Shrewsbury and Birmingham

A few weekends ago Warren and I headed to Shrewsbury, an adorable little Tudor town. It has a largely unaltered medieval street plan and well preserved buildings with timber framing from the 15th and 16th centuries. The weather was beautiful, and the town was very lively. There were loads of locals out doing their shopping, buskers performing, and tourists checking out the sights. 

I had four churches on my list to see in Shrewsbury. The first and most impressive one was St Mary's Church. It dates from Saxon times and is the only complete Medieval church in Shrewsbury. 

The ceiling is really impressive. It was carved in the 15th century and is adorned with shields, animals, and angels.

St Mary's Church is also known for its stained glass. The glass was not originally installed in St Mary's Church, but rather it is a collection from throughout Europe and was brought here during the 18th and 19th centuries. 

It features Old Testament kings and prophets as well as scenes from the life of St Bernard (such as him ridding flies from an abbey, riding a mule, and curing the sick). 

Everything in this church was absolutely breathtaking, from the Victorian tiled floor, the beautiful stonework, the ceiling, and even the church pews. 

The next church on our list was Shrewsbury Abbey. This site has been a place of worship since the Anglo-Saxon times. The current Abbey was built in 1083 on the site of an existing Saxon church. 

There were several monuments and stained glass windows featuring St Winefride, a seventh century Welsh martyr. Winefride had taken a vow of celibacy but was chased by a suitor after turning him down. He was so upset at the rejection that he chased her and cut off her head. 

A well of pure water sprang from the earth where her head landed and the suitor was swallowed by the earth. Winefride's uncle replaced her head on her body and she lived. She died fifteen years later and her remains were brought to Shrewsbury Abbey in 1137.

Shrewsbury Cathedral was started in 1853 (so pretty recent compared to the first two churches) by the Earl of Shrewsbury. Sadly, the Earl died three months before the building was finished. 

Most of the stained glass was done by a Shrewsbury artist between World War I and II. They depict many martyrs of the English Reformation and are considered among her best work. 

The cathedral is on top of a hill in Shrewsbury but is tucked away by the school's football fields. 

On our way to the fourth church we walked across the Welsh Bridge that crosses the river Severn. The Welsh border is only 9 miles to the west of Shrewsbury.

St Chad's was the last church we saw on our trip to Shrewsbury. There are several more churches that I would have enjoyed but Warren can only handle so many churches in one day. 

St Chad's was built in the 18th century and has a unique circular nave. Charles Darwin was baptised in St Chad's in 1809 and attended the church as a young boy. 

The 1984 version of The Christmas Carol was filmed in Shrewsbury and a headstone for Ebenezer Scrooge is still in the cemetery. The movie production used an actual period headstone with a worn off inscription and added Ebenezer's name to it. So it is an authentic gravestone, not a movie prop. 

St Chad's is a really interesting church in a town full of really interesting churches. 

The library was also very unique. Here it is with the statue of Charles Darwin in front. 

After our time in Shrewsbury we spent a few hours in Birmingham (it was on our way home). Birmingham is England's second largest city. 

When traveling throughout England it is very common to come across a statue of Queen Victoria, the longest ruling British monarch. 

Birmingham was badly bombed during World War II's "Birmingham Blitz". The city was extensively redeveloped during the 1950s and 1960s. The photo below is the library of Birmingham and shows off the modern architecture. 

This statue really stuck out (for obvious reasons) and reminded me of something you might see in the US with the signers of the Declaration of Independence. But instead it is a statue of Matthew Boulton, James Watt, and William Murdoch who are most famous for improving and developing the steam engine. 

I wish we had spent more time in Birmingham and I hope that we will get to go back. If not to explore more of the town than to hear more of the Brummie accent, which is considered the least attractive accent in the British Isles (think Ozzy Osbourne).