th century, says that
Brochwel Ysgithrog, the 6th-century king of Powis, had a palace at Shrewsbury that became the site of the foundation of St Chad., 'Lady of the Mercians' In the late 8th century, it is said that
Offa took the town for the
Mercians in 778, and he is associated by some sources with establishing the town's first church and dedicating it to
St Chad. Shrewsbury remained part of the Mercian kingdom until its incorporation into the larger realm of England under Egbert in the first half of the ninth century. During the subsequent Saxon period, historical records of the town are scarce. Early in the tenth century
Athelstan made a law to secure uniformity of coinage throughout his dominion, and this enactment specified the number of moneyers in the principal towns. Shrewsbury possessed one such moneyer, proving that while it reached a certain point of importance it did not rank among towns of the first class (this number was later raised to three in the reign of
Edward the Confessor; and all through the period from Athelstan to
Henry III, the Shrewsbury mint was busy). Viking raiders from the north were reaching as far south as
Bridgnorth by 910, which would make sense given the strategic importance of the Roman Road link via the
Via Devana). Recent excavations at Shrewsbury Castle, funded by the Castle Studies Trust, revealed a massive defensive ditch surrounding the Norman motte and evidence of fortified presence on the castle site, predating the Norman invasion. , almost certainly made as a shrine for the body of St. Alkmund soon after he was killed in AD 800. Pilgrims would have worshipped at it. The relics were in Shrewsbury from the early 900s CE to about 1145. Some time before 918, the relics of
St Alkmund were translated to Shrewsbury and back to Shropshire from
Derby, this was probably the work of Æthelflæd. This return to Shropshire move followed Alkmund's initial burial in Shropshire after his death in 800. Later,
King Edgar (957–75) established a collegiate church with a dean and 10 prebendaries at St Alkmund's Church, it was a
Royal peculiar, and subsequently, it became the property of
Lilleshall Abbey in about 1145, when the relics were retranslated back to Derby. Following Æthelflæd's fortification of Shrewsbury, the town largely avoided the devastating wave of the Danish invasions that impacted other parts of England. This immunity, which extended across Shropshire, is notable despite evidence of Danish ships on the River Severn (suggested by the name Danesford near Bridgnorth) and a recorded
Danish defeat at Buttington (near Welshpool) in 894. The protection of the region is mainly attributed to
Æthelred, the ealdorman of Mercia appointed by Alfred, and Æthelflæd herself. Subsequently, during the tenth century, Shrewsbury appears to have experienced a period of relative stability. An historical narrative, well established in the nineteenth century, asserts that during the devastating Danish invasion of 1006,
Æthelred the Unready withdrew to his royal seat in Shrewsbury. In this account, the King experienced "great perplexity," reflecting the collapse of the national defense. This strategic withdrawal preceded the disastrous decision to pay the immense sum of £30,000
Danegeld in 1007 to halt the Danish advance.
Norman , built at around 1074 by Roger de Montgomery
Roger de Montgomery was given the town as a gift from
William the Conqueror and was created Earl of Shrewsbury. He built at
Shrewsbury Castle at around 1074, though there is evidence the location may have been a fortified site in the time of the Anglo-Saxons. This construction work destroyed 51 properties, and it is thought much of this hard labour was forced on local workers. He also founded
Shrewsbury Abbey as a
Benedictine monastery in 1083. The town's position just off Watling Street placed it within the
Forest of Arden, a thickly wooded area, unpenetrated by Roman roads and somewhat dangerous in medieval times, so that travellers would pray at
Coughton before entering. In 1102,
Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury was deposed and the title forfeited, as a consequence of him rebelling against
Henry I and joining the
Duke of Normandy's invasion of England in 1101.
William Pantulf, Lord of
Wem, assisted Henry in putting down the rebellion. To deal with the thickly wooded local forests, ideal for the concealment of archers, Pantulf brought in 6,000 foot soldiers to cut down trees and open up the roads. Henry subsequently took the government of the town into his own hands and in 1116 the nobility of England did homage to
William Ætheling, Henry’s son, at Shrewsbury, and swore allegiance to his father. The early death of William Ætheling without issue led to the succession crisis, known in history as
the Anarchy, and during this period, in 1138,
King Stephen successfully besieged the town's castle held by
William FitzAlan for the
Empress Maud. (Bodleian Mss. Laud c.94.) In 1138, the relics of
St Winifred were brought to Shrewsbury from
Gwytheryn, following their purchase by the
Abbot of Shrewsbury, the abbey being ready for consecration but having no relics prior to that time. The popularity of St Winifred grew in the 14th and 15th centuries and a new shrine for her relics was built in the late 1300s. Around this time the abbey illegally acquired the relics of
St Beuno, uncle of St Winifred, by stealing them. As a result the abbey was fined but allowed to keep the relics. From 1155, during the reign of
Henry II, there was a leper hospital dedicated to St Giles and associated with Shrewsbury Abbey. From the 1220s, there was also a general hospital dedicated to St John the Baptist. In January 1234, Prince
Llywelyn ab Iorwerth of Wales and
Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke burned down the town and laid siege to its castle. In 1283,
Edward I (whose military campaigns in Wales frequently brought him to Shropshire) summoned a parliament in Shrewsbury, later adjourned to
Acton Burnell, to try and condemn
Dafydd ap Gruffydd, last of the native Princes of Wales, to execution by hanging, drawing and quartering within the town after Dafydd was captured, ending his rebellion against the king. It is thought this parliament met in the Abbey. This is often considered to be the first Parliament at which commoners were represented.
