This introductory history of Kingsland was first published in 1994 and deposited with Shrewsbury Library (Shropshire Archives Cat. XLS2937; Class q D 64). The following year, 1995, I moved away from Shrewsbury and further research ceased.
Believing that a Web version might be useful and encourage interest in the theme, the original text is now re-presented here, but modified for web viewing by Susannah Straughan (2015). Chris Straughan helped with the illustrations.
However, the data is essentially unrevised and has not been updated, apart from the inclusion of Bridget Downer’s comments and corrections from her letter of November 1994.
These few pictures remind me of Kingsland – the Bridge that made the Victorian development possible – the Old Foundling Hospital standing proudly on the slope – the commodious houses and mature trees of Kennedy Road.
Stella Straughan
Bath, February 2015
Update: January 2021
We very much appreciate the interest that has been shown in Stella’s research, since we created this site in 2015.
We have now made a few small amendments and clarifications to the chapters on Landownership, the Guilds and the Arbours, Victorian Architecture & the Buildings of Kingsland, Kingsland Residents & Occupations, and to the Conclusion.
There is a new, more detailed Tithe Map of Central Kingsland in Landownership. In Appendix 3 we have added a photograph and a little more detail about 29 Kennedy Road (St Milburgas), which was owned and occupied by the Straughans from July 1984 to March 1995.
We hope to add a few more photos of our old house soon.
Thank you for your support.
Donald Straughan / Susannah Straughan, January 2021
Kingsland, Shrewsbury 