Thanks to photography, we have a window into the world of Shropshire’s Victorians - how they lived, what they looked like, and the towns they inhabited.
It was the first era to be documented by photography. And you know what they say about a picture being worth a thousand words.
So let’s take a trip back in time and take a look through the lens at the life of our Salopian forebears who were immortalised for posterity by something which still feels a bit special even today - the simple act of having our picture taken.
- Shrewsbury in 1979: 25 pictures of football glory and life around town - see them here
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9. Smile please
An unknown Ironbridge family. The number of children was typical of the times, but the other side of the coin was that infant mortality was high. | Paul France
10. The fantastic Feathers
Over centuries the Feathers Hotel in Ludlow has been one of the town's most magnificent and historic buildings. | Shropshire Star archive
11. Looking up Lower Mill Street
Lower Mill Street, Ludlow, with the town's cathedral-like parish church top right. The picture came from Angela Siminson, of Lower Mill Street, but used to belong to a neighbour, Robert Dinsmore, who died in 2013. The building about half way up with the bell or clock tower on the right hand side of the street is the old Ludlow Grammar School. Ludlow mill is bottom right with sacks outside. | Robert Dinsmore
12. The clock tower that moved
Here's a closer view of the old grammar school, with the pupils posing outside. The building is the ancient Palmers Hall, which is still there of course, but the clock tower is not. These days it's at the other end of the building (or a replacement is). Why did it move? If we knew, we'd tell you. | Shropshire Star archive