Ludlow Castle is a ruined medieval fortification in the town of the same name in the English county of

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, standing on a promontory overlooking the

River Teme The River Teme (pronounced ; cy, Afon Tefeidiad) rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown, and flows southeast roughly forming the border between England and Wales for several miles through Knighton before entering England in the vicinity of B ...

. The castle was probably founded by Walter de Lacy after the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

and was one of the first stone castles to be built in England. During the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

of the 12th century the castle changed hands several times between the de Lacys and rival claimants, and was further fortified with a Great Tower and a large outer bailey. In the mid-13th century, Ludlow was passed on to

Geoffrey de Geneville Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville (c. 1226 – 21 October 1314) also known as Geoffrey de Joinville, was an Anglo-French noble, supporter of Henry III, who appointed him Baron of Trim, County Meath, and, subsequently, a staunch supporte ...

, who rebuilt part of the

inner bailey The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It is protected by the outer w ...

, and the castle played a part in the

Second Barons' War The Second Barons' War (1264–1267) was a civil war in England between the forces of a number of barons led by Simon de Montfort against the royalist forces of King Henry III, led initially by the king himself and later by his son, the fu ...

. Roger Mortimer acquired the castle in 1301, further extending the internal complex of buildings. Richard, Duke of York, inherited the castle in 1425, and it became an important symbol of

Yorkist The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...

authority during the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

. When Richard's son, Edward IV, seized the throne in 1461 it passed into the ownership of

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

. Ludlow Castle was chosen as the seat of the Council in the Marches of Wales, effectively acting as the capital of Wales, and it was extensively renovated throughout the 16th century. By the 17th century the castle was luxuriously appointed, hosting cultural events such as the first performance of John Milton's

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masq ...

Comus In Greek mythology, Comus (; grc, Κῶμος, ''Kōmos'') is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. He is a son and a cup-bearer of the god Dionysus. He was represented as a winged youth or a child-like satyr and represents ana ...

''. Ludlow Castle was held by the

Royalists A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

of the 1640s, until it was besieged and taken by a Parliamentarian army in 1646. The contents of the castle were sold off and a garrison was retained there for much of the interregnum. With the Restoration of 1660, the council was reestablished and the castle repaired, but Ludlow never recovered from the civil war years and when the council was finally abolished in 1689 it fell into neglect. Henry, 1st Earl of Powis, leased the property from

in 1772, extensively landscaping the ruins, while his brother-in-law, Edward, 1st Earl of Powis (by the third creation of the Earldom of Powis), bought the castle outright in 1811. A mansion was constructed in the outer bailey but the remainder of the castle was left largely untouched, attracting an increasing number of visitors and becoming a popular location for artists. After 1900, Ludlow Castle was cleared of vegetation and over the course of the century it was extensively repaired by the Powis Estate and government bodies. In the 21st century it is still owned by the Earl of Powis and operated as a tourist attraction. The architecture of Ludlow reflects its long history, retaining a blend of several styles of building. The castle is approximately in size, covering almost . The outer bailey includes the Castle House building, now used by the Powis Estate as offices and accommodation, while the inner bailey, separated by a trench cut out of the stone, houses the Great Tower, Solar block, Great Hall and Great Chamber block, along with later 16th century additions, as well as a rare, circular chapel, modelled on the shrine in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

History

11th century

Ludlow Castle was probably founded by Walter de Lacy around 1075. Walter had arrived in England in 1066 as part of William fitzOsbern's household during the Norman conquest of England. FitzOsbern was made the

Earl of Hereford The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for. Earls of Hereford, First Creation (1043) * Swegen Godwinson (1043–1051) ''earldom forfeit 1051–1052'' Earl ...

and tasked with settling the area; at the same time, several castles were founded in the west of the county, securing its border with Wales. Walter de Lacy was the earl's second in command, and was rewarded with 163 manors spread across seven counties, with 91 in

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

alone. Walter began building a castle within the manor of Stanton Lacy; the fortification was originally called Dinham Castle, before it acquired its later name of Ludlow. Ludlow was the most important of Walter's castles: as well as being at the heart of his new estates, the site also lay at a strategic crossroads over the

, on a strong defensive promontory. Walter died in a construction accident at Hereford in 1085 and was succeeded by his son,

Roger de Lacy Roger de Lacy (died after 1106) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, a Marcher Lord on the Welsh border. Roger was a castle builder, particularly at Ludlow Castle. Lands and titles From Walter de Lacy (died 1085) he inherited Castle Frome, Herefor ...

