Ludlow Castle

Ludlow Castle stands on a high promontory above the River Teme in the market town of Ludlow. The fortress began as a wooden ringwork after the Norman Conquest and was rebuilt in stone by Walter de Lacy around 1075. Its inner bailey was defended by four towers and a gatehouse, with a deep rock-cut ditch on two sides. The castle changed hands repeatedly during the 12th-century civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda. By the 1140s Gilbert de Lacy had added an outer bailey and a Great Tower, while a circular chapel modelled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built inside.

The castle became a symbol of royal authority when Richard, Duke of York, inherited it in 1425. After his son Edward IV took the throne in 1461, Ludlow became the seat of the Council of Wales and the Marches. In the 16th century the council renovated the castle, and in 1634 John Milton’s masque Comus received its first performance there. During the English Civil War the Royalists held the castle until it was besieged and captured in 1646. After the Restoration the council returned, but when it was abolished in 1689 the castle fell into ruin.

Visitors today walk through the outer bailey where the Castle House now serves as estate offices. The inner bailey is reached across a deep trench and contains the Great Tower, the Solar block, the Great Hall and the Great Chamber. A rare circular chapel stands beside these medieval buildings. The outer walls enclose almost five acres, offering long views over the town and the winding River Teme. The ruins and the later mansion together show how the castle evolved over nine centuries.