Stokesay Castle

Stokesay is the best preserved fortified medieval manor house in England

Set in the now peaceful countryside near the Welsh border, the castle, timber framed gatehouse, and church form a picturesque group of buildings

Eve

The 17th century gatehouse is constructed in a distinctively Shropshire style featuring elaborate wood carvings including, angels, Adam and Eve and the serpent from the Garden of Eden

 Serpent

Through the gatehouse is the inner courtyard leading to the Great Hall which has remained totally unaltered since the time it was built in 1291

The Great Hall has never had glass in its windows apart from the small area to the left accessed by an outside stairway. This is called the solar - it is where the family had their private living and sleeping quarters. The glass in the solar was considered to be so valuable that it was all removed and hidden each time the family stayed away from their home 

During the winter months can you imagine just how cold, draughty, and damp it must have been in the Great Hall with the wind and rain blowing over from the Welsh Marches through these bare shuttered windows 

Stokesay's magnificent open hearthed great hall displays a fine timber roof considered a rare survival for the period, and a precipitous stairway, its treads cut from whole tree trunks. 

The remains of the central fire pit - there was no outlet for the smoke which would have drifted upwards into the roof timbers

The solar is one of the few areas that has been "modernised" since the medieval period. In 1641 fine panelling and a richly decorated fireplace overmantel were added. The overmantel was originally painted in five colours and with careful observation faint traces of colour can still be seen

the long steep climb to the top of the South Tower was worth making for the views

Snapshots from Shropshire

A lovely September morning, a sense of peace and tranquillity filling the air, it is hard to believe that we are wandering through a landscape that was once at the heart of the Industrial Revolution.

Suddenly the peace and quiet is shattered by merry laughter from children and their teachers looking for all the world like Lowry's matchstick men.

Viewing the scene today it is difficult to imagine that some 300 years ago this valley echoed all day long to the sounds of clanking machinery and roaring furnaces. The River Severn was filled with boats stacked high with iron ready to supply the Empire and the world.

The world's first cast iron bridge, made here in the village of Coalbrookdale, is a proud symbol of the Industrial Revolution - a UNESCO World Heritage Site 

It appears from the last line that even the Royal Family were not exempt from paying the toll, but for us it was free!

I was intrigued to see that all the pavements were edged with iron

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Benthall Hall and Gardens

Benthall Hall was built in 1535, but there have been Benthalls living on this site since the medieval Saxon period. Situated on a plateau above the gorge of the River Severn, this fine stone house has mullioned and transomed windows, a stunning interior with a carved oak staircase.

The gardens are known for their crocus displays in both the Spring and Autumn - these are Colchiums or Naked Ladies - flowering on naked stems, they are one of the first signs that Autumn is approaching

Dovecot - the white fantail doves were not around on our visit

Swathes of Pacelia along with Fenugreek have been planted in the orchard area. This will be dug into the

ground at the end of the season which apparently  increases the grounds fertility - this may be a good tip for other gardeners

Pacelia

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Much Wenlock

The town's prosperity grew up around its Priory founded c.680 by Merewalh, a son of King Penda of Mercia. King Penda installed his daughter Milburga as abbess in 687 who was credited with many miraculous works.

Have you heard of Dr.William Penny-Brookes? 

He was born and lived in Much Wenlock

It was in 1850 that the first ever Olympian Games were held in Much Wenlock, Shropshire. It was the brainchild of William Penny Brookes, a local doctor. His aim was to promote the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the inhabitants, at a time when British sport was organised by an elite who restricted it to amateurs and gentlemen. So successful was Brookes in opening sport to everyone that Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the driving force behind the revival of the Olympic Games of ancient Greece, visited Much Wenlock in October 1890, and was inspired by what he saw. In 1896 the first international Olympic Games were held in Athens.

If time permits you can follow the Wenlock Olympian Pavement Trail which takes you

to the Museum with its collection of Wenlock Olympian Society artefacts

Illustrates the town's role in the revival of the modern Olympic Games

The Raven Hotel where Baron Pierre de Coubertin stayed on his visit (President of the IOC from 1896 to 1925)

The house where William Penny Brookes was born etc.

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Bridgnorth

There are two distinct areas to Bridgnorth - high town and low town. Upper town is situated on a cliff, and lower town lies besides the River Severn.

There are lovely walks along the river towpath

places to sit and watch the world go by

Upper town is where most of the interesting little shops, markets, and cafes are to be found

The pathways between the two are very steep, long and narrow. Imagine a daily climb up or down here carrying heavy bags.

but fear not - help is close at hand

Since 1892 the oldest and steepest inland funicular in Britain has travelled up and down the sandstone cliff linking both areas of Bridgnorth for the princely sum of £1.20 return. There are two little trains which pass each other up and down all day long.

