Mow Cop Castle and the Old Man of Mow Gallery

When I was a lad, Mow Cop used to be one of my stomping grounds. Friends from school lived in foothills in little caves, and summer holidays were spent climbing some treacherous slopes, dangling our legs over the eagles nest, making dens in the woods.

How times of changed. On a recent trip I with the family I could feel wave after wave of vertigo (projected vertigo because of the kids) just because they were a few feet from a fenced off edge. I guess my Dad would have felt the same way if he'd seen me climbing up some of the routes on the staffordshire side of the rocky outcrop.

After a gap of not visiting , after 15 years it's nice to see the place still has it's old charm.

A little bit of history
The castle itself was built as a summerhouse in 1754 for Randle Wilbraham I of Rode Hall. It was built to look like part of a castle of a bygone era, and would have enhanced the view of the newly constructed Rode Hall, some 3 miles away on the Cheshire side of the hill. Mr Wilbraham employed local stonemasons John and Ralph Hardin, it is said they were paid 1 shilling a day, and one of the members of the family lost a hand while constructing the castle. The Wilbraham family used the summerhouse for picnics and entertaining friends on days out. In the early part of the 19th century, Miss Wilbraham wrote "We have always believed the family tradition, that towards the end of the 18th century, the Wilbraham then resident at Rode Hall built the tower. The wall was always broken so as to have effect off a ruin when looked at from the valley." She also wrote "We were accustomed to boil our kettle and have tea in it on calm days."

In the mid 1800s, a row over the summerhouse started between Randle Wilbraham and Ralph Sneyd of Keele Hall. Sneyd claimed that part of the summerhouse was built on his land, and that part ownership should fall to him. A court case followed in 1850, presided over by Mr Justice Patteson of Staffordshire.