Middle Ages Shrewsbury was devastated by the
Black Death, which, records suggest, arrived in the spring of 1349. Examining the number of local church
benefices falling vacant due to death, 1349 alone saw twice as many vacancies as the previous ten years combined, suggesting a high death toll in Shrewsbury. "The Great Fire of Shrewsbury" took place in 1394: St Chad's church was consumed by an accidental fire, which spread to a great portion of the town, then chiefly consisting of timber houses with thatched roofs. The damage was so considerable that
Richard II remitted the town's taxes for three years towards the repairs. (he publicly proclaimed it an act of affection for the people of Shropshire). It was a turning point in Richard II's reign, and sowed the seeds of his eventual downfall. This national drama played out against a backdrop of local controversy, as Shrewsbury itself grappled with its own internal power struggles and grievances against its ruling elite. In 1403, the
Battle of Shrewsbury was fought at
Battlefield, a few miles north of the town centre, between King
Henry IV and
Henry Percy (Hotspur), with the king emerging victorious. Hotspur's body was taken by
Thomas Neville, to
Whitchurch, for burial. However, when rumours circulated that Percy was still alive, the king "had the corpse exhumed and displayed it, propped upright between two millstones, in the market place at Shrewsbury". That being done, Percy was subjected to
posthumous execution. '' by Sir
John Everett Millais One of the
Princes in the Tower,
Richard of Shrewsbury, was born in the town around 17 August 1473, the second son of
King Edward IV of England and
Elizabeth Woodville. In 1480,
Edward V, then
Prince of Wales (and the other prince of the Princes in the Tower), was resident in Shrewsbury. On 11 May Edward V confirmed the composition of the town's
Mercer's Company, which had merged with the guilds of the
Ironmongers and
Goldsmiths. This fraternity were patrons of the Altar of St Michael in St Chad's Church and they kept a Mercers Hall on the site of the
Sextry of Old
St Chads. Thomas Mytton, the Bailiff of the town, a supporter of
Richard III, had vowed that the only way he would get through was "over his dead body". Thomas then lay down and allowed Henry to step over him, to free himself from his oath. Henry was accommodated in the building now known as Henry Tudor House on Wyle Cop. In 1490, Henry VII, accompanied by his
queen and his son,
Prince Arthur, celebrated the feast of St George in the town. Its buildings partly survive near the castle and were later adapted to be an episcopal palace, the council also met at
Ludlow Castle. Members of this council included
John Dudley, Earl of Warwick,
Sir Henry Sidney,
William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, and
Sir Rowland Hill, publisher of the
Geneva Bible and potential inspiration for a hero in Shakespeare's
As You Like It. Its functions were interpreted widely. It was to hear all suits, civil and criminal, which were brought by individuals too poor to sue at common law; it was to try all cases of murder, felony, piracy, wrecking and such crimes as were likely to disturb the peace; it was to investigate charges of misgovernment by officials and the false verdicts of juries; it was to enforce the laws against livery and maintenance, to punish rumour mongers and adulterers, and to deal with disputes concerning enclosures, villein service and manorial questions; it heard appeals from the common law courts; and it was responsible for administering the legislation dealing with religion. According to historian
John Davies, at its peak in the mid-16th century, the Council: represented a remarkable experiment in regional government. It administered the law cheaply and rapidly; it dealt with up to twenty cases a day and
George Owen stated that the 'oppressed poor' flocked to it. In 1551, there was a notable outbreak of sweating sickness in the town, which
Dr John Caius was in the town to attend to at the command of the council. The following year, after his return to London, Caius published
A Boke or Counseill Against the Disease Commonly Called the Sweate, or Sweatyng Sicknesse. The president of the council was the dedicatee of the book and the dedicatory epistle explains his appointment. This text became the main source of knowledge of this disease, now understood to be
influenza. In 1581, Sir Henry Sidney, celebrated the feast of St George, on 23 April, in this town, with great splendour: a solemn procession went from the Council House to St Chad’s Church, the choir of which was fitted up in imitation of
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle with the stalls decorated with the arms of the
Knights of the Garter; on the conclusion of divine service Sir Henry devoted the afternoon to feasting the burgesses. This trade was dominated by the
Shrewsbury Drapers Company for many years. As a result, a number of grand edifices, including the Ireland's Mansion (built 1575) and Draper's Hall (1658), were constructed. It was in this period that
Edward VI gave permission for the foundation of a free school, which was later to become
Shrewsbury School. Later,
William Camden, in his
Britannia (begun 1577), remarked of the town that "Shrewsbury is inhabited both by Welsh and English, who speak each other's language; and among other things greatly to their praise is the grammar school founded by them, the best filled in all England, whose flourishing state is owing to provision made by its head master, the excellent and worthy
Thomas Ashton", the school's first head master.
