Shrewsbury is the proud county town of Shropshire, which is England's largest inland county. Built within a majestic horseshoe bend of the River Severn, Shrewsbury grew steadily over the centuries. As a thriving Saxon town it had established its own mint by the early 900s. In the years following the Norman Conquest, a fine castle and then a vast monastery were built.

By the 1380s, Shrewsbury was the third largest centre of population after London and York. In the eighteenth century the town flourished as a great coaching centre and then in the nineteenth century as a focus for the booming railways network with lines radiating outwards from the town to Crewe, Wellington, Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Minsterley and Welshpool.

As, through the ages, the town slowly developed beyond the embrace of the river, its heart remained largely protected and so to this day remains incredibly rich in ancient streets and historic buildings. The borough today has a population of around 98,000.

As a successful historic market town situated at the heart of the county, Shrewsbury is ideally placed to continue in its time-honoured role as the commercial and administrative centre for the area, drawing in people from all over Shropshire and indeed from beyond the county borders for business, shopping, leisure and cultural pursuits.

Shrewsbury is a great town with a wonderfully rich history and surely an exciting and successful future. Shrewsbury: A Celebration details this wealth of history: The Saxons, the Normans, Welsh invaders, the Black Death, the Battle of Shrewsbury, the Civil War, peace and prosperity, the golden age of coaching, the Victorian era and the coming of the railways and the impact of the 20th century.

But the book is so much more than simply a history. In words and phptographs it also looks at the architecture, the town's suburbs and Shrewsbury as it is today.