. The castle's Norman stone fortifications were added possibly as early as the 1080s onwards, and were finished before 1115, based around what is now the

of the castle, forming a stone version of a

ringwork A ringwork is a form of fortified defensive structure, usually circular or oval in shape. Ringworks are essentially motte-and-bailey castles without the motte. Defences were usually earthworks in the form of a ditch and bank surrounding the sit ...

. It had four towers and a

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mo ...

tower along the walls, with a ditch dug out of the rock along two sides, the excavated stone being reused for the building works, and would have been one of the first masonry castles in England. With its circular design and grand entrance tower, it has been likened to the earlier Anglo-Saxon '' burgheat'' designs. In 1096, Roger was stripped of his lands after rebelling against William II and they were reassigned to Roger's brother, Hugh.

12th century

Hugh de Lacy died childless around 1115, and

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

gave Ludlow Castle and most of the surrounding estates to Hugh's niece, Sybil, marrying her to

Pain fitzJohn Pain fitzJohn (before 110010 July 1137) was an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman nobleman and administrator, one of King Henry I of England's "list of Henry's new men, new men", who owed their positions and wealth to the king. Pain's family originate ...

, one of his household staff. Pain used Ludlow as his ''

caput Latin words and phrases {{Short pages monitor When the

broke out in 1642 between the supporters of King Charles and those of Parliament, Ludlow and the surrounding region supported the Royalists. A

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

garrison was put in place in the town, under the command of Sir Michael Woodhouse, and the defences were strengthened, with artillery being brought from nearby Bringewood Forge for the castle. As the war turned against the King in 1644, the garrison was drawn down to provide reinforcements for the field army. The military situation deteriorated and in 1645 the remaining outlying garrisons were drawn in to protect Ludlow itself. In April 1646 Sir William Brereton and Colonel John Birch led a Parliamentary army from Hereford to take Ludlow; after a short siege, Woodhouse surrendered the castle and town on good terms on 26 May. During the years of the interregnum, Ludlow Castle continued to be run by Parliamentarian governors, the first being the military commander

Samuel More Samuel More (1593–1662) was an English man who was at the centre of two historical incidents in 17th-century England. In the first, he arranged for the removal of his children to the New World aboard the ''Mayflower''; later, during the English ...

.; There was a Royalist plot to retake the castle in 1648, but no other military activity took place. The most valuable items in the castle were removed shortly after the siege, and the remainder of the luxurious furnishings were sold off in the town in 1650. The castle was initially kept garrisoned, but in 1653, most of the weapons in the castle were removed on the grounds of security and sent to Hereford, then in 1655 the garrison was disbanded altogether. In 1659, the political instability in the Commonwealth government led to the castle being regarrisoned by 100 men under the command of William Botterell. Charles II returned to the throne in 1660 and reinstated the Council of the Marches in 1661, but the castle never recovered from the war. Richard Vaughan, the

Earl of Carbery Earl of Carbery, in the County of Cork, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 5 August 1628 for the Welsh courtier and politician John Vaughan, 1st Baron Vaughan. He had already been created Baron Vaughan, of Mullingar in the ...

, was appointed president and given £2,000 to renovate the castle, and between 1663 and 1665, a company of infantry soldiers was garrisoned there, overseen by the earl, with the task of safeguarding the money and contents of the castle as well as the ammunition for the local Welsh militia. The Council of the Marches failed to reestablish itself and was finally disbanded in 1689, bringing an end to Ludlow Castle's role in government. Uncared for, the condition of the castle rapidly deteriorated.

18th century

The castle remained in disrepair, and in 1704 its governor, William Gower, proposed dismantling the castle and building a residential square on the site instead, in a more contemporary style. His proposal was not adopted but, by 1708, only three rooms were still in use in the hall range, many of the other buildings in the inner bailey had fallen into disuse, and much of the remaining furniture was rotten or broken. Shortly after 1714, the roofs were stripped of their lead and the wooden floors began to collapse; the writer Daniel Defoe visited in 1722, and noted that the castle "is in the very Perfection of Decay". Nonetheless, some rooms remained usable for many years afterwards, possibly as late as the 1760s and 1770s, when drawings show the entrance block to the inner bailey to still be intact, and visitors remarked on the good condition of the round chapel. The stonework became overgrown with ivy, trees and shrubs, and by 1800 the chapel of Saint Mary Magdalene had finally degenerated into ruin. Alexander Stuart, an Army captain who served as the last governor of the castle, stripped down what remained of the fortification in the mid-1700s. Some of the stone was reused to build the Bowling Green House – later renamed the Castle Inn – on the north end of the tennis courts, while the north side of the outer bailey was used to make the

