Date/Time
Date(s) - 24th Apr 2020
08:00-18:00
Location
Shrewsbury Museum
Categories
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
Like Durham, the town of Shrewsbury sits on a hill surrounded by a loop of river, the Severn. For the visitor there is a great deal to see and enjoy within a relatively small space. It is certainly one of the finest towns along the Welsh Marches, with a castle whose foundations predate the Domesday Book. The two main bridges over the Severn, the Welsh and the English, make clear its strategic border-town importance, while its claim to call itself “England’s finest Tudor town” is not unreasonable given the quantity and quality of both public and private half-timbered buildings. Besides which, any town that can boast of having educated three such pupils as Sir Philip Sidney, Charles Darwin and Wilfred Owen deserves our respect.
Our visit will contain two elements: a guided tour of the Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery and a tour of the medieval and Tudor town centre. Formerly housed in the old castle buildings at one time used by Shrewsbury School, the Museum relocated in 2014 to the old Music Hall (1840) of the town. Here it tells the story of Shrewsbury from Roman times to the Medieval, Tudor, Stuart and later periods through a linked sequence of galleries. There is also a gallery focusing on the wider county of Shropshire.
The tour of the old town centre of Shrewsbury will be led by a Blue Badge guide and will include the Castle, the Market Square and visits to two of the town’s finest churches: the impressive Saxon and medieval church of St Mary, which contains some exceptional stained glass, and the 18th century church of St Chad. This is one of the finest and rarest examples of a circular church with its original galleries and pews still intact. There will also be an opportunity to see the riverside gardens of The Quarry.
Each tour will be offered twice, once in the morning and again in the afternoon. The group size, both at the Museum and for the town tour, will be limited to a maximum of twenty people. A buffet lunch, served in a room reserved for us at the Museum, will be included in the cost of the outing. The day inevitably includes a fair amount of gentle walking, and some of the streets of the town are hilly; however, the buildings to be visited are all fully accessible.
Group leaders: Adrian Barlow & Martha Alleguen
COST PER PERSON: £40.00 to include all costs – coach fare, admission and tour of the Museum, guided tour of the town centre and lunch at the Museum.
Pick-up points: Six Ways (outside Co-op) 08:00, Royal Well Coach Station 08:10, Westall Green (opposite Texaco garage) 08:25. The coach will leave Shrewsbury by 15:45 (return journey time approx. two and a quarter hours).
If you have any questions please phone Martha on 01242 526601.
Please book using one of the following options:
- On-line bookings with a debit or credit card, or Paypal account, can be made using the form below. Alternatively you may reserve your place, select the ‘off-line’ payment option and pay by bank transfer or cheque.
- Bank transfer – please email events@friendsofthewilson.org.uk and wait for confirmation that places are available before arranging your bank transfer.
- Cheque – please complete a booking form (download here or available in the Friends’ newsletter) and post it with your cheque.
Places are not confirmed until payment is received.
Bank transfers should be made to 30-91-87 00005816. The reference must include your surname plus as much of the event title as will fit, for example SMITH Shrewsbury.
Please make cheques payable to Friends of The Wilson and send with a SAE or clearly written email address to Martha Alleguen, 7 Sydenham Road South, Cheltenham GL52 6EF.
Bookings
This event is fully booked, but if you would like to be added to our waiting list please email events@friendsofthewilson.org.uk.