Broughton Castle

History

The gatehouse was added in the early fifteenth century, and the castle became a centre of opposition to Charles I during the Civil War, suffering damage after the Battle of Edgehill in 1642. The Fiennes family, Barons Saye and Sele, have held the castle since 1448, when Sir William Fiennes married Margaret Wykeham. It remains home to Martin Fiennes, the 22nd Lord Saye and Sele, and his family.

Architecture

Built of Hornton ironstone, the castle combines its fourteenth-century core with a fifteenth-century gatehouse and extensive Tudor remodelling carried out in the 1550s. It is a Grade I listed building.

Worth knowing

Broughton Castle is a regular filming location, having been used for feature films, television dramas and commercials as well as fashion shoots. The writer Simon Jenkins gave it five stars, one of only twenty houses to receive that rating in his book England's Thousand Best Houses.

Gardens & grounds

The castle stands in open parkland with a moat that entirely surrounds it, and its walled gardens can be seen on a self-guided route through the grounds.