Weoley Castle

By -






Although referred to as a castle, Weoley was a mediaval manor house, once surrounded by a wide, water filled moat.
The building dates from 1270s when the Lords of Dudley, Roger de Somery were given permission by the King to build and fortify their castle in stone. Because it is located in a valley, the building did not have a keep or the defensive position required by a castle. However, the Dudley barony enjoyed into a great construction with private rooms for the lords and ladies, a kitchen with a large fireplace for cooking, an impressive great hall, towers and an imposing gatehouse. The family had their own chapel and stable range with lodging rooms above.

There are no to many information about the social life at the Weoley Castle. It was eventually owned by Joan de Botetourt who inherited by marriage and used Weoley as her main residence and home. After her death the castle changed hands numerous times in legal dispute over inheritance. By 1485 it was in the ownership of William Berkeley who lost the castle at the Battle of Bosworth where he fought for Richard III. In 1531 the castle and surrounding land was sold by the Dudleys to a wealthy cloth merchant called Richard Jervoise. He never lived here but he biult a more confortable home nearby in Northfield.
In the 18th Century a farmhouse was built beside the moat but the area remained rural until Mr Ledsam, the then owner, sold the land in 1930.

Now the place is a ruin and many archaeologists uncovered a rich collection of finds. These objects ilustrate the welth and lifestyle of the people that lived and worked at Weoley Castle.

Surrounded by beautiful fields and hills, Weoley Castle is almost unknown; event the neighbours from Selly Oak don't know too much details about it.Anyway, if you live or visit Birmingham, you should see Weoley.....
You can find more information here

You can find more pictures here

Comments

  1. Ahmad As.February 20, 2011 at 4:46 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Victoria BaltagFebruary 23, 2011 at 4:04 AM

    Hey..my loyal reader...miss you so so much!
    I enjoyed a bit.....but without you...is not the same, you know...tomorrow I go to salsa...and again I will remember you....the best salsa dancer in the world!a big kiss for you

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ahmad As.February 25, 2011 at 1:52 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ahmad As.February 25, 2011 at 1:54 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. victoria baltagMarch 14, 2011 at 10:42 AM

    Ahmad......wish you the best!I love you too and I miss you so so much! next week will be the last salsa class for me as well..:)

    kisses and hugs for you

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hakkari, Turkey

By -
Image
      If I would not get the opportunity to see Hakkari through an Youth in Action project, I probably would have never visit ed this blessed town, settled in the middle of the mountains. Hakkari is a place situated in the South East corner of Turkey, close to the border with Iraq and Iran.   It is composed of a Kurdish and Assyrian population and has approximately 57,844 people.     The history of this place takes your breath away. It was a refuge for the persecuted Christian Assyrians who ran away   in   the mountains to protect themselves against the Timurlane occupation (Turko-Mongolian   emir) in the 14 th century. Then in the 19 th century, they   were conquered by the Kurdish people and were turned into slaves or executed. There were also many conflicts between the Kurdish population an d the O t toman (later, Turkish) control. Hakkari was considered and it is still seen as an unsafe place to live.   Still, there is no r
Read more

Bitola. It's all about history here

By -
Image
Thanks to Youth in Action programme again, I came across an old, historical, Macedonian city called Bitola. Situated in the S-W part of Macedonia, Bitola settles at the foot of Baba Mountain and it is crossed by the Dragon River.   The place represents an important junction between the Adriatic Sea, the Aegean Sea and Central Europe. You would never guess, but this city has an impressive history.     It was founded as Heraclea Lyncestis (City of Hercules upon the Land of the Lynx) in the middle of the 4th century BC by Philip II of Macedon and it was an important settlement from the Hellenistic period until the early Middle Ages. Then, the Romans conquered this part of Macedon in 148 BC and destroyed the political power of the city. Still, the city remained prosperous because of the Via Egnatia Roman road which passed by the city. In the early Byzantine period (4th to 6th centuries AD) Heraclea was an important episcopal centre and bishops like Bishop Eva
Read more

The Summer University of Ramnicu Sarat on the Communism Crimes

By -
Image
1. The Prisons I was so anxious about this summer school. I was thinking many times if it is a good idea to participate or not. I was afraid that I will not be able to take more information about the crimes during communism because already I knew something from Roxana (my colleague from the Historical Film Festival Summer School) and it was so painful to find out what happened in those cruel times.  Roxana:) After her story, I couldn’t sleep a couple of nights. But this it was good. Actually, it was the best preparation for the following hard information. Her introduction in the Communism regime was so helpful for me. In the first day, we went to visit the Ramnicu Sarat Prison . It was the first time in my life when I entered into a prison. This prison was no longer active. Well, this prison was built in the    period of King Charles the First ofRomania ( 1839–1914) as a small prison . In the Communism regime, it was known as the Silence Prison as e
Read more