NESS, NR. SHREWSBURY

The le Strange family held extensive lands in and around Shrewsbury, including Myddle Castle, Little Ness Castle, Great Ness Manor House, Baschurch, Ruyton xi Towns Castle, and even interests connected with Shrewsbury and Whittington Castles.

John le Strange I (d. 1178) held five knight’s fees in Hunstanton, Ringstead, Tottington, and Snetterton in Norfolk, under William d'Aubigny, 2nd Earl of Arundel. His influence therefore extended across both Norfolk and the Welsh Marches.

Following the rebellion of Robert of Bellême, Henry II of England replaced disloyal magnates with men he could rely upon. Among those entrusted with frontier responsibility were the FitzAlans and their close counterparts, the le Stranges, who became firmly established as Marcher lords.

For successive generations, the le Strange family held the motte-and-bailey site at Little Ness and later held the property known as Ness Strange Manor House, built upon or near the foundations of the earlier medieval residence that once stood there.