Bridgnorth, often mis-spelt Bridgenorth, is a town in Shropshire, England, at Grid reference
SO717929. It is split into Low Town and High
Town, named on account of their elevations relative
to the River Severn. Bridgnorth is named after
a bridge over the River Severn, built further
north than an earlier bridge at Quatford. It
is the seat of the Bridgnorth district. As of
the 2001 census the district's population was
52,497. The population of the town of Bridgnorth
is 11,742.
Low Town is home to the Severn
Valley Railway, which runs southwards
to Kidderminster. Low Town is connected to the
High Town by the steepest inland cliff railway
in Britain, the Castle Hill Railway.
High Town is dominated by Bridgnorth
Castle and St Mary's Church,
the latter designed by Thomas Telford.
Other notable buildings in the town are the
seventeenth century Bridgnorth Town
Hall, a surviving town gate, and Daniel's
Mill, a watermill.
Bridgnorth Castle,
originally built in 1190 by Robert de Belleme
(later Earl of Shrewsbury) was besieged four
times in its history, last by the Roundheads
in 1646 during the English Civil War when Bridgnorth
was a Royalists stronghold. Parliamentary forces
used an artificial hill (Panpudding Hill) across
from the castle in order to bombard it and also
tunnelled deep into the cliff underneath Bridgnorth
Castle in order to plant explosives
and blow it up. The threat from this tunnelling
(along with dwindling supplies) caused the Royalists
to surrender Bridgnorth. Although the castle
survived the siege, it was blown up by the Roundheads
in 1647 to prevent its future use by the Royalists
should they have retaken the town. The only
part that remains, part of the great tower,
leans at an angle greater than the Leaning Tower
of Pisa.
During
the siege, a large part of the town was set
on fire. As a result of the fire, there are
no verified images or detailed accounts of the
actual layout or even the appearance of Bridgnorth
castle before its destruction.
On August 21, 2003, Bridgnorth was granted Fairtrade
Town status.
It
is popular with Black Country tourists and drinkers
because of, amongst many other things, its 27
(mostly traditional) pubs, including 'The Golden
Lion', The Bell & Talbot, 'The Railwayman's
Arms', 'The Black Horse', 'The Bandon Arms' and
'The Black Boy'.
Nazi
HQ of Britain?
In 2005, German papers from 1941 were discovered
outlining a possible Nazi invasion of the United
Kingdom. There is a lot of detail about two
Shropshire towns in the documentation —
Ludlow and Bridgnorth. Some experts now believe
that it was Hitler's intention to make Bridgnorth
his HQ in Britain, due to its central, but rural,
location and its now disused airfield.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgnorth |
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