Ten objects chosen to tell county's story

A medal from the first Olympian Games, a replica of the world's first steam railway locomotive and a rare hoard of 14th century gold coins are some of the objects that will be used to tell a history of Shropshire.

County museums, along with BBC Radio Shropshire, have today revealed the list of the 10 objects that they have chosen to tell the story of Shropshire's past and of the county's place in the world.

A list of the 10 objects can be seen on the BBC Local site www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire from today.

All of the objects are on display at the relevant museums.

Listeners and viewers will be asked to suggest further objects and upload photographs in order to help the site to form another list of 10 items.

Seamus Boyd, BBC project manager for the English regions, said the objects varied in value but all were interesting.

"A truly fascinating range of objects has been chosen for each list across the English regions," he said.

"Some of them may have great monetary value, others little or none, but they're priceless in how they bring to life moments from history."

Three of the objects are part of collections owned by Shrewsbury Museum.

They are a pair of Iron Age spoons, a hoard of four 14th century Spanish gold coins found in Myddle and a Roman mirror found in Wroxeter.

Peter Boyd, curator of Shrewsbury Museums for the Shropshire Museum Service, said the mirror was a rare item.

He said: "It is solid silver and one of very few Roman mirrors of its type anywhere in Europe.

"A slave would have held the mirror by the handles so that the lady could see her face in the polished convex surface on the other side."

In the Ironbridge, area a cast-iron cooking pot and patent is available for viewing at the Museum of Iron in Coalbrookdale and a replica of the world's first steam railway locomotive, is housed at Blists Hill Victorian Town.

Three more objects are at Coalport China Museum, near Ironbridge. They are a Wrockwardine Wood glass jug, a ceramic bird plaque by John Randall and a Queen Victoria jubilee vase.

The final two objects are a Wenlock Olympian Society Medal, at Much Wenlock Museum, and a Murchison Section drawn up by Roderick Murchison in 1852, showing the geological strata of the area around Ludlow as Murchison understood. It is kept at Ludlow Museum.