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'Bishop's Castle' is a small market town in Shropshire, England, and formerly its smallest borough. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,630. Bishop's Castle is four miles east of the Welsh border, about ten miles north-west of Ludlow and about twenty miles south-west of Shrewsbury. To the south is Clun and to the east is Church Stretton. The town is known for its alternative community including artists, musicians, writers and craftspeople.

Contents

Facilities and attractions

History

The castle

The town

Infrastructure

External links

Facilities and attractions

Although it is smaller than many villages, Bishop's Castle has plenty of facilities for residents and tourists, coffee houses, cafe's and eateries, the Rail & Transport Museum, the two micro-breweries, the old cattle market in the centre of the town, for example. Beyond that, there is a significant number and variety of shops, local businesses and services ranging from clothes shops to the usual high street banks.
There are several public houses in the town, including two micro-breweries: the Six Bells Brewery, painted yellow, and the renowned John Roberts Brewery at the Three Tuns. Additionally, the town sports a number of restaurants and Bed and Breakfasts, and a hotel. Sights in the town include Bishop's Castle Town Hall, the House on Crutches and the town's two breweries. Many properties are painted in various colourful hues of blue, pink, yellow and green.
Bishop's Castle also possesses a vibrant sporting community. Sports played by local clubs include:

★ Cricket

★ Football

★ Rugby

★ Womens Hockey

★ Squash

★ Tennis
The town also posesses a community college, which teaches 11 to 18 year-olds from the town and surrounding villages. It currently has just under 600 students.
The town has a few events throughout the year in which the High Street is closed and processions, stalls and entertainment is held. Three main festivals are: the Carnival - 1st weekend in July. The Beer Festival in July, and Michelmas Fair - the end of September.
The music scene is vibrant and there are 5 main venues situated in the town: The three Tuns, The Public Hall, The Vaults, The Church Barn, and The Six Bells. There are many bands local to the town playing a mixture of music, and include: Jon Crowe - who plays with the world famous gypsy jazz guitarist Gary Potter, The Garibaldies- ska, African, Funk the System- funk rock, Fight the Bear- ska, Small Blue Fish- folk, rock, Dangerous Dave- played with Captain Sensible and others, does covers, blues and rock, Eddie Gartree- blues, Dirty Ray - earthy blues rock, Fuzz Townshend- reggae, indie, links with lots of professional bands and chart success in his own right. The town also has connections with The Small Faces with the late Ronni Lane, and Hawkwind. Classical concerts are put on at nearby Walcot Hall. There is a local samba band that plays at town events. A local youth organisation Spot Light puts on monthly concerts and music workshops. Many more local bands and musicians are associated with this organisation. There are many DJ's in the area playing a variety of styles. Some include Dee Jay Whitty, Shay, Craig, Jules, and Louis. Modern dance composers include Bluez who has had international success.

History

The castle

Documented history begins in Saxon times for Bishops Castle when Edwin Shakehead, grateful for being miraculously cured of the palsy at Saint Ethelbert's tomb in Hereford Cathedral gave part of his lands to the incumbent Bishop of Hereford. A successive Bishop of Hereford built a castle, originally a motte and bailey design, in 1087 to defend the church and village from the threat of the Welsh, . The castle has been under attack several times, not always by Welsh raiders, most notably in 1263 when John Fitzalan, Lord of Oswestry and Clun, held it under siege and caused significant damage, the damage was estimated at 1,060 marks.
In the Early Middle Ages the castle and parish were situated partly in Wales and partly in England so territorial disputes literally 'came with the territory'.
In 1557 the castle was described as follows: "thirteen rooms covered with lead, a tower on the outer wall on the eastern side containing a stable, and two rooms covered with tiles. There were two other rooms called 'le new buyldinge' situated on the outer wall between the building over the gate and the tower called 'le prison tower'. There was also a dovecote, a garden, a forest and a park."
As peace came to the Welsh Marches Bishops Castle became one of the notorious rotten boroughs, an electorally corrupt situation wherein the tiny borough returned two MP's to Parliament from 1585.
In 1618 the castle started to deteriorate and in the 1700s the stone keep and surroundings were flattened to make a bowling green, and in 1719 The Castle Hotel was built on the site of the outer bailey. (Some historians believe that the houses along Market Square and Castle Street were built on the foundations on an outer wall due to the curvature of the houses).
Local landowners, including Robert Clive also known as Clive of India expended large sums of cash buying votes, a common practice at the time in some areas to ensure a seat in Parliament. In 1726 one unsuccessful parliamentary candidate was subsequently able to prove that of the 52 people voting for his rival, the incumbent MP, 51 had received bribes and inducements. The Reform Act 1832 eradicated this practice and Bishops Castle was disenfranchised.
All that is physically left of the castle today is a 10 m long, coursed stone wall on the west side of the castle site which is 2 m thick and 3 m high. It was overgrown with ivy and was recently renovated to keep it safe and stable.

The town

The layout of the town in the present day shows that originally the town was made up of 46 burgage plots which were separated by a few small lanes which have developed to be Church Street, Union Street and Station Street.
In 1249 a Royal Charter for a weekly market and an annual fair was granted, they are both still very popular, with a Friday market in the town hall and a May fair in the playing fields.
In the 1600s, the town hall was constructed as a new administrative centre, a court and possibly a prison.
Bishop's Castle has been on a main route for travellers since prehistoric times, although the town was bypassed in the 19th century by Thomas Telford's great road. The inns would have provided accommodation for travellers and have stabled their horses. Bishops Castle had a railway, the Bishops Castle Railway, between 1865 and 1935. Originally it was meant to go from Craven Arms to Montgomery, although it never made it that far as the money ran out. Sections of the old railway can still be seen today, including some of the embankments, bridges and stations.
The town was classified as a municipal borough in 1885. It lost this status in the 1960s, but still has a mayor and its regalia.
Bishop's Castle was close to the epicentre of a magnitude 5.1 earthquake on April 2, 1990.

Infrastructure

There is no main road running through the town, which helps keep its character, though the A488 runs north-south just to the east of the town, on its way from Shrewsbury, Pontesbury and Minsterley to Clun and Knighton. The B4385 runs around the town and connects with the A488.
There are plans to build a power station in the town, although this proposal has attracted criticism.

External links

★ Shropshire Tourism The official tourism website for Shropshire

★ www.bishopscastle.co.uk is the official tourism website for Bishops Castle

★ [1] Bishops Castle online, everything about BBC, Beautiful Bishops Castle

★ www.bishopscastle.biz Find local businesses

★ Bishop's Castle Photos view these then come and see it for real

★ Images of Bishop's Castle on Shropshire Gallery

★ [2] Bishop's Castle Railway

★ [3] Bishops Castle Railway Society

★ [4] Bishops Castle Cricket Club

★ Bishops Castle for visitors

★ Description and photographs of Bishops Castle for visitors

★ [5] Bishops Castle Group (re proposed power station)