High Street, Bishop's Castle - 01588 630023 info@bishopscastletownhall.co.uk

Bishop's Castle is a small market town in the southwest of Shropshire, England, and formerly its smallest borough. According to the 2011 Census it had a population of 1,893.

Bishop's Castle is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of the Wales-England border, about 20 miles (30 km) north-west of Ludlow and about 20 miles (30 km) south-west of Shrewsbury. To the south is Clun and to the east is Church Stretton. The town is within an agricultural area and has also become known for its alternative community including artists, musicians, writers and craftspeople. The surrounding area is hillwalking country and Bishop's Castle is a "Walkers are Welcome Town", gaining the award in 2008. The long distance footpath the Shropshire Way runs through the town and Offa's Dyke is only a few miles to the west.

The ancient trackway of the Kerry Ridgeway, a prehistoric Bronze Age route, runs from the town. The BC Ring, a 60-mile (100 km) challenging route around the town, was published in 2008. The town has two micro-breweries, including the Three Tuns, the UK's oldest brewery.

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, although the Friday market is closed while the town hall is being refurbished.

In the 1600s, the town hall was constructed as a new administrative centre, a court and possibly a prison. It has recently been refurbished thanks to a Lottery grant and was re-opened in June 2014. The refurbished town hall now provides a venue for local events and formal meetings of the Town Council.

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. It is now a "Quality Town Council".

Bishop's Castle was close to the epicentre of a magnitude 5.1 earthquake on 2 April 1990, which was felt throughout much of England and Wales.

Today the town forms a civil parish, with its own town council and mayor.

The town is located close to the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.