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Drawing room, library, dining room, billiard room, chapel room, eight suites, six further bedrooms, kitchen. Three converted turrets, a converted gatehouse, orangery, workshop, old dungeon. A lower ground floor with kitchen, billiard room, games room, reception hall, wine cellar, three stores, boiler room.
Outside: Grounds, gardens, lakes. In all approximately 20 acres.
The Property
Caverswall Castle was built on the site of an Anglo-Saxon Manor in 1275 and has an interesting and varied history. The castle is one of the most attractive mansions in Staffordshire.
The earliest recorded owner was Ernuf de Hesing, a Saxon-holder who was possibly driven from the estate during the Norman Conquest. The Castle then passed to Sir William de Caverwall who incorporated the tributaries to form the moat after he received a ‘license to crenellate’ his Saxon Manor House in 1275. Within the bailey, Sir William built the keep.
The Castle fell into decay until 1615 until a wealthy merchant Matthew Craddock who was the Mayor of Stafford bought it and rebuilt the castle as a Jacobean mansion. The great tower was retained along with its walls and turrets which then became garden pavilions. The gatehouse was then remodelled to match. In the centre of the bailey, attached to the keep, he built an impressive Jacobean manor house.
During the English Civil War the Castle was used as a garrison by parliamentary forces and was deemed as indefensible, and thankfully never came under attack. It then became a sanctuary to an order of Benedictine Nuns who had escaped the French Revolution. Sir Percival Radcliffe owned the Castle in the mid 19th Century and drained the moat, creating stunning gardens which remain a delightful feature today. The Wedgewood family lived at Caverswall during the 1880’s and added the decorative Wedgewood ceiling in the library. In 1891 the castle was bought by Mr W E Bowers who owned the property for forty years and in his ownership a complimentary wing was added.
Caverwall Castle remains as Craddock created it, there are a few later editions. The Castle has undergone a full refurbishment and restoration programme bringing the castle to an exceptionally high standard, also improving the annual running costs. The current owner also went to great lengths to reinstate the impressive moat.
Approx Gross Internal Floor Area:-
Caverswell Castle
Basement: 433.19 M2
Ground Floor: 441.83 M2First Floor: 376.99 M2
Second Floor: 255.29 M2
Roof Terrace: 4.55 M2
Gate House
Ground Floor: 20.25 M2First Floor: 20.16 M2
Sister Josephine
Ground Floor: 14.77 M2First Floor: 15.05 M2
Sir Thomas Moore
Ground Floor: 17.65 M2First Floor: 17.37 M2
Matthew Cradock
Ground Floor: 21.65 M2First Floor: 21.00 M2
Outbuilding
Ground Floor: 110.27 M2
