Speedwell Castle, Bargate, Brewood

Image: © Jo and Steve Turner Taken: 20 Jun 1997

Pevsner calls it “a delectable folly”. Grade II Listed mid 18th century house reputed to have been built from the proceeds of betting on the racehorse Speedwell by William Rock. There were two of them, father and son, both of whom were dead by 1753. There were a number of other Rocks in the area and the story has also been attached to one of them, a Thomas Pendrell Rock who died in the village in 1815, at the age of 87 years. Some have attributed the building design to Thomas Farnolls Pritchard but there’s no evidence to substantiate it. In the mid to late 19th Century the house was rented by the classics master from Brewood Grammar School and later on in the century it was used by a local provisions merchant and the two bays turned into shops. Today it is converted into flats.

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