Ruyton-XI-Towns Castle & St John the Baptist's Church aerial photograph
aerial photograph of Ruyton-XI-Towns Castle & St John the Baptist's Church Shropshire England UK. Ruyton-XI-Towns Castle was a tower keep castle with the adjacent St John the Baptist's Church serving as the castle chapel. The castle was originally of timber construction and built sometime between 1086 and 1148. This was subsequently replaced by a stone keep with the work completed by 1313. The original timber castle was destroyed by Welsh forces under Llywelyn Fawr in 1202 and the rebuilt stone castle was again destroyed during a Welsh attack in the year 1400, this time by the forces of Owain Glyndwr during the Welsh revolt of 1400–1415. St John the Baptist's Church survived both the Welsh Rebellion and a Victorian makeover and still retains much of its original 12th and 14th century features together with its 15th century tower.