Editing Stokesay Castle (section)

===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/>