We arrived in Shrewsbury in Shropshire, to slightly rainy weather. Being tired we just had what we could muster in our room at Sydney House B&B for a meal.
We were at the top of the house again.....oh those stairs!
Breakfast was the usual English cooked breakfast along with fruit and cereal. The host was very nice. He had been to New Zealand so was keen to chat.
We parked in the centre of town and wandered around. Shrewsbury was first built back in the 8th century and a major center for the woollen trade during the middle ages, when cloth from Wales which is only 9 miles away, was sent to be finished off before it was dispatched to London to be sold.
We were at the top of the house again.....oh those stairs!
Breakfast was the usual English cooked breakfast along with fruit and cereal. The host was very nice. He had been to New Zealand so was keen to chat.
We parked in the centre of town and wandered around. Shrewsbury was first built back in the 8th century and a major center for the woollen trade during the middle ages, when cloth from Wales which is only 9 miles away, was sent to be finished off before it was dispatched to London to be sold.
There are many blocks of very old Tudor and Georgian style listed buildings.....I think the city has around 700 listed buildings which for a small town like Shrewsbury is a lot.
Market Square - History in the Making
Rich in history, the old Market Square was originally a pond, drained to create the Square. The Market Hall had a corn market in the bottom and the top was used by drapers. The statue in the Square which unfortunately I didn't get in my photos is supposedly of the Grand Old Duke of York from the children's nursery rhyme.
Have you ever wondered how we came to have a Bakers Dozen with 13 ?It started here in Market Square - the Gumbolstol, or ducking stool, stood in the Square and was used as a form of punishment originally for bakers selling underweight bread, (thus 13 in a bakers dozen), and for punishment for wine merchants for selling stale wine or beer... but in time was for women who were accused and tried by a male.... of course ....judge to have nagged their husbands!
The Gumbolstol or ducking stool was a version of a cuckingstool where the person was tied to the chair in a public area to be humiliated, while the ducking stool was set on long poles so they could be ducked under water
With four Malls Shrewesbury is a good town for shopping. The River Severn runs through the town and there are lovely parks, museums, churches and generally just the ambiance of a well preserved medievil town, We were pleased we visited, as we nearly decided not to venture this far north.
The Gumbolstol or ducking stool was a version of a cuckingstool where the person was tied to the chair in a public area to be humiliated, while the ducking stool was set on long poles so they could be ducked under water
With four Malls Shrewesbury is a good town for shopping. The River Severn runs through the town and there are lovely parks, museums, churches and generally just the ambiance of a well preserved medievil town, We were pleased we visited, as we nearly decided not to venture this far north.
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