| Enmore Castle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Enmore, Somerset, England |
| Coordinates | 51°06′42″N3°05′22″W / 51.11167°N 3.08944°W |
| Built | 1751-1755 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Designated | 9 January 1987 [1] |
| Reference no. | 1307522 |
  Location of Enmore Castle in Somerset | |
Enmore Castle is a historic building in the village of Enmore, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II listed building. [1]
Enmore was the seat of the family of William Malet who built a great house, although the original date of construction is uncertain. [2] The house passed to Elizabeth Malet who married John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester. [3] In 1664 it included a hall, chapel and 20 hearths. The building was still standing in 1727. [4]
It was bought at some time before 1751 by John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont who over the next five years erected the first version of the present castle. The building consisted of a square surround an inner court which was 86 feet (26 m) by 78 feet (24 m). The surrounding walls had square towers at the corners and semicircular turrets on each of the sides including around the doors, all were topped with battlements. Much of the building, including the offices and stables, was underground and accessed via the dry 40 feet (12 m) wide moat which was entered by a tunnel from the park. There is some evidence of a drawbridge over the moat and Stew ponds. [5] It included an armoury, music and picture galleries, a library, and a state dining room. The rooms were hung with tapestries which, after their sale were hung at Combe Sydenham and subsequently in the Bridgwater council chamber. [2] The house received 'the dismissive mockery of Horace Walpole'. [6]
The Percevals were forced to sell the castle in 1833 to pay off debts. It was bought by Nicholas Broadmead, a solicitor with shares in the Parrett Navigation Company and the Ivelchester and Langport Navigation, who demolished a large proportion of the building the following year, converting the remaining parts of the building into a three-storeyed house. [2] [7]
The castle once again underwent major change in 1930 when H. H. Broadmead demolished even more of the old building. [8] Wood panels removed from the castle at this time were incorporated into the Publishing House for the Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. [9]
The remaining portion is now divided into two dwellings, however the undercroft survives. [1] [10]
It is close to the Church of St Michael which has 13th-century origins but the present building is largely from the 15th century, [11] and Enmore Park Golf Club which was built on some of the parkland which was attached to the estate. [12] [13]
Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 Census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sides of the River Parrett; it has been a major inland port and trading centre since the industrial revolution. Most of its industrial bases still stand today. Its larger neighbour, Taunton, is linked to Bridgwater via a canal, the M5 motorway and the GWR railway line.
The River Parrett flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. Flowing northwest through Somerset and the Somerset Levels to its mouth at Burnham-on-Sea, into the Bridgwater Bay nature reserve on the Bristol Channel, the Parrett and its tributaries drain an area of 660 square miles (1,700 km2) – about 50 per cent of Somerset's land area, with a population of 300,000.
Nether Stowey is a large village in Somerset, South West England. It sits in the foothills of the Quantock Hills, just below Over Stowey. The parish of Nether Stowey covers approximately 4 km2, with a population of 1,373.
John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont, PC, FRS was a British politician, political pamphleteer, and genealogist who served as First Lord of the Admiralty. Of Anglo-Irish background, he sat in both the Irish and British Parliaments. He was the father of the Regency Era Prime Minister Spencer Perceval.
Bristol, the largest city in South West England, has an eclectic combination of architectural styles, ranging from the medieval to 20th century brutalism and beyond. During the mid-19th century, Bristol Byzantine, an architectural style unique to the city, was developed, and several examples have survived.
West Quantoxhead is a small village and civil parish in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. It lies on the route of the Coleridge Way and on the A39 road at the foot of the Quantock Hills, 3 miles (5 km) from East Quantoxhead, 2.5 miles (4 km) from Williton and equidistant from Bridgwater and Taunton. The parish includes the hamlets of Weacombe and Lower Weacombe.
Bridgwater Castle was a castle in the town of Bridgwater, Somerset, England.
Halswell House is a Grade I listed country house in Goathurst, Somerset, England.
Enmore is a village and civil parish 2 miles (3 km) west of Bridgwater on the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Bare Ash.
Stowey Castle was a Norman motte-and-bailey castle, built in the 11th century, in the village of Nether Stowey on the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Scheduled Monument, the foundations of the keep are also a Grade I listed building.
The Grade I listed buildings in Somerset, England, demonstrate the history and diversity of its architecture. The ceremonial county of Somerset consists of a non-metropolitan county, administered by Somerset County Council, which is divided into five districts, and two unitary authorities. The districts of Somerset are West Somerset, South Somerset, Taunton Deane, Mendip and Sedgemoor. The two administratively independent unitary authorities, which were established on 1 April 1996 following the breakup of the county of Avon, are North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset. These unitary authorities include areas that were once part of Somerset before the creation of Avon in 1974.
Castle Street in Bridgwater, Somerset, England was built in the 1720s, on a site previously occupied by Bridgwater Castle, by Benjamin Holloway or Fort and Shepherd, the Duke's London surveyors for James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos. It was originally called Chandos Street. Many of the buildings have been designated as Grade I Listed buildings.
The Church of St Margaret in Spaxton, Somerset, England has some parts from the 12th and 13th centuries but is predominantly from the 15th century, and was restored in 1895. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
Gothelney Hall, also known as Gothelney Manor Farmhouse, located in the parish of Spaxton, Somerset, England was built in the 15th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
Stogursey Castle is a medieval castle in Somerset, England. Most of the site is in ruins, but there is a thatched gatehouse used for holiday rental by the Landmark Trust.
John Malet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons.
Barford Park is a Georgian country house and park to the south of Spaxton, west of Bridgwater, Somerset, England. It was designated a grade II* listed building on 29 March 1963. The name "Barford" comes from owners of the land, who had a house on the site in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Fairfield House is a historic house in Stogursey, Somerset, England. A house existed on the site from the 12th century and it has been owned by the same family since that time. The current building is largely 16th-century, but has undergone various remodellings since then. It is designated as a Grade II* listed building.
Sydenham House, the manor house of the ancient manor of Sydenham in the parish of Wembdon, Somerset, England, is a grade II listed building, constructed in the early 16th century and refronted and rebuilt after 1613. In 1937, British Cellophane Ltd set up production and built extensive factories on 59 acres (24 ha) of land adjacent to the manor house. Production ceased in 2005 and between 2010 and 2015 the industrial site was razed to the ground. In 2015 the razed site is owned by EDF Energy, which in 2012 purchased the manor house with the former factory site, intended for construction of temporary accommodation for 1,000 workers.
