Shropshire

Shropshire county
	; flag
	; flag
Country	United Kingdom
Part of the country	England
region	West Midlands
status	Ceremonial county
First mention	1006 (as Scrobbesbyrigscīr )
Ceremonial county
surface	3,487 km² (13th of 48 )
Residents	475,889
was standing	2012
	Districts / Unitary Authorities;
	Shropshire; Telford and Wrekin;

Shropshire [ ʃɹɒpʃə ] (abbreviated Salop or Salops , Welsh Swydd Amwythig ) is a ceremonial and traditional county in the West Midlands in England . The county is bordered by the counties of Cheshire , Staffordshire , Worcestershire , Herefordshire and the Welsh counties of Powys and Wrexham . Shropshire was part of the Principality of Powys until Powys was conquered , but was not incorporated into present-day Wales. The Welsh language is still spoken by many people there as their mother tongue in the mountainous west. The border wall, built against the Welsh in the 9th century, also runs around Shropshire.

In addition to Herefordshire, Shropshire is one of the very agricultural counties. The historic capital is Shrewsbury , the largest city being in County Telford . Also in the county is Coalbrookdale , from where the Industrial Revolution began in England, and Ironbridge , where The Iron Bridge , the world's first iron bridge, was built (hence the name). The abbreviation Salop has been used in official documents for centuries. "Salop" comes from "Salopesbiry", the former name of the Shrewsbury administrative center.

On April 1, 1998, the Telford and Wrekin District was administratively detached from Shropshire and raised to a Unitary Authority . On April 1, 2009, the remaining five districts Bridgnorth , North Shropshire , Oswestry , Shrewsbury and Atcham and South Shropshire were dissolved and their competencies transferred to the Shropshire Council . Since then, the ceremonial county of Shropshire has consisted of the Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin Unitary Authorities .

The cradle of European industry

Despite the rural character of the county, Shropshire became the starting point of the Industrial Revolution. Shropshire has many geological stratifications and contains almost every type of rock found in northern Europe. Coal , lead , copper and iron ore can be mined . Another benefit is the Severn River , which provides a natural transport route for the mined mineral resources.

Cities and towns

Countryside in Shropshire

Albrighton , All Stretton , Alveley , Aston Munslow , Atcham
Baschurch , Bayston Hill , Bishop's Castle , Boscobel , Bridgnorth , Broseley
Coalbrookdale , Church Stretton , Cleobury Mortimer , Clun , Chirbury , Craven Arms , Church Preen
Dawley , Diddlebury , Dorrington
Eaton , Ellesmere , Eyton
ford
Grafton , Great Sutton , Gretton
Hatton , Highley , Hilton , Hope , Hope Bowdler , Homer
Leigh , Ludlow , Little Stretton , Longville in the Dale , Longner
Madeley , Market Drayton , Much Wenlock , Munslow , Monkhopton
Newcastle , Newport
Oakengates , Oswestry
Pontsbury , Pickescott
Ratlinghope , Richards Castle , Rushbury
Shawbury , Shifnal , Shipley , Shrewsbury , Snailbeach , Stiperstones
Telford , Ticklerton , Tong
Wall under Heywood , Wellington , Wem , Whitchurch

Attractions

The Long Mynd
The Stiperstones
The Brown Clee
Cardingmill Valley
Caer Caradoc
Mitchell's Fold , (a stone circle from the Bronze Age )
Wroxeter (ruins of an old Roman city and legion fortifications)
Attingham Park
Moreton Corbet Castle
Stokesay Castle
Whittington Castle
Wenlock Edge
Shrewsbury's historic town center (with medieval buildings and Shrewsbury Castle)

Web links

Commons : Shropshire - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

http://www.secretshropshire.org.uk/ - documents from the history of Shropshire
http://www.shropshiretourism.info/ Shropshire Tourism - Official Shropshire tourism site.

Individual evidence

↑ Population of England and Wales on June 30, 2012 ( ZIP ; 832 kB)

[ONS-1] Population of England and Wales on June 30, 2012 ( ZIP ; 832 kB)