61-451: The M54 is a 23-mile-long (37 km) east-west motorway in the counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire , England. It is also referred to as the Telford motorway, after the road's primary westbound destination, the town of Telford . It cost £65 million to construct, and is two-lane dual carriageway for the majority of its length, with sections of three-lane. The M54 spur connects
122-405: A population of 498,073. Telford (155,570), in the east of the county, and Shrewsbury (76,782), in the centre, are the only large towns. Shropshire is otherwise rural, containing market towns such as Oswestry (15,613), Bridgnorth (12,212) and Newport (11,387). For local government purposes the county comprises two unitary authority areas: Shropshire , and Telford and Wrekin . Shropshire
183-774: A possible inspiration for the Robin Hood legend. Parts of Shropshire are inside the ancient Forest of Arden , which was the part if the English Midlands , that in antiquity and into the Early Modern Period was bounded by the Roman roads including to the North by the Watling Street and to the west by Wales. This forest was the Setting of Shakespeare's As You Like It , and that play
244-584: A possible new motorway route, and a third option to possibly upgrade existing roads. The route could have followed the A5 Corridor to the M6 South of Gailey , at junction 12, or a new corridor could have been established to the M6, north-east of Featherstone , at junction 11. Additionally, it was proposed that the existing A5 could be upgraded to full dual carriageway grade separated standards together with improvements to
305-494: Is Psmith , a fictional character in a series of Wodehouse's novels. In Oscar Wilde 's The Importance of Being Earnest , Algernon attempts to trick Jack into revealing the location of his country home by inferring he resides in Shropshire. The 1856 plantation literature novel White Acre vs. Black Acre by William M. Burwell features two Shropshire farms acting as an allegory for American slavery – "White Acre Farm" being
366-576: Is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England, on the border with Wales . It is bordered by Cheshire to the north, the Welsh county of Wrexham to the north and northwest, Staffordshire to the east, Worcestershire to the southeast, Herefordshire to the south, and the Welsh county of Powys to the west. The largest settlement is Telford , while Shrewsbury is the county town . The county has an area of 3,487 km (1,346 square miles) and
427-500: Is a Bronze Age stone circle set in dramatic moorland on Stapeley Hill . The area was once part of the lands of the Cornovii , which consisted of the modern day counties of Cheshire, Shropshire, north Staffordshire, north Herefordshire, and eastern parts of Powys. This was a tribal Celtic Iron Age kingdom. Their capital in pre- Roman times was probably a hill fort on the Wrekin . There
488-541: Is a legend that one of the caves of Hawkstone Park was the burial ground of King Arthur , and the Arthurian story of the giants Tarquin and Tarquinus is located, or Whittington Castle and linked to the Holy Grail since the 13th century. Old Oswestry has been identified as a possible home of Guinevere. Ludlow Castle site features heavily in the folk-story of Fulk FitzWarin , outlawed Lord of Whittington, Shropshire and
549-683: Is acknowledged to potentially be a cultural monument to Sir Rowland Hill , a prominent Tudor statesman and publisher of the Geneva Bible from the county. Shropshire was the original seat of prominence of the Cotton family who held the Cotton Library before it was taken to found the British Library. Shrewsbury Abbey features in The Cadfael Chronicles ; Brother Cadfael is a member of
610-534: Is also referred to in the same play (Act II, scene ii). There is a tradition that the Stanley monuments in St Bartholomew's Church, Tong are the work of Shakespeare. William Wycherley was born at Clive near Shrewsbury, although his birthplace has been said to be Trench Farm to the north near Wem later the birthplace of another writer, John Ireland , who was said to have been adopted by Wycherley's widow following
671-591: Is an important Iron Age Hill fort at Old Oswestry earthworks, this has been linked to where King Arthur’s Guinevere was born and called "the Stonehenge of the Iron Age." According to tradition, Caracticus made his last stand against the Romans in Shropshire. Ptolemy 's 2nd century Geography names one of their towns as being Viroconium Cornoviorum ( Wroxeter ), which became their capital under Roman rule and one of
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#1732923307188732-474: Is believed the area of Shrewsbury was settled in the 5th century by refugees from the nearby Roman City of Viroconium Cornoviorum , most physical evidence dates from the 7th century. Oswestry saw conflict in the early mediaeval period and is reputed to be the place of death of Oswald of Northumbria in 641 or 642 CE. Oswald was later regarded as a saint, with Bede saying that the spot where he died came to be associated with miracles , and people took dirt from
793-572: Is generally flat in the north and hilly in the south. The Shropshire Hills AONB covers about a quarter of the county, including the Wrekin , Clee Hills , Stiperstones , the Long Mynd , and Wenlock Edge . Part of the Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve , which extends into Wales, occupies the low-lying north west of the county. The county's major river is the Severn , which enters from
