Stokesay castle we
visited in June 2001, it is an English Heritage property near
the Welsh border between Shrewsbury and Hereford. It is a
wonderful quaint little place well worth taking the time to
visit. The castle is more a fortified house than a
castle. It is in remarkable condition and only the curtain
wall is in a ruinous state. The reason that the curtain
wall is mostly down is that during the English civil war the
roundheads laid siege to the castle, the cavaliers soon
surrendered without putting up much resistance. The orders
were to demolish the castle to such an extent that it couldn't
be used again if it fell into the wrong hands. Fortunately
unlike so many other places at this time Stokesay escaped with
just its curtain walls been destroyed.
The castle as been repaired considerably in recent
year. There is also a lovely Tudor style gatehouse in the
grounds. The church next door as a Norman doorway, lots to
see and explore, once again we can highly recommend a visit. |