77-706: The River Worfe is a river in Shropshire , England . The name Worfe is said to derive from the Old English meaning to wander (or meander) which the river is notable for in its middle section. Mapping indicates that the river begins at Cosford Bridge where the Cosford Brook and Albrighton Brook meet (Cosford Brook, a local name, is itself the confluence of the Ruckley Brook and Neachley Brook). It rises at Crackleybank on Watling Street , just north of Shifnal . It then forms
154-482: A market town at the centre of a system of local radial roads linking it with more rural, smaller settlements. Many of these roads crossed Bridgnorth at the point on the High Street where the town hall now stands. The River Severn historically also played a major role as a trading connection for the town, but is no longer generally navigable this far upstream. Bridgnorth is connected to Shrewsbury and Stourbridge by
231-774: 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
308-596: 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 the remains of the city of Viroconium Cornoviorum date from
385-441: 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
462-524: Is a town and civil parish in Shropshire , England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn . The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. Bridgnorth is named after a bridge over the River Severn, which was built further north than an earlier bridge at Quatford . The earliest historical reference to
539-500: 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
616-541: 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
693-683: 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
770-534: 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
847-591: 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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#1732851922651924-474: 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
1001-452: Is one of the steepest railways in the country and at least one source (the information panel outside the top station) claims it is both the steepest and shortest. It is the only functional inland funicular railway in England - there are about 15 more at English seaside towns. Originally, the railway was powered by a simple system using water and gravity, but was converted in 1943–44 to run on electricity. Then, in 1955, new cars were installed on
1078-597: The A458 road , Telford and Kidderminster by the A442 road , and Wolverhampton via the A454 road . The town is 11 miles (18 km) from the M54 motorway, at Telford. The A458 passes to the south of the town centre on a by-pass, construction of which was started in 1982 and now serves to relieve the town centre of the congestion that once plagued it. The bypass also provided a second bridge across
1155-569: The Bavarian town of Schrobenhausen , Germany that had already twinned with Thiers a few years earlier. On 21 August 2003 Bridgnorth was granted Fairtrade Town status. The town is located in the Severn Valley , where the river passes through a relatively narrow valley with largely-wooded slopes. High Town, the part of the town sited on the west side of the Severn, is built on a notable promontory , at
1232-517: The National Rail network are Telford and Wolverhampton. However, Bridgnorth does still have a station on an active heritage line, the Severn Valley Railway . Bridgnorth station was not the northern terminus of this line when built, but the main intermediate station, being 18 1 ⁄ 4 miles from Hartlebury and 22 1 ⁄ 2 miles from Shrewsbury . The station, which was opened to
1309-631: 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
1386-796: The River Severn while the top is adjacent to the ruins of Bridgnorth Castle . Opened on 7 July 1892 to great fanfare and the proclamation of a public holiday, the line is one of four funicular railways in the UK built to the same basic design - the others were the Clifton Rocks Railway in Bristol; the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway in Devon; and the Constitution Hill Railway in Aberystwyth, Wales. It
1463-859: 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 the English Civil War Shropshire
1540-675: The Roman Catholic St John's school; and, in addition, the Morville and Brown Clee schools. The town has two secondary schools : Oldbury Wells School and Bridgnorth Endowed School (previously named Bridgnorth Grammar School ). These serve the town and its outlying villages, including Alveley and Highley . There is a sixth form in Bridgnorth, Bridgnorth Sixth Form , which is run within Oldbury Wells School. A consultation
1617-506: The Wrekin and the local relay TV transmitters. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Shropshire , Heart West Midlands , Capital North West and Wales , Smooth West Midlands , Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire , Greatest Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire , and Severnvalley Radio, a community based station. The town is served by the local newspaper, Shropshire Star (formerly Bridgnorth Journal). Bridgnorth grew initially as
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#17328519226511694-525: 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
