93-587: Ketley is a large village and part of Telford in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire , England . It is a civil parish . Immediately to the north of Ketley is Hadley . East Ketley is currently being re-developed as part of the Telford Millennium Community , part of the Millennium Communities Programme . It will consist of around 750 new homes and some live/work units,
186-486: A dozen Irish prisoners were selected to be killed after picking lots. This prompted Rupert to respond by executing Parliamentarian prisoners in Oswestry . By the 18th century Shrewsbury had become an important market town and stopping point for stagecoaches travelling between London and Holyhead with passengers on their way to Ireland; this led to the establishment of a number of coaching inns, many of which, such as
279-413: A few miles north of the town centre, between King Henry IV and Henry Percy (Hotspur) , with the king emerging victorious. Hotspur's body was taken by Thomas Neville , to Whitchurch , for burial. However, when rumours circulated that Percy was still alive, the king "had the corpse exhumed and displayed it, propped upright between two millstones, in the market place at Shrewsbury". That being done, Percy
372-565: A hillfort near Baschurch . The Historia Divae Monacellae , composed in the 14th or 15th century, says that Brochwel Ysgithrog , the 6th-century king of Powis, had a palace at Shrewsbury that became the site of the foundation of St Chad. In the late 8th century, it is said that Offa took the town for the Mercians in 778, and he is associated by some sources with establishing the town's first church and dedicating it to St Chad . If so, then there may have been an ecclesiastical foundation in
465-662: A large extent constructed during the Industrial Revolution on the Shropshire Coalfield. The M54 motorway was completed in 1983, improving the town's road links with the West Midlands conurbation , Wolverhampton is 19 miles (31 km) south east and Birmingham is 28 miles (45 km) in the same direction. In the 2011 census, the town had a population of 142,723 while in 2017, the wider borough had an estimated population of 175,271. It
558-605: A lock of the emperor's hair, presented to an officer of the 53rd, remains to this day in the collections of the Soldiers of Shropshire Museum at Shrewsbury Castle. HM Prison Shrewsbury , when new in the Georgian period, was considered a national example of improved conditions and more enlightened penal policy. Times change and a 2005 report on prison population found that it was the most overcrowded in England and Wales , despite
651-568: A member of the Stanley family he was admitted. Thomas Mytton, the Bailiff of the town, a supporter of Richard III , had vowed that the only way he would get through was "over his dead body". Thomas then lay down and allowed Henry to step over him, to free himself from his oath. Henry was accommodated in the building now known as Henry Tudor House on Wyle Cop. In 1490, Henry VII, accompanied by his queen and his son, Prince Arthur , celebrated
744-452: A new primary school, some small offices and retail and leisure services in a masterplan designed by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands . The site originally consisted of just a small terrace of Victorian houses amid old mineshafts, colliery spoil, a golf course (which was later used as a driving range) and playing fields. Most of the site has been left fallow for many years and some areas have become locally important habitats for wildlife. Ketley
837-444: A new town. Six monastic houses, founded in the 11th and 12th centuries, had large interests in the area's economic growth. They collectively acquired almost half of the area and profited from coal and ironstone mines and iron smithies on their estates. The area was the site of the 1821 Cinderloo Uprising , which saw 3,000 people protest against the lowering of wages for those working in the local coal industry. The protests resulted in
930-534: A north–south artery road. The majority of bus services in the area are operated by Arriva Midlands from its garage at Stafford Park, which replaced the original Midland Red garage in Wellington. Banga Bus operate service 891 to Wolverhampton via Shifnal and Tettenhall , replacing the original service operated by Midland Red which was latterly operated by Arriva Midlands . Between 1 June 2021 and January 2022, Chaserider launched service X14 to Cannock and
1023-515: A plague in Viroconium around this time. It is claimed that Pengwern , sometime capital of the Kingdom of Powis (itself established by the 440s), was at Shrewsbury. The first attested association of Pengwern with Shrewsbury is mentioned by Giraldus Cambrensis in the 12th century. Alternative suggestions as to the location of Pengwern include Whittington Castle near Oswestry , and Berth,
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#17327805460581116-485: A refurbished library, various chain restaurants, Cineworld IMAX Cinema, a bowling alley/arcade and a new multi-storey car park. Telford town centre lies about 16 miles (26 km) east/south-east of Shrewsbury and 20 miles (32 km) north-west of Wolverhampton . The town covers 7,803 hectares (30.13 square miles) and its southern and eastern parts, between the Severn Gorge and Donnington Wood , include
