The Shrewsbury Train Station has come been put on a list on lesser know gems of architecture. We took to the streets to see if Shrewsbury folk hold it in there heart too.
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00:00 (train engine roaring)
00:03 - So lads, we've got you at Iron and Fire,
00:09 the Hatch Coffee Shop.
00:10 How you doing? What's your names lads?
00:12 - Jay, Calvin.
00:13 - Cool. And you've got a cracking view, haven't you?
00:15 Cause you've got a view of the train station out your...
00:18 - It's all picking up there, yeah.
00:19 It's a perfect view.
00:20 - Not a bad view, is it really?
00:22 Do you benefit from being by the train station?
00:24 - We do, we get a lot of train staff,
00:26 a lot of people getting off the train,
00:27 coming to the train library.
00:29 That's why we open earlier in the morning,
00:31 for the first train.
00:32 To catch all the little hornicures.
00:33 - Yeah, yeah.
00:34 And you were saying off camera,
00:36 sometimes you have people coming and tapping the door
00:38 and saying, "Where's the train station, lads?"
00:40 Which is bizarre when, you know, we know what it is.
00:43 But why do you think that is?
00:45 Is it because it's a bit of a quirky building in itself?
00:48 - A bit quirky, I don't know.
00:49 Maybe they don't know what it is,
00:50 but you get up close and you know.
00:52 - Yeah.
00:53 And what do you think of it yourself then?
00:55 It's come out in this parlour, it's like a hidden gem.
00:58 - Oh, it's lovely.
00:59 It's a great view.
01:00 - Yeah.
01:02 And where does it rank in terms of Shrewsbury buildings?
01:04 I mean, we have got quite a few to boast of, haven't we?
01:06 - It's gotta be up there, top five.
01:08 - Yeah.
01:10 I'm gonna throw a spanner in the works now.
01:12 Now, some people say,
01:13 'cause obviously it's of a certain age,
01:16 but it's built to look older than it is.
01:18 Now, some architects kind of get snobby
01:20 about stuff like that, you know,
01:22 and say, "Oh, we don't wanna be copying buildings
01:25 from the past."
01:26 - Fair enough.
01:27 So what's your thoughts on that?
01:28 - I think it still holds up quite well, you know?
01:33 - Yeah.
01:34 - I think it gets a bit of extra kind of chance.
01:37 - Yeah.
01:38 - Yeah.
01:39 - Yeah.
01:39 - I think it's a good job.
01:41 It's a good job.
01:42 - I mean, it's got the modern touches probably inside,
01:44 but you don't get to see that as much.
01:46 - Yeah.
01:48 So you kind of go with that philosophy,
01:49 look, if it worked in the past,
01:51 did it look beautiful before?
01:52 Why not replicate it?
01:53 - Exactly, exactly.
01:54 - If it isn't broke, why fix it?
01:56 - Cool.
01:57 So word on the street, if people want a decent coffee,
01:59 come to get the plug in.
02:01 Cheers, lads, thank you.
02:03 So we got Dorsey.
02:05 And chap, you just popped in for a coffee.
02:09 We can see a beautiful train station in the background.
02:12 What'd you think of it?
02:13 Nice, ugly?
02:14 Go on.
02:15 - Lovely building.
02:16 - It is, isn't it?
02:17 - It took a bit of a dull day to show it off,
02:18 but other than that, it's a great building.
02:21 - Yeah.
02:22 - Yeah.
02:22 - So we were saying off camera,
02:24 you moved from Canterbury to Shrewsbury,
02:26 and part of the reason you're to Shrewsbury
02:27 is the beautiful architecture, beautiful buildings.
02:30 - Yeah, it's very similar.
02:31 Feels like home away from home, actually.
02:33 - Yeah.
02:34 - Yeah.
02:35 - And in terms of train stations that you've been to,
02:37 you know, how does it fare?
02:40 - Well, it's not a gray 1970s piece of architecture.
02:45 It's something a lot older and a lot more charming to it.
02:49 So yeah, lovely, lovely building.
02:51 Yeah, very friendly looking.
02:54 - I think it is absolutely stunning.
02:56 I like it particularly 'cause it's really symmetrical,
02:59 but the detail in it as well is absolutely phenomenal.
03:02 If you stand and look at it for long enough,
03:04 the detail is incredible in it,
03:05 and things aren't built like that anymore,
03:07 but it's a beautiful building.
03:09 - It's been picked as one of the 20
03:13 top hidden buildings in the country.
03:17 Are you surprised by that?
03:19 - Not at all.
03:21 Not at all.
03:22 Just for the sheer size of it as well,
03:23 and how, you know, what a good condition it is, actually.
03:26 - But there are plenty of other buildings in the country.
03:30 - There are.
03:31 - And it's really good that they can come back
03:32 and identify as well.
03:33 - That is true.
03:34 - Have a look.
03:35 - That is true.
03:36 There's plenty for them to see, so.
03:37 - Do you think the town benefits from having a railway station
03:41 that looks like that?
03:42 Does it kind of in itself attract people in,
03:45 or make it a more interesting journey for people?
03:49 - I think perhaps the attraction,
03:52 maybe not so much until they actually get here,
03:54 and then they see it,
03:54 and then they realise that it's part of such a beautiful
03:58 town, and it's just, you know,
04:00 there's so much history here.
04:02 And then I think after that, yeah,
04:03 people will come back and,
04:04 or they'll recommend it to people.
04:06 You know, they'll say, "Go look at the station.
04:08 It's absolutely stunning."
04:09 So, yeah.
04:11 (bell rings)
04:14 (indistinct chatter)
04:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]