Stafford Castle, Staffordshire

Dominating the Stafford skyline, Stafford Castle is one of Stafford’s popular attractions amongst visitors and locals. Today there is a misconception amongst many people that Stafford Castle is only a nineteenth century folly, a whim of a wealthy family, but the history of Stafford Castle is one which dates back over nine hundred years.

The Normans are generally credited with bringing the concept of castles into Britain and following on from William the Conqueror’s invasion wooden and stone castles appeared across the nation. Stafford Castle was one of the earliest of Norman castles constructed in the country.

Stafford Castle - Geni - CC-BY-SA-3.0

The Battle of Hastings gave the Norman’s victory but did not end resistance, and over the following years Saxon rebellions occurred across the country. One such rebellion occurred in 1069 although it was crushed at the Battle of Stafford. Two years later another rebellion was planned by Edwin Earl of Mercia and his brother, Morcar, the former Earl of Northumberland. Edwin though was assassinated before the rebellion could get underway, and William I took Edwin’s lands for the crown, this land included Stafford. William divided the land out amongst his retinue, with the Stafford area being given over to Robert de Tonei (sometimes referred to as Robert de Tosny). Robert of Stafford, as he became known, then set about building a wooden castle to suppress any thoughts of further rebellion.

The initial Stafford Castle appears to have been short lived, with the wooden structure gone within twenty years, although subsequently a new stone built castle was constructed on the same site, in the standard method of motte and bailey. A stone keep though was only constructed in 1347 when Ralph Stafford found fame and fortune as a favourite of Edward III. It was Edward III who granted the rights to crenellate as well as bestowing the tile of earl of Stafford and member of the Order of the Garter on Ralph.

In the time of Henry VIII thought he Staffords would fall out of favour, with the rectangular shaped castle falling into a degree of repair, although still inhabitable. During the English Civil War Stafford Castle would prove to be a defendable position, and Lady Isabel Stafford would hold the castle as a royalist stronghold. It held out against one siege, although it would fall to Parliamentarian hands in June 1643. As with the majority of Royalist castles it was then destroyed to prevent future use against parliament.

Interior of Stafford Castle - geni - CC-BY-SA-4.0

The destruction was one of the more effective undertaken, with Stafford castle reduced to foundation levels. In this state it remained until the end of the eighteenth century when the site passed into the hands of the Jerningham family. Sir William Jerningham would do some excavations, although it was his son Edward Jerningham who in 1813 would make use of the foundations to rebuild Stafford Castle. The rebuild was done in Gothic style, in the style that the Georgians believed the castle would have looked at the time of Ralph Stafford. This has lead to the belief that the castle is only a Georgian folly.

The Jerninghams though rarely made use of the rebuilt castle, and instead it was passed into the care of a series of caretakers, with little money spent on the upkeep of the castle. By the early 1960’s Stafford Castle was in a bad state of repair, and largely open to the elements. Lord Stafford would pass over ownership of Stafford Castle in 1961 to Stafford Borough Council. The Council would be forced to pull down large parts of the stonework to ensure that it was safe, but eventually Stafford Castle would open to the public.

Today Stafford Castle remains open to the public, with a visitor centre and a trail to follow around the buildings and grounds. Stafford Castle is also a venue for events throughout the year, including the popular performances of Shakespeare plays and medieval re-enactments.

A visit to Stafford Castle gives people the chance to find out about the history of one of Britain’s oldest castles, and although not original the ruins of the castle do make for some interesting viewing.

Copyright - First Published 25th October 2010