Moreton Corbet Castle
Moreton Corbet Castle is a ruined castle near the village of Moreton Corbet , about 13 km northeast of Shrewsbury in the English county of Shropshire . English Heritage has listed it as a historical building of the first degree. The ruins are from different construction periods: there is the medieval castle and a mansion from Elizabethan times . None of the buildings were used after the 18th century.
history
Medieval castle
In 1086 two Anglo-Saxon Thanes , Hunning and Wulfgeat , lived in Moreton Corbet. Or maybe they lived in a fortified building. Another Englishman named Toret lived there at the beginning of the 12th century . His descendant, Peter Toret , was Lord of Moreton Corbet in 1166 and it is likely that he lived in a castle. In February 1216, William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke , stormed Moreton Corbet Castle on behalf of King John Ohneland against Bartholomew Toret . At that time the castle was called Moreton Toret Castle . In 1235, Bartholomew Toret died and Richard de Corbet , his son-in-law, inherited the castle and changed its name.
The next time Moreton Corbet Castle made history in the English Civil War , when it changed hands at least four times. Ultimately, however, it remained the property of the Corbet family .
Mansion
In the 16th century, Sir Andrew Corbet had many changes made to the gatehouse and perimeter wall. When he died in 1578, his son Robert Corbet , who had seen a lot of classical architecture during his time as a diplomat abroad, influenced by this , wanted to build a new mansion. Unfortunately he died of the plague in 1583 . After his death, his two brothers, Richard Corbet and Vincent Corbet , continued his plans. They had the new manor built and the remains of the old fortress.
Civil war
During the English Civil War, Moreton Corbet Castle served as part of the royalist defenses of Shrewsbury. The castle was besieged more than once and badly damaged in the fighting. At one point the castle was taken by only ten roundheads . Eventually it was captured by the later “Home Guard” under parliamentary rule.
The ruins
The ruins can be visited free of charge in daylight.
Today you come from the west to the castle ruins, where you can park your car on the roadside. But there is also an entrance from the north, from the property of the church. The difference between the ruins of the medieval castle and those of the later mansion can be seen immediately. The Elizabethan-era building extends south and west of the castle.
The main path leads past most of the medieval and Elizabethan ruins to the gatehouse, which was rebuilt in the 16th century. There was the entrance to the medieval castle. Even if Sir Andrew Corbet had it repaired and adjusted, he made sure that its important defensive character was preserved. Above the archway, his monogram and the year 1579 are chiseled into a stone block that lies above another stone of the same type that bears the family's helmet (an elephant) and the castle as a relief. Since Corbet died on August 16, 1578, the inscription must have been attached to the building after his death, which suggests that it was still unfinished.
The gatehouse no longer has a roof. Behind the Gothic pointed arch at the entrance you can still see the cantilever arches that once supported the roof and the battlements of the tower.
When you enter the inner courtyard and look north, the layout of the medieval castle opens up. The donjon in the west was connected to the gatehouse by an irregular, often rebuilt curtain wall, which then turned to the south and enclosed the area so that it formed a castle courtyard. The walls are ruined today, so you can see the church in the background. The entire brickwork is pockmarked with the musket shots from the Civil War. Sir Andrew had a large living area built on this wall, which housed kitchens on the ground floor and apartments on the upper floor.
At the west end of the extensive curtain wall there is a beautiful donjon with a rectangular floor plan, which has two floors above ground and a cellar. It is difficult to date, but it is possible that it dates from the 11th century, although it is more likely that it was not built until the 12th century, or even the 13th. The entrance was through a raised archway and the open chimneys on the lower floor can still be seen today. This tower was used intensively and rebuilt several times; eventually it became a storeroom in the 16th century. Around 1700 it was still inhabited.
The wall in the west and south of the donjon has been almost completely removed, leaving a gap between the castle and the later house on this side.
The house, built for Sir Andrew Corbet in the mid-16th century, filled the courtyard east of the donjon. To the east and south of the gatehouse, these residential buildings from the Tudor period opened into a knight's hall . A large open fireplace is visible upstairs, and a smaller one on the ground floor. There were gates through the curtain to the toilets.
1. Complete overview of the medieval castle from the north-west. The Elizabethan house is behind it.
2. Medieval gatehouse from the outside, from the north.
3. Inside of the medieval gatehouse
4. Inner courtyard with gatehouse on the right and church in the background
5. Remains of the donjon
6. Remains of the donjon and part of the western building line. West part of the Elizabethan house beyond.
7. Location of the knight's hall from the Tudor period. You can see open chimneys and doors to the toilets.
8. East end and interior of the Elizabethan house
9. South entrance to the Elizabethan house
10. West end of the south facade of the Elizabethan house
11. View of the Elizabethan house from the west
12. Chimera on the west corner of the Elizabethan facade
13. Wyvern on the east corner of the Elizabethan facade
To the south of the castle, Sir Andrew's son Robert, who died in 1583, had a broad, low-rise house built in a more modern style, which William Camden described as "a most splendid and prestigious Italian-style house". It appears that it was influenced by Italian structures that Robert had seen on his diplomatic travels, including Palladio's Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza . The house was clad in stone, but the cores of the walls were made of brick .
You can go straight through the Elizabethan house and exit through the main gate in the south wall. This was finely decorated with stone carvings, as was the rest of the facade.
The house was badly damaged, but most of the western part is complete.
A view from an angle to the west gives a good impression of the original construction. Although it was inspired by the Italian style and finely decorated, the stone carvings are very rural.
A chimera is carved in the southwest corner.
A wyvern is the counterpart at the other end of the facade.
Current condition
Although the buildings were repaired after the Civil War, the buildings were no longer in use by the 18th century and were partially demolished. They still belong to the Corbet family today but are managed by English Heritage. The family moved to the nearby Acton Reynald Hall .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Moreton Corbet Castle . Historic England. English Heritage. , accessed July 21, 2016.
- ^ Paul Martin Remfry: Moreton Corbet Castle, and the families of Verley, Toret and Corbet . Castle Studies Research & Publishing. 2005. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
- ^ Moreton Corbet Castle> Prices and Opening Times . Retrieved July 21, 2016.
- ↑ a b NM Fuidge: CORBET, Sir Andrew (1522-78) . The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
- ^ A b c Iain Ferris: Haughmond Abbey, Lilleshall Abbey, Moreton Corbet Castle . English Heritage, London 2000. ISBN 978-1-85074-750-5 .
Web links
- Moreton Corbet Castle . English Heritage
- Moreton Corbet Castle . Castles99.
- Moreton Corbet Castle . Gatehouse Gazetteer.
- Photos of Moreton Corbet Castle and the surrounding area on Geograph® Britain and Ireland.
- History of Moreton Corbet Castle . English Heritage.
Coordinates: 52 ° 48 ′ 16.2 " N , 2 ° 39 ′ 14.8" W.