Croft Castle

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. The first member of the Croft family to have owned the estate was Bernard de Croft, who is mentioned in Domesday Book. The Croft…

The present building dates from the 1660s during the time when Herbert Croft was Bishop of Hereford, replacing an earlier house some thirty yards to the west, which was excavated by Herefordshire County Archaeologist Prof. Keith Ray and volunteers in 2002. The manor house is a quadrangular stone structure around a central courtyard with round corner towers, and a square bay on the north elevation. Some stone mullion windows remain on all elevations. The castle is one of the first examples of medieval revival, and has affinities to Ruperra Castle, Caerphilly, and Lulworth Castle, Wareham, Dorset.