The Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, one of the most influential works on the English Romantic movement, was based on a manuscript discovered in Shifnal.

The collection of collection of ballads and popular songs, collected by Bishop Thomas Percy and published in 1765, was primarily based on a folio discovered at the Shifnal home of Percy's friend Humphrey Pitt.
It was on the floor, and Pitt's maid had been using the leaves to light fires.

Once rescued Percy used forty-five of the ballads in the folio for his book of 180, adding others from sources -  broadside ballads collected by diarist Samuel Pepys and Collection of Old Ballads published in 1723, possibly by Ambrose Philips.
Percy was encouraged to publish by his friends Samuel Johnson and the poet William Shenstone, who also found and contributed ballads.

Percy's Reliques caught the public imagination, inspiring poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth to compose their own imitations, and inspired Sir Walter Scott.
The book is credited, in part, with changing the literary movement of the 18th century from Neo-Classicism, into Romanticism, highlighting the simpler, less artificial traditions of English folklore.
It inspired folklore collections and movements in other parts of Europe, such as the Brothers Grimm.

Percy did not treat the folio or the texts in it with the scrupulous care expected of a modern editor of manuscripts.
He wrote his own notes directly on the folio pages, amended the rhymes and even pulled pages out of the document to give the printer without making copies.

Charles Dickens, whose grandmother was reputedly employed at nearby Tong Castle, visited the town on several occasions and many believe that the buildings in his book, The Old Curiosity Shop, were based on those in the town.
Shifnal Historical Society report that he was very taken with the architecture of the town, and for that reason, he based The Old Curiosity Shop on the Unicorn public house, now known as Naughty Nell's.

The diarist Hannah Cullwick (26 May 1833 – 9 July 1909) was born in Shifnal.
Cullwick revealed less-known aspects of the relations between Victorian servants and their masters.
Working in domestic service, she caught the attention of Arthur Munby, a prominent barrister and philanthropist, who was making a close study of the conditions of working women.
To escape poverty, she married him reluctantly and secretly in 1873, and her diaries provide detailed information on the lives of working-class Victorian servant women.
Her relation with Munby was unconventional, with bizarre role-playing, as documented in their diaries, letters and photographs as a farm girl, a kitchen drudge, a chimney sweep with blackface, a well-dressed lady and a man.
She is buried, under her married name, Munby, in St Andrew's churchyard.

Mary Arnold, later known as the writer Mrs Humphry Ward, went to boarding school in the town at Rock Terrace.
Her schooldays gave background for one of her later novels, Marcella (published 1894).

It is widely believed that Shifnal had some inspiration for P. G. Wodehouse's fictional town Market Blandings – or rather, the town is mentioned numerous times in the Blandings Castle saga.

In 1968, the Shifnal Carnival was launched, a revival of the Shifnal Club Day - itself deriving from an annual parade by the 'Dove Club' friendly society.
Taking place on the last Saturday of June, a funfair is set up on the main street, as well as the usual procession.

In the 1990s and 2000s Shifnal become well known throughout the region for its annual Christmas lights display, which attracted visitors from the outside the town.
Supported by the town council, local businesses and other organisations the lights' “Switch-On” takes place in the last week of November.

In 2010, after research as part of the town plan, the Shifnal Festival was revived due to residents expressing interest for a festival of arts, culture and entertainment.
It ran for three years, spawning groups such as an amateur dramatics company and a children's manga society.
The Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, one of the most influential works on the English Romantic movement, was based on a manuscript discovered in Shifnal.
The collection of collection of ballads and popular songs, collected by Bishop Thomas Percy and published in 1765, was primarily based on a folio discovered at the Shifnal home of Percy's friend Humphrey Pitt. It was on the floor, and Pitt's maid had been using the leaves to light fires.
Once rescued Percy used forty-five of the ballads in the folio for his book of 180, adding others from sources -  broadside ballads collected by diarist Samuel Pepys and Collection of Old Ballads published in 1723, possibly by Ambrose Philips. Percy was encouraged to publish by his friends Samuel Johnson and the poet William Shenstone, who also found and contributed ballads.
Percy's Reliques caught the public imagination, inspiring poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth to compose their own imitations, and inspired Sir Walter Scott. The book is credited, in part, with changing the literary movement of the 18th century from Neo-Classicism, into Romanticism, highlighting the simpler, less artificial traditions of English folklore. It inspired folklore collections and movements in other parts of Europe, such as the Brothers Grimm.
Percy did not treat the folio or the texts in it with the scrupulous care expected of a modern editor of manuscripts. He wrote his own notes directly on the folio pages, amended the rhymes and even pulled pages out of the document to give the printer without making copies.
Charles Dickens, whose grandmother was reputedly employed at nearby Tong Castle, visited the town on several occasions and many believe that the buildings in his book, The Old Curiosity Shop, were based on those in the town. Shifnal Historical Society report that he was very taken with the architecture of the town, and for that reason, he based The Old Curiosity Shop on the Unicorn public house, now known as Naughty Nell's.
The diarist Hannah Cullwick (26 May 1833 – 9 July 1909) was born in Shifnal. Cullwick revealed less-known aspects of the relations between Victorian servants and their masters. Working in domestic service, she caught the attention of Arthur Munby, a prominent barrister and philanthropist, who was making a close study of the conditions of working women. To escape poverty, she married him reluctantly and secretly in 1873, and her diaries provide detailed information on the lives of working-class Victorian servant women. Her relation with Munby was unconventional, with bizarre role-playing, as documented in their diaries, letters and photographs as a farm girl, a kitchen drudge, a chimney sweep with blackface, a well-dressed lady and a man. She is buried, under her married name, Munby, in St Andrew's churchyard.
Mary Arnold, later known as the writer Mrs Humphry Ward, went to boarding school in the town at Rock Terrace. Her schooldays gave background for one of her later novels, Marcella (published 1894).
It is widely believed that Shifnal had some inspiration for P. G. Wodehouse's fictional town Market Blandings – or rather, the town is mentioned numerous times in the Blandings Castle saga.
In 1968, the Shifnal Carnival was launched, a revival of the Shifnal Club Day - itself deriving from an annual parade by the 'Dove Club' friendly society. Taking place on the last Saturday of June, a funfair is set up on the main street, as well as the usual procession.
In the 1990s and 2000s Shifnal become well known throughout the region for its annual Christmas lights display, which attracted visitors from the outside the town. Supported by the town council, local businesses and other organisations the lights' “Switch-On” takes place in the last week of November.
In 2010, after research as part of the town plan, the Shifnal Festival was revived due to residents expressing interest for a festival of arts, culture and entertainment. It ran for three years, spawning groups such as an amateur dramatics company and a children's manga society.
Shifnal