1209-479: A relatively low car ownership. In 2004 Telford & Wrekin council was awarded 'Beacon Status' for improving access to public transport. Being a new town with a planned transport infrastructure, the town features relatively few traffic problems, in comparison to the urban areas of Birmingham or medieval streets of Shrewsbury . The M54 reduces through-traffic on local roads, and the A442 Queensway acts as
1302-511: A role in nurturing aspects of English culture, including drama , ballet , dance and pantomime . Located 9 miles (14 km) east of the England–Wales border , Shrewsbury serves as the commercial centre for Shropshire and parts of mid-Wales, with a retail output of over £299 million per year and light industry and distribution centres, such as Battlefield Enterprise Park , on the outskirts. The A5 and A49 trunk roads come together as
1395-595: A sixth-form college located in Wellington . In September 2017 the two colleges merged to form Telford College . There are four other sixth forms located at Haberdashers' Abraham Darby , Holy Trinity Academy , Madeley Academy and Thomas Telford School . Telford is home to The University of Wolverhampton Business School (UWBS) campus and the School of the Built Environment. Harper Adams University ,
1488-470: A town in a town”, e.g. Wellington (Town) Telford (Town). The new town's residents who arrived in the 1960s and 1970s earned the unwanted nickname 'overspill' from people living in the existing towns and villages. In 2007 a £250 million regeneration plan for the town centre was announced, which includes the pedestrianisation of the road surrounding the shopping centre and the creation of new cafés, bars and shops which would lead to 1,750 new jobs. The reason for
1581-567: A university specialising in land-based education is located 9.5 miles to the northeast at Edgmond , near Newport. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central . Television signals are received from the nearby Wrekin TV transmitter situated south east of Telford. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Shropshire , Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire , Greatest Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire and Capital North West & Wales . The Shropshire Star
1674-663: Is The Iron Bridge , located in Ironbridge . It was the first bridge of its size in the world made out of cast iron . In the same area is the Ironbridge Gorge , a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The most important landmark in the area is The Wrekin hill. There is also the Lilleshall Monument erected on Lilleshall Hill to the north-east, to the 1st Duke of Sutherland . Telford has a number of primary and secondary schools. These range from academies such as
1767-664: Is also published by the Shropshire star. However, the building was demolished in 2023, and moved to Telford Town Centre. There have been job losses, with the movement of 500 Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO) jobs at the MoD base at Sapphire House , Telford town centre, to Bristol . The sugar beet factory at Allscott closed in 2007. In 2019 a joint venture called Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land installed itself in Telford, not far from Babcock DSG . Together they are responsible for
1860-639: Is close to the county's eastern boundary, and near the River Severn . The notable hill near the town called The Wrekin is part of the Shropshire Hills , an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . To the south of the town is the Ironbridge Gorge , a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Places around the Ironbridge Gorge area, which were developed into the town itself, are internationally recognised as being "The Birthplace of Industry" being to
1953-501: Is owing to provision made by its head master, the excellent and worthy Thomas Ashton ", the school's first head master. During the English Civil War , Shrewsbury was a Royalist stronghold, under the command of Sir Francis Ottley . In the autumn of 1642 Charles I had a temporary base in the town. Prince Rupert established his headquarters in the town on 18 February 1644, being welcomed by Shrewsbury's aldermen. He
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#17327805460582046-434: Is sited on the River Severn , 33 miles (53 km) northwest of Wolverhampton , 15 miles (24 km) west of Telford , 31 miles (50 km) southeast of Wrexham and 53 miles (85 km) north of Hereford . At the 2021 census , the parish had a population of 76,782. Shrewsbury has Anglo-Saxon roots and institutions whose foundations dating from that time represent a cultural continuity possibly going back as far as
2139-464: Is the most populous settlement in Shropshire, Shrewsbury is second and is 15 miles (24 km) to the west of the town. It is near Staffordshire : Stafford is 21 miles (34 km) to the east and Stoke-on-Trent is 25 miles (40 km) north east from the town. The town is polycentric, having been designated under the New Towns Acts in 1963 and 1968 and developed between the 1960s to
