A Trip To Nunney Castle
A little while ago Adam and I were attending one of my appointments which happened to be in Nunney (about a 30 minute drive from the Bath town centre) so we thought it would be a good idea to check out Nunney Castle before. I had heard a lot about it and had seen photos online numerous times, and it looked beautiful, so I was really excited to take photos and have a look around.
When we got there, it was actually empty! We had the castle and surrounding grounds to ourselves for about 10 minutes before other people came in, but it was still mostly deserted due to the location and the fact that it’s in ruins now. As it is quite big, we couldn’t get much of the castle in focus with our 85mm lens, as most of it is just bricks now, but the actual castle itself in full looks like this from afar (click here) so it’s really quite striking.
Nunney is in the county of Somerset which is why it’s not far from me, and the castle dates back to the Medieval times! It was 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 is said to possibly be influenced by the design of French castles, and the bridge still works over the moat. It was remodelled during the late 16th century, but Nunney Castle was unfortunately damaged and ruined during the English Civil War by order of Parliament. The shell of the tower was taken into state guardianship in 1926 and cleared of plants and rubble while the moat and the medieval drawbridge pit beneath the far end of the bridge were re-excavated, which I’m pleased about.
I always get so sad when I hear stories like this as I think back to how life would have been with this castle as your home, and then it was blown apart. I know most castles are in ruins now, as expected from centuries of deterioration, but a castle as small and cute as this seemed so homely. How the castle actually looked during its lived in time is something I looked up, and here is what I found:
The tower formerly stood within a larger courtyard enclosed on three sides by a wall and on the fourth by the brook. Within the courtyard there were probably several service buildings. The tower is laid out on a four-lobed plan and encircled by a moat. On each corner, there is a turret capped by a conical roof. A projecting line of battlements ran round the wall tops. Inside the tower were a kitchen at ground floor level, a hall on the third floor and withdrawing chambers on the top floor. Opening off these into the far right-hand corner tower was a chapel.
Anyway, since I wanted to make this blog post mostly dedicated to the heritage and history of Nunney Castle (I’m always fascinated by things like this) I didn’t think it would make much sense to add in all my outfit links as I was wearing mostly old, casual items. I don’t remember who my rainbow jumper is by as it’s old, my jeans are Citizens of Humanity Rocket and I have a pair of black trainers, however if you are interested in my bag, you can check out my Gucci Marmont Velvet Belt Bag review that I did last year and buy it or find out information on it there.
So I hope you enjoy these photos and if you do ever get chance to check out Nunney Castle, I recommend it! It’s only small now and mostly just bricks, but if you love heritage and architecture, it might be good. It’s free entry as it’s just a landmark now, and you can tour it in about 5-10 minutes if you want to, or spend longer, as you can’t climb any stairs, it’s just a shell. Let me know what you think and do tell me if you have been before! Lorna xx.
P.S. – I’m currently hosting a giveaway on Instagram to win a pair of rose gold earrings from Dower and Hall! You can enter for free by clicking here. I love the earrings so much!
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Hi Lorna…I would like to buy a boda skin jacket…I’m 5 feet 2 inches and am very concern about sleeve length..I am aware the sllsaints jacket sleeve length is perfect. How tall are you and weight…what is sleeve length? Thanks
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Hi, I replied to you on the question you left me yesterday on the Boda Skins blog post. Thanks!
nice look
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Thank you!
Love the jumper and the castle make a nice back drop , thank you for the history of it . take care Ian
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Happy to be of service!
This castle looks amazing! Love all these photos and I adore your chic sweater. The colors are so pretty.
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Thank you!
That so cool you got the castle to yourself. You sweater is so fun.
http://www.amysfashionblog.com/blog-home/
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Thank you!
What a cute rainbow knit! I love it with all of the black 🙂
It looks like an interesting spot to visit although it’s a shame it’s just in ruins now, it would have been wonderful in its original state. Does make a nice backdrop for your photos! There is no old buildings like that in Australia unfortunately, nothing that old anyway!
Hope that you are having a wonderful weekend 🙂 It’s a relaxing one here!
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Oh that’s a shame there isn’t any places like that over there. Glad you like the jumper though!
Ah, history. Where would we be without it? Over on this side of the pond, we just don’t have a whole lot of castles, even ruined ones.
As always, you look like you own the place. I think it’s the rainbow jumper: just the right amount of je ne sais quoi.
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Thank you so much! I’m really pleased we still have so many over here, ha ha.
It makes for a very picturesque backdrop and while it’s unfortunate that it’s mostly in ruins, that also gives it a certain charm. I also love your pretty outfit. The sweater is so fun.
Kathrin | Polar Bear Style
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Glad you like it!
What a cool place to visit!
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It really is!
It’s always so fun to explore the places around us like this, Lorna!!
XOOX
Jodie
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Glad you agree too!
The top is so beautiful. Nice castle view
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The photos in the castle look great and I love the bright colors in your sweater. Really pretty. That is such a cute castle with it’s little moat.
X, Julie | This Main Line Life
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So glad you like it!
Cute outfit! I love visiting historic places. There is always a story and charm about these place even the ruined aftermath.
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There really is!
Beautiful look
Rêtro Vintage Maggie | Facebook | Instagram
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Cool!! Beautiful pics. I wish we had castles here in Canada; I’m jealous!
Angela | http://www.lenorth.com
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Beautiful outfit and sweater!!
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Hi Lorna, you found the perfect location for your amazing sweater!
Xx Rena
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Thank you!
Oh love love that jumper on you. So bold and beautiful Lorna.
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I really like your outfit. Your sweater is so beautiful as well as Gucci bag. Castle looks very interesting I hope so that you have great time there.
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Amazing photos! I absolutely love that beautiful sweater too! The bright colors are so fun!
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such a lovely sweater xx
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Love your jumper and its such a beautiful castle 🙂
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Thank you! 🙂
It looks beautiful there! I always love places that are rich with history. Your rainbow sweater is so fun too!
x Kara | http://karascloset.net
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Thank you so much!
I absolutely love the jumper. 🙂 It’s so cheerful… I would very happily wear such a colour combination myself!
The castle makes for a lovely backdrop. It’s great to be able to visit such historical sites and try to imagine how life might have been for the people who once lived there. Lincoln Castle always gets my imagination going – it is more than ruins ( though not fully intact, of course) and you can walk a full circuit of the battlements and go into the dungeons.
Author
Oh that’s so cool you can go into the dungeons! Do they smell really fousty and damp? I always get that smell when I go in old underground areas lol! 😀
Yes! Dark and a bit damp. But also within the castle grounds is the old Victorian prison. One of the castle towers contains the graveyard for the hanged prisoners… It’s a very unsettling place to walk into.
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Oh my goodness, that does sound quite terrifying!