Soulton Hall

Soulton Hall /ˈsʊltɒn/ is a country house in Shropshire, England, located two miles east of the town of Wem, on the Soulton Road.

Soulton Hall
Soulton Hall in Shropshire
Location within Shropshire
Former namesSaulton, Suletune, Suleton, Soleton, Sulton, Sowton, Soughton,[1]
General information
Architectural styleTudor architecture
Locationnear Wem, Shrewsbury, Shropshire
CountryEngland
Coordinates52.8678°N 2.679°W / 52.8678; -2.679
Elevation125 m (410 ft)
Construction startedprior to 1017 for the manor, on the current site by the late 1300s, with the current brick exterior begun in 1556
Technical details
MaterialGrinshill Sandstone and Tudor brick, incorporating medieval timber framing
Design and construction
Architect(s)? Matthew Parker
Website
www.soultonhall.co.uk

Sir Rowland Hill's renaissance hall
View of the Present Manor House of 1556 with door case of 1668 at Soulton

The present hall building was constructed between 1556 and 1560 by Sir Rowland Hill (MP),and incorporates older materials.

The manor of Soulton is pre-Norman in origin.

What can be seen externally of the present hall is constructed of brick, produced at the site with Grinshill stone dressings.

Sir Rowland Hill: the First Protestant Lord Mayor of London, privy councillor, statesman, scholar, merchant and patron of art and philanthropist active through the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. He built Soulton Hall, and oversaw the Geneva Bible project.

Hill was the first Protestant Lord Mayor of London in 1549, and, as Sheriff of London, was involved in the case which established Parliamentary Privilege. Hill was the coordinator of the Geneva Bible project and an enthusiastic patron of the arts, in particular drama. He has been linked with the character of Old Sir Rowland in Shakespeare's As You Like It.[2]

Soulton was acquired by Hill and his protégé Thomas Leigh in 1556 from Thomas Lodge.[3] Lodge's son, also called Thomas Lodge, would have been familiar with the woods at Soulton. Lodge Jr was the writer and dramatist, who wrote prose tale of Rosalynde, Euphues Golden Legacie, which, printed in 1590, afterwards furnished the story of As You Like It. There is also a plaque in this room which carries the following words:

Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile,

Hath not old custom made this life more sweet

Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods

More free from peril than the envious court?

Here feel we not the penalty of Adam

...

And this our life, exempt from public haunt,

Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,

Sermons in stones, and good in everything.

- William Shakespeare, 'As You Like It', Act II, Scene 1. The Forest of Arden

It is believed that affairs of state that took place at Soulton in the time of Sir Rowland Hill, in the sixteenth century, inspired Shakespeare to write this play and shaped several others.

Within the building are traces of an older Tudor or medieval timber materials used in construction of earlier phases of the manor's various halls.

Examples of simple pargeting on this earlier building can be seen within the building.

In 1668 a semi-circular door case bearing the marital coat of arms of Thomas Hill, a descendant of Sir Rowland's and a friend of Samuel Pepys, was added above the front door. The blazon on those arms is given below. Beyond this doorcase a Latin inscription can be read above the entrance hall which says:

UT ROSA FLOS FLORUM, SIC EST ISTA DOMUS DOMORUM

a similar inscription can be found in the Chapter House of York Minster. and Westminster Abbey.

Beyond this room there is a further inscription in greek which reads:

ἐὰν ᾖς φιλομαθής, ἔσει πολυμαθής,

this is a quotation from Isocrates, which means "If you loving learning you will become wise" and echoes a 1600s carving on what is now Shrewsbury Library.

To the east of the hall is what is now a walled garden, accessed by steps from the terrace on the north, or by a Tudor gate to the north.

At the front of the hall is a Pillared forecourt, again part of the 1550s design concept.

View from front door of Soulton Hall, showing the pillared forecourt, the older developments to the site are to the right of this view in the middle distance

History

Saxon and earlier

Within the manor is evidence Bronze Age habitation, and some signs of Neolithic activity.[4]

1086 Entry in Domesdaybook
A grant of the manor of Soulton in 1299
Early Documentary Accounts of the Manor of Soulton

The name of the manor is Saxon and means either 'settlement with a plough' or 'settlement with reeds' or possibly 'settlement in/near a gully' .[5]

The manor supported the clergy of the King's Chapel of St Michael in Shrewsbury Castle. The manor house has probably always occupied the current site with this fortification only being used for military and not domestic purposes.

The manor of Soulton existed at the time of the Domesday Book (see: PASE Domesday) and is recorded as "Svltune". The Domesday Book records the manor as being freely held by Brihtric, the brother of Eadric Streona, who was the Ealdorman of Mercia. Both Brihtric and Eadric were slain by King Cnut on Christmas Day, 1017.

