[10][11] At the time this section of the River Teme contained rapids, and so the hlud of Ludlow came from "the loud waters", while hlǣw meant "hill"[10] or tumulus.

[24] The site features heavily in the folk-story of Fulk FitzWarin, outlawed Lord of Whittington, Shropshire and a possible inspiration for the Robin Hood legend.

[28] The castle complex continued to expand (a Great Hall, kitchen and living quarters were added) and it gained a reputation as a fortified palace.

[31] In the mid sixteenth century the London merchant Sir Rowland Hill gave the money for a new bridge over the Teme, and the annual St. Catherine's fair.

During this period, when the town served as the effective capital of Wales, it was home to many messengers of the king, various clerks and lawyers for settling legal disputes.

[45] In 1802, Horatio Nelson was awarded the freedom of the borough and stayed at The Angel coaching inn on Broad Street, together with his mistress Emma and her husband Sir William Hamilton.

The science of geology has taken a number of local names from these studies and now applies them worldwide, in recognition of the importance of this area to scientific understanding, for example, Ludlow Series.

The old chapel in Dinham, a Grade II* listed building,[57] though no longer used for worship, features the oldest built structure in Ludlow outside the castle.

Furthermore, the lack of development to the south and west allows for the town's historic setting (and particularly that of the castle) by the Teme and the neighbouring countryside to be readily appreciated in the modern day.

It is on the Welsh Marches Line and is served by trains between Manchester Piccadilly, Crewe, Shrewsbury, Hereford, Abergavenny, Cardiff Central and Swansea; these are operated by Transport for Wales.

The town centre retains its medieval streets and has had long-running problems with motor traffic and car parking, which is now restricted seven days a week.

The A4117 begins at the Rocks Green roundabout on the Ludlow by-pass and runs across the Clee Hills to Cleobury Mortimer; it then continues via the A456 onwards to Bewdley and Kidderminster.

[75] An open area within the castle served as the stage and backdrop for various Shakespearean plays, while a number of supporting events at various venues included classical and pop/rock concerts, varied musicians, lecture talks from public figures, and entertainers.

[83] The town is home to an arts and cinema centre, The Ludlow Assembly Rooms, that hosts live and streamed music, theatre, stand-up comedy and talks.

[87] Ludlow has connections with a number of figures in the arts – including Alfred Edward Housman, poet and author of "A Shropshire Lad" (his ashes were buried in the graveyard of St Laurence's Church and were marked by a cherry tree).

The naval historian and novelist Captain Geoffrey Bennett (Sea Lion) lived in Ludlow after his retirement in 1974 up to his death in 1983 and his ashes, too, were interred in the parish churchyard.

The cricket ground is near the junction of Burway Lane and Bromfield Road in the north of the town and has a picturesque setting with the castle, St Laurence's church and surrounding hills and countryside clearly visible.

A privately run leisure and fitness centre, which includes a swimming pool, is on Bromfield Road on the northern edge of the town (near the secondary school).

The South Shropshire District Council's offices at Stone House on Corve Street were gradually emptied of local government staff until their sale in 2014.

[101] There was a Town Hall, situated in the Square, which was built in 1887–1888 and demolished in March 1986;[102] it featured prominently just prior to its demolition in the 1985 television drama Blott on the Landscape.

Ludlow together with nearby parishes comprise three electoral divisions, each returning one councillor to Shropshire Council in elections held every four years, the most recent being in 2021.

[107] McConnel Limited, a manufacturer of hedge cutting and verge mowing machinery, is based in Ludlow, occupying a seven-acre industrial site in the Temeside/Weeping Cross area of the town known as the Temeside Works.

Voluntary aid society, the British Red Cross, has a hall in the Smithfield car park, just off Lower Galdeford, and adjacent to the fire station.

[112] Construction to a design by the Welsh-based Italian architect Giuseppe Rinvolucri began in 1935, using stone from nearby Farlow and building in a neo-Byzantine and plain Romanesque style.

Sir John Bridgeman (1568/69 – 1638), a Chief Justice of The Marches in the 17th century is buried in St Laurence's church, within a tomb monument attributed to Francesco Fanelli.

The poet Samuel Butler (1613–1680), lived at Ludlow while working as steward to the Lord President of the Marches in 1661–62, during which time he completed the first part of his well-known satire Hudibras.

Molly Morgan (1762 in Ludlow as Mary Jones -1835) lived in the area until transported in 1788 as a convict to Australia, where she eventually became a landowner and benefactor in New South Wales.

Notable people associated with the town include Charles Badham (1813 in Ludlow–1884), a Victorian scholar and professor at Sydney University and Thomas Wright (1810–1877), an English antiquarian and writer.

Captain Adrian Jones (1845 in Ludlow – 1938), the well-known sculptor has many works throughout the world, particularly the Peace Quadriga on the Wellington Arch in London, and his ashes are buried at St Laurence's church.

Sir William Jukes-Steward (1841–1912), later Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, had a boyhood home in Ludlow, where he attended the Grammar School, at Numbers 4–5 King Street (marked by plaque).