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

itself. Stuart lived in a house in Ludlow itself, but decorated the Great Hall with the remains of the castle armoury, and may have charged visitors for admittance. Ludlow Castle Oct1812

It became fashionable to restore castles as private homes, and the future

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...

may have considered making Ludlow habitable again, but was deterred by the estimated costs of £30,000. Henry Herbert, the

Earl of Powis Earl of Powis (Powys) is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1674 in favour of William Herbert, 3rd Baron Powis, a descendant of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (c. 1501–15 ...

, later became interested in acquiring the castle and in 1771 approached the Crown about leasing it. It is uncertain if he intended to further strip the castle of its materials or, more likely, if he intended to turn it into a private home, but the castle was, according to Powis' surveyor's report later that year, already "extremely ruinous", the walls "mostly rubble and the battlements greatly decayed". The Crown offered a 31-year

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

at £20 a year, which Powis accepted in 1772, only to die shortly afterwards. Henry's son, George Herbert, the 2nd Earl, maintained the lease and his wife,

Henrietta Henrietta may refer to: * Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry Places * Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean * Henrietta, Mauritius * Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia United States * Henrie ...

, constructed gravel-laid public walks around the castle, dug into the surrounding cliffs, and planted trees around the grounds to improve the castle's appearance. The castle walls and towers were given superficial repairs and tidied up, usually when parts threatened to collapse, and the interior of the inner bailey levelled, costing considerable sums of money. The landscape also required expensive maintenance and repairs. The town of Ludlow was increasingly fashionable and frequented by tourists, with the castle forming a particularly popular attraction.

Thomas Warton Thomas Warton (9 January 172821 May 1790) was an English literary historian, critic, and poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1785, following the death of William Whitehead. He is sometimes called ''Thomas Warton the younger'' to disti ...

published an edition of Milton's poems in 1785, describing Ludlow Castle and popularising the links to ''Comus'', reinforcing the castle's reputation as a

picturesque Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year ...

and sublime location. The castle became a topic for painters interested in these themes: J. M. W. Turner, Francis Towne, Thomas Hearne, Julius Ibbetson,

Peter de Wint Peter De Wint (21 January 1784 – 30 January 1849) was an English landscape painter. A number of his pictures are in the National Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum and The Collection, Lincoln. He died in London. Biography De Wint wa ...

and William Marlowe all produced depictions of the castle during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, usually taking some artistic licence with the details in order to produce atmospheric works.

19th century

Lord Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British List of governors of Bengal, Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the ...

, George's brother-in-law and heir, attempted to acquire the lease after 1803, citing the efforts that the family had put into restoring the castle.; He faced competition for the lease from the government's Barrack Office, who were considering using the castle as a French

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

for up to 4,000 inmates from the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. After some extensive discussions the prisoner-of-war plan was finally dropped, and Lord Clive, by now declared the Earl of Powis, was offered the chance to buy the castle outright for £1,560, which he accepted in 1811. Between 1820 and 1828 the earl had converted the abandoned tennis court and the Castle Inn – which he closed in 1812 after buying the castle – into a new, grand building, called Castle House, overlooking the north side of the outer bailey. By the 1840s the house had been leased out, first to George Hodges and his family, and then to William Urwick and to Robert Marston, all important members of the local landowning classes. The mansion included a drawing room, dining room, study, servants' quarters, a conservatory and grapevines, and in 1887 was worth £50 a year in rent. Ludlow Castle was held in high esteem by Victorian antiquarians, George Clark referring to it as "the glory of the middle marches of Wales" and as being "probably without rival in Britain" for its woodland setting. When Ludlow became connected to the growing railway network in 1852, the numbers of tourists to the castle increased, with admission costing six pence in 1887. During the 19th century, vegetation continued to grow over the castle's stonework, although after a survey by Arthur Blomfield in 1883, which highlighted the damage being caused by the ivy, attempts were made to control the plants, cleaning them off many of the walls. The castle was put to a wide range of uses. The grassy areas of the bailey were kept cropped by grazing sheep and goats, and used for fox hunting meetings, sporting events and

agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...

s; parts of the outer bailey was used as a timber yard, and, by the turn of the century, the old prison was used as an ammunition store by the local volunteer militia.

