The best-preserved fortified manor house in England, built by a medieval wool merchant in the quiet Shropshire hills near Craven Arms
Open to visitorsan English Heritage site — check opening times and admission before you go
Substantial ruinsruined, but plenty survives above ground
Stokesay Castle is not really a castle in the fighting sense, and that is exactly what makes it special. It is a fortified manor house, a comfortable home with just enough battlements to look the part, and it is reckoned the best-preserved example of its kind in England. Laurence of Ludlow, one of the richest wool merchants in the country, built it in the late thirteenth century, and remarkably little has changed since. The great hall still has its tall windows and the timber roof he paid for.
The other thing you cannot miss is the gatehouse, a timber-framed building with an overhanging upper floor, added much later, around 1640, all carved beams and crooked lines. Stokesay came through the Civil War almost untouched because its owners surrendered rather than fight, so the medieval buildings survived where grander castles were slighted, meaning deliberately wrecked so they could not be used again.
English Heritage looks after it now. The castle sits just outside Craven Arms in the folds of the south Shropshire hills, with a little parish church next door and the Shropshire Way walking route passing close. It makes an easy, low-effort visit, and the surrounding country is good for a longer wander if you fancy stretching the legs afterwards.
More at the National Heritage List entry
