Editing Stokesay Castle (section)

===20th–21st centuries===
[[File:Stokesay Castle, Church and reflection - geograph.org.uk - 662658.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The south tower and the hall range reflected in the castle pond]]

Further repairs to Stokesay Castle were required in 1902, carried out by Allcroft's heir, Herbert, with help from the [[Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings]].<ref name=Summerson2012PP38/> The Allcroft family faced increasing financial difficulty in the 20th century and the castle was formally opened for visitors in 1908, with much of the revenue reinvested in the property, but funds for repairs remained in short supply.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=40}}; {{cite web | url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stokesay-castle/history-and-research/history/ | title=History of Stokesay Castle | mode = cs2|access-date=28 December 2013 |publisher=English Heritage}}; {{cite web | url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/stokesay-castle-info-for-teachers/stokesaycastle.pdf | title=Stokesay Castle: Information for Teachers | mode = cs2|page=1| access-date=28 December 2013 |publisher=English Heritage}}</ref> By the 1930s the Allcroft estate was in serious financial difficulties, and the payment of two sets of [[death duties]] in 1946 and 1950 added to the family's problems.<ref>{{harvnb|Chitty|1999|p=91}}; {{cite web | url=http://stokesaycourt.com/site/index.php/history-of-stokesay-court/ | title=History of Stokesay Court | mode = cs2|access-date=28 December 2013 |publisher=Stokesay Court}}</ref>

Despite receiving considerable numbers of visitors – over 16,000 in 1955 – it was becoming increasingly impractical to maintain the castle, and calls were made for the State to take over the property.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=40}}; {{harvnb|Chitty|1999|p=91}}</ref> For several decades the owners, [[Philip Magnus-Allcroft|Philip and Jewell Magnus-Allcroft]], declined these proposals and continued to run the castle privately.<ref name=SummersonP40>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=40}}</ref> In 1986 Jewell finally agreed to place Stokesay Castle into the guardianship of [[English Heritage]], and the castle was left to the organisation on her death in 1992.<ref name=SummersonP40/>

The castle was passed to English Heritage largely unfurnished, with minimal interpretative material in place, and it needed fresh restoration.<ref>{{harvnb|Chitty|1999|p=92}}; {{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=40}}</ref> There were various options for taking forward the work, including restoring the castle to resemble a particular period in its history; using interactive approaches such as "[[living history]]" to communicate the context to visitors; or using the site to demonstrate restoration techniques appropriate to different periods.<ref name=Chitty1999PP92>{{harvnb|Chitty|1999|pp=92–94}}</ref> These were rejected in favour of a policy of minimising any physical intervention during the restoration and preserving the building in the condition it was passed to English Heritage, including its unfurnished interior.<ref name=Chitty1999PP92/> The archaeologist Gill Chitty has described this as encouraging visitors to undergo a "personal discovery of a sense of historical relationship and event" around the castle.<ref>{{harvnb|Chitty|1999|p=92}}</ref> Against this background, an extensive programme of restoration work was carried out between August 1986 and December 1989.<ref name=ShropshireHER>{{cite web | url=http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MSA199&resourceID=1015 | title=Shropshire HER | mode = cs2| access-date=28 December 2013 |publisher=Heritage Gateway}}</ref>

In the 21st century, Stokesay Castle continues to be operated by English Heritage as a tourist attraction, receiving 39,218 visitors in 2010.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.visitengland.org/Images/Final%20report_tcm30-27368.pdf | page=116 | title=Visitor Attraction Trends in England, 2010| mode = cs2|access-date=28 December 2013 |publisher=Visit England}}</ref> [[British Airways]], in conjunction with English Heritage, named their last [[Boeing 757]] aircraft ''Stokesay Castle'' in 2010 for its final month of flying.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/news/stokesay-castle-takes-to-the-sky/ | title=Stokesay Castle Takes to the Skies | mode = cs2|access-date=28 December 2013 |publisher=English Heritage}}</ref> The castle is protected under UK law as a Grade I [[listed building]] and as a [[scheduled monument]].<ref name=ShropshireHER/>