Roman Britain

Following the defeat of rebellious local tribes, such as Boadicea, Queen of the Iceni Tribe, Britain was ruled as a Roman colony for 350 years.  Our Roman legacy includes military and civil construction: forts, walls, towns, and public buildings. The many long straight roads, built for easy movement of troops, are still a feature of the landscape today.
Viroconium in Shropshire, now Wroxeter, was the fourth largest city in Roman Britain. It began as a legionary fortress and later developed into a thriving civilian city. Though much still remains below ground the most impressive visible feature is the huge wall that divided the municipal baths from the exercise hall (Basilica) in the heart of the city.

The Basilica - an artists impression of how the exercise hall would have looked

It is likely that the inhabitants of Wroxeter were able to maintain an urban way of life long after the Romans' formally abandoned control of Britain in the early fifth century. However, by the mid-seventh century everybody had left, perhaps moving to small communities developing nearby. Gradually the deserted buildings of Wroxeter were mostly dismantled and reused. Roman stone can be seen in nearby churches and houses.

This country road running between the ruins was the principal city street separating the Basilica from the Forum. Today this road is part of Watling Street, which runs all of the way from what was Viroconium (Wroxeter) to Londinium (London) onwards to Portus Dubris (Dover) - the sea crossing point back to Rome. 

These are the only visible remains of the Forums once impressive colonnade to the right of which there was a large market square and town hall

Remains of the hypocaust - underfloor heating system

Heading across Watling Street to the area where the Forum stood is a Roman Town House constructed about 4 years ago. Built using only materials that would have been available locally to the Romans and without the aid of any modern day machinery, the builders were aided in their quest by a manual on Roman building written by engineer Vitruvius 2,000 years ago. The building process helped shed new light on how the incredible feats of ancient engineering were achieved. This replica house stands as testament to the energy and ingenuity that defined so much of the Roman era.

The house was inspired by buildings excavated at Wroxeter. It stands on a platform to protect the important archaeological remains of the Forum which lie beneath it. The house reveals just how comfortable life could be in Roman Britain around 320 AD.

I think that this symbol on the outside wall of the house represents Sol Invictus "unconquered Sun" the official sun god of the later Roman Empire and a patron of soldiers. It seems to fit in with the fact that Viroconium was originally a legionary fortress. I would be happy to learn any other thoughts that you might have as this is pure guess work on my part.

House owners often rented out parts of their property to tenants, who used the space to sell goods. Shops occupied the front portion of many houses that faced out onto the street. They sold pottery, vegetables, furs - even fast food such as ready cooked meats.

The Triclinium where guests were entertained

The painted walls are decidedly amateurish

via

in contrast to the luxurious Roman villa at Boscoreale near Pompeii, which has beautifully detailed wall paintings designed to make the room appear more open and spacious.

Having bathed in the frigidarium (cold room) the Romans would then move on to the tepidarium (warm room) and finally the caldarium (hot room)

All of the terracotta tiles used in the project were handmade using moulds and the slate tiles split and shaped using Roman tools.

Our hotel was literally 2 mins walk away and stood on ground that was once Viroconium.  Alongside the hotel was the Church of St. Andrew, Wroxeter

but what do we see here?

 ....entrance gates and wall using Roman columns and Roman stone 

and the principal church walls and tower were built with substantial amounts of Roman stone

the enormous font is the base of a Roman column

A Morris & Co (1902) window depicting St. Andrew and St. George

Having just visited Derbyshire and shown a post with very fine Chellaston alabaster tombs, I was very excited to discover this equally outstanding alabaster tomb thought to have been made by Richard Parker of Burton-on-Trent, and still retaining most of its original colouring!

 Sir Thomas Bromley (d.1555) and his wife Mabel Lyster - Sir Thomas was Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench. 

On the left the Arms of Thomas Bromley and

on the right his Arms impaled with those of his wife 

In the centre their daughter, Margaret

 dressed in his judicial robes

On the south side of the chancel lies their daughter Margaret. The tomb is not quite such fine quality but is still made in alabaster and thought to have been done by the Royley workshop, Burton-on-Trent

Margaret died 1578 and lies with her husband Sir Richard Newport who died 1570

Their eight children are depicted as 'weepers' around the tomb - here you can see four daughters and two sons. Three daughters appear to have married as their arms have all been impaled onto those of their husband but the daughter on the right must have been unmarried as she carries arms the same as her brothers

Completing the eight children - the end of the tomb shows a son and a baby girl who most likely died shortly after birth as she is depicted in swaddling clothes

St. Andrew's is a large church and the parish was unable to maintain it. Consequently it closed in 1980, being placed in the care of The Churches Conservation Trust in 1987 following repairs by English Heritage and excavations by Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit