Whittington Castle

Whittington Castle stands on the edge of the Welsh Marches near Old Oswestry in northern Shropshire. Built originally as a motte-and-bailey in the 12th century, it was rebuilt in stone during the 13th century with a curtain wall, five towers and a moat. The castle occupies a 12-acre site in the village of Whittington beside Castle Road. Archaeologists Peter Brown and Peter King discovered that the outer bailey once held two elaborate gardens surrounded by water in the 14th century. These gardens, created by the FitzWarin family, show how advanced English gardening was compared with French or Flemish styles. A viewing mound at the centre may be the oldest of its kind yet found in England. The castle’s history reflects the turbulent borderland between England and Wales. It was fortified for William Peverel in 1138, captured by Llywelyn ab Iorwerth in 1223, and later rebuilt under Henry III. The FitzWarin family held it for nearly two centuries until the line ended in 1420. After passing through different owners, it was exchanged with Henry VIII in 1545 and eventually leased as a romantic dwelling in the 17th century. The gatehouse was restored around 1808 and remained a farmhouse until the 1990s. Visitors today see a restored gatehouse standing beside the old Holyhead Road. The inner bailey walls and moat still enclose the site, with traces of the 14th-century gardens visible. The Whittington Castle Preservation Trust completed a £1.5 million renovation project in recent years. Every year the Historia Normannis group re-enacts battles from the Marches period. The castle also hosts legends, including claims that the Holy Grail once rested in its private chapel.