Read about the Trinity loggerheads

Though there are a number of loggerheads in stained-glass across Shropshire, we only know a couple where the name of the maker of the glass can be identified.  The most well-known of these is the loggerheads depiction in the 19th-century window in the corner of Trinity Chapel in St Mary’s Church in Shrewsbury, which is by the prolific stained-glass artist, David Evans.  

So it’s nice to see that St Mary’s has now recognised the historic importance of the panel in question by giving it its own guide – which is one of the five guides which can be picked up at the entrance to the chapel.

Incidentally, it is a peculiar mystery as to why Evans put the loggerheads into the chapel glass. But that is another story… - which is told in this post, 'Glass loggerheads in Shrewsbury' 

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

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Award for loggerheads

An unexpected fillip for the profile of the loggerheads came at this year’s Shrewsbury Mayor’s Awards ceremony.  Mark Stewart, author of the history about them, The Mysteries of The Loggerheads, received a ‘special award’ for writing and publishing the book. It  was seen as a major contribution to histories of the town.  
Apparently, the mayor himself, Alex Wagner, greatly approved of it.

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

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Rows of loggerheads

 

As you might guess, 'Inroads To Shrewsbury' a poetry collection by Nigel Sustins, is all about the town. One stand-out aspect of the book is that, on each and every page, the graphic at the bottom is a row of eight sets of loggerheads - as you can see in the image above.
Loggerheads are the symbol of the town of Shrewsbury

There is even a poem concentrating on one particular ‘loggerhead’.  In Shrewsbury Museum there is a crude stone carving dating back to medieval times, formerly displayed in the garden of a nineteenth century local antiquarian, and now in Shrewsbury Museum.  It definitely shows some sort of beast and probably came from an old church building, so there is a claim that it is a sort of proto-loggerhead.  (However, that does seem to stretch credulity).  
To it Mr Sustins has dedicated a poem.

 Mr Sustins is clearly a fan of Shrewsbury loggerheads!

(The 'Inroads To Shrewsbury' poetry collection by Nigel Sustins is published by Marchland Books and is on sale through Waterstones)

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

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Pengwern tales

 

Although there are a couple of very good antiquarian book-stores in Shrewsbury (such as Second Chapter) and a very good chain, the only independent bookshop in the town selling new books is Pengwern, in Fish Street.  It sells a range of titles, with a special section of history books by local authors too, including ‘The Mysteries Of The Loggerheads’.

Susan Caroline, who runs Pengwern, named her establishment after the obscure pre-medieval city inhabited by the ancient Britons.  

According to the 12th century historian, Gerald of Wales, Shrewsbury was the site of Pengwern; its palace was located where the Old St Chad’s Church is now. 
This story was carried on right into the nineteenth century, being repeated by the town chronicler Henry Pidgeon.

Sadly, the story cannot be evidenced. There is no convincing proof as to where Pengwern really was.

But it is remembered at least - in the name of a bookshop on a cobbled road in Shrewsbury.
 

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

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Loggerheads camouflaged

 

This particular set of loggerheads is to be found on Pride Hill, Shrewsbury’s main shopping street - but it almost goes unseen - because it merges so much into its background.

This set is one of those carved into the portals of the old Pride Hill Shopping Centre, which was built in 1988.  Although a private firm had developed the site, the firm clearly felt that a nod to Shrewsbury’s past was needed – hence the loggerheads.

The centre was one of three such shopping complexes in or around Pride Hill in those days, but it finally closed in 2021, and now only one of those three malls (the 'Darwin') remains. The site … still guarded by its loggerheads… awaits redevelopment.

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

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Seal in history books

  

The Great Common Seal of old Shrewsbury may be 600 years old but it continues to be a talking point to this day.  Not only did its appearance mark the first sighting of the loggerheads in history, but it is a fascinating artefact in its own right.

More than one article has been written about this famous seal (see drawing of the seal, right) over the last ten years – not to mention others about it back in the mid twentieth-century – not least because it inspires so many unanswered mysteries.

The latest such article appears in a new, extremely scholarly book - Shropshire: Art, Architecture and Archaeology from Roman Wroxeter to the Sixteenth Century. The actual article about the seal is titled Shrewsbury's Topographical Seal, written by John Cherry, formerly of the British Museum and the acknowledged expert on the Shrewsbury 1425 seal (as well as other medieval seals).  

Mr Cherry's monograph is almost a detective story, in which he does some deep research into the seal’s beginnings back in the Middle Ages.
A number of mysteries turn up. Not least among them is: why, when Shrewsbury’s churches, town-walls, houses, loggerheads arms, bridges, gateways (and so on) are all depicted on the seal, is the town’s most important building not? For, the fact is that, oddly … there is no sign on the seal of the town’s huge & imposing castle...   
(Mr Cherry does propose an answer to this puzzle, but you’ll have to buy the book to find it out!).   

The book does cost £45 and is, admittedly, only meant for the serious academic, but if that doesn’t deter you, you will learn things from it about Shropshire’s history that you never knew before – including about some of its seals!

(The book is also listed as The British Archaeological Association Conference Transactions XLV - published 2026)

 

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

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Taking the Shrewsbury biscuit

 

The Shrewsbury Biscuits & Pastry Makers company has a rather interesting place-holder image on its website.  It shows a set of loggerheads in a stripped-back design (see photo above). It’s a surprisingly subtle, clever image.

You don’t hear so much about the Shrewsbury Biscuit these days; once upon a time you could buy them all over the town.  Based on a very simple recipe, like all ‘people’s foods’ are (though the twist is always in the way the individual baker makes them), their history goes back to the 1500s.  There’s even still a plaque in town marking the site of ‘Mister Palin’s Shrewsbury Biscuits Shop’, which flourished in the eighteenth century.

In the photo above, you’ll notice some small text in the corner of the image (“J Speed”). This acknowledges the fact that these loggerheads are based on ones designed by the seventeenth century map-maker John Speed. Copies of Speed’s map of Shropshire, which shows the loggerheads, are held in Shrewsbury Museum.

 

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

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