# A tour of my home town, Shrewsbury, UK



## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

nothingman said:


> I used to live in Wolverhampton and I visited Shrewsbury a lot....loved the place. It has great charm, history, etc and the people were always very friendly (to me, at least).
> 
> Another 'gem' in Shropshire is Ironbrige...a place worth of another thread!
> 
> I even liked Telford...which is like the total opposite of Shrewsbury!


Yeah, Telford and Shrewsbury couldn't be more different considering they're only 20km apart.

Ironbridge is another great place in the local area.


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

Isn't Ironbridge an UNESCO world heritage?


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Kuesel said:


> Isn't Ironbridge an UNESCO world heritage?


That's right, the world's first iron bridge (thus the original name) constructed in 1779 and historic 18th century early industrial village in a nice little river gorge.


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## JDRS (Feb 8, 2004)

Beautiful place


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

JDRS said:


> Beautiful place


Thanks, i'll have to take some more one of these weekends, there are a few new projects which have started to take shape since these were taken.


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## Awayo (Sep 30, 2002)

Excellent stuff, Jonesy. I enjoyed that.


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## Ore (Jun 6, 2006)

Thanks for the tour


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## Lee (Jun 2, 2003)

Excellent! I love the green vegetation, the brick architecture, and the lovely churches (like the one that 1,000 years old!). Amazing. England is officially not just London. I will likely stop in that town when I visit the UK. It combines beautiful nature with a lively urban center. 

Tell me, do restaurants close early?

The menu that you showed was remarkably affordable. Looks like good food


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## salvius (Aug 4, 2004)

I love, LOVE, LOVE quaint English towns with just PERFECT street scale, I love them more than English cities (London being the excep.). Are they looking for urban planners or municipal policy analysts by any chance?


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## WinoSoul (Sep 14, 2005)

It's beautiful!! Loved houses


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Lee said:


> Excellent! I love the green vegetation, the brick architecture, and the lovely churches (like the one that 1,000 years old!). Amazing. England is officially not just London. I will likely stop in that town when I visit the UK. It combines beautiful nature with a lively urban center.
> 
> Tell me, do restaurants close early?
> 
> The menu that you showed was remarkably affordable. Looks like good food


I would definitely recommend that restaurant, very tasty dishes with some good local ingredients and a nice atmosphere :eat:

The restaurants do close fairly early, places like that probably close at about 2300 while Indian restaurants are usually open until a couple of hours later.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

salvius said:


> I love, LOVE, LOVE quaint English towns with just PERFECT street scale, I love them more than English cities (London being the excep.). Are they looking for urban planners or municipal policy analysts by any chance?


Glad you liked the photos.

Don't know about jobs, the local council websites might have something?

http://www.shrewsbury.gov.uk

http://www.shropshire.gov.uk


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## matherto (Oct 17, 2005)

Oswestry isn't very far from Shrewsbury is it? because I did my DofE expedition there and the countryside is trully beautiful


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## lovecharlie (Aug 4, 2005)

Great photos, beautiful English countryside town.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

matherto said:


> Oswestry isn't very far from Shrewsbury is it? because I did my DofE expedition there and the countryside is trully beautiful


Not far no, it's only about 20 miles away.


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## Snowy (Nov 6, 2006)

Nice pics of a nice place.

Got any pics of Telford? People have said that it's very different to Shrewsbury and I'm intrigued as to what it might be like - perhaps a 19th century industrial town, or a town dominated by 60s architecture?


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

SnowyBoy1 said:


> Nice pics of a nice place.
> 
> Got any pics of Telford? People have said that it's very different to Shrewsbury and I'm intrigued as to what it might be like - perhaps a 19th century industrial town, or a town dominated by 60s architecture?


It's basically several small industrial towns/villages that have had the gaps between them filled in with new developments since the late 1960s.

It's a bit like Milton Keynes with lots of roundabouts, retail parks etc but with older bits too, including the Ironbridge Gorge UNESCO world heritage site.

Most of the architecture is more 1980s glass/plastic/brick rather than 1960s concrete as the town was still in its infancy in the 60s.

It's not the most exciting town but employment prospects are good there, lots of work in IT, Japanese manufacturing companies etc.

Telford Plaza is probably the most recognisible building in the town centre.


