Stourton is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in Staffordshire, England a few miles to the northwest of

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The ...

. There is a fair amount of dispute over the pronunciation, being pronounced 'stower-ton', 'stir-ton' or 'store-ton' by different people from the area. The nearest sizeable villages are Wollaston and

Kinver Kinver is a large village in the District of South Staffordshire in Staffordshire, England. It is in the far south-west of the county, at the end of the narrow finger of land surrounded by the counties of Shropshire, Worcestershire and the ...

, the nearest hamlets are

Prestwood Prestwood is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about two miles west of Great Missenden and six miles north of High Wycombe. History Early history and creation of parish The village name is Anglo Sax ...

and Dunsley. It lies on the River Stour. The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and Stourbridge Canal meet at Stourton Junction, which places Stourton on the Stourport Ring, a navigable waterway popular with narrowboat holidaymakers. Stourton is situated either side of the A458 road, at the junction of the

A449 The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from junction 24 of the M4 motorway at Newport in South Wales to Stafford in Staffordshire. The southern section of the road, between Ross on Wye and Newport forms part of th ...

between

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

and

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it ha ...

. The name originally related to the area west of the River Stour, is now applied as including the area east (and south) of the river, which was formerly the township of Halfcot. The Stewponey Inn was formerly situated at the cross roads, until it was demolished to make way for housing. Stewponey remains a local name for the location.

Stourton Castle

Believed to be a medieval hunting lodge dating from the reign of King William II.''Victoria County History, Staffordshire'' XX, 130–131 Stourton Castle was evidently 'the King's Houses' in Kinver during the reign of King Henry II. It was called a castle in 1122. By that time, the castle and the manor of Kinver and Stourton, together with the custody of the

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

were held by John son of Philip at a fee farm rent of £9. The king resumed possession of the manor in 1293 and granted it back to John (probably the other's grandson) for life. The king granted the keepership of the forest to Hugh Tyrel in 1339, adding the manor in 1340, but the property was in wardship from 1343 until the majority of another Hugh Tyrel in 1362. Following his death in 1381, the property passed to Richard Hampton. It passed down his family until the death of his great-grandson John Hampton in 1472. Stourton Castle - geograph

The castle and manor then passed to George, Duke of Clarence, who in 1475 gave it to

Tewkesbury Abbey The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury–commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey–is located in the English county of Gloucestershire. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Considered one of the finest examples of No ...

, who returned it to the crown in 1495. The Castle was the birthplace of Cardinal Pole, whose maternal grandfather Clarence, was the brother of both King Edward IV, and

King Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Batt ...

. The castle and manor were granted by Henry VIII to his Attorney General, William Whorwood, whose family owned the manor of Compton, also in Kinver. The castle then became a home of that family until the late 1650s. The present house was presumably built by Thomas Whorwood when he became entitled to the whole of the manor in the 1580s. His grandson John Whorwood was probably neutral in the Civil War, but the castle was taken and briefly held by the brother of Colonel

Tinker Fox Colonel John "Tinker" Fox (1610–1650), confused by some sources with the MP Thomas Fox, was a parliamentarian soldier during the English Civil War. Commanding a garrison at Edgbaston House in Warwickshire – a location that guarded the main ...

in 1644, and later surrendered to Sir Gilbert Gerard, the Governor of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

after he routed Fox's relief column in an action on Stourbridge Heath. Wortley Whorwood (John's grandson) sold the manor and castle to Thomas Foley and his son Philip in 1672 and soon after it settled on Philip. The property belonged to his descendants until the estate was broken up in 1913, the Foleys never lived in the castle however, choosing to reside at nearby

. The castle was occupied as a farm house throughout the 18th century and from 1805 by T. W. Grazebrook, a local glass manufacturer. The house was remodelled and partially rebuilt in 1832-3 by

Sir Robert Smirke Sir Robert Smirke (1 October 1780 – 18 April 1867) was an English architect, one of the leaders of Greek Revival architecture, though he also used other architectural styles. As architect to the Board of Works, he designed several major ...

for the industrialist James Foster. His nephew

William Orme Foster William Orme Foster (29 October 1814 – 29 September 1899) was an English ironmaster, coalmaster and owner of the large industrial firm John Bradley & Co, which he inherited from his uncle, James Foster in 1853. He served as a Liberal MP for S ...

lived there until 1868, when he sold the lease. Around 1890, Martha Steer (née Nettlefold) took it on lease for herself, her daughter, Ethel Steer, and the Wymans with their family of young children. The castle was vacant from the death of George Arkle until the sale of the Prestwood estate in 1913. It was bought by Francis Grazebrook, a relative of the earlier tenant, and remained in the family until the death of his son O. F. Grazebrooke in 1974. The 19th century main front incorporates a late medieval gate tower.

Stourton Junction

Stourton Junction is the point at which the Stourbridge Canal terminates by descending through locks to join the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. This historically important junction on the West Midlands canal network was long disused, but the restoration and reopening of the Stourbridge Canal, from the 1970s onwards, has reasserted its importance. It lies a few hundred metres to the north of the crossroads at Stewponey, and is easily accessed by towpaths along both canals.

Stewponey

The Stewponey public house and Foley Arms Hotel stood at the centre of Stourton at the junction of the

and Stourbridge-bound A458, immediately adjacent to the locks and bridges. It was rebuilt in the 1930s, and featured an outdoor swimming pool. It replaced an 18th-century inn, which was much smaller and outdated, but is known to have existed in 1744, when it was called the house of Benjamin Hallen, being the sign of the Green Man and called the Stewponey.''Victoria County History, Staffordshire'', XX, 124. The hotel was also rebuilt to provide more space for the parking of motor cars. It was a local landmark in the late 20th century. By 1999, however, its owners had decided to sell it to property developers and it was demolished in 2001 to be redeveloped for executive private housing, which has retained the name Stewponey. The origin of the name "Stewponey Inn" remains uncertain. Rev. Sabine Baring Gould claimed that ' was said to have been a local pronunciation of "

Estepona Estepona () is a town and municipality in the comarca of the Costa del Sol, southern Spain. It is located in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its district covers an area of 137 square kilometers in a fertile ...

" and that the Estepona Tavern was so named because the founder of the tavern had been a soldier quartered in Estepona in Spain and his wife had come from there. Other suggestions include it being a corruption of ''Stouri pons'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "bridge of Stour"). The Inn gave its name, Stewponey or Stewpony, to the nearby locks and bridge on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, below Stourton Junction. Beside them stand the Stewponey tollhouse, a brick structure of irregular octagonal plan,British Listed Buildings
/ref> which is painted white. The original Georgian brick bridge was complemented in the 20th century by a modern road bridge. The entry to the towpath is still an important access point to the canal for walkers and there is parking immediately opposite for this purpose.

Stourton Park

Stourton Park is the homeground of Stourbridge R.F.C.

References

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