Editing Shropshire (section)

==Towns and villages==
{{Further|List of places in Shropshire|:Category:Towns in Shropshire|:Category:Villages in Shropshire}}
Shropshire has no [[City status in the United Kingdom|cities]], but 22 towns, of which two can be considered major. [[Telford]] is the largest town in the county with a population of 138,241 (which is approximately 30% of the total Salopian populace); whereas the [[county town]] of [[Shrewsbury]] has a lower, but still sizeable population of 71,715 (15%). The other sizeable towns are [[Oswestry]], [[Bridgnorth]], [[Newport, Shropshire|Newport]] and [[Ludlow]]. The historic town of [[Wellington, Shropshire|Wellington]] now makes up part of the Telford conurbation. The majority of the other settlements can be classed as villages or towns such as [[Much Wenlock]] or [[Whitchurch, Shropshire|Whitchurch]]. Several villages have larger populations than the smallest town, [[Clun]]. The largest of these, [[Bayston Hill]], is the 10th most populous settlement in the county. The names of several villages close to the border are of [[Welsh language|Welsh]] origin, such as [[Gobowen]] and [[Selattyn]].

The larger settlements are primarily concentrated in a central belt that roughly follows the [[A5 road (Great Britain)|A5]]/[[M54 motorway|M54]] roadway. Other settlements are concentrated on rivers, for example Bridgnorth and [[Ironbridge]] on the Severn, or Ludlow on the Teme, as these waterways were historically vital for trade and a supply of water.<ref>[http://www3.shropshire-cc.gov.uk/roots/packages/src/src_t06.htm Shropshire Routes to Roots | Sources and collections | Trade directories] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812212227/http://www3.shropshire-cc.gov.uk/roots/packages/src/src_t06.htm |date=12 August 2007 }} Shropshire-cc.gov.uk (13 July 2007). Retrieved 25 August 2011.</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|-
|style="text-align:center;" |
[[File:Central Telford Skyline - geograph.org.uk - 75673.jpg|150px|Telford]]<br />[[Telford]]<br />
[[File:Old Shrewsbruy Market Hall -England.jpg|150px|Shrewsbury]]<br />[[Shrewsbury]]<br />
[[File:Oswestry, Shropshire.jpg|150px|Oswestry]]<br />[[Oswestry]]<br />
[[File:Bridgnorth - Old Market Hall - geograph.org.uk - 1323006.jpg|150px|Bridgnorth]]<br />[[Bridgnorth]]<br />
[[File:Parish Church of St. Nicholas, Newport, Shropshire.jpg|150px|Newport]]<br />[[Newport, Shropshire|Newport]]<br />
[[File:Ludlow, Shropshire.jpg|150px|Ludlow]]<br />[[Ludlow]]<br />
|style="text-align:center;" | '''Ceremonial county of Shropshire'''<br />''[[Telford and Wrekin]] shown within''<br />[[File:ShropshireCountyMap2009.jpg|350px]]<br />{{color box|blue}} [[Geography of Shropshire|Rivers]], {{color box|#3399FF}} Motorways, {{color box|green}} [[Great Britain road numbering scheme|'A' Roads]], {{color box|Red}} [[List of places in Shropshire|Settlements]]
| '''Largest settlements (by population) 2021:'''<br />
'''[[Telford]]''' (156,896)<br />
'''[[Shrewsbury]]''' (75,992)<br />
[[Oswestry]] (17,509)<br />
[[Newport, Shropshire|Newport]] (14,182)

[[Bridgnorth]] (12,182)

[[Market Drayton]] (12,066)<br />
[[Ludlow]] (10,039)<br />
[[Whitchurch, Shropshire|Whitchurch]] (9,855)<br />
[[Shifnal]] (8,984)<br />
[[Bayston Hill]] (village) (5,079)<br />
[[Wem]] (5,142)<br />
[[Broseley]] (4,929) <br />
[[Church Stretton]] (4,671)<br />
[[Albrighton, Bridgnorth|Albrighton]] (village) (4,157) <br />
[[Ellesmere, Shropshire|Ellesmere]] (3,835)<br />
[[Highley]] (village) (3,605) <br />
[[Pontesbury]] (village) (3,500) <br />
[[Shawbury]] (village) (2,872) <br />
[[Prees, Shropshire|Prees]] (village) (2,688) <br />
[[Much Wenlock]] (2,605)<br />
[[Craven Arms]] (2,289)<br />
[[Cleobury Mortimer]] (1,962) <br />
[[Bishop's Castle]] (1,893) <br />
[[Baschurch]] (village) (1,475) <br />
[[Ruyton-XI-Towns]] (village) (1,379) <br />
[[Clun]] (680)<br />
|}

The town of [[Telford]] was created by the merger and expansion of older, small towns to the north and east of [[The Wrekin]]. These towns now have sizeable populations that now make up the population of Telford: [[Wellington, Shropshire|Wellington]] (20,430),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wellington-shropshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/68941C30-A7CB-44F3-822B-8B6D09E6932C/19217/Wellington.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=11 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110411135953/http://wellington-shropshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/68941C30-A7CB-44F3-822B-8B6D09E6932C/19217/Wellington.pdf |archive-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> [[Madeley, Shropshire|Madeley]] (17,935),<ref>{{Cite web|date=|title=Madeley Parish Profile 2001 Census|url=https://www.telford.gov.uk/downloads/file/267/madeley_parish_profile_2001_census|access-date=|website=Telford and Wrekin Council}}</ref> [[Dawley]] (11,399)<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/features/places/dawley/dawley_history.shtml Shropshire – Your Place and Mine – Dawley]. BBC. Retrieved 25 August 2011.</ref> and [[Oakengates]] (8,517),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oakengates-tc.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents.php?categoryID=1|title=Oakengates Town Council Home Information|last=Council|first=Oakengates Town|website=oakengates-tc.gov.uk|language=en|access-date=16 January 2020}}{{Dead link|date=January 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>The population figures given here are all as at 2001 Census.</ref> but the Telford and Wrekin borough towns incentive aims to make Oakengates into the largest of the towns.<ref>[http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2010/11/29/oakengates-lined-up-for-huge-revamp/ Oakengates lined up for huge revamp « Shropshire Star]. Shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 25 August 2011.</ref>

[[Shropshire (Detached)|Historically]], all or parts of the towns of [[Halesowen]], [[Smethwick]] and [[Oldbury, West Midlands|Oldbury]], as well as the [[Quinton, Birmingham|Quinton]] suburb of [[Birmingham]], were in Shropshire.<ref>[https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/maps/series?xCenter=3160000&yCenter=3160000&scale=63360&viewScale=5805357.4656&mapLayer=nineteenth&subLayer=first_edition&title=Ordnance%20Survey%20and%20Ordnance%20Survey%20of%20Scotland%20First%20Series&download=true]. Map of Historic Shropshire - Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey Scotland First Series. Retrieved 4 April 2020.</ref>