Farleigh Hungerford Castle

Farleigh Hungerford Castle
Somerset, England
Eastern gatehouse of Farleigh Hungerford Castle
Farleigh Hungerford Castle
Coordinates	51°19′00″N 2°17′13″W / 51.3167°N 2.287°W / 51.3167; -2.287
Grid reference	grid reference ST80225763
Type	Quadrangular
Site information
Owner	English Heritage
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Ruined
Site history
Materials	Stone
Events	English Civil War

Farleigh Hungerford Castle, sometimes called Farleigh Castle or Farley Castle, is a medieval castle in Farleigh Hungerford, Somerset, England. The castle was built in two phases: the inner court was constructed between 1377 and 1383 by Sir Thomas Hungerford, who made his fortune working as a steward to John of Gaunt. The castle was built to a quadrangular design, already slightly old-fashioned, on the site of an existing manor house overlooking the River Frome. A park was attached to the castle, requiring the destruction of a local village. His son, Sir Walter Hungerford, a successful knight and courtier to Henry V, became rich during the Hundred Years War with France and extended the castle with an additional, outer court, enclosing the parish church in the process. By Walter's death in 1449, the substantial castle was richly appointed and its chapel decorated with murals.

The castle largely remained in the hands of the Hungerford family over the next two centuries, despite periods during the War of the Roses in which it was held by the Crown following the attainder and execution of members of the family. At the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, the castle, modernized to the latest Tudor and Stuart fashions, was held by Sir Edward Hungerford. Edward declared his support for Parliament, becoming a leader of the Roundheads in Wiltshire. Farleigh Hungerford was seized by Royalist forces in 1643, but recaptured by Parliament without a fight near the end of the conflict in 1645. As a result, it escaped slighting following the war, unlike many other castles in the south-west of England.