diff --git a/lib/cartopy/io/shapereader.py b/lib/cartopy/io/shapereader.py
index 704b2924..c45f40e7 100644
--- a/lib/cartopy/io/shapereader.py
+++ b/lib/cartopy/io/shapereader.py
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from urllib.error import HTTPError
 
 import shapefile
+import pyproj
 import shapely.geometry as sgeom
 
 from cartopy import config
@@ -143,6 +144,19 @@ class BasicReader:
 
         self._fields = self._reader.fields
 
+        # Try to read the associated .prj file for CRS information
+        self.crs = None
+        shp_path = Path(filename)
+        prj_path = shp_path.with_suffix('.prj')
+        if prj_path.is_file():
+            try:
+                prj_wkt = prj_path.read_text(encoding='utf-8').strip()
+                if prj_wkt:
+                    self.crs = pyproj.CRS(prj_wkt)
+            except Exception:
+                # If we can't parse the .prj file, leave crs as None
+                pass
+
     def close(self):
         return self._reader.close()