Civil War During the
English Civil War, Shrewsbury was a
Royalist stronghold, under the command of Sir
Francis Ottley. In the autumn of 1642
Charles I had a temporary base in the town.
Prince Rupert established his headquarters in the town on 18 February 1644, being welcomed by Shrewsbury's aldermen. He was billeted in a building then the home of the family of
Thomas Jones in the precincts of what is now the Prince Rupert Hotel. Shrewsbury only fell to Parliament forces after they were let in by a parliamentarian sympathiser at the St Mary's Water Gate (now also known as Traitor's Gate). After
Thomas Mytton captured Shrewsbury in February 1645, in following with the
ordnance of no quarter, a dozen
Irish prisoners were selected to be killed after picking lots. This prompted Rupert to respond by executing Parliamentarian prisoners in
Oswestry.
Georgian and Victorian By the 18th century, Shrewsbury had become an important market town and stopping point for stagecoaches travelling between London and
Holyhead with passengers on their way to Ireland; this led to the establishment of a number of coaching inns, many of which, such as the Lion Hotel, are extant to this day. A town hall was built in the Market Place on the site of an ancient guildhall in 1730; it was demolished and a new
combined guildhall and shirehall was erected on the site in 1837. Local soldier and statesman
Robert Clive served as the town's mayor in 1762 and was Shrewsbury's MP from 1762 until his death in 1774. St Chad's Church collapsed in 1788 after attempts to expand the crypt compromised the structural integrity of the tower above. Now known as Old St Chad's, the remains of the church building and its churchyard are on the corner of Princess Street, College Hill and Belmont. A new
St Chad's Church was built just four years after the collapse, but as a large neo-classical round church and in a different and more elevated location, at the top of Claremont Hill close to the Quarry. In the period directly after
Napoleon's surrender after the
Battle of Waterloo, the town's own
53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot was sent to guard him in his exile on
St Helena. A locket containing a lock of the emperor's hair, presented to an officer of the 53rd, remains to this day in the collections of the Soldiers of Shropshire Museum at Shrewsbury Castle.
HM Prison Shrewsbury, when new in the Georgian period, was considered a national example of improved conditions and more enlightened penal policy. Times change and a 2005 report on prison population found that it was the most overcrowded in
England and Wales, despite a major expansion in Victorian times. The prison, which was also known as the Dana because it was built near the site of the medieval Dana gaol, was closed in 2013 and then sold by the
Ministry of Justice to private property developers in 2014. In 1821, the county purchased a building in College Hill which was adapted to become the judge's lodgings, providing accommodation for the judges and their retinue during their attendance at the
Assizes. Therefore, many of its ancient buildings remain intact and there was little redevelopment in the 1960s and 1970s. However, some historic buildings were demolished to make way for the
brutalist architectural style of the 1960s, though the town was saved from a new inner ring road due to its challenging geography. A notable example of 1960s/70s construction in Shrewsbury was Telecom House on Smithfield Road, demolished in the 2000s. Between 1962 and 1992 there was a hardened
nuclear bunker, built for
No 16 Group Royal Observer Corps Shrewsbury, who provided the field force of the
United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation and would have sounded the
four-minute warning alarm in the event of war and warned the population of Shrewsbury in the event of approaching radioactive fallout. The building was staffed by up to 120 volunteers who trained on a weekly basis. After the breakup of the communist bloc in 1989, the Royal Observer Corps was disbanded between September 1991 and December 1995. However, the nuclear bunker still stands just inside Holywell Street near the Abbey as a lasting reminder of the Cold War, but is now converted and used as a veterinary practice. The town was targeted by the
IRA in 1992. One bomb was detonated at Shrewsbury Castle, causing severe damage to the regimental museum of the
Shropshire Light Infantry, estimated to be in the region of £250,000 and many artefacts were lost. A second bomb, detonated in the
Darwin Shopping Centre, was put out by the sprinkler system before any major damage was caused. Finally, a third bomb was discovered elsewhere in the town centre but failed to do any serious damage. From the late 1990s, the town experienced
severe flooding problems from the Severn and
Rea Brook. In the autumn of 2000 large swathes of the town were underwater, notably
Frankwell, which flooded three times in six weeks. The Frankwell flood defences were completed in 2003, along with the new offices of
Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council. More recently, such as in 2005 and 2007 but not
2020, flooding has been less severe and the defences have generally held back floodwaters from the town centre areas. However, the town car parks are often left to be flooded in the winter, which reduces trade in the town, most evidenced in the run up to Christmas in 2007. Shrewsbury won the
West Midlands Capital of Enterprise award in 2004. The town has two large expanding business parks,
Shrewsbury Business Park by the A5 in the southeast and
Battlefield Enterprise Park in the north. There are many residential developments currently under construction in the town to cater for the increasing numbers of people wishing to live in the town, which is a popular place to commute to
Telford,
Wolverhampton and
Birmingham from. In 2009
Shrewsbury Town Council was formed and the town's traditional coat of arms was returned to everyday use. In 2021 the lost seal of the town, dating from 1425, was discovered. ==Governance==