Castle Lodge is a medieval Tudor

Tudor architecture

The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...

 and Elizabethan

Elizabethan architecture

Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...

 architectural transition period house in Ludlow

Ludlow

Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...

 near Ludlow Castle

Ludlow Castle

Ludlow Castle is a large, partly ruined, non-inhabited castle which dominates the town of Ludlow in Shropshire, England. It stands on a high point overlooking the River Teme...

 where scenes from the 1965 film version of Moll Flanders

Moll Flanders

The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders is a novel written by Daniel Defoe in 1722, after his work as a journalist and pamphleteer. By 1722, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, with the success of Robinson Crusoe in 1719...

 were shot. Castle Lodge has some of the largest collection of oak panelling in England and dates from the early 13th Century, rebuilt in 1580. In Tudor times it was the home of Elizabeth I's Master of Requests and was once used as a prison.

Royal connections

The Castle Lodge along with Ludlow Castle

Ludlow Castle

Ludlow Castle is a large, partly ruined, non-inhabited castle which dominates the town of Ludlow in Shropshire, England. It stands on a high point overlooking the River Teme...

 itself is famous for being the residence of Catherine of Aragon

Catherine of Aragon

Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...

 whilst she was married to Prince Arthur

Arthur, Prince of Wales

Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales was the first son of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and therefore, heir to the throne of England. As he predeceased his father, Arthur never became king...

. She later went on to marry Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

, Arthur's younger brother after his death from tuberculosis. Her second marriage to Henry was not a happy one. The couple's first child was, unfortunately, born prematurely and stillborn at the end of January 1510. Almost exactly a year later, however, Catherine gave birth to a baby son. They called him Henry. Sadly, he lived for only two months. Two further children did not survive; but, in February 1516, a baby girl, named Mary, was born. Catherine had three further pregnancies, but only Mary lived to see adulthood. After great failure to provide Henry with an heir to the throne he proceeded to try and divorce her and eventually her marriage was annulled due to her being married to her brother-in-law and she was sent away. After an illness lasting about a month, she finally died in January 1536, at Kimbolton Castle

Kimbolton Castle

Kimbolton Castle in Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire, is best known as the final home of King Henry VIII's first queen, Catherine of Aragon. Originally a medieval castle but converted into a stately palace, it was the family seat of the Dukes of Manchester from 1615 until 1950...

 (Huntingdonshire) where she had been confined. It was, of course, rumoured that she had been poisoned, but examination of the embalmer's account indicates that she died of a secondary melanotic sarcoma.

Ownership

Castle Lodge has been privately owned throughout its history and was a hotel up until the Second World War. The Lodge was finally re-opened to the public in 1999. Over £100,000 has been spent on the restoration of the building by current owner Bill Pearson. Pearson struggled to find public or private funding for the upkeep of the building, and created plans to convert Castle Lodge into a hotel once again. Nevertheless these plans never reached fruition, a failure which Pearson attributes to the lack of support from local businesses, stating that "if it [Castle Lodge] was anywhere else but Ludlow we would be getting a £1,000 a week grant to do it". Pearson claimed that if his plans for a hotel were rejected, "Castle Lodge will be down the swanee. It will be the end."

Castle Lodge was put up for sale in 2001 for £750,000 although was never sold. A second attempt to sell, this time in 2008 and for £1,600,000, again failed to attract interest. As of Spring 2010 the property is up for sale for a third time, this time with an asking price of £1,350,000. As of April 2010, it remains unsold. As of Jan 2011 it is up for sale for £990,000.

Paranormal Activity

Visitors at Castle Lodge have reported the apparition of a 15 to 16 year old girl seemingly wearing Tudor costume who likes to walk the attic corridors as well as visit the nursery room. Cold drafts and the feeling of being watched have also been reported. Previous owners say that one adult male visitor was visiting the attic rooms which are open to the public and came rushing downstairs trembling saying he had just seen a young woman approach him and then disappear through a closed door. The spirit is believed to be that of Catherine of Aragon who has returned to the Castle Lodge to where she was once happy.