Castles in Shropshire

The Medieval castle has always been a home as well as a fortress. However, as military necessity changed in Great Britain there was greater emphasis placed on comfort rather than defence. This resulted in many castles being modified for more substantial residential purposes.

In Shropshire, a more stable political environment arose out of Edward I's conquest of Wales in 1277, and the subsequent execution of David ap Gruffyd in 1283 at Shrewsbury Castle. Whilst this proved successful in making Shropshire safe from immediate attacks by the Welsh, there was still some threat to security. This is perhaps the fundamental point - the castle was now concerned more with security than defence on a large scale.

Within this political climate, castle design, therefore, turned more to the domestic arrangements than architectural design for improved defence. Residential structures can be found at a number of castles in Shropshire.

At Clun, for example, a residential keep was constructed into the side of the earlier motte in the 13^th century. Whilst this would have provided quality living quarters the castle was probably abandoned in the 15^th century following the attack by Owain Glyndwr and the later pacification of Wales.

The most striking domestic ranges to be built in Shropshire are found within Ludlow Castle. These palatial buildings date from between the early 13^th century and the 16^th century. They include the Solar Block, the Great Hall, the Great Chamber Block, Garderobe tower and the Tudor Lodgings.

In addition, Shrewsbury Castle also had a new hall constructed by Edward I around the end of the 13^th century. The photograph opposite shows the castle as it is today. Although remodelled in the late 18^th century by Thomas Telford, the design of the hall with its two round towers are still clearly visible and reminiscent of the building works of Edward I.

The domestic buildings at Ludlow and Shrewsbury are now almost all that is left of the residential additions of the 12^th and 13^th centuries. All castles in Shropshire would have had several domestic buildings including kitchens, stables and chapels, but these structures can only now be seen at Ludlow Castle.

Fortified Manors and Houses

Although some castles did receive new domestic buildings at this time, the defences of many of the Welsh Marcher castles were left to decay with some sites being abandoned. Security was still, however, important, as was the symbolic value of crenellations for increasing personal status. As a result, many fortified manors and private houses were built in Shropshire.

A manor was an estate held by a lord or earl and their principle residence was the manor house. These manors and houses were provided with defences such as a ditch, moat, palisade and crenellations. Indeed some houses were fortified to such an extent that they became known as castles. Although they may be termed castles, the defensive structures were purely for security against robbery, and protection from damage by animals, rather than to resist an organised attack. The walls were often thin and the crenellations more decorative than functional.

There were very few fortified manor houses, before the 12^th century, but by the 13^th and 14^th centuries they had become much more common. During the 12^th century and the reign of King Stephen, there had been much anarchy with the Civil War and many castles were confiscated by the King. In Shropshire this included Ellesmere, Whittington and Cleobury. This was because under Norman rule, lords or earls could not build castles or fortify their houses without the monarch's permission. If they did build castles without royal approval, and many did, they were seen as a threat to the crown and their castle could be forfeited or confiscated by the King. In 1150 there was an estimated 1,115 castles that had been built without royal approval.

In order to gain permission for the fortification of castles and houses, the lord had to apply for a licence to crenellate. Receiving a licence was a privilege and honour and being able to crenellate a house was, therefore, a status symbol and became highly desirable in the 13^th and 14^th centuries.

Shropshire actually boasts the most famous, best preserved and earliest fortified manor house in the country. Stokesay Castle, near Ludlow, was purchased by the rich wool merchant Laurence of Ludlow in 1281.

He applied for a licence to crenellate Stokesay ten years later in 1291. With permission granted to strengthen with a wall of lime and stone, and creneltate his mansion at Stoke-say, he enclosed the courtyard with a wet moat, a curtain wall with battlements, and added to the present hall and solar with a polygonal tower.

Stokesay is a wonderful example of how the upper classes aspired to the life and status of lordship by fortifying their houses to be like the impressive castles of the previous centuries.

Acton Burnell is another fortified house that still survives, but is more ruinous than Stokesay. It was built by Robert Burnell, who was made Bishop of Bath and Wells in 1275. He was granted a licence to crenellate this hall-house by Edward I in 1284, and the design of the house resembles the hall of the walled and moated bishop's palace at Wells also built by Burnell. It is important to remember, however, that the date of the licence does not always indicate the actual date of fortification for the house. So it does not follow that Acton Burnell was provided with defensive-style features in 1284. Instead a date bracket can be proposed from the date of the licence and the death of Robert Burnell in 1292, when the house became less prominent in society.

There were many other licences issued to the castles, houses and manors of Shropshire between the early 13^th century and the late 14^th century, with a particular concentration during the reigns of Edward I (1272-1307) and Edward II (1307-27). To name but a few, John le Strange of Knockin was granted a licence to crenellate his manor house at Myddle in 1308, and Hugh Cheney was granted the last licence for Shropshire in 1394 for his manor house at Cheney Longville.