Travel through time
South tower and gatehouse of Stokesay Castle in the hamlet of Stokesay, Shropshire
Some background information:
Stokesay Castle was built in the late 13th century. It is quite simply the finest and best preserved fortified medieval manor house in England. Set in peaceful countryside near the Welsh border, the castle, timber-framed gatehouse and parish church form an unforgettably picturesque group. Stokesay is situated one mile south of the town of Craven Arms, in southern Shropshire. Currently in the guardianship of English Heritage, Stokesay Castle is a Grade I listed building.
From the Norman Conquest until 1241, the area was held by the Lacy family, a powerful dynasty with lands in the Welsh Marches. On the death of the last male heir, Walter de Lacy, it was left to the husbands of his two granddaughters to divide the family estates. The manor of Stokesay went to John de Verdon. He went on crusade, leaving his property in the hands of a tenant, who sold the manor to Laurence of Ludlow in 1281, when the long Anglo-Welsh wars were ending. That’s why for Lawrence of Ludlow, a wealthy local wool-merchant based in Shrewsbury, but wishing to set up as a country gentleman, it was safe to raise here one of the first fortified manor houses in England, built like a castle for effect but lit by large domestic-style windows.
Extensive recent tree-ring dating confirms that Lawrence had completed virtually all of the still surviving house before 1291, the date of Edward I's license to fortify the place, which stands in the Welsh Marches, the western borderland of the Norman domain at that time. More remarkably, the dating also revealed that Stokesay Castle has scarcely been altered since.
The oldest parts of the building are the lower two storeys of the north tower, begun about 1240. The great slate-roofed hall, thirty-four feet high, with four cross-gables, was added in the 1280s and is a very rare survival. The south tower, whose use was purely defensive, has no direct access from any other structure. The castle's most unusual feature is a timber-framed residence built onto the outside of the walls. The Elizabethan gatehouse, added in the 16th century, is also half-timbered and decorated with carvings of Adam and Eve. The interior of the castle contains a selection of rare wall paintings from the Medieval period. This gradual development of the structure was achieved under ten successive generations of descendants of Laurence of Ludlow who lived in the building until the reign of Charles I.
During that time Stokesay Castle came into the ownership of the Craven family and was used as a supply base for the King's forces in the area, based in strength at nearby Ludlow Castle in the early stages of the English Civil War. During that war in 1645 a skirmish took place at the castle, in which Stokesay was handed over to the Parliamentarians after a short siege without a pitched battle. Hence the building remained undamaged.
Stokesay was lived in as a farmhouse and barn until the early 19th century. In 1869 it was purchased by John Derby Allcroft, a Worcester glove manufacturer and Member of Parliament, who was recognising the value of the building's history and architectural features set about restoring and maintaining it while he also had Stokesay Court built nearby. Since 1992 the monument has been in the care of English Heritage, which provides a recorded audio tour of the entire premises for visitors.
The castle is a Scheduled Monument, "nationally important" historic building and archaeological site which has been given protection against unauthorised change. The site is also a venue for regular historical interpretations and re-enactments with events and activities. In 2010, British Airways, in conjunction with English Heritage, named their last Boeing 757 "Stokesay Castle".
Travel through time
South tower and gatehouse of Stokesay Castle in the hamlet of Stokesay, Shropshire
Some background information:
Stokesay Castle was built in the late 13th century. It is quite simply the finest and best preserved fortified medieval manor house in England. Set in peaceful countryside near the Welsh border, the castle, timber-framed gatehouse and parish church form an unforgettably picturesque group. Stokesay is situated one mile south of the town of Craven Arms, in southern Shropshire. Currently in the guardianship of English Heritage, Stokesay Castle is a Grade I listed building.
From the Norman Conquest until 1241, the area was held by the Lacy family, a powerful dynasty with lands in the Welsh Marches. On the death of the last male heir, Walter de Lacy, it was left to the husbands of his two granddaughters to divide the family estates. The manor of Stokesay went to John de Verdon. He went on crusade, leaving his property in the hands of a tenant, who sold the manor to Laurence of Ludlow in 1281, when the long Anglo-Welsh wars were ending. That’s why for Lawrence of Ludlow, a wealthy local wool-merchant based in Shrewsbury, but wishing to set up as a country gentleman, it was safe to raise here one of the first fortified manor houses in England, built like a castle for effect but lit by large domestic-style windows.
Extensive recent tree-ring dating confirms that Lawrence had completed virtually all of the still surviving house before 1291, the date of Edward I's license to fortify the place, which stands in the Welsh Marches, the western borderland of the Norman domain at that time. More remarkably, the dating also revealed that Stokesay Castle has scarcely been altered since.
The oldest parts of the building are the lower two storeys of the north tower, begun about 1240. The great slate-roofed hall, thirty-four feet high, with four cross-gables, was added in the 1280s and is a very rare survival. The south tower, whose use was purely defensive, has no direct access from any other structure. The castle's most unusual feature is a timber-framed residence built onto the outside of the walls. The Elizabethan gatehouse, added in the 16th century, is also half-timbered and decorated with carvings of Adam and Eve. The interior of the castle contains a selection of rare wall paintings from the Medieval period. This gradual development of the structure was achieved under ten successive generations of descendants of Laurence of Ludlow who lived in the building until the reign of Charles I.
During that time Stokesay Castle came into the ownership of the Craven family and was used as a supply base for the King's forces in the area, based in strength at nearby Ludlow Castle in the early stages of the English Civil War. During that war in 1645 a skirmish took place at the castle, in which Stokesay was handed over to the Parliamentarians after a short siege without a pitched battle. Hence the building remained undamaged.
Stokesay was lived in as a farmhouse and barn until the early 19th century. In 1869 it was purchased by John Derby Allcroft, a Worcester glove manufacturer and Member of Parliament, who was recognising the value of the building's history and architectural features set about restoring and maintaining it while he also had Stokesay Court built nearby. Since 1992 the monument has been in the care of English Heritage, which provides a recorded audio tour of the entire premises for visitors.
The castle is a Scheduled Monument, "nationally important" historic building and archaeological site which has been given protection against unauthorised change. The site is also a venue for regular historical interpretations and re-enactments with events and activities. In 2010, British Airways, in conjunction with English Heritage, named their last Boeing 757 "Stokesay Castle".