Stogursey Castle is a medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Most of the site is in ruins, but there is a

thatched Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge ('' Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

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 ...

used for holiday rental by the

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British architectural conservation, building conservation charitable organization, charity, founded in 1965 by John Smith (Conservative politician), Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or ...

History

Stogursey Castle was built to the south of the village of

Stogursey Stogursey is a small village and civil parish in the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England. It is situated from Nether Stowey, and west of Bridgwater. The village is situated near the Bristol Channel, which bounds the parish on the north. The ...

by the family of the De Courcys, probably in the late 11th or early 12th century.Pettifer, p.223;
Stogursey Castle
', the Gatehouse website, accessed 22 April 2011. The name Stogursey is a corruption of Stoke Courcy. The castle was a

motte-and-bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...

design with a 60 metre wide, two metre tall motte and two bailey enclosures, surrounded by a water-filled

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

, fed from the nearby Stogursey Brook.
Stogursey Castle
', the Gatehouse website, accessed 22 April 2011. The castle was controlled by King

John of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

during the

First Barons' War The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners (commonly referred to as English feudal barony, barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against John of England, K ...

, and was ordered to be destroyed in 1215, but survived; John's lieutenant

Falkes de Bréauté Sir Falkes de Bréauté (died 1226) (also spelled Fawkes de Bréauté or Fulk de Brent) was an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman soldier who earned high office by loyally serving first John of England, King John and later Henry III of England, King Hen ...

took control of the castle, and after his death a second order to destroy the property was given in 1228, again apparently ignored. The castle was extended in stone in 1300 by the Fitzpayne family, and was destroyed in the 1450s by the

Yorkist The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, th ...

faction during the

War of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

, though the

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History (VCH), is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of Englan ...

notes that "there is no evidence, either documentary or archaeological, to support the claim for its destruction in 1457". A house was built within the castle grounds in the 17th century and was restored in the 1870s, but by the late 20th century had itself become ruined until restoration by the Landmark Trust. Storgursey Castle is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

and its gatehouse is a

Grade II* listed 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, H ...

building, restored by the Landmark Trust between 1981 and 1982 for use as a holiday let.

References

Bibliography

* ideo Tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiZSbdbjWT4*Landmark Trust. (2006) ''The Landmark Trust Handbook.'' Maidenhead, UK: The Landmark Trust. . *Pettifer, Adrian. (2002)
English Castles: a Guide by Counties
'' Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. {{ISBN, 978-0-85115-782-5. Castles in Somerset Grade II* listed buildings in West Somerset Grade II* listed castles Ruined castles in England Scheduled monuments in Somerset

History

See also

References

Bibliography