Caus Castle

Caus Castle is a ruin of a hill fort and medieval castle in the civil parish of Westbury in the English county of Shropshire. It is situated up on the eastern foothills of the Long Mountain guarding the route from Shrewsbury, Shropshire to Montgomery, Powys, on the border between England and Wales. It was destroyed during the English Civil War and has been in ruins since. History The early outer earthworks of the site are probably an Iron Age hillfort, while the later motte-and-bailey is of Norman construction. Roger le Corbet (or Fitz Corbet) was granted several manors in Shropshire in 1069 by William the Conqueror as the Barony of Caus for his role in the Norman conquest and invasion of England. They were named after his Normandy estate in the Pays de Caux, in France. The Corbets owed fealty to Roger de Montgomery, the first Earl of Shrewsbury to help control Welsh Marches with absolute control over their demesne. Caus Castle was built by Roger le Corbet in the late 11th century as a high motte with a very small summit on which stood a tower and a strongly defended inner bailey. The castle was sufficiently important that the Crown took an interest in its maintenance. Henry II of England had it garrisoned in 1165. In 1198 Roger Corbet re-built the tower, keep and curtain wall in stone. During the late 12th century a town or borough was founded in the large outer bailey. A royal grant of 50 marks was made in 1263 towards further building work when D-shape towers were added to the curtain wall. The town contained a church of St Margaret as well as the castle's church of St Nicholas, and the names of two thoroughfares, Castle Street and St Margaret Street are recorded. On the death of Beatrice Corbet in 1347, Caus passed to the Earl of Stafford. At its height, the borough had 58 burgesses resident in 1349, a year coinciding with the arrival of the Black Death in England.