2232-612: Is the town's local weekly newspaper. Telford is situated at the terminus of the M54 motorway , a spur of the M6 linking the town with Wolverhampton and the West Midlands , and on the A5 road between Shrewsbury and Cannock . Telford Central railway station is situated on the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton Line . The town also has Oakengates railway station and Wellington railway station on
2325-852: The Challenger 2 Life Extension Project . Aqueduct, Brookside, Dawley Bank, Doseley, Hollinswood, Heath Hill, Horsehay , Lawley, Lawley Bank, Lightmoor, Little Dawley, Malinslee, Newdale, Old Park, Overdale, Randlay, Stirchley, Sutton Hill, The Rock, Tweedale, Woodside. Arleston, Donnington, Donnington Wood, Hadley, Hartshill, Haybridge, Ketley , Ketley Bank, Ketleybrook, Ketleyhill, Leegomery, Muxton, Priorslee , Priorslee Village, Red Lake, Snedshill, St Georges, Trench, Trench Lock, Wombridge, Wrockwardine Wood. Blists Hill , Coalbrookdale , Coalport , Dawley , Ironbridge , Jackfield , Madeley , Newport , Oakengates , Wellington , Admaston , Bratton , Dothill and Shawbirch . Hadley Castle, Halesfield, Hortonwood, Stafford Park The commercial centre of
2418-808: The Earls of Tankerville . St John the Baptist hospital passed to the Wood family and became almshouses. At this time the shrine and relics of St Winifred were destroyed. The Council of Wales and the Marches was established during the 1470s by Edward IV with a headquarters in the town. Its buildings partly survive near the castle and were later adapted to be an episcopal palace, the council also met at Ludlow Castle . Members of this council included John Dudley, Earl of Warwick , Sir Henry Sidney , William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke , and Sir Rowland Hill , publisher of
2511-554: The Forest of Arden , a thickly wooded area, unpenetrated by Roman roads and somewhat dangerous in medieval times, so that travellers would pray at Coughton before entering. In 1102, Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury was deposed and the title forfeited, as a consequence of him rebelling against Henry I and joining the Duke of Normandy 's invasion of England in 1101. William Pantulf , Lord of Wem , assisted Henry in putting down
2604-542: The Geneva Bible and potential inspiration for a hero in Shakespeare's As You Like It . Its functions were interpreted widely. It was to hear all suits, civil and criminal, which were brought by individuals too poor to sue at common law; it was to try all cases of murder, felony, piracy, wrecking and such crimes as were likely to disturb the peace; it was to investigate charges of misgovernment by officials and
2697-547: The M54 motorway was completed, connecting the town to the M6 and thence the rest of the UK's motorway network. Other major roads are the A5 , A518 and A442 , which is commonly known as the Eastern Primary or EP , and is officially branded Queensway . Many of the new town's residents were originally from the West Midlands conurbation , which includes Wolverhampton , Birmingham, Dudley and Walsall . A majority of
2790-512: The McArthur Glenn West Midlands Designer Outlet. but was withdrawn due to low usage. A number of council contract services operate under the 'Travel Telford' brand, including Arriva Midlands service 99, Chaserider services 100, 102, 103 and 104 and Select Bus service 101. These were introduced to link local employment opportunities, schools and villages previously without bus services. Notably
2883-556: The Mercian Regional Football League . This Shropshire location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Telford Telford ( / ˈ t ɛ l f ər d / ) is a town in Shropshire , England. It is the administrative centre of Telford and Wrekin borough , a unitary authority which covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding settlements. The town
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2976-612: The Reform UK party. The current MP since the election is Shaun Davies (Labour). Some suburbs, such as Wellington, are located in The Wrekin , which also has varying support between the Conservatives and Labour. Conservative Mark Pritchard was reelected as the latter seat's MP in 2024, and has now held the seat continuously since 2005. Telford is administratively part of the West Midlands region . In 1963 Dawley new town
3069-665: The Telford Langley School to City Technology Colleges like the Thomas Telford School . 8 miles (13 km) to the north are Adams' Grammar School and Newport Girls High School selective schools located in nearby Newport . Wrekin College , an independent co-educational boarding and day school, is located in the Wellington area of Telford. Further education was handled by Telford College of Arts and Technology (TCAT) and Telford New College ,
3162-583: The Telford and Wrekin borough. These are used for electoral purposes and demographic surveys. Telford was created politically – but its attempts to make a cohesive town from the fusion of other independent towns: Wellington , Madeley , Hadley , Oakengates , Dawley , Ironbridge and Donnington have largely been successful. Despite this, the town has much clearer divisions than in other older towns, such as nearby Shrewsbury, which have developed into one consolidated urban area over time. Some small settlements to
