| Bridgnorth | |
|---|---|
 High Town from theRiver Severn | |
 Coat of arms of Bridgnorth Motto: Fidelitas Urbis Salus Regis In the town's loyalty lies the King's safety[1] | |
  Bridgnorth Location withinShropshire | |
| Population | 12,079 (2011)[2] |
| OS grid reference | SO716927 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRIDGNORTH |
| Postcode district | WV15, WV16 |
| Dialling code | 01746 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Shropshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
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Bridgnorth is amarket town andcivil parish inShropshire, England, named after a bridge over theRiver Severn. The river divides the town into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on its right bank and the lower on its left bank. The population at the2011 Census was 12,079.
Bridgnorth is named after a bridge over the River Severn, which was built further north than an earlier bridge atQuatford.[4] The earliest historical reference to the town is in 895, when it is recorded that theDanes created a camp atCwatbridge;[5] subsequently in 912,Æthelfleda constructed a mound on the west bank of theRiver Severn, or possibly on the site ofBridgnorth Castle, as part of an offensive against the Danes.[4][6] Earliest names for Bridgnorth include Brigge, Brug and Bruges, all referring to its position on the Severn.[7]
After theNorman conquest,William I granted themanor of Bridgnorth toRoger de Montgomerie.[6] The town itself was not created until 1101, whenRobert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury, the son of Roger de Montgomerie, moved from Quatford, constructing acastle and achurch on the site of the modern-day town. The town became a royal borough on Robert Bellême'sattainder in 1102.[6] The castle's purpose was to defend against attacks fromWales.[4] The town was attacked and burnt byRoger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March during theDespenser War in 1322.[8] A small Jewish community was established in the town in 1267, but was expelled in 1274; one of the community was arrested in a campaign against alleged Jewish coin clipping, a prelude towardsEdward I'sEdict of Expulsion in 1290.[9]
Bridgnorth'stown walls were initially constructed in timber between 1216 and 1223;murage grants allowed them to be upgraded to stone between the 13th and 15th centuries.[10] By the 16th century, theantiquarianJohn Leland reported them in ruins and of the five gates, only one survives today.[citation needed]
It is probable thatHenry I granted theburgesses certain privileges, forHenry II confirmed to them all the franchises and customs which they had had in the time of Henry I.[11] KingJohn in 1215 granted them freedom from toll throughout England except the city of London, and in 1227Henry III conferred several new rights and liberties, among which were agild merchant with ahanse. These early charters were confirmed by several succeeding kings,Henry VI granting in additionAssize of Bread and Ale and other privileges. The burgesses were additionally granted two fairs: a yearly fair on the feast of the Translation ofSt Leonard and the three following days was granted in 1359, and in 1630Charles I granted them licence to hold another fair on the Thursday before the first week inLent and two following days. The burgesses returned two members to parliament in 1295,[12] and continued to do so until 1867, when they were assigned only one member. The town was disfranchised in 1885.[6]
During theCivil War, Bridgnorth was one of the Midlands' main Royalist strongholds, and in 1642 many Royalist troops were garrisoned there. In 1646, Cromwell's Roundheads arrived with orders to take Bridgnorth for the Parliamentarians from the garrison led bySir Robert Howard.[13] After a three-week siege, Cromwell was successful and he ordered that the castle be demolished.
Bridgnorth had an ironworks in Low Town run byHazledine and Company which in 1808 built the locomotiveCatch Me Who Can designed and promoted byRichard Trevithick. A plaque on the foundry's site commemorates this association.[14]
By 1824, theborough and liberties of Bridgnorth were well defined.[15]
The population of the municipal borough in 1841 was 6,198, and that of the town was 5,770.[16]
More than 255 men from the Bridgnorth area volunteered in the first months of theFirst World War. Their names were published in theBridgnorth Journal on 26 December 1914 and those killed in action are remembered on the war memorial, sculpted byAdrian Jones, in the castle grounds.[17]
Until 1961 theRoyal Air Force's initial recruit training unit was atRAF Bridgnorth, a station opened in 1939. During theSecond World War, two women were killed in a German air raid in August 1940 when bombs hit neighbouring houses in High Town. In 2005, unverified German papers dating from 1941 were found, outlining new details aboutOperation Sea Lion, themilitary plans ofNazi Germany for an invasion of Britain. Two quiet Shropshire towns were mentioned in the documentation:Ludlow and Bridgnorth. Some experts believe that it wasHitler's intention to make Bridgnorth his personalheadquarters in Britain, due to its central position in the UK, rural location, rail connections andairfield.[18][19]
In 1978, Bridgnorth was twinned with the French town ofThiers, and in 1992 it also twinned with theBavarian town ofSchrobenhausen, Germany[20] that had already twinned with Thiers a few years earlier. On 21 August 2003 Bridgnorth was grantedFairtrade Town status.[21]
The town is in theSevern Valley, where the river passes through a relatively narrow valley with largely-wooded slopes. High Town, the part of the town sited on the west side of the Severn, is built on a notablepromontory, at the southern end of which the castle was constructed, and is known as Castle Hill. Low Town is on lower-lying ground on the banks of the river. High Town is at an elevation of 65–68 metres (213–223 feet) above sea level, whilst Low Town is at 32–33 metres (105 feet).[22] The lie of the land of Low Town is less hilly but then rises steeply to its immediate east.
