Events

Friends of Shropshire Archives AGM 

Tuesday 9 June at 2pm at Shropshire Archives

Followed by (please choose one: these tours are concurrent.): 

3pm: A guided tour of The Old House on Dogpole by the owner [12 tickets only]
On her visit to Shrewsbury in 1698, the traveller Celia Fiennes commented; ‘there is an abundance of people of quality lives in Shrewsbury … and many large old houses that are convenient and stately’.
One of them is the Old House, sitting on the historic thoroughfare of Dogpole, which included the town houses of Francis, Lord Newport, created Earl of Bradford in 1694, and of the Rocke Family, who lived in the Old House (which can just be seen to the right of the picture here of Town Garden in Dogpole, Shrewsbury c.1710. Artist unknown, Shrewsbury Civic Society). 
It is full of history, with intriguing connections to Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. The story of its more recent incarnations from a family home, to a school for girls, a solicitors’ office, a museum and then back to a private family house again, is equally fascinating.
Members only £15
Link to Booking Form:

OR
3pm Phil Scoggins: The origins and architectural history of the Square, Shrewsbury [20 tickets ]
A lively walk and talk by local historian Phil Scoggins about the Square, in the heart of Shrewsbury. 

In early medieval times, the area now occupied by the Square was a wet and boggy place, before being filled in with earth moved from the further side of the High Street. On this walk, Phil Scoggins will describe the many changes, and succession of buildings, that the Square has witnessed over the centuries.
Members £5, Non-members £7 
Link to Booking Form:

Visit to Minsterley Hall

Minsterley, Shropshire, SY5 0AA

Thursday, 2 July at 3pm Members Only £15

Once owned by the Marquess of Bath, the Hall is first mentioned as “a handsome new house” built for Robert Clough in 1581. 

Following the destruction of Caus Castle in the civil war, the Royalist Sir Henry Frederick Thynne bought Minsterley in 1634 and enlarged it. In 1869, on his Grand Tour, the 4th Marquess commissioned the huge Italian marble fireplace for his bedroom. The fireplace is thought to have been worth more than the house itself when it was installed. 

The title Marquess of Bath was created in 1789, for  Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount of Weymouth. The family descends from Sir John Thynne, who built Longleat House between 1567 and 1579.

Link to Booking Form

‘Miss Plymley Recollects’ presented by Alison Utting

Tuesday, 25 August at 2.30pm at Shropshire Archives
Members £5, Non-members £7

Ms. Alison Utting has gained a wide recognition for her vivid presentations that spotlight women from Shropshire’s past. Katherine Plymley was a diarist, traveller, painter and naturalist, who recoded life in Shropshire between 1791 and 1827.  
Alison says; “Luckily for us, I think Katherine had a sense of the historical nature of what she was witnessing. There are more than 200 of her handwritten notebooks in the Shropshire Archives, plus several large boxes of Katherine’s beautiful watercolour paintings of butterflies, moths, and insects. This is a treasure trove for me. Being able to read someone’s own words and bring them to life for an audience is a really special experience.”
Link to Booking Form:

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