20th century

W. H. St John Hope and

Harold Brakspear Sir Harold Brakspear KCVO (10 March 1870 – 20 November 1934) was an English restoration architect and archaeologist. He restored a number of ancient and notable buildings, including Bath Abbey, Windsor Castle, Brownston House in Devizes and ...

began a sequence of archaeological investigations at Ludlow Castle in 1903, publishing their conclusions in 1909 in an account which continues to be held in regard by modern academics.

George Herbert George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devoti ...

, the Earl of Powis, cleared away much of the ivy and vegetation from the castle stonework. In 1915 the castle was declared an

ancient monument In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The ''Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 ...

by the state, but it continued to be owned and maintained by the earl and trustees of the Powis estate. The castle was increasingly rigorously maintained, and during the 1910s and 1920s the larger trees around the castle were cut down, and the animals were cleared from the inner and outer baileys on the basis that they posed a health and safety risk to visitors. The 1930s saw a major effort to clear the remaining vegetation from the castle, the cellars were cleared of debris by the government's

Office of Works The Office of Works was established in the English royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department forces within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Reven ...

and the stable block was converted into a museum. Tourists continued to visit the castle, with the 1920s and 1930s seeing many day-trips by teams of workers in the region encouraged by the growth in motor transport. The open spaces inside the castle were used by the local townsfolk for football matches and similar events, and in 1934 Milton's ''Comus'' was restaged in the castle to mark the 300th anniversary of the first such event. Castle House in the outer bailey was leased to the diplomat Sir Alexander Stephen in 1901, who carried out extensive work on the property in 1904, extending and modernising the north end of the house, including constructing a

billiard room A billiard room (also billiards room, or more specifically pool room, snooker room) is a recreation room, such as in a house or recreation center, with a billiards, pool or snooker table. (The term "billiard room" or "pool room" may also be us ...

and a library; he estimated the cost of the work to be around £800. Castle House continued to be leased out by the Powis estate to wealthy individuals up until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

.; One such lessee, Richard Henderson observed that he had spent around £4,000 maintaining and upgrading the property, and the rentable value of the property rose from £76 to £150 over the period. During the Second World War the castle was used by the Allied military. The Great Tower was used as a look-out post and United States' forces used the castle gardens for

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

games. Castle House fell empty after the death of its final lessee, James Geenway; the house was then briefly requisitioned in 1942 by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

and turned into flats for key war workers, causing extensive damage later estimated at £2,000. In 1956, Castle House was de-requisitioned and sold by the Earl of Powis the following year to Ludlow Borough Council for £4,000, which rented out the flats. During the 1970s and early 1980s the Department of the Environment assisted the Powis estate by lending government staff to repair the castle. Visitor numbers were falling, however, in part due to the dilapidated condition of the property, and the estate became increasingly unable to afford to maintain the castle. After 1984, when the function of the department was taken over by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, a more systematic approach was put into place. This based around a partnership in which the Powis Estate would retain ownership of the castle and develop visitor access, in exchange for a £500,000 contribution from English Heritage for a jointly-funded programme of repairs and maintenance, delivered through specialist contractors. This included repairs to the parts of the curtain wall, which collapsed in 1990, and the redevelopment of the visitor's centre. Limited archaeological excavation was carried out in the outer bailey between 1992 and 1993 by the City of Hereford Archaeology Unit.

21st century

Ludlow from the castle Great Tower - geograph

In the 21st century, Ludlow Castle is owned by John Herbert, the current Earl of Powis, but is held and managed by the Trustees of the Powis Castle Estate as a tourist attraction. The castle was receiving over 100,000 visitors a year by 2005, more than in previous decades. The castle traditionally hosts a Shakespearean play as part of the annual cultural

Ludlow Festival Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which ...

in the town, and is at the centre of the Ludlow Food and Drink Festival each September. English Heritage considers Ludlow to be "one of England's finest castle sites", with the ruins representing "a remarkably complete multi-phase complex". It is protected under UK law as a

Scheduled Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

and a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. By the 21st century, however, Castle House had become dilapidated and English Heritage placed it on its "at risk" register. In 2002, the Powis Estate repurchased the property from the South Shropshire District Council for £500,000, renovating it and converting it for use as offices and rental apartments, reopening the building in 2005.

