Geography of Shropshire - Towns and Villages

Towns and Villages

Further information: List of places in Shropshire, Category:Towns in Shropshire, and Category:Villages in Shropshire

Shropshire has no cities, but 22 towns, of which two can be considered major. Telford is the largest town in the county with a population of 138,241 (which is approximately 30% of the total Salopian populace); whereas the county town of Shrewsbury has a lower, but still sizeable population of 70,560 (15%). The other sizeable towns are Oswestry, Bridgnorth, Newport and Ludlow. The historic town of Wellington now makes up part of the Telford conurbation. The majority of the other settlements can be classed as villages or small towns such as Much Wenlock. Six villages have larger populations than the smallest town, Clun. The largest of these, Bayston Hill, is the 10th most inhabited settlement in the county.

The larger settlements are primarily concentrated in a central belt that roughly follows the A5/M54 roadway. Other settlements are concentrated on rivers, for example Bridgnorth and Ironbridge on the Severn, or Ludlow on the Teme, as these waterways were historically vital for trade and a supply of water.

Telford Shrewsbury Oswestry Bridgnorth

Ceremonial county of Shropshire Telford and Wrekin shown within Rivers, Motorways, 'A' Roads, Settlements

Largest settlements (by population): Telford (138,241) Shrewsbury (70,560) Oswestry (15,613) Bridgnorth (12,212) Newport (10,814) Ludlow (10,500) Market Drayton (10,407) Whitchurch (8,907) Shifnal (7,094) Bayston Hill (village)(5,247) Wem (5,142) Broseley (4,912) Church Stretton (4,186) Albrighton (village)(4,157) Pontesbury (village) (3,500) Ellesmere (3,223) Prees (village) (2,688) Much Wenlock (2,605) Craven Arms (2,289) Cleobury Mortimer (1,962) Bishop's Castle (1,630) Ruyton-XI-Towns (village) (1,500) Baschurch (village) (1,475) Clun (642)

Newport Ludlow Market Drayton Whitchurch

The town of Telford was created by the merger and expansion of older, small towns to the north and east of the Wrekin. These towns now have sizeable populations that now make up the population of Telford: Wellington (20,430), Madeley (17,935), Dawley (11,399) and Oakengates (8,517), but the Telford and Wrekin borough towns incentive aims to make Oakengates into the largest of the towns.