Ince Castle

Ince Castle, built around 1653 but designed in a style from circa 1630, is a remarkable structure notable for its unique plan, style, and use of materials. The castle features English bond brick with stone dressings and a hipped slate roof. It has a rectangular shape with four-storey projecting towers at each corner, topped with pyramidal roofs above modillion eaves cornices. The building is adorned with an embattled parapet and a two-storey continuous moulded cornice, with a bund over the ground floor.

The windows are primarily glazing bar sash types, mostly from the 18th century, with a reproduction main entrance on the west side, accessed by a long flight of steps leading to the first floor. There is a segment-headed granite doorway that is disused, flanked by pairs of mullion windows under a commondrip, with a pediment and a raised cornice above it. The ground floor features 19th-century tripartite windows, while two windows on the ground floor of the flanking towers retain plain stone mullion casements under segmented arches.

Inside, there is a modern Chinese Chippendale staircase at the front, and the south-east tower contains a mid-17th-century staircase. The overall plan may be reminiscent of 'toy forts' like the nearby Mount Edgcumbe House, and the style with corner hursts may reflect contemporary court fashion, similar to that seen at Wilton. The first-floor entry, akin to earlier castle keeps, is notably anachronistic and idiosyncratic. For further insights and discussions regarding the building's dates and builders, refer to Christopher Hussey's articles in Country Life from March 16 and March 23, 1967.