Archaeological aspects of the manor's history

Post Norman

The building on the present site was pre-dated by Saxon ane perhaps earlier structures. A Norman Adulterine castle was constructed approximately 300 meters to the north-east of the hall during the Anarchy in the early 1100s.[6]

The location is marked by a mound which can still be seen. This site is located around the point at which the roadway crosses a narrow gap in some wet terrain which would likely have had a strategic reason for establishing a fortification in that location. This building is believed to have burnt down at some point in the late 14th century.

A grant of the manor in 1299 indicates that some of the ancient marker posts marking the boundary with Wales were part of the boundary of the manor.

Coat of Arms added above the front door in 1668

Post 1556

The present hall, described above was built in 1556 as a corps de logis, complementing the surviving the earlier hall complex.

There is an 1801 bridge on which Thomas Telford worked on the B5065, known as Soulton Bridge.[7][8]

There are also the remains of a water mill active from at least the 1300s until the mid-to-late 1800s near Soulton Wood.

The manor is still owned by descendants of Sir Rowland Hill.

In 2021, during the North Shropshire by-election, the various candidates and media were headquartered at the manor.

Culture and culture references

Drama and live performance
"The Sanctuary Theatre" at Soulton hosting its first performance: a new work by the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain

In 2020, during the crisis in live performance and theatre resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, outdoor performance was reintroduced to Soulton.[9][10][11]

The National Youth Theatre (NYT) gave their first live in person performance[12] since the restrictions following the lockdown that was brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] T

The play was a new, specially devised work called The Last Harvest[14] In 2021, the NYT returned with a performance of Animal Farm.[15]

In October 2021 Soulton Hall hosted an immersive performance of the Old English epic poem Beowulf, together with a selection of shorter pieces of Old English and Old Welsh poetry, by early medieval living history/reconstructive archaeology group Thegns of Mercia, titled Beowulf at the Barrow. The performance took place around the site, with the historic Moot Hall representing the great hall Heorot, and the Soulton Long Barrow representing the dragon's lair and Beowulf's own burial mound, serving as venue for the final sections of the poem.[16]

Dance

An eighteenth century dance, the Soulton Jigg, is linked to the manor and published in John Walsh's 1740 "The Second Book of the Compleat Country Dancing-Master".[17]

Books

The manor has been referenced in the following books:

  • Regenesis: Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet[18] by George Monbiot
  • Wilderland[19] and Hill and Dale,[20] both by Andrew Fusek Peters
  • Riding Out[21] by Simon Parker
  • How to Love Animals[22] by Henry Mance

Filming

There is periodic filming at the manor.[23]

Broader Buildings and Features
The Moot Hall
Exterior of Soulton Court
Aspects of the 'Soulton Court' Building, exteranly dated 1783, but including older buildings

Within the grounds of the hall are thought to be the remains of extensive medieval gardens although it is possible that the obvious forms in the fields near the hall may be the remains of a deserted medieval village.

These are a Scheduled Ancient Monument.[24]

There are also some 18th-century farm buildings, of which a range of buildings now known as Soulton Court, which has a stone tablet dated 1783 relating to later work, incorporates a manorial hall unknown date prior to the mid-1600s.

A dovecot once existed to the east of the garden wall, it had been dismantled by the end of the 1800s.

Priest hide

There is a priest hide on the principle floor of the house in the south west corner of the building in a turret containing several chimneys, in the interior of the room (believed to be Sir Rowalnd Hill's studiolo) connecting to this hide there is a plaque which says:

Behind this tablet lies a space believed to have been intended to be used to hide scholars and priests from the authorities during the turmoil of the sixteenth century.

This memorial honours all who have suffered persecution for their beliefs.

Archaeology

The manor includes various protected archaeology.

An official excavation with Dig Ventures took place in June 2019.[25][26] The excavation of a mound (a scheduled ancient monument) revealed the existence of a structure which might be a castle from the 13th to 15th centuries, according to an archaeologist.[27] As the dig continued, medieval artifacts were also unearthed, including ampulla, a necklace, cups, bowls, and jug handles. These have been dated to circa 1250.[28]

Contempary Monuments
The Modern Barrow at Soulton
Main article: Soulton Long Barrow

Long Barrow

A modern long barrow, Soulton Long Barrow, was constructed on farmland north of Soulton Hall. Begun in 2017, the site became operational in 2019.[29] The new monument was covered on an episode of BBC Countryfile being visited by Matt Baker and Ellie Harrison in April 2019.[30]

Standing Stones
Standing Stone One
Standing Stone Two
Standing Stone Three
The Soulton Standing Stones, erected in 2017

Three megalithic limestone standing stones are located on the access route to the barrow. These were added to the approach route to the barrow in autumn 2017.[31] The stone for these monoliths, as with the barrow itself came from Churchfield Quarry, Oundle, near Peterborough. There is no deliberate alignment beyond way-marking for these standing stones. In 2020, a standing stone, with an alignment to the setting sun on the winter solstice, was added to the ritual landscape to acknowledge the suffering of the families impacted by the Coronavirus Pandemic.[32][33]

Farm
View of farmland Soulton: a no-till crop of wheat looking to the woodland

There is a farm at the manor, including Soulton Wood.

