Shropshire is a ceremonial county on the Welsh border in the West Midlands of England. It covers 1,346 square miles (3,487 km2) and had 510,526 residents at the 2021 census, counted across two unitary authorities.
Shrewsbury is the county town, and Telford is the largest settlement. The county is also known by its older name, Salop, which survives in the postcode area and in the county council’s abbreviations.
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | West Midlands |
| Status | Ceremonial county; two unitary authorities |
| Area | 1,346 sq mi (3,487 km2) |
| Population (2021) | 510,526 |
| Shropshire Council area (2021) | 324,669 |
| Telford and Wrekin (2021) | 185,857 |
| County town | Shrewsbury (about 76,800) |
| Largest settlement | Telford (about 155,600) |
| Highest point | Brown Clee Hill, 540 m (1,772 ft) |
| Postcode areas | SY and TF, with WV and DY on the eastern edge |
Towns and Villages in Shropshire
The gazetteer records 924 named settlements in Shropshire, more than almost any other English county because so much of it is scattered farming country. The largest 276 are listed below, grouped by unitary authority.
Shropshire (unitary authority) (839)
- Abbey Green
- Abcott
- Abdon
- Ackleton
- Acton
- Acton Burnell
- Acton Pigott
- Acton Reynald
- Acton Round
- Acton Scott
- Adderley
- Alberbury
- Albrighton
- Alcaston
- Aldon
- Alkington
- All Stretton
- Allscott
- Alveley
- Anchor
- Annscroft
- Argoed
- Arscott
- Ash
- Ashfields
- Ashford Bowdler
- Ashford Carbonell
- Asterley
- Asterton
- Astley
- Astley Abbots
- Aston
- Aston Botterell
- Aston Eyre
- Aston Munslow
- Aston Pigott
- Aston Rogers
- Aston on Clun
- Atcham
- Atterley
- Babbinswood
- Bache
- Badger
- Ball
- Balmer Heath
- Bankshead
- Barkers Green
- Barrow
- Baschurch
- Basford
- Batchcott
- Battlefield
- Baveney Wood
- Bayston Hill
- Beambridge
- Bearstone
- Beckbury
- Beckjay
- Bedstone
- Benthall
- Bentlawnt
- Beobridge
- Berrington
- Berwick Wharf
- Besford
- Betchcott
- Betton
- Betton Abbots
- Betton Strange
- Bettws y Crwyn
- Bicton
- Billingsley
- Bilmarsh
- Bings Heath
- Binweston
- Birdsgreen
- Birtley
- Bishop’s Castle
- Bitterley
- Black Marsh
- Blackmore
- Bletchley
- Bomere Heath
- Boningale
- Booley
- Boraston
- Boreton
- Bouldon
- Bourton
- Bourton Westwood
- Bradney
- Brandhill
- Brandwood
- Breaden Heath
- Bridges
- Bridgnorth
- Broad Lanes
- Broad Oak
- Broadoak
- Broadstone
- Brockton
- Bromdon
- Bromfield
- Bromley
- Bromlow
- Brompton
- Broncroft
- Bronygarth
- Brookhampton
- Brooklands
- Brookrow
- Broome
- Broomfields
- Broseley
- Broughall
- Broughton
- Brownheath
- Brownhills
- Brunslow
- Bryn
- Bucknell
- Buildwas
- Buntingsdale Estate
- Burcote
- Burford
- Burley
- Burlington
- Burlton
- Burwarton
- Burwood
- Bushmoor
- Butlane Head
- Buttonbridge
- Buttonoak
- Calcott
- Callaughton
- Calverhall
- Cantlop
- Cardeston
- Cardington
- Catherton
- Catstree
- Catteralslane
- Causewaywood
- Caynham
- Cefn Einion
- Chapel Lawn
- Charlcotte
- Charlton Hill
- Chatford
- Chavel
- Chelmarsh
- Chelmick
- Cheney Longville
- Chesterton
- Cheswardine
- Chetton
- Childs Ercall
- Chipnall
- Chirbury
- Choulton
- Church Preen
- Church Pulverbatch
- Church Stretton
- Churchbank
- Churchtown
- Claverley
- Clee Hill
- Clee Saint Margaret
- Cleedownton
- Cleestanton
- Cleeton St Mary
- Cleobury Mortimer
- Cleobury North
- Clive
- Clun
- Clunbury
- Clungunford
- Clunton
- Cockshutford
- Cockshutt
- Coed y Go
- Colebatch
- Colemere
- Colemore Green
- Comley
- Commonwood
- Condover
- Coppicegate
- Coreley
- Corfton
- Cornbrook
- Cosford
- Coton
- Cotonwood
- Craven Arms
- Cressage
- Ditton Priors
- Dorrington
- Eardington
- Ellesmere
- Ford
- Gobowen
- Great Hanwood
- Hampton
- Highley
- Hinstock
- Hodnet
- Loughton
- Ludlow
- Market Drayton
- Mickley
- Minsterley
- Much Wenlock
- Myddle
- Oswestry
- Pant
- Pontesbury
- Prees
- Ruyton-XI-Towns
- Ryton
- Sandford
- Shawbury
- Shifnal
- Shrewsbury
- Tilstock
- Trefonen
- Wem
- West Felton
- Westbury
- Whitchurch
- Whittington
- Wilcott
- Woore
- Worfield
- Worthen
Telford and Wrekin (85)
- Adeney
- Admaston
- Allscott
- Aston
- Bratton
- Brockton
- Charlton
- Cherrington
- Chetwynd
- Chetwynd Aston
- Cluddley
- Coalbrookdale
- Coalmoor
- Coalport
- Cold Hatton
- Cold Hatton Heath
- Cotwall
- Crudgington
- Dawley
- Edgmond
- Ellerdine
- Ellerdine Heath
- Eyton upon the Weald Moors
- Forton
- Great Bolas
- Hadley
- Heath Lanes
- High Ercall
- Hillwicket
- Honnington
- Horsehay
- Howle
- Ironbridge
- Lilleshall
- Newport
- Oakengates
- Telford
- Tibberton
- Wellington
- Woodcote
Geography
The Severn cuts the county in two, entering from Wales, looping around Shrewsbury and running east through the Ironbridge Gorge. North of the river lies the flat North Shropshire Plain, dotted with glacial meres around Ellesmere and peat mosses at Whixall.
