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A medieval castle, expanded and large Elizabethan mansion added, badly damaged in the Civil War, later repaired but abandoned in the 1700's, and soon become roofless, now a shell remains. In the nearby fields can be seen traces of what was once a fine garden and near the gatehouse indentations showing where the moat was at one time. The ditch once went around the site with timber defences, in around 1200 the defences were rebuilt in stone and gatehouse and tower added. The gatehouse was remodelled in around 1560. The fireplace architecture in the Great Tower dates it at around 1200, and is the oldest building on the site, little remains of the early buildings. Before this time there could have been earlier defensive structures as the Domesday Survey reports that in 1086 two Anglo Saxon thegns, Hunning and Wulfgeat, were living at Moreton Corbet. Thegn can mean a nobleman below an Earl but more often a soldier or defender in the a Kings service. The transformation started in 1578, and the Elizabethan building added based on books of European architecture with large grid widows. It had a high pitched slate roof that was partly concealed by tall gables. The main rooms were a long gallery and great chamber. This overlooked new gardens. An account from 1588 says that the garden had formal walks and a central sundial, with orchard nearby. On this site you find buildings that were constructed over a 500 year period and can imagine many periods of history. Bullet holes in the masonry of both the mansion building and castle date from the English Civil War. At this point it was initially a garrison for the King but changed hands many times, before the Royalists were finally beaten. Aerial photos show what appears to be the remains of two towers to the south and other marks on the ground shown from there may indicate that a larger castle, or fortified enclosure existed here, than there is published information on. Similarly to the west there are other markings, however a few hundred yards to the west of the castle a Roman road ran in a north south direction, so some of this may be connected with this earlier period. See our Gallery for more pictures
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