A Clever Imposter....

Another post on the delectable subject of old Shrewsbury, now...

Let me introduce to you an adorable critter, whom I found adorning a structure in the heart of the town:-

When I first met he/she/it, I presumed it was an original part of the building.  The carving certainly looks like the real thing when it's viewed up close:-

But looks can evidently be deceiving...  I asked our town guide to tell us more about our friend here, and he explained that the carving was in fact part of a later restoration.  This load-bearing timber is, he assured me, called the 'dragon beam', so as some kind of rebus or clever visual pun, a dragon was added.

I was kicking myself - if you look carefully, you can quite clearly see the contrast between the ancient, pock-marked weathered timbers above, and the dense fresh timbers of which our friend the dragon is an integral part.

An original medieval feature he is not.  But a charming character he certainly is, and I'm delighted to have spotted him!