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Proud Salopians

Story has it that when King Henry VIII created the Church of England he wanted a diocese of Shropshire, with Shrewsbury as the Cathedral City. However the town of Shrewsbury rejected the offer, claiming that it wanted to remain a "first of towns" rather than a second rate city. It is said that this is where the term "Proud Salopians" comes from; a term used for the people of Shrewsbury who are proud of it as it is.

HMP Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury prison is the most overcrowded prison in England and Wales, according to a 2005 report on the UK prison population.

Pronunciation of "Shrewsbury"

The name of the town can be pronounced either ("Shroosbry") or ("Shro-sbry"). The latter pronunciation is favoured by the BBC, and is technically the correct pronunciation, however both are heard widely in the town; a poll conducted by the Shropshire Star in 2003 suggested that 70% of residents prefer. In addition, many locals drop the first 'r' from the name, making the pronunciation("Shoesbury").

Shrewsbury and Shropshire

The name "Shrewsbury" comes from the Anglo-Saxon "Scrobbesbyrig". "Byrig" means "fortified place". "Scrobb" could mean shrubs or scrubland, or it could be the name of an Anglo-Saxon chieftain, so the meaning would be "scrubland fort" or "Scrobb's fort". Similarly, the name "Shropshire" evolved from "Scrobbesbyrigscire".

Both Shrewsbury and Shropshire have the same alternative name, Salop, which can be confusing. On some maps, Shropshire is recorded as "Salop", while on milestones in and near to the county, "Salop" refers to Shrewsbury.

Zutphen

Shrewsbury is twinned with Zutphen in the Netherlands. The relationship between the two towns is very old and dates back to the 16th Century.

Simnel cake

The most popular and well known recipe for Simnel cake is from Shrewsbury.

Shrewsbury Biscuits

Also referred to as Shrewsbury Cakes, Shrewsbury Biscuits are a form of, often lemon flavoured, biscuit, that were originally produced in Shrewsbury, which are currently available at a small number of locations in and around Shropshire.

Oldest McDonald's

Shrewsbury is home to the oldest building housing any McDonald's in the world, with one of the restaurant's exterior walls dating back to the 13th century.

HMS Talent

The Royal Navy nuclear submarine HMS Talent is affiliated with the town.

Royal Observer Corps

There was a regional 'cold war' headquarters of the Royal Observer Corps (HQ 16 Group ROC) in the town until the Corps was dissolved in 1995. Located near the Abbey on Holywell Street, the protected and atomic-bomb hardened Nuclear reporting blockhouse was jointly built by the Home Office and MOD in 1962 and operated continuously until 1992. In 1989 the flimsy administrative hutting to the rear of the blockhouse was replaced by a modern, two-storey building complete with an upstairs canteen and training room. Both buildings still stand and the nuclear bunker is now occupied by what must be the 'best protected' Veterinary practice in the world (although this has been somewhat spoiled by the recent addition of glazed windows in the metre thick walls to the front). There is a cabinet in the vet’s waiting room containing ROC historical memorabilia including photographs, badges, ROC crest, radiation detector instruments etc.

Grandfather of the skyscraper

Shrewsbury has the first iron framed building in the world - the Ditherington Flaxmill (known locally as 'The Maltings'), built in 1797. It is charactured to be the "grandfather of skyscrapers" as it is viewed as the ancestor of skyscrapers, as its iron frame was to evolve into the steel frame which is responsible for the development of modern skyscrapers.