Brockhurst Castle
From Ars Magica
History
Half a mile north of Little Stretton and south of Church Stretton stands Brockhurst Castle. This castle is thought to have been erected by Henry II in 1154-5 to help keep in check the rebellious Hugh de Mortimer. From the start it is recorded as being a Royal castle, held by the King. When Stretton became a Royal manor, custody of it was given to Engelhard de Pitchford, who assumed the name de Stretton and held it until the 1170s. He received a salary of £4 per annum for this. Richard I had the castle repaired in 1194-5. In 1197 the castellan (care-taker) was Cadwallon who was the illegitimate son of Owen Cyvelioc. a Prince of Powis. The castle was repaired by Hugh de Neville, who was custodian from 1209 until he was forcibly ejected by John Fitz-alan. Not until 1215 was he obliged, under orders of the king, to restore it to de Nevile, who in turn was then ordered to hand it over to Hugh de Mortimer. In 1229, the castle was granted to Hubert de Burgh, but it was forfeited on his fall in 1232, In 1235 it was repaired it with oak trees felled at Womerton or Longnor. In 1238 it was granted to Henry Hastings and wife in lieu of her share of Earldom of Chester The site seems to have been abandoned by 1255 when it was reported "there is no castle at Stretton".
What little stone there was was most likely taken by the locals for building materials. With no castle there was no need for a castellan, and the responsibility for the King's manor was in the hands of the local community. They seem to have done a good job, as there are records of them reporting several encroachments of the Royal Forest and of the King's fishponds being drained and the fish being sold for 9 marks.
Modern Remains
There are still (2001) impressive earthworks of two baileys in line on a spur south of Church Stretton. The inner bailey at the SW end meansures 60m by 40m and is known from excavations in 1959 to have ahd a curtain wall of local shale 1.8m thick from the start. It was partly buried in an earth bank, and then later completely robbed of its materials. A ditch 3m deep and 12m wide divides it from the D-shaped outer bailey 40m by 30m which has a rampart, and a deep ditch surrounds both baileys.
