A-Z Challenge 2012 - Q
Quatford Castle
The village
of Quatford in the English County
of Shropshire sits on the bank of the River
Severn and is one of the oldest settlements in the area.
A fortress was built at Quatford by Ethelfleda
in 913. Earl Roger Montgomery built what was almost certainly a timber castle
there, on high ground overlooking the river, in 1085. Earthworks are all that
remains of the motte and bailey castle. The 9m high motte is D-shaped, 35 x 50m
at the base and 11m at the top. A rock-cut ditch bounds the eastern side.
 |
| Quatford Castle 2007 |
The existing ‘castle’ is on a different site
north of the village and was built by a man named John Smalman for himself.
Smalman’s Quatford
Castle is a modern
mansion on an elevated site with extensive views.
As you can see it is less romantic that the other
castles you have seen in this series. Alas I also have no ghostly tales to
recount.
Quatford is the only British castle I could
find beginning with ‘Q’.
Hilary’s castle for P
was Pendennis Castle, Cornwall
Attribution
- Quatford Castle 2007; built by John Smalman in 1830; author John M; from the Geograph project collection; Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 License.
Another one I'd never heard of, Bob. And no ghosts?
ReplyDeleteHi Bob - well clever you for finding one - you obviously have an infinity with Mortimer! I found two in NI - but they were 'dull' .. so had to be inventive.
ReplyDeleteInteresting history here - any high point was 'secured' as a vantage point in the faction wars that were always going on. I guess it was on the way to Welsh Marches too ..
No ghosts .. I bet there are a few around the Motte and Bailey buried thankfully in the history of time.
There are a few mansions that are called Castles .. when did Smalman build it?
Cheers Hilary
Bother - just seen your caption says 1830!! Cheers again .. I'll go and wake up now!! Hilary
ReplyDeleteLoving swapping between you and Hilary to track your castles. Hugely enjoyable seeing what you both come up with.
ReplyDeleteAmanda
http://dramadiceanddamsons.blogspot.co.uk/
quaint!
ReplyDeleteModern or not, it looks lovely just the same.
ReplyDeleteYes I too am enjoying swapping between castles. Very interesting. Never heard of Quatford.
ReplyDeleteYes, bonus points to you for finding a castle that starts with Q! We can make up stories about it being haunted later. :)
ReplyDeleteWow. I can't believe you found one that begins with a Q. Excellent! But no ghostly tales. *sigh* Still, it is exquisite nestled behind those trees. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat! No ghosts? Tut, tut. I've never been to this castle.
ReplyDeleteI think a castles with no ghosts is a good castle. :)
ReplyDeleteNo ghosts, such a pity. lol!
ReplyDeleteTimber castle? Hmm -- that seems to fly in the face of the very definition of castle. Timber seems easily destructible. But what do I know?
ReplyDeleteBravo for finding a Q castle!
ReplyDeleteMimi Torchia Boothby Watercolors
My family have been living in the wonderful property for nearly 40 years now, loved growing up here.
ReplyDelete