Editing Stokesay Castle (section)

==Architecture==

===Structure===
[[File:Stokesay Castle Plan.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Plan of Stokesay Castle—A: south tower; B: solar block; C: hall; D: north tower; E: well; F: courtyard; G: moat; H: gatehouse]]

Stokesay Castle was built on a patch of slightly rising ground in the basin of the [[River Onny]].<ref>{{harvnb|Chitty|1999|p=86}}; {{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=3}}</ref> It took the form of a [[Solar (room)|solar]] block and hall attached to a northern and southern tower; this combination of hall and tower existed elsewhere in England in the 13th century, particularly in northern England.<ref>{{harvnb|Pounds|1994|pp=279–281}}</ref> A crenellated curtain wall, destroyed in the 17th century, enclosed a courtyard, with a gatehouse - probably originally constructed from stone, rebuilt in timber and plaster around 1640 - controlling the entrance.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|pp=6–7}}</ref> The wall would have reached {{convert|34|ft}} high measured from the base of the moat.<ref>{{harvnb|Cordingley|1963|p=94}}</ref> The courtyard, around {{convert|150|ft}} by {{convert|125|ft}}, contained additional buildings during the castle's history, probably including a kitchen, bakehouse and storerooms, which were pulled down around 1800.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|pp=6–7}}; {{harvnb|Cordingley|1963|p=91}}</ref>

The castle was surrounded by a moat, between {{convert|15|ft}} and {{convert|25|ft}} across, although it is uncertain whether this was originally a dry moat, as it is in the 21st century, or water-filled from the pond and nearby stream.<ref>{{harvnb|Cordingley|1963|p=91}}; {{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=22}}; {{harvnb|Liddiard|2005|p=45}}; {{cite web | url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stokesay-castle/history-and-research/research/ | title=Research on Stokesay Castle | mode = cs2|access-date=28 December 2013 |publisher=English Heritage}}; {{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.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>{{#tag:ref|The historian Henry Summerson is doubtful about the moat having been filled with water in the 13th century, arguing that there is no surviving evidence of it having been lined with clay - which would have improved its ability to store water - and considers that archaeological excavation will be the only way to determine its original condition. Historian Robert Liddiard and the site inspector Michael Watson argue that it was water-filled, accompanying the other water features around the castle.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=22}}; {{harvnb|Liddiard|2005|p=45}}; {{cite web | url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stokesay-castle/history-and-research/research/ | title=Research on Stokesay Castle | mode = cs2|access-date=28 December 2013 |publisher=English Heritage}}; {{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.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>|group="nb"}} The spoil from digging out the moat was used to raise the height of the courtyard.<ref>{{harvnb|Cordingley|1963|p=93}}</ref> Beyond the moat were a lake and ponds that were probably intended to be viewed from the south tower.<ref>{{harvnb|Creighton|2002|p=81}}</ref> The parish church of St John the Baptist, of Norman origins but largely rebuilt in the middle of the 17th century, lies just alongside the castle.<ref>{{harvnb|Pevsner|2000|p=296}}</ref>

Stokesay Castle forms what archaeologist Gill Chitty describes as "a comparatively complete ensemble" of medieval buildings, and their survival, almost unchanged, is extremely unusual.<ref>{{harvnb|Chitty|1999|p=88}}; {{cite web | url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stokesay-castle/history-and-research/significance/ | title=Significance of Stokesay Castle | mode = cs2|access-date=28 December 2013 |publisher=English Heritage}}</ref> Historian Henry Summerson considers it "one of the best-preserved medieval fortified manor houses in England".<ref name=Summerson2012P1/>

===Buildings===
[[File:Stokesay Castle gatehouse.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The gatehouse viewed from inside the courthouse]]

