The Tour Continues….over the Border to Shropshire (Part Six…The conclusion)

The Fathers Hotel, Ludlow

The rains continue but a quick stop at Ludlow, a typical town of the Welsh Marches, an area that defined the border between Wales and England.  Late afternoon but a stop for some essential supplies was called for.  Whilst Ludlow does boast a rather grand Castle it also boast a host of shops (some quirky) plus stylish restaurants, Inns and Hotels of Character.

Of all the these the Feathers Hotel is my favourite…and the most dramatic.  It was built in 1619 by Rees Jones a Legal Attorney of Note as his residence.  The style is unmistakably Tudor Half Timbered Black and White.  For its day (and I guess even today) it is large, three stores plus cellars!  It also has a very distinctive tilt…a tilt that looks different from any angle some even appearing to defy gravity.

Royalist Soldier were billeted here during the English Civil War.  After that war, Rees Jones son Thomas, converted the building to an Inn.  It remained Inn of some repute for some 200 years and a notable venue for ‘Cock-fighting’.  Its importance and fame was perhaps one reason why it became a Hotel in 1863…..and remains an Hotel today.

One does have to marvel at the construction and the wood carvings but also marvel that after some many years this precarious looking structure remains steadfastly erect!

 As to those shops …well here are a few others and also another Tudor Inn

14th October
(C) David Oakes 2014

P.S.   Sorry for the delay in postings over the past 9 days but without an internet signal in the remote spot we were staying it was unavoidable.  I look forward to catching up on reading all the Blogs I follow…it will take awhile but it is a task I will enjoy.

I have also made much of the wet weather…O.K.we did get some sunshine but we also got fog, fog that was slow to lift. I had hoped to see Goodrich Castle and its red stone walls glistening against blue skies.  That was not to happen but here are a couple of shots as the fog lifted late in the afternoon….

Posted 17th October