Caldwall Castle, also spelt Caldwell Castle and now known as Caldwall Tower, is a former

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

in the town of

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and only a single tower remains today. It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The layout of Caldwall Castle, a courtyard with four surrounding towers, was likely similar to that of

Stokesay Castle Stokesay Castle is one of the finest surviving fortified manor houses in England, and situated at Stokesay in Shropshire. It was largely built in its present form in the late 13th century by Laurence of Ludlow, on the earlier castle (some of wh ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

. The first structure was built during the fourteenth century, between and 1347, by Sir Hugh de Cokesay. Caldwall Castle was owned by the Cokesay family until it was passed to the Wyntour family in 1498.Emery, A (1996). ''Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales''. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Under the Wyntours, the manor house was rebuilt sometime during the early fifteenth or sixteenth century and the present structure, known as Caldwall Tower, also dates to this time. The Wyntour family eventually sold Caldwall Castle in 1589 to the

de Clare family The House of Clare was a prominent Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman noble house that ruled the Earldoms of Pembroke, Hertford and Gloucester in England and Wales throughout its history, playing a prominent role in the Norman invasion of Ireland. T ...

.King, C.D.J (1983). ''Castellarium anglicanum: an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the Islands''. Kraus International Publications. Around 1690, a three-storey brick-built structure was built to connect the surviving tower to the north-west side, and the entire building was renovated during the seventeenth century. The manor house was passed to the Jeffrey family in 1777 and it was acquired by George Turton in 1864; when he died in 1897, the Corporation of Kidderminster took control of the estate and used it for many different purposes, such as a school of domestic science, government offices, the municipal fire station and an air raid protection headquarters, before Caldwall Castle was left derelict until it was demolished in 1961, leaving only the surviving tower standing. In 1990, the tower was sold to Richard and Nely Davies and it is now used as a private residence. Richard Davies has also since extensively restored the tower.

References

Manor houses in England Castles in Worcestershire Grade II* listed castles {{England-castle-stub