Architecture

Ludlow Castle sits on a rocky promontory, overlooking the modern town of

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The ...

on lower ground to the east, while the ground slopes steeply from the castle to the rivers Corve and Teme to the south and west, about below. The castle is broadly rectangular in shape, and approximately in size, covering almost in total. The interior is divided into two main parts: an inner bailey which occupies the north-west corner and a much larger outer bailey. A third enclosure, known as the innermost bailey, was created in the early 13th century when walls were built to enclose the south-west corner of the inner ward. The castle's walls are linked to Ludlow's medieval town wall circuit on the south and east sides. The castle is built from a range of different types of stone; the Norman stone work is constructed from greenish-grey siltstone rubble, with the ashlar and quoin features carved from red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

, with the later work primarily using local red sandstone.

Outer bailey

The outer bailey is entered through a gatehouse; inside, the space within the curtain walls is divided into two. On the north side of the outer bailey is Castle House and its gardens; the house is a two-storeyed property, based around the old walls of the tennis court and the Castle Inn, and the curtain wall. The north end of Castle House butts onto Beacon Tower, overlooking the town. The other half of the outer bailey houses the 16th-century porter's lodge, prison and stable block which run along its eastern edge. The porter's lodge and prison comprise two buildings, and across, both two-storeyed and well built in ashlar stone, with a stable block on the far end, more crudely built in stone and in size. The exterior of the prison was originally decorated with the coats of arms of Henry, the Earl of Pembroke, and Queen Elizabeth I, but these have since been destroyed, as have the barred windows which once protected the property. Along the south of the bailey are the remains of St Peter's, a former 14th-century chapel, approximately in size, later converted to a courthouse by the addition of an extension reaching up to the western curtain wall.; The courtroom occupied the whole of the combined first floor with records kept in the rooms underneath. The south-west corner of the outer bailey is cut off by a modern wall from the rest of the bailey. The western curtain wall is approximately thick, and guarded by the 13th-century Mortimer's Tower, across externally, with a ground floor

vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

chamber inside, large. When first built, Mortimer's Tower was a three-storey gateway with an unusual D-shaped design, possibly similar to those at Trim Castle in Ireland, but in the 15th century the entrance way was blocked up to turn it into a conventional mural tower, and in the 16th century an additional internal floor was inserted. The tower is now roofless, although it was roofed as late as the end of the 19th century.

Inner bailey

Map of the Inner Courtyard of Ludlow Castle

The inner bailey represents the extent of the original Norman castle and is protected by a curtain wall between and thick. On the south and west sides the wall is protected by a ditch, originally up to deep, cut out of the rock and navigated by a bridge which still contains part of the ashlar stone of its 16th century predecessor. Within the inner bailey, a separate area, called the innermost bailey, was created by the addition of a thick stone wall around the south-west corner in the early 13th century. The gatehouse to the inner bailey has the coats of arms of Sir Henry Sidney and Queen Elizabeth I displayed over it, dating to 1581, and was originally a three-storeyed building with transomed windows and fireplaces, probably used as the lodgings for the judges. There were probably additional heraldic supporters displayed alongside the arms, since lost. A porter's lodge would have been on the right hand side of the entrance to control access, with the rooms accessed by a

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

in a protruding tower, with prominent triple chimneys, since lost. Alongside the gatehouse was originally a half-timbered building, possibly a laundry, approximately , which has since been lost. On the east side of the bailey is the 12th-century chapel of Saint Mary Magdalene. The circular, Romanesque design of the chapel is unusual, with only three similar examples existing in England, at Castle Rising, Hereford and

Pevensey Pevensey ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located north-east of Eastbourne, one mile (1.6 km) inland from Pevensey Bay. The settlement of Pevensey Bay forms part ...

. Built from sandstone, the circular design imitates the shrine at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Originally the chapel had a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, a square presbytery, in size, and a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

, but this design was heavily altered in the 16th century and only the nave survives. Although roofless, the nave survives to its full height and is in diameter, visibly divided into two sections by different bands of stonework, and with some plaster surviving on the lower level. Around the inside of the nave are 14 arcaded bays in the walls. The north end of the bailey is occupied by a range of buildings, the Solar block, the Great Hall and the Great Chamber block, with the Tudor Lodgings in the north-east corner. The Tudor Lodgings take the form of two

rhomboid Traditionally, in two-dimensional geometry, a rhomboid is a parallelogram in which adjacent sides are of unequal lengths and angles are non-right angled. A parallelogram with sides of equal length (equilateral) is a rhombus but not a rhomboi ...

s to fit into the space provided by the curtain wall, divided by a

cross-wall A cross-wall is an interior dividing wall of a castle. It may be an external wall dividing, for example, the inner and outer wards, or it may be a wall internal to a building such as the keep.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Cast ...

