Haus Stockum

Haus Stockum marks the site of two former castles that once stood on opposite banks of the Lippe. On the northern bank stood the later castle, Burg Stockum, within today’s Werne-Stockum district. On the southern bank lay the older Burg Hugenpoth, now in Hamm-Herringen. Only faint traces remain above ground, but archaeologists treat both sites as protected monuments. The most notable owners were members of the de Hüvele family, later known as von Hövel. The castles’ history is tied to the royal estate complex once held by Herford Abbey. The older castle on the southern bank first appears in records when a chapel was built there in the 14th century. This chapel served as the parish church for Stockum until the late 1300s. The northern site began as an estate granted by Louis the German in 858 to Herford Abbey. By the 12th century it had become an Amtshof, a manorial court centre with its own legal code. The von Hövel family held the office of Schultheiß and later turned their position into a knightly fief. Visitors today find two quiet fields beside the Lippe where the castles once stood. A low mound on the northern bank shows where Burg Stockum rose above the river. On the southern bank a similar rise marks the site of Burg Hugenpoth. The riverbank path links both spots, offering views of the water and surrounding farmland. Information boards explain the sites’ past roles as centres of justice and defence. The landscape still carries the memory of the powerful families who once ruled from these now vanished strongholds.