STOKESAY CASTLE

Shropshire

Stokesay is an unique building; the best preserved medieval 'fortified manor house' in existence, it is a superb example of how dangerous the Welsh Borders were, that normal houses had to be fortified so heavily.

Much of the Castle is the work of the ambitious Lawrence de Ludlow who bought the manor in 1281 and was granted licence to crenellate ten years later.  The Castle is made up of a north and south tower (south, left in the picture above; north, right in the picture) joined by a fortified hall range.  The north tower dates to an earlier occupation by the de Say family from the early 13th century. The whole being surrounded by a wall and moat, with a gatehouse to the east.  The gatehouse is the only substantial later addition to the Castle, being Jacobean in origin replacing the original medieval gate.

Alas, Lawrence de Ludlow didn't live in his creation for long, as he drowned in Flanders in 1294. His ancestors, though, lived here until the 16th century; after which time the Castle was leased to numerous other owners.

The replacement of the gatehouse in the Jacobean period probably explains why the Castle was captured easily by Parliament in 1645.  They ordered the Castle to be slighted, and the surrounding curtain wall was greatly reduced.  Otherwise the Castle which is today owned by English Heritage and is open all year is almost perfectly preserved as Lawrence de Ludlow built it; an incredible survivor from 700 years ago.

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© Text copyright - Raving Loony Productions, Andrew J. Müller and Roy Barton
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2001