Shrewsbury Castle

Shrewsbury Castle
Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Shrewsbury Castle
Shrewsbury Castle
Coordinates 52°42′28″N 2°45′15″W / 52.7077°N 2.7541°W / 52.7077; -2.7541Coordinates: 52°42′28″N 2°45′15″W / 52.7077°N 2.7541°W / 52.7077; -2.7541
Site information
Owner Shropshire Council
Site history
Built

1070

Listed Building – Grade I
Designated 10 January 1953
Reference no. 1246877

Shrewsbury Castle is a red sandstone castle in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It stands on a hill in the neck of the meander of the River Severn on which the town originally developed. The castle, directly above Shrewsbury railway station, is a Grade I listed building.[1]

History

Shrewsbury Castle, c.1778
Shrewsbury Castle viewed from Laura's Tower

The castle was built by Roger de Montgomery in circa 1070 as a defensive fortification for the town, which was otherwise protected by the river.[1] Town walls, of which little now remains, then radiated out from the castle and surrounded the town (although the area known now as Town Walls still has a small section of it and a tower known as Town Walls Tower which is in the care of the National Trust). In 1138, King Stephen successfully besieged the castle held by William FitzAlan for the Empress Maud during the period known as The Anarchy.[2]

The castle was briefly held by Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Wales, in 1215.[3] Little of the original physical structure remains.[2] The castle was extensively repaired in 1643 during the Civil War before being acquired by Sir Francis Newport in 1663.[2] Further repairs were carried out by Thomas Telford on behalf of Sir William Pulteney in 1780.[1]

The Shropshire Horticultural Society purchased the castle from a private owner and gave it to the town in 1924.[1] The castle was internally restructured to become the home of the Shropshire Regimental Museum when it moved from Copthorne Barracks in 1985.[1] The museum was attacked by the IRA on 25 August 1992 and extensive damage to the collection and to some of the Castle resulted.[4]

Collection

The museum combines the collections of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry and the Shropshire Yeomanry.[4] Laura's Tower overlooks the surrounding townscape and countryside and is often used as a backdrop for weddings.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1246877)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 "Shrewsbury Castle". Castle Wales. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  3. ↑ "Historic Timeline". Original Shrewsbury. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Firebomb attack at army museum linked to IRA". The Independent. 26 August 1992. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  5. ↑ "Shrewsbury Castle Wedding Photography". True Reflections. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
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