Wattlesborough Castle: A Thirteenth-Century Fortified Manor House
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.3
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- British, English
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page6 sections
History
Wattlesborough Castle is a ruined fortified manor house in the United Kingdom, near Alberbury in Shropshire, close to the boundary with Powys in Wales. The stone tower is generally described as a thirteenth-century fortified manor house or tower house, although the architect Edward Blore attributed its construction to Roger Corbet in 1280, a date that may be too early.
Medieval Ownership
Before the Norman Conquest, the manor of Wattlesborough was held by Edric. By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, an extensive survey of landholding and resources commissioned by William the Conqueror, it had passed to Roger Fitz Corbet. His successors, the Lords of Caus, held it as one knight’s fee, a medieval landholding tied to an obligation to provide military service. The Lords of Caus were associated with Caus Castle and its surrounding lordship in Shropshire.
The manor later passed through several established families. It moved from the Corbets to the Mawdys in 1382, then to the De Burghs in 1414, and finally to the Leighton family in 1471.
The Leighton Residence
The Leightons used Wattlesborough as their chief residence from their inheritance of the manor in 1471 until about 1711. John Leighton represented Shropshire in Parliament in 1468, and other members of the family later held the same office. Around 1711, the family moved to nearby Loton, and Wattlesborough subsequently became a farmhouse. An adjoining farm building was constructed at about the same time and given the name Wattlesborough Hall.
Protection and Condition
Wattlesborough Castle is both a Grade I listed building, the highest category of listed-building protection in England, and a Scheduled Monument, a legally protected archaeological or historic site. Its surviving structure is in poor condition, and Historic England has discussed preservation options with the owners.
Remains
The surviving complex consists of a roofless stone tower and associated water features. The tower has a square plan, rises two storeys above an undercroft, and stands within a moat accompanied by a fishpond. Only the ruined tower survives from the fortified manor house, while its poor condition affects the preservation of the remaining fabric.
Wattlesborough Hall
Wattlesborough Hall is the adjoining farm building constructed around 1711, when the Leighton family left Wattlesborough for Loton. Its construction belongs to the building’s later agricultural phase, after the medieval tower had ceased to serve as the family’s chief residence.
