Shirburn Castle

#3900 among destinations in the United Kingdom

Forts and castles

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Facts and practical information

Shirburn Castle is a Grade I listed, moated castle located at the village of Shirburn, near Watlington, Oxfordshire. Originally constructed in the fourteenth century, it was renovated and remodelled in the Georgian era by the first Earl of Macclesfield who made it his family seat, and altered further in the early nineteenth century. The Earls of Macclesfield remained in residence until 2004, and the castle is still owned by the Macclesfield family company. It formerly contained an important, early eighteenth century library which, along with several valuable paintings, remained in the ownership of the 9th Earl and were largely dispersed at auction following his departure from the property; notable among these items were George Stubbs's 1768 painting "Brood Mares and Foals", a record setter for the artist at auction in 2010, the Macclesfield Psalter, and personal correspondence of Sir Isaac Newton. ()

Alternative names: Coordinates: 51°39'30"N, 0°59'40"W

Location

EnglandUnited Kingdom

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Day trips

Shirburn Castle – popular in the area (distance from the attraction)

Nearby attractions include: Ewelme Watercress Beds, Aston Rowant Cutting, Watlington and Pyrton Hills, Watlington Chalk Pit.

4.3 miSW
Park
Ewelme Watercress Beds, Chiltern Hills
111 min walk • Ewelme Watercress Beds is a 2.6-hectare Local Nature Reserve in Ewelme in Oxfordshire. It is owned and managed by the Chiltern Society. A stream runs through these former watercress beds, fed by a spring. Wildlife includes water voles, together with diverse invertebrates and plants.
2.2 miE
Nature, Natural attraction, Hill
Aston Rowant Cutting
57 min walk • Aston Rowant Cutting is a 3.5-hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Aston Rowant in Oxfordshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
1.4 miS
Hill
Watlington and Pyrton Hills, Chiltern Hills
37 min walk • Watlington and Pyrton Hills is a 112.7-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Watlington in Oxfordshire. An area of 1.6 hectares is Watlington Chalk Pit, which is a Local Nature Reserve. This site has floristically diverse chalk grassland, chalk scrub, broadleaved woodland and yew woodland.
1.3 miS
Park
Watlington Chalk Pit, Watlington
33 min walk • Watlington Chalk Pit is a 1.6-hectare Local Nature Reserve east of Watlington in Oxfordshire. It is owned by South Oxfordshire District Council and managed by Watlington Parish Council and Watlington Environment Group.
4.1 miNE
Park
Oakley Hill nature reserve, Chiltern Hills
105 min walk • Oakley Hill is a 13-hectare nature reserve south of Chinnor in Oxfordshire, England. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. This hill has chalk grassland, beech woodland and scrub.
0.5 miW
Church
St Mary's Church
14 min walk • St Mary's Church is the Church of England parish church of Pyrton, Oxfordshire, England. Its parish is part of the benefice of Icknield, in the deanery of Aston and Cuddesdon, the archdeaconry of Oxford and the diocese of Oxford.
4.4 miE
Nightlife, Restaurant
Sir Charles Napier, Chinnor
113 min walk • The Sir Charles Napier Inn is a gastropub in Spriggs Alley about 1.5 miles south of Chinnor, Oxfordshire, England. It was built in the early 19th century and is named after General Sir Charles James Napier.
2.1 miE
Nature, Natural attraction, Forest
Cowleaze Wood
55 min walk • Cowleaze Wood is a 70-acre woodland in the Chiltern Hills, a chalk ridge in South East England. The wood is in the civil parish of Lewknor, in Oxfordshire, about 1+1⁄4 miles southeast of the village.
3.1 miE
Tower
Stokenchurch BT Tower
79 min walk • Stokenchurch BT Tower is a telecommunications tower built of reinforced concrete at Stokenchurch, Buckinghamshire, England. Reaching to 340.5 metres above mean sea level, it dates from 1963 and is 99.4 metres tall.
3.6 miNE
Forest
Aston Rowant Woods, Chiltern Hills
93 min walk • Aston Rowant Woods is a 209.7-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Aston Rowant in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
2.2 miS
Park
Watlington Park, Chiltern Hills
57 min walk • Watlington Park is an English country house with its surrounding grounds of approximately 500 acres, located atop an escarpment in the Chiltern Hills, approximately 0.5 miles southwest of Christmas Common and 1.4 miles southeast of Watlington, Oxfordshire.