Shrewsbury or Shrowsbury

[Killingworth]

A friend went to Shrowsbury School but pronounces it Shrewsbury when not speaking to fellow Old Salopians and their social group. My father in Newcastle called it Shrowsbury

 

[AY1975]

As the town is nearly encircled by the Severn I'm not sure what would be classified as north or south of the river. Generally I would say it splits along class lines, Shrow being the posher. A continuing disseminator of the use of Shrow maybe the alumni of Shrewsbury School. Who include Michael Heseltine, Richard Ingrams founder of Private Eye, Michael Palin, Nick Owen amongst many others.

Yes indeed, and in one of Michael Portillo's Great British Railway Journeys programmes where he visits the town he asks someone "Am I in Shrowsbury or Shrewsbury?" and they say if you're a pupil, a member of staff or alumnus of Shrewsbury School it's Shrowsbury but to the locals it's Shrewsbury.

 

[splashoutradio]

There is of course a third, but lesser used variant used by some of us who use a language from just over the border - Yr Amwythig (Welsh for Shre(o)wsbury)

 

[PeterC]

And the place in Somerset is Wit-ham.

So is the town in Essex.

 

[D6968]

Believe there's a third variant... "Shows-bury".

Salop?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Salop?

Sacre bleu!

 

[tomuk]

Sacre bleu!

There was a campaign 40 odd years ago to change the county name to Shropshire due to that connotation

County's name change colonel dies
A man who successfully campaigned to restore Shropshire as the official name of the county has died.

BBC NEWS | England | Shropshire | County's name change colonel dies

 

[Gloster]

Salop was the official name from 1974 to 1980. Supposedly the change back was well received by the local MEP (luckily a man) as salope, which is pronounced almost the same, is an offensive French term for a woman of low moral standards.

 

[Runningaround]

Salop is the alternative name for Shropshire, not for Shrewsbury - except when it refers to former pupils of Shrewsbury School: "Old Salopians".

Shrewsbury was always referred to as Salop by railwaymen. Shrewsbury is how the locals call it outsiders and posh people call it Shrowsburry.

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

My father always said 'Shrowsbury' and I have carried on that tradition....alighting there a few months ago I fell into conversation with a young lad mentioning I was leaving the train at 'Shrowsbury', he
said...'Oh, that's the posh way'

 

[william.martin]

As somebody who lives in Telford up the road, posh people or locals tend to call it "SH-ROW-S-BURY" where as us Telfordarians simply call it "SHOES-BURY".

 

[nw1]

Do you prefer Coventry or Cuventry? Romsey or Rumsey? Marlborough or Morlborough?

What about "Chooksbury" (almost rhyming with "Hook", but also sounding a bit like "chuck" - basically in between the two) for the Gloucestershire town on the Severn?

I stayed at a B+B on Cleeve Hill once and the owner was adamant that the town was pronounced that way, always correcting me when I used the obvious (but obviously wrong) pronunciation.

As for the subject of this thread, for me it's "Shrowsbury". "Shroosbury" sounds like the name of a town in Massachusetts.

 

[Techniquest]

Always been Shrewsbury for me, anything else sounds wrong!

 

[duncanp]

As for the subject of this thread, for me it's "Shrowsbury". "Shroosbury" sounds like the name of a town in Massachusetts.

Shrewsbury (pronounced "shroozebury") is the terminus of one of the lines of the St. Louis Metrolink light rail system, in the state of Missouri, USA.

 

[Calthrop]

What about "Chooksbury" (almost rhyming with "Hook", but also sounding a bit like "chuck" - basically in between the two) for the Gloucestershire town on the Severn?

(My bolding) Suggests irresistibly to me, an (imaginable) town somewhere in Australia -- named after Tewkesbury perhaps, but populated overwhelmingly by poultry farmers .