, the west side being approximately , and the east side . They were entered by a shared spiral staircase, a design used in various episcopal palaces in the 16th century, and originally provided sets of individual offices and personal rooms for the court officials, later being converted into two distinct apartments. The Great Chamber block adjoining the Tudor Lodgings dates from around 1320. Another rhomboid design, approximately across, this originally had its main chamber on the first floor, but has been much altered over the subsequent years. The carved

corbel head In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, superincumbent weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, wh ...

s that survive on the first floor may represent Edward II and Queen Isabella. Behind the Great Chamber block is the Guardrobe Tower, a four storeyed construction, providing a combination of bed chambers and guardrobes. In the 13th-century Great Hall, the hall itself was also positioned on the first floor, originally fitted with a wooden floor supported by stone pillars in the basement, and a massive wooden roof.; It was across: this 2:1 ratio between length and width was typical for castle halls of this period. The hall was reached by a flight of stone steps at the west end, and lit by three tall, trefoiled windows, each originally with its own window seat and south-facing to receive the sunlight. Originally the hall had an open fire in the centre, which was normal for the 13th century, but the middle window was turned into a more modern fireplace around 1580. To the west of the Great Hall is the three-storeyed Solar block, an irregular oblong measuring up to in size. The first floor chamber would probably have been used as a solar, with the cellar being used as a service area. The Great Hall and Solar block were built at the same time in the 13th century, the builders carving out the inside of the old Norman tower behind them in the process. They were probably built in two phases and were originally intended to be smaller, less grand buildings, only for the design to be changed about halfway through construction; they were finished in a rushed manner, the traces of which can still be seen, along with other changes made in the 16th and 17th centuries. Great Kitchen at Ludlow Castle

The North-West and North-East towers behind the northern range are Norman in origin, from the 11th and early 12th century. When first built, they were created by pushing or folding the line of the curtain wall outwards to create the desired external shape, and then adding timber floors and a timber wall at the back, rather than being designed as individual buildings. The timber parts of the towers were later replaced in stone, and incorporated into the later range of buildings. The North-East Tower, also known as the Pendover Tower, was originally two-storeys high, with a third floor added on in the 14th century, followed by an extensive remodelling of the inside in the 16th century. It has chamfered angles on the external corners to make it harder to attack the stonework, although this has weakened the structural strength of the tower as a whole. The North-West Tower had similar chamfered corners, but the Closet Tower was built alongside it in the 13th century, altering the external appearance. Two more Norman towers survive in the innermost bailey, the West Tower, also known as the Postern Tower, because it contained a postern gate, and the South-West tower, also called the Oven Tower, on account of its cooking facilities. The Norman towers looked out towards Wales, probably to make a symbolic statement. A range, now lost, once stretched from the innermost bailey towards the Great Hall, including a large stone house running along the curtain wall, in size, and on the other side of the innermost bailey, the Great Kitchen, in size, built around the same time as the Great Hall, and an oven building, since lost, . The Great Tower, or keep, is on the south side of the innermost bailey. A roughly square building, four storeys tall, most of its walls are thick, with the exception of its newer northern facing wall, only thick. The Great Tower was constructed in several stages. Originally it was a relatively large gatehouse in the original Norman castle, probably with accommodation over the gateway, before being extended to form the Great Tower in the mid-12th century, although still being used as a gatehouse for the inner bailey. When the innermost bailey was created in the early 13th century, the gateway was then filled in and a new gateway cut into the inner bailey wall just to the east of the Great Tower. Finally, the north side of the tower was rebuilt in the mid-15th century to produce the Great Tower that appears today. The keep has a vaulted basement, high, with Norman wall arcading, and a row of windows along the first floor, since mostly blocked. The arcading echoes that in the chapel, and probably dates from around 1080. The windows and large entrance-way would have looked impressive, but would also have been very hard to defend; this form of tower probably reflected earlier Anglo-Saxon high-status towers and was intended to display lordship. The first floor originally formed a tall hall, across, which was subsequently subdivided into two separate floors.

Early 12th century chapel

File:Round Chapel - geograph.org.uk - 1248404.jpg, The chapel of St Mary Magdalene, showing the two levels of stonework and surviving plasterwork... File:Norman doorway, Round Chapel, Ludlow Castle - geograph.org.uk - 1745704.jpg, ...the entrance... File:Ludlow Castle chapel interior, 2010.jpg, ...the interior, with arcaded bays... File:Corbel in Ludlow Castle chapel.JPG, ...and carved

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

Ludlow Castle official information site
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