Historical Intrigue Uncovered: Shropshire Archives Highlights Soulton Hall's Forged Deed
A lighthearted exchange on social media has brought a fascinating piece of local history to the fore, as the Shropshire Archives and Soulton Hall engage in a playful back-and-forth over a known historical forgery from the 15th century.
Soulton Hall, an ancient manor near Wem, found itself in the spotlight after the Shropshire Archives shared a post highlighting a 1395 deed for the manor. The document, which features a "gorgeous and well preserved seal," was initially praised as a historical artefact. However, the archives' post included a crucial detail that has been known for centuries: the deed was confessed to be a forgery in 1469.
Soulton Hall was quick to respond to the post with a playful rebuke, quipping, "Oh, come on, Shropshire Archives!! We have been spending the last 630 years hoping nobody would notice that little detail from 1395."
This humorous exchange highlights a unique chapter in the manor's long and prestigious history, which stretches back far beyond the forged deed. The earliest origins of Soulton Hall predate the Norman Conquest, with the manor being mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and linked to Saxon-era magnates killed by King Cnut on Christmas Day 1017.
Archaeological findings further confirm the site's significance, with evidence of activity as far back as pre-history. The site also features a "tiny castle" from the 1200s, recently rediscovered in excavations.
While the forgery itself is a notable detail, it is the spirit of community engagement in history between these local institutions that captured attention.
The document in question, dated August 12, 1395, was supposedly a grant of the manor from Robert, Lord of Soulton, to heirs. The seal attached, inscribed "SIGILLUM ROBERTI DOMINI DE SUL TON," even features medieval heraldry.
Historical records, however, show that the deed was a deliberate forgery, crafted in 1469 to secure the manor for the Twynyho family. This clever but deceitful act, confessed by Thomas Burdon himself, allowed the Twynyho family to successfully claim ownership by bypassing rival heirs.
The Twynyho family held the manor through the turbulent Wars of the Roses era until the early to mid-1500s. During this time, the arrest of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, a key event in Shakespeare's Richard III, occurred on the Soulton boundary. This provides another interesting intersection with the Bard's work. Henry Stafford was arrested and executed by Richard III in 1483.
After the Twynyho family, the manor was passed to the Lodge family, who owned it briefly. Notably, this family produced Thomas Lodge Jr., the author of Rosalynde: Euphues Golden Legacie, which served as the source text for Shakespeare's As You Like It.
Following the Lodge family, the manor was transferred to Sir Rowland Hill around 1556. Hill, the first Protestant Lord Mayor of London, added to the site the intricately clever Renaissance house that we see today, incorporating references to classical, mathematical, and scriptural ideas for his project of recovering harmony from the trauma of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. This initiative was intended to ignite the Elizabethan Golden Age.
This forged deed, far from being a single piece of paper, represents a pivotal moment of intrigue and transition, bridging Soulton Hall's ancient Saxon roots to its Renaissance-era transformation.