The farm practices no-till farming. This was covered in an episode of BBC Countryfile in April 2019 with Matt Baker.[34]

Research cooperation between Harper Adams University and Oxford University looking at the results of cultivation on Soil ecology, which used DNA sequencing of the soil biome has been hosted on the farm.[35]

The woodland is largely oak with some cherry and ash. In total the woodland covers about 50 acres and it is designated ancient woodland. Material from the wood was supplied for repair of the House of Commons after bomb damage in the Second World War.[36]

Symbols

Flag and badge

The house flag is a square teal banner with an eight-pointed star inside a circle, with looping garlands between the points of the star. This symbol is in use on plaques and a pavement at the site.

Coat of arms
rendering of the arms carved in stone above the front door of Soulton Hall in colour

The the arms of Thomas Hill, sometime high sheriff of Shrewsbury were added above the senior in 1668; this used in other livery. It blazon is as follows:[37]

  • Hill of Court of Hill: ermine, on a fesse sable a triple towered castle argent
  • Hill of Longslow: sable, a lion rampent argent, langued and armed, crowned or between three croffed fromee fitchee of the second;
  • Evans of Watstay, Co Denbigh: argent, a fesse between three fleur-de-lys, sable;
  • Eyton of Rhiwabon Co Denbigh: ermine, a lion rampant crowned or, langued and armed;
  • Bird of Charleton: per pale or and argent, an eale displayed, beaked and armed;
  • Hill of Buntinsdale: gules, a chevron between three pheons argent, points downwards;
  • Lloyd, (Bishop of St Asaph, 1680) argent, a chevron between three crows sable, each holding in its beak an ermine spot;
  • Grifith, Lord of Bromfield: paly of eight argent and gules, a lion rampant sable.

Culture and Heritage
View of Rosewell, ca. 1900. This building in America as said to be derived from Soulton Hall.

Soulton Hall is a Grade II* listed building, along with its walled gardens, pillared forecourt and carved stone work. Soulton Bridge, crossing Soulton Brook is a Grade I listed structure, built in 1801 by Thomas Telford.

Some affinity both architectural, and by family connections has been attributed to Soulton with Rosewell (plantation) in Virginia.

  • Buttery Room in Soulton Hall
  • Carved Tudor Stone Work, possibly an interior feature now in the gardens
  • 1668 Marital coat of arms above front door
  • Wood paneling remaining in some rooms
  • Blue Room in Soulton Hall

Spellings

Before the modern spelling of 'Soulton', a wide variation in spelling can be observed:[38]

  • Suletune (Domesday Book, 1086)
  • Suleton' (Curia Regis Rolls 1200; Rotuli Hundredorum, 1255)
  • Soleton (Assize Rolls, 1271–2; Feudal Aids 1284-5A)
  • Sulton' (Assize Rolls 1271–2, 91–2)
  • Sulton (Feudal Aids 1431, 1470, 84; Calendar of Close Rolls Preserved in the Public Record Office, 1703; Shropshire Parish Registers, 1809)
  • Solton' (1334, The Shropshire Lay Subsidy Roll of 1 Edward III)
  • Sowton (Saxton's Map of Shropshire, 1695 The County Maps from William Camden's Britannia 1695 by Robert Morden)
  • Soughton; 1672, The Shropshire Hearth-Tax Roll of 1672)
  • Soulton (1677, Shropshire Parish Register)
  • Saulton (artifacts at the building, 1800s)

See also

References and further reading
  • An excursion from Sidmouth to Chester in the summer of 1803 (1803) by Edmund Butcher. Whittingham.
  • Antiquities of Shropshire, Vol. 10 (1860) by Robert William Eyton. J.R. Smith,.
  • The Castles & Old Mansions of Shropshire (1868) by Frances Stackhouse Acton. Leake and Evans.
  • Memorials of Old Shropshire (1906) by Thomas Auden. Bemrose & Sons.
  • Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, Volume 40 (1919). Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Society.
  • Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society Held at Philadelphia (1939). American Philosophical Society. 1939
  • Burke's Guide to Country Houses: Reid, P. Herefordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire (1978) by Mark Bence-Jones, and Peter Reid. Burke's Peerage.
  • The Tudor and Stuart Legacy, 1530-1730 (1989) by Lawrence Garner. Swan Hill.
  • The World of the Country House in Seventeenth-century England (1999) by John Trevor Cliffe. Yale University Press.
  • Hills of Hawkstone (2005) by Joanna Hill. Phillimore & Co Ltd.
  • Shropshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) (2006) by John Newman. Yale University Press.
  • Design and Plan in the Country House: From Castle Donjons to Palladian Boxes (2008) by Andor Gomme, Austin Harvey Gomme, and Alison Maguire. Yale University Press.

