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Text, credits and links to follow soon hopefully These two were submitted by Andrew,

A few postcards of the castle I recently stayed in. Our apartment comprised the whole of the top floor of the building with the long greenhouse below shown in the first image, so you can imagine the views we had. Great stuff.

I visited this little known castle a couple of weeks ago during my stay in Dorset. As you will see from the photos I took, this castle is NOT open to the public. I had to seek specific permission to look around and take photos. Not that there was really a great amount to see, but to me it was worth the long and muddy walk to reach the place, which is in a farmyard.

From “The Daily Telegraph”, 18th June 2005 Castle Subjected top 700 years of makeovers goes on sale – a snip at £2m The 13th century Caverswall Castle in Staffordshire survived the Civil War, provided a safe haven for nuns fleeing the French Revolution and was the home to the Wedgwood family of pottery makers. The Grade I listed building has 24 rooms, all of which are habitable, and five turrets that are currently being used for holiday lets. Tony Morris-Eyton, of the estate agent FPD Savills, says it is in good condition and needs no renovation. And priced at £2 million, it was excellent value compared with the price of a London town house, he added. Sir Willia…

From the Tamworth Herald, 15th December 2009 Work begins to protect Tamworth Castle path Work has begun at Tamworth Castle to stabilise the perimeter pathway. Large cracks had appeared in the path around the top of the 900-year-old Norman building, raising serious concerns. Further structural investigations showed that the problem was with the walls supporting the pathway, which were falling away from the motte. "Previous owners of Tamworth Castle had attempted to rectify this problem by building brick buttresses to support the pathway, these can still be seen today," said a spokesman from Tamworth Borough Council. "Using part of the £121,900 development funding th…

Real photo postcard by E.A. Sweetman & Son, recently added to my collection.

This place was on the market a few years ago for about £7mil as far as I can remember. That would explain the sales particulars coming in a silver cover. Again, marketed by Strutt and Parker, I believe floor plans of this place are hard to come by. I GOT THEM First, a key to the rooms. 1. Drawing Room 36'3" x 19'3" (11.1m x 5.9m) 2. Dining Room 30'6" x 18'0" (9.3m x 5.5m) 3. Long Gallery 80'3" x 7'9" (24.5m x 2.4m) 4. Ante Room 13'9" x 12'6" (4.2m x 3.8m) 5. Smoking Room 26'3" x 20' (8.0m x 6.1 m) 6. Reception Hall 25' x 14' (7.6m x 4.3m) 7. The Great Hall 39' x 22' (11.9m x 6.7m) 8. The Old Kitchen 32' x 17'9" {9.8m x 5.4m) 9. Parlour 22' x 1…

An old engraving of Deal Castle, recently purchased, and dated 1829.

Shilbottle Tower Ordnance Survey Map Reference NU 196086 Shilbottle lies just off the A1 road about 3 miles south-east of Alnwick and about 30 miles north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Up until 1980 it was one of the most northerly mining communities in England. The village is named after its Saxon owners, "Schiplinge-botel", the word "botel" meaning "abode". Above : Shilbottle Tower September 2002 The old pele tower, west of the church, is mentioned in a list of Northumbrian fortalices in 1415 as the "tower of Schilbotyl". It measures just 6.7m by 5.5m. The tower was not originally a vicar's pele, and in 1526 was occupied by a tenant called Charles Watson, who …

Wolvesey Castle Ordnance Survey Map Reference SU 486291 The ruins of the bishop's palace in Winchester stand at the eastern end of the city, near the River Itchen. Very little of the section built around 1100 by William Giffard and known as the West Hall, remains today. Giffard was the second of the Norman bishops of Winchester, and had previously been the canon and dean of Rouen. Giffard had been a very able Chancellor to William I, William II and Henry I, and it was Henry I who, in wishing to provide himself with a strong supporter within the Church, installed Giffard as Bishop of Winchester. Most of what is still visible dates from the time of Henry de Blois, who…