[1] A castle was ordered on the site by William I c. 1067 but it was greatly extended under Roger de Montgomery circa 1070 as a base for operations into Wales, an administrative centre and as a defensive fortification for the town, which was otherwise protected by the loop of the river.

[2] Having fallen into decay after c. 1300 (at the end of the Welsh wars) the castle became a domestic residence during the reign of Elizabeth I and passed to the ownership of the town council c.1600.

[6] The Shropshire Horticultural Society purchased the castle from a private owner, then Lord Barnard, and gave it to the town in 1924[1] and it became the location of Shrewsbury's Borough Council chambers for over 50 years.

[11] Excavations in 2020 failed to locate St Michael's chapel, but did recover evidence of 'high-status feasting', including the bones of a pike and possibly a swan.

[7] holding items such as a lock of Napoleon Bonaparte's hair,[13] the Grand Admiral's Baton belonging to Karl Dönitz,[14] and the Victoria Crosses of Captain Alfred Kirke Ffrench,[15] Private Charles Irwin[16] and Sergeant Major Harold Whitfield.