Shrewsbury Folk

Over the August Bank Holiday weekend we visited Shrewsbury (sometimes pronounced Shrowsbury) for its annual folk festival.

This was by far the largest folk festival we had visited - the main concert marquee had seating for 3,000 and it was packed for most concerts. There were many, many excellent performances but for me Nancy Kerr & James Fagan as well the Quebecois trio, Genticorum, were outstanding. 

Full details of the festival can be found at http://www.shrewsburyfolkfestival.co.uk/

We also took time to see the sights of Shrewsbury - a place I had not visited since 1961 when Banbury Spencer (now Banbury United) lost 7-1 to Shrewsbury Town in the First Round of the FA Cup. Here are a few photos from our visit.

Shrewsbury Castle - now houses the Shropshire Regimental Museum, with artefacts from the King's Shropshire Light Infantry.

Shrewsbury Castle was originally an Anglo-Saxon timber fortification, guarding the only dry-shod approach to the town. The Norman castle, built of red sandstone, was founded by Roger de Montgomery in c1070.

During Summer 1138 King Stephen laid siege and captured the fortress, which was held by William FitzAlan for the Empress Maud. Apart from the gateway, very little of the Norman building survives. 

Much of it was demolished during the rebuilding and strengthening of the castle by Edward I in c1300, when an outer bailey was also added. It was never used as a fortress after this date. Elizabeth I gave the castle to the bailiffs and burgesses of Shrewsbury in 1586, and little was done to the building until the Civil War, when further alterations were made. It was captured by the Parliamentarians in 1645, and it was not until 1660, when Charles II was restored to the throne, that it was surrendered to the Crown.

Laura's Tower - a summer house built in 1790 for Laura Pulteney, the daughter of the owner

A view of the Severn from Laura's Tower

Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury on 12 February 1809

Some examples of some of the splendid buildings in the town

The Market Square

The Abbey

The Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey, was a Benedictine monastery founded in 1083 by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery. It is to the east of the town centre, near to the English Bridge. Notice how the clock is not in the centre of the tower.

A large amount of the monastery was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but a number of buildings, including the church were left intact. 

Thomas Telford built his A5 road through the remaining part of the Abbey and now only part of the original abbey church is still in existence, which is still used today as a place of worship. It is now famous for its prominent role in the "Cadfael" mysteries by Ellis Peters.

The Battle of Shrewsbury - 1403

The Battle of Shrewsbury was a battle fought on 21 July 1403, waged between an army led by the Lancastrian King, Henry IV, and a rebel army led by Henry "Hotspur" Percy from Northumberland. The battle was fought at what is now Battlefield some three miles north of the centre of Shrewsbury. It is marked today by Battlefield Church.

Details in the Battlefield Visitor Centre tell us that Tottenham Hotspur FC take their name from Harry "Hotspur" and that their ground White Hart Lane is named after the White Hart which was the emblem of Richard II - believe that if you will.