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## Snowy (Nov 6, 2006)

Yep, very different to Shrewsbury. Definitely doesn't sound as nice as Shrewsbury, but then I imagine that most people living in Shrewsbury work there and use the retail parks etc, so it's a place that definitely serves a purpose! Ironbridge looks very nice.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

SnowyBoy1 said:


> Yep, very different to Shrewsbury. Definitely doesn't sound as nice as Shrewsbury, but then I imagine that most people living in Shrewsbury work there and use the retail parks etc, so it's a place that definitely serves a purpose! Ironbridge looks very nice.


Not sure about the retail parks, we have plenty of those ourselves on the outskirts of town with all the usual supermarkets, DIY chains, ToysRUS, Matalan blah blah etc. A lot of Shrewsbury people do work in Telford though and others work in Wolverhampton or (like me) Birmingham. 

A few years ago Shrewsbury was almost in danger of becoming a dormitory for Telford workers as that was where all the investment and job creation was taking place but there have been quite a few new office developments/business parks opening in Shrewsbury over the past few years so I think the situation is better now.


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## FiL (Oct 8, 2005)

*Three Fishes*

Spent an afternoon about a year ago in Shrewbury on the way to visiting a friend in Bangor. Really nice, and the Three Fisges was a great pub.


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## city_life (Apr 4, 2007)

wow this is really great.. thank you for sharing these very nice English pictures


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

^^ Thank you for looking at them


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## canucker16 (Jan 13, 2008)

wow. looks gorgeous and LUSH! a lot more lush than the fields of open countryside i'm used to seeing in England. 

great photos!


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## Sandboy (Jan 27, 2005)

used to visit Shrewsbury a lot when my sister lived there, many happy memories of lovely pubs and lovely Wem beer


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Sandboy said:


> used to visit Shrewsbury a lot when my sister lived there, many happy memories of lovely pubs and lovely Wem beer


Unfortunately Wem Ales is no more, the brewery closed in the late 80s. There are still some good Shropshire brewers making some very tasty ales though! :cheers:


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## cheriah (Apr 6, 2008)

After seeing these pics, I really want to move to Shrewsbury! Many thanks for sharing.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

cheriah said:


> After seeing these pics, I really want to move to Shrewsbury! Many thanks for sharing.


And you would be most welcome, where do you currently live?


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## Gherkin (May 30, 2005)

_Jonesy_, I'm moving to Leeds in September, so whilst I'm still living near Shrewsbury, I'll post some of my favourite pictures of the town:

The Quarry Park:


















St. Chad's Church:









Shrewsbury Castle:









The Dingle Gardens:


















The Boathouse (best place to go for a drink in all of Shropshire):









The High Street:









Wonky Tudor houses:



























May there be many more Shrewsbury forumers to come :cheers:


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

^^ Nice pics, make sure you come back occasionally and have a great time in Leeds!

The Boathouse is a good spot for a drink on a nice sunny summer day :yes:


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## youo (May 3, 2008)

shreswbury looks so boring in pictures i have been a few times and some parts are a right dump you should show some pictures of sundorne grange monkmoore meol ect


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

This town looks very nice


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

youo said:


> shreswbury looks so boring in pictures i have been a few times and some parts are a right dump you should show some pictures of sundorne grange monkmoore meol ect


:lol: Thanks for your comments youo kay:

I haven't got many pictures of those areas but for those that don't know they are just standard residential suburbs like you find in most British towns. I'll try to get out and take some soon and I'll add them to the thread when I do.

This area in Sundorne is just about as 'ghetto' as it gets in Shrewsbury and it's not really that bad.



















Sorry you don't like the town but hey, you can't please everybody. 

There is actually plenty to see and do in the town and the surrounding area, I can't say I find it boring, maybe for 16-24 year olds it's not so great but for adults and for young kids it's a great place to live imo.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

christos-greece said:


> This town looks very nice


Thanks! kay:


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## Snowy (Nov 6, 2006)

youo said:


> shreswbury looks so boring in pictures i have been a few times and some parts are a right dump you should show some pictures of sundorne grange monkmoore meol ect


What a fool!!!!!!

You do realise that every town or city in the world has it's bad parts right? Now if you wanted to look at pictures of a city that interested you, say Paris or New York, would you want them to post pictures of the nice parts or the bad parts........in which case do you really think that there's any point in Jonesy posting pictures of the few bad parts on the outskirts of town, or of the pretty town centre and richer suburbs?!

