Hopton Castle

Hopton Castle stands in the village of Hopton Castle, halfway between Knighton and Craven Arms in Shropshire. It began as a motte-and-bailey built by the Hopton family in the 12th century. The stone keep was added during the Barons’ War in the 13th century. The castle passed to the Corbet family and then to Henry Wallop, who strengthened it for Parliament at the start of the English Civil War. After the war it fell into ruin and remained a roofless shell from the early 18th century. The site is worth visiting for its Civil War story and the work that saved it. In 1644 a small Parliament garrison held out for three weeks before surrendering. Accounts differ on what happened next, but many defenders were killed after the castle fell. The castle was excavated by Channel 4’s Time Team in 2010, which clarified its medieval layout. A preservation trust took over in 2008 and raised £1 million to stabilise the ruins. The Duke of Gloucester reopened it to the public in December 2011. Visitors today see the restored keep with its surviving medieval plaster and a newly revealed garderobe chamber. The masonry has been carefully rebuilt and the structure stabilised. The surrounding village offers quiet lanes and farmland views. The castle’s grassy motte and the bailey earthworks remain visible. An information board explains the siege and excavation. The site is peaceful yet charged with its wartime past.