Stogursey Castle is a medieval castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 in Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, now used for holiday rental by the Landmark Trust

Landmark Trust

The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation charity, founded in 1965 by Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then gives them a new life by making them available for holiday rental...

.

History

Stogursey Castle was built to the south of the village of Stogursey

Stogursey

Stogursey is the name of a small village and civil parish in the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England. It is situated from Nether Stowey, and west of Bridgwater...

 by the family of the De Courcys, probably in the late 11th or early 12th century. The name Stogursey is a corruption of Stoke Courcy. The castle was a motte-and-bailey

Motte-and-bailey

A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...

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

Moat

A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...

, fed from the nearby Stogursey Brook.
The castle was controlled by King John of England

John of England

John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...

 during the First Barons' War

First Barons' War

The First Barons' War was a civil war in the Kingdom of England, between a group of rebellious barons—led by Robert Fitzwalter and supported by a French army under the future Louis VIII of France—and King John of England...

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

Falkes de Breauté

Sir Falkes de Breauté was an Anglo-Norman soldier who earned high office by loyally serving first King John and later King Henry III in First Barons' War. He played a key role in the Battle of Lincoln Fair in 1217. He attempted to rival Hubert de Burgh, and as a result fell from power in 1224...

 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, but was destroyed in the 1450s by the Yorkist faction during the War of the Roses. 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.

Storgursey Castle is a Grade II* listed building, and was restored by the Landmark Trust between 1981 and 1982 for use as a holiday let.

Biliography

• Landmark Trust. (2006) The Landmark Trust Handbook. Maidenhead, UK: The Landmark Trust. ISBN 9780953312450.
• Pettifer, Adrian. (2002) English Castles: a Guide by Counties. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. ISBN 9780851157825.