Farleigh Hungerford Castle

Begun in the late 14th century, Farleigh Hungerford Castle was for 300 years the home of the Hungerfords, a family that after distinguished beginnings suffered a series of disasters and scandals – some of which took place within the castle walls. A ‘romantic ruin’ since the 1730s, it retains two of its corner towers, parts of its outer courtyard defences and a well-preserved chapel with outstanding 13th-century wall-paintings, family monuments and collection of unusual anthropoid (human-shaped) lead coffins.

Farleigh Hungerford Castle

Farleigh Hungerford Castle

Farleigh Hungerford Castle

Farleigh Hungerford Castle

Farleigh Hungerford Castle

Farleigh Hungerford Castle

Farleigh Hungerford Castle

12 Comments CherryPie on Feb 18th 2021

12 Responses to “Farleigh Hungerford Castle”

  1. Ginnie Hart says:

    Believe it or not, Cherry, this is one place I HAVE visited with Lisl(in 2016) and loved it. What great memories!

    • CherryPie says:

      Did you feel a presence in the Church?

      I did on my first visit but not on this occasion. You might enjoy the conversation I had with an English Heritage guide at another of their sites…

      “We opted to visit Sherborne Old Castle which had a lovely atmosphere and is an idyllic setting above the New Castle. As we were leaving, we got chatting to the member of staff manning the kiosk and he told us of other English Heritage properties nearby, one of which was Farley Hungerford Castle. I mentioned that, when we had visited there many years ago, I had felt a presence (not unpleasant) as I walked down into the chapel. To which he replied ‘yes there is’ and proceeded to tell me of (orb activity) that he had witnessed over the tombs when he worked there. Going on to say that the orbs acted differently, sometimes more animated depending on the visitor (captured on CCTV). He also advised that several people had witnessed a ghost dressed in black. Things that make you go “Hmmm”…”

      http://www.cheriesplace.me.uk/blog/index.php/2019/07/11/sherborne-day-six/

  2. Astrid says:

    I took an areal view of this place and it impressive of how much is still there. What a great place to visit and let your imagination go.

  3. lisl says:

    I have never seen such a vault with those contents, Cherie

  4. shabana says:

    oh the second image tells lot about the value place unique beauty of this place dear Cheri !
    brilliantly captured and beautifully shared

  5. Have not been there in ages…
    Did you also visit Bradford on Avon?
    There’s a nice tea room by the river.

    • CherryPie says:

      We did not visit Bradford on Avon on this occasion.

      Tea rooms in 2020 were difficult to visit. Advance booking was required so we mostly ended up with a picnic lunch.

  6. The Yum List says:

    The mind boggles at what life must have been like when this was first built.