The cathedral was the last of the religious buildings I visited in Shrewsbury and again I received a very warm welcome. The cathedral was designed by Edward Pugin, 18 year old son of Augustus Pugin of Palace of Westminster design fame. It was finished in 1856 and paid for by Bertram, Earl of Shrewsbury.
St. Chad’s certainly dominates the skyline of Shrewsbury particularly from the Quarry area. It was completely empty when I wandered through and so I didn’t spend much time there just admired the interior then left with a detour through the churchyard next door.
St Mary’s proved to be the most welcoming of the churches I visited in Shrewsbury, kept open daily by volunteers. I was greeted as I entered by a very enthusiastic volunteer, whose name I never got, who offered to give me a brief rundown of the church which I really enjoyed and told me which parts of the church to take a closer look at. The church is pretty popular because the day before while dining out at a restaurant I got chatting to a couple at the next table and they also told me what to look out for at St Mary’s.
St. Alkmund’s Church is nestled between the buildings that have sprung up around it. Founded in 912 it stands as the highest part of the town – indeed is reached up some steep steps – and after renovations over the years is now largely of Georgian design. The tower and spire were added around 1475.
After I finished up at Shrewsbury Abbey I spotted a sign across the road for Shropshire Wildlife Trust and decided to take a look. The garden is free to enter and volunteers each have their own part of the garden they look after – no one paid the slightest bit of attention to me as I wandered around.
I’d heard of Shrewsbury Abbey of course which is why it was on my list of things to see in the town but I had completely forgotten that the Cadfael series of books was based there (I’ve seen the TV series with Derek Jacobi but never read any of the books). I mention this to start with because the lovely friendly volunteer who greeted me on entry was surprised that Cadfael wasn’t my main reason for visiting and directed me to a very nice stained glass window dedicated to Cadfael author Ellis Peters (real name Edith Pargeter).
The Quarry is a 29 acre, Grade II listed park in Shrewsbury that borders the town and the River Severn. I found myself walking around here quite a few times on my visit to the town – on my arrival after checking in to my B&B to stretch my legs and as a convenient place to sit and watch the world go by when I needed a break from walking around.
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