This week's Pictures from the Past

Shropshire is blessed with one of the most beautiful canals in the country, which snakes its way through attractive countryside into Wales.

This postcard showing the canal at St Martins was franked on September 2, 1963. That bridge looks almost brand new, doesn't it?

The picture was loaned by our regular contributor Ray Farlow who, incidentally, has a book out showcasing his postcards which feature Oswestry and the surrounding area.

You have to hand it to the architect of the Swan Hotel at Woore. He – or maybe she – came up with an unusual castellated design, seen to good advantage in this postcard.

It is undated, but judging by the way the woman or girl is dressed, it is probably from the first years of the 20th century. She's holding the hand of a child.

Look closely and you'll make out a third person, a little boy – slightly blurred as he must have moved at the wrong moment – in the picture, which was loaned to us by Ray Farlow.

Another cricket team for you today, thanks to Barrie Martin of Wellington, who e-mailed us this photo.

Barrie says: "I thought your readers may be interested in this picture. I think it is of the Wellington YMCA cricket team, but just possibly Wroxeter, dating from approximately 1938. I was five years old in 1938.

"Some of the team names are – and I am open to correction: back row, left to right, don't know, Mick Gavin, Archie Cartwright, don't know, don't know, Bill Martin, don't know.

"Middle: Wes Fox, 'Mos' Mosdell, Arthur Martin, don't know, Daryl Briars. Front: don't know.

"Arthur Martin was my father, and Bill, my uncle – both keen local sportsmen."

Let's have a day to celebrate the British country pub. This is the More Arms at Shelve seen some years ago – the photo is undated, so we don't know how exactly many years ago.

And the celebration is a little muted as planning permission was granted in 2002 to convert the More Arms into a house.

Picture courtesy of Mrs Grace Edwards of Wellington.

It looks a bit like a racetrack at first glance, doesn't it? But our regular contributor Paul France, of Coalbrookdale, who e-mailed in this unusual photo, can fill in the details.

"This is an old Nuway sales picture, taken on Coalport High Street near the company's headquarters. The building can be seen in the top right hand corner," he says.

"Looking at the cars, the date would be early 1950s. The back of the photo reads: 'Surround matting and four step mats for the Silver Lagoon swimming pool on the Queen of Bermuda (a millionaire luxury liner)'."

"I don't know what the paved area was for," Paul adds.

Peter Smith, of Dothill, really enjoys our photos in Pictures From The Past, and has come up with this one himself.

It shows Barratts Hill, Broseley, as seen in a postcard franked in 1905.

"I used to live at the top of Benthall Bank - up the other side of the hill - and this view is virtually the same now as it was when the postcard was mailed over 100 years ago. That's what helps to make Broseley such a fascinating place," he said.