Shrewsbury Abbey and Shrewsbury Castle

Shrewsbury was built by the Anglo-Saxons near the former site of the Roman city of Viroconium. After the Norman Conquest, Roger de Montgomery, a close friend of William the Conqueror's and probably a relative was made Earl of Shrewsbury. He was responsible for two of the important landmarks in Shrewsbury in Cadfael's time parts of which can still be seen today, the Abbey and the Castle. The main surviving part of the Abbey is the Abbey church, while Shrewsbury Castle was extensively remodelled in the 18th century by Thomas Telford to turn it into a home for the Pulteney family.


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A well illustrated summary history of Shrewsbury can be seen in this .pdf file. Shropshire county council has a site including pages on the history of Shropshire.


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The above map shows the location of Shrewsbury Abbey church and (scroll rightwards) Shrewsbury castle. The BBC has a series of panoramas showing the inside of the Abbey church and exterior views of the castle. The BBC also has pages on the history of Shrewsbury abbey. The Darwin Country further education website has illustrations of the Shrewsbury Abbey church and Shrewsbury castle produced at various times down through the ages.