Hoddom Castle

Hoddom Castle comprises a large, asymmetrical mansion with a nucleus of a fine L-plan 16th-century tower house. The main south and west courtyard walls, gateway, and turrets largely date to the 17th century. Around 1826, William Burn made additions to the south and west of the tower, though these were largely demolished around 1970. Extensive neo-Jacobean additions in 1, 2, and 3-storey blocks were constructed between 1878 and 1891, with some work, at least, undertaken by Wardrop and Anderson around 1886. These additions primarily consist of an open stable court and service ranges to the north and west, and the complex now operates as a holiday centre with a caravan park; the tower itself is abandoned. A small driveway bridge, likely dating to the 17th or 18th century, is situated to the south of the castle, above the fosse bridge.

The tower has undergone various alterations, particularly at the upper level and within the interior, with a fantastic skyline likely created in the 18th century. It stands four storeys high with an attic, featuring corbelled parapets with jambs corbelled two storeys higher, supporting conical-roofed bartizans and a 19th-century cap-house. The roof is slated and crow-stepped-gabled, enclosed by a parapet. The walls are massively thick and constructed of red ashlar, with openings that are mostly roll-moulded, incorporating deep raggles and door slappings where later ranges abut. A rope-moulded doorway is found in the re-entrant angle, while wide horizontal gunports are present at ground level. Some upper-floor windows have been enlarged. The interior includes a vaulted ground floor, a spacious turnpike within the jamb (narrower on upper floors), central partition walls at each level, and some mural chambers.

The main courtyard, located to the south and west of the tower, features a west wall with a two-storey drum turret at each end; the turret to the north is 17th century, with its upper part rebuilt around 1975 and a vaulted ground floor. A roll-moulded wide segmental-arched gateway, complete with ball finials and bellcote, is also likely 17th century. The gateway to the south and castellated Tudor-arched fosse bridge were probably designed by Burn. Construction is of rubble and ashlar.

The 19th-century additions are primarily of stugged red ashlar with polished dressings, featuring mullioned windows, corbelled parapets raised over gables, and a tall gabled bay to the north of the tower, likely by Burn, with shaped and finialled skews. A corresponding bay, added in 1889, is linked by a 1889 stable (now a bar) with a cast-iron columned shelter to the court. The court is walled at the west, with two-storey blocks flanking the gate, featuring dummy machicolations, also by Burn. Service ranges to the north, dating to 1891, are mostly single-storey and in a similar style.

The driveway bridge is a short segmental arch over a stream, constructed of rubble and widened, probably around 1826.