Shrewsbury in the context of "Wrexham"

The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area known traditionally as the Midlands. The region consists of the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. The region has seven cities: Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Lichfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Worcester.

The West Midlands region is geographically diverse, from the urban central areas of the West Midlands conurbation to the rural counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire which border Wales, and Worcestershire. The region is landlocked; however, the longest river in the UK, the River Severn, traverses the region south-eastwards, flowing through the county towns of Shrewsbury and Worcester, and the Ironbridge Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Staffordshire is home to the industrialised Potteries conurbation, including the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the Staffordshire Moorlands area, which borders the south-eastern Peak District National Park near Leek. The region also encompasses five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: the Wye Valley, Shropshire Hills, Cannock Chase, Malvern Hills and parts of the Cotswolds. Warwickshire is home to the towns of Stratford upon Avon, birthplace of writer William Shakespeare; Rugby, the birthplace of Rugby football; and Nuneaton, birthplace to author George Eliot.

Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, KB, FRS (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British East India Company (EIC) rule in Bengal. He began as a "writer" (the term used then in India for an office clerk) for the EIC in 1744, however after being caught up in military action during the fall of Madras, Clive joined the EIC's private army. Clive rapidly rose through the military ranks of the EIC and was eventually credited with establishing Company rule in Bengal by winning the Battle of Plassey in 1757. In return for supporting the Nawab Mir Jafar as ruler of Bengal, Clive was guaranteed a jagir of £90,000 (equivalent to £10,200,000 in 2023) per year, which was the rent the EIC would otherwise pay to the Nawab for their tax-farming concession. When Clive left India in January 1767 he had a fortune of £401,102 (equivalent to £67,900,000 in 2023) which he remitted through the Dutch East India Company.

Blocking impending French mastery of India, Clive improvised a 1751 military expedition that ultimately enabled the EIC to adopt the French strategy of indirect rule via puppet government. In 1755 he was hired by the EIC to return to India, where he secured the company's trade interests by overthrowing the ruler of Bengal, the richest state in India. Back in England from 1760 to 1765, he used the wealth accumulated from India to obtain an Irish barony from the Prime Minister, Thomas Pelham-Holles, and a seat in Parliament via Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis, representing the Whig party in Shrewsbury, Shropshire (1761–1774), as he had previously done in Mitchell, Cornwall (1754–1755).

A market town is a settlement (commonly in Europe) that obtained a market right (by custom or royal charter) in the Middle Ages, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or a city. In Britain, small rural towns with a hinterland of villages are still commonly called market towns, and is sometimes reflected in their names (e.g. Downham Market, Market Rasen, or Market Drayton).

Modern markets are often in special halls, but this is a relatively recent development. Historically the markets were open-air, held in what is usually called (regardless of its actual shape) the market square or market place, sometimes centred on a market cross (mercat cross in Scotland). They were and are typically open one or two days a week. In the modern era, the rise of permanent retail establishments reduced the need for periodic markets.

Shropshire (/ˈʃrɒpʃər, -ʃɪər/; abbreviated Salop) is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England, on the border with Wales. It is bordered by Cheshire to the north-east, Staffordshire to the east, Worcestershire to the south-east, Herefordshire to the south, and the Welsh principal areas of Powys and Wrexham to the west and north-west respectively. The largest settlement is Telford, while Shrewsbury is the county town.

The county has an area of 3,487 km (1,346 square miles) and a population of 498,073. Telford in the east and Shrewsbury in the centre are the largest towns. Shropshire is otherwise rural, and contains market towns such as Oswestry in the north-west, Market Drayton in the north-east, Bridgnorth in the south-east, and Ludlow in the south. For local government purposes the county comprises the unitary authority areas of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. The county historically had a large exclave around Halesowen and Oldbury, which are now in the West Midlands county.

The River Severn (Welsh: Afon Hafren, pronounced [ˈavɔn ˈhavrɛn]) is the longest river in Great Britain, with a length of 220 miles (354 km). It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of 107 m/s (3,800 cu ft/s) at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in the Cambrian Mountains in mid Wales, at an altitude of 610 m (2,000 ft), on the Plynlimon massif, which lies close to the Ceredigion/Powys border near Llanidloes. The river then flows through Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. The county towns of Shrewsbury, Worcester and Gloucester lie on its course.

The Severn's major tributaries are the Vyrnwy, the Tern, the Teme, the Warwickshire Avon, and the Worcestershire Stour.

The Shropshire Hills are a dissected upland area and one of the natural regions of England. They lie wholly within the county of Shropshire and encompass several distinctive and well-known landmarks, such as the Long Mynd, Wenlock Edge, The Wrekin and the Clees.

The Shropshire Hills lie south of the county town of Shrewsbury between the Welsh border and Much Wenlock, extending as far south as Ludlow. To the north they are bounded by the Shropshire, Cheshire and Staffordshire Plain, to the east by the Severn Valley and Mid Severn Sandstone Plateau, to the southeast by Knighton and the Teme Valley and to the southwest by the Clun and North West Herefordshire Hills.

Telford (/ˈtɛlfərd/ ) is a town in the Telford and Wrekin borough in Shropshire, England. The wider borough covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding towns and villages. The town is close to the county's eastern boundary, and near the River Severn. The notable hill near the town called The Wrekin is part of the Shropshire Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. To the south of the town is the Ironbridge Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Places around the Ironbridge Gorge area, which were developed into the town itself, are internationally recognised as being "The Birthplace of Industry" being to a large extent constructed during the Industrial Revolution on the Shropshire Coalfield. The town is the main administrative centre for Telford and Wrekin Council.

The M54 motorway was completed in 1983, improving the town's road links with the West Midlands conurbation, Wolverhampton is 19 miles (31 km) south east and Birmingham is 28 miles (45 km) in the same direction. In the 2011 census, the town had a population of 142,723 while in 2017, the wider borough had an estimated population of 175,271. It is the most populous settlement in Shropshire and is nearly twice the size of Shropshire's historic county town, Shrewsbury, 15 miles (24 km) to the west. It is near Staffordshire: Stafford is 21 miles (34 km) to the east and Stoke-on-Trent is 25 miles (40 km) north east from the town.