3255-452: The Wrekin , a large hill of 407 m (1335 ft), south-west of Wellington, straddling the border with the unitary Shropshire Council (before the latter's creation in 2009 the borough of Shrewsbury and Atcham ). Within the borough of Telford & Wrekin , the town is entirely parished . Telford has no single town council because of this. The town is also divided into Wards, within
3348-412: The council house tenants in Telford were rehoused from inner-city Birmingham. The rehousing affected existing communities, who were sometimes resentful of the changes. As a result some individuals still refuse to put Telford in their address, instead using the original local name (such as Wellington or Dawley) and often citing the existence of town Councils as support for the argument "you can't live in
3441-432: The 100 (nicknamed 'Express 100') runs seven days a week and on evenings. Shrewsbury 52°42′29″N 2°45′14″W / 52.708°N 2.754°W / 52.708; -2.754 Shrewsbury ( / ˈ ʃ r oʊ z b ər i / SHROHZ -bər-ee , also / ˈ ʃ r uː z -/ SHROOZ - ) is a market town , civil parish and the county town of Shropshire , England. It
3534-520: The 1220s, there was also a general hospital dedicated to St John the Baptist. In January 1234 Prince Llywelyn ab Iorwerth of Wales and Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke burned down the town and laid siege to its castle. In 1283, Edward I summoned a parliament in Shrewsbury, later adjourned to Acton Burnell , to try and condemn Dafydd ap Gruffydd , last of the native Princes of Wales, to execution by hanging, drawing and quartering within
3627-402: The 14th and 15th centuries and a new shrine for her relics was built in the late 1300s. Around this time the abbey illegally acquired the relics of St Beuno , uncle of St Winifred, by stealing them. As a result the abbey was fined but allowed to keep the relics. From 1155, during the reign of Henry II , there was a leper hospital dedicated to St Giles and associated with Shrewsbury Abbey. From
3720-432: The 1970s . Centred on a shopping centre and a public park , the new town is named after Thomas Telford , a civil engineer on many road, canal and rail projects in the county. It was originally designated under the name Dawley New Town , Dawley being to the south of new-town's centre. As well as multiple villages and Dawley, the other constituent towns are Wellington , Madeley and Oakengates . Early settlement in
3813-496: The 8th century. The centre has a largely undisturbed medieval street plan and over 660 listed buildings , including several examples of timber framing from the 15th and 16th centuries. Shrewsbury Castle , a red sandstone fortification, and Shrewsbury Abbey , were founded in 1074 and 1083 respectively by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury , Roger de Montgomery . The town is the birthplace of Charles Darwin . It has had
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3906-461: The American company Unimation and three firms from Japan: Nikon UK Ltd., which opened a warehouse at Halesfield in 1983; video-tape manufacturers Hitachi Maxell at Apley Castle in 1983; and office equipment manufacturers Ricoh , who took a 22-acre (89,000 m ) site for a factory at Priorslee next to the M54 , and formed the first in Telford's new enterprise zone. Consequently, from
3999-684: The Bailiffs in a most royal and hospitable manner. Shrewsbury's monastic institutions were disbanded with the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the Abbey was closed in 1540. Henry VIII intended to make Shrewsbury one of his 13 new bishoprics (serving Shropshire and Staffordshire ) and hence a cathedral city, after the formation of the Church of England but the citizens of the town declined
4092-559: The Birmingham-based John Madin Design Group . The Minister proposed an extension of 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) in 1968 (taking in the historic area of Ironbridge Gorge ). The Dawley New Town (Designation) Amendment (Telford) Order was made on 29 November 1968, extending the New Town area by 10,143 acres (4,105 ha) of "land lying within the urban districts of Oakengates and Wellington and
4185-607: The Council House to St Chad’s Church, the choir of which was fitted up in imitation of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle with the stalls decorated with the arms of the Knights of the Garter ; on the conclusion of divine service Sir Henry devoted the afternoon to feasting the burgesses. Shrewsbury thrived throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, a period when the town was at the height of its commercial importance. This success
4278-528: 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. In 1551 there was a notable outbreak of sweating sickness in the town, which Dr John Caius was in the town to attend to at the command of the council. The following year, after his return to London, Caius published A Boke or Counseill Against
