Shirehall: Exhibition dedicated to 'iconic' Shrewsbury building set to end this Saturday
An exhibition of rare photos, artwork and scale models dedicated to Shrewsbury's under-threat Shirehall building is set to end this Saturday (July 19).
The exhibition, organised by Shrewsbury Civic Society as part of an ongoing campaign to protect the building from demolition, contains exclusive pictures from the Royal Institute of British Architects and also features work by Shropshire artist Charlie Adlard.
Shropshire-based Mr Adlard, best known for his creative work on hit TV series The Walking Dead, threw his weight behind a campaign to save Shrewsbury's Shirehall building earlier this year.
The future of Shirehall has been under threat since Shropshire Council declared it "not fit for purpose" in 2023, announcing its intention to move its workforce to the Guildhall in the centre of Shrewsbury.
The building is vacant, but several campaign groups have sprung up to try to protect the building from circling developers, with Shropshire Council's new Liberal Democrat administration currently considering its future.
Locally, the modernist building divides opinion, with its detractors declaring the 1960s-designed civic building as an "ugly concrete carbuncle".
But Simon Beedles of the Civic Society said the exhibition shows the Shirehall as an "iconic architectural statement", which reflected the boldness and imagination of its 1960s architects.
"The photographs show in wonderful detail the various parts of the building complex which combine to present a superbly designed and functional Shirehall," he said.
"They show the building as it was designed in the 1960s, an iconic architectural statement showing how Shropshire was reflecting the boldness of the age, the freedom of expression, the shedding of austerity and the desire to be imaginative.
"By ensuring there is no demolition of Shropshire’s Shirehall the impressive building in the photographs should remain as a bold 20th-century architectural statement yet one adaptable for reuse by generations to come.
"The exhibition shows how Shropshire can be very proud of its Shirehall."
The exhibition runs in Shrewsbury's Bear Steps Gallery until Saturday, July 19 between 10am and 4pm.
