Coity Castle

Coity Castle is a ruined medieval castle consisting of an inner ward enclosed on the north, east and south sides by a ditch and lined with a faceted curtain wall, and an outer ward on the west side. The outer ward is roughly rectangular in plan with a bank and ditch on its north side. The castle is built of rubble sandstone with ashlar dressings.

The inner ward curtain wall rises mostly to parapet level. The keep occupies the northwest side, its west wall standing almost full height with fragments of 15th-century openings visible, as well as corbels at eaves level. The keep is of three storeys with an undercroft. In the centre are two superimposed 14th-century octagonal piers with the springers of rib vaults: the undercroft ribs are heavy and plain, whilst the lower storey vault has evidence of chamfered ribs. Contemporary with this phase of the keep was a new west gatehouse, attached to the south side of the keep at an oblique angle, whose guardroom does not survive to any considerable height. On the north side of the keep is a three-storey annexe, of which the north wall survives full height and stands beyond the line of the former curtain wall. The north front is a two-window elevation, although the openings are poorly preserved. In the upper storey are a Tudor fireplace and corbels which carried the principals, with traces of lime plaster visible on the inner faces.

On the south side of the inner ward is a 14th-century domestic block consisting of hall, passage, garderobe tower and kitchen range. On the inner north side is a dog-leg passage of four bays with the springers of chamfered rib vaults. In the two easternmost bays are openings: on the right is a vaulted passage to the curtain wall of unknown purpose; on the left is a newel stair to the hall. The hall is situated south of the passage and is attached to the earlier curtain wall. The hall undercroft survives substantially, consisting of three by two bays with the footings of two central piers and the springers for rib vaults. In the curtain wall, three lancets with deeply splayed sills were cut at undercroft level, the central one of which is cusped. In the hall itself is a fireplace in the east wall. In the exterior south wall, the hall is two-storey height with corbel table and has three windows in the lower storey (blocked to the left, with Tudor hood mould to the right). At the upper level the window to the left is blocked by an inserted 15th-century fireplace, added when a first floor was inserted into the hall. The fireplace has a tall stack, which partly encroaches on an arrow loop in the exterior face of the parapet, and has string courses and a moulded cap. A similar tall stack rises above the vaulted passage on the north side. Southeast of the hall is the 14th-century garderobe tower, built outside the line of the curtain wall above the ditch. The tower is roughly oval in plan, with a corbel table on east and west sides above cesspit level, where the tower has straight side walls. The two upper levels have ruinous openings and garderobes. The tower is reached by stone steps from the hall undercroft. On the west side of the south domestic block is a kitchen range principally 15th-century in its details. It is of two storeys with an undercroft. In the upper storey it has three windows, of which the left and central have square heads, whilst in the lower storey are two windows, the left square-headed and with traces of arched-headed lights to the right. In the undercroft is the base of a circular malting kiln with radiating flues.

The chapel is on the northeast side of the south domestic range and is entered from the dog-leg passage. It has a narrow, ruinous 15th-century east window, probably originally of two lights, above which is the line of the gable. The line of an earlier, lower gable of 14th-century date is also visible. The interior of the chapel survives only at basement level, with two low cross walls butting the side walls.

The 15th-century northeast gatehouse is three-storey and projects beyond the curtain wall. It has a doorway under a two-centred arch with square hood mould. Above is a two-light mullioned window, and in the upper storey is a larger window, above which are two moulded corbels. The side walls have plainer corbel tables. The rear elevation has plainer openings.

The inner ward has some stone paving and a well. On the north side are the footings of a large rectangular building of unknown date, possibly a late medieval hall replacing the earlier 14th-century hall.

The outer ward curtain wall stands to a considerable height. The west gatehouse was added in the 15th century and is now the main entrance, with only part of the inner arch surviving, as on the south side the building does not survive above the footings. The southwest tower has two arrow loops in its outer wall but now has a lean-to slate roof. Immediately east of it is a doorway in the curtain wall with two-centred arch. Only the footings of the northeast tower and south gatehouse survive. Beyond the south gatehouse is a single-arched bridge over the ditch. The link wall between south gatehouse and inner ward is 15th-century, has eight arrow loops and remains of a storeyed projection at the angle with the inner curtain wall.

On the south side of the outer ward, and built against the curtain wall, are the footings of a seven-bay barn with battered buttresses and centrally-placed porch. Corresponding buttresses are extant added to the exterior of the curtain wall.