Clytha Castle

Clytha Castle is a Gothic eyecatcher folly built in rendered rubble stone with Bath stone dressings. It has an L-plan design featuring battlemented screen walls that connect a two-storey square tower at the northwest corner with two-storey round towers at the southwest and northeast. The Bath stone is deployed for the plinth, sill courses, frames to openings, cornices, the traceried friezes of the square tower, inset blank loops, crosses and decorative panels, and for the battlemented parapets.

The northwest residential tower stands two storeys high, adjoined by a taller three-storey colourwashed round stair tower to the southwest. The northwest tower has a plinth, ground floor chamfered sill band, and a first floor trefoil frieze at sill level. Above this sits an upper cornice with quatrefoil frieze and cyma modillions, with the battlements slightly stepped up to the centre. On the first floor to the north and west, a centre pointed sash window with small-paned Gothick glazing bars is flanked, not closely, by narrow pointed lights. Stone-framed inset panels occupy the space above, with a centre cross and flanking quatrefoils in lozenges. The ground floor west side features similar windows; the north side has two similar sashes flanking a pointed door with a moulded shafted doorcase, board door and strap hinges.

The round stair tower has mouldings and carved friezes carried around its circumference. The top floor displays a cornice with trefoil frieze and battlements. Stair windows on the ground and first floors are stepped to follow the line of stairs, one on each side of a recessed cross, pointed at ground floor level and square-headed above. Top floor windows match those on the first floor but are not stepped, with a cross positioned between them.

The north screen wall has battlements curved down and then up to a higher castellated finial at the centre. A plinth, sill band and first floor plain band are carried across. Above this band sits an inset ashlar recessed cross panel flanked by narrow lancets, with a small quatrefoil above. Below the frieze are small quatrefoils on either side with lancets below them, and a marble inscribed plaque in the centre, flanked by blank lancets set higher than the outer ones. The outer right lancet is glazed.

The northeast tower has mouldings carried from the screen wall, but its upper frieze, cornice and battlements are simpler than those on the northwest tower. Lancet openings appear on each floor to the northwest and northeast, with small quatrefoils on each floor set higher to the north-northwest and north-northeast. To the north is a two-light pointed opening with Y-tracery and a large inset cross above, with a similar cross to the east. Mouldings are discontinued thereafter within the rear court. To the south is an arched door with two incised plain crosses above it, and loops at three levels to the south-southwest and southwest.

The west screen wall runs from the northwest tower to the southwest round tower, with plinth and first floor frieze carried across from the stair tower, and plain battlements above. A blank cross panel occupies either side of a two-light Y-tracery pointed window, with a pointed door to the right.

The southwest tower has a plinth, ground floor sill-band, first floor simple sill course and top frieze, coved cornice and battlements. The first floor features large blank pointed panels with quatrefoils above, and an inset cross between the panels to the west. The ground floor has three large two-light wooden pointed windows with narrow pointed panels between them, all carried down to the plinth through the sill band. The rear elevation facing the court is plainer.

Within the court, plain rendered elevations are visible, some colourwashed. The northeast tower has blank cross loops at upper level to the east and south; the stair tower has plain loops. A much lower two-storey colourwashed range with plain battlements wraps around the tower and curves around the stair tower, providing passage space. A pointed six-panel door occupies the left of the east side. The south side has a two-light chamfered stone-mullion window on each floor to the right and a single narrow light to the left. The rounded section around the stair tower has a single narrow light on each floor to the right. Behind the west screen wall is a plain lean-to passage to the southwest tower with a single light, pointed door and loop, all to the left.

The northwest tower ground floor room is said to have had panelled shutters and a door. A spiral stair leads to the first floor room, which has a cambered-headed Bath stone fireplace and iron grate. Two Gothick iron grates are found in the bedrooms. A single ground floor bedroom occupies the southwest tower. The northeast tower is open to the sky.