About Shropshire

Introduction to the county of Shropshire

Shropshire is a county of wide-ranging appeal both for residents and the many visitors who come each year. Shropshire is steeped in history with an outstanding natural landscape combined with modern developments, which offer an unrivalled quality of life for people living, working or visiting the county.

The historic county area included Telford and Wrekin Council, which became a Unitary Council in April 1998. Shropshire Council covers the area excluding Telford and Wrekin Council and this is known as the administrative county of Shropshire. Please note that many of Shropshire Council's webpages refer to the administrative area of Shropshire and therefore exclude Telford and Wrekin. There is a link from this page to Telford and Wrekin Council's webpages; please view their webpages for information and statistics about Telford and Wrekin unitary authority.

Shropshire's beautiful scenery varies from the meres of the north to the hills of the centre and the south, with breathtaking views from Wenlock Edge, the Long Mynd and around the River Severn as it wanders through the county.

Everywhere in the Shropshire area is evidence of the county's remarkable past. Attractive villages and market towns boast handsome medieval churches and decorated half-timbered buildings from Tudor times.

But it is also a working landscape with farming and related industries, busy commercial centres, and business parks catering for a vast range of businesses. New businesses, modern leisure centres, cultural events, shopping malls and out-of-town retail parks have been developed to take Shropshire forward into the future.

Shropshire is one of England's largest inland counties, the unitary authority covering an area of 319,736 hectares or 1,235 square miles. To the west it borders Wales and to the south rural Herefordshire. In the north is Cheshire and, to the east, Staffordshire and the West Midlands conurbation. With a population of 290,900, Shropshire Council covers one of England's most sparsely populated counties (Office for National Statistics, Registrar General's Population Estimates for Mid-2007, Crown Copyright 2009) and agriculture is an important part of the local economy.

The county town is Shrewsbury, with other major centres including Oswestry, Whitchurch, Market Drayton, Ludlow, Bridgnorth and Church Stretton. An estimated 251,700 people live in settlements across Shropshire, with an estimated 157,400 people living in market towns (Office for National Statistics, 2007 Mid-Year Population Estimates for Middle Layer Super Output Areas, Crown Copyright 2009; figures for settlements exclude rural areas and are estimates only, apportioned to settlements using postal addresses from Ordnance Survey's Address Point, Shropshire Council 100049049 2009).

Further Information
For more information about Shropshire please follow the links on this page.

Back to top