854-627: Is operated by Welcome Break . It is the only service station on this motorway and, if travelling east, the last before Corley on the M6 or Frankley on the M5 . Junction 2 was modified to accommodate the new A4510 link road to the new i54 Business Park, built to the West of the junction. In 2013, the Department for Transport (DfT) investigated the possibility of extending the M54 westward to Shrewsbury, thereby placing
915-538: The A41 and A464 trunk routes. The first section of the M54 was opened in 1975, then named the A5 Wellington bypass (bypassing one of the existing towns which formed part of Telford), but renumbered the M54 in 1983 when the motorway was extended. The bypass removed traffic from the heavily congested route through the urbanised areas of Oakengates and Wellington, and removed one of the country's most notorious bottlenecks at
976-604: The English Civil War Shropshire was Royalist , and Charles II fled through the county—famously hiding in an oak tree —after his final defeat at the Battle of Worcester . The area around Coalbrookdale is regarded as one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Evidence of Neolithic occupation of a religious form dating back before 2,000 BC,
1037-661: The M6 motorway near Essington , Staffordshire with the A5 trunk road at Wellington, Shropshire . The motorway forms part of the strategic route to North Wales , roughly following the path of the Roman Watling Street and the A5 north-westwards, towards the port of Holyhead . It is the only motorway in Shropshire, and forms a vital part of the county's road network. In 2007, the motorway handled an annual average daily traffic of between 50,300 (J2–3) and 41,800 (J4–5) vehicles. The idea of
1098-533: The Ministry of Transport invited construction company Freeman Fox, Wilbur Smith Associates (FFWSA) to investigate and report on the impact of the New Town proposals on traffic demand between the proposed New Town site and Wolverhampton , and the best highway solution to meet this demand. The predicted demand was that of 75,000 vehicles per day by 1990 and a need for a dual 3-lane motorway. Two corridors were identified for
1159-583: The Norman conquest in 1066, major estates in Shropshire were granted to Normans, including Roger de Montgomerie and later his son Robert de Bellême , who ordered significant constructions, particularly in Shrewsbury, the town of which he was Earl . Many defensive castles were built at this time across the county to defend against the Welsh and enable effective control of the region, including Ludlow Castle and Shrewsbury Castle . The western frontier with Wales
1220-525: The abolitionist Northern United States, and "Black Acre Farm" being the slaveholding Southern United States. The angel Aziraphale , a principal character in Good Omens , was credited with designing Shropshire by Terry Pratchett . In the novel Howards End , Mr. Wilcox's daughter gets married in Shropshire. Part of the novel is set near Clun . Shropshire was the native county and rural seat of power of Sir Rowland Hill , who coordinated and published
1281-638: The 1560 Geneva Bible . This important Bible was the senior Bible of English Protestantism for the early decades of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement . Prior to the Reformation , there are accounts of major festivals in the county. The "first flowerings of English drama" in the Tudor period are considered to be in the town, according to the 18th century Poet laureate and scholar Thomas Warton . Whitsuntide and mystery plays were performed in
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#17329233071881342-556: The Bucks Head crossroads, in Wellington; delays of up to six hours could be experienced in the summer months. The Wellington bypass was constructed by contractor M. J. Gleeson, from 1973 to 1975. Many problems followed in the two years after completion; the rigid concrete carriageway broke up, due to the road being built on a poor subbase with rigid concrete along a historically heavily mined route. The aesthetic and constructional design of
1403-468: The English fantasy writer. In Susanna Clarke 's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004), Jonathan Strange is from the county, and some parts of the book are set there. Another fictional character from Shropshire is Mr Grindley, from Charles Dickens ' Bleak House . P. G. Wodehouse 's fictional Blandings Castle , the ancestral home of Lord Emsworth , is located in Shropshire. Also from Shropshire
1464-588: The High Medieval period the Shropshire area influenced important poetry: the poet William Langland , writer of Piers Plowman , was born in Cleobury Mortimer , and the 14th-century alliterative poem St Erkenwald is written in a local dialect. The only copy of the ancient poem 'Life and Death' was also found in Shropshire. In this period the county was also associated in divers places and ways with Arthurian legends, for instance at Hawkstone, where there