4371-551: The Disease Commonly Called the Sweate, or Sweatyng Sicknesse . The president of the council was the dedicatee of the book and the dedicatory epistle explains his appointment. This text became the main source of knowledge of this disease, now understood to be influenza . In 1581, Sir Henry Sidney, celebrated the feast of St George, on 23 April, in this town, with great splendour: a solemn procession went from
4464-595: The East Shropshire coalfield. North and north-west Telford lie beyond the coalfield's boundary fault on sandstone beds which, along with other Triassic formations, prevail over much of the North Shropshire plain. The town centre stands on a watershed, with land to the south draining towards the River Severn and to the north sloping gently down towards the Weald Moors. The town is dominated by
4557-700: The Ketley Canal still survives and can be seen within Ketley Paddock Mound, a nature reserve and former colliery spoil tip . The Shropshire Star was published in Ketley until July 2022, when the company moved to an office in Stafford Park. Ketley Bank is located to the southeast of Ketley, between Oakengates and the M54 motorway . It is part of Oakengates civil parish. There is one football club — Ketley Bank United that play in
4650-548: The Lion Hotel, are extant to this day. A town hall was built in the Market Place on the site of an ancient guildhall in 1730; it was demolished and a new combined guildhall and shirehall was erected on the site in 1837. Local soldier and statesman Robert Clive served as the town's mayor in 1762 and was Shrewsbury's MP from 1762 until his death in 1774. St Chad's Church collapsed in 1788 after attempts to expand
4743-561: The MOD contract from the Euston Park site, as well as a vast array of clients across the world from the Plaza building. Also Capgemini and Fujitsu employ a significant number of staff in the area, mainly supporting their governmental client, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) . The expansion in these job sectors provided a great asset to Telford's economic recovery after 1992. By August 2007,
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#17327805460584836-678: The Quarry. In the Industrial Revolution the Shrewsbury Canal opened in 1797, initially connecting the town to Trench . By 1835 it had been linked up to the Shropshire Canal and thence to the rest of the canal network . In the period directly after Napoleon 's surrender after the Battle of Waterloo , the town's own 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot was sent to guard him in his exile on St Helena . A locket containing
4929-529: The US, Europe, and Japan . The foreign firms required larger factories, and they began to be built at Stafford Park. By 1983 over 2,000 jobs in Telford were provided by around 40 (mostly American) foreign companies. In contrast to industry in the Black Country at the time, these new companies focused on high-technology industries rather than the heavy and metal-finishing industries. The new arrivals included
5022-537: The area was thought to be on the land that sloped up from the Weald Moors (an area north of the town centre) towards the line along which the Roman Watling Street was built. Farmland surrounded three large estates in the 10th century, namely Wellington , Wrockwardine and Lilleshall . From the 13th century there was urban development in Wellington and Madeley , where Wenlock Priory founded
5115-760: The blue office towers ( Telford Plaza ), and the Windsor Life building. The Forge retail park and a large Odeon Cinema are also located in the area. Telford also houses one of the Midlands' few ice skating rinks near the Telford International Centre (TIC). The TIC comprises a number of exhibition halls and event spaces. It holds parties, conferences, concerts and was formerly the venue of the UK Snooker Championship. A major Shropshire landmark, also now part of Telford,
5208-410: The crypt compromised the structural integrity of the tower above. Now known as Old St Chad's, the remains of the church building and its churchyard are on the corner of Princess Street, College Hill and Belmont. A new St Chad's Church was built just four years after the collapse, but as a large neo-classical round church and in a different and more elevated location, at the top of Claremont Hill close to
5301-675: The deaths of three striking colliers. The New Town was first designated on 16 January 1963 by the Conservative administration as Dawley New Town , covering 9,100 acres (37 km ) of Dawley , Wenlock , Oakengates , Wellington Rural District and Shifnal Rural District . Development started, guided by the Dawley New Town Development Corporation, with the first homes on the new Sutton Hill housing estate being occupied in 1967. Initial planning and design concepts for Dawley New Town were produced by
5394-452: The early 1990s when the Development Corporation was wound up to be replaced by the Commission for New Towns , later English Partnerships, and most of the property was handed over to the then Wrekin District Council. Telford was now 25 years old and was firmly established as one of the most important towns in the region. There is a Retail Park called Wrekin Retail Park in Wellington. In 1983, after fierce opposition and three public enquiries,
