This well-written and thoroughly researched new volume from the Victoria County History series focuses upon the English border town of Shrewsbury. As the authors acknowledge in their introduction, defining a town and encapsulating the totality of experiences over such a long period is a complex task, and one rendered even more difficult by the unique geographical characteristics and status of Shrewsbury through time. Located on the River Severn between two English kingdoms, and an important defensive centre on the border with Wales, Shrewsbury's administrative history is daunting but the editors and authors are to be commended for their diligence in maintaining a manageable, coherent and lively narrative. Throughout, the book is well illustrated and supported with useful statistical evidence.
The book is arranged chronologically, with the first chapter exploring the establishment and early settlement of the town in the post-Roman period. The authors draw on sources from church records to archaeological evidence to chart the rise of Shrewsbury as a small shire town in the pre-Conquest period. The development of the town in this period is interesting, with evidence of careful planning and delineation of the central marketplace and town centre, which were all in place by the time of the Conquest. By 1066, the town had risen to become a royal borough with 252 burgesses with a population of anywhere up to 2,000 inhabitants. As with other towns in the region, however, its fortunes ebbed and flowed in the later eleventh century, as the result of successive revolts and general decline. Of particular interest to urban historians will be the sections on the topography and fabric of the early medieval town, which explore street plans and buildings as well as the etymologies of area and street names.
Between 1200 and 1340, the authors concentrate upon politics and administration, and the development of urban administration. The growth of the wool industry in and around the town, together with continuing royal favour, led to a period of prosperity, reflected in the growth and development of the town. This included new bridges, the enlargement of the abbey and the improvement of the urban environment such as a new marketplace and paved streets. Detailed discussions of the political infrastructure, and role of individual officers, together with religious administration, provide a thorough overview of the changing fabric of the town. A welcome inclusion here was a discussion of women's participation in the urban economy.
Later chapters follow a similar pattern, with thematic discussions of the political, social and economic contexts of the town. Medieval Shrewsbury, as W.A Champion's chapter explores, continued to be militarily important as a ‘bulwark against the Welsh’, although its administration was also shaped by Marcher aristocracy. Through Glyndwr's revolts and the Wars of the Roses, the town was continually contested and challenged but remained prominent, after 1536 being proximal to the Council in the Marches at Ludlow. Nonetheless, the town was affected by serious economic problems in the fourteenth century, in part due to the Black Death and was, by 1503, ‘in great ruin and decay’. A useful discussion here charts changes to Shrewsbury's occupational structure and the decline of certain trades such as carpentry and bakery. The seventeenth-century story of Shrewsbury is dominated by population growth (punctuated by crisis mortality), the increase of trade and craft manufacturing, notably the cloth trade, and the impact of the civil wars – especially upon town administration and governance. The discussion here of the impact of religious change upon the town's political landscape is particularly well done. At first a royalist town but later a puritan stronghold, Shrewsbury's divided political factions greatly affected the nature of its party-political allegiance.
By the late eighteenth century, the town had changed from an essentially medieval plan to an exemplar of Georgian civic ambition. The foundation of new institutions including schools and an infirmary were accompanied by a spate of new building in the neoclassical style. Cleaner streets, lighting and paving were all part of Shrewsbury's urban renaissance, whilst its importance within the broader county was cemented by its selection as administrative centre for Shropshire. The price paid for this newfound status was the destruction of medieval town walls, gates and bridges. Given the continued emphasis upon river trade and commerce, it is notable that the town did not industrialize to any great extent, with textile mills forming the mainstay of mass production. Also, as the authors point out, Shrewsbury grew relatively slowly and retained gradually less of its county influence.
The final chapters of the book reveal the path of the town to the modern day with themes including urban infrastructure, popular culture and suburban expansion. Changing from a manufacturing to a largely service centre, the town has developed differently from others in the region, retaining much of its earlier urban fabric.
In sum, this excellent volume provides a fascinating narrative history of Shrewsbury, of use to a range of historians interested in the social, political, economic and urban life of what was in many respects a unique English town.
