Shropshire is England’s largest inland county, extending from the fringes of the Black Country and the Potteries to the high sheep pastures of Clun Forest and the craggy heights of the Stiperstones. The first general history of the county in modern times published in 1984, this fluent and authoritative volume has become the standard work. However, recent research has made a revised new edition necessary. The book has been completely tr-designed and includes many new illustrations--there is no more attractive book on the county’s varied and fascinating past.
Dr Trinder’s very readable narrative encompasses Shropshire’s entire story, from prehistory to the present. In Roman times, the citizens of Wroxter enjoyed life in their elegant city beside the Severn, while later centuries of fighting along the Welsh border left a legacy of castles and fortifications, among them Offa’s Dyke, one of the supreme achievements of the Dark Ages. Most of Shropshire’s towns were deliberately planted in the early Middle Ages, among the Ludlow, one of the most beautiful towns in Europe. The development of the Shropshire iron industry, symbolised by the Iron Bridge, ushered in a period of industrialisation which has re-shaped the whole western world. From 1788 to 1834 Thomas Telford was county surveyor, adding roads, canals and bridges of unfailing elegance to the landscape. During the two World Wars the county housed many military bases, while the most dramatic event of the post-war years has been the transformation of a legacy of industrial dereliction into the new town of Telford.
The book is based on more that thirty years of Dr Trinder’s original research and close first-hand acquaintance with the Shropshire landscape. He provides a fascinating framework for further research, a thought-provoking chronicle for Salopians wishing to know more about their history and an informative introduction to Shropshire for its many visitors.
Please note: we have one copy of this book in stock that arrived damaged. It is all intact, complete with dustjacket, but there is a small hole that has been punched through both the dustjacket and spine of the book, so it cannot be sold at full price.
Contents:
List of Illustrations
Preface and Acknowledgements
1. Definitions
2. From the Mists of Prehistory
3. Roman and British Rule
4. The County Established
5. The Open Fields and After
6. The Church in the Middle Ages
7. Towns in the Middle Ages
8. The Fluctuating Frontier
9. Revival and Reformation
10. The Civil War
11. Salopian Goods and Chattels
12. County Society in the Eighteenth Century
13. The Evangelical Revival
14. evolutions in Industry
15. Changing Patterns of Transport
16. Victorian Market Towns
17. The Victorian Countryside
18. Into the Twentieth Century
19. The Second World War and After, 1939-63
Select Bibliography
Index
