Farleigh Hungerford Castle - Photo © Michael A.Linton, July 5th, 2017
Farleigh Hungerford Castle - Photo © Michael A.Linton, July 5th, 2017
Farleigh Hungerford Castle - Photo ©
Michael A.Linton, July 5th, 2017
Farleigh Hungerford Castle, also called Farleigh Castle, at Farleigh Hungerford in the civil parish of Norton St Philip, Somerset, England was built around 1370. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Originally a manor house overlooking the River Frome it was fortified and developed over hundreds of years. It played a role in the English Civil War before falling into ruin.
The ruins are now a tourist attraction managed by English Heritage.
After the Norman Conquest the manor of Farleigh (or Farley as it was then spelled) was bestowed by King William on one of his followers, Roger de Curcelle, upon whose death it reverted to the Crown. Built in the 14th century, the castle was originally a manor house for the Montfort family having been granted to them by William Rufus. After the Montfort family it passed to Bartholomew de Bunghersh in the early years of the reign of Edward III. One of his descendants sold it in 1370 to Sir Thomas Hungerford. This led to the name of the manor being changed from Farley Montfort to Farley Hungerford.
Hungerford fortified the house between 1370 and 1380, although this was done without the appropriate licence to crenellate from the king. Farleigh Castle then consisted of four towers with a height of sixty feet, high embattled walls, a moat crossed by a drawbridge, and two embattled gatehouses. Standing on a steep hill, with a stream below, it was well constructed in a strong position. The licence to crenellate was finally granted in 1381 and Hungerford was conditionally pardoned, although in the process he had needed to pay a fine of 1000 Marks to Richard II.
The barbican, and polygonal outer court, was added around 1420 or 1430 for Thomas Hungerford's son Sir Walter Hungerford Speaker of the House of Commons. The development was funded by the ransom which he had obtained for the capture of the Duke of Orleans at the Battle of Agincourt.[1]
In the early 15th century, his son, Sir Walter Hungerford, enlarged the castle by adding the outer court that enclosed the parish church, St Leonard's, which he used as his chapel. It is thought that he built the present parish church nearby to replace it.
The castle passed to Walter's grandson, Robert, who was captured in the last battle of the Hundred Years' War, and held prisoner in France for seven years. On his return he joined the forces of the House of Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses who were defeated at the Battle of Towton. Robert was executed for his part in the war and Farleigh was given to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later known as Richard III. George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, may have taken up residence at Farleigh Hungerford,[2] and his daughter Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury, was born in the castle. After Richard's death at the Battle of Bosworth Field the new King, Henry VII, gave Farliegh to one of his supporters, Walter Hungerford who was the grandson of Robert. Walter's son, Sir Edward, inherited the castle in 1516. His surviving son, another Walter supported Henry VII and was created Lord Hungerford of Heytesbury in 1536.
During the reign of Henry VIII a Sir Walter Hungerford, married three times. He consigned his third wife to one of the castle's towers, and kept her under lock and key, with a chaplain for her only attendant. The lady survived her husband, who was executed, for treason and "unnatural vice", and went on to remarry,[1] while the castle reverted to the Crown. It was sold back to Walter's son Edward, in 1544.
In February 1620 the castle was owned by Edward (later Sir Edward) Hungerford who married Margaret the youngest daughter of William Holliday a wealthy London businessman and chairman of the East India Company.
In the Civil War, the Lord Hungerford commanded the Wiltshire's Parliamentary forces. His half brother was a Royalist and was given the command of the garrison of Farleigh in 1644. However he surrendered to his brother without fighting in 1645.
In 1653 it was inherited by Anthony Hungerford from his father Sir Anthony Hungerford. His son, Sir Edward Hungerford entertained Charles II of England at Farleigh in about 1675, although originally he had been a supporter of Parliament and a friend of Oliver Cromwell. After the discovery of the Rye House Plot in 1683, the castle was raided by the government and weapons were seized.
In 1686 Farleigh was sold by Sir Edward Hungerford to a Mr. Baynton, and since then has passed through many owners. Part of the destruction of the castle was by the Houlton family, who carried off its paneling and carved beams to their house at Trowbridge. Many of the stones were used to build Farleigh House within the parkland outside the castle.
Earl Cairns bought the remaining parts of the castle and donated them to the predecessor of English Heritage who now manage the site.
The remains include two tall corner towers and a complete castle chapel.
The foundations of the Manor House can still be seen including the hall and domestic range. The rectangular Inner Court is enclosed by partly surviving curtain walls on 4-sides with a circular tower at each angle. The surviving structures are the Inner Gate, defensive ditches on the west and south sides and the Barbican enclosing the Outer Court and Chapel of St. Leonard. The main entrance is by East Gate, which once had a drawbridge.
Enclosed by a curtain wall with a cylindrical tower at each corner, the squarish inner bailey contained a selection of domestic buildings. Today only two of the towers and some sections of the curtain wall survive. The south west tower stands almost to its full height of five storeys in places, but the south east tower exists only a little more than its third floor.
The Anglican parish church of St Leonard was consecrated in 1443 and remodelled in 1856. It now stands on the opposite side of the road but was once included within the outer walls of the castle. It has a perpendicular style West Tower in 3 stages, with a pair of stone gargoyles on each face. There are the remains of some 14th-century stained glass in the north window of the nave and in the east Chancel window which are of Flemish origin. The church also contains a 17th-century wooden altar rail carved with open work scrolls and figures. The pulpit dates from the early 18th century and is carved with eagles and angels.
The Priest House and adjoining range of buildings were built before 1430, when two two chantries were endowed in the castle chapel. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries the building was used as a farmhouse. The 2 storey stone building is rectangular in plan, measurng 39 feet (11.9 m) by 22 feet (6.7 m) with two rooms on the ground floor and four rooms above.
The building was extended northwards in the 17th century. It was restored in the 19th century and again in the 20th. It is Grade II* listed and a Scheduled Ancient Monument in its own right.
endowed two chantries in the castle chapel (PRN 23882) and built a house for the chantry priests immediately to the E of the chapel. After the suppression it was used as a farmhouse. Stone built of roughly carved limestone rubble with ashlar dressings. Rectangular in plan, 39ft by 22ft and is of two floors. Had two rooms on the ground floor and four rooms above. Extended N in the late C17 with two new outbuildings. Repairs allowed renovation and excavation. Ground floor was divided into three parts, the central room being 16ft by 13ft.
The castle chapel, dedicated to St Anne, contains family monuments and several wall paintings. In the chapel's crypt the coffins of many Hungerfords are still visible, several with attached 'death masks'.
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