Rowton Castle, near

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, England, is a Grade II*

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

that was once the home of the

Royal National College for the Blind The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) is a co-educational specialist residential college of further education based in the English city of Hereford. Students who attend the college are aged 16 to 25 and blind or partially sighted. ...

before it moved to its present location in

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

. This 17th-century castle is surrounded by 17 acres of gardens, and is approximately from Shrewsbury. It is currently used as a wedding venue, hotel and restaurant. The present castle was built in the 17th century, although a previous castle had stood on the site for several hundred years. The house was in the possession of the Lyster family until the death of Lady Charlotte Lyster, in 1889. She passed the house to her nephew,

Montagu Corry, 1st Baron Rowton Montagu William Lowry-Corry, 1st Baron Rowton, (8 October 1838 – 9 November 1903), also known as "Monty", was a British philanthropist and public servant, best known for serving as Benjamin Disraeli's private secretary from 1866 until the lat ...

, who in turn passed it on to his nephew, Colonel N. A. Lowry Curry following his death in 1903. The house's next owner, Major Lees, sold it to the Royal Normal College for the Blind in 1941. The college, which had previously been located in London, was forced to find new premises after its site, based in

Upper Norwood Upper Norwood is an area of south London, England, within the London Boroughs of Bromley, Croydon, Lambeth and Southwark. It is north of Croydon and the eastern part of it is better known as the Crystal Palace area. Upper Norwood is situated ...

, was bombed during

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

, then acquired by the authorities. The college used the castle itself as the accommodation block for staff and senior pupils. The building also housed the dining areas for both junior and senior pupils. Classrooms, which have since been converted into private apartments, were built to the eastern side of the building. In 1953 a fire destroyed much of the buildings and 38 pianos and organs used for training pupils in tuning. The alarm was raised by one of the students, and everybody present was evacuated to safety. Training was able to continue after Henshaw's Institution for the Blind took students and staff as a temporary measure. As the college expanded it outgrew the site and bought other premises in and around Shrewsbury, then in 1978 relocated to

after finding accommodation that would enable it to consolidate its facilities into one campus. After the college's departure the building was empty for several years until work began to convert it into a hotel in 1986. The hotel opened in April 1989, and was acquired by its current owners in October 1997.

References

External links

Rowton Castle
– Castle Wedding Venues – Shropshire , West Midlands. {{coord, 52.7087, -2.9207, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Country houses in Shropshire Castles in Shropshire Grade II* listed buildings in Shropshire Royal National College for the Blind Mock castles in England

See also

References

External links