Nunney Castle
| Nunney Castle | |
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| Somerset, England | |
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Nunney Castle
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 Nunney Castle
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| Coordinates | 51°12′36″N 2°22′45″W / 51.2099°N 2.3793°WCoordinates: 51°12′36″N 2°22′45″W / 51.2099°N 2.3793°W |
| Grid reference | grid reference ST736457 |
| Site information | |
| Owner | English Heritage |
| Open to the public |
Yes |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Site history | |
| Materials | Lias Oolite stone |
| Events | English Civil War |
Nunney Castle is a medieval castle at Nunney in the English county of Somerset. Built in the late 14th century by Sir John Delamare on the profits of his involvement in the Hundred Years War, the moated castle's architectural style, possibly influenced by the design of French castles, has provoked considerable academic debate. Remodelled during the late 16th century, Nunney Castle was damaged during the English Civil War and is now ruined.
English Heritage maintains the site as a tourist attraction. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner has described Nunney as "aesthetically the most impressive castle in Somerset."
Nunney Castle was built near the village of Nunney in Somerset by Sir John Delamare. Delamare had been a soldier during the Hundred Years War with France, where he had made his fortune. He obtained a licence to crenellate from Edward III to build a castle on the site of his existing, unfortified manor house in 1373 and set about developing a new, substantial fortification.
The resulting castle centred on a stone tower-keep, measuring 60 feet by 24 feet (18 m by 7 m) internally and 54 feet (16 m) tall, with four round corner-towers. The tower-keep had eight-foot (2.4 m) thick walls made from Lias Oolite ashlar stone and was designed around three floors. The corner towers had conical roofs and prominent machicolations. The ground floor of the tower-house included the kitchen and other service areas. The functions of the first and second floors are uncertain; one theory is that the first floor was another service area, with the hall on the second floor; another approach argues that the first floor formed the hall, and the second floor living accommodation; a minority view proposes that the first floor was an armoury. The third floor was used as living accommodation for the owning family. The original design had a number of windows and fireplaces on the upper floors, but the hall would have been relatively dark and the stairs were inconveniently narrow.
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