Shropshire

Shropshire, county, western England, on the border of Wales; Shrewsbury is the administrative center. Shropshire is divided into two regions by the Severn River. To the north and northeast of the river the land is generally level and under tillage; to the south and southwest it is hilly and mountainous and noted for its livestock raising. Although the county is primarily agricultural, it has manufactures that include iron and a variety of metal products and machinery. Some coal is mined. The area was part of the Saxon kingdom of Mercia; the defensive earthwork, Offa's Dyke, was constructed by the Saxons as a boundary with the Celtic peoples to the west. In the Middle Ages Shropshire suffered from protracted English-Welsh border conflict. For several years after the reorganization of local administration in England in 1974, the county was officially known as Salop. Area, 3,490 sq km (1,347 sq mi); population 283,240 (2001).