Welcome to Telford

Telford is located on the River Severn, in the county of Shropshire, approximately 155 miles north-west of London and 16 miles east of Shrewsbury.

The town has a population of around 42,200. Administratively it is headquarters for the Borough of Telford and Wrekin which covers an area of approximately 290 sq kms and which has a population of around 160,000.

It is Britain's newest New Town, designated in 1963, and incorporates the existing towns of Wellington, Dawley and Oakengates. Its architecture is modern high-tech although some notable historic buildings can be found in the vicinity, namely the Iron Bridge built across the River Severn in 1777, and the 18th century church at nearby Madeley. It is a good base from which to explore the surrounding area. The town has Shropshire's largest shopping centre, and abundant leisure and entertainment facilities which include the 450 acre Telford Town Park.

The area has been settled since the 13th century when several monastic houses were built. They owned the coal and ironstone mines in the area, but it was only in the mid 17th century that these became large scale industries. The town of Telford was built as a new town in the 1960s and 1970s, and enveloped a number of existing towns and villages.

Historically the area's economy was based upon coal. The town has several large IT companies, including EDS, Cap Gemini and Fujitsu, who employ a large number of people. The town also contains Shropshire's largest shopping centre.

The town was named after the engineer Thomas Telford who was the County Surveyor of Shropshire and who was responsible for designing many of its buildings, bridges and tunnels.