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About Shropshire
Shropshire is England's largest
landlocked county, nonetheless it is still relatively unknown territory
to many. Because of its border with Wales, many places still bear Welsh
names and Welsh is still spoken in both Oswestry and Shrewsbury as well
as some smaller settlements.
Shropshire
is first and foremost an agricultural county, although the east Shosphire
coalfield and Ironbridge, with its powerful industrial heritage have made
their mark on the area's history.
During the
Middle Ages the region nowadays defined as Shropshire
was governed by the Marcher lords. Over this period, the border also vacillated
one way and another. Henry VIII brought an end to the Marcher Lords, and
it was during his reign that Shropshire finally became known in its present
form.
The geology
which shapes Shropshire's landforms is extremely varied, and many studies
have been done on the rock formations and features of the area.
The earliest
remains of buildings are in the form of the Iron Age hillforts which dot
many hilltops throughout the county. Wroxeter is Shropshire's only Roman
remain. Shrewsbury is know to have been more important than Wroxeter,
becoming the principal settlement in the area by about 900. The recent
growth of Telford has reduced the dominance of Shrewsbury as the county's
largest and most important town, which until that point had been relatively
unbroken. Most of Shropshire's other towns evolved in the 12th and 13th
century. Ludlow, Newport and Bridgnorth were founded as new towns, whereas
Whitchurch, Shifnal and Wellington arose from former Saxon settlements.
However,
during the Middle Ages and the 16th and 17th centuries Shropshire
was one of England's poorer counties, and it was not until the industrial
developments of the 18th century that this situation changed at all. Late
in this century, Shropshire became the foremost iron-producing area in
the country. This employed workers from all over Shropshire and Wales.
The iron bridge at Ironbridge was the first made of iron in the whole
world.
The surveyor,
Thomas Telford did much to develop the roads and canals leading out of
Shropshire to other parts of the country. Railway lines were also built
apace, although some of these made very little profit and did not even
survive until the Beeching cuts
of the 1960s.
During the
later 19th century and early 20th century iron and coal working gradually
declined, many people moved away to the Black Country or South Wales and
Shropshire returned to being a mainly agricultural county. Shropshire
has recently been successful in attracting back some light industry and
smaller concerns to the area.
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