At the time when Shrewsbury Part One was published in 2014, quite a large part of Part Two had been drafted, and further text has been prepared since. At this time Shrewsbury Part Two was being managed by VCH Central Office in the Institute of Historical Research: responsibility for the completion of the volume has now passed to the VCH County Committee. As it may be a few years before the whole text of Part Two can be assembled and the volume goes to press, we are making the draft text as it is prepared available here as a public resource. The draft text will be added to this page from time to time.
It should be reiterated that the text presented here is not in a finalised form. It will undergo a process of editing before publication, and so what is presented here may differ from the final published text. We welcome corrections and suggestions (although readers should be aware that that we are writing to a word limit and it will not be possible to incorporate all additions).
As will be noticed from the scheme which follows, large parts of the volume remain uncommissioned (‘tbc’ = to be commissioned). We are interested in hearing from anyone who would be interested in contributing to the volume.
We are indebted to the Marc Fitch Trust and the Walker Trust for their financial aid which has allowed us to get so far, and to those colleagues who have generously given of their time and allowed their knowledge of Shrewsbury’s history to appear in this form.
0.1 |
List of abbreviations |
drafted |
1.0 |
Introduction |
|
1.1 |
The River |
commissioned |
1.2 |
Shrewsbury as a regional centre |
tbc |
1.3 |
Shrewsbury as a garrison town |
tbc |
|
|
|
2.0
| Local government and public services |
2.1 |
Boundaries: liberties and borough |
drafted |
2.2 |
The government of the borough |
|
2.2.1 |
The borough before the charter of 1638 |
|
2.2.2 |
The unreformed borough |
|
2.2.3 |
The Commissioners of Improvement |
|
2.2.4 |
The reformed borough |
|
2.2.5 |
The twentieth-century borough |
|
2.3 |
Municipal buildings |
draft updated 30 June 2023 |
|
Municipal buildings: figures |
drafted |
2.4 |
Municipal arms, insignia and plate |
in draft |
2.5 |
Public preachers |
draft uploaded 18 June 2024 |
2.6 |
Public monuments |
drafted |
2.7 |
Law and order |
|
2.7.1 |
Courts |
|
2.7.2 |
Police |
|
2.7.3 |
Fire services |
|
2.7.4 |
Prisons |
|
2.7.5 |
Reformatories |
|
2.7.6 |
Shropshire Asylum |
|
2.7.7 |
Copthorne Barracks and other Shrewsbury buildings with a military connection |
drafted |
2.8 |
Public services and utilities |
|
2.8.1 |
Water |
partly drafted |
2.8.2 |
Gas |
partly drafted |
2.8.3 |
Electricity |
partly drafted |
2.9 |
Poor law and poor relief institutions |
2.9.1 |
To 1780 |
commissioned |
2.9.2 |
From 1780 to 1834 |
tbc |
2.9.3 |
From 1834 |
tbc |
2.10 |
Foundling Hospital |
|
2.11 |
Public parks |
|
2.12 |
Burial grounds |
drafted |
2.13 |
Hospitals and medical services |
drafted |
2.14 |
Charities for the poor |
drafted |
2.15 |
Almshouses |
tbc |
|
|
|
3.0 |
Economic infrastructure and institutions |
3.1 |
Communications |
|
3.2 |
Markets and fairs |
drafted |
3.3 |
Corn mills and Fisheries |
drafted |
3.4 |
Mint |
|
3.5 |
Common lands and the Quarry |
drafted |
3.6 |
Craft Guilds |
|
3.7 |
Industry and employment |
|
|
|
|
4.0 |
Churches and other religious bodies |
4.1 |
Parish Churches |
partly drafted |
4.1.1 |
The early church |
|
4.1.2 |
Parochial boundaries |
|
4.1.3 |
St Alkmund |
draft updated 8 March 2023 |
|
St Alkmund – Figures |
draft updated 8 March 2023 |
4.1.4 |
St Chad |
drafted |
|
St Chad – Figures |
draft added 30 June 2023 |
4.1.5 |
Holy Cross and St Giles |
draft updated 8 March 2023 |
|
Holy Cross and St Giles – Figures |
draft added 30 June 2023 |
4.1.6 |
St Julian |
draft updated 30 June 2023 |
|
St Julian – Figures |
draft added 30 June 2023 |
4.1.7 |
St Mary |
draft updated 30 June 2023 |
|
St Mary – Figures |
draft added 30 June 2023 |
4.1.8 |
All Saints Castlefields |
|
4.1.9 |
Holy Trinity Coleham |
|
4.1.10 |
St George Frankwell |
|
4.1.11 |
St Michael Ditherington |
|
4.1.12 |
The Holy Spirit, Harlescott |
drafted |
4.1.13 |
The reorganization of parishes in the late twentieth century |
|
4.2 |
Pre-Reformation chapels |
drafted |
4.3 |
Roman Catholicism |
drafted |
4.4 |
Protestant nonconformity |
partly drafted |
4.5 |
Orthodoxy |
drafted |
4.6 |
Other faiths |
drafted |
|
|
|
5.0 |
Buildings, military and ecclesiastical |
|
5.1 |
Castle |
to be revised |
5.2 |
Town walls gates and bridges |
to be revised |
5.3 |
Shrewsbury Abbey and its manor |
to be revised |
5.4 |
Sites and Remains of Friaries |
tbc |
|
|
|
6.0 |
Town buildings |
|
6.1 |
Town buildings to 1700 |
tbc |
6.2 |
Town buildings, 1700-1850 |
tbc |
6.3 |
Town buildings, 1850-1918 |
tbc |
6.4 |
Town buildings, 1914-2000 |
tbc |
6.5 |
Town planning, 1919-2000 |
tbc |
6.6 |
Conservation and Regeneration, 1918-c.2000 |
tbc |
|
|
|
7.0 |
Social and cultural institutions |
|
7.1 |
Education and schools |
drafted |
7.2 |
Inns, public houses and hospitality |
tbc |
7.3 |
Places of entertainment |
to be revised |
7.4 |
The Quarry |
drafted |
7.5 |
Learned and cultural societies |
to be revised |
7.6 |
Horticultural Society |
to be revised |
7.7 |
Museums |
to be revised |
7.8 |
Libraries |
to be revised |
7.9 |
Newspapers |
to be revised |
7.10 |
Shrewsbury races and racecourse |
drafted |
7.11 |
Other sports |
|