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 4 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 .
It is also known for its
Alternative community.
Although it is smaller than many villages, Bishop's Castle has all the facilities of a small town. It has a post office, two banks, butchers, a baker, a chemist, a green-grocer, three general groceries and shoe and clothes shops where you can buy walking gear. It also has several good pubs, including two which brew their own beer, and most of which also do meals. There are also half a dozen other places to eat, second hand bookshops, and several antique shops. There is no main road running through the town.
Sights in the town include
Bishop's Castle Town Hall , the
House On Crutches , and the
Three Tuns Brewery .
The Castle at BC was originally a motte and bailey design built to defend the church and village from the enemy.
Bishop's Castle has been on a main route for travellers since prehistoric times. The inns would have provided accommodation for travellers and have stabled their horses.
The town was bypassed in the 19th century by
Thomas Telford 's great road further north, which ran through
Shrewsbury . A branch railway was later built from
Craven Arms to Bishop's Castle, but closed in 1935.
The town lost its status as a
Municipal Borough which it gained in
1885 in the 1960s, but still has a mayor and its regalia.
The church of St John the Baptist lies at the lower end of the town and the remains of the castle, of which almost nothing survives, at the upper end. Between the two runs the main street.
