Location: Acton Burnell, Shropshire Map
Acton Burnell Castle is a historic and allegedly haunted medieval castle situated near a village of Acton Burnell in Shropshire region of United Kingdom. The mansion was built in 1284 Robert Burnell, Bishop of Bath and Wells, a friend and adviser to King Edward I, build. Its location near the Roman road Watling Street was important at that time. The size of the property is unknown because the building was completely destroyed and remains have not been discovered. But it will have been sufficient to accommodate King Edward I and his followers, soldiers and advisers, but never was a real castle.
The manor house was built in 1284 by Robert Burnell, Bishop of Bath
and Wells, a friend and advisor to King Edward I. Its location near
the Roman road of Watling Street was important at the time. The size
of the property is not known as the building was completely
destroyed and remains have not yet been discovered. However, it will
have been sufficient to accommodate King Edward I and his followers,
soldiers and advisers, but was never an actual castle.
Robert
Burnell received royal permission to fortify his manor house on
January 28, 1284 (English: "Licence to crenellate"), which only
reliable people could achieve. The building was rectangular with a
tower at each corner. It was three stories high and contained a
knight's hall, a solarium, bedchambers, offices, a chapel and
kitchens. Robert Burnell also had the nearby Church of St. Mary and
the surrounding village built.
The previous year, in the
autumn of 1283, Edward I had held a Parliament at Acton Burnell,
probably in the adjoining great barn, the only building of
sufficient size for it. This assembly is of great importance in
English history because it was the first time in England that
commoners were involved in the legislative process. The statute
passed there became known as the Statute of Acton Burnell and
afforded protection to lenders, indicating the growing importance of
trade at the time.
When Robert Burnell died in 1292 the estate passed through his family through marriage to the Lovel family of Titchmarsh. After the Battle of Stoke in 1487, King Henry VII confiscated the land and gave it to Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. It passed to the Smythe family in the mid-17th century, but by then the house was largely destroyed. Acton Burnell Castle is now managed by English Heritage. Only the outer walls of the former house are open to the public, accessible via a footpath through a small forest.
The Smythe family had a country house built near the castle in 1814.
It is of classical architectural style and classified as a
historical building II*. Grades listed. The country house is
surrounded by parkland which includes two artificial lakes and a
Gothic folly called Sham Castle. This folly has round towers and
lancet windows, stands on a hill surrounded by trees and was built
in 1780. Joseph Bromfield built it for Edward Smythe and the family
used it as a music room.
Acton Burnell Castle served as
another folly in the park. Large entrance gates were punched through
the private residences. A pyramidal roof was placed on top of a
tower so that it could be used as a pigeon house.
Monks from
the Monastery of St Gregory, Donai, took refuge with Edward Smythe,
5th Baronet, until his death, after which they moved to Downside,
Somerset in 1814.
The relatively modern country house and its
surroundings are now owned by the private Concord College. The gable
walls of the large barn in which Parliament met have survived to
this day and are on private property.
Acton Burnell Castle is considered to be a haunted medieval stronghold. One of the ghosts that live here is an apparition of an little girl that is dressed in white lace. Her ghostly figure is said to roam ruined Acton Burnell Castle by day as well as night.