TheWest Midlands Green Belt covers the countryside to the east of the Severn and the settlement.
Thecivil parish includesDanesford,Oldbury andQuatford.[23]
Bridgnorth is home to afunicular railway that links the High and Low towns, theCastle Hill Railway, which is the steepest[5] and only inland railway of its type in England.[24] Additionally, within the High Town isBridgnorth railway station on theSevern Valley Railway, which runs southwards toKidderminster.The ruins ofBridgnorth Castle, built in 1101, are present in the town. Due to damage caused during the English Civil War, the castle is inclined at an angle of 15 degrees.[25]
High Town has two prominentChurch of England churches.Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth, achurch built in the classic style of the late 18th century,[6] was designed byThomas Telford;[26] and is still used for worship.St. Leonard's was formerly collegiate, and Bridgnorth was aRoyal Peculiar until 1856. It was subsequently largely rebuilt[27] but is no longer used for regular worship. It has many community uses and is in the care of theChurches Conservation Trust.
Bishop Percy's House on the Cartway was built in 1580 by Richard Forster and has been a Grade 1 listed building since 18 July 1949. It was one of the few properties of its type to survive the great fire of Bridgnorth in April 1646, and was the birthplace ofThomas Percy (Bishop of Dromore), author of 'Reliques of Ancient English Poetry'.[6][28][29]
Other notable buildings in the town are the 17th centuryBridgnorth Town Hall, ahalf-timbered building,[30] and a surviving town gate the Northgate which houses the museum.[31]Daniel's Mill, a well knownwatermill is situated a short distance along theRiver Severn from Bridgnorth.
The remains of an oldhermitage can be seen from the high town, they are commonly called The Queens Parlor by locals. One local legend tells of its occupation in AD 925 by a hermit called Ethelred or Ethelwald, a grandson toAlfred the Great. This may not be such an unlikely story as Bridgnorth was founded in 912 by Alfred the Great's daughter Ethelfleda.
There are a number ofprimary schools in Bridgnorth, including: Castlefields County Primary School, twoChurch of England schools, St Mary's and St Leonard's; theRoman Catholic St John's school; and, in addition, the Morville and Brown Clee schools.[32]
The town has twosecondary schools:Oldbury Wells School andBridgnorth Endowed School (previously namedBridgnorth Grammar School).[32] These serve the town and its outlying villages, includingAlveley andHighley.
There is asixth form in Bridgnorth,Bridgnorth Sixth Form, which is run within Oldbury Wells School. A consultation was published which outlines consideration of no new student intake in September 2024 and potential closure in September 2025.[33] In September 2023,Telford College made a deal with both Bridgnorth secondary schools.[34]
There is a theatre, theTheatre on the Steps, and a 1930s cinema, theMajestic. The Northgate Museum contains many artefacts connected with the town and surrounding area. It was the first independent museum in Shropshire to be accredited by theMuseums, Libraries and Archives Council.[35] The town has an orchestra, Bridgnorth Sinfonia, which performers regular concerts in St Mary's Church in East Castle Street.[36]
Bridgnorth Town F.C. was the football club based in Bridgnorth. They joined theWorcestershire Combination in 1938 and twice reached the 5th round of theFA Vase. They won the championship of theWest Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division in 2008. Affiliated to the club was the junior section known as "Bridgnorth Town Juniors". The teams ranged from under 8s to under 16s and competed in the Telford Junior League. After folding in 2013, the club was effectively replaced by "phoenix club"A.F.C. Bridgnorth.Bridgnorth Spartans Juniors Football Club run junior and adult teams. These teams include boys' teams, ranging from Under-8s to Under-15s, girls' teams and women's teams. Home games are played at Oldbury Wells School.[citation needed]
Bridgnorth Rowing Club occupies 'The Maltings' building on the edge of Severn Park, which was purchased by the club in 1983. Work to convert the malting building into the boat house started in 1993. It competes in events in the local region and further afield, including attending the annual Head of the River Race on theThames in London, and hosts an annual regatta with racing along the length of the Severn Park.[citation needed]
Bridgnorth Army Cadets is the oldest Army Cadet detachment in Shropshire.[citation needed] TheArmy Cadet Force (ACF) in 2010 celebrated 150 years.
In 2007, Bridgnorth hosted the UK Downhill Street Race in cycling.
