Tag: Shrewsbury

The first skyscraper

On By geoffspagesIn NT and EH, PhotographyLeave a comment

…or perhaps its grandfather? It’s the world’s first iron-framed building – built as a flax mill in 1797, it was converted to maltings in 1897 – and remained in use as such, on and off, until 1987, by which time its historic significance (and a Grade 1 listing) ensured continued existence. Work is now ongoing to restore the buildings on this site in Shrewsbury to further commercial – and community – use, work that will not be finished overnight. Our visit today, with an excellent guided tour, was a (free) Heritage Open Day event, and well worth a donation to funds. Must have another look in a year or two…

Friends of the Flaxmill Maltings

Black 5690

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Railways...Leave a comment

45690 "Leander" on Shrewsbury's Battlefield bankJubilee “Leander” could be mistaken for a Black 5 – now in BR black livery as 45690, after years of LMS maroon – though the lines of a 5XP are perhaps just that bit finer than the slightly stockier 5MT. Whatever the colour or shape, and despite the dull weather, Leander made a fine sight and sound on Shrewsbury’s Battlefield bank this afternoon. (See also “Leander in black” on Geoff’s Rail Diaries)

S for Shrewsbury

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Walks4 Comments

Should we be up on the hills in the snow? It’s a bright but cold afternoon, with a biting wind – perhaps something a bit more sheltered. We decided on a walk beside the Severn in Shrewsbury, a route that in my mind was roughly S-shaped. Looking at the map afterwards, it’s a bit more than an “S” – not sure how to describe it. Inevitably, though the sky was mostly blue, the sun spent much of its time behind a (relatively small) bank of cloud.

MapView OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=349224&Y=312694&A=Y&Z=115&ax=349252&ay=312687

Calm before…

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, WalksLeave a comment

…the high winds and heavy rain, forecast for tomorrow. It wasn’t completely calm today – there was a light breeze, and it was pleasant to be out in the country to the south of Shrewsbury. Lyth Hill is a tremendous viewpoint for the Shropshire hills – it’s also a popular spot for the dog-walkers. We left them behind as we descended towards Exfords Green, past the venison farm. By the time we got back to the car, the day was changing…

MapOr view OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=346640&Y=306321&A=Y&Z=120