However, lurking not far beneath the surface is a host of oddities and peculiarities that turn the apparently staid and conventional into something much more intriguing. Therefore even the Conventional Shropshire section is interspersed with the book's idiosyncratic "Quirk Alerts"; like anecdotes about the Shropshire Chief Justice who hung a builder from one of his chimneys because it wasn't "the finest in Shropshire", or the Royalist Major who took a do-or-die plunge down a steep 200ft escarpment, rather than surrender!

Elsewhere, read about the 19th century Shropshire rake who frequently hunted naked in the depths of winter, fed his 2,000 dogs on steak and champagne, and once set fire to his nightshirt to cure a bout of hiccups! Or find out which Shropshire Lord became convinced that a ghost had invaded his vacuum cleaner, and which orange-haired Shropshire Lady, moved out of her hall into a nearby tree-house!

Naturally, though, it is the Quirky Shropshire section where things turn very strange, and where a seemingly random almanac of 100 Shropshire places have their quirkiest facts laid bare: like the village which used to duck "disorderly women" into Marton Pool whilst strapped to a chair, or another where the Lord of the Manor blew himself up attempting to remove tree-stumps with dynamite, or another which is home to an archery range…in a chicken shed!

Alternatively, how about discovering which Shropshire border village was home to "the oldest Englishman who ever lived", which one was top of the national jam-making leaderboard in 1943, and which one was home to the vicious Sleep Rouser!

If you think you know Shropshire, read this fascinating and profusely illustrated book and think again…