[3] Notable people who have lived in Whitchurch include the composer Sir Edward German, and illustrator Randolph Caldecott.

The small denomination, brass or copper alloy coins, known as Dupondii and Asses, were from the reign of the Emperor Trajan, AD 98–117.

[9] It has been suggested that Whitchurch is Weardbyrig, which is the site of a Saxon Burh of Æthelflæd, daughter of Alfred the Great Lady of the Mercians which would have been operational in the early 900s CE.

[10] In 1066, Whitchurch was called Westune ('west farmstead'), probably for its location on the western edge of Shropshire, bordering the north Welsh Marches.

The surrounding hamlets became townships and Dodtune ('the settlement of Dodda's people') is now fully integrated into Whitchurch as Dodington.

After the Norman Conquest a motte and bailey castle and a new white Grinshill stone church were built.

The area was also known as Album Monasterium and Blancminster,[11] and the Warennes of Whitchurch were often surnamed de Albo Monasterio in contemporary writings.

[20] After the Battle of Shrewsbury, the body of Hotspur was taken by Thomas Neville, 5th Baron Furnivall, to Whitchurch for burial.

However, when rumours circulated that Percy was still alive, the king "had the corpse exhumed and displayed it, propped upright between two millstones, in the market place at Shrewsbury".

As dairy farming became more profitable Whitchurch developed as a centre for Cheshire cheese production.

Cheese and other goods could be easily transported to wider markets when the Whitchurch Arm of Thomas Telford's Llangollen Canal was opened in 1811.

During the Second World War a secret Y station for enemy signals interception operated in Whitchurch at the Old Rectory in Claypit Street, run by the Foreign Office.

[27] The parish was subdivided into fourteen townships, being Alkington, Ash Magna, Ash Parva, Black Park, Broughall, Dodington, Edgeley, Hinton, Hollyhurst and Chinnel, New Woodhouse, Old Woodhouse, Tilstock, Wirswall, and a Whitchurch township covering the town itself.

In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so Wirswall and Whitchurch became separate civil parishes.

[40] St Alkmund's Church (rebuilt 1712–13) is a prominent landmark in the town and a Grade I listed building.

[41] Two of the oldest buildings in Whitchurch include the Old Eagles pub built in the 16th century and 17, 19 and 21 Watergate Street, otherwise known as Raven Yard Antiques.

Over the last four centuries, the Raven's Inn has seen a great deal of alteration but more recently has seen a significant part of the property restored to its original half timbered facade.

These include: Whitchurch is a primary destination on the British road network, signed from as far away as Warrington on the A49, and Wolverhampton on the A41.

There are bus services from Whitchurch to surrounding settlements including Chester, Nantwich, Wrexham and Shrewsbury.

However, Whitchurch was once the junction for the main line of the Cambrian Railways, but the section from Whitchurch to Welshpool (Buttington Junction), via Ellesmere, Whittington, Oswestry and Llanymynech, closed on 18 January 1965 in favour of the more viable alternative route via Shrewsbury.

The line closed to regular services on 16 September 1957, but use by diverted passenger trains continued until 8 December 1963.

[49] This family firm which was established in 1941 was taken over by the Dutch multinational AGRO Merchants in 2017,[50] which was then subsequently sold to Americold in December 2020, for a reported $1.74 billion[51] The town also provides a range of services for the surrounding countryside of the North Shropshire Plain.

[55] By rail Whitchurch is within commuting distance of Liverpool and Manchester (both about one hour north) and Shrewsbury (30 minutes south).

Since 2015, Whitchurch Alport has played in the North West Counties Football League premier Division.

Whitchurch Leisure Centre is located at the Sir John Talbot School on the edge of town.

[68] The Whitchurch Walkers is an active group of residents interested in walking and the protection of footpaths.

[70] On the northern edge of the town is the Macdonald Hill Valley Hotel, which has a fitness centre, a swimming pool and two golf courses.

[71] Since August 2019, Alderford Lake, just to the south of the town, has hosted a parkrun, which is a free, weekly timed 5 km run/walk, every Saturday morning at 9am.

Regional local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central.

They both closed in 1936 and became part of the new Sir John Talbot’s School[citation needed] which is located on the edge of the town.