Belle Vue is a suburb of the town of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

. It is located about a mile south of the town centre. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 4,550.

History and development

Built up during the 19th and early 20th Centuries, it is now mainly residential. "Belle Vue Road" (the A5191, formerly the A49) runs through the middle of the area, which has many

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s such as The Grove, the Belle Vue Tavern, the Masonic Arms and the Boar's Head. It also has a selection of small shops, though many have become houses in recent decades. Also in the suburb, off the Belle Vue Road, is the Prince of Wales public house, which has its own bowling green. Streets branching off the Belle Vue Road include Greyfriars Road, Trinity Street, Havelock Road, South Hermitage and Belle Vue Gardens. Oakley Manor, now private housing, was one of the locations of

Shrewsbury and Atcham Shrewsbury and Atcham was a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Shropshire, England, between 1974 and 2009. Shrewsbury was the only town in the borough; Atcham, alth ...

Borough Council from the 1970s to the early 2000s, before the council moved to a purpose-built Guildhall in

Frankwell Frankwell is a district of the town of Shrewsbury, in Shropshire, England. It lies adjacent to the River Severn, to the northwest of the town centre, and is one of Shrewsbury's oldest suburbs. The main road running through the area is also calle ...

Churches

Belle Vue has an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish church, dedicated to the

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

church and the Wellspring Apostolic Church, all on Belle Vue Road.

Belle Vue Cemetery

In 1852, a 2-acre cemetery for

Nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

s in Shrewsbury was opened on Belle Vue Road but was ultimately superseded by the interdenominational, municipal General Cemetery established on Longden Road further west in 1856. The consequently disused

mortuary chapel A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

, which became a worship place for the Apostolic Church in 1929, was demolished after being partly burned down (by children) in 1943. It was on part of the cemetery that the present Wellspring Apostolic Church, whose building had been transplanted from

Minsterley Minsterley is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. In the 2011 census, its population was 1,777. Minsterley lies one mile south-west of Pontesbury and 10 miles south-west of Shrewsbury. East from Minsterley along the A488, is the la ...

in 1949, was erected.

Railways

The Welsh Marches Line and

Cambrian Line The Cambrian Line ( cy, Llinell y Cambrian), also known as the Cambrian Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell y Cambrian) and Cambrian Coast Line ( cy, Llinell Arfordir y Cambrian), is a railway line that runs from Shrewsbury, England, westwards to Aber ...

run through the area and meet at a junction called

Sutton Bridge Junction Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a location * Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire * Sut ...

Notable residents

Samuel Pountney Smith Samuel Pountney Smith JP (2 November 1812Obituary. Date stated to be his birthday. – 5 November 1883) was an English architect who practised in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Smith was a native of Munslow, where he was baptised on 17 De ...

, architect, remodeled The Limes as his own home, where he died in 1876, as well as building Morfe House and Kynnersley House nearby. *

William Snook William Snook (3 February 1861–9 December 1916) was an English running champion, whose life was mired in controversy and ended in poverty. Early life Snook was born on 3 February 1861 at Belle Vue, then in the parish of St Julian's, Shrew ...

, English running champion, was born in Belle Vue in 1861. *

Clopton Lloyd-Jones Clopton Allen Lloyd-Jones (12 November 1858 – 7 March 1918) was an English businessman and amateur sportsman, best known for football and cricket. He played for the Clapham Rovers when they won the FA Cup in 1880 and was selected, but did not ...

, sportsman, winning scorer in the 1880 FA Cup Final - last home at 'Montreux' in Belle Vue Gardens, where he died in 1918. *

Jack Bowdler John Charles Henry Bowdler also known as Jack Bowdler and sometimes as Charlie (1870 – 18 July 1927) was a Welsh footballer. He was part of the Wales national football team between 1890 and 1894, playing 5 matches and scoring 3 goals. He played ...

, former Wales international footballer - last home at Oakfield House, South Hermitage, where he died in 1927. He also served as Shrewsbury Borough Councillor for the Belle Vue ward. *

Nick Bevan Nicholas Vaughan Bevan (21 February 1942 – 12 January 2014) was a leading British rowing coach and school headmaster. Early life Nick Bevan was born at the Limes Nursing Home in Shrewsbury, England, the son of David and Hilary Bevan. He was e ...

, rowing coach and schoolmaster, was born at The Limes Nursing Home (a later use of the house built by S P Smith, above) in 1942.

References