Morton Corbet Castle, West Midlands, England

The first castle at Moreton Corbet was a timber castle, built around 1100 by the Torets, who were a family of Saxon descent.  The castle then passed by marriage, into the hands of the Corbet family in the mid-13th Century.  The Corbet family still owns the castle today, although English Heritage now manages the site. 

In the 13th Century, the castle's timber buildings were gradually replaced in stone.  The castle was extended and modified, until around 1580, when the large residential Elizabethan range was built here by Sir Robert Corbet. Corbet was influenced by the architecture of the continent and he designed his new home to reflect this.  However the building was never completed, as he died before this could be accomplished.

During the Civil War, Sir Vincent Corbet fought for the King, and the house was damaged in the course of repeated bouts of fighting. The buildings were later repaired, but by the 18th Century the castle was abandoned and slowly fell to ruin.