The Quarry is the main recreational park in

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 'Shr ...

, the county town of Shropshire, England. The park was created in 1719 and encompasses 29 acres. It is listed Grade II in Historic England's

Register of Parks and Gardens The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

. With a location within easy walking distance of

town centre, Shrewsbury Sixth Form College and Shrewsbury School, it is the most heavily used public park within the county.

Sites of interest

The Dingle

A centrepiece to the park is The Dingle, a former stone quarry, but now a landscaped sunken garden. Between 1324 and 1588 it was known as the Wet or Water Quarry because it was liable to flood. It was quarried for both stone and clay. The project to clear out the Dingle and then plant it was funded by the Shropshire Horticultural Society, with the ornamental gardens opened in 1879, featuring many flower beds and borders, with ponds and fountains. Although there are still formal planted beds, in recent years the planting scheme has become more naturalistic in style, reflecting modern tastes. A statue of the goddess Sabrina was presented by the

Earl of Bradford Earl of Bradford is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was first created in 1694 for Francis Newport, 2nd Baron Newport. However, all the Newport titles became ex ...

in 1879. The inscription on the statue is based on a poem by John Milton (1608–1674). In myth, Sabrina (Welsh: Hafren) was a nymph who drowned in the

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. Another feature in the Dingle is the Shoemakers' Arbour. Associated with the pre-Victorian town festival, and originally sited in Kingsland, it was moved to the Dingle in 1879. It dates from 1679 and includes statues of

Crispin Saints Crispin and Crispinian are the Christian patron saints of cobblers, curriers, tanners, and leather workers. They were beheaded during the reign of Diocletian; the date of their execution is given as 25 October 285 or 286. History Bor ...

and Crispinian, the patron saints of shoemakers. The gateway is built of stone, and bears the date of 1679 and the initials, H. P. and E. A.; the wardens of the Shoemakers' guild at that time. The Shoemakers' Arbour plays a large part in the son
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David Harley David Harley is an IT security researcher, author/editor and consultant living in the United Kingdom, known for his books on and research into malware, Mac security, anti-malware product testing and management of email abuse. Career After a c ...

that describes the execution in 1752 of a participant in the Jacobite rising of 1745. There are numerous memorial benches and plaques within the Dingle. Of special interest is a bust of the gardening broadcaster

Percy Thrower Percy John Thrower (30 January 1913 – 18 March 1988) was a British gardener, horticulturist, broadcaster and writer born at Horwood House in the village of Little Horwood, Buckinghamshire. He became nationally known through presenting garde ...

, who for many years was also the Parks Superintendent for Shrewsbury. According to local legend, the Dingle is haunted by the ghost of Mrs Foxall, a local woman who was burnt at the stake nearby in the sixteenth century as punishment for witchcraft and murder.

Bandstand

This bandstand, which stands below the entrance to the Quarry in Shrewsbury, was built in 1879 and donated to the park by the Shropshire Horticultural Society. The bandstand is used by military bands during

Shrewsbury Flower Show The Shrewsbury Flower Show is an annual event held in mid-August over two days (in recent times the second Friday and Saturday of the month) at The Quarry, the main park in the town of Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. The show i ...

. Other uses include as a dry place for people practising fire arts, and other activities which require shelter from the rain. Between 2006 and 2008 the bandstand had a DJ playing music on most Saturdays during the day.

Harley’s Stone

This small boulder is said to be the anchor stone of the last surviving grazing allotment in the Quarry. This belonged to the Harley family, livestock were tied to the stone by a leash of no more than 16 yards in length. These 'circular' allotments once made use of the entire herbage ensuring that the grass was kept short through the entire year. This stone marked the boundary made by the Harley family of Rossall near Bicton who refused to sell their piece of land to the corporation when the rest of the Quarry was being acquired in the 18th century.

War memorial

Shrewsbury's main civic war memorial, the focus for Remembrance Sunday, is situated within the Quarry. near St Chad's Terrace. It consists of a bronze winged and armoured statue of St. Michael under a canopy designed like a classical Greek temple in the form of six Ionic columns supporting a circular dome. It is inscribed: 'Remember the gallant men and women of Shropshire who gave their lives for God, King and country 1914-18 and 1939–45'. This War Memorial was built in 1922-3. It was designed by George Hubbard and Son and built in Portland stone. The richly embellished floor shows the County,

King's Shropshire Light Infantry The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. I ...