1525-676: The Lichfield diocese. The county was a central part of the Welsh Marches during the medieval period and was often embroiled in the power struggles between powerful Marcher Lords , the Earls of March and successive monarchs. From 1457, King Henry VI created for his son, Prince Edward , a Council to rule Wales and the Marches, Cheshire , and Cornwall , which became the Council of the Marches. Shropshire
1586-477: The M54 was originally presented due to the high volumes of traffic on the A5 , London to Holyhead road which was largely constructed by civil engineer Thomas Telford in the early 19th century following the route of the Roman Watling Street , which connected Rochester, Kent with Wroxeter , Shropshire. The initial plan for a motorway following the M54's present route was therefore designed to alleviate
1647-571: The M6 Toll). In February 2009, local newspaper the Shropshire Star reported plans to create a flyover linking the M54 and A442 in Telford town centre, just south east of Telford Central railway station . Presently traffic has to travel along a single carriageway portion of the A5, and pass through two roundabouts to access the M54. Since Junction 5 of the motorway is only 200 metres (220 yd) from
1708-454: The M6 to junction 5, opened in November 1983. The motorway cost £65 million to build, which when adjusted for inflation would come to approximately £150 million in 2006. To help alleviate opposition to the intrusive motorway design, the 60 feet (18 m) wide carriageway was built to pass below the natural landscape, where possible. Man-made hills were constructed which, along with
1769-448: The bridges was also heavily criticised. Over the next 15 years, almost all of the original carriageway had to be replaced with asphalt . The 30-kilometre (19 mi) section between the junction with the M6, and Telford, excluding the Wellington bypass, was divided into four contracts each awarded to different companies; all sections remained under the design of Sir Owen Williams and Partners. The Forge junction at Telford Town Centre
1830-730: The building of the Daily Express Building, Manchester , which Williams designed. Contrary to popular belief, the Manchester building was the only one of the three Express Buildings which Williams designed – the others in Glasgow and London were designed by Ellis and Clark. Although Williams was more of an engineer than an architect, the Express Building in Manchester was lauded for its architecture and demonstrated his proficiency as an architect. Owen Williams' grandson, Richard Williams,
1891-505: The community at the Abbey. The poet A. E. Housman used Shropshire as the setting for many of the poems in his first book, A Shropshire Lad . Moreover, many of Malcolm Saville 's children's books are set in Shropshire. Additionally, D. H. Lawrence 's novella, St. Mawr , is partially set in the Stiperstones area of South Shropshire . The early 20th century novelist and poet Mary Webb
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1952-563: The county town on the UK motorway map for the first time. Traffic has to continue onto the dual carriageway A5 when the M54 ends at Wellington although the road surface or speed limits do not change at all, only the road classification. The M54 currently meets the M6 at junction 10A where there is no access to the northbound M6 or to the M6 Toll . Northbound access to the M6 is via the A449 from junction 2 and
2013-705: The current bridge across the A442, the plans would involve either having two motorway junctions immediately next to each other, or one complex flyover. Proposals for a 'Western Bypasses of Wolverhampton and Stourbridge ' were rejected by the government in 2003. In April 2021, a lengthy fire at a plastics recycling plant resulted in days of closures to provide access for firefighters. [REDACTED] A4640 – Donnington Telford Services B5072 – Lawley B5061 – Wellington *Ceremonial Counties Shropshire Shropshire ( / ˈ ʃ r ɒ p ʃ ər , - ʃ ɪər / ; historically Salop and abbreviated Shrops )
2074-489: The death of Ireland's parents. The playwright George Farquhar 's 1706 play The Recruiting Officer is set in Shrewsbury. The "father of English ballet", as well as the originator of pantomime, John Weaver , developed his art in Shrewsbury. A second generation dancing master in the town, he founded English ballet, founded pantomime, and wrote on the philosophy, theology, statecraft and biology embedded in his era's understating of dance. Later in life he came to publish on
2135-472: The development of distribution centres in Telford, and industrial estates such as Hortonwood and Stafford Park have provided employment in the area. Some of the highest pollution levels in the borough of Telford and Wrekin are along the M54, particularly in the urban area between junctions 5 and 7. The M54 is particularly busy in mid-August: it carries traffic to the Shrewsbury Flower Show from
2196-450: The early tenth century, the relics of St Alkmund were translated to Whitchurch, this was also probably the work of Æthelflæd. There is evidence to show that by the beginning of the 900s, Shrewsbury was home to a mint . Archaeological excavations at the site of Shrewsbury castle in 2019 have indicated that the castle itself may have been a fortified site in the time of the Saxons. After
