A Visit to a Shrewsbury Across the Pond

England has always been a favorite vacation destination of Mayor Donald Burden and his wife, Mary Lea. Every few years the pair makes the visit to London to catch some sites and shows, but this time the Burdens decided to make a detour.

Burden recently returned home from a tour and visit with the mayor of Shrewsbury, England, a historic village in Shropshire whose inhabitants are undoubtedly responsible for spreading the Shrewsbury name throughout the world during colonization, including to the United States where eight states have towns that share the Shrewsbury name.

"Over the years people from Shrewsbury (England) have visited here," Burden said. "I dropped the mayor a note saying we were coming over and we'd like to meet them."

All it took was a bit of correspondence and Burden was welcomed with open arms by Shrewsbury's Mayor Tony Durnell and his wife Tricia during their recent visit to England. The couples took a driving tour of the town, Burden and Durnell donned the traditional robes of the village's 17-person council, Burden was interviewed by the BBC, and the wives even exchange recipes during the visit to the birthplace of Charles Darwin.

"It was just a wonderful experience. It's like so many towns in England. The surrounding areas are modernized but they've preserved the center part of town with timber buildings. They're very stringent about maintaining the picturesque, Dickens-esque presentation of the village," he said.

The visit was prompted by Burden's research of Shrewsbury, New Jersey. During World War II in 1940, he said, Shrewsbury was asked by leaders of Shrewsbury, England at the time to help with the war effort. In New Jersey's Shrewsbury, residents held a fundraiser through various farm markets and were able to send two checks to England totaling $3,350. With inflation, that total represents more than $50,000 in today's currency, Burden said.

When it comes to the position of mayor, things work a bit differently in Shrewsbury, England, Burden said. The position of head of a community with nearly 100,000 people is mostly a ceremonial one and lasts just a year, Burden said. In addition to the rare instance of meeting with mayors from other countries, the Durnells have completed approximately 450 social engagements since last may. With his one-year term set to expire, it's clear Durnell could use a vacation.

Burden said he knows just the place.