Ludlow, United Kingdom

Walter's son Roger de Lacy began the construction of Ludlow Castle on the western promontory of the hill about 1075, forming what is now the inner bailey. Between about 1090 and 1120, the Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene was built inside the walls, and by 1130 the Great Tower was added to form the gatehouse. About 1170 the larger outer bailey was added to the castle. (The town walls however were not built until the mid-13th century.) The settlement of Dinham grew up alongside the development of the early castle in the late 11th century, with the northern part of this early settlement disturbed by the building of the outer bailey. Dinham had its own place of worship, the Chapel of St Thomas the Martyr, dedicated to Thomas Becket sometime in 1177–1189 when the present chapel replaced an older (late 11th-century) church building.

During the 12th century, the planned town of Ludlow was formed, in stages, the town providing a useful source of income for successive Marcher Lords, based on rents, fines, and tolls. They developed the town on a regular grid pattern, although this was adapted somewhat to match the local topography, from the late 11th century through the 12th century. The first laid street was along the ridge of the hilltop, what is now Castle Square, High Street and King Street. This formed a wide marketplace (later in-filled by buildings in places) running from the castle gates east across to St Laurence's and the Bull Ring, itself located on the ancient north–south road, now called Corve Street to the north and Old Street to the south. The wide Mill and Broad Streets were added later, as part of a southern grid plan of streets and burgage plots filling the area bounded by Dinham, the new High Street market, Old Street and the Teme to the south. Originally, Old Street ran down to a ford which took the ancient route south across to Ludford. A bridge was constructed (possibly by Josce de Dinan) at the foot of Broad Street, upstream of the ford, which then replaced the ford; its 15th-century replacement is the present-day Ludford Bridge.

St Laurence's Church, whose origins are late 11th century, was rebuilt and enlarged (with a bell tower) in 1199-1200 and became a parish church, with the separation of Ludlow from the parish of Stanton Lacy by 1200. The town notably had two schools (a choir and a grammar) in existence c. 1200; Ludlow Grammar School remained in existence until 1977, when it became Ludlow College.

Ludlow Castle was an important border fortification along the Welsh Marches, and one of the largest in the Norman/English ring of castles surrounding Wales. It played a significant role in local, regional and national conflicts such as the Owain Glyndŵr rebellion, the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil War. The castle and its adjoining town grew in political importance and in the 15th century the castle became the seat of the Council of Wales and the Marches. It was a temporary home to several holders of the title Prince of Wales, including King Edward V and Arthur Tudor, who died there in 1502.

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. Fulk is brought up in the castle of Josce de Dinan, and fights for his master against Sir Gilbert de Lacy – these battles are the source of the story of Marion de la Bruyere, the betrayed lover whose ghost is still said to be heard screaming as she plummets from the castle's turrets.

The first recorded royal permission to maintain defensive town walls was given to the "men of Ludlow" in the Patent Rolls of 1233. The entry is however incomplete and atypical and was not renewed in the usual way. A murage grant was next made in 1260 and renewed regularly over the next two centuries. This time the grant was made by name to Geoffrey de Genevile, Lord of Ludlow. From this and other surviving documents it seems that the town walls and gates were in place by 1270. They were constructed about the central part of the community with four main gates and three postern gates. Because the walls were constructed after the development of the town's streets, the positions and names of the four main gates are based on the streets they crossed; the postern gates on the other hand are located by and named after old outlying districts. The 7 gates are (clockwise from the castle; postern gates in italics) Linney, Corve, Galdeford, Old, Broad, Mill and Dinham. An eighth unnamed 'portal' gate (smaller than a postern gate) existed in the wall just to the northwest of the castle, now in the gardens of Castle Walk House. The town walls are largely still in existence, although a section alongside the churchyard of St Lawrence's is, as of 2015, in need of repairs.