A guided tour of the Old House, Dogpole, Shrewsbury
The Old House, Shrewsbury, SY1 1ES
Tuesday 9th June 2026
On her visit to Shrewsbury in 1698, the traveller Celia Fiennes commented; ‘there is an abundance of people of quality lives in Shrewsbury … and many large old houses that are convenient and stately’.
One of them is the Old House, sitting on the historic thoroughfare of Dogpole, which included the town houses of Francis, Lord Newport, created Earl of Bradford in 1694, and of the Rocke Family, who lived in the Old House (which can just be seen to the right of the picture Town Garden in Dogpole, Shrewsbury c.1710. Artist unknown, Shrewsbury Civic Society).
It is full of history, with intriguing connections to Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. The story of its more recent incarnations from a family home, to a school for girls, a solicitors’ office, a museum and then back to a private family house again, is equally fascinating.
One of them is the Old House, sitting on the historic thoroughfare of Dogpole, which included the town houses of Francis, Lord Newport, created Earl of Bradford in 1694, and of the Rocke Family, who lived in the Old House (which can just be seen to the right of the picture Town Garden in Dogpole, Shrewsbury c.1710. Artist unknown, Shrewsbury Civic Society).
It is full of history, with intriguing connections to Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. The story of its more recent incarnations from a family home, to a school for girls, a solicitors’ office, a museum and then back to a private family house again, is equally fascinating.