1771-425: The manor of Bridgnorth to Roger de Montgomerie . The town itself was not created until 1101, when Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury , the son of Roger de Montgomerie, moved from Quatford, constructing a castle and a church on the site of the modern-day town. The town became a royal borough on Robert Bellême's attainder in 1102. The castle's purpose was to defend against attacks from Wales . The town
1848-603: The military plans of Nazi Germany for an invasion of Britain. Two quiet Shropshire towns were mentioned in the documentation: Ludlow and Bridgnorth. Some experts believe that it was Hitler's intention to make Bridgnorth his personal headquarters in Britain, due to its central position in the UK, rural location, rail connections and airfield . In 1978, Bridgnorth was twinned with the French town of Thiers , and in 1992 it also twinned with
1925-415: The 13th and 15th centuries. By the 16th century, the antiquarian John Leland reported them in ruins and of the five gates, only one survives today. It is probable that Henry I granted the burgesses certain privileges, for Henry II confirmed to them all the franchises and customs which they had had in the time of Henry I. King John in 1215 granted them freedom from toll throughout England except
2002-638: 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
2079-803: The Bridgnorth Journal on 26 December 1914 and those killed in action are remembered on the war memorial, sculpted by Adrian Jones , in the castle grounds. Until 1961 the Royal Air Force 's initial recruit training unit was at RAF Bridgnorth , a station opened in 1939. During the Second World War , two women were killed in a German air raid in August 1940 when bombs hit neighbouring houses in High Town. In 2005, unverified German papers dating from 1941 were found, outlining new details about Operation Sea Lion ,
2156-468: 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
2233-588: 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
2310-571: 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
2387-588: The Midlands' main royalist strongholds, and in 1642 many royalist troops were garrisoned there. In 1646, Cromwell's Roundheads arrived with orders to take Bridgnorth for the Parliamentarians from the garrison led by Sir Robert Howard . After a three-week siege, Cromwell was successful and he ordered that the castle be demolished. Bridgnorth had an ironworks in Low Town run by Hazledine and Company which in 1808 built
River Worfe - Misplaced Pages Continue
2464-403: The Severn at Bridgnorth, which remains the only local alternative to the historic bridge that connects Low and High towns. The town is served by buses to and from Telford, Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, Much Wenlock , Ironbridge , Shifnal and Kidderminster. These are operated by Arriva Midlands , Select Bus Services, and Diamond Bus . Currently the closest towns with active railway stations on
2541-423: The Severn at an average rate of 10 feet per mile so that between the source and its mouth there is a drop of 200 feet (61 m). The river has two outlets to the River Severn, of which the southern emerging at Fort Pendlestone was formerly the mill leat serving Pendlestone Mill, the ancient corn mill of the town of Bridgnorth and long belonging to Bridgnorth Corporation. Due to the low flow problems affecting
2618-565: The Stratford Brook joins the Worfe it is also joined by a smaller watercourse which has the names of Cut Throat Brook, Claverley Brook and then Hilton Brook. Cut Throat Brook is so named after the area if flows through, but it is unknown as to how the area got its name. Mad Brook (also known as Madebrook) rises in Telford Town Park and has until 2014, been largely culverted and polluted. This
2695-567: The UK Downhill Street Race in cycling. In January 2010, the Kidderminster branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts expanded to Bridgnorth, providing the town with a part-time performing arts school for people of ages between 6 and 18. The Kidderminster School is now named "Stagecoach Kidderminster & Bridgnorth". Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central . Television signals are received from
2772-413: The boundary of that parish with Tong , Donington , and Albrighton . It then passes through Ryton (where it is joined by Wesley Brook), and Beckbury. There it is joined by Mad Brook, which takes its name from Madeley through where it first flows. Soon after, it forms the boundary between Stockton and Badger , before flowing through Worfield to join the River Severn . The river flows downhill to
2849-454: The city of London, and in 1227 Henry III conferred several new rights and liberties, among which were a gild merchant with a hanse . These early charters were confirmed by several succeeding kings, Henry VI granting in addition Assize of Bread and Ale and other privileges. The burgesses were additionally granted two fairs: a yearly fair on the feast of the Translation of St Leonard and
2926-505: 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
3003-625: The countryside to the east of the Severn and the settlement. The civil parish includes Danesford , Oldbury and Quatford . Bridgnorth is home to a funicular railway that links the High and Low towns, the Castle Hill Railway , which is the steepest and only inland railway of its type in England. Additionally, within the High Town is Bridgnorth railway station on the Severn Valley Railway , which runs southwards to Kidderminster . The ruins of Bridgnorth Castle , built in 1101, are present in
