Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury (ⁱ/ˈʃroʊzbri/ or ⁱ/ˈʃruːzbri/) is the county town of Shropshire, England. It is on the River Severn and has a population of approximately 72,000.

Shrewsbury is a market town whose centre has a largely unaltered 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, a former Benedictine monastery, were founded in 1074 and 1083 respectively by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery. The town has historically been a centre for the wool trade and brewing. Horticulture remains popular, and the Shrewsbury Flower Show is one of the largest horticultural events in England.

9 miles (14 km) east of the Welsh border, Shrewsbury serves as the commercial centre for Shropshire and 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 cross near to the town, and five railway lines meet at Shrewsbury railway station.

Shrewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Shrewsbury was a parliamentary constituency in England, centred on the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire.

It was founded in 1290 as parliamentary borough, returning two members to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, its representation was reduced to one Member of Parliament (MP).

The parliamentary borough was abolished at with effect from the 1918 general election, and the name transferred to a new county constituency. It was abolished in 1983 and renamed Shrewsbury and Atcham.

Famous MPs have included Sir Philip Sidney in 1581, Robert Clive (known as 'Clive of India') from 1761 to his death in 1774, and Benjamin Disraeli (later Prime Minister) in 1841-47.

Members of Parliament

Borough of Shrewsbury

MPs 1290–1660

MPs 1660–1885

MPs 1885–1918

HM Prison Shrewsbury

HM Prison Shrewsbury was a Category B/C men's prison in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It closed in March 2013.

The former prison site, on Howard Street, adjacent to Shrewsbury railway station, is near the site of the Dana Gaol, a medieval prison. The name The Dana is still often used for the prison, as well as being the name of the road to one side of the prison and the pedestrian route that runs from near the front of the prison into the town centre via a footbridge over the station. The now disused platform 8 at the station, masked from the opposite platform by a high wall, was used for transporting prisoners between 1868 and the First World War.

A bust of prison reformer John Howard is above the main entrance to the prison. The street leading up to the prison from the main road is also named after him.

History

There has been a prison on the site since 1793, the original building being constructed by Thomas Telford to plans by Shrewsbury architect John Hiram Haycock; the present prison building was constructed in 1877. The prison took female convicts until 1922.