Thistleberry House (aka Thistlebury) was the home of Samuel (1767-1838) and Margaret Mayer (c.1773-1859). Samuel Mayer was a tanner and currier, and town dignitary, who was elected Mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1833. He is said to have erected this pretty tower in his grounds in the first decades of the 19th century.

Although the early history is unclear, Thistleberry Castle was extant by 1847, when it is marked on Robert Malabor’s map of Newcastle. It was a very attractive squat square brick tower with round corner turrets, curious slim battlements, and pointed arched windows. Standing three storeys high, the middle floor had a room decorated with shellwork, and housed a collection of statues, but frustratingly no further detail can be found. The tower would have been used as a belvedere and banqueting house – and would also demonstrate Mayer’s good taste and wealth. It was picturesquely situated in the middle of a square moat which was crossed on the western side by a timber bridge, whilst the elevation facing east towards the house was decorated with a pair of cannon. Thistleberry was on the rural outskirts of Newcastle-Under-Lyme, far from the noise and bustle of the industrial and industrious manufacturing town, and would have had views over open countryside.

No documentation has been found to confirm a date, but a possible architect might be Margaret Mayer’s father, John Pepper. Pepper (1751-1811) was an architect and builder, based in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, whose projects included the town’s Theatre Royal and Pepper Street, to which he gave his name. He also improved Maer Hall for Josiah Wedgwood, a family friend.

Mayer died in 1838, and his wife in 1859, after which the family left Thistleberry House. The property then changed hands a number of times as the century progressed. The tower was falling into disrepair when this photograph was taken sometime around the end of the 19th century – note the plank across the dilapidated bridge.

In 1911 the tower featured in a local history lecture accompanied by lantern slides. By that date the statuary inside had been ‘mutilated’ and the shell decoration destroyed. The speaker hoped the ‘picturesque and curious tower’ would not be allowed to become completely ruined, but sadly his hopes were in vain. Land in the Thistleberry area of Newcastle-under-Lyme was much in demand for housing development, and by the early 1920s Thistleberry Castle had been demolished, with the stone used to fill the moat. The house survived until the 1940s before being taken down to allow for road improvements, and the Thistleberry Hotel was then built on its site.

These views from the collection at the Brampton Museum, Newcastle-under-Lyme, seem to be the only traces of Thistlebury’s castle to survive. https://www.newcastle-staffs.gov.uk/bramptonmuseum

If you know more about this lovely lost folly, or have any comments (which are always appreciated), please scroll down to find the comments box. Thank you for reading.