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Croft Castle and Parkland
The story
History of Croft Castle and Parkland
Croft Castle is a country house in the village of Croft, Herefordshire, England. Owned by the Croft family since 1085, the castle and estate passed out of their hands in the 18th century, before being repurchased by the family in 1923.
United Kingdom
- Built
- 18th century
- Era
- Baroque
- Country
- United Kingdom
- UNESCO
- —
- Coordinates
- 52.284, -2.808
In depth
The fuller history
A building has been on the site from c.1085 when the estate was established by the Croft family and from this time been the home of the Croft family and Croft baronets. The Croft family were closely linked to their neighbours the Mortimers of Wigmore and Ludlow. The Battle of Mortimer's Cross took place on Croft land nearby in 1461. It was the home of Sir John de Croft who married Janet, one of Owain Glyndŵr's daughters. In the 15th century, the Croft family adopted the Welsh Wyvern crest, a wounded black dragon, seen as an allusion to their Glyndwr heritage.
Key dates
- 1085Owned by the Croft family since 1085, the castle and estate passed out of their hands in the 18th century, before being repurchased by the family in 1923.
- 1637Margaret Croft (died 1637), lady in waiting to Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia.
- 1777In the 1760s, Johnes remodelled the Castle in the Rococo-Gothic style to the designs of the Shrewsbury architect Thomas Farnolls Pritchard (d.1777), designer of the world's first iron bridge spanning the Severn near…
- 1780He married Elizabeth Powell of Stanage Park in Radnorshire by whom he had a sole daughter Elizabeth Knight, who married Thomas Johnes (died 1780) of Llanfair Clydogau, MP for Radnorshire (1777–80).
- 1937In 1937, the seventeenth-century service wing to the north-west was demolished to make the house more compact.
- 1960The castle opened to the public in 1960 after Michael, Lord Croft, had acquired paintings and furniture for display in the showrooms and his sister Diana established and funded the Croft Trust.
Historical summary drawn from Wikipedia. Read the full article.
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