Coleham is a district 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 ...

, England. It is located just south, over the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

, from Shrewsbury town centre.

History

Coleham grew up as a village outside medieval Shrewsbury, with the nearest crossing over the Severn to the town being the Stone Bridge (now the

English Bridge The English Bridge is a masonry arch viaduct, crossing the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The present bridge is a 1926 rebuilding and widening (re-using the original masonry) of John Gwynn's design, completed in 1774. A bridge is ...

Shrewsbury Abbey The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Shrewsbury (commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey) is an ancient foundation in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. The Abbey was founded in 1083 as a Benedictine monastery by the Norm ...

and its associated lands and buildings were nearby. The

Rea Brook The name Rea Brook can refer to either of two brooks in Shropshire, England. One of the brooks, which eventually becomes the River Rea, is in southern Shropshire. It is to the east of Brown Clee Hill. The other, described here, is a minor riv ...

separates Coleham from the other old suburb on this end of town –

Abbey Foregate The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Shrewsbury (commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey) is an ancient foundation in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. The Abbey was founded in 1083 as a Benedictine monastery by the Nor ...

. Coleham is centered on the Shrewsbury to

Longden Longden is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is located southwest of Shrewsbury. Longden village There is a public house (the ''Tankerville Arms'') and a post office/shop, along with a church, and a primary school. The pop ...

road, which as it passes through Coleham itself is called "Longden Coleham". The Victorian suburb of Belle Vue grew up south of Coleham and the wealthy suburb of Kingsland (which centres on

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...

) grew up west of Coleham. The first large scale industrial building in Shrewsbury arose in Coleham when in 1790 the firm of Powis & Hodge built three factory buildings on land bought from John Carline at the junction of Longden Coleham and Coleham Head beside the Severn. A waterwheel and

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

powered carding engines, spinning jennies and fulling facilities. The firm failed by 1799 but the buildings were sold in 1803 to

Charles Hulbert Charles Hulbert (18 February 1778 – 9 October 1857) was an English businessman and writer. Life The son of Thomas Hulbert of Hulbert Green, near Cheadle, Cheshire, he was born in Manchester on 18 February 1778, and educated at the grammar sc ...

and partners from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

for weaving cotton calicoes. It came to employ 200 people but it was given up after Hulbert, following reversals, left the cotton industry and handed the lease back to its lease-owner John Carline (Junior) in 1825. The buildings were converted by the Carlines into (now demolished) workers' cottages. In 1793 ironmaster

William Hazledine William Hazledine (1763 – 26 October 1840) was an English ironmaster. Establishing large foundries, he was a pioneer in casting structural ironwork, most notably for canal aqueducts and early suspension bridges. Many of these projects were c ...

purchased land at Coleham, where he set up a larger foundry with steam-powered equipment. The foundry eventually employed several hundred workers. In 1796 he cast the frame for the

Ditherington Flax Mill Ditherington Flax Mill (promoted as the Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings), a flax mill located in Ditherington, a suburb of Shrewsbury, England, is the first iron-framed building in the world, and described as "the grandfather of skyscrapers",

Charles Bage Charles Woolley Bage (1751–1822) was an English architect, born in a Quaker family "Bage Way", part of Shrewsbury's 20th century inner ring road which links Old Potts Way to Crowmere Road, was named for him. References 1751 births 182 ...

, the world's first iron-framed building. The former Trouncer Brewery was established in Coleham on the banks of the Severn in 1807: it closed in 1954 when acquired by

Ind Coope Allied Breweries was the result of a 1961 merger between Ind Coope (of Burton), Ansells (of Birmingham), and Tetley Walker (of Leeds). In 1978, Allied Breweries merged with the food and catering group J. Lyons and Co to form Allied Lyons. The bre ...

. The brewery buildings are listed Grade II and have since been converted to private residences. Today, Coleham is connected to the town centre by a pedestrian footbridge, the Greyfriars Bridge, though the nearest vehicular crossing remains the English Bridge. There are shops and

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 along Longden Coleham, as well as a primary school. The

Coleham Pumping Station Coleham Pumping Station is a historical pumping station at Coleham in Shrewsbury, England. History The sewage pumping station was built at the end of the 19th century as part of a major upgrading of Shrewsbury's sewerage system. Two massive ...

is a visitor destination and is located on Longden Coleham. Greyfriars Bridge in Coleham is the starting point for Regional Cycle Route 32/33 to

Church Stretton Church Stretton is a market town in Shropshire, England, south of Shrewsbury and north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671.

(and further on,

Craven Arms Craven Arms is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, on the A49 road and the Welsh Marches railway line, which link it north and south to the larger towns of Shrewsbury and Ludlow respectively. The Heart of Wales railway line ...

). The area suffered badly from flooding in 2000, which entirely took hold of Longden Coleham and other low-lying streets in the area. Since then a number of measures have been taken to alleviate flooding problems in the Coleham and Abbey Foregate areas.

Barnabas Community Church

The Barnabas Community Church is located on Longden Coleham, where it converted and extended a former Territorial Army drill hall, acquired in 1995, for its use. The Barnabas Centre within its premises is now a multi-use church centre with many community agencies using the facilities, such as an NHS pop-up

Blood Donor A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for transfusions and/or made into biopharmaceutical medications by a process called fractionation (separation of whole blood components). Donation may be of whole bloo ...

clinic There are also many community projects run from the sub charity 'Barnabas Community Projects.' These include a foodbank, a money advice centre and a '360 Journey to Work' programme. Also run by the Church in term-time every week is a toddler group, 'Barneytots;' a youth group, 'Impact,' and a children's (aged 5–11) after school club, 'Kidzklub.'

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 ...

) runs through the area, partially on a long brick viaduct which crosses over the Abbey Foregate road, between

Severn Bridge Junction Severn Bridge Junction is the area of railway lines just south east of Shrewsbury railway station, in Shropshire, England. It is controlled by a mechanical interlocked signal box of the same name, which is the largest operational mechanical si ...

and Sutton Bridge Junction. There were once extensive engine sheds and other railway related activities in the area. There remains a

permanent way A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...

depot – Coleham Depot – and in 2008 a new inspection shed for the Class 97/3 locomotives was built.http://daviddawson.fotopic.net/p53717815.html

Notable people

, later a writer, was a factory leaseholder in Coleham. *

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

Mary Joseph Prout, founder of the

Passionist The Passionists, officially named Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (), abbreviated CP, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men, founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720 with a special emphasis on and d ...

Order of nuns, was born in Coleham in 1820.

References

{{Reflist Suburbs of Shrewsbury Rail transport in Shropshire Populated places on the River Severn

History

Barnabas Community Church

Railways

Notable people

See also

References