South of the Severn the ground breaks up into the hills that give the county its character: the Wrekin, the Long Mynd, the Stiperstones, Wenlock Edge and the Clee Hills, which reach 540 metres at Brown Clee. Much of this is the Shropshire Hills National Landscape.
Shropshire borders Cheshire to the north, Staffordshire to the east, Worcestershire to the south-east and Herefordshire to the south. To the west it meets Wales along Powys and Wrexham, with Offa’s Dyke running near the boundary.
Demographics
The 2021 census counted 324,669 people in the Shropshire Council area and 185,857 in Telford and Wrekin. At about 146 people per square kilometre, the county is one of the least densely settled in England.
Telford’s built-up area holds roughly 155,600 people, Shrewsbury about 76,800, Oswestry about 18,700, Bridgnorth about 12,700, Newport about 12,700, Market Drayton about 11,800, Ludlow about 10,500 and Whitchurch about 10,100. Everything else is a village.
Telford and Wrekin is younger and more urban; the Shropshire Council area is older, with a median age well above the English average and a long-running loss of young adults to Birmingham and Manchester.
Economy and Local Life
Farming still occupies most of the land: dairy on the northern plain, sheep in the south-west hills, arable in the Severn valley. Market Drayton, Oswestry, Ludlow, Bishop’s Castle and Craven Arms all work as market towns for their surrounding parishes.
Telford holds the manufacturing. Its industrial estates make vehicle components, plastics, electronics and building products, and it remains one of the largest concentrations of Japanese-owned manufacturing in Britain. Shrewsbury runs on retail, public administration and its hospital.
Tourism is concentrated on the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site and its ten museums, Shrewsbury’s medieval street pattern, Ludlow’s castle and food scene, and walking on the Long Mynd and Stiperstones.
History
Wroxeter, five miles east of Shrewsbury, was Viroconium Cornoviorum, the fourth largest city in Roman Britain. After the Romans the area became the Welsh kingdom of Powys, then the Anglo-Saxon border district of the Mercian Marches, fortified by Offa’s Dyke in the eighth century.
The Norman Marcher lords built the castles at Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Clun and Whittington. Henry IV defeated the Percy rebellion at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403.
The county then made industrial history. Abraham Darby smelted iron with coke at Coalbrookdale in 1709, and the world’s first cast-iron bridge was thrown across the Severn at Ironbridge in 1779. Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury in 1809. Telford was designated as Dawley new town in 1963 and renamed in 1968 after the engineer Thomas Telford.
Getting There
The M54 runs from the M6 near Wolverhampton to Telford and Shrewsbury, where it meets the A5. The A49 runs north to south through Shrewsbury, Church Stretton, Craven Arms and Ludlow, and the A41, A458 and A483 carry the rest.
Shrewsbury station is a junction for the Welsh Marches Line to Hereford and Cardiff, the Cambrian Line to Machynlleth and Aberystwyth, and services to Birmingham, Chester and Crewe. Telford Central, Wellington, Church Stretton, Craven Arms and Ludlow are the other main stops.
Birmingham Airport is about 50 miles from Shrewsbury by the M54 and M6; Manchester and Liverpool airports are roughly 70 miles north.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Shropshire?
510,526 at the 2021 census: 324,669 in the Shropshire Council area and 185,857 in Telford and Wrekin.
What is the largest town in Shropshire?
Telford, with about 155,600 people. Shrewsbury, the county town, has about 76,800.
How many towns and villages are there in Shropshire?
The gazetteer lists 924 named settlements, one of the highest counts of any English county.
Which councils cover Shropshire?
Two unitary authorities: Shropshire Council, which has run the former county and its five districts since 2009, and Telford and Wrekin Council, unitary since 1998.
Is Salop the same as Shropshire?
Yes. Salop is the older administrative name for the county and was the council’s official title from 1974 to 1980. It survives in the SY postcode area and in local usage.
Where is Shropshire?
In the West Midlands on the Welsh border, between Cheshire to the north, Staffordshire to the east, Worcestershire and Herefordshire to the south, and Powys and Wrexham to the west.