Due to the current debate in the "Shrewsbury's Getting A New Radio Station" thread I've created this poll.

So how do you pronounce Shrewsbury? personally I say Shrewsbury but you may already know that :P

Its a discussion that's been going on for years by various media outlets, groups and residents and I'm sure it will never come to a conclusion.

Hello boys and Girls
The shrewsbury and Shrowsbury argument is never ever ever going to be sorted out. Infact it's getting quite boring now. I have lived in Shre/owsbury all my life and have always pronounced it Shrewsbury, because that's how it is spelt. you don't say the taming of the Shrow do you? So that's one vote from me for SHREWSBURY. (Which is in Shrepshire) Ha Ha!

I agree its an age old argument, personally I always say Shrewsbury and so does everyone I know.

Its only those who live outside out town that call it Shrowsbury or maybe dare I say it those who possibly think they are a little bit better than the rest :rolleyes:

heheh, indeed I do think i'm better than the rest and therefore say Shrow.
You'll also find it's factually correct as according to Oxford dictionary of place names. Shrew is classed as local dialect, so realistically either or. But still Shrow is correct. And whichever way we argue, it's definitely NOT SHOES. eeeek it's cringe-worthy. Like when people pronounce h, hhayche rather than ayche.
rah.

Just because it's spelt Shrewsbury doesn't mean it's pronounced like that.

Say out aloud now Leominster. That's right - you say "Lemster".

It's "Shrowsbury". :)

:rolleyes: Yawn Yawn Yawn.
There's only one way to sort this argument out. SHREWSBURY/SHROWSBURY - so good they named it twice.

i've always thought ppl who have always lived in shrewsbury call it shrewsbury and ppl who moved into shrewsbury or are talking about it from somewhere else say shrowsbury.

Personally i think there are 3 pronouceiations not just the two. These being:

A) Shrowsbury
B Shroozebury
C) Shoesbury

I have had discussions with mates about this. A) is the posh persons saying. B Is the locals version in the north of the Town and C) is the locals version in the South of the Town.

Anyone else reconise or agree with this??

Although to avoid any confusion you just could call it Salop :P

i use B when trying to be posh and C when being myself but this upsets some other users hence this poll.

see local radio post.

Radio Shropshire have given up pronouncing the town, Shrowsbury. Their presenters can now say all three !

:rolleyes: Shrowsbury
:unsure: Shroozebury
:huh: Shoesbury

After telling us all those years ago we had go it all wrong and it should be pronounced Shrowsbury :blink:

"Shoesbury" is the most worse, though I've even heard it as "Shoesbe" - basically people can't even be bothered to say the "bury" at the end. It's a disgrace.

:ph43r: I think for the beeb to give up on the pronounciation of Shrewsbury is poor. Mind you the english language is changing on a daily basis innit !

Hey all!
Just had a look through this site for the first time and stubbled upon this common disscussion! I had to register just so I could comment :rolleyes:
How you pronounce it depends on how correct you wish to be,
It is actually historically correct to say Shrowsbury because that is how it used to be spelt! Or to be even more specific, it was spelt Shrovsbury!!
Then they changed it to the spelling we know today, followed by the football tee-shirts with the shrew on it (which has nothing to do with the name of our town!)
I say Shrowsbury because that is how I was bought up to say it! Personal preference I guess but there are the facts! Sorry to bore you all x

i know it's Shrowsbury , but it'll always be shrewsbury to me .

Think it's quite simply a Clarss/Class thing!
All depends if you have a barth or a bath!
After 41 years here (yes that's my age) it does get my back up a little when I here the term "Shrowsbury" as I feel it has nothing to do with historical correctness and is more to do with the fact of how people see themselves....dillusions of grandeur me thinks!

My guess is if you say "Shrowsbury" you are more like to have a barth when you wash! :rolleyes:

It's not a "dillusion of grandeur", we're just better, no other explanation.

I take it you're the sort of person who enjoys this class warfare thing which the Labour government has been joining in too. Well, let me put it to you simply - it's childish. Grow up. :angry:

Was meant tongue in cheek think I have hit on a nerve! lol
But think you may find it's probably factually accurate!
Chill out!...it's ok to have a barth I just prefer a bath!
We are all different thank goodness!

In my experience i would say you were correct on this one.

A friend of mine works for Radio Shropshire and despite living here all his life he was "ordered" to say ShOwsbury when on the radio even though he didnt pronounce it that way.

