Rowton Castle

Last updated

Rowton Castle
Rowton Castle - geograph.org.uk - 51756.jpg
Rowton Castle
Shropshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Shropshire
General information
LocationNear Shrewsbury
Town or city Shropshire
CountryEngland
Coordinates 52°42′31″N2°55′15″W / 52.7087°N 2.9207°W / 52.7087; -2.9207
Completed17th century

Rowton Castle, near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, is a Grade II* listed country house that was once the home of the Royal National College for the Blind before it moved to its present location in Hereford. This 17th-century castle is surrounded by 17 acres of gardens, and is approximately six miles (9.7 km) from Shrewsbury. [1] It is currently used as a wedding venue, hotel and restaurant. [2]

Contents

The present castle was built in the 17th century, although a previous castle had stood on the site for several hundred years. The house was in the possession of the Lyster family until the death of Lady Charlotte Lyster, in 1889. She passed the house to her nephew, Montagu Corry, 1st Baron Rowton, who in turn passed it on to his nephew, Colonel N. A. Lowry Curry following his death in 1903. The house's next owner, Major Lees, sold it to the Royal Normal College for the Blind in 1941. The college, which had previously been located in London, was forced to find new premises after its site, based in Upper Norwood, was bombed during the Blitz, [3] then acquired by the authorities. [4] The college used the castle itself as the accommodation block for staff and senior pupils. The building also housed the dining areas for both junior and senior pupils. Classrooms, which have since been converted into private apartments, were built to the eastern side of the building.

In 1953 a fire destroyed much of the buildings and 38 pianos and organs used for training pupils in tuning. [4] The alarm was raised by one of the students, [5] and everybody present was evacuated to safety. [4] Training was able to continue after Henshaw's Institution for the Blind took students and staff as a temporary measure. [4] As the college expanded it outgrew the site and bought other premises in and around Shrewsbury, then in 1978 relocated to Hereford after finding accommodation that would enable it to consolidate its facilities into one campus. [6]

After the college's departure the building was empty for several years until work began to convert it into a hotel in 1986. The hotel opened in April 1989, and was acquired by its current owners in October 1997.

See also

Related Research Articles

Hereford City in Herefordshire, England

Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately 16 miles (26 km) east of the border with Wales, 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Worcester, and 23 miles (37 km) northwest of Gloucester. With a population of 60,800, it is by far the largest settlement in Herefordshire.

Ludlow Town in Shropshire, England

Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located 28 miles (45 km) south of Shrewsbury and 23 miles (37 km) north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the confluence of the rivers Corve and Teme. The oldest part is the medieval walled town, founded in the late 11th century after the Norman conquest of England. It is centred on a small hill which lies on the eastern bank of a bend of the River Teme. Situated on this hill are Ludlow Castle and the parish church, St Laurence's, the largest in the county. From there the streets slope downward to the River Teme, and northward toward the River Corve. The town is in a sheltered spot beneath Mortimer Forest and the Clee Hills, which are clearly visible from the town.

Shrewsbury School Public school in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England

Shrewsbury School is a public school in Shrewsbury.

Church Stretton British market town

Church Stretton is a market town in Shropshire, England, 13 miles (21 km) south of Shrewsbury and 15 miles (24 km) north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671.

West Midlands (region) Region of England

The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. The region consists of the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. The region has seven cities Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Lichfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Worcester. The largest towns in the region with large population centres are Bromsgrove, Burton-upon-Trent, Cannock, Dudley, Great Malvern, Halesowen, Kidderminster, Leamington Spa, Nuneaton, Redditch, Rugby, Shrewsbury, Solihull, Stafford, Stourbridge, Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Telford, Walsall and West Bromwich.

Bishops Castle Human settlement in England

Bishop's Castle is a market town in the south west of Shropshire, England. According to the 2011 Census it had a population of 1,893.

Ellesmere, Shropshire Human settlement in England

Ellesmere is a town in Shropshire, England, located near the Welsh border and the towns of Oswestry, Whitchurch and Wrexham. It is notable for its proximity to a number of prominent Meres.

Shrewsbury Castle

Shrewsbury Castle is a red sandstone castle in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It stands on a hill in the neck of the meander of the River Severn on which the town originally developed. The castle, directly above Shrewsbury railway station, is a Grade I listed building.

