Hopton Castle, Shropshire.
- Client :
Hopton Castle Trust - Architect :
John Wheatley & John C Goom - Position :
Principal Contractor - Total Value :
£850K - Date :
2009 - 2010 - Archaeologist:
Richard K Morriss - Client project manager:
Rayska Heritage - CDM Consultant:
Construction Project Safety - Quantity Surveyor:
Firmingers - Structural Engineer:
Shire Consulting
A Scheduled Ancient Monument tucked away in the south Shropshire hills, the existing castle dates from the 12th and 13th centuries with settlement on the site dating back to the Norman invasion. The castle gained notoriety during the civil war when it was home to the Wallop family, staunch parliamentarians in an otherwise royalist region. Royalists laid siege to the castle for almost a month culminating in the bloody massacre of the garrison.
Hopton Castle has now been transformed from perilous ruin to treasured ancient monument thanks to the many years of hard work by the Hopton Castle Preservation Trust who in 2006 secured around a million pounds from the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage and other sources, allowing the castle to be purchased and the ambitious conservation project to be undertaken.
Cbs were awarded the prestigious contract in 2009 and our work began with the removal of over two hundred cubic metres of fallen tallus and debris from the buildings interior. Whilst not an enviable task, it was made rather more interesting by the use of a diesel powered mono rail to move the material about the site without impacting on the archaeologically sensitive landscape. Interesting discoveries were made including a most impressive garderobe chamber. The entrance was discovered after excavation of the motte and the chamber was found to have been filled, possibly around the time of the civil war siege, with bricks, roof tiles and floor timbers. The contents were carefully removed and set aside for archaeological study and dendro-dating. Also of interest is the construction of the chamber, found to be of an exceptional quality and sophistication. Who'd have thought a loo could illustrate so clearly the high status of a building as well as the fine crafstmanship of those employed to build it!
Cbs consolidated the entire castle remains including the installation of hundreds of cintec anchors, the dismantling and rebuilding of hundreds of square metres of stonemasonry, lime pointing, conservation of medieval plaster and the building of the access infrastructure that will enable the Trust to safely open the castle and its grounds to the public.
For more about Hopton Castle visit www.hoptoncastle.org.uk
This project encompasses the following services
