Rowton Castle - Shropshire
Written by John Richard Hodges
The County of Shropshire contains many beautiful old houses, some of which have remained almost untouched since they were built. Rowton Castle as it stands today displays the work of many periods culminating in today’s ‘fantasy’ castle which gives it the enigmatic appeal of ‘Romanticism’.
The Lysters owned Rowton for 400 years from 1463 until 1889 when on the death of Lady Charlotte Lyster it passed to her sister’s son, who in being raised to the peerage took the title Lord Rowton. When he died unmarried it passed to his nephew General Lowry-Corry, who eventually sold it to Major A. E. Lees. The castle was sold in 1941 to the Royal National College for the Blind who later moved to Hereford. It lay derelict for some 15 years until in 1986 work started to convert it to a luxury hotel which opened on the 12th April 1989.
In October 1997, the hotel was taken over by Jacques de Sousa and a professional team including the Operations Director, Bryan Cherrington and Director and Chef de Cuisine, Steve Parke.
A considerable amount of refurbishment has taken place throughout these years to establish Rowton Castle as one of the finest wedding venues within the United Kingdom.
