Tudor Connections
The house had strong connections with Catherine of Aragon. She married Arthur (brother of Henry VIII) at nearby Ludlow Castle in South Shropshire where she finally returned after her divorce from her later marriage to Henry VIII. Members of the Rocke family were courtiers of Catherine and also owners of the Old House, and there is a tradition that Mary Tudor stayed in the house on her way to visit her mother. In the 1840’s, when repairs were being made to panelling, the remains of an original wall mural dating back to the 1480’s were discovered. Below this is a wooden panel painted with Pomegranate motifs of Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII’s Tudor Rose and Coat of Arms. This is almost certainly the remains of an altarpiece secretly built during protestant persecution.

This also connects with other research which shows that the house was probably owned in the 1540’s by Thomas Bromley. Thomas was a Shropshire lawyer who was at Henry VIII’s court and was an executor of Henry’s will. Typical of many in favour at the time he seems to have been a King’s Man first and foremost, remaining a Catholic in his private religion, but being quite happy to accept the King as head of a basically Catholic church. The altarpiece was probably built in the reign of Henry’s heir, Edward VI who was far more of a zealous protestant than Henry and instigated serious persecution of the Catholics. One can imagine Thomas Bromley keeping a very low profile in his Shropshire home in 1552 when Edward founded Shrewsbury School.

In 1553 the tide turned. Edward died; Bromley had survived and was called up to Mary Tudor’s court in London where he became a Lord Chief Justice of England. To celebrate he commissioned the 1553 fireplace built by Robert Sego, a member of the Shrewsbury Carpenter’s Guild in the Long Room of the Old House. This is quite a remarkable fireplace; although it is a secular with no religious motifs it is unlike any local Tudor design of the time. It is a completely classical renaissance design, harking back to the original Hampton Court Palace built by Cardinal Wolsely and subsequently completely restructured by Henry VIII to remove the hated Roman influence. It is one of the most interesting politico-religious statements of its time and has survived 450 years intact.

Other interesting features in the house are a further large fireplace inlaid with tulips, showing the influence of the Dutch Tulip craze of the early 17th century. There are many stained glass panels rescued from German churches destroyed in the reformation. A new, fashionable façade was erected on the garden side of the house in 1755, but fortunately it seems to have been used as a town and family house, so that the changes have not been at the expense of the original features.

The Peale family owned the house from the middle of the 19th century until the 1960’s. Their wolf head finial is on the hall banister entwined with the remains of an iron light fitting from the first days of electricity. Their motto Veritas Omnia Vincit (Truth conquers all) also remains in the glass of the house. On the death of Miss Peale the house passed to the Shrewsbury Civic Society until it returned to being the family house of the present owners. The current owners are very conscious of the privilege and responsibility of living in such a historic house. While furnishing and decorating the house, every care has been taken to preserve all the original features of the house.