Alberbury Castle

Alberbury Castle stands in the village of Alberbury, nine miles west of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, close to the Welsh border. Built from local red sandstone, it is a Grade II listed building whose origins go back to the 13th century. Fulk FitzWarin probably raised the first stronghold here during the reign of Richard I. Earlier claims that William the Conqueror gave the site to Guarine de Metz are questioned by the Domesday Book of 1086. The castle’s main purpose was to block Welsh raids and control passes along the River Severn. The castle was destroyed by Llewellyn the Great in 1223 and rebuilt three years later with a stone wall around the bailey. In 1229 the Sheriff of Shropshire, Thomas Corbet of Caus, seized the castle after twisting Fulk FitzWarin’s words, but FitzWarin won it back through the courts. The FitzWarin family kept the castle until the mid 14th century, when they moved their power to Whittington. A church founded by the family during Henry I’s reign still stands beside the ruins. Today the castle remains on private land and cannot be visited. The adjoining parish church of St Michael has a single high tower with a triangular roof that may once have served as an outpost. The red sandstone walls and earthworks still mark the site of the old bailey and keep.