Old Wardour Castle
 Castles |
Old Wardour is a French-style castle built on the model of the Chateau de Concressault at the instigation of the war-veteran John, 5 th Lord Lovell. He obtained a licence from the king to crenellate his home in 1393 and it was, in essence, more a chic fortified house than a military castle. The late 14 th century witnessed the last period of castle-building, when it was fashionable for old campaigners to flaunt their wealth and military credentials by living in comfortably designed castles that were never intended to function as strongholds.
Lord Lovell was a veteran of the Hundred Years War and with the help of his medieval architect, created the unique design of Old Wardour; the only place in England that's remotely similar is Nunney Castle in Somerset, which dates from the same period. Based on a hexagonal plan, Old Wardour has two towers either side of the entrance, with a hexagonal courtyard in the middle of the hexagonal keep. In imitation of the French style, the towers are brought so close together that the central courtyard is little more than a well.
Lord Lovell spared no expense when designing the luxurious accommodation of his new home. The high standards of craftsmanship, particularly of the masonry, are very evident amongst the substantial ruins. The medieval hall is especially grand and despite the keep being ‘slighted' in the Civil War, many rooms and stairways remain intact for exploration. Alterations made in the mid-16th century added larger windows and increased the decorative stonework, fine examples being the ornate doorways. Some rooms of the East Tower have had their floors repaired, enabling visitors to clamber almost to roof level.
During the Civil War, 1642-9, Old Wardour Castle was drawn into the conflict despite itself, suffering severe damage as Royalists and Parliamentarians contested ownership, this was the only time the fortification saw genuine action. In the famous siege of 1643, the owner's wife, Lady Blanche, together with a garrison of 25 soldiers, withstood a siege army of 1300 men. During the Civil War period the castle's defences were upgraded in an attempt to cope with real warfare, but eventually it fell to Cromwell's men, and one whole side of the structure was blown away when the keep was ‘slighted'. After the conflict had ceased the owners had no choice but to abandon what was now a ruin, and built a smaller house on the south side of the outer wall.
For a little over a century the ruin remained a forgotten memorial to the lavish excesses of a military adventurer, but by the mid-18 th century old ruined castles were in fashion and plans to reconstruct Old Wardour were proposed, and rejected, in 1756. Nevertheless, the castle had now been ‘rediscovered' and the owners of New Wardour Castle, located on the other side of the lake, laid out their new formal gardens so as to include Old Wardour as an ornamental folly. To ‘enhance' the splendour of this romantic relic a Gothic pavilion was built in its shadow in 1792, together with a rather bizarre grotto and stone circle added for interest at the edge of the woods behind.
Old Wardour, despite not having the credentials of a ‘proper' fighting fortress, is nonetheless a most enjoyable and very attractive ruin, set in lovely landscaped grounds in a secluded hollow in the hills of the gentle Wiltshire countryside. In the late 20 th century the castle again became the centre of conflict and mayhem. Starring in the movie Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves , it was transformed into a film set and entertained the likes of Kevin Costner and Alan Rickman.