Shrewsbury - St Mary the Virgin

Shrewsbury has Saxon roots possibly going back as far as the 8th century. There is a tradition that the town was founded in the 5th century, on occasion of the decay of the Roman town Uriconium. By the beginning of the 10th century, Shrewsbury was home to three moneyers who had permission to operate a mint in the town, using dies supplied by the royal government. In 914 Æthelflæd, daughter of Alfred the Great and known as the Lady of the Mercians, fortified Shrewsbury, along with Hereford and two other fortresses.

Roger de Montgomery was given the town as a gift from William the Conqueror and took the title of Earl of Shrewsbury. He built at Shrewsbury Castle in 1074, though archaeological excavations at the site of Shrewsbury castle have indicated that the location may have been a fortified site in the time of the Saxons. In 1102, Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury was deposed and the title forfeited, as a consequence of him rebelling against Henry I and joining the Duke of Normandy's invasion of England in 1101. The Lord of Wem, assisted Henry in putting down the rebellion. Henry subsequently took the government of the town into his own hands and in 1116 the nobility of England did homage to William and swore allegiance to his father. The early death of William Ætheling without issue led to the succession crisis, known in history as the Anarchy, and during this period, in 1138, King Stephen successfully besieged the town's castle held by William FitzAlan for the Empress Maud

In 1138 the relics of St Winifred were brought to Shrewsbury , following their purchase by the Abbot of Shrewsbury, the abbey being ready for consecration but having no relics prior to that time. The popularity of St Winifred grew in the 14th and 15th centuries and a new shrine for her relics was built in the late 1300s. Around this time the abbey illegally acquired the relics of St Beuno, uncle of St Winifred, by stealing them. As a result the abbey was fined but allowed to keep the relics

In 1234 Prince Llywelyn ab Iorwerth of Wales and Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke burned down the town and laid siege to its castle. In 1283, Edward I summoned a parliament in Shrewsbury to try and condemn Dafydd ap Gruffydd, last of the native Princes of Wales, to execution by hanging, drawing and quartering within the town after Dafydd was captured, ending his rebellion against the king.

The centre has a largely undisturbed medieval street plan.

The spire of St Mary's is one of the tallest in England and for over 500 years it has dominated the skyline of Shrewsbury. St Mary's originated as a collegiate church. According to tradition it was founded by King Edgar in the 10th century. By at least the 13th century, it was served by a dean and nine canons. Excavations revealed the presence of an earlier church. Building of the present church began in the 12th century, consisting of a nave without aisles, and a cruciform east end. A large west tower was added, and in about the 1170s the transepts were altered to provide altars for the canons. Construction of the aisles followed, first the south aisle with a porch. Work on the north aisle continued until the 1220s.