The Story of Shrewsbury: Frankwell District of Shrewsbury is a story of a medieval river port, old and new bridges and wonderful old buildings from half-timbered wood framed houses to Edwardian style professional and wool merchant residences.
This district is a joy to walk around in and enjoy the variety of streets and architectural styles, from medieval to modern.
The Shrewsbury Council Guildhall, and the Theatre Severn are the newest additions to the area. Not in themselves noteworthy architecture, of course, but no less important to the community benefits of the area.
Now watch our video (below) about Frankwell. Afterwards don't forget to scroll on down below this video for more info about Frankwell, Shrewsbury.
However, Shrewsbury actually retains very little of its river trading past, and what little it does have, a lot of people know absolutely nothing about.
For those of you who don't know, the river severn loops around Shrewsbury, almost making it into an island.
This island contains the castle, and it was all wrapped up neatly by the town walls.
So hundreds of years ago, any settlement on the other side of the river, outside the walled borough of Shrewsbury, existed independently of the towns jurisdiction.
The people of Shrewsbury referred to the nearest of these settlements as Little Borough. But the residents took to calling it Frankville, which meant "Town of free trade." It boasted its own mayor and its own festivals, and despite its small size, the census in 1881 reveals that there were fifteen pubs in the little borough at that point in time.
Today, it is just part of Shrewsbury, known as Frankwell. Through the Victorian era, Frankwells history became colourful with prostitution and this persisted into the 20th and 21st Century, and in 2006 it made headlines when two prostitutes were bludgeoned to death with a hammer in a brothel. But that aside, Frankwells history is primarily to do with the river trade.
Some of the old buildings in Frankwell are remarkably old, dating back to the early 15th Century. But Frankwell Quay, with the exception of two old, unused buildings, has been modernized quite a bit, housing the council offices, the theatre, and a car park. The two unused buildings seemed to have survived amongst the modernization, but for how much longer is currently a topic of discussion.
While these buildings were constructed in the 1700s, records of Frankwell Quay date back to 1405, when James Callerode described "the stew" as a land, a croft and dovecote just upstream from St Georges bridge.
St Georges bridge stood just upstream from where the old welsh bridge stands today. In fact the Welsh Bridge was built to replace it.
The name "The Stew," while being an overall name for the land back in the 1400s, is retained by one of the buildings here today. via Shrewsbury from where you are not: Frankwell Quay
The old Welsh Bridge (St George's Bridge) was replaced by the present day Welsh Bridge in the 1790s. The new Welsh Bridge is located some 70m (80 yards) further downstream from the old bridge. via Frankwell : Wikis (The Full Wiki)
There is keen emphasis on music, particularly at weekends when live bands are often in evidence, though the jukebox is usually active the rest of the time, Barbecues are often held on the large beer garden decking in the summer. In its time it has been owned, not only by the Wrekin Brewery of Wellington, but also was part of the large local estate of the Shrewsbury & Wem Brewery.
Historic Interest
The black & white building with the triangular frontage opposite used to be a pub called the Old Bell up until 1910. This used to be the home of the Frankwell Brewery, which was producing up to 200 barrels of beer a week in the 1880s. via Wheatsheaf, Shrewsbury • whatpub.com
The Frankwell scheme Feasibility studies identified the Frankwell area of the town as the area most likely to be eligible for a flood defence scheme. Frankwell is the first area in Shrewsbury where a substantial number of properties are affected by flooding. In addition, much information on this area was already available from earlier investigations, allowing an accelerated programme to progress. Prior to the scheme, there were no flood defences in Frankwell. The heights of the existing riverbanks and riverside buildings varied. It was estimated that many properties in Frankwell had no more than a 1 in 3 year standard of protection.
The Agency adopted a creative and innovative approach because heritage and aesthetic considerations were paramount. The resulting scheme combined traditional stone clad floodwalls and embankments with new demountable defences. These are only erected in the event of a flood. For the majority of the year, when the river is not a threat, they will simply not be there.
