Prince Rupert Hotel
The Story
Butcher Row has been one of Shrewsbury's most active trading streets since the medieval period. The building that houses the Prince Rupert Hotel dates to the 16th century, a timber-framed townhouse that has stood long enough to watch the English Civil War pass through.
The hotel takes its name from Prince Rupert of the Rhine, nephew of King Charles I, who used Shrewsbury as a Royalist base in 1642 when the King raised his standard here. The building is Grade I listed. Seventy bedrooms, a restaurant and a bar that occupy some of the oldest parts of the structure — in a town of historic buildings, this one earns its place among the finest.
The Prince Rupert Hotel sits in a 16th-century townhouse on Butcher Row, one of the oldest streets in a very old town. We find it hard to walk past without looking up. There are very few places in England where you can sleep inside a building like this one.
Enjoy Your Stay
The Market Hall on Claremont Street is two minutes from the hotel and opens early. Shrewsbury's market has been here for centuries. Go before the main rush and it feels like a different place.
The Square is around the corner. Stand at the Clive of India statue and look at the buildings surrounding you — the Music Hall, the Old Market Hall, the medieval lanes heading off in three directions. One of the finest town squares in England.
Drapers Hall on St Mary's Place is a five-minute walk. A 16th-century Tudor hall with a courtyard. The food lives up to the setting.
The Quarry Park is 10 minutes on foot along the river. Percy Thrower designed the formal gardens in the 1950s and they are free to visit year round. The riverside walk back into town is worth taking slowly.
The Prince Rupert bar occupies one of the oldest parts of the building. Evening drinks here feel different from anywhere else in the town centre. Worth staying in rather than going out.
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