Soulton Hall


Soulton Hall is a country house in Shropshire, England, located two miles east of the town of Wem, on the B5065.

The Present Hall

The manor of Soulton is pre-Norman in origin. What can be seen externally of the present hall is constructed of brick, fired from clay at the site in a field now known as "the Brickle", a corruption of "Brick Kiln", with Grinshill stone dressings.
The present exterior of the building was constructed in approximately 1668, but incorporates some hidden older structures. However in incorporates within the building traces of an older Tudor or medieval building of timber frame construction, which would have been of considerable extent for its time: four stories high, of three bays, and containing close stud work. Some of the timbers even within this structure were reused from a yet older building.
The hall of the 1550s which can be seen today was built by Sir Rowland Hill, who was the first Protestant Lord Mayor of London in 1549, and, as Sheriff of London, was involved in the case which established Parliamentary Privilege. It has been speculated that this building was the work of Walter Hancock, who built the Old Market Hall in Shrewsbury. The manors of Hawkstone and Soulton were sold in 1556 by Thomas Lodge to Sir Rowland Hill and Thomas Leigh under long leases for quiet enjoyment by his brother Edward Lodge.
Within the building are traces of an older Tudor or medieval building of timber frame construction, thought to date from the late 15th century.
Examples of simple pargeting on this earlier building can be seen within the building.
In 1668 a semi-circular pediment 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.
There are said to be masonic influences in this semi-circular pediment, and the hall's cubic appearance may be an early re-interpretation of Vitruvian ideas.
To the east of the hall is a walled garden, accessed by steps from the terrace on the north, or by a small gate to the north.
At the front of the hall is a Pillared forecourt, again part of the 1550s design concept.

Associated Buildings and Features

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.
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 moot hall of 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.

History of the Manor

Saxon and earlier

Within the manor is evidence Bronze Age habitation, and some signs of Neolithic activity.
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'.
The manor of Soulton existed at the time of the Domesday Book and is recorded as "Svltune".
The Domesday Book goes on to record 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.

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.
The manor supported the clergy of the King's Chapel of St Micheal 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 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.

Post 1556

The present hall, described above was built in 1556, remolding the surviving the earlier hall.
There is an 1801 Thomas Telford bridge on the B5065 known as Soulton Bridge.
There are also the remains of a water mill active from at least the 1300s until the mid-to-late 1800s.

Modern Monolithic Monuments

Long Barrow

A modern long barrow, Soulton Long Barrow, is under construction on farmland north of Soulton Hall.
The site became operational in 2019. The new monument was covered on an episode of BBC Countryfile being visited by Matt Baker and Ellie Harrison in April 2019.

Standing Stones

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.
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.

Henge Monument

Plans for a henge monument were publicised in 2020.

Farm

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.
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.
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.

Archaeology

The manor includes various protected archaeology.
An official excavation with Dig Ventures took place in June 2019.

Coat of arms

The blazen of the arms added above the front door in 1688 is as follows:
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.
It is now a hotel and farm. It is still owned by descendants of Sir Rowland Hill.
Some affinity both architectural, and by family connections has been attributed to Soulton with Rosewell in Virginia.
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".
There is periodic filming at the manor.

Spelling

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

Present Use

The manor is now a hotel and venue.

Gallery

Sustainability

The hall and annex buildings are heated by 62kWp Ground source heat pump, and the home site has a 50kWp solar PV array. These were installed in the 24 months from December 2011.