Pontesbury Human settlement in England

Pontesbury is a village and civil parish in Shropshire and is approximately eight miles southwest of Shrewsbury. In the 2011 census, the village had a population of 1,873 and the parish had a population of 3,227. The village of Minsterley is just over a mile further southwest. The A488 road runs through the village, on its way from Shrewsbury to Bishop's Castle. The Rea Brook flows close by to the north with the village itself nestling on the northern edge of the Shropshire Hills AONB. Shropshire County Council in their current Place Plan detail the development strategy and refer to Pontesbury and neighbouring Minsterley as towns.

Shropshire was established during the division of Saxon Mercia into shires in the 10th century. It is first mentioned in 1006. After the Norman Conquest it experienced significant development, following the granting of the principal estates of the county to eminent Normans, such as Roger De Montgomery and his son Robert de Bellême.

Montagu Corry, 1st Baron Rowton

Montagu William Lowry-Corry, 1st Baron Rowton,, also known as "Monty", was a British philanthropist and public servant, best known for serving as Benjamin Disraeli's private secretary from 1866 until the latter's death in 1881.

Hawkstone Park Historic park in Shropshire, England famous for its follies

Hawkstone Park is a historic landscape park with pleasure grounds and gardens formerly belonging to Hawkstone Hall, just north east of the small village of Weston-under-Redcastle, near to Market Drayton, in Shropshire, England. It is one mile (1.6 km) east of the A49 road. The park is known for its follies.

Condover Hall

Condover Hall is an elegant Grade I listed three-storey Elizabethan sandstone building, described as the grandest manor house in Shropshire, standing in a conservation area on the outskirts of Condover village, Shropshire, England, four miles south of the county town of Shrewsbury.

Shrewsbury railway station Grade II listed railway station in Shropshire, England

Shrewsbury railway station is in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Built in 1848, it was designated a grade II listed building in 1969.

Royal National College for the Blind College in Hereford, UK

The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) is a co-educational specialist residential college of further education based in the English city of Hereford. Students who attend the college are aged 16 to 25 and blind or partially sighted. They can study a wide range of qualifications at RNC, from academic subjects such as English and Mathematics to more vocational topics such as Massage and Complementary Therapies. Alongside regular further education subjects and vocational training, the college offers training in mobility, assistive technology, Braille, independent living skills and personal development.

Shrewsbury Library

Shrewsbury Library is housed in a Grade I listed building situated on Castle Gates near Shrewsbury Castle. The site was the home of Shrewsbury School from 1550 until 1882. The buildings were handed over to the town in 1882 and a free library and museum were opened by the Corporation of Shrewsbury utilizing the building in 1885. The library was moved temporarily to Raven Meadows in 1976 while the site on Castle Gates underwent extensive restorations. The library was re-opened in 1983 by Princess Margaret.

Rowton, Shropshire Human settlement in England

Rowton is a small village in the Telford and Wrekin Borough, Shropshire, England. It is located seven miles north-west of Wellington. The area is a Chapelry Division of High Ercall Parish.

Shrewsbury County town of Shropshire, England

Shrewsbury is a market town and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, 150 miles (240 km) north-west of London; at the 2011 census, it had a population of 71,715.

Sir Thomas Lyster of Rowton Castle (1612–1655), supported King Charles I during the English Civil War.

Richard Lyster (Shropshire)

Richard Lyster of Rowton Castle, Shropshire, was a British landowner and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons for 34 years between 1722 and 1766

References

  1. ↑ Castle Wedding Venues – Shropshire | West Midlands
  2. ↑ "Rowton Castle weddings". Rowton Castle. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  3. ↑ Green, Jerry (1 April 2007). "The Royal Normal College". Crystal Palace Magazine. Retrieved 4 June 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. 1 2 3 4 "A brief history of RNC". Royal National College for the Blind. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  5. ↑ "Our Century". Express & Star. Midland News Association. 2 June 1953. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  6. ↑ "Assisting the blind to reach their full potential". Hereford Times. Newsquest Media Ltd. 18 September 2003. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2010.

Coordinates: 52°42′31″N2°55′15″W / 52.7087°N 2.9207°W / 52.7087; -2.9207

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.