Astwell Castle, Helmdon, Northamptonshire
These buildings are a 15th century gatehouse and a 17th century manor house. The fortified manor house to which the existing gatehouse belonged was probably built by Thomas Lovett. He swapped the manors of Rushton and Great Oakley for those of Falcutt and Astwell in 1471. The daughter of the last Thomas Lovett of Astwell married Francis Shirley. Their son George Shirley demolished most of the medieval manor house. He built a new house beside the gatehouse. It was finished in 1606. The property was sold to Earl Temple of Stowe in 1763 and Astwell became a tenant farm. A large part of the house was demolished at this time.