5487-418: The end of the decade, only for it to rise to a similarly high figure again by 1992 as a result of the early 1990s recession . In recent years the local economy has matured, the median gross weekly earnings for full-time workers who work in Telford and Wrekin was £563 in 2019 (West Midlands £552.50 and England £591.40 ). Telford has attracted several large IT services companies, including EDS who support
5580-454: The expansion is that the original 'centre' was only ever a shopping place with no real heart. As the 'centre' closed early in the evening there was no nightlife at all in the area, the only major local entertainment areas being in Oakengates and Wellington. The first phase of the town-centre development, named Southwater, was completed in 2014. The official opening ceremony, on 18 October 2014, included live music and fireworks. The area includes
5673-419: The false verdicts of juries; it was to enforce the laws against livery and maintenance, to punish rumour mongers and adulterers, and to deal with disputes concerning enclosures, villein service and manorial questions; it heard appeals from the common law courts; and it was responsible for administering the legislation dealing with religion. According to historian John Davies , at its peak in the mid-16th century,
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#17327805460585766-414: The feast of St George in the town. The town is recorded as having entertained Henry again in 1496, with attendants lodged in the Sextry of Old St Chads; more generally it is said of Henry VII's relations with the town that: The intercourse which had begun thus favourably was kept up in after years by Henry, who, with his queen and son, frequently visited this town, upon which occasions they were feasted by
5859-414: The guilds of the Ironmongers and Goldsmiths . This fraternity were patrons of the Altar of St Michael in St Chad's Church and they kept a Mercers Hall on the site of the Sextry of Old St Chads . In 1485, ahead of the Battle of Bosworth Field , Henry Tudor , while not yet king, marched his forces on a route that lay through Shrewsbury. He was initially denied access to the town, but on intervention by
5952-421: The later 1970s, Telford began to attract high-technology firms and to diversify its industry, and the promotion of the Service industry also began to prosper, in the Telford Town Centre area. However, a deepening national recession meant that, despite the creation of new jobs, there were net job losses from 1979. Unemployment grew from 3.4 per cent in 1969 to over 8 per cent in 1972 and 22.3 per cent (almost double
6045-470: The level of statutorily homeless households in 2004/05 was above average for England. The Telford and Wrekin area is a popular commuter zone, containing some relatively rural areas in the North and West of the borough. These are popular with commuters to the West Midlands conurbation , due to the good transport links provided by the A5 / M54 . In 2011, the town was 91.9% white (88.5% White British), 4.7% Asian, 1.2% Black, 1.9% Mixed race and 0.2% other. At
6138-418: The national average) in 1983; long-term unemployment rose even faster. Nevertheless, the rate of increase in unemployment was slowing down by 1983 and was making some progress against national and regional trends. Unemployment in Telford was still around the 20% mark – nearly double the national average at the time – as late as 1986. The Lawson Boom of the next three years saw that figure fall dramatically by
6231-418: The offer, which is the point of origin of the term "Proud Salopians": the town leadership preferring to be the most senior town in the country and not the most junior city. As a consequence of the dissolution, the monastic hospitals were closed and the incomes from their endowments were transferred to secular owners. St Giles's leper hospital passed to the Prince family, who were succeeded by their descendants
6324-443: The rebellion. To deal with the thickly wooded local forests, ideal for the concealment of archers, Pantulf brought in 6,000 foot soldiers to cut down trees and open up the roads. Henry subsequently took the government of the town into his own hands and in 1116 the nobility of England did homage to William Ætheling , Henry’s son, at Shrewsbury, and swore allegiance to his father. The early death of William Ætheling without issue led to
6417-459: The rural districts of Shifnal and Wellington". The Order also renamed the new town Telford, after the Scottish-born civil engineer Thomas Telford , who in 1787 became Surveyor of Public Works for Shropshire. Other suggested names at the time were Dawelloak and Wrekin Forest City. Most of the infrastructure was constructed from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, with the major housing and commercial development occurring over three decades up to
6510-412: The same census the population of the town was 142,723 and had an area of 46.2 kilometers with the population estimated to be 147,105 in 2016. During the economic crisis of the late 1960s (with unemployment doubling nationally during the second half of the decade), unemployment in the then-new town was initially high. However, in 1967 Halesfield Industrial Estate was founded on the south-eastern edge of
