Nunney Castle, Somerset

Built c1373 by John DeLa Mare, Nunney Castle is a rarity amongst British castles. Designed with a strong French influence, probably obtained from its veteran owners exploits during the Hundred-Year War, its nearest likeness can only be found in Ireland. Dominating the Somerset village of Nunney, beside the medieval church, Nunney Castle consists of a rectangular Tower House with large drum towers at each corner. The curtain wall between the southwest and northeast towers is so short (approx. 1m) that the towers appear to be virtually joined together.

Originally the curtain walls would have risen to the same height as the towers, at that time capped with conical roofs. A machicolated parapet extended around the perimeter of the wall and towers, as the protruding corbels indicate. The parapet would have stood proud of the wall, supported by the corbels, and in between each corbel there would have been a hole allowing various objects to be thrown down onto any attacking force below. Normally this feature would be reserved for gatehouses, as the cost to machicolate the entire wall area was usually prohibitive.

Nunney Castle today is surrounded by a moat, which was restored in the early part of the 20th century. Originally this would have been far more substantial, with water extending to the castle walls. Accommodation was arranged with a kitchen on the ground floor, where remains of a large fire place and side oven are still visible, and storage facilities in the base of the towers with a well at one end. Servants quarters were on the first floor of the tower, with the Great Hall and Lord's Solar occupying the 2nd and 3rd floors respectively. The upper storeys of the towers would have provided additional accommodation, and a Chapel was located at the top of the southwest tower, adjoining the Solar.

Little is known of Nunney Castle's history and it appears to have been largely uneventful. The most notable chapter seems to have been during the Civil War when it was besieged by Cromwell's troops, but capitulated within two days. Never designed to withstand cannon, the north wall was soon breached above the entrance, the hole remaining until 1910 when the fabric finally succumbed to the elements, causing the bulk of the wall to collapse. This resulted in the great void that is a prominent feature of Nunney Castle today. After the Civil War, Nunney Castle's roof was removed to render it uninhabitable, and so it has remained ever since.