Farleigh Hungerford Castle

Farleigh Hungerford Castle is a historic castle that originated as an early 14th century manor house for the Montfort family. It was fortified between 1370 and 1380 by Sir Thomas de Hungerford, and a barbican was added around 1420 to 1430 for Sir Walter Hungerford. By 1701, the castle was described as "very ruinous." The structure is built from coursed rough-faced Doulting stone and features the displayed foundations of the manor house, which included a hall and domestic range.

The castle has a rectangular inner court that is enclosed by partly surviving curtain walls on all four sides, with a circular tower at each corner. The inner gate is located in the middle of the south side, where the remains of two round-fronted towers can be found, along with a paved passage. Defensive ditches are present on the west and south sides, which were once spanned by a drawbridge leading to the inner gate.

To the south, the barbican encloses the outer court and the Chapel of St. Leonard, with partly surviving curtain walls and south and southwest towers, all surrounded by defensive ditches on three sides. The main entrance is through the East Gate, which once featured a drawbridge but is now a causeway, with the ditch filled in and domestic buildings erected around 1610 to 1620, of which only the foundations remain.

The two-storey gatehouse has a pointed arch set in a square-headed recess designed to accommodate the drawbridge above, with holes for the drawbridge chains. Centrally, it displays the sickle badge of the Hungerfords, followed by a relieving arch and a two-light stone mullioned window with a drip mould, surmounted by the family coat of arms of the Hungerfords. The west gate is mostly demolished, but the north jamb of the archway still survives. Farleigh Hungerford Castle is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument (Somerset County No.4).