Fill yer stockings!

 

If you’re looking for stocking-fillers this Christmas, look no further.  Any Shropshire person will enjoy receiving the book of The Mysteries of The Loggerheads (£7.99) or the Loggerheads Lapel-Pin (£1.50) or the Shrewsbury-Loggerheads Trail (£2) - or all three!

The Mysteries of The Loggerheads surveys the 600-year story of the loggerheads in a fun way, and would suit anyone who likes local history, whether they are from Shropshire or not. 

And… as these items were only produced this year, you can be assured that no one has had these gifts as Christmas presents before!  
Just right to make a Salopian’s heart glow.

All available at the Shrewsbury Museum shop as well as other outlets. 

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Bridge in loggerheads colours

We talk a lot on this blog about the blue-gold colouring of the loggerheads’ design – gold for the leopards' faces, blue for the background. It has been a constant feature of the emblem all down the centuries.
So it is natural that Shrewsbury Town Council, the direct ‘descendants’ of the original Shrewsbury Corporation, which first created and adopted the loggerheads, should also sport blue-gold as their colours. By extension, anything that wants to feel ‘Shrewsbury’, should also come in that combination.

This explains the slightly garish painting on the railings of this pedestrian bridge in Shrewsbury which crosses the Rea Brook stream into Meole Brace village. The decorative colour-work, which has appeared just in time for the loggerheads' 600th anniversary year, tells us that this is the work of an organisation that is proud to demonstrate the traditional blue-gold of Shrewsbury.

Actually, it's doubly clever to have painted this bridge in blue-gold. This bridge is on the route that Shrewsbury Town Football Club supporters use when they want to walk back into town from the club's stadium. 
And the colours of Shrewsbury Town Football Club are... of course... gold and blue!

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

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Sabrina's birthday wishes

 

Over the last couple of years, the Shrewsbury improvement group, BID, has been commissioning artists to paint bollards and telecom-cabinets across the town.  It’s a novel way of beautifying the urban environment.

In this year 2025, there had of course to be pieces remembering the 600th-birthday of the loggerheads (see SNIDs’ bollard for an example).  
One of the most charming of them is the one shown here, located near English Bridge. It shows Sabrina, the patronal goddess of the town, holding the emblem. There’s an air of Botticelli about it; and it quite raises the spirits when one walks past it, even if the loggerheads themselves look strangely thoughtful!   
Katherine Morris is the artist.  

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

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Loggerheads updated for the 21st century

 

There have been a number of anniversary activities to honour the 600th year of the Shrewsbury loggerheads, but few as dramatic as the make-over at the school in Longden Coleham.
The school, built when Victoria was on the throne, lies just a few yards from Shrewsbury’s Greyfriars Bridge; and it has been proud to wear the loggerheads on its branding for over one hundred years. Despite various updates over more than one hundred years, the school has never abandoned the loggerheads!

However, this year, it took advantage of the loggerheads’ 600th to re-design and modernise the logo once again.  The end-result is a vibrant and colourful new approach, just right for a 21st century primary school which wants to progress but also to remember its roots.
The school put together an article explaining what it was trying to do, which is quite a fascinating story in itself.

The school is on a relatively small site in a residential area, so it is doubly remarkable that, all in all, it displays ten (yes, ten!!) sets of large loggerheads – five of the new design, and five of the Victorian design.

The five loggerheads-sets on the school that date back to 1901 (when the school was founded) are all stone-carvings built into the walls on the two public sides of the building.  The loggerheads then would have referenced the funders – the Education board of Shropshire County Council – but have since transmuted into regular, home-grown, ‘modern’, Shrewsbury loggerheads. Somehow, the loggerheads can just keep adapting...

It is remarkable indeed that the loggerheads, old as they are, still can inspire much affection in the local population.  The parents & children totally approve!  

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

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Refreshed loggerheads

 

The pub-sign on the famous Loggerheads Inn in Shrewsbury was definitely in need of a spruce-up – and what better time to have it done than during the loggerheads’ 600th anniversary year?

So, for a few weeks this year, the pub was sign-less, while the renovation took place. 
But now, all is well, and the sign is back – all shiny and refreshed!

For those who don’t know, the pub goes back to the 17th century and was originally called The Shrewsbury Arms.  However, as the arms of Shrewsbury are better known by their nickname “the loggerheads”, the regulars started to call it by that nickname – and the moniker stuck.

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

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Pigs wear gold & blue

 

There is tenuous evidence pointing to a high-level connection in the Middle Ages between Hereford and Shrewsbury. However, the evidence is circumstantial, nothing solid so far.  
(If anyone knows different, would they please email us?).

One pointer is the blue & gold/amber colouring which is seen in various heraldry of the two towns.  Admittedly, it’s not a colour combination that’s unique to these two towns, but it underwrites the supposed connection.  
The loggerheads emblem always comes in blue & gold/amber colouring, as does the symbol of Hereford Cathedral. 

One example of the colour pairing in Hereford is these pigs – which wear livery of blue and yellow bends. They are seen on the tomb of John Swinfield (died 1311) in Hereford Cathedral.

 

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

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Bright and beautiful loggerheads

  

There have been a flurry of loggerheads renovations/restorations during 2025.  It’s probably coincidence, but maybe also an unconscious tribute to the emblem in this, the loggerheads' 600th year. Perhaps.
(See also: Pub-Sign Refresher and Coleham School updates).

Among these renovations is the complete refurbishment of the famous grade 2-listed Quarry Park gates. They were commissioned by the Shropshire Horticultural Society in 1881.
The main gates were even taken off site to get their makeover, which restored them to their pristine condition and also ensures their future. The park’s similarly designed side-gates were also restored.

The loggerheads are the main decoration on the structure, as the Horticultural Society seemed very fond of them.  (See Magnificent Gates)
It’s a bit of a puzzle however why the society ordered some of the loggerheads on the gates to be painted in blue only (see pic below).  The emblem should really be: gold faces, blue background.  Odd.

The gates are now back to their brilliant and vibrant best, and Shrewsbury Town Council should be congratulated on driving the project forward.

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

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