The Agency is responsible for the storage and erection of the demountable defences and when not in use, the barriers are stored locally. The flood defences principally consist of steel sheet pile underground walls up to 16 metres deep, which limit the flow of groundwater under the defences.
They also act as a foundation for reinforced concrete walls up to 3 metres high and demountable aluminium barriers. The demountable defences have been designed so that they can be erected progressively.
This means that when a flood warning is issued the defences are erected in a particular sequence thereby increasing efficiency and providing a longer time to erect the barriers in advance of a flood. If flooding is imminent, only the demountable barriers necessary to stop flooding will be erected. Shrewsbury is fortunate in that the Agency is usually able to provide at least 6 – 12 hours warning time.
The longest single section of demountable defences is along the ‘promenade’ at Frankwell Quay, an area that has been significantly enhanced as a result of the scheme.
The works have also included major improvements to the drainage system, including the construction of two new large pumping stations by Severn Trent Water Ltd.
These will reduce the risk of flooding due to backing up of the drains. Under normal circumstances, the pumping stations will operate automatically. However, they are monitored remotely from the Severn Trent Water control room and can be operated manually if required. Flood risk can never be completely removed. The Frankwell scheme has been designed to provide a 100 year frquency protection level. via Flood alleviation scheme: Frankwell, Shrewsbury - GOV.UK
The Shrewsbury Council Guildhall, and the Theatre Severn are the newest additions to the area. Not in themselves noteworthy architecture, of course, but no less important to the community benefits of the area.
Anchor Inn, Shrewsbury
The Anchor was in danger of going out of business at the turn of the century following repeated flooding of the nearby River Severn. However, the erection of flood barriers in 2003 has alleviated the situation, and trade would have gained a boost thanks to the Theatre, which opened in 2009. via AnchorInnShrewsburyFrankwell Quay History
Back in the day, Shrewsbury had a lot of river trade. Walk down the water lane behind St Mary's, and you'll see the archways of former shopfronts for the people arriving by boat, and by the river itself is still the area where boats would have been tethered up, complete with stone steps up from the water to the walkway. The walkway itself originally was built for horses toeing barges, but now it provides the means of a lovely stroll. Well, maybe not right this second. Currently it's overflowing due to recent rainfall. But beneath an inch or so of water, that walkway is totally there!
For those of you who don't know, the river severn loops around Shrewsbury, almost making it into an island.
This island contains the castle, and it was all wrapped up neatly by the town walls.
So hundreds of years ago, any settlement on the other side of the river, outside the walled borough of Shrewsbury, existed independently of the towns jurisdiction.
The people of Shrewsbury referred to the nearest of these settlements as Little Borough. But the residents took to calling it Frankville, which meant "Town of free trade." It boasted its own mayor and its own festivals, and despite its small size, the census in 1881 reveals that there were fifteen pubs in the little borough at that point in time.
Today, it is just part of Shrewsbury, known as Frankwell. Through the Victorian era, Frankwells history became colourful with prostitution and this persisted into the 20th and 21st Century, and in 2006 it made headlines when two prostitutes were bludgeoned to death with a hammer in a brothel. But that aside, Frankwells history is primarily to do with the river trade.
Some of the old buildings in Frankwell are remarkably old, dating back to the early 15th Century. But Frankwell Quay, with the exception of two old, unused buildings, has been modernized quite a bit, housing the council offices, the theatre, and a car park. The two unused buildings seemed to have survived amongst the modernization, but for how much longer is currently a topic of discussion.
While these buildings were constructed in the 1700s, records of Frankwell Quay date back to 1405, when James Callerode described "the stew" as a land, a croft and dovecote just upstream from St Georges bridge.
St Georges bridge stood just upstream from where the old welsh bridge stands today. In fact the Welsh Bridge was built to replace it.
