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Shropshire:
Pictures from the Past
The Shropshire Star
Outsiders may view Shropshire as basically just two
contrasting towns (quaint, old-fashioned Shrewsbury
on the one hand, and vibrant, thrusting Telford on
the other) surrounded by nothing more than miles and
miles of rolling fields full of sheep. But of course
there's rather more to this beautiful county than
that.
Situated between the sprawling West Midlands conurbation
to the east and the often mysterious, frequently romantic
land of Wales to the west, Shropshire is a place of
medieval houses, ruined castles, pretty villages,
breathtaking countryside and busy little market towns.
Its complicated geology and its relics of Welsh border
warfare and of the Industrial Revolution, make it
‘a museum without walls’, while its gorgeous
hills and valleys make it the most perfect walking
country. It is the birthplace of famous soldiers like
Clive of India and influential thinkers like Charles
Darwin; the inspiration behind the creations of the
novelist Mary Webb and the poet A. E. Housman; and
the workbench of great builders such as Thomas Telford
and ‘Iron-Mad’ Wilkinson. And all the
while, of course, the men, women and children of Shropshire
go about their everyday lives, going to work or school,
driving tractors, playing football, going to the cinema
or to the shops.
In this, the final book in the Pictures from
the Past trilogy (previous volumes featured Shrewsbury
and Telford), the aim
is to reflect some of the fantastic diversity to be
found in this extraordinary county by once again focusing
on nothing more dramatic than the ‘ordinary’
lives of its people.
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About the
Authors
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