How a new app is bringing Shrewsbury's fascinating heritage to life for visitors
Our historic county town has always been popular with tourists and a new app will now ensure that they have all the information about Shrewsbury’s heritage at their fingertips.
The new mobile app has been launched that is aiming to transform how residents and visitors explore the town.
HistoMap Shrewsbury is an interactive, map-based heritage guide that brings over 300 buildings, landmarks, and archaeological sites to life – from early medieval churches to modern Brutalist buildings, and everything in between.
Created by Heritage Innovation Limited, a Shrewsbury-based heritage consultancy, the app offers a curated experience that blends academic rigour with engaging storytelling.
Treated to information on sites including Shrewsbury Abbey, the Abbot’s House, Rowley’s House and Shrewsbury Prison, users can explore the town via a touchscreen map, tapping on locations to learn more about individual places. Sites can also be searched by period, and filtered by proximity.
“We wanted to make Shrewsbury’s incredible history more accessible," said Dr Paul Belford, founder of Heritage Innovation and designer of the app.
Shrewsbury is one of the UK’s most unspoiled medieval towns. With over 600 listed buildings, many of which date back more than 500 years, it is the perfect place to enjoy exploring history.
“Our Shrewsbury app features over 300 places of historic interest spanning more than 1,200 years.
“It gives people the freedom to explore heritage in their own way, at their own pace, and with real depth.”
The idea for HistoMap came from Paul’s work as an archaeologist and heritage consultant.
“I was increasingly frustrated by the disconnect between what we as archaeologists are able to know about and how other people are able to engage with it, and so for me the driver for this was to try and give those other people easy and simple access to that historical knowledge that we have.
“That was the genesis of the project, and we’ve spent time developing the technical side of it and compiling the information the app presents.”
HistoMap Shrewsbury’s content is based entirely on archaeological and historical records in the public domain, and has been written and curated by heritage professionals with decades of expertise.
“The USP of the app is that it has been prepared with professional human input, rather than with content created by AI,” said Paul.
“This ensures things have been written in the right, engaging way. References allow users to delve deeper into each entry if they so choose, allowing them to find the depth of information that suits their curiosity and almost tailor their own experience.
“Unlike AI-generated apps, HistoMap is able to guarantee accuracy, context and clarity – and no ongoing subscription is required.”
With the app having started with Shrewsbury, the question is, will Paul be expanding its coverage?
“I’d love to,” he said. “I chose Shrewsbury because I live there, and so I know it very well and have been able to take all of the photographs.
“It’s been a real labour of love. Depending on how well the app is received, the next place might well be Ironbridge.
“In theory, any town where there is a heritage interest could work. I’ve got ideas about how we can develop HistoMap further, but for now, I just wanted to put it out there to see what people thought and get some feedback. I hope you all enjoy it!”
HistoMap Shrewsbury is now available, priced at £2.99 for a one-time download on both iOS and Android.
Apple users can download it at apps.apple.com/gb/app/histomap-shrewsbury/id6749061637
It can be downloaded via Google Play at play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.histomapshrewsbury.android
Visit: www.histomap.app/shrewsbury for information.