3080-489: 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
3157-450: 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
River Worfe - Misplaced Pages Continue
3234-402: 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 is generally flat in the north and hilly in
3311-730: The edge of Severn Park, which was purchased by the club in 1983. Work to convert the malting building into the boat house started in 1993. It competes in events in the local region and further afield, including attending the annual Head of the River Race on the Thames in London, and hosts an annual regatta with racing along the length of the Severn Park. Bridgnorth Army Cadets is the oldest Army Cadet detachment in Shropshire. The Army Cadet Force (ACF) in 2010 celebrated 150 years. In 2007, Bridgnorth hosted
3388-622: The first independent museum in Shropshire to be accredited by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council . Bridgnorth Town F.C. was the football club based in Bridgnorth. They joined the Worcestershire Combination in 1938 and twice reached the 5th round of the FA Vase . They won the championship of the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division in 2008. Affiliated to the club was
3465-491: 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
3542-414: 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
3619-473: The high town, they are commonly called The Queens Parlor by locals. One local legend tells of its occupation in AD 925 by a hermit called Ethelred or Ethelwald, a grandson to Alfred the Great. This may not be such an unlikely story as Bridgnorth was founded in 912 by Alfred the Great's daughter Ethelfleda. There are a number of primary schools in Bridgnorth, including: Castlefields County Primary School, two Church of England schools, St Mary's and St Leonard's;
3696-509: The junior section known as "Bridgnorth Town Juniors". The teams ranged from under 8s to under 16s and competed in the Telford Junior League. After folding, the club was effectively replaced by "phoenix club" A.F.C. Bridgnorth . Bridgnorth Spartans Juniors Football Club run junior and adult teams. These teams include boys' teams, ranging from Under-8s to Under-15s, girls' teams and women's teams. Home games are played at Oldbury Wells School. Bridgnorth Rowing Club occupies 'The Maltings' building on
3773-443: 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
3850-412: The line, Linley . There exists an ongoing debate whether the railway should extend beyond its current limits north of Bridgnorth. The Bridgnorth Cliff Railway, also known as the Bridgnorth Funicular Railway or Castle Hill Railway, is a funicular railway which has operated in Bridgnorth for over 100 years. The line links the lower part of High Town to the upper part. The bottom entrance is adjacent to
3927-445: The locomotive Catch Me Who Can designed and promoted by Richard Trevithick . A plaque on the foundry's site commemorates this association. By 1824, the borough and liberties of Bridgnorth were well defined. The population of the municipal borough in 1841 was 6,198, and that of the town was 5,770. More than 255 men from the Bridgnorth area volunteered in the first months of the First World War . Their names were published in
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#17328519226514004-400: 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 a population of 498,073. Telford (155,570), in
4081-416: The only listed railway station on the Severn Valley Railway. Necessitating that, any future plans to enhance visitor facilities will need to be carefully designed to be in keeping with the railway station's architecture and historic character. The line now ends just north of the modern-day station, where the line formerly bridged Hollybush Road and passed through Bridgnorth Tunnel and on to the next station on
4158-400: The public by the SVR on 1 February 1862, was passed to Great Western Railway (GWR) and then eventually to British Railways in 1948. It closed to passengers after 101 years of service on 8 September 1963 and to freight traffic on 30 November 1963. Although thought by some to have been closed as part of the Beeching cuts , its planned closure pre-dated his report. The neo-Jacobean station is
4235-411: The railway; these were able to carry 18 passengers each and are still in use today. As of April 2024 return tickets cost £2.00 with discounts available for groups of 15 or more. Single tickets are not available. The railway allows people to easily get between the two parts of High Town as the only other way down is down 200 steps or by using roads which drastically increase the journey. The terminals at
4312-432: The river in its upper reaches, a pipeline was constructed in 1998 between a borehole at Sheriffhales and Ruckley Brook north of the A5. The Severn Rivers Trust carried out remedial works to the river and its banks in March 2015. Six community groups and 27 volunteers installed 5 miles (8 km) of fencing, installed numerous eel and fish passes and created 4.6 miles (7.4 km) of new channelling in an effort to improve
