Shrewsbury's shuts and passages
Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:23 ceridwen |
Shrewsbury is a fascinating city to explore especially as it retains a number of ancient 'shuts' or alleyways which provide convenient shortcuts and which enable pedestrians to get around the centre of the town in an almost bygone world behind and between the busy shopping streets. These narrow passages date back to the Middle Ages when the town must have been a veritable rabbit warren: many have disappeared in the course of redevelopment and those that remain deserve to be preserved. The origin of the name 'shut' is obscure but, it has been suggested that, unlike closed cul-de sacs, these alleys, being open both ends, allow the pedestrian to 'shoot' rapidly from one street to another. 'Shut' could also be a contraction of 'shortcut' which is what it usually is! There is an excellent booklet obtainable for £2.99 from the Shrewsbury museum called Shuts and Passages of Shrewsbury, also a guided walk around most of them. I have put up pictures of a few in the hope that other Geographers may follow suit. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:21 ceridwen |
A few more, already submitted![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Wed, 3 Mar 2010 17:54 ceridwen |
Another shut ![]() Two entrances ![]() ![]() |
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