See Ludlow as it was in 1768

Ludlow’s 18th Century past is being put firmly on the map with the launch of the first phase of a project highlighting Ludlow’s Georgian glory days.

Shropshire County Council’s Ludlow Museum, the Friends of Ludlow Museum and Ludlow Historic Research Group have joined forces with artist Phil Kenning to produce an aerial reconstruction of Ludlow as it was in 1768, a time of great change in the town. It will be unveiled at celebrations marking the 175th birthday and the reopening of Ludlow’s Museum following major redevelopment tomorrow (Thursday 9 October).

An interactive version of the map is also now available for the public to explore the history of the town and its buildings by calling up a range of information on the internet.

Local historian, Dr David Lloyd, who has contributed much of the research necessary to create the map, said: “It is a most stimulating and exciting project - it provides a unique opportunity to pull information together that was previously unavailable to the public, to present a picture of Ludlow at the height of its prosperity as a Georgian town.”

The huge aerial view has been painted by Ruyton-XI-Towns artist Phil Kenning, who is no stranger to such work. Mr Kenning also produced a highly successful view of Shrewsbury as it might have looked in 1630 and another of Much Wenlock in 1475. He said: “It was a real challenge to sort through a mountain of reference material such as photos, maps and old paintings for each building all of which was then condensed down to one image!”

The project was organised by museum officer Phil Scoggins, another veteran of the Shrewsbury and Much Wenlock maps. “I’ve learnt a tremendous amount about Ludlow from working with David Lloyd and other members of the Ludlow Historic Research Group – as a way of learning about a town, and then making it easy for the public to access, you just can’t beat it,” he said.

“This is an growing resource,” pointed out Daniel Lockett, Museum Curator, “We shall be adding the suburbs of Corve Street and Galdeford to the map in the New Year, both kindly paid for by the Research Group, and members of the Group will also be adding the fruits of their research to the interactive web-site version for years to come. Eventually we’ll be releasing a poster version too.”

The Ludlow 1768 interactive map, and those of Shrewsbury 1630 and Much Wenlock 1475, can be found on www.discovershropshire.org.uk

8 October 2008