Description:View of Caverswall Castle from the south east.
The castle was originally built in 1275, when a licence to crenellate was granted to Sir William de Caverswall. The oblong curtain wall with four polygonal corner towers dates from this time. In about 1615 Matthew Cradock built the present house onto the castle, designed by Robert or John Smythson. The original ballustrades were replaced by crenellations in the 19th century.
In 1811 the castle was purchased by a small convent of Benedictine nuns who remained there until 1853. It then became the private residence of Sir Perceval Radcliffe. By 1890 it belonged to W.E. Bowers who employed the architect Charles Lynam to build a new wing, lodges and gates. In 1933 W.A. Bowers sold the Castle to the Sisters of the Holy Ghost. They in turn sold it to another convent, the Daughters of the House of Mary, in 1965. When they left in 1977 the Castle was sold in various lots. The castle is now (2004) a private residence and provides bed and breakfast and self-catering accommodation.