(KSLI) Regimental arms and French Croix de Guerre on a gold mosaic background. The seals or arms of the six boroughs of the County are embossed on the inside frieze. The bronze figure of Saint Michael beneath the canopy is by

Allan G Wyon Allan Gairdner Wyon FRBS RMS (1882 – 26 February 1962) was a British die-engraver and sculptor and, in later life, vicar in Newlyn, Cornwall. Many of his works are memorials with a number located in British cathedrals. Other, more decorative, ...

and was cast at the foundry of A.B. Burton of

Thames Ditton Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred 12.2 miles (19.6 km) southwest of Charing Cross ...

St. Michael the Archangel Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

is viewed as the field commander of the Army of God. In late medieval Christianity, Michael, together with Saint George, became the patron saint of chivalry. Michael is also considered in many Christian circles as the patron saint of the warrior.

Victoria Avenue

The broad traffic-free avenue that runs along the River Severn is called Victoria Avenue and the largest avenue that runs downhill from the town centre to Victoria Avenue is Gloucester Avenue. The latter was known as Central Avenue, but in 1974

Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, (born Lady Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott; 25 December 1901 – 29 October 2004) was the wife of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary. She was the moth ...

came to the Shrewsbury Flower Show and the avenue was dedicated to her. A special feature of Victoria Avenue are the rows of lime trees on each side. These are actually the second generation of trees to be planted. Thomas Wright first planted avenues of hybrid limes in the Quarry in 1719. They had reached heights of over 40 metres by the early 1950s when they were felled on the orders of Percy Thrower. A falling branch had killed a young girl and so the trees were considered unsafe. It was felt that the trees had originally been planted too close together. The felled trees were found to contain bee and wasp nests, large amounts of mistletoe and much dead wood. They were replaced with hybrid limes at much wider spacing which are now reaching maturity. The clone that was planted produces a large number of epicomic sprouts which have to be pruned off annually. Opposite the School Boathouse is the remains of a wooden post used by a ferry crossing the river. In 1900, there were two ferry boats working on the River Severn in the Quarry, with the other operating across the river where Porthill Suspension Bridge has been sited since 1922.

Events

Shrewsbury Flower Show

The

is an annual event held in mid-August over two days (in recent times Friday and Saturday) within The Quarry. The show is organised by the

Shropshire Horticultural Society 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 ...

and is one of the largest events of its type in the United Kingdom. It is also one of the longest-running shows in the country and featured in the 2005

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as the 'longest-running flower show" in the world.'

Live music

Recently The Quarry has been used as a live music venue, with performances in 2005 from

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric ...

and

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest ''Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the worldwide '' Idol' ...

. The Sugababes appeared in July 2006. Such events are not without controversy within the town, with complaints that the public park is closed to all but paid ticket-holders during these events, preventing its use for informal recreation. A controversial live-music event by Jessie J in July 2012 was heavily criticised for leaving the Quarry like a mud bath and for excessive litter, with fears that future events may have been put in jeopardy.

Other events

The river is a focus for the Shrewsbury Regatta and Dragon Boat Races in May and June. As The Quarry is open space close to the town centre, it is often used in civic festivals, such as the annual Darwin Festival. Shrewsbury Carnival and Show is held here every June.

The Quarry in flood

Although the Quarry is sloping, low-lying parts are part of the natural overflow area for the River Severn in times of high flows. As a relatively low intensity land use, the Quarry is allowed to flood preferentially to other more built-up areas of the town. The boat launching jetty by

Porthill Bridge Porthill Bridge, also often referred to as Port Hill Footbridge, is a suspension bridge for pedestrians crossing the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It connects Porthill with the Quarry and the town centre. Next to it on t ...

is under water many times during a typical winter, with Victoria Avenue and the children's playground flooded perhaps once a year. Every few years, river flows are such that flood water almost reaches the Bandstand. A causeway of higher ground has been constructed to allow people to walk from

towards St Chad's Church during most flood events.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quarry River Severn Parks and open spaces in Shropshire Buildings and structures in Shrewsbury Grade II listed parks and gardens in Shropshire