References
  1. http://placenames.org.uk/browse/mads/epns-deep-82-b-subparish-000108
  2. Byrd, David G. (1975). "Shakespeare's familiarity between Sir Rowland and Duke Senior in 'As You Like It'". Shakespeare Quarterly. 26: 205.
  3. The National Archives, Discovery Catalogue piece description 'Bargain and sale (1556)', 215/31 (Shropshire Archives).
  4. "Soulton Hall on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  5. English Place-Name Society. The University Press. 1 January 1990. ISBN 9780904889147.
  6. Historic England. "Soulton moated site and formal garden remains (1017236)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  7. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1237047)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  8. "Soulton Bridge, Wem Rural, Shropshire".
  9. "BBC One - Midlands Today". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  10. editor, Chris Wiegand Stage (6 August 2020). "From an earth stage to a willow Globe: theatre goes al fresco in the UK". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 August 2020. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  11. "Jeremy Vine - Planning Permission and Pantomimes - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  12. "BBC One - Midlands Today, Evening News, 22/10/2020". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  13. "BBC Radio Shropshire - Mid-morning on BBC Radio Shropshire, with Jim Hawkins - 23/10/2020". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  14. "BBC Radio Shropshire - Mid-morning on BBC Radio Shropshire, with Jim Hawkins - 16/10/2020". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  15. "Animal Farm at Soulton Hall | National Youth Theatre". www.nyt.org.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  16. "Beowulf at the Barrow". Archaeodeath. Howard Williams. 4 October 2021. Binding art, archaeology, living history and contemporary commemoration, the performance was unforgettable. For me, it revealed the wider potential for responsible, well-researched and carefully choreographed public engagement, education and entertainment inspired by early medieval archaeology and poetry.
  17. "Soulton Jigg - The Traditional Tune Archive". www.tunearch.org. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  18. Monbiot, George (2022). Regenesis : feeding the world without devouring the planet. Toronto. ISBN 978-0-7352-4039-1. OCLC 1251913057.
  19. Peters, Andrew (2016). Wilderland, wildlife and wonder from the Shropshire borders. [Oswestry]. ISBN 978-1-911048-03-9. OCLC 1063614303.
  20. FUSEK PETERS, ANDREW (2020). HILL AND DALE : my shropshire year. [S.l.]: YEW TREE PRESS. ISBN 978-1-9163755-0-5. OCLC 1191187062.
  21. PARKER, SIMON (2022). RIDING OUT : a life-affirming journey around the coast of britain. [S.l.]: SUMMERSDALE PUBLISHERS. ISBN 978-1-80007-499-6. OCLC 1276933900.
  22. Mance, Henry (2021). How to love animals : in a human-shaped world. London. ISBN 978-1-78733-208-9. OCLC 1242839541.
  23. "Film Location in Shropshire".
  24. Historic England. "Soulton moated site and formal garden remains (1017236)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  25. "Dirty Weekend: Dig into Shropshire's past at Soulton Hall". DigVentures. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  26. "Soulton Hall archaeological dig hints at fascinating history". Whitchurch Herald. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  27. "Mysterious Mound at English Manor May Conceal Remains of Medieval Castle". Smithsonian Magazine. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2022. Archaeologists at Soulton Hall have unearthed sandstone walls and trinkets likely left behind by religious pilgrims
  28. "Soulton Unearthing a 'missing' medieval castle in Shropshire". DigVentures. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2022. It's not every day that archaeologists discover a long-forgotten castle, but that's exactly what our evidence is pointing to!
  29. Wainwright, Oliver (18 March 2019). "Tomb with a view: why burial mounds are a better way to go". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  30. "BBC One - Countryfile, Shropshire". BBC. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  31. Pugh, James. "Three limestone monoliths mark a path to Shropshire's first long barrow in 5,000 years". www.shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  32. "Standing stone to be raised at Soulton Long Barrow for Covid-19 victims". Whitchurch Herald. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  33. Bentley, Charlotte. "Shropshire standing stone memorial built for Covid-19 victims and their families". www.shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  34. "BBC One - Countryfile, Shropshire". BBC. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  35. "English Country House Hotel near Shrewsbury - Shropshire Accommodation".
  36. "Soulton Wood | Soulton Hall".
  37. "Coat of Arms | Soulton Hall".
  38. http://placenames.org.uk/browse/mads/epns-deep-82-b-subparish-000108
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