Ruardyn Castle was a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals with ...

in the village of

Ruardean Ruardean is a village in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, to the North West of Cinderford. It is situated on a hillside with views west towards the mountains of South Wales. Little now remains of the village's industrial history, bu ...

. Its ruins have been scheduled as an ancient monument. It was originally a manor house built in Norman times, but because of its strategic importance it was

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

in 1311 and became a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

. The surviving evidence suggests the site comprised a

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

, flanked by short ranges of buildings to the north east and south west, with a

tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifi ...

in the western corner. A

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...

stood to the south east, with a hollow way leading from it towards the parish church. The site was probably enclosed by a curtain wall. The castle suffered major damage during the

English Civil war The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...

in the 17th century. Nowadays, little remains of the castle, just large mounds with some stone wall surviving on the steep bank side. By the size of the landscape that it once stood, it is suggested that it was of considerable size. Its ruins can be found in the field behind St. John the Baptist church.

References

{{coord, 51.8576, -2.5515, region:GB-GLS_type:landmark, display=title Castles in Gloucestershire