Found in Huw's garden

 
Though the Romaldesham carvings would seem to be the oldest set of Shrewsbury loggerheads in existence (outside of documents and seals), there is another claimant.

The carving you see in the photo is likely a capital (head of a pillar) from an ancient town church. It is early medieval in age and was found in the Shrewsbury garden that once belonged to the antiquarian & author Huw Owen. (Owen doesn’t record what he thought it was).
It is now on display at Shrewsbury Museum.

Huw, who along with colleague John Blakeway was responsible for The History of Shrewsbury (1825), is also in Shrewsbury Museum, where a portrait of the pair has pride of place.  (See a detail of the portrait - showing Huw -, left).

However..., modern archaeologists (see the Salopian History report) want to say it is a loggerhead - which means it would predate the earliest solid evidence we have of loggerheads by over 200 years.

Hmm.  Could it really be a (single) loggerhead?
Maybe.

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Loggerheads-loving guilds

On the first floor corridor of Shrewsbury Museum you'll see a number of historic local maps. One particular old map seems to have been sponsored by the town's guilds (guilds were associations of workers in a particular trade).
Along the top of the map, each sponsoring guild has a copy of its arms - and two stand out in particular for loggerheads lovers. 

The Weavers' Guild (see picture above) are keen to establish their Shrewsbury identity, and feature three loggerheads, the town's symbol.  The leopards carry some sort of tool of the trade in their mouths - perhaps a long needle, a shuttle, or maybe a shed-stick.  (Does anyone know?)
The Goldsmiths (below) are more circumspect, and keep to two loggerheads.

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JMW Turner's view

 
When you're an inveterate loggerheads-spotter, even the slightest sighting can be exciting!
In this watercolour painting, the famous artist JMW Turner has depicted 'English Bridge', Shrewsbury's largest bridge... including its loggerheads.
It's impossible to see much from my photograph, but, ...believe me..., Turner has made sure he's included the decorative pediment which was on the balustrade of the bridge when he painted it (and it is still there now) - and which consists of the three loggerheads...!

What's nice to report that this painting is now on permanent public display at Shrewsbury Museum.  The only way that it was safe to do this was to ensure that it had proper protective glass - to save it from the effects of light as much as anything else.  Now, thanks to a donation from a local art-dealer, the painting has the glass it needed - so members of the public can now see it in the museum anytime.

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Oldest loggerheads

 
This may be the oldest full set of loggerheads (outside of seals or manuscripts) still in existence.  It was in Shrewsbury’s old Romaldesham Hall, which was demolished in 1760, so this set possibly dates back to the 17th century.
It now has pride of place in Shrewsbury Museum.

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