The gatehouse is a two-storeyed, 17th-century building with exposed timber and plasterwork, constructed in a distinctively local Shropshire style.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=5}}; {{cite web | url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stokesay-castle/history-and-research/description/ | title=Description of Stokesay Castle | mode = cs2| access-date=28 December 2013 |publisher=English Heritage}}</ref> It features elaborate wooden carvings on the exterior and interior doorways, including [[angel]]s, the biblical characters of [[Adam]], [[Eve]] and the [[Serpent (Bible)|Serpent]] from the [[Garden of Eden]], as well as dragons and other nude figures.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=5}}</ref> It was designed as essentially an ornamental building, with little defensive value.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stokesay-castle/history-and-research/description/ | title=Description of Stokesay Castle | mode = cs2|access-date=28 December 2013 |publisher=English Heritage}}</ref>

The south tower forms an unequal pentagon in shape, and has three storeys with thick walls.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|pp=19–20}}; {{harvnb|Cordingley|1963|p=92}}</ref> The walls were built to contain the stairs and [[garderobe]]s, the unevenly positioned empty spaces weakening the structure, and this meant that two large buttresses had to be added to the tower during its construction to support the walls.<ref>{{harvnb|Cordingley|1963|p=96}}</ref> The current floors are Victorian in origin, having been built after the fire of 1830, but the tower remains unglazed, as in the 13th century, with shutters at the windows providing protection in winter.<ref name="Summerson 2012 19–20">{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|pp=19–20}}</ref> The basement was originally only accessible from the first floor, and would have provided a secure area for storage, in addition to also containing a well.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=22}}; {{harvnb|Cordingley|1963|p=92}}</ref> The first floor, which formed the original entrance to the tower, contains a 17th-century fireplace, reusing the original 13th-century chimney.<ref name="Summerson 2012 19–20"/> The second floor has been subdivided in the past, but has been restored to form a single chamber, as it would have been when first built.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=20}}</ref>

The roof of the south tower provides views of the surrounding landscape; in the 13th-century protective wooden [[mantlet]]s would have been fitted into the gaps of the [[merlon]]s along the battlements, and during the English Civil War it was equipped with additional wooden defences to protect the garrison.<ref name="Summerson 2012 21"/>

[[File:The_Solar,_Stokesay_Castle.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|left|The solar block]]

The hall and solar block are adjacent to the south tower, and were designed to be symmetrical when seen from the courtyard, although the addition of the additional stone buttresses in the 19th century has altered this appearance.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|pp=6–8}}</ref> The hall is {{convert|54.5|ft}} long and {{convert|31|ft}} wide, with has three large, wooden 13th-century arches supporting the roof, unusually, given its size, using lateral wooden collars, but no vertical [[king-post]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|pp=8–9}}; {{harvnb|Cordingley|1963|p=99}}</ref> The roof's cruck [[joist]]s now rest on 19th-century stone supports, but would have originally reached down to the ground.<ref name=Summerson2012P9>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=9}}</ref> The roof is considered by the historian Henry Summerson to be a "rare survival for the period".<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=8}}</ref> In the medieval period a wooden screen would have cut off the north end, providing a more secluded dining area.<ref name=Summerson2012P9/>

The solar block has two storeys and a cellar, and would have probably acted as the living space for Laurence of Ludlow when he first moved into the castle.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=16}}</ref> The solar room itself is on the first floor, and is reached by external steps.<ref name=Summerson2012P17>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=17}}</ref> The wood panelling and carved wooden fireplace are of 17th-century origin, probably from around 1640.<ref name=Summerson2012P17/> This woodwork would have originally been brightly painted, and included spy-holes so that the hall could be observed from the solar.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=18}}</ref>

The three-storey north tower is reached by a 13th-century staircase in the hall, which leads onto the first floor.<ref name=Summerson2012P11/> The first floor was divided into two separate rooms shortly after the construction of the tower, and contain various decorative tiles, probably from Laurence's house in Ludlow.<ref name=Summerson2012P11>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|pp=11–12}}</ref> The walls of the second floor are mostly half-timbered, [[Overhang (architecture)|jettying]] out above the stone walls beneath them; the tower has its original 13th-century fireplace, although the wooden roof is 19th-century, modelled on the 13th-century original, and the windows are 17th-century insertions.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=14}}; {{harvnb|Cordingley|1963|p=96}}</ref> The details and the carpenters' personal marks on the woodwork show that the hall, solar and north tower were all constructed under the direction of the same carpenter in the late 1280s and early 1290s.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=10}}; {{harvnb|Cordingley|1963|p=99}}</ref>

