Nunney Castle Castles

Nunney Castle is a castle in Nunney, Somerset, England.

Nunney Castle

Nunney Castle showing collapsed wall

Nunney Castle showing above the trees and villageIt is a small, French-style castle surrounded by a deep moat, built for Sir John Delamare in 1373. A veteran of the Hundred Years' War, Sir John would later become Sheriff of Somerset.

During the English Civil Wars (1642-51) Colonel Richard Prater, who held the castle until 1645, lost it to Fairfax, the commander of Cromwell's forces in the battle that took place at Nunney. The castle was besieged for two days, but capitulated when Cromwell's men used cannon to blast a great hole in the north wall of the castle. It was never lived in again. Nunney Castle stands today, but all of the floors were removed or burned and the roof was removed to render it uninhabitable. Its moat, walls, and towers are still intact. The badly damaged wall finally collapsed in 1910.

Due to its small size and ruined interiors there is not a lot to see at the castle, but, surrounded by its moat, it is an attractive feature in a pretty village. The castle in currently managed by English Heritage.