Shrewsbury Castle

Shrewsbury Castle
Shrewsbury Castle
Location within Shropshire
General information
Architectural style	Red sandstone castle
Location	Shrewsbury,  Shropshire, England
Coordinates	52°42′28″N 2°45′15″W / 52.7077°N 2.7541°W / 52.7077; -2.7541
Construction started	1067
Client	Roger de Montgomery

Shrewsbury Castle is a red sandstone castle in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It stands on a hill in the neck of the meander of the River Severn on which the town originally developed. The castle is situated directly above Shrewsbury railway station and is a Grade I listed building

The castle was built as a defensive fortification for the town, which was otherwise protected by the river. Town walls, of which little now remains, then radiated out from the castle and surrounded the town (although the area known now as Town Walls still has a small section of it and a tower known as Town Walls Tower and in the care of the National Trust).

In 1138, King Stephen successfully besieged the castle held by William FitzAlan for the Empress Maud during the period known as The Anarchy. The castle was also briefly held by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, prince of Wales, in 1215. Little of this original physical structure remains.

The Shropshire Horticultural Society purchased the castle from a private owner and gave it to the town in 1924. Until 1981, Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council meetings, where the full council would be present, used the castle's hall. Meetings later moved to Oakley Manor in Belle Vue, and then to the Guildhall in Frankwell.

The castle is currently owned by Shropshire Council, and managed by Shropshire Museum Service. It is licensed for Civil Ceremonies within the Thomas Telford Circular Room.