Bladon Castle

Bladon Castle is a folly, built in 1795 by Jeffrey Wyattville for Abraham Hoskins, a solicitor of Burton-on-Trent, and partly converted into a house between 1801 and 1802. The structure is largely ruinous today. Constructed of red brick, the castle’s plan and elevations are irregular, presenting a picturesque castellated appearance, although fundamentally symmetrical. The west elevation has eleven bays, with a three-bay centre divided by buttress strips. A full-height canted bay window with a 1-3-1 light arrangement sits centrally, flanked by two tiers of lancet windows, one of which is blocked, and two small blind lancets above. To the left are three bays with a taller, buttressed centre bay and two tiers of blind gothic windows. A similar three-bay arrangement is on the right, featuring gothic glazing bar sashes and some later window additions. Taller square towers, each with two tiers of blind gothic windows, mark the ends of the west elevation. The north elevation is symmetrical with five bays, the centre acting as a gate tower with polygonal turrets rising above the connecting wings. A central pointed carriage arch is present. The end bays project forward as square towers, incorporating three tiers of blind lancets, the uppermost being little more than arches. It is noted that much of the north wall, and the southern four bays of the west wall, are facades. A castellated wall to the south west encloses what appears to be a motte. A castellated walled enclosure is attached to the north west, incorporating a circular turret. The east elevation is irregular, with a five-bay open Tudor arcade.