[13][14] 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.

[17][18] At Meole Brace, an extensive roadside settlement along the line of the Roman military road connecting Viroconium Cornoviorum and Caersws was uncovered,[19] with evidence of trading of amphorae and mortaria.

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.

[31][32] In 914,[33][b] 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,[35] which would make sense given the strategic importance of the Roman Road link via the Via Devana).

[39] The town's position just off Watling Street placed it within 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.

[40] 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.

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.

[47] 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.

One of the Princes in the Tower, Richard of Shrewsbury, was born in the town around 17 August 1473,[56] the second son of King Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville.

[79] 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 the Lion Hotel, are extant to this day.

[83] 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.

One bomb was detonated at Shrewsbury Castle, causing severe damage to the regimental museum of the Shropshire Light Infantry,[92] estimated to be in the region of £250,000 and many artefacts were lost.

Rainfall averages 76 to 100 cm (30 to 39 in), influenced by being in the rainshadow of the Cambrian Mountains from warm, moist frontal systems of the Atlantic Ocean, which bring generally light precipitation in autumn and spring.

Prior to the Reformation, there are accounts of major festivals in Kingsland: In ancient times, while the Romish religion prevailed, all the companies united once a year in celebrating the day of Corpus Christi, with great pomp and splendour.

The Companies form themselves into processions, headed severally by men on horseback in gaudy apparel, called kings, probably as representatives of the monarchs who granted their charters* They move in marshalled array to Kingsland, where they are met by the mayor and corporation and the day is spent in festivity.

In 1581, the Lord President, Sir Henry Sidney, leaving the town by barge, was greeted by several scholars on an island downstream of the castle dressed as green nymphs with willow branches tied to their heads reciting verses across the water.

[149] Pioneering early 18th-century travel writers Daniel Defoe and Celia Fiennes wrote about their visits to Shrewsbury in A Tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain[150] and Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary[151] respectively.

[157] The new complex replaced the old theatre, the Music Hall, which has been refurbished and expanded in preparation for its current use as home to Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery, opened 2014.

The two and a half week multi-media event celebrates the town as the 'Origin of Independent Thinking' with activities including lectures, dance performances and live music.

[198] A final reference to the cakes can be seen to this day as the subject of a plaque affixed to a building close to Shrewsbury's town library by the junction of Castle Street and School Gardens.

The aforementioned plaque marks the spot where the Shrewsbury Cake's recipe is said to have been pioneered in 1760 by Mr Pailin;[196] a further quote, drawn from Richard Harris Barham's Ingoldby Legends, reads: Oh!

[200] Beer brewed in Shrewsbury was celebrated as early as about 1400 when the bard Iolo Goch praised the supply of "Crwg Amwythig" dispensed at the Sycharth palace of Owain Glyndŵr.

[215] It was erected as a monument to Rowland Hill commander of II Corps at Waterloo and the man who led the charge against the Imperial Guard towards the end of the battle.

[216] The Quantum Leap is an abstract sculpture unveiled in the town centre in 2009 to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Shrewsbury biologist Charles Darwin.

Working downstream, they are in order: A. E. Housman wrote of the area in A Shropshire Lad, which mentions the bridges of the town in part XXVIII: The Welsh Marches.

[citation needed] Remains of the college of St Chad can be traced in the land adjoining the south-western extremity of the church on the old site, with portions of the wall traceable to a considerable distance in the neighbouring gardens.

In 2007, it merged with the junior department of Shrewsbury Girls' High School, sharing the two sites with some classes remaining single sex, but others switching to a co-educational format.

[267] One of the houses in Fish Street, facing St Alkmund's Church, was the site of John Wesley's first preaching in Shrewsbury; a wall plaque records the date as 16 March 1761.

[305] Ian Hunter, the lead singer of the 1970s pop group Mott the Hoople, was a resident of 23a Swan Hill in the town centre and wrote a song of the same name.

Lock became internationally recognised as a high scoring fighter ace of the Royal Air Force in the Second World War with 26 victories before his death in combat at the age of 21.