Bishops Castle – Charter Celebrations

The Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire, Anna Turner was given a very warm welcome when she visited Bishops Castle last weekend for the 450^th anniversary of the granting of the Charter by Queen Elizabeth 1 in 1573.

There was a Charter Day Service in St John the Baptist Church followed by a huge parade from the church to the town hall with street entertainment, morris dancing by the Shropshire Bedlams and Martha Rhoden’s Tuppenny Dish, Tudor decorated stalls, and crowds dressed in Tudor costume.

Outside the Town Hall large crowds watched the re-enactment, scripted by David Preshous, as the Mayor, Josh Dickin was presented with the charter by Queen Elizabeth followed by the town choirs coming together to sing a wonderful song commissioned for the day and composed by John Kirkpartrick MBE.

Bishops Castle Heritage Resource Centre held a fascinating exhibition in the public hall showing a facsimile of the original Charter which is now held by Shropshire archives, a timeline of the history of the town from 8^th century to the present day and video footage and photographs from the previous Charter celebrations in 1973.

The Lord-Lieutenant said “it was wonderful to see the community come together to celebrate the anniversary of such an historic event for the town” and that “ Bishops Castle should be basking in a warm glow of satisfaction having put together the most wonderful Charter celebrations”.