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Shrewsbury

Sights in Shrewsbury

  1. A

    Shrewsbury Castle

    Hewn from flaking red Shropshire sandstone, the town castle contains the Shropshire Regimental Museum, plus fine views from Laura's Tower and the battlements. The lower level of the Great Hall dates from 1150.

    reviewed

  2. B

    Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery

    The town museum is currently housed in the timbered Rowley's House from the 1590s (next to the lovely brick appendage of Rowley's Mansion from 1618), with exhibits ranging from Roman treasures to Shropshire gold, including the bronze age Perry Bracelet. The museum and tourist office are undergoing a slow move (due in 2013) to the Music Hall on the Square.

    reviewed

  3. C

    St Mary's Church

    The interior of this tall-spired medieval church contains a fabulous interior, graced with an impressive collection of stained glass, including a 1340 window depicting the Tree of Jesse, a Biblical representation of the lineage of Jesus, and a magnificent oak ceiling in the nave which largely collapsed in a huge gale in 1894 when the top of the spire blew off. Much of the glass in the church is sourced from the Continent, including some outstanding Dutch glass from 1500. There's a small cafe at the rear.

    reviewed

  4. D

    Old Market Hall

    At the other end of the High St to St Alkmond's Church in cute cobbled the Square is Shrewsbury's good-looking 16th-century Old Market Hall, whose upper levels contain the town's pocket-sized cinema and a cafe.

    reviewed

  5. E
  6. F
  7. G

    Quarry Park

    Stroll along the riverside to enjoy an ice cream in the tumbling gardens of Quarry Park.

    reviewed

  8. H

    St Mary's Cottage

    Take a peek at the tilted 17th-century St Mary's Cottage on your way to Shrewsbury Castle.

    reviewed

  9. I

    Ireland's Mansion

    The lordly timber-framed Ireland's Mansion is one of Shrewsbury's most magnificent black-and-white beauties.

    reviewed

  10. J

    St Chad's

    Listen to the cacophonous bells of odd 18th-century round church St Chad's, which dominates the top of Quarry Park.

    reviewed

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  12. K

    Shrewsbury Castle & Shropshire Regimental Museum

    Terracotta-coloured Shrewsbury Castle houses the stiff-upper-lip Shropshire Regimental Museum and has wonderful views.

    reviewed

  13. L

    Grope Lane

    The charmingly named and almost claustrophobically narrow Grope Lane features overhanging storeys that seem to close in around you.

    reviewed

  14. M

    Shrewsbury Library

    Opposite Shrewsbury Castle is the rather ostentatious Shrewsbury Library, with a statue of Shrewsbury's most famous son, Charles Darwin.

    reviewed

  15. N

    St Mary's Church

    Peek inside medieval St Mary's Church, which has one of the highest spires in England and the astonishingly vivid Jesse window of rare mid-14th-century glass.

    reviewed

  16. O

    Council House Gatehouse & Old Council House

    Near the entrance of Shrewsbury Castle is Jacobean-style Council House Gatehouse, dating from 1620, and Old Council House, where the Council of the Welsh Marches used to meet.

    reviewed

  17. P

    Bear Steps Hall

    From the atmospheric Fish Street, steps lead to the 14th-century Bear Steps Hall, now home to a small exhibition space. On the hall's other side is Butcher Row, home to more half-timbered lovelies.

    reviewed

  18. Q

    Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery

    The stunning timber-framed Tudor merchant's mansion and warehouse in which Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery is housed are as much of an attraction as its exhibits, which range from Roman finds to Darwin's times.

    reviewed

  19. R

    Market Hall

    The mellow-stone building balancing on chunky legs opposite the tourist office is Shrewsbury's 16th-century Market Hall, hub of the historic wool trade. A few pillars are still dented by rows of holes used to count how many fleeces were sold.

    reviewed

  20. S

    Henry Tudor House

    At the bottom of the High St on Wyle Cop, the seriously overhanging Henry Tudor House was where Henry VII stayed before the Battle of Bosworth.

    reviewed

  21. T

    Shrewsbury Abbey

    Famous as the setting for Ellis Peters' Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, the lovely red-sandstone Shrewsbury Abbey is all that remains of a vast, cruciform Benedictine monastery founded in 1083. Twice the setting for meetings of the English parliament, the Abbey church lost its spire and two wings when the monastery was dissolved in 1540. It sustained further damage in 1826 when engineer Thomas Telford ran the London–Holyhead road right through the grounds. Nevertheless, you can still see some impressive Norman, Early English and Victorian features, including an exceptional 14th-century west window.

    reviewed

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