- Shropshire is an unusual county in that it doesn't have any cities. There are a couple of major towns, however. The largest town is Telford, with the county town of Shrewsbury being the second largest. Other sizeable towns are Oswestry, Bridgnorth, Newport and Ludlow.
- The origin of the name is the Old English Scrobbesbyrigscīr, meaning "Shrewsburyshire". An old name for the county is Salop, from the Anglo-French "Salopesberia", and while it is an archaic name, residents of the county are called Salopians even today.
- Shropshire was the venue for the first meeting of the English Parliament - in Acton Burnell. Edward I brought his parliament together at a barn here, the ruins of which can still be seen today. The county also hosted the first modern Olympic Games, in Much Wenlock. In 1850, a local self improvement guru called William Penny Brookes launched annual games in the village, in an attempt to get the local population to follow healthier pursuits than drinking and fighting. The annual games in Much Wenlock grew in importance and Brookes was a driving force behind the launch of the modern Olympics in 1896.
- Famous people from Shropshire include: Charles Babbage, early computing pioneer; Charles Darwin; Mary Beard, classicist; Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel; actor Pete Postlethwaite; Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, aka 'Clive of India'; Roy Wood, of the band Wizzard; 1980s pop group T'Pau and Wilfred Owen, First World War poet.
- Shropshire's motto is Floreat Salopia, meaning "May Shropshire flourish", and the county flower is the round-leaved sundew (drosera rotundifolia).
- The Shropshire town of Wem has a couple of claims to fame. Not only is it the home town of Wizzard's Roy Wood, it is one of the shortest place names in England, and is also the place where sweet peas come from. Wem resident Henry Eckford crossbred plants until he came up with the highly scented blooms we know today. Every July the town holds a sweet pea festival.
- The world's first Skyscraper was built in Shropshire. Ditherington flax mill, on the outskirts of Shrewsbury, was the first multi-storey iron-framed building in the world. It was built in 1797 and is a listed building. Also in Shrewsbury is the tallest Doric column in the world, at 133ft 6ins high. Lord Hill's column is located outside Shropshire County Council's headquarters.
- Shropshire is also famous for its fossils. There are more rocks of different ages here than any area of similar size in the world. Ludlow and Wenlock Edge have even given their names to geological periods. The world's oldest known complete fossil was discovered in Shropshire at Caradoc.
- Shrewsbury - do you pronounce it "Shrewsbury" or "Shrowsbury"? The answer is, whichever way you like. Even the locals pronounce it both ways.
- On the 10th of January 1982, the coldest temperature recorded in England was -26.1 degrees, in the Shropshire town of Shawbury.
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