Holt Castle

The Domesday Book records the manor of Holt as being in the possession Urse d'Abetot, a Norman knight who came to England as an important follower of William the Conqueror and was made Sheriff of Worcester in around 1069. D'Abetot constructed a castle at Holt in around 1086. Nothing of this early castle remains. The oldest portion of the present building is the main central tower, dating from the 14th century. This was likely built by John Beauchamp, 1st Baron Beauchamp of Kidderminster who was executed for treason in 1388. In the very early 17th century, Henry Jetto is recorded as living as a servant at the castle, the first known instance of a black man resident in Worcestershire. Jetto's…

The castle's central tower is square, of four storeys, with a castellated parapet. It is roughly 16 ft. by 14 ft. in diameter, with walls to a thickness of four ft. at the base. The main building material is local sandstone rubble. and the other of the 18th century, and a game larder, are listed at Grade II.