STOKESAY

 Stokesay Castle is quite simply the finest and best preserved fortified medieval manor house in England. Set in peaceful countryside near the Welsh border, the castle, timber-framed gatehouse and parish church form an unforgettably picturesque group. I went there on a beautiful September day, and the bright sunshine enhanced the warmth of the gatehouse.

The present Gatehouse was built in the 17th. century by Lord Craven. Nothing is known of the original one, which was probably built of stone.

It's funny, but most places I visit, you try to imagine what it would have been like to live there. With Stokesay, I found myself wandering around thinking, 'I'd have a long sideboard there, a big leather couch there................' I could actually imagine living there. It's an odd sort of place. To start with, you get to it through the churchyard next door. You walk through the gatehouse, and if you look to your left, you see a castle, but if you look to the right, what you see resembles a castle wall with a medieval house perched on top. Most odd...........

It was built mainly in the late 13th. century, by Laurence de Ludlow, a wealthy wool merchant, attached to the lower two stories of the tower, built by the Say family.

(below) the hall to the right of the picture, and the South tower to the left.