Bronsil Castle Bridge And Moat

Bronsil Castle, along with its bridge and moat, consists of the ruins of a castle that dates mainly from the mid-15th century, incorporating earlier structures. The bridge may have been added in the late 19th century for Richard Beauchamp. The castle is built from sandstone ashlar and has a square plan with a polygonal gatehouse tower on the west side, surrounded by a moat that is crossed by a bridge from the west.

The north gatehouse tower, which is the largest remaining structure, was likely two storeys tall with a basement. Two faces of the tower remain, on the west and south-west sides, reaching a height of about 30 feet in two stages, with part of a third stage visible. The tower features two moulded strings, a circular drain hole near the base on the right-hand face, and a damaged opening above it. There are also two almost intact loops in the second stage, one located low on the right-hand face and the other high on the left-hand face.

At the north-east corner of the enclosure, there is a fragment of a stone newel that stands about ten feet high, while another fragment at the south-east corner is around five feet high. Access to the former enclosure is provided by a single segmental span bridge, which was heavily overgrown at the time of the survey in June 1985. The moat completely surrounds the castle, and the base of the curtain walls can be seen when the water level is low. Originally, the castle featured a square enclosure with curtain walls, octagonal angle towers, a gatehouse with flanking towers to the west, and towers on the other sides, along with the moat, an outer bank, and possibly an outer ditch. The site is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, County Number 62.