Shrewsbury School—an institution established by a 1552 Royal Charter from King Edward VI—recently turned its spotlight toward Soulton Hall, celebrating its historical ties to its builder, the Tudor statesman ‘Old’ Sir Rowland Hill. The school’s official news channels highlighted a special episode of the world famous podcast ‘The Rest is History’, which features Old Salopian Tim Ashton discussing the estate’s remarkable past.
The connection between the historic Shropshire manor and the royal charter school runs directly through Sir Rowland Hill.
Alongside his civic achievements, including serving as Lord Mayor of London, Hill was a key patron involved in founding Shrewsbury School. In the Shrewsbury School feature, it is noted that Tim Ashton traces the inspiration for his historical investigations back to his own days as a student at the school. While studying William Shakespeare’s play As You Like It—which prominently features the character ‘Old Sir Rowland’—Ashton was encouraged by his English teacher, Michael Schutzer-Weissman, to research the multi-layered history of his family home near Wem.
That initial spark of academic inquiry evolved into a major historical exploration.
On the podcast episode titled ‘The Rest is History: The Tudor Da Vinci Code’, Tim sits down with renowned historian Tom Holland to examine the secrets hidden within the estate’s walls.
Shrewsbury School notes that the wide-ranging discussion covers several fascinating topics:
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the Shakespeare links
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Hidden messages and sophisticated geometry encoded within the architecture.
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Clues pointing to historical religious persecution during the Tudor era.
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The intriguing possibility that important artifacts rescued from dismantled churches during the Reformation found a safe haven in Shropshire.
The recognition from the school highlights how local education, royal charter heritage, and meticulous historical research continue to intersect and capture a worldwide audience.
