Received its name from having been the residence of the Court of the
Marches of Wales; for though their principal abode was at Ludlow, they
were accustomed to hold one term in the year at this place, for the
convenience of suitors, and another at Bewdley, and sometimes at
Hereford.
The house is in the immediate vicinity of the castle (in the outer court
of which, it is supposed to have been built,) on a steep bank overhanging
the river. The entrance to it from the town is by a venerable timber
gate-house, the ornaments of which have lately been plastered over. The
great hall and chamber, which were the only apartments not _modernized_,
have just (1815) been pulled down and rebuilt, and the rich old
chimney-piece which stood in the hall, in the centre of which were the
arms of Owen of Condover, has been removed to that venerable mansion.
Charles I. kept his court here, as also did James II. in 1687.