In January 2010, the Kidderminster branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts expanded to Bridgnorth, providing the town with a part-time performing arts school for people of ages between 6 and 18. The Kidderminster School is now named "Stagecoach Kidderminster & Bridgnorth".[citation needed]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC West Midlands andITV Central. Television signals are received from theWrekin[37] and the local relay TV transmitters.[38]
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Shropshire,Heart West Midlands,Capital North West and Wales,Smooth West Midlands,Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire,Greatest Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire, and Severnvalley Radio, a community based station.[39]
The town is served by the local newspaper,Shropshire Star (formerly Bridgnorth Journal).[40]
Bridgnorth grew initially as amarket town at the centre of a system of local radial roads linking it with more rural, smaller settlements. Many of these roads crossed Bridgnorth at the point on the High Street where the town hall now stands. The River Severn historically also played a major role as a trading connection for the town, but is no longer generally navigable this far upstream.[citation needed]
Bridgnorth is connected toShrewsbury andStourbridge by theA458 road,Telford andKidderminster by theA442 road, andWolverhampton via theA454 road. The town is 11 miles (18 km) from theM54 motorway, at Telford.
The A458 passes to the south of the town centre on a by-pass, construction of which was started in 1982 and now serves to relieve the town centre of the congestion that once plagued it. The bypass also provided a second bridge across the Severn at Bridgnorth, which remains the only local alternative to the historic bridge that connects Low and High towns.
The town is served by buses to and from Telford, Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton,Much Wenlock,Ironbridge,Shifnal and Kidderminster. These are operated byArriva Midlands, Select Bus Services, andDiamond Bus.
Currently the closest towns with active railway stations on theNational Rail network are Telford and Wolverhampton. However, Bridgnorth does still have a station on an active heritage line, theSevern Valley Railway. Bridgnorth station was not the northern terminus of this line when built, but the main intermediate station, being 181⁄4 miles fromHartlebury and 221⁄2 miles fromShrewsbury. The station, which was opened to the public by the SVR on 1 February 1862, was passed toGreat Western Railway (GWR) and then eventually toBritish Railways in 1948. It closed to passengers after 101 years of service on 8 September 1963 and to freight traffic on 30 November 1963. Although thought by some to have been closed as part of theBeeching cuts, its planned closure pre-dated his report.
The neo-Jacobean station is the only listed railway station on the Severn Valley Railway. Necessitating that, any future plans to enhance visitor facilities will need to be carefully designed to be in keeping with the railway station's architecture and historic character.
The line now ends just north of the modern-day station, where the line formerly bridged Hollybush Road and passed through Bridgnorth Tunnel and on to the next station on the line,Linley. There exists an ongoing debate whether the railway shouldextend beyond its current limits north of Bridgnorth.[41]
The Bridgnorth Cliff Railway, also known as the Bridgnorth Funicular Railway or Castle Hill Railway, is afunicular railway which has operated in Bridgnorth for over 100 years. The line links the lower part of High Town to the upper part. The bottom entrance is adjacent to theRiver Severn while the top is adjacent to the ruins ofBridgnorth Castle.
Opened on 7 July 1892 to great fanfare and the proclamation of a public holiday, the line is one of four funicular railways in theUK built to the same basic design - the others were theClifton Rocks Railway in Bristol; theLynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway in Devon; and theConstitution Hill Railway in Aberystwyth, Wales.
It is one of the steepest railways in the country and at least one source (the information panel outside the top station) claims it is both the steepest and shortest. It is the only functional inland funicular railway in England - there are about 15 more at English seaside towns.[42] Originally, the railway was powered by a simple system using water and gravity, but was converted in 1943–44 to run on electricity. Then, in 1955, new cars were installed on the railway; these were able to carry 18 passengers each and are still in use today. As of April 2024[update] return tickets cost £2.00 with discounts available for groups of 15 or more.[43] Single tickets are not available.
The railway allows pedestrians to easily get between the High Town and Low Town as the only other ways between the two are via 200 steps, or by using roads which drastically increase the journey time and distance. The terminals at the upper and lower part of the railway are currently used as tea-rooms and guest houses.[citation needed]
The railway was temporarily closed in December 2022 due to damage to a retaining wall and further damage was discovered during repairs. The railway reopened on 4 March 2024.[44]
Bridgnorth being split between High and Low Towns is connected by at least a dozen steps — for which the place is noted — from the north, going clockwise:
The town is on National Route 45 of the Sustrans National Cycle Network, which is named theMercian Way.
The long-distance trail called theGeopark Way begins in the town.
Every year since 1967, a sponsored walk has been held in Bridgnorth.[45] Since 2017 this has been organised by the Bridgnorth Lions Club.[45]
On the eastern side of the town is a largealuminium works, founded in the 1950s.[46]
Thetown council has sixteen members, with four elected from each of the fourwards that cover the civil parish (named Castle, Morfe, East, and West).[47] Castle ward includes Oldbury, while Morfe ward includes Danesford and Quatford.[23]
Local government and services are otherwise provided byShropshire Council and the townelects four of its members — one electoral division comprises East and Morfe wards together withAstley Abbotts, and the other comprises West and Castle wards together withTasley.[48] From 1974 until 2009, there was alsoBridgnorth District Council, a tier of local government between the county and town councils.
Bridgnorth istwinned with:[76][77]
Destinations from Bridgnorth | |
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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bridgnorth".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 559–560.see para 3 - "George Synge (1594–1653), uncle of ...."
see para 5 - "Edward, the younger son...."
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