[1][2] Its origins are uncertain but it was probably built in the 13th century by Fulk FitzWarin during the reign of Richard I.

[4] The main purpose of its construction appears to have been as a barrier to stop the Welsh onslaught and to retain control of the passes along the River Severn.

According to sources, the castle was razed by Llewellyn the Great in 1223, only to be rebuilt three years later in 1226, this time with a stone wall surrounding the bailey.

The FitzWarin family retained possession of the castle, although they moved their seat of power to Whittington after they secured it as a stronghold, till the mid fourteenth century, when it may have been abandoned.

In 1842, the ruins of the castle were owned by Sir Baldwin Leighton according to Charles Hulbert.