Shropshire Day 2023

Shropshire Day is the day we celebrate everything we love about Shropshire, Every year on 23 February, Shropshire celebrates our stunning countryside, our rich history and our magnificent heritage.

Shropshire Day falls on the feast day of St Milburga, Abbess of Wenlock priory, who died on 23 February 715. The ruins of Wenlock Abbey still stand in Much Wenlock and offer a tantalising glimpse into life in St Milburga’s time.

It is said of St Milburga that she had a special relationship with geese. Once, when hordes of geese were eating the abbey’s crops, she politely asked them to leave and they all flew away. On another occasion she was alerted by flocks of geese calling under her window warning of a Viking invasion.

St Milburga was revered for having the gift of healing and restoring sight. Such was her fame that, after her death, Much Wenlock became a famous place of pilgrimage, with visitors flocking to St Milburga’s Well in the town seeking cures for their ailments.

This year, The Lord-Lieutenant received a very warm welcome when she visited Much Wenlock. The day started with a service of supplication in the ancient ruins of Wenlock Priory for St Milburga followed by a tour of the town and dropping into Ryan & Son butchers for a St Milburga Pie, all in glorious sunshine.