BRIDGNORTH

'Bridgnorth' is a town in Shropshire, England, along the Severn Valley. It is split into ''Low Town'' and ''High Town'', named on account of their elevations relative to the River Severn, which separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left. Bridgnorth is named after a bridge over the River Severn, built further north than an earlier bridge at Quatford. It is the seat and most populous town of Bridgnorth district. The population of the town of Bridgnorth was 11,891 at the 2001 Census and a more recent estimate puts it at 12,212 .

Contents

History

Pre-20th century

Bridgnorth castle

Recent history

Attractions and features

Education

Sport

Famous residents

References

External links

History

Pre-20th century

The early history of Bridgnorth is connected with Æthelfleda, lady of the Mercians, who raised a mound there in 912 as part of her offensive policy against the Danes of the five boroughs. After the Conquest William the Bastard granted the manor of Bridgnorth to Earl Roger of Shrewsbury, whose son Robert de Belesme transferred his castle and borough from Quatford to Bridgnorth, but on Robert's attainder in 1102 the town became a royal borough. Later, in 1546, the town was incorporated by James I.
It is probable that Henry I granted the burgesses certain privileges, for Henry II confirmed to them all the franchises and customs which they had in the time of Henry I. King John in 1215 granted them freedom from toll throughout England except the city of London, and in 1227 Henry III conferred several new rights and liberties, among which were a gild merchant with a hanse. These early charters were confirmed by several succeeding kings, Henry VI granting in addition assize of bread and ale and other privileges. The burgesses returned two members to parliament in 1295, and continued to do so until 1867, when they were assigned only one member. The burgesses were additionally granted two fairs: a yearly fair on the feast of the Translation of St Leonard and three following days was granted in 1359, and in 1630, Charles I granted them licence to hold another fair on the Thursday before the first week in Lent and two following days.


The town was disfranchised in 1885.

Bridgnorth castle

The Castle, originally built in 1101 by Robert de Belleme (later Earl of Shrewsbury) was besieged four times in its history, last by the Roundheads in 1646 during the English Civil War when Bridgnorth was a Royalists stronghold. Parliamentary forces used an artificial hill (Panpudding Hill) across from the castle in order to bombard it and also tunnelled deep into the cliff underneath Bridgnorth castle in order to plant explosives and blow it up. The threat from this tunnelling (along with dwindling supplies) caused the Royalists to surrender Bridgnorth. Although the castle survived the siege, it was blown up by the Roundheads in 1647 to prevent its future use by the Royalists should they have retaken the town. The only part that remains, part of the great tower, leans at an angle of 17°, greater than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
During the siege, a large part of high town was set on fire. As a result of the fire, there are no verified images or detailed accounts of the actual layout or even the appearance of Bridgnorth Castle before its destruction.
The castle grounds were excavated over 3 days by Time Team (episode aired 18 March 2001), clarifying the layout of the castle and the history of its construction.

Recent history

In 1978, Bridgnorth twinned itself with the French town of Thiers, and later in 1992 it also twinned with the Bavarian town of Schrobenhausen, Since then each have twinned with each other.
On August 21, 2003, Bridgnorth was granted Fairtrade Town status.
In 2005, unverified German papers from 1941 were found, outlining new details about Operation Sealion, the military plans of Nazi Germany for an invasion of Britain. (The plan was never carried out.)
Details about two Shropshire towns in the documentation—Ludlow and Bridgnorth. Some experts now believe that it was Hitler's intention to make Bridgnorth the German headquarters in Britain, due to its central, rural location and now-disused airfield.

Attractions and features

Bridgnorth has a number of features and attractions in it, some of which are of significant importance. The town also possesses a large number of buildings of the half-timbered architectural style, including the town hall.
Bridgnorth is home to a funicular railway that links the high and low towns, the Castle Hill Railway, which is the steepest inland railway of its type in the country. Additionally, within the Low Town is Bridgnorth railway station on the Severn Valley Railway, which runs southwards to Kidderminster.
In terms of culture and entertainment, there is a theatre, the Theatre On The Steps, and a 1930s cinema (still in use), the Majestic, originally having one screen, but now three. The town has a number of bars and restaurants and, beyond these, there are 27 pubs, most of which traditional, which makes the town attractive to many tourists.
High Town is dominated by two Anglican churches, St Mary's church, a church built in the classic style of the late 18th century, which was designed by Thomas Telford. The design of this church appears to have inspired two 19th century Dublin churches - St.Stephen's on Mount Street[1] and the presently closed St.Paul's on Arran Quay.[2] The latter 's cupola (dome) is similar to that of St.Mary's, but was built some 40 years later. The other church is St Leonard's, which was formerly collegiate and largely rebuilt in 1862.
Other notable buildings in the town are the seventeenth century Bridgnorth Town Hall and a surviving town gate. Daniel's Mill, a watermill is situated a short distance along the River Severn from Bridgnorth.

Education

There are a number of Primary Schools in Bridgnorth, including:

★ Castlefields (County Primary)

★ St Mary's (Church of England)

★ St Leonard's (Church of England)

★ St John's (Roman Catholic)

★ Morville

★ Brown Clee
The town has two Secondary schools: Oldbury Wells School and The Endowed School. These serve the town and its outlying villages, including Alveley and Highley.

Sport

Bridgnorth Town F.C. are the local football club based in Bridgnorth. They joined the Worcestershire Combination in 1938 and have twice reached the 5th round of the FA Vase. They are currently playing in the West Midlands Regional League Premier Division having moved from the Midland Football Combination in 2006.
Bridgnorth Spartans Juniors Football Club is one of the biggest junior football clubs in Shropshire, running 21 teams in the 2007/08 season. These teams include 16 boys' teams, ranging from Under-8's to Under-16's, 4 girls' teams and a ladies team. They also run a crèche for 3 to 7 year-olds at St Mary's School on Saturday mornings called ''Little Spartans''. Home games are played at Oldbury Wells School on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the season. The home kit features a colour scheme of red & black, arranged in stripes.
In 2007, Bridgnorth hosted the UK Downhill Street Race in Cycling.

Famous residents

★ Richard Baxter (November 12, 1615 - December 8, 1691) the English Puritan church leader, divine scholar and controversialist, called by Dean Stanley "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen" lived in Bridgnorth town centre, between 1638-1640.

★ Thomas Percy, bishop of Dromore, the editor of the Reliques of Ancient English Poetry was born in Bridgnorth.

References

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External links

★ Bridgnorth Spartans Junior Football Club

★ Shropshire Tourism

★ Bridgnorth Visitor Guide

★ About Bridgnorth Visitor Guide

★ Bridgnorth Photo Gallery

★ Shropshire Tourist Board article

★ BBC Shropshire article

★ 63 Bridgnorth Squadron Air Training Corps