A Tale of Two 17th century Houses

A couple of weeks ago, on the way back from the fabulous RNA conference in Telford, I visited Stokesay Castle. Stokesay was built in the 13^th century but I was particularly interested in its 17^th century history as my current book is set in the Civil War period. During this time, Stokesay belonged to the Craven family so there is also a connection to the work I do at the former Craven hunting lodge at Ashdown House; I couldn’t wait to visit.

Stokesay is small as castles go, more of a fortified manor house, but with everything you could want from a

real castle – towers, a moat, a gatehouse. It was the timber-framed gatehouse that particularly fascinated me since it looked medieval to my untrained eye. I was astonished to read that it had been built for William Craven in 1640 – 41 at the not inconsiderable cost of £530. Built by local craftsmen, the style was based on that of townhouses in nearby Ludlow.

Craven also made alterations to the interior of the castle, including adding this splendid chimney piece in the medieval solar.

As a Royalist, Craven garrisoned Stokesay on behalf of King Charles I during the Civil War, the only time in its history that the castle was put to military use. However the parliamentarians took Stokesay in 1645 and demolished the curtain wall, but happily they left the gatehouse standing.

Almost twenty years to the day after he had built Stokesay, William Craven constructed Ashdown House in

a very different style. Clearly fashions in architecture and perhaps his taste in building had changed during that period.  Ashdown is a typical Restoration building with Dutch and French influences. The two buildings could hardly look more different!