Caus Castle is a ruin of a

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

and

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Westbury in the English county of

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 ...

. It is situated up on the eastern foothills of the Long Mountain guarding the route from Shrewsbury, Shropshire to

Montgomery, Powys Montgomery ( ; translates as ''the town of Baldwin'') is a town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. It is the traditional county town of the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Montgomeryshire to which it gives its name, ...

, on the border between

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

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It was destroyed during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

and has been in ruins since.

History

The early outer earthworks of the site are probably an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

, while the later

motte-and-bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...

is of Norman construction. Roger le Corbet (or Fitz Corbet) was granted several manors in

in 1069 by

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

as the Barony of Caus for his role in 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 Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

and invasion of England. They were named after his

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

estate in the

Pays de Caux The Pays de Caux (, , literally ''Land of Caux'') is an area in Normandy occupying the greater part of the French '' département'' of Seine Maritime in Normandy. It is a chalk plateau to the north of the Seine Estuary and extending to the cl ...

, in France. The Corbets owed fealty to

Roger de Montgomery Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomery, and was probab ...

, the first

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

to help control

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...

with absolute control over their

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...

. Caus Castle was built by Roger le Corbet in the late 11th century as a high

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...

with a very small summit on which stood a tower and a strongly defended inner bailey. The castle was sufficiently important that the Crown took an interest in its maintenance.

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

had it garrisoned in 1165. In 1198 Roger Corbet re-built the tower, keep and curtain wall in stone. During the late 12th century a town or

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

was founded in the large outer bailey. A royal grant of 50 marks was made in 1263 towards further building work when D-shape towers were added to the curtain wall. The town contained a church of St Margaret as well as the castle's church of St Nicholas, and the names of two thoroughfares, Castle Street and St Margaret Street are recorded. On the death of Beatrice Corbet in 1347, Caus passed to the Earl of Stafford. At its height, the borough had 58 burgesses resident in 1349, a year coinciding with the arrival of the

Black Death in England The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic, which reached England in June 1348. It was the first and most severe manifestation of the second pandemic, caused by '' Yersinia pestis'' bacteria. The term ''Black Death'' was not used until the la ...

. Caus (alternatively spelt Caux or Cause) was garrisoned by the

Seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

Griffith ap Ieuan ap Madoc ap Gwenwys against the rebellion of

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (28 May 135420 September 1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr (Glyn Dŵr, , anglicised as Owen Glendower) was a Welsh people, Welsh leader, soldier and military commander in the Wales in the late Middle Ages, late Middle ...

in the 15th century, but following calls from Welsh graduates in law and students in the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

he changed sides and supported Glyndŵr. As a result, his family lands and role at Caus Castle were forfeited in 1404, only to be restored by

Henry V of England Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the Hundred Years' War against ...

in 1419 after his sons Ieuan ap Griffith and Sir Gruffudd Vychan captured John Oldcastle for Lord Charlton of Powys. On 10 August 1443, at Caus Castle Sir Gruffudd Vychan pierced with a lance the heart of his master, Sir Christopher Talbot (1419–1443), son of

John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, 1st Earl of Waterford, 7th Baron Talbot, KG (17 July 1453), known as "Old Talbot" and "Terror of the French" was an English nobleman and a noted military commander during the Hundred Years' War. He was t ...

, and the champion tilter of England. He was outlawed, a reward of 500 marks (£166 6s 8d) offered for his capture, and his lands were passed to John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, as the death of the young knight was not regarded as an accident. The Earls and Barons Stafford rarely used the castle in the 15th and 16th centuries so that it was recorded in great decay in 1521, and had only two resident tenants in 1541.

Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford (18 September 1501 – 30 April 1563) was an English nobleman. After the execution for treason in 1521 and posthumous attainder of his father Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, with the forfeiture of al ...

(fourth creation) recordedly died there in 1563 when he was buried at Worthen. The castle was given as part of a marriage settlement to John Thynne (died 1604) and Joan (née Hayward), but Edward Stafford, 3rd Baron Stafford disputed the ownership. After he and Joan forcibly ejected Stafford from Caus Castle, in 1591, Joan lived at Caus whist John was based at

Longleat Longleat is a stately home about west of Warminster in Wiltshire, England. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is a Grade I listed building and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath. Longleat is set in of parkl ...

, Wiltshire. The letters between them illustrate their partnership. Joan appears to have managed many aspects of their estate. She is also credited with defending Caus Castle, keeping guns and gunpowder in her bedroom. A 15th century wooden screen from Caus Castle was later installed in Minsterley Hall, which was built by the Thynne family in 1581. The castle was finally deserted after it was destroyed during the

after falling as a minor Royalist garrison in June 1645. However, Katherine Lowther is said to have been born in Caus Castle in 1653 into the Thynne family. She was a daughter of Sir Henry Thynne, 1st Baronet and Mary Coventry, a daughter of Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry.

References

{{Reflist

Sources

* Barker, P.A. (1981). 'Caus Castle and Hawcocks Mount' ''Archaeological Journal'' Vol 138 p34 * Chitty, L. F. (1954). ''Caus Castle'' The Hundred-and-First Annual Meeting: Programme, CAA p19-21 * Williams G. (1998). 'Sir Gruffydd Fychan (?-1447)' ''Montgomeryshire Collections'' Vol 86, p17-28

External links

3D survey of Caus Castlewww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Caus Castle and surrounding area
Castles in Shropshire Hill forts in Shropshire History of Shropshire Tourist attractions in Shropshire Ruins in Shropshire