Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands (region) of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a Civil parishes in England home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council. Consequently, it is the second largest town in the Ceremonial counties of England of Shropshire, after Telford.
Shrewsbury is a historic market town with the town centre having a largely unaltered medieval street plan. The town features over 660 historic listed buildings, including several examples of timber framing from the 15th and 16th century. Shrewsbury Castle, a red sandstone castle fortification, and Shrewsbury Abbey, a former Benedictine monastery, were founded in 1074 and 1083 respectively, by the Normans Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery. The town hosts one of the oldest and largest horticultural events in the country, Shrewsbury Flower Show, and is known for its floral displays, having won various awards since the turn of the 21st century, including Britain in Bloom in 2006.
Today, lying east of the Wales border, Shrewsbury serves as a cultural and commercial centre for the ceremonial county and a large area of mid-Wales, with retail output alone worth over £299 million per year. There are some light industry and distribution centres, such as Battlefield Enterprise Park, located mainly on the outskirts. The A5 road (Great Britain) and A49 road trunk roads cross near to the town, as do five railway lines at Shrewsbury railway station.
