In 2025, the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society, incorporating the Shropshire Natural History Society and the Shropshire Parish Records Society, will publish the 100th volume of its Transactions. It has taken closer to 150 years than a century to achieve this feat, but it is nonetheless an important milestone for the society. In recognition of this, the Society is publishing these papers to reflect upon the rich and often underexplored historical and archaeological dimensions of the county with the twin aims of showcasing the research currently being carried out across Shropshire to a wider audience, and to alert other researchers of the huge potential that the county has to offer in the hope that they too could become involved in exploring its riches.

The papers offered here are loosely chronological rather than being thematic and contributors were given a free hand over what they wished to write. Equally, the choice of contributors reflects the two current aspects of the society (history and archaeology) and are fashioned to demonstrate the contribution that the authors are currently making to their respective fields. They are new research papers and are not designed to look back at the society and its earlier works. In making this distinction, the aspiration is that this volume’s contents will be of much broader interest than just the county and its region but will instead showcase the undoubtedly high potential for future research that can inform broader subject areas of national interest and importance.