I'm guessing that you're very young, judging by the fact that you think that it looks "boring". How's about "charming" instead? Not every town or city has to be exciting to be good and what you fail to see is that many people from all over the world would love to visit Shrewsbury, as it is a charming town and quintessentially English.


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## Snowy (Nov 6, 2006)

Jonesy55 said:


> :lol: Thanks for your comments youo kay:
> 
> I haven't got many pictures of those areas but for those that don't know they are just standard residential suburbs like you find in most British towns. I'll try to get out and take some soon and I'll add them to the thread when I do.
> 
> ...


Terrifying, I wouldn't dare to go to such a terrible area for fear of being shot at or stabbed.


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## miau (Dec 22, 2008)

The center of Shrewsbury looks very unique, I have not seen similar buildings in the UK before. Is this medieval architecture or an 'imitation'? I understand that this kind of architecture became very popular in the 19th and early 20th century.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

miau said:


> The center of Shrewsbury looks very unique, I have not seen similar buildings in the UK before. Is this medieval architecture or an 'imitation'? I understand that this kind of architecture became very popular in the 19th and early 20th century.


kay: Most of these buildings are from the Tudor period in the late middle ages but there are some built in the early 20th century in the 'revival' style. You can usually tell the difference because the imitation style is 'neater'.

Tudor



















early 20th century house in neo-tudor style


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## Skyprince (May 2, 2006)

I hope you don't mind if I say this- Among all 31 countries I've been, UK is so far the dullest place, and I didn't expect so since I always thought London and UK is a vibrant, thriving, and energetic location. 

I was in London and Southwest, covered Exeter, Plymouth, Cornwall, Bristol, plus every town along the railway track between Paddington and Exeter's St David Sta. 

I don't know about Shrewsbury, and northern part of UK, but Shrewsbury seems alot nicer than Exeter where I stayed. Do you usually shop in Argos & Sainsbury , Jonesy ?


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

^^ No, I don't mind at all, everybody has their own preferences. I guess that whether any country appeals to you depends on what type of stuff you are interested in.

I've only been to Exeter once, I seem to remember that it had a nice cathedral but don't recall much else.

I occasionally shop in Sainsburys but hardly ever in Argos, the last time I went there was probably several years ago. Why do you ask?


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## Snowy (Nov 6, 2006)

Skyprince said:


> I hope you don't mind if I say this- Among all 31 countries I've been, UK is so far the dullest place, and I didn't expect so since I always thought London and UK is a vibrant, thriving, and energetic location.
> 
> I was in London and Southwest, covered Exeter, Plymouth, Cornwall, Bristol, plus every town along the railway track between Paddington and Exeter's St David Sta.
> 
> I don't know about Shrewsbury, and northern part of UK, but Shrewsbury seems alot nicer than Exeter where I stayed. Do you usually shop in Argos & Sainsbury , Jonesy ?


The South West of England is a lot quieter than the rest of the country (apart from Bristol), although much of it is very beautiful (you can exclude Plymouth!). Remember also that what you see as "dull", many other people would find quiet and charming, it sounds like you need to get away from the South West!

If you want to see "vibrant Britain", you need to go to places like Manchester, Brighton, Newcastle and Glasgow.....and London of course!


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Well I like it!


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

Wonderful job. Some of those areas are so cute.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

kay:

:colgate:


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## SO143 (Feb 11, 2011)

Very lovely town


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

I just went through the thread, Shrewsbury looks lovely!

In the ealier photos there are some cars which are very rare today


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## Maipo Valley (Feb 3, 2008)

nice thread.


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## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

kay:.....very nice pics...thanks.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Didn't notice this thread had been bumped, glad you liked it guys kay:


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Ok, an update, some pictures from yesterday, an afternoon walk into the town, around the park, and a look at some of the shops. It's interesting to see how many of these shops have changed in the few years since I began this thread...

About 3 minutes after leaving home we arrive at the river walkway that leads to the main park in the town.










A view of some townhouses on a hill from the riverside path.









Then the park itself, people out enjoying the cool autumn sunshine






















































A quick rest in the gardens at the centre of the park. The summer flowers now replaced by autumn leaves.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Then out of the park and into the central area but first a quick look into an atmospheric churchyard, with houses and apartments overlooking the gravestones



























Shopping on a Saturday, seems like the whole town has the same idea.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Looking in windows, looking at buildings, looking at menus, my favourite shopping activity, better than buying stuff and cheaper!


