A fortified house / castle in our Shropshire countryside

On a free midweek day,  I realised that I had not visited the lovely Stokesay castle / fortified manor house for some years. It is set in beautiful Shropshire countryside & it is a  lovely drive out to it. Hubby had not visit it in about 15 years, I was there several times in that time, so he was keen to revisit. 

It sits in a small group with the church to the side & then the view of the distinct yellow timbered gatehouse with the castle to the side of it. 

The castle is actually a fortified manor house with a moat around it & the interesting jutting out parts with leaded windows.  

Stokesay one of the finest fortified manor houses in England. This is a plan of the buildings from Wikipedia . The church is to the fight of G. 

You enter the enclave of buildings through the timbered yellow gatehouse, then in to a large enclosed space with the castle in front of you. The great hall has a massive wooden door that would have kept it safer. The windows in the hall & castle side have latticed wooden inserts & the others are closed off with substantial shutters.  The roof has massive wooden beams that are about 700 years old. 

This photo shows the views both ways with the steep wooden stairs of the north tower leading to the jutting out part, the other side leading to the South Tower buildings with blacksmith below etc. 

A steep wooden stairway leads to the jutting out part overlooking the church - generous room with views to the countryside too. The massive fireplace was needed to keep the chill at bay in these places as the wind whistled through any gaps in the shutters & doors. 

People were hardy in those times - they had to be. 

Back downstairs in the hall & on the opposite side is another set of stairs - just a little rise to a series of rooms to that side. The first one, the Solar block has another generous fireplace & it has two wooden doors to either side. In times past, this room was panelled. However, these two little wooden doors open to give a view of the hall below. 

I could see other visitors in the hall below & because it was half way up the wall, I could catch snatches of conversations too. I'm sure the two windows were in great demand to know what was happening in other parts of the house, to see visitors enter & to overhear news or gossip.  

These quirks are always fascinating as they give us a window in to life as it was. 

The South Tower behind this room had a little room then a room of stone, set to the side with two stone windows & this was a loo in times past; a loo with a view & a chilly one at that as the wind could blow from two sides. 

More stairs led to some more rooms then a steep, narrow set of stone stairs led up on to the roof area of the castle side with great views over the complex of buildings, of the church & the countryside. Essential to protect the fortified house. 

The rooms at the bottom of the castle was the space used by a blacksmith who would have been essential to provide all the metal work like hinges, catches, door fastenings & for shoeing the horses etc. 

We popped in to the church on our way out - the low ceiling in the entrance probably made it feel quite cosy & it would have been well used by the residents of the adjoining house / castle. I always light a candle & offer up a prayer when I visit churches, it is those quiet moments of reflection. 

I'm glad we seized the moment to revisit & to enjoy the countryside as the autumn colours set in. This is a great place to view the countryside from with its many openings in all directions, some shuttered, many not. 

There are notices about the South Tower for the bats that roost in the castle where it is dry & warm. We did not see any, but there is evidence of the mud swallow nests in the rafters. 

I hope you have found it as fascinating as I did, thank you for stopping by. It is always appreciated. 

Dee