Case of BBC snobbery i expect, god forbid the day they have regioanl accents reading out the news next :unsure:

Tim. I dont know when you last saw your friend but Radio Shropshire have adopted an open policy now to the pronounciation of Shrewsbury. Presenters can say what they like. Thats official :D

In the middle ages the name of the town was spelt Shroesbury. But these days I understand how you pronounce it depends what side of the river you live on.

That's an urban myth (that the pronounciation changes depending on what side of the river you are).

Well I've lived in Shropshire for at least 95% of my life and it's always been ShrOWsbury to me. Most of the people I've met who pronounce it Shrew, have tended to be people who moved here (or their families moved here) from Wolverhampton/Cannock or thereabouts.

Tend to disagree on that one, lived here all my 41 years and and so have most of my acquaintacies/colleagues/friends and none of them use the term "Shrow" they all use "Shrew"
Not going down the snobbery route here, just that this has never been my experience.
Certainly never heard "C'mon you Shrows" shouted down The Meadow and I think most of the 4000 supporters are all pretty much Salopians!
Never even heard it used in my 5 years as a Priory Boy and there were a few posh kid's there too! :D
As Fred Astaire said "You say patoto...." so don't think any of us are incorrect with our pronunciation, but more to do with where in Town you are from.
Certainly haven't heard anyone from Meole,Harlescott and my neck of the woods Monkmoor use Shrow but think there is a greater likelyhood that people from other parts of the Town may use Shrow...I'm not being devisive...just an observation.
We are all Salopians and proud by the sounds whatever our backgrounds, so let's just agree to disagree on this one and just keep enjoying our little town. :)

i love shrewsbury
i have been there one time and i'll COME BACK :P
english people you are so nice

Vielen dank meine Deutsche freunde!

I LOVE SHREWSBURY

soulechoes, did you learn german??
kannst du mich verstehen?
that's cool

I say both, but I'd like to say one thing: since when have British town names always been pronounced the way they are spellt?

Two excellent examples are Reading [redding] and Salisbury [sollsb(u)ry], but there are a plethora of towns that are said and spellt somewhat differently. What's odd about Shrewsbury is that half the town pronounce it one way and the rest say it the other way. ;)

i say shrewsbury because i didn't learn it in a different way.

A few more, Sam - Leominster (Lemster), Derby (Darby), Worcester (Wooster), Southwark (Suthark)... the list goes on. And Shrewsbury (Shrowsbury) is no exception!!

Hi there, i used to live in Shrewsbury, Grange road, and i was always brought up to pronounce it Shrowsbury,

I blame the parents. ;)

Whether it's right or wrong, I've always pronounced Shrewsbury as 'Shroowsbury''.

ah! but is it Salop or Solap?

SLAP! is the word that comes to mind! ;)

Is it right that in the French language, the word salop means something rather unpleasant?

Salop, -e mf a worthless person, trash.

I think it is a bit stronger in the feminine form - salope.

s.g.d.

I seem to remember (this is from childhood trips to the town whilst growing up in Bridgnorth, so I could be wrong) that the platform announcer at the train station would say "Shrewsbury, this is Shrowsbury" without a hint of a smile in her voice, just so everyone could be sure what town they were arriving at.

On a different and more pedantic note, again from memory so open to correction, but in contrast to claims in earlier posts the first-known spelling of the town's name in its earliest documents was Scrobesbyrig, and not Shroesbury, although the latter might have surfaced in later medieval times. The earliest reference to the town is pre-Conquest.

If you're wondering how we get modern Sh- at the start rather than Sc-, that's because the 'sc' digraph is actually pronounced 'sh'; for example, a look at Chaucer and similar vintage in their original orthography will throw up other examples. In later centuries the spelling changed to match the sound (well, to match the sound a bit better...). You could also argue that the change from '-robesb-' to '-rewsb-' reflects a later medieval usage.

Hence 'shrowsbury' is the closest pronunciation to the historical original, but pronunciations change all the time. Personally, I prefer (and use) "shrewsbury", which seems to flow better if you're aiming for greater continuity with the Middle Ages, but is less accurate if you're looking to imitate the Mercian-era English speakers.

I say Shrowesbury because it's a) historically correct and b) it sounds better.

Also it may be correct simply by the spelling. Say "The mother sewed the button to the shirt." That's right. She sowed it. Not sewed it.