2257-455: The east and it also carried traffic to the V Festival at Weston-under-Lizard from the south (via the M6) until 2017. The road runs west from junction 10A of the M6 motorway near Essington, Staffordshire ( Map ). It passes south of Featherstone near junction 1 and then north of Bushbury before reaching junction 2. Just before junction 3 with Albrighton the road enters Shropshire. It then passes to
2318-642: The founding years of Shrewsbury School under Thomas Ashton ; they attracted the attention of Queen Elizabeth I . Later this was expressed in the many arbours built in Shrewsbury for that town's particular tradition of pageantry and performance. Shakespeare memorialised the Battle of Shrewsbury in Henry IV, Part 1 , in Acts IV (Scenes and 3) and V (Scenes 1-5). The arrest of Buckingham referred to in Richard III ( Act IV, scene iv) happened near Wem. Ludlow castle
2379-708: The largest settlements in Britain. After the Roman occupation of Britain ended in the 5th century, the Shropshire area was in the eastern part of the Welsh Kingdom of Powys ; known in Welsh poetry as the Paradise of Powys . As 'Caer Guricon' it is a possible Shrewsbury was the site of the seat of the Kingdom of Powys in the Early Middle Ages. This would date establishment of the town to the 500s CE under Brochwel Ysgithrog . It
2440-568: The most direct route to the M6 Toll is via the congested A460 from junction 1. Plans for a link road between the M54 and the M6 Toll (M6 junction 11a) were supported in principle by the Secretary of State for Transport in 2003 and were put on display in 2006 with an expected construction date of 2012. The £102 million cost for the scheme would be paid for by The Macquarie Infrastructure Group (the company that owns Midland Expressway Ltd and operates
2501-463: The north of Shifnal . Between junction 4 and junction 5, the road passes across the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury railway line , and through the centre of Telford . Between junctions 6 and 7, the road runs around the south of Wellington before joining the A5 ( Map ), which continues on to Shrewsbury as dual carriageway . Telford Motorway Service Station opened on 18 March 2003 at junction 4, and
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2562-729: The period between the wars. After World War II he worked on developing the first plan for Britain's motorway system. His other works include the Dorchester Hotel , buildings at the Boots Factory Site in Beeston, Nottinghamshire , the M1 motorway and the Pioneer Health Centre in Peckham, south London. In the 1940s, the company expanded and became Sir Owen Williams and Partners. This followed
2623-466: The planting of 250,000 new trees, helped to camouflage the motorway from view, and cut down on the noise level. This aesthetic improvement project took two and a half years to complete and employed over 100 people. The recent strong economic growth and lower unemployment in the Telford area has been attributed to the construction of the motorway: unemployment in the mid-1980s peaked at over 20%, but by 2004 this figure had fallen to 3.3%. The motorway enabled
2684-711: The remains of the city of Viroconium Cornoviorum date from the Roman period. During the Anglo-Saxon era the area was part of Mercia . During the High Middle Ages the county was part of the Welsh Marches , the border region between Wales and England; from 1472 to 1689 Ludlow was the seat of the Council of Wales and the Marches , which administered justice in Wales and Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. During
2745-429: The roads which handled the commercial traffic to the port of Holyhead, destined for Ireland. With the proposal in the early 1960s for a new town to provide an overspill housing area for the West Midlands conurbation , then named Dawley New Town (designated as Telford in 1967), the M54 was becoming more likely to be built; the government also wanted to increase transport provision to the rest of Shropshire . In 1967
2806-421: The site, which led to a hole being dug as deep as a man's height. King Offa of Mercia annexed the entirety of Shropshire over the course of the 8th century from Powys, with Shrewsbury captured in 778, with two dykes built to defend, or at least demarcate it from the Welsh. King Offa converted the palace of the rulers of Powys into his first church, dedicated to St Chad (a foundation that still survives in
2867-408: The subject of dance, which he located in a wider understanding of his culture as representing a component of Ptolemaic harmony and an earnest part of the statecraft of his time. The first known architectural project of Inigo Jones is the Cotton monument in the Church of St Chad, Norton-in-Hales . There are a number of important buildings in the county. The world's first iron-framed building
2928-467: The town and operated on that initial site for over 1000 years, moving in 1792). In later centuries, Vikings repeatedly invaded and fortresses were built at Bridgnorth (912) and Chirbury (913). In 914, Æthelflæd , Lady of the Mercians, fortified Shrewsbury, along with two other fortresses, at Scergeat (a currently unknown location) and Weardbyrig , Viking rides from the north traveling south were reaching Bridgnorth at this time (910CE). In
2989-400: The west and forms a wide, flat valley before exiting into Worcestershire south of Bridgnorth. The village of Edgmond , near Newport , is the location of the lowest recorded temperature in England and Wales. There is evidence of Neolithic and Bronze Age human occupation in Shropshire, including the Shropshire bulla pendant. The hillfort at Old Oswestry dates from the Iron Age , and
