Rowley’s House Shrewsbury c 1890 – 2024

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## Rowley's House, Shrewsbury

In the late 1500s, Roger Rowley, a prosperous wool merchant and brewer, constructed Rowley's House in Shrewsbury. This timber-framed warehouse, built without stairs, was accessed by ladders, reflecting its utilitarian design. Around 1618, his son added Rowley's Mansion, a brick extension believed to be the earliest surviving brick building in Shrewsbury. The surrounding area, densely packed with medieval structures, was largely demolished in the 1930s during slum clearance, but Rowley's House and Mansion were preserved. Acquired by the Corporation of Shrewsbury in 1931, the buildings were restored and opened to the public in 1936 as the Uriconium or Roman Museum, housing artifacts from the nearby Roman site of Viroconium Cornoviorum. In 1981, Rowley's Mansion was also acquired and incorporated into the museum. Following the transfer of museum collections to the Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery in 2014, the buildings have remained vacant. In 2023, Shropshire Council commissioned a conservation management plan to secure the future of this historic site. (newsroom.shropshire.gov.uk)