A building has been on the site from c.1085 when the estate was established by the Croft family and from this time been the home of the Croft family and
Croft baronets. The Croft family were closely linked to their neighbours the
Mortimers of
Wigmore and
Ludlow. The
Battle of Mortimer's Cross took place on Croft land nearby in 1461. It was the home of Sir John de Croft who married Janet, one of
Owain Glyndŵr's daughters. In the 15th century, the Croft family adopted the Welsh
Wyvern crest, a wounded black dragon, seen as an allusion to their Glyndwr heritage. The first member of the Croft family to have owned the estate was Bernard de Croft, who is mentioned in
Domesday Book. The Croft family suffered financially following the
South Sea Bubble In the 1760s, Johnes remodelled the Castle in the
Rococo-Gothic style to the designs of the Shrewsbury architect
Thomas Farnolls Pritchard (d.1777), designer of the world's first iron bridge spanning the Severn near Coalbrookdale. Georgian
sash windows replaced
mullion windows. Pritchard designed the plasterwork ceilings, the gothic staircase and employed master craftsmen to undertake his designs for the chimneypieces. Croft Castle was put up for sale in 1799 by Thomas Johnes. It was bought by
Somerset Davies (c.1754–1817), MP for
Ludlow, whose descendants, the Kevill-Davies, sold Croft back to Katherine, Lady Croft, in 1923. The castle had undergone further alterations in 1913 to the designs of the architect Walter Sarel (1863–1941) who removed the central section of the eighteenth-century Gothic entrance front replacing it with a battlemented porch and mullioned bay window above; the entrance hall was lined with oak panelling. Also removed were most of Pritchard's crenellations along the parapets. Walter Sarel redesigned the dining room. In 1937, the seventeenth-century
service wing to the north-west was demolished to make the house more compact. In 1957, Croft was threatened with demolition following the destruction of eighteen other great houses in the county; the
destruction of country houses in 20th-century Britain was gathering pace across the country, and continued through the 1960s.
Diana Uhlman (née Croft), was determined that Croft would not suffer the same fate. An endowment was raised by some members of the family before the National Trust would agree to take on the house and remaining estate.
Family Members of the Croft family include: • Sir Richard Croft (1429/30-1509), royal official for Kings Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III, and Henry VII • Thomas Croft (c.1435–1488), shipowner and patron of Atlantic exploration • Sir
James Croft (c.1518–1590),
Lord Deputy of Ireland and leading conspirator in
Wyatt's Rebellion. He was also
Comptroller of the Household to
Elizabeth I. • Sir
Herbert Croft (died 1629) •
Margaret Croft (died 1637), lady in waiting to
Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia. •
Herbert Croft, Bishop of Hereford (1603–1691), chaplain to King
Charles I and
dean of the Chapels Royal to
Charles II •
William Croft (c.1678–1727), organist and composer •
Sir Herbert Croft, 5th Baronet (1751–1816), writer and lexicographer •
Sir Richard Croft, 6th Baronet (1762–1818), physician and man-midwife • Sir James Herbert Croft (1907–1941), died on active service with No 1 Commando •
Henry Page Croft, 1st Baron Croft (1881–1947), soldier and politician,
Under-Secretary of State for War 1940–1945 • Michael Croft, 2nd Baron Croft (1916-1997), collector of modern art • Bernard Page Croft, 3rd Baron Croft (born 1949) ==Architecture and description==