Devizes Castle Including Glass House And Garden Walls Encircling West Side Of Mound

Devizes Castle, built originally by Bishop Roger of Salisbury during the reign of Henry I, has largely disappeared, although it was standing in ruins by the 16th century and was ultimately destroyed at the end of the Civil Wars by order of Parliament. The castle occupies a prominent site featuring a large mound and moat, sloping steeply on three sides towards the surrounding undulating ground. The extensive parklands of Old Park combine with the castle mound to create a valued landscape. The layout of the town, with its fan-like shape centered on the castle, suggests a deliberate design, likely influenced by the Bishopric of Salisbury.

The present structure was initiated in 1842 by Goodridge of Bath. The castle is highly asymmetrical in design. The south-facing ashlar keep and turret showcase Goodridge's work, featuring paired lights separated by colonettes within narrow openings. A more substantial, rock-faced addition to the north was constructed between the 1860s and 1880s, incorporating a crenellated parapet, buttresses, superimposed bays, oriel windows, and large mullioned and transomed windows. The north tower has a base of 17th-century brick and was initially a windmill; its rubble foundation may be part of the original castle. Adjacent to the base of the north tower, facing west, is a fernery with a stone-tiled roof and round, interlaced arches forming pointed lights, accented by Norman-style shafts. A fine glass house joins the fernery to the north. It possesses an octagonal base and a stepped, domical roof topped with a finial. Entrances are located to the east and west, featuring wooden gables with ornamented bargeboards supported by flanking colonettes with foliate capitals on high pedestals.

A terrace surrounds the castle, bordered by a battlemented parapet. On the west side, towards the center, are two short sections of arcaded wall, one incorporating original Norman stonework with a zig-zag pattern within an arch. The interior of the castle exhibits a mix of neo-Norman, Gothic, and 16th-century styles. The drawing room and bedroom in the northern section, facing west, feature partially original frames from 16th or early 17th-century ceilings, complete with carved and gilded bosses, small brackets, ribs, and plasterwork.