4389-579: The river's ecological status. The river is fed by many smaller brooks within Shropshire; Ruckley, Wesley, Mad, Neachley, Albrighton, and Stratford Brooks, along with one other beck known as Badger Dingle. During the course of these headwaters flowing into the Worfe, they go through various names: Neachley has a Morning Brook flowing into it, Wesley Brook is composed of the River Sal and Hem Brook and Stratford Brook starts out as Pebble Brook before flowing into Patshull Great Pool and becoming first Pasford Brook, then Nun Brook, and finally Stratford Brook. Near where
4466-421: 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
4543-402: 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 the west and forms
4620-409: The southern end of which the castle was constructed, and is known as Castle Hill. Low Town is situated on lower-lying ground on the banks of the river. High Town is at an elevation of 65–68 metres (213–223 feet) above sea level, whilst Low Town is at 32–33 metres (105 feet). The lie of the land of Low Town is less hilly but then rises steeply to its immediate east. The West Midlands Green Belt covers
4697-408: 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
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#17328519226514774-401: The three following days was granted in 1359, and in 1630 Charles I granted them licence to hold another fair on the Thursday before the first week in Lent and two following days. The burgesses returned two members to parliament in 1295, and continued to do so until 1867, when they were assigned only one member. The town was disfranchised in 1885. During the Civil War, Bridgnorth was one of
4851-467: 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
4928-436: The town is in 895, when it is recorded that the Danes created a camp at Cwatbridge ; subsequently in 912, Æthelfleda constructed a mound on the west bank of the River Severn , or possibly on the site of Bridgnorth Castle , as part of an offensive against the Danes. Earliest names for Bridgnorth include Brigge, Brug and Bruges, all referring to its position on the Severn. After the Norman conquest , William I granted
5005-404: The town. Due to damage caused during the English Civil War , the castle is inclined at an angle of 15 degrees. High Town has two prominent Church of England churches. Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth , a church built in the classic style of the late 18th century, was designed by Thomas Telford ; and is still used for worship. St. Leonard's was formerly collegiate, and Bridgnorth
5082-412: The upper and lower part of the railway are currently used as tea-rooms and guest houses. The railway was temporarily closed in December 2022 due to damage to a retaining wall and further damage was discovered during repairs. The railway reopened on 4th March 2024. Bridgnorth is on National Route 45 of the Sustrans National Cycle Network, which is named the Mercian Way . The long-distance trail called
5159-414: 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, was discovered in 2017 in
5236-436: Was a Royal Peculiar until 1856. It was subsequently largely rebuilt but is no longer used for regular worship. It has many community uses and is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust . Bishop Percy's House on the Cartway was built in 1580 by Richard Forster and has been a Grade 1 listed building since 18 July 1949. It was one of the few properties of its type to survive the great fire of Bridgnorth in April 1646, and
5313-423: 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
5390-483: Was attacked and burnt by Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March during the Despenser War in 1322. A small Jewish community was established in the town in 1267, but was expelled in 1274; one of the community was arrested in a campaign against alleged Jewish coin clipping, a prelude towards Edward I 's Edict of Expulsion in 1290. Bridgnorth's town walls were initially constructed in timber between 1216 and 1223; murage grants allowed them to be upgraded to stone between
5467-467: 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
5544-566: 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. Bridgnorth Bridgnorth
5621-536: 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
5698-511: 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
5775-600: Was published which outlines consideration of no new student intake in September 2024 and potential closure in September 2025. In September 2023, Telford College made a deal with both Bridgnorth secondary schools. There is a theatre, the Theatre on the Steps , and a 1930s cinema, the Majestic . The Northgate Museum contains many artefacts connected with the town and surrounding area. It was
5852-488: Was remedied in a clean up campaign by the Shropshire Wildlife Trust, to return the covered sections to daylight and stop pollutants and run-off from poisoning the waters. Shropshire Shropshire ( / ˈ ʃ r ɒ p ʃ ər , - ʃ ɪər / ; historically Salop and abbreviated Shrops ) is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England, on the border with Wales . It is bordered by Cheshire to
5929-504: Was the birthplace of Thomas Percy (Bishop of Dromore) , author of 'Reliques of Ancient English Poetry'. Other notable buildings in the town are the 17th century Bridgnorth Town Hall , a half-timbered building, and a surviving town gate the Northgate which houses the museum. Daniel's Mill , a well known watermill is situated a short distance along the River Severn from Bridgnorth. The remains of an old hermitage can be seen from
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