 

[37078xotTE]

Yes indeed, and in one of Michael Portillo's Great British Railway Journeys programmes where he visits the town he asks someone "Am I in Shrowsbury or Shrewsbury?" and they say if you're a pupil, a member of staff or alumnus of Shrewsbury School it's Shrowsbury but to the locals it's Shrewsbury.

The above is absolutley correct as an ex-allumni and 40+ year resident, thread closed!!

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Is there a "proper" pronunciation for anywhere? Where i live you hear variations of the name, as long as someone knows where you mean it doesn't really matter.

Exactly. I have used both pronunciations of Shrow/Shrew sbury

 

[jj1314]

I live here and for me, it's definitely "SHREW-sbury". I've only heard the other pronunciation at the railway station and outside some of the more, uh, 'upmarket' shops in town.

I regard anyone who calls it "SHROW-sbury" in much the same way as those who used to visit my native west Cornwall looking for "Mouse hole" (vs "MOW-zel") and "Mar-at-zee-on" (vs "Marra-Zion")

 

[nw1]

I regard anyone who calls it "SHROW-sbury" in much the same way as those who used to visit my native west Cornwall looking for "Mouse hole" (vs "MOW-zel") and "Mar-at-zee-on" (vs "Marra-Zion")

My guess for the place was neither. Instead: "Marra-zee-on" (with an emphasis on the second 'a').

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Claughton (between Preston and Garstang) and I lived in Lancashire for many years, is apparently pronounced Clight-un by locals

 

[prod_pep]

Well the mayor of the town says it is pronounced Shrowsbury due to the old spelling of the place, so that's good enough for me.

As a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to pronunciation, I have to agree here. The 'shrew' pronunciation is an example of spelling pronunciation, a bit like how the 'ph' in nephew has changed from 'v' to 'f' for most speakers. This has happened for centuries and there's nothing necessarily wrong with it, but my personal preference is traditional where acceptable.

However, the 'Taming of the Shrow' comparison is strange. Combinations of letters are often pronounced in different ways: for example, we have the liver birds and the liver building, rhyming with diver and pronounced differently from Liverpool.

 

[birchesgreen]

One i used to get wrong was Crich of Tramway museum fame, i used to say it Crick but luckily i have a colleague from Derbyshire who was able to correct me.

 

[duncanp]

OK.

Who knows how to pronounce the Coleshill in Coleshill Parkway station correctly?

 

[LWB]

Many Great Western Railway engineering drawings include the words ‘shew’ and ‘Shewn’ in reference to projections where the pronunciation was show and shown.
I have also seen two non-railway films set around WW2 where signs at GWR booking halls read “all passengers must shew travel passes” or something like that.

 

[birchesgreen]

Many Great Western Railway engineering drawings include the words ‘shew’ and ‘Shewn’ in reference to projections where the pronunciation was show and shown.
I have also seen two non-railway films set around WW2 where signs at GWR booking halls read “all passengers must shew travel passes” or something like that.

Shew is an alternative for show, not used much nowadays.

 

[Calthrop]

Shew is an alternative for show, not used much nowadays.

George Bernard Shaw was "funny" about spelling and orthography in various ways, and passionate about his usages in such things: he was convinced that "shew" was the right spelling for the word concerned; as in his only "Western", The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet.

 

[birchesgreen]

George Bernard Shaw was "funny" about spelling and orthography in various ways, and passionate about his usages in such things: he was convinced that "shew" was the right spelling for the word concerned; as in his only "Western", The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet.

I prefer using shew myself, but i am unusual.

 

[Rescars]

Claughton (between Preston and Garstang) and I lived in Lancashire for many years, is apparently pronounced Clight-un by locals

Does the same apply to Bowen Cooke's LNWR 4-6-0s?!

 

[D6130]

Who knows how to pronounce the Coleshill in Coleshill Parkway station correctly?

Cowlzill?

 

[duncanp]

Cowlzill?

It's actually Coazle Parkway, certainly not Coals Hill Parkway