3050-423: Was a Royalist stronghold, under the command of Sir Francis Ottley . In the autumn of 1642, Charles I had a temporary capital at Shrewsbury, though he immediately moved to Oxford after the events of the Battle of Wem . Prince Rupert established his headquarters in the town on 18 February 1644, being welcomed by Shrewsbury's aldermen. Much Wenlock was the birthplace of the modern Olympic movement. In
3111-465: Was an English engineer and architect, known for being the principal engineer for the original Wembley Stadium , and later Gravelly Hill Interchange (known popularly as Spaghetti Junction ) as well as a number of key modernist buildings , including the Express Building in Manchester and the D10 and D6 Buildings at the Boots Factory Site in Nottingham . Williams was born at 16 Caroline Terrace in Tottenham , London, England, on 20 March 1890. He
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#17329233071883172-402: Was awarded relatively late, to the company Norwest Holst. The junction precipitated the construction of Telford Shopping Centre , and the central commercial area, as the exchange was upgraded to allow traffic from the motorway to join and exit in both directions. The Forge to Cluddley section, from junction 5 to junction 7, opened to traffic in December 1975. The Hilton Park to Forge section, from
3233-467: Was born in Shropshire and lived most of her life there, and all her novels are set there, most notably Precious Bane , with its powerful evocation of the Shropshire countryside. A school in Pontesbury bears her name. Shropshire is widely believed to have been an influence for J. R. R. Tolkien 's landscape of the Shire in The Lord of the Rings . Specifically, the Wrekin (as The Lonely Mountain) and Ellesmere (as Laketown) are said to have inspired
3294-510: Was built in Shrewsbury at the Flaxmill Maltings : the techniques pioneered in that building were necessary preconditions for skyscrapers . Nash and Repton were active at Attingham Park . A rare Anglo-Saxon hall, which was a high status building from the Anglo Saxon period, and possibly a feasting hall or palace, was excavated at nearby Attingham in 2018; the dating window is between 400 AD and 1066. Owen Williams (engineer) Sir Evan Owen Williams (20 March 1890 – 23 May 1969)
3355-440: Was discovered in 2017 in the grounds of a church, the medieval Church of the Holy Fathers in Sutton , Shrewsbury, making it Britain's oldest place of worship. The Shropshire bulla ("bulla" is Medieval Latin for "a round seal", Classical Latin for "bubble, blob", plural bullae), also known as the Shropshire sun pendant, is a Late Bronze Age gold pendant found by a metal detectorist in 2018 in Shropshire. At Mitchel's Fold there
3416-427: Was governed via this council for several centuries. According to historian John Davies , at its peak under Sir Henry Sidney and for a period thereafter 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. During the English Civil War , Shropshire
3477-437: Was launched in 1940. Williams attended Tottenham Grammar School and excelled in mathematics. He was apprenticed to the Electrical Tramways Co. in London in 1907 and at the same time did an engineering degree at the University of London . In 1912, Williams assumed a position as engineer and designer with the Trussed Concrete Company . Seven years later, he started his own consulting firm, Williams Concrete Structures. He
3538-414: Was not finally determined until the 14th century. Also in this period, a number of religious foundations were formed, the county largely falling at this time under the Diocese of Hereford and that of Coventry and Lichfield . Some parishes in the north-west of the county in later times fell under the Diocese of St. Asaph until the disestablishment of the Church in Wales in 1920, when they were ceded to
3599-416: Was recognised for his achievements and received a knighthood in 1923 or 1924. Through the exhibition, Williams met its architect, Maxwell Ayrton , and they worked together on the design of Williams's bridges in Scotland. Williams designed his buildings as functional structures sheathed in decorative facades. More an engineer than an architect, he produced a series of reinforced concrete buildings during
3660-434: Was the son of Evan Owen Williams, a Welsh-born grocer and Mary Roberts. Originally both farmers, they moved to London some years before Owen was born. Williams had two sisters and two brothers. Mary Kate died young, but the second born, Elizabeth Maud, became an author. Owen had an older brother, Robert Osian, who was a successful banker and came out of retirement to manage the finances of his brother's engineering practice which
3721-406: Was then appointed chief consulting civil engineer to the British Empire Exhibition which included the old Wembley Stadium . The commission also included the Palace of Industry building in Brent, the first building in the United Kingdom to use concrete as the exterior. The building was listed in 1997 in recognition of this but was delisted in 2004 after an appeal by a property developer. Williams
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