Pembridge Castle

Pembridge Castle, now a farmhouse, began as a late 12th or early 13th century keep. Subsequent phases of building occurred in the 13th century with foundations for a gatehouse, curtain walls, and an undercroft to the chapel, followed by 17th century domestic buildings. Substantial restoration and rebuilding took place in the early 20th century. The castle is constructed of coursed and squared sandstone rubble with ashlar dressings, and has slate roofs. The layout includes curtain walls and a gatehouse to the south angle, a circular keep to the west, a chapel block and small circular tower to the north, and a further quadrant-shaped tower to the east with a bartizan. Domestic buildings form the west side of the courtyard, encompassing a hall block to the northwest and a kitchen block to the southwest.

The two-storey, basement-level gatehouse features a segmental, pointed arch entrance with chamfered jambs and grooves for a portcullis, flanked by two round towers with lancet windows. The four-storey keep has two moulded string courses and a 20th century crenellated parapet, with loop windows and a projecting garderobe, now containing a 20th century window. The chapel block, of two storeys with an undercroft, has two 4-light, square-headed wooden-framed windows; one features chamfered mullions, the other ovolo moulded mullions—likely imported. The hall block to the northwest includes a projecting porch and a tall, 2-light traceried window with a traceried transom. Curtain walls feature a 20th century crenellated parapet and mainly loop embrasures, with cruciform loops to the northeast wall. A corbelled circular bartizan rises from the east side.

Interior features include a 15th century fireplace with moulded jambs and a square head, with herringbone brickwork behind in the upper room of the gatehouse. The chapel is furnished with imported wooden screen and panelling. The castle stands within a moated site. It was historically associated with the Wake and Mortimer families in the 14th and 15th centuries. During the English Civil War, the castle adhered to the Royalist cause and suffered extensive damage during the siege of 1644, resulting in significant ruin. In the early 20th century, it was owned by Thomas Bartlett, a doctor and antiquarian and bishop of a small Anglo-Orthodox sect, who oversaw its restoration to the present condition. Stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops are present.