» Home » Places » Old Wardour Castle - [Castle] (ST 9384 2631)
DetailsGoogle Maps ViewMedieval Map
Old Wardour Castle was built at the end of the fourteenth century by John Lovel. The land had been owned by the St Martin family, but when Sir Lawrence de St Martin died in 1385 it was handed over to Lord Lovel for reasons unknown. Using the master mason William of Wynford, Lovel built the oddly shaped castle in 1393. The main section of the castle is hexagonal with a hexagonal inner court and a central well. The front section of the castle is rectangular that intersects the main hexagon and contains the Great Hall and large windows. The back half of the castle was destroyed in 1644 during the English Civil War, when explosions were set off underneath. The castle now belongs to English Heritage. (Coming soon, A Medieval Mystery Mystery
)
The work on Wardour Castle (now Old Wardour Castle) was begun in this year. The architect in charge may have been William Wynford who was responsible for the changes made to Winchester Cathedral around about the same time. The castle is very unusual in that is is hexagonal and aligned to the north-east.
Early Modern Period (1500-1800) - Under Construction
(Old) Wardour Castle was besieged by Sir Edward Hungerford and Edmund Ludlow for the Parliamentarians searching for Royalists. Lady Blanche Arundel within the castle lasted a week before surrendering. When Lord Arundell returned and found the castle in Parliamentarian control he laid siege to his own castle and had a mine detonated underneath it destroying the complete rear section of the building.
StumbleUpon