Tour of Sheffield Manor in Shrewsbury, 1516

[Timotheos]

http://www.playmoboard.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=247274#post247274

I've been reading a lot of medieval history and took a crack at coalescing it into something roughly historical.

First, I needed a place, then a name, then a date to base something off.

Place: Shropshire, England. Why? A grandmother of mine is a Pitchford, and Pitchfords purportedly came from Shropshire. The major town of Shropshire is Shrewsbury, which happened to be the seat of an earldom.

OK.

Lord George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, served Henry VII and Henry VIII. His grandfather fought for the Tudors in the war of the roses. I thought I had grabbed a relatively obscure lord ("Shrewsbury"), but he rose to the peerage after being appointed Henry VIII's Steward of the House. Talbot had a castle in Shrewsbury, but thought it was too cramped, so had a country manor built in Shropshire, Sheffield Manor.

My following little comic book gives you a tour of Sheffield Manor. Actually, I don't have a layout of Sheffield, and actually based my manor off Crosby Place in London (now in Chelsea). Crosby Place, being a city manor, has a less interesting history, despite a short period when it was owned by Sir Thomas More.

So, I'm going to stick with the Talbots, take the year 1516, and pretend Sheffield Manor looked a lot like Crosby Place. I found a list of Talbot's kids (he had 11) which made it more interesting to me.

[Timotheos]

The link in my previous post is to my Playmoboard thread.

[Timotheos]

And here's the end of the comic.

[Martin Milner]

Pitchford Hall, Pitchford, Shropshire, built in 1560-70.

Methinks your Steward Pitchford is destined for greater things...

The hall is situated in the very small village of Pitchford (a parish of just over 100 residents), about 6 miles south/south east of Shrewsbury.

Pitchford is named after a natural pitch well, about 250 yards north east of the hall. The ancient source of bitumen lies near a ford on the Row Brook.

It's difficult to age the village or the well, but it appears in the Domesday Book as 'Piceford'. The well may have been used as long ago as Roman times and the Roman city of Viriconium lies just down the road.

[playmofire]

Thanks for a very informative and humourous tour of Sheffield Manor, and great pictures and custom building.

Whenever I think of Shropshire and castles, I think of Stokesay Castle.  It's really a fortified manor house but in excellent condition and really reminds me of giant Playmobil.

Here's a link:

www.castlewales.com/stokesay.html

[Timotheos]

Pitchford Hall, Pitchford, Shropshire, built in 1560-70.

Methinks your Steward Pitchford is destined for greater things...

My roots!  And I thought Pitchford was a generic placename!  (My grandmother's side is Pitchford, but came to the USA well before the American civil war, despite family myth).

Wow, to think, one of my ancestors probably shoveled manure or something from that hall!

[Timotheos]

Thanks for a very informative and humourous tour of Sheffield Manor, and great pictures and custom building.

Whenever I think of Shropshire and castles, I think of Stokesay Castle.  It's really a fortified manor house but in excellent condition and really reminds me of giant Playmobil.

Here's a link:

www.castlewales.com/stokesay.html

Wow, this is a great link!  Even more impressive: the manor's wooden galleries built extending from the tower tops are still there.

How far of a drive is that from London?  (Not that I can drive to London from North America....)

-Tim

[playmofire]

Wow, this is a great link!  Even more impressive: the manor's wooden galleries built extending from the tower tops are still there.

How far of a drive is that from London?  (Not that I can drive to London from North America....)

-Tim

About 170 miles.

We've visited Stokesay Castle twice so far and it really is delightful.  The interior is complete so it's not just a shell.  Well worth a visit.

[Richard]

ZOUNDS! How did I miss this very funny post?

Timmy, this is wonderfully hilarious stuff that you've created!

Please do some more. And, give me a good whack if I miss t!

Thanks for a good laugh.

All the best,
Richard

[Dan]

Stokesay is great.  Well worth a visit!