The Gatehouse
A visit to a ruined castle on the boundary between Wiltshire and Somerset. It was built by Sir Thomas Hungerford in the late 14th century as a classic square castle with tall towers at each corner and a single entrance. Below is a reconstruction of what it might have been like in the 17th century.
The castle was the home of the riotous Hungerford family for several hundred years until it was sold by the notorious spendthrift Sir Edward Hungerford IV in 1686 and by the 1730s it had been partly dismantled for fittings and building stone. It has largely remained a ruin ever since until it was taken into state ownership in 1915.
This photo shows two of the corner towers ...
... and this is the moat which surrounded the castle.
The house that you can just make out in the background turned out to be this beautiful cottage when we got closer.
In truth there isn't really much to see of the ruins, although English Heritage have done a good job of providing an informative commentary. The chapel, however, also founded in the 14th century, is an absolute delight. I was especially taken by the marble effigies of Sir Edward Hungerford III (d.1648) and his wife Lady Margaret Hallyday.
On one of the walls there was a splendid mural of St George and the Dragon of about 1440.
And the battered, but still beautiful, tomb of Sir Walter Hungerford IV who died in 1596 and his son Edward, who pre-deceased him.
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