It was held by William Pantulf, Lord of Wem, from Roger de Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury.

In 1245 King Henry III granted a charter for a weekly Wednesday market, giving the town its current name.

Nearby Blore Heath, in Staffordshire, was the site of a battle in 1459 between the Houses of York and Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses.

[5] Rowland Hill of Soulton, the first Protestant Mayor of London, came from a prominent ancient local family which had extensive property in the area.

Over 40 years it has expanded considerably and includes a thriving cinema, theatre, art gallery and a range of meeting rooms that area available for hire.

The Festival Drayton Centre also hosts regular live music and comedy and features event cinema beamed in by satellite from the National Theatre and Royal Opera House.

[14] Market Drayton has always been a hotbed for musical talent producing a number of bands who have progressed on to achieve national acclaim.

At the same time the local youth club were represented by the Platinum Needles in the NAYC Opportunity Rocks competition final.

In early 1981 the Platinum Needles were also featured on the Stoke Musicians Collective album released on Slip Records “Cry Havoc”.

The sausage brand was sold in 2001 to Kerry Group, but the factory remains open as the town's largest employer.

It produces various meat based and chilled food products, under both the Pork Farms brand and for third parties, including Asda.

[21] The first recorded mention of gingerbread being baked in the town dates to 1793, although it was likely made earlier, as ginger had been stocked in high street businesses since the 1640s.

[23] Fordhall Farm has 140 acres (0.57 km2) of community-owned[clarification needed] organic farmland located off the A53 between the Müller and Tern Hill roundabouts.

By road, Market Drayton is served by one major route, the A53 which runs south from Buxton in Derbyshire to Shrewsbury via Leek, Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Arriva Midlands operates route 64 through Market Drayton between Shrewsbury and Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent), at an irregular service pattern.