Ruyton-XI-Towns Castle

Last updated

Ruyton-XI-Towns Castle
Shropshire, England
The remains of the castle at Ruyton-XI-Towns - geograph.org.uk - 7682923.jpg
Site information
Type Motte-and-bailey castle
Open to
the public		yes
ConditionRuined
Location
Shropshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Ruyton-XI-Towns Castle
Shown within Shropshire
Coordinates 52°47′37″N2°53′58″W / 52.79359°N 2.89933°W / 52.79359; -2.89933
Site history
Built1086
Built byJohn I Lestrange
In use1086 – 1360s
Materials Sandstone
Demolished1364

Ruyton-XI-Towns Castle, also known as Ruyton Castle, is a Grade II listed motte-and-bailey castle in Ruyton-XI-Towns, Shropshire, England which has partial ruins existing today. [1]

Contents

History

John I Lestrange built Ruyton-XI-Towns using timber in 1086 and it was replaced by a stone castle in 1148. [2] The stone castle was first damaged by Fulk FitzWarin in 1203 [3] and was destroyed by Welsh invaders in 1212; [4] the Lestrange family subsequently abandoned the castle and it was in ruins by 1272.

Edmund FitzAlan purchased Ruyton-XI-Towns Castle in 1302 and had it repaired by 1313. [2] It was then owned by Roger Mortimer in 1326 and the Earl of Arundel regained ownership of the castle after Mortimer was executed in November 1330. [5]

Ruyton-XI-Towns Castle was repaired again in 1357 and was abandoned for the final time in 1364. It was further destroyed by Owain Glyndŵr during his rising against England beginning in 1400. [6]

Saint John the Baptist Church and the cottages on the site of the castle, early 18th century Saint John the Baptist Church Ruyton-XI-Towns early 18th century.jpg
Saint John the Baptist Church and the cottages on the site of the castle, early 18th century

Masonry from the castle was used to repair the nearby Saint John the Baptist Church during the 15th century, [7] and two cottages were built in the north of the castle in the 18th century, with one incorporating the castle ruins as one of the cottage walls. The cottages were present by 1838 and were demolished in 1881 when the land became associated with the parish churchyard. [8]

Its ruins stand in the parish churchyard [9] and the castle was Grade II listed on 19 January 1952. [1]

Excavation

Ruyton-XI-Towns Castle was excavated once in 1886 and the excavations were paid for by selling the building materials from the demolished cottages. [8] [10]

The excavation was cardied out by Rev. Frderick Paget Wilkinson and he identified the foundations of the bailey wall and the paved floor of the castle. [10]

Description

The remains of the castle are in sandstone, and consist of parts of three walls of a former rectangular tower on a slightly raised platform, and there are the footings of another wall. The remains have a maximum height of 10 metres (33 ft). [7]

References

  1. 1 2 "CASTLE, REMAINS OF, Ruyton-XI-Towns - 1307325". Historic England. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Ruyton-XI-Towns Castle, Shropshire". Castle Finders. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  3. ↑ Rotuli Litterarum Patentium, I Part 1, p. 36 (Google); Printed more at length in F. Michel, Histoire de Foulques Fitz-Warin, Introduction, pp. V-VIII (Google).
  4. ↑ "The Castle, Ruyton XI Towns, Shropshire". Historic England. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  5. ↑ McNeill, Ronald John (1911). "March, Earls of". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 686
  6. ↑ Ruyton XI Towns, Unusual Name, Unusual History, p.12.
  7. 1 2 Newman, John; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2006), Shropshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN   0-300-12083-4
  8. 1 2 Frost, P., (2008), 'Ruyton XI Towns, churchyard and castle' West Midlands Archaeology Vol. 51 p. 28-9
  9. ↑ Ruyton XI Towns, Unusual Name, Unusual History, pp.10-13.
  10. 1 2 "Ruyton Castle". RXIT. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
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