The shuts and passages of Shrewsbury: Bowdler's Passage
Introduction
The photograph on this page of The shuts and passages of Shrewsbury: Bowdler's Passage by Natasha Ceridwen de Chroustchoff as part of the Geograph project.
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The shuts and passages of Shrewsbury: Bowdler's Passage
Image: © Natasha Ceridwen de Chroustchoff Taken: 3 Feb 2010
Shrewsbury retains a number of '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 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! Bowdler's Passage is a private passage off Wyle Cop although formerly public as far back as the 1700s. There is evidence of a bell foundry on the site in the mediaeval period. It emerges in Beeches Lane close to Bowdler's School Image]
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Image Location
Latitude
52.706163
Longitude
-2.751364