Economy of Shrewsbury

Although a less prominent brewing centre than at Burton-on-Trent, beer made in Shrewsbury was celebrated as early as about 1400 when bard Iolo Goch praised the supply of "Crwg Amwythig" dispensed at the Sycharth palace of Owain Glyndwr. In 1900 there were eight breweries in the town, chief among them being Southam's and Trouncer's, which also had their own maltings and owned many local public houses, as well as five other maltsters, but the conventional brewing industry gradually closed after takeovers in the 1960s, and the last maltings, at Ditherington, in 1986. A real ale brewery was established in the town in 1995. The Salopian Brewery is based in the Old Dairy in Mytton Oak Road, and produces cask ale and bottle conditioned beers. It has a production of 80 barrels a week and mainly serves the pubs in and around Shrewsbury.

In terms of social and economic deprivation, according to the Overall Index of Multiple Deprivation of 2004, one Super Output Area (SOA) in the town is in the bottom 15% of all areas nationally. This area is in the ward of Harlescott. A further four SOAs fall into the bottom 30% nationally, these being in the wards of Monkmoor, Sundorne, Battlefield and Heathgates, and Meole Brace. The most affluent areas of the town are generally to the south and west, around the grounds of Shrewsbury School, and the Copthorne area