The name "The Stew," while being an overall name for the land back in the 1400s, is retained by one of the buildings here today. via Shrewsbury from where you are not: Frankwell Quay
Frankwell in the Early Modern Period
Frankwell was highly prosperous in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. 4-7 Frankwell is an imposing building with ground-floor shops and first- and second- floor workshops above, built in about 1590. 113-14 Frankwell, built around 1620, remains a splendid and imposing half-timbered building. Late seventeenth and early eighteenth century buildings, including the 'Anchor' public house, line the corner to the approach to the old Welsh Bridge.The old Welsh Bridge (St George's Bridge) was replaced by the present day Welsh Bridge in the 1790s. The new Welsh Bridge is located some 70m (80 yards) further downstream from the old bridge. via Frankwell : Wikis (The Full Wiki)
Wheatsheaf Pub, Frankwell Shrewsbury
This black and white former coaching inn features an inglenook fireplace, beamed ceiling and bay windows in the bar. This is a comfortable room which was refurbished in 2014. There's another small room to the rear of the pub, that is used as a games room. The serving area is triangular-shaped which is fairly unusual. Three handpulls dispense beers from local and regional micro breweries, usually with a real cider as well.There is keen emphasis on music, particularly at weekends when live bands are often in evidence, though the jukebox is usually active the rest of the time, Barbecues are often held on the large beer garden decking in the summer. In its time it has been owned, not only by the Wrekin Brewery of Wellington, but also was part of the large local estate of the Shrewsbury & Wem Brewery.
Historic Interest
The black & white building with the triangular frontage opposite used to be a pub called the Old Bell up until 1910. This used to be the home of the Frankwell Brewery, which was producing up to 200 barrels of beer a week in the 1880s. via Wheatsheaf, Shrewsbury • whatpub.com
Flood alleviation scheme: Frankwell, Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire with a population of approximately 100,000 people. It has a rich architectural and historical heritage and is one of the best preserved medieval towns remaining in England. The town centre stands on a hill in the middle of a narrow necked horseshoe loop of the River Severn with the river surrounding most of the town’s historical centre.The Frankwell scheme Feasibility studies identified the Frankwell area of the town as the area most likely to be eligible for a flood defence scheme. Frankwell is the first area in Shrewsbury where a substantial number of properties are affected by flooding. In addition, much information on this area was already available from earlier investigations, allowing an accelerated programme to progress. Prior to the scheme, there were no flood defences in Frankwell. The heights of the existing riverbanks and riverside buildings varied. It was estimated that many properties in Frankwell had no more than a 1 in 3 year standard of protection.
The Agency adopted a creative and innovative approach because heritage and aesthetic considerations were paramount. The resulting scheme combined traditional stone clad floodwalls and embankments with new demountable defences. These are only erected in the event of a flood. For the majority of the year, when the river is not a threat, they will simply not be there.
The Agency is responsible for the storage and erection of the demountable defences and when not in use, the barriers are stored locally. The flood defences principally consist of steel sheet pile underground walls up to 16 metres deep, which limit the flow of groundwater under the defences.
They also act as a foundation for reinforced concrete walls up to 3 metres high and demountable aluminium barriers. The demountable defences have been designed so that they can be erected progressively.
This means that when a flood warning is issued the defences are erected in a particular sequence thereby increasing efficiency and providing a longer time to erect the barriers in advance of a flood. If flooding is imminent, only the demountable barriers necessary to stop flooding will be erected. Shrewsbury is fortunate in that the Agency is usually able to provide at least 6 – 12 hours warning time.
The longest single section of demountable defences is along the ‘promenade’ at Frankwell Quay, an area that has been significantly enhanced as a result of the scheme.
The works have also included major improvements to the drainage system, including the construction of two new large pumping stations by Severn Trent Water Ltd.
These will reduce the risk of flooding due to backing up of the drains. Under normal circumstances, the pumping stations will operate automatically. However, they are monitored remotely from the Severn Trent Water control room and can be operated manually if required. Flood risk can never be completely removed. The Frankwell scheme has been designed to provide a 100 year frquency protection level. via Flood alleviation scheme: Frankwell, Shrewsbury - GOV.UK
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