Oddities in Shrewsbury- abandoned shuts

As probably gathered by numerous mysteries put forward so far- The crest in the tunnel near Barclays, the creche under Pride Hill, and the jail cells that eluded me in the Music Hall, Shrewsbury is a web of secret worlds whose remains have been left behind, waiting to be discovered. Rather than destroy these remains, it's far less costly to simply build over and around them, and thus what we end up with is a wide range of secrets only visible to those who do see a drainpipe as a ladder more so than a device for channeling water.

Shrewsbury is notorious for its passageways, alleyways, or "shuts" as they are known. Most of these alleyways have odd names such as Gullet Passage (named for the passage of water rather than the spillage of blood) and Grope Lane (allegedly named for the prositutes that used to frequent it), and many, many more were simply bricked up and left. Due to my unique vantage points, I've found my fair share of these (and during the Burger King expansion almost fell in one behind Superdrug), and while some have been curiosities, one in particular has been completely baffling.

Check this out-

Click the picture to see it big, and don't worry about its ugly visage ruining your day out in Shrewsbury- It's visible only by going over a building and dropping down the other side into a courtyard with no doorways leading to it. There is no way you can just stroll up to it. And yet at some point in history someone took great measures to ensure that nobody went down this alleyway. The fencing is actually cemented over the opening, after being wrapped crudely in barbed wire. The overhead board possibly had a sign for whatever business this alleyway once led to... maybe. If that brick wall wasn't at the bottom (thus making the entire point of cementing a fence over the alleyway pointless), one would be able to walk down this alleyway into the back of Cafe Nero.

In 1880, the building that stood where Cafe Nero now stands was a pub, so maybe this is a remnant from that.

Oddly enough, this is one of two parallel passageways, the second not having the barbed wire, but still being bricked up at the bottom, and was narrow enough to squeeze up by pushing my feet against the one wall and my back against the other- an excellent technique and one I absolutely love.

But I don't recommend this. Cafe Neros roof may as well be made out of paper. But it is possible to see into the barbed wire alleyway from above. Not that there is any point.

If you do want to see this alleyway, albeit from a less exciting angle, go into that cat rescue charity shop in the alleyway next to Cafe Nero and look out one of the back windows. I forget if the window in question is on the stairs or upstairs, but the alleyway is just about visible.

Another curious alleyway runs near the library- a historic treasure chest of hidden mysteries that I'll cover eventually.
But this particular alleyway is blocked at both ends, although one end has a doorway, but this can only be opened from the inside, whereas the alleyway itself is walled up at the other end.The only way into this alleyway is by scaling its walls and dropping in. And then what? It passes under a house, and exits via the doorway. Why was it blocked up?

There will be others, no doubt, scattered around Shrewsbury. There are always others. And if anyone wants to contact me about the Cafe Nero mystery, should they have information, I will appreciate it.