Fortunately, I've never needed to say it! If I ever do, I think I will be tempted to slur that part of the word in such a way that the listener wouldn't be sure if I'd said shroo or shrow
Actually, I have heard people call it Shoesbury (no r after the SH) some of whom came from Shropshire or a neighbouring county. Some of my ancestors came from near Lemster Others from Hope Bowdler (Shropshire) - now is that Beau or Bough?
I say ShrOWEsbury; but what do you make of Beaconsfield and Gillingham? I say BEEconsfield when talking about local roads, etc but BECKonsfield when talking about the town in Bucks. Then the most annoying one is Gillingham - this has to be Gill/Jill as in the name, definitely not gill as in a part of a fish - I wish someone would tell South East Trains this!!!
Locals......use Shrewsbury...as does the local train company. Being an incomer from Thames valley I started off calling it Shrowsbury but realised I was in minority. No one frowns....or gives you 'a look' but you just get used to hearing Shrewsbury.
I've also had to get used to Leominster sounding like Lemster and nearby Cleobury Mortimer is Clebry......
My family always pronounced it Shrews-bury but when I was at college I had a 'posh' boyfriend from there who told me it was correct to say Shrows-bury. He told me that it depended which side of the river you came from!
I should have gone back to pronouncing it Shrew when we split up.
I think the Shroosbury, as a slight black country twang to it, when I have travelled by train I always said Shrowsbury, there again its regional accents pronouncing an vary it. Mick