[4] The earliest historical reference to the town is in 895, when it is recorded that the Danes created a camp at Cwatbridge;[5] subsequently in 912, Æthelfleda constructed a mound on the west bank of the River Severn, or possibly on the site of Bridgnorth Castle, as part of an offensive against the Danes.

[4][6] Earliest names for Bridgnorth include Brigge, Brug and Bruges, all referring to its position on the Severn.

[9] Bridgnorth's town walls were initially constructed in timber between 1216 and 1223; murage grants allowed them to be upgraded to stone between the 13th and 15th centuries.

[11] King John in 1215 granted them freedom from toll throughout England except the city of London, and in 1227 Henry III conferred several new rights and liberties, among which were a gild merchant with a hanse.

These early charters were confirmed by several succeeding kings, Henry VI granting in addition Assize of Bread and Ale and other privileges.

In 1646, Cromwell's Roundheads arrived with orders to take Bridgnorth for the Parliamentarians from the garrison led by Sir Robert Howard.

Bridgnorth had an ironworks in Low Town run by Hazledine and Company which in 1808 built the locomotive Catch Me Who Can designed and promoted by Richard Trevithick.

Their names were published in the Bridgnorth Journal on 26 December 1914 and those killed in action are remembered on the war memorial, sculpted by Adrian Jones, in the castle grounds.

[17] Until 1961 the Royal Air Force's initial recruit training unit was at RAF Bridgnorth, a station opened in 1939.

During the Second World War, two women were killed in a German air raid in August 1940 when bombs hit neighbouring houses in High Town.

In 2005, unverified German papers dating from 1941 were found, outlining new details about Operation Sea Lion, the military plans of Nazi Germany for an invasion of Britain.

Some experts believe that it was Hitler's intention to make Bridgnorth his personal headquarters in Britain, due to its central position in the UK, rural location, rail connections and airfield.

Due to damage caused during the English Civil War, the castle is inclined at an angle of 15 degrees.

Bishop Percy's House on the Cartway was built in 1580 by Richard Forster and has been a Grade 1 listed building since 18 July 1949.

It was one of the few properties of its type to survive the great fire of Bridgnorth in April 1646, and was the birthplace of Thomas Percy (Bishop of Dromore), author of 'Reliques of Ancient English Poetry'.

[31] Daniel's Mill, a well known watermill is situated a short distance along the River Severn from Bridgnorth.

One local legend tells of its occupation in AD 925 by a hermit called Ethelred or Ethelwald, a grandson to Alfred the Great.

[35] The town has an orchestra, Bridgnorth Sinfonia, which performers regular concerts in St Mary's Church in East Castle Street.

[citation needed] Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central.

[40] Bridgnorth grew initially as a market town at the centre of a system of local radial roads linking it with more rural, smaller settlements.

The River Severn historically also played a major role as a trading connection for the town, but is no longer generally navigable this far upstream.

The town is served by buses to and from Telford, Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, Much Wenlock, Ironbridge, Shifnal and Kidderminster.

Currently the closest towns with active railway stations on the National Rail network are Telford and Wolverhampton.

Necessitating that, any future plans to enhance visitor facilities will need to be carefully designed to be in keeping with the railway station's architecture and historic character.

[42] Originally, the railway was powered by a simple system using water and gravity, but was converted in 1943–44 to run on electricity.

The railway allows people to easily get between the two parts of High Town as the only other way down is down 200 steps or by using roads which drastically increase the journey.

[46] The town council has sixteen members, with four elected from each of the four wards that cover the civil parish (named Castle, Morfe, East, and West).