In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Bishops Castle like this:
BISHOPS-CASTLE, a small town, a parish, a subdistrict, and a division in Clun district, Salop. The town stands on a declivity, 3 miles W of the river Onny, 4¼ E of Offa's Dyke, and 9½ WSW of Church-Stretton. Railways from the Shrewsbury and Hereford line, by way of Bishops-Castle, to the Oswestry and Newtown line, were authorized in 1861; and a branch from the Craven-Arms station to Bishops-Castle was opened in 1866. ...
A castle of the Bishops of Hereford once stood here, but was long ago destroyed. The town is irregularly built, and presents a poor appearance. It has a head post office,‡ a banking office, two chief inns, a townhall, a market house, a church, two dissenting chapels, a free school with £48, and other charities with £13. The church occupies the site of one burnt in the civil wars; was, with the exception of its old square tower, rebuilt in 1861; is in the early pointed style; and comprises nave, chancel, aisles, transepts, and vestry. A weekly market is held on Friday; and fairs on the second Monday of Jan., the Friday before 13 Feb., 26 March, the Friday after 1 May, the second Monday of June, 5 July, 9 Sept., the second Monday of Oct., and 13 Nov. The town sent two members to parliament till disfranchised by the act of 1832; it possesses a corporation, but not regulated by the municipal corporation act; and it is a seat of petty sessions and a polling-place. Real property, £6,872. Pop., 1,778. Houses, 383. The parish extends beyond the borough liberties; and includes the townships of Broughton, Colebatch, Woodbatch, and Leewith-Oakeley. Acres, 5,649. Real property, £11,542. Pop., 2,083. Houses, 434. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to the Earl of Powis. Bishops-Mote, 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. Value, £350.* Patron, the Earl of Powis.-The subdistrict contains four parishes and the greater part of two others. Acres, 16,83 4. Pop., 2,924. Houses, 590.-The division is part of Purslow hundred, and contains eight parishes and part of another. Acres, 36,394. Pop., 4,652. Houses, 908.
Bishops Castle through time
Bishops Castle is now part of South Shropshire district. Click here for graphs and data of how South Shropshire has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Bishops Castle itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Bishops Castle in South Shropshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/860
Date accessed: 24th April 2024
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