Hello You 40: Standing Sentinel Over Shrewsbury's Heritage

Shrewsbury is rich in heritage … but do we think beyond the Castle and the Flaxmill, the Abbey, and the surviving Tudor and medieval buildings?

A few weeks ago, the Sentinel Works on Whitchurch Road in Shrewsbury closed. It’s currently up for let. It’s a very familiar building in north Shrewsbury, but is it heritage? What about the history of the place, and the stories of the people who worked there and lived nearby?

Dr Paul Belford is an archaeologist and heritage consultant. I met him outside the gates of the Sentinel Works to talk about:

• the history of the Sentinel site and why it’s significant

• whether we take places like Sentinel for granted, and don’t see them as heritage

• the Flaxmill Maltings

• Shrewsbury Castle

• the forthcoming Riverside development and Raven Meadows

• the current Shrewsbury Market, the previous one … and the one before that

• rethinking Shrewsbury’s Town Walls to make the most of them

• oral and social histories and why they’re as important as the buildings

• being less precious about heritage and more about people

• slavery, and wealth from the exploitation of fellow human beings

Paul says some of his comments will be seen as controversial. Listen to what he has to say, and tell me what you think? Leave a comment:

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I’m recording two Bench sessions in the next few days. Watch out for those being released as soon as possible!