Not a cathedral

 

Lovers of Shrewsbury history are looking forward to a talk which is due to take place this March (2026).  It will concern itself with the continuing story of why Shrewsbury Abbey has never been granted cathedral status.  It is an odd state of affairs - because, really, a town of Shrewsbury’s ancient reputation and situation would normally be considered right in line for a CofE cathedral.
In fact, there is a famous story (which admittedly, has never really been properly authenticated) that Henry VIII did consider granting cathedral status to the town – but the leading citizens turned the offer down!  This story, and its outcome, are recounted in the new book ‘The Mysteries Of The Shrewsbury Loggerheads’.  

However, the talk this March looks at another time when cathedral status was being seriously considered for Shrewsbury – the 1920s.  So, if you want to know why this move came to nothing… well, you’ll have to get a ticket for the talk! For all details about the talk and how to get a free entry ticket - click here.

If you do go along, you'll probably see a number of venerable loggerheads-sets dotted about the building - the Abbey's copy of the 1425 Shrewsbury Seal is just one of them.

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

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A wax impression

 

Talking of the 1425 Great Seal of Shrewsbury, as we were in the last post, here’s another reference.  The red piece in the bottom row of the photo above is a wax copy of the seal.

Impressions of the seal would have been created by pushing the metal seal into some melting wax on a formal document - to signify the approval of the Shrewsbury town corporation.  (The loggerheads connection to the seal is that the loggerheads were part of its design).

You can find the glass-cabinet in the photo, with all its various seals, very simply: it’s installed in Shrewsbury Abbey, which is open to the public almost every day. 
No one knows how old this wax copy is, though.

 

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

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Earl Roger the overlord

The tomb of Earl Roger de Montgomery in Shrewsbury Abbey is one of the town's most precious heritage assets.  Earl Roger was the Norman lord who was installed as the first Earl of Shrewsbury by William The Conqueror following the Norman invasion of England in 1066.

It's said that the reason that the traditional colours of loggerheads/Shrewsbury are gold & blue is because there were Earl Roger's colours. In fact, though Roger's wife and his son seemed to have arms of gold & blue bars, I can't find a direct link between Roger himself and any gold & blue colouring.  Can anyone help me find out more about this?

The gold & blue colours-combination has persisted for nearly one thousand years in Shrewsbury.  Today, the town's football club play in these same exact colours!

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Freemen loggerheads

 
This corner-detail of a lovely piece of modern stained-glass (the St Benedict Window) in Shrewsbury Abbey reminds us that the sponsors of the window were The Gild (sic) of Freemen of Shrewsbury.  As you'd expect, their badge carries the loggerheads.

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