6603-486: The same line. All three stations are serviced by trains from Transport for Wales Rail , West Midlands Railway , and Avanti West Coast . In May 1998, Virgin Trains West Coast introduced a service from Shrewsbury to London Euston . It was withdrawn in 2000. A service to Walsall was introduced from Wellington via Wolverhampton but proved to be unprofitable and was withdrawn by London Midland in December 2008. A new service from Wrexham General to London Marylebone
6696-479: The south such as a part of Ironbridge and Broseley , while part of the Telford Urban Area, are administered by Shropshire Council . Telford is the only settlement within the Telford parliamentary constituency , which was held by Labour from its creation in 1997 until the 2015 general election . It was then held by Lucy Allen who stood down ahead of the 2024 general election after defecting to
6789-569: The strategic importance of the Roman Road link via the Via Devana ). Viking raiders from the north were reaching as far south as Bridgnorth by 910. In the early 10th century, the relics of St Alkmund were translated to the town from Derby , this was probably the work of Æthelflæd. (Later, after St Alkmund's Church became the property of Lilleshall Abbey in about 1145, the relics were retranslated back to Derby.) Roger de Montgomery
6882-471: The success story of Telford's economy had seen unemployment shrink to 3.3% – a fraction of its peak 15 years earlier. However, the subsequent recession meant that unemployment in the area had risen to 5% by February 2011, although this was still well below the national average. The Shropshire Star evening newspaper was based in Ketley. There is a free local paper the Telford Journal which
6975-621: The succession crisis, known in history as the Anarchy , and during this period, in 1138, King Stephen successfully besieged the town's castle held by William FitzAlan for the Empress Maud . In 1138 the relics of St Winifred were brought to Shrewsbury from Gwytheryn , following their purchase by the Abbot of Shrewsbury , the abbey being ready for consecration but having no relics prior to that time. The popularity of St Winifred grew in
7068-557: The town after Dafydd was captured, ending his rebellion against the king. It is thought this parliament met in the Abbey. Shrewsbury was devastated by the Black Death , which, records suggest, arrived in the spring of 1349. Examining the number of local church benefices falling vacant due to death, 1349 alone saw twice as many vacancies as the previous ten years combined, suggesting a high death toll in Shrewsbury. "The Great Fire of Shrewsbury" took place in 1394: St Chad's church
7161-540: The town is Telford Town Centre, located off Junction 5 of the M54 motorway , completed in the 1980s. It is home to the administrative headquarters of Telford & Wrekin Council, which are now based at Addenbrook House on Ironmasters Way, after moving from the old Civic Offices (dating from the mid-1970s) in December 2012. The large Telford Shopping Centre (and the accompanying Town Park ), various office blocks, such as
7254-682: The town within a century of the death of Chad of Mercia . By the beginning of the 10th century, Shrewsbury was home to three moneyers who had permission to operate a mint in the town, using dies supplied by the royal government. In 914, Æthelflæd , daughter of Alfred the Great and known as the Lady of the Mercians, fortified Shrewsbury, along with Hereford and two other fortresses, at Scergeat (a currently unknown location) and Weardbyrig (thought to be Whitchurch , which would make sense given
7347-499: The town – the first real answer to Telford's unemployment problems. Other large estates followed, in 1973 with Stafford Park just east of the town centre and in 1979 with Hortonwood , to the north, helping ease the unemployment crisis in a decade which saw an almost unbroken rise in unemployment. In total, half a million square metres of factory space were provided between 1968 and 1983, making Telford an attractive investment area. By 1976, Telford had begun to recruit industry from
7440-566: The town's by-pass and five railway lines meet at Shrewsbury railway station . In Old English the settlement was known as Scrobbesburh ( dative Scrobbesbyrig ), which may mean either "Scrobb's fort" or "the fortified place in the bushes" (or "shrubs", the modern derivate). This name gradually evolved in three directions, into Sciropscire , which became Shropshire ; into Sloppesberie , which became Salop / Salopia (an alternative name for both town and county), and into Schrosberie , which eventually became
7533-625: The town's name, Shrewsbury. Its later Welsh name Amwythig means "fortified place". The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Shrowsbury' or 'Shroosbury', the correct pronunciation being a matter of longstanding debate. Evidence of Neolithic occupation of a religious form dating back before 2,000 BC, was discovered in 2017 in the grounds of the medieval Church of the Holy Fathers in Sutton Farm , making it Britain's oldest place of worship. An Early Bronze Age urned burial
