Stokesay Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Stoke; Stok Say

In the civil parish of Craven Arms.
In the historic county of Shropshire (Modern Authority of Shropshire, 1974 county of Shropshire).

Fortified manor-house surrounded by a moat and enclosing a courtyard which was walled in when a licence to crenellate was granted in 1291. The oldest building however is the north tower which may have been a Marcher form of pele-tower, built in the late C12 or early C13. The timber-framed gatehouse was built towards the end of C16. The outer wall was destroyed in the Civil War. The odd bilobal form of the south tower gives this tower, from the old sourthern approach, a form similar to, although much smaller than, the contempary Edwardian gatehouse of Caernarfon. Licence to crenellate granted to Laurence de Ludlow in 1291.

This site has been described as a;
Fortified Manor House
Pele Tower.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1291 Oct 19.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 460272)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SO43578169

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 109049

• Web site links
  • http://www.castlewales.com/stokesay.html
    http://www.castlegate.net/castles/Stokesay/index.htm
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/137/stokesaycastle.htm
    http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/castles/stokesay.htm
    http://www.touruk.co.uk/castles/castle_Stokesay.htm
    http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.351
    http://www.shropshiretourism.info/castles/shrewsbury/
• Books
  • Liddiard, Robert, 2005, Castles in Context (Windgather Press) p44-6, 145
    Moran, Madge, 2003, Vernacular Buildings of Shropshire (Logaston Press) p3, 21, 45, 48, 58, 76, 100, 101-12, 113, 136, 338-9, 351, 352, 355, 356, 359, 369, 527
    Salter, Mike, 2001 (2edn), The Castles and Moated Mansions of Shropshire (Malvern) p76-9
    Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p574
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p217-8 [plan]
    Jackson, M.J.,1988, Castles of Shropshire (Shrewsbury: Shropshire Libraries) p56-8
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p430-1
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p303-4
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker) p300, 316-7
    Pevsner, N., 1958, The Buildings of England: Shropshire (London, Penguin) p294-6
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p143-4
    Tipping, H.A., 1921, English Homes, period 1 Vol1 (London) p111-24
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Gotch, J. Alfred, 1909, The Growth of the English House (London: Batsford) p36-42
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p154-8
    Acton, F. Stackhouse, 1868, The Castles and Old Mansions of Shropshire (Shrewsbury) p19-22
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p403
    Eyton, R.W., 1858, Antiquities of Shropshire
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1851, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol1 p62-64, 73, 82-84, 157-61
    Britton, John, 1835, The Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain (London) Vol4 p113-17
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol2 p253
    Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol8 p121-2
• Journal Articles
  • Tolley, R.J., Babington, C. and Chitty, G., 1991,'Stokesay Castle, Shropshire: The Repair of a Major Monument' Transactions of the Association for Studies in the Conservation of Historic Buildings Vol15
    Blair, J., 1981, ‘Stokesay Castle' Archaeological Journal Vol138 p11-12
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1967, 'Masonry castles in Wales and the Marches: a list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol116 p71-132
    Cordingley, R.A., 1963, 'Stokesay Castle, Shropshire: The Chronology of its Buildings' Art Bulletin Vol45 p91-107 [important and splendidly illustrated monography]
    Smith, J.T., 1956, 'Stokesay Castle' Archaeological Journal Vol113 p211-4
    Wood, Margaret, 1950, 'Thirteenth-Century Domestic Architecture in England' Archaeological Journal Vol105 Supplement p64-70
    1928, Archaeological Journal Vol85 p219-20
    Tipping, H.A., 1910, Country Life Vol27 p594-605
    1899, Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol16 p299-305
    1881, Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol12 p289-307
    De La Touche, Rev J.D., 1878, 'Stokesay Castle' Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol1 p311-82
    De La Touche, G., 1868, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol24 p230-40
    1853, 'Stokesay' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol4 p39-42 [history]
• Guidebooks
  • Munby, Julian, 2005, Stokesay Castle (English Heritage)
    Munby, Julian and Summerson, Henry, 2002, Stokesay Castle (English Heritage)
    Munby, Julian, 1993, Stokesay Castle (English Heritage)
    Mason, J.F.A., 1989, Stokesay Castle (English Life Publications)
    Mason, J.F.A., 1969, Stokesay Castle (English Life Publications)
    Forest, 1925, (Shrewsbury)
    Wright, 1912, (Ludlow)
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Rolls (1281-92) p450
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p387, 397