History fans given a tour of Shrewsbury Library during DarwIN week
Fans of Charles Darwin and Shrewsbury's history in general got a behind the scenes look around one of the town's most famous buildings.
Shrewsbury's Library, in Castle Gates, was previously a school that was attended by the father of evolution from 1818 to 1825 - although apparently the great naturalist hated the formal education he received there, much preferring to be outside.
"There is no evidence that he played cricket in the chapel as there are reports of the boys doing just to keep warm," said library manager Catherine Berry who led a one-hour tour around the building on Saturday, which was Darwin's birthday. "The oldest part of the building was built in 1450.
The tour took place as part of a week-long series of DarwIN Shrewsbury Festival of events around town.
"We had a mixture of people in the group of 12 we took around,"said Mrs Berry. "Some were interested in the building and others in the connection with Darwin."
The library is looking forward to hosting more behind-the-scenes tours of the building during the summer months. They will be held with a ticket price of £5 a head and with tea and cake.