7626-570: Was 147,980 according to the 2011 census . At the 2001 census, the urban area had 138,241 people. The built-up area includes Broseley which lies outside the Borough of Telford and Wrekin and also includes the towns of Dawley , Oakengates , Wellington and Madeley . Telford has a younger than average population, and a higher rate of teenage pregnancy than the national average, as well as relatively high levels of income deprivation with 15% of residents living in low income households. In addition
7719-586: Was billeted in a building then the home of the family of Thomas Jones in the precincts of what is now the Prince Rupert Hotel. Shrewsbury only fell to Parliament forces after they were let in by a parliamentarian sympathiser at the St Mary's Water Gate (now also known as Traitor's Gate). After Thomas Mytton captured Shrewsbury in February 1645; in following with the ordnance of no quarter ;
7812-424: Was consumed by an accidental fire, which spread to a great portion of the town, then chiefly consisting of timber houses with thatched roofs. The damage was so considerable that Richard II remitted the town's taxes for three years towards the repairs. In 1398, Richard summoned a Great Parliament in the town, which is believed to have met in the Abbey. In 1403 the Battle of Shrewsbury was fought at Battlefield ,
7905-471: Was excavated at Crowmeole in 2015. An Iron Age double ring ditch has been excavated at Meole Brace . Amongst other finds, parts of an iron age sword and scabbard were recovered. At Meole Brace, an extensive roadside settlement along the line of the Roman military road connecting Viroconium Cornoviorum and Caersws was uncovered, with evidence of trading of amphorae and mortaria . A major discovery
7998-620: Was formerly the home of Ketley Ironworks . William Reynolds (the ironmaster of the works in the late 18th century) undertook the construction of three tub boat canals: the Wombridge Canal , the Ketley Canal and the Shropshire Canal with the first successful inclined planes in Great Britain. He lived at Ketley Hall, a grade II listed building which has now been converted into three separate dwellings. A small stretch of
8091-573: Was given the town as a gift from William the Conqueror and took the title of Earl of Shrewsbury. He built at Shrewsbury Castle in 1074, though archaeological excavations at the site of Shrewsbury castle in 2019 have indicated that the location may have been a fortified site in the time of the Anglo-Saxons. He also founded Shrewsbury Abbey as a Benedictine monastery in 1083. The town's position just off Watling Street placed it within
8184-447: Was in this period that Edward VI gave permission for the foundation of a free school, which was later to become Shrewsbury School . Later, William Camden , in his Britannia (begun 1577), remarked of the town that "Shrewsbury is inhabited both by Welsh and English, who speak each other's language; and among other things greatly to their praise is the grammar school founded by them, the best filled in all England, whose flourishing state
8277-409: Was intended to take 50,000 people from the West Midlands conurbation and so to grow to a town of 70,000 or more. By 1968 Telford was intended to take an additional 50,000 and grow to a town of 220,000 or more by 1991. By 1983, however, Telford's population was just under 108,000, and it was generally thought that it might not reach 120,000 by the late 1980s. The population of Telford's built-up area
8370-688: Was largely due to the town's location, which allowed it to control the Welsh wool trade , a major industry at the time, with the rest of Britain and Europe, with the River Severn and Watling Street acting as trading routes. This trade was dominated by the Shrewsbury Drapers Company for many years. As a result, a number of grand edifices, including the Ireland's Mansion (built 1575) and Draper's Hall (1658), were constructed. It
8463-595: Was launched by Wrexham & Shropshire in 2008. The venture however proved unprofitable and ceased to operate on 28 January 2011, leaving Shropshire as the only English county without a direct train link to London. Virgin Trains re-launched a direct Shrewsbury to London Euston service in December 2014. In addition, there are three further stations isolated from the national network, Spring Village, Lawley and Horsehay & Dawley, at Telford Steam Railway , situated at Horsehay . Telford's rapidly growing population still has
8556-660: Was subjected to posthumous execution . One of the Princes in the Tower , Richard of Shrewsbury , was born in the town around 17 August 1473, the second son of King Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville . In 1480, Edward V , then Prince of Wales (and the other prince of the Princes in the Tower), was resident in Shrewsbury. On 11 May Edward V confirmed the composition of the town's Mercer's Company , which had merged with
8649-547: Was the finding of the Shrewsbury Hoard of more than 9000 Roman coins in a field near the town in 2009. Prior to the late 8th century, there is little in the way of reliable records. There is a tradition that the town was "founded in the 5th century, on occasion of the decay of the Roman Uriconium ." Historian John Wacher suggests that Shrewsbury may have been refortified by refugees fleeing an outbreak of
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