Stokesay Castle |
History of Stokesay Castle
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Following the Norman conquest, the settlement, originally known as 'Stoke', which means 'Dairy farm', became the propety of the de Say family, from whom Stokesay takes its name. It remained their home until about 1240.
Although the lower two storey's in the North tower survive from this early era, Stokesay as it stands now is largely the work of Lawrence de Ludlow, who owned it between 1281 and 1296.
It is said that Lawrence bought the land for the price of a 'juvenile sparrow hawk'.
Lawrence was a self-made, welthy wool merchant, so rich he is said to have lent money to the King and Marcher Lords. He was granted a licence from King Edward I to fortify his house at Stokesay and he set about turning the castle into a fine country residence. It was Lawrence who built the Great Hall, comfortable living quarters, south tower and the crenulated curtain protective wall. The result was a large elegant residence, surrounded by a water-filled moat, now dry, but that was originally fed from a nearby pool.
Despite Lawrence, drowning in a shipwreck in 1294, Lawrence's decendents inhabbited Stokesay for the next 300 years until 1497.
In 1598 Stokesay was sold to pay debts, passing through a few owners including the Craven family, until it was let to Charles Baldwyn who in the 1630's was MP for Ludlow.
It is Baldwyn who is credited with building the timber-framed Jacobean gatehouse on the site of a medieval predecessor. The gatehouse remains today and acts as an entrance to the courtyard.
CIVIL WAR 1642-46
During the civil war many of Shropshire's castle's were destroyed. It was 1645 when Shrewsbury had fallen to the Parliamentarians and an army was sent to seize Ludlow Castle that stokesay was first threatened. On their way, troops came accrss Stokesay, which was garrisoned by the royalists but surrendered to Cromwellian troops in 1645. The royalist govnor in charge of Stokesay orginally refussed to surrender, however before a single shot was fired, he changed his mind.
Following this siege, Stokesay was ordered to be 'slighted' or flattened. Whilst many other Shropshire Castles including Bishops Castle and Bridgnorth did disappear as a result, their stones plundered and used elsewhere, Stokesay escaped this fate, and by 1647 only the curtain wall had been demolished.
These events during the civil war are the only recored military encounters at Stokesay, however the castle, of course, managed to survive.
The nearby church of St. John the Baptist however, suffured extensive damage during a battle in the following year. Consequently, the church was virtually rebuilt in 1654. This makes the church important as it is one of the few churches built in England during the Commonwealth period. Inside, the church has elegant canopied pews where the gentry would have sat and box pews for the humber folk. There are also texts carved and painted on the walls.
In the meantime, Stokesay has passed to Charles Baldwyns son, Sir Samuel Baldwyn, who in turn, passed Stokesay to his son Charles, who died in 1706.
Sadly 150 years of neglect followed, which meant that Stokesay did come close to destruction, its buildings used by a nearby farm. However Stokesay was bought in 1869 by a Victorian visionery, named JD Allcroft.
Allcroft began restoring the historic Stokesay to its former glory, however, during the Victorian era, many historic houses were restored by their well meaning owners, which normally resulted in them removing key original features in favour of the owners personal tastes.
Fortunately this did not happen to Stokesay, which Allcroft effectively saved from ruin. Allcroft finally died in 1893, passing the Castle to his son who carried on the work, before finally opening to the public in 1908 for the first time.
The castle was passed to English Heritage in 1992 who still manage and maintain the site.
Stokesay's superb condition today is largly due to the care of its successive owners and the fact that it only changed hands five times in 700 years.
However, stokesay is not really a castle, it never was, it it a fortified manor house, built to impress but withstand potential land battles with the welsh.
However, its apearance, it can be deceptive, the south tower looking very fortress-like with buttressed walls and battlements. The north tower however, is solely domestic with its timber framed upper storey.
Stokesay castle is located seven miles north west of Ludlow, off the A49.
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