Location: Castle GroundsSponsor: The Gild of Bridgnorth Freemen
The first known castle in Bridgnorth was built by the Saxons and adopted by a Norman Earl in 1101 as a base for a plot against the King. Henry 1’s army took the new castle after a month’s siege and, from then on, a walled town began to grow in its shelter.
In 1646 there was another siege in the English Civil War, and Parliamentary troops took the castle and then began its demolition. Explosives were used on the keep and that is what you see now, tilting at the crazy angle of 17 degrees.
Artist: Amy Higgins
Amy Higgins is a local painter and decorator with an artistic flair. She has always loved art and attended Bridgnorth Endowed School. She then attended Shrewsbury College where she completed a two-year course and apprenticeship in painting and decorating. She became self-employed with the help of the Prince’s Trust and now has 11 years’ experience of running a very successful business. Amy enjoys painting murals and has designed and painted many, particularly in children’s rooms, and has also supported her children’s school by painting backgrounds for their nativity. Amy’s design is based on the Freemen’s current role of guarding the Town Mayor on civic occasions, together with their ancient rights of driving sheep over the bridge and being drunk in the road without charge (alas no longer their right).