Client:- Shropshire Council
Project:- Shrewsbury map
Oblique aerial reconstruction illustration of Tudor & Stuart Shrewsbury. This project involved considerable research and much consultation with historians & archaeologists. Every building within the town walls was painstakingly reconstructed.
Shropshire Council wanted an artist with experience in reconstructing past townscapes, and with a good knowledge of architecture.
Phil Kenning had worked on reconstructing buildings in Spon Street for Coventry City Council and has long experience of using architectural drawings. He was also prepared to enter uncharted territory in reconstructing an entire large town. He would need to be flexible in being prepared to modify his drawings in the light of new information. In all these respects we were not to be disappointed.
For further information on how this map was created please follow the link below:
http://www.shropshirehistory.org.uk/html/search/verb/GetRecord/theme:20060918123835
Shrewsbury is a market town and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn. The town centre has a largely unspoilt medieval street plan including several examples of timber framing from the 15th and 16th centuries. Shrewsbury Castle, a red sandstone fortification, and Shrewsbury Abbey, a former Benedictine monastery, were founded in 1074 and 1083 respectively by the Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery.
Shrewsbury’s monastic gathering was disbanded with the Dissolution of the Monasteries and as such the Abbey was closed in 1540. However, it is believed that Henry VIII thereafter intended to make Shrewsbury a cathedral city after the formation of the Church of England, but the citizens of the town declined the offer. Despite this, Shrewsbury thrived throughout the 16th and 17th centuries; largely due to the town’s fortuitous location, which allowed it to control the Welsh wool trade. As a result, a number of grand edifices, including the Ireland’s Mansion (built 1575) and Draper’s Hall (1658), were constructed. It was also in this period that Edward VI gave permission for the foundation of a free school, which was later to become Shrewsbury School.
