Loggerheads go into battle

The ‘Shrewsbury Levy’ medieval enactment group (which used to be known as Les Miles de Marches) sport loggerheads badges on their costumes. It’s great to see them in action, especially when re-creating the 1403 Battle of Shrewsbury.

In fact, there is no proof that the Levy (a kind of town militia) wore the loggerheads badges  back in 1403 - but then, there is no proof they didn’t, either…

Thanks for the photo to Lin Keska.

 

A new book has now been published to celebrate 600 years of the loggerheads - click here to find out more.

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Belle Vue view

It’s a great shame to see that the nineteenth-century Belle Vue Tavern, a proper community pub in the suburb of Belle Vue to the south of Shrewsbury, has closed.  Dave the barman was always a welcoming and considerate landlord, who would tell the stories of the old pub with relish.

Like a number of pubs locally*, its pub-sign features the loggerheads.  Curiously, the pub-sign was only recently changed - and the words ‘Shropshire Ales’ were removed (see old sign, right).
It’s not clear if there was ever a brewery called ‘Shropshire Ales’ or whether the old sign simply meant that local beers were sold there. If anyone knows the answer to this mystery, please email us, or use the Comments box below.

For information:  the pub’s former name was The Old Plough, but has been called The Belle Vue Tavern since 1991.  

* other pubs bearing loggerheads in their signs include the Shrewsbury Arms (both the one in Shrewsbury and the one in Chester), the Loggerheads Inn, the Bricklayers and the Heathgates.  Also, the Shrewsbury Arms at Albrighton has an heraldic reference to the arms on its pub-sign.

 

A new book has now been published to celebrate 600 years of the loggerheads - click here to find out more.

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Bollard makeover

 

Now and again, the keen loggerheads spotter will find quite rare ones.  This is a case in point.

Although there are dozens of bollards in Shrewsbury town, very few have the loggerheads arms of the town council marked on them.  This one, which dates back to the time of the Shrewsbury & Atcham combined council, does; it is in St Mary's Court. 

However, this bollard has recently been given a makeover, and now looks quite different.  
The town tourism body, BID, has been going slightly mad painting all bollards in sight - and this one has not escaped. 
Sadly, a blotch of white on one of the loggerheads makes it slightly harder to distinguish . 

 

A new book has now been published to celebrate 600 years of the loggerheads - click here to find out more.

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To comment on this post, just use the Comments field down this page or email us direct.

To get an email alert into your inbox every time we make a new post (about once a week), just click 'Subscribe & Follow' (at the top of the column to the right on this page) and just fill in the form