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## balthazar (Jul 19, 2007)

It's really a nice town!


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

I've only been to Shrewsbury once - I found it very attractive.

I have, however, been to other places in Shropshire - in fact we were looking at moving there at one point. Shropshire is one of the loveliest English counties - and so little visited by outsiders or foreign visitors.

For a real taste of England - outside of the south-east and the big cities - then Shropshire is certainly worth consideration. In my opinion, of course.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Thanks guys, glad you liked them. Yes there many pleasant places in the wider county too and its within easy reach of Liverpool, Manchester or Birmingham for a day trip.


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## Ancestralvoices (Nov 23, 2011)

Terrific photos! Brought back some memories. My travel companion and I spent a few days there in July of 11 (we are from the US) and out of our 25 days in England, this was one of our favorite places. Everyone was very friendly, the town was beautiful, and we met some teachers who were home from teaching English in other parts of Europe and they partied with us(a neat indoor/outdoor pub near Fish St?--something like that). Anyway we had the greatest time with them. Also drove out to Church Stretton and climbed the Long Mynd---just stunning--and I now understand A E Housman's reasons for loving those "blue remembered hills". Our American ears were humored, though, by the STRONG opinions of how to correctly pronounce Shrewsbury. Some insisted it should be pronounced SHROWSbury whereas other's were just as adamant that it be called SHROOSbury. Great time in a great town! Thanks for all the wonderful pics.


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## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

cool photos from Shrewsbury....kay:


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Ancestralvoices said:


> Terrific photos! Brought back some memories. My travel companion and I spent a few days there in July of 11 (we are from the US) and out of our 25 days in England, this was one of our favorite places. Everyone was very friendly, the town was beautiful, and we met some teachers who were home from teaching English in other parts of Europe and they partied with us(a neat indoor/outdoor pub near Fish St?--something like that). Anyway we had the greatest time with them. Also drove out to Church Stretton and climbed the Long Mynd---just stunning--and I now understand A E Housman's reasons for loving those "blue remembered hills". Our American ears were humored, though, by the STRONG opinions of how to correctly pronounce Shrewsbury. Some insisted it should be pronounced SHROWSbury whereas other's were just as adamant that it be called SHROOSbury. Great time in a great town! Thanks for all the wonderful pics.


:laugh: Yes, that topic is the subject of endless debate with both sides insistent that they are correct. Basically you can pick whichever you prefer, it doesn't really matter as you will be wrong for 50% of the population whichever you choose. 

Glad you enjoyed your time in the area, maybe we'll welcome you back some day. 

PS, would this be the indoor/outdoor pub you visited?

http://www.bullinnshrewsbury.com/page/7/beer-garden.htm


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## Ancestralvoices (Nov 23, 2011)

Jonesy,

I don't think that's the pub. I Facebooked one of the people we met there who is from Shrewsbury and I'm sure she will get back with me to tell me the name. What I remember is that we walked into what looked like a "shut", were immediately in a sort of courtyard, and if we went straight it took us into the outside area(perhaps up a few steps-not sure), and if we sort of veered right and then straight that took us inside. We could also enter from the right side of the outside area. For some reason I keep thinking it had the term "Bank" in it's name. Also nearby were those 2 opposing churches, and one of the older professors told us that the towers were built to compete with one another. 
I'll let you know when she gets back to me. 
I wonder if you know any of those teachers? Is Shrewsbury a small enough town where many people can know each other? All in their 20's 30's and an older professor as well. Such a fun time and town! I really want to return again.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Ah, I think you are maybe talking about The Old Post Office pub?



















The town itself is home to around 75,000 people so its not quite small enough to know everybody but I do know a few teachers here, they mostly teach at local schools though rather than in other countries...


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## Ancestralvoices (Nov 23, 2011)

YES! That's it! How did you happen to have these pics? Just looking at those is making me feel nostalgic again.

Well, I don't want to give their full names on a public forum but some first names of this group are: Alice(teaches in Italy), James, another James(older--sort of leader), Rosa(German girlfriend of another tall lanky witty Englishman whose name I have forgotten), and Louie(VERY VERY funny young dirty minded Welshman--this guy was a riot and I hope you do know him!). Most of them teach in Shrewsbury.


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