Standing proudly on Victoria Quay, the Armoury is one of Shrewsbury’s most popular riverside destinations – but its story stretches far beyond its current home.
The tale begins in 1806, when renowned architect James Wyatt designed an imposing structure near St Giles’ Church on London Road, in Shrewsbury. Costing the equivalent of over £1 million today, the building was vast. Its purpose? To safeguard up to 25,000 weapons for the volunteer militias of Shropshire and neighbouring counties.
Curiously, the need for such a building was never fully clear. Many historians believe the Armoury may have been something of a vanity project, intended to bolster the reputation of Henry Grey Bennet, who later become Shrewsbury’s MP.
More than a century later, after the First World War, the Armoury became part of a very different story. Across town, the enterprising Morris brothers were rapidly expanding their grocery, bakery, and oil businesses. Their New Street centre could no longer keep pace with their ambitions and in 1919, they purchased the old Circus Brewery site by the Welsh Bridge, with plans to build a new headquarters, warehouse and bakery.
But post‑war Britain faced a shortage of building materials, threatening delays. Their solution was ingenious: the brothers bought the old Armoury on London Road, dismantled it brick by brick, and transported every piece across town. There, on the Welsh Bridge site, the entire structure was faithfully reconstructed to form their new, modern bakery.
A New Era: The Armoury Restaurant
Fast forward to the 1990’s, Morris & Company’s Chairman, Robin Morris, had a new vision for a revamped Victoria Quay and oversaw the sensitive conversion of the Armoury building into a riverside pub and restaurant.
The Armoury first opened its doors in 1996. Since then, Victoria Quay has developed into the entertainment quarter of the town with lots of adjoining bars and restaurants helping support Shrewsbury’s evening economy.
