It seems that serious historians say the story about the origin of Dogpole is that the unusual street name is obscure and there are no plausible explanations.
I prefer the explanation provided by Martin Wood (Town Crier) who is probably more steeped in Shrewsbury history than almost anyone alive.
In part, this is probably because as town crier, and a Shrewsbury tour guide from time to time, he has received feedback to his tours from knowledgeable people and generally more access to this information than most other people.
Using Martin Wood's article on the "Love Shrewsbury" website we created the following video to explain how Dogpole got its name:
To quote from Martin's explanation is short and simple, as follows:
"... it could be that I tell our American visitors that in medieval times dogs were not allowed in the town so they had to tie them to a post hence a dog-pole! But, the real reason is that part of the old inner town wall ran across this street and there was a small gate that people had to duck to get through so "Duck-hole" or, Dogpole, came into being.
How the "duck hole" of Dogpole may have looked
NOTE: All images, apart from the pics of Dogpole buildings, are for entertainment purposes and do not depict the actual walls or "hole".
This "Story of Shrewsbury" video is about the period just after he first settlers arrived in Shrewsbury.
When the citizens of Wroxeter settled in what we now call Shrewsbury, they called their new town Pengwern.
Pengwern means simply "the fenced-in hill-top with Alders". So, it was here that the Britons stayed and since it commanded the River Severn whose board valley provide done of the only safe means of passage into the mountains of Wales, it grew in importance.
The importance of the strategic position of Pengwern was soon recognised.
In the year 617 Briochel Yscithrog, King of Powys, which at that time included a large part of modern-day Shropshire, chose Pengwern as his capital. The connection continued and his descendents ruled from the town until about 760.
Scrobbes-byrig (Shrewsbury) flourished as a Saxon town.
It had its own mint in the early 900s, during the reign of King Alfred's son Edward the Elder.
The mint produced coins for the Saxon kings, and, in 2015 the Shropshire Star reported on an auction of one of the coins.
This coin, worth a penny when it was created in Shrewsbury more than 1,000 years ago, was sold for more than £500 in 2015.
The mint had closed by the time of the Norman invasion in 1066.
In 1006 the Kingdom of Pengwern was organised into "shires" (smaller areas of administration). and "Scrobbesbyrigscire" (Shropshire), was created.
So, even in 1006, people were still evidently talking about the "town of scrubby bushes" (Scrobbes-byrig) for many years to come.
...That's quite a tongue-twister! Try saying it out loud. NOW!
AND, it gets worse!
...You got it! They even named the whole COUNTY after those "scrubby bushes" (alders)!
That happened when "Scrobbesbyrigscire", became the County name of what we now call "Shropshire".
Moving on to a new subject.
The County Sheriff was a powerful man, and acted on behalf of the king.
He had the authority to collect taxes and raise armies for attacks into Wales.
He was also responsible for enforcing law and order.
Presumably attacking Wales was a perfectly respectable thing, in those days!
Maybe, it was tit for tat?
Also in 1006 King "Aethelred the Unready" spent the winter in Shrewsbury.
Translation of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles states "Unready" to mean “poor counsel”, “evil counsel” or “unwise".
By the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066 the town was important enough to be called a city, and Included within its walls four churches and two hundred and fifty-two houses. But, it's was still only the size of one average housing estate!
Historical Text from: The Story of Shrewsbury, R. Graves, Hardwick House, Ellesmere 1993.
Many much loved UK towns of today date back to the Roman occupation of Britain.
But not Shrewsbury.
The town of Shrewsbury did not even exist in Roman or pre-Roman times.
It was simply an area of wild shrubs and alder trees, on a raised mound above a loop of the River Severn.
It's a geological feature which has formed naturally, since the last ice-age, by a coincidence of geology and erosion by water.
The Romans had no need of a town here. Why?
Because, only eight miles to the south-east, lay Uricon City (Wroxeter).
For several centuries Uricon was an important place.
At its peak, it was the fourth city of the Roman Province of Britain.
But in the year 410, the Roman Emperor Honorius told the Britons that he could no longer safe-guard them.
The Empire was failing, and they fell prey to the ravages of the Picts, the Scots, the Saxons and other foreign invaders.
Without Roman legionaries to protect it, Uricon, with no natural defences, was not easily guarded.
At length Uricon was attacked, and burned to the ground.
Those who escaped from the flames were not foolish enough to rebuild on the same site.
Instead, the citizens of Uricon thought of that river bend, not far away.
A place that would be so much easier to defend.
They saw that the River Severn looped back on itself so much that it was almost an island.
To avert a surprise attack, they had only to prevent a river crossing by fencing off the narrow neck of land where the loop started, and keep a watch on the river and fence.
The fence was easy to build across the narrow neck of land as it was (and still is!), no more than three hundred yards wide.
The Britons called their new town Pengwern, meaning simply the fenced-in hill-top with alders.
It was not to be called Shrewsbury for over 100 years, but that's another story...
Credit: This video is based upon the book "The Story of Shrewsbury" by Richard Graves (Hardwick House, Ellesmere 1993)
