Rowton Castle

Has been described as a Possible Timber Castle (Other/Unknown), and also as a Possible Masonry Castle, and also as a Possible Fortified Manor House

There are no visible remains

NameRowton Castle
Alternative NamesRouse; Routhsea; Routon
Historic CountryShropshire
Modern AuthorityShropshire
1974 AuthorityShropshire
Civil ParishAlberbury With Cardeston

Country house built circa 1700, for Richard Lyster, on the site of a medieval castle destroyed in 1482. The Medieval castle at Rowton was raised to the ground by Llewellyn in 1482 (sic) (PastScape – ref. Pevesner)

Gatehouse Comments

The 1482 date quoted from Pevesner appears to be a confused typographical error. However, the date of 1282 is given in Mackenzie's Castles of England but without a source citation. This is repeated by Sandford in his not useful paper in Montgomeryshire Collections and in the Duckers tourist guide. The 1282 date seems to come from a mis attribution of Camden's Routon castle to Rowton rather than Ruyton XI Towns and a misidentification of Lhewellin as Llewelyn the Last rather than Llewelyn the Great. It should be noted that R.W. Eyton, who did a massive historical survey of Shropshire in the mid C19 and clearly carefully examined all the relevant historical sources over many years makes no mention of any such attack or indeed anything much at all about the castle. However it is clear Rowton was a manor throughout the medieval period and the probably site of a residence of some form (Probably held by some fraction of a knights fee owed to Clun Castle). The early modern will of Richard Lyster "stated that £1000 should be spent '..in building a house at Rowton 'upon the bank where the old castle stands, or near thereunto.'” (VCH) may suggest there was a small earthwork castle at Rowton of the sort common in this area. These seem to have really been symbolic markers of the knightly status of tenant of these small manors often held for a fraction of a knights fee. This was most likely replaced by a manor house of some sort, probably mainly timber and retained as a residence by a knightly sub tenant. At some point before the Civil War the house was rebuilt in masonry and again around 1700. At this point it seems a fancifully history, perhaps based on a misreading of Camden, was constructed to give the house and it owners greater kudos. The family seem to have been successful in making their fanciful history stick

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

This is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law

Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSJ378127
Latitude52.7087707519531
Longitude-2.92063999176025
Eastings337880
Northings312730
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

No photos available. If you can provide pictures please contact Castlefacts

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.

Calculate Print

Books

  • Duckers, Peter and Anne, 2006, Castles of Shropshire (Stroud: Tempus) p. 137-8
  • Salter, Mike, 2001 (2edn), The Castles and Moated Mansions of Shropshire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 68
  • Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 2 East Anglia, Central England and Wales (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 476
  • Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 219 (slight)
  • Jackson, M.J.,1988, Castles of Shropshire (Shrewsbury: Shropshire Libraries) p. 49, 73
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 434
  • Reid, P., 1980, Burkes and Savills Guide to Country Houses Vol. 2 p. 111
  • Gaydon, A.T. (ed), 1968, VCH Shropshire Vol. 8 p. 201-2
  • Pevsner, N., 1958, Buildings of England: Shropshire (London, Penguin) p. 236
  • Rees, W., 1933, Historical map of South Wales and the Borders in the C14
  • Farrow, W.J., 1926, Great Civil War in Shropshire (Shrewsbury) p84, 88
  • Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 2 p. 150-1 online copy
  • Eyton, R.W., 1858, Antiquities of Shropshire (London) Vol. 7 p. 176 online copy

Journals

  • Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1967, 'Masonry castles in Wales and the Marches: a list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 116 p. 71-132
  • Chitty, Lily, 1949, 'Subsidiary Castle Sites West of Shrewsbury' Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological Society Vol. 53 p. 83-90
  • 1912, Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological Society Vol. 2 p. 16-17
  • Sandford, G., 1898, 'Rowton Castle' Montgomeryshire Collections Vol. 30 p. 236-41 online copy

Primary Sources

  • Shropshire County Record Office No. 49/476 [Richard Lyster's will]