Enmore Castle is a historic building in the village of Enmore,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England. It is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Construction

Enmore was the seat of the family of William Malet who built a great house, although the original date of construction is uncertain. The house passed to Elizabeth Malet who married

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1 April 1647 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 26 July 1680 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II of England, Charles II's Restoration (England), ...

. In 1664 it included a hall, chapel and 20 hearths. The building was still standing in 1727. It was bought at some time before 1751 by John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont who over the next five years erected the first version of the present castle. The building consisted of a square surround an inner court which was by . The surrounding walls had square towers at the corners and semicircular turrets on each of the sides including around the doors, all were topped with

battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

s. Much of the building, including the offices and stables, was underground and accessed via the dry wide moat which was entered by a tunnel from the park. There is some evidence of a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

over the moat and Stew ponds. It included an armoury, music and picture galleries, a library, and a state dining room. The rooms were hung with tapestries which, after their sale were hung at Combe Sydenham and subsequently in the

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

council chamber. The house received 'the dismissive mockery of

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London ...

19th century

The Percevals were forced to sell the castle in 1833 to pay off debts. It was bought by Nicholas Broadmead, a solicitor with shares in the Parrett Navigation Company and the Ivelchester and Langport Navigation, who demolished a large proportion of the building the following year, converting the remaining parts of the building into a three-storeyed house.

20th century

The castle once again underwent major change in 1930 when H. H. Broadmead demolished even more of the old building. Wood panels removed from the castle at this time were incorporated into the Publishing House for the Christian Science Publishing Society in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, USA. The remaining portion is now divided into two dwellings, however the undercroft survives. It is close to the Church of St Michael which has 13th-century origins but the present building is largely from the 15th century, and Enmore Park Golf Club which was built on some of the parkland which was attached to the estate.

References

{{commons category Grade II listed buildings in Sedgemoor