Ditherington is a suburb of the town of
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...
, the county town of
Shropshire
Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. It is the fourth most deprived ward in the
Shropshire unitary authority area.
There has been much regeneration work in the southern part of Ditherington, which is close to Shrewsbury town centre. Various residential developments have occurred, but little has been finished.
Ditherington was the location of the
Arriva Midlands (former
Midland Red) Shrewsbury bus depot until 2012, when it was replaced by a newly built one in
Harlescott. The Ditherington depot was then demolished and acquired by the nearby Flax Mill, but as of July 2024 is still undeveloped.
Ditherington Flax Mill
The Flax Mill (also locally known as the "Maltings") is the oldest iron-framed building in the world and is seen as the "grandfather of
skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...
s". It was designed by
Charles Bage and built in 1797 for
John Marshall
John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...
of
Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
and his partners.
It is a
Grade I listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. After decades of being derelict, it was restored and rejuvenated by
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
, in partnership with the Friends of the Flaxmill Maltings and other organisations. The restored building opened to the public in September 2022 with a new visitor experience centre, café, offices and hirable venue space.
In the long term, it is hoped that the building will be able to make sufficient money to be self-supporting, but reaching this stage will require much investment.
Canal
The
Shrewsbury and Newport Canal terminated in Ditherington, but no longer exists. This may also one day be restored.
See also
*
Harlescott
*
Sundorne
References
Suburbs of Shrewsbury
Industrial Revolution
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