===Interpretation===
{{multiple image
| footer    = 
| align     = right
| caption_align = center
| image1    =Stokesay_castle,_tower.jpg
| width1    = 200
| alt1      = Stokesay castle
| caption1  = South tower at Stokesay (l), probably intended to emulate&nbsp;...
| image2    = Caernarfon Castle 1994.jpg
| width2    = 225
| alt2      = Caernarfon Castle
| caption2  = ... the North Wales gatehouses of [[Caernarfon Castle|Caernarfon]]&nbsp;...
| image3    = Denbigh Castle.jpg
| width3    = 113
| alt3      = Denbigh Castle
| caption3  = ... and [[Denbigh Castle]]
}}

Stokesay Castle was never intended to be a serious military fortification.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=3}}</ref> As long ago as 1787, the antiquarian [[Francis Grose]] observed that it was "a castellated mansion rather than a castle of strength", and more recently the historian Nigel Pounds has described the castle as forming "a lightly fortified home", providing security but not intended to resist a military attack.<ref>{{harvnb|Chitty|1999|p=87}}; {{harvnb|Pounds|1994|p=105}}</ref> The historian Henry Summerson describes its military features as "superficial", and Oliver Creighton characterises Stokesay as being more of a "picturesque residence" than a fortification.<ref>{{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=1}}; {{harvnb|Creighton|2002|p=83}}</ref>

Among its weaknesses were the positioning of its gatehouse, on the wrong side of the castle, facing away from the road, and the huge windows in the hall, reaching down to the ground and making access relatively easy to any intruder.<ref>{{harvnb|Pounds|1994|p=188}}; {{harvnb|Summerson|2012|p=3}}</ref> Indeed, this vulnerability may have been intentional. Its builder Laurence was a newly moneyed member of the upper class, and he may not have wanted to erect a fortification that would have threatened the established [[Marcher Lord]]s in the region.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

Nonetheless, Stokesay Castle was intended to have a dramatic, military appearance, echoing the castles then being built by Edward I in North Wales.<ref name=Liddiard2005PP44>{{harvnb|Liddiard|2005|pp=44–46}}</ref> Visitors would have approached the castle across a causeway, with an excellent view of the south tower, potentially framed by and reflected in the water-filled moat.<ref name=Liddiard2005PP44/> The south tower was probably intended to resemble the gatehouses of contemporary castles such as [[Caernarfon Castle|Caernarfon]] and [[Denbigh Castle|Denbigh]], and would probably have originally shared the former's "banded" stonework.<ref name=Liddiard2005P46>{{harvnb|Liddiard|2005|p=46}}</ref> Cordingley describes the south tower as "adding prestige rather than security".<ref>{{harvnb|Cordingley|1963|p=91}}</ref> Visitors would then have passed by the impressive outside of the main hall block, before entering the castle itself, which Robert Liddiard notes might have been an "anticlimax from the point of view of the medieval visitor".<ref name=Liddiard2005P46/>

===Carved 17th-century woodwork===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="160px">
Carving, Stokesay Castle .jpg|A nude figure...
Stokesay Castle gatehouse - geograph.org.uk - 1507305.jpg|...the [[Devil]]...
Eve - geograph.org.uk - 1507312.jpg|...[[Eve]]...
Adam - geograph.org.uk - 1507310.jpg|...[[Adam]]...
Stokesay Castle (5738185218).jpg|...the [[Serpent (Bible)|Serpent]]...
Stokesay Castle-29 (5737622233).jpg|and a carved fireplace with male and female figures, interspersed with grotesque heads.
</gallery>