Earls of Shrewsbury

Earldom of Shrewsbury held with Earldom of Waterford, Earldom Talbot
Arms of Talbot: Gules, a lion rampant within a bordure engrailled or. These were the paternal arms of Gwenllian, the daughter and heiress of Rhys Mechyll (d.1244) Prince of the Welsh House of Dinefwr, grandson of Rhys ap Gruffydd, and wife of Gilbert Talbot (d.1274), grandfather of Gilbert Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot (died 1345/6) assumed by Talbot as arms of alliance of a great heiress, superseding his own former paternal arms of Bendy of 10 pieces argent and gules
Creation date	1074 (first creation) 1442 (second creation)
Monarch	William I (first creation) Henry VI (second creation)
Peerage	Peerage of England
First holder	Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury (first creation)
Present holder	Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 22nd Earl of Shrewsbury
Subsidiary titles	Earl of Waterford Earl Talbot Viscount Ingestre Lord Talbot
Former seat(s)	Ingestre Hall Alton Towers Sheffield Manor Wingfield Manor Alton Castle Barlow Woodseats Hall Grafton Manor Heythrop Park
Armorial motto	Prest d'Accomplir ("Ready to accomplish")

Earl of Shrewsbury (/ˈʃroʊzbri/) is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland. The earldoms are the oldest held by someone with no higher title (the oldest earldoms in each peerage being held by the Duke of Norfolk and Duke of Leinster respectively), and as such the Earl of Shrewsbury is sometimes described as the premier earl of England and Ireland.

The first creation occurred in 1074 for Roger de Montgomerie, one of William the Conqueror's principal counselors. He was one of the Marcher Lords, with the Earl of Hereford and the Earl of Chester, a bulwark against the Welsh; he was granted great powers, and his territory, which extended from Shropshire (of which Shrewsbury is the county town) into Mid-Wales (the county of Montgomeryshire being named after him), was outside the ordinary administration; he was also granted lands across England.

Roger was succeeded in 1094 by his younger son Hugh, his elder son Robert of Bellême succeeding to his lands in Normandy. On Hugh’s death in 1098 the earldom passed to his brother Robert.