England · Restored
Caverswall Castle
Caverswall Castle is an early-17th-century mansion built within and upon the walls of a 13th-century moated castle in Caverswall, Staffordshire. The present three-storey, five-bay stone house with castellated parapets stands inside retained medieval curtain walls and towers and is a Grade I listed building.
First raised
1275
Its prime
1620
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1620
The shape it held in its prime.
A rectangular, three-storey stone mansion set within surviving medieval curtain walls and a surrounding moat; the house presents five bays of closely spaced, stone-mullioned-and-transomed windows across a flat main façade, an elevated central entrance porch, tall chimneys and a low castellated parapet. The older defensive fabric remains evident: squared and round angle towers rising from the curtain walls, arched bridge crossing the moat and stone ashlar facing of the bridge piers and towers, with parkland trees beyond.
Its story
The story of Caverswall Castle.
The manor of Caverswall was held in ancient times by the eponymous Caverswall family, who in 1275 were granted licence to crenellate their manor house. In the 15th century the castle became the seat of the Montgomery family, three of whom served as High Sheriff of Staffordshire. The present house — an early-17th-century mansion in castellar style — was raised on the foundations and within the walls of the 13th-century castle.
When the Cradock male line failed, the estate was sold in 1655 to William Joliffe, High Sheriff of Staffordshire for 1663, though the eventual heir, William Vane, 2nd Viscount Vane, was forced to sell it. From 1811 the castle was occupied as a nunnery by a Benedictine order, who sold it in 1853 to Sir Perceval Radcliffe and relocated to Oulton Abbey; in the 1880s the Wedgwood family rented it.
Bowers sold the castle in 1933 to the Sisters of the Holy Ghost, who passed it in 1965 to another convent, the Daughters of the House of Mary; when they left in 1977 it was sold in various lots. Property tycoon Robin MacDonald bought it in 2006 for £1.7 million and spent £1 million on renovation, and the Grade I listed castle was sold again in April 2021.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1620.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Caverswall Castle — including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Caverswall Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1620 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Caverswall Castle.
The families that held Caverswall Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Caverswall
Held the manor of Caverswall in ancient times; granted licence to crenellate their manor house in 1275.
Montgomery
Seat of the Montgomery family in the 15th century; three of them served as High Sheriff of Staffordshire.
Cradock
Held Caverswall until the male line failed and the estate was sold in 1655.
