The Stew - Ugly Perhaps, But Important

Contrary to popular belief I have lived in places other than my beloved hometown of Shrewsbury.
So when I talk about the architectural gems that have been lost over the decades in Shropshire’s county town, I do so with a sense of perspective.
I have lived in, and know very well, for example, Plymouth and Hull, cities at either end of the country that have much in common, both of them old cities with histories going back to the Middle Ages, both of them devastated by bombing in the Second World War.
The Luftwaffe laid waste to vast areas of these cities which is why, today, we see huge parts of their centres made up of 1950s blocks: unembellished Lego-brick architecture.
Obviously, little old Shrewsbury in sleepy old Shropshire was of no great interest to the German bombers.
But a town didn’t have to be on the enemy’s visiting list to have its historic heart ravaged.
Stafford (another place I’ve lived, another place I know intimately) - like Shrewsbury a county town, like Shrewsbury with a river running through it, like Shrewsbury surrounded by beautiful countryside - has not emerged from the post-war era intact, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the Luftwaffe.
Building for building, Stafford lost far more than Shrewsbury did in the fifties and sixties and nowadays is full of modern shops, banks and building societies where historic (some might say ‘quaint’) buildings once stood. That’s to do with town planning and an all-consuming desire for “modernisation”.
So I know that we’re very lucky in Shrewsbury. So many of our historic buildings have survived.
But that doesn’t mean we can afford to be complacent.
Let us not forget the Raven Hotel, the Crown Hotel, the George Hotel, the Victorian market hall, the original Shirehall in The Square - all gone.
Which brings me to The Stew, not a beautiful building, not a dramatic building, its charms are far from obvious.
But many local people believe The Stew at Frankwell Quay to be important and worthy of preservation. It is a structure that has much to say about the early river trade. It tells a story. And it is a significant heritage asset.
Its fate is set to be decided very soon as a public inquiry comes to its conclusion.
Proposals to demolish it and build at 42-bedroom hotel in its place are the focus of the inquiry.
Last week in this newspaper, Jeremy Cragg, on the letters page, wrote: “There are other sites on the periphery of the Severn Loop where a hotel could be built, if it is actually required, without destroying an historic building. We all want to encourage tourists to the town. They come for a variety of reasons but to see a modern boutique hotel is not one of them.”
Quite so.
If The Stew disappears one day, it will not be mourned in the way the loss of the Raven Hotel is mourned, but that’s not the point. It is a key building in the history of Shrewsbury. Simple as that.
How much do we care? Only time will tell.
You can find out more at: http://www.napierandco.com/thestew.html
But as I always say on these occasions: Once it’s gone, there’s no getting it back.

Phil Gillam’s gentle novel of family life, Shrewsbury Station Just After Six, is available from Pengwern Books, Fish Street, Shrewsbury, and from Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery.