Shropshire (Map)- Framed Picture - 12" x 16"

Shropshire (Salop) is a county located inbetween England and Wales. The county town is Shrewsbury. The Ironbridge Gorge area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covering Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale and a part of Madeley.

The area was once part of the lands of the Cornovii. This was a tribal iron age kingdom. Their capital in pre-Roman times was the hill fort "The Wrekin". One of their towns as being Viroconium Cornoviorum (Wroxeter), which became their capital under Roman rule and one of the largest settlements in Britain. After the Roman occupation of Britain ended in the 5th century, the Shropshire area was in the eastern part of the Welsh Kingdom of Powys. It was annexed to the Angle kingdom of Mercia by King Offa in the 8th century, at which time he built two significant dykes there to defend his territory against the Welsh.

After the Norman conquest, many defensive castles were built across the county to defend against the Welsh and enable effective control of the region, including Ludlow Castle and Shrewsbury Castle. The western frontier with Wales was not finally determined until the 14th century.

The county was a central part of the Welsh Marches during the medieval period and was often embroiled in the power struggles between powerful Marcher Lords, the Earls of March and successive monarchs.

The origin of the name "Shropshire" is the Old English Scrobbesbyrigsc?r, which means "Shrewsburyshire".

Salop is an old name for Shropshire, historically used as an abbreviated form for post or telegrams, it is thought to derive from the Anglo-French "Salopesberia". Shropshire residents are still referred to as "Salopians". Salop however is also used as an alternative name for the county town, Shrewsbury, which also shares the motto of Floreat Salopia.

The Area along with Birmingham was seen to be the Birth place of the Industrial Revolution