Wiltshire - Castles
Old Sarum
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 The
great mound and ditch at Old Sarum date from 500BC, and have been home to many over the
centuries including Romans and Saxons.It was Norman times though which saw the castle's heyday when a new cathedral was built, (the remains of which are visible in the foreground of the photo) and it was here that William the Conqueror paid off his army, and demanded loyalty from the nobles. |
| The end began in the early 13th Century when disputes between the castle
and priests caused them to build a new Cathedral, just 2 miles south in what was to become
Salisbury. Slowly the people followed the church, the old cathedral was knocked down, and Old Sarum was left with only the castle, until this too was abandoned in Tudor times. |
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Old Wardour 
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| Built in the late 14th century, the six sided Old Wardour Castle was in the French
style which John, the 5th Lord Lovel admired. It was designed more for
luxurious accommodation, and as a symbol of wealth than for defence. The Castle's Defensive credentials were put to the test in the Civil war, when in 1643 it was put under siege by hundreds of Parliamentary troops. The siege was only ended when the handful of men defending it became so tired through lack of sleep they surrendered. The downfall came later that year when the castle was again besieged, this time by the Royalist son of Lord Lovel to recapture his family home. While planting dynamite in the castle's foundations a spark caused an explosion, which brought the walls tumbling down. Today the castle sits romantically in a landscaped garden, while the Lords now live across the lake at New Wardour castle, more of a country house, built in the 1770s. |
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