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Bishops Castle, Shropshire

Historical Description

Bishops-Castle, a small market-town, a municipal borough, and a parish in Salop. The town stands on a declivity, 3 miles W of the river Onny, 4 E of Offa's Dyke, 8½ SE of Montgomery, 9¼ WSW of Church-Stretton, and 161 from London. It has a station forming the terminus of the Bishops-Castle railway, which is connected at Craven Arms with the L. & N.W. and G.W.R. systems. Bishops-Castle is an ancient town, deriving its name from the castle which was founded here in the early part of the 12th century by the Bishop of Hereford for the protection of the marches. The site of the castle, which has long since been destroyed, is now occupied by the Castle Inn, but a few traces of the walls of the keep remain. It is a quiet and picturesque little town, irregularly built on the summit and slopes of a hill, and has a head post office, two banks, a town-hall, a market-house, a police station, and a reading-room. The workhouse for Clun Union is situated here. The church is situated at the bottom of the hill, and occupies the site of one burnt in the Civil Wars; it was, with the exception of its old square tower, rebuilt in 1861. There are Congregational, Primitive Methodist, and Wesleyan chapels. A weekly market is held on Friday, and stock fairs are held on the second Friday in every month, except 26 March and May, in which latter month a hiring fair is held on the Friday following the first day. The town sent two members to parliament till disfranchised by the Act of 1832. A charter was granted by Queen Elizabeth and confirmed by James I. The town was incorporated in 1885, and is now governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors. It is the head of a county court district and a seat of petty sessions. Area of the municipal borough, 1867 acres; population, 1586. Area of civil parish, 5872 acres; population, 1793. The parish extends beyond the borough liberties, and includes the townships of Broughton, Colebatch, Woodbatch, and Lea-with-Oakeley. The manor belongs to the Earl of Powis, who holds a court-leet once a year. Bishops-Moat, on a high hill, a mile W of the town, is an ancient entrenchment of nearly an acre. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Hereford; net value, £293 with residence. Patron, the Earl of Powis.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Ancient CountySalop 
Ecclesiastical parishBishop's-Castle St. John the Baptist 
HundredPurslow 
Poor Law unionClun 
Registration districtClun1837 - 2005
Registration districtClun1967 - 2005

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.


Church Records

Findmypast, in association with the Shropshire Archives have the Baptisms, Banns, Marriages, and Burials online for Bishops Castle

The register dates from the year 1559.

The parish register dates from the year 1559.


Churches

Church of England

St. John the Baptist (parish church)

The church of St. John the Baptist, entirely rebuilt, with the exception of the tower, in 1860, took the place of a building erected in 1648 on the site of an older church, burnt while serving as a place of defence in the Parliamentary wars; it is an edifice of stone, in the Early English geometric style, consisting of chancel with aisle, clerestoried nave, aisles, north porch and an embattled western tower, containing a clock and 6 bells: most of the windows are stained.

St. John the Baptist, Bishop's Castle
St. John the Baptist, Bishop's Castle
St. John the Baptist, Bishop's Castle
St. John the Baptist, Bishop's Castle
St. John the Baptist, Bishop's Castle
St. John the Baptist, Bishop's Castle

St. John the Baptist (parish church)

The church of St. John the Baptist, entirely rebuilt, with the exception of the tower, in 1860, took the place of a building erected in 1648 on the site of an older church, burnt while serving as a place of defence in the Parliamentary wars; it is an edifice of stone, in the Early English geometric style, consisting of chancel with aisle, clerestoried nave, aisles, north porch and an embattled western tower, containing a clock and 6 bells: most of the windows are stained.

Congregational

Congregational Chapel (parish church)

There is a Congregational chapel, erected in 1807, with sittings for 120 persons.

Methodist

Primitive Methodist Chapel

There is a Primitive Methodist chapel, erected in 1904 at a cost of about £1,500, with 200 sittings.

Primitive Methodist Chapel

There is a Primitive Methodist chapel, erected in 1904 at a cost of about £1,500, with 200 sittings.

Wesleyan Chapel

There is a Wesleyan chapel.


Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Bishops Castle from the following:


Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Shropshire (Salop) is available to browse.


Maps

Online maps of Bishops Castle are available from a number of sites:


Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Shropshire newspapers online:


Visitations Heraldic

The Visitation of Shropshire, 1623 is available on the Heraldry page.


Workhouse

The Clun workhouse was built here to hold 103 inmates.