Back Shropshire Afrikaans Scrobbesbyrigscīr ANG شروبشاير Arabic Shropshire AST Shropshire BAN Шропшыр Byelorussian Шропшыр BE-X-OLD Шропшър Bulgarian শ্রপশার Bengali/Bangla Shropshire Breton
Shropshire | |
|---|---|
 Shropshire within England | |
| Coordinates: 52°37′N 2°43′W / 52.617°N 2.717°W | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Established | Ancient |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| UK Parliament | List of MPs |
| Police | West Mercia Police |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Lord Lieutenant | Anna Turner JP[1] |
| High Sheriff | Robert Anthony Morris-Eyton |
| Area | 3,488 km2 (1,347 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 13th of 48 |
| Population (2022)[2] | 516,049 |
| • Rank | 41st of 48 |
| Density | 148/km2 (380/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity | Figures for Shropshire UA:[3] 93.8% White, British 1.9% White, other 1.5% S. Asian 0.9% Mixed 0.6% White, Irish 0.6% Black |
| Unitary authorities | |
| Councils | Shropshire Council Telford and Wrekin Council |
| Districts | |
 Districts of Shropshire Unitary | |
| Districts | |
Shropshire (/ˈʃrɒpʃər, -ʃɪər/; abbreviated Salop[4]) is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England, on the border with Wales. It is bordered by Cheshire to the north-east, Staffordshire to the east, Worcestershire to the south-east, Herefordshire to the south, and the Welsh principal areas of Powys and Wrexham to the west and north-west respectively. The largest settlement is Telford, while Shrewsbury is the county town.
The county has an area of 3,487 km2 (1,346 square miles) and a population of 498,073. Telford in the east and Shrewsbury in the centre are the largest towns. Shropshire is otherwise rural, and contains market towns such as Oswestry in the north-east, Market Drayton in the north-west, Bridgnorth in the south-east, and Ludlow in the south. For local government purposes the county comprises two unitary authority areas: Shropshire, and Telford and Wrekin. The county historically had a large exclave around Halesowen and Oldbury, which are now in the West Midlands county.
The south-west and far west of the county are upland. The Shropshire Hills occupy most of the south-west and include the Stiperstones, Clee Hills, Long Mynd plateau, and the Wenlock Edge escarpment. Together with the Wrekin, which stands isolated to the east of Telford, they have been designated a national landscape.[5][6] To their west is the upland Clun Forest, and in the far north-west of the county are the Oswestry uplands.[7][8] The north of the county is a plain,[9] and the far north contains Wixall Moss, part of a national nature reserve.[10] The south-east is a sandstone plateau which forms part of the catchment of the Severn, the county's major river;[11] it enters Shropshire in the west and flows through Shrewsbury before turning south-west and exiting into Worcestershire south of Bridgnorth.
There is evidence of Neolithic and Bronze Age human occupation in Shropshire, including the Shropshire bulla pendant. The hillfort at Old Oswestry dates from the Iron Age, and the remains of the city of Viroconium Cornoviorum date from the Roman period.[12][13] During the Anglo-Saxon era the area was part of Mercia. During the High Middle Ages the county was part of the Welsh Marches, the border region between Wales and England; from 1472 to 1689 Ludlow was the seat of the Council of Wales and the Marches, which administered justice in Wales and Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.[14] During the English Civil War Shropshire was Royalist, and Charles II fled through the county—famously hiding in an oak tree—after his final defeat at the Battle of Worcester.[15] The area around Coalbrookdale is regarded as one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[16][17]
- ^ "Shropshire Lieutenancy | Shropshire Council". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ^ "Mid-2022 population estimates by Lieutenancy areas (as at 1997) for England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ Rogers, Simon (19 May 2011). "Ethnic breakdown of England and Wales mapped". The Guardian.
- ^ Also used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.
- "Salopian definition and meaning". Collins Dictionary. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- "Salop definition and meaning". Collins Dictionary. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- ^ Shropshire Hills AONB. Shropshire Hills AONB. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
- ^ shropshirerocks.org: Wenlock Edge Archived 19 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Clun and North West Herefordshire Hills". Natural England. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ "Oswestry Uplands". Natural England. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ "Shropshire, Cheshire and Staffordshire Plain". Natural England. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ "Fenn's, Whixall & Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve (leaflet)". Natural England. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ "Mid Severn Sandstone Plateau". Natural England. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ "History of Old Oswestry Hillfort". English Heritage. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ "History of Wroxeter Roman City". English Heritage. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ "The Council of Wales and the Marches". BBC. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ "Boscobel House: Charles II and the Royal Oak". English Heritage. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ Trinder, A History of Shropshire (1980) p.77.
- ^ Ironbridge Page on UNESCO World Heritage website. UNESCO (6 March 2007). Retrieved 25 August 2011.